DJ Q

An ambassador for UK garage and bassline since he first started buying tapepacks and vinyl back in the day, he hosted a long-running radio show on 1Xtra, has released on Ministry Of Sound, remixed Amy Winehouse, Dizzee Rascal and Rusko and been repped by everyone from Mistajam to Mary Anne Hobbs. He’s had an illustrious career in underground, bass-heavy music thus far but he’s definitely not one to rest on his laurels.

Shift K3y

Since the release of the Froze EP the demand for Shift K3Y’s expertise has risen from many labels and artists demanding remix work. He can now count the likes of Angel, Kat Dahlia, AlunaGeorge (whose track Attracting Flies he recently remixed) and King L as fans with an impressive string of remix releases. On top of that DJ bookings at Annie Mac Presents (London), Outlook Festival (Croatia) plus a mini tour at a selection of the best promoters in the UK has seen Shift K3Y become an all-round performer and entertainer as well as an incredible vocalist and producer.

Taches

TÂCHES finds himself inspired but not characterized by the current leftfield garage phenomenon and the vibes of UK house.
While his stance on romantic relationships has not been disclosed, TÂCHES is definitely polygamous in his love affair with music genres.
With a refreshing versatility, this enthusiastic young producer intrigues with inventive original productions as well as unexpected collaborations.

Limited tickets are available from here.

For your chance to win 2 tickets to this event all you have to do is email david@urban-nerds.com with the answer to the following question. All entrants must be 18+.

Q. Which station did DJ Q have a long running show on?

A. 1More

B. 1Less

C. 1Xtra

Good Luck!

We love this video of 18-year old Archy Marshall – aka Kid Krule – performing at Fred Perry SubSonic recently. He’s currently in the studio working on new material, but we have an interview lined-up with him the moment he steps back out in to daylight (or rain, depending on how London’s feeling…) so keep an eye out for that.

‘Krule is South East London’s rough jewel. His unexpected deep and mournful baritone is disappointment and disillusionment personified. His first UK tour was a sell out and his status as ‘one to watch’ was cemented with an inclusion in the BBC’s Sound of 2013 poll. Global recognition has already started to spread, and this performance of ‘Rock Bottom’ shows why he’s making such an impact.

Subculture is Fred Perry’s home for the best in music from emerging talent and iconic legends. For performances and interviews from King Krule and many more go to www.fredperrysubculture.com

The re-release of DJ Eastwood’s classic cut ‘U Aint Ready’ on one of the UK’s top grime labels ‘No Hats No Hoods’ comes at a time when Grime, as a genre, is fast becoming one of the most original and inspiring club centric scenes. As a result this re-issue is perfectly timed to capitalise on the genres resurgence over the past few years.

Originally pressed onto white label, ten years ago, the track initially sold over 5000 copies, earning Eastwood a guest mix on the late John Peel’s seminal BBC Radio 1 show, a mere year or so before the legendary DJ and ‘supporter of the new’ died. The new re-release comes correct with remixes from Hemlock boss Untold and UK Funky lynchpin Spooky.

The titular track follows the classic 8-bar format so beloved of Grime and Funky luminaries, welding together classic snare/hat riddims with key changing, pitch modulated, portamento infused bass stabs and synthetic plucked strings which not only supplement the tracks groove after the drop – utilised in much the way a dub bubble is employed – but also provide the track its initial melodic hook, the earworm that stays with you for hours after listening to it. The strings are then supplanted by a high frequency, pseudo organic synth line, possibly an ethic inspired  VST instrument or some sound conjured up from and FM synth, which follows the bass and hook melodic figures.

Untold’s remix, originally brewed up in 2010, morphs the originals string hook into classic Eski-esq, preset brass territory, at the same time beefing up the drum work, before taking the track off into unknown territory in the Grime world –a  muscular, unbridled, heavily modulated acid house workout, replete with creative use of bass mutation and sinister sounding Wiley sounding squarewaves. It’s a monster and one that is sure to make clubbers think “What the FUCK!” when it drops onto a dancefloor.

