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

Panda 2006. Photo from MySpace

Fancy seeing international techno hotshot Radio Slave tonight? Get yourself down to the Coalition. It’s not often you get a chance to see Matt Edwards play in Brighton – even though he’s from here his schedule is booked up with international clubs and festivals. We haven’t seen much promotion about this event but it should be pretty special.

Radio Slave Biog (From Rekids.com)

No matter what sounds you profess to be your music of choice, chances are, that at some point over the last five years, you will have got your rocks off to Matt Edwards.

As Matthew E he fashions club-based, dancefloor slayers. Under that aegis he’s updated the classic Chi-town, jackin’ sound beloved of house aficionados and layered it with fractured funk, belligerent, oddball beats and mechanical soul.

If Matthew E is all about the Saturday Night Fever, then, by contrast, Rekid is the slower, more deliberate, rhythmical funk of the mid-week mayhem. Its well-intentioned muscular intensity making it perfect soulful sustenance.

Quiet Village is something else all together. A collaboration with long-time musical sparring partner Joel Martin (a vinyl freak, like Mr Edwards, who works in esteemed auction house Christie’s pop department), it’s sample-based music which veers from drawn out disco-not-disco delirium to evocative, under-stated soundscapes.

Sea Devils – you keeping up at the back? – is undeniable electronic pop brilliance. Working with Tom from Cagedbaby, it’s the least niche of Matt’s projects and thanks to Sea Devils alluring pop dance grooves they’ll no doubt be shagging the upper reaches of the hit parade sometime soon.

Last, but by no means least etc, etc, etc, is Radio Slave. Perhaps Matt’s most instantly recognisable nom de guerre, thanks in part to his inspirational melding of Kylie’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head to New Order’s Blue Monday, this is Matt’s DJ moniker and the guise under which he completes his incendiary remixes and re-edits.

However, before such sonic schizophrenia gets you calling for the men in white coats, just feel the quality and consider Matt’s legacy. Fired by the first wave of acid house, Matt gained his musical spurs by partying to dance music that was just that: music you danced to, irrespective of tribal factions.

This was the raison d’être he acknowledged when he took to the decks, first at London’s legendary Milk Bar in 1992, then onto the, then, recently opened Ministry Of Sound and then to parties across the country, most notably in Wales – where he was a regular at free parties – and in Brighton, his home since 1998.

His love of re-edits, dance music’s oft-forgotten backbone, led Matt into the studio himself. His own re-edits and remixes, such as the aforementioned epoch-defining re-imagining for Ms Minogue, soon gave way to his own productions and since the floodgates opened there’s been no stopping the man known as, erm, Matthew E, Quiet Village, Sea Devils, Rekid and Radio Slave.

He’s released records for Skint, Soul Jazz, Classic, Whatever We Want, and he’s worked with fellow travellers, Belgium’s The Glimmers. If Matt comes up with another two projects he’ll have enough alter egos for every day of the week.

Psychologists would probably have a field day with him; mercifully, we don’t have to worry about any crisis of identity, we just get to keep on dancing.

www.deputamadre.co.uk
£12/£10 concession

04/07/09

Mesmer

This weekend, Brighton welcomes a new addition to the club night gliterrati: The Box. Promising techno for the brave and breakbeat for people who eat it for breakfast, The Box capitalises on a expertise gained by the two promoter’s many years of DJing and producing in the city.

The Box launches at The Jam (formerly Sumo) this Saturday 20 June, bringing in three guest DJs from Swedish breaks label Sound of Habib – London-based BETA, label founder Johan Soh and 26-year-old Romanian Mesmer- and fellow Brap FM-er, Clodhoppa (Midnightminustwo), straight from the dales of Yorkshire.

Not heard of Sound of Habib? Go and have a listen to some  of the label’s fresh sounding breaks releases on their site – such as Mesmer’s “Rowlacoster”,  J Hazen “700ft”, Karton “Mugstar”, Digitalis “Dealing with it” , plus remixes of all, already loaded in their player. You can also download Johan Soh’s Truskool Session (see end of this post).

The night’s the evil brain child of Pav N LuQas, best known on the breakbeat scene as stalwart DJs for Slackers Convention and co-radio show hosts on Brap FM and NSB Radio. With Luqas recently signed to south west breaks label Dead Famous Records, the boys are more than ready to push things a notch, offering up their own brand of techno and breakbeat. Expect some edgier limits to be pushed, a night for people who have cultivated tastes – connoisseurs if you will  (jesus, I couldn’t spell that word without a dictionary!).

