And so they came...

What can I say, this weekend saw the return after a long break of probably the best club night in the UK. People travel from far and wide to be in attendance at the place known as the West Indian Centre for a night known in our circles as Exodus… On Friday the 30th of May I travelled up to Leeds from London, for a meditation sessions brought to us by the Iration Steppas sound system and the creme de la creme of dubstep dj’s. It was, in all honesty a fantastic night, seriously, an excellent one for the true Steppers out there, it’s a pilgrimage I tell you, but worth it if you live in the UK . The crowd was great, the bass weight was enough to make the hairs on your arms stand up, as if you were in the middle of an open windy field. The Digital Mystikz played a fantastic set both eyes down and shock out, reminiscent of the set played at the january DMZ at the mass, with one or two new dubs from their camp that had me giddy with delight upon hearing them for the first time. Look out for an almost spooky sounding Coki dub, as well as WTF from the one like Benga being featured in Loefah’s bag right about now along with Skream’s Hitch. Was a nice performance from those three.



All through out the night the energy levels where maintained, Skream and Benga played a lively crowd driven set. Which was brought down a pace or two by the deep sounds of Distance, but raised again by Heny G, along side Jay 5. It was a great night, the drinks where flowing, the crowd was reacting really well to the songs being played, there was not so much of a drug induced hype, which was really nice to see these days in a big rave, everyone was brukking out no matter what direction you looked in. . On a personal note, there is no nicer rig to hear Distance: Night Vision(Skreamix) on, truly blows me away, as well as it’s always so fantastic to see so many people inside a venue with the lights on. Can’t wait until the next one.



Can I have can I have some noise for the DJ!!!

Skream, this Sunday happened to be down at FWD and although not as packed as previous outings when his name has been on the bill, nevertheless the night was one for the heads that remember. Especially for those that like their nights a little quieter and to meditate in the pitch black FWD is now the place once again. The line up was the kind that many people outside of London would kill to get the opportunity to hear: D1, Skream, Quest b2b Silky, and Loefah. For those who have read the post above, are probably asking "Grand, didn’t you listen to pretty much the same guys only 2 days previous?" the answer is "Yes", however, at FWD, listening is a much different experience then elsewhere. Such an enclosed space with minimal lighting adds to the listening pleasure, the bodies swaying in the dark and the gentle head nod of a familiar person on either side of you, with the lyrics of Crazy D, create a vibe that isn’t replicated easily. It is nice, mind, to have a somewhat less wall to wall FWD these days. The people that are now attending still have yet to come out of their shells and are a little reserved, but it’s to be expected I suppose. I guess once everyone gets to know each other again, the atmosphere down there between the old guard that has returned and the new, will hopefully bring back the feel of the FWD’s of yesteryear. Only time will tell, I will be there shocking out in the dark, minus the studying. Ha! out to all those that think my revision practices are illogical, you'd be surprised! Out to all those that made it down on the night and out to the Plastician, responsible for the creation of Grandiana Jones. All in all was a fun night, for all those that missed out, try and be at the next. Especially if the quality of line ups continue on.



PIcture above of FWD from early 2006.

Searching for the perfect beat

It has been an interesting past couple of weeks since I last made my blog entry and as per usual in my world of low lighting and bass, a lot of events have transcribed in London on the continent and elsewhere. Most noticeably in London of course was the last FWD on a Friday night, a ram jammed affair with the likes of Ramadanman, Maximum, Plastician and Benga playing us out on what has been an epic 2 years. All though my Friday nights won’t ever be the same again, I did think that it was a truly great decision, made in favour of the heads in the scene. And for those that want to hear this music on one of London’s clearest rigs with some room to interpret the music.

Saturday was spent at a night called Steppa’s Delight at the electro works in Angel. I arrived in time to hear a wicked set from Dj Hatcha, along side MC Crazy D, he dropped some personal favourites, that Chase and Status tune, Indian flute… if you haven’t heard it yet, look out for it. The Drum and Bass producers are really trying to prove something these days with the little boy named dubstep. My memory of this night is somewhat hazy, I remembered Kode 9 played as well later that night and being impressed with his set. On the whole it was a good night, a weird crowd mind you, but enjoyable none the less.

