Saturday Feb 20th 2010 Archive

And so, all good things come to and end. Obviously, if I’m talking about good things, it’s not this blog – but rather a club night called Nu Killa Beats which I’ve been involved in along with some other D&B DJ’s (collectively known as the ‘Nu Killa Kru’) in Limerick, Ireland for some time now. The last one is happening on Saturday March 6th @ The Underground, Baker Place in Limerick City and it also happens to be the 10th Birthday of the night, so it’s gonna be a mad one! To get myself and (hopefully) some locals psyched up for the party I decided to do a 2 hour D&B / Jungle special featuring tunes that (loosely) sum up the vibe of the night. There’s another 2 hour special to come (broadcast on the 27th of February) featuring some of the other residents of the night and expect to see that here in the coming days with Mecca, Deep Cut, Bee, Roller T, Leon and The Evil Grin selecting some tunes and giving interviews.

First things first though and there are some golden beats from the archives in this show from February 20th – part 1 of the Nu Killa Beats 10th B-Day Bash Warm-Up!

Tunes like Roni Size & Reprazent’s “Brown Paper Bag” are central to any D&B night – the kind of tune that the party animals and the connoisseur’s can enjoy equally, so what better way to start the mix. The second track, by Hidden Agenda, strikes a beautiful balance between summery vibes and gritty breakbeat – “The Sun” is big, big favourite of mine and it’s timely seeing as we’ve finally getting some after a long cold winter. Also featured is an old gem from Dublin’s Zero Tolerance (now known as Zero T). “Taken Over” might not have the production values of alot of modern D&B but what it lacks in weight it makes up for in style. Love the delicate keys in this. I remember Cain (Nu Killa Kru) playing it at one of our nights in the early days. Most people know I’m not big on vocal tracks but Kirsty Hawksawk’s crystalline delivery on “Leafy Lane” (remixed here by Matrix) certainly won me over when I first heard it and it still sounds just as good now. The Usual Suspects were probably best know for their grimey, grindy bassline style, exemplified by their early Renegade Hardware release “Killa Bees” but in later years they showed they could be smooth as well as nasty. “Sapphire 7” is a oldskool influenced roller with positive vibes and rumbling bass aplenty. The Critical label features for the second time in the mix with something from Icicle and Nymfo. “Shadows Of Tomorrow” could just have easily been made in Bristol and the bass in this always makes me feel slightly queasy (in a good way!). Next up, Sileni with the breakbeat fidget fest that is “Twitchy Droid Leg”. I just hope this guy comes back and makes some more D&B soon as he’s been relatively quiet in recent times. The Timeless label has been responsible for many classics over the years. I remember “Remote Control” by Digital & Spirit, “Spacefunk” (remix) by Doc Scott and several Total Science tunes getting caned at Nu Killa Beats – but I dug a bit deeper in the crates and went for something a little less obvious by Cause 4 Concern – I know most people have heard the other tracks mentioned, so let’s keep it interesting! I guess there had to be some kind of reference to the influence of the dubstep phenomeon on our night and it comes in the form of Breakage’s D&B remix of Benga & Coki’s dubstep track called “Night” – I remember the reception this got when Mecca gave it it’s first airing at Nu Killa Beats and it was pretty much the same every time consequently. From a recent classic, to an old one – “Gasmask” was played at the first club night we ever promoted as the ‘Nu Killa Kru’ by Don Rosco of Bassbin – it’s representative of the techno / D&B fusion being purveyed at the time by (it’s producers) Ed Rush & Optical, aswell as Fierce, Trace, Ryme Tyme and others. Fierce himself was the main attraction that night in December 1999. I don’t think any D&B club could summarise it’s music policy without referencing Bristol and it’s native producers. We certainly owe a debt of gratitude to the city on the east coast of the UK for keeping our dancefloors busy over the years. DJ Die’s “Clear Skys” is one of many examples of dancefloor destruction that originated from that part of the world. Back to 1995 and I think this was the year when Dillinja was at the height of his powers. No one could make amens (or bass) sound quite like he did and “Ya Know Ya Big” is a bone crushingly good example of his studio prowess. And so to a genre defining tune to end hour 1. Foul Play’s VIP remix of Omni Trio’s “Renegade Snares” was huge back in the mid-nineties but goes down just aswell today whenever it’s dropped – some tunes just don’t get old.

