Quick Timeline:

1979: Nike's Air technology patented by Frank Rudy is introduced in the Tailwind running shoe. Gas-filled plastic membranes are inserted into the sole of running shoes to provide cushioning.

1982: The Air Force 1 basketball shoe becomes the first Nike court shoe to make use of the Air technology.

1984: Nike signs Michael Jordan to an endorsement contract. The first model of his signature shoe, the Air Jordan, originally is banned by the NBA, drawing a tremendous amount of publicity.

1987: The Nike Air Max shoe is introduced, which for the first time makes visible the Nike air bag. A television ad featuring the Beatles song "Revolution" is the first time that a song performed by the Beatles is used in a TV ad.

Nike CEO Mark Parker said in a statement:

“His relentless creativity and focus on solving problems was, in many ways, the template for how Nike pursues performance to this very day.”

Recently, Rudy worked with doctors in both Ohio and New York to fund and help with cancer research, a cause he was intensely committed to serving throughout his life.

Ben Walby, a family friend, said Rudy was a hands-on philanthropist who used his analytic engineering skills to consult with doctors on their work.

"He liked medicine and that was the ultimate puzzle for him," said Walby

"He wasn't one to shy away from the ultimate challenge. The bigger the problem the more complex the problem, the deeper he dug in."

With Nike launching its “Fresh Air” campaign we can only hope that the memory of Frank Rudy will be well preserved and his legacy celebrated on a grand scale.

 


L2S Recordings - the brain child of SubFM head honcho Whistla - has burst out of the blocks with fantastic enthusiasm for the music it pushes, bringing ‘Future Garage’ to the ears of the world in abundance, and then some. The passion is there for all to see – at the time of writing, L2S015 (Demos E.P) is doing the rounds, making that an incredible fifteen releases in around nine months. This almost mind blowing, absolutely relentless release schedule – coupled of course with some relentlessly good tunes – has helped propel L2S Recordings into the spotlight, culminating this year in a DSF Awards nomination for Best New Label, a fantastic achievement.


The speed at which L2S has been able to put out new E.P’s has ultimately led to a vast array of talent being brought to the fore. This has created the opportunity for previously unheralded producers to shine in the public domain, and it is for this that L2S, and Whistla in particular, should really be applauded. In a musical landscape that can be unforgiving for budding artists, L2S Recordings has shown the way, bringing our attention to an incredible amount of exciting talent – from the skippy, ghostly grooves of Clueless, the rustic melee of Cosmic Revenge, and the soothing sounds of Sines, through to the M2J and Sclist bass rollers, the antagonistic synth melodies of Littlefoot, and the bumpy old school UKG vibes of label stalwarts Submerse, there really is something for everybody coming out of L2S right now. And thats not even mentioning Whistla’s own brand of vocal-driven, psychedelic, warped-bass-garage, which is right on so many different levels.


If ‘future garage’ does continue to grow in popularity at its current rate of knots (futuregarageforum.com), then it is a sure fire certainty that when people look back on its humble beginnings , L2S Recordings’ name will be mentioned in hushed tones. Either way, Whistla has gone about it the only way he knows how– a sterling combination of good taste, commitment, and of course, incredible passion for what he and L2S does. With the next couple of releases including another Clueless E.P, as well as from UKG star Duncan Powell, then the future really is bright. In fact, as you probably all know by now, the future’s garage.

Next 4 releases:

L2S016: Dom - Revamp / He Said
L2S017: Duncan Powell - Came Into View E.P
L2S018: Clueless - Santa Cruz E.P
L2S019: Monz - Monz E.P

Frozen Canal Driving

Why you should never try driving down a canal, no matter how frozen it looks...

Persil Massive

Some of you may have heard of the Kersal Massive, they took the Internet my storm with their fresh lyrics a few years ago. These guys hit back with their fresher clothes and their Zanussi 1600. A bit old, but if you haven't seen it, you need to:

The Future Michael Jordan

Another find from Synkro. This kid is pretty sick... The guy doing the commentary isn't so much. Make it, take it....

Football is Dangerous

...when played like this...

Amazing Blind Kid

Remember Faith the bipedal dog? This is pretty inspirational too....
The commentator sounds like a bit of a cock, but the kid is next level.

Bonus Sea Creatures

Nothing particularly funny about this, but well worth looking at if you like your sea creatures extra weird.
What lurks at the bottom of the ocean....

 
EXAMPLE: So Ben youve been into music from a very early age. What were you into before Drum and Bass and Dubstep ?

Ben:i listened to alot of hip hop,trance and house artist's like Big L,NWA, Tiesto and Mario Picotto.

EXAMPLE: how did you get into the bassier frequencies?

Ben:When i heard 'Together' by Logistics. I heard old tape packs from accelerated culture that a friend gave me.

EXAMPLE: You launched your own night "Junkbox" in Blackpool last January. How has its first year gone?

Ben: Junkbox's first year has gone amazingly. After alot of hard work with my Friend 'Electrotrip' who i run it with.it has became a really successfull night and im really excited for next year!

Example: What sort of names have you had down?

Ben:Some names we have had down include..Sappo/Brookes Brothers/Urb N Dub/Navigator(Freestylers) aswell as local support such as Ajay/Luke Ep

Example: How strong is the bass scene in Blackpool?

Ben: The bass scene in blackpool is strong, it is always getting stronger but is very underground which i like. Junkbox and Breakout are the only nights in blackpool but we know how to put on a big BASS party!

Example: You played a residency in Ibiza last summer how was that ?

Ben:I played in Ibiza in the summer which was unreal! i played a residency for 'Prang Ibiza'. i performed at some amazing clubs and boat partys. It was great , the island loves music?

Example: Youv'e performed alongside some big names. Any favourites or interesting stories?

Ben: My personal favorites include Nicky Blackmarket, Brookes Brothers and Danny Bryd. Performing in London was great with Nicky . I played after him with a wicked crowd. The Dj who was playing after me was late or wrecked (not naming anyone) so i got to play for 2hours!

Example: Recently youve turned your hand to productions hows that going and what sort of stuff are you making?

Ben:well i have been producing for 4years now. But with production you are always learning new tricks and it takes a lot of time.Currently im working on a few Liquid Drum & Bass tracks useing Reason 4 and Logic Pro 7. Im hoping to have them realeased on 'Hybrid Records' early next year! so watch out! also i have been producing tech, jacking house with 'Electrotrip' and 'Mjay' its going really well. Expect Big Bass,Crazy Vocals and Good vibes.

Example: So other than hopefully getting some releases in 2010 what else have you got on the cards?

Ben: For 2010 the cards are looking very good. With Junkbox we will be having 12big acts once a month over the year which is exciting . also i plan on Returning to Ibiza for some sun sea and music. haha . Getting gigs's around the UK and Europe and lots of time in the studio.

Example: and finally what tunes can you not live without at the moment and have you got any shouts?

Ben: Sappo-3 times Dope, Sugar Hill-Lenzman,Tropical Funk-XRS,Global Warming- Camo,Rudeboy-Dj Marky shouts to Electrotip,All the Junkbox Family,Decibel,Manchester heads, Example mag, and Everyone who has supported me so far . one love

 

 

Two years on, I’m at uni (well, some of the time) and he’s studying to be a teacher while tearing up the concrete jungle. He's set up GAStation Series, an online skateboarding video series with semi-pro skater Willem Vleugels. The series follows the 'GAStation Pirates' a skate crew made up of 13 guys and a heavy female skater Evelien Bouilliart. Each pirate has a different style and ethos to skating as well as unique perspectives on filming footage, which can be seen from their respective camera play. Most of the pirates come from Korneels' home of Belgium.

The quality and professionalism of the filming and direction of the episodes looks like it’s come straight out of MTV or Extreme TV. There are 10 jaw dropping episodes so far, bringing a dizzying mix of moves and tricks. This is blended with a soundtrack mixed with psychedelic, hip-hop and rock music to compliment their easy going philosophy reminiscent of the Z-Boys skateboarding group of the 1970', but they all share a passion for creative expression through extreme sports. Join them on their journeys from spots all over Europe including the Netherlands and a trip to Barcelona.

You can find all this on their website http://www.gastationseries.com

This series is a must see for any extreme sports enthusiast (and even if you’re not – just watch it anyway!)
 

 
Dubstep finally inched its way into the commercial psyche last year, Skream's La Roux remix became one of the year's biggest tracks and no release was complete without a Dubstep remix. Whilst in the high street clubs, whole nights were taken over by young student rudeboy wannabes whose attitude and grammar had been closely simulated from Youtube grime videos, demanding to hear the kind of wobble that would shake them out of their K holes. Many of the more discerning Dubstep aficionado looked towards artists such as Martyn, Cooly G and Ramadanman, who blurred the boundaries and took their cues from traditional 2 step Garage, tribal and tropical sounding rhythms which snuck in from corners of the UK funky and nu-skool kuduro scenes, as well as minimal Techno influences which crept out of places such as Detroit and Berlin.

