Ahead of their first birthday at The Bagel Shop, Modern Logic residents Josh & Alex have thrown down a delicious mix of music to get you in the mood for dancing no matter the occasion. Catch AMF resident Liam’s interview with the team below.
Let’s start at the beginning. How did Modern Logic form? When did you start playing music together and what was the catalyst that made you all say ‘hey let’s put on some parties’?
Josh – Alex and I met while at the Leeds College of Music. We lived in a house of musicians, producers and djs for three years and were constantly mixing, writing and recording. During that time we both played at a few parties in leeds and held a residency at the now defunct Cord bar in the NQ. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that we actually decided to start throwing our own parties but really it was a continuation of the spirit that we’d developed in Leeds which was always based around an anything goes approach to tune selection and a broad appreciation of music across genre boundaries.
Can you point to any individuals, collectives or clubs that you cite as inspiration for Modern Logic? And what are the reasons for this? ( If you don’t have any inspirations just ignore this question lol)
Alex – Wire in Leeds provided us both with so many great memories, musical and otherwise. Seeing four tet, ben ufo, joy o etc in such an intimate venue really shaped this collective idea of what the perfect space should be – small, smoky, loud and most importantly filled with enthusiastic dancers.
You’re first birthday is on the horizon, how have you found running events in Manchester? Do you feel there’s a strong dance community in the city and have you felt supported by venues and other collectives?
Josh – The first year of any new endeavour like this is always going to be a bit tricky and there have been more seat-of-the-pants panicked moments than I care to remember but that’s far outweighed by the parties we’ve put on, the guests that have graced the decks and the people we’ve met along the way. The support between small nights has been fantastic and has allowed us to run events with Jerk It, Index Records and our partners in crime Muziki Sessions that have all benefitted from having a larger community of people involved. Of course with small venues you’re often running the gauntlet when it comes to equipment, change overs from other events and moody sound engineers but thankfully we’re getting to a point now where the venues we want to use know who we are and want us involved.
You’re regulars on several radio stations around Manchester and the scene is thriving. What drew you to hosting radio shows and how can they help collectives trying to create a following in Manchester?
Alex – The radio shows came about really organically from just starting out and wanting some recorded sets for our own purposes and they’ve just grown from that point onwards. As we’ve done more of them I’ve really started to appreciate the opportunity to try out new music each month and when you start to get feedback on that it’s a very validating experience as a DJ and music lover. Unfortunately a lot of online radio stations are now moving away from live streaming due to copyright crackdowns, which is pushing the reach of stations like Pie and MCR.Live downwards. It’s a tragedy for up and coming djs who might not otherwise get that exposure as its a hard nut to crack without a supportive platform behind you, but for any collectives who are genuinely musically driven it’s an opportunity you should grab with both hands
Tell us abit about the mix. How did you select the tracks, are these songs you’ve got on repeat at the moment or did you do a bit of digging and pull out some tried and tested gems for the episode?
Josh – We approached the mix pretty loosely as planning a b2b set is a pretty difficult procedure. The advantage of this is that you have to focus on being reactive to who you’re mixing with. As we’ve been playing like this for a while I think we have a good sense of each other’s taste but I always relish the unexpected moments that completely change the direction you’re going in. There’s a few moments like that in the mix where we got to pull out tracks that we weren’t planning on playing at all and I think these kind of organic moments create the most compelling listening.
Are there any standout tracks for you in the mix that you wouldn’t mind sharing with us?
Josh – The Mauritz Von Oswald dub of Ole by Tony Allen. I’m a big fan of Rhythm and Sound and Basic Channel but rarely get the opportunity to fit these kind of tracks into our sets, so having the realisation that it would work well mid-set was exciting. The track itself is a phenomenal dub exploration that takes Tony Allen’s prodigious drumming and wraps it around the classic Mauritz rhythm and bass construction. Deep like hot boxing a submarine.
Josh – Apiento – The Orange Place – Discovered the amazing Worlds Unknown label through a Neville Watson release called Four Two Green (also well worth checking out) and became a bit obsessed with the super tight grip they’ve got on the sound of the label. This Apiento track is the perfect example. Modular, apocalyptic disco, with a modal melody that drives you to Berlin via Beirut.
Alex – Night Flight by Arthur Miles. Theres no questioning as to why I chose this as our intro tune, the mix between melancholic, dreamy synths and reverb drenched drum patterns make for a killer start and passes the melodic baton onto the next track. As the track progresses so does the stylistic approaches, the synth filter modulations drive the track as if it were on the night flight to Berlin. I’m also pretty obsessed with the sound of analogue synths so for that reason alone it wins a spot into our set.
Last but not least, what else is on the horizon for Modern logic? Do you have any other events planned you can tell us about?
2019 is already shaping up to be a great year for us, with a load of different events booked in We’ve got out 1st Birthday coming up on march 16th featuring a really excellent line up of local djs, Yadava of SoFlute fame, Black Eyes who runs Lost Control and Ciggy De La Noche who has just released his debut on Lobster Theremin sub-label Distant Hawaii.
Alongside the great line up we’ve invited our pals Get It Done to come and dress the venue as well. They do loads of great events aimed at social outreach and art accessibility and are really talented so check them out!
We’ve also started a monthly residency with Muziki at Trof NQ. It’s called Benga and it’s super exciting for us as Trof is a great little venue for a party and it’s an opportunity to play out a lot of the funk, afro and soul which doesn’t always get an outing on the radio.
Without wanting to give too much away there is also something musical coming from the ML camp later on in the year so keep you eyes open for that.
