88 Music Blog

April 9th 2010 was a great night of bass music.
We basked in the sub-low sounds of the glory days of bass music from the past, mixed with the vibes of the present.

If you were there – you loved it.
If you weren’t – you missed it.
Relive a bit of it here.

 

 Dara at LODA - 4.09.10: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Stress at LODA - 4.09.10: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Locks at LODA - 4.09.10: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Slant and Bjoo at LODA - 4.09.10: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Tiernan and Tanc at LODA - 4.09.10: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

FRIDAY Part 1:

Friday night was the culmination of months, if not years. 88, like many DC area promoters had been looking forward to the opening of a venue where music and sound was the focus and all the other details came after that. Friday night was that moment, U Hall was the place. We’d been talking with venue owners and friends Will , Jesse and Brian for months – prior to the opening – and were already tight with manager Buster. The timing of the venue’s opening, aligned perfectly with FORWARD and our focus to have a Friday night dedicated to low end frequencies made the match even better. Inspired by U Hall’s Martin sound system, we were determined to curate a night that would provide the DC community with a Bass sensation that they’d never experienced in our fair city.

Tapping local bass stalwart Ransom along with our brothers and DC’s own Future Bass pioneers Aligning Minds along side West Coast phenomenon Kraddy of the Glitch Mob fame and UK’s OG dubstep don MRK1 we had a line-up that got us giddy and were eager to see, feel what was going to happen.

Ransom kicked the night off well, playing a nicely mixed set of UK Funky and fresh dubstep – the perfect segway into Aligning Minds set. U hall was built with both DJ and Live act culture in mind. To that end they set up the DJ booth on one end of the hall and a stage on the other. 88 and especially FORWARD has always prided ourselves on cultivating and curating Live acts in electronic dance music. While Ransom was holding things down in the DJ booth. Aligning Minds was set up across the hall on the stage, chomping at the bit ready to throw down. The phase button was hit, the lights went down as Aligning Minds set began with a drone that got people hyped. The lights came up, the beats dropped and bodies started rockin’. With Born Infinite working the mic, Aligning Minds had the crowd in the palm of their hand, their impeccably crafted sound on the U Hall system was a perfect match and a moment that many of us had been waiting years for. Weaving in and out of harmonic, emotive breaks and dubstep with big drops the crowd pulsated with the flow, people moved in ways that they hadn’t moved before. It was a site to behold.

Cheers rang out as Aligning Minds concluded their set and Kraddy, in the DJ booth, got on the Mic to turn people around and hype things up. Now, we’re a critical bunch here at 88 and what can we say – we were pretty disappointed with Kraddy. Don’t get us wrong, there were moments in his set that were great and there were plenty of people feeling his sound – but overall we weren’t impressed with his show. First off we’re pretty sure he was playing directly through his Mac’s sound card – and we all know that Mac’s sound card’s aren’t the best. On a system like the one at U hall, it was even more noticeable as the high’s were way over powered at times resulting in the only moments of the night where people had to cover their ears. Second, his system crashed twice leaving minutes of dead spots in the night. The venue owners did a good job covering things up, talking to the crowd and having fun. Once is sometimes understandable, but twice :/ Just a reminder that it’s always good to have a CDJ ready to go if things go haywire.Finally, while we’ve seen and admired multiple acts use Ableton as a DJ tool we’ve never seen them do it in Ableton’s Arrangement view. The session view, which most acts use allows one to improvise, jump around and easily bring in effects and loops that make a set unique. Obviously it’s possible, but using the arrangement view basically means playing a pre mixed set as it’s laid out in a linear a to b time line fashion. Perhaps we’re being overly harsh – we’d be curious to hear what others thought about his set and approach.

As MRK1 took the decks you could almost feel the anticipation throughout U Street Music Hall. A who’s who of bass heads had assembled for the highly talked about venue’s 1st Friday night, and there was a sense that the Forward Festival was truly in full swing as we approached the halfway mark of the night and the fest itself. As for MRK1′s set, we had hoped that he would play some of the more forward thinking dubstep for this very special event. Having said that, we were still able to really enjoy the selections that he played thanks in part to the amazing vibe that was present and of course the chest rattling bass pumping through the joint. It made us realize that so many people jump on the bandwagon of hating dubstep for the simple reason that they never actually hear the tunes as they are meant to be heard. We had several friends that had come out for the night simply because they wanted to see what all the hype was about with the new hotspot in town….they weren’t fans of dubstep at all, but by the end of MRK1′s set they were coming up and telling us that they understood the appeal of this kind of music and that they had never really give it a proper chance. This party left us with a strong craving for more bass nights at U Street Music Hall, a craving that we hope to satisfy in the near future.

