| BREAKIN' NEWS:
October 14th 2002
The breakbeat newsletter from Breaksworld.com
To subscribe or browse through the archive, visit:
http://www.breaksworld.com/Newsletter/
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RNA
Oxford-based breaks crew RNA (Rhythmical Noise Authority)
recently signed a record deal after they were discovered
thru Breaksworld!
UK breaks label SkyDive Recordings made contact with the
duo (Ben McIntosh and Jimmy Thunder) after hearing their
tune "Under Slick" on Breaksworld's breakbeat
station featuring the cream of unsigned breaks talent on
on MP3.com.
"Ben and Jamie have been working together in the studio
for just over a year. Their influences are varied and go
way back to the birth of the UK dance scene, but their style
is certainly breaks with electro, techno and DnB influences"
according to SkyDive Recordings.
RNA's first release on SkyDive, the "Intoxication"
EP, is due out in November (distribution thru Unique) and
the promo (thru Waxworks) has already found its way into
the top 10 of DMC's global breaks chart. Support is so far
coming from DJ Hyper, Subtropic, Vandal and Ministry of
Sound's Cutting Edge Beats among others. SkyDive is promising
that "Under Slick" will also get a vinyl release
in the future.
The launch party for RNA's "Intoxication" EP will
be held on Friday, November 1st at The Play Bar, 56 Old
Street, London EC1.
Check out Breaksworld's breakbeat station on MP3.com at
http://www.mp3.com/stations/breaksworld
For further info and to listen to audio snippets from the
"Intoxication" EP, visit:
http://www.skydiverecordings.com
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Shadow Cryptic
Moving Shadow has established a new label called Shadow
Cryptic. The label will focus on non-drum 'n' bass releases
including breaks, downtempo and (tech)house.
"Shadow Cryptic is something we've been wanting to
start up for a while now, born out of the frustration of
being sent some amazing tunes that we couldn't put out as
they wouldn't have made sense on our drum 'n' bass imprint.
The new label will mainly be dealing with tech/deep house
and breaks 12 inches, with the X sides being aimed directly
at the dance-floor and the Y sides veering more towards
the downbeat/eclectic side of things," Moving Shadow's
label manager Gav Johnson told Burnitblue.com.
The first release from the label will be "Hope"
from downtempo duo Amalgamation of Soundz, due out on December
2nd. A breaks track by Aquasky is to be released on Shadow
Cryptic early next year under their breaks alias, Aquasky
vs Masterblaster.
Moving Shadow played a very important role in early 1990s
hardcore (old skool breakbeat) and early drum 'n' bass.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the label has
recently released new breaks remixes of hardcore classics
from the fantastic Moving Shadow back catalogue. These include
Lord of the Null Lines - Voodoo Magic (Aquasky remix) and
Blame - Music Takes You (BLIM remix) . An Aquasky remix
of Omni Trio's "Renegade Snares" is to be released
in the near future.
Moving Shadow's Web site can be found at
http://www.movingshadow.com
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News from Australia
What's up down under? Well, lots! First of all, Phil K is
back with a brand new mixed CD, "Balance 004",
out this month. Launched at a party on October 11th at the
Prince of Wales in Melbourne, "Balance 004" is
the fourth installment in a series of mixed CDs presented
by Aussie label EQ. Worldwide distribution thru Prime (UK).
"Balance 004" actually consists of a breaks mix
and a house mix. The track listing of the breaks mix is:
1. Un:Plug - Time Unlimited (Ortus Airgap mix)
2. Luke Chable - After The Storm
3. Medway / Sean Cusick - The Fiscal EP (Columns of Clouds)
4. Spoon Wizard - Me & Spoonice (Blue Effect mix)
5. DJ Abstract - East Coast vs West Coast ep (Identity Crisis)
6. Habersham & Numinous - Mister Cool (Habersham's House
of Nu Interpretations Dub)
7. Interloper - Bitch Slapper
8. Scrambler - Free
9. Smart n Pocket - Kickflip Manual
10. Luke Chable - Sealer's Cove (Midnight In Cyberphunk
mix)
11. Brothers Of Dub - After Time (EK mix)
12. GT - Love Song (Dark Alley's Heavy Mental Breaks mix)
13. Prince Quick Mix - Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (Phil K
vs Nu Breed Pass)
A few years ago, Phil K released an outstanding progressive
breaks mix called "Sound Not Scene". The CD won
him the award for Best Compilation at the 2000 Australian
Dance Music Awards (as well as a 5 star review from Breaksworld.com).