The Spooky refix, stays more in keeping with the original than as, Grime commenter Tomas Fraser of Coyote Records stated, the “8-bar Star Trek” of Untold’s remix. It retains the pizzicato string motif, and the basic drum pattern, but takes away the bouncy, feel good feeling Eastwood first fabricated, by seemingly slowing the track down and replacing its hyperactive energy, with a darker, saw toothed, eyes to floor number. The tunes flips up again, sending razor sharp shards of beats and instrumentation into hyperspace, re-energising the initial bassline by doubling up its opening stab, then chucking the whole thing back into the depths of Hell as seen at the beginning of his edit. It’s a creative remix that whilst staying true to the original takes it on a journey through the Event Horizon, never to be seen again.

All in all the release is a solid; however the plaudits on the three tracker should certainly go to Untold and Spooky for bringing the original, which by todays production standard sounds a bit dated and naïve, up to date and firmly into 2013. The fact Untold’s mix was recorded in 2010 is a big testament to a producer always striving to be ahead of the game, always attempting to be original and always on the lookout for new combinations of sounds and flavours.

Words by Al Kennedy

With the release of big tracks on a day-to-day basis we felt like somebody needed to be keeping on top of these releases in the scene and compiling them into a fresh playlist each month. So here’s this months playlist.

Dappy - Hannah Wants & Lorenzo

Dropping on the 1st day of the month and reaching number 3 on the Beatport Tech House top 100 releases is Hannah Wants & Lorenzo’s (Cause & Affect) track Dappy that was released on the Food Music label. The 128bpm ‘big bass stompin kinda riddim’ received early support from Foamo DJ Q, Shadow Child, Mosca, Mista Men, T Williams to name but a few. Available now on iTunes and Beatport.

Jack – Breach

Another track that dropped on the 1st day of the month and was number 1 in the Beatport Tech House Top 100 releases was Breach’s extremely popular Jack which dropped on the Dirty Bird label. Widely tipped to be the number one track of the festival season and Claude Von Stroke even went as far as saying that it was ‘one of the best tracks of the year’ and who are we to argue? Available now on Beatport.

Follow The Step (Justin Martin Remix) – Rachel Row

With Ibiza just around the corner, Defected are proud to have picked up Rachel Row’s much hyped breakthrough record ‘Follow the Step’; a momentous track with equally impressive remixes that are set to become summer global dance floor anthems. Out now on Defected this is our favourite remix so far. Available now on Beatport.

In My Arms – Karma Kid

XLR8R calls “In My Arms” a “club-ready production… one that sits comfortably amongst his peers without sounding like just another drop in the ever-expanding pond of the UK-bass scene.” The Derbyshire producer delivers the first record from his collection and it does more than show his sonic maturity. It’s groovy, it’s funky, it’s everything a track should be. This ones available on a free download.

Metal Gear – Mele

Perhaps best known for huge track ‘Beamer’ which won him serious love from the movers and shakers at Radio 1 including Annie Mac, Mistajam and Nick Grimshaw, Mele returns with his debut cut for Digital Soundboy, Metal Gear. A grinding bass rolls below crisp claps on Metal Gear, a track by Melé’s own admission, is a dancefloor bomb. This one is again a free download.

Grip Your Body – Monkey Wrench

Monkey Wrench have continued to go from strength to strength in 2013 and dropped many a track/remix/mix in recent months. All of which have been received extremely well by their followers who are lapping up everything the trio have to offer. As a thank you to their followers they have dropped Grip Your Body, a track that uses panned out vocals across the rolling funky beat. They’ve put this one out on a free download.

Donell – Joy Orbison

This one is Joy Orbison’s reworking of Donell Jones’ classic R’N'B track U Know Whats Up. Pings it across a large techno rhythm that sounds like it’d be best deployed around the 5am mark. Super smooth and oh-so-deep, this is a neat gift from Joy O, who’s used the MP3 to promote a London party. Joy O gave this one away as a free download.

Sherlock (Kry Wolf Remix) – Foamo

Bass music boyo Foamo’s track Sherlock was taken on and remixed by fellow low-end specialist Kry Wolf. The duo have turned in a banging remix of Sherlock, one of the key tracks from Foamo’s devastating ‘Tremors’ EP, which was released last year. MixMag have dropped the remix out on a free download perfect for those of you who like speaker-shaking jams.

Kneadin’ – Hannah Wants & Lorenzo

Another one from Hannah Wants & Lorenzo that highlights the work rate of these two who are really causing a stir in the scene with their Jackin’ come House sound that is being well received across the board. This one is 128bpm big bassline business.

