“I feel as if I have witnessed something miraculous” says 75 year-old Ross Sinclair as he gazes on the ice shimmering against the fairytale backdrop of the Royal Pavilion. As a former ice-hockey player for the Brighton Tigers, Sinclair had been invited to christen the new ice-rink that has sprung up in the heart of Brighton for the festive period and he is itching to get his skates on.
 
 Ever since George IV, the "Prince of Pleasure", built his ornate palace here, Brighton has been associated with having fun and it is therefore fitting to have an ice rink in its grounds. Unobtrusively located in front of the Pavilion this 700 square metre outdoor rink which opened at the weekend has space for 200 skaters per session and is the only rink in the country with its own pre-school creche, beginners' area and 'penguin' skate aids especially for toddlers. As well as a bar and two cafes the rink also boasts an barn-sized, rink-side pop-up restaurant elegantly decorated with chandeliers and orange trees. Run by the award-winning restaurant, Due South, the rink offers a wholly different quality fare to that normally associated with ice rinks and bowling alleys.

On a crisp winter's night the beneath the stars this rink beside the illuminated former Royal Palace has a truly magical air, and it is this sense of wonder that local event organiser Shella Parkin had wanted to create when she embarked on the project two years ago. “I had a vision of creating something that would meld into childhood memories and transport even even the most hardened of cynics" she says.

“Brighton hasn't had a proper ice rink since 1965 when the West Street rink was torn down” says Ross who, as a child, would hide in the old rink at closing time, skate all night, and slip home at six in the morning when the caretaker unlocked the doors. “It's a wonderful to see people in Brighton skating again even if it is only for a couple of months.” Although it may only be around until mid-January, the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink looks set to become a perennial feature offering a magical respite from the cold and dark of the English winter.

The Royal Pavilion Ice Rink runs until 16th January 2011, 10am – 10pm.
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster and will cost from £9.50-£11 for adults and from £6.50-£7.50 for children under 12.


PHOTOS - Ross Sinclair and the Ice Rink (by Stefan Simanowitz)

"It's all about the bass", said UK Reggae legend Don Letts as I asked him to sum up the night in a few words.  And all about the bass it was!  Camden Roundhouse's amazing soundproofing meant even upon approaching the doors of the venue, it was unapparent as to what aural slaughter was about to me witnessed.

Picture 4 of London's biggest and best soundsystems filling one huge theatre hall; Reggae/Dub dons Channel One soundsystem were playing on the NoiseControlAudio rig, Skream and Benga were on the Void Acoustics rig, Goldie's Metalheadz on the TurboSoundAspect rig, and finally Soul Jazz Recordings on the Funktion One rig.

For anyone thats not been to a soundclash before, imagine each rig lined up taking turns to show the others, and more importantly the ravers in the dance, that they are the best; that they bring the freshet dubs, tightest mixing and baddest selection.

Hosted by Don Letts himself, and with the night named after his musically diverse and intelligent BBC Radio 6 show "Culture Clash", he oversaw events and decided on the theme of each round, some included were 'Biggest tunes in the bag' and 'mixing it up time'.

All crews smashed it, standardly, with the sound on every soundsystem individually puitting large scale national events such as the Warehouse Project Mcr to shame.
It was an incredible experience to witness the best DJs around today on the best systems switching every 15 minutes or so!

Channel One kept it real, dropping nothing but roots and culture. At one point, Mikey Dread and Ras Kayley stated to the crowd, (at the same time directing it to a very lively and high-spirited Skream across the room), that "Who will be remembered in 20 years time eh? We.. are the teachers. We… are the givers… Rastafari!".  However throughout they never failed to show a presence of humbleness and gratitude towards the other crews and the crowd alike.

Metalheadz had a full stage from start to finish, with some unexpected special guests such as Dizze Rascal, Dynamite MC and Vancouver's B-Traits making frequent onstage appearances.  If only Dizze Rascal had embraced the mic, enhancing Andy C's already filthy set!? Goldie dropped some bangers such as a Smells like teen Spirit and Benga n Coki - Night double drop, and devasted the dubstep system with an exclusive Katy B dubplate bigging up the Metalheadz movement. 

