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 Blog, Featured, Interviews, Mixes.
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 Blog, Featured, Interviews, Mixes.
The mighty Vent join us for an exclusive back to back set with Reso at our Braindrop @ Bloc showcase.
This production / dj twosome have been smashing the global underground to bits as of late. They make big, fat, glitchy, thumping bass music that smashes down genre barriers and varies hugely in speed.
Their collaboration with Reso, Rumble, has become a crossover anthem, having gained a-list dj and radio support worldwide. 2009 saw them play storming sets at Glade and Glasto, work with Si Begg, Cursor Miner Tippr, Deekline & Wizard, Ctrl-Z & Stereotype – and enjoy successful releases on Hardcore Beats and Colony Productions.
2010 is going to be a big year for these immensely talented producers. Make sure you check out their Glade 2009 live set – which we’ve put up for download at the bottom of this page.
Enjoy! Read More >
Posted by chris in Featured, Interviews, Mixes, Uncategorized.
Production powerhouses Broken Note join us for our Tranz-mission Braindrop arena on Saturday 3 April. Comprised of the combined creative forces of a couple of chaps named Tommy and Eddie, Broken Note have honed a name for themselves as a massively respected production team. Their productions and live sets hop predominantly between tearing dubstep and D&B, with techno-breakcore-hardcore-gabba inspired glitches and fills.
Their sound has built them a massive following, seeing them signed to the legendary Peace Off label (sometime home to Le Jad, Cardopusher, Rotator, Society Suckers, Sickboy, Krumble, Dr Bastardo and Monster X), Ad Noiseum (home to End:user, Bong Ra, DJ Hidden etc etc) and establishing themselves as international performers. As if this wasn’t enough, Eddie Broken Note is also one half of dubstep upstarts 16 Bit – you may well have heard of them by now.
We caught up with Tommy from Broken Note to talk about production, Spor and other important stuff. Read More >
Posted by chris in Blog, Featured, Interviews, Mixes.
On Sunday 14 March dubstep / bass music prodigy Reso is joining us for an exclusive back to back set with the almighty Vent at our Bloc Weekend Braindrop showcase.
Reso has blown away all competition with his snarling and devilishly intricate technoid productions. His hard hitting beats, super techy bass, glitchy edits and general all round overwhelming sonic force have earned him a reputation as one of the most exciting and talented young producers in dance music today. A certain Mary Anne Hobbes hailed him as “one of the most talented and gifted producers I have ever met in my life.”
2009 saw Reso team up with Vent to produce the insanely massive “Rumble”, an epic crossover masterpiece that has been slewing main rooms all over the country.
We caught up with the man himself to chat about lots of important stuff. Read More >
Posted by chris in Blog, Featured, Interviews, Mixes.
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The McMash Clan: Mix 016 – Mali Mash-up
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Posted by doug in McMash, McMash Clan, Mixes.
McMash tunes- aaaargghh!
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The McMash Clan: Mix 015 – Scurvey Step
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Posted by doug in McMash, McMash Clan, Mixes.
Furious with the Persian messenger’s attempt to bring “Mika and James Blunt to the rave”, the McMash Clan declare war on the forces of cheese using their live 300 Intro. An epic dubstep/techno/ragga triple drop kicks things off followed by a skillfully timed journey: a Prodigy infused psy-rave medley, get-faster scratch offs, a Mashapella VIP tear out, tight beat juggling and acapella turntablism. 42 tunes in under 80 minutes. This is Turntablecore!
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Posted by doug in McMash, McMash Clan, Mixes.
Bill Hicks kicks off the mix, his ranting offset by the ominous intro of Doc Scott. The Clan then launch into a Busta Rhymes D&B medley involving 7 juxtaposing tunes and tight CDJ turntablism. Classic Metalheadz / Dread vibes pave the way for apocalyptic Floorclearer breakcore mastery, before Ceephax’s 8-bit banger gets the ragga treatment. Finally… “wake the fuck up!” – Rusko slams into the mix, along with Dizzee Rascal, hands-in-the-air old skool and Michael Forshaw’s thumping booty-bass techno.
Posted by doug in McMash, McMash Clan, Mixes.
3 Basslines, 3 DJs… Mash up! Sesame Street’s The Count makes a VIP appearance. Synk’s Mashapella fits the opening of Warhead perfectly before CDJ turntablism and Freak vibes take over. The mix launches into a classic D&B / jungle / hardcore triple drop journey, before Floorclearer’s 250+ bpm tear-out bizniss lays eveything to waste. The Clan’s classic Intergalactic gabba / j-tek medley drops down to a stompin’ grime / breaks / old-skool mash-up. Finally, Cutty Ranks toasts his way through the super-fast finale.
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The McMash Clan: Mix 012 – The Count
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Posted by doug in McMash, McMash Clan, Mixes.