Not that the underground didn't chase the filth still, with artists such as High Rankin, 16 bit and Borgore ensuring that the dark side of the force remained strong. In fact, last year more than ever saw the scene both come into its own and turn into something completely different. The depth and diversity truly made it a golden year for Dubstep, but what of this year? Well it's impossible to give a definitive over view of such a sprawling sound but we have chosen a few artists who we feel will go some way to drawing out markers in 2010.

Some of these names will be well known to even the not so hardcore Dubstep aficionados out there, however they are included because this year is set to see them heading even further towards their full potential rather than leaving them behind to buff the departing annals of history. Other names may leave you scratching your heads in bewilderment but all are going to be ones to watch.

Eskmo

Having made something of a name for himself in the Breaks scene, Eskmo first hinted at the Dubstep sound he would eventually develop into on his Willow Grail EP for Studio Rockers back in 2008. However his signature slow rolling tribal crunk style truly came into its own with the Hypercolor EP on Ancestor in the first half of last year.

Very warm and scenic in his productions and with obvious Hip-hop roots, the San Fran native also fits pretty snugly into the West Coast post Hip-hop scene. His latest mix, an event he claims to only bring about once a year, was recorded for Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder camp, whilst Warp Records, who already have that scene well in their sights with releases by Hudson Mohawke, Prefuse 73 and FlyLo himself, are set to release a double A side with his track Lands & Bones on one side and Hendt from fellow San Francisco producer Eprom on the other.

Starkey

Already in many ways a deserving member of the Dubstep establishment, releasing tunes since 2005 and being chosen by Vex'd as one of the next Generation Bass back in the Summer of 08 for Mary Anne Hobb's radio show, the Philly resident first had a taste of UK street music back in 2001 whilst staying in London for a few months and has since gone on to record with the likes of Grime emcees such Kano, Ghetts, Durrty Goodz and Badness.

An accomplished composer who still releases concert music under his Government name, Starkey's debut album on Planet Mu remained fairly raw yet diverse, pulling in influences from Grime, Hip-hop and Dubstep into a mix he prefers to class as 'Street Bass'.

His second album 'Ear Drums and Black Holes' due out in March on the same label looks set to see a maturity in sound, and with remixes on the way for Rusko, Uffie and Mr. Hudson ft. Kanye West amongst others, Starkey is set to cement his place in the Dubstep hall of fame this year.

Joker

Another artist already well established yet set to go from strength to strength in 2010 is young Bristolian Joker. Also a member of Generation Bass (chosen by Kode9) and with a similar taste in deep and filthy funked out synth lines as some of Starkey's later productions (a sound courted by many media types as being Purple, partly due to the Joker & Ginz track Purple City).

His first release was the Kapsize EP on DJ Pinch's Earwax label in 2007 and he has since released tracks on Hyperdub, Tectonic, Plastician's Terrorhythm Recordings and his Kapsize imprint, a label which he runs with Ginz. Expectation is high this year for a debut album, as well as a collaboration album with Silkie, and there will no doubt be many more excellent remixes to follow on from his ones for the likes of Basement Jaxx, Zero 7, Simian Mobile Disco, The Heavy, Riton & Primary 1 and Sean Paul.

We may also see a proper release from his collaboration with Skream (almost certainly under the name Parma Violets).

Brackles

Sometimes the road to recognition can be a long task fraught with foolish moves, and sometimes there are those that just seem to take every right step along the way. Not that Brackles is necessarily a newcomer, having been a DJ, like many of today's new Dubstep stars, since his mid teens.

However, the last couple of years have been more than good to him, with: his Rinse FM show; mixes for FACT, XLR8R and Dazed Digital; singles on Planet Mu, Applepips, Berkane Sol, and Pollen; remixes for the likes of MSTRKRFT, Crystal Fighters, Tempa T and Kid Cudi; and the Blunted Robots label he runs with the equally excellent Shortstuff, releasing the likes of Bok Bok, Mickey Pearce and Brackles younger brother Martin Kemp.

His sound, a kind of ambient yet high energy 2 step style, seems to have struck a major chord with the current club climate and his prestige was heightened by the inclusion of his track LHC on Mary Anne Hobbs' "Wild Angels" compilation. This year sees a follow up single with Planet Mu, a house(-ish) tune dropping on Brainmath, plus there will undoubtedly be plenty of other releases remixes and collaborations to look forwards to.

Joy Orbison

A well worn name on many a 'ones to watch list', so much so that the 22 year old could ride through 2010 on hype alone. However, the prophetic pundits aren't without taste and this young DJ / producer is certainly not without talent. Ever since his soulfully anthemic Garage / Broken Beat debut Hyph Mngo found its way onto the closing moments of a Fabriclive promo mix by Hessle Audio co-boss Ben UFO it started to gather unprecedented praise.

It was eventually released on Scuba's excellent Hotflush recordings, a label which rightly takes pride in its boundary blurring output, and is set to pave the way for many more big releases this year, starting with The Shrew EP on Will Saul's Aus label.

Having been an avid record collector since the age of 11, when his uncle (legendary Drum N Bass producer Ray Keith) started passing him his own releases, and with a fine taste in deep, soulful high energy tracks, expect to see him popping up in many more clubs and festivals near you soon too.

Monkey & Stagga

Wales is often not the first place one looks for exciting new producers, however with artists such as Curtamos, Magenta and Doc Daneeka all starting to make a name for themselves this could be about to change.

Perhaps the most established artists of this kind would have to be Cardiff combination of Monkey & Stagga, who despite having no currently available releases as a duo (there are tracks due this year on Rag & Bone and Monkey's own Sonic Lodge imprint), have been working together for years since their days as a Hip-hop crew called Optimas Prime (the Hip-hop influence is also apparent in their Chrome Kids side project).

Individually their production sound is fairly oppositional, Stagga favouring big and twisted futuristic laser style synths and noises, whilst Monkey has something of a deeper atmospheric yet urgent style. A favourite of DJs like Starkey and Raffertie, Stagga (now based in Berlin) is probably the better known out of the two, however with an ever maturing sound more akin to some of the post-Garage producers we've mentioned this could well prove to be a popular year for Monkey also.

Ikonika

Kode 9's Hyperdub label remains one of the most forward thinking and institutional labels in Dubstep today and so it is no surprise that having a string of hits on the label, Ikonika's productions are more than a bit special. Her tracks so far have been a great contrast of comforting and uncomfortable, playful and grown up, laid back and urgent, with a firm disregard for the rulebook. Although she has provided remixes for heavy hitters Warp and Planet Mu she remains ever faithful to Hyperdub for her releases and they shall be dropping her debut album 'Contact, Love, Want, Have' in the fairly near future.
 

Untold

Another artist with a love of ignoring the rules, the rich diversity in his productions is refreshing yet not confusing, leading to a well rounded rather than unsatisfied artist. Emerging out of the Hessle Audio stable earlier in the year, his reputation spread in forest fire fashion as an exciting artist to keep an eye on.

With his follow up releases and remixes for the likes of Jose James, Ke$ha, Ramadanman and Moderat giving the feel that Untold pours an impressive amount of effort and emotion into a track without being pretentious in the slightest, those keeping an eye were left with them popping out and in a short time he has become a firm favourite of the Dubstep fringes and will no doubt make his way quickly to centre stage over the next few months.
 

George Lenton

With some killer bootleg remixes of the likes of MGMT and King Blues, Lenton soon became something of a blog darling last year. He showed an acute ear for a killer beat and an unquestionable pop sensibility so it was perhaps unsurprising that his original productions would start to gain an equal amount of praise.

The frustrated filth of his track Troll, along with it's well placed ‘Network' sample summed up the mood of the nation perfectly, and as well as Dubstep he also proved himself a worthy Electro and Hip-hop producer. Bobby Digital invited him to do a mini mix for his show on the BBC Asian Network and his tunes started to appear on BBC Radio One, however official releases (remixes for Man Like Me and Erik Hassle) didn't drop until the tail end of the year and his first proper debut, The Price EP is out this month on Wickey Lindows.

James Blake

To compliment his lush, soulful and sometimes sinister production, James has the added bonus that he has a beautiful voice which sits comfortably between soul and anti folk (he is also a singer for Mount Kimbie). His first single, Air & Lack There Of (infact the first tune he ever really wrote) was picked up by Untold for his Hemlock label and also gained its original airing on the same Ben UFO mix as Hyph Mngo. This year he has releases lined up for Hessle, R&S and a beautiful collaboration with Airhead (with whom he recorded his Mary Anne Hobbs mix last year) is due out on Brainmath.
 

Cookie Monsta

Holding it down for the filthy side of the rave with royal rumbling bass and all out kick and snare warfare, Cookie Monsta graduated from the Rusko school of Dubstep with flying honours. Releases so far have been limited to a few downloads through Chemical Records but 2 mixes of all his own productions showed a future force to be reckoned with. He has since signed with Circus Records so expect a few releases through them in the next couple of months plus the year kicked off with a remix he recorded for fresh faced pop rapper Fugitive on Ministry Of Sound's Hard2Beat Records.

 
Example - Right firstly how was 2009 for you?

HLz - Well 2009 was a great year for me, Because after years in the studio things finally started to move properly. With releases on labels like Liquid V and DSM with Mosus and my solo release on Chronic recs. Its very nice when you get great feedback about what you are doing, but I hope things will be even better for 2010.

