Array ( [Event] => Array ( [id] => 9586 [date] => 2012-06-29 [artist] => Roots Manuva [city] => Birmingham [state] => [country] => GB [venue] => Mostly Jazz Festival [promoter] => [description] => [ticket_url] => http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CDgQjBAwBQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmostlyjazz.co.uk%2Ftickets%2F& [image_upload_id] => 16310 [created] => 2012-02-14 12:15:26 [modified] => 2012-04-18 17:19:27 [year_slug] => 2012 [month_slug] => jun [day_slug] => 29 [slug] => roots-manuva-birmingham-mostly-jazz-festival [description_clean] => [products_count] => 0 [hidden] => 0 ) [Image] => Array ( [id] => 16310 [media_type] => image [artist] => Roots Manuva [title] => Roots Manuva Artist Shot 3 August 2011 [credits] => [buy_link] => [filename] => images/roots-manuva/rootsmanuva-artistshot3.png [checksum] => eee7f7c8684179a4eeaf097395473755 [mime_type] => image/png [size] => 712259 [external_url] => http://media.ninjatune.net/images/roots-manuva/rootsmanuva-artistshot3.png [image_upload_id] => [first_track_id] => [first_release_id] => [listed] => 0 [active] => 1 [processed] => 1 [artist_slug] => roots-manuva [slug] => roots-manuva-artist-shot-3-august-2011 [created] => 2011-11-18 12:04:14 [modified] => 2011-11-18 12:04:20 [embed] => ) [Country] => Array ( [id] => 208 [name] => United Kingdom [longname] => United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [numcode] => 826 [iso] => GB [iso3] => GBR [currency] => GBP [active] => 1 [parent_id] => 191 [lft] => 413 [rght] => 414 [level] => 2 ) [Product] => Array ( ) [Artist] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [id] => 44 [name] => Roots Manuva [description] =>

Rodney Smith aka Roots Manuva is one of the titans of Black British music.

Smith made his recorded debut in 1994 as part of IQ Procedure through Suburban Base's short-lived hip hop imprint Bluntly Speaking Vinyl. He debuted as Roots Manuva the same year on Blak Twang's 'Queen's Head' single, before releasing his own single, 'Next Type of Motion' the following year through the same label, the hugely influential Sound of Money. 1996 saw the release of his collaborations with Skitz ('Where My Mind Is At'/'Blessed Be the Manner') on 23 Skidoo's Ronin label. The release of 'Feva' on Tony Vegas's Wayward imprint followed in 1997. This was also the year that saw the first releases from Big Dada. In 1998 he joined the label and the following year released his fiercesome debut, 'Brand New Second Hand'. From an initial 3000 records put into the shops 'BNSH' has now sold over 50,000 copies in the UK. It also made the first dents in the wall of complacency and indifference which has often greeted home-grown Black music in this country. Manuva was rewarded for his breakthrough with a MOBO as Best Hip Hop Act that year. As if to demonstrate the broad appeal of his style, he also featured on Leftfield's 'Dusted' from their 'Rhythm & Stealth' album.

Big things were now expected of Smith and he delivered with 2001's 'Run Come Save Me', the record which gained him a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize and which has currently sold well over 100,000 copies in the UK. More importantly, it spawned the all-time classic 'Witness' (voted the greatest UK hip hop tune of all time by the readers of Hip Hop Connection) on an album that ran from the broad, swaggering pop of 'Dreamy Days' to the dark, odd meditation of 'Evil Rabbit'. It is also the record which led the Guardian newspaper, in October 2003, to proclaim Manuva fifth in their '40 Best Bands In Britain' feature, proclaiming that "his influence is incalculable and he opened the doors for the Streets, Dizzee Rascal et al."

Smith followed up that album with "Slime & Reason" in 2008 and "4everevolution" in 2011. Both records were acclaimed by critics and fans alike. In addition, 2010 saw the release of "Duppy Writer," Alongside these releases, he contributed to the first Gorillaz record, started up his label-come-gang, Banana Klan, and guested on countless records for other artists.

[links] =>

www.rootsmanuva.co.uk

Facebook
Twitter

[image_upload_id] => 16203 [label_id] => 2 [twitter_username] => rootsmanuva [instagram_id] => [instagram_username] => [link] => [listed] => 1 [sortname] => Roots Manuva [created] => 2010-07-17 22:15:59 [modified] => 2013-02-26 13:26:20 [slug] => roots-manuva [fuga_id] => [description_clean] =>

Rodney Smith aka Roots Manuva is one of the titans of Black British music.

Smith made his recorded debut in 1994 as part of IQ Procedure through Suburban Base's short-lived hip hop imprint Bluntly Speaking Vinyl. He debuted as Roots Manuva the same year on Blak Twang's 'Queen's Head' single, before releasing his own single, 'Next Type of Motion' the following year through the same label, the hugely influential Sound of Money. 1996 saw the release of his collaborations with Skitz ('Where My Mind Is At'/'Blessed Be the Manner') on 23 Skidoo's Ronin label. The release of 'Feva' on Tony Vegas's Wayward imprint followed in 1997. This was also the year that saw the first releases from Big Dada. In 1998 he joined the label and the following year released his fiercesome debut, 'Brand New Second Hand'. From an initial 3000 records put into the shops 'BNSH' has now sold over 50,000 copies in the UK. It also made the first dents in the wall of complacency and indifference which has often greeted home-grown Black music in this country. Manuva was rewarded for his breakthrough with a MOBO as Best Hip Hop Act that year. As if to demonstrate the broad appeal of his style, he also featured on Leftfield's 'Dusted' from their 'Rhythm & Stealth' album.

Big things were now expected of Smith and he delivered with 2001's 'Run Come Save Me', the record which gained him a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize and which has currently sold well over 100,000 copies in the UK. More importantly, it spawned the all-time classic 'Witness' (voted the greatest UK hip hop tune of all time by the readers of Hip Hop Connection) on an album that ran from the broad, swaggering pop of 'Dreamy Days' to the dark, odd meditation of 'Evil Rabbit'. It is also the record which led the Guardian newspaper, in October 2003, to proclaim Manuva fifth in their '40 Best Bands In Britain' feature, proclaiming that "his influence is incalculable and he opened the doors for the Streets, Dizzee Rascal et al."

Smith followed up that album with "Slime & Reason" in 2008 and "4everevolution" in 2011. Both records were acclaimed by critics and fans alike. In addition, 2010 saw the release of "Duppy Writer," Alongside these releases, he contributed to the first Gorillaz record, started up his label-come-gang, Banana Klan, and guested on countless records for other artists.

[links_clean] =>

www.rootsmanuva.co.uk

Facebook
Twitter

) ) ) [1] => Array ( [Event] => Array ( [id] => 9790 [date] => 2012-06-29 [artist] => DJ Food [city] => Antibes [state] => [country] => FR [venue] => Les Nuits Carrea [promoter] => [description] =>

DJ Food - 29th Jun at Les Nuits Carrea in Antibes, France

[ticket_url] => [image_upload_id] => 16199 [created] => 2012-03-26 14:56:09 [modified] => 2012-03-26 14:56:09 [year_slug] => 2012 [month_slug] => jun [day_slug] => 29 [slug] => dj-food-antibes-les-nuits-carrea [description_clean] =>

DJ Food - 29th Jun at Les Nuits Carrea in Antibes, France

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DJ Food (present) : Strictly Kev

With nearly 25 years of DJing experience and more than a decade serving up Food for DJs, for both Ninja and Coldcut's weekly radio show 'Solid Steel', Kev is now in the Food hot seat.

At his 'Telepathic Fish' ambient parties in the early 90's he booked Matt Black on his first VJing gigs, started designing artwork for Ninja Tune and paired up with PC (Patrick Carpenter) to form the public 'face' of DJ Food on 4 decks in clubs around the world. After working on various Food and Coldcut related studio projects with PC (A Recipe for Disaster, Journeys by DJ, ColdKrushCuts and the Blech mix compilations for Warp) they released the album 'Kaleidoscope' in 2000, closely followed by the 'Quadraplex EP' in 2001.

Also arriving in 2001 was the first in a series of Solid Steel mix CDs, starting with DJ Food & DK (Darren Knott - Solid Steel's producer) and the publicly lauded 'Now, Listen'. Since then he's been constantly art directing the Ninja label, designing for artists like Amon Tobin, The Herbaliser, DJ Vadim and Funki Porcini. Mix work has included a re-score of the Monkees' cult film 'Head', an as-yet-unreleased album of vintage Sesame Street funk, and his magnum opus 'Raiding the 20th Century'. This last hour long mix / documentary was an internet only release, charting the history of the cut-up and featured journalist Paul Morley reading from his book 'Words & Music'. Not only did it crash servers on several sites that hosted it due to its initial popularity but it was later subject to a cease & desist order from EMI for multiple infringements of copyright.

In 2007, alongside DK again, he followed up their Solid Steel debut with the sequel - 'Now, Listen Again', and the pair spent much of 2008 transferring their mix into a 4 deck audio visual live show. Using Serato's video plug-in - that enables video to be mixed and scratched via turntables the same as records - they christened their efforts 'video turntablism'.

Kev is now working on a series of EPs that will make up the next DJ Food album, an exhaustive DJ Food website (www.djfood.org) and providing artwork for Ninja artists such as King Cannibal and the 20th anniversary label celebrations.

DJ Food (past):

DJ Food has been many persons, of who we will come to in a moment. DJ Food is best described as Food for DJs, simple as that, just flip it around and it begins to mean something entirely different.

