Episode 51 has been put together by Cheshire based DJ & Producer Lempo. Lempo’s released on labels such as strictly rhythm, SupaEarth Records as well as his own label Applique music.
Has worked with the likes of Artful Dodger, Marshall Jefferson & Nancy Sinatra, and produced remixes for Snoop Dogg, General Levy, and Dawn Penn. I think it goes without saying we’re really excited to have him on the blog. Catch our interview with him below.
Lempo’s latest single (Which features in this mix) is now available to pre-order from Beatport. ‘Dance Without Reason‘ is a joint venture between Lempo and Roland Clark. Its summery, uplifting tones are the perfect accompaniment to any summer evening. Don’t sleep. Get on that pre-order now. Order here
Hey Lempo, thanks for putting a mix together for All My Friends. I’m really excited to chat with you today. We’ve got loads to cover so let’s dive straight in. I always like to start my interviews by asking my guests to tell us their music story. When did you start DJing & producing? What made you pick up a record and what has your journey looked like up to this very interview?
Hi Liam, firstly, thanks so much for inviting me to do an All My Friends interview and guest mix. My musical education began on the backseat of my parent’s car and in the venues they ran during my childhood – I was always fascinated by the DJ’s. I had steady exposure to Soul, Funk, Disco, and Glam-Rock. In particular artists such as David Bowie, Chic, James Brown, Queen, and The Beatles. This gave me a head-start on most of the DJ’s my age as I had commercial music knowledge well beyond my years.
My journey actually started on the opposite side of the decks when I was part of a breakdance crew, I’m well aware of how ridiculous this sounds. It was due to an injury that I rekindled my interest in DJing, so you could say it happened by default. I was still going to events while on crutches, but I would spend my time in the booth watching the DJ’s, I already knew the records but didn’t know too much about how to control the mixer or 1210’s. I fancied my chances and after mithering the DJ’s to let me have a go, eventually one of them buckled, and I got my opportunity – it turned out I was a natural at beatmatching. My parents invested in a set of decks for me… I had the bug immediately and decided to stay in the booth rather than returning to the dancefloor. I started covering some nights at Revolution on Oxford Road which led to my first residency in 2000. At this point, I was mainly playing 80’s and 90’s hip-hop with the odd classic I’d pinched from my Dad’s record collection.
It wasn’t until a lads holiday in Ibiza that I discovered house music, I saw Fatboy Slim and Carl Cox play B2B in the main room at Space. It was amazing, the first real clubbing experience for me, I was in awe of the tracks they were playing and the connection between them and the crowd – once I got back to the UK I went on a mission to identify some of the records and add them to my collection. It wasn’t as easy back then, no shazam, you actually had to hunt for treasure – I use to spend hours with my head in the crates at Piccadilly Records, the Vinyl Exchange and a little record shop local to me called Ken Palk. This helped make me quite a unique DJ, the vast range of influences was now making my sets very eclectic. It didn’t take long for me to find a few more residencies at bars in Cheshire and Manchester as an open format DJ. My style continued to evolve until I was mainly focussed on four to the floor with lots of vocal samples from well-known tracks I knew worked for the crowds.
My big break came in 2006 when I secured my place as resident DJ for the ‘Bitch’ brand at Sankeys. After a couple of years ‘Bitch’ relocated to Venus, The Club, where I was playing monthly warm-up sets before the headliners. This was the exposure I needed and the word was getting out about my DJing, before long I was making regular appearances for Mint Club in Leeds, Cream in Liverpool, Pacha and Ministry of Sound in London – eventually I got onto the festival circuit most notably with Parklife and Mint Festival, I even started playing at several venues in Ibiza.
The peak of my touring was in 2009 when I was working up to 4 nights a week and, on many occasions, more than one show. This was when I realised if I wanted to progress even further, I needed to start making my own records. I started trying my hand at edits, using tracks I would normally mix in a set as the foundation to make my own bootlegs. I was taking lessons in Cubase from Nick Hussey and spending a lot of time in Stockport at Barry James Thomas’ Prolific Studios. Nick and Barry are both really great guys, Nick is a phenomenal keys player, Barry is that showboating mate that plays guitar with his teeth and can still kick your ass on Fifa after 10 pints – they’re a pair of industry nice guys.
