July 2nd last year was Blackout Tuesday. It was meant to be a day of reflection for black people and others in the community which would lead to long term changes. In reality? The suspicion that it was just treated as an excuse to stick up a black box on…
Friend Within caused a combination of surprise and dismay when he posted on his Twitter feed the other day that he was now being sent records that were less than 3 minutes long. People keep asking why this is happening more and more. I've written in the past about how…
I got an interesting email in the inbox yesterday. It's from a friend of mine who's been catching up on the contents of this fine blog. He had one thing to say that particularly caught my attention... "You should seriously start a dance music news site. You just don't give…
133bpm UK garage style! But of course, if that isn't your thing, nice soulful house! Out now on Traxsource. Never let it be said Amateur At Play doesn't give you variety...
Thanks to those of you who have been getting behind this forthcoming release. There's been the odd "not for me", but I've also seen support from some unexpected quarters. Always nice! Preorders are now being taken on Traxsource. Simply add it to your basket and you'll have it on the…
Some people have the strangest perception of music producers. They seem to think that we're umbilically attached to our own studios, unable to function without them. They also harbour the idea we're essentially a bunch of willy wavers who are desperate to get one up - pardon the pun -…
I'm not going to be releasing any more tracks during 2020. There's no more remixes due until the New Year, to the best of my knowledge. So you might as well use this lull in my output to stock up on any releases you might have missed in this mad…
These are highly exceptional times. Many of the traditional avenues for making money are currently closed, so DJs are resorting to very different measures to raise some money. For example, Carl Cox has written a book. Derrick Carter has taken to selling his old equipment. Sterling Void is continuing his…
Questions continue to come in about my comments on this page regarding Erick Morillo, who died early last week. I seem to be getting it from all sides over this, suggesting to me that I've got this about right - but nonetheless, I'll address one or two points that have…
You never want to piss me off. I do grudges very well. But you especially don't want to piss off producer Neil Hipkiss. Sterling Void did precisely that to him, robbing him of no less than £2000. I won't go into the long story behind it, other than to say…