Mutated Forms (Feat. Jenna G.) - Last Time

Hello.

Not been posting much recently. Due to a series of increasing poor life choices and a major run of bad luck, I'm having to flee the country to a land devoid of drum and bass. When I started this stupid website back in 2009, unemployment was wearing me down and I hoped that writing about stuff would stop my brain withering into nothing. However, embedding YouTube videos and writing vapid inanities beneath them actually became quite addictive and I started to enjoy myself.

Anyway, in case I never have time to post anything ever again, it seems vaguely appropriate to let Mutated Forms and Jenna G roll out...

Lynx - Chess Funk

Seriously smart track from Lynx. Makes me wanna dig out The Raw Truth again.

Gyptian - Hold You (Shy FX & Benny Page Digital Soundboy Remix)

This was the final track dropped by Kenny Ken at Bloc 2011. Haven't dared to listen back to it since because it'll never be as amazing as it was that night.

As incredible as the D&B is right now, you gotta make room for the old skool stuff as well. Zinc's remix of Ready Or Not remains a big tune whenever it goes off.

Komatic - Make The Most Of Now (Technicolour Remix)

Breakfast D&B gets you out the door in the right mood first thing in the morning.

After Action Report: Bloc Weekend 2011

Dear Techno,

I'm sorry about all the horrible things I said about you. I didn't really mean any of it, you just have to understand that I really like drum and bass, and sometimes I say things I don't mean.

I'm sorry I said you weren't fun.
I'm sorry I said you were just for the French.
I'm sorry I said you were just for the Germans.
I'm sorry I called you Belgian.
I'm sorry that I said people can't dance to you.
I'm sorry I said you were just boom boom boom boom for three hours with all build and no drops.
Most of all, I'm sorry I said you were boring.

I just didn't understand that you were different. I see now that I was wrong. I was prejudiced and I let that get in the way of my better judgement. I just have a short attention span, but that is flaw with me, and not with you.

I'm sorry Techno, let's put all the horribleness behind us. If you'll still have me, can we be friends?

xxxx



PS. At least you're not Trance.

Cyantific - OBEY

Big new track from Cyantific. Just listening to it makes you feel like you're lost in a training montage from an Eighties movie about break dancers competing to save their local community centre.

Or perhaps that's just me.

Make sure you don't miss Bounce It on the other side.

Rise of the Jukebox Vandals

Time was when a jukebox was just a big stereo, filled with a pile of 45s or CDs. You stick your 20p in, make your choice from a selection consisting of Rod Stewart, The Beatles and some weird compilation of Seventies Rock (the kind that gets heavily advertised on TV in the week before Father's Day) and that was it. Music plays, no one has a good time.


However, over the last decade, jukebox technology, fuelled by the internet, has evolved rapidly into an all together different beast. These days the digital jukebox is more likely to be hooked up to the internet, offering an almost unlimited range of tracks to choose from and thereby providing the perfect opportunity for sociopathic misanthropes to strike out at society.


I can't imagine what would drive someone to highjack a jukebox in order to facilitate antisocial behaviour, or what sort of socially-damaged individual would find enjoyment in such an activity, but here's a selection of fun things to try out next time you're in the pub and you've run out of stuff to talk about.

Brute Force
Obviously, if you want to just upset everyone in the pub, it's perfectly easy to just stick five quid in the thing and set Spice Up Your Life running twenty times, but this is far too unsubtle.

As an act of vandalism, it's the equivalent of replacing every word on the History of The United States Wikipedia page with the word "Shitfuck" repeated eight thousand times. It's briefly hilarious, but there's just no satisfaction in it. It lacks finesse.

Just as a Wikipedia admin will quickly revert the page back to it's original state and ban your IP, so too will the jukebox be turned off and you'll likely get glassed if you spam it with crap music.

True Playaz
A much better technique for causing grief is to queue up endless drum and bass on the jukebox, because no one likes drum and bass music. As a bonus, if you close your eyes you can pretend that your local pub is actually The End.

Festive Cheer
This one only works if it's the height of summer, but why not create a nice festive atmosphere by putting all the Xmas songs on at once?

Descent Into Madness
The most effective form of jukebox vandalism also requires the most patience, but if you get it right it's certainly the most rewarding.

Correct track selection is essential for this to work. Pick something with a big stupid chorus or obvious intro. My weapon of choice is Dire Straits - Walk Of Life, but something like Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time or Jackson 5 - ABC can be equally effective.

Queue up your battle track, then five other random songs, then your selected track again, followed by another four tracks, then your selected track, then another three and so on and so forth until you get down to just your song. Then line it up a few more times for good measure.

In this way, everyone gets to hear Dire Straits repeated endlessly without actually realising it, and you get the satisfaction of pissing seven quid away in exchange for the knowledge that everyone in the pub will have Walk Of Life stuck in their heads the next day.