So in the midst of a burgeoning summer, in the context of a very chilly recession, you might ask: Is Brighton ready for a  futureProgTechAdventure like The Box? Yes-no-maybe? Or how about just yes.

About a year and a half ago, when the recession was simply a rumour, one rather wise friend made an interesting observation: in economic downturns, while high streets get boarded up and unemployment threatens new record charts, music goes underground – like really far, subterranean levels and this is when it all gets good: in the depths of the darkness, there’s creativity and light and music pushes to new levels, more than we could ever imagine.

Which half explains how in the midst of doom and gloom, Brighton’s seaside entertainment business keeps bubbling away with hen nights, day trippers and the rest of the Britain looking for some cheaper charm. Perhaps there’s no better time to start a night.

Here’s what the Box promoters have to say for themselves:

“We wanted to have an outlet for some of our favourite labels to showcase their talent. We’ve noticed alot of the real credible underground label/artist’s don’t get the recognition they deserve, so by hosting a night we can give people a chance to hear new music or, at worst, we can satisfy the purists! Ideally we would like to carry this forward with regular monthly parties as they’re is plenty of labels to target. We listen to and play a wide range of genres, from breaks to psy trance, techno to electro, always leaning to the underground techy sound so plenty of scope! “

The Box present Sound of Habib, Saturday 20 June, Jam, (formerly Sumo), 9-12 Middle Street,  Brighton.  Doors- 11-4am, £5 entry.

As a bonus, Pav and Luqas have offered us some special mixes to whet your appetite PLUS a mix download from Sound of Habib.

Download audio file (PAV_Comedownonasaturday.mp3)

The Box – Come down on a Saturday mix – Pav (right click to download)

Download audio file (jariten-truskool_session_5_mix.mp3)

Johan Soh’s Truskool Session (originally featured on Sound of Habib’s site)

Brighton Fusion – Fat!Beaches with Subtone

Download audio file (Brighton Fusion – Subtone.mp3)

Brighton Fusion – Subtone.mp3
Right click to download

1. Guy Gerber – Disorientation (Reboot Remix)
2. Cle – Nomads (Matthias Tanzmann Remix)
3. Speedy J – Red Shift
4. Matt Nordstrom – Lucky Drawls
5. Speedy J and Chris Liebing and Collabs – Magnit Express
6. Radio Slave – Grindhouse (Dubfire terror planet remix)
7. Dave Shokh – Chlam
8. Francois K. – Road Of Life (Radio Slave Dub)
9. Dubfire – Ribcage
10. Timo Maas – Subtellite

When did you start Fat!Beaches and what was your inspiration? How did it all come about?

We formed Fat!Beaches here in Brighton back in 2006. From the very beginning it was me aka Subtone and Arkadiusz Koper, who started it. The whole idea behind it, was to fulfill the lack of quality club nights playing underground music, the very same we have been listening to while going out back in Poland. Since then (over two years now) we’ve thrown about 30 parties in different venues across Brighton and we’ve played in clubs in London such as Aquarium, The Egg and Gramophone – which has always been good fun!

How did you both meet?

We met on the dancefloor at the Eskulap Club in Poznan in Poland, actually I can remember this quite well, it was Phonique from BPitch Control headlining that night… This club inspired us a lot, you know there were frequent nights of labels such as Tresor or Gigolo records, so we were listening to a lot of big European House/Techno/Electro djs. It probably had a massive impact on us and the venue is still there, despite poor opportunities to party that way here in Brighton.

How would you best describe the music policy?

Our style was changing and developing over the past few years, but for now I could easily say that we are definitely into Minimal House and Techno which is mostly becoming more about Tech – House these days. We have been trying to push these great vibes over here as we are simply passionate about this sounds. I’m more eclectic. In my mind old school genres like Detroit Techno or pumping House music blends together with nowadays upfront House/Techno/Electronica. Arkadiusz, he is more into new Minimal – Tech – House as well as more scientific about technology, using lots of fx in his mixes. I’m more classical, I like long smooth mixes but with elegance and soul added to it.

You have recently moved the night away from the underground at Tom’s bar. What was the reason for this move?

