http://www.uk-dance.org/messages/79614.html
Centurion valedictory shows
Just got this in the inbox — sounds like a good event to go to, but… talk about “all the clubs being closed down”!
…if you haven’t already heard the news, the Centurion (SE8) is shutting its doors after 250 years of Deptford infamy. So the community can have some “closure” My Eyes…My Eyes – the short film collective who have been relatively quite for the last couple of years – are hosting the venue’s final event…
FOR DEATH AND FOR DEPTFORD…
A FREE event of film and music… Saturday, April10th 8pm
Short films by: Blunt Productions, Ben Wheatley, Joanna Calaghan, Owen Oppenheimer, Inventory, Steven Eastwood AND MORE Live performance by Duncan Reekie (Exploding Cinema), 1959s filmshow by Richard Sanderson (Baggage Reclaim), Lightshow by Dave Eyre … AND MORE…
flyer available on: www.myeyes.dircon.co.uk
info: myeyes@dircon.co.uk
Iration Steppas, Everyone Centre, 020404
The EveryOne Centre is a church-hall like community centre attached to a swimming baths in Heeley, with quite lovely 1920’s municipal architecture. It’s a short walk from my house, in a strange marginal area next to the railway line which is just being developed. For years there was an urban wasteland opposite the EveyOne Centre; now there’s a new Virgin Active health centre and some building sites. There’s is still a tangible sense of the area being a secret backwater, and lots of open space. I therefore had a very enjoyable walk down there late last night, which was Spring-warm, T-short weather, with a cloudless sky, and a gorgeous waxing moon hanging high in the sky. I love walking round Sheffield at night and I don’t do it nearly enough, so this made for a good night out even without any music.
I was on the borders of Nether Edge and Heeley, rather than being futher down the Chesterfield Road at the Earl of Arundel and Surrey, because my beloved Dust was cancelled late in the day by the Council, who alleged license problems at the venue. So no chthonic techno from Surgeon for the tribe of Dust, which must have disappointed a lot of people. But almost synchronistically, this meant I had the chance to see the Iration Steppas soundsystem, who I used to see regularly in London. The event was put on by HeadCharge, who run a big acid techno nigh in Sheffield (which I’d really like to get to some time). The crew there have started up a series of dub nights at the Everyone Centre and if last night was any indication it’s a fantastic and popular idea.
I got in about 23.30 and the Steppas were already playing, though they claimed it was just the sound check. It was half full already, with a crowd of hippy punks and the odd black face. There was a small bar area with plenty of seating which had a camo netting wall dividing it from the main dancefloor, which was an open-beamed 20s hall, not very large, strewn with Headcharge and Steppas wall hangings. At each end of the hall were the speaker stacks, which took up most of each side wall. Turning left at the cross-roads to walk to the venue, I was immediately aware of the ground vibrating with the bass; walking onto the floor I was greeted by waves of hair-raising, gut vibrating bass. The impact from Iration Steppa’s sound was much greater in this small space than at, for example the Brixton Rec. It was glorious. They were playing slower, rootsier digidub and the odd stepper when I arrived, and got going properly at midnight, by which point it was pretty full. The Steppas proceeded to drop a series of quite devastating digi / roots rhythms, building the intensity beautifully, with Mark adding progressively more MCing and live vocals to the mix. If you’ve not seen them before, their sound is harsh, pounding digital drums with varying amounts of horns and vocals, squelched and stretched to infinity with filters and EQ. Think DJ Sneak slowed down with ten times the freak power and you’re somewhere close. If you have seen them before, the difference I noticed in hearing them play was the focus and intention in how they played, expertly building peaks and troughs into the set, alternating relentless riddim sequencing with single cuts, varying the tempo to keep your interest. Because you were in such a confined space, you felt like you were enfolded in this monolithic sound, yet you never felt oppressed and could quite easily hold a conversation, even as the bass was slowly tugging your trousers down. And that bass… seismic is a word so overused it’s almost meaningless, but in this instance it’s unavoidable. The sound was so immense you felt like the earth itself was vibrating in harmony with the music — an image that’s a cliche, but I experienced it so intensely I can’t help but describe it as such. In full flight, Iration Steppas generate an unworldly sound where the bass is generating a universe of harmonic vibrations that sound and feel just wonderful. All the way the Irations were tweaking the fuck out of their system, which was just magnificent especially when they cut out everything but a heaving, distorted bass…
The crowd loved the techno-speed digi stuff but I thought it was a bit wooden, Drang without the Sturm, and found myself yearning for more roots or, better, some funky eighties dancehall. So I went out to the front garden, which with the moon filling the sky with a vast halo over it, was a delightful place to rest, especially with the floods of cool clean Peak District air and the Sheffield climate’s dampy, comfy mildness. There was a gentle crowd of chillers there, and at that point, the Everyone Centre seemed like the best club in the world.