Hope you're happy with yourself.

Mindscape - Bounce

Blam!
Hungarian producer Mindscape has produced a track that does exactly what it says on the tin.

Bounce LP is out on Commercial Suicide right now and also includes the massive Dreamworld.

Spinline - Made Guy

Spinline are a trio of Hungarian producers whose deep glitch & bass has been popping up in mixes all over the place, and right now I'm really digging Made Guy. Must be the way it switches from light and airy right down into a snarling stepper and back out again.

Lovely stuff.

Logistics - Gang Colours

Fresh rolling darkness from Logistics. Sounds like he's back on a bit of a Reality Checkpoint tip, which is no bad thing.

Still can't believe that Lullaby wasn't a bigger track back in 2008, but I guess the downside of being such a prolific producer is that occasionally some real gems get overlooked.

Nu:Tone - Big Shot Guest Mix

After a smashing set at the Hospitality Fabric takeover back in January and with his new album, "Words And Pictures" dropping at the end of the month, 2011 is already shaping up to be a big year for Dan Gresham.

Check out his recent mix for Big Shot for meticulous liquid vibes.

Big Shot Guest Mix: Nu:Tone

1. James Blake / “Limit To Your Love” (Lynx remix)
2. Nu:Tone feat. Kyan / “Broken”
3. Calibre / “Easy Glide”
4. Calibre / “No Return”
5. Marcus Intalex / “Hot Hands”
6. Shimah / “Fire & Brimstone”
7. Logistics / “Gang Colours”
8. Hazard / “Food Fight”
9. Nu:Tone feat. Heidi Vogel / “Coming Back”
10. Marcus Intalex & Zed Bias / “Strangeways”
11. Calibre / “Gone Away”
12. Nu:Tone feat. Natalie Williams / “The First Time”
13. Sub Zero / “Brighter Days”
14. Nu:Tone feat. Lisa Milett / “Win The Fight”
15. Break / “Time After Time”
16. Logistics & FD / “Turnaround”
17. Devlin feat. Yasmeen / “Runaway” (Nu:Tone & Logistics remix)
18. Marky & S.P.Y. / “Yellow Shoes”
19. Nu:Tone feat. Logistics / “Lonely Hour”
20. Commix / “Reminisce”
21. Beardyman / “Where Does Your Mind Go” (Nu:Tone remix)

Commix - Call To Mind

When was the last time you listened to Call To Mind?

Go stick it on now.

Nearly four years after it's release, it still sounds absolutely amazing. Drum and bass has changed a lot since 2007, but Call To Mind still sounds incredibly forward thinking. From the huge dancefloor smashers of Be True and Satellite Type 2 to the more experimental Belleview and hippidy-hoppy Change, it's an album of fantastic diversity, which sounds just as good in the clubs as it does at home.

Stand out tracks have to be the wonderful 16-bit tinged Japanese Electronics, Emily's Smile, with its warm, winding strings and Strictly, which is so deep you can't see the bottom.

Whilst most D&B albums sound like a load of tracks stuck together on a disc, Call To Mind is one of the few D&B albums out there that really works as a complete package, without getting boring or losing focus on what it's supposed to be doing.

Just a shame that Talk To Frank isn't on there.

Artificial Intelligence - Days Of Rage VIP

Someone needs to drop this at the next big London protest.

Music to overthrow governments to.

After Action Report: That Mixmag Thing 4/2/2011

Lured down to Shoreditch by promise of free entry and a pretty stellar lineup, we didn't really know what to expect from The Queen of Hoxton, other than a lot of fancy trainers and stupid hats.


Unfortunately we arrived late because of work, but managed to get in after the post-Caribou exodus, meaning we missed Technicolour and Komatic. Word is they ran a good set and I've been keen to check these guys live for a while, with tracks like Daydreamer really nailing that soulful liquid vibe.


We did arrive just in time to get stuck in for some heavy business with Rockwell and Icicle, two producers who have both had an incredible year in 2010 and can only get bigger in 2011. Dreadnaught is really killing it right now, and Icicle's album is gonna do some serious damage when it drops in April.



Fabio and Grooverider played drum and bass music effectively and without incident. They dropped a few big tunes, but largely filled time before the Brookes Brothers, who absolutely levelled the place. It's always nice to hear Tear You Down, but the rest of the set was also fantastic. The album is about to drop and promises to be another must have for 2011.

All in all, a great night. Can't really argue with free entry either!

Apex - Energy Lines

Bloody hell! Have you heard the flipside to Apex's Inner Space?

Top notch production and rough enough for my local council to grit roads with.

Inner Space/Energy Lines is out now on Subtitles.

Breakage Feat. Jess Mills - Fighting Fire (Loadstar Remix)

Breakage is currently causing quite a ruckus with Fighting Fire, thanks in part to Jess Mills' awesome vocal work.