Basically, we weren’t happy about the way they treated us there. Despite our last party being successful, we ended up finishing before we were supposed to as there were people from Brighton Council metering the sound levels. Many people left during our guest DJ set slot as we had to put the music down for about 15 minutes, not a good experience. In addition to that we didn’t get any support or understanding from the management of the venue, on the contrary we got kicked out. In fact we kicked ourselves out. It was just too much. We are happy to give up the space for other promoters.

What would be your ideal venue in Brighton?

There is a few, really nice, interesting venues around, but in reality, during almost four years I have been living in Brighton, not much changed. Big clubs even though they are great party spaces, they will always be for commercial sound/people only, with no exception. In this case sound of quality House and Techno in Brighton will probably always stay underground, finding its place in little dungeons and old basements, despite its huge popularity in the rest of the Europe. But answering the question. We didn’t find the ideal place here yet, but there is still a few left to try. I believe Micro would be a good place to try in the nearest future:)

What have you go lined up for the future?

For the summer time we are going to join our friends nights as guest DJ’s. For the time being, we are booked to play on the nights such as: B-Side, Upside Down and Gonzo Disco. We are also trying to collaborate with nights like Analogue and Beep Low Tech. There is no pressure for us, we just want to play music and people to dance to it. We also got into production a bit already and we are definitely going to bring some buzz around and release more quality mixes and our own productions in the nearest future.

words by Subtone

Photos by Marek Richter

This Friday saw the Launch of Brighton’s Loop festival with their very own club event. I’m not too sure what happened here but the persons in attendance was limited. That’s a tactful and polite way of saying it was pretty damn empty. Is Brighton just not interested in artists like Nathan Fake or is the fact that no one has ever heard of The Jam the problem? Well let’s fill you in know if that is the case. The Jam is the new name for the Water margin, so for those people (including myself) who still call it Sumo’s, let’s quit and get with the time.

Kliks head man Lee Smith played first with some tracks perfect for the warm up slot – wholly suited to Nathan’s attack of beats and sounds. Lee Smith fans may also have been confused as the promotional material stated “Lee Smith from The Click”. With that aside he introduced Nathan with Damian Lazarus’ – Moment. A track that keeps growing on me with its effortless female vocals – Lazarus’ own singing aside!

Fake cuts quite a striking image, crazy hair, pouty mouth and I noticed that he does a cute pointy pose thing with his foot when deep in concerntration. Passionately hammering away, doubled up over the laptop and mixer he is quite the dancer too. I think he played the Sky was Pink at one point but overall used the oppertunity to show us his darker side of harder edge techno and new album “Hard Islands”. It’s a shame about the promotion, there could have been an excellent atmosphere if there were more people. Overall some fantastic techno and great blurpy noises that sadly seemed to echo in a sparce room…

Now touching on a previous post from Marek on venues’ lack of self promotion online, I am not sure how out in the domain this little gem of information is? I had not heard of the venue let alone his gig, if it were not for interviewing him recently whilst moonlighting on another blog site…

So JAM is the old Water Margin/Sumo which translates to a place where they occasionally have some great dj’s and bands but a venue that has sadly never really had a voice on the scene here. Looking up said venue reveals nothing and the only confirmation of its existence is listings on the Great Escape site and Nathan’s own.

Photo by Marek Richter

Fake’s first record came out when he was 18, the infamous “Drowning in a Sea of Love” and the tour supporting this propelled him into the sphere of nightclubs, DJ booths across the land and the world soon after – something that has certainly has tainted his new LP. “Hard Islands” features six tracks of hard-edged, electronica techno. This may come as a bit of a surprise to the fans of the synths and fake guitar riffs from his previous offerings but the evolution is seamless.

I was first introduced to Fake at Kliks, the minimal/techno night who has local techno boy wonder Lee Smith at the helm (see our review from a couple of years ago) so I was delighted to get an email on Facebook from the Kilks club announcing:

SUMMER OF LOVE @ AUDIO
TIM GREEN (DIRTYBIRD, TRAPEZ), LEE SMITH (KLIKS)

Saturday 9th May 2009 @ Audio, 10 Marine Parade, Brighton

11pm-4am, FREE entry all night.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=80004217635&ref=nf
We’re back! After a lengthy break, Kliks is re-tuned and ready to return this summer with a monstrous techno line up at Beachdown Festival, Brighton, plus news of a new party starting soon – watch this space…

Residents: Lee Smith, Mark Lerman, Anwar.

