With a well-deserved place on the BBC Sound of 2012 list, Dot Rotten, previously known as Young Dot, has made a storming start to the new year with new single ‘Are You Not Entertained’ being named Zane Lowe’s ‘hottest record of the week’. Counting a diverse range of musical influences including Sting, Bob Marley and ‘Lil Wayne, the south Londoners sound is leading the UK’s grime scene and crossing over to mainstream and chart success. Already a hailed MC and producer (Tine Tempeh, Wiley, Ghetts) Dot Rotten now sits of the brink of big things in his own right. This is one show you will want to witness.

To enter simply email david@urban-nerds.com with “Converse” in the subject line and include your full name. Please note that all entrants must be over the age of 18 and we will notify all winners between 3pm and 3:30pm tomorrow afternoon.

After four days in Berlin last week I managed to witness four clothing trade shows, five parties, a lot of booze and the giving out of a big bag of Urban Nerd’s t-shirts and vests to a lot of lucky people. First up was the Bread and Butter trade show with thousands of people in attendance this trade show showcases brands from Barbour and Canada Goose to New Era, Addict and a lot more. After catching up with team Addict and having a productive chat with New Era we headed over to the Pony stand where we were invited to interview photography legend Ricky Powell who is currently working on a collaboration with the brand who are celebrating 40 years in the game. After settling down with a couple of beers we put 10 questions to the man in 10 minutes. In his heavy New York accent Ricky set about providing some answers.

Q1) How did the collaboration with Pony come about?

A) Well there was this girl who I wanted to bang real bad in LA and she happened to know someone who worked for Pony, so the rest is history really. It’s become a mutually beneficial relationship now; it’s a good thing.

Q2) What’s your tune of the day?

A) Jungle Fever by the Chakachas

Q3)  What was the first record you ever brought?

A) The first album I brought was – That’s the way of the world by Earth, Wind and Fire

Q4) You have photographed some true musical legends, is there anyone who has made you star struck?

A) Good question, well there’s this black chick who works round the corner from me in this deli, she’s so God damn fine and she plays me like I’m a scrub, I think her name is Clitonia (laughs).

-

Q5) Favourite pair of trainers?

A) What the hell are trainers?

Q) Sorry I mean sneakers.

A) Ahhhh, well I’d say high tops, anything that’s casual, simple and not overdone.

Q6) If you could have photographed anyone from history, deal or alive who would it be?

A) Yvonne De Carlo who played Lily in the Munsters, I’ve got a thing for her!

-

Q7) Right you’ve got one word, your favourite word what is it?

A) Ridonculous

Q8) Who’s hot on the music scene for you right now?

A) This may sound weird but that chick Adele, I like her; I like them plump and juicy

-

Q9) Anything else to add?

A) Yeah, I want to help bring up new talent and I want to do this through an imaginary University I made up called the Rickford Institute – it’s about bringing through people who are good people.

-

Q10) Ok, last one, can we get some words of wisdom from Ricky Powell

A) Act right, don’t act like an arrogant piece of shit and create your own universe.

-

Massive thanks to Ricky Powell and Kash Sethi from Pony for hooking up the interview!

A DJ to watch out for this year is 16 year old Alfie, Tighten Up Records’ newest recruit who plays his Urban Nerds & fabriclive debut next week. In preparation he’s got his exclusive mix on…

His first EP ‘Treatment’ was supported by the likes of MJ Cole, Doorly, Crookers, Four Tet, Seb Chew and DJ Flight, to name a few. Influenced by garage, dubstep, jungle, DnB as well as old school ska and jazz, he blends all of these sounds and makes them his own. Mary Anne Hobbs said “I can’t believe he’s only 16, what an amazing talent.” His 3rd EP ‘About Midday’, a tribute to Miles Davis is due out on Tighten Up this month and what better way to celebrate than to join Urban Nerds in room 3 at Fabric!

To celebrate, he’s recorded this exclusive mix that perfectly nods to his eclectic musical influences, blending 4×4, 2-step and garage fusions with an overall uplifting house feel that’s a sign of great things to come from this young producer and DJ.

Alfie FABRICLIVE x Urban Nerds Mix January 2012 by urbannerdslondon

Track Listing

1. Alfie – Growing Apart
2. Shifted – Poloron
3. SCB – Overlay
4. Gerry Read – Untitled
5. Groove Chronicles – Epic
6. Untitled
7. A1 Bassline – Why Do You
8. Basic Soul Unit – For Some
9. WAX10001_2
10. Lovebirds – The Beast
11. Baffled – Going On
12. Todd Edwards – Saved My Life

Alfie joins Marcus Nasty & Rankin, T.Williams, Slimzee, Rattus Rattus & Klose One for the Urban Nerds room three takover at fabriclive on Friday 20th January. Full info & tickets check Wastebook

Resident DJs playing at the shack include Daddy Nature, Dusty Lungs, The Farm Yardies, Raffle Mafia and Sai. There are also some extra special guests booked in to play throughout the week so keep an eye out for Tayo, Barry Ashworth, Marcus Nasty, Oneman and Sgt Pokes and more to be confirmed. Make you you get in the mood with this exclusive mix recorded for Rompa’ Reggae Shack shack by DJ Tayo posted below.

