Jocelyn Dee is an established electronic music artist and journalist focused on drum and bass
Oops. Somehow, the tracklist for my Junglistic-Sistaz mix was displayed under the link for Jungleicious, and the tracklist for Jungleicious was missing (I blame it on my own bad web programming). But the errors have now been corrected.
Also, I posted my latest tune Silhoette since I noticed it was not up on the site yet.
Well, the site is up an running. So far, I have been able to configure almost exactly how I want it. There are a few bugs and glitches involved with working with the Wordpress platform but I am sorting through them. I now have my flyer gallery up, as well as a photo gallery. I just have to figure out a better way to post the articles…
Internet Radio Making Noise Worldwide: Log On and Tune In
By: Jocelyn Dickey
Published in Bassline Magazine, August 2005
Much like bygone days when radio revolutionized entertainment with free music floating through the airwaves, computers and the internet are doing the same today - online.
Internet radio seems to have sprung up around the time that high speed internet access grew in popularity and decreased in cost. Although it may have been possible to download music and possibly stream some music (with many pauses for users’ systems to re-buffer) with 56k dial up connections, high speed internet connections made it easy to enjoy unbroken streams of music and video.
Intenet radio’s proponents recognize that there may be some limits imposed by technology, but they are small compared to the possibilities internet radio provides. “Really the only downside I see is people without a computer or the bandwidth to listen to the stream, or people so un-computer-savvy they can’t figure out how to listen …” Mighty, a.k.a. Crown, one of the masterminds behind online radio station www.destroyer.net says.
“For people without broadband it might be hard to access regularly,” Barbara Wimmer, a.k.a. DJ Shroombab, an Austria-based DJ/artist and host of Junglistic-Sistaz radio on www.bassdrive.com says. Her show features guest mixes from worldwide members of Wimmer’s www.junglistic-sistaz.com community.
The popularity of online radio shows in electronic music circles is evident by the mere number of stations popping up every day. DJs, producers and promoters have been quick to realize it is a fairly easy and inexpensive way to promote their name or music. After all, the audience of potential listeners from around the world is available 24/7, and the relative lack of regulations or rules make it a relatively easy medium to work in.
As Stephen Wiggins, a regular DJ on www.drumandbasstv.com explains, “By using the internet, setting up a chat room, posting on a message board and developing a community, you can really promote yourself and the music you are pushing to the masses.”
“I don’t think internet radio could ever affect a DJ’s career negatively,” says Chris Parente, a.k.a. Deucewild, host of the Home Bass show on www.dnbtv.com. “It just brings the DJ more listeners and potentially more fans of electronic music.”
“I think internet radio helps a DJ’s career,” says Lisa Bassett, a.k.a. Lady Bass, a DJ and promoter with shows on both internet radio (www.club246.com) and conventional radio (100.7FM Toronto/97.9FM Ottawa). “It helps to get their name out there, and gives them another avenue to promote themselves with. It helps a lot to be able to say to a promoter… ‘Hey tune in to Club246.com Mondays from 8-10pm and you can hear me play live.’ It’s also great when people come up and ask for mixes and I am able to tell them a couple of different places where they can check me out each week, aside from parties.”
“The absence of hard, fast censorship rules is definitely a plus on the broadcasting side,” Mighty says, explaining one of the benefits for an internet radio broadcaster like himself.
Gerald Belanger, one of the brains behind the Nice+Smooth record label and an internationally respected artist, producer and DJ who has hosted shows on conventional radio for over 10 years, explains that internet radio does have some benefits for the makers of the music being played. “I think it’s great that my music is now disseminated throughout the world, especially through the use of P2P networks [peer-to-peer networks] and torrents, and again through radio stations like www.somafm.com. We have received a lot of attention we wouldn’t be able to get through normal channels.”
The variety of music available online also works to increase internet radio’s popularity. Listeners don’t have to tune into a radio station where they hear the same top 40 songs played in an endless loop, while being bombarded with incessant advertising. Instead, they can choose a station playing the style of music and even the songs they want to hear, since many stations offer a viewable online playlist or even take requests via email or instant messaging.
“The best thing [about internet radio] has to be the wide variety of underground stations,” explains Bassett. “You have almost every style of music available at the click of a button…all over the world!”
The accessibility of internet radio has also helped to make electronic music more readily available to listeners.
“I think it’s a great way to introduce new people to the sounds of dnb who might not want to enter a club atmosphere for their first time experience,” Parent says.
However, with shows made up of seamless mixes with no announcing of playlists by the DJs playing the tunes (or the automated mixes), musicians may lose out on potential recognition for their song. But, at this point in time computers have become entrenched in many people’s lives, so it seems that internet radio is here to stay. So tune in and turn it up.
Dieselboy
By: Jocelyn Dickey
Published in Rinse Magazine, November/December 2002
Born in Tarpon Springs, Florida with formative years spent in Rye, Colorado (a sleepy town with a population no bigger than 3,000) and Oil City, Pennsylvania, Dieselboy’s life has been anything but typical.
Now residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dieselboy (a.k.a. Damian Higgins) is one of America’s best-known drum and bass figures. With a hectic DJing schedule, proof positive of his current popularity and respect, Higgins is also one of the hardest DJs to reach. But, luckily for Rinse, he was able to take some time out of his schedule to tell a little of his story.
From his recent critically acclaimed mixed CD “Project Human;†to his involvement with America’s premiere drum and bass tour, Planet of The Drums; to his newly established label, Human; Dieselboy is involved is involved in the local and international dnb scene on many levels. In the story that follows he describes how he progressed, musically, into the artist he is today.
