Henry Conway tells us how the Hed Kandi girls got their ‘Lash Looks’ for the night, and gives us the party low-down.

At Hed Kandi we not only love a party, we are the party, so when it came to launching the Hed Kandi by Eyelure Lashes, we had to do it with high-wattage glamour. The super exclusive Wyld bar at London’s glam W Hotel off Leicester Square, one of Kate Moss’s regular hangouts, was transformed into Hed Kandi heaven. Under what is the biggest glitterball in Europe (3 meters wide!), the cocktails flowed, as everyone got to glam up and try on the gorgeous new lashes.

We gathered together four of our most fabulous Hed Kandi DJs to rock the lash launch - Krystall Roxx, DJ Eibhlin, Stephanie Jay and Sarah Louise. It was up to me to style the girls fabulous, so why not a bit of the new French Connection Premium line and Chanel, I thought? Krystall Roxx loves her rocker leggings, so I teamed Mango leather wet look leggings with a disco 80s inspired blue top from French connection and belted it with a vintage metallic snakeskin number from Rokit. With a quiff and chunky chain jewellery she looked perfect for the heavy-eyed rock make up that her Twisted Disco lashes needed.

Next up was DJ Eibhlin, who’s gorgeous red hair looked divine with a dropped-waist copper coloured sequined flapper dress, again from French Connection Premium. My stylist’s tip for this look is that even though it is a highly embellished dress, don’t be afraid to belt it - I used a wide gold vintage belt to synch the waistline, and swung the buckle to the back, so it looked like an Obi belt, giving the dress shape. The buckle at the front would have made it too Bohemian. Big hair and Twisted Disco lashes completed her high glam look.

Stephanie Jay rocked a beautiful dusty pink ballerina dress from the range, but its vintage feel was toughened up by the stud-like silver sequins. The strapless, corseted shape can look too ‘princessy’ if not accessorized properly, so I added rocky ankle boots and a strong deco collar necklace. Her 70s disco blonde curls were pure Sex and the City, and we layered Jet Set and Disco Heaven eyelashes to give her eyes a fluttering full look.

Last to style was Sarah Louise, who looked every inch the super hot Disco Diva in French Connection Premium line gold sequined hotpants. Shorts are such a sexy alternative to skirts, and much more comfortable to party in. I teamed them with a black lace shirt to balance out the leg on show, and added two metallic stud cuffs. With this look, hair should be as big as you can make it – a proper blow out, and Sarah looked fabulous. There were squeals of delight as I distributed the handbags for the night – Sarah’s oversized classic quilted Chanel 2.55 being the envy of all the others. How on earth had I got hold of that? I hadn’t gone on a Victoria Beckham style shopping spree, just hired it from Wish Want Wear.com. Hiring really expensive accessories means you can have a fabulous bag for your event without spending three month’s salary - perfect.

Our girls headed down to the launch, and got the crowd moving with their fab sets. All the guests got stuck into the cocktails – named after the five types of eyelashes – and the party started rocking. The lovely people at Eylure set up a lash bar in the corner, and the lashes were applied by a lash technician who was a doppleganger for Kylie Minogue - everybody did a double take! Though I’m sure the real Kylie knows her way around eyelashes, picking up these tips was essential, and as the girls (and a few boys!) had them applied, everyone learnt how to master their application. The cocktails seemed endlessly flowing, but after a good few, I left with the party still roaring. I’m sure some of the glam squad didn’t want to take off those lashes before going to bed – but that disappointment would have been fleeting – once peeled off, you can wear them again, and so as your favourite Hed Kandi track is played another night, your lashes can be full and fluttering once more…

To get your hands on some of our new Lashes Click Here

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To the excitement of every disco diva, Hed Kandi by Eylure Lashes launched this week. With five different lashes, every one can transform your evening look, but how do you match them to the hottest make up trends?  Big glam is not going anywhere, maximal is what it’s all about.  Eyebrows have got bigger, lips have got more beestung, and now eyelashes are in for a treat. From a heavy, smoky panda eye on the Gucci catwalk, to the more subtle deep navy eyeliner at Just Cavalli, the look is definitely strong – think rocky disco. 

Pair the fuller "Twisted Disco” lashes with a super smoky rock eye.

If you are more of a boho babe, then team “Disco Heaven” wet-eyed look lashes with a metallic blue or emerald green for your beach time cocktails, perfect to flutter at dusk.

Bright colours look great with a dramatic lash like “Ibiza”, with their blue diamantes and highlights. They would look at home in London Fashion Week, so ramp up the colour for a bold club look. Fashion can’t decide what it wants at the moment – taking in everything from full vamp, to vintage sophisticat, it’s all the better for the girl who likes to change up her style. 

