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Interview - LVis1990

November 19

I posted the competition for this Rizla event thing during the week - it's still open, so if you want to win some free guesties to the event in Bristol this weekend (Saturday 20th Nov) then get emailing. Check the full post here. After that, I managed to catch LVis1990 on the phone for a quick interview; have a read, and then when you're all excited about his new jacking Chicago house material, get down to Motion to catch his set. Boom.

So, you were recording in New York recently?

Yeah, I was over there in September, for about 10 days.

How did it go?

Really amazing. It's so good to get out of London and just work solidly on music without any distractions. We were working in a big open studio, loads of hardware, it was pretty exciting.

Why were you recording in New York anyway?

I was out there with my friend Nick Hook, from Cubik Zirconia - he's got a studio there, he plays keys and stuff. But it was mainly just wanting to get out of London, try and focus my mind on the album. The album's got kind of a US vibe on it anyway, so it's good to work there to soak that up a bit too.

What kind of a US vibe?

It's like Chicago house really. I'm only using hardware for the whole album - pretty much all the drums are off a Roland TR707, so it's getting that kind of Farley Jackmaster Funk vibe of really dry sounding drums. Then there's the synths, vocals from people like Shadz.

That sounds great - I love the Chicago house sound.

Yeah, it's all I really listen to at the moment - Chicago house, that and Detroit techno. It's still sounds so fresh, and it seems like what was happening in Chicago then, it's got kind of a correlation to what's happening now in London with the funky crews, Night Slugs and so on - people not caring about genres. Like back then, everything was just house music - any underground dance music was house music. And there's a similar thing going on now - there's not so much emphasis on genres, just things held together by a vibe.

So how's the album coming along then? When are you gonna finish it?

It's coming along really well - I've got quite a few solid tracks that I'm just structuring at the moment. I'm hoping to have it done by the end of February, I've taken the whole of that month off to just focus on it. I'm going to be going out to Paris to work with Teki Latex and Para One on a few tracks, and I'll be going out to LA too. I want to do all the places in United Groove - Paris, London, LA, New York. I really just want to make a good, solid dance music album.

So anyway. Night Slugs is going pretty well then...

Yeah! It's just all gone crazy over the last few months, with the Resident Advisor feature, it's really exciting. So now we're really looking forward to pushing it to the next level in 2011.

How do you split the workload between you and Bok Bok?

Well, it's pretty even, but Bok Bok does all the artwork. We've got a PnD deal for the vinyl with Rubadub up in Glasgow. We live together, too, in Night Slugs HQ - there's me, Bok Bok and Girl Unit. But we've got Kingdom crashing over at the minute too, so it really is Night Slugs house!

Have you got anyone down as an ideal release? Are you chasing anyone?

No, we're not really chasing anyone - everything that's happened with Night Slugs has been really organic, it's all been our crew, our friends, people who've been there since the start. We might be doing a release with Christian Martin next year, which would be a step out of our crew. We've also got a track by Jacques Greene from Montreal on the Allstars album at the end of the month, but we wouldn't really chase someone for a release.

Are you planning much in the way of bigger projects? Artist albums?

Next year we've got the Egyptrixx album which is coming out on February 9th, which is really good, I'm really impressed with it. We're also gonna be doing a Jam City album in the first half of the year.

You'll be pretty busy then...

Yeah, there's a lot of work to do! But we've got a couple of interns at the minute, since the label started getting really busy.

Interns! Wow, I should get one too. What's working for you, DJ wise, at the minute?

Well, a lot of Night Slugs, a lot of US stuff like Karizma, Spen, classic Chicago... but yeah, mainly crew stuff!

I saw a UStream of you a bit ago, you were playing a house party and there was some crazy, triplet or 6/8 music going on ...

Ah yeah, that would have been some tribal guarachero. It's like Mexican ghetto music. But yeah that tribal sound, I was really into that - there's a remix I did of Wildlife that's just come out now - it's got that kind of vibe, especially in the drums.

Do you play that kind of stuff out much?

Yeah, I'd say it's just pure party music basically. So yeah, I do fit that one into my sets occasionally, there are some Dubbel Dutch edits, like his edit of Untold's track Anaconda, I've done a couple of edits too. It's totally playable. Some of it's quite crazy, but there's some really good stuff out there.

And people go for it?

Yeah - it's just stupid party music. It's hard not to dance! They look a bit confused sometimes, but it works, I've played it to some pretty massive crowds.

Cool. Anything you want to plug, before we sign off?

Yeah, we've got the Night Slugs Allstars compilation coming out on November 29th - so tell everyone to check that out!

====

i.d.

Filed under // Chicago House Interview LVis1990

Posted by bassmusic

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Kassem Mosse - Interviewed by Kowton & October

November 2

This Friday sees someone who has been described as 'the European Omar S' come to Bristol, to play for the Caravan crew. I refer, of course, to Kassem Mosse, maker of dirty weirdy house music and much admired by Joy Orbison, D Bridge and the Autonomic crew, not to mention by pretty much everyone interested in the non-beatport end of house music. You may know Caravan as being a record label, run by October and putting out a wide range of loosely house and techno based music - ranging from the epic Italo journeys of Antoni Maiovvi to the heavy as lead deconstructed sonic workouts of Emptyset... And of course October's own unique take on things as well.

Anyways, October, along with Idle Hands' head honcho Chris Farrell and Simon Twine, have decided to launch a night. In October's own words:

"A while back I got contacted by Marco Bernardi of Clone / Soma fame, now running Timbuk2. He really wanted me do a night, which I was initially highly apprehensive about but all that soon subsided after some thought was put into it. Chris Farrell and myself were discussing how Bristol needs a real House and Techno party. Not a massive rave up in a big club but a more intimate sweaty basement vibe reminiscent of early Berlin, Glasgow, Detroit, NYC and Chicago.

I wanted to book artists that I felt a real musical connection with that would fit in with what we are doing and had a few people that I was interested in booking, but Kassem Mosse was always our number one choice"

http://soundcloud.com/multiverse/october-caravan-promo-mix-loud

Anyways, because we always like to spoil our readers, we got Kowton (of recent Resident Advisor mix fame, and a DJ on the night) and October to combine forces and interview Kassem for us. Here's how it went down...

*********************

There has always been a healthy undercurrent of interest in your work amongst techno-heads in Bristol and seemingly the rest of the UK; do find this following is reflected in Germany and the rest of Europe?

I should start by saying that I am really glad about the interest from the UK, as this also started really early and after I had only done few releases. When meandyou invited me to perform in Manchester together with Lowtec and Even Tuell two years ago that was my first ever gig outside of Germany. Sometime later when the people from Non-Plus and Doldrums got in touch with me I was really surprised and happy to see such interest in my productions coming from a direction that I wouldn't have expected. Same with the Commix remix comp: I realised that there was apparently a much greater openness in the UK than in my own environment. Myself included to a certain degree, as I haven't really been following any of these UK scenes in recent years. It made me realise that I should perhaps make an effort to catch up.