Like many, Higgins was raised by his mom in a single parent household. “She is a very strong woman, and really instilled in me discipline, self-reliance and motivation,†he explains.
That said one can see that Dieselboy’s current and past success has been no accident. It has come through hard work, discipline and dedication.
While attending junior high school in Rye, Higgins was first exposed to DJ culture via his cousin who starting to attend clubs and check out the scene. “He was always showing me mixtapes, 12†remix records and breakdancing moves,†he explains.
Some of Higgins’ early experiences with music included playing snare drum in the school band from grades 4 to 8, and joining a small breakdance crew in junior high. “We called ourselves the Bronx Crew, which is laughable because we lived in such a small town and had never even been to New York,†he explains. “Chalk that one up to watching ‘Beat Street’ and ‘Breakin’ too many times.â€
Dieselboy was also influenced musically by his father, a singer who had a top 10 record out while Higgins was still in elementary school. “I never attributed his career with generating my personal interest in music, but, looking back, I think that it’s definitely had an effect,†he says. “I was always aware of the ‘music industry’ and my father’s bookings and whatnot.â€
When Higgins began developing his own ear for music, he was influenced by sounds presented to him by his sister and cousin. At the time, they introduced him to artists like Chaka Khan, Prince, Madonna and various breakdance/electro tracks. In high school, his sister was somewhat into “the whole Depeche Mode/New Order thing†for a bit. Higgins says he ended up falling in love with synth pop from there.
“I was buying a lot of Depeche Mode wannabe bands – Red Flag, Anything Box etc. – as well as lots of clubby RnB stuff like Guy, Bobby Brown, Heavy D, Redhead Kingpin, Wrecks n Effect etc.†Dieselboy says, recounting early musical choices. “The dance music bug was starting to bite me.â€
From there, his musical preferences took a turn towards the harder end of the spectrum after witnessing Nitzer Ebb open for Depeche Mode during their Violator tour. Higgins was drawn to the sounds of dance industrial bands like Nine Inch Nails, Front 242, Frontline Assembly, Skinny Puppy, Manufacture and early Wax Trax during his early college days.
Techno, breakbeat, jungle …
In 1991 while completing his sophomore college year, he heard techno for the first time.
“Near the end of the summer going into my sophomore year of college, I had broken my foot skateboarding. Right after school started, I went to this Front 242 concert on crutches and was standing in the back far, far away from the mosh pit, trying to look over people’s heads to see the band. It sucked!
“While I was standing there a guy who worked at a local alternative music store walked up to me. He whispered in my ear, ‘Check out T99 – Anasthasia, you’ve never heard anything like it before.’ This was my gateway into techno music and ended up being a cornerstone to my career as a DJ,†Higgins says, explaining what lead to his first encounter with techno.
“After the Front 242 show, I went to the local dance music store called Collectors 12″ and hunted down that T99 tune. The guy was right, I had never heard anything like it before - my mind was officially blown, and thus began my addiction to techno and dance music.â€
In a story familiar to any DJ or serious music connoisseur, Higgins describes spending all his available cash on compilation CDs and eventually 12â€s. After initially shopping at Collectors 12â€, Higgins later became a regular at Turbo Zen Records and eventually Philadelphia’s well-known 611 Records.
In another familiar story (further proof of the power of community radio to represent vibrant, underground, non-commercial music), Higgins says he was also influenced by a show on Carnegie Mellon University’s radio station, WRCT. The show was hosted by a duo calling itself the “Techno Terrorists.â€
Higgins eventually became part of the show, and through this involvement he learned the basics of mixing and DJing.
Unlike some heads who were exposed to jungle or drum and bass a little bit later, Higgins witnessed its evolution form early techno. “When I started listening to techno back in 1991 there were only two real genres - techno and house,†he says.
“As things began to change and splinter off into different sub genres I stuck with the music that eventually took shape as drum and bass. It happened so slowly and over such a long period of time that I never even really noticed the change. Week after week the beats slowly got faster and more complex. We called the music breakbeat for the longest time (in the UK they called it hardcore and eventually darkside). I don’t even remember when, but at some point someone called it drum and bass and jungle. To me it was just another description … another name to call breakbeat.â€
Always into new and current music, Higgins says the concept and sound of jungle appealed to him because it sounds ahead of its time.
Reflecting a DIY attitude that seemed to predominate in the early days of the scene, Dieselboy says he started DJing only a few months after discovering techno music. He did this mainly because he wanted to hear the music he was buying played out at local parties and raves. In 1992, he made his first foray into the world of promoting, organizing three of his own events.
Producing
1993 saw Dieselboy produce his first track, using tracking software on a friend’s Amiga computer. “It was just an experiment, a curiosity in writing my own music,†he says, explaining that nothing ever became of this tune.
Already bitten by the production bug, in 1995 he traveled with a friend to the UK to go record shopping. During this trip Higgins met up with Mark Caro (a.k.a. Technical Itch) and the duo collaborated on a tune together. It was released as The Scythe on Caro’s Tech Itch records.
“Years later I returned to the UK and we collaborated on more music together,†recalls Higgins, listing off the names of a few of the duo’s tunes including: Atlantic State, The Descent, and Render.
But due to a hectic DJing schedule, Dieselboy’s move towards production has been a slow and gradual process.
At this point in his career, Higgins was living in Pittsburgh, where, he says, the scene was medium sized, healthy and open minded. “At early shows you could go out and hear jungle, house, hardcore and techno all in one night,†he explains. “Because of this atmosphere, I was able to actually make a little headway in my career as a breakbeat / darkside / jungle DJ. In other cities, it might have been quite a bit harder.â€
DJing
Support for the fledgling DJ came first from Pittsburgh’s local community. After he started distributing mixtapes online through mailing lists like SF-raves, NE-raves and MW-raves, it started to become widespread.
