You should be familiar faces to Hospitality fans but for those who don’t know you can you briefly explain who you are and what you do?

We are Cam and Joe and we make stupid noises for a living. We then test them out every weekend to masses of drunk guinea pigs.

“Sigma” – is that a maths thing, just a cool name or is there another meaning behind it?

It’s the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, and carries the ‘S’ sound. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 200. When used at the end of a word, and the word is not all upper case, the final form (ς) is used. So basically, its just a cool name… no meaning what so ever.

5 words to describe the Sigma sound?

Big, fat, jumpy, hair, ball.

Now you met at Uni in Leeds but where are you based now? 

We are both based in the South at the minute. We hook up most weeks and hammer out ideas in Joe’s studio. We both have our own studios but also work remotely online to save time etc. It’s easy to bounce ideas across the net so that when you come together no time is wasted.

We’re big fans of your work and coincidentally, you’ve got a track on our new “Hospitality Summer D+B 2012″ album. Tell us a bit about that and the hook up with Takura?

Thanks! Well, we originally had an lo res vocal sample in place and when you guys at Hospital asked us if we had any tunes going, we dusted off the track, gave it a brand new mixdown and logically asked Takura to vocal it. We have been a big fan of his since his work with Chase and Status, so it was a pleasure working with him. The track is what we like to do best – vibes, big summer vibes!

And what else have you got going on at the moment?

We are currently working on a bulk of new material and at some point we are going to call it an album. We have been testing out the new bits and are really happy with the reaction they have been getting. Joe is currently in the States supporting Rusko.

Cool. So looking beyond this, what other artists are you feeling right now?

We love most of the stuff that Hype sends to us; really feeling what Sub Zero is doing at the minute and he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves. Culture Shock always delivers tracks that we love but we don’t get enough of them! We are also really looking forward to the new Netsky and the Upbeats album.

We’re really looking forward to welcoming you down to Hospitality Brighton on Sun 3rd June. Have you been to Brighton before and if so do you have any tips? 

We have played there a few times now, always a good party. I would get some fish heads and go crabbing! Then go eat some fresh fish. Probably the worst advice ever tbh!

It’s the Jubilee weekend that weekend; are you pro or anti monarchy? And how will you be spending the bank holiday days off?

We are neither here nor there but it is nice when the country comes together a bit to celebrate an occasion. Saying that, we will probably be gigging or in the Studio!

You’ll be playing alongside Wilkinson, Cyantific and Nu:Tone – what are your favourite tracks by each of these artists?

Wilkinson – Tonight (Ram Records)

Cyantific – 88mph (Hospital Records)

Nu:Tone – System (Hospital Records)

Hold tight 3rd June! Any final words to Hospitality fans out there?

Bring some spare pants, its going to get sweaty in there. Hopefully the sun might be out by then!!

You can catch Sigma alongside Nu:Tone, Cyantific and Wilkinson at Hospitality Brighton on Sunday 3rd June at Digital with MCs Wrec, Ruthless and Darrison hosting. BUY TICKETS HERE!

Arguably the most important aspect of a festival is the line-up, and this year’s line up is well worth checking out: up on the bill are Justice Live, Paul Kalkbrenner Live, Skrillex Live, Pendulum & Knife Party, Chase & Status, T.E.E.D, Stephan Bodzin and Noisia to name but a few and on top of that Hospital are hosting their very own Hospitality stage. There will be something for every electronic music lover, going from minimal to Drum & Bass and everything in between.

The Urban Art Forms festival is a weekender which takes place in Austria once a year and has been going on since 2005. It is the biggest electronic music festival in Austria and one of the biggest in Europe, having hundreds of acts and attracting tens of thousands visitors each year. Something the Urban Art Forms festival stands out for are the amazing visuals which accompany the music. As the name indicates, the focus isn’t just on electronic art in matters of sound but also in matters of vision.

Check out this tent with projections in 2010, my favorite picture from the past few years of UAF.

Over the past years the festival has grown in every possible aspect and that’s why, for the eighth edition, the festival was moved near the city of Graz which is about 200km south of Vienna. As it is usually the case with festivals in Austria, the location is near a lake which will be a good place to hang out with your friends after partying all night, meet some nice people and keep your beers cool. Due to all the great stories I’ve heard from friends, past line ups, pictures and videos my expectations are very high, but just by knowing that this is going to be Hospitality’s Austria debut, I think it is safe to say that it’s going to be beyond awesome!

Up on the Hospitality line up for the 7th of July are: High Contrast, Camo & Krooked, Netsky, Loadstar, SPY and Fred V & Grafix, all giving the Austrian crowd a taster of what Hospitality events are like. Most the acts have already played at the monthly Urban Art Forms Drum + Bass night called “Futurebeatz” based at the notorious flex club, just that they normally headline the event on their own!