For that chic look, try “Jet set” with a sleek volumising effect – perfect for jetting around this summer.

Of all my years of going to fashion parties, however, the bolder the better, and for the ultimate in big eyes, it has to be “Glitterball”.  Don’t do a bold lip with these, as it will be unbalanced, but wear with a high octane, super glam outfit and you will knock the competition out the water. 

If you feel like being really daring, Fendi covered the entire eyelid with gold leaf – why not try something similar!  As they say, she who dares, wins.

Q. You've been working with Hed Kandi for a number of years now on different projects, but for all our new fans out there, who is Patrick Hagenaar?

A Dutch guy that moved to London back in ’99 to discover the UK dance scene and has since been DJ-ing around the world and more recently (2008) started producing tracks for numerous labels and remixed Nr1 records for peeps like Ke$ha & Wynter Gordon.

Q. What made you want to be a DJ and producer and, which came first, DJ sets or endless hours in the studio?

Well I got into dance music when I was about 10, went to my first rave at 11, starting faffing around with production software when I was 13, but just for a laugh. As a kid I always was obsessed with music + DJs and when I had a chance to try DJ-ing when I was 15, I was hooked and start saving for decks, which funnily enough ended up being CD decks (CDJ100’s) back in 99’ when mixing with CDs was a ‘dirty word’ :-)

Q. What is the inspiration behind your new single L.O.V.E (Yout Give The)?

Well, I like fun, ‘feel good’ house music – nothing too serious and wanted to make a happy feelgood anthem. I have always liked some of the French house stuff from early 2000 so took that kind of as inspiration and came up with the instrumental and afterwards found a little vocal sample which made the track complete as a club record.

Buy Patrick Hagenaar feat. AMPM - L.O.V.E. (You Give The) on iTunes


Q. This record has gained a great deal of attention as soon as it was released, how does is it make you feel when fellow DJs champion your productions?

When you make music, you want other people to get it and enjoy it. When fellow DJs start playing your music it’s kind of a sign of approval that fellow music geeks give the ‘thumbs up’.

Q. The record first came out without a vocal in 2011 and had huge success, but the new vocal remix simply takes it to a different level. How has crowd reaction been every time you drop it on the dancefloor? Biggest track in your record box at the moment?

Yeah, you know it’s the hardest bit when you have a club track that does well on its own and then you start adding vocals at a later stage – it’s often very hit or miss, but this has worked out a treat :-) So far I have been getting great reactions and with the addition of the Ghosts of Venice and David Jones mix – its only getting bigger and better!

Q. What was it like collaborating with the AMPM, for the vocal mix?

AMPM is wicked – this London girl works under a different pseudonym in the Dubstep/D&B scene and really brought a bit of this attitude to the record, which I really really like - rather than the same old dance vocals... I hope this is a start of many more collabs to come with her.

Q. What was the first piece of equipment you bought or programme you had to make beats and what are you using now?

Haha that was Magik Music Maker 1 back in 1994 – I think it was a 8-track and I just used a couple of kicks/snares/hihats/melodies, which i just sampled from other house tracks – just thought it was fun to do, never thought anything of it. In 1997, I played around a lot with Rebirth, then got the first version of Reason, which I played around with for a quite some time and made my first couple of tracks on – then about 2,5 years ago switched over to Ableton, which I use now, but also just got myself a copy of Pro Tools 10 which I’m starting to learn...

Q. What’s been the proudest moment in your career to date?

Might sound a bit sad, but it was winning the upcoming DJ award in Holland back in 2001, beating 500 DJs in the process – I was the only DJ playing with CDs, so for me it was kind of putting two fingers up to all those peeps at that time who thought DJ-ing with CDs was a joke. It also made me realise that I probably was OK at it, so might as well see how far I could take it. Still got a long way to go though!

Q. What are you looking forward to most this year and anything lined up with Hed Kandi in the upcoming months?

See where L.O.V.E will end up this year, finishing off the follow up to L.O.V.E, (obviously forthcoming on Hed Kandi) and lots of other fun music projects for viral campaigns, TV series and obviously lots of DJ-ing – oh and mixing a comp for Ministry of Sound in the forthcoming months :P


Quick Fire Questions

Q.If you were an animal – what kind would you be and why?
Turtle – They always seem nice and chilled out – do everything at their own pase :-)

Q. What is the last album you bought? Any good?
Emeli Sande’s new album – yeah – got some belter of tracks on there!

Q. If you could trade places with any person for a day, famous or not, living or dead, real or
fictional, who would it be?
Michael Jordan – I have always loved Basketball and he is in a league of his own