MC GQ provided lyrical entertainment and good crowd interaction, and Shy and Storm provided massive bass filled tune after tune, playing both Drum n Bass and Dubstep.
Skream and Benga's crew had the crowd going crazy, with MC Nomad leading the crowds skanking.  Mostly perfect mixing and diversity in selection (Snoop Dogg and Biggie tunes were played in Skreams set), all on an outstanding Void Acoustics soundsytem, meant there was little to fault about these dubstup pioneers, and they definitely made it clear that dubstep has made it's mark on the music scene in a big way, and that it was them that made it, and the they are here to stay!

Soul Jazz Records, with 100% Dynamite definitely got the award for diversity and outstanding original selection of funk, soul reggae and hippo, they even broke out into some oldskool Ragga Jungle.  However due to a few mixing mistakes and the contrast between their laid back musical selection and the other 3 rigs' constant intense bass filled tunes meant Soul Jazz were clearly out of the competition and the crowd were left to decide who reigned as Culture Clash winners.

It was very close as all had strong crowd backing and deserved credibility, however it was decided after several recalls and roughly a thousand shouting ravers that Channel One were chosen champions.  They acted as if they always knew they would win against their junior peers and blasted another 20minutes through the amazing NoiseControlAudio soudsystem.

The event itself was a spectacle and the Red Bull Music Academy should definitely consider hosting such clashes of sound and culture elsewhere in the UK, as it adds to the musical community in a special way that brings unity to the soundsystem music culture thats not possible with standard clubnights that we all attend on such frequent occasions, it almost aft a whole new point to raving. Watch out for a soundclash near you, and go to it!

Photos by Tim Kantoch

Listen to the recordings from the night here on the Red Bull Music Academy website ...

October was Black History Month and this year Contact aimed to celebrate the cultural effect of black influence in spoken-word poetry, contemporary dance & electronic music with four events over one weekend. Always one-to-watch for interesting leftfield events, the good people at Contact present the Black Sound Series

On September 30 there was an evening of performance poetry featuring Jason Yarde, Kate Tempest, El Crisis, OneNess & the Inna Voice Ensemble. Giving voice to the often-otherwise unheard poets & celebrating the sounds of a vibrant, multicultural, amorphous language
On the very same evening Contact launched Black Styles UK: "An exploration of the immeasurable impact of black subculture on all aspects of British life", a selection of iconic images from PYMCA (Photographic Youth Culture Music Archive), which also acts as a unifying theme to weekend events and in context of Black History Month

On Friday 1 October Black Sound Series #2 was billed as UKG vs D'n'B vs Future Sounds, and the evening began with DJ Dialog & Ranen Ekubia from Murkage Cartel pulling out UK-Garage classics alongside more recent UK-Funky favourites. Felt old though when tunes I recognised but barely remember were greeted with bellows of “OLD SCHOOL!” from geezers nearly half my age!!
Salford old-boy Zed Bias was unfortunately too ill to attend on the night so stepping into his vacated shoes last minute was Photo-Machine. Event host & man-on-tha-mic Fallacy worked the crowd like a real pro' and helped build a good party atmosphere, with lovely ladies getting groovy first while geezers mooched quietly in the background, but when Photo-Machine dropped 'Gaza' by MC Trigga & Chimpo, (a big grimey tune from two local talents), the whole place went off! Konny Kon (Broke’n’English) rushed the stage to demand an immediate pull-up, eventually receiving 3 rewinds!! Lots of good-natured shoving, hollering, ruff-neck dancing & broken glass! All good Mancunian fun!!

Finally, the night lurched into its final phase with the boys from Soul:ution, Marcus Intalex & DRS, MCRs finest monthly D'n'B club-night from the deeper, more melodic end of the drum'n'bass spectrum. There was a definite switch from bar to dance-floor & dance-floor to bar! Even time for a small Spellbound reunion (of sorts) when I got DJ Pale, founder Inki and Virus Syndicate's Goldfinger posed for my camera!  Great night, good exhibition, great music, good company. I left with the sounds of Soul:ution still playing on but I already had things to do tomorrow...

