BREAKIN' NEWS: July 29th, 2002

The breakbeat newsletter from
http://www.breaksworld.com/

___________________________
Sinister Recordings

Launched in association with music publisher Toryumon, Sinister Recordings is a new UK label dedicated to serving the emerging breaks / progressive house crossover scene that's being heralded by the likes of Sasha, John Digweed and James Zabiela.

"Established by Paul Kiernan, Alex Lee and Fernando Alvaro, Sinister Recordings is aimed specifically at the emerging cross-genre market" with "stomping tribal and progressive breaks" releases, according to a label statement.
"Having noticed a definite shift in attitudes among the Breaks and House fraternity, and the tendency for these DJs to frequently mix up 4/4 with Breaks, Sinister Recordings decided to do a bit of both," the label says.

The first release on Sinister will be "2604" by Big Head, aka Fernando Alvaro and Fernando Amabili, two lads originally from Buenos Aires (Argentina) but now residing in London (UK). Supporters of the duo include Danny Howells, Steve Lawler, Cass and Meat Katie. The 12", featuring the four-to-the-floor original mix and a breaks mix by Brighton's Flashpoint, is scheduled for release in late August.

For more information on Sinister Recordings, check out www.sinister-recordings.com

___________________________
Navigation Records

Navigation Records is another new progressive / breaks label, aimed at "fusing together the sound of progressive, breakbeat and tech progressive." The label was started by Stewart Keenan in late 2001.
The first release "Blackout" was produced by Liquideyes, a London-based DJ/producer who recently had a track included on the latest D:Fuse mix compilation, released on Perfecto. Liquideyes also collaborates in the studio with Stewart Keenan under the name Zero Wait State, with a remix due out on Navigation's second 12" release.

The first release has been given the remix treatment by one of the most in-demand DJs/producers of the moment, Steve Gerrard, hiding behind the name Wreckedangle together with production partner Russell Pearce.

"Black Out" is due out on July 29th. You can catch Steve Gerrard and Stewart Keenan deejaying at De Blauwe Vis in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) on Friday, August 2nd 2002.
For more information check out the Navigation site at www.navigationrecords.com

___________________________
Junkie XL

Dutch producer Junkie XL is behind "A Little Less Conversation", the cheeky big beat-styled Elvis tune that proved to be a unexpected worldwide number one hit this summer.

JXL vs Elvis Presley - "A Little Less Conversation" hit the number one spot in the UK and the USA (where it entered the Billboard chart at number one in the first week of release) and also hit the top spot in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Holland, Hong Kong, Mexico, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden.

The tune is actually a remix of a 1968 Elvis song "Live A Little, Love A Little" and was commissioned by David Holmes for the soundtrack of the film "Ocean's Eleven". The tune hit the big time when it was used for a Nike TV commercial aired during the World Cup.

It's the first-ever Elvis remix to get an official blessing from the Presley estate. The track is featured on a new compilation album bringing together for the first time all of the King's 30 number one hits, including his latest hit, "A Little Less Conversation" which pushes Elvis ahead of the Beatles to hold the record for the most number one singles ever.

"A Little Less Conversation" caused a bit of controversy in the UK following tabloid reports that BMG had deleted the single to make way for Gareth Gates to score a number one hit with "Anyone Of Us (Stupid Mistake)". But BMG and others dismiss the claims as rubbish.

"Cynics started this rumour because the artists are on the same label ... in reality Elvis is no competition at all. Gareth will sell a quarter of a million copies this week and is certain to be next week's number one," a spokesperson for music retailer HMV told dotmusic.com. "The deletion is more a sign of the record company drawing a line under the unexpected success of the track and saying 'Let's move on to the next Elvis project' because BMG plan to release another Elvis track shortly."

Amsterdam-based Tom Holkenberg aka Junkie XL established himself with his 1998 album "Saturday Teenage Kick", dominated by a heavily Chemical Brothers-influenced guitars 'n' breaks sound. The 1999 followup "Big Sounds of the Drags" saw him follow the Chemicals' lead again as he too dropped the breaks and guitars in favour of four-to-the-floor beats.

Now Junkie XL is back to making breaks, evidenced also by the fact that he has co-produced Sasha's forthcoming breakbeat album "Airdrawndagger".

___________________________
Fatboy Slim

Fatboy Slim's second annual Big Beach Boutique event in Brighton on July 13th turned out to the UK's event of the summer. Last year the party (which grabbed a DanceStar award for Best Event on July 3rd) drew 35,000 punters - this year it was mobbed by an estimated 250,000(!)