If you don’t believe us, here’s a note from record store Jenny:
“Friday night was one of the most wonderful events on record fer me!! exaggerated as that may sound, total truth. I am, although uninhibited in many realms, a pretty guarded creature in certain situations and going out and dancing and … See Morereally losing myself in it was a very powerful and medicinal experience…. great vibe and wonderful folks, everyone I interacted with radiated with Kindness……the first time I’ve ever danced so comfortably and naturally and confidently. so good for my soul. THANK YOU!!!”

Sets from Future Bass:

 

 Aligning Minds at 3rd Annual FORWARD Festival: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 MRK1 at 3rd Annual FORWARD Festival [67:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Rasom at 3rd Annual FORWARD Festival [56:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Friday Part 2:
FORWARD teamed up with our mates at Just Quality Music for JQM 003 with Eric Johnston at Station 9.

For this night the JQM crew brought in a dear friend out of Detroit: the eclectic and enigmatic Mr. Eric Johnston. Raised on a diet of Detroit house music radio, Eric began his DJ career in the same class of techno musicians as Ryan Crosson and Seth Troxler. In a similar vein he is off to the European Continent to focus full time on music. Before his trip he stopped by the spacious confines of the upstairs of 15th and Us Station 9.

In preparation, JQM brought in enhanced sound and additional lights courtesy of Posh Events. The added effects were perfect for Eric’s eclectic set. The evenings highlights became the added visuals as well as the immense sounds permeating the fine wood finish of one of DC’s legendary house venues. Joining Eric on the decks were DJ Associate and PeteONE.

Here’s a link to all 3 sets from the night! BLAM!

Friday Part 3:
The final aspect of Friday night was curated by our experimental pioneering friends at Sonic Circuits. You know that expression, a picture is worth a thousand words?

Continuing the celebration of the past year at LODA, we’re excited to offer up some more sets. This time featuring sets of glitch, DnB and DubStep:
Aligning Minds (1)
Aligning Minds (2)
Bobby Jae (1)
Bobby Jae (2)
Check Point 303
Clever
Daedelus
Ransom (1)
Ransom (2)
Headhunter
Jukata

Below is an interview from DC’s very own Chris Burns and Brooklyn’s Runaway. The interview was supposed to go up prior to their gig at LODA, but due to the blog coming down for a hot second – it got postponed. Without further ado…

CB: First off, where did the name “Runaway” come from?
R: Del Shannon’s “Runaway”

CB: Though both of you guys have been respectively doing your thing for quite some time in New York , Brooklyn Club Jam was definitely a breakout opportunity in 2008. What do you guys have planned for 2009 that will set you apart from your disco-friendly peers?

R: There’s definitely a lot of music that comes out of NYC, its no surprise to me that the fusion just continues. You’re surrounded by change and development, its only natural for people and the music to take the same course. We love disco, house, techno…dance music in its entirety. Marcos and I will continue to create a sound that we’re curating ourselves as we go.

CB: Asides from homegrown edits made by yourselves or friends on cd-r, do you guys still stick to mostly vinyl (I remember Jacques playing all vinyl when he was here this summer)? If so, why do you still put up with the hassle of baggage fees, missing luggage, dodgy turntables, etc.?

R: Vinyl is the best sounding format for music. It’s always worth the effort and everywhere we go people take note. More and more venues all over where we play understand and learn from their mistakes and work hard to have a solid DJ booth with working gear for DJs like us to use and love and tell other artists about their club. Why do you think places like Paradise Garage, Music Box and Mancuso’s Loft are still spoken about? The sound was amazing, I believe a few still remember that and work hard to live up to that experience.

CB: Do either of you have any mentors that have helped inspire or teach you anything relevant in terms of your DJing, production, etc.?

R: Ron Hardy is probably at the top of our DJ list, plenty of inspiration there. John Selway here in New York has helped us in all areas of production, we have to thank him for all his excellent advice.

CB: What processes do you guys go through when sitting down and writing a song?

R: We’ve both been collecting records for years, and tho we have similar influences, to our advantage we have many different takes. We hear different things and bring different parts to each song. Either one of us will have something in mind and the other will add another idea to it and the creative process develops to something that we’re both pleased with. Always a work in progress.

CB: It seems that people are constantly bitching about the state of nightlife in New York, with nostalgic reminisces of how it “used to be” (in the pre-Giuliani 90s). What drastic, self-initiated steps do you think can be taken by the people themselves to improve the opportunities and quality of dancing and nightlife within the 5 boroughs?

R: People will always complain, they complain how it was even better last year. Steps have already been taken and the sound no longer is trapped in the club but always where people want it to be: in a loft or warehouse. These parties are attracting people from all the boroughs to Brooklyn, Manhattan, etc where Runaway is no stranger.