(...Salford Un-Convention: A Talk by Kevin Cummins (legend!) followed by yours-truly on a panel of my contemporaries, showing examples of our music-industry-related work & fielding questions from the floor. A quick pint & chat in a Salford pub, then back to Contact for...)

Saturday 2 October Black Sound Series #3 was Mixed Movements: Digital Duets, hosted by Baba Israel. There were performances first from African dancer Lati Saka and Contact’s own Shock Out group. On-stage alongside the featured dancers were a DJ, guitarist & double bass player providing a funky live soundtrack.  Mixed Movements founder Dawn Crandell spoke to us via a live internet link from Culturehub NYC where they had a similar set-up. This was projected onto a stage-wide screen & monitor so that dancers could interact with each other, responding in real-time and virtual space. It was very interesting to watch; but it was not easy to photograph!
Technically it is quite difficult to set an exposure where you can see both dancers clearly. One is a streamed on-screen projection, the other is here, live-on-stage & under stage-lighting. Using flash could ruin either of these lighting-conditions! It is difficult enough following, focussing & composing photographs of live performers: To try to capture a mood or moment: Add to that the unpredictable nature of contemporary dance improvisation. Finally, the fact that one half of the Digital Duet was on the other side of the world in New York was merely the cherry on the icing on the cake!! But I do like a challenge, and I’m really happy with the results

Black Sound Series #4 Remember Kela immediately followed on downstairs, a night celebrating the musical influence of legendary African musician Kela Futi. Hosted by UK rapper Ty and featuring Afronaught (Bugz in the Attic), Zepherin Saint (Tribe Records), and event-organiser Irfan (Rainy City) playing all kinds of Afro-Beat dance rhythms. I spoke to Ty about Digital Duets, how happy he is with his new LP “Special Kind Of Fool”, how he loves doing festivals but almost-always dislikes remixes (-I championed the remix CD attached to the Skitz LP “Sticksman”-) and the state of UK-Hip-Hop music in general, before I had to cut things short, leave the lovely environment of Contact swirling with warm West African guitar licks, and head off down a blustery Oxford Road to a nasty old-school Jungle night in a sparse basement club! Thank You Contact and goodbye Black Sound Series!!
Black Styles UK (PYMCA exhibition) runs at Contact (Manchester) until January 2011

Sergeant Pokes has been a part of Dubstep for a long time and any person who has been to at least a few dubstep raves should have seen this man bounding about in front of the decks. He doesnt really need much of an introduction.  We caught up with him last week in Berlin ('cos we're rock and roll like that) and asked him a couple of questions...

EXAMPLE: Pokes how was it playing in Berlin and were you doing any other dates in Germany?

POKES: I really enjoy the late night vibe of Berlin and its been ages since i played there, its one of the places where i still get a bit of a knot in my stomach as in the past Berlin has been a place that isnt too keen on men on microphones whilst they are trying to dance. But i think generally now the people that come to the parties know that it is or can be a part of the overall experience.
Im playing in leipzig at Conne Island on the 3rd of december and Mala is playing in Berlin at Wax Treatment this friday on the Killa San Soundsystem with Mark Ernestus and Tiki Man, im gutted to miss that party its going to be hefty.

EXAMPLE: You've been involved in dubstep since day one.  How does it feel when you play raves now having seen it grow from a tiny tight community to a international explosion?

POKES:  To be honest , i cant really say ive been here from day one there are people that were grafting on this sound long before me. In truth i think us DMZ lot are more like third or even fourth generation- but yeah ,it was still 15 producers in a dance most of the time when i first started going to the sounds. Its amazing  to see  what has been created and the fact that there still isnt really any beef between the heads that i feel built it to what it is now.Obviously there are people who you feel should be out more or should not have stopped doing there thing but they all played the part in making it what it is. You meet people who genuinely mean it when they say they were at such and such a party and it changed their life, thats the shit that i want to be part of.