Q. If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
‘If It Ain’t Dutch, It Ain’t Much’

Q. What's your favourite Kandi?
Do M&M’s fall under this? Just double checked – ‘chocolate candy’ – don’t give me a bag, because I’ll eat them all in one go – even if it makes me feel sick haha

To find out more about Patrick Hagenaar, follow him on Facebook and/or Twitter

Patrick's latest mix for you to enjoy xx

As we countdown to one of the biggest Hed Kandi parties of the calendar year (Hed Kandi @ Nikki Beach Miami for this year's WMC2012), we thought we would touch base with Hed Kandi Head of Events & Headline DJ, Sam Cannon, to see how preparations for this sublime party are going...


Q1. Hi Sam, this is always an exciting time of year with WMC2012 just around the corner. So how are preparations going in the lead up to this weekend's big Hed Kandi party in Miami, and what can people expect from Hed Kandi this year?

Yes it is always an exciting time of year for those going to Miami, not for those who are stuck in London!  No it is very exciting!!  We love Miami and the conference is such an amazing time to be there.  Everything is ready for what promises to be another fantastic year at Nikki Beach.  We welcome back Milk and Sugar after tearing the place up last March, and are very excited to have Treasure Fingers and David Jones on a Hed Kandi line up for the first time!  There will be plenty more surprises on the day so I guess you will just have to make it down to find out!  (and the dancers are pretty hot too!)

Q2.  Hed Kandi returns once again to the beautiful Nikki Beach for this year's party, if I'm not mistaken that's 5 years in a row now. So what makes Hed Kandi and Nikki Beach such a good fit?

To be honest, I only think it is 4 years, it may be five.  However long it is it is now firmly established in the WMC calendar.  We always play the Sunday which is the official closing of the conference, and it always goes off with a bang. Nikki Beach and Hed Kandi go hand in hand.  Beautiful people, beautiful weather, beautiful location.  What an address.  1 Ocean Drive!  My penthouse is round the corner!

Q3. Alongside the Hed Kandi headline DJs, the line up this year features some exciting names out in the scene at the moment. Milk & Sugar are back again and headlining this year (always love their sets!) and you've also included the likes of Treasure Fingers, David Jones, J Paul Getto,  Anie from II Elements and Rafael from Plastic Funk on the line up. Will more Hed Kandi event shave such amazing line ups in future or is this just a once of for this special occasion?

We always try to do something a little different in Miami.  As every single DJ is in one area for such a small space of time, we like to get those who are involved in our albums and releases on the line ups.  It great to have these guys involved, and we have some very exclusive news coming up about one of these superstars being involved in our Ibiza events.  Check out  hedkandi.com for more details

Q4. Music wise, what can people expect this year? Will it be along the lines of the new Hed Kandi World Series: Miami release?

Miami is a proper party, so expect a little bit of everything.  More soulful and deeper vibes to start, moving into good old chunky house plus an amazing crowd to play to!

Q5. WMC has always been a breeding ground for discovering new talent and the massive tunes for the up and coming summer, any producer, DJs and tunes we should be watching out for in 2012?

I always find this hard to predict as no matter what you say there is always someone with a secret weapon that they pull out the bag.  Big ones for me this year will be Patrick Hagenaar feat. AMPM 'L.O.V.E. (You Give The)' and Alesso “Years”.  Enjoy!



Q6. Can you recommend any other parties for people  to check out while they are at this year's WMC?

So many parties!  If you get to one more while you are there check out Ministry of Sound at The Raleigh.  Huuuuge line up!  Also, if you come across Sasha playing at a pool party somewhere stay for the whole time.  Witnessed it last year first hand and was amazing. (From what I can remember)

Q7. For people who have never been to Miami for WMC, in five words, what makes Miami so special?

One week with no sleep!

--------------------------------------------

For tickets to this years party Click Here

To follow Sam on Twitter Click Here

See you on the dancefloor! xx

The season of good times is officially beginning with WMC 2012 just around the corner! Of course it wouldn't be a WMC without our very own World Series: Miami release so right on cue we're delivering another thick slice of Miami magic straight from the hands of Hed Kandi's A&R guru...Mr. Carl Hanaghan. We managed to grab 5 minutes with the man himself to discuss Miami Volume II and the inspiration that went into the record!

-What is your involvement with Hed Kandi on a day to day basis?

