| BREAKIN'
NEWS: September 8th, 2002
The breakbeat newsletter from Breaksworld.com
http://www.breaksworld.com/
Visit Breaksworld.com and check out the latest interviews!
Do Q&A with Kieron from AQUASKY and get up close and
personal with up and coming Australian artist EK.
UBERZONE performed with a live drummer
and ADAM FREELAND rocked the decks at last month's Marine
Parade nite @ Fabric in London. Meanwhile in Australia,
DJ HYPER lost his records at the airport but still raised
the roof at Out of Order in Melbourne. Breaksworld was there
so check out the reports and pics.
Plus loads more party reports, competitions,
local artist profiles, new album and single reviews, MP3
downloads and more on offer. Visit Breaksworld now!
http://www.breaksworld.com/
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Electro vs electroclash
The internationally respected underground
electro scene in The Hague in The Netherlands is taking
a stance against the hyped-up "electroclash" sound.
The Hague-based electro labels like Global
Darkness, Bunker and Hotmix have shut down their Web sites
as a form of protest against DJ Hell and his International
Deejay Gigolos label, whom they hold responsible for the
"carefully created eighties retro fad" that is
electroclash.
According to inthemix.com.au, a statement
from the Dutch electro massive warns against "the jaded
cynicism or the poser attitude of the fake Gigolos who only
sell their asses to the masses. "
Here is the statement in full:
"Electro. Mediocrity has become
the norm, the passion has been killed. Pretentious wannabe
rockstars with inflated egos rule the mediawaves, cheap
imitation clones with clown make-up on their faces rape
the style, hyped up labels capitalize on it through slick
A&R fistpuppets and mainstream culture - that two-faced
hydra - tries to assimilate it. Meanwhile white middle-class
consumerist kids with mohawks run around like lost chickens,
eagerly lapping up the stale cum the corporate moloch spurts
onto their spotty faces as their role models down another
valium with a dirty brown sherry and drag themselves through
the twilight of their miserable lives in front of a tv set
where a video of Liquid Sky runs on repeat.
"NO MORE. We don't need the hollow
catchphrases, the carefully created eighties retro fad,
the empty music, the jaded cynicism or the poser attitude
of the fake Gigolos who only sell their asses to the masses.
You can all follow your leader into the electroclash HELL!"
Don't Panic!, the Bunker Records tour
featuring Legowelt / Orgue Electronique / DJ TLR / Schmerzlabor
and Orange Sunshine, will continue as planned, with the
following dates announced:
12-09 Cleveland / Ohio (Pats in the Flats,
2233 West 3rd)
13-09 Chicago (Empty Bottle 1035 N Western
Ave)
14-09 Detroit
15-09 Detroit Lager House (Orange Sunshine
Only)
18-09 Brooklyn NYC (Luxx) www.safetyinnumbers.net
20-09 Toronto / Can (The Mockingbird
580 Kings St. West) www.dialectro.com
21-09 Boston www.forcedexposure.com
More criticism of electroclash came from
another corner recently. Freq Nasty, the dreadlocked star
of nu skool breaks, also dismisses it as a short-lived retro
fad.
"I don't know, all the shit stuff,
the eighties stuff that everyone's kinda ironically getting
into, I see it in the same way as people ironically having
a mullet. Yeah, it's kinda funny, but I wouldn't really
wanna base a music scene on it!", Freq Nasty said in
an interview with Australia's 3D World magazine (www.threedworld.com.au).
"A lot of that stuff was shit then
and it's shit now and nothing's changed in between, and
the good electro has never stopped being produced and there's
contemporary electro that I think is far better," he
added.
DJ Hell and his Munich (Germany) based
International Deejay Gigolos label seem undisturbed by all
the criticism. According to partyscene.nl, the label is
readying its 100th release with a limited (1000) edition
release of special International Deejay Gigolos underpants,
designed by London-based agency Agent Provocateur.
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Drexciya
The electro scene is mourning the loss
of James Marcel Stinson, one half of enigmatic and highly
influential Detroit electro/techno outfit Drexciya. James
reportedly passed away on the 3rd of September of heart
complications.
James leaves behind a huge discography
of releases spanning 10 years on a host of labels including
Underground Resistance (USA), Rephlex (UK), Clone (Holland)
and Tresor (Germany). Drexciya's last album was "Grava
4", released earlier this year. James also recorded
solo under various names including Transllusion.
