April 2013
1 post
5 tags
interview // karl hyde →
Musician, vocalist, poet, painter, writer, graphic designer, bon vivant – the man most renowned as one half of Underworld, Karl Hyde, is a man of many faces, slipping effortlessly between roles with a remarkable ease that makes his decades-long career in the creative industry a truly enviable one. His most recent jaunt is into the world of solo musicianship – one that sees him releasing his first...
December 2012
1 post
7 tags
Youth in Trouble: A Discussion of Rave Culture,...
oh, up all night in bright-lit wonderland communicate online with I don’t understand it with a music taste abominable man, I’m worried sick for youth in trouble
The Presets, Youth in Trouble
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This research essay aims to demonstrate the continued relevance that the moral panic model offers to the contemporary world of criminal justice studies and beyond by showing how it reflects and...
November 2012
2 posts
2 tags
interview // hot chip →
Hot Chip have a busy New Year’s period ahead of them. After an absence of over two years, they’re headed back our way with dates at Falls Festival, Summafieldayze and Falls Festival as well as a couple of inthemix presented sideshows. Needless to say, it’s a welcome return – as well as leaving a very good impression on Australian audiences on their last visit, the boys have a killer new album...
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interview // jimmy edgar →
“I get bored really easily – that’s what it comes down to,” says future-funk superstar, photographer and artist extraordinaire Jimmy Edgar as muses with a self-deprecating laugh, when asked about his remarkable work ethic. The Detroit native, now based, depending on the day, in Berlin, New York or his hometown, is a singular entity – the kind of guy who encapsulates what it really means to...
September 2012
4 posts
4 tags
review // the presets, pacifica →
Four years is a long time in the music industry to spend holed away, outside the limelight. After stealing away with a swag of ARIA awards following the release of 2008’s seminal electro LP Apocalypso, The Presets, made up of Sydneysiders Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes, made no secret of the fact that they were far more comfortable working outside the critical gaze of mainstream media. In the...
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review // passion pit, gossamer →
When Beat last spoke to Passion Pit’s frontman Michael Angelakos, his insight into the turbulent period that made up the album’s writing period was painfully honest. “Most of these songs are about people, told by a person: me, who is seriously delusional,” he said, of the album. “I became obsessed with ensemble casts, theatre-to-film adaptations, and developing...
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event // the groves @ revolver →
Having been around for awhile, it’s good to see Melbourne-based four-piece blues outfit The Groves finally beginning to make inroads into Australia’s thriving music scene. With a history that begins back in their high school days, the group’s self-titled debut EP launched at Revolver this weekend was an all-out aural assault from a group that shows much promise.
As bassist Leigh Macdonald...
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interview // dj fresh →
“I think it’s ridiculous to be honest,” Daniel Stein says, diplomatically, but with an edge of irritation creeping into his voice. It’s a sensitive question; asking the well-renowned DJ and producer for his thoughts on the detractors who decry the underground legend’s newfound mainstream success in dance music, having just made history as the very first drum’n’bass producer to hit #1 on UK music...
August 2012
1 post
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interview // benga →
Diary Of An Afro Warrior, the sophomore album to emerge from Croydon’s young dubstep visionary Benga, felt a lot like a manifesto – a declaration of dubstep’s emergence from the underground of dance music into the contemporary consciousness. Yet given that Benga, whose interest in music production began by the startlingly young age of 15, has since become a figurehead for an oft-misunderstood and...
July 2012
2 posts
2 tags
feature // dj shadow, 'endtroducing...' →
This is where DJ Shadow – Bay Area-based DJ and producer Joshua Paul Davis – comes in. A hip hop head to the end and a crate-digging obsessive, Davis grew up thoroughly immersed in the world of music. To say there are elements of appropriation in his 1996 debut LP Endtroducing would be an understatement – it’s in the Guinness Book of Records for being the first album to be constructed entirely...
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news // strawberry fields lineup announced →
Last year’s full lineup was a killer one, featuring everybody from Trus’Me to Moodymann and Mad Professor, and 2012 is again shaping up to be a summer season highlight. Fresh off the announcements come the UK-based Border Community head, musician and tastemaker James Holden, alongside the talents of Ghostly International’s electroacoustic wunderkind Tycho, Warp Records favourite...
June 2012
1 post
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event // mount kimbie @ the hi-fi, melbourne...
As dubstep continues on its relentless trajectory into the zeitgeist of electronic music today, it faces numerous puzzling questions about its identity. What defines it? Where is it going? Can it shape itself into something that will transcend the limited shelf life that frequently means the inevitable death of other trends in dance music?