Example - Yeah I can imagine. As you stated, you've been working with some seriously big labels. Are you set to work with any other big labels this year? Also I hear rumours that Vapours picked you up and signed you to his infamous label 36hertz?

HLz - Yeah true, I've got my first track on 36 hertz label lp "Back to the bass". The track "Clampdown" received massive support from people like Randall, Storm, Goldie, Bailey, so I am very proud about that. And I've another track signed for 36 hertz, may come out in spring time. Really involved into 36 hertz stuff. You know its all about massive basses! A year ago I started to collaborate with Mosus and we ended up naming our project "Need for mirrors" . As need for mirrors we have a lot of release for 2010 already. Our first 12 will be "low tide/narrative" on Nu directions, then a 12" on shogun, a 12" on Footprints (zero t label) an EP on 31 records and a 12" on warm communications. So 2010 I'll be very busy! As need for mirrors we’re going to work even not only on DnB vibes, the need for mirrors we felt the need to draw from everything that we loved about drum & bass and electronic music and reflect it, but to give it a true picture of what we are about.

Example - I was just about to comment on 'Need for mirrors'. Can you name some of the influence's you've had drum and bass and Electronic wise? P.S. it’s ALL ABOUT THE BASS!

HLz - Bass is all! lol!! well about DnB I really like Metalheadz and Valve ,Some of my favourite artists are Goldie, Ed rush and Optical, Keaton, Cause 4 Concern and in last years Commix, Spectrasoul, Vapour, Serum and Bladerunner, Icicle and Nymfo, Zero t, Mosus, Instramental, Kiat……well its a very long list! You know is all about the vibe, And DnB is quite impressive right now, because every day you have a new great producer that comes out. And non DnB influence's I really listen to lots of different stuff, from hard core punk to experimental electronic music. Bands artists that changed my life? Cure, Massive attack, Chemical brothers, Portishead, Sick of it all, Cypress hill and Wu Tang. I do listen to movie composers like Morricone, Erica Serra and Danny Elfman

Example - You seem to have a wide range of musical love. What was the main inspiration to get into production?
 

HLz - Well ,everything started for fun really,then after couple of months I was already a night creature ,spending lot of time learning and trying to get something good. Its just nice make music, you get into your own world and let fly your emotions (and bass of course!)

Example - Sounds like the same situation for a lot of budding talent out there. Too all the people wanting to know your tricks and tips. What's in HLz's studio?

HLz - Production I use Cubase and some hardware synths. I’m not a plug-in eater, I mean I prefer to focus on a set of plug-ins instead of trying a new one everyday. I really work a lot looking for samples and re-sampling drums and bass. My best advice about production is, when possible, to not stay focused always on same drum kit bass sounds, not only cause the vibe could get boring, but even because you just learn different things.

Example - If you only had to play 5 tunes what would they be? And what’s the meaning behind playing them?

HLz – eheh. wow that’s the hardest one.

Example - yeah does get people, usually ask that or what’s you favourite cheese? Lol

HLz – ahahah. well lets try to answer, about DnB right?

Example - the cheese or 5 tunes? Lol

HLz: ahahah right : Inner city life by Goldie, Compound and Kerb Crawler by Ed rush and Optical, Luca by C4C, Bring it on by Keaton and Hive. When I can I still play these tunes in my set, I think they reflect exactly my influence about DnB. But yeah I can say that these tunes gave me great emotions, especially when in clubs!

Example - sweet choices man! Right lastly anything you want to add? Any links to mixes so people of Manchester can catch what HLz brings?

HLz - Yeah! First thanks for the interview, one thing that still surprises me is the passion and love for music that u find in England, just awesome and, when is time, I hope one day to play in Manchester. You can check my music and get in touch with me through:

www.myspace.com/hlzdnb
Need For Mirrors on Facebook
Need For Mirrors on Soundcloud

http:// www.twitter.com/hlz22


 

 
E20 is broadcast exclusively online. In this secret cyberworld accessible only by teenagers who really like, 'get' technology and that, we cool kids can watch the protagonists engage in such outrageous activities as; pretending to be drunk in the street, getting rowdy in a Bible meeting, and, horror of horrors, almost kissing... IN A CUPBOARD!

Even though it comes in mercifully miniscule 10-15 minute episodes, they are still not short enough to avoid the barrage of cliche's, stereotypes, and most cringe-worthy of all: slang. Having obviously made an admirable attempt to portray a realistic array of ethnicities among the cast, the BBC have then proceeded to destroy any positive outcome this might have had by turning them into horrific caricatures of normal human beings. Here two of the characters argue about an incident that happened at Bible group:



'what you screwfacing me for man?'
'You disrespected ma faith, Westwood'
'why you cussin' me?'
'I don't know what I'm most vexed about?!'

Words can't explain how much I connect with these teenagers, they're speaking my language, they are so much like me and my life- finally I feel understood...

Sarcasm aside, I genuinely don't know who this is aimed at or what it's for. I am thankful that it is not on the television screens of the public at large. The most worrying thing about it is that it appears, upon researching, to have been written not by a group of middle aged losers, but be proper actual young people. I can only presume that the years doggedly pursuing fame left no time for them to have a real life on which to base the script.

However, having watched a couple of episodes and taken a look at the website, I can see that the BBC is actually providing a service. What it has actually done is set up a charity for the people who weren't pretty or talented enough to be in Skins. I hope they're grateful.


IMAGE COPYRIGHT BBC

 

This is an important part of the company's belief system, as mass production would dilute the impact of the garments.
The ethos behind the Shining Heroes brand is to provide exclusive clothing with altruistic benefits. The company have promised to always give a percentage of the profits from the direct sales of the clothing towards UK Youth, believing that "looking good can be rewarding for others too."



Catering for both men and women the clothing is loud and exhibitionistic; the slogans and images designed to grab attention. The clothes are available to buy online at www.shiningheroes.bigcartel.com

 
EXAMPLE: Ez

SYNKRO: Ez.

For those who dont know, describe your sound a bit.

Deep,Emotional, ambient, 2 Steppy, garage influenced bass driven music

How did you get into making music?

Basically, played drums since I was about 7 and everything sort of stemmed from there. I've only been making beats on a computer for about 4 years though. I started out making drum and bass, trying to sound like all the hospital stuff at the time, then i just kind of got caught up in dubstep. The autonomic podcasts made me interested in drum and bass again though and now I've actually got a tune coming out on Med School (Hospital records offshoot label).

Describe your tune building process a bit.

I always start with a raw beat and layer on top of that.

Sometimes I can make a tune in a night, other times it can take up to a month, I always get an idea I have down straight away though, whether its a synth idea or a good sample.

What's your personal favourite tune you've made?

Probably 'my own world', there's just something about it. It took two computers to make it, I created the vocals on one computer, which died as soon as i finished them,so it was a memorable tune which was definitely worth all the hassle.

Who would you most like to build a tune with?

Instra:mental or Sven weissman, both amazing producers doing big things.

You make a lot of tunes with Indigo, and your quite involved with his label Mindset, how did you two meet?

He sent me a message on myspace arranging to meet with me, i think he'd heard some of my beats. I thought I was gonna get raped, he looked like a german techno producer. He's all right though.

Who's your biggest non electronic influence?

Tool, definitely. The emotional content and the overall mood in Tool songs is something I definitely try to include when I'm making beats.

What so you were fully into the metal vibe?

Yeah, but influence wise specifically Tool, and a few Pantera songs.

What's going on for you in 2010?

More drum and bass, loads more gigs, and I'm just about to play in Poland and then start my US tour, flying out to San Francisco on the 20th January. Look out for more Mindset stuff as well, it's going to be a big year.

Your making a lot of autonomic drum and bass at the moment, do you see yourself moving more in that direction permanently or are you not keen on putting yourself in one box ?

I'm not sure, I'm not really sure what autonomic is yet. I'm just feeling everything that happening at the moment, especially with ASC,D-Bridge,Consequence,Instra:mental,Abstract elements, Blue Mar Ten,Unquote,Stray, Rockwell .. Its a sound, and I fit in with that sound at the moment. The influences are amazing as well, its definitely what draws me to it. Im always looking to do new stuff, and i don't really ever want to to just label myself with one sound.

Has anything particular about the Manchester scene influenced you?

Xela's from Manchester and he's a massive influence, and I met Skittles and Chunky at city college when I was doing music tech there, and they're both a big part of the scene here now. Chunky is definitely the best Dubstep host i've ever seen and I'm actually remixing a track from Skittles' forthcoming album, which is gonna be sick.

Any tips for anyone making beats?

Keep making them, send them to the people who you think would want to hear them. I took a demo to a night on NYE two years ago and handed it to Rusko, and he played in on Rinse the next day.

What tune was that?

It was Jah Love.

What are your three most played tunes of the moment?

Sven Weissman-Xine Zero.
Xela- Under The Glow Of Streetlights.
Consequence ft D-Bridge-Life is Timing.

Finally, how many spliffs a day actually keeps the demons away?

Seven, roughly.

Synkro
Sven Weisemann
Xela
Consequence
Skittles
Chunky
Autonomic

9: Clever adverts

At number 9 this week is a list of 10 clever adverts that have been built into buildings around the world. If you're bored of the current wave of TV adverts and boring bill boards, this should stir your imagination a bit...

