MENSAH ACETATE ICICLE DADDISON P MONEY TRAPSTAR FREE
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#003 MARCH | APRIL 2011
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#003 MARCH / APRIL 2011
#003
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REGULARS. HYPE EVERYTHING WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT RIGHT NOW
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TRAP FASHION THE FINEST GARMS AND ACCESSORIES
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BOSS SELECTIONS DJ’S TOP TENS PLUS IN-DEPTH CHARTS
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STREET ART DADDISON
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FASHION SHIRTS AND SHOES
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MUSIC REVIEWS
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BASSPOINTS THE HOTTEST EVENTS ON PLANET BASS
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BASSPOINTS THE MAIN EVENT
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FEATURES. TRAP’S TOP 5 PICK OF THIS SEASONS KICKS
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MENSAH
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2011: THE YEAR OF THE JORDAN
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ACETATE
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BREAKAGE
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P MONEY
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TRAPSTAR
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ICICLE
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FRONT COVER: Breakage by Laura Lewis. Assisted by Andy Stow. Grooming by Elizabeth Perry. WORDS: Jon Cook, Oli Marlow, Kasha Malyckyj, Sam Bates, Belinda Rowse, Sam Collenette, Jeryl Wilton, Amy Stiff, bassmusicblog.com, Mike Burgess, Sophie Thomas, Sean Kelly, Leyla Eroglu, Adam Scotland, Sam Brandt. PICTURES: Laura Lewis, LisaWormsley, Zachery Saitoti, Sim Higginson, ASHES57, Ben Price, Jean-Luc Brouard, Charles Emerson, Verena Stefanie. EDITOR: Jon Cook CREATIVE DIRECTOR/DESIGN: Andy Hayes FASHION EDITOR: Kasha Malyckyj SALES & ADVERTISING: Iain Blackburn MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION: Justin Iriajen SOCIAL NETWORKING: Amy Stiff WEB: THANKS: Leo @ Darling, Adam @ Backdrop, Charlie @ Spin Agency, Jim @ Canoe Inc, Shareen @ Exposure, John @ Your Army, Ben @ Run, Carly @ Don’t Panic, Steve @ Cooshti, Baz @FOO, Jamie & Tom @ donuts; Rob, Tom & Ollie @ The Blast; Johnny & Jack @ Outlook; Danna @ Takkako, Sean @ Fabric, Lee & Courtney @ Muzik Hertz, James @ Detonate. TRAP MAGAZINE, Unit 14, The Coach House, Upper York Street, Bristol BS2 8QN.
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CITED G WE'RE EX EVERYTHIN OW... N T H G RI T ABOU
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INDOOR FESTIVAL 2011 Nottingham promoters Detonate hold the fifth instalment of their massive yearly indoor festivals on Sunday 1 May. A huge eight-arena event covering all genres of electronic music, the festival takes place at venues across the city including Rock City, Stealth, Rescue Rooms and The Forum. This year, Detonate have teamed up with the best brands in the scene, with Rinse vs FWD, Hospitality, Critical Music and Digital Soundboy all hosting arenas. The line-up includes Zinc, DJ EZ, Andy C, Photek, dBridge, Redlight and many more. We at Trap will be there in force, co-hosting the Soundboy Arena – make sure you say hello. We have two pairs of tickets to the festival to give away, just email competitions@trapmagazine.co.uk with Detonate in the subject line. Winners must be over 18 and will be picked at random. WWW.DETONATE1.COM
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WE THE PEOPLE
URBAN NERDS
PHOTEK
SUPREME
We The People is a brand new festival for Bristol, taking place on 4 and 5 June. Chase & Status and The Streets are already confirmed to play and the festival will take place in three arenas around the city’s Harbourside. For more info: WWW.WETHEPEOPLEFESTIVAL.CO.UK
Urban Nerds will be four in May, and to celebrate they’re planning quite a party. On 28 May the Nerds will be taking over the legendary Scala for a massive rave full of all the bass-heavy goodness we love. Get your early bird ticket now: WWW.URBANNERDS.COM
Photek is back, with a stack of new music and a load of UK tour dates lined up. A god to anyone who experienced the 1990s jungle movement at its peak, recently the LA-based super producer has turned his hand to dubstep, and is touring the UK as you read this. WWW.PHOTEK.FM
Rumours abound that New York streetwear institution Supreme will be opening a store in London’s Soho later this year. If the whispers are correct, it would be the achingly-hip brand’s first store outside of the USA and Japan. WWW.SUPREMENEWYORK.COM
WILEY 100% PUBLISHING
hype
The Godfather of grime is back to remind everyone there’s more to him than twitter, Buzzcocks and zip file giveaways. July will see Wiley return to Big Dada with ‘100% Publishing’, featuring 12 tracks exclusively vocalled and produced by the East London grime original, the LP is already being hyped as his most cohesive album to date. The first single ‘Numbers In Action’ is out 16 May and features remixes from Toddla T and Sticky, while Wiley kicks off his nationwide ‘Elusive’ tour in April. TWITTER: @WILEYARTIST
THE ELUSIVE TOUR 5 April CLASSIC GRAND, Glasgow 6 April NEWCASTLE ACADEMY 2, Newcastle 7 April THE PLUG, Sheffield 8 April CLUB ACADEMY, Manchester 9 April MILLENNIUM MUSIC HALL, Cardiff 11 April 02 ACADEMY 2, Birmingham 12 April CONCORDE 2, Brighton 13 April WATERFRONT, Norwich 14 April ISLINGTON ACADEMY, London
THE NEST Dalston nightclub The Nest has been open since October last year, and has rapidly cut itself a niche in London’s ever-fluent nightlife scene. With a mandate to push only the most exciting and freshest promotions and artists, the 350 capacity venue is already home to some of the hottest events in London town. Chase & Status’ quarterly MTA parties deliver blockbuster secret line-ups every few months, while dBridge’s Exit Records nights continually sharpen the cutting edge, and Stop. Drop. Roll brings all sorts of bass-centric goodness to Dalston each and every month. Check Trap’s listings section for further details.
BOOM TOWN
R.I.P BIGGIE
HIDEOUT FESTIVAL
GUTTERFUNK
We at Trap thought Boom Town was one of those crusty, trustafarian bashes with loads of punk ska and ethical goods on sale. Then we saw the line-up. If you like reggae, make sure you reach this year’s Boom Town. WWW.BOOMTOWNFAIR.COM
It’s 14 years since the death of Biggie Smalls. To commemorate his passing Uno One print has unveiled a doodled-print tee in his honour. The first ten ordered receive a free limited-edition print. Get yours at: WWW.UNOONEPRINT.COM
Croatia has its fair share of UK-run festivals these days. If you can’t wait for Outlook in September, then check out the inaugural Hideout in July. With Jamie XX, Toddla T, Shy FX and Redlight all confirmed, it looks like something special. WWW.HIDEOUTFESTIVAL.COM
D&B legend DJ Die is launching a new sister label to Clear Skyz. Gutterfunk promises to be a home to all the music Die’s feeling that isn’t D&B, and tracks are lined up from Mensah, Laminate Radio and more. WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/GUTTERFUNK
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If there’s two things in the world that Trap loves, it’s trainers and music. You can imagine our reaction, then, when we got news of these amazing Air Force 1 speakers from sneaker customiser extraordinaire Alex Nash. Commissioned to help promote Havana Club’s ‘Inspired Ingenuity’ project, a competition that challenges artists to take the everyday and transform it into something special, this pair of shoes are unfortunately not for sale. If you fancy getting involved in the contest, check the facebook group for details.
INSPIRED INGENUITY
hype
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM /HAVANACLUBUK
WEAPON OF CHOICE After nearly two years in their current location, Bristol’s Weapon Of Choice gallery is relocating across town. The gallery is run by famed graffiti artist Cheba and close friend Sam Brandt, and since opening back in 2009 has become a focal point for the city’s everburgeoning street art scene with its regular solo and group artist shows. The new gallery will open on 15 April and is located at the bottom of Park Street, just below the 5050 store.
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ASHES57
TODDLAT
Y-3 STORE
TORQUE
There are few people who take better photos of the scene we love than ASHES57. Her show ‘The Message’ has already hit London and Manchester, but March sees its arrival at Donuts in Bristol. Featuring photography, illustrations and more, go check it now. WWW.ASHES57.COM
Toddla T has been hard at work on his second album over recent months, recording in London, Sheffield and, of course, Jamaica. The album will be called ‘Watch Me Dance’ and is out in August this year. Watch out for the first single, dropping in May. WWW.TODDLAT.COM
Designer Yohji Yamamoto and Adidas have just opened a flagship store in London for their collaborative label Y-3. Stocking both Men's and Women's styles, you'll find their latest collection at 54 Conduit Street. WWW.ADIDAS.COM/US/Y3
In May London’s Corsica Studios will host the first Torque event in the capital. Featuring a killer line-up of D&B’s most credible names in room one, the second room delivers the likes of Bodikka, Ben UFO, Jam City and Hyetal. WWW.CORSICASTUDIOS.COM
WIN TICKETS TO OUTLOOK FESTIVAL 2011 Trap has teamed up with our friends at Outlook festival to give you and a mate the chance to win tickets to the greatest bass-music event on planet Earth. This year’s Outlook will once again take place in the incredible surroundings of the ruined Fort Punta Christo near Pula, Croatia, during the first weekend of September, and promises to be bigger, better and bassier than ever before. With an unbelievable line-up that takes in every angle of bass-heavy music, from its Jamaican roots to its modern-day British manifestations, this year’s festival promises to be unmissable.
To be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets for Outlook 2011, all you need do is become a fan of both the Trap and Outlook facebook pages, and email competitions@trapmagazine.co.uk with your name, date of birth and address. Winners will be chosen at random, but you must be over 18, able to travel and a fan of both Trap and Outlook to qualify. Good luck.
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Although still not fully announced, the line-up has to be seen to be believed, with Barrington Levy, Pharoahe Monch, MJ Cole, dBridge, Skream, Rodigan and DMZ just a handful of the legendary icons confirmed to play. Add to that boat parties, day-long beach raves and endless sunshine, and you have four days of guaranteed bass-fuelled bliss.
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Must-have streetwear brand Supreme has just dropped its much-anticipated Spring/Summer collection for 2011.
WORDS: KASHA MALYCKYJ & AMY STIFF
The drop is the perfect mix of bright colours, wearable summer prints and lightweight fabrics, meaning there’s a look for any high-end streetwear fan. The bright yellow varsity jacket is top of our wish list, while other stand out pieces include a denim button-up jacket and orange college crewneck. For all you Supreme purists and obsessives, check out the amazing assortment of caps on offer. The classic Supreme 5-panel covers every base this season, from colour block brights and classic plaids, to garish Hawaiian and animal prints. With rumours of a Supreme store set to open in London this year, get online and cop your pieces before you start seeing that trademark red logo everywhere‌ WWW.SUPREMENEWYORK.COM
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SUPREME
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STYLIST’S OWN 002
Stylist’s Own presents a collection “inspired by a time of pure opulence and obsessed by an 80s/90s designer lifestyle”. Each garment is made from carefully chosen archival scarves and fabrics, which are then re-worked by hand. Ranging from graphic printed-logo leggings to luxurious varsity jackets and custom Chanel charm jewellery, Stylist’s Own is for the girl who knows how to work classic Moschino with her favourite Nikes. For custom requests stylistsown@hotmail.com WWW.SEVENSTOREBRISTOL.COM
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Pushing the nautical look forward into Spring/Summer is JapaneseAmerican brand Maiden Noir with its ‘Longing For Darkness’ collection. Paying particular attention to vintage cuts and with a nod to military stylings, the brand presents an array of tees, shirts, classic trousers, jackets and headwear. Trap favourites include the 60/40 Field Parka and the camo cap. Available from Canadian clothing store Haven. WWW.HAVENSHOP.CA
LONG CLOTHINGX BOY LONDON
004 We’re loving this latest collab by Long Clothing and cult 80s label BOY London. Combining Long’s beautifully cut shapes and edgy style with BOY’s statement logo graphics, these unisex t-shirts are perfect! Prices start at £40 from WWW.LONGCLOTHING.COM
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MAIDEN NOIR LONGING FOR DARKNESS
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The biggest DJs in the game let us in on the tracks they’re playing right now…
IN DETAIL
‘ROCKWELL SHOGUN AUDIO ICICLE ‘Under The Ice’ LP Shogun Audio I’ve been playing a lot of music from Icicle’s forthcoming LP since it was sent to me and it’s been going down really well. I couldn’t single out one choice cut, so I’m going to put the project as a whole in here! ROCKWELL ‘BTKRSH’ Shogun Audio Very glitchy and rolling, yet something a little different from me, which (hopefully!) extends my versatility as a producer. It’s a track that I’m really happy with; both the way it came out and the way it’s been received. Forthcoming on Shogun. SUBWAVE ‘Deadhead’ Dub Massive rolling techno vibes from Subwave. This literally stops people in their tracks (in a good way, of course). I think I’ve played it in every set since I got it, and I love watching people’s reactions. NOISIA & PHACE ‘Micro-Organism’ Dub For me, this is the perfect intro tune at the moment; it resets the vibe in anticipation for what I’m about play. Studio tech gods Noisia and Phace show that minimal drum & bass can still be both dramatic and funky. KEVIN RUDOLPH FT LIL WAYNE, BIRDMAN & JAY SEAN ‘I Made It’ (Rockwell Dub Mix) I thought this may be consigned to the vaults, but I received a test press the other day so it should be coming on limited pressing soon. This is my favourite of the two mixes, with West-Coast synths washing over you like rays of sunshine. PHACE & ROCKWELL ‘No!’ Dub Florian and I really went to town on this one and created a monster! Brought to life in his studio in Germany, it’s the perfect marriage of Phace’s funk and my quirky percussion. UNTOLD ‘Bones’ (Rockwell Remix) A remix I did for Untold at 135bpm. I’m very happy with the outcome and this might be the first of my many experiments with slower tempos that sees the light of day.