Originally produced by Coldcut the DJ Food project started in 1990 with the release of 'Jazz Brakes', with 'Jazz Brakes Volume 3' being the label's most successful early album. Not only are they effective collections of breaks, loops and samples ideal for mixing, remixing and producing - but also fine collections of funky jazz & hip hop tunes, that cut it just as well on the discerning dancefloor as in the safety of your own home...

Since the growth of the abstract hip hop scene in recent years the 'Jazz Brakes' albums have proved to be ahead of their time. The latter DJ Food albums have developed with shades of latin, dub, techno, ambient, tribal, african and jungle flavouring the funk. The 2005 album 'A Recipe For Disaster' was a conscious break from the five 'Jazz Brakes' volumes to form more of an identity as an artist, and a remix album of tracks from all 6 LPs 'Refried Food' was released Feb '96.

But who made this food? Matt Black & Jonathan More (aka Coldcut) were responsible for starting the DJ Food series of 'Jazz Brakes' back in the early 90's, and along the way they met Patrick Carpenter (PC) who was commonly misconstrued as the computer that they made the tracks on for a while. A loose collaborative team began to form as more like-minded people arrived at the party; Paul Brook, Paul Rabiger, Strictly Kev and Issac Elliston to name a few.

Whilst keeping their hand in as DJs, Matt & Jon couldn't and didn't want to DJ twice in one night under both aliases of Coldcut & DJ Food, so PC & Strictly stepped up to represent the Food club-wise. This was the score for some time, until PC became so busy with his involvement in the Cinematic Orchestra that he decided to depart to concentrate on that, leaving Strictly Kev to carry the mantle.

[links] =>

www.djfood.co.uk

Twitter
Soundcloud

[image_upload_id] => 16199 [label_id] => 1 [twitter_username] => djfood [instagram_id] => [instagram_username] => [link] => [listed] => 1 [sortname] => DJ Food [created] => 2010-07-17 22:15:58 [modified] => 2013-01-08 14:51:48 [slug] => dj-food [fuga_id] => [description_clean] =>

DJ Food (present) : Strictly Kev

With nearly 25 years of DJing experience and more than a decade serving up Food for DJs, for both Ninja and Coldcut's weekly radio show 'Solid Steel', Kev is now in the Food hot seat.

At his 'Telepathic Fish' ambient parties in the early 90's he booked Matt Black on his first VJing gigs, started designing artwork for Ninja Tune and paired up with PC (Patrick Carpenter) to form the public 'face' of DJ Food on 4 decks in clubs around the world. After working on various Food and Coldcut related studio projects with PC (A Recipe for Disaster, Journeys by DJ, ColdKrushCuts and the Blech mix compilations for Warp) they released the album 'Kaleidoscope' in 2000, closely followed by the 'Quadraplex EP' in 2001.

Also arriving in 2001 was the first in a series of Solid Steel mix CDs, starting with DJ Food & DK (Darren Knott - Solid Steel's producer) and the publicly lauded 'Now, Listen'. Since then he's been constantly art directing the Ninja label, designing for artists like Amon Tobin, The Herbaliser, DJ Vadim and Funki Porcini. Mix work has included a re-score of the Monkees' cult film 'Head', an as-yet-unreleased album of vintage Sesame Street funk, and his magnum opus 'Raiding the 20th Century'. This last hour long mix / documentary was an internet only release, charting the history of the cut-up and featured journalist Paul Morley reading from his book 'Words & Music'. Not only did it crash servers on several sites that hosted it due to its initial popularity but it was later subject to a cease & desist order from EMI for multiple infringements of copyright.

In 2007, alongside DK again, he followed up their Solid Steel debut with the sequel - 'Now, Listen Again', and the pair spent much of 2008 transferring their mix into a 4 deck audio visual live show. Using Serato's video plug-in - that enables video to be mixed and scratched via turntables the same as records - they christened their efforts 'video turntablism'.

Kev is now working on a series of EPs that will make up the next DJ Food album, an exhaustive DJ Food website (www.djfood.org) and providing artwork for Ninja artists such as King Cannibal and the 20th anniversary label celebrations.

DJ Food (past):

DJ Food has been many persons, of who we will come to in a moment. DJ Food is best described as Food for DJs, simple as that, just flip it around and it begins to mean something entirely different.

Originally produced by Coldcut the DJ Food project started in 1990 with the release of 'Jazz Brakes', with 'Jazz Brakes Volume 3' being the label's most successful early album. Not only are they effective collections of breaks, loops and samples ideal for mixing, remixing and producing - but also fine collections of funky jazz & hip hop tunes, that cut it just as well on the discerning dancefloor as in the safety of your own home...

Since the growth of the abstract hip hop scene in recent years the 'Jazz Brakes' albums have proved to be ahead of their time. The latter DJ Food albums have developed with shades of latin, dub, techno, ambient, tribal, african and jungle flavouring the funk. The 2005 album 'A Recipe For Disaster' was a conscious break from the five 'Jazz Brakes' volumes to form more of an identity as an artist, and a remix album of tracks from all 6 LPs 'Refried Food' was released Feb '96.

But who made this food? Matt Black & Jonathan More (aka Coldcut) were responsible for starting the DJ Food series of 'Jazz Brakes' back in the early 90's, and along the way they met Patrick Carpenter (PC) who was commonly misconstrued as the computer that they made the tracks on for a while. A loose collaborative team began to form as more like-minded people arrived at the party; Paul Brook, Paul Rabiger, Strictly Kev and Issac Elliston to name a few.

Whilst keeping their hand in as DJs, Matt & Jon couldn't and didn't want to DJ twice in one night under both aliases of Coldcut & DJ Food, so PC & Strictly stepped up to represent the Food club-wise. This was the score for some time, until PC became so busy with his involvement in the Cinematic Orchestra that he decided to depart to concentrate on that, leaving Strictly Kev to carry the mantle.

[links_clean] =>

www.djfood.co.uk

Twitter
Soundcloud

) ) ) [2] => Array ( [Event] => Array ( [id] => 9886 [date] => 2012-06-29 [artist] => DJ Vadim [city] => SIerre [state] => [country] => CH [venue] => Week-End Au Bord De L'eau [promoter] => [description] =>

DJ Vadim - 29th Jun at Week-End Au Bord De L'eau in Sierre, Switzerland

[ticket_url] => http://www.aubordeleau.ch/festival/ticket_shop.html [image_upload_id] => 16756 [created] => 2012-04-10 11:55:12 [modified] => 2012-04-10 11:55:12 [year_slug] => 2012 [month_slug] => jun [day_slug] => 29 [slug] => dj-vadim-sierre-week-end-au-bord-de-leau [description_clean] =>

DJ Vadim - 29th Jun at Week-End Au Bord De L'eau in Sierre, Switzerland

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Hardest working man in show business? Trouper? Tireless? However you want to put it, be sure of one thing: When DJ Vadim first heard the phrase "Don't Sleep" he obviously took it literally.

Over the last decade few people can have put so much time and energy into the culture they love. Founder of Jazz Fudge in early 1995, A&R, producer, DJ, promoter, record collector, radio presenter, occasional painter, writer, in-house producer/DJ and cohort of Latin Grammy nominees and Spanish hip hop super group 7 Notas 7 Colorez, Vadim has certainly been keeping himself busy. And that's before we even mention his DJing itself, which has seen him perform in virtually every country in Europe (east and west), all over North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, Turkey, South America and South East Asia (often within one year!). He has also performed with the likes of DJ Krush, Company Flow, The Roots, Pharcyde, Public Enemy, Beat Junkies, Dilated Peoples, Kraftwerk, Ed Rush, Morcheeba and Paul Weller, as well as at events like Glastonbury and the Moscow Street Ball festival (to over 40,000 people!). To describe the man as an internationalist almost seems to sell him short.

In 1992, Vadim Peare bought a sampler and started working on the music that would become 'Abstract Hallucinating Gases' and 'Headz Ain't Ready' (both released on his own label, Jazz Fudge). Later in the year he signed to Ninja Tune and began work on his debut LP, 'USSR Repertoire'. From these early recordings came a remix LP, 'USSR Reconstruction', featuring DJ Krush, Kid Koala, Mark B and Silent Poets, plus various 12"s both for Ninja Tune and Jazz Fudge, and a mixtape and CD with DJ Primecuts (International Turntablist Federation World Champion '99 and Scratch Pervert). In 1999 there was the abstract funk collaboration LP, 'The Isolationist', produced by Vadim, scratched by DJ Primecuts and vocalled by New York avant-rappers Antipop Consortium. Relentless international touring followed with Swollen Members, then Company Flow, then Jazz Fudge, all of which led to the purchase of yet more obscure and dusty vinyls to add to an already burgeoning collection.

This all culminated in his critically-acclaimed last album, 'USSR: Life From The Other Side' in 1999. The record featured Company Flow, the Scratch Perverts, Iriscience (from Dilated Peoples), Blade and many others, and caused quite a storm in USA with the track 'Your Revolution', featuring Sarah Jones. The song was banned by the FCC (USA radio regulators) for explicit and provocative lyrics, despite Jones actually satirising the attitudes and words of the mainstream rap and r&b that could be heard pumping out of the radio every day.

To promote the record, Vadim put together a live group - The Russian Percussion - consisting of Mr Thing (turntables), Killer Kela (beat box), Blu rum 13 (MC), John Ellis (keyboards) and himself. They notched up a mere 200 shows in about 24 countries including most of Europe and North America.

