brag beats
BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture
dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery
five things WITH
Hernan Cattaneo
DEADBEAT AND HAZY
Growing Up [Hazy]: My first music memory was 1. meeting Jamiroquai at Town Hall Studio in London. I was living at the studios with my dad who was mixing Pulp’s album – I remember watching him work in some of the best studios in the world on some amazing records. [Deadbeat]: I remember being 14 and sucking at guitar but still wanting to be in a band, so I tried my hand at singing. This would have been a failure if I had to actually sing, but luckily we started off doing covers of Rage Against The Machine, Green Jelly and Regurgitator. Inspirations [Hazy]: I was 13 and living in Ireland when 2. I made a tech-house album with a couple of mates, and DJed it at the local discos. My dad has played me extremely loud music since I was born, and my mum bought me Dr Dre’s 2001 for my 10th birthday. Getting high to Snoop and Warren G for the first time was killa!
3.
Your Crew [Hazy]: Been perfecting the art with my right hand man Peace – we’ve been DJing together from the moment we met. Dubstep and hip hop is our main thing, but house, DnB and trippy ass beats are cool too! We both know what sound we want, so we’ve been working hard in the studio to make our own style of music, which has been a lot of fun. [Deadbeat]: What I enjoy most about working with Hazy is that he’s on the quest for his own sound, and he sees me as being a part of it. I think we’ve been fortunate to have jammed with so many talented people since we’ve been in the scene. Have to shout out to Maya, Chow Cracker, Peace and DCZ.
BOOM BOOM FT LIL LOUIS
With the dust having only just settled from its rollicking Jamie 3:26 warehouse bash, Boom Boom has announced that its next party will be headlined by none other than Chicago luminary Lil Louis on Saturday July 21, at a secret “sky rise CBD venue” that is apparently being used for the first time in over five years.
The Music You Make [Deadbeat]: Hip hop, beers and buds 4. brought us together and seem to be a staple theme for a lot of our music. After our second EP Hungry And Lazy I tried to veer away from using chronic for song topics, as it’s a bit of a crutch – similar to writing songs about how much of a talented MC I am and how other MCs are an inferior by-product.
dubstep whenever we can. [Deadbeat]: The Australian hip hop scene is blowing up. I like the emphasis on narrative and lyricism rather than image. I’m a big fan of Australia’s battle scene too, and how every state represents. The biggest obstacle for me is finding the time to accomplish grand ambitions. Where: Baked Not Fried is out now
5.
Music, Right Here, Right Now [Hazy]: It’s amazing to watch bands you know work the underground scene and see them grow as artists. There’s a mad local scene, and there’s a bit out there for everyone. We check out hip hop gigs and wobble to crazy
Despite having been around since well before our clubbing lifetime, this will be Lil Louis’ first tour of Australia – better late than never, as the saying goes! Louis will probably always be best known for his cut ‘French Kiss’, which has been a major feature sets from the likes of Laurent Garnier and Ricardo Villalobos over the years. In addition to that classic, Lil Louis also struck
With: DCZ (Dead City Zens), Old Men Of Moss Mountain, Big Dumb Kid, Subsketch Where: Bel-Air launch @ 1 Bayswater Road, Kings Cross When: Wednesday June 27
gold with the release of cuts like ‘Blackout’, ‘I Called You’ and ‘Club Lonely’, while collaborating with names like Larry Heard and Lil Louis Vega (no relation). Lil Louis is currently working night and day to edit his documentary on the history and development of house music and his role in it; entitled Get Down, the film is due to be premiered at the Amsterdam Dance Event in October. Support is unsurprisingly headed by the most suitable chap for the job: Simon Caldwell.