EXAMPLE: You've been playing with Magnetic Man got any tour stories?

 
 
POKES: Yeah , i got shitloads.

 

Example: What tunes do you listen to outside of dubstep?
 

POKES:  Its weird , sometimes i go through periods of time where i just dont listen to anything and im kinda in one those phases now . So i guess mainly what ive been listening to is Prince on loop because thats what Skream insists on when we drive to gigs.

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

POKES: i think the first thing i  actually remember buying was Run DMC "Runs House" and "Beats to the Rhyme" and the Fat Boys "Wipeout" and "Crushin" both on 7" from our price in '87.  

EXAMPLE: Where do you think Dubstep is heading now?  

 
POKES : There are too many people doing too many things to be able to say its going in a certain direction -its not a narrow genre, its vastly varied and their are lots of artists utilising the scope that is available. People on the outside associate dubstep with a certain thing but they miss the point in my eyes. A lot of producers are just about the tempo and i love that ,its left  its residue on the fringes of other genres and started to infect them too.
 

EXAMPLE: What have you got coming up in 2011?   

POKES: Just some mad secret shit that i cant tell you about. Sorry man.

 

Safe Pokes :D

 

http://www.myspace.com/sgtpokes

http://www.myspace.com/sgtpokes
http://twitter.com/sarge_pokes

Scores of people including actors, artists and journalists attended the private view in Stoke Newington on Thursday for a photo exhibition which was described recently by Monty Python, Michael Palin as "a tribute of the spirit of hope over adversity." The exhibition which shows images from the refugee camps in the Sahara, home to over 100,000 people from Western Sahara forced from their homes in on of the world's longest conflicts runs for two weeks. “I visited the camps on my Sahara series and was hugely impressed by the indomitable resilience of the Saharawi people" said Palin when he attended the opening of the exhibition in Hampstead in August together with fellow Python, Terry Jones. The private view included a short film show and a panel discussion with human rights campaigner Danielle Smith, photographer Robert Griffin and exiled politician Lamine Baali.

The exhibition - Thirst of the Dunes - which is touring the country displays images by photographers Robert Griffin and Stefan Simanowitz who spent time in the refugee camps in the desert felt a responsiblity to raise awareness of the abject situation facing the Saharawis who have lived in exile in four large camps in the inhospitable Algerian desert for over three decades. Known as 'Africa's last colony' Western Sahara, was given to Morocco by the Spanish when they withdrew in 1976. A 16 year war followed and a 19 year ceasefire, but the Saharawi's displaced by the occupation have never been able to return home.

"I only learned about the the plight of the Saharawi people relatively recently. It is a situation that is hard to ignore, although the international community seems to have no difficulty in doing so" says Griffin,  "The refugees in the camps have nothing. They are entirely dependent on external supplies of food and water and face standstorms and temperatures of 120 degrees – but what makes their lives even worse is that no one knows they are even there.”

Through his photographs Griffin attempts to capture a sense of the lives of the Saharawi and their environment. Griffin says:
"Despite living in such harsh circumstances they have not lost their sense of humanity, optimism, hope or humour - it was truly a humbling privilege to meet them - and I hope that through my photos I've captured something of their spirit, generosity and quiet dignity. They have nothing yet they give everything."

Stefan Simanowitz who has reported on the situation in the Western Sahara for publications including the Guardian, Independent, Financial Times, New Statesman and the Lancet believes that the fact that we in Britain benefit from the exploitation of Western Sahara's natural resources makes it incumbent on us to do something to help resolve the conflict. Whilst in the camps he interviewed many of the refugees and their words accompany the photographs. "Each of their stories of those people photographed here is different but each speaks eloquently to the same urgent need. The need to find a political solution crisis in Western Sahara. But a political solution to this problem is far too important to be left in the hands of politicians. It is up to us all to make their voices heard and demand that our government exert diplomatic and political pressure on those who are ignoring the requirements laid out under international law and blocking a referendum of self-determination in Western Sahara.As Martin Luther king said 'the arc of history may be long but it bends inevitably towards justice'. There is little doubt that the people of Western Sahara have both the tide of history and the force of justice on their side."

