MUD : Fanu , Fracture , DJ Trax & Executive Steve. Fri.Nov.13th.

This friday is gonna be major heaviness down the twisted pepper, Executive steve puts it a lot better than i ever could :

Howya people, just a quick announcement from REACH to let yis all know we’re back again and representing our core business of providing you, the people of Dublin city, with quality beats, basslines, samples and strings, all wrapped up in a cosy dose of true-school back to the 90’s urban futurism. This month we take a bit of a break from the Dubstep we’ve been pushing for the past few months and bring you what is quite possibly the most insanely big-name heavy lineup we’ve ever been fortunate enough to put together. This was originally going to be our lineup for the last (and late, lamented, etc) DEAF and we really pulled out all the stops to make it happen, but the Gods were against us and so we’re bringing you this a mere few weeks late. Consider it an unofficial adjunct to the action-packed-but-generally-DnB-free week of festive heaven that the DEAF crew gave us once again this year. Here’s the lineup anyway:

Fanu (Lightless, Darkestral, Subtitles, FINLAND) Fanu is Finland’s undisputed master of choppy and atmospheric but floor-friendly new school Jungle; ever since his first release on Bassbin’s sister label Breakin’ he has been turning heads both within the ranks of the Drum and Bass community and beyond, leading to critically acclaimed collaborative ventures with the likes of Bill Laswell and a host of releases on some of the most respected labels in Drum and Bass. Darkestral liked his Photek tribute “Ninja Chicks” so much they pretty much set up a sub label just to release it, and “Siren Song” was the first ever Subtitles release for which the demand was so great that Teebee caved and green-lighted a repress. The man is as skilled behind the decks as he is in the studio, and will be bringing an absolutely firing selection of choppy rudeboy rhythms. This is his first visit to Ireland.

Fracture (Astrophonica, Medschool, Droppin Science, UK). Fracture is on a roll at the moment, as a part of acclaimed studio partnership Fracture & Neptune he has released music on some of the finest labels in the business, including Bassbin, Hospital, Outsider, and most significantly for him, one feels, he had the bitter-sweet honour of releasing the very last 12” on Danny Breaks’ seminal Droppin Science imprint. Originally known for their playful sampleadelic approach to Drum and Bass music (“Ventura” on Hospital’s Med School sublabel in particular sounded like Pink Floyd being forcefed yokes by Dannny Breaks), recent productions since 2007 have been on a more gruesomely funky tip. The last time Fracture played Dublin was in 2004 – he brought the house down then, this time promises to be even better.

DJ Trax (Moving Shadow, Audio Buffet, UK) Trax is a certified bona-fide old school legend, a cult hero in the world of DnB, and one of the hardest working men in dance music, having releases three albums in the space of the last 12 months. Originally making his mark back in the late 80’s as a DJ, he went on to get his first release alongside Paradox on the legendary Moving Shadow label in 1990, after deciding that he liked their logo more than any of the other labels who wanted to sign them. DJ Trax is a phenomenal craftsman behind the decks, a true technician, and one of the greatest unsung legends still working in this music today. Get down early and catch him, you’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t.

Executive Steve (REACH, Radio Na Life, IRL) Executive Steve is writing this about himself, so you shouldn’t really trust any of it, in all fairness. For the record, anyway, Executive Steve has the voice of an angel, the snake-hipped charm of a ballroom dancer, the soft and uncalloused hands of a kept man and the cold hard stare of a contract killer. Known to take the occasional sip of sherry, he enjoys long walks by the beach, quiet nights in, and all of the finer things in life. He is wanted by police in more countries than he can name, has a weakness for the company of women and young boys, is a fearless ace pilot, a revolutionary, a noted wit, raconteur and citizen of the world. Women want him, men want to BE him.

Big night for the reach crew, and a big night for dublins’ bass addicts ! GET IN !

Advance tix available now for only 5 yo-yo’s from the bodytonic ticket store : http://bodytonicmusic.ticketsolve.com/

MUD : Sinden ( Domino,UK ) & Reeps One ( UK 2009 beatbox champion ) – Friday the 6th of November

Before you can say ” Why hasn’t anyone taken responsibility for that LUAS crash a while back ?”, the weekend will be upon us again.

 

The bass doesn’t stop rolling down the twisted pepper this winter, and this friday is no exception.

 

Back in July, I had the honour to see the renowned beatboxer Reeps One ( www.myspace.com/reeps1 ) ( yes, he’s better than Beardyman! ) do his thing in the beer garden of the bernard shaw.

