Example Magazine

I have recently started writing and shooting for the Manchester based online magazine, Ex:Ample. We are aiming to force our way to the forefront of the Manchester and UK music scene, through quality reviews, features and photos!

Sounds like fun!

http://www.examplemagazine.com/

Heres my first article too..

http://examplemagazine.com/features/post/608/Drum-Clinic-1st-Birthday-@-Jabez-Clegg

Hit & Run- Back at Mint Lounge

Hit & Run has been part of the Manchester 'Bass Music' scene for over half a decade now, and in that time it has been led on a fairly nomadic existence between a few of the city's venues, the best of which, most would say is 'Mint Lounge'. The underground Northern Quarter club seems to suit the fans and the music perfectly and so, when it was announced that the night would return there after a stint at 'Factory', many were pleased. The promoters decision to downsize after pulling in big crowds at Factory, simply to keep their main fans happy, must be commended. Hit & Run has always had a bit of a 'family' vibe, where most punters will turn up regardless of who's on, but this had been somewhat lost in the bigger venue.

The return to Mint Lounge has gone down a storm then, since the turn of the year we've already seen a huge mix of artists, dubstep smashers from the likes of Mensah, Heny G & Kito. drum&bass tear outs from B-complex, Icicle and the legendary Calyx and a superb live performances from the sublime Submotion Orchestra and EngineEarz Experiment, who performed with local legend, Jenna G.

Speaking of local. I cant leave without giving the residents a huge shout. The likes of Rich Reason, Al Sonar, Dom Hz, The Steppahs and many others, often almost putting the headliners to shame. Bring in host MCs Chunky, Strats & Tonn Piper to complete the family and its no wonder folk are coming back week on week- Hit & Run should be fucking up our Tuesdays for years to come!

I don't know what it is but I like it!

There seems to be a pleasing amount of new tunes coming out, about 140 bpm featuring old school jungle style drum breaks with really heavy basslines. Im probably wrong but it seems to have been kicked off by the ravey climax of Skreams 'In for the Kill' remix. If anyone can enlighten me on more stuff like this I'll be more than happy!

 

Sub-Tech- Jabez Clegg- 23/2/11

Putting on a successful new night is difficult. Putting on a new night in a room the size of jabez clegg would be thought of as suicide by many a promoter. Still this was the challenge taken on by the Sub-Tech crew and boy did they rise to it.

Integral to any night- regardless of size and the acts playing- is the crowd and the atmosphere, and thats what Sub-Tech got right. Even thought the room wasn't full there was a great crowd and togetherness therein, united by a love of Drum & Bass, Dubstep and skanking to the wee small hours. The main room saw a jump up rinse out from Levela and Dub Zero going back to back tearing through tunes ranging from stonewall classics through to brand new dubs cut exclusively for the night. The headliners were ably backed up by local talent including Raasclarke and Yesi, going absolutely relentlessly all night, and showing the future is bright for our fair city.

 Room 2 for the night was, as is a staple of most dnb nights now, the '140 bpm zone' with sets filling the whole spectrum of the slower tempo played by Sub-Tech residents Dark Elixir, Totoro, Slim and others. This room had a good-size crowd all night, testament to the diversity in the 'Bass Music' we all know and love.

Sub Tech kept the energy levels high and the speakers loud from start to finish, and many established drum and bass nights could learn a thing or two from these guys. If I had one gripe it would be that, towards the end of the night, I couldn't see the DJs due to the swarm of MCs which had gathered on stage, vying for the mic. I can put this down to youthful enthusiasm and wanting to perform, which is nothing to complain of, but maybe two or three max at a time would've eased the overcrowding and allowed more DJ-crowd interaction.

I for one will be looking forwards to the next event to see where they take it from here. On chatting to the promoters, I can instantly see theres a hunger and ambition to suceed, which is vital. Add in bags of enthusiasm and a good solid fanbase and I can see big things coming, and deservedly so.

R.I.P. Nate Dogg

Only a short one this, simply to hold a candle for the passing away of the greatest hook line singer of all time. Nate Dogg was a true star- revolutionary but gangsta- and took countless hip hop tracks to the next level.

Theres too many to choose from but in his collab with Mos Def and Pharoahe Monch- in my opinion, is the best hip hop track ever made. Feel free to let me know of better ones in your opinion (anything anyone rates higher than this must be pretty awesome too!) but in my mind, nothing can touch this flow, thats why Nate Dogg go...