Following the release on Non-Plus, it seems like there's beeen a surge of enthusiasm for what you're doing from heads across the UK underground; do you feel a musical affinity with UK underground music?

Well, as I said above, I must admit that I am quite ignorant about the current substreams. I was however strongly influenced by UK labels and artists in the 1990s: Warp, obviously, and even more so Rephlex and Skam, Two Lone Swordsmen in their Flightpath Estate period, to mention just a few examples. The UK sounds I liked had different roots obviously, everything was more bassy, more breaks oriented and plainly more weird and strange than what I heard in Germany at the time. I soaked all this up even before I really got into Detroit sounds. So I guess the influence is perhaps not a conscious one, but it's there no less. Also in this sense of openness, often parties over here will still be very seriously conservative musical affairs, a single style and groove. But I want changes, I want breaks, I want to be able to play Prince alongside a techno record and I want people to enjoy that.

When we first became aware of your music a few years back, a mate of ours claimed you ran all your tracks through a VHS recorder. Is this true? If not, why do you think he told us this!?

Hahaha... that is amazing! Your friend has a point: I've been collecting all sorts of cheap equipment since the 1990s and I like the fact that a lot of these items have an imperfect sound. My way of production is completely unsophisticated, which ties in with the VHS. When you use imperfect tools there is always the possibility of magic: things happening that you cannot explain and that you don't direct, they just happen by themselves. You lose control over these the devices and sometimes that can be a really good experience. I like when you can hear that something was recorded with a machine, when the mechanical process reveals itself. That's a certain sense of honesty: electronic music is an artificial form and I believe you should be able to hear that in a recording, an element that reminds you of the process of recording. Take the Leron Carson album on Sound Signature for example: you can hear how the sound drops on the tape at times. I totally love those tracks for that. I believe there is an aspect to analogue gear that people mostly ignore in these tiresome analogue vs. digital debates (and I should add that, yes, of course I also use digital equipment and computers for certain things): I don't prefer analogue over digital because I believe it inherently sounds better or something, I prefer it because I love analogue imperfection.

Would you say you're part of any local scene? Or do you operate in isolation?

While I was part of a local collective and am still affiliated with its members and their current projects I don't really consider myself as part of a larger local scene. I do my own thing, but also collaborate with friends on other projects, like Chilling The Do, my Freeform Ambient co-op with my mate Lorenz, who releases as Mix Mup. Most of my connections are based on longstanding friendships.

You recently remixed Commix for the 'Re:Call to Mind' project - have you ever considered yourself a junglist?

In the 90s I took some interest in it, went to a couple of parties, locally and also when I was in London, but I would not have considered myself a junglist. I really liked the energy of it, though.

Why did you choose the name Kassem Mosse - is there a meaning behind it?

Let me think... I would say it's twofold: it's an attempt to go beyond a local context (i.e. Germany, as in Kassem Mosse is not Wolfgang Voigt) and to represent a personal aesthetic. The name is derived from an earlier alias, and the whole idea behind it is to keep people guessing, or better: to make it up for themselves. I always get different associations, and a whole lot of misspellings. I like those errors. Everything is so fixed in a way nowadays: you get your profile page on some website and that's the official Mosse right there. That's a bit boring, because I would like to keep it mutating: in a way it's an experiment, a little game with names. Whether you spell it Kassem Mossem, Karem Mossa, Karem Mousse, Kareem Mossee or Kassem Mosses (I stumbled across all those variants on the web) shouldn't really matter, because what matters is that people are getting into that music. What is funny about the name though is that people in Germany never manage to pronounce it "right". But that's just a further aspect, another mutation.

What gear do you use in the studio and in a live set up?

I won't comment on this, simply because I believe that it doesn't matter. I use the tools I have at hand, I could do the same or similar with something else because the approach would be the same. As I mentioned I'm not about sophistication, you can make the most amazing tracks on the most bland piece of gear. Put some energy into it, be willing to go the extra mile is all.

Being a DJ as well as a live act, can you tell us a little about your experiences and the different reactions you may get when you DJ or play live?

Perhaps the difference come down to control: when I play live I try to create a set that gives me enough freedom to shape the tracks as I go and a situation where I can also lose control, where I can get lost – a potential for things to happen that will surprise me (in a good way, hopefully). When I DJ I want to stay in control. I'm not sure about the differences in reactions between the two approaches, because I do not DJ as often as I play live, so it's hard to compare.

In general what I do will mark a break from what was going on before, because I like my music rough and raw and I don't stick with a single style for the whole set; I'm not a purist. What I like to do is move along with sound rather than style – 808 sounds for instance can be used in any electronic style: techno, house, electro, whatever, so why not mix them up? The music must be quality, that's the most important thing.

This year in Hamburg I played a whole night together with my friend Annette (who releases, a bit too sporadically I think, as nike.bordom) and that was a great experience and audience. People really got into the flow and were open for going different ways. That's how an ideal night should be like.

Did you work together with Omar S for his revamp of your amazing '578' track on FXHE and if so, what's the man like to work with?

Yes, I did. We met in Berlin and set up a session and we recorded some takes of his live mixes of the original track. It was quite an amazing experience for me. He is a producer that I have admired since he started releasing - the sound, the attitude, I love it all. At the point when the first FXHE releases dropped I was quite disappointed and fed up with electronic music, everything sounded alike and clean, everybody was getting into these shiny laptop sounds and there was this guy recording this amazing raw music and that restored my faith and kept me going, producing tracks no matter if they sounded perfect as long as they were deep and funky and real... At the time I obviously never would have thought that I would ever get a chance to work with him. I learned a lot from those sessions. He's super-focused when he's working on a mix. And I found him to be a very nice and funny guy, actually.

Any plans for an artist album?

I'm considering it, but I'm not sure if I really want this for KM: there are releases but in a certain sense it's also a live thing, it's about what happens here and now. On that night, with that crowd. And it should be subject to change.

I know this doesn't make too much sense - there are the 12"s after all. But when I try to think up electronic albums that I really admire or that really impressed me, then I'm worried that I couldn't come up with something that would come close. And if you just do a double 12" with a couple of tracks why would that be considered an album? It's really a complex thing and a difficult format. Eventually it will happen though, one way or the other...

What do you have in store for us for your Bristol debut?

Raw live sonics, I usually play unreleased stuff and tracks that I play just live, with some odd parts from new projects thrown in. Or I just jam once I get into jam mode. Raw machine funk is what I have in store...