“I released two mixtapes in 1995 entitled ‘Witness the Strength’ and ‘Supreme ‘95′. I attribute much of my success now to the bookings I got on the back of those two tapes,†he says.
“Around this time I made an attempt to get hooked up on some promo mailing lists from the UK. I sent out a bunch of letters to different labels with my phone number and email address asking to get records sent to me. It just so happened that Dan Donnelly, the head of Suburban Bass Records in the UK, had just gotten an email address sorted out. He received my letter in the mail and decided to try out his email by writing to me. This turned into daily emails and phone calls and eventually an offer to do a mixed CD for the American market.â€
This CD, called “Drum and Bass Selection USAâ€, was Higgins’ first major release. It was put out on Suburban Bass USA, a sub-label of Moonshine Music at the time, and helped Dieselboy start becoming a household name across America.
Since then, he has been involved a variety of other projects related to drum and bass including his latest mixed CD, “Project Human.†He has even started his own record label called Human.
Promoting
On the promotion end of things, for the past five years he has been part of Platinum. It is a 21+ weekly event in his current hometown of Philly, which has brought in countless national and international guests and helped enriched the local drum and bass culture.
He is also part of a DJ collective called Planet of the Drums, alongside AK1200, Dara and MC J-Messinian. “As a whole we have made it our mission to fully push drum and bass stateside, and to help be a voice for our scene,†Higgins explains, describing how over the years the jungle community in America has gotten a fairly consistent diss at shows in terms of billing, sound systems, etc.
Before the tour was organized Higgins says AK1200, Dara and himself were each other’s biggest competition, in a sense. “We were always vying for some of the same gigs and trying to one up each other with new music,†he explains. “I thought it would be a cool idea to possibly do a tour with those guys and give people a chance to see all three of us at the same show on the same night.â€
The collective has toured together over the past three years spreading the gospel, showing how drum and bass is meant to sound when it is played out on a proper set up and becoming friends in the process. The first year the crew did the tour with Dub 2 as their MC, and hit about 13 cities. Last year they added MC J-Messininan. Although they have talked about collaborating together on future projects including a Planet of the Drums mixed CD trilogy, so far busy schedules have prevented them from coming to fruition.
Achievements
“My proudest moments as a producer have been the track Invid, which I worked on with Technical Itch, as well as the remixes that I was part of for the ‘Project Human’ CD (as myself with Kaos as well as part of my production kru - Weapon),†he says. “Invid received a lot of positive feedback from the electronic music community and actually appeared in the top 5 billboard dance chart.â€
Higgins is also proud of the remix he did with Kaos of Styles of Beyond for the “Project Human†CD. He explains that it was satisfying on a creative level and in terms of the level of detail in the production and programming. Currently, Higgins is at work on a radio edit of this tune using live guitars and drums.
“The Weapon remix of Tech Itch’s Reborn was probably the biggest dancefloor tune I have ever had a part in, says Dieselboy. “People like AK1200, Dara and Dom and Roland said it was their ‘tune of the year’ and I personally have seen this track devastate dancefloors.â€
In spite of recent achievements, Higgins is already hard at work on projects for the upcoming year, once again demonstrating his strong sense of motivation. He is currently in the process of working out a deal to release the new Bad Company CD in the USA, hinting that part of this package might include a few bonus remixes of older bad company tunes done by himself, Hive, Kaos and Karl K.
Also look for a remix of a tune on Hatiras’ upcoming album, and the “Project Human†vinyl release coming out as two double packs on Moving Shadow in the UK in early 2003. It will feature a bonus VIP of Styles of Beyond’s Subculture by Sinthetix.
If his incessant touring schedule will permit, he would like to re-unite with Caro in the Studio. Hopefully we will see another Tech Itch versus Dieselboy 12†at some point in early 2003. At this point only time will tell if one of America’s busiest DJs can squeeze it in.
ROB F: Representing drum and bass in Puerto Rico
By: Jocelyn Dickey
Published in Rinse Magazine, May/June 2003
“There was something about the vibe it let off, when I was at parties I would zone out to it for hours,†recounts Rob F, a skilled US producer and rising talent in the realm of drum and bass, describing his early encounters with the music.
A stalwart in the DC scene, Rob F, alongside partner Impulse, became known all over the world through releases on well-respected labels like Renegade Hardware, No U Turn and Teebee’s own Subtitles.
The past few months have brought many changes for Rob F. A recent move to Puerto Rico has meant a necessary split from partner Impulse. “The move had several implications other than the obvious, Impulse no longer living near me,†he explains. “When it comes to production the change of scenery seems to push me in a different direction.â€
Exposed to electronic music as it rose in popularity in the US and Canada in the mid-nineties, Rob F says he was initially drawn to the sounds of hard trance. But when drum and bass (or jungle as it was known at the time) began taking on a darker, more tech-heavy edge, Rob F became hooked on it instead.
At the time, Rob F was attending college, where he began dabbling in music production. With an interest in music, as well the complexity of the equipment and the diversity of possibilities that could be attained with it, he did not limit himself to producing only drum and bass.
“I studied music in college and initially started playing around on computers there in ‘97,†he says. “A little after that I bought some equipment and started making just about every style I could come up with.â€
As Y2K began, Rob F teamed up with Impulse, and the duo realized they worked well together. “He made me look at producing from a different perspective and to start approaching it with the intention of floor play,†he says.
