Rico Tubbs is a name that’s been floating around many of the blogs in 2008. Tracks of his have been popping up here and there and they have been met with great accolades from some of the biggest tastemakers spanning numerous genres and subcultures. Now, a brand new album, Knuckle Sandwich, packed with Grade A bangers, has just been unleashed to further his dance music domination. It seems, though, most people haven’t a clue who Rico Tubbs actually is.

He is by no means a n00b to the scene. He’s been DJing and producing in his native Finland since ‘94 starting in UK Hardcore and Hiphop and leading into Big Beat, Breakbeat and whatever else you can call his music now. In his home country, he is an electronic music legend producing under his real name Riku Pentti and comprising one half of The Skillsters, credited with producing the first Finnish Hiphop album in history. From there, thanks to his avant garde scratching abilities, Rico joined the venerable big beat troupe, The Bombfunk MC’s as their DJ/Producer/whatever else.

Once big beat faded, Riku reinvented himself again, always retaining that funky hardcore/hiphop vibe, and reemerged in the peaking breakbeat scene as Rico Tubbs and the pseudonym Infekto. Releasing records on KissFM DJ Jay Cunning and Atomic Hooligan’s label Menu Music, he immediately became known for making some of the best peaktimers of the heyday of new school funky breaks. Gradually, his unique breaky sound began to infiltrate the blogs and that brings us to the present.

What sets Rico’s sound apart from everyone else is that he clearly embraces every type of music that he’s ever liked and uses it indiscriminately throughout his tunes. It’s not fidget, its not breakbeat, its not hardcore, its not b-more, but it’s an amalgamation of all of those and more used in an unapologetic, bold manner. Rico’s new album exemplifies that fact and was purposefully filled to the brim with club bangers.

To celebrate said album, available now on Juno, iTunes or wherever else you might find proper music, here’s a taste of what Rico’s been putting forth; a VIP mix of his squelchy bass banger, Hot Girls Dope Boys, done especially for TM. And just to further solidify his authenticity and prove that he’s been doing this since many of you were just a glimmer in your fathers eye, here’s an oldschool hardcore mix that he provided us, containing some of the real classics. So sit back, have a listen, read this short interview and then buy the album. It’s sooooooo good!

Rico Tubbs - Hot Girls Dope Boys (VIP)

Rico Tubbs - HardcoreJungleTeknoRave 91-93

01. Altern-8 : Evaporate (1992,Network)
02. Djs Unite : Djs Unite (1992 ,XL)
03. Shut up and Dance : The green man (1992,shut up and dance)
04. A Home boy, A hippie & Funky dread : Now is the future (1992,Rising high )
05. Two Undercover : Unite (1992,De ja vu)
06. Kaotic Kemistry : Space Cakes ( 1993,Moving Shadow)
07. Q Bass : Hardcore Will Never Die /E type version (1991,Suburban Base)
08. Sonz of a loop da loop era : Far Out (1991,Suburban Base)
09. The Prodigy : Full Throttle (XL,1993)
10. Dance Conspiracy : Dub War Chapter 1(XL,1992)
11. Run tings : Fires Burning (Suburban Base 1992)
12. Krome & Time: This Sound is for the Underground (Suburban Base 1992)
13. Acen : Trip 2 the moon part 2 (Production house 1992)
14. Manix : Alright Wid Me (1993,Reinforced)
15. Manix : Hardcore Junglism (1992,Reinforced)
16.Underground Software : Different ting (1992,Reinforced)
17. Cloud 9 : You got Me Burning (1993,Moving Shadow)
18. Soundclash vs Hackney Hardcore : Hear Gunshots (1993,Strictly Underground)
19. Foul Play : Finest illusion (1993,Moving Shadow)
20. Ltj Bukem& Tayla : Bang the drums (1992,Good looking )

Local Hero: Lets kick it off with an easy one. What are you listening to right now?

Rico Tubbs: Italo disco,”Dance Mania” Chicago house stuff , some 60’s psych rock and Bengas album have been on heavy rotation.

LH: You’ve been producing and releasing records since 1995 in your native Finland. Tell us about some of the early Rico Tubbs projects.

RT: When I got my first releases out it was the time of big beat - sample heavy fun party music. Not much different of what I do now - the hip hop samples and rave elements can be heard through all my production from day one.

