ABOUT HOODOO

Hoodoo began life in Guangzhou in 2014 as a small party in a small bar with a small but loyal crowd. The name was derived from the iconic “Voodoo” techno club in the UK and the “Hoofer Doofer” electronic music festival which many of Hoodoo’s core members were principal organizers.
Voodoo was the club that many of the UK Hoodoo members regard as their spiritual home. From the mid 90’s Voodoo has been one of the one of the world’s best techno clubs and the hard, unrelenting style of techno had a big impact on many techno DJs, producers and promoters in the UK and abroad.
Hoodoo have always tried to maintain that style of techno in China, with their own events and with guest DJ spots at other clubs, and are well known for their uncompromising approach to their music.

Now, after 6 years of parties, they launch their record label with a compilation EP: Hoodoo – Night Rites Volume One, with featured artists who are all long-time associates, based both in China as well as in the UK.

ABOUT THE EP

NIGHT RITES VOLUME ONE - ARTISTS

BINNY

Binny is a product of the underground techno movement in Liverpool in the early 2000’s. The city was home to Cream, Bugged Out and Voodoo and was a hotbed of innovation of dance music. Voodoo in particular spawned other techno communities including Alcatraz, Rehab and Welly Ave; all of which Binny was always heavily involved in.
Even back then, Binny was known for a particularly high level of DJing, pulling off tight mixes of high difficulty with an exceptional record collection. He brought the same level of attention into his releases and has become one of the UK’s highest rated producers.
Many of his tracks have appeared on Dave Clarke’s White Noise Radio Show with tracks even being selected by Clarke for best tracks of the year on two separate occasions – 2015’s Subtractive Rhythm on Tactical Records and 2018’s Missing Link on EVOD.
2013’s No Surrender was one of the dominant club bangers of the year and had regular plays from Dave Clarke, Tim Xavier, Paul Mac, Jonas Kopp and Perc among others.

He has had releases on several large labels including a massive release, Devil’s Orchestra on Tortured Records and recently on Rennie Foster’s RF label.
His tracks have been remixed by techno greats such as Antigone, Zadig and Stephen Brown among others.

As part of Phantom Planet Outlaws (with John Heckle and Mark Forshaw) he released another dancefloor weapon package – Muscles From Space favoured by artists like Surgeon and Regis among others.
For Hoodoo Night Rites, Binny brings meticulous production and nightmarish energy with Downfall.

SHANGHAI ULTRA

Shanghai Ultra aka Cameron Wilson is a veteran DJ and producer China and, as the founder of VOID, is one of the most influential figures in the history of techno in Shanghai.
From the very first event at Shanghai’s Shelter club to the very last, Shanghai Ultra was a driving force and, with VOID, set the benchmark for serious techno in China giving many of the world’s best artists their China debuts.
Outspoken critic of the culture of DJ-worship, the masked DJ is even better known as a music producer and for live hardware performances using Roland's iconic Tr-909 drum machine and SH-101 synth.
His releases under the Shanghai Ultra moniker begin with 2012’s collaboration with MHP, The Chinese Connection released on Cratesavers, the label owned by the mighty Detroit Techno Militia.
Since then he has been remixed by Orlando Voorn and has most recently released his Retrospectivist EP on Shanghai’s newest label Volt.
His track on Hoodoo Night Rites is another challenge to perceived trends, No Modular Required.

PURPLE KEY

Hailing from Alexandria in Egypt, Purple Key has been a fixture of the Guangdong techno circuit for the past few years from his early days in Guangzhou to presently in Shenzhen.
As a DJ he has always focused on a jacking Chicago sound and leans into electro whenever the chance takes him. As a producer he has excelled in this and, having founded his own Cutt Records imprint, released one of the electro tunes of the year last year with Activate.
His track on Hoodoo Night Rites is a sure fire hit, If it’s Illegal I’ll Take 5 Ounces with a classic Detroit sound that is already getting picked up by DJs abroad.

Mervv

Mervv locked himself away in a studio for 6 months and has come out with an exceptional body of work and is set to be one of the Hoodoo labels big names over the next year with further EP and album releases planned.
His music is perfectly balanced between depth and groove and conjures to mind the work of artists like Levon Vincent and Larry Heard while as yet being completely unique to him.
His style often contains motifs of vocal samples used to great effect and that is on show immediately on Hoodoo Night Rites with Please Remain Serious.
He also brings elements of Detroit and the Chicago sound of Mr Fingers to life with Pure Transportation. Two massive tracks for the first release.

ABOUT THE EVENT

PURPLE KEY

On any given night Cutt Records boss, Purple Key, is probably locked away in his studio working his magic on synths and keys. He is a true representative of Chicago & Detroit Sound.
Purple Key started his musical journey as a producer and DJ in the early 2000’s. He shared the stage with many artists such as the Drexciyan, DJ Stingray, Developer, Basic Soul Unit, and many more. His musical style alters between soulful, vocal driven tunes and harder, rough acid tracks.
Purple Key will bring his DJ set to Kunming for the first time. His jacking Chicago grooves and Detroit style Electro brings the dancefloor heat of disco but with razor sharp, cutting edges for peak time ass shaking and fist pumping.

TRIBES

Hoodoo’s principal organizer in chief plays a mix of jacking house and tough techno.
Tribes has been a techno addict for the last twenty years after being entranced by the music growing up in the Northwest of England and attending clubs such as Voodoo and Bugged Out and dancing to the likes of Dave Clarke and Jeff Mills.
He has retained a love for the classic sounds of Detroit techno but always looks for new music to kick the dust off dancefloors. Heavy bass and textured rhythms are common themes but his is an eclectic taste. He performs at a wide range of parties from the pumping Detroit and Chicago style parties to darker industrial EBM and electro gigs and to the colourful sounds of Afro house and techno.
He has organised parties in the UK since he was a teenager, most notably the Hoofer Doofer Electronic Music Festival, and has brought that experience with him to China, spearheading the Hoodoo techno parties in Guangzhou for over six years.
Alongside regularly performing at his own events, Tribes has supported a number of international acts at Oil and has performed at several other music festivals including Clockenflap and Strawberry Festival.
He records regular podcasts and mixes and writes the articles and gig guides for the Hoodoo WeChat Official Account. He also takes an interest in visual production, graphic design, and is learning to produce his own music. He also sleeps sometimes.

S&M

Sam Manes aka S&M is often flown in from Kunming especially for Hoodoo's shows. He is a Los Angeles native and has dedicated years in and around the L.A. underground scene before starting a new life here in China.

He has a unique style of flowing techno, intelligently layered tracks from labels like Ilian Tape, Semantica, Sandwell District or The Bunker NY, mixed together with dynamic fluency. As a DJ and promoter he has stuck resolutely to his musical principles with his Ancient Rhythms parties in Kunming’s Vervo club and now at Dada.
He is one of the most knowledgeable and skillful DJs Hoodoo has ever invited to play and so it seemed natural to ask him to play on his home turf.