Join the fun, info below.

Altered State EP Launch Party

Saturday 16th October 2010

at a Secret Location (with a Funktion-One Soundsystem) in Stoke Newington, London

10pm-4am | £5 all night

DJs:

Kay Suzuki (Round in Motion)

Christo (Superficially Deep /Atjazz)

Mr Beatnick (Don’t Be Afraid)

Adrian Hylton (Soul Sanctuary)

Read our feature on Kay and his Consciousness here.

Words: Mr Beatnick

In the late 90s a movement began in West London that was to inspire a new direction in dance music.

Though this movement was never acknowledged in the mainstream music press, never had a crossover chart single, and never truly transcended its community roots, there was a unique alchemy at work – a fertile moment in UK music where a group of friends began to experiment with new cadences, rhythms and distilled influences, meticulously crafting a new genre.

Though “Broken Beat” was never a tagline that the producers anticipated, and one that they often publicly resisted, those two words would come to represent the scattered rhythms, rolling bass-lines and soaring changes that were inherent to this new music. Prior to the mid-2000s, only one tiny divider in Soho’s Sounds of The Universe store, marked “West London”, and one primitive website, that of Goya Music Distribution, were the sum total retail outlets of this sound. The music was heard only at a club night called Co-Op, originally based at the Velvet Rooms, and in later years, at Plastic People, and like many cultures rooted in the Jamaican soundsystem tradition, what was heard there differed enormously from what was released – dub-plates, alternative versions, beat experiments, all united in their emphasis on heavy bass, staccato drum machine rhythms and soulful feelings. Walking into Co-Op for the first time felt like experiencing a glimpse of the future – hand-held laser pens swooped over a frenetic dance-floor, illuminating clouds of collie smoke like sniper sights scouting a post-apocalyptic battlefield, whilst a toy dub siren rang out from the booth, and IG Culture’s deep Jamaican accent punctuated the pounding rhythms – “it’s a Co-Op thing, it’s Co-Operation – if you ain’t here to dance you can go home now.”

Many of the producers who created Broken were dance music veterans, who worked hard to keep the focus on the Co-Op club, keep the music played there ever-evolving, and collectively resist any temptation to fall into a comfortable template. In this sense there was a manifesto about Broken Beat which was specifically informed by past experiences. A sizeable number came from an ex-Reinforced records background – the legendarily aloof jungle and d’n’b label run by 4Hero’s Dego and Marc Mac (pictured above) – such as Seiji, Marc “G” Force, Domu and Colin Lindo. Others came from a house music background, like Phil Asher of Restless Soul, Orin ‘Afronaught’ Walters or Darren ‘Daz I Kue’ Benjamin. One central element of the sound was Kaidi Tatham’s keyboard playing, a virtuoso jazz-funk musician who had been part of The Herbaliser in the mid-90s.

UK soul was represented in the contributions of Demus from the Young Disciples and IG Culture, whose career arc had taken in early UK hip-hop and projects for the likes of Island records. Mark De Clive Lowe, Alex Phountzi and Dave ‘Zed Bias’ Jones also played major roles and the best known outfit was doubtlessly Bugz In The Attic, a cooperative production “super group”, whose signing to V2 was about as close as Broken Beat ever came to cracking the mainstream. Beyond this the network extended worldwide, resonating in releases on a fledgling Rush Hour distribution in Amsterdam, the work of Italy’s Volcov, Germany’s Jazzanova, and Inverse Cinematics (now known as Motor City Drum Ensemble), Japan’s Jazzy Sport records and more.

Broken Beat was as diverse as its parentage would suggest – the arrangements, beats and tempos could vary drastically between releases. With this in mind it’s hardly surprising that many people couldn’t work out what Broken Beat actually was – or is – until the mid 2000s when a characteristic groove eventually emerged. The mindset and the culture was eclectic from the outset, it was vibrant, afro-futuristic dance music for 21st century b-boys and girls. Its roots were in the scientific soul of the Mizell brothers, the afro beat rhythms of Tony Allen and Fela Kuti, the electro funk and boogie of the mid 80s, the spiritual jazz of Sun Ra and Norman Connors, the soulful techno of Juan Atkins and Derrick May. But the execution and production was grounded in MPCs, SP1200s, the hand-me-down samplers of the hip hop and jungle golden eras, which gave the drums a raw, choppy rhythmic feel – hence the “Broken” tag. Though Goya Music Distribution sadly shut down in 2007, taking down many of the better labels with it, it certainly feels like some of this tradition – in particular the stripped down and syncopated drum sounds, and eclectic approach to fusing genres – continues to live on today in the sound of UK funky.