Impulse was just starting out and Rob, who thought he was through with making music, was helping him out and passing on some of the knowledge he’d picked up over the years. “I was finished with producing at the time and he wanted to get started,†he explains. “In the process of showing him the ropes, I realized we could come up with some really interesting sounds and ideas.â€
Although they no longer work together full time, Rob F and Impulse are still toying with the notion of releasing tracks on their own imprint, Sinthetix Recordings. In the meantime, Rob F is getting back into the swing of producing after a long moving process.
“I have also been working on adjusting my production due to the difficulty in switching to all digital production,†he explains. “Presently, I am working on tracks for a handful of labels such as Hardware, DSCI4 and some others. I am also working on tracks for my first release on my own label, Devious Origin, which will be coming up within the year.â€
Speaking with Rob F (albeit through Email) his enthusiasm for drum and bass, especially that of the home grown variety, is obvious. His respect for other US producers is clear. “Now more than ever there is a surge of great US producers … Hive, Kaos and Karl K to name a few,†he says.
Drum and bass may be his main focus right now, but he does admit that he still has an interest in other genres. “I hope to diversify a little bit. I would like to get into some other styles of electronic music eventually, and possibly dabble into a bit of film scoring,†he confesses.
Toronto Scene Report - Spring 2004
By: Jocelyn Dickey
Published in Rinse Magazine, February/March 2004
With a dnb scene that traces its origins back over 10yrs to the early rave days, Toronto continues to be a Mecca for North American (and international) drum and bass.
In the early 1990s the scene attracted a variety of people to underground events featuring a range of music. Hardcore was evolving into jungle and early crowds soon grew from a few hundred regulars to 1000+.
Early promotion companies included Atlantis, Chemistry, Delerium, Nitrous and Pleasure Force among others. At first events were simply characterized as warehouse parties, it took a while for the term rave to come into broad use. There were also regular club nights at places like 23 Hop and later Destiny Fridays, first held at the Party Centre on Church St., but soon moved to 31 Commissioners St.
A small shop called Xstatic located at the corner of Queen St. W. and John St. (in “graffiti alley”) was the epicentre of the early Toronto rave scene. Started by Alan Stevenson and Mike Stein, it sold rave tickets, rave fashions, glow sticks, and DJ mixtapes (many featuring live sets from UK events) and all other manner of rave gear.
The back wall was stocked with flyers for upcoming events and independent publications like Tribe Magazine, which catered to the developing scene. If you wanted to find out information on the Toronto scene at the time, Xstatic was the place to go.
When Xstatic closed, Numb moved in to fill the void, although Numb eventually moved beyond simply the retail sector and branched out into other areas of the scene.
In 1994, the legendary Syrous promotions company was founded by Chris Smart and later passed on to Rob and Vito Lisi. It was one of the first rave promoters in Toronto, apart from Pleasure Force, to push jungle/dnb and fly in top-name talent from the UK.
Soon other promotion companies like A.W.O.L., Big Bud, Empire, Ganja Smile, Liquid Adrenaline, Next Junction and Renegades were starting up catering to the growing dnb audience. In the mid to late ’90s events started drawing crowds of 5,000 to 10,000 on a regular basis. A-list UK DJs and MCs were frequently flown in to headline, and most of the larger events would feature a line up of 2 to 4 UK headliners.
Eventually Better Days, Dose, Renegades and Syrous, some Toronto’s biggest promoters at the time, teamed up to form Lifeforce. Better Days left the partnership early on, but the remaining partners threw some of Toronto’s biggest ever events. Lifeforce’s Halloween bash Freakin’ ‘99 featuring: Grooverider, Jumpin’ Jack Frost, MC GQ, Dynamite and EPMD set records with an attendance of 18,000.
People influential in the early scene included DJs: Marcus, Medicine Muffin, Jungle PhD, Mystical Influence, Sniper, Ruffneck, Dr. No and the Hard Cru; MCs: L Natural, Flipside and Caddy Cad; and promoters like O/S2 of Destiny.
College and community radio has played a huge role in exposing new audiences to the sounds of dnb and electronic music in general. Before the age of the internet, it was instrumental in spreading info and creating a community feel. Listeners would tune in to weekly shows on the University of Toronto’s CIUT and Ryerson University’s CKLN to hear the newest tracks and get info on upcoming parties. Standout shows included: The Prophecy (Marcus Visionary’s Sunday night session on CIUT) and Medicine Muffin’s Rinse Out show on CKLN.
Around 2000, there were a few unfortunate incidents that attracted undue media and police attention. In Toronto as in other cities across North America, politicians and police alike started cracking down on the scene. The era of the massive events seemed as if it had come to an end. But that proved not to be the case.
The scene evolved and started catering to the 19+ crowd in legal, licensed venues. New promotion companies like Theory have started up organizing events for the older crowd. Companies like Ganja Smile and Empire are still around but they have also shifted their focus to 19+ events. Although 10,000 person events may be a thing of the past Theory parties regularly draw crowds a few thousand strong. Blackmarket Records have also thrown two successful events, the latest featuring the legendary Bryan G.
Currently in Toronto there is a good energy within the dnb scene. You can go out to a nightclub or lounge and hear dnb almost every night of the week. Top weeklies include: Liquid Funk Sundays at Milano; Illegal Sound Mondays at Gorilla Monsoon; Chicks Dig It Mondays at IV Lounge; Empire’s Loose Wednesdays at System Soundbar; Chronic Soundsystem Thursdays at Down One Lounge; Oscillate Thursdays at Insomnia; Knowledge Fridays at Sound Emporium; Destiny Fridays at 19 Charlotte; DF’s Swing Saturdays at 254; Sex and the City Saturdays at the Hooch and Jungle Bass Saturdays at System Soundbar.