LH: Not many producers from the breaks scene have been able to crossover to the electro/blog house scene as successfully as you have. Was this crossover success intended? If so what did you put into the music to garner the crossover appeal?

RT: The crossover was not calculated in any way. My production style is based more on chaos than clear vision and I think Ive done tunes in most genres of electronic music. As a producer/dj you should anyway be intrested in new things and it always amazes me how many purists there are who are stuck into their little box. Now I feel that electronic music is in its most exciting phase in many years.The trend now overlaps the most with what I love in dance music : big and quirky basslines,hip hop or rather hip house and rave.

LH: Seems like you’ve kept quite busy djing so far this year. Whats been the awesomest party you’ve played this year?

RT: I have to say Glade.That was the first festival of that magnitude Ive played. Everything was well organized and the atmosphere was great.

LH: What was the musical aim of your new album? What were you trying to accomplish with it?

RT: My aim was to get a coherent album full of club bangers. I tried to make it so tight that you’d want to get the whole thing - not just pick and choose just 1 or 2 tracks as often is the case among dance albums.

LH: You’ve always maintained an aggressive funky sound but without being cheesy. How and from what influences did you derive the Rico Tubbs style?

RT: When Rico Tubbs was born the sound was influenced by stripped down funk of JB’s and sillyness of Parliament - with some heavy fart bass. Its gone a long way from that during past 5 years but the heavy bass groove is still the core. Now you can hear more of the influence of my hardcore favourites : Altern-8, Manix and early Moving Shadow/Suburban Base. There also some speed garage/bassline there of which I’ve always been a fan of.

LH: Now that the albums done and released, what comes next?

RT: Theres been a lot of remix work of which the latest is for Tittsworth 12 Steps album. Theres also an EP coming on Herve’s label later this year and a track on Finnish b-more club label Top Billin’. There might be a remix album of “Knuckle Sandwich” as well if everything goes by the plan - first out will be Tes La Rok and Muffler remixes of “Gangsters”.

It is quite an honor for an artist to have their music played on BBC’s Radio 1. An achievement that would elate even the biggest fish in the vast music pond. So when a remix of The Death Set’s “Impossible” by Boston’s Etan was aired on U.K.’s Mary Anne Hobbs show in March and in June on Australia’s RTR ‘Out To Lunch Show‘ with Gemma Pike, feelings must have been high! Etan’s remix of “Morning Tide” by The Little Ones crashed the airwaves again on Colin Murray’s Radio 1 show in June. Indeed a start to a fine summer.

Prior to the radio hype, two of Etan’s remixes - The Death Set’s “Impossible (Etan’s Positive Outlook)” (on The Death Set’s ‘Around the World’ 7″) and Daedelus’s “Hrs:Mins:Secs (Etan’s Greenwich Mean Report)”, landed on long time favorite U.K. imprint Ninja Tune. But first came the Tronstep Remixes 12″ with bootleg dance treatment for Caribou, Crystal Castles, and Justice on Broader than Broadway Records – listen at Tronstep Remixes. With a full length in the works for Ninja Tune, out in 2009 - 2010, the future is looking day-glo bright for the young Bostonian.

Music has been running through the veins of 21 year old Etan (aka Nate Donmoyer), since he first heard the Amen breakbeat at age 13. Influenced by Grizzly Bear, Blonde Redhead, daft punk, Radiohead, and The Beatles, Etan describes his sound as “taking the colors I like from electronic music and using them in a song form that may not fit the genre from which they were stolen.”

Modest in stating that luck and a nice guy is what has brought him exposure, Etan has the talent and skill to back it all. “It’s all about being prepared for when luck chooses you,” he says “for me it completely began with two friends at a shop called Proletariat in Cambridge, MA who let me leave mixtapes on the checkout counter.” These mixtapes fell into the hands of a prolific Boston promoter/journalist named David Day who liked Etan’s sound and interviewed him. “He was the first guy to book me in clubs and invited me into the basstown crew. Everything has really been luck.”

