Gravity Skank :: dance music

Nero 'Promises'

2011-08-14T13:26:00.004+01:00

I love dubstep tag-team Nero. Like really, really love them.

A friend of mine started working with the duo recently and confirms that they're great lads. Which leaves me all the more heartbroken to have had marriage proposals refused and my underwear returned, still used, in the post.

I managed to sneak onto the list for Chase & Status at Roundhouse for the iTunes festival which, according to the Gravity Skank survey, seems the only way of getting in these days - competition tickets are like gold dust, whereas the guestlist queue stretched way back up to where that glorious Banksy used to be. Corporate, much?

Having been to the Chase & Status album launch many moons ago and listened to 'No More Idols' a gazillion times, and, being familiar with the typical lethargy of a Roundhouse crowd, I thought I knew what to expect.

But badda bing! I was totally blown away. It seems the boys have taken a leaf out of the Chemical Brothers bible and invested in some cracking production. And Nero, oh, lights of my life, how you looked so handsome atop those massive speakers. If only that injunction didn't keep me at least 50 metres away at all times.

I jest. In seriousness those boys smashed it: I've never seen Roundhouse go so nuts. And I've gotten so used to dance music being treated as an underground phenomenon that it's good to see live performances being turned up to the max, a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

So to celebrate, let's look at their latest video, for the anthem 'Promises'. The superb production on this tells a story somewhere between Big Brother and Brave New World.

The album, 'Welcome Reality', is due out tomorrow and I'm so excited about hearing it I might just wet myself.

PS Is it just me or does their singer look remarkably like a futuristic Lucy Benjamin, aka Lisa Fowler from Eastenders?

XOYO marks the spot - Aug 2011

2011-08-14T12:22:00.003+01:00

On a fleeting return visit to London last week I managed to squeeze in a trip to XOYO, the 800-capacity club tucked into an alley behind Old Street station.

When nearby Herbal club closed in 2009 I was bereft, but this venue has filled that hole well. With a team including my ex Mixmag colleague and Bugged Out! founder John Burgess at the helm, you'd expect them to spot a good lineup from ten paces. Which they can.

Toddla T was playing - regular readers will know I'd never slate him. But the other DJs did a wicked job too, mixing up dubstep, garage, funky, jungle, and all other urban loveliness, into a bumpin' room with a great vibe. Rinse FM DJ Oneman took it a little too RnB but we forgive him for that because he also dropped LL Cool J's 'Doin It'. (Remember that one, kids? No?)

Anyway, the point of all this waffle is that XOYO is a fantastic club and you should all support it (and try to convince the council to let it open past 4am). So get your high tops on and jog down to Soundcrash on Saturday 20 August or the Urban Nerds Carnival Special the week after. Look!

Stanton Warriors at the new Matter

2011-03-06T03:20:00.000Z

It was a sad day when Matter nightclub closed last year, after the owners of super-underground London venue Fabric failed to keep the enterprise afloat.

I was hesitant when news broke that Proud Group, which owns Camden's Proud Galleries and a bunch of other UK venues, announced it was taking over the Greenwich club, naming it Proud2.

The firm promises 'Vegas-style clubbing' and has completed a £1 million renovation that includes chandeliers, a VIP area and a gentlemans' club on the second floor - a world away from its founders' ethos and the type of club I wouldn't piss on if it was on fire.

So I was surprised to see the venue announce a lineup worthy of the capital's more grimey venues, with breakbeat dons Stanton Warriors, Radio One's Zane Lowe, and dubstep filth merchant Bar9 among the list. The night is hosted by Nottingham-born breakbeat promotion Spectrum.

Are you headed to the party? Leave your comments here and let us know what you think.

Double good vibes

2011-02-01T20:09:00.006Z

A weekend takeover for Trouble Vision at Corsica Studios saw two banging but quite different music policies catering for a range of clubber.

It was a tricky decision but after hearing wicked things about Motor City Drum Ensemble and having wanted to check out legend Theo Parrish for time, we busted down on Saturday night and they didn't disappoint. Long sets, soulful tunes from Motor City made excellent vibes and Theo P has serious skillage in working a tune to the max - vibing his little face off.

My love for Corsica Studios is growing; always one to like the grimier club, I've clocked the rabbit warren layout now to maximise my clubbing experience and pop me out at the right door. Oh look it's Ramadanman playing a banging set - safe!

Looking forward to seeing what Trouble Visions spits out next . . . bring it on!

Double Trouble

2011-01-26T17:30:00.001Z

The last time Gravity Skank went down to Corsica Studios' long-running night Trouble Vision was for their excellent second birthday party last year, where Zinc completely tore it up with a set ranging from old school jungle, to garage, dubstep and his own brand of crack house.

This weekend looks even better with the club night taking over Corsica Studios on both Friday and Saturday for the first time ever with a massive line-up featuring artists from two of their favourite labels - Girls Music and AUS Music.

Instead of being tempted to cram David Rodigan, Roller Express (Toddla T and Redlight), Shy FX, Roska, Theo Parrish, Ramadanman and Motor City Drum Ensemble into one big night, they've split them across the weekend and stayed at home in South London, and for that, we are eternally grateful.

Advance tickets are now unsurprisingly sold out, but there will 100 on the door if you get there early. We'll see you there on the Saturday, raving at the front!

How To Dance To Dubstep

2011-01-20T20:33:00.005Z

You thought you knew how to dance? Think again.

Sit back and learn from the master.

Click on the link, trust me its worth it.

Is it the death of MySpace?

2011-01-11T21:09:00.008Z

Yesterday News Corp announced that it would be sacking half of it's MySpace staff. That's a mahoosive 500 person culling - hinting at the possible death of the music portal and another whopping shift in how we get our music on the web.

At its peak MySpace rocked the music world bringing new music directly to the mouse-pads of the fans but lately more for the kids. Don't know about you but these days I can't even remember how to login and have a zillion other ways to engage in the music I love. Facebook, Spotify, Soundcloud all do their thing giving us the power to show and tell our favs.

We are a fickle bunch of media munchers. Don't ask me what will fill MySpace's shoes - I haven't the foggiest. Things seem to come on the music portal market quicker than you can say mp3 and next year who knows if they might be a gonner too.

2011 clubbing resolutions

2011-01-03T22:30:00.000Z

Happy New Year Gravity Skankers! Another year another hangover and just as I’m wishing the one from NYE to finally disappear I’m setting my clubbing resolutions to ensure there are many worthy ones in store for 2011:

New vibes
Check out some new sounds . . just because a line-up isn’t immediately heaped with big names doesn’t mean that it won’t be a banging night.

Clubbing etiquette
Trust in clubbing karma, a little bit of - after you blud, no I insist after you - makes the world a better place.

Advance tickets
So the death of spontaneity might make you feel a little concerned but when you match it with that smug feeling of a shorter queue (laters potatoes!) and more drinking time then bring it on!

Till the bitter end Katy B/Dynamite stylee
Keep moving when the lights go on, there’s more strut space, and by the time the system gets shut down the cloakroom queue will have vamoosed! (loving the tune by the way ladies).

Freestyle skanking
Do the Carlton skank or whatever takes your fancy, just get your groove on and let loose now!

Christmastep

2010-12-19T19:36:00.003Z

UK dance music seems to be constantly morphing and developing into new styles and genres. The latest and most seasonal of which is something I like to call Christmastep.

Exhibit A:

Surely a contender for Christmas number one. Its the Dubstep Snowman.

Exhibit B:

Mr Virgo's brilliant grime instrumental sampling the greatest Christmas movie ever made, Home Alone.

Season's greetings

Hello

2010-12-19T18:26:00.005Z

So Gravity Skanker No.1 has given me the freedom of the blog.

I promise to use my powers wisely.

Here's a mix I made to celebrate. Enjoy!

GravitySkank by GuideOne

Tracklist:

Footsteppin - Julio Bashmore
Revisit - CRST
Up In My Head - Cooly G
See Other People (Falty DL remix) - Cosmin TRG
Since Last Night - Cosmin TRG
Pineapple Crush - Lone
ILove04 - KidKut
Long Range - Roska & Untold
Forever You Dub - L-Vis 1990
You Don't Wash ft. The Spaceape - Kode 9
Left Hander - Martyn
The Let Down - George Fitzgerald
Good Love - CRST
Crossed Out - Pariah
Nervous - Jessie Ware & SBTRKT

DJ nights at Somerset House

2010-11-27T08:42:00.000Z

One of the best attractions in London is Somerset House. I adore that place. As well as its year-round arts programme the riverside venue hosts a series of awesome outdoor film screenings in summer and the gorgeous skate rink in winter.

When I saw the listings for this year's ice skating DJ nights I did twirls of joy. My ex radio partner Edward Adoo is playing on Friday 17 December, and my super cool homeboy DJ Guide One of hip hop collective IRS is music maestro for Saturday 18 December. Both of them are brilliant DJs with an eclectic repertoire and some of the most knowledgeable music brains in the business. Strap on your skates and get your glide on, I urge you.

Other DJ night hosts include Ministry of Sound and Eat Your Own Ears. For more details, click here.

Jesters clash with riot police at Holborn rave

2010-11-03T20:49:00.000Z

Halloween is always a cracking night out in London. I spent mine avoiding a thousand devils' pitchforks at Urban Nerds in Old Street.

Meanwhile, down the road in Holborn, this week's most hilarious news story was breaking at an illegal warehouse rave. Police were called to a gaff near The Den where around 500 people were raving to 'deafening hard techno', says The Telegraph.

After asking people to leave (who probably couldn't hear them if it was so deafening), police panicked and called in the chaps from the riot squad.

The newspaper says: 'Ravers in boiler suits, bear suits, and jester costumes, and an array of hoodies, top hats, fluorescent caps and dreadlocks, were in the road. Some were drinking beer in the road, many were clinging to water bottles.'

Ahahahahahahhaha.

Newspaper quote of the week goes to squatter David Emeri, who told reporters: 'The only thing is I've been here since 3am and I haven't had the chance to go to the lavatory yet.'

Read the full story here. There's an alternative video of the event here.

Chase & Status album launch

2010-10-24T12:33:00.000+01:00

Last Thursday I returned to a venue close to my heart, Kentish Town Forum, for the Chase & Status album launch party.

The gig was set up as part of the Q Awards, a rather bizarrely matched series of events to count down to the annual music prizegiving. (I say bizarrely matched because Q magazine is aimed at an older, mainstream market, whereas the music of Chase & Status is more commonly found on the iPods of hip young things with a Mixmag subscription.)