Feeling tired yet? Hang on in there. Vadim has also presented radio shows for the BBC, including the Sony Award-nominated programme 'Around The World In Eight Relays'. He has toured with Sarah Jones, Killer Kela and as support and collaborator for Super Furry Animals. Oh, and he went to Latin America with the aformentioned 7 Notas 7 Colores and, and, and...

We'll stop now. Our guess is that the average human mind would actually struggle to take in everything that DJ Vadim has done in the last ten years, let alone do it. There really is only one way to revive yourself now - reach forward, slip 'USSR - The Art Of Listening' into your cd player and soak it all up. It is, after all, where he gets his energy from. And where he's putting it, too...

[links] =>

www.djvadim.com

Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud

[image_upload_id] => 15942 [label_id] => 1 [twitter_username] => [instagram_id] => [instagram_username] => [link] => [listed] => 1 [sortname] => DJ Vadim [created] => 2010-07-17 22:15:58 [modified] => 2013-01-09 10:12:08 [slug] => dj-vadim [fuga_id] => [description_clean] =>

Hardest working man in show business? Trouper? Tireless? However you want to put it, be sure of one thing: When DJ Vadim first heard the phrase "Don't Sleep" he obviously took it literally.

Over the last decade few people can have put so much time and energy into the culture they love. Founder of Jazz Fudge in early 1995, A&R, producer, DJ, promoter, record collector, radio presenter, occasional painter, writer, in-house producer/DJ and cohort of Latin Grammy nominees and Spanish hip hop super group 7 Notas 7 Colorez, Vadim has certainly been keeping himself busy. And that's before we even mention his DJing itself, which has seen him perform in virtually every country in Europe (east and west), all over North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, Turkey, South America and South East Asia (often within one year!). He has also performed with the likes of DJ Krush, Company Flow, The Roots, Pharcyde, Public Enemy, Beat Junkies, Dilated Peoples, Kraftwerk, Ed Rush, Morcheeba and Paul Weller, as well as at events like Glastonbury and the Moscow Street Ball festival (to over 40,000 people!). To describe the man as an internationalist almost seems to sell him short.

In 1992, Vadim Peare bought a sampler and started working on the music that would become 'Abstract Hallucinating Gases' and 'Headz Ain't Ready' (both released on his own label, Jazz Fudge). Later in the year he signed to Ninja Tune and began work on his debut LP, 'USSR Repertoire'. From these early recordings came a remix LP, 'USSR Reconstruction', featuring DJ Krush, Kid Koala, Mark B and Silent Poets, plus various 12"s both for Ninja Tune and Jazz Fudge, and a mixtape and CD with DJ Primecuts (International Turntablist Federation World Champion '99 and Scratch Pervert). In 1999 there was the abstract funk collaboration LP, 'The Isolationist', produced by Vadim, scratched by DJ Primecuts and vocalled by New York avant-rappers Antipop Consortium. Relentless international touring followed with Swollen Members, then Company Flow, then Jazz Fudge, all of which led to the purchase of yet more obscure and dusty vinyls to add to an already burgeoning collection.

This all culminated in his critically-acclaimed last album, 'USSR: Life From The Other Side' in 1999. The record featured Company Flow, the Scratch Perverts, Iriscience (from Dilated Peoples), Blade and many others, and caused quite a storm in USA with the track 'Your Revolution', featuring Sarah Jones. The song was banned by the FCC (USA radio regulators) for explicit and provocative lyrics, despite Jones actually satirising the attitudes and words of the mainstream rap and r&b that could be heard pumping out of the radio every day.

To promote the record, Vadim put together a live group - The Russian Percussion - consisting of Mr Thing (turntables), Killer Kela (beat box), Blu rum 13 (MC), John Ellis (keyboards) and himself. They notched up a mere 200 shows in about 24 countries including most of Europe and North America.

Feeling tired yet? Hang on in there. Vadim has also presented radio shows for the BBC, including the Sony Award-nominated programme 'Around The World In Eight Relays'. He has toured with Sarah Jones, Killer Kela and as support and collaborator for Super Furry Animals. Oh, and he went to Latin America with the aformentioned 7 Notas 7 Colores and, and, and...

We'll stop now. Our guess is that the average human mind would actually struggle to take in everything that DJ Vadim has done in the last ten years, let alone do it. There really is only one way to revive yourself now - reach forward, slip 'USSR - The Art Of Listening' into your cd player and soak it all up. It is, after all, where he gets his energy from. And where he's putting it, too...

[links_clean] =>

www.djvadim.com

Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud

) ) ) [3] => Array ( [Event] => Array ( [id] => 9911 [date] => 2012-06-29 [artist] => Amon Tobin (DJ Set) [city] => St Petersburg [state] => [country] => RU [venue] => GlavClub [promoter] => [description] => [ticket_url] => http://www.glavclub.com/en/400.html [image_upload_id] => 15753 [created] => 2012-04-17 11:22:59 [modified] => 2012-04-24 10:25:37 [year_slug] => 2012 [month_slug] => jun [day_slug] => 29 [slug] => amon-tobin-dj-set-st-petersburg-glavclub [description_clean] => [products_count] => 0 [hidden] => 0 ) [Image] => Array ( [id] => 15753 [media_type] => image [artist] => Amon Tobin [title] => Amon Tobin - 'ISAM' Live 1 [credits] => [buy_link] => [filename] => images/amon-tobin/amontobin-isamlive.jpg [checksum] => 9e85f935eedac106c9942cb666dcc951 [mime_type] => image/jpeg [size] => 223560 [external_url] => http://media.ninjatune.net/images/amon-tobin/amontobin-isamlive.jpg [image_upload_id] => [first_track_id] => [first_release_id] => [listed] => 0 [active] => 1 [processed] => 1 [artist_slug] => amon-tobin [slug] => amon-tobin-isam-live-1 [created] => 2011-05-25 10:12:12 [modified] => 2011-05-25 10:12:17 [embed] => ) [Country] => Array ( [id] => 188 [name] => Russian Federation [longname] => Russian Federation [numcode] => 643 [iso] => RU [iso3] => RUS [currency] => RUB [active] => 1 [parent_id] => 180 [lft] => 373 [rght] => 374 [level] => 2 ) [Product] => Array ( ) [Artist] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [id] => 31 [name] => Amon Tobin [description] => Brazilian-born Amon Tobin first emerged between 1994-1995 with a string of 12" singles on a small London-based record label called 9Bar Records. The album that followed, 'Adventures In Foam', paved the way for a whole generation of electronic productions and prompted his signing to the prodigious Ninja Tune in 1996. He has since gone on to record seven critically- acclaimed albums under his own name on Ninja that have since helped define the label as a force in musical innovation and diversity. In addition, Amon has produced a small number of radically diverse original scores ranging from George Palfi's cult cinema oddity 'Taxidermia' to Tom Clancy's video game blockbuster 'Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory'.

The depth and scope of Amon Tobin's work have had a far-reaching influence, garnering respect amongst producers and artists both within and outside electronic music. Whether with the classical avant garde Kronos Quartet or D'n'B legends Noisia, or on his own in some invented form, Amon has established a reputation for musical ingenuity that is unconfined by genre. Over a fifteen-year-long career Amon Tobin remains among one of the most visionary electronic artists of a generation.

The 2007 album 'Foley Room' explored the role of found sound in modern day music. Documented on film, the process of recording minute insects to lions, wolves, engines and foley performances culminated in a much- lauded performance at the birthplace of musique concrete, the GRM Theatre in Paris. More recently, the famed London Metropolitan Orchestra performed selected works from a cross-section of his musical repertoire at the Royal Albert Hall. The performance included a piece from his forthcoming studio album due for release in early 2011.

Amon Tobin will release 3 albums in 2011: a radical new studio album entitled 'ISAM', a new Two Fingers album, and an album of remixes of his 'Chaos Theory' soundtrack work.

[links] =>

www.amontobin.com

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Facebook
Twitter
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[image_upload_id] => 15363 [label_id] => 1 [twitter_username] => AmonTobinHQ [instagram_id] => 10218717 [instagram_username] => amontobin [link] => [listed] => 1 [sortname] => Amon Tobin [created] => 2010-07-17 22:15:58 [modified] => 2013-05-03 14:45:41 [slug] => amon-tobin [fuga_id] => [description_clean] =>

Brazilian-born Amon Tobin first emerged between 1994-1995 with a string of 12" singles on a small London-based record label called 9Bar Records. The album that followed, 'Adventures In Foam', paved the way for a whole generation of electronic productions and prompted his signing to the prodigious Ninja Tune in 1996. He has since gone on to record seven critically- acclaimed albums under his own name on Ninja that have since helped define the label as a force in musical innovation and diversity. In addition, Amon has produced a small number of radically diverse original scores ranging from George Palfi's cult cinema oddity 'Taxidermia' to Tom Clancy's video game blockbuster 'Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory'.

The depth and scope of Amon Tobin's work have had a far-reaching influence, garnering respect amongst producers and artists both within and outside electronic music. Whether with the classical avant garde Kronos Quartet or D'n'B legends Noisia, or on his own in some invented form, Amon has established a reputation for musical ingenuity that is unconfined by genre. Over a fifteen-year-long career Amon Tobin remains among one of the most visionary electronic artists of a generation.

The 2007 album 'Foley Room' explored the role of found sound in modern day music. Documented on film, the process of recording minute insects to lions, wolves, engines and foley performances culminated in a much- lauded performance at the birthplace of musique concrete, the GRM Theatre in Paris. More recently, the famed London Metropolitan Orchestra performed selected works from a cross-section of his musical repertoire at the Royal Albert Hall. The performance included a piece from his forthcoming studio album due for release in early 2011.

