Unlucky for some? Das Racist & Just Skank w/ DMZ - 13/5/11

I'm not really one for superstition, in fact, I completely forgot about the unlucky connotations of the day the 13th May fell on, an it took until the following week for me to think back and decide that, I had an awesome Friday 13th!

I got to watch Das Racist at the Roadhouse- an American hip-hop collective who, through one Youtube video viral, have carved themselves a niche in the comedy-hip-hop market, which isn't easy to do well! They also had the inspired idea of playing their first UK gig in Manchester, so I could take pictures- nice one!

After the gig I rolled over to Moho's for another Just Skank epic. This time it was their 1st Birthday Bash and they pulled out all the stops- booking Mala & Coki, b2b for what seemed like forever.

With SGT Pokes rocking the mic, the DMZ crew were in full force and absolutely smashed it! The night was finished off by some other guy named Pinch- he's alright too (please read into the intended sarcasm there if you don't know Pinch- incredible artist & DJ!). Nice work and if thats what all Friday 13ths are like, I'll continue not to worry.







Das Racist played as part of Future Everything Festival- my full review of that, along with more shots from both these gigs, will be online soon on Example Magazine

...and now for something completely different (2)

So following on from my previous post about trying something different with gig/music photography I thought I'd share some of the shots from the recent massive freeparty put on just outside of Manchester. This was an epic night, where an alleged 5000 people turned up to dance through the night.

I had a camera on me but it wasn't mine. Bearing in mind the sometimes dodgy goings on at events like these, and the value of my usual equipment, I borrowed my mate's Nikon D40- the same camera I started out with- as it was much cheaper to replace if anything unfortunate were to happen.




 So with the fairly basic kit involved I decided to shoot the whole night in B&W. It lent itself better to the quality you can get from that camera in really low light. One I was going through the pics they were pretty grainy- this reminded me of bad CCTV stills. Combined with the attention the police ended up paying to the event, I decided to make up the pics as if they were taken from police surveillance. I stuck a time/date stamp in the corner and some branding in the others.

As a final touch I decided to 'anonymize' everybody in the pictures with the classic black-bars-over-the-eyes look. I was a bit unsure whether to do it & whether everyone would get it, but it went down pretty well in the end- and I think about half of the people that went are tagged in the big group shot now!

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

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.

Magnetic Man & Katy B - Live in Leeds

Magnetic Man performed the Leeds leg of their UK tour at The Cockpit- A semi-intimate venue and a fairly modest choice from a band which are making massive overtones with their debut album. The crowd was a fairly young one, but my ears were deaf to any complainers. After all, anyone under 18 is going to have some difficulty in seeing any dubstep (or any music traditionally reserved for nightclubs), so why not give them a chance too. And anyway, they were as up for it as any crowd I've witnessed!

Support was from their friend & collaborator, Katy B, who got everyone pumped with an all too short performance of just 4 songs. New single 'Lights On' went down very well but the highlight was, of course, her smash hit, produced by Benga, 'Katy on a Mission'. Although I did find the live band performing with her, while producing a tight and interesting performance, lacking in weight compared to her studio productions.

Magnetic Man however, were anything but lacking in weight! Clearly able to get as much as possible out of the Cockpits soundsystem, Skream, Benga and Artwork must've been rocking nuclear powered laptops. The trio churned through their entire LP with full force, promoting an excited reaction from the crowd, which resembled a full on moshpit at times. The highlight for me, was the end of their perfomance. Welcoming Katy B back to the stage, she performed album filler 'Crossover' before the obvious finale of 'Perfect Stranger', an incredible piece of work and one of my favourite tracks for many years and an opportunity for myself to put the camera down for a minute and truly rock out! All in all a great gig, my only disappointment was their lack of further material to perform an extended set.

Sanctuary Festival - 28/08/10

I spent August Bank Holiday weekend shooting at Sanctuary Festival at Catton Hall, Derbyshire. Its a pretty hardcore festival as far as dance goes. Im pretty sure the Metropolis Tent I was working was about the most chilled out and thats saying something!!

Still, I got to see Jack Beats, who I've been dying to see for ages and they didn't disappoint, they took the roof off the tent! Also got to give a special mention to Break, who also rinsed it with a filthy set! The security were brilliant (for once @ a festival!) and I had so much access I could go anywhere. The lighting was very good and the pics did me justice (I think!).

Top to bottom: Sanctuary Crowd, Toddla T, MC Serocee, Skream