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Online magazine for Brighton club listings, event spotting, comment and more

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Brighton Fusion has been running as an online magazine since 2004, starting our infancy with a flash-clunky site and music writers’ opposing penchants for electro, techno, breaks, free parties, experimental music and indie. Since the site’s formation, we’ve stuck to our guns, offering honest articles about Brighton events and nightlife. While other magazines / sites have business suits, corporate ownership and sushi, we have shared passion, cigarettes and meetings in pubs.

We now cover culture, technology and art, but we still keep music at the heart of everything we do – with the aim of telling you the inside scoop on going out in Brighton.

Beat Redemption // Concorde2 // 12.03.10

Flying Lotus

Not Avon Barksdale from 'The Wire'

New Brighton night Beat Redemption has sure got me excited about their next event in March. The inaugural one at the back end of January was a stonking success with a packed out crowd shovelling the deepest depths of bass marshalled by Hyperdub’s Kode9 and Cooly G. Concorde’s system pounded like I haven’t heard it in a while.

The next one on 12th March will be headlined by Los Angeles’ beat maestro, retro computer game enthusiast, jazz legend nephew and premiere orgasm inducer to radio 1’s Mary Anne Hobbes. Oh, he also has a big hand in LA record label Brainfeeder (Ras G, Gaslamp Killer, Nosaj Thing, TOKiMONSTA).  Flying Lotus has a new album out in May, which said radio 1 dj is getting her knickers very twisted over. He’s been confirmed for Bestival and before that he’ll be a Butlin’s weekender BLOC. All in all, his shit is red hot!

If that wasn’t enough the promoters have also crammed a couple of other quite capable headliners on to the bill. Dutch dub man Martyn (author of recent fabric50) will be doing a 90-minute set. Then there’s a live performance from King Midas Sound which is musical alter-ego of The Bug (skeng!).  All that and a load of other stuff including Greena from Bristol’s Apple Pips playing in the front room. Check here for all the details.

See you in the dub-pit.

Got a spare £750,000? Why not buy the Ocean Rooms.

Got a spare £750,000? Why not buy the Ocean Rooms

As far as clubs go in Brighton, Ben Gill and team have held on to their reign at the Ocean Rooms for a good run. Though no one thought it would crumble down the way it has. Following a death at the venue on New Year’s Day, the venue was shut by the council and put up for sale by the owners.

If you have a spare £750,000 and fancy being a club boss, get your fanciest chains on and whip out your cheque book. Let’s hope for Brighton that this doesn’t turn in to a wasted flat development. Even though the Ocean Room’s hasn’t been at the top of its game for a long time doesn’t mean the venue should be scrapped. Its demise is down to the management, which for a long time have run the venue without much regard for the punters. Reports of violence, imaginary bookings and poor promotion have all culminated in its downfall.

With all the negativity around the venue, and we knew this day would come, it is a shame for it to be gone. They delivered some great nights over the years, and it not being on Brighton’s club landscape is a sad fact. Even if you only went there once a year, which was probably part of its problem to compete at the same level as other clubs. The Ocean Room has never been the kind of club you would go to for a shot-in-the-dark good night out. It’s always been to see a particular DJ or band. This is unlike for example Audio, which is probably Brighton’s most popular venue when you put aside the shit places like the Honey Club and Oceana’s. It just doesn’t have the same pull.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-14466861.html?pageNumber=1&backToListURL=/property-for-sale/East-Sussex/auction.html

Let’s hope it can be replaced with something worthwhile.

Donky Pitch 1.3 @ Jazz Place

Debruit

Debruit

The Donky Pitch crew return for 2010 with another line-up blending hip-hop, dubstep and all things electronica which is both heavy on cutting-edge experimentation and also damn good fun to dance to!  They’ve lined up two live performances; headlining will be Paris-based Debruit and Brighton-based “Skwee” producer Boss Kite will play his debut live show.  On top of that you get arch-dancefloor destroyer and Donky resident DJ Slugabed. For bio’s read below.

Donky Pitch return to the Jazz Place in Ship Street on Thurs 18th Feb.

And if you love/like/are curious/don’t-know-what-the-hell-it-is-but-think-it-sounds-funny Donky Pitch will also be holding a screening of the film “We Call It Skwee”.  Its at The Globe pub on Tues 2nd Feb from 8pm with Donky Pitch DJs playing their favourite ‘Skwee’ tunes subsequently.