Amon Tobin will release 3 albums in 2011: a radical new studio album entitled 'ISAM', a new Two Fingers album, and an album of remixes of his 'Chaos Theory' soundtrack work.

[links_clean] =>

www.amontobin.com

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Facebook
Twitter
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YouTube

) ) ) [4] => Array ( [Event] => Array ( [id] => 10070 [date] => 2012-06-29 [artist] => The Heavy [city] => Las Vegas [state] => [country] => US [venue] => The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas [promoter] => [description] =>

The Heavy - 29 June, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

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The Heavy - 29 June, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

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“What the hell were we thinking?,” exclaims Dan Taylor, guitarist for U.K. indie soul-rock titans The Heavy, of the band’s audacious new album, The Glorious Dead, to be released on Counter/Ninja Tune on 21 August 2012. “We wanted to make a bold statement – it’s not shy.”

“It’s over the top, in a good way,” adds Heavy frontman Kelvin Swaby. “We went pretty cinematic, setting out to score a film that hasn’t been written.” As such, The Glorious Dead proves The Heavy’s most ambitious effort: Frankensteining swampy voodoo and b-movie zombies with garage rock and Gospel-soaked soul, it’s unlike anything you’ll hear this year.

The Glorious Dead builds off momentum from The Heavy’s international smash single “How You Like Me Now?,” off acclaimed 2009 album, The House That Dirt Built. “How You Like Me Now?” became the first song David Letterman’s ever requested an encore for when The Heavy played the “Late Show,” and appeared everywhere from “Entourage,” Academy Award-nominated film The Fighter, and the trailer for the new Mark Wahlberg comedy Ted – and was even performed by contestant Tony Lucca on NBC’s hit show “The Voice.” “It’s become such a big tune, people ask, ‘How are you going to top that?’,” Swaby says. The Glorious Dead provides the answer with supernatural force. Album opener “Can’t Play Dead” thunders as if Jack White remixed “Ghost Town” by The Specials; “Curse Me Good,” meanwhile, balances sweet whistled hooks and acoustic strum with heartbreaking vocals. “It’s good to have a bit of light and shade,” Taylor explains. As such, the album’s soaring centerpiece “What Makes A Good Man?” contrasts Swaby’s gritty soul searching with girl-group backgrounds and epic strings. “Think vintage, but keep it contemporary – that’s our approach,” Swaby explains. “…Good Man?” proved the album’s breakthrough. Searching for inspiration, The Heavy traveled from their Bath, England hometown to Columbus, Georgia, hooking up with local church-trained singers and players for some Southern Gothic sublimity. Taking the material to yet another level was Gabriel “Bosco Mann” Roth of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, who added string and horn parts to four songs. “He’s such a talent,” Swaby enthuses.

The Glorious Dead also represents the first time The Heavy’s members – which in addition to Taylor and Swaby include Spencer Page (bass) and Chris Ellul (drums) – chose to produce themselves. To mix the results, the band first worked with longtime associate Jim Abbiss (Adele, Arctic Monkeys) at Peter Gabriel’s famed Real World complex, then finished up with Paul Corkett (The Cure, Nick Cave, Björk). “Self-producing was all about being self-sufficient in realizing our vision,” Taylor says. “It’s our third record, which is when you’re judged if you’re here to stay, or sliding off the face of the earth. We want to stick around, so we took our balls out and went for it.” “I love what we’ve done,” adds Swaby. “We got our deadpan heartbreak down. This record suggests how we continue to walk among the dead – now just in a few more places, and with more of a swagger.”

[links] =>

www.theheavy.co.uk

Facebook
Twitter
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[image_upload_id] => 16903 [label_id] => 5 [twitter_username] => theheavy [instagram_id] => 217232350 [instagram_username] => theheavy [link] => [listed] => 1 [sortname] => Heavy [created] => 2010-07-17 22:15:59 [modified] => 2013-05-03 14:56:03 [slug] => the-heavy [fuga_id] => [description_clean] =>

“What the hell were we thinking?,” exclaims Dan Taylor, guitarist for U.K. indie soul-rock titans The Heavy, of the band’s audacious new album, The Glorious Dead, to be released on Counter/Ninja Tune on 21 August 2012. “We wanted to make a bold statement – it’s not shy.”

“It’s over the top, in a good way,” adds Heavy frontman Kelvin Swaby. “We went pretty cinematic, setting out to score a film that hasn’t been written.” As such, The Glorious Dead proves The Heavy’s most ambitious effort: Frankensteining swampy voodoo and b-movie zombies with garage rock and Gospel-soaked soul, it’s unlike anything you’ll hear this year.

The Glorious Dead builds off momentum from The Heavy’s international smash single “How You Like Me Now?,” off acclaimed 2009 album, The House That Dirt Built. “How You Like Me Now?” became the first song David Letterman’s ever requested an encore for when The Heavy played the “Late Show,” and appeared everywhere from “Entourage,” Academy Award-nominated film The Fighter, and the trailer for the new Mark Wahlberg comedy Ted – and was even performed by contestant Tony Lucca on NBC’s hit show “The Voice.” “It’s become such a big tune, people ask, ‘How are you going to top that?’,” Swaby says. The Glorious Dead provides the answer with supernatural force. Album opener “Can’t Play Dead” thunders as if Jack White remixed “Ghost Town” by The Specials; “Curse Me Good,” meanwhile, balances sweet whistled hooks and acoustic strum with heartbreaking vocals. “It’s good to have a bit of light and shade,” Taylor explains. As such, the album’s soaring centerpiece “What Makes A Good Man?” contrasts Swaby’s gritty soul searching with girl-group backgrounds and epic strings. “Think vintage, but keep it contemporary – that’s our approach,” Swaby explains. “…Good Man?” proved the album’s breakthrough. Searching for inspiration, The Heavy traveled from their Bath, England hometown to Columbus, Georgia, hooking up with local church-trained singers and players for some Southern Gothic sublimity. Taking the material to yet another level was Gabriel “Bosco Mann” Roth of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, who added string and horn parts to four songs. “He’s such a talent,” Swaby enthuses.

The Glorious Dead also represents the first time The Heavy’s members – which in addition to Taylor and Swaby include Spencer Page (bass) and Chris Ellul (drums) – chose to produce themselves. To mix the results, the band first worked with longtime associate Jim Abbiss (Adele, Arctic Monkeys) at Peter Gabriel’s famed Real World complex, then finished up with Paul Corkett (The Cure, Nick Cave, Björk). “Self-producing was all about being self-sufficient in realizing our vision,” Taylor says. “It’s our third record, which is when you’re judged if you’re here to stay, or sliding off the face of the earth. We want to stick around, so we took our balls out and went for it.” “I love what we’ve done,” adds Swaby. “We got our deadpan heartbreak down. This record suggests how we continue to walk among the dead – now just in a few more places, and with more of a swagger.”

[links_clean] =>

www.theheavy.co.uk

Facebook
Twitter
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) ) ) [5] => Array ( [Event] => Array ( [id] => 9935 [date] => 2012-06-29 [artist] => Mr. Scruff [city] => Birmingham [state] => [country] => GB [venue] => Mostly Jazz Festival [promoter] => [description] => [ticket_url] => http://www.mrscruff.com/showscreen.php?site_id=9&screentype=folder&screenid=211&eventsaction=showeventdetails&event_id=7819 [image_upload_id] => 4258 [created] => 2012-04-27 15:14:42 [modified] => 2012-04-27 15:14:42 [year_slug] => 2012 [month_slug] => jun [day_slug] => 29 [slug] => mr-scruff-birmingham-mostly-jazz-festival [description_clean] => [products_count] => 0 [hidden] => 0 ) [Image] => Array ( [id] => 4258 [media_type] => image [artist] => Mr. Scruff [title] => Mr Scruff - Promo Shot - Jul 2010 [credits] => [buy_link] => [filename] => images/mr-scruff/IMG-1475t.jpg [checksum] => b13eaf311c76808c1e30ca7cdd949857 [mime_type] => image/jpeg [size] => 4651812 [external_url] => http://media.ninjatune.net/images/mr-scruff/IMG-1475t.jpg [image_upload_id] => [first_track_id] => [first_release_id] => [listed] => 0 [active] => 1 [processed] => 1 [artist_slug] => mr-scruff [slug] => mr-scruff-promo-shot-jul-2010 [created] => 2010-11-24 04:22:40 [modified] => 2010-11-24 04:22:40 [embed] => ) [Country] => Array ( [id] => 208 [name] => United Kingdom [longname] => United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [numcode] => 826 [iso] => GB [iso3] => GBR [currency] => GBP [active] => 1 [parent_id] => 191 [lft] => 413 [rght] => 414 [level] => 2 ) [Product] => Array ( ) [Artist] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [id] => 40 [name] => Mr. Scruff [description] =>

A lot of things have happened since a young Andy Carthy started answering to the name Mr Scruff, making a name for himself under the shadow of Manchester's mid 90s club scene. Releasing three critically acclaimed albums, selling over half a million records worldwide and playing countless tours and club events has cemented his now legendary DJ status; this is a DJ that can sell out the 1600 capacity London KoKo armed only with his records, some turntables and a few spare packets of teabags.