Good fortune is on Etan’s side. Surrounded by a rising crew of talent, Basstown breed, consisting of Dj Die Young, Volvox, Red Foxx, Plus Move, Baltimoroder and several other talented folks, Etan continues to cultivate his craft and go beyond. He plays drums in a band called Passion Pit and has written music for “Lost Friend”, a short animation (see video below) by Susan Chien, which can be seen at the 2008 Boston Underground Film Festival.

With upcoming remixes for Radioclit, Micachu, Ghislain Poirier and his hands in a bit of everything, Etan is proving to be inspiring and unstoppable. If it all keeps up, I have a sneaking suspicion we’re all going to be pining for Etan in the coming year! Now check out the solid remixes kicking off with one of my favorite Death Set remixes!!

The Death Set - Impossible (Etan’s Impossible Outlook)

Daedelus - Hrs:Mins:Secs (Etan’s Greenwich Mean Report)

The Little Ones - Morning Tide (Etan’s Groundswell Take)

Nick Catchdubs was nice enough to give us his new mix AND an interview. He is one of my favorite New Yorkers and his label with A-Trak, Fools Gold (maybe you have possibly heard of it?) is killing it right now.

4AM: How and when did you meet A-Trak?

Nick Catchdubs: Roxy used to do Friday night parties on Bowery - I want to say the club was BLVD? Dust La Rock, who would later go on to be the Fool’s Gold graphic designer, did the flyers, it looked like the back of a dollar bill with a Debbie Deb quote about “fog machines and laser rays” on the top. One night, A-Trak and I DJed together, we got booked to do shows in San Francisco and LA soon after, and over the course of hanging out we realized we had a lot in common with music, humor, and haberdashery. From then we just stayed friends, sending mp3s back and forth and talking shit.

4AM: How did you and Trizzy eventually come up with the Fools Gold idea?

NC: He ran the Audio Research label in Montreal for almost a decade with his brother Dave, and realized it had such a strong history as an underground/indie hip-hop label that his new, more electronic-influenced stuff wouldn’t fit. He decided to do a new label and asked me to start it with him. I had already helped out with the launch of Mad Decent (I designed the logo and some of the original Bonde Do Role art, and was brainstorming a lot with Diplo in the early days) and this was an opportunity to get more deeply involved with putting out new, original music. We came up with the name and concept, and then just went from there putting out records.

4AM: Did you have any idea it would take off like it has?

NC: I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t always part of the plan!

4AM: How many hours a day would you say you listen to music?

NC: I’m going THROUGH music constantly - mostly just to check out all the new songs that came out that day, find stuff to play when DJing, or give people a once-over on MySpace. But as far as actually sitting down to fully digest albums and mixes, I only get to do that when I’m traveling or in the car. But I do try to schedule chores around the house around particular radio shows - taking a half hour to do the dishes during DJ Enuff or Mr Cee’s Old School At Noon.

4AM: Best gig ever?

NC: Hmmm - there’s been a bunch of really good ones. “End Times” with Caps N Jones a year or two ago (Switch was randomly there and introduced himself at the end of the night, I was geeked) and the recent Wale “Mixtape About Nothing” release party are two local ones that come to mind right away. Whenever I play with Diplo it’s always fun - just this Sunday we did the Mad Fools party in Central Park and the afterparty at Santos Party House, and over the past year we rocked New Year’s Eve in San Francisco, the New Yorker Festival (old folks get loose!) and a Mad Decent party at Studio B that was the first NYC Blaqstarr show. They were all great.

4AM: Worst gig ever?

NC: Not gonna hurt anyone’s feelings by naming the corporate event in question…

4AM: Most glamourous star studded models and bottles gig ever?

NC: Do “hipster celebrities” count? Lets keep that bag of snakes closed, I’m gonna go with this private Rihanna show at Highline Ballroom that ended up being really fun and unpretentious. I was worried about having to corny it up but I mostly played dancehall.

4AM: Best request ever?

NC: A girl asked for Outkast “Bombs Over Bagdhad” during a set of fast tracks. Yes, of course I can do that!

4AM: Worst request ever?

NC: Bee Gees.

4AM: First record ever bought?

NC: The first records I bought with my own money were Guns N Roses Use Your Illusion 1 and 2, but the first record I ever picked out in a store was the Garbage Pail Kids soundtrack. I couldn’t tell you any songs that were on it, I just loved the Garbage Pail Kids. Who doesn’t?

4AM: Last record you bought?