Lee has bought a wealth of quality nights to Audio over the years so it’s great to see that Kliks is back in action in Brighton. I had previously kissed this night goodbye, thinking he was stuck in Berlin for good but huzzah, here he is and with baited breath we wait to see what the summer of love will bring. Previous line ups featured the likes of Mia, Alex Smoke and Ada, so he is invited to our party…..

Here is a mix to get you in the mood….

The Illuminated Man
Mixed by Lee Smith

http://soundcloud.com/leesmith/the-illuminated-man-mixed-by-lee-smith

Koen Holtkamp – You Mean The World To Me (Type)
Ezekiel Honig – Displacement (Anticipate)
Fennesz – Glide (Touch)
Bloc Party – Pioneers (M83 remix) (Wichita)
Fuck Buttons – Bright Tomorrow (excerpt) (ATP)
Petar Dundov – Sparkling Stars (Music Man)
Donato Dozzy – Fazah (Dozzy Recordings)
John Tejada – La Mer (Palette)
Bloody Mary – Black Pearl (Sascha Funke remix) (Contexterrior)
Ruede Hagelstein – Aron Habrit (Upon You)
Cosmic Cowboys – Luce (Reynold remix) (Trenton)
Ada – Lovestoned (Kompakt)

Nathan Fake @ JAM (previously Water Margin/Sumo), Middle Street, Brighton
Friday 8 May, time TBC

Kliks @ Audio, 10 Marine Parade, Brighton
Saturday 9 May, 11pm -4am, free entry

Photo from Tim Green's Myspace

Bio from Tim Green’s Myspace: In 2008 few names have made the kind of impact on the worlds house and techno scenes as 24 year old Tim Green. Originally from Kent and now based in London Tim’s production talents have seen him release music through some of the worlds most respected labels, and gaining major plaudits from the likes of Ritchie Hawtin, Sven Vath, Pete Tong, Tiga, Josh Wink, Carl Cox, Locodice, Nic Fanciulli, Dubfire, Steve Lawler, Anja Schneider, Slam, Damian Lazerus, Tiefschwarz, Laurent Garnier, MANDY, Lee Burridge, Agoria to name a few. Add to that a string of high profile remixes and dj gigs across the globe and it’s not hard to see why so many people are talking about Tim as a future star.

Tim’s ascendancy to the spotlight started in 2006/7 when he released singles under the name TG for such renowned labels such as FourTwenty, Infant & Fling, and even getting remixed by the likes of Martin Buttrich, Jamie Jones & Konrad Black. Fast forward to the beginning of 2008 Tim took the decision to start recording under his own name, Tim Green as well as TG. The fruits of his production stints were some of the most interesting and forward thinking music on the planet. Interest has come from far and wide for this young prodigy. but Claude Von Stroke was first to capitalize by signing his dance floor bomb ‘Revox’ to his highly acclaimed Dirtybird imprint. The track went onto become the one of the labels biggest releases of 2008. Next up German based Trapez records, easily one of the most respected techno labels on the planet, picked up Tim’s dirty vocal anthem Mr. Dry which was released in August 08. Within the first week of its release, Mr Dry climbed to number one in the top 10 minimal charts on Beatport. Mr. Dry went onto become one of the biggest techno anthems of 2008, being played from Fabric to Watergate, Space to Womb. If that wasn’t enough legendary UK imprint Renaissance promptly signed Tim for a series of singles, the first of which was again released to acclaim in October 08, with the tracks ‘Creature’ & ‘Give It A Go’ again showcasing the versatility of his production.

Tim also embarked on a slew of high profile remixes during this time for the likes of Cr2 records, Southern Fried, Fling, Phoebic & Viva. As well as 2 huge remixes, firstly Steve Lawler’s 21st Century Ketchup single on Dubfires Sci-Tec as well as The Audio Bully’s latest single ‘Flickery Vision’. Again these mixes became a staple diet in many of the world’s top djs record boxes for most of the year.

The impact Tim has made hasn’t gone un-noticed by the dance music press either, with Tim being names a ‘Player Of The Year’ In I-DJ magazines end of year summary into all things good in 2008, whilst DJ magazine nominated Tim for ‘Best Breakthrough Producer’ in their ‘Best Of British’ Awards.