After having played at every edition of the Urban Art Forms festival since 2008, Austria’s very own Camo & Krooked are going to continue this tradition in style by headlining the Hospitality stage. They are hands down my favourite artists and I’m looking forward to see them tangling up their hands on the mixer yet again, pulling sick mixes (or acapellas) out of nowhere. They are always tearing it up no matter where they are playing, but trust me, Camo & Krooked playing out in Austria is something special, just like seeing High Contrast in Cardiff or Netsky in Belgium – something you have to witness once.

What a way to celebrate the debut show in Austria! See you there, and as the UAF crew likes to say before each Futurebeatz night: “You know it will make you sexier!” To get you in the mood, check out this video in which Camo is keeping it very… Urban!

Words by: Nicolas Basty

You can catch Hospitality @ Urban Art Forms Festival with: High Contrast feat. Dynamite MC & Jessy Allen, Camo & Krooked feat. Ayah Marar and MC Youthstar, Netsky, Loadstar, S.P.Y, Fred V & Grafix. BUY TICKETS HERE!

Having started life as a club night curated by UK dance music duo Groove Armada, the festival has ballooned from its humble beginnings at 93 Feet East to hosting tens of thousands of festival goers each year.  Over the years Lovebox has been graced by an eclectic array of talent from Blondie to Sly and the Family Stone, whilst this years line up features a number of hot headliners including Hot Chip, Friendly Fires, the enigmatic Grace Jones and chart smashing superstar Lana Del Rey, plus Emeli Sande and plenty more.

Nevertheless, whilst Friday and Saturday promise big things with a Rinse stage, a Digital Soundboy stage, plus Magnetic Man, and Sub Focus Live, as well as a wealth of other acts, come Saturday there’ll only be one befitting destination for D+B heads…. and that’s the Hospitality stage. All Hospital’s big guns will be out in force on a billing that sees label mainstays Danny Byrd, the Gresham brothers Nu:Tone & Logistics plus resident cinematographer High Contrast all line up alongside Hospital head honcho London Elektricty. Recent singings Fred V & Grafix together with Brazilian DnB don S.P.Y will be there too, not forgetting a duo that have smashed it of late, the mighty Camo & Krooked! The Hospital family will welcome on board two very special guests for the day; the legendary David ‘Ram Jam’ Rodigan and Shogun Audio lads, The Prototypes.

Completing the bill,  Netsky makes his return and will be bringing his LIVE show to Lovebox which you may have seen at Hospitality Brixton back in April! This one’s not just a fancy light display, but a full band featuring Boris Netsky himself on keyboards & FX, Michael Schack representing on drums, with Babl also on keys. The band will be joined on stage by Darrison. To add to the pre-festival hype, Netsky has treated us to two fresh cuts from his forthcoming LP “Netsky 2″; ‘Give & Take’ along with ‘Come Alive’ have been setting the tone for what looks to be a huge follow up to Netsky’s self-titled 2010 debut. With the album’s full release due at the end of June, festival goers will be among the first to hear upfront material.  This looks sure to be an unmissable moment, where Drum + Bass goes LIVE in a festival atmosphere.

Another set to watch out for and no doubt rammed full of brand new material will be Logistics. Celebrating the release of his fifth studio album, ‘Fear Not’, Logistics continues to solidify his reputation for producing some of the finest D+B known to man, at a prolific rate. With hundreds of his own original productions to select from, teamed with the freshest dub plates. Expect turf to fly as Logistics tears up the dancefloor festival style!

In the meantime head over to Annie Mac’s blog to a free track from the man himself HERE or check it in the player below!

After a self imposed DJing hiatus, the Rave Digger, Mr Danny Byrd has made Lovebox the first stop on his return to the decks. No doubt he will be spinning an eclectic mix of tunes oozing with feel good vibes, perfect for the festival atmosphere. Anyone who witnessed what went down at the Byrdman’s set at Creamfields last summer can attest to such.

All in all, there’s a lot to get excited about. With a cracking line up set in place let’s hope that May gets all the rain out of its system so that come June 16th Loveboxer’s can rave it up in a day of bass and sunlight. If you’ve not put the date in the diary already, click HERE to book your ticket. Don’t sleep on this one Lovebox is going to be BIG!

Check out what went down at last year’s event:

Words by: James K Paterson

Make sure you catch Hospitality @ Lovebox Festival on Saturday 16th June with: Netsky, High Contrast, David Rodigan, Camo & Krooked, Danny Byrd, London Elektricity, S.P.Y, Logistics, Nu:tone, The Prototypes, Fred V & Grafix. Hosted by: Dynamite MC,Wrec, Lowqui, SP:MC, AD, Risky + live vocalists: Jessy Allen & Ayah Marar. BUY TICKETS HERE!