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PHACE ‘Basic Memory’ Dub This ticks every box that I look for in a tune – fresh ideas, futuristic, original and works both on the dancefloor and on the iPod. Stunning.
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HAZARD ‘Food Fight’ Playaz The man imitated by many raises the bar yet again, and has the whole scene playing his latest bass heavy stepper. Immense! ROCKWELL ‘4U’ Dub I’m excited about this one. I only finished it last week and there won’t be any audio of it on the internet for a while, as I’m keeping it very close to my chest at the moment. It’s a big half-step synth and vocal driven tune with lots of edits and emotion, but with very different arrangement and phrasing.
LENZMAN. METALHEADZ 1. MARCUS INTALEX FT S.P.Y. ‘Celestial Navigation’ Soul:R 2. ICICLE ‘I Feel U’ Shogun Audio 3. LENZMAN ‘Lazers’ Metalheadz 4. FD FT. COLLETTE WARREN ‘Want You’ Dub 5. DUB PHIZIX ‘Shake Down’ Dub 6. BROTHER & SQUASH ‘Warp Dub’ Dub 7. LYNX FT SIMON WIGGINS ‘Spectre’ Detail 8. SUBTERRA ‘Guttermouth’ Nu Directions 9. ADELE ‘Rolling In The Deep’ (D&B Bootleg) Dub 10. HEAVY 1 ‘Xiphactinus’ (Lenzman Rmx) Demand DUB BOY. STEAK HOUSE / IDLE HANDS 1. CHRISSY MURDERBOT ‘Braain’ Planet Mu 2. KENYATTA ‘Clarks’ Non Fiction 3. LEFTSIDE & SHAGGY ‘Jump Around’ (Dub Boy Rmx) Dub 4. GORGON SOUND ‘Circles’ Steak House 5. CHRISSY MURDERBOT & MC ZULU ‘Vibe Is So Right’ (Atki2 Rmx) 6. KAYNE WEST & MR LEXX ‘Monster’ (The Heatwave Rmx) Dub 7. GORGON SOUND ‘Backchat’ Steak House 8. SMILEY CULTURE ‘Police Officer’ (Jinx In Dub & Gella Jungle Rmx) 9. RIDDIM TUFFA FT DIEGOJAH ‘Dancehall Sweet’ Dub 10. MUNGOS HI FI & YELLOWMAN ‘Ramjam Master’ Dub KASRA. CRITICAL 1. DJ DISTANCE ‘Fallin’ (Enei Rmx) Island 2. S.P.Y. & KASRA ‘Surface’ Critical 3. ENEI, EASTCOLORS & NOEL ‘Cracker’ (Jubei Rmx) Critical 4. S.P.Y. ‘Late Night’ Dub 5. PHACE ‘Freedom Of Filth’ Critical 6. DUB PHIZIX ‘Break It’ Critical 7. FOREIGN CONCEPT & ANILE ‘True Enemies’ Dub 8. FRESH ‘Gatekeeper’ Ram 9. ENEI ‘Stonehead’ Critical 10. NOISIA & PHACE ‘Program’ Vision RESO. CIVIL MUSIC 1. NOISIA ‘Friendly Intentions’ 2. DUB FROM ATLANTIS ‘Silly Little Things’ (Cymatic Remix) 3. EMALKAY ‘Crusader’ 4. DUB FOUNDATIONS ‘Mr Blonde’ 5. LWIZ ‘Straightjacket’ 6. ORIOL ‘Coconut Coast’ 7. LITTLE DRAGON ‘Twice’ 8. MISANTHROP ‘Stagger’ 9. SYNKRO 'Open Arms' 10. ELEMENTAL 'Archival'
TODDLA T. GIRLS MUSIC / NINJA TUNE 1. DES DEMURE ‘Variable’ 2. ROLLER EXPRESS FT WARD 21 ‘Wanted’ 3. TODDLA T ‘Take It Back’ (Dillon Francis Rmx) 4. REDLIGHT ‘Progress’ 5. DJ Q ‘On A Mission’ 6. AFROJACK & STEVE AOKI ‘No Beef’ 7. SCHLACHTHOFBRONX ‘Chambacu’ 8. MARK PRITCHARD ‘Out In The Street’ 9. SIGMA FT TOP CAT ‘Special Dedication’ 10. CHRIS BROWN ‘Look At Me Now’ ROSKA. RINSE FM 1. TODDSKA ‘Cowboy’ Girls Music 2. MARCO DEL HORNO ‘HO!’ Bullet Train Records 3. KATY B FT MS DYNAMITE ‘Lights On’ Rinse 4. REDLIGHT ‘Source 16’ Dub 5. MA1 ‘Static’ Roska Kicks & Snares 6. FUZZY LOGIK ‘Playground’ Dub 7. JAM CITY ‘Magic Drops’ Night Slugs 8. KRY WOLF ‘3001’ Party Like Us 9. ALOE BLACC ‘Need A Dollar’ (Zinc Rmx) Stones Throw 10. MELÉ ‘Trappin’ Grizzly 16 BIT. MTA 1. 16BIT ‘Frzr9000’ MTA 2. 16BIT ‘Skullcrack’ MTA 3. S-X ‘Woooo Riddim’ (DJ Q Remix) Butterz 4. EMALKAY ‘Fabrication’ Dub Police 5. NERO ‘Crush On You’ MTA 6. GIL SCOTT-HERON ‘NY Is Killing Me’ (Jamie XX Rmx) XL 7. EXPONAUT ‘E621’ Dub 8. SKREAM ‘Rigging’ Dub 9. T.E.E.D ‘Blood Pressure’ (ft Riko) Greco-Roman 10. SCHLACHTHOFBRONX ‘Chambacu’ Mad Decent SUPERISK. PUNCH DRUNK 1. KAHN 'Like We Used To' Punch Drunk 2. JOKER 'The Vision' Dub 3. MENSAH 'The Gambia' Deep Medi 4. REDLIGHT ‘Source 16’ Dub 5. TRC ‘Oo Aa Ee’ VIP Butterz 6. DARK SKY ‘4 The Love’ Remix Top Billin’ 7. SUPERISK ‘Life Is Live’ Dub 8. REDSKIN ‘Roll With The Punches’ Derkle Disco 9. M.I.K ‘Do It’ (Kahn Remix) Dub 10. SUPERISK ‘LA Gear’ Dub
IN DETAIL
HYPERDUB
BURIAL ‘Stolen Dog’ Dub Forget the big label hype boys; this is the boss in top form. Pure, delicate, transcendental bliss.
SPOOKY ‘Spartan’ (Terror Danjah Rmx) The furious original from Spooky gets the Terror Danjah turbo-charge treatment. Terror in top gear.
DOK ‘West Coast’ VIP Dub ‘West Coast’ is a cold grime track coloured in with squiggly G-funk synths. This VIP takes the laid-back plod of DOK’s original into angular delirium.
L WIZ ‘442 OZ’ Kapsize Purple grime/dubstep that Joker would be proud of, especially considering it’s on his label.
ZED BIAS ‘Basic Needs’ Swamp 81 Tightly coiled house from the UK-garage legend, full of bit-crashed ecstatic wailing and lusty android chatter. FHLOSTON PARADIGM ‘Chasing Rainbows’ Saturn Never Sleeps This track delivers some seriously 70s synthy soundtrack vibes that John Carpenter would be proud of. HYPE WILLIAMS ‘Your Girl Smells Chung When She Wears Dior’ Audio opium that will have you hovering several feet off the ground with its fluttering pitch and distant, haunted funk.
OSSIE ‘Moves’ Hyperdub A fresh producer from East London who, here, sounds like he’s just been on an intense trip to LA. DJ SPINN ‘LOL’ Planet Mu This is warm R&B-inspired juke, taken from an amazing EP. 2562 ‘Cheater’ Sinuous, loose limbed broken garage from the Dutch producer’s great new album, Fever.
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‘KODE9
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INDOOR FESTIVAL 8 ARENAS, 4 VENUES, 50+ARTISTS 2562 ¼ A1 BASSLINE ¼ ANDY C ¼ ANNIE MAC BENGA ¼ BREAK ¼ BREAKAGE ¼ BULLION ¼ CASPA DANNY BYRD ¼ DBRIDGE ¼ DJ DIE ¼ DJ EZ ¼ DONAEO EMALKAY ¼ FRICTION ¼ GIRL UNIT ¼ HIGH CONTRAST ICICLE ¼ INSTRA:MENTAL ¼ JACK BEATS ¼ KASRA LOADSTAR ¼ MARCUS INTALEX ¼ PHOTEK PLASTICIAN ¼ P MONEY ¼ REDLIGHT ¼ ROCKWELL SHY FX ¼ SKREAM ¼ S.P.Y ¼ STAMINA MC SUBFOCUS ¼ YASMIN ¼ YOUNGMAN ¼ ZINC +MORE! FEAT...
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IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED, TRAP’S GONE SNEAKER CRAZY THIS ISSUE. WITH THAT IN MIND, WE THOUGHT WE’D BETTER SHOW YOU OUR TOP 5 FAVOURITE KICKS FOR THIS COMING SEASON…. WORDS: ADAM SCOTLAND & SAM BRANDT
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ADIDAS M ATTITUDE An interesting twist on a classic high top, these Adidas M Attitudes feature cut-out trefoil panels with bright orange accents. They come as part of a pack exclusively for the girls and also include a gold colour-way.
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KEEP RAMOS We're all over the Navajo print trend here at Trap, so when we heard Keep had released a pack based around it, we couldn't wait to check them out. Our favourite is the Ramos, which is finished in a sustainable hemp canvas.
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PUMA HAWTHORNE MID The Hawthorne Mid is Puma’s take on the desert boot silhouette and features a premium suede upper and subtle tonal Form Stripe with that clean Match sole.
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NIKE AIR MAX 1 ACG Nike continues with the line-up of Air Max 1 ‘ACG’ for spring/summer 2011. The shoe makes use of ACG branding on the back tab with a 3M reflective logo arranged in the iconic ACG triangle.
AIR JORDAN VII ORION BLUE New colour up from Jordan and the second of multiple 7s rumoured for this year. White, red and the pop of the Orion Blue make for an instant classic. Check page 23 for our full Jordan feature.
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FUTURE FUNK’ mensah. WWW.TRAPMAGAZINE.CO.UK
WORDS: JON COOK PHOTOS: ASHES57
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“EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT THEY WANT TO DO, BUT NOT EVERYBODY BELIEVES IN THEMSELVES. I’VE ALWAYS CARRIED MYSELF IN A MANNER AS IF I WAS ALREADY DOING WHAT I WANTED, BUT I’M NOT DELUDED; I KNOW WHERE I AM. I KNOW I’M NOT DIPLO, OR WHERE JOKER OR SKREAM IS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I’M DOING WELL, AND I’VE GOT TO REMEMBER THAT. WHEN I ACHIEVE SOMETHING, I’VE GOT TO SIT BACK, HAVE A CUP OF TEA AND APPRECIATE IT.” And that’s exactly what dubstep producer Mensah is doing when Trap arrives at his Bristol home in early March - and rightly so. With a bunch of releases lined up for the coming year, gigs across the country every week and having just returned from his first tour of New Zealand, things are indeed going well for the HENCH family member. In fact, as we settle in his studio, Mensah’s only been back from the other side of the world for a day and is still clearly making sense of an experience that will live with him forever... “I got to Christchurch on the Monday. It was like paradise, beautiful weather, butterflies I’d never seen before. I was with TC and staying with Andre from Truth; a friend of mine was travelling over there, so we all met up. We had a wicked night; then the next day we went off into town. We got some breakfast in a cafe, got some cigarettes and went into a shop to buy some t-shirts. Then the earth started moving. “At first it was just shaking, but suddenly the floor started moving up and down, left to right. Everything started smashing in the shop. So we went to go outside, then a ladder fell in front of the door. It was film shit. Dust everywhere, buildings falling down. We quickly realised it was serious. The cafe we’d just been in was totalled; gone. The tobacconist; gone. Everywhere we’d just been was gone. I didn’t know what to do, just as we were thinking ‘should we help’, the aftershock hit and everything started falling down. Seeing people come out the rubble, crying children. It got me. “We were supposed to be playing the following night at the uni, it was meant to be the biggest gig of the tour. But after that, we didn’t want to do it. It was weird for us, because we were visiting; we knew we’d be leaving. That was the first time I’d gone anywhere that far away in my life.” It’s a graphic tale, and although travelling to an earthquake zone isn’t anyone’s idea of fun, being booked to play a string of gigs on the other side of the world certainly is. The very fact that Mensah was in New Zealand says a lot for both his blossoming profile as a producer and DJ and the global impact dubstep continues to have.