===

Binga.

Filed under // Interview Kassem Mosse Kowton October

Posted by bassmusic

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Exclusive DJ Die Interview - Pt 2

May 12

Your DJ sets and label releases cover a lot of ground - would you say there's some kind of a DJ Die aesthetic that ties them all together?

Keep the people dancing to good music.

What makes a tune stand out for you, for your DJ sets or a release on your label?

That certain je ne sais quoi. It's got to have the flavour!

And when you're writing, what sparks off a tune for you? For example, with Autumn, was it based around the guitar loop or was that the icing on the cake?

Sometimes when I’m working on my own it’s a sample that will kick off the vibe. I take a lot of sounds from records, CDs or wherever and put them in a sampler or Pro Tools. I then chop them up and start to throw them together like a collage and get a vibe going from that. With 'Autumn' I found the killer guitar loop on the B side of a famous funk track called 'We Got The Funk' by Positive Force and it was all over.

On the other hand, working with William Cartwright on the recent track 'Bright LIghts' we created the Rare Groove section from scratch. Will played all the instruments and we sampled nothing.

All the ClearSkyz releases so far have had really distinctive artwork. How involved with that side are you, do you think it's more important for vinyl sales now?

I've loved getting involved in the artwork side of things. Chris Rees from Luxury Creative Thinking has done most of the covers and created the ClearSkyz logo, but I came up with the ideas for the 'Skate Or Die' EP artwork then got a designer to put it together for me.

The Clear Skyz (Break RMX) cover is my favourite so far. While on a DJ trip to Paris a chance meeting with Frederic Vicaire aka Dr Menace would later result in him doing the cover art for Skyz 004. After seeing his comic book, skateboard and classic tattoo-inspired artwork, I instantly fell in love with what he does and bought some of his 'Villains Conspiracy' limited edition T-shirts and prints. After getting back to England, I thought I would ask him if he would be interested in doing some artwork for the next release on Skyz and I was really happy when he said yes. When he delivered the final artwork I was blown away - he smashed it down proper with a classic. I had to do a limited-edition picture disc of the release just so I could put one on my wall!

I think it is important to give the music buyer something special they would want to keep, something to give an extra visual vibe to go with the music and maybe even put up on their wall.

What's coming up for Clear Skyz? Any plans for an album or compilation?

Next up on Skyz is the single 'Bright Lights' out May 17th. It’s by me, Interface and William Cartwright. It’s getting a lot of love and I’m really excited to get this one on the streets just in time for summer. Then I think I’m going to do a solo 12”, I've got this party roller called 'Jelly and Ice Cream' - I just need to finish the flip. After that there is going to be an EP from the hot kid Interface. I’ve also signed this tune, I guess you could call it dub step but its more just straight dub. It’s called 'Bomba' and it’s by First Aid and Pulsar, serious deep sub b-line - you need to hear this on a rig! Me, Interface and William Cartwright also have plans to go the lab and do some more stuff so watch the Skyz.

How do you see the DnB scene at the moment? It feels like it's really opened up lately, with halfstep sounds from Taxman to Autonomic, plus all the liquid, jump up, neuro, etc etc...

Drum and Bass is doing its thing. A lot of stuff I get sent is not up to scratch though - it’s got to be special now. The music has been around some time now and although I like the idea of new styles coming through, it’s got to cut it on its own. Let’s not be minimal for the sake of it, or try to recreate old-school jungle by sampling some old Congo Natty 12. I’m not knocking any of the styles because there are some bad tunes that come through but let’s step it up.

People need to work harder on making something that will last, not just churn out some beat, release it one week then it’s forgotten the next. Have some quality control over your music. I listen to, and play, and make all styles of Jungle / Drum and Bass and will not fall into any pigeon hole. If I want to make jump up then I will, if I want to make liquid then I will. Don't do something for the sake of it, make music from the heart.

Do you still follow the skate scene? Who's your all time favourite on the board? And how do you feel skating and music are linked - it feels like there's a lot of creative people in skating...

I went out skating today. I went and bought a new set up, then went to St. George’s and then Dean Lane (Bristol skate parks). My all time favourite skater is Natas - him and the Gonz were the street skating scientists and invented so many of the street skating foundation tricks - plus a load more that could not be duplicated.

Skating and music are completely related for me. It’s the same mentality. Create, learn new moves and destroy the deck. If it wasn't for skating in Bristol I would not have met the people I did, and I might not be making music today.

Cheers Die! BTW this is Pinch's favourite Die tune...

Big respects to Die!

_____

Binga & I.D.

Filed under // DJ Die Interview

Posted by bassmusic

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Exclusive DJ Die Interview - Pt 1

May 11

OK you lucky lucky people, we have something very special for you lucky lucky lot. A verified legend of Bristol, and indeed the UK, music scene, if you don't know about Die, do your research. From countless classics on Full Cycle and V Recordings, through winning the Mercury Music prize with Reprazent, to working with Ben Westbeech and Clipz, to setting up his label Clear Skyz and continuing to drop ridiculously good club anthems, Die has seen and done it all. A proper musical hero of both me and Ed, we were honoured when he came back with some properly in-depth answers to our questions. Read, enjoy, and don't forget to cop the next Clear Skyz - Die, Interface and William Cartwright - out in the next week or so.

Let's start somewhat back in the day... Do you have a musical background or family? What inspired you to start making your own tunes?

My first memory ever was seeing Pink Floyd at Knebworth park festival when I was 2 years old. My Mum and Dad were hippy types so I used to go to loads of festivals when I was growing up - I've been going to Glastonbury for as long I can remember and got to see and hear many different types of music. And my Dad played guitar and sung a bit and was in various bands.

I guess I got inspired to start making my own tunes by meeting the people I did. And also not having the right tunes in my DJ box, we had to create the music we really wanted to play.

It must have been amazing to see the Bristol D'n'B scene blow up in the 90s. When did you start to get an inkling as to how far you could take it?

I never really had a clue it was going to blow the way it did - I was just a kid that was in the right place at the right time. I started to DJ because I loved Hip Hop and was fascinated to know how to scratch - 'how do you make that sound?'. Before that I was a skater - I saw learning how to scratch and mix the same as learning a new trick.

From there the journey just unfolded in front of me. Living in Bristol it was easy to get into the scene that was happening all around - there were always house parties and warehouse jams going on and I did my best to go to as many I as i could. DJ crews like The Wild Bunch, Too Bad, FBI Crew and the Fresh 4 were killing it at that time. You also had Ashton Court Festival, which was Europe’s biggest free festival, and St. Paul's Carnival. They were great places to catch some of Bristol’s finest DJs, rappers and crews throwing down.