4hero aka Dego and Marc Mac have laid the foundations of so many important genres that it almost boggles the mind. Nu-Era was a 4hero alias, later known as Marc Mac’s solo pseudonym, most associated with the beautiful and rare broken techno LP Beyond Gravity. On the flipside of this Cold Mission 12”, released at the height of dnb’s popularity, Nu-Era take an odd left turn and slow down the driving groove, syncopating and stuttering the rhythm back to front, early and late. It may seem trivial in 2010 but this is how new directions are formed – many subsequent releases on Reinforced by the likes of Nubian Mindz and Seiji and G Force also dabbled in these same waters, setting the stage for the aesthetic of broken – an experimental, slower, more dancefloor-orientated cousin of jungle. It’s fair to say this remix was at least 10 years ahead of its time, a prototype for what was to come.

When this dropped in September 1998 it’s doubtful that many stood up and took notice. ‘Spiritual Vibes’ is a humble slice of what the B-side describes as ‘Afro Boogie House’, presumably because no better descriptive genre terms have been coined at this point in time. Misa Negra were Daz-I-Kue on production, and Kaidi Tatham on the keys, whilst a remix dub by Orin “Afronaught” Walters fills up the A-side. Whilst by no means as sophisticated as their later work as a group, Spiritual Vibes sets the tone for their Bugz In The Attic collaborations to come. There’s an inherent musicality about this 12”, and a quirkiness in the rhythms – the Afronaught dub starts half time and doubles over on itself. Bell trees, shells and shakers abound, reminiscent of spiritual jazz classics like Norman Connors’ Dark Of Light, whilst Kaidi’s voice echoes over the beats, whispering “Spiritual.. Vibes..” It’s an off-the-wall blend but it works – deeply reflective, brooding, partly melancholic, but heavy as lead and custom built for a system. The eccentric, almost childlike approach with which influences are mixed and blended here, is the very embodiment of what broken stood for in its infancy.

Neon Phusion are Alex Phountzi, Kaidi Tatham and Orin Walters. ‘The Future..’ is an early broken album with a live mood, doubtlessly the result of many blazed jam sessions. It’s a great example of the melting pot of the time, the optimism of the music, the fall out of drum and bass. You can liken the vibe to jungle at the end of its jazzy period – the feel is blissed out, heavily influenced by the space funk of the 70s but still rooted in driving percussion. ‘Timecode’ is an early take of Orin’s ‘Transcend Me’ with a Headhunters theme to it, whilst ‘Kulu Macu’ has an Afro-Brazilian touch, and raw beats come in the form of ‘Hot Ice’. Annoyingly, the dopest track – the title track ‘The Future Ain’t The Same (As It Used 2 Be)’ – is only ever found on the CD version, along with some other killer bonus material. In that form it’s a particularly quality listen a decade later.

read on here

Channels air all sorts, from R&B singer Ashanti giving fans a Q&A and preview of a new track whilst removing her nail varnish, Nicki Minaj’s madness, and a peek at Snoop D-O-double G getting his hair done.

As watchable as individuals like Snoop are, mundane scenarios only serve as entertainment for so long, and there are better sites to illicitly stream live sports. Ustream’s cachet is the ever-growing band of acclaimed (within the underground) DJs and producers logging in to broadcast direct at whoever is tuned-in online.

With complete creative control and little technical fuss, it’s understandable why the trend has caught on since it surfaced popularly last year. A 21st Century broadband-enabled evolution of bedroom DJing, once solitary actions become public with viewers invited into the streamers homes. Shout-outs and lo-fi productions add pirate station-esque charms.

Whether a soon to pass fad or the beginnings of a new movement, the (u)streams keep on coming.

From an admittedly London-centric perspective here’s a selection of recommended shows:

> Oneman, regarded as kick-starting the UK trend with his Yard Sessions.

> Night Slugs from Bok Bok.

> SpaceBass Yardcasts.

> Monday nights at 9 when Lukid goes ocean deep, a favourite example of his eclecticism switching from Chopin’s  ‘Raindrop’ to Arthur Russell.