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“I watch my facebook a lot, and I’ve been noticing my fans in New Zealand growing,” he says. “I’d been hearing so much about it, I couldn’t wait to go. But I think by the time I go back at the end of this year, my profile will have grown a lot more.”
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Looking at the facts, few could doubt such a confident prediction. Although 2010 saw Mensah’s star shine bright thanks to his remix of rave anthem ‘Let Me Be Your Fantasy, his solo EP for HENCH, a collaboration 12” with Noah D and his remix of Superisk’s ‘Find Your Way’ for the mighty Punch Drunk,
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I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE SURPISED TO SEE ME PLAY DMZ.
it’s 2011 that’s set to be the Bristolian’s year. With his much-vaunted Sukh Knight and Squarewave collaboration, ‘Quad Bikes’, just about to drop, a remix for chart-topper Example and a track for Foreign Beggars both in the works, as well as slower paced pieces for Die’s Gutterfunk and Redlight’s Lobster Boy labels, things are clearly about to step up a gear. But it’s the news of his first 12” for one of dubstep’s most revered imprints, Mala’s Deep Medi, that will really push Mensah’s stock skyward. “I’ve got a 12” coming on Deep Medi around June time,” he says, exhaling a plume of tobacco smoke across the room. “It was just a tune I made and didn’t expect anything from, it was for me. It’s called ‘The Gambia’. I think it’s the rhythm that Mala liked; it’s different. Off the back of that, I played DMZ. I think a lot of people were surprised to see me play there; I had people coming up to me saying ‘I didn’t know why they booked you, but you dealt with it!’” Indeed, the news of a Mensah 12” for Deep Medi will be a surprise to some. While the legendary label is renowned for putting out blissful, meditative slices of ocean-deep music, Mensah has, until now, been best known for his synth-laden, peak-time bangers such as ‘Pulse 80s’ and ‘Big Up The Goons’. But then, as we all know, a man like Mala doesn’t watch what others are thinking... So how did it feel to get the call from one of dubstep’s founding fathers? “That was a great moment for me. It’s those moments that define your career – like when Jakes took me into HENCH and Peverelist put out my remix of Superisk’s ‘Find Your Way’ on Punch Drunk. Those moments help you along the way. I have a lot of respect for Mala. It’s weird, because I’m not a dubstepfrom-day-dot guy, I’ve never claimed to be; I was drum & bass for a long time; it was the people around me like Joker, Chasing Shadows and Guido who got me onto dubstep. But, when you get into something, you do your homework; you go back and listen to the old records and the history of it all. It’s clear to see why someone like Mala, what he did at the time he did it, is so special and still so highly regarded.”
“I’ve always known what I wanted. But it was Liam [Joker] who really installed something in me. When we started hanging out, he was blowing up. I’d only just started making dubstep then, but it made me think, ‘This is some cool shit, this is what I want.’ He’d say ‘you’ve just gotta think positive, say and believe in what you want, visualise it and go get it’. There are people out there who are way more talented than me, but I’m a hard worker; I do 16 hours a day in the studio. I know I’m not a super producer, that’s why I’m in here so much; I wanna be that producer. You’ve got to believe it and go get it. It’s like, if you want that beautiful girl, walk up to her and get her! If you’re confident, you can make it happen. MENSAH, SUKH KNIGHT & SQUARWAVE ‘QUAD BIKES’ IS OUT NOW ON HENCH.
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With support from the dubstep scene’s highest echelons secured, remixes for major labels flying in and a reputation as a sick DJ confirmed with every booking, Mensah is flying high. However, he’s clearly hungry for more. Surrounded by a hugely successful pool of dubstep producers in Bristol, there’s plenty to inspire the young producer on to ever-greater success, and as we close the interview he explains a philosophy that leaves little doubt that his is a trajectory set for the very top.
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ONE PARTICULAR VARIETY OF SNEAKERS IS A HOT TOPIC THIS YEAR, AND YOU WON'T HAVE TO TRAWL THE BLOGOSPHERE FOR LONG TO FIGURE OUT WHICH. 2011 IS A BIG YEAR FOR THE JORDAN BRAND, WITH MORE THAN ONE RELEASE PLANNED FOR ALMOST EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR AND A WHOLE HOST OF SPECIAL-EDITIONS AND UPDATES ON CLASSIC SILHOUETTES LINED UP. Already, this year has brought the return of the Playoff Air Jordan XIII, which hadn't seen a re-release since its original issue 13 years ago. That was accompanied the same week by the Black History Month Jordan III, a sophisticated black and gold make-up, crafted in celebration of African-American history. The real story, though, was the return of the
white/ cement grey Air Jordan III, the OG colour-way of arguably the most popular Jordan ever released. Unlike some footwear brands, Jordan repeatedly re-issues the same models, but for sneaker-heads, that's no bad thing. The original Jordan releases (back when they still sported ‘Nike Air’ on the heel and not the infamous Jumpman logo) have created a huge legacy, and even though some models are now in their third or fourth incarnation, they’re nearly always instant sell-outs. More often than not, it's the original colour-ways that are the most desired… which is why this year is so special for Jordan fans. January’s Jordan III retro was a huge release on the sneaker-head calendar, and didn't disappoint. The kicks came packaged in a re-working of the original black and red cement-print box, and included updated versions of the
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original design leaflet and swing tab, sending collectors and enthusiasts into frenzy. It's rare that a retro (the term used to describe a re-released Jordan) release comes so close to the original, and that's not the only treat Jordan has in-store for us this year. This coming 26 March will see the release of the Orion Blue Air Jordan VII, an entirely new colour-way of another Jordan classic. Despite being 19 years since the VIIs were first released, this new model carries with it all the original 90s flavour, with an almost entirely white upper and hints of red and blue. And it doesn't stop there. Jordan has classic releases lined up for the rest of 2011, with rumours of black/silver Vs, Bordeaux 7s and black/cement IIIs (the partner to the OG white/cement retro from earlier this year) all being passed around. There’s
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also speculation that 2011 will end with a Jordan XI retro, as it has for the last two years. 2009 saw the return of the Space Jams, and 2010 brought back the Cool Greys, but for 2011 there's hope we'll see an updated version of a shoe that sits firmly in many Jordan fans' top-tens - the Concord Air Jordan XI. Jordan has a monumental history behind it, and although most of today's customers weren't old enough to pick them up when they dropped first time around, the brand is still as big as ever. Michael Jordan himself has since moved on from playing basketball to become the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, making him the first former NBA player to become a majority owner of a league franchise. His legacy lives on, and you'll find it on the shelves of sneaker stores the world over. 2011 is as good a time as ever to be into Jordans – if you're not a fan already, what better time to start?
DAVID KENNEDY’S ACETATE
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TRAP SPEAKS TO THE MAN BEHIND THE MONIKERS ABOUT HIS VINYL-ONLY NIGHT IN LEEDS...
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However, as well as being a target for producers, vinyl has long been a true measure of a DJ, the depth of one’s crates and the panache with which that DJ uses those 12” tools; and for some it’s still more than just a habit. David Kennedy is one such end user, though he’s probably better known to the wider public under his production guise of Pearson Sound, or as Ramadanman - the moniker he is phasing out in 2011. His commitment to the vinyl medium is somewhat obvious when you consider that his co-run Hessle Audio label still ships quality pressings of each release and that he’s been running Acetate - a 100% vinyl-only club night at the Wire club in Leeds, playing host to special one-off shows from some of bass music’s most iconic figures - since October of last year. “Part of the reason I started Acetate is because it’s kind of hard to play vinyl in clubs these days. No one really does anymore and therefore clubs don’t really look after their decks,” Kennedy sighs, beaming directly to Trap from the vestibule of a quiet coach bound for London’s Kings Cross. “It isn’t so much a statement that you can’t play CDs, there’s no big sign in the booth saying ‘NO CDJs’ or whatever, it’s more just the people playing wanting to bring a big box of records and have fun.” Coined by Kennedy, the second third of the Hessle conglomerate, with Ben UFO and Floating Points, Acetate was reportedly something of a natural progression after the dissolution of the Ruffage night, which was also held at Wire. “When Ruffage finished we didn’t have plans to do another night, but after chatting to Floating Points and Ben we thought it’d just be fun to play some tunes. It was all quite casual,” he quips politely. “I think part of the idea was just creating a party that people wanted to play at, to not just see it as another gig that they have to do. There’s not really any money in it, it’s all quite laid back but [as a DJ]
I think it’s refreshing to have those gigs; where you’re not pressured to play upfront stuff. You don’t have any pressures to play any particular kind of tunes and I think that’s the vibe of the night really.” Kennedy’s illusions have been more than cemented by the calibre of the artists willing to travel and indulge their record collections. Having only done four parties at the time of this interview, and after having invited Floating Points for the first session, Acetate has welcomed players such as Loefah, Appleblim, Joy Orbison, Kode 9 and Jackmaster, all of whom are big, in-demand DJs and label bosses who possess the musical scope and record collection that can truly stand up to the task. “Everyone who’s played the party has, I think, really enjoyed the afternoon before the gig, rummaging through all their old crates and digging out some stuff. I think [Hessle Audio signing] Joe actually cut some dubs for the night and I think a couple of other people have cut things especially, which has been really nice,” he audibly enthuses, talking over the distant metallic kerfuffle in the background. “I was like ‘What, you’re cutting bits just for tonight!?’ I mean, that’s what people used to do for DMZ! You’d have DMZ on the weekend and a few days before the night everyone’d be down at Transition cutting that special dub for that party. I remember being in there when so many people were passing through and I’m very honoured to be having DJs do that for Acetate.” Whilst indulging the historical core of his musical genesis at every possible juncture – reminiscing over cutting sessions, often ending his club sets with 140 bpm dubstep tracks and including classics such as Pinch’s ‘Qwaali’ on his soon to be released FABRICLIVE 56 mix – Kennedy is open and honest about the (un)practicality of vinyl-only sets. Regaling us with stories of a four-and-a half-hour set the weekend before and embellishing his commitment to sound quality, revealing that he tries to only ever play mastered material, his train of thought wanders off into a touching soliloquy about rotary mixers but, again, he’s quick to point out the schematic behind the night. “I think there’s a danger of it turning into a gimmick,” he offers. “Like saying ‘playing a vinyl-only set’ is a special occasion, which is how it’s almost become. I’ve seen people being billed at a club night as ‘100% vinyl set’… That was my only concern with Acetate, I mean, that’s its selling point; I would never really want to phrase it as that but that’s part of makes the night special, isn’t it?” THE NEXT ACETATE IS ON 6 MAY WITH SVEN WEISMANN AND ONEMAN JOINING KENNEDY. FABRICLIVE 56 PEARSON SOUND/ RAMADANMAN IS OUT 14 MARCH
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WHETHER YOU SPEND COUNTLESS HOURS BREATHING IN ITS TEXTURE OR INVEST YOUR DAYS IN SEARCHING OUT SMALL, RARE AND PRECIOUS PIECES OF IT, THERE’S NO DENYING THAT VINYL IS STILL A COMMODITY. RESPECTED JOURNALIST AND KEYSOUND LABEL BOSS BLACKDOWN HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD RECENTLY USING HIS TWITTER TO CONVERSE THAT “PEOPLE BARELY BUY VINYL, BUT ALL THE NEW PRODUCERS WANT THEIR WORK ON IT.” AND IT’S TRUE. OBTAINING THAT PHYSICAL PRODUCT WITH ITS CLEAR AND PRESENT WEIGHT IS A VERY REAL GOAL, AND SOMETHING PRODUCERS SHOOT FOR EVERY DAY, BUT AS A CONSUMERIST POPULATION, WE’RE SHUNNING IT IN FAVOUR OF A QUICK FIX DOWNLOAD; WHETHER ITS FLAC OR OTHERWISE.