I headed back in for another ear-full and it was even better, fantastically funky slices of modern Brit digi from their new LP. Everyone was smiling, even though the hall was now utterly rammed with scarcely any room to dance. When I headed back home, I reflected on how, given the frequency with which Iration Steppas play Sheffield, and how busy I will be when the new baby arrives, that this may have been the last time I see them for a very long time. I that’s the case, then that was a hell of a high note to go out on.
Abstract 2step mix
While you’re waiting, here’s some music to keep you entertained. It’s a UK Garage mix I did last year, focusing on the more abstract, chthonic elements of classical UKG. It’s funky as fuck and has some of my favourite 2step tracks on it.
It’s here at http://www.grievousangel.net/Abstract_2_Step_Mix.mp3.
Track listing:
Dem 2: Keep It Coming
Dem 2: Bad Funk (Big Time Scary Dub)
US Alliance: All I know (Dem 2 Dub)
El B: Digital
Leee John: Your Mind Your Body Your Soul (MJ Cole Mix) /
Wideboys Feat. Rusty: Somethings Got Me Started (Wideboys Breakbeat Dub)
MJ & Rob D: Cum Cakes!
El B: Urban Myth
Headtop: The Matrix
Dem 2: Baby You’re So Sexy (Dub)
Groove Chronicles: Black Puppet
Groove Chronicles: Holiday Da Vybe
M Dubs: For Real (Grievous Angel Twisted Dub)
Top Cat: Gal Dem Sugar
Lady Saw: Bump’n’Grind
ATFC Bad Habit (Grievous Angel Edit)
Artful Dodger / Robbie Craig / Craig David: Woman Trouble
Artful Dodger / Craig David: Drop the Funk
It’s 73 minutes long, and weighs 84Mb. More mixes are coming.
Do we need a magazine?
Yes I know no-one’s reading right now but I just wanted to pop this in here so it’s in the archive at least… There’s a lot of discussion right now about whether we can have, or need, a “proper” magazine. There’s a lot of rumination on the glory days of the NME. Eden talks about France having three reggae zines, wheras here we have none. K-Punk and many others would really like a proper music/ culture publication. But Luka suspects such a beast would be poor. Here’s my take:
I certainly agree that the NME in the 80s was better than now. It had much better writing then, which it could afford, because it had a much bigger readership. It was physically larger, and it loomed larger over the cultural landscape to a far greater degree. (Pace Reynolds — MM never had the same kudos or clout. Never had the design or photography of NME either.) People forget what a paucity of media there was then: barriers to entry meant there was little scope for voices other than the big players. It was physically and financially very difficult even to do a fanzine. This was actually rather a good thing — the fanzine underground was very healthy then. Eden first became aware of me through my writing in zines like Grim Humour.
None of this is arguable or nostalgic. But it might be nostalgic to say we can go back to that. I’m not saying it’s nostalgic to want good writing about music and culture; not at all. But it might be nostalgic to want good writing that is supported by a SINGLE substantial medium, whether print or digital. The world is different now; not better, but different.
And probably worse, which is why it’s worth us old timers whingeing to people like Luke about how it used to be. We now have fewer large magazines, and a dwindling number of specialist titles, all owned by an ever smaller number of conglomerates. Worse, mainstream titles like newspapers cover the scene. Far from promoting the scene, as one would expect, this satiates many people so they don’t need a “proper” magazine, and even if it doesn’t, it captures loads of advertising revenue from smaller titles. It’s a lot like the revenge of bars and pubs on clubland: keep the punters drinking with ersatz DJing and they no longer have an appetite for real clubbing.