> Deadboy Soundboy.

> Sunday afternoons with Mr Beatnick.

> Glasgow’s Jackmaster (whose Drexciya special takes your mind to another level).

> And Worldwide Award-winners, Floating Points and Fatima, rolling out their Eglo music. Check their Twitters for announcements (that’s Kyle Hall in the background…).

You streaming?

myspace.com/ahudolly

myspace.com/mrbeatnick

myspace.com/omunit

Thursday 15th October 2009, 8pm untill midnight, free all night. And a Funktion One system!

Cafe 1001,1 Dray Walk, 91 Brick Lane, E1 London

Facebook Event Link

Photos by Marlon Ruddock (except the first one, please tell us if you know who the mystery snapper is).

For more check the Boglewaltz Facebook page.

By Scott Rapson for Back and Forth:

Soundspecies were formed by brothers Henry and Olly Keen and they released their first ‘Soundspecies EP’ way back in 2000. Geographical differences interfered in the development of the project until 2003 when they both found themselves immersed in London’s musical vibrancy and the opportunity to combine their musical ideas into their fantastic debut album.

Since then, Soundspecies have continued to work towards finishing and releasing material, improving their skills and sounds, drawing on the talents of their other brothers Nat and Barney as well as others…

Henry and Olly kindly took time out to discuss their album, loves and influences..

B&F: Hello gents, firstly I would like to say when I first heard your album what struck me more than anything was how mature the sound was, has it been a long time in the making to get to that point or was it a natural progression?

Henry: Well thanks very much for saying that, first of all! It makes me feel like we have been getting somewhere over the years. We started fiddling with music production around ten years ago and if I listen to some of the stuff from back then, I do know that we’ve improved so much. I guess you develop technically, instrumentally and also hear lots more inspiring music along the way, which helps your sound develop. Obviously, finding CDR helped- giving us a place to monitor our developments, make mistakes and get inspired to improve.

Olly: Yeah, as Henry says in pulling the album together, I guess we used all our production knowledge from those years of making tracks to make each of these tracks sound as if we’d just made it, as crisp and well balanced and deep as we could.

B&F: So who were your musical influences growing up are and who led you in that direction?

O: So many! For me, in the world of electronic music, Henry was guiding me from early on – I remember I would lie in bed hearing him mixing in his bedroom upstairs, Techno, Jungle, Hip Hop and all that stuff. I picked up bits gradually but it was secondhand at that stage.

I got into playing bass in bands and was listening to; The Beatles, Hendrix, The Chilli’s, Jamiroquai, rock and funk, then Jazz and Jazz Funk came along – Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Weather Report… my concept of making music and how its arranged is quite firmly rooted in this kind of music from playing in bands. But now that only really covers a small (if important) bit of my musical journey of discovery.

H: Personally, I can remember being excited and inspired by anything that sounded futuristic and space-like (eg J M Jarre) as I approached my teens. Before that, we would listen to whatever our parents were playing-lots of Beatles, Folk, World Music, anything really. They had a pretty eclectic music collection.

Remember chipping my front tooth, trying to do the caterpillar to old skool hip-hop sometime in the late 80’s I was really excited by rave/ house music of the late 80’s/early 90’s but a bit young to go to raves. Got into the Detroit/Chicago techno/house sound when I started DJing around the age of fifteen.

I’ll name a few major influences from my youth otherwise this unordered ramble could go on… Jean Michael Jarre, Herbie Hancock (& the Headhunters) ATCQ, De La Soul, the Pharcyde, Jeff Mills, Larry Heard, UR, Kevin Saunderson (& Inner City), the Beatles, King Tubby, Bob Marley, Roni Size & the Full Cycle crew. I know that Olly and myself have influences that differ, but we do have a lot of shared ones too.

B&F: You seem to be very close as brothers..touching on that you obviously get compared to Oasis quite a lot (arf)..seriously though, what’s it like making music as a family?

H: Ha, Ha.. Well fortunately we get along really well for a start, so I guess we’re totally different to Oasis in that respect…

O: We actually prefer The Jackson 5, naturally!

H: Seriously though, it’s really nice that we can create together. There are several different projects going on between all of the brothers. Olly, Nat & Barney have been gigging together for years and have got an amazing understanding of each other’s playing and talents. I’m not really an instrumentalist so trying to develop the Soundspecies Live project has not always been easy and enjoyable. It’s usually the technical side that can cause a bit of tension. Mainly cos the rest of the band are ready and I’m still fiddling with Zip Drives for my MPC!