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’DADDISON
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WHILE YOU MAY NOT RECOGNISE THE NAME DADDISON IMMEDIATELY, SOMEWHERE, AT SOME POINT, WE’RE PRETTY SURE YOU WILL HAVE SEEN SOME OF HIS WORK. OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, THE SHEFFIELD-RAISED, LONDON/BRISTOL/BERLIN-BASED ARTIST HAS WORKED FOR EVERYONE FROM INDEPENDENT SHOPS, PUBS AND BARS, TO THE LIKES OF NIXON WATCHES, FABRIC AND, MORE RECENTLY, EASTPACK AND RALPH LAUREN.
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PHOTO: WWW.CHARLESEMERSON.CO.UK
WITH A UNIQUE, INSTANTLY RECOGNISABLE STYLE THAT MAKES PROMINENT USE OF HAND-DRAWN TYPEFACES, BOLD GRAPHICS AND IRREGULAR PATTERNS, DADDISON’S KALEIDOSCOPIC DESIGNS AND ARTWORKS HAVE A DOODLISH, NEAR-CHILDLIKE QUALITY THAT SIMULTANEOUSLY CHARMS AND INTRIGUES. ALTHOUGH HAVING ONLY JUST TOUCHED DOWN FROM A WEEK WORKING IN PARIS, DADDISON MADE TIME FOR A QUICK CHAT WITH TRAP ABOUT LIFE AS A PROFESSIONAL SCRIBBLER...
How did you begin your career? “I did a graphic design course at uni, but I got bad grades due to not paying attention to what I was supposed to be doing. My final project was pretty much a fashion project. After that I started playing records out, doing a night and designing flyers. It was working with Kung Fu [seminal London hip-hop night] that led to me getting introduced to certain people at the right time and things spiralled from there. It was around that time I started doing web stuff to pay the bills.” How would you describe yourself? Artist? Designer? “I wanna call myself an artist, but I find that word a bit embarrassing or pretentious. I’m a bit of everything really designer, illustrator, painter. I still kinda think of myself as unemployed - like not having a ‘proper’ job - even though I’m far busier than nearly everyone I know. How would you describe your style and what you do? “I’d describe my art as kinda naive, wobbly hand-drawn stuff, in as many mediums and materials as I have time for.” What inspires you and your work? “Music, the need to get paid and deadlines. I’ve been trying to read a bit more recently, ‘cause I realised that certain words or phrases can really set something off. I don’t really look at anyone’s work that is even vaguely similar to me; consciously or not, elements will creep in, and the last thing I wanna seem like is a biter.” You’ve recently been out in Paris working on some designs for Ralph Lauren. Can you tell us more? “I’ve just got back from working on it. It was five 12-hour days in a freezing cold studio. An agency I do a bit of work with put together a project for Polo with an open call for submissions. It was suggested that I enter by certain people and I guess they liked what I did.” And you’ve done some sick designs for the Eastpack artist studio project... “Yeah, I did a print for a group show at the Eastpack store on Carnaby Street. After that, they had this charity project coming up that I said I’d do; I didn’t really think about it at the time and the bags I painted were done in a mad rush while out in Berlin, then posted over. I think we’re submitting some more toned down designs to possibly go into production.” You’ve worked with some impressive brands, who would you love to work with next? “I’m still waiting for a call from Nike; there’ve been a few things with them that have almost happened but fell through. And I definitely want to do more ‘proper’ gallery stuff - like doing exhibitions in places that normally show the more conceptual or wankery side of the art world, rather than street art stuff. I’m scheming for Saatchi money, basically.”
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DEEP IN THE HEART OF CENTRAL LONDON, A STONE’S THROW FROM WESTMINSTER AND BENEATH THE SHIFTING SHADOW OF THE LONDON EYE, SITS ONE OF THE CAPITAL’S GRANDEST BUILDINGS. THE OLD COUNTY HALL, ONCE THE SEAT OF LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL, IS AN IMMENSE BUILDING FULL OF MARBLE PILLARS AND ELABORATE STAIRCASES. NOW RELIEVED OF ITS CIVIC DUTIES, THIS PRIME PIECE OF REAL ESTATE HOUSES A HOTEL, RESTAURANTS, A MUSEUM AND, IN THE DEPTHS OF ITS BASEMENT, THE HEADQUARTERS OF PWL – THE PRODUCTION COMPANY RESPONSIBLE FOR LAUNCHING THE CAREERS OF MANY A SACCHARINE-SWEET 80S POP STAR, AND OWNED BY LEGENDARY RECORD PRODUCER, POP IDOL JUDGE AND TRAIN-SPOTTER PETE WATERMAN.
It’s the last place on earth you’d expect to find a dubstep and drum & bass producer with a reputation for forging some of the deepest and most credible music around. But here, in a studio tucked away behind the walls of platinum and gold discs, 28-year-old James Boyle can be found almost every day, producing some of the most exciting bass-driven music on the planet. Confused? We most certainly were as we got closer to the address we’d be given and realised just exactly where it was we were meeting the man known as Breakage. Greeting Trap at the building’s huge doors, Breakage cuts a stylish figure in his smartly-cut coat and buzzes with the kind of energy that only the very busiest possess. We cross the road to grab a coffee and a taxi pulls up, from which no less than jungle legend and Digital Soundboy boss Shy FX jumps out with American DJ and producer B-Traits. Coffees bought, we cross back to County Hall and pass Will from Chase & Status on his way out of the doors. As we make our way to the PWL studios below, wondering which bass-music superstar we’ll cross paths with next, Breakage explains he’s not the only unlikely tenant of Pete Waterman’s central London studios.
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“Down here now, there’s Shy and Chase & Status downstairs, and then me, Nero, Sub Focus and Caspa in this one corridor here,” he says in his unmistakable South-London accent, scanning a key-pass on the door to his studio. “Having a place like this to work is great, but it’s more than that. Having people like Chase & Status down the hall, getting to Number Two in the album charts, it pushes you on. Not that chart positions or sales really bother me, but they’ve pushed themselves so hard. And it’s the same for Shy; he pushes himself, Sub Focus – all of these guys down here. It’s nice to have energy around you, you need that energy and inspiration to grow and push forward. I remember chatting to Photek years ago, and him telling me that those amazing tunes that came out on Metalheadz; it was just a competition between the producers. It was the same with Full Cycle. That’s what keeps a scene going; you hear someone else’s tune, and think I’ve gotta better that! Everybody had that friendly competition in their head back then, and I think that’s what we have here. When you don’t have that around you, your inspiration gets sucked out of you.”
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That sense of competition is clearly already rubbing off on Breakage, having joined the likes of Nero, Shy and, of course, C&S with his latest single denting the UK Top Twenty and receiving plenty of day-time Radio One play. Featuring the vocals of singer Jess Mills, ‘Fighting Fire’ is the perfect balance of commercial and credible, and with its dubstep tempo, 4/4 beats and trance-inspired riff, is a bold illustration of how far Breakage has come since his early ultra-underground drum & bass beginnings a decade ago.
“I met Jess through our mangers,” he says. “One day we hooked up, sat and listened to a lot of music together, worked out what we each liked. She doesn’t do dance music, she listens to it, but her music is more than just that. I played her a loop I had that was just the riff from ‘Fighting Fire’, with a 4/4 beat and a conga loop, and said ‘You reckon you could do something for that?’ She said ‘Yeh, I’ll give it a go.’ A few days later, she emailed me a demo version and I was like; ‘That’s perfect.’ Then she came back down and we recorded it really fast. It came together so easily, almost effortlessly. Now we’re working on her album.” ‘Fighting Fire’ is the first new material to come from Breakage since his groundbreaking LP of last year, ‘Foundation’. That album, with its vocal-heavy mix of dubstep, grime, D&B and more announced the arrival of Breakage the artist, winning him masses of new fans with tracks such as the Newham Generals collaboration ‘Hard’ and ‘Speechless’ with Donaeo. Since then, Breakage has continued to establish himself as one of the very finest producers in electronic music and has managed to achieve modest main-stream success and plaudits without ever having sacrificed credibility. Breakage is the kind of artist who can have a crowd of 1,000 sweaty kids undulating madly to his ‘Riverside’ remix at Fabric, yet still have the very beardiest of music snobs admiring the depth of his sonic craft. Despite an astonishing five of his tracks being lauded as the ‘Greatest Record In The World Right Now’ by Radio One taste-maker Zane Lowe in the last year (‘Fighting Fire’ included), it’s clear that Breakage is still coming to terms with the elevation of his status from underground hero to chart-troubling producer. “It’s new ground for me; it’s kind of cool, kind of scary. Everyone else seems to be a lot more excited than I am. I’m happy, but I’m not content. Even if I went to Number One, out of all the people that would be happy, I’d be the least out of everyone. I’d be thinking about what I need to do next. You can’t just go: ‘Right, got a tune in the charts, that’s me done for the year.’ I want to better myself with every tune. This album I’m working on now; it’s got to be better than the last album. This single needs to be better than that. I just have to push myself, otherwise things get stagnant...” So is that something that’s happened before? “Yeah,” he replies without hesitation. “You get complacent; you get too comfortable, you’re happy with the praise you’re getting. You’re not thinking ‘How can I push this further?’ For ages, I thought, ‘I don’t have to get a job!’ But then, I started thinking ‘If I treat this more like a job, I could actually get to an even higher level.’ When I was younger, I used to think ‘Oh, maybe one day I’ll be able to release a tune and people will pay me to go and DJ and pay to see me.’ And I got that. But once you get that first foot in the door, you can do so much more. But I just didn’t think about it for years, I was happy with where I was at. And then one day, I thought ‘Wait a minute, I could actually step things up and do all the things I’ve always wanted to do.’” The proof of this change in attitude comes from a glance at Breakage’s discography. It was after he’d linked up with Shy FX and his anything-goes Digital Soundboy imprint in 2007 that the Breakage we now know first began to appear. Prior to his first release for Shy, Breakage was known solely for his deep, break-centric, dub-inspired releases for esoteric drum & bass labels such as Inperspective and Bassbin (for whom he produced his first album ‘This Too Shall Pass’ in 2006) Although worshipped by puritanical D&B heads for tracks such as ‘So Vain’ and ‘Mars’, little was known of the South London
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I WANT TO BETTER MYSELF WITH EVERY TUNE. I HAVE TO PUSH MYSELF, OTHERWISE THINGS GET STAGNANT.
producer beyond the most underground corners of that scene. However, after signing for Soundboy in 2007, within a year his first dubstep tracks surfaced on the genre-shifting label and the wider world began to take notice, ready for the arrival of ‘Foundation’ in 2010. “Things changed when I came back from America. I had an amazing time there, but I got complacent. I got happy with DJing, getting up, watching TV for a bit, making a tune. I was working on the album for Soundboy, it was getting finished, it bothered me slightly, but there were no alarm bells. It was a very easy lifestyle; there was no real pressure on me to do anything... Then Shy started giving me a kick up the arse. That’s when I started thinking, ‘I can carry on as I am, and see how long my luck lasts, or I can really go for it.’” A lot has been said of Shy FX so far, and the frequency with which Breakage mentions his label boss’s name is indicative of the role the Soundboy founder has had in helping Breakage to realise his potential. When asked about his shift towards dubstep, it’s unsurprising to hear how the ever forwardthinking Shy FX supported Breakage in his push forward. “Even when I was on Bassbin, me and Shy were chatting. He’d started the label, he expressed an interest in my stuff and we went from there. Then one day, he asked me about an album. Then I started making more and more dubstep. I said to Shy, ‘I’m making some dubstep’. He instantly said, ‘Cool, I like dubstep. If it’s good then that’s cool.’ That seems to be the thing with Shy; if I made some house, and it was good, he’d put it out. I think that’s one thing that Shy has over almost anyone else. Most labels, especially those from a D&B background, they’re limited. They think ‘We’re not known for this music,’ and they’ll start a new label for it. Why? How about just do a label. A record label is a label, not a tempo.”
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This perspective is obviously something shared with how Breakage sees himself; as an artist, not a tempo. As one of the only original D&B producers to truly establish himself as a credible force in dubstep, the switch from 174 to 140bpm was a natural step for Breakage, with his first excursion into the genre getting cut to dubplate immediately by no less than Digital Mystikz’s Mala.
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“I remember when I first moved out to America, I was constantly going back to the UK, making sure I didn’t fall off the musical map. One of my mates, Georgina Cook who does Drumz of the South, said ‘You should go to this night, DMZ. It’s really interesting, it’s this music called dubstep that’s just started.’ I didn’t go. Months later, I started to see pictures of Mala, who went to the same school as me, and Skream, who was the kid from Big Apple, Pokes and Loefah... I thought ‘Half of Croydon is in this scene!’ I started listening to it; I came to it a bit late, but I’d already started going down that minimal route, which is why Georgina knew I’d love it. I started to realise ‘This is pretty much what I make, just slower.’ So I started trying to make it. I listened to more and more and realised, as long as it sounds good, you can do whatever. I made my first tune, sent it to Mala. He cut it. I thought ‘I’m in!’ I’d wanted to make something along those lines for a while. This was music that you could make overly bassy, thin drums, whatever. You could go for it, make what you want and there was no rules. I loved that aspect of it – I’m a big production geek, but I’m a fan of stuff sounding right. There’s a place for limited super loud music, and there’s a place for stuff that breathes too. I think for me, the whole 170bpm D&B thing; it’s a bit fast sometimes...”