"I found the exhibition deeply moving" said West End actor, Nicholas Cass-Beggs who attended the private view. "I did not know much about the situation in Western Sahara before tonight but I would like to find out more.



The exhibition – Thirst of the Dunes - will take place in Open the Gate, 35 Stoke Newington Rd, London N16 8BJ - 6pm, 4th November - 17th November 2010.


The exhibition has been organised by the Free Western Sahara Network and the Western Sahara Campaign UK
For more information visit www.freesahara.ning.com
www.wsahara.org.uk

Glitch Mob as their name would perhaps suggest produce Glitch Hop. Theyre pretty fucking good at it.  We caught up with them midway through their American Tour to ask them some unusual Questions since theyve done a lot of interviews lately. 

Example: Describe The Glitch Mob in one word:

Glitch Mob:Eargasm

Example: What is your earliest memory of music?

Glitch Mob: That would have to be my mom's Bob Marley records

Example: Who is classically trained, who isn't and how does it effect your production process?

Glitch Mob: None of us are classically trained. We can all play a few instruments and grew up around live music, so music is in our DNA at this point. We all understand and have learned the rules of music composition by trial and error, so when we get in the studio we are very intuitive with our production.

Example: If all three of you were stranded on an island, with no other signs of life, food or water, who would be the first to try and eat the other members of The Glitch Mob?

Glitch Mob: We'd go all survivalist on it and build a raft out of sand and rocks and at least try to sail off the island before we started eating each others' brains.

Example: How have the fans responded to you guys playing live instruments etc. on stage?

Glitch Mob: Some of the fans loved it and some have been disheartened because it doesn't line up with their idea of who we are. Which is fine with us, we're just following our instincts and being ourselves.

(DOWNLOAD HERE )

Example: Why did you choose to start experimenting with live instruments?

Glitch Mob: We played all of the instruments on our album Drink The Sea. We felt the best way to perform the music was the way it was produced and the way we felt it, which was a very natural progression for us. Although now we're not bringing the guitars with us any more -- we're just using electronics and V-Drums for sake of simplicity. The setup was getting pretty insane.

Example: The governments of the world are backed by private corporations who's soul aim is wealth and power. It's not very good really. If you could make one major change to how the world works, is governed or something else what would it be and why?

Glitch Mob: I think that education is an important fundamental building block needed to bring about social change. It's not a full-scale solution in itself, but it's necessary. In the states especially, the education system needs a major overhaul or we'll be facings some even bigger problems in the decades to come.

Example: Who's music are you currently in to and is there anybody you would recommend keeping an eye on?

Glitch Mob: One of our favorite bands right now Warpaint is just about to release an album, it's fantastic. Also loving the new Eskmo album, Lazer Sword, and have heard murmurs of a new Nosaj Thing record on the way.

Example: What can the people expect in the future from The Mob?

Glitch Mob: More eargasms!

Find out more about glitch mob here...

Dublin based label Absys records claims to specialise in “deep, futuristic and atmospheric” drum and bass. Their somewhat ominously titled 4^th CD release “mystical deep” certainly ticks all those boxes. Intricate broken drum loops and deep basslines are a recurrent theme but the track listing itself is diverse enough to engage even the most restless listeners. Chilled out offerings from the likes of Gerwin, Mortem & Loxy and Joe syntax, with their atmospheric synths and acoustic rifts, go hand in hand with the bouncing drum loops of the more rhythmic closing tracks produced by the likes of Method one, Dj Trax and KJ Sawkwa. A quick glance over the track listing confirms that Absys have kept their fundamental commitment to promoting up and coming talent alongside much hailed veterans of the deeper side of Drum and Bass.