The launch party for 'No More Idols' was a packed, lively affair. There was much dancing, much singing along, and even a bit of crowd surfing. This is what I call The Pendulum Effect, where the habits of the rock scene have crept into drum & bass parties. Ten years ago, if you'd elbowed your neighbour while moshing on the dancefloor, or lobbed a pint of beer across the crowd, you'd have been given a slap on the wrists pretty quick. It just wasn't acceptible then. So imagine my surprise at seeing a mini wall of death form in the centre of the Forum.

Chase & Status are awesome producers and, having toured with chart toppers like Prodigy and Dizzee Rascal, aim high with their live production standards. This event featured lighting effects and visuals to rival any Chemical Brothers gig and even a rather natty drum kit on stage.

The music of Chase & Status - who have truly nailed the D&B, dubstep and breakbeat scenes - is crisp, anthemic and accessible, and I don't mean that in the patronising sense. The duo performed only a handful of tracks from their new album, but enough to show that it will feature a hefty dose of catchy vocals and infectious basslines. The rest of the shindig was devoted to bangers from their incredible first album, 'More Than Alot'.

MC Rage joined them on stage, doing his usual hype-man routine of bigging up London. More than a lot. The show also featured a number of guests including grime bod Tempah T.

DMC Scratch Championships 2010

2010-10-24T11:32:00.000+01:00

The DMC World DJ Championships were held last week at the lofty Koko in Camden.

It's quite a serious and chin-strokey event to uncover the world's best scratch DJs, who are each allowed a six-minute mix in the final, voted on by a panel of judges including Scratch Perverts Mr Thing and Prime Cuts (team winners in 1999).

Across the competition this year there was a marked absence of the kind of showmanship and physical trickery you'd have seen from stars of yesteryear like Craze and Qbert. So with a technically speedy but uninspiring set, DJ LigOne - a very French-looking Frenchman (pictured above) - won the top prize, which included a red Vestax mixer, Technics decks and a DMC bomber. Kireek from Japan took home the team trophy the night before.

This year's competition was notable not for the quality of mixes, but for the announcement made by DMC and Mixmag founder Tony Prince.

He came on stage to report that from next year, Serato manufacturer Rane will be sponsoring DMC - and DJs will be allowed to use Serato in the competition. This moves the championship in a whole new direction, since it means DJs can use the digital mixing system and a laptop instead of getting hands-on with traditional vinyl and all those sticky labels.

Prince said: 'We will always protect true turntablism but the time is right to allow for new technology.' Proving the depth of feeling towards change in the 25-year-old competition, the crowd booed when they heard the news.

Prince's speech was accompanied by a bizarre choreographed pisstake in which another guy hopped on stage dressed just like him, with grey hair, black jeans and tucked-in white T shirt (bless). To lively up proceedings again we had a beatbox performance from some French guy whose name escapes me, followed by a set from the father of mixing GrandWizzard Theodore - who, at one point, wore a silky black eye mask and scratched blind.

Hottest tip for the night was this little beauty I discovered at the merchandise stall. It's the best thing since that four-croissant deal at Greggs.

Dub FX

2010-10-20T08:00:00.003+01:00

This week's Wednesday boredom alleviator is a video from Melbourne beatboxer Dub FX. It's a totally awesome street performance that I'm memerised by - and the track is beautiful.

Free Toddla T party, Weds 20 October

2010-10-19T23:08:00.000+01:00

Check this out yo - free Toddla T party in Kings Cross tomorrow!!! Free booze!!! Like, HULLO.

To celebrate its 4th birthday, the Big Chill House in Kings Cross is putting on a super megatronic party with a million DJs I've never heard of but who cares - Toddla T is headlining.

They're giving away a free drink if you sign up their mailing list first. (Too long-winded for me; I'll just smuggle in my own.)

Party starts at 7pm. Click here for more info.

Outlook Festival 2010

2010-10-18T13:00:00.001+01:00

Reports of Outlook Festival this year were that it was amazing - which makes me totally gutted to have missed it. The fact that I can't make it next year either makes me want to cry.

Check out the promo video here:

Trouble Vision, 22 October

2010-10-17T21:47:00.000+01:00

Another great night coming up: Trouble Vision at Corsica Studios.

I'll let the lineup speak for itself - and see you there...

Trouble Vision 2nd birthday
Friday 22 October
@ Corsica Studios, Elephant & Castle

DJ Zinc
MJ Cole b2b Zed Bias (History of Garage Set / 2 Hour set)
Scuba
SBTRKT
& more

Click here for more info.

Bad flyers

2010-10-05T08:06:00.002+01:00

And the award for shittest flyer of the month goes to... Fact Mag. This appalling attempt to usher us down to east London's newest club looks like it was done by the work experience kid using CorelDraw 1 and a mobile screensaver. In 1996.

Blow at Egg, Friday 8 October

2010-10-03T08:40:00.003+01:00

Egg club has never been well known for its awesome lineups or excellent promotions. Instead, the notorious Kings Cross venue has kept going for seven years on the back of its reputation as a solid after-party spot, the place that's guaranteed to be open at 10am, full of London's messiest.

With events like Breakfast at Egg playing techno, minimal, house and electroey stuff until 2pm on a Sunday, it's the sort of gaff you end up in, as my housemate likes to say, 'When things have gone very wrong indeed'. Which sometimes can be quite funny.

So it's good to see Egg's new Friday night shindig, Blow, taking things down a more drum n bass and dubsteppy route with some top names. This week, STUN hosts room one with Nero (ladies, take note: Dan Nero is seriously fit) with MC AD. Also on the bill is Chug, a London-based DJ you should definitely seek out if you like eclectic urban riddims - for some dope mixes, check out his Soundcloud page.

Friday 8 October
Blow @ Egg, Kings Cross
£10 adv, £13 otd
10pm - 6am
Lineup: Nero, Macpherson, V Dubz, Matt Carpenter, DJ Chug

Click here for more info.

Metalheadz at Roundhouse, 14 Oct

2010-10-03T07:50:00.000+01:00

Red Bull returns to host yet another event with a stonking lineup, this time at the Roundhouse in Camden. I'm not sure how I'd feel about paying £18 for a Thursday nighter, though.

Culture Clash @ The Roundhouse
Thursday 14 October
Lineup: Metalheadz feat Goldie, Andy C, Shy FX, Storm, MC GQ, MC Justyce; Skream and Benga presents Joker, MC Nomad and Artwork; Channel One Soundsystem feat Mikey Dread, Ras Kayleb + more.

Click here for more info and tickets.

Urban Nerds Halloween special

2010-10-01T14:04:00.000+01:00

Hope I didn't leave you distraught with Gravity Skank's absence these last couple of weeks, chums. Been busy with the non-raving side of life (yawn yawn).

But panic over – I'm back, with lots of raving fun times to update you with: Turning Point Festival, Hospitality at Brixton Academy, plus some interesting new artist releases.

In the meantime, check out this awesome little club night. Silly season is well and truly over, promoters have returned from their summer breaks and the parties are back in full swing. (In fact, October to December is perhaps the busiest time of the clubbing year, so I do hope you've prepared your brain cells for annihilation.)

Urban Nerds is one of the capital's most hip brands and the folks behind it are churning out parties like there's no tomorrow night. Interestingly they've linked up with some major promoters across the UK (including Newcastle's Wax:On and Brighton's Supercharged) and have just announced an event at the cool-as-ice Snowbombing festival in Austria next year.

At the end of October is this Halloween bash in London, with a super freaky lineup including Joker, Cookie Monsta, Flux Pavilion and Marcus Nasty. If you like dubstep, grime and trendy things, you must be there. The 900-capacity venue, Xoyo in Shoreditch, is a newbie that opens this month. Looks like a good'un!

Urban Nerds Halloween Bash
Saturday 30 October 2010
@ XOYO,
32-37 Cowper Street, London EC2A 4AP

Click here for details.

Plump DJs free track

2010-09-15T07:00:00.008+01:00

Wednesday is undoubtedly the shittest day of the week.

To make yours less shit, here's a free Plump DJs track. Don't say I don't treat you!

Plump DJs were once the godfathers of the breakbeat scene. In recent years though, they've diversified and their sets are now more tech house and crunky electro than squidgy breaks (sadly us old-school-breakbeaters find this a bitter pill to swallow.)

As part of their musical evolution the duo have launched a new label, Grand Hotel, which claims to be a 'forward thinking platform for new electronic dance music' and will release tracks from the Plumps as well as other artists.

Click here to download the Plumps' 'Dirty Super Car- Get A Grip' Maximilian remix.

Rustie EP launch, Friday 1 October

2010-09-13T12:00:00.001+01:00

Rustie, king of all things bleepy and bloopy, is having a party to celebrate the release of his 'Sunburst' EP for Warp Records.

Hosted by hip London promoters Deadly Rhythm (usually found packing out Plan B in Brixton), the event has a cracking lineup featuring Harmonic 313, Untold and of course the eternal child himself (Rustie still looks 12, bless).

If you get your skates on, you can still bag a £6 early bird ticket.

Friday 1 October
Rustie's Sunburst EP Launch Party
@ The Camp,70-74 City Road, Old Street
10pm-4am

Click here for more details

Rinse 16th birthday at Fabric review

2010-09-12T22:30:00.000+01:00

Judging by the queues to get into raves recently, it would appear the summer clubbing lull is over.

After Notting Hill Carnival there was a lack of after-parties in east London because most of the action stayed put in the west.

This meant Deviation, hosted just by Old Street roundabout and with one super mega lineup, was the party of choice for those of us on the other side of town.

Waiting for over an hour in the queue, I still didn’t get in (by 11pm it was one in, one out). This may have been a good thing, because those who were leaving the venue were complaining it was too packed and impossible to get served at the bar.

Fast forward to this weekend: the Rinse 16th birthday party at Fabric on Friday. Rinse FM is one of the biggest players in the UK underground music scene, so we knew this would be a big night. But when I rocked up to the club – no, in fact as soon as I left Farringdon Tube station – I realised just how much of a beast was in store.

Fabric is famous for its queues (it’s a classic club trick to make sure people bring their coats and spend that extra pound). But I’d never seen it this hefty – all the way down Cowcross Street, almost reaching the station. Look!

It’s at times like this I thank God (and the Fabric press office) for guestlists.

So luckily, we managed to get straight in. But every time I popped out for a cigarette, I could see a whole bunch of people waiting in that darned queue. You gotta love Rinse to put up with that. And love Rinse we clearly do.

You’d be mistaken to assume this was a wholly dubstep affair - in fact dubstep made up less than half the night’s playlist.