The answer to those first two questions is one that...
May 2012
1 post
3 tags
interview // open family australia →
I am taking The 21 Challenge to raise money to support homeless and at-risk young people in Australia. There are more than 32,000 young people who sleep on our streets every night and I want to help do something about it. The 21 Challenge supports Open Family Australia, an organisation that has been working with at-risk youth for more than 30 years. As a Criminology and Human Rights Theory double...
April 2012
4 posts
3 tags
interview // rob heydon, 'irvine welsh's ecstasy' →
The vivid highs and crashing lows of using and abusing empathogenic substances, and its effects on the perception of reality and ability to form relationships is brought out in vivid, unreal detail during the film. The intensely immersive and visceral nature of Ecstasy is possibly the best example so far of Heydon’s talents as a versatile and forward-thinking director. “The concept from the start...
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event // future music festival @ flemington... →
There’s a reason Future Music is considered one of Melbourne’s biggest festivals – dance music’s grasp on Melbourne’s consciousness is undeniable and Future Entertainment have consistently delivered lineups that compete with those internationally. Future is a curiosity in that while it’s undoubtedly one of Melbourne’s biggest festivals in terms of numbers, it never felt like it – coordinating an...
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interview // orbital →
Orbital, veterans of the rave made up of brothers Paul and Phil Hartnoll from Sevenoaks in the UK, have left an indelible imprint on the landscape of contemporary dance music - one of the key figures in its emergence into the mainstream consciousness of the music industry. Having gone underground at the end of 2004 after the release of veritable classics including Halcyon, Chime and Belfast, the...
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interview // machinedrum →
Who is Machinedrum? Despite a stellar ten-year track record of recording under the name, Travis Stewart’s many faces, names and records remain gratifyingly obscure. The New York resident has spent his years flitting between a number of well-respected labels that include Merck, Normrex and LuckyMe, and lately his musical palette has expanded to include an even wider array of sounds and projects....
March 2012
2 posts
4 tags
review // underworld, 'a collection' →
The retrospective collection is frequently a worrying sign of age from artists whose careers are on an inevitable decline. After all, why bother coming up with anything new or original when you can make a shameless grab for cash with tried-and-tested material? It’s a cynical point of view, but one that has unfortunately been proven all too accurate many times before. However, given that 2012...
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interview // kryptic minds →
Having spent years kicking about on labels including Metalheadz, Frequency and Monitor, the duo that make up Kryptic Minds are no strangers to the forefront of dance music’s perpetually-evolving scenes and trends. Formed over ten years ago upon the release of Si’s underground anthem The Truth, the duo steadily got to work together, enjoying a number of years at the top of the drum and bass...
February 2012
8 posts
4 tags
interview // hudson mohawke →
Yet the more discerning music consumers may point you towards the new wave of beatmakers emerging from the rainy cities of Scotland – remarkably young, yet as talented as many of their peers, figures like post-dubstep’s Koreless or hip hop hero Rustie seem to be changing minds about the sleepy country. Possibly one of the most exciting being Glasgow’s Hudson Mohawke (the production alias of Ross...
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interview // danny daze →
Notorious for claiming that “real DJs don’t have a tan”, Miami-based producer of everything from Detroit techno to Italo disco Danny Daze is a voice that stands out among the babble of DJs out there, in it for the lifestyle and the fame. In an industry where distinctively unique creative endeavours are steadily being superseded by the cult of personality and high-sheen, soulless tracks made for...
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interview // bonobo →
Effortless, laidback cool is something that seems instinctive to London-born and New York-based Ninja Tune stalwart Simon Green, better known through his production alias Bonobo. With ten years worth of expansive, breezy electronica to his name that’s much-lauded by fellow musicians and music critics, it’s no wonder that news of his first live tour of Australia was met with enough enthusiasm by...
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interview // men (j.d. samson) →
Samson’s roots in feminist experimental film and queer studies have had an undeniable impact on the projects she’s been involved in to date. The difficulty she found in accepting her identity came not from external sources, but an internal struggle, as she explains. “It’s complicated, because I was lucky enough to live in a community of very supportive and liberal people… it was harder on...
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event // royksopp @ palace theatre, 02/02/12 →
Given the endurance of Royksopp’s slow-burning ten-year career, which has spanned four studio albums and some enduring singles that include Only This Moment, Eple, and the haunting What Else Is There?, it seems curious that the Norwegian-based duo have never managed to make it down to Australia before this year. Jesus, we might be far away, boys – but we don’t bite? What gives? Our poor feelings!