Drexciya claimed they recorded their
tracks live (then again, they also claimed to have a dimensional
jump hole somewwheere in Africa). In a rare interview with
technotourist.org earlier this year, James explained that,
"By recording live you capture a moment in time that
can never be done again. It's a piece of art, like the Mona
Lisa, never meant to be remixed. There is no disadvantage
for us making music this way."
For more details see
http://www.phinnweb.com/links/artists/drexciya/
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Freakaboom
Freakaboom Records' recent Boomtronics
UK Tour was a "complete success" according to
the label. The tour, accompanying "Boomtronics"
compilation, featured Klaus 2 Sinners, Haze, Databass, Kraymon,
Subtropic and Burns and Phantom Beats.
"We played every key breaks night
in the UK and topped it off with a party here in London
for friends and crew which ended up getting 300 people through
the door of a 150 capacity venue. What a sweaty little night
that was!" said label boss Databass.
The next release on the London-based
label will be the debut from new signing Starfire, aka Zack
Bright from Arlington, Texas (USA). Other new signings include
Etostone from Greece, Invincible (featuring Johan and Tommy
Stisch from Sound of Habib in Gothenburg, Sweden), and B-Phreak
from Germany.
Look out for Freakaboom's new sister
label Badaboom as well. "This limited-edition, white
label-only project will be dropping all manner of exclusive
releases from artists new and established but they won't
last long so get 'em while you can!" says Databass.
Out now on Badaboom is the smashing debut from Australian
artist Xav.
More info can be found at www.freakaboom.com
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Terminalhead
Terminalhead are doing well on the strength
of their anthemic "Beats Rhymes Flavour" single,
which came out in July on DJ Hyper's new Kilowatt Records
label. Their long-awaited "Weekend Warriors" LP
is due to be the first album released on Kilowatt. The album
was to come out this summer but the release has suffered
further delays.
"Beats Rhymes Flavour" made
a surprise appearance on national UK television when it
was used in the Radio 1 advert on BBC1 (Seb Fontaine of
all people is seen spinning the tune in the ad). Another
Terminalhead tune, "Poison" (featured on the forthcoming
album), is being used on the "Spiderman" DVD.
The next Terminalhead single will be
"Mind Of Your Own" with remixes by The Light,
Zed Bias and Terminalhead themselves.
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Ashtrax
Ashtrax, aka James Christopher and Gatecrasher
resident Ashley Casselle, are catching the current progressive
/ breaks crossover action by re-releasing "Digital
Reason". The tune was originally featured on DJ Hyper's
second "Y3K" mixed CD in 2000.
A new version, featuring a vocal by Ben
Woods, is coming out this month on Deviant Records, according
to Progressive-sounds.com. The single will feature remixes
by Filterheadz, Ogenki Clinic and Ashtrax themselves.
To download Ashtrax' classic 2000 progressive
breaks tune "Helsinki" in MP3 format, visit www.vitaminic.co.uk
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Muzik Awards
This year's Muzik awards will be handed
out at a ceremony on October 15th, with T-Power, James Zabiela
and ILS among the nominees.
ILS is nominated for Best Album for "Soul
Trader" while Shy FX and T-Power's drum 'n' bass hit
"Shake Ur Body" and Fischerspooner's electroclash
anthem "Emerge" are up for Best Single.
Fischerspooner are also nominated in
the Best Group, Best Live Act and Best Video categories
while The Streets and Royksopp made the short list for Best
New Artist. James Zabiela is up for Best Radio 1 Essential
Mix.
FabricLive, the Friday nite breaks /
drum 'n' bass weekly at Fabric in London, is up for Best
Club. Fatboy Slim's Big Beach Boutique II festival, which
shook Brighton earlier this summer, has been nominated for
Best Event.
Skint, XL and DJ Hell's International
Deejay Gigolos label are nominated for Best Independent
Record Label, while Zouk in Singapore is up for Best International
Club.
The Muzik Magazine Awards are generally
considered the most prestigious annual UK dance music awards.
The awards ceremony is taking place at Po Na Na in London
on Tuesday, the 15th of October.
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Australian Dance Music Awards
This year's Australian Dance Music Awards
are to be handed out on Wednesday 13th November at the Metro
in Sydney. Kid Kenobi was named Australia's best deejay
at last year's ADMAs.
Kid Kenobi has beenn nominated for the
Best DJ award again this year, and Melbourne breaks deejay
Ransom is also up for Best DJ.
Nominees for Best Live Act include Melbourne
trio Nubreed (who garnered three nominations at last year's
ADMAs) as well as recent Marine Parade signing Infusion.