I hooked up with Flyn Ites and Krust from the Fresh 4 around 1988 and started to roll with them - they were interested in skating and I was interested in DJing. I used to go to various parties and illegal warehouse jams to watch them play - that’s where I really got a proper taste of what it was like to be a DJ. In 1989 The Fresh 4 landed a top ten hit with the track "Wishing On A Star" and things really blew up for them. It was great to be around their success and it inspired me to get deeper into the music side of things.

I met Jody Wisternoff (Way Out West) who was in a Hip Hop Crew with his younger brother called 'Tru Funk' and started hanging out at his yard. I begged him to show me how to scratch and later started producing beats with him. We started off making little hip hop beats, then later made a house tune called '4 AM' and it ended up coming out on Smith and Mighty's 3 Stripe label in 1990. This would be the first record i was part of; I was 18 at the time.

2 years later after honing my skills on the turntables at squat parties, house parties, free raves and anywhere I could get on the decks the whole rave thing exploded. I landed myself a DJ set at a massive legal rave called Universe (In2Orbit). It was at this rave I met up with Roni - we hung out in front of the speakers and listened to LTJ Bukem play. We had a weird connection and seemed to share the same feeling for the music we were hearing; we later found out we also shared the same birthday. The next year I spent going to and DJing at illegal free raves up and down the country. We would meet at Smith and Mighty's studio on Ashley Road, wait to get the info from the rave hotline then head off to some distant location. This pretty much went on every weekend for the whole year. One weekday that year Roni invited me to come to his brother Didi Shrue's studio and make some music with him. In the first session we made 'Agility' which would become one of the tracks from the first V Recordings (then called Vinyl Experience) release 'Made To Fit'. In the next session we made "Music Box" which would become the first release on Full Cycle.

Fast forward four years - after many releases on Full Cycle and V Recordings the LP 'New Forms' came out on Giles Peterson's Talking Loud Records by a band called Reprazent. The band members were Roni Size, Dj Krust, Suv, Dynamite MC, Onallee, Si Jhon, Clive Demer and myself. Later that year we won the Mercury Music Prize and it all went apeshit. World tours, high profile TV appearances, music videos and of course the mad parties. It was rock and roll but with drum and bass instead of guitars.

I never thought ahead past the next week, I literally followed my feet.

How did Dope Dragon come about? Why did you feel you needed a new set of projects / aliases?

Dope Dragon was started so we could flex in a more straight dance floor style. We could do mad b-lines, take samples from more obvious sources and just have fun with it. Dope Dragon would end up putting out the tracks that we had made for that weekend's DJ set, while we kept the more experimental cutting-edge stuff for Full Cycle. A lot of the music we made we made in batches - we would make five tunes at a time, and one of them would end up on Cycle, two on Dope Dragon and we would shelve the other two.

Speaking of Dope Dragon, what is it about the rollers that you like so much? Are you into other kinds of 'rolling' music - like classic techno, or even Steve Reich-style minimalism?

I don't know why I like the rollers, maybe it’s because they're easy to make! I was really into hip hop tracks like Most Wanted 'Carm Down', Sugar Bear 'Don't Scandalise Mine', all the early stuff on Warp Records like Man Machine, Nightmares On Wax (Aftermath) and of course LFO... Also A Tribe Called Quest. There is something really satisfying about getting something that works with very simple ingredients... Don't over-flavour the soup!

Things have changed a lot in dance production from the early days - hardware to software in particular. We heard that you have some pretty sweet outboard, and even still use some of your old samplers - is this true? Are there any other 'old skool' production angles techniques you still use?

I still have all my old bits of equipment set up like the Emu E64, Roland 760 and SP1200, plus some tasty outboard compressors and EQ and some analogue synths - and I do get them going from time to time. Sometimes it’s just to go through my old libraries but I do still love the flavours the different samplers or keyboards give. I recently spend a whole day sampling all the sounds off this old ARP keyboard into the EMU E64, I had almost run out of sample time, and then the bastard crashed. The EMU said Fatal Error whatever that is - it pissed me off. If you can be bothered to take your time and do it the old school way, it is worth it just to get that extra flavour. It shows your passion for the art!

Do you still cut dubs, and is this something that you think will endure as part of the scene?

I stopped cutting dub plates for a bit last August and went Serato because DJ gigs were getting a bit thin and I had to make ends meet. The new Serato SL3 24 box came out, so I did some tests and thought it sounded a lot better that the old box, with a louder level and clearer punch. I recorded a load of my old jungle and early 90s rave collection off a quality hi-fi turntable and through some outboard gear then mastered it a bit in Pro Tools and stated to build my Serato library up with fat quality files. I played this festival called Shambhala and had a load of new beats that I couldn't get to cut. I also wanted to play some classic jungle and rave in my set, so I thought I would give Serato a blast and it ended up being one of most fun sets I played in a long while.

I also play Boogie Funk sets under the name Laminate Radio and have built a fat library of tunes for those sets. Although I own and still buy Boogie Funk and Disco 12s on vinyl its really handy to have such a large selection of music in your laptop.

Very recently I cut a load of plates to play at Ram at Matter. I have played at some clubs recently where Serato has sounded a bit thin and I missed the old vibes of getting that fresh acetate out the bag a slapping it on the turntable. I must say you can't beat playing sets off straight dub plate and vinyl. There's something really satisfying about it - you can’t quite mix and catch the double drops on CDs or Serato as you can on dub plates and vinyl, plus they do sound fatter and warmer.

I will say this to all producers that want to learn and understand the process of making records, it’s a really good experience and exercise to get your tracks cut to dub. You will learn more from cutting a dub than you will from any frequency analyser. If you don't cut a dub plate you will never quite know how it will sound when it gets pressed to vinyl before it's time to master.

(pic from Stardelta Mastering)

All in all though, it doesn't really matter how you play your music as long as people are enjoying the sounds that are coming out the speaker. I use it all, dub plate, CD, Serato. If it works for you then use it but remember this - 'We don't lend or borrow dub!'

It seems that DnB DJing has really ramped up over the last 10 years - the average standard now is incredible, so much higher than most scenes. How and why did that happen, and does it ever feel like an extra level of pressure to be so on point all the time?

Yes the standard is definitely high. Andy C is the boss though, 'the executioner', as he's known, is a machine. He has raised the bar and it makes you have to work harder. When you see him on three decks its hard to work out what's going on - how does any one know their record collection that well, it's sick! Randall is the originator though. He started all double drop stuff really - 'rewind the mix Randall!'

I like to hear different styles though, not every DJ has to double drop. Sometimes is nice to hear somebody roll out or just play some good music you haven't heard before... but you can't beat the impact of 2 records going off together, it just smashes up the dance floor.

Stay tuned for Pt 2...

_____

Binga & I.D.