This last sentence says a lot about how far Breakage has come both as an artist and an individual since his early days as a producer of one of D&B’s most challenging styles. The evolution displayed between a track such as his jungle-inflected debut for Bassbin ‘Disco 45’ and the trance inspired, 4/4 groove of ‘Fighting Fire’ is astonishing. With that in mind, as he switches off the air con, steps back into his coat and zips his MacBook securely into its case, there’s just time to ask Breakage if his 17-year-old, D&B obsessed self would have ever imagined he’d end up making the music he does now? “Well, I remember when I was working on ‘Foundation’, I was trying to do a tune with Benga for it, and he came picked me up,” he recalls. “We were chatting on the way and, I said to him ‘I’ve got a really strong feeling that everything’s gonna go kinda housey over the next few years.’ He looked at me and said ‘Yep!’ We got to his and he started playing me tracks like ‘On A Mission’ and I was like ‘Mate!’ We started making a tune, and I kid you not, it was the most trance tune ever. This was two years ago. It was full-on trance, we were in his room thinking ‘This is banging, but people aren’t gonna be able to bridge the gap; they’ll think we’ve lost it!’ So we deleted it. But things have changed now; everything’s open and the connections have been made. Two years ago, that tune worried me. But now it’s all open – we can do whatever – and if that was two years ago... who knows what to expect next...” CATCH BREAKAGE ON TOUR THROUGHOUT THE UK THIS SUMMER.
P MONEY WORDS: SOPHIE THOMAS PHOTO: VERENA STEFANIE
2010 WAS A MASSIVE YEAR FOR P MONEY. AS FANS EAGERLY AWAITED A FOLLOW-UP TO THE BREAKTHROUGH ALBUM ‘MONEY OVER EVERYONE’, NEW FOLLOWERS STARTED TAKING NOTE AS THE SOUTH LONDON GRIME MC MADE SERIOUS WAVES IN THE DUBSTEP SCENE AND BEYOND WITH HIS TRUE TIGER COLLABORATION ‘SLANG LIKE THIS’ AND VOCALLINGS OF SWERVE’S ‘HO! RIDDIM’ REMIX AND DOCTOR P’S INFAMOUS ‘SWEET SHOP’. With a landslide victory in the grime clash of the year (rendering Ghettz a near myth) and a spot in MTV’s Top 10 UK MCs 2010, all eyes are on P Money to see what he’ll deliver next. Sophie Thomas tracked down the man behind the Money to chat upcoming releases, Rinse FM and the importance of quality production. These days, you’re known just as well in the dubstep scene as you are in grime. Beyond that, your collaboration with Starkey on ‘Numb’ last year was a different sound for you to work with. Do you have a preference when it comes to the beats you work with? “I enjoy spitting over beats like that just as much as grime. When I first heard that beat, I wasn’t sure at first but I thought, “Let me just sit down and empty my head and flow to it.” And that’s what happened. I just started speaking about normal stuff and listening to the beat - that’s how I came to the chorus, which is about listening to the kick of the drum. I was just talking about what was going on around me; at one point I talk about my mum shouting at me to do the washing up. It’s a personal tune. Beats like that bring something else out in you.”
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What sorts of production attract and inspire you to write bars for them? “Sometimes I like bassy tunes with a simple beat - so I can be heard. Dubstep drum patterns are slow, which allows me to say clever things. Sometimes I don’t even listen to certain sounds on the beat, I’ll just write bars to the drum pattern. A lot of MCs don’t know what they sound good on; just because a beat is sick, doesn’t mean you’re going to sound sick on it. They’ll vocal it and wonder why they’re not getting paid. The amount of times I’ve said to people at radio, “Spray this lyric on this beat” and it works… I don’t know, I think I’ve got a good ear for music.”
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Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming mixtape collaboration with fellow O.Gz member, Blacks? “It’s just a CD to give everyone for now, until we complete our solo projects. We’ve got quite a few people on the beats. From the grime side of things, we’ve got the regulars like Silencer and Royal T. For the dubstep, we’ve got Doctor P and a bit of Sukh Knight.
We’ve actually done something over The Prodigy beat on ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ - it’s one of those ‘go wild’ ones; it’s going to bring the same energy as ‘Slang Like This’. Will that be a free mixtape? What do you think about MCs releasing mad amounts of free material? Is it diluting the scene? “No, the mixtape’s not going to be free, but I think free giveaways are needed. It’s not just about you; your fans are your career. They deserve something free. You could be the sickest MC but the public might not even know you. Imagine you give them something for free that’s sick - they’re going to think, “Wow”. And then when you bring out something that they’ve got to buy, they’ll be happy to.” A lot of MCs have neglected radio since breaking through, but you’re still regularly on RinseFM shows. Why is radio still such an important platform for you? “Radio is what makes you. The way I see it, you can’t abandon that. That’s where you get your diehard fan base, that’s where your listeners are. If you’re not doing anything, your fans have nothing to follow, no connection with you. Of course, sometimes you need a break to pull back and work on a project, but you can’t just disappear. People are mad to think they’re too big for radio. You’re never too big for radio.” You’ve been working with Elijah and Skilliam Butterz a lot recently; on radio, at parties and on productions. Are you excited by the reaction that’s come from it all? “Yeah, of course. It’s a powerful collaboration. Even on their radio show, they’ll bring people on that you’d never expect. They’re organised, a lot more people need to be like them. They’re not just DJs; they’re putting out music, they’re setting stuff up, they’re bringing people over for special sets… I think they hold a lot of weight and I think they need a lot more recognition for what they do.”
And finally, it seems like 2011 is the year for Grime to break through across the pond. Have you been to the US yet? I want to go, I don’t know when, but I definitely want to. I’ve been getting a lot of feedback from America, adding me on the fanpage and buying my music or whatever. There’s this Canadian MC right now called Tre Mission and he’s the first international person I’ve heard that is proper grime. And not an American rapper trying to do grime, he’s fully grime. That just shows that there is UK inspiration out there. The eye is on us. Personally, I think if people stopped wasting time looking over there, they would realise that it was always here.”
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IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT YOU; YOUR FANS ARE YOUR CAREER.
Tell us a bit about the upcoming ‘Boo You’ track featuring Blacks and Slickman (Mr Party). It’s the first vocalled beat to come out on Butterz, right? “Yeah, Royal T has remixed a TRC instrumental and I’ve vocalled it with Blacks and an old-school MC called Mr Party – people might know him from being on sets with Jammer back in the day. Because the beat’s kind of garage, we just gave it a Neutrino vibe and I brought out an old-school kind of flow. I had the bars written from time ago; as soon as you hear it, you’ll recognise the So Solid lyric.”
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TRAPSTAR ’keeping it secret...
WORDS: KASHA MALYCKYJ.
LONDON-BORN FASHION BRAND TRAPSTAR HAS ESTABLISHED ITSELF AT THE TOP OF THE HIGH-END STREETWEAR MARKET WHERE MANY OTHERS HAVE FAILED. WITH JUST THE RIGHT COMBINATION OF EXCLUSIVITY AND QUALITY, EVERYONE FROM HOME-GROWN GRIME MCS AND ACTORS, TO INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTARS SUCH AS RIHANNA AND LUPE FIASCO HAVE BEEN SPOTTED WEARING TRAPSTAR GARMENTS.
Conceived with the ethos that there’s ‘a star trapped within everyone’ and sighting a broad pool of influences, from cinematography to contemporary art, Trapstar produces collections that it’s loyal fans can wear with the assurance that they won’t see every next person rocking the same item. Since its beginnings back in 2006, the brand has extended its style repertoire beyond the graphic tees and sweats that built its name, with an impressive range of tailored coats, varsity jackets and a small collection of womenswear, as well as a collaboration with G-Shock watches. You can find all these items in the flagship Trapstar store in West London that, with its combination of bright red décor, sleek, minimalist lines and antique pieces, reflect the style of the brand perfectly. We grabbed a few quick words with Mikey, Trapstar’s Creative Director and one of the brand’s original founders.
How did Trapstar start? “It was a mistake really, we (the other members of Trapstar are co- founder Will and graphic designer Jeng) weren’t happy with what was available to buy at the time, so I started to make some tees for us to wear. We then started giving them out to close friends and family and then friends of friends wanted one and so on. You had to
know someone to get one and, as the demand from outside our circle got bigger, we knew we were onto something.” Why was secrecy and exclusivity so important to the brand? “We didn’t want to stock in stores at first and we also found stores didn’t want to take on new brands especially those that wanted to remain a secret like us so we came up with the invasion concept. We would take over a store for a day and sell our collections for that limited time, which not only gave us an outlet to sell, but also introduced the brand to people who weren’t familiar with it yet.” So it’s not about that all-important paper? “No we weren’t looking to make a mass profit and it wasn’t about following any fashion trends. We just wanted to make clothes that we would wear ourselves and I think that’s why the brand has worked, because the passion and the quality are there. I know it may sound selfish, but we still design with ourselves in mind and that’s why we continue to produce good stuff; we won’t put anything out there we wouldn’t wear ourselves.” Trapstar launch a new collection at the end of March. WWW.IAMATRAPSTAR.COM
SHIRTS AND SHOES. Casual tailoring with athletic footwear. Trap switches up the styles for a fresh look this Spring. PHOTOGRAPHY: Shifteye Photography. facebook.com/shifteyephotography STYLED BY: Kasha Malyckyj. Assisted by Charlotte James. MAKE UP: Zoe Lodde. MALE HAIR: Harry Blades.
George wears: Shirt: Carhartt £55 Trousers: Dickies £49.99 at Cooshti Tie and belt: Vintage Stussy X Nike All Court £80 at The Hideout
Laya wears: Silk shirt: Blue Rinse £24 Trousers: Miss Selfridge £36 Nike X Liberty Blazers
George wears: Shirt: Carhartt £60 Trousers: ‘Sid Pants’ Carhartt £70 Reebok GL 6000 £69.99 at Cooshti
Laya wears: Silk Cami: Vintage Pleated Skirt: River Island £24.99 Nike Gladiators £49.99 at Cooshti
George wears: Selvedge Denim Shirt: Edwin £75 at Cooshti Trousers: Dickies £49.99 at Cooshti Belt: Motel Vintage £18 Air Jordan 3 £100
Laya wears: Crop top: Topshop £16 Balet Skirt: Vintage Y3 Adidas Blazer: Stylists own Vans Authentics £37.99
George wears: Shirt: Carhartt £50 Trousers: Dickies £49.99 at Cooshti Adidas Originals Attitude £59.99 at Cooshti
Laya wears: Silk shirt: Blue Rinse £24 Trousers: Miss Selfridge £36 Adidas Originals Charms (worn as necklace) Nike Air Max 1’s £89.99 at Cooshti
STOCKISTS: Adidas Originals www.adidas.com/originals 020 7379 4042 Blue Rinse Vintage www.bluerinseleeds.co.uk 01132451735 Carhartt www.thecarharttstore.co.uk 020 7836 5659 Cooshti www.cooshti.com 0117 9290850 Liberty www.liberty.co.uk 020 7734 1234 Nike www.nike.com Niketown London 020 7612 0800 Motel www.motelrocks.com 0117 934 9173 River Island www.riverisland.com 020 8991 4500 Miss Selfridge www.missselfridge.com Reebok www.reebok.com 020 7240 8689 The Hideout www.hideoutstore.com 020 7437 4929 Topshop www.topshop.com 020 7636 7700 Vans www.vans.com
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ICICLE HANGING TIGHT’
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WORDS: BELINDA ROWSE PHOTO: JEAN-LUC BROUARD
HAILING FROM THE DUTCH CITY OF EINDHOVEN, JEROEN SNIK AKA ICICLE, IS KNOWN PRIMARILY FOR HIS D&B OUTPUT, ROLLING OUT HIS OWN ICONIC DEEP, DARK SOUND AS PART OF FRICTION’S SHOGUN AUDIO CAMP AND FOR A CLUTCH OF OTHER ULTRA-CREDIBLE DRUM & BASS IMPRINTS. HOWEVER, OVER THE LAST YEAR, ICICLE’S WORK AROUND THE 140BPM MARK HAS BEEN CAUSING QUITE SOME STIR AMONG THE DUBSTEP FRATERNITY. 2010 SAW THE RELEASE OF ‘ANYTHING’ FOR THE MIGHTY TEMPA, AND THE MUCH VAUNTED ‘MINIMAL DUB’ FOR SHOGUN, SETTING THE STANDARD FOR CUTS SUCH AS ‘BREATHING AGAIN’ (WHICH FEATURES ON HIS FORTHCOMING ALBUM). BLENDING D&B AND DUBSTEP WITH AN UNMISTAKABLE TECHNO INFLUENCE, THE AFOREMENTIONED ALBUM, ‘UNDER THE ICE’, DELIVERS COLLABORATIONS WITH ROBERT OWENS, SP:MC, DRS AND PROXIMA, AND STANDS AS A CULMINATION OF ICICLE’S ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE. TRAP CAUGHT UP WITH THE DUTCH PRODUCER ON A SUITABLY COLD FEBRUARY DAY AND SET ABOUT DIGGING DOWN BENEATH THE ICE TO DISCOVER MORE…
Icicle: “I once got caught in a snowstorm in France when I was snowboarding. I couldn’t see more than a few yards and got loads of snow in my hair. That snow partially melted and froze up again. I remember sitting in front of a fire afterwards with my head forward and these big lumps of ice slowly falling from my hair.” Your debut album ‘Under The Ice’ is out soon. You’ve mentioned before a desire to create a diverse but cohesive LP that isn’t just a string of singles – was it a challenging process putting the album together? “If it wasn’t challenging, it wouldn’t have been good enough. It took me about two years to write all the tracks. At points it felt like I was closer to dropping it all and moving back to Holland than actually finishing it. I tried to put all my influences into it, together with my idea of modern bass-music and the directions I think it should go in.” On that note, we just want to clear up a couple of rumours… Firstly, is it true that originally you wanted a lot more techno/dubstep content for your album but it got axed? “Haha, I love techno a lot. I would love to make a techno album, but it’s a very different kind of music; an album alternating between techno and D&B may lose a lot of the flow and its listen-ability. It’s true that some of the techno I wrote for the album didn’t make it, but that was because it sounded out of place.”
