That’s right, folks. Experimental party music is coming to Chicago. Nearly 8 years after DJ Flack and I began Boston’s Beat Research, the franchise is sprouting a brand new limb.
On the first and third Wednesdays of the month I’ll be be throwing down genre-blends with Jesse Kriss, John Tolva and various special guests at Villain’s in Chicago’s South Loop.
The Boston branch has hosted some of the best and brightest DJs and producers of underground bass music in the world, given a number of young luminaries their first gigs, and presented an utterly motley collection of tech-addled live performances. The long list of guests includes DJ Rupture, Kingdom, Eclectic Method, Ghislain Poirier, Vex’d, edIT, and Scuba.
Beat Research has been hard to match for Bostonians seeking out innovative sounds. Now Chicagoans can look forward to their own bi-weekly session for discerning dancers and enthusiastic head-nodders.
For more information, and to sign up for the Beat Research Chicago mailing list, mosey on over to BeatResearchChicago.com and follow our tweetings @beatresearch.
When I first heard the TB303 “acid” bass line sound I was blown away by its alien feel. The wobbly portamento tones sliding into each other struck me as an audible illustration of the mailable, bouncy nature of rubber.
I also remember when I first heard Fatboy Slim’s Rockafeller Skank I thought the vocalist was saying “Right about now the funk’s so rubber” and while that was a great way to describe the bouncy guitars in the track, it was an even better way to describe the elastic acid-breaks tracks I had been getting into at the time. So I was disappointed when I figured out the vocalist was not sharing my enthusiasm for rubbery sounds but instead was conjuring “the funk soul brother.”
Those acid sounds which developed in the ’80s Chicago house movement, and continued to evolve throughout the ’90s worldwide, are still a major influence on bouncy tunes today. I’m always a sucker for a good tweaked out acid line and this mix encapsulates some of my favorite rubbery tracks throughout the ages:
It’s quite obvious that “Dubstep,” weather it’s the indie-rock version or the metal version, has seeped it’s way into the pop world.
So I was excited to find in my inbox on the very same day, some music that to me represents something closer to a direct descendant of the roots of dubstep:
A few years ago I was asked to do this remix of Suffocation Keep by The Slip. It was a fun challenge to make an electronic interpretation of their sweeping, melancholic, indie-rock tack, and I really liked the outcome, but alas, it was never released.
I added it on as the last track on my Umami album, but instead of selling it along with the rest of the album I decided to give it away as a free bonus track.
The Chicago Ableton Live user group is starting up again for 2011 with a Free Ableton Workshop and The June Chicago Usergroup Meeting Thursday, June 16th from 8:00PM-10:00PM. Certified Ableton Instructors Thomas Faulds and Orville Kline will host and give presentations on cutting edge studio production and live performance techniques with Live, Max for Live, and Ipad Live control.
They call it Boston Bounce but we call it banging. A bouillabaisse of b-more, dubstep & uk bass, a gleeful disregard for genre and rules. Uniquely American & awesome…
The sense of fun and humor that pervades the tracks is a welcome break from all the moody and dark sounds more typical in the bass scene…
DJ C has to be one of the best but most under-exposed artists out there. From Boston and now Chicago he is one of those rare artists whose every production is top notch, can’t find a bad track under his name. I have been dropping heavy tracks off his Sonic Weapons album in my sets for years, these things are party monsters that still manage to be smart and intricate. His remix of Gregory Isaacs “Gone a Jail” on the Shockout label and his “Let it Billie” 7″ are two of the favorite records I own. The man himself has a new album out called Umami, check it, dig it, buy it and support great music!”
A real journeyman of house, garage, funky and beyond, DJ C shows how he’s able to conquer a variety of sounds on this new full-length album… With future-funky rhythms underscoring big tunes like “Nu Strut”, “Blaze” and the lethally minimal brilliance of “Whistler”, there’s also slower beats to enjoy, such as “Dear John Bounce” which flits between jump-up jungle and slow, punchy dancehall. With London don The Heatwave joining C on “Change” and Sub Swara hooked up on “Belgrade”, this is a belting album, replete with some of the baddest beats out there at the moment.
Party scientist & beat producer, DJ C is known far & wide for his Boston-bounce sound, but he’s now called Chicago his home for the past 4 years and the influence of that historical home of house music, those fertile fields of footwork & juke, that booming base of booming bass, has seeped stealthily into his subconscious. Add this new layer to DJ C’s eclectic signature sound and this album equals an irresistibly fresh sonic flavor. From dubstep & club bangers to ravey dancehall anthems; from balkan to bhangara to baile, DJ C mashes it all into the deliciously varied and delectably danceable Umami.