NC: The Syclops I’ve Got My Eye On You CD. The last mp3 was Lee Jones “Aria” on Beatport.

4AM: First DJ mix that made you say “this is what I want to do” to yourself?

NC: I was collecting records and listening to DJs on the radio all my life, but it wasn’t until the summer I graduated college that I realized it was where I wanted to go with music (which is pretty late in the scheme of things - I had been playing in bands and things like that up to that point). There were a few mixes I heard all around the same time that made the lightbulb go off - Spinbad’s ’80s tapes, Mark Ronson’s promo mix for Digiwaxx for his Here Comes The Fuzz album, and most blatantly, Hollertronix’s Never Scared. They were each presenting music that I liked in new combinations - I figured it would be fun to do that on my own.

4AM: Describe the perfect weekend

NC: Friday night getting real paid, Saturday night going to someone else’s party as a private citizen (but still drinking for free), Sunday walking around (no rain), catching a movie and a good meal.

4AM: Favorite place in NYC to DJ?

NC: My apartment. Sorry, city, but you are going through a “transitional period” right now.

4AM: Favorite DJs/producers right now that are not on Fools Gold?

NC: DJ Eli (though he did do a remix for us), Laidback Luke (ditto), Claude Von Stroke, Fake Blood, Hercules and Love Affair (though I guess it’s really just Andy Butler and Tim Goldsworthy), DJ Sneak, The Dream, Sean C and LV… I could name people for days.

4AM: What song have you played out so bad that you never want to hear it again?

NC: There’s always a time and place for Calabria horns. ALWAYS.

4AM: Best live show you have ever seen?

NC: Portishead sounded amazing at Coachella but the show had no atmosphere. For me, the best shows are always the ones where the artists defy nature and technical difficulties to pull through, that “oh shit!” factor is unbeatable. Feist played at the Fader SXSW tent in 2005 and the wind nearly knocked her over but she just got more and more psyched by it, almost possessed. Peedi Crakk played at the Fader CMJ space two years ago after getting lost in Chinatown, pulling up to the spot minutes before curfew, and still killing it.

4AM: You used to be the editor of Fader correct?

NC: You like that segue right? I was an associate editor there for three years, before leaving to DJ and work on Fool’s Gold full-time last July.

4AM: What was the important thing you learned from working there?

NC: I had no magazine or music industry experience whatsoever when I started - I wasn’t even trying to be a writer, I was just asked to do some stories and interviews, they liked my style, and the job sprouted from there. It was total school for me. I got to travel for the first time in my life and see different artists operate in their home environments. I witnessed records go from creation to label to PR to magazines to stores (and got to learn from other people’s mistakes for free!)

4AM: What should we look out for in the Nick Catchdubs future?

NC: I just finished a mixtape for Timbaland’s new artist Izza Kizza , and an all-Fool’s Gold mix for a 2xCD compilation we’re doing with Scion. I’m really slow on the production side, but I’m working on remixes for El Guincho (out on Mad Decent) and U-God from Wu Tang Clan’s new solo single. I did a remix for MIA’s “Bamboo Banger” that is supposed to (finally) come out as well on XL. I’m working on some original music too, so I can actually put out a record of my own on my label!

4AM: What shoud we look out for in the Fools Gold future?

NC: Tons of records - Kavinsky, Treasure Fingers, Sammy Bananas, Four Color Zack and Pretty Titty, Jokers of The Scene, Nacho Lovers, Trackademicks, Bag Raiders, Congorock, Crookers, LA Riots, Malente, Kid Sister’s full album, that Scion comp, and some surprises of course…

4AM: Favorite Simpsons episode?

NC: Just one? That’s un-possible! I love them all. 22 Short Films about Springfield is my favorite now, but it always changes. Itchy And Scratchy And Poochie is up there too.