The party was hosted by Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook and his Southern Fried Records with DJ sets by Norm himself plus fellow Brighton boys John Digweed and Skint boss Damian Harris, aka Midfield General. Damian Harris told the Observer what it was like deejaying to a crowd of a quarter million: "When I got on the stage it was very scary. I was trying not to look up too much because it was daunting,"

One person died, but her death was not directly linked to event, according to the organisers. They also said 150 tonnes of rubbish and glass were cleared off the beach, paid for by Norman Cook himself, not the local municipal council. There have been no decisions made yet on next year's event, the organisers said.
Fatboy Slim's set at last year's Big Beach Boutique has been released on CD. The CD, "Fatboy Slim - Live on Brighton Beach" came out on June 25th on Southern Fried - the labels' first-ever album release - as well as on Ministry of Sound USA.

___________________________
Freddy Fresh

Freddy's back on September 23rd with a new album called "Watch That Sound". The album will feature 12 tracks of "futuristic electro soundscapes", according to spaced.co.uk, and will be virtually sample-free, quite unlike his big beat-dominated sound of recent years.

"Working on this album was a lot of fun as it gave me the opportunity to refocus on my electronic equipment which lately has been so neglected by my tunes which utilize samples. There are practically NO samples on this album and I'm playing all the instruments, keyboard sections etc. It really brought me back to my analogue days when I ran my Analog and Electric Music Foundation‚ labels from my home base in St. Paul Minnesota," Freddy said.

___________________________
I-f

Dutch electro DJ/producer Ferenc van der Sluijs (aka I-f, Interr-Ference) is said to be quitting his label Viewlexx in response to the recent resurgence of electro. Ferenc is the best known artist within The Hague's electro scene, focused around labels like Viewlexx, Hotmix, and Murder Capital.

"Ferenc refuses to do it all over again, becoming a product. He says he just accomplished his mission," acccording to a report from Xpander.nl.

I-f's tune "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass", originally released on Viewlexx in 1997, was a seminal release that paved the way for the current electro revival.

___________________________
The Crystal Method

America's best-known electronic live act has been learning to beat-match. The Crystal Method have put together a mixed CD. Called "Community Service", the mix (out July 23rd on Ultra Records) features rare Crystal Method remixes as well as selections from well-known breakbeat artists like Koma & Bones, Elite Force and PMT. Here is the track listing:
1. No Soul - ILS (PMT remix)
2. Cake Hole - Evil 9
3. Breakin' On The Streets - Stir Fry
4. Morpheus - Koma & Bones (Meat Katie Vs Dylan Rhymes remix)
5. Funny Break - Orbital (Plump DJs remix)
6. Curveball - Elite Force
7. Dude In The Moon - Dastrix (Lunar mix)
8. Name Of The Game - Crystal Method (Hybrid's LA Blackout remix)
9. Boom - P.O.D. (The Crystal Method remix)
10. Trick Shot - CeaseFire
11. Renegades Of Funk - Rage Against The Machine (The Crystal Method remix)
12. Paranoid - Garbage (The Crystal Method remix)
13. Wild, Sweet And Cool - Crystal Method (Static Revenger remix)
14. Hold Back - Force Mass Motion Vs. Dylan Rhymes
15. You Know It's Hard - Crystal Method (Koma & Bones remix)
16. Red Pill - Scratch D Vs. H-Bomb

Hailing from Las Vegas but now based in Los Angeles, dynamic duo Scott Kirkland and Ken Jordan released their second artist album, "Tweekend", one year ago.

___________________________
Cirrus

Cirrus, the breaks duo from Long Beach (California), is seeing crossover success with their new single "Boomerang" featuring sultry vocalist Laura Derby. URB magazine described it as, "Breakbeat bad boys meet a nice girl and craft an exceptional road record."

The tune has been added to the playlist of local radio stations across the USA including KCRW (Los Angeles), KWOD (Sacramento), WPBZ (West Palm Beach), WBCN (Boston), KPNT (St. Louis), WPLY (Philadelphia) and KJEE (Santa Barbara), while the "Boomerang" video is airing on MTV Dance.

"Boomerang" is featured on "Counterfeit", the third album from Cirrus (aka Aaron Carter and Stephen Barry). The album came out on Moonshine Records on June 25th and is the followup to 1997's "Drop the Break" album and 1998's "Back on A Mission".

Cirrus are urging fans to call local alternative rock and college radio stations in the USA to request "Boomerang."