The end result is a mesmerizing collection of 12 well polished and well layered tracks, each one offering something different to the last. At no point however, does the record sound disjointed or awkward, each track flows from the last as the album unfolds with impressive continuity. Absys consistently emphasise their desire to stay above pigeon holing by simply producing good music; “Mystical Deep” is no exception to this rule. It looks good aswell, thanks to the help of Polish born artist Feebee who produced some eye catching work to complete the package.       

So who are Absys records? The labels first release came back in 2008 with the CD compilation “behind the corner” which set out to showcase the work of a number of less well know producers alongside that of cult veterans such as dissident. From here came a string of successful free digital releases, an EP featuring strictly Irish based producers and an interesting sounding 6 track digital release from Fusion art which, as the label say, explored “the fertile intersection of ambient glitch and dubstep”.

Absys then attracted further attention with two more forward thinking CD releases, an 11 track compilation “strangers from nowhere” and a 12 track LP from Radicall entitled ‘emotive’. 2010 saw the labels debut vinyl release, featuring three tracks from LM1, dissident and Mr Sizef, each one offering a fresh take on Drum and Bass. Absys work isn’t just limited to all things musical, the labels art project aims to promote and publicise the work of cutting edge graphic designers in tandem with new musical offerings, the very best of the visual work is set to be released in a series of one off prints. As we can see, Absys has made some impressive moves over the last two years and it seems like a label with a lot more to offer.

Shad is real. He makes real music. He writes real lyrics. He producers real Hip Hop. I love Hip Hop, but at the same time, I’m quite fussy about what I will buy & listen too. I tend to lean towards the instrumental side of Hip Hop, however, every now and then, I’ll discover an MC and think to myself “Sick!”. When it comes to MC’s I have to believe what they’re rapping about. I believe Wu Tang, I believe Jurassic 5, I believe Mobb Deep & now I believe Shad.

Born out of Kenya and educated in London, Shad makes soulful, deep and upbeat music with intellectual, current and exciting lyrics. I had never heard of Shad until I was asked to write a piece on him. I’m glad I was asked. With his semi-rugged, sample based beats I quickly realised I had found myself a new regular on my iPod.

I’m keeping this short and sweet because there’s not much else I need to say in all honesty, except, check Shad out; NOW! TSOL will be his latest release on the 29th of November on Black Box/Decon Records, which will be available from all your usual places. But don’t wait until then, I highly recommend checking out his back catalogue, which includes When This Is Over, 2006 & Old Prince, 2007.

http://www.myspace.com/shad

Of all the former Drum and Bass heads who’ve decided to slow things down and turn their hand to the 140 bpm side of production, few have made the transition look quite so seamless, or enjoyed quite as much success, as Si Kryptic Minds and Leon Switch.  Example magazine favourite ‘Beerz’ of Manchester caught up with Si to get the exclusive scoop on the new album, some words on the much discussed DnB to Dubstep cross-over and whatever else happened to come up before his credit ran out.

First things first: the new album. We can exclusively reveal the record will be entitled “Cant sleep”, named after that deep, melodic track that has been rolling out across dance floors since the start of the year (you heard it hear first!) Si kept the details of the actual content relatively close to his chest, but we can confirm the album will see the duo further develop their interpretation of the 140 sound, although we have been promised some “slower stuff” and some “more experimental, arty stuff” ( make of that what you will). There will definitely be one collaboration with Youngsta.  

For all the hype surrounding the release, however, the naming process itself was hilariously mundane, as Si explains “it was very difficult to come up with a title…obviously Can’t Sleep’s been playing for a while so I just said to Leon, ‘what do you think of Can’t Sleep’ and he said ‘yeah, yeah, yeah!’” There was a similar level of spontaneity involved in the decision to actually produce the record, “we hadn’t really initially planned to make an album, it just sort of happened”.

So where exactly did all the tracks come from? As we understand it, the backbone of the record will be formed by a couple of well established bangers in their own right: “Can’t sleep” obviously being one and “The Fifth” being the other (yes it is getting a release, and, yes you did hear it here first!). The remainder of the album grew naturally from Si and Leon’s wealth of (often unheard) productive talent, as Si explains, “I spoke to Leon and said ‘look we’ve got so many tunes here, we’ve got about 40 unreleased tracks…if we just take back some of them tracks like “The Fifth” and “Can’t Sleep” and a few other bits...and write a few arty, more experimental bits, then we’ve got an album”.