Nick Catchdubs - Slick

01. Pase Rock “Get Money Kids”
02. 50 Cent “I Get Money (Catch On 45)”
03. Trap House “Step Into”
04. Bad Yard Club “In De Ghetto (GrandTheft Remix)”
05. Dukeyman “Shine”
06. DJ Sega “Everybody Handz Up”
07. Machines Don’t Care “Juggs”
08. Mr Vegas “Round Of Applause”
09. Moby “I Love To Move In Here (Crookers Bass In Here Mix)”
10. Nacho Lovers “Acid Life”
11. Jamie Anderson and Content “Body Jackin”
12. DJ Big Red “Jakybodi”
13. DJ Will Roc “Replay Again”
14. Loco Dice “Pimp Jackson Is Talking Now!!!”
15. Lil Bo Tweak “K Rizzle”
16. 2 Bad Mice “Hold It Down”
17. Bassbin Twins “Woppa”
18. Loefah “It’s Yours”
19. Big Tuck “Not A Stain On Me”
20. Busta Rhymes “I Got Bass”

NC: I didn’t want to add to the pile of “new music” mixes with interchangeable tracklists - some of this is brand new, some of it isn’t out yet, some of it is “recent vintage” (or old as hell but new to me), but it all has a nice swag to it. Retro? Not retro? Most of my current favorites have similar elements (throwback house/rave samples, fast raps, dancehall vocals, breakbeats, sometimes all in the same song) so I figured, why not put a bunch together for a picture of where my head is at this summer? I hope you enjoy the listen, I had fun connecting the dots.

Pase Rock “Get Money Kids”
50 Cent “I Get Money (Catch On 45)”
“Get Money Kids” is far and away my favorite song of the past few months, it’s like Pase and Eli sat down at the computer and said “Man, the Juice soundtrack really needs more hip-house…” I usually mix it live into some sped-up Serato loops of 50 and Milk Dee to keep the $$$ theme alive.

Trap House “Step Into”
Way too many WUBBA WUBBA WUBBA basslines lately, but this one still manages to stand out - a crowd-pleaser that breaks the formula juuust enough. Thanks, Australia.

Bad Yard Club “In De Ghetto” (GrandTheft Remix)
On the school bus everyone knew chants from club songs like “Beat that bitch with a bat…” and “It’s time for the percolator…” from the older kids, but no one really knew it as “house music.” It wasn’t until a party in 6th or 7th grade when this girl played “Witch Doktor” and “In De Ghetto” on cassingle that I realized a whole separate thing was going on. Sammy Bananas hit me a few weeks ago with this new mix of “In De Ghetto” by DJ GrandTheft of the Eh! Team, it chops up the original without getting too flagrant.

Dukeyman “Shine”
Shyne finally gets out this year. You know he converted to Judaism in prison? L’chaim!

DJ Sega “Everybody Handz Up”
As we continue on with the Bad Boy flips, this track is a MONSTER. I think it is gonna be on the “DJ Sega Saves Hip-Hop” EP that’s coming soon.

Machines Don’t Care “Juggs”
Lots of goodies on the MDC album, but this one is a particular favorite. Best dancehall song on the subject since Vybz Kartel “Breast Specialist”?!?

Mr Vegas “Round Of Applause”
Moby “I Love To Move In Here (Crookers Bass In Here Mix)”
The Vegas song really just a vocal and some handclaps, so it’s a lot of fun to loop other shit up on top, and Crookers made it easy with their open drum intro (PS - excellent remix package on the new Moby single!) I cut the Grandmaster Caz verse with cue points but that’s not because he isn’t awesome - a few years ago Ayres and I hung out with the legend himself at the Heineken “Amsterjam” festival on Randall’s Island, where Caz was MCing the mash-up tent, also starring Diplo, DJ P, Princess Superstar and Matt and Fancy from Fannypack. Viva 2005! I think I bought Fantastic Four “Thing Hands” at Target when we got back to Brooklyn that day.

Nacho Lovers “Acid Life”
Obviously I’m biased, but this is one amazing-ass record. Something old, something new…lots more from Toronto’s premier techno scholars on Fool’s Gold very soon.

Jamie Anderson and Content “Body Jackin”
DJ Big Red “Jakybodi”
I didn’t know about this remake until A-Trak started playing it on the last label tour. It’s been in my rotation ever since, with the DJ Big Red track batting clean-up.

DJ Will Roc “Replay Again”
Dance music took so heavily from Baltimore club over the past few years, and now the veterans are going off in new directions of their own. It’s inspiring to see a label like Unruly reinvent themselves - the recent King Tutt and Chavy Boys EPs and this hypnotic, electronic Will Roc track are some of their best.