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YOU NEED TO SEE THE RELATIVE PROPORTIONS OF THE PARTS THAT MAKE UP THE WHOLE TO UNDERSTAND THE BEAUTY OF IT. Secondly, we heard that you were lined up to do a FACT mix but it got pulled when they found out you were a D&B artist – is that true? “Wow, you guys are on it! As far as I’m aware there was a possible slot reserved for me but it didn’t work out timing wise. I haven’t really chased that up, but I can hardly believe it was anything to do with the fact I predominantly make D&B.” Increasingly, D&B artists are diversifying into the slower tempos (Alix Perez as ARP 101, Al Instra:mental as Boddika). Do you produce under another moniker? “Having a second alias is a great way to put music out there in a different context. I’m not doing it, but have been considering it for a while. I had the album as my main focus for a long time, but I guess there’s a bit more time
now for those kinds of projects. So, at the risk of sounding like a clichéd promoter, watch this space…” You’ve got a show on RinseFM. Do you think that’s helped to build your profile and reach a new audience? “I have about four scheduled shows a year. In reality, though, I also do a few shows with Youngsta and sometimes cover for other people if I’m free. Rinse is a great way to boost your audience. I guess a lot of people with a general interest in London’s underground dance music listen to it; make sure you mention your twitter account loads and more people pick up on you.” We’ve also heard that you’re an ace mathematician. There have always been theories about the intrinsic links between maths and music - is this something that has helped your production, personally? “You know, I hate mathematics but I have studied it a lot. It’s just a tool in my opinion and mostly carried out a lot better by machines than people. But there are some interesting similarities with music, no doubt. There’s a system behind music, rhythmic and chromatic; it helps to realise that if you don’t want to fall in the ‘happy accident’ category of producers. I think in general you need to be able to see the relations and relative proportions of the parts that make up the whole to understand the beauty of it.” You live in a bit of a creative hub with a bunch of other D&B producers in North London. Do you all get together and give each other ideas and advice on your work? “I think what we do more than anything else up here is get drunk a few too many nights of the week. We’ll talk about music and gear and tricks but that’s kind of a dry conversation. It is nice to live among people that do the same thing as you, though, because you can moan about stuff and they understand!” Talking of ideas and inspirations – who/what would you cite as key influences? “For D&B, it’s always been a combination of Source Direct, Photek, Jonny L, Virus, Metalheadz and Certificate 18… But speaking outside of D&B, it gets a lot harder. Tonnes of techno artists; recently Shed has just been hurting me so much. I used to listen to lots of old jazz, anything Davis or Coltrane will do. And also, just sounds you pick up from TV or random music etc that make you wonder how they were made and inspire you to have a go.” And finally, can you summarise ‘Under The Ice’ for us in five words? “Music beyond characterless rollers for DJs… ahh, that’s six!” ‘UNDER THE ICE’ IS OUT NOW ON SHOGUN AUDIO. FOLLOW ICICLE ON TWITTER @ICICLEMUSIC
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I guess everyone always piles on the ‘ice cold’ puns around your name. Having said that, ‘Dreadnaught’ is a Trap favourite and ‘26 Degrees Below Sub Zero’ is pretty cold! What's the coldest you've ever been?
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REVIEWED BY: BASSMUSIC BLOG, SAM COLLENETTE, DUB BOY, LEYLA EROGLU, DAVE COTGRAVE, JERYL WILTON, FIREMAN SAM, JUSTIN IRIAJEN, JON COOK, SEAN KELLY.
REVIEW GUIDE:
DRUM & BASS
DUBSTEP
HOUSE/FUNKY
GRIME/HIP HOP
DANCEHALL/REGGAE
ESSENTIAL LISTENING.
FABRICLIVE 56 Pearson Sound / Ramadanman (Fabric) Despite being a mixed compilation, the latest instalment in the FabricLive series was an obvious choice for this issue’s featured review. A zeitgeist seizing, constantly surprising collection of music, this 30-track mix smoothly blurs the boundaries between everything from deep house and techno, to dubstep, grime and UK funky, leaving you in no doubt that the Pearson Sound moniker represents a shift in scale and ambition for David Kennedy, the man known in dubstep circles as Ramadanman.
A phenomenal collection of music, faultlessly combined, FabricLive56 is without doubt one of the finest moments in the illustrious series so far. For an expedition into the sounds of now, look no further.
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FAULTLESSLY COMBINED, IT’S WITHOUT DOUBT ONE OF THE FINEST MOMENTS IN THE ILLUSTRIOUS SERIES SO FAR.
The highlights are too numerous to list here, but tracks such as the impossibly brilliant ‘Battle For Middle You’ from Julio Bashmore, Kennedy’s own re-lick of Joy O’s ‘GR Etiquette’ and Addison Groove’s ‘Fuck The 101’ stand tall. Girl Unit’s ‘IRL’ and Lil Silva’s ‘Bad Girl’ remix offer other home-grown high points, while the early inclusion of Tiyiselani Vomaseve’s African choir-sampling ‘Vanghoma’ demonstrates that Kennedy’s gaze often falls far beyond UK shores.
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TEEZA ‘Bounce EP’ (Earth 616)
LEFTSIDE FT SHAGGY ‘Jump Around’ (Keep Left Records)
Coming on Logan Sama’s Earth 616 label, Teeza makes his breakthrough with this EP. Title track ‘Bounce’ is a former ‘Jam Hot’ on Mista Jam’s show and causes havoc everytime. Part of the resurgence in grime producers, Teeza brings it back to the essence of the genre with skippy, hype filled beats, raw production and off-thewall influences. Other tracks to check include ‘Switch’ and ‘Reebok Pumps’.
This is one of the most original dancehall tracks this year. The riddim, produced by Leftside, is a masterpiece of minimal half-time jungle complete with sub-bass drops, built around a wicked vocal loop. Leftside and the one and only Mr Boombastic, Shaggy, are both on top form riding the beat with skill and imagination while urging the listeners to jump around. Absolute killer!
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LONDON ELEKTRICITY ‘Yikes!’ (Hospital)
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When you’re old enough to be most of your fans’ dad, it gives you a certain freedom as an artist. With maturity of years comes a lack of concern for the opinions of others and a sense of liberation to be yourself. This is all quite clearly the case with Hospital head-honcho Tony Colman, who beneath his London Elektricity guise has no qualms in calling his latest album ‘Yikes!’. But the title is where the silliness ends, as this is actually a rich and interesting collection of D&B, which is risen above the norm by the vocals of Swedish singer Elsa Esmeralda on seven of the 12 tracks. From the opening Think breaks and pianos of the gentle ‘Elektricity Will Keep Me Warm’ to the electro-jungle of ‘Yikes!’ there’s real musicality across this record.
FALTY DL ‘You Stand Uncertain’ (Planet Mu) Remarkably prolific NY-based producer Drew Lustman, AKA Falty DL, returns with the follow-up to 2009’s brilliant ‘Love Is a Liability’ LP for Planet Mu, via a string of impressive EPs for the likes of Ramp and Rush Hour and an extensive list of remixes. The rapid-fire drum programming and soulful melodic patchworks remain from previous releases, but ‘You Stand Uncertain’ is permeated by a new sense of depth and texture. Layering dusty atmospheres over the shuffling drums, Lustman explores new rhythms and moods, directing the ebb and flow over a variety of tempos. Drawing more overtly on jungle, house and hip-hop influences, the scope is broadened, giving his music a new freedom. Vocal contributions from Anneka and Lily McKenzie tie themselves perfectly to his soulful tracks.
ADDISON GROOVE ‘This Is It’ / ‘Make Um Bounce’ (Tectonic) Yet more Bristol-based quality, as the man once known as Headhunter continues his thrilling series of explorations of drum machines, juked-up vocal samples and different tempo ranges as Addison Groove. The highlight is ‘Make Um Bounce’, which has all the swagger and the swing needed to rock a floor, without resorting to cliche. Another example of Pinch’s Tectonic imprint opening up its sound to great effect.
2562 'Fever' (When in Doubt) For his highly anticipated third album, 2562 pays homage to the heady days of 1970s disco. ‘Fever’ is a visceral and somewhat raw interpretation of a genre often overlooked in bass-music circles. Those expecting endless handclaps and filtered loops will be sadly disappointed, as this is disco that has been chopped, screwed and re-thought beyond all recognition. The saccharine sweet veneer has been stripped away leaving a densely textured mass of technoid drums and space age atmospherics. The stuttering spring-loaded stabs of ‘Winamp Melodrama’ and the rugged IDM syncopations of ‘Flavour Park Jam’ see the Dutch maestro at his experimental best. Fractured percussion and sub-aquatic bass collide to great effect on tracks such as ‘Cheater’ and ‘Wasteland’ ensuring that ‘Fever’ remains firmly rooted in the dance.
Steak House returns with a release from Bristol’s Gorgon Sound. ‘Circles’ features Naomi Andrews’ soaring vocals and is steeped in driving sub-bass and hard-hitting percussion, evoking memories of classic Smith & Mighty. On the flip, ‘Backchat’ twists a looped ragga vocal over a pounding bashment riddim, while ‘Find Jah Way’ moves into the fertile ground between dubstep and UK steppas with a soundsystem monster.
FRESH ‘Future Jungle’ EP (Ram Records) One of the most interesting and refreshing pieces of dance music we’ve heard in a long time, this is what the ex BC man is calling ‘future jungle’. And while that name’s a bit lame, the music here is not. ‘Gatekeeper’ is one of the D&B tunes of the year, ‘Mission To Mars’ revives early Prodigy vibes and ‘Arkanoid’ and ’Ice Cream’ are impossible to define. The sound of creativity.
BLAWAN ‘Bohla’ (R&S) The re-invigorated R&S imprint continues to affirm its recent run of form with this EP from Hessle Audio affiliate Blawan. Propelled by jarring, tribal percussion and taut shuffling rhythms, classic acid synths pulse through the tracks freely, worming their way through the space in the tracks. ‘Bohla’ is the standout here with its incisive hook, deep bass pulse and sharp rhythm all working in complete unison.
I.D. ‘Once Again’ / ‘Handbagger’ (Baobinga Rmx) (Bass Music)
TRE MISSION ‘Maxin Everything’ (Launch Pad)
OM UNIT ‘The Timps’ EP (Civil Music)
The first non-UK MC to make waves in the grime movement, Canada’s Tre Mission has been collaborating with the right people all the way up to Wiley. At first the Canadian accent throw’s you off, but Tre sits comfortably on grime. Producer Exo Remedy is one to watch; the banging instrumental stands up on its own and remixes from Royal-T, Mr Mitch and Moony complete the package.
Om Unit delivers a definite progression in his sound with his contemporary take on classic Electro, via Detroit. Dark, cold and minimal with a hypnotic rhythmic propulsion, these tracks demand your attention. Fresh from the release of debut album ‘Complex Housing’, Salva steps up with a brilliant remix of ‘Prawn Cocktail’ injecting it with a swelling bounce, while Hrdvsion give ‘The Timps’ a menacing grind.