There are also many monthlies and smaller promoters throwing regular events attracting crowds of 100+ at club venues including: Nasa, Labrynth Lounge, Sound Emporium, Reverb, Una Mas, B-Side Surface and Mad Bar. Companies include: Gridiron, Platinum Vibes, Impure, Automate, Fever and an ever-growing list of others.
Apart from nights and events, other aspects of the Toronto scene are thriving. There are many shops catering to DJs and music connoisseurs alike including: Blackmarket Records (619 Queen St. W); Play De Record (357a Yonge St.); Release Records (527 Yonge St.); Funky Boodah (70 Main St. N); 2the Beat (161 Spadina Ave); Metropolis Records (162-164 Spadina Ave.) and The Pit (439 Yonge St.).
Following a path blazed earlier by Vinyl Syndicate, Placebo and Jedi, many record labels based in Toronto are releasing the work of local and international artists alike. Toronto’s newest label is Stranjah’s Version Recordings. It joins a well-respected group of others including Furious, Tune Inc., Nice + Smooth, Oscillate, Gamma Ray, Visionary Recordings, Hustlin’ Beats Records and Train Records.
It is the people of the Toronto scene that help keep it vibrant and exciting. Although there are too many people working hard to forward the scene to name individually, a big shout out goes to the soldiers that come out to events week after week and show their support.
Although some of the original faces are no longer actively involved in the scene, their contributions continue to be felt. Toronto dnb scene would not be where it is today without them.
Find out the latest info on the Toronto scene online at: www.torontojungle.com; www.tribe.ca; www.dnbnation.com; www.keep6.com. For general info on Toronto check: www.toronto.com or www.city.toronto.on.ca.
Teebee:Norway’s Finest
By: Jocelyn Dickey
Published in Rinse Magazine, January/February 2003
Some say love is the universal language but when drum and bass heads get together, music most definitely is. Talking with world-renowned Norwegian DJ/producer Teebee proves this point hands down.
Currently busy running his own Subtitles Record label, touring and producing tunes for release on a host of other labels including Metalheadz, Teebee was also the winner of the 2001 Knowledge Magazine award for the Best International Producer. With a discography getting longer by the minute, including two previous full-length albums and a possible third album the works, Teebee is as qualified as anyone to discuss drum and bass (if not more so). At the time of this interview, he had 10 tracks already lined up for release over the next four months.
Raised in Bergen, Norway, what he calls, “A beautiful little place surrounded by seven mountains, right on the sea front . . . not known to have a musical history whatsoever,†Teebee has a different background than many of his dnb A-list compatriots. But when it comes right down to the music, his skills as a producer and DJ hold their own.
In some aspects, Teebee’s early musical experiences were similar to those of many other people growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and speaking with him it is easy to forget his Norwegian roots. He credits early exposure to breakdancers outside a local mall with peaking his interest in music.
Although he was only about six at the time, he remembers watching some kids do crazy moves and being impressed. He also remembers being impressed with the music as well. “I’d never heard anything like it,†he says. “It was just beats, and that’s the first time I got drawn into something as far as music was concerned.â€
This interest stayed with him until he was almost 13, and (after acquiring the requisite turntables and mixer) he started playing hip hop and electro. But Teebee was one of the only kids DJing in his area. “People considered me mad because I was doing this thing,†he confesses.
Slowly it caught on, and Teebee formed a bit of a crew who started throwing their own parties a few years later. They may even have organized Norway’s first ever rave.
Although he didn’t realize it at the time, a school trip to England in 1990 was instrumental in steering Teebee down drum and bass’ evolving path. While in a record store in London, he came across a mysterious white label by accident. “It didn’t have any name on it, nothing,†Teebee explains. “I just brought the whole stack (of records) with me to the counter. I was listening to these things and came to the white label, and there was this mad breakbeat thing.
“I’d never heard anything like it. It was just so raw and just sounded dirty, but it was everything I’d ever wanted. Of course, I instantly bought it.â€
Once he returned to Norway (after much investigation), he eventually discovered the track was LTJ Bukem’s Demon’s Theme, and it had him hooked.
With a growing passion for the music and a distinct sound and taste of his own developing, it wasn’t long before Teebee started making his own tracks. “There was a shortage of what I like out there and, actually, I was reaching a point where I didn’t really like much,†he says, adding that he still had an appreciation for the music he was hearing but felt like he was settling for less playing tracks that didn’t really have everything he was looking for.
Once he decided to start making tracks in 1995, Teebee went out and bought himself a cheap computer and released his first 12†about 7 months later. It should be no surprise that his initial releases were not quite the same calibre you can expect from one of his tracks today. “Luckily for me, the record got mis-labled, so I got credited with somebody else’s work, which was way better than mine,†he confesses.
These days, there may be a few tricks up Teebee’s sleeve and some secret weapons hidden away in his studio, but he freely admits he is not a plug in kind of guy. Although he now has a studio stocked with trusty hardware such as his EMU Ultra Platinum sampler, Yamaho 02R digital mixing board and Virus, Teebee admits his studio has humble roots.
Working with Fast Tracker software and a computer that kept crashing because it wasn’t powerful enough, it’s an accomplishment he could release anything at all. Add to this the fact that the computer’s limitations meant he could only use four channels for sound and couldn’t do anything in stereo, and you get the picture.
Teebee credits DJ K with showing him some of the basics of making music. Also, by being involved with the evolving drum and bass scene from such an early point, Teebee was able to make many strategic alliances with some of the scenes biggest names including Randall, Goldie and Marley Marl. Many of these alliances grew into solid friendships as time passed.
Teebee recalls meeting Rob Playford at Metalheadz’ legendary Blue Note sessions. Playford had already heard his music and told Teebee he should submit a CD of his material to Moving Shadow.