Visit www.cirruscirrus.com to watch the (very cool!) Flash-based video for "Boomerang". You can download the track in MP3 format at www.moonshine.com.

___________________________
Sasha

DJ Sasha is celebrating the release of his album "Airdrawndagger" (out on August 5th) with a four-hour set on August 1st at Bedrock in London. Also playing that nite are Hybrid, FreQ Nasty, Dub Pistols, James Zabiela, Steve Gerrard and Phil Thompson.

Two separate competitions have been announced to mark the release of "Airdrawndagger".
MTV Dance and www.djsasha.com are giving budding film makers the chance to direct the video clip for "Wavy Gravy", the first single off Sasha's new album.

"There is no set format to stick to ... anything goes. The video can involve computer animation, graphics or DV footage, it's entirely up to you. The only thing the video MUST be is creative and - obviously - your own work, otherwise it won't be used for legal reasons," according to muzikweekly.com.

Starting August 2nd, you can download the "Wavy Gravy" track from www.mtv.co.uk or www.djsasha.com. Entries will be shortlisted by Sasha's label BMG and the final 10 will be judged by Sasha, his manager, Mike O'Keefe (BMG's head of video production) and Laurence Koe (MTV's dance channel manager). The winner will be announced on MTV Dance on September 22nd.

Submit entries on tape, disc or CD-ROM format to:
Sasha Video, BMG Records, Bedford House, 69-79 Fulham High Street, London SW6 3JW, UK

Kinetic Records has announced a "Wavy Gravy" remix contest. It runs until October 31st and is open only to North American residents.

Grand Prize is a new iMac (MacOS X, flat panel display, G4 processor, DVD burning SuperDrive), a trip for two to see Sasha deejay in London, an Apple iPod and a 12" promotional vinyl release of "your remix" on Kinetic Records. Runners-up win an Apple iPod MP3 player.

For details see
http://www.kineticrecords.com/contests/sasha/

___________________________
EK

Up and coming Australian breakbeat artist EK released the single "Watch Dis" / "Old Futuristic" in June through Aussie breaks label Sound Not Scene. Support is coming across the board from the likes of Phil K, Koma & Bones, Rennie Pilgrem, Simply Jeff, Plump DJs, Atomic Hooligan, Chris Carter, 10 Sui, Tayo, Freq Nasty, Hybrid, General Midi, Madam Breaks and DJ Icey.

EK's CD EP "When All Else Fails" is available in Australia now and will hit the shops in the USA in August, courtesy of Southwest Distribution.

Look for an EK remix on Drive's "Beat Goes," out very shortly on Sound on Scene.

"Hailing from the outta burbs in Melbourne, Drive originally conceived as a prog project went askew when they delivered a nice solid downbeat early morning breaks b-side. We figured lets get EK do to mix and issue a separate record... and there you go," the label explains.

Other forthcoming EK remixes include C83 "Back in the Day" (En:Vision), Bizzare Groove "Weightless World" (Circular Orbit) and Brothers of Dub "Aftertime" (Forged).

For more info and sneak previews of new EK tunes see www.globalrecordings.com. Or check the interview which will be online very soon at Breaksworld.com!

___________________________
BT

Brian Transeau aka BT will give a presentation in Los Angeles on August 16th on the shift in recent years from hardware- to software-based studios.

According to Xpander.nl, "BT will discuss and illustrate the shift from hardware-based musical instruments and costly recording studio sessions to virtual synthesis and multi-track recording on Apple Macintosh computers."
The presentation will be held on August 16th at 7 PM at the new Apple Store at The Grove on 3rd Street & Fairfax in Los Angeles.

___________________________

Twister

Twister, the London (UK) breaks nite is moving from Thursdays to Saturdays starting August 31st. The monthly club nite is presented by Acetate Ltd. and DJ Hyper's Kilowatt Records. Twister will now be held every last Saturday of the month, 10pm - 5am, and run in conjunction with Tom Stephan's Roach party.

Special guest on August 31st is Barry Ashworth from the Dub Pistols who will play an exclusive breaks set with a twist of house. He will play alongside residents DJ Hyper, Chad Jackson and Terminalhead. Come early for Twister appetisers from 8 PM in T2 at Turnmills featuring Acetate's Darren Taylor & Steven Neal who will serve up a menu of laid back beats with house grooves.

For more info see www.turnmills.co.uk and music-village.com or contact John Nolan or Nat Martin at 020-87464072.

___________________________
© 2002 Breaksworld.com. Do not use any of the content in this newsletter without permission from Breaksworld.com