More than that, Scruff has established himself as a general guarantor of quirkiness and quality, so much so that when his range of speciality teas were launched they became the 5th best selling grocery product in the long and illustrious history of Selfridge's Food Hall (see www.makeusabrew.com for more tea shenanigans). His 'CUP' tea shop in Manchester packs in the punters and the now legendary travelling tea stall is a firm favourite at Scruff gigs & festivals all over the UK. Meanwhile, his wobbly potato people adorn t-shirts, brollies and even people's bodies worldwide (Ninja Tune has been sent documentary evidence of this phenomenon...)

But who are we to tell you the full-story? Over to you Andy...

Greetings! I am Mr. Scruff, DJ, Producer, Cartoonist & Tea Drinker. As a DJ, I play across the board, including Soul, Funk, Hip Hop, Jazz, Reggae, Latin, African, Ska, Disco, House, Funk, Breaks, Soundtracks and loads more. I make music that draws on these influences, with a large dose of cheek and good humour. There follows a rambling overview of what i have been up to for the last 20-odd years...

The event that first sparked my curiosity about music was in the early 1980's when, as a young 2 Tone fan, I discovered a stack of my father's original Blue Beat 7"s, including several Prince Buster songs that had been covered by my then favourite band, Madness. I suddenly realised that the new music I had been listening to had roots that reached far back, and this knowledge inspired me to explore the wider musical world which had just been revealed to me.

I encountered mixing as a 12 year old in late 1984, when a friend of mine played me his uncle's electro records, notably the Streetsounds' LP 'Crucial Electro Volume 2'. At first, I assumed that the reason for there being no gaps between the songs was to fit more on the vinyl, it didn't occur to me the mixing was a creative part of the presentation, and had been carefully thought out.

Soon after I was constructing my own crude pause-button mixtapes, inspired by the Electro compilations and various radio shows on stations such as Piccadilly, and Radio Lancashire & Southside. These shows exposed me to a wide range of dance music, which at the time was a blanket term to cover anything from electro and hip-hop to soul, reggae and early house music. Back then there were far fewer records being released each week, so DJs had to be versatile and play across the board.

As an enthusiastic young music fiend in Stockport, these stations were a lifeline to quality new releases, and exposed me to a lot of older music that I had missed. Little by little I was building a collection fuelled by this knowledge, all the while improving my DJ skills. By 1987 I was proficient at turntable mixing and editing, although I was still using primitive home hi-fi gear. In the summer of 1988 I had my first mix played on Waxmaster's show on the Manchester pirate station WBLS.

Fuelled by this exposure, I took a part time job at Kwik Save and ploughed all my earnings into vinyl. By this time I had a good knowledge of electro, hip hop, house, & 80's soul, and was busy expanding my knowledge of blues, disco, funk, soul, reggae, jazz, African and Latin music. More pause-button mix tapes followed, as did demo tapes of my own early productions. My first break came in 1994, when I met Barney Doodlebug, a DJ/Doodler who was originally from Bristol, and now runs the international Doodlebug events. He gave me my first Manchester gig, in Dry Bar on a Sunday night, and he also passed a demo tape of mine to local label Rob's Records, which resulted in them releasing my first 12" single.

I gained regular bar gigs, as well as a short stint at Manumission alongside fellow Stockport lad Treva Whateva. Following on from this, I became a frequent guest at Headfunk, alongside residents Chubby Grooves & Tom Simba (who went on to form Groove Armada with Andy Cato). This night mutated into Eardrum, a DJ/jam night that I was resident at alongside Chubby, Mark One and Andy Votel. Other Manchester residencies included One Tree Island with Stefano, Guy Morley, Jah Conguero and Funk Boutique; and Dubism, with Guy Morley and Dom from Blood and Fire.

On the recording side, I released further singles for Rob's Records subsidiary Pleasure, as well as sides for Echo Drop, Grand Central & Cup of Tea. My work for Grand Central with Mark Rae inspired some 4-deck club performances, including friendly 'battles' with DJ Food, which introduced me to the Ninja Tune fold. My first remix was a DJ Food megamix for their 'Refried Food' box set in 1996. Then more gigs followed.

Some of my first DJ gigs abroad were with Grand Central in the mid to late 1990's, and following my signing to Ninja Tune in 1999, I did several European tours with the likes of Roots Manuva, The Herbaliser, Dynamic Syncopation & Mixmaster Morris. The release of my Ninja album 'Keep it Unreal' also kick started my Manchester club night of the same name, borne of a desire to play exactly what I wanted, rather than having to fit in with the music policies of other club nights. After a short stint at Planet K, the night moved to the Music Box, where it remains to this day. The success of this night inspired me to take the idea on tour, so that instead of turning up with my records and playing the standard 2 hour guest DJ slot, I would recreate 'Keep it Unreal' in different venues, and play for the whole night. A similar situation occurred in Brighton, where after 7 years of regular gigs with Tru Thoughts' Robert Luis, we started the monthly Etch residency at the Concorde 2 in 2001.

Another logical step for me was radio. It was such a vital part of my own musical education that I jumped at the opportunity to guest on shows such as First Priority's late night function on Kiss 102 in the mid 1990's, as well as the many RSL stations that had one month licences. It was on these that I joined forces with Treva Whateva to present the 'Hot Pot' show. The show then progressed to the national Student Broadcast Network for a few years, and then onto Manchester's Key 103 in 2002 for an 18-month run, as well as a year long stint on the Virgin Trains onboard radio channel.. I am not doing a regular radio show at the moment, although my mixes do feature regularly on shows such as 'Futureboogie' on Kiss 101, and 'Unfold' on Juice 107.2.

I am now in a position where as a DJ I can play a lot of esoteric and unusual music, as playing for the duration of the night enables me to create a very relaxed atmosphere, before increasing the energy levels at my own pace, taking in many kinds of music along the way. Over the course of a night the music can include blues, jazz, soul, funk, 60's R&B, disco, boogie, deep house, reggae, ska, rocksteady, dancehall, electronica, electro, hip hop, african, latin, drum & bass, breakbeat, and any combination of the above. The only real criteria is that the music has to have soul!

Although I am a fairly technical DJ, it is vital to remember that the most important skill for a DJ is to play great records in the right order. Each record must complement the one before, and introduce the one that follows. Beatmatching is an obvious way of linking records, but there are other common factors, such as lyrical themes & complimentary keys that a DJ can use to aid the transition. Each piece of music has a mood and an energy level, and orchestrated carefully, you can create an atmosphere where every record that comes in is precisely right for that moment.

[links] =>

www.mrscruff.com

Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud

[image_upload_id] => 4258 [label_id] => 1 [twitter_username] => mrscruff1 [instagram_id] => [instagram_username] => [link] => [listed] => 1 [sortname] => Mr. Scruff [created] => 2010-07-17 22:15:58 [modified] => 2013-01-08 14:17:25 [slug] => mr-scruff [fuga_id] => [description_clean] =>

A lot of things have happened since a young Andy Carthy started answering to the name Mr Scruff, making a name for himself under the shadow of Manchester's mid 90s club scene. Releasing three critically acclaimed albums, selling over half a million records worldwide and playing countless tours and club events has cemented his now legendary DJ status; this is a DJ that can sell out the 1600 capacity London KoKo armed only with his records, some turntables and a few spare packets of teabags.

More than that, Scruff has established himself as a general guarantor of quirkiness and quality, so much so that when his range of speciality teas were launched they became the 5th best selling grocery product in the long and illustrious history of Selfridge's Food Hall (see www.makeusabrew.com for more tea shenanigans). His 'CUP' tea shop in Manchester packs in the punters and the now legendary travelling tea stall is a firm favourite at Scruff gigs & festivals all over the UK. Meanwhile, his wobbly potato people adorn t-shirts, brollies and even people's bodies worldwide (Ninja Tune has been sent documentary evidence of this phenomenon...)

But who are we to tell you the full-story? Over to you Andy...

Greetings! I am Mr. Scruff, DJ, Producer, Cartoonist & Tea Drinker. As a DJ, I play across the board, including Soul, Funk, Hip Hop, Jazz, Reggae, Latin, African, Ska, Disco, House, Funk, Breaks, Soundtracks and loads more. I make music that draws on these influences, with a large dose of cheek and good humour. There follows a rambling overview of what i have been up to for the last 20-odd years...

The event that first sparked my curiosity about music was in the early 1980's when, as a young 2 Tone fan, I discovered a stack of my father's original Blue Beat 7"s, including several Prince Buster songs that had been covered by my then favourite band, Madness. I suddenly realised that the new music I had been listening to had roots that reached far back, and this knowledge inspired me to explore the wider musical world which had just been revealed to me.

I encountered mixing as a 12 year old in late 1984, when a friend of mine played me his uncle's electro records, notably the Streetsounds' LP 'Crucial Electro Volume 2'. At first, I assumed that the reason for there being no gaps between the songs was to fit more on the vinyl, it didn't occur to me the mixing was a creative part of the presentation, and had been carefully thought out.

Soon after I was constructing my own crude pause-button mixtapes, inspired by the Electro compilations and various radio shows on stations such as Piccadilly, and Radio Lancashire & Southside. These shows exposed me to a wide range of dance music, which at the time was a blanket term to cover anything from electro and hip-hop to soul, reggae and early house music. Back then there were far fewer records being released each week, so DJs had to be versatile and play across the board.

As an enthusiastic young music fiend in Stockport, these stations were a lifeline to quality new releases, and exposed me to a lot of older music that I had missed. Little by little I was building a collection fuelled by this knowledge, all the while improving my DJ skills. By 1987 I was proficient at turntable mixing and editing, although I was still using primitive home hi-fi gear. In the summer of 1988 I had my first mix played on Waxmaster's show on the Manchester pirate station WBLS.