Sure, Skream and Benga did the business (though less of MC GQ would have been nice). Youngsta dipped his toe in there too, but veered towards the more ‘atmospheric’ dubstep. And of course N Type rocked room 1 with some gnarliness. But on the whole, the Rinse party was a mix of funky, grime, garage (lots of it), drum n bass, and jungle... all the stuff that makes London’s pirate radio soundscape great.

Having played the best set of the night, Shy FX has knocked my little socks off for the second time in a month now (see my post about LED festival). He did what he’s always done best: drum n bass and classic jungle anthems. But if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Another highlight was Katy B’s live PA over Geeneus’ set. She’s a huge talent – her awesome first single, ‘Katy On A Mission’, was released on Rinse’s label at the end of August and hit top ten in the charts, while her forthcoming solo show in Hoxton Town Hall has already sold out. Plus she’s now collaborating with Ms Dynamite, another fantastic live performer.

As a dedicated garage head, it’s interesting to see how Heartless Crew have risen from the ashes of that scene to play the major venues again. Heartless were huge ten years ago – an anomaly really, as they didn’t have any big releases under their belt. They gained notoriety for their stage performances, often in fancy dress, and DJ Fonti’s trademark ‘Crisp Biscuit’ mashup style. They’re a good crew, and I’ll forgive them the fact that they’re still playing the same intro tune after a decade, because they dropped a fun set. Props for bagging a 3am slot in Fabric’s main room, old chaps.

It’s clearly onwards and upwards for Rinse, which is now a legal station. The weeknight parties at Plastic People are attracting queues to rival Fabric’s, and with good cause – especially since the venue got a new sound system.

Get in the birthday spirit and click here for the 16 free tracks Rinse gave away as part of its celebrations.

If you’re looking for more of a full-on dubstep fix, you haven’t long to wait: catch Fabric’s Dub Police night on 15 October. Early arrival is advised!

Show me your bass face

2010-08-29T15:51:00.003+01:00

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)

2010-08-29T14:29:00.001+01:00

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

2010-08-23T22:34:00.002+01:00

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

2010-08-17T20:51:00.002+01:00

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

2010-08-16T08:00:00.000+01:00

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

2010-08-15T17:41:00.001+01:00

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

2010-08-15T17:20:00.002+01:00

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

2010-08-13T21:42:00.001+01:00

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'

2010-08-01T16:57:00.001+01:00

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'

2010-08-01T10:58:00.002+01:00

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.

LED Festival

2010-07-27T21:20:00.001+01:00

The summer of London festivities is far from over.

LED (aka London Electronic Dance) Festival is in the very splendid Victoria Park in Hackney on 27 and 28 August.

The lineup looks pretty nang, particularly on the Saturday - featuring Leftfield, Aphex Twin, Sub Focus and Boy Better Know.

General tickets start at £40 for one day and are still available. Go get'em!

www.ledfestival.net

New Gravity Skank feature

2010-07-27T21:12:00.002+01:00

Hey y'all, just a little note to let you know Gravity Skank has a dapper new feature - sharing posts with your mates. Pop the champagne corks!

At the bottom of each post you can now click a funky link to Tweet it, re-blog it or share the news on Facebook. Get interactive on this shit, why dontcha.

While I'm here, just a reminder that you can follow me on Twitter: @GravitySkank. I thank you. x

Lovebox 2010 review

2010-07-17T14:09:00.000+01:00

Ignore the weather reports, folks - Lovebox has returned sunnier and more spectacular than before.

I headed to the Victoria Park festival on its opening day - the first time the event has been held on a Friday - for what was possibly the best one-dayer in the capital so far.

The Friday lineup was irresistible to a grimey bassline lover like myself. I could have spent three days dancing to all those DJs. Actually, my legs now feel like I have spent three days dancing, the music was so darn good.

I was gutted to miss my buddy Smurfie Syco's set on the main stage, but that's because I was delayed by a magical mystery tour of London to get cheap tickets off some dodgy African dudes. Thankfully though, the tickets themselves were not dodgy. An auspicious start.

I did, however, arrive in time to have a brockout in the sun to grime collective Newham Generals. On turntable honours was DJ Tubby, a dubstep and grime regular at nights such as FWD, as well as Dizzee Rascal's occasional tour DJ.

Waving goodbye to the sunshine for a bit, we headed into the NYC arena for the end of MJ Cole's set. As usual, it was off the hook; I've seen that man DJ about 50 times over the last ten years and not once has he failed to smash it. Whenohwhen will he release another album?

The delightful Joy Orbison took control next, playing a summery, funky, garagey set which, despite being awesome, couldn't contend with the sunshine outside, so I headed off to catch Toddla T at the Rizla stage.

Bestival heads will know what I'm on about here: the Rizla stage KICKS ASS. Totally. Always. Everywhere. The setup, the production, the lineup, the vibe - the dudes at Rizla know a thing or two about facilitating fun, don't they? So we were mighty pleased to see them set up camp at Lovebox and boy, did Toddla T do us all proud.

The slightly geeky-looking Sheffield producer (pictured above) - boyfriend of Radio One's Annie Mac, dontcha know - plays the most skankatronic sets, mashing up styles from dancehall to electro. And it was brilliant!

But Rizla, is that all the fun you're going to throw at us? NO?

Holy moly. Next up, a supremely chirpy Todd Edwards played classic garage, house and generally rather funky stuff. As a garage devotee who used to write in depth about the scene, I'm ashamed to admit I had never seen 'The God' DJ. Now I can die fulfilled. And hopefully as happy as him.

Dizzee Rascal closed the party with one of his best performances ever (trust me, I've seen a lot of them). It could have something to do with the streamers, the smoke effects, the lights - production levels were ramped up to the max for this show - or the amount of cider I'd consumed by this point. But in honesty, his oeuvre is so well suited to festivals, and he's such a charming performer, that the crowd loves him. I'm not the biggest fan of his most recent tracks so it took me by surprise how well they worked live.

If you're umming and ahhing about whether to go to Lovebox over this weekend, there really is no question. Run to Victoria Park now!

Garage night, 6 August

2010-07-17T12:21:00.002+01:00

This one's for all the original UK garage fans out there.

Days Like That, a brilliant little party down at The Russian Bar in Dalston, returns for its next knees-up on Friday 6 August.

DJs making you go brockwile include Sunship ('Try Me Out'), Dem 2 and DEA Project's DJ Para.

Those of you who loved garage the first time round should come to relive the good ol' days - minus the attitude. Dance music lovers who aren't familiar with the scene will soon discover that this is the root of a very a la mode style (even Rusko's making it), future garage. Go figure.

Click here for the event Facebook page.

Free festival, 7 August

2010-07-14T13:49:00.000+01:00

London is generally a fantastic city for free events but unfortunately, music festivals here don't tend to come cheap.

So hurrah for east London, which is playing host to the Little London Fields Festival on Saturday 7 August - a brand new, independent, freebie event that runs from 11.30am to 8.30pm.

The organisers claim it will host 'contemporary art, cutting edge fashion and dynamic new music'. At risk of sounding sour, I must admit I'm wary of events that mix fashion and music - it smacks of hipsters more concerned with appearance than getting sweaty to a filthy bassline. But perhaps this ghetto approach betrays my 90s roots. Either way - this bash is free, it has a dance tent and my mate Allan is going, so I'll be there!

For more info, visit the (rather sparse) festival website.

DJ Fresh 'Gold Dust' video

2010-07-11T16:14:00.001+01:00

This weekend is turning into a visual feast! Yum.

Check out the latest video by DnB don DJ Fresh. 'Gold Dust' is out on 1 August on Data Records, a Ministry of Sound imprint. I'm not usually a fan of MoS videos but this one is pukka.

Filmed in Brooklyn, it features skipping champs Jumpers in Command and various other New Yoik types doing some pretty dope hopping about. Me like.

Kele 'On The Lam' live

2010-07-10T14:39:00.003+01:00

Here's a clip that should be your soundtrack for the weekend.

Bloc Party's Kele recently released his first solo album, 'The Boxer', produced by the very talented Hudson Mohawke and XXXChange. And a couple of days ago he performed one of the tunes from that album, 'On The Lam', live for Steve Lamacq on Radio 6.

I absolutely love his voice - really original and sounds great on this. Watch the video (sadly it cuts off a bit short) and let me know what you think...

Wiley sacks manager – then leaks his music

2010-07-09T17:43:00.001+01:00

The supremely erratic but addictively bizarre grime artist Wiley has hit the news again this week.

On Wednesday he sacked his manager via Twitter, saying: ‘This is why I sack people cos they think they can do shit john woolf you are sacked forever’.

He later added: ‘I would rather not do a deal with that manager he lies day and night’.

In another diplomatic turn of events he later claimed his label, AATW, wanted to sack him. But he later retracted that, saying they ‘jus need to get the right deal across tho lol’.

Wiley has also announced he is leaving Boy Better Know due to friction with crew member Skepta.

Speaking on the phone to Lynnike and Sefa's grime show, Wiley talked more about the split with his manager, explaining that he did it via Twitter because the only other option was to ‘go to his house, kick down the door, and…’

Steady on.

In a quiet moment I suggest you listen to the full interview, because it certainly beats the crappy storyline EastEnders is currently rolling with.

In his break-up fury, Wiley has now decided to leak all his music for free on the net – and the grime forums are going mad for it.

Wiley adds: ‘Then I'm going to be quiet, but while I'm being quiet I'm actually not going to be quiet, I'm going to make new music but definitely hide it and not let a soul hear it until the day it's meant to come out.’

The free Wiley catalogue is apparently only available until the end of today. Check out Grime Forum for links.

Hospitality moves to Brixton Academy, 24 September 2010

2010-07-04T12:03:00.000+01:00

Hospital Records has just announced that its most excellent flagship night, Hospitality, is moving to Brixton Academy. This is the London leg's second move this year, having shifted to Fabric last Friday following the closure of Matter.

We've got a while to wait until the next one - Friday 24 September - but this isn't surprising as most promoters take a break over the summer, when everyone's busy with weddings, barbecues and holidays.

Brixton Academy is an awesome venue for live gigs. Lots of promoters use it for club nights too, but I find these don't work so well. I remember being at a rave there years ago and one of the arenas was actually in the entrance hall, which was a bit weird.

On the plus side, Brixton Academy has a capacity of nearly 5,000 - almost three times the size of Fabric. Hospitality has always been a sell-out in the past, so at least this time you won't have such a scramble for tickets.