“I didn’t really believe him at first so I kind of let it go and did some things for Rugged Vinyl for the next few years,†he says, explaining how he ended up losing out as this business relationship fell apart. “They signed up about 12 of my tracks and released them all, and I never got paid.â€
After this rocky learning experience, Teebee moved over to Moving Shadow around 1997. “It’s a wicked label, great people to work with and never any problems with money,†he adds.
Teebee’s energy is now focussed on his own label, Subtitles. It has been around for the last two years, but Teebee took over running it single-handedly about six months ago. Big things are now in the works. “I’m going to expand it and do another label as well,†he says. “I might call it Widescreen because it fits the name subtitles.â€
Although the current plan is to keep the Subtitles camp pretty tight, Teebee says he still welcomes submissions and always listens to everything he gets. He admits it will be hard for an aspiring producer to break in on Subtitles unless he receives something exceptional.
As he describes his views about the progression of drum and bass, it is clear that Subtitiles will continue to represent different aspects of the genre. “It’s not always about the rewind . . . it’s about the music, and if were going to keep drum and bass in the future we’re going to have to progress,†Teebee says. “Subtitles will always be on the forefront of experimental drum and bass as well as fitting in with the boundaries of the floor.â€
Blackmarket Records
By: Jocelyn Dickey
Published in Rinse Magazine, September/October 2003
At first glance, the corner or Queen West and Bathurst in downtown Toronto, with its plethora of all night fast food joints, aging club venues and down-and-out people, may seem a strange place to open a record store. But a visit quickly reveals a definite energy about the area and it seems a good match for the store.
As Blackmarket owner, Rene Gelston explains, the location of the store was well planned out, as was the whole decision to open Blackmarket records in Toronto. Originally from England, Gelston heard from numerous sources that Toronto would be a good place to open a store, but wanted to check out the scene first. “I went to some clubs and checked out what was going on and checked if there really was a scene here or not,” he says explaining he was shocked at the diversity of music in Toronto and felt the scene was strong.
Gelston hooked up with his business partner Carl Collins (manager of Hard Leaders) through Mickey Finn. “He gave me his concept of what he wanted to do in North America and I was really into the idea,” says Collins, who was already in Toronto working on his own music projects. “(Gelston) came to Toronto to have a look around and stayed at my place for a while. We basically spend six months looking for a location.”
“I had to look around town to find the best place to put the shop, and it’s hard because you’ve only got so many streets that people walk down,” Gelston explains. “In London you’ve got eight million people willing to walk around a corner to find a small shop, but here I ‘m not so sure. So we put in on one of the main streets.”
Gelston also wanted the shop in a building where sound would not be an issue. “You don’t realize it when you come into the shop, but all the walls go back another two feet. There’s a total steel construction behind the walls and it’s all sound-proofed,” he says. So far, artists including Darren Jay and Kenny Ken have played live in the shop and there are plans for bigger and better things involving North American artists.
Both Collins and Gelston are positive about North America’s dnb scene, but agree it is different than the UK. They are taking their time establishing Blackmarket Records while also getting acquainted with the North American scene. “With North America the way it is, you need to be here to understand it properly,” says Collins.
Gelston has spent his career at the forefront of the underground dance music scene and drew on his years of experience when considering plans for the store. He has lived in London nearly 25 years but also spent time in New York, Paris, Milan and other cities where he was involved in the scene in some way.
“I created Blackmarket Records in 1984 as a rare-groove night at the Wag club in Soho, and that ran for five years,” he explains. “Then I went to New York and opened a club in New York during the House music period. That was during ‘86-’97 and they were the last years of the (legendary House music club) Paradise Garage as well.”
After returning to England from New York, Gelston began playing house at his club night at the Wag club before ending it. “I stopped the night at the Wag club and started the Blackmarket Records store in ‘87,” he says.
Blackmarket Records played a key role in the evolving UK house and rave scenes, and was even featured in Rolling Stone Magazine. In 1990 Gelston sold the store to Nicky Blackmarket and Dave Piccione and went to work for Universal/MCA Records where he started the Blackmarket record label.
The London shop continues to operate, but is a separate entity from the Toronto store. Gelston explains that there is a contract granting permission for Nicky Blackmarket and the store he owns with Piccione to continue using the name. Since opening May 25th, Gelston says the shop’s reception seems positive, but it is too early to really tell.
Living the High Life: An Interview with High Contrast
By: Jocelyn Dickey
Published in Rinse Magazine, December 2004/January 2005
Contrast is about setting off dissimilar objects or entities or setting things in opposition in order to show or emphasize differences. With a musical style that incorporates and fuses different, sometimes opposing, musical elements, Lincoln Barrett is contrast personified, High Contrast that is.
Before becoming Wales’ dnb prodigy, High Contrast, born Lincoln Barrett, was into film. In fact, he had enough of an interest to earn a film degree from university. With film, as with photography, images are very important. But unlike photography, film also has accompanying sounds. For Barrett, it was these sounds (and the ability of sound itself to convey images) that was particularly interesting.
Barrett explains that from an early age he was interested in film and music that caught his ear were music on film soundtracks. “I had no interest in (electronic) music at all until I was like 16 or 17 really,†he confesses. “I was just all interested in films and film music.â€
But through friends, Barrett was exposed to sample-based electronic music that piqued his interest around 1997. “The sampling that went into it just caught my attention: the idea of taking bits from old songs and reusing them and also taking samples from films,†he says, explaining that one album in particular stood out for him. The album, “9 Deadly Venoms†(by Depth Charge), was on the breakbeat tip and full of film samples from westerns, Kung fu and horror movies.