Jamie xx
AGWA YACHT CLUB 014: SUBB-AN & MIGUEL CAMPBELL
Finely Tuned have revealed the details of their first boat party of the summer, which will feature twin headliners Subb-an and Miguel Campbell aboard the Starship on Saturday November 17. Ashique ‘Subb-an’ Subhan is a 24-year-old who arrives in Australia fresh from being named as DJ Magazine’s Best Breakthrough DJ for 2011. With an accomplished production CV for someone still so young, which includes that essential EP on Crosstown Rebels (an apparent passport to the club echelon) which I rate as highly as anything the label has put out over the past eighteen months, Subb-an will arrive Down Under touted as one of the ‘next big thing’ DJs of the next generation. Meanwhile, co-headliner Miguel Campbell is the founder of Outcross Records, but has gained more exposure since being signed to Jamie Jones and Lee Foss’ Hot Creations stable back in 2010. Support will comprise locals Brohn, Co-op, Le Brond, Sam Roberts and T-Boy, with tickets scheduled to go on sale on July 9.
JAMIE XX
Following the announcement of The xx’s hugely anticipated new album Coexist and their upcoming Australian tour, which sold out in minutes, it has emerged that Jamie xx will perform a DJ set at GoodGod Small Club in Sydney on Thursday July 19. Jamie xx has established himself as a formidable solo producer in his own right over the past few years, crafting the underground hit ‘Far Nearer’ in 2011, and collaborating with Gil ScottHeron on the album We’re New Here, a re-envisioned version of the I’m New Here LP. Jamie xx has also remixed the likes of Radiohead and Adele and produced Coexist, which is due out in early September. Presale tickets are currently available online.
PET SHOP BOYS ANNOUNCE ELYSIUM
One of the most endearing songwriting pairings of modern times, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe – collectively Pet Shop Boys – have announced they will release a new album, Elysium, in September. The LP will be the follow-up to 2009’s Yes, and was apparently recorded in Los Angeles with producer Andrew Dawson, who has previously worked with the man Barack Obama labelled a “[talented]
HERNAN CATTANEO & FRITZ KALKBRENNER @ IVY POOL CLUB
Chinese Laundry has secured the imposing international headliners of Argentina’s Hernan Cattaneo and Germany’s Fritz Kalkbrenner for its first ever pool party, an afternoon romp at Ivy Pool Club running from 1pm – 7.30pm on Saturday September 22. Kalkbrenner, who will be performing prior to Cattaneo’s three-hour set, is arguably best known for laying down the vocals on his brother Paul’s hit track ‘Sky And Sand’ from the Berlin Calling soundtrack, and has also collaborated with the likes of Sascha Funke, Alexander Kowalski and Chopstick & Johnjon over the years. Kalkbrenner recently released his first commercial mix CD on the Suol label, a compilation which showcased his love of all things soulful (see Owusu And Hannibal) as well as his appreciation of hip-hop – evinced by cuts from RJD2 and Dilla – apposite to some quality deep minimal courtesy of Lawrence. One can expect a similarly eclectic selection from him on this coming occasion. Meantime, Cattaneo is a prog veteran who has done the business many times before in Sydney – though never in a setting to match the opulent confines of Pool Club. First release $35 tickets go on sale from Thursday June 21 through Resident Advisor.
jackass”, Kanye West. A new Pet Shop Boys track, ‘Invisible’ (which is presumably lifted off Elysium), is available to stream on YouTube, and offers a mellow-verging-on-melancholic change of pace for the often upbeat ‘Boys. That’s not to say it’s a disappointment though – rather, it comes across as a personal reflection of where the PSB are at themselves, and almost feels like self-reflexive commentary on their own gradual recession out of the pop limelight.
RENNIE PILGREM
Breakbeat proponent Rennie Pilgrem will headline Cakes @ The World Bar on Saturday July 14. Pilgrem is credited as a pioneering force behind ‘future jungle’, a genre that bridges the gap between dubstep, DnB and breakbeat, and he has recently released a new single, ‘Defy’ – an anthemic cut replete with the vocals of Francesca Guarino. ‘Defy’ is taken from the forthcoming Best Of Rennie Pilgrem album, which collates material from Pilgrem that spans two decades and features collaborations with Uberzone, Arthur Baker, BLIM, MC Chickaboo and Sarah WhittakerGilby from Mara. For anyone unfamiliar with Pilgrem’s output, or for newly-converted fans post his World Bar set, the Best Of release should be an ideal introduction to the man. BRAG :: 467 :: 18:06:12 :: 33