For details, visit the newly relaunched Hospital Records website: www.hospitalitydnb.com/2010/09/hospitality-at-the-brixton-academy

Bass music takes over

2010-07-04T00:19:00.000+01:00

I told you so - bass music is the future.

It's interesting to see that Dub Pack, the flyer pack that was all about dubstep, has now added the strapline 'bass music specialists' to its promotions.

Also Outlook Festival in Croatia - which looks utterly wicked - had previously classed itself as Europe's largest dubstep festival, but now has flyers calling itself Europe's largest dubstep and bass culture festival.

These may seem like minor moves to the casual observer, but they reflect a wider shift in the dance music scene.

Bass music is a catch-all term for UK sounds reaching from two-step to dubstep to breaksy electroey tech housey stuff - anything with a hefty bassline, basically. It really is splendid and there are lots of clubs in the capital where you can rave to it. And after more than a decade in which club nights had singled themselves out by a particular music genre, we're now back into an era of mish-mashed music styles in one room.

If you want to catch some bass music next weekend, try Numbers at Fabric on Friday 9 July. Alternatively that night you can toddle on down to the more grimey but equally stompin' Jamm in Brixton for the Dub Pack night. I'll be honest - I don't recognise most of the names on the lineup, but as Dub Pack is now the 'bass music specialist' I trust they will deliver.

Fabric is saved

2010-06-25T00:28:00.003+01:00

Further to news that Fabric nightclub is for sale, after its sister club Matter closed 'for the summer', the club issued this statement today. It's the first official announcement from the management since this whole hoo-hah kicked off.

'The Fabric family is delighted to announce that Fabric is no longer in administration.

Fabric has been bought by a consortium who fully back founders Keith Reilly and Cameron Leslie's vision; nothing within the scope of the Fabric ethos or team shall change. The consortium has formed a new company called Fabric Life Limited.

After 10 and a half brilliant years, we look forward to many more.'

Nuff said.

Raindance secret warehouse rave

2010-06-22T22:40:00.001+01:00

Call yourself a real London raver? In that case you should know all about Raindance, one of the city's longest-running parties, which until recently was held at SeOne club in London Bridge.

Raindance is a mish-mash of all things old skool: hardcore, drum n bass, jungle, acid house and then some. It is one of the last true bastions of an era that gave birth to underground club culture as we know it today - as well as the notorious Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (anyone under the age of 20 won't have a clue what I'm talking about. Look it up.)

Dance music gods Prodigy are quoted as saying that in their early days, only two things concerned them: 'getting a record out and playing Raindance'.

But I digress. The reason I'm harping on about this is because Raindance, or more specifically its Jenkins Lane arena, has taken a new tack. It's breaking loose to host a secret warehouse party on Saturday 3 July - and it looks like fun.

Among the lineup will be the lovely Ellis Dee and Niki Dimensions (two of the nicest DJs I know). There will also be a live PA of classic stomper 'We Are IE' plus graphic design legend Pez will be putting up his original artwork for all you flyer whores to gush over. I will be one of them.

I insist you all come to this party. For details, head to www.secretraindance.com.

The Creators Project, 17 July

2010-06-22T21:50:00.000+01:00

Here's an interesting London event for all you arty-clubby types.

The Creators Project, run by Vice magazine and Intel, is a 'celebration of creativity and culture across media'. I'm not quite sure what that means, but I do know it will include live music by Mark Ronson, Kele (Bloc Party), Filthy Dukes and Hudson Mohawke. The event reaches our bonny capital on 17 July.

The five-city tour starts in New York on 26 June. The London leg includes interactive art installations by UVA and Radical Friend. Registration opens on 28 June - it's free, all you have to do is sign up at thecreatorsproject.com.

For more details on the London leg, click here.

I shall be raving in a field that day - a bunch of marvellously organised people have set up a homage to Glade out in the sticks - so I can't make it to Creators Project. But if you go, please leave a comment here and let me know what it was like. I'm intrigued.

Rinse FM gets a licence

2010-06-18T00:06:00.002+01:00

Fantastic news - Rinse FM has been given a legal FM licence. The pirate station has been campaigning for this for three years - hurrah!

London has a rich and important history of pirate radio. I was lucky enough to witness it first hand from about 1997. But Rinse goes before that. Set up in 1994, it was another spearhead of the pirate armada, a consistently brilliant underground station that pioneered and promoted sounds like grime, dubstep and funky.

There's fairly sound evidence that pirates can attract more listeners than some corporate stations' specialist shows. And there's a reason for that - what Rinse calls the 'homogenized radio landscape' of London. They're right - pirate radio caters to a much underestimated market.

Hopefully Rinse won't lose its way like Kiss (a station that I do love, for reasons too long to mention here). It started out as a groundbreaking pirate station in 1985. But listen to Kiss in the daytime now and you might as well switch on your RnB jukebox. Its evening specialist shows are great and feature some top names, but to some extent you feel as if they are kicked into the corner, the ignored, scrawny, ugly child of the family.

I have every faith that Rinse will do well, and I'm really happy at this news. With recent cancellations and closures in the club scene bringing the mood down, it's great to have some sunshine after the rain.

Oh, and according to Wikipedia, in 2005 DJ Slimzee's Rinse antics resulted in an ASBO banning him from every rooftop in Tower Hamlets. That's a pretty funny ASBO.

Numbers at Fabric, Friday 9 July

2010-06-16T19:03:00.000+01:00

Thought I'd flag up this event as I went to the last one and it was awesome!

The Numbers crew are returning to Fabric on Friday 9 July for a stompin' lineup featuring Roska, Ramadanman, Jackmaster and Marcus Intalex.

Numbers is a serious one to watch. It started as a club night in Glasgow and is now an umbrella for events, an artist collective and record label, covering a fusion of styles now widely called 'bass music'. And bass music, my friends, is the future.

At the last Numbers party at Fabric the vibe was excellent and the music off the hook. Expect to hear everything from house, breaks, hip hop, funky and drum n bass to dubstep and what I like to call 'sophisticated dubstep' (not quite so much woooh-woooh-woooh.)

For more info on Numbers, click here: http://nmbrs.net
For the Fabric deets, head here: www.fabriclondon.com/club/listings

Free Kode9 jungle mix

2010-06-13T21:35:00.001+01:00

Awesome dubstep producer Kode9 has done this month's mix for Fact Mag - and it's a blend of lush '94-'96 jungle.

The mix is available for download for three weeks only - so get over there quick:
www.factmag.com/2010/06/07/fact-mix-156-kode9

Kode9 is a super wicked DJ so this mix makes me very happy indeed. He's the dude behind the Hyperdub record label and apparently also has a phD in Philosophy. Now isn't that an interesting fact?

T Bar closes

2010-06-09T18:31:00.000+01:00

I might as well change the title of this blog to 'The Death of London Venues'. Or something.

Anyway - another week, and another club closure. This time, T Bar bites the dust. The venue, which is just around the corner from Liverpool Street, has put out this statement:

'After six and a half years of incredible music, outrageously good times and spectacular memories, T Bar has decided to finally close its doors for good. The decision is a result of a change of heart, change of climate and a need by those involved to move forward in a different and fresh direction.

The love and support that T Bar has received over the years from some of the most high calibre DJs, fans and music lovers has meant it has become firmly established as one of east London's most admired institutions for quality dance music. Initially starting out in the Tea Building on Shoreditch High Street, during its reign it hosted some of the most talked-about parties in London and beyond. For six years T Bar strived to showcase a unique and vast army of talent and all without charging for admission.

T Bar's move last year to Houndsditch enabled new opportunities to broaden their musical spectrum, introduce new nights and residencies and secure rare performances from more high profile acts such as Groove Armada, Riva Starr, DJ Pierre and Marshall Jefferson. This partnered with a change in London's climate led to a change in pricing policy earlier this year.

Sadly London's recovery was not as speedy as all had hoped and T Bar's goodbye comes amidst the sad demise of other well respected venues around London, which makes it all the more hard to swallow. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who spent time to make T Bar what it was and cementing it firmly in the hearts and minds of so many people across the globe.'

In its former guise in Shoreditch (pictured above), T Bar was a reliably hilarious venue. It was the sort of place you would run into industry bods as well as east London's party crowd - and it was free. I once spent an epic night there drinking with the Mixmag crew and Swedish House Mafia dude Steve Angello. I got so messy that each time I went to pay for a round, I put the total amount in the 'Tips' section. Needless to say, the staff loved me that night.

I only visited T Bar's current home (on Houndsditch) once, for the Red Bull party in March featuring Scuba, Untold and Jamie Vex'd. It was a good night, but I felt it didn't capture the vibe of the original T Bar, and the upstairs conservatory room was slightly weird. But the main issue was the huge, glistening skyscrapers that towered over the new venue, as though the suited-up City Boys were keeping a watchful eye on the scuzzy ravers below. It just didn't feel right.

For more details (I presume, since there's nothing currently on their site related to the announcement), head to www.tbarlondon.com.

Fabric for sale

2010-06-02T23:47:00.000+01:00

Today it was announced that Fabric is up for sale.

The Farringdon club, which recently celebrated its 10th birthday, has gone in to administration following the closure of its sister venue, Matter.

This isn't the first time the club has gone into administration, and when that news broke a few days ago I had hopes that it would once again manage to get back on its feet. However, administrators have now instructed the club's agents to find a buyer.

The announcement claimed that a number of potential purchsers have already expressed an interest, which means that hopefully the venue will continue to operate as a club. However, the beauty of Fabric lay in its underground ethos, staunchly championed by its founders Keith Reilly and Cameron Leslie. Who knows in what direction the new owners, if any, will take it.

I used to consider Holborn venue The End, co-owned by Layo and Mr C, as one of London's best clubs. When I revisited it under its new incarnation The Den, I realised that a successful club is so much more than the space.

The Den is now, to be honest, a shit venue - which is a massive shame. You walk in there and scruffy sofas take up half the dancefloor, making it look like a student bar. The toilets are drenched with the puke-inducing waft of too much incense, burned to mask the smell of wee. The new owners don't love it like the last, and you can tell.

Let's hope Fabric doesn't go the same way.

Video: Noisia and Mayhem feat. KRS-One

2010-05-26T14:08:00.003+01:00

Drum'n'bass cool cats Noisia have yet another awesome music video under their belts.

In a slightly back-to-front sequence of events, this short film is for a track called 'Exodus' that was actually released three years ago, featuring rap rep KRS-One.

Noisia fan and visual artist Alexander Lehmann contacted the Dutch trio before 'Exodus' first came out, suggesting he make a film for them. They agreed, and this project started in 2006.