The Award Winning Short, Flux

I've had a feelin recently to stop being so self indulgent here. While im still going to publicise all my work gigs and musings over them, there so much other work which is so massively inspirational, where the very least it deserves is for me to say 'check this out, its pretty cool'.

So where to start... this may not be as easy as it sounded in my head.

OK, well first up I was at Screentest Fest this weekend, the UK's National Student Film Festival. I got to watch loads of awesome work from some of our top filmmaking talent and was really struck by the amount of good work on show and the overall quality of the productions was astounding considering the time and budget constraints for these guys.

My main reason for attending was to support a friend of mine. Mr Sing J Lee hasn't produced much work in his budding career yet, but the quality and aesthetic of everything he's output is staggering. He had two films in the festival, Order- an experimental short- and Flux a short narrative about a young couple. Combined the two films were nominated for six awards and Flux won the prestigious award of 'Best Drama' and rightfully so (I would've given it best cinematography too but lets not be greedy!).

I look forwards to seeing Sing's future work but we can dwell on the present for now. Ladies and gentlemen.... Flux.

FLUX - A SHORT FILM from Sing J. Lee on Vimeo.

 

PROBLEM CHILD- The Ritz, 2/3/2011

Seemingly, Problem Child appeared out of nowhere. An ambitious looking project- An eclectic line-up from the cream of the electronic spectrum, on a wednesday night, in one of Manchester's largest and most historic venues- definitely raised a few eyebrows. Luckily it also opened a few wallets and resulted in a great night with good vibes all round.

I've been aware for quite a while now that people are less and less, attaching themselves to a specific genre of music. Folk will listen to hip hop, house, dubstep and drum & bass without worry or trying to only be part of one group, and rightfully so, as such narrow-mindedness would only result in missing out on much of the great music out there.

This, to me, was some of the thinking towards Problem Child. We had Joy Orbison, a man transcending electronic boundaries to the point where it not worth trying to describe. His fantastic set brought the night together wonderfully with elements of house and dubstep combining to create a unique journey.

After Joy's set things got altogether heavier, with dubstep stars True Tiger stepping up to the plates. They played an hour long dubstep rinse out, feeding the crowd and raising energy levels a stage higher. Local MC's Chunky and Strategy were on hosting duties, and anyone who's seen these boys knows they never disappoint, performing great as a double act and keeping the punters pumped!

Post True Tiger we're treated to a live performance from Newham General's. D-Double & Footsie stomp through their hits and collaborations to a wild audience. These two get as big a reception as anyone on this night- reaching fever pitch for Breakage collab 'Hard' and D-Double's 'Street Fighter'.

As if that wasn't enough, Jenna G and Tonn Piper then take to the stage and annouce that its time to raise the tempo to 170+  for a set from the hottest new artist in Drum & Bass, Netsky of Hospital Records. Netsky doesn't disappoint, playing all his own tunes the audience are expecting, as well as some of the lates Hospital cuts. Special mention here though, has to go the hosts. Jenna & Tonn form a tag-team double act for an awesome performance, their skills compliment each other brilliantly and provide something a little different to your average D&B set.

All in all, this Problem Child caused mass misbehaviour and I for one hope they don't get expelled!

Jaguar Jones and the Two Dollar Show

I've been mega slack with my blog lately. Apologies. I barely have a chance to sit down nowadays, let alone recount past gigs and shoots with acompanying prose (although I find time to repost amusing youtube videos about a bodybuilders fishy diet- a question of priorities perhaps!).

This changes now (until tomorrow anyway)!

 

 

My friend in Jaguar Jones played at the Two Dollar Show recently so I made my way down to take some snaps. The Two Dollar Show (TDS) is help upstairs in Trof, Fallowfield, every Thursday night. For a measly £2 (see what they did?) you get to see a selection of the regions more hotly tipped upcoming bands in a space not much larger than a living room- with a matchboxed sized smoking area to boot.

 It all makes for a very cosy evening as they sure pack out the space, which makes for a great atmosphere- and means I'm restricted to the widest lens I own and positioned roughly 4 or 5 millimetres from frontman Lewis' guitar, which he kindly avoids smashing into the camera as I shoot!

 

The Jag Jones sound fills the room with catchy riffs and memorable hooks- a perfect rock recipe baked to perfection- and impresses not only their attending fanbase, but surely some of the people attending to find something new. They're certainly a fivesome on the up, and i'll be there snapping at the front as they rise.