Barry has featured on lead vocals for a couple of my tracks, one was actually a collab with Nick called ‘Wild’ that we recorded at his Unit 26 Studio in Media City – it was a brilliant session, lots of laughing and storytelling, that was the last time the three of us were together, they’re both sunning it up in hotter climates now… bas**rds!
My first official release wasn’t until 2009, an EP on Wonked Records called ‘The Death of Micky Fidget’, Micky Fidget was an alias I had used for a short while during the transition from open format DJ to house DJ. The release title was meant to signify the birth of Lempo, this would now become my artist name for both production and DJ performance. I worked with Jon Craig, Kelevra, Jay Robinson, and Wonk respectively on the 4 tracks, although when I hear them now, it makes me cringe – but we all gotta start somewhere, right?
Let’s chat music. Could you talk through your mix, it’s a really upbeat 70 minutes of house that touches on loads of genres. Did much planning go into your selection or was putting this mix together a more organic thought process?
Actually, yes! I spent a while thinking about the selection that would include ‘All My Friends’ or at least as many as possible without it becoming a 3-hour marathon. It isn’t just artists who I’ve worked with in the studio, there’s also the one’s I’ve remixed or who have frequently been involved with my parties.
The mix kicks off with my ‘No More’ single featuring Victoria-Jane from 2018, a record which is very personal to me, I wrote and produced the track with my good friend Chris Robinson shortly after I had heart surgery, we dedicated the record to The British Heart Foundation with all proceeds going to the charity to help fund cardiovascular research. If you’ve not already seen it, check out the music video on my YouTube channel – it’s an emotional one.
There’s a couple of Princess Superstar tracks in the mix, I’ve worked with Concetta (Princess Superstar) on several projects where she was the featured artist, she’s an American rapper based in New York and I’m a big fan of the attitude in her vocals. I opted for our ‘Turnin’ Trix’ single with Will Darling from earlier this year as one of my own productions to include – alongside her ‘Perfect Exceeder’ mash-up with Mason from 2006, it’s still a banger!
I chose to include the aptly titled 2008 single ‘Hi Friend’ by Deadmau5 featuring Canadian rapper, MC Flipside. Undoubtedly my favourite Deadmau5 record. It still sounds as fresh today as it did when I first heard it.
I worked with MC Flipside on my ‘Goinout’ single in 2016. One thing that will always remind me of this record is The Albert Hall, I was playing at the venue with Steve Aoki on the day I got the master back, so the first time I ever dropped it was there, a nice memory of an amazing venue.
Two other Lempo tracks are in the mix. My 2012 single ‘Jack In Boots’ with Japwow and Nancy Sinatra on Susu Music, this record started off as a bootleg of Nancy’s 1966 classic ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’, the label gained sample clearance and Nancy was happy for it to become a feature. It’s a mad thing to release a record with Frank Sinatra’s daughter – but it happened! We had some chart success too, seeing placements in the Music Week Club Chart, Beatport, and iTunes.
Then there’s the 2019 single ‘Dance Master’ with Ruff Diamond on Applique Music. I’ve worked with the extremely talented Chris Robinson (Ruff Diamond) on lots of projects, both as collaborating artists and on brand commercials. We’ve even remixed each other – one of the coolest sessions I’ve ever had was with Chris was at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London, the place is drenched in history, we were like a pair of kids in a sweetshop. He’s a genius, I’ve so much time and respect for him, he’s taught me a great deal about the industry and become one of my closest friends. The big thing for me on this particular record was the vocals, they’re actually me… I’m the Dance Master!
As well as paying homage to some house classics (Mr Fingers will always have a place in my heart) you’ve also sprinkled the mix with a few of your own remixes including your official remixes of Snoop Dogg, General Levy & Dawn Penn. It seems remixes have been a big part of your success. What role have they played in your development as an artist and how can up-and-coming producer leverage remixing to help themselves get established?