This week we got our Urban Nerds Mix Of The Week (#UNMOTW) from vet in the scene, its only man like Hatcha! We thought as we’ve just announced our return to Brighton where we will be teaming up with Sin City that it was only right to get Sin City’s head honcho to drop us an exclusive mix and interview.

What has Hatcha been up to as of late?

been busy as always running the SinCity label with N-Type & also my new label Hatched along with touring the States, doing my UK gigs and keeping the radio show on Kiss running fresh & strong.

How did your name come about?

Hatcha came from the film Marked For Death that I was watching when I was about 12 lol

Whats your favourite track at the moment?

Couldn’t tell ya got so many goodies in the bag at the moment would be hard to say.

What is your favourite track of all time?

Fat Freddies Drop – Mala or Classic Delux – Horsepower

What was the first Vinyl you ever bought?

Some old House thing on Mood2Swing

What music was played in your house when you were growing up?

Old House & Jungle

Whose sets do you like to catch at a rave or on radio?

Jumping Jack Frost, Randall, Plastician, EZ, Ed Rush, Rattus Rattus

Whats been the highlight for you so far?

There has been so many for the SinCity to be fair, it’s been a top year

Top 3 artists to watch?

Cato, Genetix, Subzee.D

What does Hatcha like to drink?

Water

One thing that nobody knows about you?

I have 6 toes

5 things you always carry on you?

Swiss army knife, Apple, Compass, a badger & a horse

Top 3 guilty pleasures?

PS3, call of duty, take anyone out the game lol, fishing, mowing the lawn

If you were on death row what would your last meal be?

Seafood paella

Whats next in the pipeline for you?

World domination of course!

Check out more from Hatcha on his Facebook & Twitter.

Friday 31st June sees us head back to London’s pinnacle venue, Fabric to take over room two with a whole host of top artists from garage, grime, house and bass. Playaz head up room one while Samurai do their thing in the third room.

We’re bringing with us a big Garage come Bass line up including vets from the scene right through to some of the freshest talents the scene has to offer.

Matt Jam Lamont

A pinnacle of the UK garage scene for more than two decades, Matt ‘Jam’ Lamont still shows no signs of slowing down. That is despite fact that he’s probably the one UK garage great who actually could afford to rest on his laurels. After cutting his teeth on the club nights of legendary South London venue Sunday Avenue, Jam hooked up with fellow pioneer Karl Tuff Enuff Brown in 1993. Their common efforts under the now iconic Tuff Jam moniker paved the ground for the still highly popular mix-up of grimey sub-bass and glossy r&b stylings.

Mike ‘Ruff Cut’ Lloyd

Mike Ruff Cut Lloyd is respected and noted as one of the leading lights of the UK Garage scene. He is renowned for his storming upfront sets and flair for acknowledging what a crowd wants. Utilising the skills he developed in the early Hip Hop era, Mike provides an element of cutting up and scratching to his sets that makes him stand out from the crowd.

Monki

This young lady has already been snapped up by Radio 1 for the In New DJs We Trust section, as well as holding down her own Rinse FM show. She is already a resident at Annie Mac’s critically acclaimed touring club night ‘AMP,’ and a regular fixture behind the decks at clubs and festivals around the UK and Europe. Her box-fresh bass music inspired sets include everything from piano house to hissing snares and skeleton shattering sub bass.

Paleman

His music is a refined blend of the classic and the current – simple and elegant, with the odd distinctive flourish. Echoes of the Hacienda and Paradise Garage, via Garage and Deep House – but still utterly current.Based in Manchester, he is influenced by a wide variety of sonic influences  – Jazz, African and World Percussive pieces, Techno and House – with the common thread of being percussion focussed; an obsession that is to be further manifested by a move to London in September to study jazz drumming.

DEVolution

DEVolution is a melting pot of influences collectively rooted in electronic music, which is hardly surprising given the heritage of its two protagonists. Pete Devereux conquered the mainstream once before as half of Artful Dodger, who propelled UK garage from the underground and into the charts and his fellow accomplice is former Size Records artist Tom Devos.

My Nu Leng

Since the release of their debut EP Fireflies on MindStep Music the Bristol based duo have been gaining more and more accolades. The hard-to-categorize sound the two come up with draws on many different influences but not one in particular. Whether it be pitched shifted vocals or the bass heavy rumbles in their sounds the pair are always going deep to get that right vibe. They have since released an EP on Black Butter Records, as well as a load of track releases and remixes not to mention the UNMOTW they dropped for us last week.