MUMDANCE ‘Mumdecent’ Rmxs (Mad Decent)
SPECTRASOUL ‘Lost Disciple’ / ‘Reminisce’ (Shogun Audio)
LIL NASTY ‘Nasty By Nature’ (No Hats No Hoods)
Inevitably the release of Jack Mumdance Adams’ first solo outing back in October 2010 sparked such a series of sick remixes, it seemed only right to release them as a follow up EP. Coming from Diplo’s legendary Mad Decent imprint, this EP features reworkings of typically quirky, bass-heavy and genre straddling Mumdance swagger, guaranteed to be starting up and rounding off sets at raves across the UK.
Spectrasoul remind everyone just how good they are once again with this latest 12 for the ever on-point Shogun Audio. Both tracks feature the duo’s trademark production weight, atmospheric depth and razor sharp beats – all wrapped in the soulful textures you expect from a Spectrasoul release. While ‘Lost Disciple’ is a tense, nervous affair, ‘Reminisce’ brings a soothing vibe and intricate, image-building drum work. Bliss.
Being the brother of Griminal, Marcus Nasty and grime legend Mac 10 certainly gives Lil Nasty a pedigree in the scene. This grime banger produced by Scratcha DVA has an infectious ‘Nasty, Nasty’ sample on the hook, venomous bars announcing his arrival at the top of the scene, and a gritty industrial synth bassline on top of a bouncing sub. High energy grime at its best.
I.D. takes it back to a classic breakstep sound here, with the rolling but energetic ‘Once Again’ - which, with its distorted square-wave bass and skipping snares, recalls the likes of a pre-halfstep Oris Jay. Baobinga weighs in with a savage amen workout, while French bassmusic star Flore rounds off the package with some ravekuduro-house stomp that keeps energy levels up throughout.
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GORGON SOUND ‘Circles’ / ‘Backchat’ (Steak House)
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DORIAN CONCEPT ‘Her Tears Taste Like Pears’ (Ninja Tune)
VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘Transnational Dubstep’ (Six Degrees) One of the web’s more respected blogs gets some recognition for having its finger on the pulse of the bass music scene. ‘Transnational Dubstep’ is compiled by Generation Bass chief DJ UMB and features a selection of the finest purveyors of 140bpm bass music from across the globe. Sounds from the streets of London are peppered with samples drawn from Asian and Eastern moods and smoothed over with a worldwide outlook that sets them apart from the everyday dubstep humdrum, without travelling down the path of pointless noodling. The likes of Engine Earz Experiment, Celt Islam and Barbarix all turn up to the party armed with all the blistering beats and booming basslines you’d expect, but with a healthy selection of outward focused influence. Well worth a peep.
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MACHEL MONTANO FT LIL RIK 'Go Dung' (Rmx) (Monstapiece)
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With soca season well under way, tunes are pouring out of the Caribbean at the moment. 'Go Dung' stands heads and shoulders above most soca tracks so far this year and is set to become a roadmarch anthem for 2011. Utilising the melody from the seminal dancehall riddim, ‘Duck’, this cranks up the energy to create an uplifting ode to feting, juking and enjoying a bashment. Pure party steez!
Austrian wunderkind producer Dorian Concept delivers his debut EP for Ninja Tune, featuring four tracks of soulful and forwardthinking bass music. Loose, skittering beats lay the foundations for his virtuoso melodic arrangements, floating in that ambivalent space between melancholic and uplifting. A stunning EP from one of the most original and exciting producers working in electronic music today.
ICICLE 'Beneath The Ice' (Shogun Audio) The arrival of an artist album from Shogun Audio is always a note-worthy event, such is the quality present in Brighton-based label’s stable of talent, and this long-awaited long-player from Dutch producer Icicle is no different. One of the most technically skilled producers around, Icicle’s music harks back to the golden age of tech step with its deep, twisting subs and militant drum patterns. Fans of his sound will not be left disappointed by this album, which manages to be both dark and minimal, yet also warm and highly detailed at the same time. Featuring collaborations with Robert Owens, SP:MC, Proxima and DRS, Icicle delivers 13 tracks of his trademark sound, taking in dubstep on ‘Breathing Again’, techno on ‘Hidden Track’ and of course plenty of D&B, including the much-hammered ‘Dreadnaught’ and ‘Arrows’.
JAMIE WOON 'Mirrorwriting' (Polydor) Jamie Woon is a unique artist. Blessed with a remarkable voice, the singer / songwriter / producer first gained notoriety back in 2007, when Burial remixed his track ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ to wide acclaim. Since then he’s been religiously working away on this, his debut long-player. Combining a soulful, ethereal voice with the most forwardthinking production around, ‘mirrorwriting’ is an album that sounds like no other. Taking influence from everything from 80s soul, 90s garage and the most modern of bass music, Woon’s vocals decorate lush soundscapes structured around intricate rhythms that suggest everything from two-step to house and dubstep. Opening with Woon’s most famous track to date, ‘Night Air’, the tone is set for an emotional and deeply beautiful collection of work that only gets better with each listen.
BAOBINGA & HYETAL 'Anything For Now' / 'Trouble' (Build) Hyetal has been getting a lot of love recently, and rightly so. His debut album, 'Broadcast', is due in May, while his collaborations with Peverelist and Shortstuff have been highlights of the Punch Drunk back catalogue. Here he goes back to back for two unclassifiable tracks with Baobinga, and the pairing works really well - it's all tuff dancefloor drums, heavy basslines and gloriously skewed synth melodies. Big.
The most anticipated record of 2011 is here, and Katy B has delivered the album we all hoped she would. After smashing her way into the mainstream with her vocalling of Benga’s ‘On A Mission’, featuring on Magnetic Man’s ‘Perfect Stranger’ and finishing the year with a top-five
link up with Ms Dynamite on ‘Lights On’, 2010 belonged to Katy B. All those tracks feature here, and help frame an album that will confirm Katy B’s status as a genuine pop star, even though the beats behind her unique voice are very much from the underground. While every track is an original song written by Katy, the beats are a mixture of dubstep, UK funky and house, and come courtesy of Magnetic Man,
Horsepower’s Benny Ill and, of course, Geeneus and Zinc, who’ve taken an active role in the entire Katy B project. And although the lyrical content of tracks like ‘Easy Please Me’ might be difficult for the guys out there to empathise with, this is, quite simply, a landmark record. ‘On A Mission’ signals the arrival of a completely new kind of pop star; expect more top-ten hits from Katy B.
INTERFACE ‘Voodoo Science’ EP (Clear Skyz)
JAYGLO ‘Wiseau Funk’ / ‘Glo Worm’ (Boka)
V/A ‘Ninety Riddim’ (Non Fiction Recordings)
This EP for Die’s Clear Skyz shimmers with brilliance, proving that Interface is one of the greatest talents working in D&B right now. Long-battered, stuttering banger ‘Typhoon’ is here, alongside the classic Bristol roll of ‘Get Down’ with Eddie K, and a pair of collaborations with two of the most soulful voices around, William Cartwright and Shadz on ‘Things Change’ and ‘Truth Beyond’.
Two slices of dancefloor friendly dubstep from Jayglo for Boka here, bringing some seriously West-Coast, gangster funk to the ever reliable label. ‘Glo Worm’, featuring Wil Blaze, delivers lashings of melodic synth funk, carrying you away on an open-top drive through Cali, while ‘Wiseau Funk’ takes the same theme before flipping out into a dance destroying monster, complete with random ‘Oh, hi Mark’ samples.
Taking the instrumental from Courtney Melody’s classic ‘Bad Boy’, Kubiyashi Productions call in some fresh voicings. Leading the charge is Kenyatta whose track ‘Clarks’ covers the popular dancehall topic of Street’s finest export in confident style. The other standout has to be Dr Evil’s ‘Wine Up Your body’, which leaves little to the imagination and gets the desired effect from the girls on the dancefloor every time.
APPLEBLIM & OCTOBER ‘NY Fizzzzz’ / ‘Fountains Of Paradise Pt1’ (Schmorgasbord) Another label emerges from the Bristol underground, kicking off with this collaboration between two local legends. Embracing a slow, chunky house sound, ‘NY Fizzzzz’ is a gritty stomp with a busily compelling kick-drum pattern and classic piano references. The flip stretches things out into a timeless, dubbed-out vibe; one for the discombobulated 8am crew.
LENZMAN ‘Masquerade’ (Metalheadz Platinum) Any release on Metalheadz’s elite imprint, reserved for only the strongest music, carries with it a certain weight of expectation. In the case of this track from Dutch producer Lenzman, that expectation is well and truly met. Perfect vocal samples, a house-inspired riff and some classic Intalex vibes combine to create a track that’s had raves in raptures for the last year. Once you hear it, this tune has you.
L-WIZ ‘Straight Jacket’ / ‘4.42 Oz’ (Kapsize) Sweden’s own purple-dubstep duo bless Joker’s label with two tracks that the man himself would be proud of. With subtle trance synths, low-slung bass and futuristic yet 80s melodies this is much more than a standard half-step production, and the production value and bass-weight remind you that dubstep can still be so much more than just a massive drop.
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KATY B ‘On A Mission’ (Rinse)
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TRIAD ‘Crooked’ / ‘The Puzzle’ (Nu Directions)
MARCUS INTALEX '21' (Soul:R) 21 years is a long time. And while for most of us such a time period represents the majority of our lives, for Marcus Intalex 21 is the amount of years he’s been involved in electronic music. Present since the early days of rave, the Mancunian producer, DJ, promoter and label boss has a pedigree that’s second to none, and through his impeccable Soul:R imprint was the first to sign the music of artists such as Martyn and Instra:mental. Renowned for never playing anything but the finest music, this debut (yes, really) album from Marcus was never going to be anything but pure quality. And that’s exactly what it is; traversing through D&B, dubstep and techno with effortless ease to produce an album that we haven’t stopped listening to since it arrived.
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MONO/POLY ‘Manifestations’ EP (Brainfeeder)
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Mono/Poly joins Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder stable with a varied seven-track EP of otherworldly beat adventures. From the dreamy haze of opener ‘Manifestations’ to the juddering industrial sonics of ‘Punch The Troll In The Neck’, via the brash funk of ‘Toe Jam’, an uncanny feel for groove construction and immersive soundscapes underpins this EP.
The steady old ship that is Nu Directions brings forth a slice of minimal electronic funk from german wunder-duo Triad. ‘Crooked’ is the stand-out track with it’s patient build up, teeth chatteringly heavy bassline and 808 crescendo. For those who like a bit of melody, depth and actually enjoy ‘listening’ to their d&b, this is definitley for you.
VARIOUS ARTISTS 'Back & 4th' (Hot Flush)
Hotflush is among the most influential record labels in bass music. The label started by Paul Rose (Scuba) back in 2003 was an early and important exponent of dubstep while based in Bristol, and since Rose’s move to Berlin has become one of the key imprints blurring the lines between techno and British bass-driven music. ‘Back & 4th’ does as its name sugeests; looking back at nine of the label’s finest moments on CD2, while heading off into the future over ten tracks on CD1. With Mount Kimbie’s ‘Sketch On Glass’, Untold’s ‘Sweat’ and Joy Orbison’s ‘Hyph Mngo’ flaunting Hotflush’s illustrious past on disc two, the first disc delivers exclusive tracks from the likes of Roska, dBridge and Boxcutter. If you like your bass music with a little class, then look no further.
BERT ON BEATS 'Antenna Of Tallinn' (Man Recordings) Über-cool Berlin-based label Man Recordings put their money where their mouth is, snapping up Estonia’s finest ‘tropical bass’ producer, the relatively little-known Bert On Beats. Despite some initial reservations about the strange choice of artist name, we decided to find out exactly what is broadcasting from the ‘Antenna Of Tallinn’. What we discovered was bouncing carnival rhythms chopped with a host of samples, guest vocals and synthetic preambles that lead to wobbling sub-soca and postdubstep basslines. Altogether this is a brave attempt to bring something fresh and exciting to a tempo that’s struggling under the weight of Massive pre-sets and Britney Spears vocals. If you’re a fan of bass music, you should check this.
ALIAS/J SWEET EP (Earth 616) Anyone familiar with grime should recognise the names Alias and J Sweet, two production legends responsible for some of the biggest tunes from the genre’s rawest golden era. This is a welcome return, with an EP of tunes you could imagine getting reloaded at an old school Sidewinder or Eskimo Dance, and their classic production hallmarks are all over these tracks from the ID drops to the basslines.
