…DJ C + Ripley + Kid Kameleon – Surya Dub in San Francisco – May 24, 2008…

DJ C performed an incredible set – full of treats and surprises – at Surya Dub, San Francisco’s BEST dubstep event. The monthly party, held at Club 6 in SF, is hosted by 2 of DJ C’s long-time pals (almost as far back as his Toneburst days in Boston!) – Ripley and Kid Kameleon. Most of the night, I was too busy dancing to remember my duties as a reporter. The string of Top Rankin Selectahs kept the energy high with a mix of dubstep, ragga, jungle and other bass-loaded sounds.
([More →])

Digging through the ([HearingTest]) audio archive for the Top Rankin Tunes of 2007, I discovered that most of my favorites could be summed up as shotta anthems. So, I pulled out 10 tunes for Top Rankin Shotta Anthems of 2007. These selections are from the archive of tunes featured on ([HT]) over the last year: ([More →])

DJ C and Modeselektor remix Ghislain Poirier’s “Blazin,” originally from his No Ground Under LP on Ninja Tune. These 2 versions are not included on the remixes album!

DJ C, Ghislain Poirier, Modeselektor Links

DJ C discusses his “Blazin” remix on Mashit – plus a free download of this song!
Modeselektor music $pace
Ghislain Poirier music $pace

Ghislain Poirier – Montreal’s instigator of electronic mayhem – has a new album called No Ground Under. Ninja Tune released the LP in Canada, but it won’t be released in the US until early 2008. The first single off No Ground Under is the ragga/dancehall tune “Blazin” featuring Face-T. The EP single includes the original album edit and remixes by The Bug and DJ C. In the meantime, here are 2 different remixes of the same song that are not part of either release: a Modeselektor remix and a second remix from DJ C that’s more of a mashup. ([More →])

Some of the hottest musicians in the US’s electronica/ mash-up/ breakcore/ jungle scenes are being reunited this weekend in Boston. Bouncement 2 brings together DJ/rupture, DJ Flack and Wayne And Wax! It’s quite a homecoming for many of these fellas, and well-deserving of a party – Flack is returning from tour down unda, Wayne and Wax recently returned to Bean town after living in Chicago for a bit, and DJ/ rupture started his musical career as a youth in Mass. Unfortunately, noticeably absent from the lineup is long-time Boston resident and Beat Researcher, DJ C who recently moved to Chicago. Nonetheless, this party is going to blow the roof off of the Great Scott! If you are in the area, you can’t afford to miss this much music history being made for a mere $5. ([More →])

Well, it sure took awhile for me to finish editing and uploading the fotos and videos from the last 5lowershop shindig, but alas, here they are!

Doormouse, End.User, Kontroversy 396, Arson, Bonk, HRock, 666 Gangstaz, the_Stapler_, Planetsize, Rtype, Fishstix, Heartworm CELEBRATE THE RECORD RELEASE OF TEEN SUICIDE 002

this was the flyer for the event:

I apologize that so much of the foto and video footage is so dark…it is after all an underground warehouse with minimal lighting except for cool trippy stuff that doesn’t translate well to film.

here are the fotos:

Sorry! Fotos will be back tomorrow.

AND here are the videos:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnvFxD5_PVI]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVI-nBXA8ps]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdlQy2RpQVo]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gfgPnErElM]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac5cWKOcckY]

this one is my favorite: it’s 5am at this point, listen to the crowd still cheering & yelling!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwOcqAKBAwE]

Thanks to everyone who came out an supported this event! Thanks to all the performers – every single one ROCKED the house! This party was off the hook fun until at least 7am! thanks to Doormouse and End.User for traveling to SF to show us a good time! Thanks to local heroes Kontroversy 396, Arson, Bonk, Heartworm, and Fishstix! AND A HUGE BIG UPS AND CONGRATULATIONS TO RTYPE – for getting Teen Suicide 002 pressed to gorgeous vinyl, mastered by the one and only Tim Xavier! Also BIG UPS & THANKS to the Teen Suicide 002 superstars – HROCK, 666 GANGSTAZ, THE_STAPLER_, & PLANETSIZE r.i.p………

To everyone else- you missed out, your only redemption is to be at the next 5lowershop bru-ha.

Here is the info on the record release, Teen Suicide 002 :

previews of the tracks are available at http://www.myspace.com/teensuicide

Teen Suicide 02 – Welcome to Bayshore EP
Four tracks showcasing the best breakcore, hardcore and jungle artists
associated with San Francisco’s 5lowershop soundsystem.

666Gangstaz – Tricknology
A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a hop, skip, and a jump away from Detroit,
Todd Cook (aka 666Gangstaz aka DJ Crackhouse aka the Slime Lord) grew up
equally influenced by Jeff Mills as Soundmurderer and SK-1. His track
“Tricknology” combines the frenetic chaos and vst trickery of breakcore and
IDM with the bass and tempo of dubstep and techno. Don’t worry, a DJ
friendly intro/outro will make it a snap to mix in.