10 Clever Adverts (oddee.com)

8: Horses

Probably not something for any of our younger readers, though rest assured there's no images to accompany the story.

Note the stark wording of the sentence, "charged with a serious sexual offence against a donkey".

Each to their own I suppose

7: That old man on the escalator

Lots of you have probably seen this, but James wets himself every time he sees it so I thought it was worth digging up. [/left]
 

6: Japanese gameshow set in a library

As you can probably gather if you've been following our other posts about Japanese people hitting each other with lightbulbs, we like our share of Oriental goodness - and this is no exception. [/left]

It takes a while to get going but once you see the "Slapping Machine" your life will never be the same.
 

5: Faith the bipedal sog

This is a bit tragic to be honest, but it's definitely worth a mention. Faith was apparently born with three legs, had to have one amputated, and now gets about just on her back two.

If you're ever feeling demotivated, give this a look, it's inspirational stuff.

Pictures of the 2-legged dog

4: PhoneShop

If you've not seen any of Channel 4's Comedy Showcase, you should definitely give it a look - there's a few pretty funny programmes well worth checking out, including Guantanamo Phil, Plus One, and our personal favourite, PhoneShop.

There's only one episode, which revolves around new-man Chris as he tries to get to grips with his new job...

PhoneShop on 4oD

3: Massive Facebook fail

A little bit of advice on what to do if you just so happen to have strict Muslim parents, and your little sister tells them you've been drinking.

Pretty brutal, but too funny too miss out.

"If he cuts his hair, I might give him a blowjob."

2: The birth of the Egg McMuffin

Another quality find by Synkro, who's apparently on a quest to learn all there is to know about McDonalds.

Whatever his intentions, this has got to be one of the greatest pieces of writing in the history of mankind. I don't know how much people get paid to write this stuff but it must be quite a lot because I wasn't aware that just by eating a McMuffin I was biting into such an amazing piece of history, but that's the case according to their website.

Check out big Ron's "relentless creativity and innovation."

1: Burger King bonus fail

Without a doubt though - and continuing the fast-food theme - this weeks number one spot has got to go to this video. If you've already seen it you'll know why it's here, if you haven't then watch it and find out...

Well, that's your lot for this week. It's been emotional, I'm sure you'll agree. If you come across anything you think deserves putting in next week's list, feel free to send it to dropbox@examplemagazine.com and we'll have a gander.

Until then, next time you go for breakfast at McDonalds, remember that you're not just getting a muffin, you're getting the latest in a legacy of innovation.

:)

 

EXAMPLE: What got you into producing and how would you describe your sound?

ABFA :My music's quite minimal and grainy. Plus I suppose eerie, atmospheric, textural... I'm not very good at these describing words! Before producing dubstep I'd only dabbled with music production, and played in a few bands. Hearing Horrorshow by Loefah was the main thing which inspired me to start trying to make my own dubstep.

EXAMPLE: Who would you say has influenced you?

ABFA: Well, again I'd have to say Loefah - for producing Horrorshow! But once I'd started to make my own stuff I quickly decided to ignore what other people were doing and try to find my own sound. There are plenty of producers I like, but I can't really think of any which have influenced my production as such. Burial maybe. I should probably allow myself to be inspired by others more often, I'm a bit too introverted for my own good. Guess all the music I listen to has some imapct though - everything from Chopin to death metal!

EXAMPLE: What's the difference between ABFA & Forensics?

ABFA: Forensics is mainly a dubstep/140bpm thing, and ABFA is a lot more eclectic. Plus Forensics is just me on my own, ABFA is more collaborative - involving various friends here and there. I'm not planning to DJ as ABFA either. But that aside the sound isn't massively different, ABFA's just a new focus for me really.

EXAMPLE: What ABFA releases are forthcoming?

ABFA: The first album ('Enchanted') is out 1st February on Methodology Recordings. And the second album ('Reverence') will follow later in the year. There are a few other bits and pieces in the pipeline, but nothing fully confirmed as yet.

EXAMPLE: Are there any new Forensics releases in the pipeline?

The Reinventions EP (& Exile/ Not Alone VIPs) dropped on Eight:FX late 2009, and two tracks with Two Oh One (Atmosphere/ Night Rider) were released on Digital Sin. The All to waste EP (with Indi Kaur) is forthcoming on Bass Punch Records, not sure of the release date yet but I know it's BAPU012. It features two tracks from me & Indi, along with remixes from Kulture & Atki2. And that's it for the moment, really focusing on A Bridge Far Away now. Have had a couple of provisional offers for Forensics vinyl releases though, so we shall see!

EXAMPLE: How about new Forensics mixes?

ABFA:Don't have any planned I'm afraid. Recorded one with Two Oh One recently (for Knowledge
Magazine), but that wasn't dubstep - it was a 111 mix.

EXAMPLE: What's "111"?

ABFA: It's a new 'movement', started by Two Oh One. It has a focus on art & meaning, and there are producers from a wide range of scenes involved. The music's all at 111bpm basically. There are three 111 tracks on 'Enchanted' - 'Drift' & 'There is a map' (both featuring Indi Kaur), and 'All fall down'. There will be more on 'Reverence' too.

EXAMPLE: What tunes can you not live without at the moment?

ABFA: 'Just human enough' by Two Oh One springs to mind, a lovely track. Haven't really been listening to much new music lately though, mainly just focusing on my own nonsense.

EXAMPLE: Where do you think dubstep is heading this year?

To be quite honest I have no idea! It seems to be getting more popular all the time, but my finger isn't really on the pulse any more.

Here are two FREE remixes of Drift ft. Indi Kaur, by Grievous Angel & Demon (Macabre Unit) - as played by Friction (BBC Radio), Jus Wan (on the latest Hotflush Records podcast) and many others.

For more on A Bridge Far Away go to myspace.com/abridgefaraway, or for Forensics check myspace.com/forensicdubstep.
 

 

This has its advantages - to my knowledge, deleting your account on Facebook won't get rid of anything you posted on other peoples' walls, your connections etc - there's even an option to reactivate your account after you've "deleted" it, so all your data is still being stored on their servers after you've supposedly closed your account. (Technically, I suppose your information would still be there after you commit suicide, but it would eventually be cached out and you'd disappear forever...)

Seems like quite a good idea, doesn't it? After all, MySpace is basically dead as far as personal profiles go and Facebook is slowly turning into a bloated monster. I've lost count of the amount of "Facebook is shit", "I hate Facebook", and "All I ever do on Facebook now is join groups" that I've seen over the past few weeks - I'm pretty sure there's even a group now for people who like to join lots of groups. Give it a few days and you'll probably be able to join the "group for people who join groups about how shit facebook is because all you ever do is join groups".

I'd like to take minute to expand on this point if I may. Don't get me wrong, I like social networking sites, I think the concept is a great idea and I have to admit that I get a lot of work done through Facebook, either through advertising or directly talking to people. But... way back when, in the days when Facebook didnt look as smooth as it does now but ran seventeen times quicker, it was a joy to be able to log on and have a decent chat with someone. After the horrors of Myspace letting people insert their own HTML wherever they liked, it was positively uplifting to be able to connect with your friends without their badly-coded profile slowing your computer to a crawl or their catastrophe of an animated background inducing a seizure as you hopelessly tried to click the back button and escape the grip of Murdoch's Inferno.

But that was in the days when people still used MySpace. This is 2010 and the ranks of pre-pubescent young'uns who've just graduated from Bebo aren't going to MySpace anymore, they're going straight to Facebook. This influx of pre-teen users is great for Facebook - they get to boast about their vast user-base, their targeted adverts become even more targeted and generate even more revenue, and their brand value is boosted as all the teeny boppers go round singing its praises or wearing their logo - does anyone remember the "MySpace Whore" t-shirts, for example?

Now obviously, this doesn't really affect you or me (assuming you're not 12), because I'm definitely not going to be buying a "Facebook Whore" t-shirt anytime soon and I've got adblock installed so their "targeted" adverts telling me that there's hot single women in my area who want a shag right now never even see the light of day.

But then - Facebook released their API. A great idea at first glance but a year or so later and I'm now inundated, daily, with notifications asking me to grant privileges I didn't know existed to applications I've never used or heard of because someone I've never met wants me to join them in Farm Wars and grow some cabbages.

I can't see what my mates are doing because the Small Brown Turd that such-and-such-a-body found in their U-bend while they were playing ToiletVille is more important. I'm not stupid, I know how to hide applications from my news feed, but that doesnt make it any less annoying and doesn't stop new ones from popping up on a daily basis.

And the worst thing, is that I get dragged into it all. I find myself, as I'm sure a lot of you do, checking to see what Person X said to Person Y, even though it's got nothing to do with me. Would it really matter to me if I didn't know what you're doing right this second? Probably not, but I'll comment on it anyway. Or better still, click "like" - because the activity is obviously so enthralling I can't even fathom a response to it.