The next Friday was brought to us by FWD+ Rinse@ the End. It was an interesting night to say the least… I got there around 10.30, as I knew I had to get there considerably early, as the last 2 events held there had been predominantly rammed. To my surprise upon reaching the venue I wasn’t greeted by a crowd of people all being herded into a line, in fact apart from the bouncers and guestlist ladies, there weren’t too many souls around the peripheral of the club. I went inside to find Appleblim playing in the main room to a few people, which was a shame really as he was killing it. His style is very much his own, his bag is very much unlike other Dj’s in this scene and I am looking forward to hearing him play in Amsterdam in the coming months. The bar area mean time was pretty busy, to the sounds being played by a talented young Dj by the name of Braiden, he likes to mix the new with the old, plays tunes that you appreciate listening to. By the time my partner got a few drinks down her, it was about 11.30 and N-Type had been playing for around 20mins or so. N-Type, apart from playing his jungle sets is very up front the latest tunes... being spun at you for 90secs or more then being made a vague memory by it’s successor. Nothing but party vibes coming from that guy, but that’s why he is loved.

By 12, the club was starting to fill up, it had been a warm sunny day in London, and dusk was pushed way back to the point where one had to question the time of day. For all you promoters out there… don’t make the mistake of starting too early on such days, as your going to be paying a few people to play to an empty room, and as the economist in me rears its ugly head, it most certainly is not the one. Let’s continue on shall we... Up next in the main room were the Newham Generals, with man like Tubby on the wheels of steel, no FWD bash in my opinion, is complete without them, the familiarity of some of their rhymes leaves me feeling content, especially with the fact that these guys and their rhymes are very much associated with my years as a teenager. They got the now anticipating crowd somewhat lively (hold tight the enthusiastic massive at the booth), they played a decent set with a number of tunes getting my attention; two dubs specifically from the Newham Generals camp that should be listened out for are worth a mention, a catchy, dubby anthem, named High Grade Forever, and a lovely bass laiden track with lush vocals called Set it Off. Some friends not to familiar with the whole grime/dubstep thing were somewhat enjoying the set, so hats of to those guys.
Spyro played after, continuing the grime theme, but some bad levels on the microphone from his MC had me crossing the divide, literally, where I got down to the sounds of some dubstep being played by TRG, followed up with an old school grime set.

Some time later Skream and Benga then had their turn to cue up there bag of tunes, along side MC Crazy D on microphone. What can I say, the usual quality of work to be expected from this dynamic duo. At this point in time mind you, I was feeling for a seat, and something a little different. That something different was brought to me in the guise of House, but a little bit funky. I got a little crush on funky house these days, as long as the Dj mixes it up, I find it doesn’t get too boring, and the level of energy throughout sets can be maintained at a constant level, trust me it is a welcomed break to the peaks and valleys that is dubstep.
It was around 3 something now, and it was decided (out to those 2), that it was time to go. All in all was an enjoyable excursion, although it started of slow with the crowd taking their time to turn up, it never really seemed to effect the Dj. Perhaps a lower turn out then before but a very enjoyable night.



>>> Some hours... and we find ourselves at a very special event, inside a venue, which really helped to establish the bass heavy feel of this music and a number of tracks, we find ourselves in 3rd Base. The rig, and the acoustics of that venue, let just say it is not for those with sensitive ears. When tunes are played there, it’s as if your being hit with a sledge hammer, the bass has a funny way of encapsulating you in that place, causing you to slip into a little zone… and it can only be the bass. Mind you, in my case as I was as sober as a skunk.

I got there in time to hear Mala of the Digital Mystiks come in, as Sgt Poaxs would say. My main draw for that night was the fact that he was going to play a classic DMZ set, and well tbh, that’s worth the money alone to hear. You can imagine the tunes being played, like Neverland, Pathways, etc, etc. The tunes that are dredged out on occasion by Dj’s around the way. However, mind you, there was one tune that had me as excited as your first trip to Disneyland, For all of you who don’t know... 10 Dread Commandments. Thinking about the high levels of this track as I write this is enough to make my eyes water. All those who looked at me as I held my hands in the air hooting and tooting in strange of awe of my actions to what seemed to be a standard dubby intro, soon joined me in unison when this rollercoaster of a dub went over the top. What a nice way to think of dubstep, as a roller coaster ride…

Anyways, after some applause for Mala’s huge set, the bomb squad stepped up on decks, they played a classic electro/funk set, that inspired me with the name of this current entry. Kode 9 then followed up then my night was rounded of with Loefah and Skream playing a b2b set. By this time I was extremely tired so I decided to retire home, “stay later” I thought to myself, but then again I was like "nah", I had heard what I wanted to hear, and hell, I still got Sunday night to go….

Feel a little messy at this point in time, as I hadn’t really gotten much sleep in the 7 days leading to Sunday. That Sunday happened to be the opening night of FWD on a Sunday(controversial i know). The night started of at about 8pm, and was billed to be opened until 2am I arrived to hear Benny Ill playing out. There wasn’t too many people there, of course there wouldn’t have been, it was a Sunday, but as the evening progressed more and more people turned up, I wasn’t paying too much attention attention to what was going on on the dance floor, as I had some revision to do, revision you say? Yep pretty much… the evening was an ensemble of fat breaks provided by man like Oris Jay, I was a big fan of the breakier side of this scene back in the past. Unfortunately it never really was too popular with those who got into this music in late 05-06, and the sounds of Search and Destroy, and man like Quiet Storm; pushers at that time became a vague memory. It was really nice to hear tunes from the Vehicle label and one of my all time favourites 'Said the Spider' ( I happen to like spiders), along with Soverign’s remix of the 007 tune. Bring back the breaks I say.