But as we know, they haven’t always produced slower stuff. The Essex based duo spent the best part of a decade churning out DnB releases on a barrage of different labels, (Metalheadz ,Renegade Hardware , and of course their own project “Defcom records” to name just a few), culminating in the 2007 release of “Lost All Faith”. This expansive album represented the sheer variety of sound the pair had unearthed within the genre; by many viewed it was viewed as a masterpiece. For Si and Leon however, this album would be the final flourish, the finishing touches to their Drum and Bass legacy (at least for the foreseeable future).

At a time when the scene in general was beginning to loose its way, the duo felt as though they had squeezed out every last drop of fresh creativity from the 170 sound, “it was just really stale for us…I feel like we’ve said everything we wanted to say. We’d gone from making dark amen tunes to neuroey stuff to orchestral pieces”.

DnB wise, it was difficult to see where else was left for them to go, although that is not to say that Si view’s the scene as dead, or even stagnant. Like many others, he sees the future of the sound in the current work coming from labels such as Autonomic and Shogun Audio, “I bumped into D-Bridge the other month at RAM at Fabric…his music, I think, is amazing so if I we were going to do any 170 stuff I’d definitely give it to D-bridge first to see if he wanted to put it out. I think all them guys: Instramental, D-Bridge, Alix Perez, Sabre, Icicle, they’re just taking it somewhere different…They’re the guys that have really brought it back. A lot of the bigger labels, I just don’t think they are what they use to be. It’s these smaller guys who were coming up a couple of years ago, it’s their fresh sound and outlook that’s made the bigger labels think ‘oh my god, we’ve got to change a little bit”.

For Si and Leon the big change came in 2009 with the birth of their first full length Dubstep album, ‘One of Us’. Now producing and performing under the collective alias “Kryptic Minds”, “one of us” was to be the debut release on Loefah’s forward thinking ‘Swamp 81’ imprint; the anticipation was massive and the record did not disappoint. Following on from the success of the ‘Minor Nine’ release, Kryptic Minds produced an album of deep and spacious half step rollers as if they’d never known how to produce anything else.

What is perhaps most amazing about this transformation is the relatively narrow scope of their 140bpm influences, as Si explains “we don’t actually listen to Dubstep… And unless it’s like the people I’ve mentioned, we’re a bit rubbish at listening to demos as well. I should really spend a bit more time doing that but if you just want to make music yourself, you don’t want to listen to too much stuff”.  

Clearly, Kryptic Minds do not lack creative inspiration, at one point during the interview Si casually remarked “if we’re really on a writing buzz, we can make a tune in six hours”! So what exactly is it that has kept their output so high and so varied, for so long? One crucial factor is ensuring the tracks remain fresh, “if it takes much longer than a week, we’ve generally lost the vibe to the tune so then we just scrap it and start again”. There is also the ‘two heads are better than one’ dynamic; Si told us “what Leon is really good at is just rolling a tune out, whereas for me it’s got to sound perfect before I can go on. For example Last week, I was working on a tune at home and was almost gonna scrap it. But Leon came round and was like ‘it’s cool, roll it out’. So I rolled it out, cut it to dub, played it the next day and it sounded lovely!”

Whatever the formula is, they’re definitely doing something right and “Can’t Sleep” should be no exception. Although, as Si admitted, the details are still a bit sketchy, the album, (both vinyl and digital) is set to drop some time in March or April 2011 in a deal with Black box records. Now all we have to do is wait. 

On October the 20th Panasonic gave us some very shocking news, following months of rumours and speculations. They officially announced that they were stopping the production of the infamous Technics 1200 turntables.