You see what I'm getting at. Loads of people do it, getting sucked into a trivial world of stuff that really has no bearing on anything. Yes there are exceptions, of course there are - what do you think we used FB for in the first place? When it comes to arranging to meet up, letting people know about a gig or whatever, it can be invaluable. But I really, really am not interested in your "fine" (mine was £575.60, by the way), what you just had to eat, or the colour of your underpants - yet I still read the stories.

So, the Suicide Machine. A way to end the spoon-feeding of brain-numbing information forever and get outside, maybe read a book, watch a film, or even get on with some work if you're office user. Well, it would be, if Facebook hadn't slapped them with a cease and desist, claiming the site infringes their terms of service (or "Statement of Rights and Responsibilities" as FB eloquently puts it).

The instant pull-quote from the letter (PDF!) goes something like this:

It has come to Facebook's attention that Moddr, through its Web site located at www.suicidemachine.org, is (1) soliciting Facebook user log-in information, (2) accessing Facebook accounts that belong to others, (3) scraping content from Facebook, (4) sending unauthorized commercial communications, (5) falsely asserting that Moddr has partnered with Facebook, and (6) infringing Facebook's intellectual property rights on and through www.suicidemachine.org.

Facebook demands that you cease this activity immediately.

This is coming from the company that wanted to make your profile publicly searchable, keeps your account information even when you delete it, and attempts to control your life by suggesting who should talk to. Ok, maybe that last one was a bit extreme, but you get the picture. YOU give the machine your login details, YOU allow it to delete you, so how is removing every trace of YOUR identity from a website an infringement of someone elses terms of service?

Without turning this into a philosophical rant about how it's not your identity the moment you hit the sign up button, the whole thing just seems ludicrous. Its your information so why dont you have the right to let someone, or something, else remove it? If you gave your password to a mate and told them to go through and delete everything you'd ever posted, would that still be against their "SRR"?

The fact of the matter is this - Facebook is useful. It just loses this usefulness when you have too many friends you dont talk to and too many applications you don't need. You can't use the Suicide Machine at the moment while they're embroiled in this legal stuff, but a good place to start would be getting rid of people you don't know, shit you dont need, etc.

Our lovely editor James has pledged to stop going on as much and I can already tell he's spending less time rotting his brain just through the quality of conversation.

Once we're back to just being friends with people we're actually friends with, maybe things will get a bit less mind-numbing.

And if they don't, well, you'll just have to wait for the Murder Machine.

  I don’t need to see it on the news- I can see it outside! Watching the telly is almost exactly the same as looking out my window, only with an annoying woman stood in front of it telling me what I’m looking at.


So, my frankly quite shit survival guide goes a bit like this:

1. Supplies

When it snows, people get up early in a frenzy of panic and buy all the useful things in the supermarket: like food. So, once you muster enough effort to drag yourself out of a warm bed to go to the shop there is nothing left for the normal, sane people. Take heart: these idiots always buy stuff like bread and milk, and happily you will find the alcohol section resplendently full.

If your local dealer isn’t willing to traipse through the snow like a Christmas elf dispensing his wares then you can also take a look at the much neglected pharmaceuticals and vitamin section. Here, you can recapture the innocence of your youth, by trying to make your own drugs. Hmm, chewable vitamin C, Neurophen, and cough mixture…this is surely the recipe for a heady and blissful experience! (This statement is for comic effect: Example magazine and their associates do not advocate the mixing and consumption of substances bought from your local supermarket-idiot)

Junk food: no one panic buys it; it is yours for the purchasing.

Drag your haul back, feeling like a hunter-gatherer for the new generation.

2. Entertainment

After the first day, snow is dull. I myself arise on the morning of first snow, giddy with childish excitement and nuanced wonderment at the world and its mysteries. But now the roads are a gritty slushy mess, things are closed for no reason and the buses aren’t running. It is hard to convince people to go out to clubs/bars or to get anywhere fun.

So, a few activities to see you through:

Build a penis out of snow: is anything more hilarious? No, no it is not. Yes, it is also puerile, idiotic and possibly offensive, but fuck it: what else can you do?

Have a house party: Not one of those big loud, epic ones that you spend weeks organising and everyone talks about, like, forever. No, just have a shit one- you have all your lovely alcohol, invite some lovely friends (the posers and people that don’t really like you won’t come all the way in the snow). Play all your most shameful music as loud as you can through any medium, have i-pod DJ battles, take your homemade “drugs”, make snacks, dress in your silliest clothes, hell, play board games if you like: and do all the things you couldn’t do at a cool party.

Films and Snacks. With regards to the former: the older the better. With regards to the latter: well, the opposite I guess. Just make sure you have plenty of both.

3. Keeping Warm

Get into bed, and get as many people to join you as you can. Alternatively buy a hot water bottle- They are very cheap and slightly less emotionally dangerous than group sex.


Run around a lot: it doesn’t matter if you fall over like a red cheeked idiot every five seconds: you’ll be warm as toast and mark my words you won’t give damn.

Heat stuff you would normally eat cold: its not just good sense, it’s sort of like science, like an experiment that once day you may get a Nobel Prize for. So, coco pops: with hot milk, an apple: popped in the microwave for 30 seconds, a salad: stir fried. Cook everything that goes into your mouth to a temperature you find almost unbearable: that will see you right.

Keep safe arctic explorers, I’ll see you on the other side!

 
Who could forget Fabriclive Vol. 37? Whether you loved it so much your night would be spoiled without a Godly spin of “Jahova” or you hated it with a vehement loathing - everyone was talking about it. Along with marking Caspa and Rusko as figures in the scene, the disc most definitely helped in spreading the word about a new type of mystical sound going under the name of ‘dubstep’. Elevator Music Vol.1, the latest off shoot from Fabric, strikes the match on a new agenda of capturing the diverging sounds from electronic which have recently ensnared raving masses. Showcasing unreleased material from established and obscure but promising talent, the compilation which is released in January 2010 puts the spotlight on experimental sub-heavy bass music. There’s not a singular genre you can scoop it under but it promises to be another essential collection, one to leave its trail on the nights you attend!

First track into Elevator Music it becomes apparent that we are lunging into clearly carved out dance floor territory. The Funky, up tempo bounce of Hot City’s “If That’s How I Feel” breaks open on the scene with feel good , ‘I’m just here to dance’ vibes. Keeping things warm, 2-step syncopation nicely leads us into the tribal samba sounds that emerge in Doc Daneeka’s “Drum in the Deep”. The unmixed tracks keep the rythmn flowing with an intersection of light, airy trance remincent tracks by the likes of Julio Bashmore and Skinnz before pounding into some sharp, high energy, wobble-tastic tunes by dubstep boomer Untold.



Almost appropriate to such a venture, the mix includes work from the Caspa and Rusko. Their track “One of the Same”, a deep, slow meditative rhythm, is the only one which distinctively takes me, on first grab, into the chill out zone -a less typical space for the duo to take pitch on. Tracks which must get a shout out for an instantaneous catchy creep are “Pistol in Your Pocket”; by Hackman which features twice as a remix, and Martyn’s “Friedrichstrasse”. The last segment of the disc ends nicely on galactic, futuristic hemispheres with “Black Monlith” by Starkey and its scaling synth.

An eclectic compilation to say the least, Elevator Music is a curatorial vision true to the developments in electronic music which sees infusions along the spectrums of trance, house, techno, dubstep and takes influence far and wide from grime to Afro beat. Showing a passion for low frequencies and subwoofer binding bass it maintains a ready for the weekend feel which is sure to make you want move your feet!

 
Everybody goes on like new years eve is the worst and that it's over-rated and over-expensive and over-busy, which it kinda is but when else can you get so blindly wasted? Wasted to the point that waking up and retrieving consciousness is like you've actually just been born. Not very often! And as bad as the social carnage is, you can't deny its pretty damn fun. After all, things such as birthdays n leaving do's n end of exam celebrations are all good excuses to party, but its a pretty sweet time of year when pretty much the whole of the UK is blissfully fucked.

Not only that,but girls, you'll agree-and maybe guys to an extent. That New Years eve is the best night out to get ready for. Our house (all girls) smelt absolutely amazing what with all the yummy bath products you get given for Christmas floatin about the place. Also, and I don't know why exactly but there's a tendency to get very glittery and feel very special in your outfit, wearin “that dress” that you feel might be too risque or just too nice for any normal night out. Also in terms of drinks n drugs you thoroughly treat yourself, “its new years eve” turns into a great excuse for absolutely everything.

So, the spoilt excess of drink n drugs n the idea that your lookin pretty damn hot tonight can only lead to a party of comedy mishaps to which, you'll be thankful of the black hole memory loss that your subconscious kindly grants you. If you feel courageous enough then, the next day you may pick up snippets of horrifyingly embarrassing events from sent text messages, ticket stubs, new numbers on your phone and photos. Or, your friends can fill you in- that is, if you still have them after leaving them somewhere n pissing off home/to a party/the park swings.

So! Where did you spend your new years eve and how was it? I got wasted on lime vodka n vodka jellies went to saki bar for Hit n Run and Hoya Hoya. Flippin' smashing night from what I can remember, although I missed midnight cos I was havin a wee, I danced so much I ripped my dress and spent an incredible amount of time distracting the lovely Illum Sphere from playing his set for waving at him and many other people that night continuously. Hi guys!

