CITY: CALGARY

Calgary seems to get a raw deal when it comes to judgements on the cultural merits of the Canadian city. After hearing that it was an 'oil' or 'cowboy' city I was surprised by the amount of cafes, boutiques, arts and music events on offer during my first visit. My second visit earlier this year was even more rewarding as I was invited to DJ at the Northern Lights party at HiFi club and spend some time checking out more of Calgary with one of the organizers, MrGeography. The experience gave me a closer introduction to the supportive and cross collaborative nature of the creative community in the city, something other aspiring cultural hubs could look to for inspiration. Look out for an interview with Mr Geography's RinseOut crew on the DO IT! blog soon, meantime keep up to date with mixes, events and tips from the guys via their site here.
Calgary snaps by Alexander Horne and Julie Arrive.

CITY: BERLIN

Finally made it to Berlin after five years of trying, cannot wait to go again. Locals may sway in favor of pre-gentrification past times but, the city still has a unique spirit compared to most other urban destinations. Panorama Bar was of course a deeply satisfying experience, took me back to visiting Rex for the first time in my teen years. Best bar was Paloma though, for the post-apocalyptic Blade Runner meets Warriors building and train station view out the futuristic angled windows.
Berlin phone snaps by Alexander Horne

MUSIC: RA REVIEWS

With just a few weeks until Sonar Barcelona time, June 16-18, and to coincide with the announcement of RA's  anticipated off Sonar events and special tenth anniversary celebrations - what better time to have a brief look over some of the releases I recently reviewed for the RA website.

It would be no understatement to say that Brian D'Souza aka Auntie Flo is somewhat of a pioneer in Scotland's highly reputed and tightly packed electronic music scene. From being one of the first promoters to bring Riccardo Villalobos to UK shores, embracing AV and live multi-DJ performance via his Edinburgh night Pogo Vogue and most recently holding down residencies at two of Glasgow's most acclaimed nights serving new world music (Afro Futures) and dark underground italo and Detroit respectively (Slabs of The Tabernacle). When not playing alongside the likes of Shackleton, T Williams and Mike Paradinas -  It was just a matter of time until a label worthy of his quality took the next logical step in putting out his own productions.  Check out the review of his full debut EP for Huntley and Palmers here. Auntie Flo plays live at DO IT! Abz on the 13th May!

From one new independent label to one that has managed to reach out to heads into dubstep, house and hip hop through some heavy bubbling underground releases. Run from the Dublin based record store, All City is the creative endeavour of Olan O'Brien - a true digger and finder for new and old musical gems. Somehow each release on the label manages to weigh up the sound of now with something that reminds us of the music we loved yesteryear - a vision no less apparent than in the first EP from the collab. series featuring jazzy beats magician Mike Slott and the dubbed out machine city techno of Martyn. A glittery space beats journey on one side and a straight down the road 4x4 club journey on the flip - just how they used to make them. Read about the EP in detail here.

Likewise released on All City, Krystal Klear is apparently a, one a few it seems, heir to Dam Funk's future boogie throne. He does his reputation some real good here with this solid release capped off in style with an old school piano house remix from HudMo. Check out more track info here.

Norge 2009-2010

For the past two years I have been living in Norway, initially working as a project leader for a material and trends company (Nordic Materials) in an idyllic town on the West coast and latterly going it alone as a graphic designer in Oslo (Alexander Horne). I went head to head with the harsh Winters, learned how to run a single person company the hard way and met some life affirming folks - particularly through music. Takk for sist Norge, from 2011 I am based in London.

photos: Norway 2008 - 2010 by Alexander Horne