DEBRUIT (live)
(Civil Music, Musique Large)
myspace.com/dbruit

debruit.com

Parisian synth magician Debruit makes hip hop music, but not like you’ve ever heard it before. Forging a sturdy alliance between tropical synth lines, bottom-heavy crunk and classic hip hop beats, he has been destroying dance floors across the planet for the last 12 months. A graduate of the infamous Red Bull Music Academy he has three solid EPs under his belt, two released on his own Musique Large label, run alongside fellow Frenchmen Fulgeance, with one on Reso’s Civil Music and another due to drop this month. He has a plethora of amazing mixes floating around on the internet, including a set for Mary Anne Hobbs, but we advise you check his live set for Sonar Festival from last year, it’ll blow you clean away.

SLUGABED
(Donky Pitch / Planet Mu / Stuff / Ramp / Numbers)
myspace.com/slugabedmusic

Slugabed’s squashed 8-bit hip hop and lo-fi mangled beat structures have earned him releases on Glasgow’s Stuff Records (Rustie) and Ramp Recordings (Zomby, Fying Lotus, Ras G). He also has a debut EP for Planet Mu (Starkey, Boxcutter, Milanese), Ultra Heat Treated, forthcoming this month, all at the youthful age of 20. If you’ve made it down to DP before or if if you’ve caught this man in a club somewhere else in the world, you’ll know why we made him resident, if you haven’t … Check out his recent mix for Rob Booth’s influential Radio Show Electronic Explorations

BOSS KITE (live)

(Donky Pitch)
myspace.com/506166353

soundcloud.com/bosskite

Boss Kite, aka local Brighton chap Ross Flight, is a victim of Skweee. Like the rest of the Donky Pitch family Ross fell in love with this Scandinavian phenomena on first listen and in the 9 months since he has been knee deep in synths and computer programs forging his own melodic take on this ’synthetic funk.’  “I started making Skweee music because I really wanted to be part of something I thought was exciting, fresh and completely unlike most electronic music that was coming out of the UK at the time. The simplicity of the sounds really grabbed me and I found a strange sort of personality in the music that was different in every Skweee track I heard.” The results of his labour have gained him recognition from the rest of the burgeoning Skweee community around the world, and we’re really pleased he’s chosen to share it with us first.

Blackbox present Phil Hartnoll, Sicknote, Coin operated & Wonkay @ Concorde2

Photo by Marek Richter

Photo by Marek Richter

Feeling dirt poor, broken and a bit SAD?

There’s always at least one night that comes along in January, just when you thought ‘I’m not going out for at least another two pay cheques’ and ‘I really should rest up/drink less/stop blacking out’ and by the end of the month all of resolutions you made on the 1st seem stupid and pointless. It’s time to go out.

On 23 January, BLACKBOX have pulled together a night of dirty bass music that won’t break the bank – 3 quid before midnight down at the Concorde 2.

DJing on the night is the legendary Phil Hartnoll (Orbital), who’s apparently taken a break from gigging since the band re-formed last year.

In Room 1, there’s Coin operated Records founder Mustard Gunn playing bass heavy wonky techno,  Sicknote resident, techno anarachist Sketchy Steve, and BlackBox residents Tony Montana and Jiminy Clackett.

In Room 2, it’s all about the psy-trance, hosted by Wonkay Music, with DJs Hugoblin, Dez, Hugo Nation, DMT, and Kayaman.

They say:

Complete club transformation
Lazer and Light show
Massive soundsystem
Cheap Drinks deals all night

Saturday 23 January 2010, 11pm – 4am Concorde 2, Madeira Drive, Brighton

£3 Advance tickets – only available online at www.concorde2.co.uk
On the night : £3 Before midnight, £5 After

Aka Aka Roar with Appleblim @ Life

appleblim_main

A new year and a new night to hit our shores – Aka Aka Roar. They really seem to have hit the nail on the head with their concept:

Amid the rapid commercialisation of dubstep, we are looking towards those artists who are developing the sound and its related sub-genres. With dubstep being heavily influenced by 2step we feel it’s important to look back as well as forwards and dig out those artists and sounds that made the genre what it is today. Brighton has its fair share of dubstep nights, but AKA AKA ROAR is distinct, not only in the artists it welcomes on to the bill, but in its unrelenting attempts to provide a quality night of progressive music at a cheap price. More than being “just another dubstep night”, we look to the broader genre for inspiration. Dubstep has moved on and whether you call it ‘funkstep’, ‘future garage’, ‘Progressive dub’ or even ‘techno’ we love it and we think you will too!