Anyway Happy 2010 examplers. Hope you all smash it this year.

 

 

First up its Numan and his minimix which we released in January. Numan who at the time was just 17 has been making waves right through 2009. He produced a guest mix for Mary Anne Hobbs featuring entirely his own productions and at the end of last year had his debut release "7th Key" on Starkeys label Wicky Lindows, followed by the "Secrets EP" on Manchester's own Subdepth. Definitely a name to watch out for in 2010

Numan on Myspace
EXAMPLE MIX 001 - NUMAN - 20 mins

Next up its the Chimpo mix. The big man himself. He took a lot of feeding but eventually he produced us a belting half an hour mix. Trademark Chimpo. Wed expect no less. Contains bootlegs of Terrorist, R type and also the Neighbourhood remix which got some Airtime. Catch him at our birthday in February...

Chimpo On Myspace

EXAMPLE MIX 004 - CHIMPO - 30 mins

Finally its the August Amen Mix that Amure resident at Manchester's Dont Panic night Whatever the Weather. just under an hour of pure junglism to combat the first two mixes of dubstep just so you dont lose the balance....

EXAMPLE MIX 008 - AMURE - 50 mins

All zips contain this months cover and a tracklist.

 

EXAMPLE: So guys first off, hows 2009 been for blu mar ten?

Chris: Busy and focused. One of our best years yet

EXAMPLE: Your new album "Natural History" has been causing a bit of a stir. What was the idea behind your album? what sort of statement did you want to make?

Leo: Broadly, we decided a while back to limit ourselves to a strict 170bpm template, veering away from the genre hopping we used to do. This limitation is a freedom so I think we've done better music and made progress faster. The album is the first batch of results from this new path.

Chris: Even though we've been making d&b since 1995, and despite this being our fourth album, we'd never made a proper d&b album from the bottom-up, so we thought it was about time. We didn't want to make something that sounded like much other d&b that's around, we just wanted to make something we were proud of. We don't really care if it does or doesn't fit with what else is going on in the d&b community, we're much more interested in appealing to a broader audience than that.

EXAMPLE: Did you expect the reponse that it's had?

Chris: We didn't really know what to expect, but the response has been fantastic. It shot up the charts in all the online stores and it's just been listed as one of the best dance albums of 2009 on iTunes..So yes, we're pretty happy with that. I think the fact that we've been around a long time and written more music than just d&b has really helped us reach different sets of people, especially in places like the US where d&b isn't very popular at all.

EXAMPLE: Where do you stand on the vinyl or cd or serato debate?

Chris: Really don't care. It's completely irrelevant to us. Personally I only play vinyl, and still cut dubplates because that's what I love, but then Leo plays CDs because that's what he likes. But it really doesn't matter. People who worry about it really need something better to get worked up over.

EXAMPLE: You asked for some interesting questions and nothing gets peoples attention more than a bit of controversy, How do you feel about the "Bishigate controversy" a few weeks ago? .

Chris: Again, not really that bothered. The only problem I can see is a mismatch of expectation. i.e. If 500 people come to a club expecting to see one thing and you do something completely different then i think that's a bit unfair. If people *knew* that you might be doing something different and had the choice about whether they want to pay to see it or not then I really don't think there's an issue.

The reality is, (whether you like it or not), that outside of a few internet forums the vast majority of people who go out to clubs have no idea about this whole episode, and even if you told them they wouldn't care. To most people, getting two records that sound more or less the same to run in time with each other is a complete non-event.

Personally I wouldn't do it, but then I enjoy the whole chaotic process of mixing and performing, as opposed to objecting to it on some weird moral grounds.

Quite a few people started complaining about producers DJing and how they shouldn't if they're not very good, but this is one of the realities of our time. Piracy on the scale we have now is often justified on the grounds that producers should now make their money from performance as opposed to sales, and so we have people out on the road who, years ago, would have stayed in the studio making music which is what they're best at. People often forget that there's no actual link between sitting at a computer and making music, and getting up in front of a thousand people and smashing up a party - they're completely different skills and just because you're good at one there's no reason at all that you should good at the other.

So if you force people into a performance situation (which can be very nerve-wracking at times) things like this are going to crop up from time to time. It's inevitable.
Solution? Support the producers by buying their music, then they won't have to take gigs they don't really want to do in order to make ends meet and the 'good DJs' can get on with doing what they do best.

EXAMPLE: How did Blu Mar Ten come about?

Chris: Leo & I met through a mate in 1995 and started putting tunes together. It worked really well and we had a release about 8 months after our first studio session. We sent some stuff to Bukem who liked what we were doing, and after we did a remix for Erykah Badu's first single we got signed to Good Looking. I'd known Michael since around 1993 and when he moved to London he started sharing our studio and gradually became absorbed into Blu Mar Ten.

EXAMPLE: You branched out into other genres what made you want to spread your wings beyond drum and bass?

Leo: We always listened super widely and we still do. But listening widely and writing widely all the time aren't necessarily the best paths. Hence the 170bpm comment earlier.

Chris: If you really like music and you enjoy making it you're constantly looking for interesting new sounds and ways of working. Drum & bass isn't so interesting that it can satisfy you completely so you need to branch out from time to time. I never really trust people who only listen to d&b...It just displays a bit of a lack of imagination. We pretty much never listen to d&b ourselves..there's too much other interesting (and better) music out there.

EXAMPLE: Which labels and artists are doing it for you at this moment? also who can you see being the bright stars of 2010?

Chris: There are loads of bright stars out there right now. Newer names I'm enjoying at the moment are:

Stray
Randomer
San.dra
Circa
Mr Sizef & Unquote
Vaccine
Ulterior Motive
Kharm
Jean Doe

and a whole load more...

A couple of mixes where you can hear some of their music:
http://www.blumarten.com/home/drum-bass-mix-sep-2009
http://www.blumarten.com/home/category/mixesandpodcasts/

Leo: Well, I can do the non DnB stuff. Recently liking:

CFCF "Call Girl"
Bibio "Bones & Skulls"
Wild Beasts "Hooting & Howling"
Jon Hopkins "A Drifting Down"
El Perro Del Mar "Change Of Heart"
Washed Out "Feel It All Around"
Darkstar "Aidys Girl's a Computer"

EXAMPLE: What was the first ever piece of music you bought and also the last?

Leo: Blondie "Heart Of Glass" / Clipz "Download (Original Sin Remix)"

Michael: David Essex "A Winter's Tale" and Kelly Clarkson's album "All I Ever Wanted"

Chris: 'Iko Iko' The Belle Stars / 'Where the Wild Things Are' OST

EXAMPLE: Now that your album is out and youve been touring whats next?

Chris: We have a remix we've done for Bop coming out on Hospital early next year together with other reworkings of his stuff from Lynx and Subwave.
There'll be the final single from our album coming out sometime as well - we're just sorting out some remixes at the moment but it should be great if it all comes together.
And we've already started work on the next album which will be out....at some point in the distant future.

EXAMPLE: When can the mancunian fans next catch blu mar ten?

When a Mancunian promoter books us!

http://www.blumarten.com

 

Arriving at about half 11, Rusko was soon to kick the roof off in the main room, faces delighted and bodies truly thrashed as popular favourites such as ‘cockney thug’, ‘pro nails’ and ‘bread get bun’ superseded through the speakers and into the happy hearts of the dubsteppers army. Followed by the legendary Skream, the overwhelmed crowd jumped about to give the warehouse that familiar hot, ‘this experience is bigger than me’ kind of glow…

By this point the magical Daedelus was about to begin in the next room. After a purely dedicated 20 minute que dancing session, we were in. Rustie got the packed sweaty room in full flow ready for the musical genius that is Daedelus…who, can only be described as some periodic god send who truly sent us all into the future that night! Creating a frenzy with glitched up beats, hip hop ripples and thumping rhythm nobody in that room stopped dancing for a second- at the same time, unable to take their eyes of his pure showmanship and his master of what looked like and extreme version of the game ‘lights out’ but with crazy beats on instead. In that room, Manchester offically ‘went digital’ so much so that a group of three created an imaginary planet/orb thing and threw into the air…maybe they took it a bit too far…

Next up in the 2nd room was the “The Mother F***ing GaslAmP KiLLeR!!” who commended Daedelus for playing the best he’d ever seen him- and that is saying something! Juiced on the revelry of the crowd, Gaslamp Killer thrashed around his iconic curly hair as he dropped the likes of Jay Z ‘big pimpin’ and Underworlds ‘born slippy’ and warped them into a musical heart thumping treat never conceived of before. MC’s stepped aside at the side of the stage and watched in awe, as he reduced the crowd to a hyped up puddle of sweat! Hoya Hoya’s multi-talented Illum Sphere stepped up next, and although we were all truly spent he managed to get us going all over again to supa mixes of the classic Tweet’s ‘oops oh my’ and Outkast’s ‘millionaire’…Due to the awesome intensity of the second room I’m sorry to say I wasn’t quite sure what was happening in the main room at this point so please insert mind blowing experiences here [.............].

All in all Thrasher was a historical night of pure musical fantasy, you lucky lucky people.