This past Sunday, October 13th, a DJ mix by Phil K and NuBreed
aired on Annie Nightingale's show on British national radio
station BBC Radio 1.
Australian breaks label Sound Not Scene released a new 12",
Drive - "Beat Goes", last month to international
acclaim. In the UK, the single (featuring a remix by EK)
entered DJ Magazine's prestigious beats & breaks chart
at number 16, and DJ Mag also named the single a Sureplayer.
"Sound Not Scene is another one of those Australian
breaks labels turning out quality, musical break beat. Drive
are two brothers, who obviously have an ear for understated
dance floor dynamics. The 'EK's Monster Breaks' mix is the
one to head for, where mellow-ish Danny MacMillan style
pads & melodies work well with crisp, rolling beats.
Not one for the bang bang crew, but if you like things a
bit deeper then this is right on the button," according
to DJ Magazine.
To listen to Drive - "Beat Goes" and other SNS
releases visit Sound Not Scene's Web site at
http://www.globalrecordings.com
Andy Page is back with a massive new breaks tune with a
funny title. Called Andy Page & Babs - "Olivia
Newton Bomb", it's his first 12" release on Thunk
Recordings. Based around a flute sample this is another
highly original, brilliantly programmed Andy Page production.
Check the reviews section on Nubreaks.com to hear the tune
or visit the Thunk site for details:
http://www.thunkrecordings.com/tr030/
Kid Kenobi and DJ Ransom are both nominated for Best DJ
at the Australian Dance Music Awards. Kid Kenobi went home
with the award last year. This year the awards will be handed
out on November 13th at the Metro in Sydney. NuBreed and
Infusion are also among the nominatees.
Breakscentral.com went live recently - the first site dedicated
to Australia's massive breaks scene, focusing on Sydney.
Presented by loadedgrooves.com, Breakscentral offers info
about upcoming events, party reviews, chat forums and more.
The official launch party is on October 17th at the Aqua
Luna Bar, Circular Quay, Sydney. Check out the site at
http://www.breakscentral.com
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Madame Mercury
San Francisco-based Madame Mercury has announced that she's
ending her career as a breaks deejay.
Madame Mercury (real name Sherry) had been active as a DJ
in the San Francisco scene since 1996, unleashing a long
list of mixed tapes and CDs. Last year's mixed CD "Alive"
was released nationally in the USA thru Miami's StreetBeat
Records.
She also launched the record label Mad Wax in May of last
year and produced a number of 12 inches including "Rhythm
Rock" released on StreetBeat. Her most recent release
was "Back Up". Produced together with iLLKO (aka
DJ Spinner & DoubleDay), the track was featured on the
"West Coast Breakin' EP" which came out on Mad
Wax earlier this year.
"I have enjoyed this exciting, challenging and fun
experience ... but I'm turning off the decks for a while,"
Madame Mercury said in a statement posted on her Web site.
For further info see:
http://www.madamemercury.com/
http://www.mad-wax.com/
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Wrecked Angle
Wrecked Angle is a progressive breakbeat act signed to Sheffield-based
Akademia Recordings, the breaks offshoot of leading progressive
house label Choo Choo Records. Hiding behind the Wrecked
Angle name are Birmingham lads Steve Gerrard and Russell
Pearce.
Steve Gerrard established himself as a top international
deejay after winning Muzik's Bedroom Bedlam competition
in 2000. Steve plays his progressive breaks sets at top
prog nites in the UK and around the world. He also holds
a DJ residency at Code in Birmingham. Chris Mullings from
Hybrid told Muzik magazine that "Steve is one of the
best up and coming DJs I've heard in a long time,"
while John Digweed said Steve "is making a name for
himself by delivering great sets everywhere he goes. He
always rocks it at Bedrock when he plays."
Steve and Russell's first vinyl outing as Wrecked Angle
- a remix of Liquideyes - "Blackout" - was released
on another fresh new progressive house & breaks label,
Navigation Records. More recently they remixed Mara's latest
breakbeat epic, "Heretic", which came out on Akademia.
In an interview with progressive-sounds.com, Steve denies
recent claims in the UK music press that progressive house
is "dead" and that breaks are the next big thing.
"Progressive might be dead to some people who follow
trends, but in my opinion, the progressive scene is still
producing outstanding music and moving forward. It might
move underground a bit now but it's still thriving on a
global scale. Breakbeat is producing some incredible records
at the moment and I'd love to see it get the recognition
it deserves, but I really can't imagine it being the next
big thing. Just one huge record could change all that but
at the moment breaks is still very underground," Steve
said.
