In addition to the headline-grabbing big hitters such as Carl Craig, The Very Best, Friendly Fires, Theo Parish and pals, the Stop Making Sense festival will also showcase the estimable talents of some of the UK’s best upcoming DJs and producers, and none more so than Nick Agha, a Brixton-based house and techno zealot best known for being the brains behind club/events company Don’t Panic. Below we caught up with Nick to find out more and also there’s a free mix of his for you to download for free! Aren’t we good to you?
Tell us about the mix you’ve recorded for SMS?
My productions range between deep house and techno but I wanted to keep this mix on the house tip to create the feeling of outside daytime dancing in sunny Croatia. It gets more slamming in the middle with an abstract peak with my track satellite over and out of Nikola Gala and into some Levon remix genius mellowing again with some old school productions at the end. I haven’t mastered my tracks so it was tough mixing and EQing these waves into vinyl so sorry if the sound quality isn’t the best but I think I’ve achieved a live raw loose which is important to me. All the effects are done live in the mix with a midi controller.
Any exclusives on there?
There’s 8 exclusive tracks of mine on there which until released we can call works in progress.
Summer’s coming, what’s on the agenda?
Got my first release scheduled on a great new label Canta run by some serious young house heads really into the music and the scene as well as the creative and design element of the label towards the end of Summer and a few other labels interested. Definitely hitting Sonar and hopefully a holiday to Borneo!
Tell us about your latest projects?
Really it’s the music all the time and Don’t Panic keeps me pretty busy.
What current artists are you drawing inspiration from right now?
Levon, Omar, Prosumer, Qu, Jus Ed.
What are you favourite/biggest tunes of the moment?
Party People Clap / Doublejointed Cosmodrome
What can we expect from your show at Stop Making Sense?
More of the same music-wise hopefully with a visual element if its possible.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing play at the festival?
So many! Juan Atkins, Theo, Patrice, Wbeeza, Giles and James, Rob Summerhayes, Girlcore.
Any unusual festival tips?
Don’t forget the magic word.
Where will we find you at sunrise on Sunday morning?
Dancing on the beach hopefully.
DJ’s Sam Willis and Steve Nolan go by the name Allez Allez and with their distinctive prog-disco techno sound, it will be hard to miss them at this years 
We caught up with Russ for a few words about the mix, what you can expect from his Saturday afternoon beach bar set at 
Benjamin Benstead, or rather Benji B is probably best known for his Radio 1Xtra radio show, running since the station opened in 2002. Either that or it’s the dance club he owns regularly hosting Skream, MJ Cole and of course himself as part of his infamous “Deviation” nights. He can also be seen world-wide, all year round and if you’re lucky enough to be in Croatia this September, you might just catch him there too at this years 
With over 31,000 followers on MySpace and years of extensive gigs behind him, Norfolk’s very own Nathan Fake will be hitting Croatia performing, amongst many other DJs, at 
The Kaje 