Invurt

There would be no stretch of the imagination involved if one was to suggest that Melbourne artist Makatron has been making waves in the past year with his exhibitions, murals and street art. As part of the Everfresh crew, who have a large array of colossal murals and more subtle pieces spread across both Burn City and the world, it can also be said that he, along with the rest of the crew, are at the top of their game.

As an individual artist, however, his work conveys a thoughtful, and at times chaotic, interpretation of personal interaction with both the environment and the people contained within it. His extensive travels, coupled with his unique personal experiences and his love of the grittier underside of urban art have all combined to present a unique, emboldened style that has garnered him a solid body of fans.

Invurt recently had opportunity to conduct an in-depth, thought provoking, and generally kick-ass interview with Makatron, wherein he explains his work and ethos, and where racing a courier bike through the streets of Sao Paulo fits in to it all …

Read more »

As far as collectives go, the crew at We Make Stuff Good have all the talent required in order to make their mark upon the Burn-city art frontier. Numbering over thirty individuals locally, nationally and internationally, many involved also crosshatch their membership with other luminous entities such as Sketch City, Melbourne Tours and Dont Ban The Can, to name a few.  Given this composition of deviceful minds, from all walks of the creative path, the crew at WMSG are at the top of the game, and contribute more than their fair share of passion to the cities flourishing scene.

Drawing upon that talent and energy, five of the women involved with WMSG have embarked upon a mission to promote both their own creative outputs, as well as WMSG as a whole, in a celebration of the strength of their female members. From amongst that contingent, Ania Stuff, Cammy Stuff, Krystal Stuff, Rachee Stuff and Verona stuff are all poised to unleash their work on the public, with a much anticipated tie in with the launch of the WMSG store as well as a tie-in event presented by Sketch City the following week.

Invurt recently had the opportunity to catch up WMSG’s Cammy Stuff, Krystal Stuff and Rachee Stuff to talk about art, their upcoming exhibition, and all things made good and proper.

Read more »

The Brunswick Street Gallery has, for some time, been a bastion of visual innovation amongst the sidewalk-bustle of Melbournes creative hub, Fitzroy. With numerous exhibitions revolving around both solo and group works, as well as competitions for emerging and established artists, it is no surprise that their next endeavour is helping to foster the expanding interest in gallery displayed urban art. Having begun her position as Assistant Director at the BSG in October of 2009, and as a member of the board for the Melbourne Stencil Festival, curator Tessa Yee has wasted no time in putting together a showcase of works traversing an undeniably complex, and continually evolving style.

Read more »

“The day that you feel comfortable and happy with anything, is probably the day you give up and retire,” cites Gareth McGrillen, who, along with Paul Harding and Rob Swire constitutes a founding members of Pendulum, arguably one of the most progressive musical groups producing music today. “You always need that drive, its really essential to us – our drive has always been about 70% competitive and 30% love, and having that competitiveness as a lynch-pin of what you’re doing ensures you’re never really happy with where you are.”

Their need to constantly reinvent themselves has seen Pendulum rise from their humble origins in the drum’n’bass genre, to the heights of a gold album producing band. Having played to some of the largest crowds at some of the most prestigious festivals across the world, they are often surprised at how swiftly time has passed. Read more »

On the European mainland, Drum’n'bass vies for attention from its fans amongst a swarm of diverse cultural and musical frameworks, and yet it is artists like Germanys Tim Eliot, aka Current Value, that have managed to help persuade people from across the world that the dark and eclectic side of drum and bass can attain as much soul and musical emphasis as even the smoothest tune. With glitches and often hectic, scattered drum arrangements, Current Value wields a sense of independence in his production that, over his past eleven years of production, has helped to endearing him to fans who enjoy a creative kick in the ass to the more rigid and formulaic sounds of mainstream d’n'b.
Read more »

The sounds of bass and scattered breakbeats play an important part in the New Zealand electronic scene, and, more often than not, one of the common sounds heard emanating from clubs across the Islands is dubstep. Working at the forefront of this effusive culture, Olie Bassweight, or DJ Evil as he is otherwise known, is one of many talented individuals who have helped turn New Zealand into a virtual Mecca for the dub phenomenon. With his DJ sets, production releases and the success of his Bassweight label, home to popular artists such as Organikismness, Optimus Gryme and Consequence, he is consistently one of NZs busiest DJs, and, as such, is as good an envoy for his homelands music as any other. Read more »

From an incredible live act that helped shape the face of live electronic music, to running one of the most prestigious record labels in the drum’n'bass world, to producing his own successful and game-changing music, Tony Coleman, aka London Elektricity, is considered a stalwart amongst the greats. Having invigorated a new direction in sound with his own output, as well as helping to discover artists on the seminal Hospital records label that he helps run, Coleman has, over the years, offered a distilled essence of creativity and work ethic that in many eyes has helped keep d’n'b from becoming a mere backwater of electronic music.
Read more »