DJ C’s new album Umami comes out May 31. Between now and the end of the month we’re going to give out each of the 17 tracks on the album for free, but each download will only be available for one day. Follow Mashit on Twitter to find out how to get each day’s download. In the meantime, give Umami a listen here:
DJ C - Umami
Party scientist & beat producer DJ C is known far & wide for his Boston-bounce sound, but he’s now called Chicago his home for the past 4 years and the influence of that historical home of house music, those fertile fields of footwork & juke, that booming base of booming bass, has seeped stealthily into his subconscious. Add this new layer to DJ C’s eclectic signature sound and this album equals an irresistibly fresh sonic flavor. From dubstep & club bangers to ravey dancehall anthems; from balkan to bhangara to baile, DJ C mashes it all into the deliciously varied and delectably danceable Umami.
& residents Intel, Phaded, & Maker. Hosted by: ADad. Live Visuals by Killchnll.
FACE MELT is a new monthly event series which showcases envelope-pushing artists on a local, national, and international level. The 2011 programming schedule includes Live Bands, Live PA sets, DJs/Turntablists, & Touring Acts spanning genres like Dubstep, Glitch, Electronic, and Hip-Hop. The resident roster boasts some of Chicago’s finest talents –Maker (Stonesthrow, Now-Again), Phaded (Dubfix), & DJ Intel (The Comeups, Platter Pirates). Hosted by ADaD (All Natural, Eulorhythmics).
DJ C’s debut album, Sonic Weapons, was originally released in 2007 as a CD on the Japanese label, WIMM Recordings, and soon after as an MP3 download album exclusively in the Mashit Shop.
This is the 3rd release in our series of DJ C & EOSS backcatalog leading up to the release of DJ C’s new album, Umami in May.
Listen: DJ C Sonic Weapons
Hype
A digital-dancehall groove graced by the otherworldly sound of theremin; crunk, dub, [jungle], reggae, & the distroted bass & beats of grime & breakcore crammed into a three-minute track — Sonic Weapons is not your everyday album” 4 Stars - Time Out New York
Riddim Scholar, ragga scientist and remixer of artists from M.I.A. to Gregory Isaacs, DJ C dropped this, his debut full-length album, in the summer of 2007. Straddling dancehall, grime, crunk & dubstep, “Sonic Weapons” was designed to kill sound-systems and destroy dance-floors.
The album features guest appearances by Chicago bad-man ragga vocalist MC Zulu, renowned Viennise thereminist Pamelia Kurstin, wicked wicked Boston riddim scholar Wayne&Wax, Jamaican vocalists Wasp & Dami D, & U.K. toaster, Quality Diamond. The tracks draw from diverse musical roots deep in the global underground & radically join those genres together into a sturdy trunk The branches reach around the globe like tentacles slapping bootys and moving feet everywhere.
DJ C knows the bass! Sonic Weapons is a perfect collection of digital ragga, post-jungle tracks and big riddims with a really distinctive and personal approach. It’s heavy, bouncy and perfect party music. I play his tracks often in my DJ sets!”
- Ghislain Poirier
Bringing out the big guns… Sonic Weapons is a rush.” 4.5 Stars
- Remix Magazine
This is about as proper as it gets. Throughout, C showcases his seemingly effortless abilty… Hard to imagine a summer throwdown without this little beaut. Verdict: C gets an A.”
- Boston’s Weekly Dig
[July 2007] saw the long-awaited release of DJ C’s first full-length album, the formidably enjoyable ‘Sonic Weapons’.”
- XLR8R
Like New England weather, the debut from Boston’s own DJ C changes gears without rhyme or reason. Having remixed songs by M.I.A., the mash-up artist works his magic on a set that ping-pongs from hip-hop to dub to bhangra to rock.”
- Boston Globe
DJ C, one of [Boston’s] most accomplished and influential electronic musicians is leaving the Bean and moving to [Chicago]. But not without a bang… Sonic Weapons is the first full-length he’s released as DJ C…. [He] has produced an abundance of some of the best beats and mixes to come out of Boston in the past decade.”
- Sonic Heart
This is a continious mix album. You can buy the tracks individually, but played together as a gapless album they form a seamless DJ-style mix.
A Sonic Weapons 12-inch EP was also released on the Death$ucker label. It featured a couple of tracks from the album, as well as the infamous bluegrass-core tune, Who Wah Seek Yo, and a remix of said track by Leipzig, Germany’s LXC.
A global-bass-music blog & record label featuring genre-blends, downloadable dubplates, and bounced-up mixology. more ->
Tweets
John Tolva interview in Time Out Chicago: Beat Research, open data apps, digital economy & change @ City Hall: http://t.co/nzIhYXQdTwitter ->2012/01/22
Beat Research Chicago - That's right, folks. Experimental party music is coming to Chicago. Nearly 8 years after DJ ... http://t.co/kPLwheu0Twitter ->2012/01/04
Experimental party music descends on Chicago tonight @ Villain's. DJ C, Jesse Kriss & John Tolva; Beat Research Chicago http://t.co/bHc6eG4nTwitter ->2012/01/04
Beat Research Chicago begins next Wed, Jan 4 » âMusical quality above genre coherenceâ http://t.co/fEaMEKtgTwitter ->2011/12/29
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