O: Yeah, don’t we know! What I will say is I’m very lucky to have that connection with my brothers and most of the time its a good thing but, if I was to put another angle on it, I think sometimes that there is a conflict between us trying to come together on a band concept or direction and the pull of us wanting to assert our differences as people to each other and the world! That’s why our albums, as long as they’re brotherly collaborations, are always going to be quite varied in sound and style across the album.

B&F: Talking of the album, what track haven’t you tired of?

O: My favourite might be Purple Halo, feat. Ninkisun…..

H: That’s a tough one for me. I go through phases of really liking one or two of the tunes more than others. I really like Mask, it was one of the ones we finished last and added the brass parts right before the end of the session to finish the album. We had a really great time in that session too, and I guess the memories of that day stay with the music we recorded. Also love the vocal Hip Hop trax. I’ve been making beats with MCs in mind for so long, without actually recording any. It was nice to work with Foreign Beggars & Black Spade. I’m really happy with how the lyrics complemented and completed the songs.

B&F: You named some of the guys you’ve worked with in the past, who would you like to collaborate with in the future?

H: See my answer to my influences!! No seriously…There’s some serious vocal talent in London, for a start. Would love to do a track with TY. Loving Eska (her set with Matthew Herbert at Big Chill ’08 blew me away) and Fatima! Would love to collaborate with Kaidi Tatham, although I’m not sure what with- he can do everything!

O: I’ll keep it simple, just a really great rapper/singer that no-one has heard of.

B&F: So with some of those names in mind, what contemporary music inspires you?

O: There’s so many mad fusions of music, people are just doing anything they want now, its exciting and impossible to keep up with. Just this weekend I was at The End Of The Road Festival – saw a lot of inspiring performances – picking one from the mix I’d say a guy called Peter Broderick, who really took the whole solo Loop pedal performance thing somewhere new.

From London I really like Micachu, I think she’s really original, and generally stuff Matthew Herbert is involved in. I think Tony Allen is still taking Afrobeat into new territory and making it contemporary, He’s a giant of music obviously and a big inspiration…I love everything Tortoise have done, including their latest album…

H: I have to be honest and say I’m pretty out of touch personally with contemporary music, other than the artists I’ve met through the underground scene in London and CDR heads..Loving Paul White, Bullion, Floating Points, Mr Beatnick, Ahu, Oriol, Breakplus, Bergs, Om Unit, and Kay Suzuki to name a few folks I’m lucky to have got to know.

B&F: So what’s constantly on your iPod/Record Deck/CD Player then?

H: There’s always gotta be some quality Dub, Afrobeat and Jazz but I’ve never really got into the iPod thing. My youngest bro Barney did me a cracking Brazilian compilation from tunes he discovered in Brazil. That’s definitely a mainstay!

O: Yeah..he’s been hogging our kitchen CD decks system recently, as Henry says playing loads of great albums of Brazilian music from his collection, so that’s ok. Jorge Ben has been a regular.

B&F: You spoke earlier of CDR, for a band to evolve from a clubnight isn’t common, how did that happen and please explain to the (non) CDR people what that night’s all about..

H: I’ll get this one..yeah, I guess it’s not that common. The direct benefit of CDR would probably be to our production/ engineering skills, really. Over time, it seemed an obvious step to try and take it to the stage, considering how many great musicians we are lucky enough to have in our family and collective friends. Certainly it’s a great option to have a live show, it’s just not very easy to have a live band that is similar to your studio sound and still gives the audience the experience of real musicians playing.

For those who don’t know…CDR, to be simple is an open-mic night for producers. It was the Brainchild of Tony Nwachukwu & Gavin Alexander and has been running now for around six years. It’s become a family, almost a mini-scene in itself with a committed bunch of regular attendees who all come to hear new and exciting music on an amazing rig (Plastic People). It’s a place to talk music (techy or not) and hear stuff you probably have never heard before. It also inspires me to get a track finished every month and know I can hear it publicly, judge the crowd reaction, check the mix etc. If you’ve never been, you must!!

B&F: Are you in the process of working on the (awkward) second LP and if so, any idea of it’s direction?