I suspect that we DO need a magazine — as in US lot, blogging round here. But it’s difficult to say whether THEY need a magazine — the non-bloggers, the uncommitted.
Intermission: Music.
While you’re waiting, here’s some music to keep you entertained. It’s a UK Garage mix I did last year, focusing on the more abstract, chthonic elements of classical UKG. It’s funky as fuck and has some of my favourite 2step tracks on it.
It’s here at http://www.grievousangel.net/Abstract_2_Step_Mix.mp3.
Track listing:
Dem 2: Keep It Coming
Dem 2: Bad Funk (Big Time Scary Dub)
US Alliance: All I know (Dem 2 Dub)
El B: Digital
Leee John: Your Mind Your Body Your Soul (MJ Cole Mix) /
Wideboys Feat. Rusty: Somethings Got Me Started (Wideboys Breakbeat Dub)
MJ & Rob D: Cum Cakes!
El B: Urban Myth
Headtop: The Matrix
Dem 2: Baby You’re So Sexy (Dub)
Groove Chronicles: Black Puppet
Groove Chronicles: Holiday Da Vybe
M Dubs: For Real (Grievous Angel Twisted Dub)
Top Cat: Gal Dem Sugar
Lady Saw: Bump’n’Grind
ATFC Bad Habit (Grievous Angel Edit)
Artful Dodger / Robbie Craig / Craig David: Woman Trouble
Artful Dodger / Craig David: Drop the Funk
It’s 73 minutes long, and weighs 15Mb. More mixes are coming.
I don’t think there’s anything in there from after 1999, but there might
be one or two nuggets from 2000 I forgot about.
That last, Indian Summer, golden period of dance music before it
collapsed as a creative force… but god did it go out on a high point.
2step was for me the absolute pinnacle of dance music’s creativity.
Techno’s intelligence, house’s propulsive grooviness, r’n’b’s
sensuality, d’n’b’s harshness, ragga’s itality, breakbeat’s sheer poppy
silliness. And if there was ever a better record than Something’s Got Me
Started — soul + abstract breakbeats + plane-taking-off noises — I
never heard it.
There’s a big contrast between this and grime. For one thing, as the new
orthodoxy suggests, grime isn’t dance music. For another, Grime is
pretty monotonous in comparison, cos the backing track is downplayed.
Here, there’s scarcely room for an MC. There’s scarcely room for vocals.
Intermission
With many apologies to Mark K-Punk and John Eden, the bookmark for this blog is changing again due to unavoidable technical difficulties. Please don’t bookmark the current location unless you don’t mind changing again in a week or so, and if you’ve already done so, I’m sorry. The new location will be https://blog.grievousangel.net, but there’s nothing up there yet — I’m still sorting things like archives out. Maximum respect to Daniel from Spinwarp.com (best d’n’b producers’ resource on the planet) for his help with this.
You can’t put a better bit of Ballard on your knife
Pounding System: “I Believe”
Great stuff. Dubversion is clearly a man who needs one of my Belief Is The Enemy T-shirts. And big up Dubversion for liking the Come Together jungle remix I did.
However:
“(PS these are some things that i decided i didn’t like this week:
Bitches Brew. Vashti Bunyan. Piles. the NME (again). Nectar Cards.”
Bitches Brew is worth sticking with but go for On the Corner first if you haven’t already. And In a Silent Way for something else completely — like, simplicity. Vashti Bunyan? You’re a brave man not liking her in this neighbourhood, geezer! Piles — I reckon I could do a heavyweight piece in this subject, though no doubt someone will tell me it’s a bad idea.
Speaking of In a silent way, I presume there’s loads of d’n’b records that sample this, but I haven’t heard any. If anyone can confirm this one way or the other I’d be grateful, cos I’d love to do it and it would be fairly easy!
MISSION IS TERMINATED.
I’m now running this blog on a new server: it’s here: https://blog.grievousangel.net
Click for an “all-clear” — go on, it takes seconds. And it proves viral marketing might be worth something after all.
Please tell ten friends The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of >donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman .
It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on “donating a mammogram” for free (pink window in the middle). This doesn’t cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising.
Here’s the web site! Pass it along to people you know.
www.thebreastcancersite.com
>AGAIN, PLEASE TELL 10 FRIENDS TO TELL 10 TODAY