DMZ 8th Birthday is upon us!..

The DMZ 8th Birthday is approaching and all my dear friend M and I have been listening to has been dubstep!

Here you can listen the live recording of the on the 5th anniversary of Dubstep Warz on Mary Anne Hobbs' BBC Radio1 Breezeblock show. A remarkable show that brings together the most influential DJs and producers in the scene! Mala, Skream, Kode 9 & The Spaceape, Vex'd, Hatcha & Crazy D, Loefah & Sgt Pokes, Pinch, Benga and Distance.

Bring it on!...

Dubstep Warz by Mary Anne Hobbs on Mixcloud

Scientist's Dubstep Into Outer Space

On November 18th at Fabric, dub producer Scientist launched Dubstep Into Outer Space on Tectonic. I got there late and missed Scientist's live performace and Pinch; for once getting there late wasn't my fault and was really gutted... Anyway, got to see Mala, who was amazing as always and Loefah, who was pretty disappointing. At the beginning I wondered: Is this really Loefah playing? I looked again, and yes it was really him. It sounded nothing like the good old Loefah... No idea what he was doing... I haven't seen him play since, but I sure hope that was a one off...

So back to the album! It consists of 12 dubstep tracks that Scientist has remixed and has given them his dub touch! The original tracks were previously unreleased tracks from other dubstep DJs and producers such as Kode9, Mala, Guido and Shackleton.




Two of the tracks are available to download for free; King Midas Sound's U Dub Part 1 and Guido's Korg Back Dub.

In Mala we trust

Deviation at Cable, Saturday 12 February

Getting into Cable is almost as bad as going through security at the airport... I have my driving license scanned... (my friend, who doesn't have an id on him, has his credit card scanned instead...) Once I'm in, I have to squeeze through the crowds trying to get to the bar. Getting myself a drink takes me about 1/2hr. Such a small bar for a venue of that size... Well there is another bar in the other room, but come on... surely the bar in the main room should be bigger than that! Don't get me wrong, I like the venue... The soundsystem is great, the atmosphere is good, the staff is friendly, even the security is polite!.. It's just the bar in the main room... It's too small!.. Which is good I guess in a way, cause I end up not drinking as much...

I get to the club late (as always...) and miss Benji B, which is a shame. I don't miss Floating Points, which is also a shame, cause I'm really not liking what I'm hearing... That does take me by surprise, I really liked what I previously heard from him. This is the first time I see him play and I've been looking forward to it. It's kind of... I don't even know how to describe it... Definitely not my thing, maybe it's just me expecting to hear something different. While Floating Points is playing I move to the other room, which is actually really cool! Funkineven is playing some really nice electro housey tunes... Ramadanman starts and I'm back in the main room. Really good set! I'm at the front from the beginning till the end! And then the highlight of my night... Mala!

(photo taken from google images)

This man can do no wrong! I've seen him play so many times and he's always amazing! His DJing is so consistently perfect! His set is bassy, deep, dark, hard. He has a special connection with the crowd. He finishes his set 20mins before closing time. It would have been great to see him play for another 20mins, but at least I briefly get to see Benji B!