Deekline & Wizard

UK booty-breaks producers Deekline & Wizard, who released their latest album “Back Up, Coming Through” this past Monday  on Against the Grain Records (13 April 09), will be dipping into Brighton next month to do a gig at Audio on Wednesday 13 May at….you guessed it, Supercharged! They will no doubt be playing tunes from this new album, which features a wealth of vocal talent literally from around the world.

Deekline & Wizard have been riding the UK breaks scene for a very long time and their classic party tune “Handz Up” was remixed and featured with killer effect on the Breakspoll-winning Stanton Warriors Sessions Volume 3 (Fabric Records) last year. Their new album is studded with gems, each one quite different, which is understandable when you consider the range of artists they worked with, from Detroit to Bulgaria and back round to the dirty streets of London.

Says their publicist:

A trip to North America unearthed Florida’s red hot, eccentric, hip hop, duo Yo! Majesty whose vocals add a hint of salt ‘n’ pepper on ‘Show Me What You Do’. In Detroit they worked with ghetto tech pioneer DJ Assault who adds his baritone twang to the minimalistic, A-Town sound and club anthems of ‘One In The Front’ and ‘Keep It Pushing’ (also featuring Freq Nasty). Whilst Canadian chart topper MC Flipside added his party starting, hip hop vocals to the gigantic ‘Handz Up’ club hit, which features the mighty Stanton Warriors on remix duties. And we’ve only just got started.

The UK breaks duo also worked in the studio with British artists Hadouken, MC Navigator, Top Cat, Fallacy, and Yolanda (Bugz In The Attic) and Andronia Popova from Bulgaria.

Remixes to follow from Rusko, Krafty Kuts, Stanton Warriors, NAPT, TRG, AC Slater, Bassnectar, Specimen A and Beat Assassins.

BONUS DOWNLOAD

Here’s a little taste from the album, a remix of their song “Back Up” by flavour of the year, AC Slater.

Download audio file (BackUp-ACSlaterRemix.mp3)

Deekline & Wizard – Back Up (AC Slater Remix)

Back Up, Coming Through – Tracklisting

1. Bounce & Rebound
2. Back Up (Love For The Music)
3. Fire
4. Ready For Your Love
5. One In The Front
6. Show Me What You Do (featuring Yo! Majesty)
7. Handz Up
8. Make A Living
9. Dancehall Thrilla
10. Baila Baila
11. Keep It Pushing
12. Angels

“Back Up, Coming Through” is out now. You can grab a copy of “Back Up, Coming Through” on Beatport, Track it Down, Juno, HMV, Play.com, and Amazon.

Photos by Mary Pryce

Plump DJs, Zinc and Brighton’s hardcore give 2 fingers to the detox – Concorde 2 16/01/09

A visit from the Plumps to Brighton is always greeted with an air of great expectation, excitement and a warm welcome. Brighton has been at the forefront of pioneering breaks, artists and DJs for years with club night Supercharged frequently adorned with recognition and accolades of its ethos and line up. Record label Against the Grain has released many a yocal up to superstar DJ, the man behind this School of Thought did not fail to deliver up the goods on a cold night in January where we all fell off the detox wagon in spectacular style.

Team Pryce trotted down the blustery seafront swigging a rum and coke on the way to get geared up for a good stomp and to save the taxi fare for the way home where it would be far more appreciated (turned out necessary). An early arrival gave us the opportunity to find that the toilets had once again been done up but with no mirrors (possible bonus) and take pictures of some youts in the cubicle area. This looked like an episode off Skins, all hand holding, serious expressions, emo hair and far too young to have remembered the days when breaks were the new thing and “Kinky Tonight” was a paramount on your ‘getting ready to go out’ play list. Still, they looked prepped for a fun night out so we followed them to the dance floor to get our dose of Zinc. Famed for his drum and bass, citing the epic track “Super sharp shooter” in the past we were intrigued to hear a breaks set from him, but it was all kicking off nicely, the crowd were moving and he looked the typical drum and bass DJ, hood up, black space where his face should be, bit like Kenny off Southpark. It seems that he is now a relative rarity in the drum and bass arena, playing out under many guises such as part of the Ganja Kru and True Playaz collectives involved in breaks, dubstep and garage.