Filed under // DJ Die Interview interviews

Posted by bassmusic

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Producer Q&A - Geiom

April 1

How cool is that gig flyer? I got it from Geiom's myspace. Looks like an advert for some 1940's French Cinema - loving it.

Anyway, we've managed to get Geiom to answer our producer Q&A's. Geiom has been a fixture on the electro and bass scene for a while now, running the consistently classy Berkane Sol records (who have just dropped number 14 - Sugar Coated Lover by Geiom, and remixed by Brackles & Shortstuff), and he's just had a release on Double Science too. Really chuffed to have him answering these - he's a sick producer and well known for his clinical, classy production.

How do you approach a tune? Drums first? Melody?

Depends, but usually drums first.

What time of day do you work best?

I can get vibes anytime! its always best to do stuff like organising sounds/samples or anything that involves rewiring the equipment during the day though.

Where do you get your inspiration / motivation from?

Large cash advances. No seriously, everything - a street argument I might have seen, the last dance I went to, films, interesting food. If I'm working with a vocalist a lot of the direction often comes from them.

What do you do when you're not feeling inspired?

Get crunk, reprogram synths, send bits into my ancient sampler, switch to another tune. If none of that helps, eventually give up and do something totally different for a bit.

Do you start a tune from scratch, or do you usually have a drumset/template/etc to work from?

You can possibly tell from my music that I always start from scratch, which probably makes life a lot harder but I think it helps to make each track sound individual.

If you got a chance would you write pop stuff for a major label (if the money was good?)

I think we're already making our own pop with songs like Sugar Coated Lover (!). Major labels - what do they mean these days really? They are mostly just an advertising machine using the internet to hype their MP3 'products' - which are usually only available - on the internet. I think the independents who actually support vinyl or at least CD's are far more relevant these days.

What's the boring, workhorse plugin/piece of kit that you use all the time?

No audio equipment is boring to me.....but of course my analogue mixing desk is always the centre of any piece of music.

What's the coolest bit of kit you've got and do you actually use it much?

Maybe my quadraverb 2 - its an 8 part effects unit that you program yourself. Its easy to get lazy and use plug ins but that unit sounds instantly better than most plug ins.

Do you mixdown your own stuff? Reckon there's a stigma around this?

Always mixdown my own stuff. I can maybe see the point in letting someone else do that part but its not a road I have ever been down. Some of my stuff is quite intricate, I'm not sure if someone else could do the mixdown for me.

What production technique do you think is really overused / annoying?

Overcompression. Get your mix right in the first place, then you don't need so much compression. People seem to have forgotten about the simple volume control - if a tune is a bit quiet - get out of your chair and turn it up! There's a lot of cheesy sidechain going on just now too. It's a cool trick, but it don't necessarily make a tune sound good.

What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started out?

I think that music is a lifelong journey, I learn new stuff all the time, it would be less fun if I'd known the answers at the start.

=====

i.d.

Filed under // Geiom Interview Producer Q&A

Posted by bassmusic

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What Is Mastering? In Depth with Kevin @ Wired Pt 2 - Exclusive!

November 10

(continued from pt 1)

What are some interesting projects you have worked on?

They're all interesting in they're own way!!!!! I know that's a total cop out, but I really mean it. Obviously some are better than others musically, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of meeting the artists and bands. It doesn't always follow that the people that make the best music are the most fun to sit in a studio with!! My website has a list of some of my projects on, and only the good ones we REALLY liked doing make it onto the website.

What makes something interesting to me would be incredibly dull to someone else… sorry.

What's your 'standard' signal chain, and why is it better than the kind of plug-ins bedroom producers have access to now?

Playback computer

–>

Weiss EQ1 (Digital Parametric Equaliser)

–>

Apogee DA16X or Apogee Rosetta 200 (Digital to Analogue Converters)

–>

Maselec MTC-2 (Master Transfer Console)

–>

Maselec MEA-2 (Parametric Equaliser)

–>

Maselec MLA-2 (Stereo Compressor)

–>

Chandler TG12413 Zener Limiter (Stereo Compressor / Limiter)

–>

Manley Massive Passive Mastering Edition (Parametric Equalizer)

–>

Maselec MPL-2 (Peak & High Frequency Limiter)

–>

Apogee PSX 100 (Analogue to Digital Converter)

–>

Weiss DS1 (Digital De-Esser / Compressor / Limiter)

–>

SADiE (Destination Computer).

The most relevant part about this signal chain is the Maselec MTC-2. It is the heart of the studio. It's essentially a two channel mixer, with multiple insert points. The great thing it is that all of the outboard can be flicked in and out of the signal chain at the touch of a button. It also has high & low cuts, an elliptical filter and stereo width adjustment. It allows me to use the inserts in M/S at the flick of a switch and also to use the Chandler as a 'parallel compressor' - along with all the standard stuff such as being able to monitor in mono, and out of phase etc.

Most importantly is its ability to monitor at any point down the signal chain and at matched gains. When a piece of outboard is inserted into the chain, if it increases the gain by even as little as 0.5 dB then it can give you a very false sense of its actual merit. It is CRITICALLY important to be able to evaluate every eq and compression adjustment at exactly the same level. If it's louder it's going to sound 'better' and that's not necessarily the case.

I would also add that although this is my signal chain that doesn`t mean that EVERYTHING gets pushed through it regardless. There are times when just a little bit of extra gain and a 0.5 dB shelf on the top end will do! The way the desk works means that if the insert points are not switched in then the signal doesn't go through the kit - which is very different to running music through kit in bypass mode. Again, there are times when just a little bit of digital EQ with the Weiss will suffice, so then the audio won't go anywhere near the analogue domain. It is very important to treat each track on its own merit, and not just religiously bang tracks through the same path for the sheer hell of it!

As far as why this chain is better than a load of plugins, that's easy – they sound better. Of course I love all the big buttons & flashing lights, who doesn't, but honest to God, if the plugs sounded better then I would use them. Ultimately, it's about the end result. I would love to hit save on my computer rather than having to note down every setting, I get through an awful lot of notebooks! I do think that plugins are getting very good nowadays and there are certain situations where they are as good if not better - it just depends on what you're trying to achieve with them. Again, ask me the same question in a year or two…

What's the pimpest bit of kit you have?

The room, speakers and amps! They work in conjunction with each other, so I kind of view them as one. Everything else is utterly irrelevant if you can`t hear what your fancy compressor is really doing. Besides, if by 'pimpest' you mean 'most expensive' then they definitely come out on top!

Cheers Kevin!

************************************

Binga.

Filed under // Industry Interview Wired mastering

Posted by bassmusic

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What Is Mastering? In Depth with Kevin @ Wired Pt 1 - Exclusive!

