It seems like only yesterday our little monster was rampaging around the Bay Area like a bass wave on a sugar high. Hard to believe this will be the 5th time the loosely associated autonomous mobile soundsystems of the mutant variety have convened on an undisclosed, secret underground location for maximum sound reinforcement and fun times. That’s right – 2 monstrous walls of sound will be erected, combining the earth-trembling bassbins of 5lowershop & Army of Love with the massive mid-range towers of HAVOCSOUND, crowned by Czech-technology rocket tweeters of the notorious S.P.A.Z. soundsystem for ONE MASSIVE MONSTER OF LOVE 5!!!

Deets: ([More →])

Roni Size, DJ Hype, Dynamite MC and MC Daddy Earl, all appearing at Dublin’s Button Factory on March 16th, thanks to Dublin club promoters Remedy.

More here:
Roni Size and Pendulum Remedy DJ sets.

…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.
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I wonder if Koda’s Oakland crib is littered with bruised and battered amen breaks, too chopped and screwed to run away? Perhaps that’s why I’m sneaking them out of the Bay Area for a much-deserved break. The new EP, Keep On Destroying Amens Volume 1, features 15 killer jungle choons in a 112MB zipper – 100% FREE and as legal as jungle gets. ([More →])

Venetian Snares, recently emerged from his studio with a fresh barrage of breakcore madness, eager to bully our eardrums (again). Dentrimentalist will be unleashed via Planet Mu on July 15th only to spread like a morbidly-popular plague of zombie strippers. If nasty breakcore is what you seek, look no further and listen to 2 MENTAL selections right now! Here’s the audio for “Gentleman” and “Poo Yourself Jason” off Detrimentalist:

Venetian Snares – “Gentleman”:

“Poo Yourself Jason” from Detrimentalist:

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As soon as I saw the lineup for the Bang Face Weekender, I started researching flights to England. It’s that exciting! Alas, the dollar is weak and gas ain’t cheap, so it’s only wishful thinking for now. This happens every year with some music festival or another and the lineups just get more siiiiiick every year. Bang Face hails itself as “A Neo-Rave Explosion of Acid, Jungle, Rave Hardcore, Drum & Bass, Breakcore, Techno, Electronica and Abstract Dance” which only hints at the range of amazing talent presented each year. The 3 day festival takes place at the end of April at Camber Sands and features three different staging areas – the Rave/Jungle/Breakcore Room, The Electro/Bass/Techno Room and a round-the-clock chill-out room. ([More →])

I live in the kind of haus where random zines and propaganda often appear and disappear like time-traveling nomadic visitors. This week, an issue of Cyclic Defrost from January 2005 appeared on the kitchen table. Cyclic Defrost, one of the most exciting and well produced zines on experimental music culture, is based in Australia; and the fact that I picked up an issue from January 2005 and thought it was something fresh will attest to how ahead of the game their content is. This particular issue featured an interview with DJ/Rupture about his travels, his music, his influences, etc. A Boston-native who was living in Barcelona at the time of the interview, Rupture is an extremely active experimentalist who mashes everything from world music to breakcore and makes it sound good. Rupture recently teamed up with one of NYC’s hottest producers, Matt Shadetek, to form the multi-media platform that we often Big Up on this site: Dutty Artz. ([More →])

Roni Size and Cypress Hill inna Drum and Bass style… If I had an ambulance, this is similar to what I’d do with it. But I’d outfit the back with a 10k rig so’s everybody could hear it; like the trucks in the “Poison Dart” video…

Roni Size & Cypress Hill – “Child Of The Wild West”

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Greensleeves is 30! A record store and label that has done so much for reggae music, from roots to jungle, is celebrating 3 decades in business with a double disc compilation release. The album contains 30 songs, each representing a different year in the history of the legendary label and it’s available on CD as well as digital download. Both versions include artwork, sleevenotes and an interview with the founders of Greensleeves.

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Rupert Parkes composes music that you have probably listened to without considering who or what created it. He composed the theme song for the popular tv show “Six Feet Under” and the music that accompanies action scenes in movies like “Invincible” and “The Italian Job.” But Parkes is much more well known for his compositions as Photek, music that could be found in most record bags being lugged around by drum and bass djs in the late 90′s. Photek came into the drum and bass scene when it was thriving, and fell in love with the energy in the music as it was thumping out of huge soundsystems at renegade warehouse parties in the UK. ([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.