It all kick’s off with the fantastic Appleblim on the 11th of January at Life.

For now here’s a Aka Aka Roar promo mix, from Ben White, to keep you satisfied over the weekend: http://www.mediafire.com/?2ddzqdwmywd.

Source: http://squeakybleeps.blogspot.com/2009/12/aka-aka-roar-promo-mix.html

Continue reading →

New Years Eve 2009 in Brighton

With Kachings reminisent to the beginning of Pink Floyd’s 1973 hit Money, it’s time for another new years even in Brighton. This list is a work in progress and will be updated with any changes up till new years day.

Our backings with Life, Supercharged and the Slackers Convention.

£32 to go to Digital?? Two words… blow me.

Happy New Year

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Tonight is not a night for staying in: music and culture on 3 December

Major Lazer

Major Lazer aka Diplo and Switch

Just before I was going to do a shameless plug for my gritty short story night at Red Roaster (which is on tonight!), it did occur to me that I happened to pick a pretty spectacular night for my event.

Not only were there two other literary events happening (Space, Hammer & Tongue), but more importantly, Goldie, Major Lazer Soundsystem and Herbaliser were all in Brighton TONIGHT.

Plus there’s a new techno/psy-trance night called Sicknote down at the Volks, which I was planning to make my final destination after getting drunk at St James.

Being a fair person, I decided to feature all of them, instead of my own night. I’ll let you make up your own mind regarding music tastes, but whatever you do, don’t stay in.

If you were a kid in the ’80s or a true short story lover, come down to Kemptown’s Red Roaster for Grit Lit, featuring Isabel Ashdown, Jake Kennedy, Emma Gray, Tim Lay, Chris Callard, Ed Siegle, and me.

We’ve got gangsters, black artists, Brazillian favelas, drugs, raves, alcoholic mums, pretty much the whole gritty deck. It’s a fiver to get in, licensed bar, nice people and we kick out at 10pm (doors 7.45pm). Facebook holds all the answers.

Music fiends

  • Major Lazer Soundsystem, Mumdance, Blah Blah Blah DJs – Digital
  • Sicknote: D.A.V.E. the Drummer, Julian Liberator, Antispin, 11pm £5/4 – Volks
  • Herbaliser, Tinroots, 7.30pm – Concorde 2

Culture vultures

  • Studio Hammer & Tongue 2009 Grand Slam Final Performance poetry, 7.30pm £5 – Komedia
  • The Space: Goldie, Ian Rankin, 8pm, £6/4 – Latest Music Bar
  • Wayne McGregor/Random Dance: Entity Dance and multimedia performance with a soundtrack from Jon Hopkins and Joby Talbot, 8pm £17.50/15/10 – Corn Exchange

Art Republic’s Street Art competition

Home is where the heart is... Work by: Pranksys Art (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pranksy/)

Home is where the heart is... Work by: Pranksy's Art (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pranksy/)

Want to see your artwork blown up as a three-story art installation?

Art Republic is launching a  national art competition called ‘Street Art’ in association with StreetSmart – the homeless charity.  The winning piece will be displayed large style in Brighton and London.

Along with some fab prizes (and a little fame and glory thrown in for good measure), you’ll also have the nice feeling that you’ve helped people sleeping rough.

As well as looking sharp, your piece should be about raising awareness of the homeless situation in the UK. A panel including Pure Evil, Inkie and Ben Eine and Static will be the judges of fashion+function=winner. You never know, it might not ever happen.

shop

As big as this

And oh yeah, the winning artwork would be on this scale…

How to enter

Email your image (it must be an original piece, created by you) to artwork@artrepublic.com, please enter ‘Street Art Competition’ in the subject line.

Or if you are a member of Flickr, images can be uploaded through our ‘Street Art competition with StreetSmart’ group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/artrepublic-street-art-competition/

The competition closes on Friday 8th January 2010.

What you’ll win…
The winning artwork will be displayed as a massive art installation (the size of a three-storey building) for all to see and enjoy. It will appear on buildings in London and Brighton in early 2010.

