Monday, March 15, 2010

LOS ANGELES ! // SOULGOOD // 3.17.10

Don't sleep, you know this is gunna be the hot sh!t.
.only in LA kids, only in LA...




Thursday, March 11, 2010

RISE AMERICAS ARTIST SPOTLIGHT w/ STEREOTYPE

With momentum building behind the debut release of Rise Americas EP on Westbay Digital, I thought it only appropriate to highlight the incredible artists contributing to this project.
Kicking off is Miami based artist Stereotype. Rasied in hip hop, a well known promoter, Stereotype has extended his reach into the realm of production and to be honest, thankgod he did because his tunes are outta control. His collaboration w/ Will Miles titled "I Know Not Why" on Rise Americas Volume 1 is one of the highlight tracks on the EP for me, and just recently, I've signed another track of his for Volume 2. Just can't get enough...


Lets start at the top, when & How did you get into Drum&Bass?
ST: I only got into D&B recently. I'd say around 2003. A co-worker of mine at a music store played me a few things, mostly techy stuff. I was definitely feeling it. From there i just got online and started searching it out. Once i came across music from the likes of Calibre, High Contrast and Atlantic Connection i was truly hooked. What struck me was how D&B producers were able to combine beautiful melodies and soulful samples with the brute force of breakbeats and basslines.

How did you get into production? Was it Drum&Bass that sparked that interest or have you always been interested in making opposed to just listening?
ST: I've always been in love with music. In high school i would freestyle over instrumental tapes in smoked out hallways and cars. I loved poetry and I loved writing, however I'm a pretty low key person and being behind the scenes as a producer definitely appealed to me. One day I was reading The Source magazine and there was an article interviewing several well known Hip-Hop producers. I remember Pete Rock talking about how you really didn't need all kinds of expensive gear to get started. He mentioned a few small pieces of gear and basically said, it was way more important how you used your gear than the actual gear itself. I went straight to the local music store and my loving girlfriend agreed to co-sign on a store credit card with me. (Bless her soul) I bought a crappy little drum machine, a crappy little sampler and a Tascam 4-track recorder. That was about 9 years ago, and although it's been quite a bumpy and at times gloomy road, I've always known this is what i want to do with my life.

Where do you draw influence from and find inspiration?
ST: Growing up in Miami I've always been exposed to a vast array of cultures and musical styles. Bass has always been king around here. I was also very much into the Hip-Hop my cousins and friends were bringing down from New York and New Jersey. Golden era Hip-Hop if you will. D&B always felt like a smooth, natural extension of those styles for me. Honestly one of the things I love most about producing is when I'm able to take an experience or emotion from my life and translate that into music.

Whats next on the plate?
ST: Right now I'm most excited about my collab with Will Miles called "I Know Not Why" which will be featured on the 'Rise Americas' Vol. 1 EP on Westbay Digital. I just locked down one of my latest tunes for the 'Rise Americas' EP Vol 2 as well. I've also been working on an EP with Will. Apart from that I've got a tune with my long time collaborator Sopheye coming out on Sublife Recordings out of San Francisco. The flip of that release is a tune by another South Florida friend and colleague George Young. Got a few things scheduled for release on Urban Chemistry Recordings based out of Miami, and something due out on the Bassdrive's forthcoming label.

Any shouts or info you wanna hit us with?
ST: Definitely wanna let everyone know about Stank Love, which just so happens to be the premiere D&B event in Miami. We've been running almost a year and going strong. This month we will be holding our very first WMC edition and we've got a sick lineup in store. If you are in Miami for WMC you don't wanna miss this!!! It's going down Wednesday, March 24th at Jazid in Miami Beach. 1342 Washington Ave.

Gotta shout out the whole FLDNB crew, the Stank Love crew, the Substitutes crew, and my new mixing engineer Will Miles. He's really helped my mixdowns reach that next level. I highly recommend any producers out there needing help with there mixes hit him up at willmiles3000@gmail.com






MYSPACE

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

NIGHTWERKS LAUNCH PARTY @ NYC 3.11.10

My boy Keith sent me over some info on a party crackin off in NYC tomorrow night. Looks like fun, bring ya scarf!