Beats 'n' breaks foursome Rhibosome is up for both Best
Live Act and Best Debut Artist.
For more info or to vote online for the
ADMAs People's Choice Awards, visit www.dancemusicawards.net
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Prodigy mice experiment deemed cruelty to animals.
The UK government has given a formal
slap on the wrist to a team of Cambridge scientist who fed
amphetamine to mice, then blasted them with four hours of
The Prodigy at 95 decibels in an effort to study the effects
of drugs and music.
In the experiment, 238 mice were given
either methamphetamine or salt water then made to listen
to either white noise, Bach's Violin Concerto in A Minor,
or The Prodigy. The animals injected with salt fell asleep
while the drugged mice appeared to jiggle backwards and
forwards and move their noses from side to side. Earlier
reports had claimed the mice were either fixed to the spot
or walking backwards.
Jenny Morton, who led the research, said
the findings suggest that loud pulsating noises can enhance
the toxic effects of amphetamines like speed and extacy.
The experiment was part of a wider study looking at the
effects of the drug on the striatum, a brain region which
degenerates in patients with Huntingdon's disease.
Seven of the mice exposed to The Prodigy
died during the experiment. However, four of the mice made
to listen to Bach also died.
A government spokesperson said the scientists
did not have the authority to conduct the experiment: "The
music and drugs study was a by-product of the Huntingdon's
disease research. It developed into a separate piece of
work which went beyond the procedures authorised by the
original licence." The Home Office gave the scientists
"formal admonitions" and reminded them of the
rules under which animal research must be conducted.
"It's disgusting," said animal
rights activist Wendy Higgins from the British Union for
the Abolition of Vivisection. "They should be prosecuted
for animal cruelty. Why should they get special treatment
just because they are scientists?"
___________________________
Epicentre
Epicentre Music Ltd. is looking for a
Product Manager whose responsibilities will include A&R,
marketing of the company, and looking after breaks labels
like Ritmic, Chi, and Nerve Breaks as well as drum 'n' bass
labels such as Critical, Nerve, Homegrown, and Jungle Voodoo.
Tasks also include running the in-house
breaks promotion service and the in-house breaks label,
which has mixes forthcoming from Chris Carter and Phantom
Beats.
Music industry experience is preferable,
but more important is a natural capability for the job and
an all-consuming passion for breaks and/or drum 'n' bass.
In addition to the product manager job,
Epicentre is also looking for an export sales person. If
you're interested in either position, please contact Danny
at epicentremusic hotmail.com or 020 8452 3314, or send
your CV to:
Epicentre Music Ltd.
Unit 15 Millennium Business Centre
3 Humber Trading Estate
Humber Road London NW2 6DW
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Beatz & Bobz
Beatz & Bobz has outgrown its home
of four and a half years, The Cavern Club in Exeter (UK).
The nite will be moving to large venues, with residents
Ben & Lex and Bitesize alternating between Exeter's
Phoenix (450 capacity) hosting more live acts, and Exeter
University's Lemon Grove (1000 Capacity) for DJ gigs.
Beatz & Bobz will also be spreading
the breaks word around the West country with visits to Plymouth,
Falmouth and Penzance lined up. The first mini-tour in September
see's The Orb's Dr Alex Paterson visiting Bosun's Locker
in Penzance (Sept 12th), Remedies in Falmouth (Sept 13th)
then teaming up with Dreadzone's Greg Dread and Terminalhead's
MC Spee Flava at The Exeter Phoenix. (Sept 14th).
October 2002 will be Beatz & Bobz'
fifth birthday and a very special party is being planned
for the Lemon Grove with Hybrid being joined by James Lavelle
in the main room while the Beatz & Bobz residents rock
room two. A return visit by Timo Maas is also planned before
Christmas.
For more info, check www.fun-1.com
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Visionary Underground
Urban breaks collective Visionary Underground
presents an evening of breakbeat pressure at WKD in London's
Camden Town on Thursday, the 3rd of October 2002.
The party promises to be a "full-on
audiovisual breakbeat session" featuring DJ FeelFree
(Visionary Underground), State of Bengal and W.D.T. (Vinyl
Addiction). Providing the lyrical mayhem will be Afrika
Baambaata's son TC Izlam (in from New York) as well as MC
LP from Florida. Visual artillery is delivered by Visionary
Underground's very own VJ Coco.
For more info visit www.visionaryunderground.com
___________________________
© 2002 Breaksworld.com. Do not use
any of the content in this newsletter without permission
from Breaksworld.com
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