BASSPOINTS
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THE HOTTEST EVENTS ON PLANET BASS
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BASSPOINTS CLUB LISTINGS MARCH / APRIL 2011 FRIDAY 19 MARCH CRAZYLEGS @ BLUE MTN, BRISTOL Joy Orbison, Pearson Sound, Julio Bashmore, Braiden & DJ Petchy. MONSTER BASS @ BLACK SWAN, BRISTOL Pinch, Baobinga, Dub Boy, Mr Williamz, Monkey Steak. FRIDAY 25 MARCH WORK & UFO @ DOJO, BRISTOL Jaques Greene, Hodge, Kelly Twins. DETONATE @ STEALTH, NOTTINGHAM Rodigan, Camo & Crooked, Reso, London Elektricity, Hatcha, Nu Tone. SATURDAY 26 MARCH THE BLAST @ BLUE MTN, BRISTOL MS Dynamite, Darksky, Greenmoney. So Bones in room 2! URBAN NERDS @ XOYO, LONDON Zinc, Newham Generals, Hot City, Engine Earz, Marcus Nasty, Mak 10 & Spyro + more. FRIDAY 1 APRIL RINSE FWD>> @ FABRIC, LONDON Geeneus, Zinc, Brockie, EZ, Roska, Plastician, P Money, BBK + more.
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FWD>> & RINSE 1 APRIL @ Fabric, London
RUBBERDUB @ STEALTH, NOTTINGHAM Mungo’s Hi-Fi, DJ SS, Dub Boy + more.
After a ridiculously huge Boxing Day line-up, which brought every single artist from the now-legal London radio station to Fabric, FWD>> & Rinse is back at the London club on 1 April. With legendary figures such as Zinc, Geeneus, Brockie, EZ and Horespower alongside new-era heroes like Roska & Jamie George, SBTRKT, Ill Blu and Jackmaster, this is without doubt one of the greatest line-ups anywhere in the world in April.
SATURDAY 2 APRIL TOGETHER @ CABLE, LONDON MS Dynamite, Mums Of Death, Hatcha, Girl Unit, Deadly Rhythm Soundsystem + more. FRIDAY 8 APRIL SHOESTRING VS BUTTERZ @ THEKLA, BRISTOL Klashnekoff, Elijah & Skilliam, P-Money, Swindle, Royal T, Blazey, Koast ADDISON GROOVE’S JUKEBOX @ BASEMENT 45, BRISTOL Addison Groove, Boddika, DJ Rashad + more.
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Manchester’s Warehouse Project returns for the Easter weekend, with four dates taking in the very biggest names in dance music. For us, it’s all about the Saturday night, when Ape and Metropolis link up to bring the bass weight to the brewery. Skream, Shy FX, Roska, Falty DL, Andy C and Deadboy are just some of the names on the line-up for what promises to be a very special event.
GET LOW VS REDUX @ BRIXTON JAMM, LONDON Iration Steppas, Man Like Me, DJ Derek, Sticky, Lil Silva, Swindle, Sampha.
DUB FORCE @ MOTION, BRISTOL Jah Tubby’s and Aba-Shanti-I Soundsystems, Kenny Ken, Stanza, Marvellous Cain, Aries, Joe Peng.
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WAREHOUSE PROJECT 22 APRIL @ Store Street, Manchester
SOULUTION @ BLUE MTN, BRISTOL Marcus Intalex, Fabio, SPY, Lenzman, Rex, Boro, Henry Heatwave, DRS, Messy, Texas. SATURDAY 9 APRIL SHOGUN AUDIO @ CABLE, LONDON Friction, LTJ Bukem, Icicle, Ed Rush, Spectrasoul, Alix Perez & Rockwell, Transit Mafia, Brackles, Conrad, SP, DRS.
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BASSPOINTS CLUB LISTINGS MARCH / APRIL 2011 THURSDAY 14 APRIL CITY BASS @ BUFFALO BAR, CARDIFF Altered Natives, Eye4Eye, City Bass Fam, Clare James. SATURDAY 16 APRIL STEALTH VS RESCUED @ RESCUE ROOMS, NOTTINGHAM Jam City, D’Lex + more. THURSDAY 21 APRIL CRAZYLEGS @ BLUE MTN, BRISTOL Roska, Bok Bok, Slimzee +more.
Firmly established as one of Bristol’s leading promotions, Crazylegs continues to go from strength to strength at its new home of the Blue Mountain. With one of the best sound-systems we’ve heard, there couldn’t be a better place to check the artists featured on the two sick line-ups Crazylegs have planned for March and April. March sees Joy O, Ramadanman, Bashmore and Braiden, while April brings Bok Bok, Slimzee and Roska to town. WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/CRAZYLEGSCLUB
HOSPITALITY BRIXTON 22 APRIL @ O2 Academy, Brixton Hospital take over the huge Brixton Academy once again to celebrate an impressive 15 years in the game. We doubt anyone would have predicted back in 1996 that the then distinctly left-field label would grow to become one of the most iconic and popular brands in dance music. With all the usual Hospital mega-stars in attendance, a second room packed with quality dubstep and some nice-up sounds from Reggae Roast in room three, even though the Academy’s capacity is an incredible 4,000+, this is sure to sell-out. WWW.HOSPITALRECORDS.COM
FRIDAY 22 APRIL APE & METROPOLIS @ WAREHOUSE PROJECT, MANCHESTER Skream, Andy C, Loadstar, Jakwob, Roska, Falty DL, Deadboy, Illum Sphere, Synkro & Indigo, Prophecy, Chunky, Tonn Piper +more. SATURDAY 23 APRIL MUZIK HERTZ PRESENT BAR RAGE @ CUSTARD FACTORY, BIRMINGHAM Hazard, Ruffstuff, Taxman, Sub Zero, Escape, Logan D, Devize, Funsta, Harry Shotta + more. THURSDAY 28 APRIL HOT WUK @ EAST VILLAGE, LONDON The Heatwave, Sticky + more. SUNDAY 1 MAY SUBLOADED @ LAKOTA, BRISTOL Photek, Kode 9, Youngsta, Pinch, Vibronics, Dubkasm (live), Dub Boy, Steakhouse Showcase + more. DETONATE INDOOR FESTIVAL, NOTTINGHAM Zinc, Shy FX, Skream & Benga, Subfocus, Andy C, 2562, dBridge, SPY, Redlight, Instra:Mental, Die + more. TORQUE @ CORSICA STUDIOS, LONDON Marcus Intalex,Boddika, Alix Perez, Ben UFO, Jam City, Icicle, Ulterior Motive, Tasha, Messy. WEEKLY RUNNINGS... HIT & RUN @ MINT LOUNGE, MANCHESTER Every Monday TUESDAY CLUB @ FUSION & FOUNDARY, SHEFFIELD Every Tuesday WOBBLE @ THEKLA, BRISTOL Every Tuesday SOME NIGHT @ EAST VILLAGE, LONDON Every Wednesday FWD>> @ PLASTIC PEOPLE, LONDON Every Thursday
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CRAZYLEGS 19 MARCH & 21 APRIL @ Blue Mountain, Bristol
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BASSPOINTS THE MAIN EVENT
#003 VAGABONDZ FOR THE THIRD INSTALMENT OF OUR REGULAR LOOK AT THE PARTIES AND PROMOTERS THAT ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF OUR SCENE, TRAP CASTS ITS SPOTLIGHT ON THE MIGHTY VAGABONDZ. While most promoters concentrate on just one city or region, Vagabondz refuses to be confined to one place, with their bass-infested parties popping off across the full length of the country in Leeds, London and Brighton. And, as one of the main promoters behind the untouchably good Outlook festival in Croatia, Vagabondz is a name that you really should know by now. Trap spoke to the three guys behind the brand Jack Robinson, Joe Barnett and Jonathan Scratchley – to find out more about one of our favourite raves on planet bass. HOW DID VAGABONDZ START? “Vagabondz was born out of the thriving house party scene in Leeds. Back in London, we’d been working for raves and clubs such as Fabric for most of our teenage lives and wanted to take it to the next level. There were a lot of talented musicians all around us at the time making good music, such as Gentlemans Dub Club, Ramadanman, Ruckspin, INC and Medison and we wanted to give them a platform on which to perform. The first event was at Faversham in Leeds on 15 March 2007.” WHAT DEFINES A VAGABONDZ PARTY? “Vagabondz parties have always been driven by bass with really eclectic lineups, putting together artists that wouldn’t normally go together, such as Plastician and Taskforce or Eksman and Rusko. We were pushing these eclectic lines up four years ago and many nights are only just catching up now. We attract a vibrant crowd who have a gritty edge to their music taste.”
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WHAT DIFFERS FROM THE LEEDS, LONDON AND
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BRIGHTON EVENTS? “Each city has got its own flavour. The student towns are definitley more ready to go for it. London is much more up to date with new artist that are breaking but there’s a lot of competition for the main DJs, so the line-ups have to be a lot more intresting.”
BASSPOINTS THE MAIN EVENT WHAT’S THE BIGGEST PARTY YOU’VE DONE SO FAR?
“That has to be the most recent Vagabondz Leeds. Again, we pushed a really eclectic lineup including Phaeleh, Submotion Orchestra, Zed Bias, P Money, The Bug & Flowdan, Kenny Ken & Eksman, Marcus Nasty, Girl Unit and Trolley Snatcha. We had over 1,500 people through the door, leading the crowd on a journey through many years of influence in bass-driven music.” AS YOU’VE SAID, VAGABONDZ LINE-UPS ARE ALWAYS ECLECTIC - WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE MORE OPEN-MINDED, GENRE-BENDING MUSICAL LANDSCAPE THAT’S SO OBVIOUS IN THE UK RIGHT NOW? “It’s all symptomatic of the iPod generation; people have a lot more opportunity to experience new music and find out about new genres online, so artists are able to blow up before even playing their first gig, which is very different from how it used to be. All this affects peoples choices when going out.” ANYONE YOU’D LOVE TO BOOK, OR ANYWHERE YOU’D LOVE TO DO A PARTY? “We really want to do a party at the top of Centre Point, in London. It’s one of the tallest buildings round that part of town and there’s a very exclusive VIP club up there. As for artists, we’re really liking what Odd Future are doing at the moment, we would love to get them over from the states... And also some of the oldies - Fat Freddys Drop, Damian Marley, ODB, Elvis and Kurt Cobain...” WHAT’S BEEN THE PROUDEST MOMENT SO FAR FOR VAGABONDZ? “It has to be our involvement in starting Outlook Festival in Croatia. That’s enabled us to bring an amazing collection of artists together, to perform on the best soundsystems Europe has to offer in the incredible natural beauty of Croatia.” WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS FOR VAGABONDZ?
“Vagabondz runs in three cities at the moment, London, Leeds and Brighton, and we want to organically grow these while keeping the same ethos. We’ve done some shows in other cities and we’re looking to expand this further.”
THE NEXT VAGABONDZ IS ON 14 MAY IN LEEDS. THE LINE-UP IS RIDICULOUS - IF YOU’RE UP NORTH, MAKE SURE YOU REACH.
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WHAT IS THE SECRET OF YOUR SUCCESS? “Constantly pushing our regular artists, involving live music on most of our events, emerging old and new styles together and putting in the fucking hours.”
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EVERY BASS COVERED MUSIC | FASHION | ART #004 OUT MAY WWW.TRAPMAGAZINE.CO.UK
COMING SOON AFRICA HI TEK (LIVE) ALI B ANDY C & GQ BENJI B BEN UFO BLOKHE4D B2B AEPH BOY BETTER KNOW CARTE BLANCHE (LIVE) CASPA COMMIX CRAZY D CYANTIFIC DAVID RODIGAN DBRIDGE DISTANCE DJ DIE B2B BREAK DJ HYPE (2 HR SET) DOC SCOTT DYNAMITE MC ED RUSH
EMALKAY EZ GEENEUS & TIPPA GOLDIE HAZARD HUDSON MOHAWKE INSTRA:MENTAL JACKMASTER JOY ORBISON KASRA LOADSTAR FEAT. MC TEXAS LYNX MALA B2B PINCH MARCUS INTALEX MARCUS NASTY MARTYN MISTAJAM MJ COLE MZ BRATT (LIVE)
N-TYPE OPTICAL P MONEY PASCAL PLASTICIAN RAMDANMAN/ PEARSON SOUND ROSKA & JAMIE GEORGE S.P.Y. SBTRKT LIVE SCRATCH PERVERTS SKIBADEE SKREAM SPECTRASOUL SUB FOCUS DJ SET & MC I.D. TENSNAKE (LIVE) TODDLA T TOTAL SCIENCE ZINC
77A Charterhouse Street, London EC1. T 020 7336 8898. Opening Times: 10pm — 6am Advance Tickets: £15. £16 on the door, £10 students and fabricfirst. £7 after 3am for all events unless stated otherwise. Fabric operates a 24HR drinking license. Advance tickets are available from our website www.fabriclondon.com. A selection of recordings from these events will be available to hear again on www.fabriclondon.com/fabricfirst FABRICLIVE 56: Pearson Sound / Ramadanman — Available 21st March FABRICLIVE 57: Jackmaster — Available 16th May /// FABRICLIVE 58: Goldie — Coming Soon