November 10

Wired Masters is a mastering house in London that works with a massive range of material - everything from Black Sabbath to Ibiza Annuals, from Tectonic Plates to Bjork... and The Body Snatchers album, which is where I met their main man, Kevin, and proceeded to drive him mad with requests like 'make it loud... but not too loud' and 'this one needs to sound epic, but in an intimate manner' and 'have you got any more biscuits, I'm hungry'.

'The Madness of Sam Binga' aside, Kev did an amazing job on the album, working both from final stereo mixes and from stems, allowing us to make sure things like vocal and bass levels were properly set and matched across the album. It was also really interesting to spend a day sitting in with someone who has such a passion for audio and geek out on the equipment, techniques and approaches involved in mastering.

Wired recently moved to a super slick new facility, so we thought it would be nice to catch up with Kevin and get him to shed some light on what can often seem like a highly-respected but little-understood area of the music industry. So, without further ado, here is the Bass Music Blog Mastering Interview with Wired Masters!

How would you describe what you do, and what are you trying to achieve?

What I essentially do is to make music ready for commercial release.

Mastering is in essence the final stage of the recording process – the last chance to address sonic issues before delivery to the public. Personally, I am trying to achieve loud, open, well balanced masters. On an album project I want a general good sonic consistency to every track so that the album has a sense of continuity. And of course, I want happy artists & happy record labels!

Why is mastering important?

Mastering is the last chance to address any mix issues, breathe some life into, or just squeeze that last few percent out of a track before delivery to the public. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, delivering your music in its strongest possible form is absolutely essential. From a dance music point of view you may have musically the strongest composition in the world but if it sounds weak on a system, no one is going to play it!

Also as so much dance music is made 'in the box' (i.e. entirely within a computer - bmb) it is the last chance your audio has to see some nice transformers, valves & circuitry before becoming digits again. I think most audio 'deserves' the chance to be analogue at some stage in its life prior to manufacture!

What are the most important techniques you use?

Listening! Assessing what needs to be done before diving straight in!

It is so easy to get lost in adding a little bit here, a little bit there, a shelf here, touch of bass there, all of a sudden you`ve just basically turned the track up but in a really awful clumsy way!

From a technical point of view, I guess the most important techniques are 'corrective EQ' & compression in series.

I don`t think that I can really talk too much about EQ, other than to say that I fix what needs to be fixed and push what feels right to push! I tend to use high and low cuts on all dance music - cutting anywhere between 20 to 30Hz and 18kHz to 25kHz. There just tends to be crap above and below these frequencies that takes up energy.

Each of my EQs has their 'sweet spots' so I tend to use different outboard for different frequencies. Also I tend to 'feather' the EQs a bit. That is to say, I'll use maybe two or three overlapping bands of EQ to add some of the missing frequencies rather than just have one band doing a lot – to my ears it just sounds a bit nicer that way. Unsurprisingly, I tend to do corrective surgery at the start with a digital EQ and all the nice sweetening EQ with my analogue EQs.

I use several compressors & limiters all doing a tiny bit of compression. You will hardly see much movement on the gain reduction meters moving in my studio. None of the kit is ever working that hard from a gain reduction point of view - it's the sum of the parts. Unless I'm going for a real compression 'effect' I don't want to hear them working. They all have different attack and release times and it's the way they interact with each other that gives the overall effect.

I guess the way I get nice clean level increases is by hitting all the outboard kit pretty hard, and letting the overall gain build up throughout the chain. It is a very personal process but one that sounds good to my ears; it keeps the music sounding 'open' which is very important.

What can producers do to help you get better results?

For me, several things:

1. Build a relationship with your Mastering Engineer. All of my artists and producers speak to me on a continual basis. They send me tracks long before their delivery deadlines and we talk about them. If things can be fixed in the mix and not at mastering that is far better. I would much rather spend my time and use my equipment to sweeten things rather than fix them!

2. Make sure that you are not mastering the day before your delivery is due (oops - binga). This can buy us some time to correct any issues if needs be prior to the mastering.

3. Critically listen to your peers. Most artists have a 'sound' that they are going for. Cross reference against finished tracks that you know sound awesome in a club. It is all to easy to sit in a studio making music, thinking it's the nuts and then get it out on a system and realise it's a million miles away from where it needs to be.

4. Play your track out as much as possible and get a feel for the overall vibe of it as well as the sonics. DJing it out on systems is invaluable. I know this is stating the obvious, but I'll do it anyway - play it on as many home systems, laptops, cars, DVD players as you can. Each different system will give you a different insight into the track. Record a DJ mix with it in and listen back to it in the context of other tracks. It's really important to know how it will work between other tracks – if you are thinking 'wow, this is the fattest track ever, it's got more bass on it than anything else I`ve ever heard' then chances are that you're in problem territory!

5. Be HONEST with yourself. Mastering can only do so much.

6. Don't smack the shit out of it with a limiter.

7. Attend the mastering session! If needs be, bring your laptop - a large percentage of my mastering is done directly of artists' laptops. That way, as I'm working on it, if needs be we can change one element in the mix. If the bass is great but the kick is weak, we can treat just the kick, rather than having to notch up the kick on a stereo track, which will ultimately affect the bass as well.

How did you get into mastering?

Someone I knew told me that a mastering facility was looking for a tea boy / tape duplication 'engineer' and I applied. They didn`t want anyone with skills, just someone who was prepared to work hard and learn! I got the job and spent about two years making tea, changing light bulbs, emptying bins and copying tapes. I got paid atrociously, but I spent all my spare time hanging out with real engineers, learning. When I got a chance to move up the ladder, I was ready. I think that is pretty much the standard way.

To be honest, I didn't know what mastering was! I wanted to be a multi track engineer with a big desk and loads of outboard, but there were no jobs going. I saw an opportunity and went for it. Initially I thought that I would piggy back into recording or mixing, but as I learnt, I really got into the process of mastering and thought that it suited my personality – really anal and a bit OCD! It's all about attention to detail, and I`m definitely good at that!

Has mastering been affected by the downturn in the music industry?

Not for us down here. As record labels have been selling less units per release, they have had to put out more releases to keep their profits up. Every release still needs to get mastered, so in fact we're busier than ever.

Also, because more and more music is being made in bedroom studios, I think the mastering stage is now more critical than ever, as it has to iron out the inconsistencies in 'bad' monitoring environments. This is much more so now than say ten years ago, when much more music was being made in studios. A&R are much more aware of this now and are themselves seeing mastering as being more critical than maybe it had been.

However, ask me the same question in a couple of years and it could be a VERY different answer. A lot of labels went bust a couple of years ago when the distribution companies like Interscope / Pinnacle et al went down. As a commercial studio if too many of your labels go, you're gone. So far we've been lucky that most of our clients haven't been affected too badly.