The video, an alien invasion story, was released earlier this month and has proved an internet hit. It is in the same apocalyptic vein as a previous Noisia video I blogged about, 'Machine Gun'.

Keep up the good work, lads!

Exit Festival 2010

2010-05-25T08:00:00.000+01:00

Only one week to go before ticket prices go up for the awesome Exit Festival in Serbia (they're currently just £85 plus booking fee).

The lineup this year looks pretty good, including Missy Elliot, Chromeo, Chemical Brothers, Ms Dynamite, Josh Wink, D:Bridge and Hudson Mowhawke.

Nothing, however, can beat the year I went - 2007 - when I caught Beastie Boys, Wu Tang, Prodigy, Groove Armada, LTJ Bukem, Pendulum and the greatest act I've ever seen, ever, ever: Snoop Dogg.

Exit is a cracking festival with great weather, really nice people and an amazing location. A word of advice from Gravity Skanker though: don't camp. It's way too hot, and there are good cheap apartments nearby you can rent for far less hassle!

www.exitfest.org

Hospitality moves to Fabric

2010-05-22T10:08:00.000+01:00

Following the closure of Matter ('for the summer'), Hospitality has moved its next event, on Friday 2 July, to Fabric.

Personally I think this is awesome news - no more horrific Tube journeys home at 6am!

SeOne club reopens as Debut

2010-05-20T22:53:00.000+01:00

Dry your eyes, there's some good news after all.

Huge London Bridge venue SeOne club, which closed in April, has reopened under new management.

It's now called Debut, and kicks off tomorrow night with a party hosting everything from 'multisensory' art installations, to live bands, to DJs playing hip hop, dubstep and electro. And - tadah! - the launch night is called 'Debut'.

It looks like the new bosses are taking a different tack, with Debut being geared towards live music and corporate events. But then again, that's what they said years ago when Camden Palace closed, only to return again as Koko - and I've had my fair share of rave-ups in that gaff since then.

www.debutlondon.co.uk

Matter closing

2010-05-18T21:38:00.000+01:00

Oh my days. As if this hasn't been a bad enough week already in terms of dance music events going down the plughole.

Matter nightclub at the O2 in Greenwich is set to close - at least for the summer. The rumours, which have been heavily circulating on the net for days, were confirmed by DJ Yousef on an online forum.

He said: “You may as well hear it from me. Due to many reasons, the main one being the lack of transport to the venue, Matter has shut for the summer. Sad times. They are an amazing bunch down there.” The post was later removed.

As representatives of Matter are unavailable for comment, it's unsure whether scheduled parties beyond this week's Halcyon night will still go ahead.

I've had my suspicions about the club's fortunes for a while now. Yes, it has some huge promotions in there - such as FWD, Stanton Sessions, Ram and Hospitality - which are mostly a sell-out. But as was pointed out by the owners of SeOne club when the London Bridge venue announced its closure recently, one sell-out a week still doesn't pay the bills for such a huge venue.

In addition, I've noticed its forerunner Fabric - owned by the same people - has been 'diversifying' in terms of its events. A club that was once every promoter's dream destination, the unattainable pinnacle of venues with a select few partners, is now hosting many lesser-known promotions. This is no bad thing - in fact it's healthy for the music scene - but it does point to a situation in which the sibling venues are jostling for space. Perhaps there is only room for one of them.

Event magazine reports that Matter lost £1 million in the first year after it opened in 2008, and was £3 million in debt according to the same accounts.

To follow the discussion online, try the Dogs On Acid forum.

Rusko at Thekla, Bristol

2010-05-18T19:23:00.003+01:00

As someone who is totally, utterly obsessed with clubbing, I know I'm not alone. I've been very lucky to get to know some of the capital's top ravers over the years - the people who you're guaranteed to see at every party, year in, year out; people who share the same obsessive need to skank it up each weekend with a big fat smile on their face and a hug when you see them.

I love those guys (you know who you are), and one of my top ravers - a fellow dubstep and DnB-head like myself - is Holly (who is probably going to kill me for writing this post about her). She's the one with the gas mask and the Sub Soldiers T-shirt raving it up at the front, usually at Fabric.

Last weekend she invited me to Thekla in Bristol for a massive dubstep night. I couldn't go, but she sent me a link to a video of Rusko's set, which made me kick myself for not being there.

Various people (particularly some holier-than-thou music journalists I shan't name) turn their nose up at Rusko in the belief that he's too mainstream, appeals to a young audience, or not highbrow enough. Bullshit. He rocks a crowd, and I think this video proves it.

Seeing as this is a blog about clubbing I thought I'd share the clip with you, so you can spend seven minutes imagining you're there. Have fun.

Breakfree: new night in Crystal Palace

2010-05-15T19:09:00.000+01:00

If you're still pissed off about missing out on Krafty Kuts at Matter last night, here's something to lift the spirits.

Westow House in Crystal Palace is starting a monthly breaks night called Breakfree - its launch party features the ever-charming Soul of Man, aka Justin, father of Finger Lickin' Records.

First event is on Friday 11 June and best of all, it's FREE!

Click here for the Facebook event page.

Krafty Kuts at Matter cancelled

2010-05-12T21:49:00.001+01:00

More bad news on the cancellation front, kids. The Krafty Kuts party at Matter this Friday has been dropped.

The club night was supposed to host Krafty Kuts, Nextmen, Evil Nine and Napt. A truly awesome (if a little sparse) lineup. No reason has been given for the cancellation - I'm guessing poor ticket sales.

If you're looking for somewhere to go that night, Noise is on at Babalou in Brixton. And of course, the veritable Vinyl Touch is hosting Freestylers on Saturday night at The Rhythm Factory.

Glade festival 2010 cancelled

2010-05-12T21:23:00.001+01:00

It's really sad news that Glade festival has been cancelled.

The event was supposed to run from 15 to 18 July at the Matterly Bowl, but delays and uncertainty in gaining the licence and police clearance meant the promoters were faced with escalating costs and legal fees. As a result, they've decided to cancel the festival and refund ticket sales.

Glade is a fantastic festival. It's free of sponsorship and corporate interference, and it champions lots of great music styles and promoters. Plus it has one of the best lineups of any festival in Britain - this year would have seen the likes of Orbital, Simian Mobile Disco, Tricky, Alex Metric and Dreadzone.

To read the full statement from Glade, click here.

Only consolation for Londoners is that you can now come to Lovebox, which is running over the same weekend. Click here for details.

Mystery Land festival, Amsterdam

2010-05-10T20:41:00.000+01:00

If you're looking for a European festival which isn't a mission then check out this cheeky little number: Mystery Land.

The Dutch one-day event is on Saturday 28 August and has 20 stages of dance music. Which is pretty good going for any festival. Although the lineup isn't bursting with recognisable names for us Brits, it still includes Tiesto, Tiefschwarz, Fedde Le Grand, Luciano, Emalkay, Slimzee and Tinie Tempah. Plus it's right near the airport and the charming delights of Amsterdam, so you can pack in a hassle-free weekend of partying good times.

Tickets are now on sale. Click here for the full downlow: www.mysteryland.nl (hope your Dutch is up to scratch.)

The Vinyl Touch: Saturday 15 May

2010-05-10T20:10:00.003+01:00

This Saturday make sure you get yourselves down to The Vinyl Touch at The Rhythm Factory.

The Vinyl Touch is a club night I've been working with for ten years (in the interests of journalistic integrity I have to declare my interest here). However I can honestly also say it is one of the most fun parties in the city.

Winner of 'Best small club/event' at Breakspoll, TVT was one of the first breakbeat events in the world and it still packs out the club every time, bringing a host of DJs from across breaks, drum n bass and old skool. It was also one of the first nights to bring you the biggest names on the scene, and continues to support those artists today.

For its 10th anniversary the awesome Freestylers are returning to the club (I once scored a date with Aston from Freestylers with the words: 'Do you like aubergine?') as well as drum n bass superhero Bryan Gee and versatile music masters Dub Pistols.

To launch the event, DJ Lock-up has done a mix encompassing the vibe of the last decade's parties. Click here to download it.

The Vinyl Touch
Saturday 15 May
@ Rhythm Factory, 16-18 Whitechapel Rd, London E1
£8 members/£12

For full details of the party click here.

Fabric owner Keith Reilly edits magazine

2010-05-03T08:00:00.002+01:00

Keith Reilly - owner and creative director of the mighty Fabric - has turned his hand to journalism this month, playing guest editor of .Cent magazine's spring/summer issue.

For this edition, themed 'Sense of Purpose', Reilly has commissioned a bunch of pieces for the mag covering art, music, architecture, film and fashion.

The magazine aims to present stories in a 'cognitive and emotionally engaging way'. Reilly calls it a 'delicate and tender fashion'. I must confess it all sounds a bit sappy to me (man up, Reilly). On the other hand I did hear him give a lecture a few years ago at an electronic music convention, and he certainly was one interesting dude. So on the balance of things, think I'll go get me a copy of this.

www.centmagazine.co.uk

Rusko 4 Sub Focus 4 eva

2010-05-02T23:32:00.000+01:00

I love Sub Focus. I love Rusko. Now they love each other. Group hug.

The two big-hitters have performed a musical 69 and remixed each others' tracks, producing two predictably adorable lovechildren.

Check out the new arrivals here:
Sub Focus ft. Coco 'Splash (Rusko remix)'
Rusko ft. Amber Hoffman 'Hold On (Sub Focus remix)'

Calling all hip-hop heads

2010-05-02T19:20:00.001+01:00

Check out this event coming up in Shoreditch. It's an opportunity for hip hop lovers and artists to get together to discuss, perform and network.

Sunday 6 June @ Lati Ri, Rivington Place Gallery
Event: Pro Cypher
Deets: Pro Cypher is a home for hip-hop-heads to critically discuss how we operate as a scene and how we can better the community PRO actively, perform and network amongst like-minded individuals.

If you feel you represent any of the 5 pillars:
~ Graffiti
~ MCing
~ DJing
~ Breakdance
~ Beat-Boxing
or just love the culture... then come along and help sustain our community.
Door Tax: Free (£0)

Pro Cypher on Facebook

JME and Tempa T 'CD is Dead' video

2010-05-02T18:22:00.000+01:00

As grime videos go, this one's pretty cool.

JME and Tempa T released the video today for their collaboration 'CD is Dead', off JME's new album, 'Blam'. The track is available to download from 30 May.

Tottenham lad JME founded Boy Better Know crew, which includes his brother Skepta. They're a wicked act to watch on stage and have put out some phat tracks in the past including 'Too Many Man'. They've certainly upped their game since that video...