Fuelled by this exposure, I took a part time job at Kwik Save and ploughed all my earnings into vinyl. By this time I had a good knowledge of electro, hip hop, house, & 80's soul, and was busy expanding my knowledge of blues, disco, funk, soul, reggae, jazz, African and Latin music. More pause-button mix tapes followed, as did demo tapes of my own early productions. My first break came in 1994, when I met Barney Doodlebug, a DJ/Doodler who was originally from Bristol, and now runs the international Doodlebug events. He gave me my first Manchester gig, in Dry Bar on a Sunday night, and he also passed a demo tape of mine to local label Rob's Records, which resulted in them releasing my first 12" single.

I gained regular bar gigs, as well as a short stint at Manumission alongside fellow Stockport lad Treva Whateva. Following on from this, I became a frequent guest at Headfunk, alongside residents Chubby Grooves & Tom Simba (who went on to form Groove Armada with Andy Cato). This night mutated into Eardrum, a DJ/jam night that I was resident at alongside Chubby, Mark One and Andy Votel. Other Manchester residencies included One Tree Island with Stefano, Guy Morley, Jah Conguero and Funk Boutique; and Dubism, with Guy Morley and Dom from Blood and Fire.

On the recording side, I released further singles for Rob's Records subsidiary Pleasure, as well as sides for Echo Drop, Grand Central & Cup of Tea. My work for Grand Central with Mark Rae inspired some 4-deck club performances, including friendly 'battles' with DJ Food, which introduced me to the Ninja Tune fold. My first remix was a DJ Food megamix for their 'Refried Food' box set in 1996. Then more gigs followed.

Some of my first DJ gigs abroad were with Grand Central in the mid to late 1990's, and following my signing to Ninja Tune in 1999, I did several European tours with the likes of Roots Manuva, The Herbaliser, Dynamic Syncopation & Mixmaster Morris. The release of my Ninja album 'Keep it Unreal' also kick started my Manchester club night of the same name, borne of a desire to play exactly what I wanted, rather than having to fit in with the music policies of other club nights. After a short stint at Planet K, the night moved to the Music Box, where it remains to this day. The success of this night inspired me to take the idea on tour, so that instead of turning up with my records and playing the standard 2 hour guest DJ slot, I would recreate 'Keep it Unreal' in different venues, and play for the whole night. A similar situation occurred in Brighton, where after 7 years of regular gigs with Tru Thoughts' Robert Luis, we started the monthly Etch residency at the Concorde 2 in 2001.

Another logical step for me was radio. It was such a vital part of my own musical education that I jumped at the opportunity to guest on shows such as First Priority's late night function on Kiss 102 in the mid 1990's, as well as the many RSL stations that had one month licences. It was on these that I joined forces with Treva Whateva to present the 'Hot Pot' show. The show then progressed to the national Student Broadcast Network for a few years, and then onto Manchester's Key 103 in 2002 for an 18-month run, as well as a year long stint on the Virgin Trains onboard radio channel.. I am not doing a regular radio show at the moment, although my mixes do feature regularly on shows such as 'Futureboogie' on Kiss 101, and 'Unfold' on Juice 107.2.

I am now in a position where as a DJ I can play a lot of esoteric and unusual music, as playing for the duration of the night enables me to create a very relaxed atmosphere, before increasing the energy levels at my own pace, taking in many kinds of music along the way. Over the course of a night the music can include blues, jazz, soul, funk, 60's R&B, disco, boogie, deep house, reggae, ska, rocksteady, dancehall, electronica, electro, hip hop, african, latin, drum & bass, breakbeat, and any combination of the above. The only real criteria is that the music has to have soul!

Although I am a fairly technical DJ, it is vital to remember that the most important skill for a DJ is to play great records in the right order. Each record must complement the one before, and introduce the one that follows. Beatmatching is an obvious way of linking records, but there are other common factors, such as lyrical themes & complimentary keys that a DJ can use to aid the transition. Each piece of music has a mood and an energy level, and orchestrated carefully, you can create an atmosphere where every record that comes in is precisely right for that moment.

[links_clean] =>

www.mrscruff.com

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) ) ) [6] => Array ( [Event] => Array ( [id] => 10054 [date] => 2012-06-29 [artist] => Toddla T [city] => Winchester [state] => [country] => GB [venue] => Blissfields Festival [promoter] => [description] => [ticket_url] => https://blissfields.intrabench.com/?showBookEvent1&EVENTID=56&TID=18 [image_upload_id] => 17050 [created] => 2012-05-14 16:29:11 [modified] => 2012-06-29 11:40:47 [year_slug] => 2012 [month_slug] => jun [day_slug] => 29 [slug] => toddla-t-winchester-blissfields-festival [description_clean] => [products_count] => 0 [hidden] => 0 ) [Image] => Array ( [id] => 17050 [media_type] => image [artist] => Toddla T [title] => Toddla T summer 2012 tour NO BESTIVAL [credits] => [buy_link] => [filename] => images/toddla-t/TTTourPosterWEB.jpg [checksum] => 6b630086bdd0a4ef86851d1843c2f159 [mime_type] => image/jpeg [size] => 118796 [external_url] => http://media.ninjatune.net/images/toddla-t/TTTourPosterWEB.jpg [image_upload_id] => [first_track_id] => [first_release_id] => [listed] => 0 [active] => 1 [processed] => 1 [artist_slug] => toddla-t [slug] => toddla-t-summer-2012-tour-no-bestival [created] => 2012-06-29 11:35:39 [modified] => 2012-06-29 11:35:46 [embed] => ) [Country] => Array ( [id] => 208 [name] => United Kingdom [longname] => United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [numcode] => 826 [iso] => GB [iso3] => GBR [currency] => GBP [active] => 1 [parent_id] => 191 [lft] => 413 [rght] => 414 [level] => 2 ) [Product] => Array ( ) [Artist] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [id] => 95 [name] => Toddla T [description] =>

Do U Know Toddla T? 

In 2007 Toddla T (aka Tom Bell) was working in a shoe shop in his hometown of Sheffield. Then just 19 and living at home with his parents, he DJ'd at weekends and was producing beats and tracks with his friend Scott as Small Arms Fiya.

Now it's 2011 Toddla T is making the finishing touches to his second album on the legendary Ninja Tune label, has a regular slot on BBC Radio 1, and has produced tracks for some of the UK urban scenes biggest stars (hands up Tinchy, Jammer, Bashy, Roots Manuva and Ms Dynamite). 

He DJ's around the globe, has a slew of remixes under his belt (Hot Chip, Gyptian, Gorillaz, Major Lazer for starters), is a star of his own Toddla TV channel online and has worked in studios from Kingston Jamaica to Kingston upon Hull. Not to mention the recent launch of his Girls Music Label which, after only three releases has already featured productions by British dance music heroes Sticky and Roska.

So how do you get to be one of the leading lights of UK dance music in 4 short years?

Much can be attributed to Toddla’s phenomenal talent, drive and ambition. He has good taste and keen eyes and ears in all elements of British youth culture. However, the man himself modestly explains that it has just as much to do with the sea change which has taken place in British Pop music in the last few years. 

When Toddla first started taking to the decks outside of his home town he was worried that no one would "get it" and to start with, many didn't. (Listen to the track "Roadtrip" from debut album Skanky Skanky to hear an amusing account of just such a night). No one could quite work out who Toddla was. Was he an MC? or the producer at the front of a now forgotten, media created "UK Digi-Dancehall revolution"? Was that skinny white kid the voice singing about Rice n Peas? Surely not.

Not allowing this confusion to get in his way T stuck to his guns. He could smell a change in the air and knew that what he was doing was worth sticking with. He made a mixtape, The Toddla T Ghettoblaster Vol.1 in 2008 and put it up for free online. It was downloaded by more than 10,000 people, was brilliantly received and announced Toddla as a talent to be watched. People other than club promoters and other DJ's started to hear about him and his club sets started to get more and more busy with people who were there to see him. Longtime studio spar and MC Serocee joined him on the road and the pair started to travel far and wide around the UK spreading the good word. 

His debut album Skanky Skanky was released in January 2009, this was followed by a Fabric live mix album and a lot of requests for his production skills with everyone from Major Lazer to Grandmaster Flash getting in touch. Over a Guinness or two in his new London local (he decamped from Sheffield to the capital in 2010) Toddla reflects on the last couple of "pretty crazy years", the current UK scene and sets out his stall for what promises to be a very busy and successful 2011. 

"When I was first signed (to 1965 Records) every kid wanted to be in a band. The Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines and all that were really popular, me and my mates who were into Notorious B.I.G and dancehall were really in the minority. Nowadays kids want to be Skream and Benga, or Tinchy or N-Dubz and because of that all their points of musical reference have changed" 

It's true, there has been a huge shift in musical aesthetic, away from the skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors of The Strokes and the seemingly never-ending bandwagon that followed. What Toddla's saying here is borne out of the recently released statistic that rock music has had its worst year in the UK charts since 1960 with only 3 rock bands making it into the top 100 songs of 2010.

As a backdrop to Dizzee, Tinie, Tinchy et al storming the charts, the explosion of dubstep and subsequent re-evaluation of bass-driven, UK club music has seen a major shift in what people aged 15 - 25 are raving to. Where Soulwax and SMD and their like were ruling the clubs 2002 - 2006 nowadays seasoned campaigners like Shy FX and David Rodigan are championed by kids who weren't born when they were first spinning records.

Watch Me Dance is a bold step forward for Toddla T. Fans of Skanky Skanky will find plenty that will please them but for the countless thousands of clubbers who know Toddla T the DJ but haven't heard his productions this second album may come as a surprise. Toddla explains... 