So in just over 2 years, Tim has risen to working with the biggest djs and labels on the planet, and we haven’t even mentioned his DJing yet! Tim has been found destroying dancefloors over recent times at some of the worlds best clubs such as Fabric, The End, The Egg & Retox in London, Stealth in Nottingham, The Custard Factory Birmingham, Circus in Liverpool, Watergate, Tresor & The Weekend Club in Berlin, The Hive in Zurich, Studio 80 in Amsterdam as well as well as many more of the world’s best parties.

09/05/2009

Eddie Richards, Contaband DJs, Neal Schtumm, Danny Webb (El Diablo’s)

This is the kind of event we want to see more of! With our clubs not being able to source out the kind of nights we need, what should we turn to? Okay, so maybe restaurants aren’t the first hat spring to mind but it sure works. The venue in question is Al Duomo’s, situated right next to the royal pavilion, in central Brighton. Over the years they have served up more than quality pizzas, the venue has hosted a range of events and parties. This time the lucky guys at Inside Out have secured 2 floors and the outside terrace to play with. The lineup for this event speaks for itself with Eddie Richards, joined by a range of Brighton DJs and promoters.

The night will start (9-11) with the Ben GG + Co dropping hot funk, soul and house. The main basement event kicks off at 10:00pm with the man himself ‘Evil’ Eddie Richards headlining.

Richard’s will be joined by the Contraband DJs and Jamie Bawn, spinning their own blend of underground house and techno. Upstairs will be hosted by some of the ‘Brighton Disco Mafia’ – Pablo and Danny Webb will be joined by Neal Schtumm! and Affy (Heavy Disco/Go Bang).

The blend of DJ’s, venue and Inside out atmosphere should result in a great evening. And to top it all off it’s free entry before 3am and only £3 after.

24/04/09 – Al duomo

Audio’s changed a lot over the summer… the club often used the be half full, or half empty, it depends on how you see it. But with this fullness/emptiness it carried a reputation that what may be seen may not be to everyone’s taste. It stuck to its own ethics and continued booking varied interesting artists. Times became tough, reputation and abiding to music policy becomes secondary when approached from a management point of view. You can ride the wave, continue to please the deteriorating crowd, or change. And change is what they did.

You can’t blame them. From a management point of view the changes have been a full success. The dance floor is now full and cash is being spunked every weekend. But on a weekend is Audio still the place to hear the best house/techno around? Sadly I don’t think so. The change was a direct shift of market audience. The club needs to bring in people, the best way to do this is by offering no door charge. What comes with free entry is students. I’m not gonna go on a big student hating rampage, but it leaves the venue at risk of becoming a student club. It should be remembered that much of Brighton has in fact graduated and doesn’t go out just because one of their mates from sociology sells beans for cheap.

This isn’t aimed at the nights or DJs who currently keep audio going. They are all good people and contribute greatly to Brighton’s music scene. It’s just the lineup is stagnant and non diversifying. Audio continues to poor out quality live music, and has been a venue that’s kicked started the careers of many an artist. I just don’t feel the pull of the music anymore.

The spot by the left speaker which I once loved so much has been empty for a while now. It’s a shame as I love Audio, and would still says it’s the place to be in Brighton. But it’s become clear that I’m not as drawn there since the recent changes.

Audio still is the home to many great nights like Supercharged and Hospitality (if you like your DnB), but the Summer of Love took a big change in direction. It hurt for me… I miss the dance floor, I miss the speakers and I miss seeing cutting edge DJs’ actually enjoying themselves. What a great little venue.

Wednesday 15th October 10pm til late@ New Hero, Dyke Road, Brighton.
Only £3 entry and £1.50 drinks.
Don your mask and check it out.

ACID / DUBSTEP / TECHNO / GRIME / GARAGE / PARTY TRACKS / PURE TUNES

MARK WRONGSON (Party Tracks / Pure Tunes)
QUAILMAN (Dubstep)
PRETTY GIRLS MAKE RAVES!! (Acid / Chicago House)
SEAN GLYNN (Squareroots)
KILLER WHALE (Italo Disco / Grime)

+ A CREW OF MYSTERIOUS MASKED LUCHA LIBRE DJ’S.