The Technics SL1200 was first released in 1972, but it was the SL1200 mk2, released in 1979 that really caught peoples eye and is still a favourite of DJs across the world today. In any decent club you are guaranteed to see a pair of 1210s, they are, after all, industry standard. In the last 31 years, Technics have made subtle changes to the original concept, with the mk5g being the most recent, but overall the turntable remained pretty much the same as it was back in 1979. The mk2 is most definitely the most popular turntable with the majority of DJs though.

This news may sadden a lot of DJs across the world, Technics, part of the Panasonic brand, have said that there is no longer enough demand for vinyl turntables, with many DJs switching to cds and even, god forbid, mp3s. I, however, think that a lot of DJs are still using vinyl. Demand may not be high for new Technics turntables but I fell that this is a testament to the 1200 and 1210s outstanding build quality. Unlike modern technology today such as mobile phones, laptops, these turntables will last for ever. Hardly anyone will fork out a big chunk of their hard earned cash, these decks aren't cheap, for a brand new pair, as there are so many mint second hand ones circulating all the time. You will see a lot of hardcore vinyl lovers that are happy to continue using vinyl and fighting the 'war on vinyl'. I, myself, am a very big fan of vinyl.

I love the way my small room is dominated by hundreds of tunes. I love the album art, the way you can see and feel the tune as well as hear it. Getting your hands on a tasty promo or test press and carefully writing the track name and artist on the white label is also a small pleasure in my life (I'm pretty easily pleased). Plus, I understand how we hear sound from vinyl, but it still seems crazy that from these small grooves on a 12” vinyl disc we get amazing music with such depth. I don't care what anyone says, vinyl sounds so much nicer than cd's and mp3s, at the end of the day it's analogue so your hearing the physical sound that the needle is making in the groove, not just a bunch of 0s and 1s being converted into analogue so we can hear it, it's something pretty special in my opinion.

So there you go. End of an era? I don't think so. We will be seeing many Technics turntables for a long time to come, what else are clubs going to use, Stanton or Numark? Don't make me laugh! Just make sure if you have a nice pair of 1200s or 1210s look after them, they might be worth more than you thought.

v

Alex Browning, unlike most of the people we feature in Example Magazine isnt a DJ, doesnt make music and doesnt take photographs.  Alex Browning is a Manchester based Student who is putting in a huge amount of work in his spare time to try and build a career in the media for himself in much the same way that most of the Example family are.  It seems his efforts havent gone unnoticed as well as he has recently been nominated in the"Black Youth Achievement Awards".

So Alex for those that don't know what do you do?

I'm an aspiring Director & Performing Artist. I've had a lot of involvement with Example Magazine as Creative Director of [Ex:]TV the online video output of the mag. I'm currently in a 'break year' from studying BA Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Manchester.

Tell us what the Black Youth Achievement Awards are and why you've been nominated?

Black Youth Achievements has a ten year plan which it sees will best support young people in reaching their full potential and help individuals to incorporate their skills, knowledge and talents, empowering their peers during the process.
blackyouthachievements.org/

I've been nominated for the category 'Arts'. I've done various work with the Arts from working as 2nd Unit Director and 1st Assistant Director on 'Life As I Know It' an 8 part TV Drama series, based on students in Manchester which aired on Channel M this year. I've also been part of the Contact Young Acting Company, the in-house Acting company at Contact Theatre in Manchester and am a member of their four person Young Producing and Programming Team, 'Re:Con'.

What do you need us to do to help you win?

Please can you all text ART 3 to 84555 (you will recieve a confirmation text). You can text as many times as you like so please get texting and tell friends!


What else have you got coming up?

I've got a couple of music videos lined up including a music promo that was funded by ITV Fixers.

What advice would you give to people trying to get a career in media / production etc.

Test the water and try things as soon as you can. It'll be easier if you understand different areas of the media sooner and which area you want to go into. Once you know this you can focus your efforts on what you want to specialise in.
I originally thought I wanted to be a journalist, and did work placements at local newspapers and tried out radio. Now i'm focussing my efforts into film-making.

favourite tune at the moment?

I don't have a favourite tune at the moment, but I would urge Example mag readers to watch the extended music video/short film by Kanye West -'Runaway'
..it's only 34minutes long...