Clash DJ Mix – Sidney Charles

Jackin' house delights...

Born plain Sidney Charles Hurricane Vieljans (yes, really), Hamburg's Sidney Charles is part of a new wave of producers taking house in fresh directions.

Drawn towards music via his first love of hip hop and prime R&B, the producer became entranced by early 90s house.

Fusing New York and New Jersey elements – buoyant basslines, jackin' percussion and soulful vocals – with some startlingly modern flourishes, the German artist quickly became a name to drop.

New mix 'House Lessons' is out now (PURCHASE LINK), a deft mosaic of influences and sounds which both illuminates Sidney Charles' roots and points out a few possible paths for his future.

Crafting an exclusive mix for Clash, expect big names under new guises, left field treats and total house bangers.

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I read that you started off by DJing hip hop and funk. Do those genres still influence any of your productions today?
It definitely does influence me in my creative process but mostly I get my inspiration of house music itself. If you know about the early times of house and its roots you will see that it also came out of hip hop & R&B. So both them in their past were very close to each other. When I listen to my old hip hop records I very often can create new ideas because the moods and vocal cuts give me inspiration to use certain elements to give some spice to my productions.

How would you describe your production style?
I would describe my style as very energetic, old school influenced house and techno Music. My beats are mainly characterized by heavy kicks, swingy hats and snares and groovy baselines. I try to avoid to put my music into specific genres as I think that would not be true and people could get a false image of what my music is about. I also don't want to make the same kind of music the whole time so I try to diverse with my ideas, grooves and arrangements. But I still think it is important to keep my 'red-line' so people can recognized productions as mine.

Tell us about the clubbing scene in Hamburg.
The clubbing scene in hamburg is cool and small. You have some nice venues like Waagenbau, which is a old garage underneath a train-bridge or Übel&Gefährlich which is an old Bunker from the war. You don't see so many of the big names playing in Hamburg but it has a nice underground scene which works with extraordinary concepts.

In terms of underground electronic music and clubs, do you feel that Hamburg gets unfairly overlooked in favour of Berlin?
No I dont think so at all. Berlins club scene is much more diverse – you only have to look into the event listings and compare Hamburg and Berlin. The biggest problem that Berlin has in my eyes is the techno-tourism. It's just bad for the vibe when people never really were interested in house and techno and only go to club because it is in a tourist guide. Hamburg doesn't have this problem so much. 

Tell us about your upcoming ‘House Lessons’ mix compilation.
So basically 'House Lessons' is a compilation/mixtape which includes only exclusive, unreleased tracks of mine and remixes from and for friends. 'House Lessons' refers to my first key release with the same name which brought me to the next level of my musical journey. I wouldn't say it's an album in the traditional sense. I would also say that in my stage of an artist I personally think an album is too early. The mixtape is also a representation of my actual sound and some work I did in the past.

Music-wise, what do you have planned for 2015?
The main thing Ive planned is definitely 'House Lessons'. But I'm also looking forward to a summer with lots of festival gigs, and of course Ibiza where I will have another residency. I made a lots of tracks during the winter and most of them are going to be released. I also worked on some ideas that could be un-typical for my style.

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Check out the mix below.

Tracklisting:
JT Donaldson – Make You Higher
Jordan Peak – Mall Road (Mirco Violi Raw Dub)
Tripmastaz – Taped (Djebali Garden Remix)
Solimano – Factor H (Solimano Tool Remix)
Chris Carrier – Zulu Spins
Tuccillo – Raw14
D Julz – I Say
Ejeca – Charger
Adam Beyer – The Nature Of Keys
Wolfey – Habit
Subb-an – Warp
Unknow – Unplugged Vibez

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'House Lessons' is out now (PURCHASE LINK).

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