Rattus Rattus

Pure party mash-up! Everything and anything from dubstep & grime to bassline, electro and dark, dirty beats! As well as being an Urban Nerds selector from day one, Rattus Rattus has ventured out into UK clubland to regularly spin at a number of top underground nights.

As well as all this we’ve got the East London born MC PSG hosting on the night giving his lyrical input to give the takeover that added dimension.

Now for the competition. We’ve got 4 tickets and a copy of Oneman’s as well as Ben UFO’s recent FabricLive CDs to giveaway to one person. All you have to do is send your answer to the following question to david@urban-nerds.com with the the subject UNtakeover and a winner will be picked on Wednesday 29th May. All entrants must be 18+.

Q. Who are hosting the other two rooms on the night?

A. Playaz & Samurai

B. Gardners & Builders

C. Bumble & Bees

Good Luck!

My Nu Leng – Urban Nerds Mix Of The Week by Urban Nerds on Mixcloud

Q) What year was Reggae Roast founded?

A) 2007
B) 2008
C) 2009

With all the scandals surrounding the closure of nightclubs and club nights in Sheffield, Nottingham and a slew of other places associated with Grime, mainly due to problems surrounding gun crime or other incidences of violence, it is hard to remember a time (when you live outside of London), other than right now, when Grime, as a respected music genre, was so vital and vivacious. With people like David Blunkett, in his position of home secretary at the time, decrying  Grimes’ lyricism as “appalling” and fellow former minister Kim Howells stating  that Grime artists were helping to create a culture “where killing is almost a fashion accessory….” and that its crews and popular artists are nothing more than “boasting macho idiot rappers,” it’s not difficult to see why Grime had such a turbulent period of existence in the early part of this century.

However, either despite this or because the people actually listening to Grime don’t give a fuck what government officials are saying, stars were made out of the lyrical frontmen of the scene; people like Wiley, Skepta, Dizzee Rascal and the Roll Deep crew rode high in the charts, in some cases enjoying major label success, yet despite this rise in stature the scene as a whole suffered due to the marginalisation of the people on the buttons; the people pushing the boundaries and expectations of what electronic music is and was, the people actually catapulting these artists into the upper echelons of urban music, the unsung heroes of the scene, the innovators, the people the public and the industry as a whole forgot. Thankfully this has now all changed and the producers of the sound are finally getting the kudos they deserve.

With the advent and subsequent worldwide explosion of Dubstep, fans of the music – especially those with even a passing understanding and interest in Simon Reynolds’ theory on the Hardcore Continuum – have been desperate to trace the roots of this century’s biggest new music phenomenon. As a result Grime and urban producers started to see resurgence in popularity. Fans of the original Dubstep sound latched onto and destroyed the Burial resurgence of 2-Step, most probably because although the beat is one of the most danceable forms of drum work available, the fluidity of its push and pull being irresistible to even the most jaded of people, its versatility is extremely hampered by the choice of sounds you can use and the lack of variety its groove offers. Across the pond spearheaded by people like Caspa and Rusko, their American counterparts destroyed the London sound of Dubstep, homogenising the beat and the bass lines in the process annihilating the soul and intent of the music.

Grime, on the flip, revelled in the split of opinion surrounding Dubstep, gobbling up all of these memes like the No Face entity in Spirited Away; incorporating into its DNA all sorts of rhythmic persuasions; from the subtle, liquid nature of the 2-Step bounce, the aggy hardness of dry clap led bashment type riddims, the smooth, effortless boom bap of Hip Hop and the flurry of kicks and percussion that have come from UK Funky and more recently the Footwork and Juke scenes. As well as this it started utilising the hollowed out bass tones of garage, the decried, cheap, preset synth sounds of Reason and FL Studio, the aggy reese inspired basslines of neurofunk and more recently the 808 slow jam inspiration of US Southern Rap and Trap music, in the process allowing it to continually evolve, change and grow. On top of this varied palette of drum grooves, bass tones and synth sounds, an attitude of anything goes was fostered and incorporated into the genetics of the genre – one of the main reasons why Grime is so free, so edgy and so appealing to producers wanting to experiment but at the same time retain the type of hardness and hype that appeals to dancers in the club.