In the beginning, there was Jack and Jack had a groove… is there a more iconic vocal in house music? I don’t think so. I love that record, more importantly, Chuck Roberts unmistakable spoken word vocal. I decided to include the classic ‘Can you Feel It’ by Mr. Fingers, not just because it was one of the records that pioneered Chicago house but also as I’ve been lucky enough to work with Chuck on co-writing a track recently, the man’s voice is like silk.
As far as remixes go, I’ve not personally done that many officially, half a dozen maybe – I would defo say remixing or making bootlegs and edits is a solid starting point for budding producers to get noticed, but I’ve also learned that commissions for bigger names come once you’ve already established yourself through original productions.
My first real go at remixing was Snoop Dogg’s ‘Let Me Hit It’ on Docka Records in 2017. The only part I was given was the Accapella of Snoop’s vocal, it was madness to be working with his voice – I hired Jon Craig’s Courthouse Studio at The Old Granada Studios just for this project, it was another session I’ll never forget and it was made even better when the release went top 5 on Beatport.
In 2018 myself and Ruff Diamond were commissioned to do an official co-remix of Dawn Penn’s Reggae anthem ‘No No No’ for London based Big Mix Up Records, this was also great fun to work on at Ruff’s SupaEarth studio in Knutsford, such an iconic vocal. I have done quite a few projects with Big Mix Up, the label is run by Toni Toolz, another industry nice guy – I had the honour of remixing drum & bass legend, General Levy on his 2017 ‘Move’ release with Toni.
My remix performed incredibly well on the download stores, topping Traxsource, Juno Download and TrackitDown, 8th in the Music Week Club Chart, and 12th on Beatport’s Top 100 releases. I’ve also included a second General Levy record as the last track on the mix-tape, it doesn’t need a big intro, I’ll just say… Jungle is Massive!
You’ve also got a big release on Strictly Rhythm coming out in June. The tracks called Dance Without A Reason; can you tell us how this came about? Having a release on Strictly Rhythm must be pretty mad!
It’s truly a dream come true. I’m not just saying that – Strictly is one of my favourite house labels, for their level of consistency and the artists who have graced the imprint. Following in the footsteps of Erick Morillo, Todd Terry, Armand Van Helden, Roger Sanchez… I could go on, but I won’t.
It’s a true milestone in my career, and I hope it will be the first of many. ‘Dance Without A Reason’ has been a long-time coming, the process started in the Summer of 2016, when I spent some of the Ibiza season with Roland Clark and our then shared manager, Stu Smith. Roland recorded the vocal in Atlanta and sent it back to me in the UK, it’s taken years to get right, mainly down to the horns section. That’s a long story in itself – maybe one for another time.
I need to say a special thanks to Chris Robinson for his co-production, additional synth work, putting down the beautiful guitar session and mixing the track, he’s been my rock on this project – I’m so pleased with the final product. I was a long-term admirer of Roland’s work, notably his collaborations on Fatboy Slim’s ‘Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars’ album and his feature on Armand Van Helden’s ‘Flowerz’ taken from the ‘2 Future 4 U’ album, which I’ve included in the mix. I met Armand backstage at Pacha in 2013, he’s every bit as cool as you’d expect – proper geezer!
As well as producing music you also host a radio show called Twisted Melon. It must be nice having a regular show on the airwaves to try out new tunes and play some killer b-sides. How do you approach your radio shows?
I’ve been doing radio as long as I can remember, it started with ‘The Lempo & Carr Show’ with co-host Jono Carr, on Cheshire FM from 2010 to 2012 and then ‘The Bitch Show,’ on Unity Radio from 2012 to 2014.
Twisted Melon has been broadcasting since November 2014 and is currently syndicated on Cafe Mambo Radio and Data Transmission. I’ve basically been recording one of my DJ sets each month and that is the basis for the show. I hunt for the freshest tunes and then add my flavour to it. I try to champion my own productions and forthcoming releases on my Applique Music label. If you fancy tuning in, every episode is available for playback on my Mixcloud page.
You can expect a four to the floor cocktail of sample-heavy house and disco music — with a cameo from Shaun Ryder. The name ‘Twisted Melon’ is a salute to the Happy Monday’s classic ‘Step On’, Shaun was good enough to record me some jingles when the show launched, one of them is on the intro to the guest mix.