Nightwerks launch party tomorrow night in NY is going to be an event not to miss!! Heres the info.

*Every 2nd Thursday of each month at the new Knitting Factory in Williamsburg the Production trio known as Nightwerks will be bringing some of the most talented DJ's, Producers and Performers in electronic music they know.

You can go to http://www.nightwerksproductions.com/ for more details. The
site is being updated daily and will have links to music up soon

This months musical guests:

Ditchdigger
[left-field techno/dubstep live set]

Dj Pos
[dubstep]

Clay Nyse
[drum & bass]

Rajeev Maddela and Brandon Epperson
[live performance w/ visuals]

WMC EVENT! DENNIS FERRER'S: OBJEKTIVITY [3.25.10] MIAMI

yup, only a couple weeks away. see you in Miami !

METALHEADZ PODCAST 8

This looks delicious.

1.Mode - Pauses In Dreams
2.Ulterior Motive & FD - All That We Are
3.Mikal - Say Nothing
4.Jubei - Carbon
5.Rusko - Love Is Real
6.Burial & Goldie - Diety
7.Capone - Friday
8.Subwave - Road Rage
9.S.P.Y - Zenomorph
10.Jubei & Alix Perez - Untitled
11.Total Science & S.P.Y - Legion
12.Heist - Captured
13.Noisia - Diplodocus
14.Gang Starr - What I'm here for

GET IT HERE.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

FRIDAY MARCH 5th / PACIFIC JUNGLE PRESENT..SUBPHONIX


This Friday night @ downtown Honolulu, Hawaii /
Pacific Jungle camp present their latest installment of Subphonix.
Don't Sleep on this.


WWW.PACIFICJUNGLE.COM / WWW.WKPHOTOG.COM

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

25 TO LIFE / 3.4.10 - Vanguard, Hollywood / HOSTED BY JULZ THE HUNTRESS

Known throughout the world as one of the hottest female MC’s in electronic music, Los Angeles based Julz the huntress has taken on a brand new endeavor; event coordination. She’s doing one of the freshest parties in LA at one of the biggest and most renowned venues in America, Vanguard. If you’ve ever spent more than 10 min in the presence of miss Julz, you’ll know her passion for theatrics and visual presentation, so coordinating a massive event (like the one we’re about to discuss) should come as no surprise, as it’s just another facet to this multi-talented individual.

On March 4th, 2010 Julz the huntress presents 25 to Life, a multi-genre, multi-visual, multi-theatrical event held at Hollywood’s massive venue, Vanguard. 25 to Life will feature 9 DJ’s of top caliber, 3 dance performances by some of LA’s most in demand choreographers, live art installations, 1 live band and a host of musical vibes including dubstep, house, hip hop, reggae and more… We took a few min to sit down w/ Julz to get specifics on this event and also what goes into coordinating a project of this scale.


Julz, thanks for taking the time, so lets start at the beginning, how did this event come about?
Julz:
My good friend laurel hit me up about a month ago to help her coordinate an anniversary party for a recording studio in Hollywood. The studio (Westbeach Recorders) is celebrating their 25th year in business and wanted to throw a blow out bash. It’s the recording studio across from the Vanguard in Hollywood-next thing you know they booked the Vanguard for the event- I was given the green light to do my thing and I’ve been runnin with it ever since.

What made you decide to incorporate such multi-media when you could just book a few big DJ’s and call it a day?
Julz: Having the freedom to utilize the space and the stage is the inspiration. I always like to push the envelope when creating a visual and creating a memory. This was the perfect opportunity to do just that. Laurel and I brainstormed on a lot of ideas and because both of us have a dance/choreography background it was important to us that we make it really special and incorporate many forms of media and performance.