For further info about Wrecked Angle (and to watch video
footage from their recent performance at the Exit Festival
in Yugoslavia), visit their home page at
http://www.wreckedangle.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
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Deadly Avenger
Damon Baxter aka Deadly Avenger was one of the leading artists
of the big beat era. He signed to J Saul Kane's DC Recordings
in 1995 and later set up his own label Illicit Recordings,
home to Jadell, Richard Sen and the Bronx Dogs as well as
Deadly Avenger himself of course. In addition Damon found
time to remix the Manic Street Preachers, Travis and Money
Mark, and to work with The Wiseguys, Organic Audio and Andy
Smith from Portishead.
As his funky mixed CD in the "FabricLive" series
attests, Damon has moved on from big beat to a much more
grown-up sound but remains heavily influenced by the sounds
of the 1970s - funk, disco, oldskool hiphop and Seventies
film soundtracks.
These influences, the cinematic soundtracks in particular,
have spawned a fantastic debut album, "Deep Red",
released last month on Illlicit Recordings to glowing reviews
- Ministry of Sound for instance hailed it as Album of the
Month.
Also out now is the second single off the album, the epic
"We Took Pelham". Inspired by Bill Conti's "Going
The Distance" off the "Rocky" soundtrack,
the tune was first released on Deadly Avenger's "Illicit
EP" back in 1998. On the new single version, Damon
used a 47-piece Hungarian orchestra rather than license
the "Rocky" soundtrack sample.
Deadly Avenger recently told spaced.co.uk that loads more
is in the works at Illicit HQ: "We have singles from
Richard Sen, Jadell and a compilation of music to go with
crappy '80s sci-fi & horror movies, with contributions
from the likes of Faze Action, Howie B [and] Dynamo Productions.
Its lots of cool jazzy electro." Illicit is also set
to release "Straight to Video" later this year.
This is a project conceived by Damon and graphic designer
Gareth Bayliss, who creates all the Deadly Avenger artwork
and is also known for his Mo'Wax artwork.
What's more, Damon is rumoured to be in negotiations to
score the soundtrack for "Halloween 8". Damon
cites John Carpenter, who created the soundtrack for the
original "Halloween" movie, as a huge influence.
The "Deep Red" album was launched on the 27th
of September at FabricLive in London (where Deadly Avenger
holds a DJ residency). Upcoming dates include:
20-Oct-02 Sunday ELBOW ROOMS, ISLINGTON, LONDON
23-Oct-02 Wednesday REHAB, LEEDS
25-Oct-02 Friday FABRIC, LONDON
23-Nov-02 Saturday THE CROSS, LONDON
06-Dec-02 Friday PO NA NA, LEICESTER
31-Dec-02 Tuesday BREAKDOWN, BELFAST NYE
For more info and audio samples see:
http://www.deadlyavenger.com
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The Streets
Mike Skinner aka The Streets has quickly established himself
as the foremost proponents of the darker, deeper side of
2-step garage.
On his anthemic single "Let's Push Things Forward"
the 22-year-old oddball vocalist rails against the cookie-cutter
formula records, cheesy covers and poppy R&B-style commercialism
that continues to dominate garage.
"You say everything sounds the same / then you go buy
them," Mike raps on the record. "There's no excuses,
my friend / let's push things forward."
His gold-selling debut album "Original Pirate Material"
won Mike a nomination for the prestigious Mercury Music
Prize, handed out earlier this month. However, he lost out
to Ms Dynamite aka Naomi McLean-Daley (who started as vocalist
in a London 2-step garage club and hit the big time last
year with UK top 20 hit "Bo!") The Streets are
also nominated for Best New Artist at the upcoming Muzik
Awards.
The latest single off The Streets' "Original Pirate
Material" album is "Don't Mug Yourself",
out on October 14th on 679 Recordings with remixes by Royksopp,
Fusion, Big$hot and Jammer.
"It's the lairiest one on the album," Mike told
NME. "It's got a lot more 'Fuck you!' attitude in it.
I daresay people will think its more poppy, but I don't
want to turn into kiddy fodder."
Apparently "Don't Mug Yourself" was originally
headed for a B-side and was not going to be included on
the album at all. In fact, the promo featured an entirely
different track, "All Got Our Runnin". But apparently
label execs earmarked the tune for a single release because
(unlike other The Streets tunes) "Don't Mug Yourself"
is a kind of love song. According to dotmusic.com, the tune
has Mike's mates telling him not to make a fool of himself
over a girl, and was recorded after a drunken night out.