Talking about club culture and clubbing you also run a party called Eivissa Partido. Tell us how that got started and what’s the mission behind the night? You’ve hosted several events in Knutsford with big names like Marshall Jefferson & Artful Dodger that must be exciting bringing big names to a smaller venue outside of Manchester or London.
Eivissa Partido is the annual Royal May Day event I’ve been promoting since 2014, in the historic town of Knutsford, Cheshire. I lived in the area for a number of years and many of my friends were finding it increasingly difficult to make it to my shows as they were all starting families and working full-time, so the mission was to bring the party to them.
The concept is mental, but it just works, I transform Marston’s pub, ‘The Legh Arms’ into a nightclub for one night every year, but not just any night… May Day! Which is bigger than Christmas to the locals and Eivissa Partido has become part of that tradition – I’m very proud to have brought iconic DJ’s and friends such as, Artful Dodger, Brandon Block, Judge Jules, K-Klass, Phats & Small and Marshall Jefferson to party with us.
I’ve echoed the Eivissa Partido vibe in the mix, by blowing the dust of some timeless classic’s such as Marshall’s genre-defining Trax release ‘Move Your Body’ – Marshall was so cool, I got to spend some time just chatting with him before his set, he actually lives in Manchester now.
My good pal’s Russ & Paul (K-Klass) have been key figures in my career, we’ve collaborated on productions, they’ve been guest performers at many of my parties and on my radio shows, and if that’s not enough, earlier this year they remixed one of my singles. I chose to go with their 90’s anthem, ‘Let Me Show You’ in the mix as a nod to their positive influence on me both as a DJ and producer.
I’ve also included Phats & Small’s 1999 hit single ‘Turn Around’, although I’ve never worked in the studio with Jason & Ben (Phats & Small), they have headlined Eivissa Partido twice and we’ve always had a good laugh together. If you don’t like this record… Hey, what’s wrong with you?
Wrapping up the Eivissa Partido connection on the mix-tape is my ‘Playboy Bunny’ track with Japwow and Mark Hill (Artful Dodger), which featured my good friend and star of Hollyoaks, Ashley Taylor Dawson on lead vocals. I’ve worked with Ashley’s vocals on several projects, countless events and we toured together as a B2B DJ act for a few years – he’s got great energy and we’ve always enjoyed good times. We traveled down to Mark’s (Artful Dodger) studio in Southampton for a weekend in the Summer of 2013, I was a bit star-struck at the time to be working with Mark after the huge success of Craig David’s ‘Born To Do It’ album which he’d co-written and produced. ‘Playboy Bunny’ reached number 1 on Juno Download and 54 on iTunes while gaining support on BBC Radio One with plugs from Greg James and Nick Grimshaw.
Mark headlined Eivissa Partido in 2015, me and Ashley also played B2B that year. Artful Dodger’s Garage classic, ‘Movin’ Too Fast’ featuring Romina Johnson was a no-brainer for inclusion on the mix, Mark has been an inspiration to me and someone always ready to offer trusted feedback and advice.
If producing, hosting a radio show and club night wasn’t enough you also run your own label Applique Music. Firstly, how do you find the time? And secondly, what’s the mission behind Applique? Would you say the label a good reflection of your style and influences? And what other labels have you released with that you’d say have been influential in your development?
Finding time is getting harder, on top of all my music endeavours I also have a full-time job as a Designer & Art Director at advertising agency, McCann. Plus, I’m a family man, married with two ankle biters – it’s tough, but if you can get the balance right, it’s just about time management and focusing your energy on the right thing at the right time. My family and friends are all very supportive, wifey, in particular, has put up with a lot more than most would, she deserves a medal.
I launched Applique Music in July 2011; the label started as a springboard for up and coming Mancunian artists. Since then, we have established ourselves in the underground house space as a coveted label. Our roster now has more than 200 artists from around the world, such as Ben Pearce, Franky Wah, Sidney Charles and Masters At Work. We’ve gone on to build a catalogue of over 100 releases, including over 20 number one sellers – which I’m immensely proud of. Our mission is very simple; have fun, be a solid platform for new talent, and deliver diggable tunes to dance floors.