Loco Dice “Pimp Jackson Is Talking Now!!!”
I know absolutely nothing about Loco Dice, but this has been a late-night sureshot of mine, it bumps like a less zany Detroit Grand Pubahs. “We in Brooklyn baby, this is how we get down!”

Lil Bo Tweak “K Rizzle”
2 Bad Mice “Hold It Down”
Trevor Loveys and Co’s stuff as Lil Bo Tweak manages to feel incredibly current while referencing jams of yesteryear with all the samples and even the name (Lil Mo Yin Yang, anyone?). Conversely, the 2 Bad Mice came out in 1991 and sounds like it could have been made this morning.

Bassbin Twins “Woppa”
Loefah “It’s Yours”
I wish more dubstep felt like these two instead of zzzzzzzzzz.

Big Tuck “Not A Stain On Me”
Had to drop straight out of the Loefah with this. The beat is just a Beastie Boys loop, but goddamn! Another recent favorite that never really broke in NYC. Dallas rappers’ haircuts are too crazy for us.

Busta Rhymes “I Got Bass”
This isn’t a half-assed “A Millie” - Bangladesh is doing some neat shit with the Chuck D sample chorus and oddly-timed edits, and Busta’s flow is off the wall. “This shit be soundin like a thousand mosquitos buzzin/ Like hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm, hmm hmm…”

Ever since Trash’s KMD introduced us to the exceptional sounds of Birmingham’s Deluka, they’ve been on a hot streak and we’ve been HOOKED! Chances are you may have heard their tune ‘Sleep Is Impossible’ played in your living room over your last round of Grand Theft Auto IV. Beyond car chases, their album ‘Broken Sleeping Patterns’, released mid March on Japanese imprint, Fabtone, features a fine remix of “Flashbacks” by Hooker and De Freitas.

Where were you in 92? It was the year Michael Hooker of Hooker and De Freitas began his music obsession. “Music excites me and has since the first mix tape I was handed in 1992. The rave scene was in full swing and I was far too young to party, but the vibes from this tape was the start of my obsession.” And with that obsession, long time friends Michael Hooker and Elcias De Freitas, also producing under the name JE2, got to work combining their different styles to remix music by Deluka, Trash Money, Atelier Nouveau, Client, and numerous tracks by the gleeful Birmingham band Trash Fashion.

“I love the music scene at the moment,” says Michael, “I do not think that so many different groups of people have crossed into different genres ever.” Working with a plethora of styles is exactly what JE2 and Hooker and De Freitas like to do – mixing electro, breakbeat, house, classic party anthems, and more. Currently the Birmingham-based duo are working on their debut solo material and have completed the follow up to their recent track ‘Start The Beat’, with remixes by Jonze, Uncle Buck, The Hats and C.O.C. The newest track features guest vocals from Jet Storm of Trash Fashion. They’ll be out for digital download, September, on Italian label The Family Records. Meantime, Hooker and De Freitas plan to complete a few bootleg projects for free download and get to work on some old disco and funk tracks. Keep an ear out!

Deluka - Flashbacks (Hooker and De Freitas Remix)

Deluka - Broken Sleeping Patterns - Featuring the Hooker & De Freitas remix of Flashback
Available on Japanese import only (cd)
Zavvi.co.uk
101cd.com

Start The Beat available on Beatport

Utah saints -Something Good 08

Time and again I end up browsing over on the D&B side of things, checking the latest on one of my all time favorite D&B producers, High Contrast. His brilliant production gets me every time!!!!!! Caught him a few years back here in Chicago – truly memorable.

“Something Good” by Utah Saints has been out for some time and the High Contrast remix was released 17th March on Data Records. I love it and thought I’d post it along with the Utah Saints video, which makes me grin – Shuffle dance?? Utah Saints “What Can You Do For Me?” appears on the recent Bristol UK boys, ‘Outlaws Feat. Bez Lennon: It’s Not French, But It’s F*cking ‘Aving It’ mixtape that recently started a slew of emails that brought the bloggens together in unity, weather reports and football dreams. I’ll get around to posting that. For now, this isn’t bloghouse. Rinse it out!!!!!