CB: Jacques, you grew up with Eighty-Eight head, David Fogel, in Bethesda. What experiences in the D.C. metro area shaped your musical tastes, inspiration, etc.? Is it a surprise that both of you are pushing fiercely independent, creative projects steeped in electronic music and production?

R: When I heard about what David was a part of it gave me a big smile. Growing up in the Washington area definitely was to our advantage in my opinion as my entire childhood I learned about all different styles of music. Never thought I’d be a producer or a DJ, but things lead you to do other things. In my case I was in countless projects with others constantly trying this and that to make something work. All of a sudden I found myself in front of turntables where I was the only one and it was quite exciting. Sometimes it’s better to just do it on your own. Sometimes you have to wait and see who you work well with. New York has it’s individuals, Marcos and I clicked.

CB: Furthermore, were you ever involved in any bands or musical projects growing up as a teenager in the D.C. area? It appears that a common trait, at least of DC based, DJs was that they were involved with punk and hardcore as teenagers.

R: Yeah you guessed it. I pretty much checked out every scene after going to an Ashes show in Bethesda’s Legion club of all places in the early 90s. Pretty blown away, I went to more shows seeing bands like Slant 6 or Blonde Redhead opening up for The Make Up or Monorchid. Even Damnation AD, The Suspects, all that new/old punk and hardcore stuff. I was in a few bands and played around the city including a few shows at the old Black Cat. I discovered Djing while I was in high school actually. I went to Cold Rice at The Kaffa house only a handful of times where DJs played on an amazing soundsystem blasting dancehall, soul & drum + bass. It was fantastic, really. I was sold, and got into it.

CB: What are a few new or old records that you guys are really into right now?

R: These are a few artists & labels, old and new, that we’re into currently: Motor City Drum Ensemble, Kerri Chandler, Move D, Agnes, Motor Bass, Drumpoet, Gorge, K Alexi, Sasha Dive, The Revenge, StillLove4music,

CB: What are you expecting from your upcoming gig at LODA in Silver Spring?

R: Goodtimes – we’re gonna play some house music

Here’s a recent Runaway Mix for ya:

 

 runaway mix: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

And the tracklist:
Losoul – Mantra
Sascha Dive – Deepest America (Moodyman remix)
Farley Jackmaster Funk – This is House
Motor City Drum Ensemble – Raw Cuts
Kenny Larkin – Rush Hour
Blaze – Lovely Day
Kreon – Just Jack
Manuel Tur & Dplay – Deviate
Robert Dietz – Kanban
Ricardo Villalobos – Spirtzcussion

Photos by:
Duy Tran
Graham Meyer
Andy Fundeneanu
Scott Ahn
Sexy Fitsum

“88‘s Dave Fogel had really planned for last weekend’s weekend plus one day-long Forward Festival to sync with cherry blossom time, not SXSW. The geeker tweets from Austin last week had me wondering about the coincidence, then making comparisons between the two events. Scale of execution and 22 year history aside, I think the DMV(groan) is on course for being home to what could be one of the nicest music and media parties in region, if not the country. Four days, five venues, three combined sound systems, the sweat and tears of five photographers, many many djs, musicians and artists who performed or just hung out, and a few hundred of you who came out (and the fewer numbers of you who took the deep breath and did the entire festival). The following is what I and a couple of other folks think happened.

Thursday
There were tweets and status messages (and a comment on this site) about how tonight’s
party was being hosted at a bondage club in a warehouse in southwest. But that fact ultimately never affected the turn out. It’s probably the festival’s strongest night. At first, almost everyone was crowded into the second room where Dan Amatai and later MNMLife’s Sanath and Fisher played. A late crowd hit around 12:30AM and the party stayed on all the way til close. This is about the time, I decided risk injury and climb those insane steps into the dj coop with Pan Pot who were so serious. The space amazed everyone, especially dj/promoters, all of em stroking their chins thoughtfully as they scanned the place. Repspect to Will Eastman and Derek Plaslaiko who was rocking the main room when I made it through, and Everybody Loves Music’s Dimitri Max who closed out the second room strong. And big up to chains and suspension.

Friday
The workshops were laid back and fun with presenters getting involved in each other’s presentations.
Later at LODA, many of you braved the cold to hang outside in the alley at Lovegrove’s chillout set. You were probably as insane as his drops were awesome. Inside at the DC area label showcase, Everybody Loves Music‘s Joe L. played an early set of Odds & Ends tracks that was fire by all accounts. In the main room Mochipet Ð in purple dino suit Ð sang someone “Happy Birthday” and later Jeremy Ellis mesemerized and destroyed with his improvised MPC set. 88 partner Graham called the show “unreal” and “probably the best live performance I’ve ever seen”.