Because Barrett knew all the films, he was drawn to the idea that a current music form was using all the sounds he had grown up with from cinema. “I kind of went from there and it’s just grown into drum and bass,†he adds.
For Barrett, DJing went hand in hand with composing and producing his own music around 1997. “I bought a music magazine and there was a demo of Cubase on the cover (on CD) and inside it said: ‘With this demo you can make your own jungle tracks.’ Even though I didn’t really know what jungle was, I just started playing around with it and downloaded some sounds off the internet and some (other) things and went through my mother’s Motown collection and sampled (it),†Barrett explains. “It was a totally new kind of concept for me. I just started messing around not really knowing what I was doing and I just went from there.â€
Barrett says his studio skills are self-taught, which has helped him to find his own path and develop his own sound. This unique sound is what makes High Contrast stand out from the pack in such a short time. “A lot of people bemoan that drum and bass is very insular and there are just a certain few big DJs that run it (and don’t let other people in),†he says. “But I think that really, it is just down to the product. The music will take you places if it is good, interesting music.â€
And Hospital Records was interested enough in Barrett’s music to sign him to the label in 2000 and release his first single in 2001. It all started when London Elektricity was booked to play at a Cardiff club night called Silent Running, where Barrett was a resident.
“Usually when he’d go to a gig (especially at that time), the resident DJs would be playing really hard, dark drum and bass and he was trying to do more musical kind of things. I was playing more along his lines so we just hit it off straight away,†Barrett recalls. “I said to him, I produce as well and I’ve got some things on the go (and just at that time my production had gotten to an acceptable level). It was just good timing really because I gave him one CD and the second CD they signed me for an album.â€
Soon afterwards, he heard one of his own tunes being played out in a club for the first time. “I think the first time was at Fabio’s night in London called Swerve,†recalls Barrett. “It’s kind of the seminal, liquid funk night. It kind of defined that sound. London Elektricity was playing there, who runs Hospital, and he played the track that they first signed from me called Suddenly. It was something else to be there and standing at the bar with other producers like Carlito and Total Science and to have my tune played there.â€
High Contrast’s first album “True Colours†was well received by critics and music fans alike and took many people by surprise. “Prior to the album coming out, I’d only had three singles out, and in dnb, producers release a ton of singles on a bunch of different labels,†says Barrett. “It gave an enigmatic kind of quality to my name and it just seemed to work. It kind of hit people and made people take notice because I just came out of nowhere and had this product.â€
Barrett also explains the album was well received in more mainstream music circles. “With an album you tap into an audience outside of the drum and bass crowd as well. People outside of drum and bass - people who wouldn’t normally listen to drum and bass - bought ‘True Colours.’â€
And it looks like Barrett will repeat his success with “High Society,†his recently released second album. “Production-wise, it’s better just because I’ve learned a lot since the first album,†he says. “I think it’s more interesting (because) there’s more contrast on there. There are a lot of influences on there. Some tracks are hip hop fusions and there are some ‘80s sounding tracks, as well as more filtered, soulful, uplifting things I’m known for. I think there’s a good mix on there.â€
This album is also different because Barrett approached it from the beginning as a unified project, whereas “True Colours†was more of a collection of the music he was feeling at the time it was put together. “The first album was freeform, I wasn’t working towards any real goal with it, whereas with this album, it was more of a concept from the start. I had a definite direction I wanted to go in,†he says.
In fact, he started planning the second album almost as soon as his first album was released. “For this album, I came up with the name straight after ‘True Colours.’ (I was) kind of building what kind of vibe I wanted for it,†he says adding that names are important for him. “I like coming up with names for tracks. I usually try to think of the name before I’ve made the track and try and just approach it in a conceptual way. I don’t like how in drum and bass a lot of tracks have throw-away track titles or just like a line from the vocal is the name for the track. It’s just kind of anonymous so I try to come up with names that make people think a little bit.â€
Barrett admits he is often astounded by the positive reception his music receives. “I never really think about the whole after-effect, I’m just in my home studio working on music and making things that I like personally. I never really think about the whole rest of the world and how they react to it.â€
But what he does think about is how to keep progressing and pushing his sound. “I’m always looking for the contrast in everything, hence the name,†he says. “I just keep trying to push things really. I never try to settle on a sound. I may return to themes I’ve done in the past, but I always wait until I’ve got a new angle on it really. I’d rather hear a badly produced track that had a really good idea in it than a really well-produced track that was totally pedestrian.â€
MP3s and Music Downloading: What the Pros Think
By: Jocelyn Dickey
Published in Bassline Magazine, August 2006
As record sales stagnate, the players in the electronic music industry are looking ahead to the future and the possibilities presented by MP3s and music downloading.
Since the early days of Napster in the late nineties and early 2Ks, wired Americans have been acquiring new music quickly, easily, and often for free, at the touch of a button. Although pre-Napster files could be traded online in various ways, for instance via newsgroups or Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Napster was the first peer-to-peer service geared exclusively to sharing music in the form of MP3 files. Its users had access to an vast catalogue of free music.
However, widespread downloading of pirated music had pros and cons for all parties involved—artists, record companies and music listerners. For record companies and artisits, downloading amounted to theft because music listeners were not spending money to buy the albums because they could be download for free. Legal action to stop the pirating soon followed.
Today the original Napster is no more, and consumers can pay to download legitimate copies of tunes. Athough there are still ways to download pirated music over the internet, music consumers have embraced paid downloads from new online stores selling MP3 and sometimes MP4 and Wave files, such as Apple’s iTunes or Beatport.
“The iTunes Music Store now features more than 1 million songs,” explains Simon Atikins, PR representative for Apple Canada, adding that Apple’s iTunes store came online and started selling paid downloads in the USA in April, 2003.
