Show me your bass face

Inspired by the hilarious YouTube clip of Fred the raver putting on his best bass face, I decided to gather my own gallery of bass faces at LED Festival.

Big high fives to everyone who was game enough to take part!

Warning - it gets ugly...

Guide One = one totally mega DJ

'I'm doing a poo' face.

My bass face is revealed.

This guy was hauled over by his mates to be photographed because apparently his bass face is quite famous.

Basslines obviously startle this man.

Bass face of the very charming Professor Green.

Warface, more like.

I said bass face, not cum face.

The award for bass face of the night definitely goes to this man.

And finally, I met a very strange man with bare feet:

LED Festival review (sort of)

The first ever LED Festival got off to a bad start. Pitted against SW4 in Clapham (which sold out), not to mention Carnival the same weekend, poor ticket sales caused the organisers to cancel the Cream tent on the Friday, which was supposed to host the Swedish House Mafia dons. One stage closed in a festival with only two stages? Ouch.

You could tell LED was struggling. In the week leading up to the event, in what seemed like an act of sheer panic, they started dishing out free tickets in papers and promotions. £50 was too much to ask anyway. And to add insult to injury, a rainy week in London had left Victoria Park mudmatronic.

So not the most auspicious of starts, but by the time I rocked up on Saturday the sun had come out, the mud had dried up and the good times were rolling.

A rather bizarre door policy which allowed you to take in water bottles (but not the lid) proved to be my downfall, for I'd soon polished off half a litre of cunningly disguised vodka. So I'd love to give you a run-through of all the sets, telling you how Annie Mac smashed it, Boy Better Know rinsed out, and everyone threw their hands in the air for a mighty finale with the legendary Leftfield, but frankly I was totally sozzled by the end and not taking anything very seriously.
(In fact at one point my best mate and I ended up in the VIP bar with her breakdancing and me doing a bizarre Bez-style maraca dance around her. Damn you, vodka.)

What I can confirm is that Shy FX played a blinder, dropping some truly classic jungle circa 1995. And since the crowd were generally an older bunch, we all thought this was totally rad.

Anyway, to make up for the fact that my reporting skills went to pot on this occasion, I've compiled a gallery of the event for your amusement. See my next post.

Reggie Watts, swearing a lot

As a blogger, I should be keeping you up to date with all the latest, cutting-edge news, right? And as a blog about London's club scene, I should really stick to the programme and write about London's club scene.

Well today I say fuck all that. The other day I was introduced to the very random world of Reggie Watts, an American comedian and beatboxer. I watched this video, it's not new but I liked it - call me juvenile but swearing always makes me laugh - so I'm going to share it with you.

Cue giggles, and much head-nodding.

Deviation Carnival Session - Sun 29 August

Your Sunday night Carnival after-party is sorted, my friends.

Check out this tasty little number from Deviation, taking place on City Road in east London.

DJ Zinc playing a back-to-'95 jungle set? Rinse FM founder Geeneus comin atcha with the funky, alongside dubstep's lady of the moment, Katy B? Noodles of Groove Chronicles getting jiggy with the classic garage? Do I LOOK like I'd miss such a thing? Hell no.

Deviation Carnival Session
Sunday 29 August
@ Camp Basement
70-74 City Road, London EC1Y 2BJ
10pm-5am
£10 all night

Click here for the full info.

Ninja Tune celebrates 20 years

Ninja Tune, the most awesomely spectacular independant record label that brought us artists such as Roots Manuva, Toddla T, Mr Scruff and Hexstatic, is putting on an exhibition in its home city.

The label is celebrating 20 years of music output - titled Ninja Tune XX - with a showcase of plans and drawings, 3D models, LP and CD artwork, merchandise and posters.

The exhibition runs for a month from this Thursday 19 August.

On 11 September there will also be a one-day store selling discounted music and merchandise.

Ninja Tune XX exhibition
19 August - 16 September
Black Dog Publishing
10a Acton Street, London WC1X 9NG
12pm - 5pm

Notting Hill Carnival - Red Bull Stage

The Red Bull Stage is returning to Notting Hill Carnival for the third year running. Much like Rizla, Red Bull is a corporation that definitely knows its urban stuff, and here it's managed to pull another wicked lineup out the bag.

Diplo and Switch are headlining with their electro-dancehall pseudonym Major Lazer - definitely an act you should make a beeline for in any event. The recently-resurfaced Sticky (remember Ms Dynamite's 'Boo'?) is playing garage and funky, while dubstep meister Joker is playing, er, dubstep.

Also on the lineup is the legendary David Rodigan (catch him at Plan B in Brixton on the Saturday night) as well as Drop The Lime, who graced the decks at Fabric this weekend.

Sadly, unlike everywhere else at Carnival, the Red Bull stage is a ticket-only event. However, Gravity Skank has learned that the guestlist opens tomorrow, Monday 16 August. Visit www.redbull.co.uk/carnival for your chance to join the party.

Notting Hill Carnival - a Gravity Skank guide

It's nearly time for Europe's biggest street festival, Notting Hill Carnival, which runs every year over the August Bank Holiday (Sunday to Monday).

I have a love-hate relationship with Carnival. On the one hand it's an awesome party showcasing the best of the capital's unrivalled music scene. Nothing beats dancing in the street to jungle, right? Plus there's the added bonus of all that gorgeous Caribbean food, (hopefully) some glorious summer sunshine, the dazzling carnival outfits and the prospect of running into old friends along the route and sharing the good vibes.

I used to live along the route and that year was the best for me - mainly because it meant I didn't have to pay to use a skanky loo in someone's house. And I can cope with some of the down-sides to carnival, too. Following the processions, there's always a point where the heaving crowds get a bit too much (I use the Underground so am well used to being crushed into a stranger's armpit). And some sound systems - such as Norman Jay's Good Times - get so full early on, you simply won't get in.

But the biggest problem with Carnival is all the eeedyat rudeboys who cause trouble. It can become an annual showdown of yoot rajjiness sometimes. Last year I witnessed so much violence I swore I wouldn't go again. However, in fairness, lots of people had a great time last year and didn't have the same experience as me, so perhaps I was just in the wrong places at the wrong times.

A few tips from Gravity Skank for this year's event:
1. Know the route. And more importantly, get to know the back routes.
2. Take your own booze!
3. If you want to avoid hassle, go on the Sunday (kids day) or catch the last of the processions on the Monday night - sound systems end around 7pm but processions can go on after this.
4. On the other hand if you want to catch one of the big sound systems, get there early. 
5. Know your after parties... you WILL want to keep dancing.
6. Try and get on the Red Bull guestlist (see my next post for details).
7. Don't forget your rave horn...

Mad Decent's dance superhero

I know that Diplo's label Mad Decent pulls some good shit out the bag, but check out this appearance at the NYC block party...

Video: D Double E & Swerve 'Streetfighter Riddim'

I'm a huge fan of grime duo Newham Generals, producers of some truly spiffing aural duttyness.

D Double E - who appeared in this year's most piss-poor movie, 'Shank' - has just released the video of his monsta track with DJ Swerve, 'Streetfighter Riddim'.

It's an OK video, though it appears to have taken its cues from JME's 'CD is Dead'.

Wiley and MJ Cole 'From The Drop'

Following the Zip Files release of hundreds of free Wiley tracks, Twitter has gone crazy for the rapper.

He's currently working on a track with the totally awesome MJ Cole, and MistaJam exclusively played the (unfinished) version on his Radio 1Xtra show last night.

So here's the first outing of 'From The Drop'. I still think Wiley's an oddity, but this is dope.