Following on from my 'Best ofs' in 2010 and 2011, I decided 2012 featured so much amazing music from my fellow Mancunians that I would do a BEST OF MANCHESTER 2012 mix.
40 Tracks going through many genres and tempos. Give it a go! Oh and pls download & share if you care for it :)
The tracklisting is as follows:
Frameworks - Vanish ft Sabira Jade
Versa & Rowl - Jupiter
Arnaldo - A Song Name of One Word
Daughter - Love (Synkro Edit)
Fantastic Mr Fox - Power
Mr Scruff - Nervous Energy
Alex Coulton - Bounce
Stickman - Nappy Heads
Trevino...
Continuing my recollection of the past year I have to recount my trip to the most impressive club I have ever visited: Berghain.
It feels almost cliche to say that, but it really does live up to every expectation. The huge imposing power station on the East-side of town is a perfect looking venue for such a legend and getting in is not like wandering up to Fabric!
My visit to Berlin was primarily to see the Festival of Lights, however, shortly after my girlfriend and I had booked to go my thoughts turned to nightlife! I read many articles about Berlin and the resounding...
One of the standout moments of 2012 was in early February. It was freezing cold and snowing on a Saturday night when I decided to take a trip into Manchester to a night called Selective Hearing. This was my first such trip to one of these events, although I had heard good things, the top of the bill was one Addison Groove, who I was desperate to see again after a storming set at a Swamp81 night in Cable in Oct 2011 (my favourite night of that year). Also on the bill were Randomer, who I knew pretty well from D&B releases on Med School and Hospital Records, and Objekt, a guy I had never seen...
The next Hideout Festival was announced a few weeks ago, at a time where more and more Croatian festivals are cropping up, Hideout has stuck its head and shoulders above the others and is showing no signs of sinking! The 2013 lineup features some of the best names from across the electronic music world, covering everything from deep house to drum & bass. Put all these guys in 4 awesome venues on an idyllic Croatian beach and you have a recipe for one of the greatest experiences summer can offer.
I've worked shooting at Hideout since its inception and can happily say it more than...
The sublime Submotion Orchestra (soundcloud) came through Manchester recently on their last UK tour. They were promoting their second album, Fragments which, if you know Submotion Orchestra, is more of their unique brand of Jazz-Dub fusion.
If you are unaware of the band they are one of the best kept secrets in UK music, with truly beautiful songs with superb percussions, deep warm bass and the magnetic Ruby Wood on vocals, usually seen with a crowd in the palm of her hand. Check this out...
On this tour they played in the Ruby Lounge, a great little underground...
... don't know if that title works but sod it. It was based on the Sun Tzu quote 'All warfare is based on deception' - if you haven't read The Art of War please do, its great.
Anyway, I digress, I was meant to be showing off some more of my video work! This next video was produced at Outlook Festival for Drum & Bass / Jungle imprint, Audio Warfare. Audio Warfare is a label based in Leeds and has been making serious moves this year with releases from Northern Lights, Bad Education, Serial Killaz and loads of other great artists.
At Outlook Festival 2012 they hosted...
I've been doing videos for a short while now, shooting short clips at events and editing them together to make a promo video for a few different promoters. It's great to be learning a new skill - even though video shooting is much more complex than I had first thought. You have to be a lot more careful when it comes to shooting. Holding the camera still and being much more careful with your ISO are two prime examples, not to mention the editing process!
I think I've got to a stage where I'm pretty comfortable with shooting, there are some more projects in the pipeline which I'll hold...
I had a recent opportunity to undertake a promo shoot with an upcoming new producer. Elsewhere is about to make his debut with a release on Manchester's Mindset Records. The tunes have been getting some great support in the bass music world. Check them out here...
UPDATE: You can now buy the release on Mindset's Surus Page
So Elsewhere needed some shots. As I was pretty tired of the standard 'brick-wall' urban type DJ shot, and my guy lived out towards the Peak District, we decided to go out to the wilderness for the shots. There's some amazing scenery on the doorstep...
My promo work has been building up as of late, maybe I've become more affable? I recently hooked up with one of my favourite producers and all-round top guys, Indigo (Liam), owner of Mindset Records (Soundcloud). He makes some incredible music, take a pause and check this out...
In speaking to him prior to the shoot it was clear he didn't want a bog standard stood-up-against-a-wall shot, which was great because neither did I! He was also quite into strong graphical designs
So we wanted to keep things a bit moody & graphically strong, whilst keeping my usual...
... he asked me really nicely for a promo shoot.
MC DRS, one of Manchester's and Drum & Bass' finest MCs, is bringing out an album on Marcus Intalex's Soul:R imprint called 'I don't usually like MC's but...' which is going to feature some of the finest production talents around, including Lenzman, Dub Phizix and Intalex himself. I haven't heard it yet but I'm sure it will be absolutely sick. UPDATE: Buy it here (It is as sick as I hoped!)
He needed some promo shots doing for the album so he gave me a shout and we set about planning something. The first...