Pizza Margot-rita

As the date of our next Border Commune event at Corsica Studios (the last one this year! – so get your tickets here) edges ever-closer, you may be itching to know more about the mysterious Margot who we have lined up between Masters Perc and Holden to deliver a two-hour live+DJ hybrid set in the main room.

The most dedicated trainspotters amongst you will already be familiar with the Margot name from recent James Holden sets, as the select band of releases on their Margot Records label have become a key part of his DJ-staple-diet. (Ivan Smagghe is apparently also a Margot Records fan, recently dubbing them “the next generation of dancefloor electronica” on his notable A Few Things From Ivan Smagghe blog). Or going even further back to 2006, the Margot name may have already made its way into your record box via the release of their Soft Cell cover The Torch on Germany’s ‘Great Stuff, which was remixed by Border Community’s own Germanic dance duo Extrawelt to massive effect.

But for those of you who aren’t lucky enough to have turned your record collecting into a full-time hobby, consider this your own personal induction into the ways of our awesome new signings from Italy, Margot, whose Kraut-tastic ‘France 2 EP’ Border Community debut will find its way into your favourite record shops on 25th October (forming the second part of the collectable limited edition vinyl series that was kicked off with Avus‘ Poppy EP).

We begin by way of a special taster for Friday night, in the form of this example of their unique live+DJ hybrid set, freshly uploaded to our Mixcloud profile. Margot are already an established name on the club circuit in their native Italy, but this will be the duo’s first UK showcase of what happens when Pepe’s impressive DJ skills are modified by the addition of vocals and interactive dynamic live versions of their own material as provided by his partner-in-crime Giaga Robot. For more of an idea on how that works in practice, may I refer you to the following set:

But if that 25th October release date of the ‘France 2 EP’ still seems like a long way off, luckily Margot already have a healthy back-catalogue of Margot Records releases (by themselves and various hometown friends) which are available for you to snap up right now from Beatport or Juno to temporarily sate your desires. And here is a handy guide to the highlights, according to main-fan James Holden:

1. Margot – Goblin Think
“The wild free live-bass romp that first convinced me that Pepe & Giaga are geniuses…”

2. Margot – Punch
“Finely judged – driving and heads-down-powerful without straying into spiky-hair-white-boy territory.”

3. Vaghe Stelle – Ciclo 5
“Spiralling is one of my favourite music adjectives, and this song sounds like it was written just to fit that description.”

4. Margot – Vorticiccione
“Impeccably restrained and beautiful in just how simple it is, proof that i should have realised how good Margot were a long time ago..!!”

5. Matteo Scaioli – Blu
“Warm and delicately made work from a fellow analogue-o-phile.”