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interview // plump djs →
Named after a girlie mag called Plumpers, it’s no surprise that the Plump DJs have a reputation for dirty, good times. Widely regarded as some of the earliest pioneers in breakbeat, the Plumps have managed to endure in a way that many of their peers in the scene were unable to – formed in the ‘90s, the London-based production and DJing duo are a force to be reckoned with, a filthy mixup of...
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interview // bassnectar →
You know you’re a true party animal when the rave you throw along with your mates racks up more than $100,000 dollars in fines for violating noise and city ordinances. Bassnectar – the alias of dubstep and electronica producer Lorin Ashton – has, sadly, experienced this. To be fair, though, if you’ve ever been subjected to the Bassnectar live experience, you’d probably agree it...
3 tags
feature // dubnobasswithmyheadman →
The resulting record, dubnobasswithmyheadman, feels like a fitting place to begin examining the trajectory of Underworld’s career. It is, after all, the album that launched them into the mainstream zeitgeist of dance music, a fusion of the hypnotic beats of techno and Karl Hyde’s stunningly unique urban poetry. Even the cover of the record – rendered in black and white, a haphazard collage of...
January 2012
1 post
6 tags
interview // flying lotus →
Steven Ellison’s role as an unofficial ambassador for the bass music scene that is rapidly gaining traction in the clubbing scene of Los Angeles as well as on an international scale is one many would recognize. As the owner of one of the scene’s most well-known labels Brainfeeder, which plays host to all manner of electronica luminaries including Martyn, Thundercat, Tokimonsta and an impressively...
October 2011
2 posts
2 tags
event: ghostpoet @ northcote social club,... →
Nominated for this year’s breakthrough artist at the coveted Mercury Awards, Ghostpoet (whose parents know him as Obaro Ejimiwe) has had a pretty good run so far. Beginning his career in the UK’s grime scene, but finding himself distracted by the potentials of woozy electronica combined with his unique style of MCing, Ejimiwe released his first EP in 2010 titled The Sound of Strangers. Quickly...
3 tags
interview // london elektricity →
At what point does an artist transcend the ephemerality that marks most musicians’ careers and become the kind of figure that leaves an indelible mark on the dance music industry? For Tony Colman, the mastermind behind drum and bass powerhouse London Elektricity, it’s hard to define such a point. As one of the genre’s most established producers with a staggering seven LPs to his...
September 2011
2 posts
2 tags
interview // diplo →
Diplo is one dude mired in controversy. Go on, I dare you: put “Diplo hates” into Google and you’ll find the guy reppin’ a serious hate-on for everybody from Lady Gaga and infamously, his ex-girlfriend and collaborator M.I.A. to poor music journalists like me. More than happy to run his mouth and tell it exactly like it is, Diplo (whose family and friends know him as Thomas Wesley Pentz) sure...
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interview // goldie →
(Cover article, deux. Insert CSI Miami-style YEEEEEEEEEEEAHHHHHHHH!!! here.)
When Goldie, known to his friends and family as Clifford Price, made the jump from graffiti and visual artist into producing and DJing, he had no idea what kind of incredible story was to come. After a wayward youth that resulted in him spending a few years in Miami and New York selling gold teeth and getting involved in...
August 2011
4 posts
1 tag
interview // opiuo →
(Cover article for this week’s issue of 100% Magazine. Whaddup.)
Talk about producers of breakbeat, drum and bass and glitch, and you often conjure up images of pale, reclusive dudes hiding out in basements making the kind of terrifyingly loud, jarring noises erupt from their monitors that would make small children sob, complaining about how the scene was so much better ten years ago and...
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event: kele @ billboard, melbourne (03/08/11) →
News of Kele Okereke, of Bloc Party fame, wandering off to pursue a solo career in dance music was met with mixed reactions. It didn’t come as much of a surprise to loyal Bloc Party fans, who had over time felt the influence of the dancefloor creeping into Bloc Party’s work, culminating in the decidedly electronic textures of their most recent effort Intimacy. A hiatus was announced and Bloc...
4 tags
interview // dc breaks →
There’s a B-side by UK-based drum and bass powerhouse DC Breaks that summarises what they’re all about rather nicely. It’s called Romper, and smashing up dancefloors all across the globe are what the duo, consisting of Dan Havers and Chris Page, are all about. Both well-established names in the world of DJing individually, together their musical output as production outfit DC Breaks is an...