 

This friday, he’ll be heading down to the twisted pepper to play a full set , warming up for Sinden.

 

Sinden will be headlining the basement, bringing his blend of bass driven music to the MUD shack.

 

Check the Sinden bodytonic podcast for nowt, right here : http://www.bodytonicmusic.com/podcasts/2009/nov/02/bodytonic-podcast-054-sinden/

 

Advance tix are only 8 euro from the bodytonic ticket store :

 

Tix On Door = 12e.

 

http://www.bodytonicmusic.com/events/mud/2009/sep/19/mud-sinden-domino-uk/

Happenings @ Le Cirk !

Big things breewing in Le Cirk over the next few weeks….(all free too, by the looks of it ~ RECESSION PROOF )

First up, the Standard crew are kicking off a new bi-weekly this friday for junkies of UK Funky, Garage & House.

The Hertz-u crew have also kicked off a new regular night, which should be also every second friday, but in true spirit, they’ll be working with other local promoters to ensure there’s no date clashes so everyone’s night gets a  fair chance. That’s true love right there folks.

I didn’t make it on friday for the Hertz-u kick off, but by all accounts over on http://www.jungle.me.uk it went very very well ! Next night is set for the 6th Of November.

It’s gonna be a hip hop instalment aswell :

Synergy Funk and Soul Set
Davey S Hip Hop Set
The Xpert of Messiah J & The Xpert Fame Hip hop Set

Word is, it’s gonna be a pre-96 hip hop affair !

Just to re-iterate folks, these regular nights are on a friday, right bang in the centre of town, and they’re FREE. GET IN.

www.irishdrumandbass.com ~ Pon the forum !

FILM REVIEW : 9

As a rule, if you give me something free and I like it, it will get written about here.

 

If you give me something for free and I don’t like it, it won’t get written about here.

 

So it is with this rule in mind that we reach this blog post.

 

Got free tickets to go see a special preview of ”9″ last night in the lighthouse cinema in smithfield. I had caught some of the trailers and was intending on seeing it anyway.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has some really beautifully dark animation and design, painting a bleak and desolate picture of a post apocalyptic earth.

 

Just as a bit of warning though, if you’ve seen and don’t like the “animatrix” or say, “batham gotham knight” ( animation that came out in conjuction with the batman begins movie ) , you might not enjoy this at all.

 

That aside though, great film, when the strange little puppets were being chased around by gigantic robotic creatures through futuristic wasteland, my heart was genuinely jumping with the suspense. Action/animation genre = WIN.

 

A quick word on the very cool people at le cool ( who were the source of the tickets ) - they distribute a free snazzy weekly e-mail with selected event listings in dublin. They’re also always on the lookout for writers, cover designers, anyone who wants to get involved in any way at all. You can sign up for the weekly magazine here.

 

Also, the light house cinema. Why have I waited so long to pay a visit to here ? It’s the absolute dogs’ ! Really comfortable seats, really well designed and finished off ~ absolutely FANTASTIC. My new favourite cinema in dublin.

FREE DEAF STUFF – It’s DAM good ! ! ! !

BIG FREE STUFF ALERT TONIGHT – - – - – - -

 Get yourself to the Bernard Shaw for a guest appearance from Dam Funk at some stage between 9-11.

Be one of the first 50 people to get a shot at the bar and get a FREE ticket to head down the twisted pepper for Beardyman & Dam Funk as part of DEAF.

Full event details here.

Big up the Scribble crew on this one !

SWINE FLU WITH THE HERTZ-U CREW

Swine flu is spreading fast, and it is going to kill you and everyone you know . It’s only a matter of time. The government, in association with the mainstream media are keeping this fact from us in order to prevent mass hysteria.

 So, as life is short ( and getting shorter ) , you better try everything at least once, while there’s still time.

Here’s something you can try for FREE. It will cost you nowt but time ( and maybe some weight loss, due to throwing your body round the place with sheer and utter happiness ) .

Get your arses into Le Cirk tomorrow for some D’n'B and Jungle action from the Hertz-u crew and rave like it’s ‘92 all over again. Your soul will thank you.

Hill Walking : Maulin, Co.Wicklow.

I may have failed to mention it on this blog before, but I fecking love hillwalking.

 

There are multiple reasons behind this, but mainly i enjoy the silence and the views.

 

Sunday just past, I hauled myself up to maulin ( 570m above sea level ) with the missus, her nephew (6), her niece (9) and their dog.

 

I had worried that they’d kick up a stink half way and we’d have to turn back, but as it turned out, the dog and the little ones lead the way while I lagged behind.