Not only have I been a resident DJ for the brand for last 6 years but I have been working in the office as an A&R manager for the past 18 months. I work all of the Hed Kandi albums from start to finish and lucky for me this includes deciding what records are used on them. I am also busy working with artists such as Patrick Hagenaar, Ghosts Of Venice and Jonas Fehr to name but a few in delivering brand new Hed Kandi singles that you will no doubt hear at one of our parties. I won't go on too much with everything else that I do, but there's a lot going on here and it's a very exciting time here at Hed Kandi HQ.
 
-What is it that makes the World Series releases so unique to the rest of Hed Kandi's compilations?

The World Series platform gives our resident DJ's a place to express their unique part in the Hed Kandi brand. I remember being given the opportunity to mix World Series Tokyo a couple of years back, prior to this I was always so excited to hear who made the cut to mix the series and the hunger to do one grew stronger and stronger. I was really fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to do one and I must've done a good job that I got asked to do a second one in this years World Series Miami.
 
-  What are the key differences between World Series Miami Volume I and II?

Last years album was incredible and it was a huge task to live up to it's expectations, I think we did that! However, I don't think there are too many differences. It showcases the very best music that you'll be hearing in Miami along with retaining that 'good times' vibe that Hed Kandi is renowned for. The album does what it says on the tin, place the CD into your player and watch the Miami sun pay you a visit.
 
-What was your inspiration when you were asked to mix the Club CD for WS Miami II?

A lot of what I do in the mix and the in my record selection is taken from when I am on a worldwide tour for Hed Kandi. From clubs such as Cocoon in Frankfurt, Pacha in London and the fond memories I have of our party at Nikki Beach last year, the music is 150% road-tested and ready for the Hed Kandi club. I felt that it was important to include some exclusive records that you'll only hear on this album, so I rounded up a few of the troops and you'll hear brand new cuts from Patrick Hagenaar, Jonas Fehr, Darryl Green and myself. For me, it's really important to write a record for a any compilation that I am mixing. I did this with the World Series Tokyo compilation, a collaboration with My Digital Enemy, but here I go on a solo adventure and have produced 'South Beach Love', an uplifting record that tells the story of how I feel when performing in Miami.
 
-What do you enjoy about Miami the most? What makes this city so special?

The sun, it really does have super healing powers! When I was at the last conference I had to make quick over night trip to New York to see an act perform at Pacha. My flight the next day was ridiculously early, but for the pure fact that I was performing at our daytime party at Nikki Beach. Obviously when you go to watch an act perform you are up during un-sociable hours (or is it really sociable hours?) and it was a late night that resulted in an hour or so's sleep on the flight back to Miami. If it wasn't for the Sun, I don't know how I would've got through the day (big fan of sleep here), but I did and it was all down to the rays on my skin from something that we really do take for granted.
 
-What is your favourite part of the Winter Music Conference?

Everywhere you go there is a party, there really is no escaping it. The best thing about that is that you'll find every one that's someone in the DJ world is there in Miami for the conference and even if they're not on the line-up, I can guarantee a few surprise appearances at that party, either to play some tracks or just to hang out.
 
-In your opinion, which will be the best breakthrough tracks or artists at this year’s WMC and 2012 in general?

This is the BIG question and it really is the hardest to answer. Last year and amongst the biggest artists to come out of the event was Avicii. I think he had a inkling that he was going to be the name around town as I had some serious DJ envy when I saw the size of his tour bus! It was huge and was covered in his branding. He went on to have a seriously good year, 'Levels' was by far the biggest track of 2011. This year I'm sure will see the next big push, as per Avicii last year, from another Scandinavian talent, Alesso. He has been touring the world with the Swedish House Mafia for the past 12 months and his productions are getting seriously big, I've heard his next cut and I can't wait to get my hands on it to play it at a Hed Kandi event.
 
-3 words that describe you as a DJ/Producer?

Passionate. Diverse. Fun.
 
-What kind of music do you listen to when you aren’t working for Hed Kandi?

Honestly it really depends on what mood I am in but I have a tiny love fling with Drum & Bass most of the time. I'm a big fan of bands like Friendly Fires, Fenech-Soler, SBTRKT, I could go on, but these three regularly find themselves heavily repeated on my iPod.
 
-What are the 3 top words you associate with WS Miami II?

Fun, Sun & Parties.


Thanks Carl! Who else needs more Miami action?? Click below now to listen to our brand new Miami Mini Mix!

Now if you're really a true Kandi fan...you'll make sure you get yourself to the dancefloor on Sunday 25th March! With one of the hottest line-ups around and a whole host of special guests...this is not one to miss! You can head to our Parties section right now for full details or if you're feeling the vibe, you can get your ticket right here!

See you by the pool... xx