Dub-boro Preview (Room 3)

Printed in Label.

Dub-boro
Room 3:

A week today, most of us will be recovering from end of term antics, and if it’s not recovery from the tenth and last Dub-boro, I can assure you that you would have majorly missed out. In anticipation of one of the biggest night’s that the union has ever seen, I offer you a preview of one of the rooms, Room 3, which will be in JCs.

This room is going to be the place to be for the Autonomic showcase, led by the curators of this movement, dBridge and Instra:mental. This is quite new on the scene where by abstract broken beats are mixed with a drum and bass tempo with dubstep elements. A fresh and innovative sound. It is not as fast with a slowdown in tempo, embracing the mid-90s drum and bass’ musicality. This was debuted on a CD that dBridge and Instra:mental collaborated together on for Fabriclive which paved the way for their new sound to be introduced.

Below, I have outlined who’s going to be playing in Room 3, and what to expect. So, for those who have already got their tickets this is what you lucky people have in store, and for those still not sure about going, here is a chance to get to know who you can see, and why you should go and buy ticket pronto:

dBridge
dBridge takes a minimalistic take on high speed breaks. He is a regular at Fabric, and co-curator of the self-titled Autonomic.
Check him out in advance on: http://www.myspace.com/exitrecords

Instra:Mental
Like dBridge, Instra:mental is also Fabric favourite, and both are leading this new sound, promoting tracks with less BPM.
http://www.myspace.com/instramentaluk

Ramadanman
Ramadanman has followed a similar style and beat of music, shown through his mix on Dubstep Allstars Vol. 7.
http://www.myspace.com/ramadanman

Transit Mafia
Transit Mafia runs the drum and bass night, Detonate in Nottingham. It is one of the biggest drum and bass nights in the Midlands, taking place in Stealth, Rock City and Rescue Rooms.
Check him out in advance: http://www.myspace.com/transitmafia

DJ Take
DJ Take runs a dubstep night in Nottingham’s Bodega called Basslaced, and is embraces the new scene of slower tempo tracks.
http://basslaced.com/

Senate
Senate is a Basslaced resident, and no stranger to dubstep night.
He adopts the production alias Trutek, so check him out on this: http://soundcloud.com/trutek

Freefest - For Loughborough Echo

Freefest
This is my first experience of Loughborough’s Freefest, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had many friends tell me I missed out last year, as they sunned themselves with a beer or two. However, this year there was rain. And a lot of it. This did not deter my enthusiasm for some local, free music, so I headed down on Sunday afternoon, and particularly enjoyed the Acoustic Stage. I in fact, stayed there until the stage was close. A favourite of mine was Womba, a solo female singer who closed the Acoustic Stage on Sunday evening. She played an acoustic set, including covers of Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’, which she added her own twist to, and had such a beautiful voice. There was also the DJ Stage, or Dub-boro’s double decker bus as I think it could be better named. With the now household name DJs in Loughborough Dub-Boro DJs, Pasquale and Samiad playing music, this was the place to be if you wanted to have a dance. And after a visit to the VK Tent, this was probably the case! On the Bank Holiday Monday, Sykes, a student band opened the Main Stage, the venue for the biggest crowds, and where you could ride on the fairground rides while watching a band. Inside the Student’s Union there was the Fringe Fest offering anything alternate, a popular location due to the weather. Overall, my first experience of Freefest has been enjoyable and will be returning year after year.

First vs Second

The Streets – Original Pirate Material Vs A Grand Don’t Come For Free

The Streets’ debut Original Pirate Material well outshines the rest of his work. ‘Turn The Page’ is quite possibly the best opening to an album ever. Skinner’s raw urban and garage beats with his mockney accent was so fresh on the scene back in 2002. ‘Weak Become Heroes’ is the ultimate garage club track, and makes me miss garage so much. A Grand Don’t Come For Free, a concept album, and probably one of the best ever made, is still remarkable in its garage sound, but lacks the edge, with Skinner perhaps even selling out to mainstream with ballad ‘Dry Your Eyes Mate’ even though it is a tune! The way music has progressed, means an album sounding like Original Pirate Material is a one off, and completely of its time.

The Killers – Hot Fuss Vs Sam’s Town

The Killers’ initial album Hot Fuss, burst them on to the scene with their unique use of synthesisers. Hot Fuss established The Killers as a credible band and provided the great sing along tracks such as ‘Mr Brightside’ and ‘Somebody Told Me’ but Sam’s Town offers so much more musically. So much for the difficult second album! The Killers’ breeze through their second with their sound growing with their sound offering such diversity on the album from ‘Bling (Confessions of a King)’ to downbeat ‘My List’, and ‘When You Were Young’ is quite possibly their best song to date. Sam’s Town is the most all rounded Killers album and provides a bit of everything, albeit being very polished. Hot Fuss is the raw and edgy debut that helped create the masterpiece that is Sam’s Town.