The set remained focussed on breaks, true fans may have expected him to slip in a bit of dirty drum and bass but this didn’t materialise however he did wind everything up with some deep dubstep towards the end. Plump DJs edged onto the stage and began to loiter in the shadows, trying to hold their own amongst the group of cling on girles that were (badly) writhing around near the decks, hoping for a sniff of something that I doubt ever came… We took this opportunity to take in the atmosphere in the bar only to be greeted by Ed Solo (Brighton drum and bass producer and boy done good) and JFB the 2007 DMC UK champion where Ed got in the Tuaccas and reminded me of the offer to DJ at my wedding. Well Ed, it’s in writing now! They were shamelessly promoting the forthcoming BattleJam, which of you have never seen you MUST go. Beardyman and JFM battle it out through beat boxing and scratching and its beyond entertaining. Anyway, I digress.

On with the Plumps, they were banging out some dirty deep breaks, showcasing their new album ‘Headthrash’ and here is what the experts say

“Dazzling” 4/5 – DJ mag Album of the issue i-DJ Album of the week myspace “System Addict” Single of the month – Mixmag and Breakspoll single 2007 “Torque of the Devil” Single of the month – Mixmag.

We say Huzza! Jackin housey breaks, tinged with soulful vocals, the tunes they were playing made your nose crinkle up and your body bounce around. They were as charismatic and playful as ever which is what makes Plump DJs stand out above the rest when catching a live DJ set. Arms in the air moments, slamming the decks and waving headphones, the chance arose to get a little closer after the battle through said writhing ladies to see that they are both really quite tall, their presence even more impressive. Engagement with the crowd makes their set a special one, they look happy to be there and seem to respond and act upon a crowd’s mood. I managed to corner Andy Garner for a quote on Brighton

“We love playing in Brighton, everyone looks like they are in a competition to have the best time”

Now I think that he has just written the mission statement for all of us. Unfortunately when it came to speaking to Lee Rous, I have to admit that I have fancied the pants off him for about 8 years and was just too overwhelmed with it all…. So just stood there and admired his technique.

They boys have been getting greedy and, their use of 4 pioneer CDJ decks offers the chance to inject some creativity in their work; they reedit and drop in tracks creating a unique experience each time. On rolled the evening, dancing and beaming faces happy with their fill of Plump action. The only disappointment for me was no remix of Donna Summer’s “I feel Love”, but that was a selfish perquisite I had as one of their biggest fans. Their years on the scene have only aged them like a good wine, the energy and vibrancy is still there and will be for long to come. See you next time.

I had stopped going to Supercharged. Or so I thought.

As a regular of the night since it started at the Funky Buddha, I became increasingly unexcited by the Breaks scene, and although Skool of Thought, Krafty Kuts & co are excellent producers, it all got a bit samey. Imagine if you ate your favourite meal every Wednesday, but you never changed the ingredients? You would soon become bored of your favourite meal. That is what happened with me and Supercharged. I just felt that over the years they could have added a few more ingredients, or at least adjusted the seasoning.

I have also become disillusioned with their other venture, Against the Grain, for releasing the Freestyler’s cheesy abomination that is their newest album, “Adventures in Freestyle”. It really is cheesy and awful. Surely Lloyd and crew must know it’s awful. I think even The Freestylers must know it is cheesy and awful. If that album is a representation of one of the world’s leading Breaks labels, then I’ll eat my cat. It is for these sad reasons that my nights at Supercharged became infrequent, and I went to more fresh and innovative nights such as Beat Circus for my Breaks fix instead.

That was until I saw DJ Zinc was playing a live freestyle set with a mix of genres, including Dubstep, Breaks and Drum and Bass. Being a massive fan of another Breaks and Drum and Bass hybrid DJ, Ed Solo, and also of the blossoming Dubstep scene, this night sounded a bit fresher and worth a visit. With Zinc’s roots being firmly in Drum and Bass, this night seemed to guarantee some serious bass-orientated music.