Mike is off on tour now with a a "pub band" featuring
an additional MC, bass player, keyboardist and drummer.
The following dates have been announced:
Australia:
Saturday, October 12: LIVID Brisbane
Sunday, October 13: Hi-Fi Bar, Melbourne
Wednesday, October 16: The Metro, Sydney
Friday, October 18: Canberra Uni (with Nightmares on Wax)
Saturday, October 19: LIVID Melbourne
Sunday, October 20: LIVID Sydney
USA:
Los Angeles Troubadour (October 24)
Chicago Doubledoor (26)
New York Mercury Lounge (27)
Vice Private Party (28)
UK:
November 30, Bristol University
December 1, Glasgow Barrowlands
December 2, Leeds University
December 4, Manchester Academy
December 5, London Astoria.
For more info see:
http://www.the-streets.co.uk
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Quasi Moda
German electro don DJ Hell is teaming up with one-time acid
house king Adamski and the KLF's Jimmy Caughty to launch
a new electroclash label.
The man from Munich has teamed up with Adamski (now known
as Adam Sky) to set up a new label which is called Quasi
Moda, Burnitblue.com reports. The first release will be
Atomizer's "Hooked on Radiation", an electro tune
co-produced by one-time KLF member Jimmy Caughty.
It's a re-release actually - "Hooked on Radiation"
was already released on vinyl on DJ Hell's International
Deejay Gigolos earlier this summer and also included on
the International Deejay Gigolos compilation "CD Six"
which came out in August.
Atomizer is a London-based duo featuring Jonny Slut, resident
DJ of electroclash nite Nag Nag Nag every Wednesday at London
gay club Ghetto. Their next live performance is on Thursday
the 24th of October at the Avant Gardening Centre @ The
Hanbury Ballroom in Brighton, appearing alongside Cosmetique
at this "feisty electropunk oldmetal a.o.r&b blackgayacidslapbass
film disco & live performance shebang," according
to info which the lads posted on their Web site:
http://www.atomizer.org.uk
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DJ Hyper
UK breaks don DJ Hyper (aka Guy Hatfield) has announced
that he is leaving Waxworks to focus on deejaying, producing
and running his label Kilowatt Recordings.
Hyper's legendary Waxworks, a division of London-based Music
House, is the UK's leading breakbeat record promotion agency,
mailing out promos to all the top names in breaks over the
past 5 years. DJ Hyper's partner at Waxworks, Aidan Byrne,
will run the agency solo from now on. He can be reached
at aidan.waxworks@music-house.co.uk or phone 020 7482 9742
DJ Hyper mixed the seminal "Y3K" CDs as well as
the recent "Bedrock Breaks" CD. He has also released
a number of well-received singles and remixes, often produced
together with studio engineer Dylan Rhymes.
Earlier this year Hyper started his own record label, Kilowatt
Recordings. The label has already released some of the hottest
breaks tunes of 2002. Full albums from Terminalhead and
DJ Hyper himself are forthcoming.
For more info see:
http://www.kilowattrecordings.com/
http://www.music-house.co.uk/
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Regenerate
Adam Freeland is deejaying on October 24th in his home town
of Brighton at Regenerate, a Greenpeace event to promote
renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.
According to Muzik magazine, Midfield General (aka Skint's
head honcho Damian Harris) and Robert Luis have also been
confirmed to play at Regenerate. The party is held at The
Ocean Rooms (1 Morley Street, Brighton) on October 24th.
Sound and lighting will be powered by Cyrus, a 40 foot-long,
soy diesel-fuelled tractor topped with a 40-panel array
of photovoltaic solar cells. The truck is provided by Brighton
& Hove's local section of Greenpeace. Information stalls
will also be present at the event.
The UK government will soon be reviewing its energy policy
and Greenpeace is seeking to raise awareness of renewable
energy sources as a clean alternative to fossil fuels and
nuclear energy.
Greeenpeace explains that, "As North Sea gas nears
total depletion, we will have to decide within the next
20 years where our electricity supply will come from. The
two main options available are from either renewable or
nuclear energy sources. Greenpeace are campaigning for the
government to invest fully into the use of renewable energy,
as the Irish Sea is already the most radioactive in the
world."
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© 2002 Breaksworld.com. Do not use any of the content
in this newsletter without permission from Breaksworld.com
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