"I've been busiest in the last two years as a DJ, so of course this album has a big dose of the sounds and production techniques that I'm out there representing in the clubs every weekend but if you're looking for tops-off jungle or 4x4 bassline tearouts you won't find them here. This is definitely still a record for clubbers, but it's the one they'll listen to at home with their mates or every day on the way to work" 

In Watch Me Dance Toddla has created a dubwise, street-soul masterpiece. In a typically precocious reference to records that were made when he was 4 and 10 years old respectively Toddla sums it up. "A bit of the Soul from Soul II Soul Club Classics and a bit of the Left-field from Leftism, I've been listening to those now and again, they took in a whole load of club music and made an album that summed something up and were great to listen to at the same time." 

Amen to that.

Watch Me Dance is released on Ninja Tune on 22 August 2011.

[links] =>

www.toddlat.com

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[image_upload_id] => 16079 [label_id] => 1 [twitter_username] => toddlat [instagram_id] => 7231711 [instagram_username] => toddlat [link] => [listed] => 1 [sortname] => Toddla T [created] => 2010-07-17 22:15:59 [modified] => 2013-05-03 14:57:03 [slug] => toddla-t [fuga_id] => [description_clean] =>

Do U Know Toddla T? 

In 2007 Toddla T (aka Tom Bell) was working in a shoe shop in his hometown of Sheffield. Then just 19 and living at home with his parents, he DJ'd at weekends and was producing beats and tracks with his friend Scott as Small Arms Fiya.

Now it's 2011 Toddla T is making the finishing touches to his second album on the legendary Ninja Tune label, has a regular slot on BBC Radio 1, and has produced tracks for some of the UK urban scenes biggest stars (hands up Tinchy, Jammer, Bashy, Roots Manuva and Ms Dynamite). 

He DJ's around the globe, has a slew of remixes under his belt (Hot Chip, Gyptian, Gorillaz, Major Lazer for starters), is a star of his own Toddla TV channel online and has worked in studios from Kingston Jamaica to Kingston upon Hull. Not to mention the recent launch of his Girls Music Label which, after only three releases has already featured productions by British dance music heroes Sticky and Roska.

So how do you get to be one of the leading lights of UK dance music in 4 short years?

Much can be attributed to Toddla’s phenomenal talent, drive and ambition. He has good taste and keen eyes and ears in all elements of British youth culture. However, the man himself modestly explains that it has just as much to do with the sea change which has taken place in British Pop music in the last few years. 

When Toddla first started taking to the decks outside of his home town he was worried that no one would "get it" and to start with, many didn't. (Listen to the track "Roadtrip" from debut album Skanky Skanky to hear an amusing account of just such a night). No one could quite work out who Toddla was. Was he an MC? or the producer at the front of a now forgotten, media created "UK Digi-Dancehall revolution"? Was that skinny white kid the voice singing about Rice n Peas? Surely not.

Not allowing this confusion to get in his way T stuck to his guns. He could smell a change in the air and knew that what he was doing was worth sticking with. He made a mixtape, The Toddla T Ghettoblaster Vol.1 in 2008 and put it up for free online. It was downloaded by more than 10,000 people, was brilliantly received and announced Toddla as a talent to be watched. People other than club promoters and other DJ's started to hear about him and his club sets started to get more and more busy with people who were there to see him. Longtime studio spar and MC Serocee joined him on the road and the pair started to travel far and wide around the UK spreading the good word. 

His debut album Skanky Skanky was released in January 2009, this was followed by a Fabric live mix album and a lot of requests for his production skills with everyone from Major Lazer to Grandmaster Flash getting in touch. Over a Guinness or two in his new London local (he decamped from Sheffield to the capital in 2010) Toddla reflects on the last couple of "pretty crazy years", the current UK scene and sets out his stall for what promises to be a very busy and successful 2011. 

"When I was first signed (to 1965 Records) every kid wanted to be in a band. The Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines and all that were really popular, me and my mates who were into Notorious B.I.G and dancehall were really in the minority. Nowadays kids want to be Skream and Benga, or Tinchy or N-Dubz and because of that all their points of musical reference have changed" 

It's true, there has been a huge shift in musical aesthetic, away from the skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors of The Strokes and the seemingly never-ending bandwagon that followed. What Toddla's saying here is borne out of the recently released statistic that rock music has had its worst year in the UK charts since 1960 with only 3 rock bands making it into the top 100 songs of 2010.

As a backdrop to Dizzee, Tinie, Tinchy et al storming the charts, the explosion of dubstep and subsequent re-evaluation of bass-driven, UK club music has seen a major shift in what people aged 15 - 25 are raving to. Where Soulwax and SMD and their like were ruling the clubs 2002 - 2006 nowadays seasoned campaigners like Shy FX and David Rodigan are championed by kids who weren't born when they were first spinning records.

Watch Me Dance is a bold step forward for Toddla T. Fans of Skanky Skanky will find plenty that will please them but for the countless thousands of clubbers who know Toddla T the DJ but haven't heard his productions this second album may come as a surprise. Toddla explains... 

"I've been busiest in the last two years as a DJ, so of course this album has a big dose of the sounds and production techniques that I'm out there representing in the clubs every weekend but if you're looking for tops-off jungle or 4x4 bassline tearouts you won't find them here. This is definitely still a record for clubbers, but it's the one they'll listen to at home with their mates or every day on the way to work" 

In Watch Me Dance Toddla has created a dubwise, street-soul masterpiece. In a typically precocious reference to records that were made when he was 4 and 10 years old respectively Toddla sums it up. "A bit of the Soul from Soul II Soul Club Classics and a bit of the Left-field from Leftism, I've been listening to those now and again, they took in a whole load of club music and made an album that summed something up and were great to listen to at the same time." 

Amen to that.

Watch Me Dance is released on Ninja Tune on 22 August 2011.

[links_clean] =>

www.toddlat.com

Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud

) ) ) [7] => Array ( [Event] => Array ( [id] => 10211 [date] => 2012-06-29 [artist] => Starkey [city] => Montreal [state] => [country] => CA [venue] => Le Belmont [promoter] => [description] => Starkey at Le Belmont, Montreal, Free before 11pm, $5 after. [ticket_url] => [image_upload_id] => 17014 [created] => 2012-06-22 10:40:17 [modified] => 2012-06-22 10:40:17 [year_slug] => 2012 [month_slug] => jun [day_slug] => 29 [slug] => starkey-montreal-le-belmont [description_clean] =>

Starkey at Le Belmont, Montreal, Free before 11pm, $5 after.

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Starkey continues Ninja Tune's fine run of EP's with Open The Pod Bay Doors,  the kind of transcendental, melodic and immaculately produced music that will see Starkey fit in nicely within the label's roster. The EP is a good example of Starkey's (aka PJ Geissinger from Philadelphia) multifaceted and genre-crossing talents as a producer that have been gaining much acclaim ever since his 2005 debut. Starkey's original grime and bass leaning productions can be heard throughout (his own Seclusiasis label is at forefront of Street Bass in the USA), especially on "'Rayguns" and "Blood Roses", but it's his compositional talents and more delicate blemishes seeping into his beats which are really starting to make Starkey stand out. Lead track "Open The Pod Bay Doors" is an epic statement of intent that builds in the most beguiling of ways, at once melodic, futuristic and tough.

Starkey comes with much support. He has been heralded in Pitchfork, FACT, The Wire, DJ Mag, Radio 1 and chosen by Mistajam on 1Xtra as one of the first DJ's for his new Daily Dose of Dubstep residency. He has worked with Tinie Tempah, Trim, Virus Syndicate, Kozzie whilst co-writing/producing with the likes of Guy Sigsworth and Aaron Levinson. This EP will see Starkey build on the huge success of his Space Traitor EPs by pushing experimentalism in bass culture while maintaining a rich melodic and harmonic language. Don't be surprised to see Starkey producing for some of music's biggest names in the not too distant future.

[links] =>

Website

Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud

[image_upload_id] => 16007 [label_id] => 1 [twitter_username] => starkbotbeats [instagram_id] => [instagram_username] => [link] => [listed] => 1 [sortname] => Starkey [created] => 2011-09-22 12:33:36 [modified] => 2013-01-08 15:13:07 [slug] => starkey [fuga_id] => [description_clean] =>

Starkey continues Ninja Tune's fine run of EP's with Open The Pod Bay Doors,  the kind of transcendental, melodic and immaculately produced music that will see Starkey fit in nicely within the label's roster. The EP is a good example of Starkey's (aka PJ Geissinger from Philadelphia) multifaceted and genre-crossing talents as a producer that have been gaining much acclaim ever since his 2005 debut. Starkey's original grime and bass leaning productions can be heard throughout (his own Seclusiasis label is at forefront of Street Bass in the USA), especially on "'Rayguns" and "Blood Roses", but it's his compositional talents and more delicate blemishes seeping into his beats which are really starting to make Starkey stand out. Lead track "Open The Pod Bay Doors" is an epic statement of intent that builds in the most beguiling of ways, at once melodic, futuristic and tough.

Starkey comes with much support. He has been heralded in Pitchfork, FACT, The Wire, DJ Mag, Radio 1 and chosen by Mistajam on 1Xtra as one of the first DJ's for his new Daily Dose of Dubstep residency. He has worked with Tinie Tempah, Trim, Virus Syndicate, Kozzie whilst co-writing/producing with the likes of Guy Sigsworth and Aaron Levinson. This EP will see Starkey build on the huge success of his Space Traitor EPs by pushing experimentalism in bass culture while maintaining a rich melodic and harmonic language. Don't be surprised to see Starkey producing for some of music's biggest names in the not too distant future.