Any thoughts on the loudness issue? Do you get a lot of stuff that has been compressed / limited to death before it reaches you, and why is that a problem?

I both hate it and understand it. I think that we're ultimately tying ourselves in knots. There's the whole 'iPod shuffle syndrome' and then there's what sounds good. Ultimately, the client is right and if they want a track to sound as loud on their iPod as a Black Eyed Peas record then it's their call. It's fine on a crappy little system in a bar where there is never enough level, but on a big system the tracks sound better to me when they haven't been hammered. I have certain artists where I make them an unlimited version for playing out on big systems and a 'LOUDER' version for giving to the labels and for retail. They all claim that when they play the unlimited version out on a big system the whole club 'breathes'. Speaks volumes….

Yes I get a massive amount of tracks that have been peak limited. Am I able to get new versions – often not. Labels unfortunately leave mastering to the very last minute and then getting hold of an artist to get an un-maxed out version in time is virtually impossible. That said, it`s not always too bad and I wouldn`t say that you HAVE to supply an uncompressed / unlimited version - it really depends on the program material.

I know a lot of artists now that actually write into a compressor and limiter. It can give a very current / trendy clipped & aggressive sound and it can actually suit certain styles of music. If they pulled all the compression and limiting off before they sent the track to me then the mix would fall apart. I would probably then be far too 'respectful' to the audio and perhaps not give it the aggression that they're after – and then I'd end up with an unhappy artist.

Undoubtedly I can do much more with some headroom, but I`m not so precious as to reject material that has been hammered. No it's not ideal, but it`s the world we live in. We are talking about dance music here, not audiophile jazz! If it's part of the sound, I'll work with it. One thing I would say however is that if you are writing into the plugs then leave them on, but if you're flinging them on afterwards just to get some level then don`t bother.

For me, the main issue is - does it sound good? I get some stuff through my door that sounds AMAZING and it's clipped to shit – does it sound good? That's really all that's relevant. There's also an element of knowing what you can get away with. You're not going to get a big gospel house record as loud as a techy minimal one. The techy minimal one can come in to my studio battered and I can still do a surprising amount, but if the gospel house one comes in battered, there's very little I can do.

What are some interesting projects you have worked on?

What makes something interesting to me would be incredibly dull to someone else… sorry.

(continued in Pt. 2)

Filed under // Industry Interview Wired mastering

Posted by bassmusic

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Interview with Boris @ Dub Studio - Mastering, Acetate and Vinyl

October 30

Aight so originally this was gonna be part of the Free Tune Friday section but Boris - aka Borai (who did the Funky take on We Here) aka the studio manager at Dub Studio - got back to u just after we posted it up so we're separating em into two - aint no thang tho :)

BMB: Boris, you work at dubstudio - could you tell us a bit about what dubstudio does?

Boris: We are a digital Mastering and dubplate cutting house for DJ's, producers and artists - we master for CD/WAV and cut tracks to Vinyl or Acetate Dubplate.

I've had some direct to vinyl dubs cut at dubstudio - are you doing acetate as well now? Why would people prefer acetate to vinyl?

Yes we do cut to acetate, and this is a good question. We look at acetate as being a premium product, like in the Hi-Fi world some people just want it to sound the best and acetate can give you that. The sound quality is higher, more "vinyl like" and can give more of that analogue warmth that people strive for.

Saying that some people just prefer playing acetate dubs!

What would you say the advantages are of cutting dubs over playing CDs?

If you are ever planning on releasing your music on vinyl it's a good idea to have an understanding of how the sound is going to change when its cut to vinyl, getting Dubplates cut can be a big help as this is the closest thing that you can get without pressing up 500 copies of your tune! If you play out vinyl and don't like playing CDs or off a laptop (like myself) then you have an alternative! And also, bass heavy music will always sound better off vinyl or dubplate.

Who does dubstudio cut for?

We don't like client lists (for many reasons) but we do like to grab interviews with the clients that excite us and post them up on the site, some of whom can be seen here http://www.dubstudio.co.uk/info/artist-features

What musical projects are you involved in yourself?

I have been DJing in and around Bristol for the last 11 years and producing for the last 10 years, i have watched the Dubstep scene grow out of nothing and become the monster that it is today and been guided by some of the best Artists and DJ's Bristol has to offer along to way.

The Borai name has managed to rear its head on track co-written with my good friend Dj October for Fluid Ounce (The Letter I) last year and i have been working closely with the Shanti Sound guys (Embassy, DJ Rapid) both DJing at the monthly Cosies gig and working in the studio.

This a nice pic of a lathe like the kind we use - it's not ours, because we are yet to have any pics taken of the newly renovated studio!

We have also replaced the shown rack gear with hand picked equipment http://www.dubstudio.co.uk/studio/studio-info

Cheers Boris! And if you want to step up to the big boy DJ level, Dub Studio are well worth checking out.

********************

Binga

Filed under // Industry Interview dubplates dubstudio mastering ridiculous haircut

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BMB Interview - Seiji

October 22

Chuffed today to introduce this interview with the man like Seiji.

Seiji is one part of the Bugz In The Attic, but has recently been much more making a name for himself as a solo artist - he has been producing solo for a long time (check his 12" on Man Recordings from the other year) but recently he's stepped it up, giving away loads of tunes for free on his website, seiji.co.uk. And they're great: funky, tracky, beaty stuff - somewhere in the new middle-ground between Funky, Broken Beat and Breaks which fit really well into any set. I've been rinsing them, and I know Bao and TRG are too, so we had to track him down for a chat.

It's interesting to see what he had to say about the Broken Beat scene - for a minute there it was desperately exciting; loads of great beats and rhythms but with musical interest, but then it kind of became a bit Jazz, a bit po-faced. I guess you can draw a parallel with what happened to the breaks scene - from fairly similar beginnings, both had the potential to become the place to go for people who liked interesting beats, but Broken Beat went too serious, Breaks went too rave, and out of nowhere dubstep sprung up and nicked the middle ground all to itself. Personally I reckon both are gonna come back next year, and if they do it's gonna be amazing. Anyway, random musings aside, lets hand over to someone far wiser than I:

You seem to have been a bit quiet since the Bugz debut album. What have you been up to lately?

I've been working on new tracks for the site, doing a few remixes, and writing more stuff with Roisin Murphy. Getting excited about beats again, really...

Do you feel broken beat ended up being associated with a bit of a 'smooth' stigma?

I think that broken beat stopped evolving, and closed itself off to outside influence, and so sort of got stuck in a time warp where it could only be appreciated in a nu jazz context, whereas for a time it was being played alongside all kinds of bass heavy music.