The winning image will also be sold worldwide as a limited edition print through the artrepublic website, with all proceeds going to StreetSmart. The winner will also receive a meal for two at PINTCHOtapas in London and a night’s stay at Myhotel Bloomsbury.

The competition coincides with this year’s campaign by StreetSmart and their restaurant partners to raise money for the homeless during the festive season.

“Street art is experienced by everyone and therefore creates a bond between those who live on the streets and those who have a roof over their heads. This is a unique opportunity for an aspiring or established artist to express themselves, with the winner’s message being exposed to the world”. Lawrence Alkin, CEO, artrepublic.

For more info, check out the competition site.

Donky Pitch 1.2 // Jazz Place // 26/11/09

TOKiMONSTA

TOKiMONSTA

Eventually found the Jazz Place after initially going down the wrong street (does anyone else still have trouble navigating the south lanes?) all the while getting heavily rained on.  It’d been a while since that last time I’d been down in the Jazz Place and it was good to be there again as I’ve some fond memories of that cosy basement.  Blue Daisy took the controls as first live act of the evening and was warming into his set when I arrived.  Playing what I suspect were mostly his own cuts, Blue Daisy played a set with a lot more groove than I had been expecting, mixing some very deep and atmospheric sounds with precision assaults of crushing beats.  It put me in mind of one of my favourite Warp artists, Clark.  Especially the crushing mile-wide repetitive beats of what I think I recognised as his own ‘Hunterz’.  On tonight’s evidence I got the distinct impression Blue Daisy will among the most interesting artists in electronic music over the next few years both live and producing beats.

TOKiMONSTA came straight after Blue Daisy’s seamless groove with 45 mins that veered between cosmic hip-hop and some good old-fashioned rave inspired anthemic moments.  Chief among the latter and getting a great reaction from the crowd were her own cuts using samples of of Lee “Scratch” Perry’s ‘I Chase the Devil’ and The Loonies ‘I Got Five on It’.  It all got very muddled up during TOKi’s set as her concoction of gnarling sub-bass and shimmering scatter-gun beats combined to addle my mind.  The only thing I clearly remember is not being able to leave the dancefloor.  And there I pretty much stayed until the end of the following set of Slugabed.

Big ups to Donky Pitch for putting on a night of such unique quality.  One of the organisers told me they are simply interested in playing music and putting on artists that they really want to hear, and hopefully this will be what a number of others will want to hear also.  The crowd was a good mix of those who wanted to have a bit of a party and those more content to head nod, but it was clear the vast majority were drawn there for the music.  With a music policy at the intersection between British dubstep, west coast hip-hop and Scandinavian skwee, a place where a great deal of innovative and exciting artists are creating some amazing music, Donky Pitch is well placed to showcase it in Brighton for our distinct pleasure.

Donky Pitch DJs have a residency every 3rd Saturday at The Globe. 9pm-1am

Find out more about Donky Pitch here

Listen to Donky Pitch guest mixes here

Review by Paul Clare

Slackers’ Broken Robot Special tonight @ Volks!

Hedflux

Hedflux

Yes, it’s that time again for Brighton’s best kept secret (not), breaks night Slackers Convention. Tonight they’ve got three headliners, Hedflux, Neurodriver (Far Too Loud) and RMS, plus all the motley DJ crew.

As we speak, Hedflux is coming down from Norwich, bring his tech funk style of breakbeat to this slightly hedonistic, anything goes night. Check out his Glade 2009 promo mix to get a flavour in advance. Most of you will know that Neurodriver is the solo project of Dom Smart from breaks outfit Far Too Loud.  What you might not know is that he and and Martyn Harler aka RMS are the brains behind breaks label Broken Robot, which they started in December 2008.

Saturday 28 November @ Volks Tavern, Madeira Drive, Brighton
11-4am. Tickets £4 b4 12/£5

Get involved in the facebook group.

Slackers’ Broken Robot lineup
Headliners: HEDFLUX, NEURODRIVER, RMS
Plus residents: LuQas & PAV, DIRTBOMB, LOOP DE VILLE, MATT SLACK, DJ Y-NOT, BOZBOZ

Slackers Convention: “Breaks, Beats & Party nonsence for the Discerning Under Achiever”