Other labels I’ve released with that have had an impact on my development? Hmmm I’d have to say two deals stand out – When I signed ‘The Organ Grinder’ with Cr2 Records it felt amazing, it was the first big label that had offered a contract on one of my demos, I remember how buzzing I was to be on the same label as David Guetta and Fedde Le Grande, who were both knocking out hits for fun at the time.
Then there’s ‘House Doctor’ with Roland Clark, which we placed on Todd Terry’s InHouse Records. New York City is a huge part of my sound with the hip-hop influence and I’ve got amazing memories from visiting the big apple – Todd is also my favourite DJ, it was crazy being able to say I was signed to his label.
And finally, what are your plans post lockdown? Do you have any big parties you’re planning or any more releases on the horizon?
The biggest impact of lockdown for me was having to cancel this year’s‘ Eivissa Partido’ event, we had Cream and Radio One legend, Seb Fontaine booked to headline – the show will go ahead but obviously we’ve missed the boat on the traditional May Day date. I can’t wait to get back in a club to play, live streaming is a nice way to connect with fans and allows the culture into people’s homes, but it just doesn’t come with the same buzz you get from a packed-out venue. I’m especially excited about returning to Ibiza and taking in that first sunset at Mambo.
On the new music front, there’s a couple of biggies the pipeline, ‘Open House’ featuring Chuck Roberts, a chunky piano house joint with some old school vibes. At the time of this interview, this one isn’t signed yet, so you’ve got a world exclusive in the mix. Also, I have a track called ‘Lights On’ which was written with Ruff Diamond, Taz, and Princess Superstar last year, it’s a lovely blend of disco, house, and rap – hopefully, that’ll be completed and released in the coming months – watch this space!
Lempo’s latest single (Which features in this mix) is now available to pre-order from Beatport. ‘Dance Without Reason‘ is a joint venture between Lempo and Roland Clark. Its summery, uplifting tones are the perfect accompaniment to any summer evening. Don’t sleep. Get on that pre-order now. Order here
Tracklist
1. ‘No More’ – Lempo feat. Victoria-Jane [Applique Music] 2018
2. ‘Flowerz’ – Armand Van Helden feat. Roland Clark [Southern Fried Records] 1999
3. ‘Dance Without A Reason’ – Lempo & Roland Clark [Strictly Rhythm] 2020
4. ‘Can You Feel it’ – Fingers Inc. feat. Chuck Roberts [Rhythm Control] 1987
5. ‘Let Me Show You’ – K-Klass [Universal] 1993
6. ‘Move Your Body’ – Marshall Jefferson [Trax Records] 1986
7. ‘Goinout’ – Lempo feat. MC Flipside [Applique Music] 2016
8. ‘Open House’ – Lempo feat. Chuck Roberts [TBC] 2020
9. ‘Turnin’ Trix’ – Lempo & Will Darling feat. Princess Superstar [Applique Music] 2020
10. ‘Turn Around’ – Phats & Small [La Belle Noire] 1999
11. ‘Perfect Exeeder’ – Mason V.S. Princess Superstar [Ministry Of Sound] 2005
12. ‘Hi Friend’ – Deadmau5 feat. MC Flipside [Mau5trap] 2009
13. ‘Playboy Bunny’ – Lempo, Japwow, Artful Dodger feat. 80D [Applique Music] 2013
14. ‘Movin Too Fast’ – Artful Dodger feat. Romina Johnson [Locked On] 2000
15. ‘Move’ – General Levy & Toni Toolz (Lempo Remix) [Big Mix Up] 2017
16. ‘Jack In Boots’ – Lampo & Japwow feat. Nancy Sinatra [Susu Music] 2012
17. ‘Let Me Hit it’ – Snoop Dogg & Docka (Lempo Remix) [Docka Records] 2017
18. ‘No No No’ – Dawn Penn (Lempo & Ruff Diamond Remix) [Big Mix Up] 2019
19. ‘Dance Master’ – Lempo & Ruff Diamond [Applique Music] 2019
20. ‘Incredible’ – M Beat feat. General Levy [Renk] 1994