The Snowbombing experience is always 10/10 and this year promises to be no different, if you want to come along make sure you book with Urban Nerds to qualify for your FREE limited edition t-shirt worth £34.99. Book here: http://www.snowbombing.com/urbannerds

Rompa’s Reggae Shack – Snowbombing 2012 – DJ Tayo Mix by Daddy Nature

This New Year’s Eve complementing the deeper musical journey presented by Swamp81 & Numbers, in the other room we have one of the most respected DJs and producers in the game on one our our thunderous Funktion 1 systems! The Urban Nerds & BassLaced favourite Zinc returns!

The Bingo Beats boss, Rinse FM resident and all-round bass brain has become known for his unique house hybrid, an amalgamation of deep and funky led beats infused with dark jungle and dubstep influenced basslines, blended with tremendous vigour on club anthems like ‘Blunt Edge’, ‘Nu Sound’ and the massive Ms Dynamite collaboration, ‘Wile Out’. With DJ bookings across the globe, a seminal BBC Radio 1 Essential mix and a truly epic back catalogue that includes UK Garage crossover and scene defining smash, ’138 Trek’, his huge early contributions to the jungle and D&B scenes plus the never ending ability to second guess the next big sound in dance and re-invent whole genres ahead of anyone else make Zinc a truly special selector.

Zinc is just about to drop his anticipated ‘Sprung EP’ one to warm up winter by smashing clubland with a follow up to the unstoppable Crack House sound! Juicy Fruit rides off a straight-up house backbone, but carries itself with the sort of swagger London dance music has always been known for. Recovered and Sprung carry on Zinc’s tradition of splicing together fragments of different genres to create deadly hybrids. This is high-energy, electro, dubstep and bass infused house, gelling Zinc’s jungle and D&B routes with the epic quality of the upfront dance sound he’s become known for of late.

To celebrate the release and his headline set at Urban Nerds x BassLaced NYE, Zinc’s dropped us a very special, exclusive mix of quick fire dancefloor bangers! It’s been a while since he’s hit the world with one of his acclaimed mixes, so we’re privileged to bring you 30 minutes of goodness, featuring drops from the forthcoming Sprung EP alongside some big room, bass driven dancefloor fillers! Get your download on and get set for the biggest underground New Year’s Eve explosion in London this year!

Catch Zinc alongside Redlight, Subscape, Mensah, Rattus Rattus, Klose One, Dismantle and Jack Swift at Urban Nerds x BassLaced NYE with a very special showcase from Swamp81 VS Numbers including Loefah and Jackmaster b2b Oneman!

For tickets & info click here.

Download the mix from SoundCloud:

Zinc exclusive mix for Urban Nerds x BassLaced NYE 2011 by urbannerdslondon

By now you should know that we don’t mess about here at Urban Nerds and we’ve made sure that this NYE we are going to give you the biggest and best lighting and sound show we’ve ever provided. The line-up speaks for itself and you know that we take all aspects of our parties very seriously, so this year, alongside the huge Funktion One sound system that will be rumbling room two, we have drafted in 8 seriously hefty Quake subs for room one bringing over 70K of sound across the two rooms, this is by far the biggest and bassiest system we have ever hired for an Urban Nerds event. You know it’s going to boom when it comes from R-Sounds, the company responsible for providing the extra sound system at DMZ, we’re not here to mess about!!

Alongside this mammoth selection of sound we have gone in haaaaard on the lighting to make sure that this party is not only a stupidly BIG rave experience with a massive lineup but that the visuals will enhance the vibe to the highest level. We’ve hired the most state of the art equipment that is to be managed by professional lighting technicians over the two rooms.

Just to give you a little idea of how much we care and for all you professional Urban Nerds out there we’ve hired two smoke machines, a haze machine, three UV flood lights, two 3000watt strobes, one equinox vixen lazer, one pegasus scanner lazer, one DJ revo xpress, one dynamo scanner, over 15 64LED par cans, two moonflower gobos and a couple of extra surprises for good measure. Below is a video from our 2nd birthday to give you an idea of what we’re talking about, this NYE we’ll have more than double of what you can see in the video, be prepared!

Trust us! This is the only way to see in your new year! There are still a small number of tickets left but be quick as they are flying out. Also look out for the after party that is only  2 minutes walk from the warehouse where you’ll be able to find some special guest DJs playing on the venues in house Funktion 1 sound system. For tickets to NYE click here. Happy New Year!

Tomorrow night ERISTOFF take to Vauxhall’s Hidden nightclub to present Freakout, a one-off night of tunes, complementary drinks and pre-Christmas merriment to get you set for the festive season!

On the decks are none other than Urban Nerds selectors Rattus and Klose, who’ll be providing an eclectic soundtrack of dubstep, uk bass, electro and deeper UK 4×4 inspired beats for the night!

ERISTOFF will be serving complementary drinks from 7pm-8pm and entry is free on the guest list. Join us for after work drinks and let’s brighten up Tuesday with some midweek party vibes!

To get involved, email full names to guestlist@capitalize.co.uk with subject title ‘Nerds’ ASAP