The night kicked off with Skool of Thought, who played the perfectly executed Breaks that is the backbone of the Supercharged sound. However, it didn’t quite do it for me — for reasons previously mentioned. I am somewhat out of love with breaks at the moment. I might just be a miserable old trout, and if I’m honest, I do have a Drum and Bass bias.

The club filled up nicely just in time for Zinc. Zinc continued with the Breaks vibe, giving the happy, well warmed-up crowd with some bass heavy breaks, as expected, which was very pleasing. He played many a crowd pleaser such as a Dubsteppy Flat Eric remix with a wobbly, wobbly really loud bassline that got everyone smiling.

Zinc is already well-renowned for his skills in production and remixes in Breaks and DnB so it was the new Dubstep part I was really interested in. However, despite the fact that Dubstep was on the agenda, it wasn’t the Dubstep I was expecting — the down-tempo, two-step, chest-aching, really grimy Dubstep — so I was a bit disappointed. If you want real body-vibrating, slow Dubstep, go to the Volks. In retrospect, I was wrong to expect this type of Dubstep as mixing it with Breaks it has to be faster. However there was a touch of grimy element that got people a bumpin’ and a grindin’.

He then played mostly Drum and Bass to loud cheers and this appeared to be what the crowd were really here for. A bit like Zinc’s album “Faster”, where it starts off slower and gets faster through the album, Zinc used this tried-and-tested formula of increasing the tempo throughout the night. There was a definite correlation between how loud the crowds’ cheers were and the faster the bpm and bassier the tune. It confirmed something that I always knew in my heart. Everybody loves a bit of Drum and Bass. Even back when Supercharged started, they would sometimes play Drum and Bass at the end of the night and it would send everyone into a wild, rabid frenzy. It’s a formula that works well at Supercharged.

Zinc played a live set which was great as I have never been a great fan of watching a DJ stare at a laptop. He was also having a little dance about behind the decks, its always great to see older DJ’s still getting high on their on supply and still really enjoying their music. I guess he was probably pleased about the new direction he is heading with his production, which might explain the absence on the night of his Jungle classic “Super, Sharp, Shooter” despite it being an eternal crowd pleaser. I guess he’s leaving those days behind him and doing something different. And good on him.

The crowd was everything you would expect a mid-week Audio crowd to be: care-free students and people who have mastered the delicate art of combining employment with hangovers and lack of sleep. They were very much the friendly, fashionable, cultured and polite crowd that epitomises the UK Breaks scene. No one looked like they were breaking their Asbos to be there, despite Zincs massive DnB following.

N.B. Interesting fact: did you know that the Breaks scene in Spain is really rough? Well, I’ve seen it and it is. It’s more like a rough DnB crowd in this country and I mean rough, proper scum. I’ve seen grown men who look like gangsters dance to Breakbeat like Mr.Motivator on crystal meth. Some people even had knives taken off them. Yep, you heard right, knives at a Breakbeat night — it’s Spanish chav music.

On the drinks front, I rode the Tuaca Alpaca though the Tuscan hills of Audio. Unfortunately my Tuscan adventure mean that I became excessively drunk and my memory becomes shrouded in mystery towards the end of the night. I couldn’t even tell you what, for example, the last songs were that Zinc played but I am sure they were great as I didn’t stop dancing all night. My alcohol intake also got me in trouble and I committed one of Britain’s cardinal sins. There’s always some twat that tries to jump a queue, and I’m ashamed to say I was that coat queue-jumping twat. So apologies to the people I offended and got sent to the back, I was just too drunk to associate a long line of people patiently waiting with an actual queue. I queued for so long I even fell asleep standing up, like a horse, which was a strange end to a night.

Overall, a great night had by all, but it won’t make me start going every Wednesday again as I feel there is a bit of magic missing, and they need to try a new formula — which is why Zinc was fantastic. My recommendation for the next Supercharged of interest would be Deekline on the 19th December as this will be heavily-influenced by some serious booty bass thrown into the standard Breaks mix.

Me and Supercharged simply fell out of love after a long and happy relationship. But I’m pleased to say we’re friends again.

Audio
http://www.audiobrighton.com

10 Marine Parade
Brighton
East Sussex
Tel: 01273-624343

info@audiobrighton.com

Words: Abi