This week we sift through the brain of Tom from Handbaked Arcade. Any of you who have been to a Braindrop within the last 3 years will know about Handbaked. They provide the fantastic large screen old skool video games at all our parties. From large-scale projections onto canvas screens for epic multiplayer fun, right through to smaller arcade / handheld console installations, Tom provides events all over the UK with quality old skool gaming fun. Don’t miss the Handbaked Showcase at puregroove on Saturday 27 March – not only featuring his extensive collection of gaming installations, but also a banging roster of bass heavy tunage.
After a long and tiring chase, we finally found Tom, tied him up and played him Basshunter on loop until he talked . . . Read More >
Posted by doug in Interviews, News, Tunes
Arrrgh they be sold out again! More tickets to be released with line up very soon 
x
The McMash Clan Bloc 2010 mix is now on Mixcloud for your listening pleasure!
The mix is the most involved and technical we’ve ever put together – in fact it’s the culmination of 4 years of working as a team.
We recently upgraded our live set-up to 4 decks, 2 mixers, Traktor Scratch Pro and a Native Instruments Maschine. This is the first set we’ve recorded with the new equipment.
This is a studio recording of the mix which we performed live to the amazing Red:Bloc crowd at the climax of the Braindrop @ Bloc showcase. Read More >
Posted by chris in McMash Clan, News
Yo Braindrop family! We are very excited to announce we will be hosting our own arena at the massive Tranz-mission at the iconic Alexandra Palace on Saturday 3 April.
Organisers Slammin Vinyl decided they wanted to shake things up and bring some future bass music to their flagship event – so they asked us to come on board. We’ll be bringing our good vibes, colourful décor, circus performance, festival fun and a ridiculously rinsing line to the 10,000 capacity rave. And we’d love you to be there!
It’s an amazing venue, a palace set high up on a hill with one of the most epic views of London you’ll ever see.
Read on for more info and your chance to win FREE tickets Read More >
Dear Braindrop family
It is with deep regret that we have to lose the fantastic Congo Natty from our Tranz-mission bill. This is through no fault of Congo Natty – unfortunate circumstances beyond Slammin Vinyl’s control were to blame.
Loefah, Doorly, the McMash Clan and Broken Note will still be headlining Slammin’s Vinyl’s flagship event.
Big up to Congo Natty and Rebel MC – we will be getting the crew back to a Braindrop in the very near future.
In the mean time, check out the FULL Congo Natty crew at their show at Jamm, Brixton on March 19. Huge performances from the whole crew, including Rebel and Tenor Fly, plus some of their newer talent. PLUS King Tubbys infamous dub soundsystem, featuring the legendary Channel One. Follow this LINK to check the Facebook event.
Also make sure you check them at Bloc Weekend in a coupla days time!
Boom!
Only a few more sleeps until Bloc! And we’re bringing you the last of our Braindrop @ Bloc interviews. This week we have the incredible honour of speaking with MJ Cole, a true dance music legend and arena headliner for our Braindrop showcase on Sunday.
Mr Cole was one of the leading lights of the UK Garage scene. Responsible for many a UKG classic before (Talk to Me / Treat Me Right are 2 of our faves), it was the seminal Sincere which catapulted him into the limelight. A timeless masterpiece, it set the bar for his production style for which he would become famous. Tight, skipping beats, punchy bassweight, lush classical arrangement and his much copied off-beat vocal snippets. Pete Tong got hold of one of only 20 test pressings and the rest is history. A hugely successful and inspiring career followed – including a string of anthemic singles, a Mercury Prize nominated album, countless classic remixes, a hectic international dj schedule and the rise and rise of his label – Prolific Records.
Where as a lot of leading UKG producers have all but disappeared, MJ Cole has adapted and developed as an artist and remains a towering force on today’s bass music scene. His current musical output retains the musicality of his earlier productions and crosses them with the tribal riddims and shuddering bassweight of UK funky. Check out the massive AO ft MC Serocee, or Fly Up Ya Banner (produced jointly with fellow UKG legend Zed Bias) for a taster.
MJ Cole kindly took some time out of his busy schedule to do a quick interview with us. Enjoy! Read More >
Posted by chris in Interviews, Mixes
You can now start counting down the days until Bloc Weekend hits Butlins Minehead. And it looks like it’s going to be another sell out year for the UK’s best out-of-season dance music festival.
On Sunday we’re taking over Red:Bloc for 8 hours of Braindrop. We’ve chosen the legend that is DJ Hype to bring the whole festival to a close, aided by his MC Daddy Earl.
We tried to get an interview with the man himself, however Mr Hype is very busy gent indeed and alas this wasn’t possible. So we thought we’d run a feature on him anyway and remind you as to why he deserves his legendary status. Read More >
Need a pick me up? Then try yoga laughter therapy. Or better still just watch this video. Joker!
Thank you to everyone who entered our final Bloc 2010 ticket competition. We had a silly number of entries and it’s taken all morning to go through the whole lot.
We had all styles of music entered – dubstep, techno, jungle, breakcore, d’n'b, gabba, hardcore, funky, old skool. And some very dubious remixes of Animal Hospital, Antiques Roadshow and ITV News.
The nature of this competition, and music in general, is that it is inherently subjective. So without further disclaimer, here is our favorite: Read More >
Saturday 3 April sees Braindrop make our debut at Slammin Vinyl’s Tranz-mission @ Alexandra Palace. And we’ve drafted in man of the moment Doorly to headline alongside Congo Natty, Loefah, The McMash Clan and Broken Note.
If you don’t know about Doorly by now then . . . well . . . we’ll tell you about him! Doorly is a hugely talented and prolific dj, producer and promoter who’s career has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last couple of years. In fact after looking at his recent CV I had to restrain myself from poking my eyes out with a fork out of jealousy.
His DJ sets fuse dubstep, electro and techno in an old skool block party style, mashing up an eclectic and bass heavy selection using 3 CDJs, 2 turntables, an EFX unit and Pioneer DJM 800 mixe
Doorly’s first big break came in April 2008, when he was invited by a certain Pete Tong to record a live Essential Mix for Radio 1. This led to many good things – some huge international bookings, as well as residencies at Wax:On, Metropolis, Ibiza Rocks, Ibiza’s Reclaim the Dancefloor, Annie Mac Presents and Zane Lowe’s “DJ Hero’ tour
His productions have been getting a lot of airplay as of late, most noteably his MASSIVE remixes for Dizzee Rascal, Basement Jaxx, The Prodigy and Groove Armada (to name a few). And his solo productions are banging – check out “Toys / Horse Step” which is out now.
We caught up with Mr Doorly whilst he was on his Austrailia tour to ask him some questions about some very important stuff. And the lovely guy gave us a brand new Annie Mac mix for download. Link is at the bottom of the interview. Enjoy! Read More >
Posted by chris in Interviews, Mixes