In our personal discussions, you’ve expressed your desire to create large scale theatrical events, do you think this is a vision coming to fruition?
Julz: Yes! Having the opportunity to produce something at such a great venue has been amazing. I’ve been able to put on some cool shows through the years but this is definitely the most hands on I’ve been with all aspects of an event. I’m really excited about the fashion shows- combining dance, fashion and music. This is all heading in the direction of the bigger vision I have for Bass Brat Productions and my music.

How long does it take to plan an event like this & what stresses go into creating an event of this size?
Julz: It can take several months to plan something like this but we’ve managed to get it together in one month. Because of the time crunch I’ve pretty much been living eating and breathing this event for the past 4 weeks. Coordinating everyone’s schedules for rehearsals and meetings is probably the toughest part. I love it though…this is what I live for.

How many people are involved in bringing this vision to life, and what’s it like organizing all that?
Julz: Looking at my roster there are about 60 people involved in this production. That’s not including the sound engineers, lighting and security. I’ve had a few overwhelming moments but I also have a lot of great support and a great team to work with. I like to compare putting on a good show to cooking a good meal- Its all about timing and being able to work under pressure.

How has the club been in the development of your event? Supportive?
Julz: Laurel and Donell from Westbeach have done most of the communicating with the club so far but overall they seem pretty supportive. I think at first the venue was a bit shaky about the event because when the venue was booked we didn’t know what we were going to do yet... but now we have a lot of momentum and things are great.

Tell us more about the artists you have performing and creating, how did you choose them?
Julz: There are way to many artists to list but I will say this…All of them from the dj’s to the hair and makeup are friends of mine and are extremely talented. I chose them because they have a great energy and attitude. I am so grateful for the support they’ve all given me and can’t wait to see them do their thing on Thursday!

Do you want to do more of these type of events?
Julz: Absolutely!

Where can our readers find out more about the event and get tickets for it?
Julz: Facebook event page: http://tiny.cc/Fw1O7
RSVP for free entry before 11PM: 25tolifersvp@gmail.com
www.westbeachrecorders.com

This event is also in conjunction with a battle of the bands contest. Find out more information on how to enter here:

www.myspace.com/25tolifecontest

Any last words or shouts?!
Julz: A big shot out to the Wesbeach Recorders recording studio. Without their existence we would not be putting on this event. They have been recording bands such as NOFX, Offspring, Sublime, Blink 182, Rancid and Bad Religion over the last 25 years. It’s an awesome studio and I’m happy to be helping them out. I’d also like to thank Laurel for asking me to be a part of this event, Ian (AKA DJ Havoc) for making such an awesome flyer. Jo-Jo MF Diggs and Dante7 for being the awesome choreographers that they are and Mr. Sam Uptown who has helped keep me sane throughout this process!





ps* check out Julz' music project Cruel Rumour / Cruel Rumour "FLY" (free download)
DOWNLOAD

METALHEADZ VS. BASSDRIVE / 3.27.10 / MIAMI


My pick for this weeks' WMC event spotlight is the massive Metalheadz vs. Bassdrive event at Heathrow, Southbeach. Showcasing a thick roster of talent, the MDZ vs BASSDRIVE event is sure to be one of the biggest and most notable events at WMC. Don't miss this.


Monday, March 1, 2010

BRANDON MILES + TRICKY PAT "SULPHER EP" - AVAILABLE NOW!



“Brandon and Pat have been turning the heads of some of the biggest DJ's in drum and bass recently, getting support from the likes of London Electricity, Doc Scott and Raiden.
These are some of the most original tracks I've heard in the genre. Although they may sound quite obscure at first, I've been playing them out for months and they can really have an amazing effect at parties, provided you mix out of them with something with a bit of energy! Radio X especially, I've only ever heard those kind of sounds at the end of a Jeff Mills set when he's trying to really f*ck your head up, so I'm really happy to be putting these tracks out."

-Temper D

To help promote the Sulpher EP which is out now on Temper D Productions we are giving away this experimental remix of a classic tune from the back catalog of the label. Some half time dnb business with a funky little dubstep breakdown is now yours for the taking.

go grab it here >> No Favors Remix
and don't forget to check the Sulpher EP out now !!!!

CLICK HERE TO BUY