INVURT

Every DJ has a story to tell, and every story has a beginning, and for French d’n'b artist Naibu, those beginnings stemmed from the wellspring of early 90s electronica that seems to have given inspirational birth to so many masters of break beat. Whilst providing a muse for so many across the board, it is a guide that has allowed artists such as Naibu to help evolve the nature of the music we often love and nurture, and, as he happily explains his roots, the elements that make for good electronic music of any genre are often firmly rooted in the internal narrative that a listener formulates for the duration of a tune, or the over symphony of a well constructed set.

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It was another Easter weekend of mayhem, and it was great to see everyone down at Rollers Easter special, and even better to see d’n’b on a Thursday night again – the after parties at both Capitol and Mekka were amazing as well. With a weekend followed by the nuts-oid shenanigans of Craze dropping some d’n’b at Ambar amongst his other tunes, and Bukem and Conrads performance at Shape, well, if anyone had a doubt as to the state of play for d’n’b in Perth over and Easter weekend, then this one just gone should put to rest any rumours of us being dullsville.

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Having been looking forward to Nu:Tone and Cyantific for some time, there was very little disappointment at last Friday nights performance at Shape – both of the Hospital boys played amazing sets. Not to mention that our local boy, Sardi, also had a great run of the eve with a perfect example of why he was the warm-up act – one of his best I’ve seen. From reports back, Limewax and Dylan also put forth and incredible display, that is, if my housemate’s first words the day after were “that was the best fuckin set ever” are anything to go by. This week sees a number of big announcements for nights in Perth over the next few months, so it looks set to continue to be a busy time. (more…)

Matrix and Futurebound

On their own, both Matrix and Futurebound have made their own waves through the world of drum and bass through both their DJing and production efforts, and yet it by collaborating together that they have also now managed to reach a whole new level of both talent and innovation.

“We’ve known each other for a long time just DJing and exchanging music and such, but Brendon (Futurebound) lives in Liverpool and I live in London so we are quite a ways away from each other so that’s probably why its taken us so long to get into the studio together,” Matrix explains of their eventual hook-up in the studio. “We kinda talked about this for a year or so. When we’d bump into each other we’d be like ‘oh we should do some music together’ but we never got around to doing it, and when we did get together it was really easy for us to write together.” (more…)

For almost a decade, the partnership that is Ed Rush and Optical have been changing the face of the increasingly popular genre of drum and bass with their production skills. From the moment they smashed onto the scene with singles such as the seminal Alien Girl and Bacteria, these stalwarts of the UKs Virus label have maintained a consistent attitude of difference, or indifference as things may be, to the trends of a genre that is all too easily pockmarked by copycat production.

There are defining moments in the growth of any art form, and when the dark and utterly xenotypical rumblings of tracks such as Alien Girl hit, one of those points was reached in dnb. “There was this realisation that there was a completely different way of doing a breaks mix than everyone else,” Optical explains. “It kind of vindicated our attempt to do something different. There were a lot of people who were against what we were up to at the time, well, not against it but just like this isn’t what other people are doing so they weren’t really interested you know?” (more…)

After having won three DMC World Championships, one would think that a DJ would retire gracefully and rest on his laurels – happy with such a huge accomplishment. Yet six years after his record breaking winning streak, DJ Craze still batters away at the turntables, and has even come to encompass more than simple hip hop beats found in his earlier sets. Turning to DNB as a weapon within his arsenal, Craze turned heads when he decided to branch out into a faster and less well known genre in the US at that time, and set himself up as a dominant force within the DNB scene in North America – yet still retaining his hip-hop and Miami Bass roots. (more…)

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Revolution @ Rise played host to a special event last Saturday, with renowned dnb DJ Bailey being brought to our shores for an event that was looked forward to in dnb circles. Not being traditional dnb territory for touring internationals, the gig was a great mould breaking event, and as the Rise crew begin opening their territory to more diverse styles than their traditional fare, last Saturday was a great taste of a successful experiment. (more…)

For over thirteen years, one man has presented a times smoother, and cutting edge, side of dnb to the masses of the electronic community. Within that time, LTJ Bukem has managed to solidify himself as a true leader of style and achievement within the genre, whether it be with his own production and works with MC Conrad, or his multiple releases through the acclaimed Good Looking Records label.

Danny Bukem is a study of passive aggressiveness. Aggressive in the music industry, and his passion for his projects, and passive on external opinions and at times derisive attitudes and rumour. Yet from his outlook, the journey to the upper echelon of an explosive genre has been nothing but fulfilling. (more…)

It’s late in the afternoon, and Kenny Ken is in front of his computer, sending and receiving tracks on the ‘net, preparing for his upcoming Australian tour. “When you’ve djed as much as I have, you tend to not practice as much,” he jokes. Yet Kenny has spent the past week doing exactly that, sifting through his record room looking for tunes and preparing an arsenal of dub-plates, almost fourteen in all, to compliment the older style Ragga tracks that he will be playing whilst here in Perth. “I have a bunch of stuff,” he remarks, “a good few classics as well – some thing that people might not have heard back then.”
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