Over the past decade, breakbeat bloomed from its 80s roots into a new, modern sound, and ever so slowly it has morphed into a multitude of genres, as well as influenced the creation of others. From the beginning of the nu-breaks renaissance, Elite Force has been in amongst it all as a driving force in its development, so much so that his sound has now become synonymous with the coming genre that is tech-funk – music that decisively crosses traditional ground by blending a variety of tracks from different and diverse genres into a single, unified sound. This pioneering effort of pushing a new musical manifesto has moved traditional breaks away from the common-main stay of breakbeat to new heights, and into a distinct sub-genre of its own, even though many would disagree that there is even a still-existing “mainstream” of the breakbeat genre in its watered down, present day incarnation.
Read more »

When a person thinks of drum’n'bass, they don’t necessarily make the connection between the genre and a bastion of cultural temptation such as France. To make the judgment that the genre is not alive and well in the back alleys and clubs of the nation, would, however, be a mistake, and one group is showing the world the French scene’s vibrancy.

Forming over five years ago, the five lads from Dirtyphonics, Playte, Capskod, Pho, Pitch In and MC Youthstar have captured the soul of d’n'b in a way that once again helps to invigorate the genre. Combining production techniques with an innovative and exhilarating live performance, and having been signed to the salubrious RAM record, their sound has managed to grab attention world round.
Read more »

One of the most successful, well known, and respected names in the drum’n’bass scene, both today and over the past decade, is Andy C. From his position founding RAM Records, to his solo and group production work with the RAM Trilogy and Origin Unknown – not to mention his often explosive and sometimes unbeatable DJ sets, Andy C has been riding the high roads of d’n’b for some time. Reaping the rewards of his talents and, by all accounts, loving every minute of it, Andy C is a man both happy with his place in life, and passionately optimistic about the music that he loves.
Read more »

The word veteran brings connotations of age, and yet with such a status, Oakley “O.G” Grenell is anything but a wisened patriarch – instead, this youthful “veteran” is so full of vim and vigor that in his thirty years short he has already cut a wide swath, intent as he is in putting as much of his creativity in the hands of his listeners as often as he is able – whether by performing, DJing or releasing records on his label Central Records.

“This is my sixth release in New Zealand, so it’s kind of what I’m here to do, release music and put it out there as much as I can,” he responds sincerely. “I’m hoping to do an album a year. When i first started out I knew my stuff wasn’t really going to be commercially viable to get signed so I decided to throw it down on my own label. I’ve had six releases in seven years, I think.”

Read more »

When a familiar face from a successful group goes solo, there is always slight trepidation that the strength of their work may diminish, however, for drum’n’bass performer and producer Audio, undoubtedly one of the top notches in the tech-heavy d’n’b echelons, going solo after several years with the popular Resonant Evil has proven to be a boon, as his success continues on an upwards spiral of popularity amongst lovers of the genre.

“I always worked solo, and, obviously, I started solo when I was sending tunes to the guys from Resonant Evil (Mackie and Risk),” Audio explains. “I’d send Mackie a little material to sign, and he said come to the studio and we’ll see how it goes. So I did and we wrote a few tracks, and the rest is history. So it wasn’t really a conscious decision or something new for me, but it was more convincing myself that yeah I could do it on my own and that I could be successful, and that people wanted to hear what I do on my own. I’ve think I’ve got something different to offer, so, it wasn’t too hard.”

Read more »

Amongst the drift and tide of the musical realm, it is a rarity for an electronic music group to have mass market appeal, and yet several years ago, three guys from Perth embarked upon a journey that would take them not only to the top of the drum and bass charts, but also into the living rooms of anyone with an interest in cutting edge music. No stranger to fans since breaking out with their seminal album, Hold Your Colour, Pendulum are now poised on the verge of being one of the few bands who have been able to escape their niche, as their upcoming new album, In Silico, is sure to prove. Read more »

After their rousing performance here in Perth a few weeks back, Crazy Penis have certainly made their mark amongst their fans over the years. Yet emerging from the CP story are the murmurings of a new sound, as more and more people become aware of the Bionics side project that members Danielle Moore and Tim Davies have joined in recent times.

“Ben Davis is the founder of the group,” explains Danielle, talking about the project. “Myself and Tim joined him. He produced and came up with the majority of ideas for the Bionics, which helps differentiate the sound from CP. We are all very close friends and Ben used to be one of the team that ran Paper Recordings, who CP were first signed to.”

Read more »

When it comes to political consciousness within drum’n'bass, there is no other group that has made more of an impact with their message of equality and tolerance than Asian Dub Foundation. Now, after having spent years as the front-man for the seminal and oft acclaimed group, MC Spex is now branching out from his long time association with the band, and entering new territory as a solo artist. In the past few months there has been some speculation as to why Spex left ADF, and the truth is, as always, much more realistic and down to earth than the rumours.

Read more »