Really digging the massive Loadstar remix right now though. Noise!

Cyantific Mix for Knowledge Magazine

K Mag have a nice little interview with Cyantific up on their website, but more importantly they also have a 35 minute mix from the man himself:

1.Chase & Status - Blind Faith (Loadstar remix) >> Lomax - Artisan VIP
2.Rockwell - Noir (Ulterior Motive remix)
3.Sub Zero - Brighter Days
4.Ram Trilogy - Lunar Bass (Commix remix)
5.Enei - Stonehead
6.Noisia - Displaced
7.Cyantific - Opium
8.Sub Zero - Poon
9.Enei - One Chance VIP
10.Icicle & SP - Dreadnaught
11.Enei - Cracker >> Logistics - Colour Wheel VIP
12.Cyantific - Bounce It
13.Culture Shock - Footloose >> Firefox - Buck Rogers
14.Noisia - Friendly Intentions
15.Breakage - Fighting Fire (Loadstar remix) >> Commix - Electric

Download!

Yo Dudes, Let's Talk About Dubstep!

Hi there pop pickers, have you heard the fresh new music that's taking the UK by storm? Young adults up and down the country are all grooving to a funky new sound called dubstep!

From Peaches Geldof to the cast of Skins, everyone's getting down to the exciting urban flavas, but what exactly is it that people are getting so steamed up about?

Well let's take a look!

Dubstep originally developed on the mean streets of New York City in the mid 1970s, where roaming urban street gangs would meet at weekly dubstep discos to "get up in each other's grills" and bust out some hot new moves.

An original NY dubstep crew, ready to roll.

"Dub" means to change the spoken language of a TV show or film to that of another language by replacing the audio track, and "step" is New York street slang for "walk", so dubstep literally means, "to change the sound of walking to that of another sound". The coolest thing of all about dubstep is the way in which it brings together both heavy basslines and repetitive drum patterns, something that has never really been attempted before in popular music.

Now it's 2011, and dubstep has started to cross the Atlantic. Instrumental in leading the charge of dubstep in the UK has been Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton;
"I really like dubstep," says Fearne, "it's the most exciting thing to happen to UK music since Take That reformed. It's mentaaaaal, but genius."

Even Wales is getting in on the action.

So what are my top dubstep picks for those of you wanting to get ahead of the game?

First up, one of the leading lights in the UK dubstep game: Katy B

Katy B seems to write a lot of songs about going clubbing and dancing, but for some reason neglects to mention the belligerent security, overpriced drinks and frequent outbreaks of violence and glassings that makes the UK clubbing experience one of the most unique in the world.

At the deeper, darker end of the dubstep spectrum is Britney Spears:

Wowzers! What a bass drop! Hold onto your hats!

Of course, not all dubstep is as serious as Katy B or Britney, as St Petersburg outfit Giant show us with their Dad-rock influenced classic:

This groovy little number was recently outlawed in Canada for being just too darn heavy.

UK crew Mumford and Sons are putting a distinctively British spin on the dubstep sound with their hit single Roll Away Your Stone:

Just listen to that massive drop at 2.41. Tracks like this should come with a government health warning.

Last up, it'd be criminal to write about dubstep without a mention of the godfathers of the sound; Scritti Politti:

If it wasn't for the daring innovation shown by these guys, dubstep could never have blown up in the way it has. The mind boggles.

I hope you've enjoyed this brief dubstep primer, see you cats at a discotheque soon!

Heart of Darkness

Saigon.

Saigon... shit; I'm still only in Saigon...

Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle.


Everyone gets everything he wants. I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one. Brought it up to me like room service. It was a real choice mission, and when it was over, I never wanted another.


I'd wake up and there'd be nothing. I hardly said a word to my wife, until I said "yes" to a divorce. When I was here, I wanted to be there; when I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle. I'm here a week now... waiting for a mission... getting softer. Every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker, and every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger. Each time I looked around the walls moved in a little tighter.

Well, you see, Willard, in this war, things get confused out there. Power, ideals, the old morality, and practical military necessity. But out there with these natives, it must be a temptation to be God. Because there's a conflict in every human heart, between the rational and the irrational, between good and evil. And good does not always triumph. Sometimes, the dark side overcomes what Lincoln called the better angels of our nature.


"Never get out of the boat." Absolutely goddamn right! Unless you were goin' all the way... Kurtz got off the boat. He split from the whole fuckin' program.


Someday this war's gonna end.

