Robyn ‘Killing Me’ [Video]

Welcome to a brave new digital world people. Our fears that technology would advance to the extent that complex and frightening robots would take over the world have not only come true, but it is far far worse than ever suspected. The most advance, complex and cruel of robots, the ‘human being’ now has all the power.

Having grown up used to a feudal delivery of music, with artist, director and label managers dictating the creative and delivering music and their videos for mass purchase, Robyn, the Swedish singer, has released a video that has broken all of these rules and traditions.

Her new pop-techno-tastic song ‘Killing Me’ is entirely written in code (so no fixed visual elements) and is edited by a live twitter feed #killingme. What this means is that users can affect the video and every time anyone views it, it’s different.

While it is not the most exciting visual execution, I think it is a window into a possible future for music videos - a future that is influenced by the user, by us. As this technology develops and the power/reach of the internet compounds, it is not impossible to imagine that mass collaboration, live editing and the weight of real-time public demand will push the frontiers of the music-visual relationship into entirely unexplored realms. Sounds much like the ethos of a dance music - sounds promising if you ask me.

And if you hadn’t notice, as if the digital bukkake wasn’t enough, Robyn’s video is also in 3d…unbelievable scenes. So get your glasses on people for the full facial experience.

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B-Real announced to the packed out auditorium that Cypress Hill have been in the game since 1992 and the presence of middle aged fans throughout the crowd would certainly testify to this. But incredibly the adolescent, even juvenile exuberance for the stoner hip-hop that has been blazing for almost twenty years now, was none more visible than in B-Real and Sen Dog themselves.

Leaping and bounding about the stage, the two MCs worked the crowd into a frenzy, displaying effervescent showmanship that has been crafted through years of live performances, as well as their single minded musical deification of the green herb that was their very same inspiration way back in the early nineties.

And it is for these reasons that these guys have survived for so long. It was made plainly evident in the middle of their set when the stage was blanketed with green light and B-Real’s stage assistant came on to hand him a baseball bat sized joint. Stood in front of a backdrop of ten foot high black-light marijuana leaves and amongst the haze of the dry ice, he lights it up just as the ‘I Wanna Get High’ sirens start to tremor. The crowd goes berserk and the two MCs turn it into the ultimate stoner medley, mixing in ‘Hits From The Bong’ and then ‘Dr.Greenthumb.’ Weed, music, performance = a potent formula.

The only disappointment of the night was the MC’s support. The DJ and percussionist were simply not as accomplished as the front men and this chasm was often apparent. Their sporadic skits and battles between songs served more as punctuation than embellishment.

But not wanting to take too much away from the performance, this gig reminded me that Cypress Hill are pioneers. Their music is transcendent – punks, hip-hoppers, rockers and ravers were all present. It is through their traditional bouncing and lyrical hip-hop that Cypress Hill shine. They have experimented with rock to mixed success and with the exception of ‘(Rap) Superstar’ which hit exactly the right tone as their high octane closing track, it is their show of rapping skills that proves why these guys are and will always be evergreen.

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We have been given this early Christmas present to head back up north to the corner of the globe in which we learned our trade (Leeds is near enough right?!) and boy are we excited.

These promoters are brimming with enthusiasm and enterprise, and all the early indicators are suggesting that it is going to be rammed so make sure you get down early. And if that wasn’t inspiration enough, our set is being bookended by two incredibly accomplished local DJs and we will be in the intimate and perfectly formed Market Bar which boasts a Funktion One Soundsystem.

No excuses. See you on the dancefloor.

AB x

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For those who of you who read the AngelBreaks blog regularly you will know how big a fan I am of Lisbon’s Buraka Som Sistema. For those of you who don’t, you are in for a real treat because having barely recovered from their very excellent album, Black Diamond, and a summer of critically acclaimed sensory overloading live shows, they have only gone and dropped a gem of a single on us. Your education can start here.

I present to you Restless and Buraka’s coming of age. Whilst this track still harbours the raw Kuduro energy and percussive African tremors that have defined their sound, it represents a more sophisticated and textured piece of dance music production. It is a step away from their lo-fi back alley sound and it is a step in to measured and relevant music architecture.