This article is not meant to debate the ethics of downloading pirated music.Instead it will explore how music downloading is affecting some of the key players in the electronic music industry—record store owners, the artists making the music, DJs and the record labels themselves.
For the most part, electronic dance music is a fairly niche market populated by smaller independent labels, many of whom still press music onto vinyl (and sometimes CD) for DJs/music fans to purchase. Because of this, the number of units sold by electronic artists is usually substantially lower than most top-40 artists.
But MP3s and music downloading are impacting the way electronic music is currently distributed, and the number of units sold by electronic artists. Making electronic music available to buy in MP3 format makes it more accessible to consumers, both in terms of price and useability. However, this could be a positive or negative thing for electronic music artists/labels depending on whether music fans are actually paying for the MP3.
“I think that there’s a lot of people that did give up [buying vinyl] because it’s really cheap to get MP3s,” says Brian Bobroff, owner of Toronto-based 2theBeat, a conventional/online record store selling vinyl and CDs, and 2thebeatdigital.com, an online store selling MP3s. “When you are buying a record you have to pay for taxes for every country that it’s been in, you have to pay for the shipping, and you’ve got to pay for all the various costs. With an MP3, the cost is reduced … so you might be paying two bucks for a track when you were paying $14.99 before [for vinyl].”
Because MP3s are cheaper to buy and more accessible to the buyer it is a logical assumption that unit sales figures will be higher with MP3s than vinyl.With 2theBeat digital being a relatively new venture, Bobroff is optimistic about the opportunities it represents. “I think what the MP3s will do is give us an opportunity to be there for people who wouldn’t buy records, because with records you have to have a turntable… and everyone’s got a computer now, or at least the majority of people [do],” he says.
Chris Goss, one of the masterminds behind UK-based Hospital Records explains that his label has recognized the positive aspects of paid music downloading, and the opportunities this form of music distribution brings. “Early on we were confronted with the negative aspect,” he says, explaining that sales of records went down by 20 to 30 percent. “[But] it’s crucial that we’ve evolved instead of turning our back on it.”
Hospital has invested much time and effort to prepare a comprehensive digital version of its 550-track catalogue, employing a full time staff member for the past 12 months to do so. In addition, Hospital has made its catalogue available for download from top paid-download-sites and even set up its own digital store on the Hospital website.
“Now in spring 2006 we are able to look at the digital situation and be happy with our position,” adds Goss. “Really, there’s no end to what we can accomplish.”
Making electronic music more accessible can benefit an artist who is trying to make a name for him or herself. Posting MP3s online can be a relatively inexpensive way to get MP3s heard compared to sending out demos and hoping that whoever is on the receiving end actually receives it and gives it a listen. MP3s even make it easier to listen, instead of requiring the listener to physically insert a CD into a CD player, the listener can play it simply by clicking a mouse button.
“MP3s, have basically helped out [because] it’s easier to get your music out there, to show it to people and to get your stuff played,” explains dnb producer Gabriel Au, a.k.a. Gremlinz, who has tunes released top labels such as Renegade Hardware, Metalheadz, Architecture, Universal Project, and Horizon Music, among others.
“[But] people can rip off your tunes easily, ” he adds. “All it takes is one person to leak an MP3, or rip it off CD, or rip it off vinyl, and it’s basically free reign. And why would people go and buy your music if they can just get it for free?”
Chris Barlow and Matt Simmers, a.k.a. Chris Crisis and MrMatt, own Trainspotters Music, an online record store located in Boston, and run their own record label. They also produce and play their own music and together make up the group Terrivata. As producers, DJs, label owners and record store owners, they see the issue of downloading from multiple perspectives. For them MP3s and music downloading have both positive and negative implications for electronic music, and specifically dnb.
They believe that MP3s lower the barriers for new players entering the electronic music market. “Anyone can start a record label and sell MP3s,” they say in a co-written statement. “Also, sites like Myspace and Demostreams make it easier for new artists to get their music out there and get a fan base.”
From their multi-faceted perspective they see potential negatives of MP3s and music downloading arising mainly from illegal downloading of tracks. “Illegally downloading music is taking money out of the store’s pocket, the label’s pocket and the artist’s pocket,” they say. “It’s tough enough to make money in dnb or electronic music as it is. If a DJ cares about the scene, they will pay for all of the music that they spin, or at least get permission from the label or the artist to spin the music without paying for it.”
But the fact remains, systems such as Serato Scratch by Rane, Final Scratch 2 by Stanton, and a whole new generation of CDJs that also play MP3s and other digital formats are making it easier than ever for DJs to go digital. And once many DJs go digital, for them there is no turning back.
“I typically play CDs now, and vinyl sometimes, but when travelling it’s just much more of a convenience to carry CDs only,” explains Jeff Malcolm, a.k.a. Psidream, a respected Vancouver-based producer/DJ. “I don’t think that enough labels and artists are utilizing the MP3 format at all, though. So many tracks get released on vinyl, sell out on vinyl, and that’s it. They are not available in any other format - which to me, is blatantly limiting those tracks from reaching as many people as possible, thus limiting the music’s growth.”
“I’ve been strickly Serato [Scratch] for the last year and a half, and I love it,” explains Toronto-based DJ Rollin’ Cash, of Hotpie Records and Just Cause, adding that the sheer weight of vinyl limits how many tunes a DJ playing vinyl can bring to a gig. “I can show up to any gig with about 20,000 tracks to choose from, never have to leave a record at home cause there’s not enough space or too much weight.
For him, music and file sharing levels the playing field for DJs. “Now that everyone has access to all the same music, it becomes purely about technical skill and selection, which is what DJing is really about,” he adds.