Unsurprisingly then, the Grime 2.0 compilation is as equally varied as the genres and things that influence it. Journeying though the dread laden, half stepper of Teeza’s bassline orientated ‘Rum and Coke’, the Eski/’Grime year one’ influence on Visionist’s ‘Dem Times’, the dark, almost jungle themed Dubstepper of ‘Logan’s Mind’ by Chaos and Order, the trendy ‘Pulse X’ homage of ‘Bend’ by Decibel and the brilliant, slippery experimentations of new comer Shy One on her sublime ‘927’.

There is also a lot of shiny, colourful, day-glow type of music on offer as well, maybe just to prove the point that Grime isn’t all about machismo and male posturing but maybe because it’s just so damn addictive, happy and full of youthful vigour and variation. Tunes in this mould include, the pop influenced, synth work of Moony’s ‘Winner’ replete with 8 bar patterns and rapid quick fire drum programming, the UK Funky stylings of Royal-T’s ‘Space Cowboy VIP’ or the 80s soundtrack inspired ‘Spray’ by impressive new talent Slackk.

Of course there is obviously a lot a dark and hard music on this record, as would be expected from one of the forerunning genres to emerge from London’s innovative club and radio scene in the last 15 years. Juzlo’s ‘Nail Thrower’ sounds exactly like you would expect with a name like that, fast clap led drum beats peppered by evil wubs and mid-range squelches, ‘Tunnel’ by Starkey adds a ghetto bass take to Grime’s anything goes ethos, Swifta Beater’s ‘Numb VIP’ explores the world of LFO modified bass action  and Gumnaam’s ‘Desi Bullet’, is a short burst of modulated controlled rage and aggression that is sure to set floors on fire all over the world.

Stenchman’s ‘Machine Molester’ needs a final special mention here as the track basically has it all; dread, sublow pressure and experimentations that would make people in the IDM scenes blush. Its so ahead of its game, so far in front of what anyone else is doing, combining house and techno memes, with experimental Dubstep and Grime rhythms with unbelievable competence and assurance.

The whole compilation is a must for fans of modern bass music in all its glorious forms, and a lot of credit must be given to Mr Muggs and Big Dada for the audacity in compiling a collection that is so varied yet so cohesive at the same time. I cant see Grime disappearing again as it did in the mid noughties, it is here to stay and is probably the genre most open to experimentation and innovation going at the moment.

Words by Al Kennedy

Bass Culture Clash: Salvador vs London pitches the hottest acts from the London bass scene against their counterparts from Salvador, Brazil’s bass capital in the state of Bahia. The bands will hit the UK on 16,17 & 18 May following ground-breaking Bass Culture Clash performances together in Bahia on 10 & 11 May, with festival shows in Salvador’s iconic Pelourinho neighbourhood.

London’s formidable dancehall soundsystem The Heatwave will be bringing their “bashment raving scandal” featuring the UK’s number one dancehall queen – MC Lady Chann and Natty will be twisting roots and recruiting hearts with his deep spirit melodies. Oquadro step up with old-school hip hop, Salvador style, and Os Nelsons unleash the connect between Bahia beats and global ghettotech. Download a free track from them below, taken from their debut album ‘Digital’.

We’ve been lucky enough to get our hands on two tickets to giveaway to the event at the Roundhouse on 16 May. To win yourself these tickets all you need to do is send the answer to the following question to david@urban-nerds.com with the subject title BCC. All entrants must be 18+.

Q. Which London borough is Roundhouse located in?

A. Barnet

B. Hackney

C. Camden

Good Luck!

Following the story of an imagined coup in the Democratic Republic of ‘Uduno’ by General Chronik, described in 1978 by Margret Thatcher as, “the new face of terror in Africa,” the video depicts the Slew Dem Rebel Army brandishing machetes and hand guns, taking out entire villages wearing full army regalia, firing machines guns from the back of motorcycles and posturing with crocodiles – it’s all a lot of fun, and a real nice take on the typical type of video that emerges from the Grime scene.

The whole thing is shot on grainy film stock with shaky, hand held camera work that really immerses you full bodily into the twisted world Chronik has created. “Slew Dem, Slew Dem, Slew Dem!”

Watch it below!

Words by Al Kennedy