The triumph of this track is its ambivalence, its polarising affect, its Jekyll and Hyde character. The sound is energetic, yet controlled. The beat is driving, yet hypnotic. The voice is familiar, yet eerie. These apposing qualities are cradled in the lyrics, most tellingly in the refrain , ‘Tell me if it’s real or should I let you go?’ It is about love and melancholy at the same time, yet it is these clashing uncertainties that make up its absolute success.

This track marked the launch of their world wide tour in late October, a tour which will see them swing through Manchester on Saturday 28th November for a starring role at the Warehouse Project. But if rumours are true , it is also a taster for a forthcoming album - watch this space.

In the meantime, Buraka’s Fabric Live mix CD is due for release on Monday 7th December. Santa can definitely expect a letter this year.

Buraka Som Sistema, you make me restless.

Buraka Som Sistema - Restless (Radio Edit) by fabric

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On Saturday 10th October the cavernous London club, Fire, opened its doors to Bugged Out!’s 15th Birthday, a stellar cast of world class DJs and 1500+ revellers, to celebrate the 15th birthday of this behemoth club night. And in Erol Alken, Feadz, Justin Robertson and Brodinski, they were armed to the teeth with some of the most fearsome exponents of the clubbing zeitgeist.

It was an incredibly successful night, maybe even a little too successful at times, with the hoards of clubbers often getting clogged up in the labyrinthine corridors of this vast four room venue. Once wriggled free and let loose onto the dancefloor though, the aforementioned DJs did not fail to deliver…as one would expect.

It is however a couple of the lesser known DJs that I would like to focus my retrospective and blurry journalistic eye on because in the company of such heavyweights, I felt they more than held their own, in fact for me, they stole the show.

First and foremost, I present to you, Mr. Busy P. Now I know I am doing this man a massive disservice by describing him as ‘lesser known’ but my reasoning is this…

Busy P ft. Murs - To Protect And Entertain (Crookers Remix)

Whilst he might have been the manager of Daft Punk, one of the greatest electronic acts to have ever graced this planet; and the manager of Ed Banger Records, changing the face of dance music as we know; as well as a critically acclaimed producer…he is not known for his DJing. He certainly doesn’t put on dramatic stage shows like Jutice’s, nor is his diary jammed like the globe-trotting Erol, but my god, he can put a great set together.

His set was above all really fun and he achieved a DJ’s primary objective of keeping his dance floor rocking. He weaved in and out of the dirty electro sounds that his label is so famous for developing, but it was his flirting with club classics and party pleasers that really made this set so special…specific mention has to go to his handling of Waters of Nazareth and Hey Boy, Hey Girl…Busy P I take my hat off to you for yet another string to your bow.

My second A* is awarded to the all female team of Hannah Holland and MC Chickaboo of Batty Bass fame.

Hannah Holland ft. Mama - Shake It Up

I am a massive fan of what they are achieving with Batty Bass…it is a record label, club night, blog, podcast and fashion label, that has all its plates spinning to a very distinctive style of design and a single minded approach to booty shaking basslines.

Unsurprisingly, their live performance was much in the vein of this ethos. Undaunted by following on from Erol and closing out the main room, Hannah’s glitchy and freaky basslines and Chickaboo’s rolling lyrics and hypnotic tones transmitted a throbbing and feverish atmosphere throughout the room.

It was an especially impressive display given that Chickaboo cut her teeth in jungle and drum n bass, and having switched codes to breaks and house has now managed to find an unlikely collaborator in Hannah Holland to reconcile her inner city vibes with a more conscious form of dance music. Ladies, I tip my hat to your booty music stylings.

Finally, I shouldn’t sign off without sending out my congratulations to Bugged Out for surviving 15 years in the transient and unforgiving world of clubland…I can now only hope that someone will be writing the same thing about AngelBreaks in the coming years, thanking us for hosting such achingly cool DJ talent at our birthday.

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Visited Portugal a couple of weeks ago and decided to drop by Creamfields 2009 (Algarve Edition). This is not the 3 days extravaganza we’re treated to in England, rather a one night event. This featured Underworld as headliners on the main stage as well as the excellent Junior Boys, and Turbo Records ran a massive tent featuring luminaries such as Proxy, Tiga, Riton and Zombie Nation. I managed to get a pretty sweet recording of ‘Born Slippy’, which you can see below, and let me tell you - you ain’t experienced Riton until you’ve experienced him surrounded by a bunch of sweaty Portuguese guys. (Obrigado!)

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