O: We haven’t officially started a new album, to be honest..but, we’re definitely going to do one. There are enough tracks existent already but I want to make sure it has a homogeneous album sound, like all the best albums. I don’t think its going to be awkward because we haven’t given people much of an idea what to expect from us!

H: Personally I’m always trying to do as much music as possible. Its been hard in recent years to actually get much creative time with Olly and other band members other than in pressured situations, like the run up to a show. Things called jobs seem to get in the way quite a lot as well as geographical locations. I just want whatever we release next to be tracks we feel are the best we can possibly do, and stuff we are proud of. I’d hope its still a mixture of different styles but has a common thread.

B&F: Finally Gentlemen, would someone please provide us with their top 5 records of the moment?

H: I’ll do the honours..

School of Imagination : Tale of a Waking Man

Paul White : The Strange Dreams of Paul White

Bullion : Young Heartache

King Tubby & Friends : Dub Gone Crazy

Carlos Nino & Friends : High With A Little Help From

B&F: Olly, Henry..thanks.

Here’s something special, Back and Forth have an exclusive and unreleased free download:

Soundspecies : Psychedelic Xylophone [Live for just five more days!]

to hear some of Soundspecies live session from Maida Vale Studios visit Back and Forth.

Buy the Album here: Soundspecies : Soundspecies

In addition to the original, two remixes are included: one from Mwëslee, who takes the track in a totally different direction (visit his MySpace to hear), and one from Mr Beatnick.

Adding to the beautiful summer sounds, Ahu also has a new Fellini-inspired mix for Brainfeeder!
www.weaintmusic.com

Whilst Beardyman and Zane Lowe fed the crowd in the main arena, the smaller setting of the FreeDM studio was the optimum space to be, as the evening (programmed by Dave Gamble) pushed along, scored by a gaggle of London’s ripest beat-providers. The Wach was first to generate heat, causing Sonar flashbacks with his choice of uptempo electronics. Then came Alex Nut, bringing an Eglo-themed line-up. Hey!Zeus helped get the crowd vibing as Alex span Mr Beatnick’s touching vocal edit of Phatkat’s ‘Lovely’ and Busta Rhymes’ ever epic ‘Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See’. The main attraction for many followed, a live show led by floatingpoints.

Opening with one-side of Eglo’s premiere release, ‘Radiality’, floatingpoints’ compositional excellence was soon appreciated. Operating his bespokely-programmed keyboard and ARP Odyssey consummately, his adeptness at arranging the assembled orchestral parts was unaided by the below-par sound mixing provided by the venue. Unperturbed by that glitch their second song mesmerized those of us there. Provisionally titled ‘Mind’, this is the beat that Fatima belted out live on Worldwide, with a supreme hook and vocal line that leaves you screaming for it to be readily available. Closing their set one-untitled-track after, the performance provided a taster of floatingpoints’ Classical-music background, and hopefully a prelude to future live shows.

Fatima was not the sole singer to dazzle, fellow-Eglo artist Shuanise impressed with two of her tracks, and OlivierDaySoul whipped up the crowd to showcase his remarkable falsetto tones in ‘Potion No.9′ and ‘Breathe’, it was Fatima though who closed the Eglo live happenings returning to perform a PA of two tracks produced by Funkineven, ones to watch for! Unfortunately I missed Paul White’s set which followed but did make it back to the room in time to hear Ikonika, who generated a rave atmosphere for those still in the venue (including Mr Roots Manuva!).

Turning Point was a peculiar mix, at times uncomfortably overground with packs of teenage girls migrating around the enormous venue, yet also awash with exciting artistic music and movement. With the rest of the weekend’s line-up boasting Tinchy Stryder and Noisettes as the main draws it looks like the first evening was the one to be at.

Photos by Bergs – more here

And a video of the live happenings captured by Hey!Zeus.

Bonus treat:

Floating Points – Radiality

myspace.com/emanative

In the same vein as Versatile Records‘ Zombie Zombie and some of DC Recordings’ acts, the Giallos Flame continue the 21st Century recreation of John Carpenter-esque horror scores. Listening to their 7″ on 2600 Recordings at Mr Beatnick’s house I was ribtickled when a moth came flying through the window, beelining to the deck, like a moth to a Giallos Flame…*

myspace.com/thegiallosflame

Sonic Router have more to say.

*true story.