Do you hear any links between the chopped up styles of Funky these days and what broken beat was doing a while back? (or even now?)

Yeah, I like to think that Funky is directly influenced by the old broken stuff, but if i'm honest its likely that many producers may have heard only a few Bugz mixes. Its no surprise that the style of beats is finally finding the wider audience it always deserved, but it needed to be raw dance music without the muso baggage in order to be felt by the mainstream. Let's face it, these rhythms are as old as the cavemen, they are going to keep coming back in various forms over the years, so only the ignorant will try and claim ownership of them....

What artists are you checking for at the moment?

Dance music, electronic music wise, FunkinEven, Redlight, Modeselektor, Jan Driver, Joy Orbison, Guido, Lil Silva, Deadmau5, loads really so much good music right now.....otherwise still listening across the board, and strictly Radio 3 in my kitchen.

Would it be right to say your tracks are quite percussive-oriented, and if so what interests you in a drum beat?

Well, I love all aspects of music but I am drawn to syncopated beats! Having said that I'm starting more and more to appreciate a really straight beat too....

Do you see yourself as being aligned to any one sound at the moment, or are you just content to do your own thing?

I'm just doing my own thing, that's all I can do....Of course I'm influenced by everything going on, but I've never really been able to get in with 'scenes'..... I only ended up in the 'broken scene' by accident because it developed around me and those I was working with. It was the same with Reinforced back in the day, I recorded for them because they were the badboy experimental label, but I was never part of the d'n'b scene and I wouldn't even really have said that I made drum'n'bass then either, it was just some mad shit influenced by what was going on. Maybe I do suffer from a lack of 'branding' by not being easily categorizable but thats not the most important thing in music, not by a long way! Once the marketing drives the music it's all over as an artist....

Why did you decide to give all these tracks away recently? Thanks, by the way - they're wicked! has you seen any noticeable benefit from it?

Well, yeah I thought I'd try something different. It just seems that sharing music is the way that it gets distributed nowadays! Whether you like it or not, it reaches the most people that way, so why not make it as easy as possible, and be the one doing the sharing of your own creations? I'm definitely not saying that all music should be free, or that everyone should follow my example, it's just one method in a confusing time.... hopefully people will appreciate the idea and be willing to support me when i put out a physical product or perform.

What can we expect next?

More banging tunes..... website pressure.... and some different, more abstract music in the pipeline!

---------

i.d.

Filed under // Interview Seiji

Posted by bassmusic

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Smutlee - Interview & Fabric Mix

October 13

So the Fabric Birthday weekend draws ever closer, and the amount of cool stuff hitting the net to hype the whole shebang gets ever larger.

London's finest 'named-after-a-cartoon-dog-with-a-wheezy-laugh' dancehall DJ Mr Smutlee came through with a quality blend of funky and bashment for them, and while we could have just bunged it up a couple of days ago, we wanted to give you lovely, dedicated dance music fans a bit more depth for your blog perusal. Cos it's not like you only want free stuff, no not even slightly...

Ahem.

So, here it is - BMB vs Smutlee.

BMB: Introduce yourself please!
Hello, Im DJ Smutlee AKA Lee. See what i did there? Im a Club DJ, Mixtape maker, & Blend specialist, from London.

BMB: How would you describe your sound?
Hip-Hop & Dancehall are the foundation of my sound, and i'll use this to bring in other genres wether it be funky, dubstep, grime or whatever. Over the last year or so i've been pushing the Uk Funky/Bashment sound.

BMB: What would you say your main Influences are?
As long as i've got good new music, im always inspired. I'd say my favourite producers right now are Steven 'Di Genius' (Dancehall), Sticky (House/Garage) and Swizz Beatz (Hip Hop). and how can i forget West ham - when they play well!!

BMB: Any interesting plans coming up?
I really need to get into producing, its just finding time. Other than that, more djing.

BMB: We hear you're a bit of a sneaker connoisseur... is that true?

Haha im no connosieur. i was brought up on Hi Tec squash cos my mum could get them cheap, I'm all about Air Max these days.

BMB: Oh ok. Tell us a joke then.
Heres a dodgy music related joke - dont judge me from this:

"I was in the pub yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately needed to fart. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my farts with the beat. After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my pint and noticed that everybody was staring at me.

Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod."

Booooooooo - get him off!!!!!

BMB: Damn straight. But if you want to hear more like that, Smutlee is also playing the next night in Bristol, with MJ Cole...

http://soundcloud.com/fabric/smutlee-fabriclive-10th-birthday-promo-mix
Smutlee FABRICLIVE 10th Birthday Promo Mix
01: Geeneus Ft. Chino - Smutlee Special (Yellowtail VIP Riddim) (White)
02: Egypt Ft. Busy Signal & Mavado - Badman Place (In The Morning
Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
03: Illmana Ft. Stush - Ready Fi De War (White)
04: Marvin Brown - Jack It Up (White)
05: Sticky Ft. Ding Dong - Badman Forward - (Bad Gyal/Jumeirah Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
06: Suncycle Ft. Mavado - No More (Bless Beats Rmx) (Suncycle)
07: Major Lazer - Pon De Floor (Mad Decent)
08: Lil Silva Ft. Vybz Kartel - Pon De Floor (Different Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
09: BBK - Too Many Funky Tunes (Martelo Blend) (White)
10: Hardhouse Banton Ft. Vybz Kartel - Dump Truck (Sirens Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
11: Sticky Ft. Elephantman - Krazy Hype (Fugitive Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
12: Warrior One Ft. Lady Chann - King (White)
13: Maxwell D - Funky Baby (White)
14: Geeneus Ft. Ms Dynamite - Get Low (Crackish Riddim) (White)
15: El-B Ft. Mirikal - We Don’t Play (Ghost Recordings)
16: Dubchild - Show It Now (Ratio Mix) (DPR Recordings)
17: Emvee - Repeat Me (White)
18: Roska Ft. Jamie George - Wonderful Day (Smutlee Special) (Roska Kicks & Snares)
19: Danny Native Ft. Busy Signal - Da Style Deh (Rass Out Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
20: Maxwell D - Street Knowledge (Rass Out Riddim) (White)
21: Donae’o - Party Hard (Dev79 Rmx) (White)
22: Malanté & Dex Ft. New Kidz - Lions (Exploited Germany)
23: Erup - Click Mi Fingers (Grahmzilla Rmx) (White)
24: Lady Chann - Sticky Situation (Toddla T & Seiji Rmx) (White)
25: Mavado - So Special (Dj Yonny Rmx) (White)
26: Whitey Ft. Mr Vegas - Hot Wuk (Wrap It Up Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)
27: Miike Snow Ft. New Kidz & South Rakkas - Get Mad (Animal Riddim) (Smutlee Blend) (White)

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