Free Rustie mix & Benga track

2010-04-26T21:50:00.000+01:00

In anticipation of their massive night at Matter this Friday, FWD + Rinse are giving away a free 30-minute mix by the eternally youthful Rustie. To download it, click here.

They've also very kindly wangled a free old skool-style track by Benga, 'Who Remembers'. Get your hands on it here.

To support Rinse FM in its mission to gain a licence, follow this link.

Dem2 exclusive UK garage mix

2010-04-23T17:54:00.001+01:00

Occasionally I pack up my pride and joy, aka my garage vinyl, and head for Dalston to play at hilarious two-step party Days Like That and its sister act, 90s night Why So Serious?

The next Days Like That is on Friday 30 April at The Russian Bar. Playing this month are classic garage headliners Dem2, Ray Hurley and the brilliantly wicked DJ Scott Garcia, who dropped a most megatronic set last time.

You like a blog, don't you? Good. Then go check out Days like That's new stomping ground, dayslikethatgarage.blogspot.com

To celebrate the blog launch, they're giving away a sultry garage mix by Dem2. Download it now now now!

Gordon Mac and Kiss 100

2010-04-22T14:49:00.000+01:00

My mate-off-the-radio Ed Adoo just sent me this link to an interview with Gordon Mac.

Gordon is the dude who started up Kiss FM, London's famous radio station that operated from 1985 as a pirate before landing a legal licence in 1990. He is still big radio cheese.

The history of the station is fascinating, including the fact that it was the launchpad for the careers of Norman Jay, Tim Westwood and Trevor Nelson.

I'm a big fan of Kiss. Ricky, Melvin and Charlie on the breakfast show are jokes - well worth listening to despite the fact they have an appalling playlist. The station is also home to David Rodigan, DJ Hype, Logan Sama, Sinden and the Loose Cannons. That's quite a bangin' lineup, I think you'll agree.

So ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome...

Twitter

2010-04-21T21:22:00.000+01:00

Right gang, I've finally joined the Twitter revolution. Bear with me while I figure out how the fuck it works though!

www.twitter.com/GravitySkank

WIN tickets to Together at the Coronet

2010-04-21T18:25:00.003+01:00

The chaps from ex-Turnmills shindig Together are putting on a bunch of parties down at The Coronet in Elephant and Castle.

Together will run at the massive 2,600-capacity venue in south London every Friday until 25 June - and some of the parties look pretty sick.

My choice is the closer, which features an awesome lineup of Kode9, Joker, Roska and Hudson Mohawke.

7 May – Kelis, Tinchy Stryder, Afrika Bambaataa
14 May – Alex Metric, Joker, Friendly Fires, Joker, Deadly Rhythm Soundsystem,
21 May – Switch, Jack Beats, Popof and Aeroplane in room 2
28 May – tba
4 June – Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, DJ Yoda, Stereo MCs
11 June – Vitalic, Joe and Will Ask?, Mystery Jets (DJ set)
18 June – Fischerspooner, Steve Aoki

THIS EVENT HAS NOW BEEN CANCELLED: 25 June – The BIG Finale: Kode9, Joker, Hudson Mohawke.

www.together-club.co.uk

High Rankin: the funny side of meow

2010-04-14T13:00:00.003+01:00

There's no way you could have missed the recent hoo-hah over meow, the legal drug that's taken the dance music scene by storm, and which the government is frantically trying to ban.

Brighton producer High Rankin has taken the media panic with a pinch of, erm, salt, and produced a dubstep track called 'Meow Meow'. The accompanying video is pretty funny. Let's play 'name that seafront club', kids...

Soundcrash: DJ Yoda at Kentish Town Forum

2010-04-13T22:17:00.000+01:00

On Saturday night I toddled down to Kentish Town Forum for Soundcrash, a 3D audiovisual extravaganza which essentially was, to my delight, a comedy dance music night.

Soundcrash is behind a whole range of hip hop/dubstep/anything-goes events ranging from the Trojan Sound System party at Koko last week (I'll blog about that later) to the Soundwave Festival in Croatia this July (which looks wicked - check out www.soundwavecroatia.com). The promotion has only recently come on my radar but boy, it's a good'un.

All the DJs at this gig were performing an AV mashup on the big screens that were hoisted up around the venue, so they get maximum respect for the amount of effort - and YouTube hours - that must have gone into getting a set together.

The party kicked off with Solid Steel's DJ Cheeba, who gets my top marks for the night. Cheeba smashed it, mixing and scratching everything from jungle to dubstep to Flight of the Conchords. The most memorable part has to be this (literally) dope Alice in Wonderland remix...

Second best bit of Cheeba's set was when he played 'Akama' by Kaitain and Tom Central. I say that not just because the latter was my date for the night, but because it was a genuinely badass track. Look it up if you don't believe me.

Next up were the Addictive TV DJs, who looked like what I can only describe as the Three Stooges dancing on stage like my dad at a wedding. Unfortunately they took the joke a bit too far. Instead of striking that delicate balance of excellent music with a measured dose of humour, they went all out, culminating in a badly chosen track from Family Guy. The most excruciating fact was, they looked more excited than the punters. But let's not dwell.

DJ Yoda came on next, doing what Yoda does best. He's famous for his well-crafted AV shows and this Magic Cinema Set, as he calls it, was no disappointment. It must be hard for a DJ to retain their credibility while playing a Tom Jones track to a serious dance-music crowd, but somehow Yoda managed to pull it off (give or take a few missed cues).

He dropped enough quality raving tunes to keep me skanking, but every now and then pulled some hilarity out of the bag, too. I never thought I'd see the day Lonely Island's 'I'm on a Boat' was played at a rave. If you haven't seen it yet, you're going to LOVE this:

Rave generator

2010-03-24T08:00:00.002Z

In the absence of anything better to do, knock yourself out with this 'rave generator'. It's a create-your-own-rave-anthem tool which should take you back to the 90s for all of ten minutes, until you get bored and go on to YouTube to hear the real thing.

www.ravegenerator.com

Bloc Weekend 2010: review

2010-03-22T08:00:00.002Z

My oh my - Bloc Weekend 2010 was a rambunctious affair. Thousands of dance music fiends descended on Butlins in Minehead for a three-day rinseout at the festival's fourth outing, and Gravity Skanker was there to witness it all.

Don't turn your nose up at a holiday park festival. They're actually rather fun. But I've talked about that before - let's get down to the nitty gritty.

I'm proud to report that it was the women who tore up the arenas this year. Headliners Salt n Pepa provided a damn good show, highly recommended to anyone who loves the early 90s sound. They had brilliant dancers, classic tracks (surprisingly more than I remember), and a great deal of energy and love for the crowd. It was brilliant, though Spinderella's a little out of practice.

Ms Dynamite also did a great job, MCing over DJ Zinc's bangin' set. She even did a top PA of 'Wile Out', a track that I love. Check it out in an earlier Gravity Skank blog post - woohah.

Further highlights of Bloc sets were Instra:mental and D:Bridge on the Friday night, who dropped a dutty couple of hours of dubstep in the more intimate Jac:Bloc arena. On an anthemic tip, Skream and Benga played a crowd-pleasing set in the main room, proving the dubstep pioneers still know what rocks the dance.

The Friday night at Bloc is always the messiest, but this year things were noticeably much quieter by Sunday. Two days of raving probably annihiliated a number of deserters, but I put it down to needing to get home for work on Monday. My crew raved it out till the end, conspicuous by our neon fancy dress (not many people partook in the wedding theme this year, boo).

Closing the Braindrop room on the last night, MJ Cole tore up the crowd... for half his set. Sadly things dropped off towards the end, and got progressively worse for The McMash Clan, who flipped the room into a weird blend of gabber, techno, (not very good) breaks and off-the-wall gnarly DnB. Hype came to the rescue a little too late, sadly with a mediocre set of DnB. I blame the five-hour drive from London.

I was gutted to miss Boy Better Know's grime set on the FWD + Rinse stage. Having caught crew member JME supporting Tinchy Stryder at The Roundhouse a couple of months ago, I'm now a proper convert. So hurrah for FWD and Rinse, who have shared links to mp3s of the night:

Click here for the Boy Better Know set at Bloc 2010.
Click here to download a zip file of the entire night.

It's a good old crowd at Bloc, so I was sad to see them let down by poor sound levels in almost all the arenas. In Tec:Bloc - usually the grimiest, most hardcore room - I could hold a conversation on the dancefloor and hear what was said. And this coming from someone with tinnitus. But sound issues aside, it was a rockin' festival, and Bloc always sells out for a reason. Here's to next year - see you there!

Gella 'Twinkle' feat MC Spyda

2010-03-20T10:27:00.000Z

Jay Cunning's new breakbeat label, Sub Slayers, is only on its second release but has already churned out some pretty natty beats.

Check out the clips below of 'Twinkle' featuring newbie Gella and DnB MC Spyda:

The track's already out on vinyl but the digital release hits Beatport on Monday (22 March) and all other sites in early April.

The original's pretty good, but Gravity Skanker's pick for the dancefloor is the Schema mix. I like my shit gnarly.

Lovebox 2010

2010-03-11T22:42:00.003Z

Lovebox is now a three-day festival, folks. And it looks wicked this year.

My pick is Friday 16 July, the opening day. For the highlights, see below...

Booka Shade and Shy FX are on the Saturday, and Hot Chip and Chromeo are playing Sunday.

It's at Victoria Park in east London. Tickets start at £45. Click here to go to the Lovebox website.

The warehouse rave is not dead

2010-03-10T22:48:00.000Z

Regular visitors will notice the blog's been quiet in the last few days. The reason is a four-day party marathon in God's own city. Since then I've been a broken woman, but it was utterly worth it. Let's just hope I recover in time for Bloc this weekend (which has now sold out, by the way).

One of the events I rocked up at was a blast from the past. Having battled the wankers of Shoreditch at uber trendy Dragon Bar for half of Saturday night, it was time to bid goodbye to asymmetrical haircuts, skinny jeans and retro beats, and get my proper rave on.

I hadn't had a 'secret party line' text message in a while, so I followed the trail to a warehouse in Edmonton. There are lots of warehouse parties cropping up all over London, particularly in the east, in areas like Dalston. But take these with a pinch of salt - they're merely ticking the cool box by walking the walk, yet most of them are in fact licensed, legal events, albeit in temporary spaces. Not in Edmonton.

My first pointer was to 'follow the music'. Easy - we could hear it from half a mile away. Not a problem, as the venue was suitably out of reach in a vast industrial estate. Climbing through a fence (of course) we made our way into a huge hangar - and I mean fucking massive.