Saturday
At 2:15AM when I got to BeBar, there was a live singer performing with Docindo.Dorsey and Measax were still about 30 people dancing like it was midnight. Everyone else there was stuck to the couches either making out or passed out. The night kicked off with X at 7PM. At 11PM the party transitioned into Pulse with a deep melodic live techno set from Montreal’s PHEEK that caused the dancefloor to fill. By the time Dan Berkson and James What got on the floor was jammed. Dorsey and Measax closed out afterwards with vocalist Robert Manos, who I heard when I arrived.

Sunday
The seventh day. The day of rest, and all that. Graham‘s voice was toast but he was happy. The night before, a bunch of people came back to Space88 after Pulse and kept going until 7AM. Apparently they were hungry when they woke up because all the BBQ was gone when I got there.

by – Fitsum

Sets from FORWARD:

Aligning Minds

Beema

Derek Plaslaiko

Jeremy Ellis

KiloWatts

1)  Rode Falls
2)  Unknown
3)  Unknown
4)  Deep Sea
5)  Azure
6)  Theologue (Settle)
7)  Theologue (Search)
8)  Hang Gliding
9)  Monument
10) Marcia Blaine School For Girls – Boris (KiloWatts Boring Remix)
11) Dub Serious
12) Skeetaz – Toad Ya

Pan Pot

Pheek

Whalefish

As we get ready to celebrate a year of LODA in June we will roll out a series of posts, commemorating what has happened – on the sonic tip.

To kick things off, below are sets of/by House acts that have rolled through (in alphabetical order):

Gene Farris

Jay Tripwire

Luke McKeehan

Mazi

Roy Davis Jr.

Below is Clever’s deep, fresh set at LODA.
If you weren’t there, at least you can relive it here.

Tracklisting:
Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip “Thou Shalt Always Kill (Vaccine Remix)” Dub
Joker “Digidesign” Hyperdub
Untold “Sweat” Hotflush
Zombie “The Lie” Ramp
Untold “Just For You” Hotflush
Joker & Rustie “Play Doe” Kapsize
2000F & J Kamata “You Don’t Know What Love Is” Hyperdub
Untold “Dante” Hotflush
Ramadanman “Humber” Apple Pips
Starkey “Dark Alley” Planet Mu
Cardopusher “Homeless (Quarta 330 Rmx)” Hyperdub
Instramental & D-Bridge “Detuned” Darkestral
Data “Muted” Metalheadz
ASC “Prism” Offshore
Shy FX & T-Power “Plastic Soul (D-Bridge Metal Soul Rmx)” Digital Soundboy
June Miller “Poison The Well” Cylon
Dissident “Society of Silver Skeletons” Hotshore
Alley Cat “Sweet Spot” Offshore
Instramental & D-Bridge “Translucent” Darkestral
Thee Darkestral “Remote Value” Offshore
Forsaken “Taiko Dub” Dub
Parson ft. Smoke “Babylon Stomp” Offshore
Unknown vs. Portishead “Strangers Remix” White
Unknown vs. The Specials “Ghost Town Remix” Dub
Thom Yorke “And It Rained All Night (Burial Rmx)” XL
Rossi B & Luca “Jah No Dead” Soul Motive
Consequence “Dreadtone” Darkestral Excursions
Calibre “U Could Dance” Signature
Data “Splice” Metalheadz
Calibre “Don’t Mind” Signature
Physics “Dreamworld (D-Bridge Rmx)” Blindside
Well Being “Smoke Signal” Fokuz

Check it:
Clever at LODA

Here are a few more live sets, recorded over the last several months at LODA:

Check Point 303 – Check Point 303 made their East Coast debut at LODA, performing for only the second time in the US, on 11.21.08. To learn more about them visit: www.checkpoint303.com

Kevin Saunderson - Legendary DJ and Producer Kevin Saunderson performed at LODA on 12.05.08. To learn more about Kevin, please visit: www.kevinsaunderson.com/

Drug Mules - The Drug Mules come packing. After warming things up at LODA for Carl Craig, we brought them back to set the stage for Kevin Saunderson on 12.05.08

Roy Davis Jr. - Chicago resident, house legend and grammy nominated artist Roy Davis Jr. performed at LODA on 12.12.08 as part of a benefit show with Next Aid . Roy laid down an incredible, memorable set of classic and new house that kept people smiling and bumping all night long. To learn more about Roy’s prolific career check this out.

Measax + docindo – A little distorted, but none-the-less a nice mix from LODA residents Max and Jeff.

Charles Martin – Charles of Nuvo Music, opened things up for Luke. There’s a point in the mix where the decks jog. It wasn’t Charles, but a ladder hitting the table!

Luke McKeehan - Nordic Trax head hauncho and Vancouver resident Luke McKeehan was the perfect fit for our last LODA of 2008, 12.19.08. To learn more about Luke and his label visit: www.nordictrax.com/

Expect and look out for big things at LODA in 2009. Till then, enjoy!