 

It truly is one of the best walks / hikes you can do in and around the dublin area.

 

It has really well marked pathways and requires no real navigation experience.

 

The best thing about it though is the views from the top.

 

Sunday , the visibility wasn’t great, but i could still as far north as carlingford and maybe about 100km or so south going along the coast.

 

On a clear day up here, you can see over to Mount Snowdon in Wales !

 

It truly is a surreal experience looking out at the sea from such a height, and the vastness of the rolling hills beneath you.

 

Further to this, on the way back down, you are rewarded with an amazing view of the both the start of the powerscourt waterfall and the waterfall itself.

 

The best thing about this is of course, you don’t have to pay 8 euro ( or whatever they’re charging down there ) to see it .

 

The walk starts from Crone Wood Car Park, just outside the village of enniskerry. Co-ordinates : 53.165067,-6.218176

 

On sunday, the drive from the city centre to the start of the walk took just 30 minutes.

Allow yourself 3 to 3 and a half hours and of course don’t forget to bring water, food  and both warm and rainproof gear.

Sunday the 25th Oct 2009 – Music Fair No.3

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6TH 2009

Take out your diary or open up your google calendar or whatever it is you use to track events in your life.

 

Now go to Nov.6th and make a note that you will attend the next one of these, at THIS location.

 

You’ve been told.

Joker @ The twisted pepper, 21st august 2009 : Review.

I hit the twisted pepper on friday around 12 o clock straight up sober. In fact, I drove down, because I knew I wouldn’t be drinking.( end of the month financial issues)

When I got there, the first thing that struck me was the queue. It was out the fecking door and onto the street ! This could only be a good thing.

ON the stage, MC Kwasi and the breakdown band were warming up the night’s proceedings. I had never seen them before, and they’re a fairly good party outfit.
They had 3 DJ’s (I think) and a bloke playing bongo style drums. Fun for a bit of a warm up, but harder action was needed.

Downstairs, the Wobble crew (T-woc, Don Rosco & Oshroom ) were going b2b, and playing some absolute bangers.

When 1:30 hit, however, it was time to set the record straight on the new Void soundsysystem and for the MUD house to have its’ roof torn down.

At this stage, there was a substantial crowd downstairs and a really good energy building up.

BASS GUN READY . . .

Joker hit the ground running in fine form ,showing straight away why he is regarded as one of the finest producers of this generation, effortlessly mixing in
effects and textures, chilling behind the decks and letting the magic unfold. This, mixed with the well up for it crowd, resulted in a quality blow out of
all things BASS !

PURPLE HAZE

Up the front was hectic and crazy, with mosh pits breaking out at random all over the shop. Joker being the obliging soul that he is, also
rewound 3 tracks when asked ( if i’m not mistaken, this was Bonz and executive steve on the ask, correct me if I’m wrong ). I won’t get bitter about it this time, they were excellent tracks.

I was dissapointed when all of a sudden I realised that it was 2:55, and only 5 minutes remained. This wasn’t gonna stop him though. He brought us all the way to 3:20, getting harder and harder every minute.

To put this another way, he was un-fucking-stoppable. Straight up dubstep sprinkled with his own trademark productions ( game boy sounds,etc…) aswell as some nice west coast , glitched out vibes. Nearly every genre and sub genre of what makes new wave bass music great was touched on.

Towards the end, I honestly thought I was going to collapse. The epic bass, coupled with the mental crowd was melting faces all over the place.

All I drank for the night was water, and all I smoked was tobacco, and I was high as f#ck. Physically drained, soaked to the bone with sweat and ears ringing
like a psychotic feedback loop in my head, I felt FANTASTIC.

I saw some internet chatter somewhere debating whether Joker was dubstep or grime. Personally, I couldn’t give a left testicle if you want to call it
GRIME-STEP, DUB-RIME or IDM, it doesn’t need a name because it’s beyond all that. It’s absolute perfection just as it is.

SHADOWED WARRIOR

BIG THANKS TO : The wobble crew for bringing the talent, Bodytonic, the staff of the twisted pepper, the nice people I bummed cigarettes
off outside, Adnan and safety boy for the pictures, and of course, JOKER.

***BTW, note to inexperienced punters at the front : If a mosh pit starts beside you, do not immediately move into the space that has been created.
The simple reason being that when the mosh pit moves BACK, you will be squashed, hurt or maybe even killed. Now don’t cry and give out when it happens
again.

http://www.myspace.com/thejokerproductions