H-Rock – This One is for Ramo (Julian’s Reprise)
Victor Evans is fast becoming a rising star in hardcore techno. His track on
the first Teen Suicide melted clubs from Rotterdam to San Francisco. This
track is even better. A dedication to the movie Beat Street and graffiti
writers worldwide, this track caused teenaged girls to hug and kiss each
other with excitement in Portland. I swear, I was there. H-Rock produces
speedcore and noise as Vankmen. The “H-Rock vs Vankmen EP” is scheduled to
be released as Teen Suicide 04, as well as a debut release on Fathme
Records, good friends of ours. Look out!

The Stapler – Coldf33t
The Staper (aka DJ FVK aka SoFat! Soundsystem aka DJ Heathrow) was first
exposed to ragga jungle and hardcore through squat parties in London’s
notorious Hackney Wick. After moving back to New York City,
the Stapler started SoFat! Soundsystem, playing the finest in dub, ragga
jungle and breakcore. Now a resident of San Francisco, the Stapler has been
producing original and distinctive ragga jungle. You don’t need a duthmaster
to enjoy this, you’ll be hooked with the first bass note.

Planetsize – Binary Brotha
This record is dedicated to the memory Planetsize. A close friend to
everyone involved with Teen Suicide Records and 5lowershop soundsystem, he
passed away shortly before this record came out. “Binary Brotha” is
definitely the most insane track on the record. Breakcore without limits and
designed to rock a soundsystem, the track is also a reminder of what we
lost.

What happened last weekend in Bow, or in the rest of UK for that matter? News from that neighborhood is exploding on Pitchfork this week with new releases from Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Roll Deep, and Joker! i can’t even type fast enough to properly share all the details with you, but i will give it a go, because this sound is hot!

For starters, i have already posted news about Dizzee Rascal’s collaborations with the Arctic Monkeys, Joss Stone, and Lily Allen. Dizzee’s new album is set to drop the same day as Wiley’s latest, and maybe last, solo album. Wiley is the frontman for the self-produced crew of djs, producers, and mc’s known as Roll Deep, of which Dizzee used to ride with. Roll Deep announced yesterday that they will be releasing their Rules & Regulations Vol. 1 on their own label, Roll Deep Recordings. That story is here.

Today Pitchfork published their monthly feature, The Month In: Grime/Dubstep which, this month, exposes grime’s wide reaching influence from UK to NYC to SF. Here are some of the highlights :

Joker, with an album already out on the label, Earwax, and another one on the way on Terrorhythm soon, is bringing a unique video game sound to a genre that has been based largely on smooth rolling drum and synth sounds. He’s been surrounded by some of UK’s hottest and most talented beat producers and mcs, so expect this kid to rise quickly to the spotlight. Also, being so heavily influenced by the grime, dubstep and garage music that has been gaining popularity over the last 5 years, he’s steppin out with a unique interpretation of what other producers have done, sometimes to the point of scrapping the elements thought to be key to the sound. And it still works. He ends up with a new sound that is still very much grime music.

The feature also has lots of good background on the developments in the UK grime scene that has brought some artists into the spotlight, while hiding others away, sometimes by drama and changing allegiances within the music scene, some tangled with the law and lost a lot of time in the studio and served time instead.
But wait, it gets even better! I don’t fully understand why the article suddenly veers over to the US to discuss the budding grime, dubstep, ragga, and dancehall scene, but it mentions 2 crews organizing parties based on this slow, bass heavy sound, one in San Francisco and one in NYC. Reppin the SF side of things, Kid Kameleon not only perfectly sums up the diversity in the music styles, the djs and producers backgrounds, but also with the crowds attending events such as the ones organized by Surya Dub at Club 6 in downtown SF. When you get that far into the article, watch your toes because Kid Kameleon starts droppin names like a B52! Kid Kameleon and Dj Ripley have both participated in the underground soundsystem culture that has been strong in NYC and SF for the last 10 years, as well as making names for themselves around the world, touring with DrumCorps/Aaron Spectre, DJ C of the MashIt ragga jungle/breakcore record label, and Kid 606 of the ragga jungle/breakcore/techno/electronica record labels Tigerbeat6 and Shockout.

And i can’t forget to mention BBC radio, who has been open to these ghetto sounds for quite some time now, and has been very influential in streaming it to an international audience. BBC radio has stations dedicated to playing the current sounds of whats happening in UK studios and on its streets, and is playing a big role in the global interest. there are other stations like RinseFM that are more in touch with the producers, mcs, and djs that have hosted night after night after night of live performances and then immediately posting whole sets online for people everywhere to enjoy for free. But, ever since Barefiles.com disappeared, and some drama has ensued, it has become difficult for anyone outside of the UK to have access to what is current in the scene. So, BBC is the place to watch and listen, even if it’s more due to their staying power than actual credibility.

However, this week they had some very influential and credible artists in the studio, hosting shows, playing music, talking about what’s happening right now, and these shows are not to be missed. BBC archives each show for one week only, so don’t sleep on this!!

BBC 1xtra had Skepta and his mum on the DJ Target show on sunday for UK’s Mother’s Day. We even got to hear him perform his new song, “Sweet Mother”, live on air! That show is here.

On April 21, Roll Deep will be in the studio performing live on Tim Westwood’s show. That link is here.

i think there are actually a few others that i should be posting here, but i’ll have to dig them up. i’ll add them right here, check back tomorrow to see if i found anything.