The first sign of a squat rave is the stench of piss (legal venues have proper toilets. This place had a pitch black cess pit. In fact it was so bad, it was better to just find a dark corner of the hangar.) The next two things you're guaranteed to see are people passed flat-out on the dancefloor (tick) and dogs running around (tick). But these things are all part of the charm, and having been a regular to squat raves in both London and Leeds in the early noughties, it felt like I was reliving the good old days.

The set-up was three large sound systems in the centre of the room, all facing outwards. There were around 1,000 people there, in various states, but generally a good vibe. The music ranged from gabber (dear Lord, forgive them) to dub and reggae (brap) to dubstep, breaks and jungle (hubba hubba).

The best part was discovering some old faces playing on one of the systems. This was truly a Leeds revival, as the High Pressure crew had made it down with their awesome record collection in tow. Happy days.

What struck me was the number of Spanish people there. This happened at Fabric a few weeks ago, too. It would seem they're Europe's top raving machines. I like this, and am now hatching plans for a rave tour of Spain.

We stayed at the warehouse until well into the morning. As we left, I spotted a police car parked around the corner, but there wasn't any hassle. You've got to love London. Since the eighties, we've known how to put on an awesome rave, anywhere. And there certainly ain't no stoppin' us.

PS... There's a blinding (legal) warehouse party coming up on Thursday 1 April. Head to Layo (former owner of The End) and Bushwacka's bi-monthly ShakeIt party at - tadah! - The Warehouse to catch the incredible Carl Cox in action. It's his first London gig of the year, and is set to be rammo-jammo. Click here for info.

Mix download site

2010-03-07T15:11:00.003Z

Allow me to point you in the direction of Fact Mag.

This 'music is art' website has an awesome selection of DJ mixes available for download. Highly recommended as a guide to what's smashing the UK scene at the moment.

I'm headed straight for the Rustie mix, a warm-up for what promises to be a blazing all-day party down at the Lock Tavern in Camden. Yeehah.

www.factmag.com

Fun this weekend: Thursday 4 - Sunday 7 March

2010-03-03T23:10:00.000Z

Well, blow me! I had to do a blog to point out how much good stuff is going on in London this weekend. This is a list of just a few of the parties starting from tomorrow. I'm aiming to be at every single shindig - not sure if it's humanly possible, but worth a pop.

THURSDAY
> The brilliant FWD @ Plastic People, Shoreditch, settles into its new Thursday night slot with N Type, Youngsta and Zinc. Such a good club, even The Independant newspaper wrote about it this week (on page 3, no less).
> Red Bull Music Academy @ T Bar, Shoreditch, is a freebie which runs till 3am. The lineup is a hotch potch of bass music mentalism, featuring Untold, Scuba, Mike Slott and Jamie VEX'd. Hell fuckin yeah.

FRIDAY
> Hospitality @ Matter. Probably the best drum n bass night in the world. Tickets have sold out, so if you have one, you're a bastard and I hate you. If you have one you're willing to give me, you're wonderful and I love you.
> Rusko, Foreign Beggars and Nextmen hit Hyponik @ Plan B, Brixton. Some of the best artists on the scene, and all for a fiver. All hail the god, Plan B.
> Benga, Skream, Hatcha, Instra:mental, Joy Orbison, Zed Bias and Oris Jay combine to form one utterly ghetto fabulous lineup for DMZ @ Mass, Brixton.

SATURDAY
> You can either nurse your hangover or get down to Savage Legends @ The Den, Holborn, for something a lil' bit different. Loose Cannons, Jon Carter and Slyde mix up electro, breaks, bassline and house at what used to be our beloved End nightclub.

SUNDAY
> Wind down at... no, fuck it - wind yourself up to the max at a free party in Camden. Fact @ The Lock Tavern starts at 3pm with Ruskie, MJ Cole and Joy Orbison. Sunday is the new Friday, dontcha know.

Proof, if it were needed, that London is the best party city in the world.

Plastic People and Ministry under threat

2010-03-01T13:00:00.002Z

Two London nightclubs face potential closure after threats to their licence.

Police have asked Hackney Council to review the licence for Plastic People in Shoreditch on the grounds of public nuisance, crime and disorder issues.

I've never experienced anything but good vibes at Plastic People. In fact, I remember my first night there: when the lights of the pitch-black dancefloor were switched on at the end, I was surprised to notice the crowd was more geek than ghetto. It's certainly no drugs den.

Show your support for this awesome little club by signing the petition and joining the Facebook group.

Additionally Ministry of Sound has launched a battle against property developer Oakmayne, which is planning to build residential flats opposite the brand's south London nightclub and head office. If the development goes ahead, Ministry could lose its entertainment licence to ensure residents get a good night's sleep. To sign the petition, click here.

Breakspoll 2010

2010-02-28T18:39:00.003Z

Last Thursday was Breakspoll, the annual breakbeat awards held at Fabric.

In 2009 I won the award for Best Small Club, which was totally mega exciting. Except when I later saw a video clip of it, I realised my outfit – which included turquoise tights – combined with an air punch at the end, made me look like Supergirl. So this year I invested in a full-length mirror and wore clothes that didn’t resemble a fancy-dress costume. It was a good start to a jolly fun night.

But poor breakbeat. It’s suffered so much in recent years. Despite always attracting a great, friendly crowd and possessing some really talented DJs, the scene has almost ground to a halt. The music that’s released now is uninspired and certainly not groundbreaking. The DJs can’t help but drop a range of genres in their sets because breaks on its own just doesn’t do the do. And flagship breakbeat nights such as Chew The Fat have now altered their music policies in order to stay afloat.

Since the beginning, breakbeat has suffered an identity crisis. The scene was afraid to boldly state what it was. About ten years ago I called up Rennie Pilgrem, the daddy of breakbeat and the man who coined the term ‘nu skool breaks’. I wanted his advice on how to label the genre in press releases. He told me not to pigeon-hole myself, to keep it broad. And this, I think, is breakbeat’s biggest problem: everyone listens to it, everyone likes it, but ask most of them what they’re listening to and they won’t have a clue. Now compare this to drum n bass. EVERYONE knows when the DJ has dropped a drum n bass track.

The breakbeat slide was visible at last week’s awards. In previous years, tickets sold out well in advance. The queues to get into Fabric were an hour long, even for guestlist. And the club was rammed. This year, we walked straight in, were able to pick up tickets on the door, and there was so much space on the dancefloor I even did the airplane.

Dance music legends and super-nice guys Shut Up and Dance therefore had a tough job getting the dancefloor going for their 10.45 set. But their trademark jump-up styles did the trick, and room one was finally stompin’ – tellingly, however, the track to kick things off was a dubstep one.

The awards ceremony came afterwards (click here for the full results downlow). The usual array of breakbeat royalty bagged prizes: Krafty Kuts (rightly) won Best DJ, Stanton Warriors and Plump DJs took Best Remix and Annie Nightingale – Radio One stalwart and the only person in the world to rival Bono for wearing sunglasses – won Best Radio Show... again.

Mother-of-all-labels Finger Lickin’ – responsible for bringing artists like the Plump DJs to fame – was noticeably empty-handed this year, though its head honcho Soul of Man didn’t seem bothered, telling me he was happy to see other names coming through.

Production duo NAPT took home a bunch of prizes, as they do every year. Bumping into Ashley at the bar, I was at last able to solve the biggest conundrum in breakbeat: they’re called N.A.P.T, not Napt. ‘Hence the capital letters. It’s an acronym,’ he added. Glad we’ve got that sorted, then.

BSD won best breakthrough producer and played a live set in the main room at 4.15. The music wasn’t particularly trailblazing and neither were the pair’s freaky Dr Who-style masks (pictured above). Don’t they realise Breakfastaz were doing the masked thing years ago?

Most deserved win of the night was former Kiss DJ Jay Cunning for Outstanding Contribution to Breakbeat. As I’ve blogged before, the man is a legend who has earned this award ten times over.

Shut Up and Dance, Future Funk Squad and Swifty B b2b DJ Lock-up (in room three) were highlight sets of the night. Admittedly I did miss Ctrl Z and Krafty Kuts b2b A-Skills, which I’m sure would have been brilliant. But overall, I wasn’t blown away by the majority of DJ sets. Here’s hoping breakbeat comes out of its recession and makes some headway in time for next year’s awards.

Noisia 'Machine Gun': not a naked woman in sight

2010-02-25T08:00:00.004Z

There are lots of dance music videos out there that I find lazy and, in extreme cases, offensive. The artists that commission them think it's cool just to have semi-naked girls wiggling about to flacid beats, often in stupid sunglasses or holding riculous props (stop sniggering at the back, please).

By my calculations, I've been clubbing over 600 times in the last decade - and not once have I done it in a bikini. So why the need to portray this image of women as sex objects?

It's therefore refreshing to come across this video for 'Machine Gun', the next release by Dutch drum 'n' bass trio Noisia. It's the first release off their debut album 'Split The Atom', which comes out on 5 April.

Directed by Superelectric, it's a world away from Ministry of Sound-style glitz and cheesy glamour, instead basing itself loosely on the story of Frankenstein with a healthy dose of destruction, war and gore thrown in.

It's a clever, inventive music video and the graphics are brilliant. Just don't watch it if you're on anything!

Big high five to DJ Tom Central for sharing this with me.

FWD returns to Plastic People

2010-02-24T17:27:00.002Z

FWD, the club night that launched a thousand dubstep careers, has returned to Plastic People in Shoreditch.

This groundbreaking party, which championed dubstep, grime, funky 'and everything in-between' from their early days, is now a big player in the club circuit, with residencies at Matter and Bloc Weekend.

Plastic People is a funny old venue, but one which I adore. Down a flight of stairs, this tiny 200(ish)-capacity club has skanky toilets, no air conditioning and a booming dancefloor that's utterly pitch black and dripping from the ceilings. But it has a great mix of people, good security, cheap drinks and an awesome lineup of DJs.

I loved heading down there for a Sunday-night FWD rinse-out, but the event tailed off over the Christmas period. It's now back in its original Thursday-night slot, with the first party on 4 March featuring N-Type, Youngsta and Zinc.

The promoters say: 'The change to Thursdays brings back memories of how amazing original FWD Thursdays were, before dubstep and Shoreditch itself had crossed over, as well as a chance to make fresh, new memories.'

For more details, click here.

SeOne club shuts down

2010-02-24T16:51:00.001Z

Last Saturday Raindance, a club night that's almost as old as me, celebrated its Slightly Late Valentine's Ball at SeOne club in London Bridge.