3 tags
interview // simian mobile disco →
“We’ve never tried to do what people expect of us, I suppose.” Therein lies the philosophy of Simian Mobile Disco - the shy knob-fiddling duo behind dance floor destroying tunes like Tits and Acid, Hustler and one infamous mash up with Justice titled We Are Your Friends that gained them notoriety in the UK and internationally. Their CV includes collaborative works with Alexis...
July 2011
1 post
4 tags
interview // dj shadow →
How do you write an introduction for one of the greatest artists hip hop and electronica has seen? It often feels like an empty over-exaggeration, referring to musicians and DJs as “legendary” or “life-changing”. But guys – we’re talking about DJ Shadow here. The undisputed king of turntablism and sampling, his debut album Endtroducing… from way back in ’96 was a game-changer for the worlds of...
June 2011
1 post
4 tags
interview // dysphemic and miss eliza →
The evolution of the shadowy, nebulous genre of dubstep over the past few years has been a curious thing to watch. The deep rumblings of bass and slamming drums that characterise its sound have had a deep pull on dance music in 2011 –at the same time, giving birth to a chaotic movement coloured by all manner of sonic influences. Melbourne’s powerhouse duo of Dysphemic and Miss Eliza are at the...
May 2011
10 posts
3 tags
The responsibility to protect: an essay on human...
Human rights require a coherence and cooperation between various national and international groups in order to realise their full potential. The ideals for a minimally-decent standard of living need to be agreed upon at an international level, and in addition to this, these standards need to be enforced universally by nations, so that their people may enjoy them.
However, the question of who bears...
4 tags
Cracking down on crime: the zero-tolerance...
Policing strategies are a many-faceted, contentious area of criminology and one that tends to evoke much interest within the public – policing is a public policy that affects the quality of life in a state strongly, so it is understandable that policing strategies gain much attention in media and politics. The concept of “zero-tolerance” is a particularly controversial one, having a colourful...
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event: james zabiela @ brown alley, melbourne... →
So, here’s the deal. I took on coverage for this event not knowing too much about minimal and techno – I’m more about two-step beats, filthy basslines and smaller, more intimate crowds when it comes to clubbing in Melbourne. However, somebody once told me that once you stagnate when it comes to trying new things, you might as well be dead – and with a burgeoning interest in the more established...
4 tags
In the Black Box - Waves →
One of my colleages on dirtyRadio, Ireland-based DJ and experimental house producer Dave Donoghue has just dropped his first EP, a free four-track download on SoundCloud under his alias In the Black Box.
I’d strongly advise you to check this out and keep an eye on Donoghue’s work - not only for the seriously slick. tightly-produced house beats, but also because in three years time,...
4 tags
what i'm listening to
Ghostpoet, Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam
Phenomenal debut album. Blurring lines that divide trip-hop, ambient and garage (among others), Ghostpoet blends glimmering instrumentals and driving two-step beats with his torpid vocals rapped ponderously over the top. As the production alias suggest, this is a album full of ghostly moments and fleeting imagery, delving into the deeper,...
3 tags
Interview with Spherix →
While predominantly labeled a dubstep artist, Melbourne-based DJ and producer Spherix is making waves in the world of dance music – unconfined by the limits of genre boundaries, Spherix has a number of excellent bass-heavy releases to his name on labels such as Immerse Records and his own label Lowercase Music, as well as having played some seriously cool gigs both locally and internationally....
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event: cut copy @ palace theatre, melbourne... →
“All we’d wanted was for two hundred people to come see us at the Tote,” Dan Whitford of Cut Copy told an enraptured crowd at the Palace Theatre last night, with an air of sheepish satisfaction. It’s been three years since Melbournian electro-pop act released the massive In Ghost Colours, propelling them into the international dance scene with their shimmering anthems for 2008, Hearts on Fire and...
5 tags
News: Burial, Thom Yorke and Four Tet Collaborate... →
In an alignment of fates that will have electronic music connoisseurs everywhere wetting their pants with glee, the boys behind Burial and Four Tet have teamed up with Thom Yorke to release the result of their collaborative efforts together, ‘Ego / Mirror’.
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Event: The Chemical Brothers @ Rod Laver Arena,... →
Before headlining Future Music Festival, still riding the highs from the release of their 2010 big-beat/psychedelic effort ‘Further’, the Chemical Brothers were kind enough to grace Melbourne with a full-length sideshow at the Rod Laver Arena on the ninth of March, supported by Art vs Science, James Holroyd and Zane Lowe of BBC Radio One.