The second hour is probably a bit less indicative of the music policy of the night in general and it’s mostly representative of the style I would play in an early warm-up slot or something, though there are a few things in the later part of the mix that are undeniably big ‘floor’ tunes – Alaska’s “Ancestral”, Photek’s “Water Margin” and The Invisible Man’s “Bell Tune” for instance. But yeah, I love hearing abstract, chilled out and downright weird stuff in the first hour of a D&B night before most of the people come in – works really well. Have a few personal faves here in that kinda vein. From the filters and flicks of Lemon D’s “In My Life” the mix moves into the smooth pads and synths of “How You Make Me Feel” by Marcus Intalex & ST Files and after the smashing amens of the aforementioned “Ancentral” comes the edgy, tribal intricacy of Naphta & Zero Tolerance “Cat & Mouse” on Bassbin. Bassbin are much better known for tunes like “So Vain” by Breakage and their other offerings in the 2nd half of the last decade but the early releases on the label are an under-used resource of shiny breakbeat gold. Out of that and into one of Dj Krust’s lesser known masterpieces – “Future Unknown”. So much texture in this piece, it’s a journey through the murky undergrowth of the low-end frequency range. Something newer follows from Russian producer Dissident. “Universe Eat Universe” was released on my own Subtle Audio label project. I won’t talk it up too much (haha) but it will suffice to say that I absolutely love this! Check the video for it here. As mentioned earlier, old skool heroes Photek and The Invisible Man are included here with two tunes from the nineties that continue to belie their age and there is another reference to the nineties by way of an up to date mix of one of my favourite early nineties tunes “Palomino” by Simon Bassline Smith (at least it was upto date when we started playing it at our night in 2003!). The mix finishes with two tracks which would have been hits at the ‘Speed’ night (run by Fabio & LTJ Bukem) in the mid nineties. I was never at that night but I’m pretty sure “Tectonic Cycle” by Johnny L and “Breathless” by Intense were played there at some stage. They have most definitely been played at Nu Killa Beats and deservedly so!

Future Beats with Code on Spin South West FM (Ireland) – Saturday Feb 20th 2010

Download or Stream Part 1—> http://www.divshare.com/download/10635851-bf0

Download or Stream Part 2 —> http://www.divshare.com/download/10635853-968



Tracklisting

Part 1 :
“Brown Paper Bag” – Roni Size & Reprazent // Talkin’ Loud
“The Sun” – Hidden Agenda // Creative Source
“Taken Over” – Zero Tolerance // Bassbin
“Cooper” – Breakage // Critical
“Leafy Lane” (Matrix Remix) – Kirsty Hawkshaw // Coalition
“Sapphire 7” – Usual Suspects // 31 Records
“Shadows Of Tomorrow” – Icicle & Nymfo // Critical
“Itchy Droid Leg” – Sileni // Offshore
“4 Ever” – Cause 4 Concern // Timeless
“Night” (Breakage Remix) – Benga & Coki // Tempa
“Gas Mask” – Ed Rush & Optical // Virus
“Clear Skyz” – Dj Die // Full Cycle
“Ya Know Ya Big” – Dillinja // Metalheadz
“Renegade Snares” (Foul Play VIP Mix) – Omni Trio // Moving Shadow

Part 2:
“P Funk” – Pascal // Frontline
“Untitled” – Calibre // Creative Source
“In My Life” – Lemon D // Metalheadz
“How You Make Me Feel” – Marcus Intalex & ST Files // 31 Records
“Ancestral” – Alaska (aka Paradox) // Arctic Music
“Cat & Mouse” – Naphta & Zero Tolerance // Bassbin
“Future Unknown” – Dj Krust // Talkin Loud
“Universe Eat Universe” – Dissident // Subtle Audio
“The Water Margin” – Photek // Photek
“Palomino” (2003 Remix) – Drumsound & Simon Bassline Smith // Technique
“The Bell Tune” – The Invisible Man // Good Looking
“Tectonic Cycle” – Johnny L // XL Recordings
“Breathless” – Intense // Creative Source

~ by codefuturebeats on February 28, 2010.