Hatcha then played a classic Big Apple set with tunes produced by himself, Artwork, and various other artist who got many of their first releases on that label. Going to all these events, seriously starts to take a toll on your memory.Youngsta played next, an enjoyable up front set that I remember had me on my step, as I had put the books away by this time. I left just before 1, so never got to hear Kode 9 play out the last set, and made my way down to London Bridge, to catch Chef, N-Type, and Heny G playing at Breaking Science at SE One...




At this point in time, I know those who have gotten to the end are asking where on earth my head must be at, at this time… that makes the both of us. SE One is a huge club, with three arenas, built under one of London’s busiest rail way stations. It was pretty much a blow out affair, masses and masses of people enjoying a number of different formats of bass heavy music. I had had enough of Dubstep mind you, and with timely technical’s, I made my way to the Drum and Bass arena, I am a noob when it comes to D&B, a lot of it sounds samey, and the engineer, I don’t think had set the levels right, as the mic was too high and the music was too low, though everyone around me seemed to be enjoying themselves, I thought at some points it was a little boring, though when you know the tunes, even if you can’t hear them all that well, your memory fills in the gaps. TC I think did play probably one of my most favourite tunes from this genre, called Machete! When he played it put a smile on my face. "At least I know one of them" i thought to myself .

It was an enjoyable night, spent the majority of it in a little zone, trying to take in as much as the music as possible and as little of the crowd. Funny thing however, of that weekend specifically, was that I did find my perfect beat, and it wasn’t played by the dozen or so dj I heard, or found in any of the venues I visited. It was found at home, being played on the Fruit Shop hosted by L-Wizs on Sub Fm, a tune by the name of 'Boozey' by Goldspot, proper runaway track, that I recommend you all try and get hold of. “ it felt so good.. so good…”

Go placidly amongst the bass and the hype.

Well after being referred to a blog with a similar title, I thought that was indeed the only way I could plan getting through this bank holiday weekend. Suffice to say here I am on a Monday night/Tuesday morning, semi asleep, sitting in the club that kick-started my weekend listening to a set being performed by Fabio, after what can only be described as a weekend of failed assassination attempts on my eardrums. It all started of as it usually does with the traditional pilgrimage to FWD>>. From south west to east on a Friday night (these days that night is somewhat hit and miss, on one hand they perhaps have the best combination of space and sound in London, but these days the line ups don’t seem to bring much enthusiasm to the venue as they once did), saying that this particular FWD happened to be a sure fire hit, unfortunately I missed D1’s set and arrived at the beginning of the Newham generals hour of power. The crowd is always responsive to these guys, especially me; during the early grime days, I probably would recite D Double E’s bars the most out of any grime mc. Tubby dropped a couple dubplate bombs from himself and some unknowns that got the crowd and his MC’s going off, and for anyone not accustomed to this scenes culture equates to an “itch un-gow-er again” and again, and again, with each wheel adding fuel to the fire of a burning crowd. Not before long their set was over, and there was no more generally speaking, just dj youngstas dark feelings… For anyone that really enjoys youngstas sets, I find not listening to his show on a Thursday night the best way to easily sink into his sets the following days on a loud system in a club. He played for 2hrs with beats produced by SP, himself, Benny Page, and other djs that notoriously feature in his bag, and as per usual dropped anthems (in my book) like Skreams 'Here’s a sign' and Mala’s 'Pop Pop' and for the first time to my knowledge played an untitled red liner by Chase & Status, that as far as I could see was enjoyed by everyone still left in the dance as the clock struck 3:15. I was home by about 8am following the usual post FWD shenanigans, looking forward to re-charging for what lay ahead once the sun had gone down on what seemed to have been at the time the onset of a great summer Saturday.

