TAPE - 18/07

Last month's TAPE

Been ridiculously busy with various bits and bobs over the past few weeks, so the blog has had to take a bit of a back seat of late. First of all, I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who came down to TAPE last month, and also to all of the DJs who spanked it without exception. Nick Gutterbreakz (who also did a nice summary of the night here) took over from myself early on under his Patchwerk Man alias, and scared away a few of the dubstep kids with a set of meaty techno that I had trouble recognising. He did play this cut from the Sandwell District label, however, which had my toes tapping whilst sitting on the door. Apologies to Nick for not managing to sort out some CD-Js for him, as Pendle Coven's equipment was taking up all the space - sorry! Speaking of which, Miles and Gary played a blistering live set, easing things up slowly before their equipment started packing in! There were no distinguishable starts or ends of tracks - just a seamless techno odyssey carrying the crowd away on the groove. Miles stepped up to the decks as MLZ after the gear malfunction, which for my money, was the best set of the night. Easing between early dubstep and techno bangers with aplomb, it was only marred by some bloke getting up to plug his mic in and drop some 'dope rhymes' over the top. To be fair, he wasn't actually being that annoying at first (if he had been, he would've been out of there a lot earlier than he was!), but after a while his hype man antics started to wear a bit thin, and we gave him the boot. By the time that Appleblim came on I was veritably pished, but have a hazy memory of whooping like a madman when he dropped his penultimate tune, Martyn's mindblowing remix of TRG on Hessle Audio. I've only just got round to checking his mix for Tempa's 'Dubstep Allstars' series, and suffice to say it's a proper belter which is well worth your hard earned. The forthcoming Apple Pips is also well worth a sniff, featuring two remixes of 'blim and Pev's 'Over Here' from Brendon Moeller. I'm not especially keen on the first mix, but the Beat Pharmacy remix on the flipside is lushly funky dub house that gets me wiggling every time.

Next time around we've got a stellar local bill for you with sets from our good friend October (who's release on Ripperton's Perspektiv label is just about to drop) and Headhunter (who should be showcasing more of a techno style for this performance). Friday 18th July is the date, Native is the place - you know it makes sense.

On the writing front, I've got a few new bits up at Resident Advisor that you might want to check if you've been missing the updates on here, and there's a nice little piece on 2562 in the new iDJ magazine that I've done. Unfortunately I deleted the full transcript that I was going to put up, but I'll have a trawl around my e-mails and see if I can find it.

RA Reviews:
Klockworks - Klockworks 03 // Klockworks

The Mole - As High As The Sky LP // Wagon Repair

Sety - Sweet & Sour // Circus Company

Alton Miller - Full Circle // Yore

This weekend in Bristol - the almighty Venn!

Yes, it's that time of year again! Bristol's Venn Festival is the highlight of the summer's musical calendar, and next weekend (June 4th-8th) it returns once again with another stellar lineup of acts across the city.

Things kick off on Thursday with two special shows by Murcof in collaboration with visual artist Joanie Le Mercier at the Planetarium, which promises to be a special performance by all accounts.

Friday's highlights are both situated in the Arnolfini art space, as Stefan Betke graces us with a live Pole set, whilst the night is rounded off by Matmos hot on the heels of their synth-tastic Supreme Balloon LP.

As with the previous years, Saturday is the day where it's all happening. There are tons of live acts playing throughout the day, but at night the action converges at Motion Skatepark, where the line-up is absolutely ridiculous. Take the main 'Tunnel' room, for example, where things will be kicked off by our good friend and knowledgeable selector, Andy Clarkson. I'm not sure what to expect from him, but I'd imagine that roots reggae and disco-not-disco will both be present in some form or other. From there, Punch Drunk head honcho Peverelist will be straddling the boundary between dubstep and techno, warming our cockles nicely for the much anticipated appearance of Moritz Von Oswald! At this point I should give big thanks to under_score's Duncan George for working his Hardwax connection and making this happen. Big up yourself, DG! October rounds off the evening with some liquid techno beats, whilst other rooms see Errorsmith (of Smith'n'Hack) making a long awaiting return to the city, and a Bristol debut for Black Devil Disco Club. Phew!

As if that wasn't enough, the good ship Thekla hosts your Sunday comedown with a live show and three hour workshop from Sunburned Hand Of The Man, The Heliocentrics (DJ Shadow's backing band, don't you know), and electro infused Dilla-isms from Warp's Flying Lotus.

I can't stress enough how much of a great festival Venn is. Run by music lovers for music lovers, you could do a lot worse than pop over to our fair city and attend, if only for a day. Where else are you going to be able to check out Moritz Von Oswald, Peverelist, October, Black Devil Disco Club and Errorsmith for just £9?! Full information (including set times) can be found over at the Venn website - www.vennfestival.com - or download the full programme here.

Hope to see some of you there!