I'm gutted I didn't make it, because yesterday it was announced that the venue, sited right next to London Bridge station, has shut down.

SeOne was the capital's biggest club, playing host to nights as varied as DJ Mag's Top 100 awards ceremony, fetish shindig Torture Garden, accessory heaven Hat Club and ravers' favourite Raindance.

SeOne boss Marcus left this message on the club's site:
'It is with great sadness that I must inform you that SeOne London ceased trading on Monday afternoon, 22 February 2010.

After eight long, hard and exciting years, SeOne London has fallen victim to the recession and hard times felt in nightclubs all over the UK.

I would like to thank all the promoters, DJs, clubbers, staff, suppliers and anyone who has worked and partied in these now legendary railway arches.'

I've partied countless times at SeOne and I'm sad to see it go. It had a grimey, ravey edge that rival large-scale venues such as Matter and Ministry failed to - or rather, refused to - imitate. And SeOne has had its fair share of tough times in the past, most notably the murder of a 24-year-old man at a rave in the venue in 2008.

Throughout the last 12 months there were rumours that SeOne would fall prey to a compulsory purchase order related to the rail expansion that threatened Borough Market and neighbouring arts den Shunt. However it would seem from the club's statement that in the end, plain old economics ushered in the grim reaper.

We need to talk about Wiley

2010-02-15T22:44:00.002Z

I'm dedicating this extended blog post to east London grime artist Wiley. Not because I think he's great, but because I think he's, well, a bit weird.

Every interview I come across, he rants about another artist. He's well known for hating Lethal Bizzle. But who else is on his target list?

EXHIBIT A: an interview he did with Time Out magazine last year. He says: 'You know what, yeah? People think I'm mad. I understand why, but I'm not mad. I am actually quite sane... I'm tired of all the talking. I just want to make music.'

He then has a dig at Dizzee Rascal (nothing new there, then. But I'm definitely with Team Dizzee on this one - having known him for three years I can safely say he's a very nice chap indeed.) Wiley also throws in a dig at pop cutie Tinchy Stryder, bizarrely proclaiming: 'I am Tinchy Stryder. I literally am him.' Right.

EXHIBIT B: this hilarious video with my new buddy Nabil Abdul Rashid, a stand-up comedian who interviewed Willy, I mean Wiley, for his comedy sketch programme, The Sho Sho Show, on urban music broadcaster Channel AKA. Doesn't seem like Wiley's 'tired of all the talking' here, huh?

(If anyone can explain why he says his new name is Joe 91, please do. Frankly, I'm baffled.)

EXHIBIT C: Wiley vs J Weezy - an MC battle outside Iceland, no less. J Weezy clearly has some sort of hyperactive ADHD thing going on, and Wiley takes this opportunity to show off his amazing MCing skills. Sorry - did I say amazing? I meant turd.

EXHIBIT D: Wiley's track 'Never Be Your Woman' (the Herve mix is out at the end of the month.) It's a remix of the 1997 White Town original, and it's utter gash. It follows the Wiley formula of bragging about himself, his cars, etc etc. But why he's picked this vocal is beyond me - why can't Wiley ever be my woman? Gravity Skanker thinks the lady doth protest too much.

I'll end this piece with a fantastic retort by grime hotshot Skepta. Yes, you guessed it - he's been on the receiving end of Wiley's potty mouth, too. This is what Skepta, a north Londoner like myself, has to say in return:

Run DMC: It's Like That

2010-02-12T19:36:00.000Z

Something to get you going for your Friday night, kids....

I'd love to be at Sin City at Plan B this evening (David Rodigan, N-Type and co - the lineup is sick), but instead I'm off to relive the good old Leeds days with Iration Steppas at University of Dub, in the infamous and, ahem, classy La Scala.

Having watched the moves on this video I now have much more ammunition in my skanking gun. Bring on the weekend...

DJ Zinc and Ms Dynamite: 'Wile Out'

2010-02-12T06:26:00.002Z

Must say I'm loving this new tune by DJ Zinc and Ms Dynamite, 'Wile Out'.

UK garage artist Ms Dynamite has been re-emerging in the dance scene over the last year, making lots of live appearances at clubs and events following a two-year hiatus from music.

Similarly DJ Zinc, producer of 1995 anthem 'Super Sharp Shooter', has been reinventing himself recently as the father of crack house (I promise I'll do a blog post soon explaining what that is!).

They've got together to produce this skankin' track, which was released this week. I'm interested to see how well it does in the charts.

The journey to 'Let Me Be Your Fantasy'

2010-02-11T21:46:00.000Z

Music website and online store Drum&Bass Arena has just released the Little Dragon back catalogue.

The label is owned by Floyd Dyce, the man behind Baby D and their 90s seminal dance music hits 'Let Me Be Your Fantasy' and 'I Need Your Loving'.

I met Floyd a few years ago and he's a really sweet, nice guy. Everyone from my generation loves these tracks and he should be proud of producing them, but I know it's been a long and dark battle for Floyd to have them finally recognised as his own. It's a hard lesson in the value of a good contract.

D&BTV has produced a short film looking back at his work in relation to the early years of acid house and hardcore. Check it out here:
Floyd Dyce on D&BTV

Fabric members lose CDs

2010-02-07T16:06:00.001Z

London mega-club Fabric has just announced that its FabricFirst members will no longer receive a monthly CD.

Instead of getting those sexy tin-clad musical beasts in the post, they will be emailed a link to download a digital version, starting from the club's 101st release (which is by DJ T).

If members still want a physical copy, they can email the club to receive a basic burned version - boo.

The club's label, Fabric Records, will still sell the proper CDs through regular shops - yay.

Sasha and John Digweed: thirsty work

2010-02-06T12:16:00.002Z

I've just got my hands on a copy of Sasha and John Digweed's DJ rider. It's the document that sets out the conditions of their tour bookings.

So promoters, listen up. If you've booked the trance/prog house duo to play at your club, this is what you have to arrange for them:

3 bottles of Grey Goose Vodka
1 bottle of good quality champagne
2 cartons of cranberry juice plus additional mixers
1 carton of orange juice
Assorted cans of coke, tonic, club soda
24 cans of Red Bull energy drink
24 bottles of still cooled mineral water
24 bottles of good quality imported beer (Heineken, etc)

They also want two 20lb bags of fresh, clean ice. In addition to a restaurant-quality meal, they request a 'pre-arranged snack. Healthy options besides pizza, please, where possible'.

Cool. Anything else?

Yes, actually. For larger events, they want up to 100 tickets. For free. The tour crew would also like 'a well-groomed, courteous and sober driver with a valid driver’s license, driving a newly-cleaned, late-model vehicle that holds at least 8 passengers.' Okey doke.

And how would they like the dressing room? With 'freshly vacuumed carpeted or rug-covered floors.' Check. 'DIMMABLE incandescent lights (NO fluorescent lights).' Um, OK.

Don't forget to throw in twelve newly-washed large bath towels, twelve newly-washed hand towels, eight newly-washed face cloths and three new, wrapped bars of Ivory soap. And 'NO BAR TOWELS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' (their punctuation).

Oh, but wait. Please arrange for a box of Kleenex and to have one package of 'Nag Champa incense + hippy stuff: patouli oil, candles' left in the production office.

I'm left wondering what they get up to backstage...

Dreadzone album release

2010-02-04T19:35:00.001Z

The incredible Dreadzone have just announced the release date for their next album.

The breaksy reggae band, one of the late John Peel's all-time favourites, are dropping 'Eye on the Horizon' on 26 April. You'll even get a signed copy if you pre-order from www.recordstore.co.uk - wowsers.

Dreadzone have been around for yonks and are an absolutely wicked live band, so catch them if you can. They do the festival circuit every year and are also celebrating the album launch with a DJ tour headed up by bandmeister Greg Dread. For info go to www.dreadzone.com.

Check out this clip of a performance of the classic 'Return of the Dread'. That's MC Spee throwing shapes at the front.

Deadly Rhythm: 2562 and Martyn

2010-01-31T15:59:00.001Z

It seems that Deadly Rhythm lost the battle against FWD on Friday night.

Considering it carried a hefty lineup featuring 2562 and Martyn, the 'bass music' promotion at Plan B in Brixton wasn't as busy as it should have been, and it was clear that most of London had headed to Matter instead for dubstep and grime's biggest outing.

Plan B is smashing it these days. After a fire in May 2009 it was refurbished and reopened with a better sound system, better layout and some of the most cutting-edge DJs in dance music. Deadly Rhythm is one of its best nights and, despite the shortfall in numbers, Friday proved a winner (judging by the amount of gravity skankage at the front).

For what is usually quite a warbly affair, there was little dubstep. Instead we had garage, tech house and 'future garage' (more info on that here) blended into a storming night of... well, bass music.

The second room didn't open, which meant everyone was in attendance for headliner Martyn. His set was sadly delayed by yours truly, drunkenly requesting the DJ write a love letter to my-friend-who-is-your-biggest-fan. Martyn's response? 'Your mate should spend more time with his girlfriend.' Bless him, he still wrote the letter.

It's just been announced that Martyn is doing a back to back with Kode 9 at Bloc Weekend. Pens at the ready...

And the beat goes on...

2010-01-28T21:16:00.001Z

Having just informed Bruno that I shared his video link, he's sent me this new one. I had to put it on here. Anyone who's worked with a label will know this situation EXACTLY! Haha...

Film it, rudebwoy

2010-01-28T20:39:00.005Z

My producer friend Bruno, in his insatiable quest to keep me amused at work, has shared this hilarious link:

On a similar tip, the whole world (including Chase & Status) have been tweeting this video to grime artist Skepta. Check out the skates at the end - brilliant:

Free Krafty Kuts downloads

2010-01-26T14:57:00.002Z

Probably still buzzing from the arrival of his new baby boy, Krafty Kuts has spread the love with a bunch of free music downloads.

The breakbeat master producer has just uploaded a remix of Top Billin's 'Up In Here' to his SoundCloud page. He's also offering a one-hour hip hop back-to-back with his buddy A-Skillz and a Fabric mix, both well worth downloading.

Click here to get in on the Krafty action.

Tinie Tempah - Pass Out

2010-01-25T16:46:00.001Z

Is it wrong that I keep listening to this track?

Free N-Type remix

2010-01-24T13:44:00.003Z

To celebrate their forthcoming night at Matter, FWD and Rinse are giving away a free remix of MA1 & Sophia’s 'I’m Right Here'. N-Type's slapped and smacked the track into a dark, atmospheric roller. Download it for free by clicking here.