After spending the day doing a little exercise, some cleaning and a bit of studying for my upcoming exams, I got ready, and before not too long I was outside the Mass in Brixton. Time for another “skank under the steeple” I told myself as I couldn’t wait to get inside and up that never-ending stair case; a pet hate of many regular DMZ goers. As I strolled into the main room after saying howdy to some of the peeps that were there, I was greeted by the sounds of Tes La Rok and Dead-O from Clouds, representing Finland with there finest dubplates, engineered to get our bodies rocking and our feet stepping, personally since first being introduced to the sounds of clouds back in 2006, these guys have not failed to impress me, as many dubsteppers know, 'under the dancing feet' is a personal favourite of mine and those that are not strangers to the SubFM chatroom surely have read my interpretation of the lyrics sang by Joanna Newsom on the Clouds track 'Shallow'. DMZ played next and Loefah. In my opinion it was an ok set, the usual bits with some fresh unheard bits from Loefah. Sometimes I think it their sets can be a bit hit and miss but that just depends on what mood I am in. Up next was man like GothTrad, emphasis on 'man like', as his set was unlike any other, it consisted of live remixes of some of my favourite dubstep tunes (Skream and Clu Kids 'Sandsnake' and Clouds 'Under the dancing feet'), that had the original producers in awe, a combination of GothTrad’s energy, some already established hits, and some precision timing on the CDJs, lead me to award the set of the night to him, saying that, Chef played an almost perfect set, a diverse selection like always, consisting of some crowd pleasers from the -30 camp, Benga, some deep tunes, and tunes about the music and not about the hype of the crowd. Of all the dj's there’s nothing like watching chef mix, there’s a quirkiness about him as he listens to the mish mash of sounds coming through his headphones. Geiom played the night out and surprised us with a live vocal version of his tune reminiscing you.

Sounds like fun huh? That was just the first 24hrs. After sleeping for 4hrs, I had to get up and get ready for training, yeah I know… it genuinely isn’t the first thing you want to do after 2 nights of being out but onwards and upwards as they say. After a hard day of travelling and counting to 10 in Korean over and over again, I made my way home and got ready for the drive up to Nottingham for the Detonate indoor festival. What can I say, upon arrival I was bewildered by the amount of people outside the main entrance, a minuscule amount of bodies compared to what the numbers were inside. I arrived just as Benga was playing inside the future proof room, I thought to myself perfect timing as I had been wanting to hear some Benga bits, not just the odd one or two included in dj sets on occasion. I had wanted to hear a continuous mix of his tunes; they have a definitive sound which creates a unique vibe that you don’t get from other producers in the scene right now. Mala, who I saw play the night before followed up after, then Pinch; whose set was a refreshing break, was then followed up by Skream. The night was mainly about the crowd the venue, and the lack of air conditioning. The sheer number of bodies combined with some good music, resulted in you sweating just by association, it was horrendously hot, if you wasn’t sweating then someone close by was sweating on you, thank goodness for being able to get back stage for a face and hands rinse every so often, I tell you… it was a great night, being able to check out all the different music on offer; drum and bass, hip-hop, and dubstep, and it was cool to bump into some old friends, and to meet some guys whose names I have heard on radio but never have had the opportunity to meet in real life. After some back stage catching up it was about 7 am when we decided to make our way back to London.

Enough is enough aye? Suffice to say my big city nights didn’t end right there and then just because a new day was starting, last year, a new day is the beginning of a new night in some big city somewhere, but I feel I have gone on long enough, there’s only so much time in a day.

So we start in the thick of things...

 

Big City Nights 

Diary of a Dubstepper 

Ever since early 2004 i have been fascinated with the deep sounds of this genre of music that can only be called dubstep; a musical genre too broad to define in anyway shape or form.  In the last 4 years of listening predominantly to this music, I have been on an incredible journey traveling up and down the country supporting the players in this scene.  For someone who never really traveled out of South London, dubstep has caused me to do round trips to the city of Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, have found and lost love, money and my hearing in a number of countries all because of this underground sound, that's straight out of South London. 

Four years into this adventure, I have finally decided to create a blog, so that i can share my many lucky experiences and encounters, thanks to this music with you. 

The date is the 20th of April and i am just about to leave Amsterdam, my second home for dubstep. 

On friday after a stint of average nights, and not wanting to hear more of the same, i decided not to go to FWD> and hear Joe nice or to fabric to hear Skream, i decided to get on a plane and travel to Holland, catch up with a few friends i hadn't seen in a while, potentially gain some more, and to catch Clu Kid, Chef, Cotti, LD, Gomes, and Osiris play in Utrecht at a night called dubstep a go go, at the established venue the Theatre Kikker.

After arriving to the venue somewhat just in time thanks to a really long afternoon/evening with a character called the Rear Admiral, it was nice to see the elite guard of Holland's Dubstep scene, and to hear the selection of two of Amsterdam's most prominent dubstep dj' s, it was a good night, sound was so so, and there was one or two jumpy dubs.  But such is life.  The buzz of the crowd, tunes like calm down, Road chef, and some creative dancing was enough to overlook the slight imperfections. 

All in all it felt good to be back in Holland chilling with my friend.  Nothing like meditating on bass weight.   

Honestly.