[links_clean] =>

Website

Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud

) ) ) [8] => Array ( [Event] => Array ( [id] => 10135 [date] => 2012-06-29 [artist] => Taylor McFerrin [city] => New York [state] => [country] => US [venue] => Nublu [promoter] => [description] =>

Taylor McFerrin @ Nublu, New York.

[ticket_url] => http://www.ticketfly.com/event/128517 [image_upload_id] => 15196 [created] => 2012-06-06 14:32:35 [modified] => 2012-06-07 16:28:43 [year_slug] => 2012 [month_slug] => jun [day_slug] => 29 [slug] => taylor-mcferrin-new-york-nublu [description_clean] =>

Taylor McFerrin @ Nublu, New York.

[products_count] => 0 [hidden] => 0 ) [Image] => Array ( [id] => 15196 [media_type] => image [artist] => Taylor McFerrin [title] => Taylor McFerrin Press Shot 2011 [credits] => [buy_link] => [filename] => images/taylor-mcferrin/TAYLORMCFERRINPRESSPICbyLaurieMorard.jpg [checksum] => b6f5ac1b137f8ef59f9665fb1821ee3c [mime_type] => image/jpeg [size] => 3468358 [external_url] => http://media.ninjatune.net/images/taylor-mcferrin/TAYLORMCFERRINPRESSPICbyLaurieMorard.jpg [image_upload_id] => [first_track_id] => [first_release_id] => [listed] => 0 [active] => 1 [processed] => 1 [artist_slug] => taylor-mcferrin [slug] => taylor-mcferrin-press-shot-2011 [created] => 2011-02-02 17:39:57 [modified] => 2011-02-02 17:40:10 [embed] => ) [Country] => Array ( [id] => 122 [name] => United States [longname] => United States of America [numcode] => 840 [iso] => US [iso3] => USA [currency] => USD [active] => 1 [parent_id] => 117 [lft] => 241 [rght] => 242 [level] => 2 ) [Product] => Array ( ) [Artist] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [id] => 140 [name] => Taylor McFerrin [description] =>

Taylor McFerrin has sustained an major buzz in the Future Soul scene ever since his 2007 EP 'Broken Vibes' gained heavy rotation by DJ's such as Benji B, Gilles Peterson and Garth Trinidad. His production credits include remixes for The Cinematic Orchestra, Amp Fiddler and Corrine Bailey Rae, as well as album tracks for Jose James and UK Rapper TY.

He has also toured worldwide as a one man show, playing major festivals such as Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, The Big Chill, and Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Festival. In New York alone he has performed at such legendary venues as The Apollo, The Blue Note, Radio City Music Hall and The Lincoln Jazz Center, opening up for artists such as Erykah Badu, the Roots, Nas, Talib Kweli and J* Davey.

His musical style is equally influenced by the legends of 60's / 70's soul and the kings of the Modern Beat Generation. By playing all the instruments on his productions, while also relying heavily on resampling and chopping up his live takes, he has found a sound that bridges those two worlds.

[links] =>

www.taylormcferrin.com

Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud

[image_upload_id] => 15196 [label_id] => 7 [twitter_username] => taylormcferrin [instagram_id] => [instagram_username] => [link] => [listed] => 0 [sortname] => Taylor McFerrin [created] => 2011-02-02 17:39:17 [modified] => 2013-01-08 17:53:31 [slug] => taylor-mcferrin [fuga_id] => [description_clean] =>

Taylor McFerrin has sustained an major buzz in the Future Soul scene ever since his 2007 EP 'Broken Vibes' gained heavy rotation by DJ's such as Benji B, Gilles Peterson and Garth Trinidad. His production credits include remixes for The Cinematic Orchestra, Amp Fiddler and Corrine Bailey Rae, as well as album tracks for Jose James and UK Rapper TY.

He has also toured worldwide as a one man show, playing major festivals such as Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, The Big Chill, and Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Festival. In New York alone he has performed at such legendary venues as The Apollo, The Blue Note, Radio City Music Hall and The Lincoln Jazz Center, opening up for artists such as Erykah Badu, the Roots, Nas, Talib Kweli and J* Davey.

His musical style is equally influenced by the legends of 60's / 70's soul and the kings of the Modern Beat Generation. By playing all the instruments on his productions, while also relying heavily on resampling and chopping up his live takes, he has found a sound that bridges those two worlds.

[links_clean] =>

www.taylormcferrin.com

Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud

) ) ) [9] => Array ( [Event] => Array ( [id] => 10201 [date] => 2012-06-29 [artist] => Starkey [city] => Montreal [state] => [country] => CA [venue] => La Belmont [promoter] => [description] =>

Starkey @ Heads Up, Montreal.

[ticket_url] => [image_upload_id] => 16998 [created] => 2012-06-19 14:35:38 [modified] => 2012-06-19 14:35:38 [year_slug] => 2012 [month_slug] => jun [day_slug] => 29 [slug] => starkey-montreal-la-belmont [description_clean] =>

Starkey @ Heads Up, Montreal.

[products_count] => 0 [hidden] => 0 ) [Image] => Array ( [id] => 16998 [media_type] => image [artist] => Starkey [title] => Starkey at Heads Up Street Event Flyer [credits] => [buy_link] => [filename] => images/starkey/Heads-Up-Flyer-2012-La-Belmont.jpg [checksum] => d068377b746047fe1c7f3dbd49865a50 [mime_type] => image/jpeg [size] => 790336 [external_url] => http://media.ninjatune.net/images/starkey/Heads-Up-Flyer-2012-La-Belmont.jpg [image_upload_id] => [first_track_id] => [first_release_id] => [listed] => 0 [active] => 0 [processed] => 1 [artist_slug] => starkey [slug] => starkey-at-heads-up-street-event-flyer [created] => 2012-06-19 14:32:23 [modified] => 2012-06-19 14:32:31 [embed] => ) [Country] => Array ( [id] => 119 [name] => Canada [longname] => Canada [numcode] => 124 [iso] => CA [iso3] => CAN [currency] => CAD [active] => 1 [parent_id] => 117 [lft] => 235 [rght] => 236 [level] => 2 ) [Product] => Array ( ) [Artist] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [id] => 153 [name] => Starkey [description] =>

Starkey continues Ninja Tune's fine run of EP's with Open The Pod Bay Doors,  the kind of transcendental, melodic and immaculately produced music that will see Starkey fit in nicely within the label's roster. The EP is a good example of Starkey's (aka PJ Geissinger from Philadelphia) multifaceted and genre-crossing talents as a producer that have been gaining much acclaim ever since his 2005 debut. Starkey's original grime and bass leaning productions can be heard throughout (his own Seclusiasis label is at forefront of Street Bass in the USA), especially on "'Rayguns" and "Blood Roses", but it's his compositional talents and more delicate blemishes seeping into his beats which are really starting to make Starkey stand out. Lead track "Open The Pod Bay Doors" is an epic statement of intent that builds in the most beguiling of ways, at once melodic, futuristic and tough.

Starkey comes with much support. He has been heralded in Pitchfork, FACT, The Wire, DJ Mag, Radio 1 and chosen by Mistajam on 1Xtra as one of the first DJ's for his new Daily Dose of Dubstep residency. He has worked with Tinie Tempah, Trim, Virus Syndicate, Kozzie whilst co-writing/producing with the likes of Guy Sigsworth and Aaron Levinson. This EP will see Starkey build on the huge success of his Space Traitor EPs by pushing experimentalism in bass culture while maintaining a rich melodic and harmonic language. Don't be surprised to see Starkey producing for some of music's biggest names in the not too distant future.

[links] =>

Website

Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud

[image_upload_id] => 16007 [label_id] => 1 [twitter_username] => starkbotbeats [instagram_id] => [instagram_username] => [link] => [listed] => 1 [sortname] => Starkey [created] => 2011-09-22 12:33:36 [modified] => 2013-01-08 15:13:07 [slug] => starkey [fuga_id] => [description_clean] =>

Starkey continues Ninja Tune's fine run of EP's with Open The Pod Bay Doors,  the kind of transcendental, melodic and immaculately produced music that will see Starkey fit in nicely within the label's roster. The EP is a good example of Starkey's (aka PJ Geissinger from Philadelphia) multifaceted and genre-crossing talents as a producer that have been gaining much acclaim ever since his 2005 debut. Starkey's original grime and bass leaning productions can be heard throughout (his own Seclusiasis label is at forefront of Street Bass in the USA), especially on "'Rayguns" and "Blood Roses", but it's his compositional talents and more delicate blemishes seeping into his beats which are really starting to make Starkey stand out. Lead track "Open The Pod Bay Doors" is an epic statement of intent that builds in the most beguiling of ways, at once melodic, futuristic and tough.

Starkey comes with much support. He has been heralded in Pitchfork, FACT, The Wire, DJ Mag, Radio 1 and chosen by Mistajam on 1Xtra as one of the first DJ's for his new Daily Dose of Dubstep residency. He has worked with Tinie Tempah, Trim, Virus Syndicate, Kozzie whilst co-writing/producing with the likes of Guy Sigsworth and Aaron Levinson. This EP will see Starkey build on the huge success of his Space Traitor EPs by pushing experimentalism in bass culture while maintaining a rich melodic and harmonic language. Don't be surprised to see Starkey producing for some of music's biggest names in the not too distant future.

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