HOUSE/TECHNO SUBCULTURE The Sub Club, Glasgow, Sat 13 May
“I'm not the kind of DJ that WI” ask you to Suck my dick the moment y0u pick me up from the airport. I put ethics into my music and make calculated moves on what I think I should put out. After all, it's what's gomg to represent me for a lifetime' Ladies and gentlemen of SubCUlture, may we introduce our latest guest: DJ. label owner and very. very forthright interViewee. Mike Huckaby.
The influential DetrOit figure says that this particular trip is long overdue: ‘This is my first Visit to Scotland. and the Sub Club is definitely the place to host this party. Meeting all the Glasgow heads is like a missing link after hearing for several years that this IS the place to play. All the Detroit heads play there and come back saying great things about the soundsystem, the vibe and the mUSIC knowledge of the partygoers there. If heads are into it there, I can't wait.’
Huckaby‘s attitude is borne of an intimate knowledge of, and passion for, the musrc he creates. He comments on where this comes from and how he satiates his desires: “I‘m just a solid. no-nonsense type of guy. You pull me to one side and you'll get the real side of Detroit. I'm all about treating people with respect. and sharing musical knowledge with people. My sound is very deep. I've spent quite some time learning the fundamentals of synthesis and studying music theory. and taking piano lessons. I'm on a constant pursuit in terms of learning things that will shape my music more creatively.‘ (Johnny Regan)
Mike Huckaby~\
DRUM & BASS XPLICIT The Venue, Edinburgh, Sat 13 May
Xplicit is just the latest in a long line of nights determined to guarantee the Venue doesn‘t shut up shop before some huge parties rock the walls for another month. And the drum 8. bass specialists have an enviable line-up of ripped up 088 in the
shape of Adam F and Sub-Focus.
Let's get the obvious out of the way: strange but true. glam-rocker Alvin Stardust is Adam F 's dad. Perhaps he inherited some of his father's showmanship but his mastery of jungle and hip hop is exhilarating. Picking up a MOBO early in his career for debut album Circles (1995). it was 2001 '5 “Smash Sumthin", a huge collaboration with Redman that really showed what Mr F was capable of: a gigantic horror hip hop opera of epic proportions. instantly addictive from its opening orchestral swell and Frankenstein pastiche. He went on to enlist the help of hip hop luminaries LL Cool J. De La Soul, MOP and others for his KAOS: The Anti-Acoustic Warfare album. Other than mixing it up with the great and good of the US music scene. Adam also co-founded the Breakbeat KAOS label along with DJ Fresh (also playing this fortnight. see preview above), which is currently ridding high with more hard drum & bass. including the massive crossover track ‘Slam‘ from Pendulum.
Sub-Focus also resides on the harder fringes of the world of the fractured beat. Now one of the mainstays at the incomparable RAM Records. tracks like ‘Acid Test'. ‘Strobe‘ and ‘X-Ray‘ have certainly proved his mettle. Another take-no- prisoners double bill from Xplicit - we wouldn't expect anything less.
(Henry Northmore)
32 THE LIST 1 1—25 May 2006
DRUM & BASS BASSTRAP AND BIO-RHYTHM The Venue, Edinburgh, Fri 19 May
Like many of Edinburgh’s most renowned promoters and DJs, the men behind Basstrap (0&8 institution Manga) and Bio-Rhythm will be bidding a grudging farewell to the Venue this month. ‘I’ve been going there longer than I can remember,’ says Basstrap/Manga and Bio-Rhythm’s G-Mac. ‘Probably about 18 or 19 years and I’m going to miss it. It’s had a massive effect on Scotland’s music culture, and it doesn’t quite feel it’s getting due credit for that now it’s closing.’
By way of a send-off on both clubs’ behalf, they’re bringing back what G-Mac describes as one of his most memorable Manga guests for a return visit. Formerly the frontman of legendary 0&8 crew Bad Company and currently Knowledge magazine’s
reigning two-time best producer in the world, DJ Fresh.
He played a set at Manga last year, which G-Mac
describes as one of the most surprising and inventive he can ever recall featuring at the club.
The promoter lays further claim to Fresh’s talents as an emissary for the genre by mentioning his label Breakbeat KAOS, which Fresh co-runs with Adam F (see preview below). As if the labels of producer, DJ and label boss weren’t enough to fill the Fresh CV, his website dogsonacid.com is also the largest online music community in the world, with almost 53,000 members worldwide.
To complement this old stager of the scene, Basstrap will also be continuing their commitment to showcase the best Transatlantic 0&8 talent with a DJ set from Gridlok, a native of San Francisco and head of his own Project 51 label. Rounding off the night for the less genre-specific Bio-Rhythm will be Meat Katie, AKA ex- Ceasefire man Mark Pember, and a set of house breaks from his new album Vibrator. It’s a stunning line-up, but then the old place deserves the best. (David Pollock)