The Futureheads @ Rescue Rooms 27/4/10

Admittedly, I kind of lost interest in The Futureheads after their first album, but tonight I was pleasantly surprised by the wealth of their material. I still stand by 'Hounds of Love' and 'Decent Days and Nights' as my favourite songs by them, and they were the best performed tonight. But tracks such as 'The Beginning of the Twist' and 'Heartbeat Song' that I only vaguely knew, were so well received, and I could not help but really enjoy them. Ok, there was a bizarre new track 'Jupiter' which absolutely alienated a less than packed audience, but all in all it was a decent gig. I wouldn't rush to see them again, but I have definitely give their newer material a listen and a chance. They're decent.

Paul Mccartney @ The o2 22/12/09

There is nothing that gets me in the Christmas mood more than a gig. And what better than going to see someone with legend status! (And also the fact he has a Christmas song, that isn't half bad!!)
This is the first time I've seen Paul McCartney live, and I feared that I would be amongst a crowd of people mainly old enough to be my parents, but the diversity and age range was phenomenal within the crowd, reflecting the universal appeal of McCartney. The set list was hit after hit, pretty much perfect, and with a wealth of songs like that you would not expect any less. McCartney played for over two hours, and absolutely blew me away. What a Christmas!!

Review of Example at Echos (Loughborough)

This will be in the next Label, after Easter break, and is just a quick, cheeky review of the night, mainly bigging up my mate, Danny's company who booked and set this thing up, and are hoping to book some more acts and stuff..sounds pretty kushty to me:



Example – Echos Thursday 4^th March

Echos is not usually the venue in Loughborough you expect you would associate with live music acts you’ve heard of, but thanks to Danny Trevatt and Andy Rothwell, the duo who make up Spaced Out Promotions, all this looks like its about to change. Spaced Out Promotions hosted Example live at Echos on Thursday 4^th March. Example has recently achieved chart success with singles ‘Watch The Sun Come Up’ and Wont Go Quietly’. His sound has progressed from jokey rap to a more electro-pop sound; a sell out that has gained him access into the mainstream. Taking time off touring with Tinchy Strider, Example treated the Loughborough crowd to a set in a packed out Echos. The mosh-pit was fierce and unruly (I had an ear ring ripped out of my ear); a setting scene for a dirty rave, rather than a gig. With a variety of tracks from albums, and mixtapes, Example pleased a hungry crowd, especially with closing track ‘Hooligans’; fitting for such a mob. Dub-boro DJs were on hand to provide the music before and after Example, a fitting choice. If it means we are going to get some more live music here, then I look forward to it.

Music Events

Just a brief round up of January - June for Label

Music Events 2010 – First half of the year
New year, and another music packed year to look forward to. First up, on January 31st is the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, with Beyoncé, Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga dominating nominations. Following the theme of award shows, is the Brit Awards on February 16th at Earls Court. With no nominations released yet, we can only wonder if someone will clear up like Duffy did last year, or leave empty handed, like a multiple nominated Craig David in 2001. Following on from their amazing awards tour of The Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Big Pink and The Drums, is the NME Awards Show on February 24th. Hailing the best in indie and alternative music. Renowned for special one off collaborations, and exclusives, like last year’s Blur reunion; this is a special night, that’s not to be missed.
March 17th – 21st sees the SXSW (South by South West) festival in Austin, Texas. With over 1,400 performers in about 80 venues over four days, this proves to be one of the biggest, and underrated festivals. Some bigger names over the past few years being Morrissey, Bloc Party and last year’s stand out act, The White Lies. At the beginning of May (1st and 2nd) is the Camden Crawl. Spreading across Camden Town, north London, in all venues big and small, the Camden Crawl gives the opportunity for bands, big or small to perform to audiences in over 15 different venues. It is notorious for bigger acts, playing small venues, pubs, to a smaller intimate audience.
Confirming the start of festival season on the 11th June is the Isle of Wight Festival, bringing the long awaited return of The Strokes, headlining the Saturday night. Along with Jay Z confirmed headliner for the Friday. This proves to be a big, explosive start to a summer of sweet music, booze and sunshine. Following on from this will be the Loughborough tradition that is Freefest, renowned for its variety of local bands. Perhaps the biggest festival of all, fully confirming the festival season with hopes of sunny weather, on 23rd – 27th June is the one and only Glastonbury. Being its 40th anniversary, this is going to be big! With headliners for the Friday night, U2, already confirmed, we can only wait impatiently to see who else will be revealed.