WORDS BY ROBERT

 
1pm


We’ve been reliably informed that the blind aura crew have enjoyed a mcbreakfast and are journeying south as we speak haha. More updates to come.

2:41pm

Lilly stops off to buy some smart shoes for the awards ceremony. Slightly spoilt for choice hes managed to pick some that he likes…





Repping Proud!!!

15:10

Mr Bogdanovich chills with an enormous suit. Meanwhile Team B have arrived at the GRECHAM HOTEL, disgruntled by the fact that mr Lilly is lording it up at the swanky marriot with his new shoes.



17:19 pm

It was only a matter of time before the beer would enter the equation…



18:17 PM

The team are on route to the awards looking kriss…





11am We lost contact with the Blind Aura Team last night but received these pictures this morning still dont know if they won the award?

Original Link: http://www.examplemag.co.uk/?p=1166

Example: For the producer heads what do you like to work on?

LUNG: well im an apple mac lover... I started using garageband, almost accidentally when i got an apple a few years back... stumbled across it and just started messing around with a few loops and things... then i started to get more into production, i upgraded to logic pro last year and havnt looked back!

Example: Its all about the mac

LUNG: haha definitely!

Example: On your soundcloud page and on dubstep forum people have really been praising your recent deep tunes. Is it a surprise when you log on to see such good reception to your tunes ? How does it make you feel?

LUNG: yeah, definitely, like i said i've only been producing dubstep since january and the reaction has been great so far! pretty overwhelming infact! i remember logging into dubstep forums and seeing a 'lung appreciation' thread! that was really weird for me!

i make tunes for my own enjoyment really, its my hobby, but i've always wanted to make a living through music if possible... its great that people are hearing my stuff... the feedback has been amazing! in particular the dj support from a few sub.fm dj's... Myrkur from Amsterdam who runs the Radical Radio show every friday, I have alot to thank him for, he has played out my tunes from the start and got me a fair few listeners! his support has been amazing! also getting airplay on Mary Anne Hobbs Radio 1 show... that was so surreal, once again thanks to DJ R0byn from dsf for that one, once again much appreciated support!

Example: How would you describe your tunes?

LUNG: well, i do -try- to keep some variation within my tracks a couple of the tunes i wouldn't really say are dancefloor material - or at least were never created for that purpose... e.g. Afterlife... but it seems to have had a good reaction when i have played it out... the tunes of mine i tend to play out more are the darker, techy ones... like Fractal and The Abyss, they work pretty well on the floor... but yeah recently i've been really getting back into all the euphoric trance tunes i used to listen to when i was a bit younger... i've been creating dubstep and dnb tunes in that vain over the last few weeks... i'm very comfortable working in that kind of field... i like huge euphoric pads, tracks with massive atmosphere! i like to fill the room so yeah... things seem to be going more down that route... there's a dnb track called Clockwork i've recently uploaded on myspace... its in that sort of vain

Example: so definitely ATMOSPHERIC

LUNG: haha yeah man! its all about epic soundscaping!!!

Example: i think thats what people are really liking about your tunes they really do take you away?

LUNG: ah thank you well yeah, i never really set out to do that... like i said the tunes are more for my own enjoyment... but i'm just heavily, naturally influenced by that big euphoric sound you get in trance music

Example : definitely those huge breakdowns are sort of missing from some dnb and dubstep. Some people online are saying they can hear burialesque sort of vibes to your tunes. Would you say hes someone thats influenced you?

LUNG: yeah definately... i mean when you think of burial... in my opinion there's 3 names people instantly think of... Burial, Skream and Benga... but yeah i'm definately more of a Burial fan than of the other two! i think he's definately sort of created his 'own sound' i know thats a bit of a cliche... but i think its hard to argue with... i dont think he sounds like anyone else...but yeah, Archangel... i definately hold that up there as one of the most important dubstep tracks... its certainly a track that got me into dubstep anyway

Example: Alleycats signed you to her new label KOKESHI how did that come about?

LUNG: well,... i put it down to luck more than anything! i'd had some interest from a few digi labels...one as far as australia...afterlife seemed to be the track that people wanted ... but i waited for a while... i was very excited about the attention the music was getting... but i wanted to wait until i found a 'home' for my music... i knew of alley cat through ESP Agency and the Feline nights, i happened to have her as a contact on facebook and one day just sent her a link to my soundcloud page... luckily enough she listened and shortly got in contact with me regarding the label and possible signings! and here we are now... afterlife hits stores in december im ridiculously excited!

Example: sick so i guess you didnt imagine in January that you'd have a tune on wax by next year?

LUNG: i think the main thing for me though was to wait and find a 'home' like i said... but also, alley cats' experience within AnR, and co-director of ESP, to me that is invaluable, Alicia really understand this industry and to me that was important, its been overwhelming (and very surreal) to have support from the co-director of ESP! And yeah, definitely, i never anticipated any of this, i've always wanted to make a living from music if possible... everything has happened very quickly... im very grateful for the amazing support! We've got a launch party here in Cardiff for 'Afterlife' with the local night Aperture of which i'm now a resident DJ (that happened overwhelmingly quickly too! haha!) the details will be up on facebook within the coming weeks, but it's looking good! im very excited

Example: You mentioned you wanted a "Home" for your tunes. Does that mean we can expect more LUNG tunes on KOKESHI or might you be releasing on some other labels?

LUNG: right now we're keeping things very tight and exclusive to kokeshi... im more than happy about this, like i said Alicia's experience within the industry is invaluable, its been great to have the opportunity to be a part of kokeshi... and yes you can expect more releases through the label
Example: So after the release of afterlife whats next?
LUNG: well... hopefully sales!! haha! but yes, a few more releases on kokeshi planned... although i cant give you many details as of yet! other than that... i'll be starting uni here in cardiff... studying music technology, it'll be great to have an excuse to do music full time!! But yeah just more DJing with Aperture (dnb) and Neuropol (dubstep) here in cardiff!

Example: I can imagine u might start getting booked up once your releases start to get hype around them.

LUNG: haha! i certainly hope so!! i've always loved the idea of travelling around playing music! to become a touring dj would be awesome!
we'll see what happens!

Example:: So Finally mr LUNG the question we ask everyone what tunes can you not live without at the moment?

LUNG: aaaah! i've been listening to alot of break recently... there's a sort of dubstep/halfstep tune off his album Symmetry called Thin Ice... that is an absolutely wicked tune... but yeah its been all about the deep lately for me... a track by Scuba called Klinik... Also really feeling DJ Madd's stuff right now... having said that i've been listening to alot of dnb lately at thats certainly had an influence on me... tracks like Storm Chaser (alix perez & survival) also been going through a massive commix phase! tracks like Be True and Emily's smile... i know they're not recent as such... but to me i think commix's productions are just timeless! also really been feeling the autonomic stuff... d:Bridge - wonder where, and Instra:mental - No Future... yeah definately feeling that minimal sound

Example: Thanks a lot fellah and best of luck with afterlife

We'll keep you posted on lungs release and other kokeshi news in the future :)

Photo by Jonas Photography

Original Link: http://www.examplemag.co.uk/?p=1032

 
The Manchester based label has been under the radar for the past couple of years and have finally blessed our bass adoring ears with this new twist to the Jump Up style. Helped by radio shows Kool London and Krisis DNB and big promo nights, the label is causing a stir and getting our bones shaking to these beats.

With some of the biggest and grimiest artists and producers part of the team, expect sounds from James Bass, Bluefoot, Hoax, High Roller, Butcher, Billy the Kid, Sensa, Ego Trippin, Tyke, Recipe and a few others.

Most recently released from the label is Billy the Kid’s western sampler, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. Using a catchy bass riff and cowboy samples from the film of the same name, you’ll defiantly want to gee up to this dirty sound! Similar to the sound of Lemon D, the Kid is a more techno Pendulum but have the same sci-fi sampler ideas.

Also on the menu is Bluefoot. Originally from Torquay this boy’s fast break beats and deep, subby tune Jawbreaker lives up to the label’s dirty riddims. Released back in April this tune is explosive!

Propa G (Ruthless Kombination, G13, Rollin Soundz Records) has been tearing it up in numerous clubs and pirate radio for the last 7 years. His partner in crime, Rowney, (CLASS A, G13, MOTION SENSOR AND BIG IN THE DANCE RECORDS)who has been DJing since 1998 and producing from 2003 specialises in this Jump Up fashion as well as harder DnB and other dance floor oriented tracks.

Working under Nu-Urban, G13 will be spitting out big new tracks and have DJ’s systems on fire!

WORDS BY CASSIE

Original Link :  http://www.examplemag.co.uk/?p=957
 

 

Rhona: Why did you choose the Apollo as the venue?