Subtitles Music Podcast 002 - TeeBee

New Subtitles Podcast with TeeBee

01. System & Fracture - Close The Circle [Subtitles UK/Dub]
02. Basher & Extra - Reflections [Subtitles UK/Dub]
03. System & Fracture - Yeah, But [Subtitles UK/Dub]
04. Optiv & BTK - Jacknife [Subtitles UK/Dub]
05. Basher & Extra - Pressure Rise [Subtitles UK/Dub]
06. Ulterior Motive - Seven Segments [Subtitles UK/Dub]
07. Total Science & SPY - Venuss Prime [Subtitles UK/Dub]
08. Total Science & SPY ft Lenzman - Narrow Margin [Subtitles UK/Dub]
09. Ulterior Motive - Featherweight (VIP) [Subtitles UK/Dub]
10. Basher & Extra - Hubble [Subtitles UK/Dub]
11. Audio & Meth - Grit [Subtitles UK/Dub]
12. Ulterior Motive - Bringer [Subtitles UK/Dub]
13. Chris.Su - First Snow [Subtitles UK/Dub]
14. Apex - Inner Space [Subtitles UK]
15. Audio & Meth - Alone [Subtitles UK/Dub]
16. Apex - Energy Lines [Subtitles UK]
17. Optiv & BTK - Let It Hit Em [Subtitles UK/Dub]
18. Dual Process - Curfew [Subtitles UK/Dub]
19. Source Direct - Made Up Sound [Metalheadz]
20. Photek - Fusion [Photek]
21. Hiodden Agenda - On the Roof [Metalheadz]
22. Calyx & TeeBee - ?
23. Orbital - Belfast [Orbital]
24. Brian Eno - Secret Place [Polydor]

Chris.Su - First Snow followed by Apex - Innerspace?

TeeBee is a badman.

After Action Report: Hospital Fabric Takeover 7/1/11

A simple Fabric takeover may seem like a bit of a step down for Hospital, considering that it was only last September the label sold out the 5000-odd capacity Brixton Academy, but with the Hospitality brand going nationwide over the last couple of years, it was nice to have another London Hospital night, and there was certainly a lot of buzz around this one, despite it coming so soon after Xmas and NYE.

Fabric can really be a hit or miss venue. Either you'll get in nice and early and have a great time wobbling around on Room 1's bouncy floor before crashing in Room 3, or you'll queue for three hours to be groped by security on the way in, become hopelessly confused by the club's bizarrely dysfunctional maps and accidentally wander into the girl's loos, at which point someone's coke-addled boyfriend will punch you in the mouth. Whatever happens, you'll mostly end up having a good time.

Anyway, onwards to the DJs:

Stanza opened in Room 1, with a really good mix of old Hospital tracks, recent D&B anthems and a few newer curve balls. Essentially the standard This Is Drum And Bass sort of mix, but all the better for it and a good warm up for the night ahead.

Next up was S.P.Y., easily one of the strongest contenders for Producer of the Year 2010. Having been on fire throughout the year, I was really looking forward to seeing the Brazilian DJ and he did not disappoint on the night. By Your Side has yet to get old, and when we ambushed the man himself by the merch stand, he seemed like a bloody nice chap, and very impressed by the response the track has been getting over the past year.

S.P.Y doesn't get all of the Room 1 glory however, as Nu:Tone's subsequent set more than kept the energy going. Gotta give a nod to Natalie Williams' magnificent vocal work as well, and hearing the Room 1 crowd singing along to System was strangely beautiful, although sonically pretty damn horrible. Dan Gresham's new album is hitting the streets at the end of February, and from the stuff he's been dropping recently, it's gonna be good.

Other Takeover highlights were Joe Syntax, who kept things fixed well into the deep end in Room 3, along with London Elektricity, whose Room 3 Med School set reminded everyone that drum and bass is serious business. At 2.00 - 3.30, Blu Mar Ten were perfect for a battery recharge ahead of Cyantific's incredible Room 1 onslaught, and I urge you to check their promo mix if you haven't already done so. Rounding off the evening were Sigma, who pulled the trigger on the night with a heavy final set.

All in all, a fantastic night of D&B. See you at Hospitality Brixton in April.

The XX - Crystalised (Dark Sky Remix)

More impressive xx remix business, this time from Dark Sky.

I hate UKG. It's pretty much universally awful. It almost sounds like D&B, but with all the fun and hope and joy sucked out of it. However, this is actually quite nice; old school enough to make you feel a little nostalgic, but not so 90s garage-esque as to make you want to turn it off. A fine line indeed.

Hospital Christmas Cracker

Just in case there was any doubt about how amazing Hospital Records are, they released a bunch of free tracks to anyone who had bought anything from the Hospital Webstore in 2010.

Pick of the bunch has to be Logistics - I Need You (of course)


Next up is a slice of deep minimal from Bop and Despot - Removing The Past


Thinnen provides an amazing rework of Nu:Tone's Strange Encounter


Last up is the instrumental version of Danny Byrd's Wait For Me.


Can't wait for the Hospital Fabric takeover next week!