[them]SABRE ; Ape was born in Sankeys; we then got asked to move it to the Warehouse Project when those guy started that at Boddingtons. So when we done the first year of Boddingtons we did a couple of Ape shows that sold out to like 3000 people . And obviously with the warehouse project being on for twelve weeks a year we were kind of like ‘where do we take it now?’ We went to venues, we thought about going back to places like Sankeys and that but we thought we’d try a gamble and go for something a bit fresh – a bit different and I’d always really loved the venue. So we talked to the guys at the Apollo, to see what they thought about us bringing a big drum n bass night down there and you know, fortunately, they were open-minded about it, they knew our track record was great and everything . The police were happy for us to go ahead with so we gave it ago and it was an absolute monster. So we did two that year and then we gave it a miss last year purely because we were involved in another project at the time and our hands were tied. Then this year obviously, when the warehouse ended, we looked at it again and thought lets go back to the Apollo. And we’ve done a three part series, the third of which is this Friday.[/them]

[img]http://www.examplemagazine.com/uploads/13/sabre.jpg[/img]

Rhona: Ape’s got quite a name for itself. It’s a well awaited night down here in Manchester, people are always buzzing about up and coming and previous Apes, being the man organising it must I suppose get a bit stressed?

[them]SABRE : There are parts of it which obviously are stressful it’s a lot more work than I think people think when they try and promote nights and sales and do what I do for a living. You know, you burn every hour God sends if your good at your job and obviously you have the stress of not having your salary coming in; if your run your own promotions what you earn is purely based upon the success of the event so there’s stress involved on that side of it but you know that’s part of why we do what we do; and other than that you know I love my job and every job has got stressful sides to it and they are normally related to money and hours so there is nothing new there but yeah, you know I love my job.[/them]

Rhona: I suppose when the night kicks and you get to see it all come into place it becomes quiet fulfilling

[them]SABRE : Yeah its kinda like a science and an art putting on an decent event. So obviously being able to know how to promote and what buttons to press in order to get bums on seats so to speak -that’s the science side of it and obviously the arts side is actually the show of the event itself and we try and put on a show – a proper show in oppose to just a guy playing music on a sound system and I think we pull that off well with Ape. We work hard to use visuals, your various bits and bobs like that, take care with the venues we use, we always want to try and bring the best sound systems in the best venues – you know make it feel like your going to something a bit special. You know we kinda fit what we do between a regular club night and going to a festival you know – it’s more of an event.[/them]

Rhona: This following ape will be the third this year, everyone’s really looking forward to it but what have you got planned for Apes after this one?

[them]Sabre: After this Ape we generally take a bit of a break for the summer, from Manchester anyway. Our events are very popular with the student population so summers a bit quiet.[/them]

Rhona: Will you be touring with ape?

[them]SABRE: We’ve looked at that before. It’s our second time doing one of the main areas at Creamfields this year. We’re really chuffed to be invited to do that. Especially more chuffed seeing as we did such a good job last year that they wanted us back this year. Regards to actually touring with it: no. Mainly because – its something we might do in the future but you know you have to have the confidence and the promoters in the other cities you want to tour it with. You know like I said it’s not just about putting on a line up it’s about a show. We’d have to have faith in the people in the other cities to promote it and produce it as well as you do. It’s something we are not in the hurry to do. But it certainly something we haven’t ruled out for the future.[/them]

Rhona: Can you tell us anything about what you’ve got in store for line ups?

[them]SABRE: We’re not allowed to reveal anything at this stage to be honest. We tend to reveal our line ups one event at a time but I can tell you, especially for the back end of the year we have got some really interesting talent coming to Ape and Ape related events. Its gonna be amazing actually. Few of the names you will definitely of heard of who have played for us before from slightly different genres of music and then some really good fresh up an coming talent and then obviously a lot of the big guns who play for us on a regular and you know they do that for a reason. We got some really exciting stuff for later in the year – honestly I think everyone s going to be really happy when they see the line up later on in the summer.[/them]

Rhona: Obviously a lot of the artist you have performing at Ape are dubstep and dnb artist. This genre of music seem as quite sweet and small at the moment, can you see it branching out and getting bigger?

[them]Sabre: Obviously they are underground music styles and that what I specialise in. They’re never gonna go massive – they’re never gonna go like hip hop but I think that when a music genre comes up as something fresh – people can jump on to it. For instance in the nineties drum and bass n jungle was massive – massive. Some of that stuff was getting into the top forty, people like uncut and their tune “Midnight” for example, DJ Marky and people like that were getting into the charts . Umm I think drum and bass will obviously struggle to get to those heights again but I think obviously with dubstep that has the potential to reach those heights in the next few years. I think in regards to being strong in the undergorund I think they are massive at the minute. Underground music techno and drum and bass are two of the biggest things out there right now in my opinion. But in regards to like hitting it out in the mainstream dubstep with like some good cross overs especially by people like Skream – I mean he’s just beyond dubstep really. This guy can produce music of any quality so yeah – dubstep I’m quite excited about.[/them]

Rhona: Last question what do you love most about your job.


[them]Sabre : That I’ve got it.[/them]

Original Link : [link url= http://www.examplemag.co.uk/?p=645 target=_blank] http://www.examplemag.co.uk/?p=645[/link]

 


Tune2

Original Link: http://www.examplemag.co.uk/?p=614

 

EXAMPLE… Subz 005 “Dont Be Afraid” your first vinyl release?

G-MAN… No, I did some tunes back in the garage days and later i released an EP on “Black Ops”, a big label in the grime days, I  did a tune with d-double-e, never came out tho! which is a shame! lol. Working on some stuff with MC’s in holland, and releasd a tune last year on my own label “Oi! Records”

EXAMPLE… How would you describe your sound?

G-MAN…I like energy stuff, cause thats what I play, but I like to make somer deeper stuff now and then aswell.


EXAMPLE… How long have you been producing?


G-MAN…About 5/6 years!!!

EXAMPLE… Have you got any more releases in the pipeline?

G-MAN…Yeah there will be a new one on “Oi! records” but no definite date as yet and im very busy on some other projects here in Amsterdam

EXAMPLE… You run a dubstep night called “Oi” (Below) in Amsterdam?How long has it been going and how does dubstep in general go down in Holland?

G-MAN…Just had my 5 year anniversary, and its been going very well the first couple of years were hard and not always that successful, i did it in a second smaller room with another rave, that room could hold around 400 people, and two years ago i made the step to do it in the main room 1400 people and all the recent nights have all sold out, so yeah dubstep is doing very good in holland! next one is going to be 19th of june!

EXAMPLE… Who is hot property in the dutch dubstep scene for us to watch out for??

G-MAN…In Holland., there are def some guys that are doing good stuff, of course you got Martyn and 2562 from Holland, but there is much more to look out for from this little country.

EXAMPLE… You mentioned your label “Oi records” what releases are in the shops now and upcoming?

G-MAN…Yeah i started that with Osiris the man behind dubstep.nl & subbalicious, first release was end of last year with 2 productions from myself, we are planning to bring out more aswell from other producers Oi002 is in the pipeline but its hard to say a date yet.

EXAMPLE…And finally tune/tunes could you not live without at the moment?

G-MAN…This is so hard! Almost every week i hear big tunes… One i really like at the moment is Breakage – Together there is a vibe in that tune that i really like and a very big sample, its not a tune that i would play very often in my sets but really feeling that one! Shouts to everyone that supports the sound, big up Subsonik crew, dubstep.nl and extra big up to people that buy my tunes haha!

You can find G-mans Single “SUBSONIK 005  “DONT BE AFRAID” “  in good record shops and also if you havent done so already download the free tune from the SUBSONIK CAMP   “Welcome to the asylum”
Check out G-man on…
http://www.myspace.com/gomesakagman
http://www.djgomes.nl


Original Link: http://www.examplemag.co.uk/?p=569



 

 

She kicked off with a bit of light staring…..



Then decided to up the ante a bit…



James lifts the camera up for a different angle oblivious to the moody raver. She lifts her arm as well…



Even changing to a long lens does nothing. her fingers still found er way into the picture…



Then about 3 minutes later he takes another crowd shot and shes still staring angrily… This isnt actually all of the pictures we have of the girl staring in an angry fashion we just dont want to clog up our website with pictures of a moody cow.

If you are that girl though id still like to know why you were so cross itd be great if you could get in touch?

Original Link: http://www.examplemag.co.uk/?p=492


 

 

Corrernayshuns steet

1 wummun corld Carla wos flappin it when dis scottish bastard oo iz er usbund corld Tony towld er dat ee ad murked dis guy corld Liam so she got off ,an ee woz devo’d. dis scrote wummum wot lukz lyk me sparz gyal corld Anna woz tellin dis jerbul wummum corld Gail dat er yoot David woz lying bout is bruk nowz, and dis gy corld ken woz lukin to bone one wummin oo livz on ship in da kernel even doe ee az got a gyal but iz gyal luks lyk a massive angry mole with a long nek so its live

'ollyoakz

dis fit gyal corld Sasha oo is fit waz lukin to get bownd by one wasteman wid shit air corld Warren. dis wummun corlds pauine oo iz fit woz lyk ‘waaat’ when one waysman wid shit air corld Josh told her dat her waysman sun wid shit air corld Ste wasn’t da yootz dad annat, den she hotted er sun up kos she teefed da til form dis eatin place corld Il Gnosh but its live kosh da place soun dz lyk french for a mint blowy. And dis trannie wid shit air corld Kris’ fukt up wen ee sent dis gyal corld Nancy oo is fit and dis waysman wid shit air corld Ravi the same text.

Original Link: http://www.examplemag.co.uk/?p=291