Utah Saints - Something Good 08′ (High Contrast Remix)

Available for purchase on Breakbeat Science, Juno, Track it down

The Bloody Beetroots and Crookers aren’t the only stars to come out of Italy these days. Milan’s 3 IS A CROWD are quickly creating a buzz with their production, as well as edits and remixes for the likes of Crookers, Congorock, Fagget Fairys, Yelle, Armand Van Helden, Amari and others. Things are lookin’ mighty good for them as they’re currently collaborating with Larry Tee, Bryan Cox, Chew Fu Phat and have several releases due to come out on a few labels!

Consisting of three members, Alberto, Francesco and Ivo, 3IAC are influenced by just about everything that is good in music today – house, fidget, crunk, electro, funk, breaks, broken beat and jazz. If you spend your time watching the music that is covered on the blogosphere, more than likely you’ve heard past 3IAC remixes for Congorock, “Exodus (3IAC Back to Home Remix)”, as well as the Fagget Fairys, “Uzela (3IAC Crunch My Crunk Remix)”. Both caught my attention and are fine examples of the kind of work these guys are making. Their latest, “Take It Back”, proves it!

So what is in the pipeline for 3IAC? Francesco clued me in on the latest happenings, along with how this Italian trio came to be and two of their latest remixes.

“News about us: We are finally about to sign a contract with RuNT Records for a release; the name of the EP will be “Amarillo EP” and will feature 3 tracks. We have received a proposal for a couple of releases on A New Hope Records; We still have to release our EP for Italian Indie label Mozzarella Records (this release will feature our tracks “Bullshit”, “Guns”, “Almighty Vibes” and a remix) and of course we are waiting for our remix for Bryan Cox’s “Where You At?” to come out on his Crux Records label. We are collaborating with his blog Crux Da House as well and we are working on several tracks including a remix for Larry Tee!

About gigs: We’ll be playing alongside Congorock in Rome the 23rd of May, with the Crookers the 1st of June and in Berlin the 6th of June and we have a gig in London in July that still has to be confirmed.

Start of 3IAC: “In 2004 we started the project 3 Is A Crowd as a dj collective where we could express ourselves and our different musical tastes both in djing and producing electronic music. We used to play different styles on the decks including techno, electro, hip hop, breakbeat and some drum ‘n’ bass too!

Things began to change after a Crookers Edit we made in 2007 that made us become a little bit popular in the blog world. So at that time we were interested in this new sound clash between house, hip hop and techno and that’s why we started working hard on our own tracks as well as remixes and edits: we started to rework different acts and artists such as The Chemical Brothers, Fagget Fairys, Congorock, Yelle, Amari etc.

We believe that every remix we have done so far has its own personality and a “3IAC” flavour: We are trying to make our production recognizable but at the same time we are putting different ideas around to make people enjoy what we do. The Tamborzuda remix we made starting from the original acapella, received compliments from Daniel Haaksman from Man Recordings. Other supporters of our music have been Drop The Lime/Curses!, Dj Fame, Dj Orgasmic, Dj Donna Summer, Scuola Furano, Blatta & Inesha, Bryan Cox, Larry Tee, amongst others.

“Now we are trying to get inspired from other styles: One of our two new remixes for the Italian indie rock band, “Perturbazione“, (”Nel Mio Scrigno Pianissimo Remix”) is showing our interest for a clash between electronic music and real played instruments that we would like to develop in the future, alongside our dance production. Anyway, we hope that we will make people dance and bounce around the globe! Make sure to check our MySpace for more news and don’t forget to take a listen to our special mixes!”

older, still a favorite

Congorock - Exodus (3IAC Back To Home Mix)

3 Is A Crowd - Take It Back

Alphabeat - 10000 Nights of Clubbing (3IAC Remix)

Perturbazione - Nel Mio Scrigno (3IAC Fortissimo Remix)

NIGHTSWEATS is the budding project of Ryan Moore (Kid Nexus) and Johan Collins. Based out of the field of Springs, Springfield, Missouri, the duo have been together a few months and are about as fresh as the morning dew!! For their debut, they’ve produced, “CU Next Tuesday” and remixed Foals, “Electric Bloom“.

Speaking of Missouri, St Louis in specific, back in ‘94, midwest rave promoters, Superstars of Love, were throwing some fantastic, get your sweat on-dance til the wee hour, raves. Highly memorable parties.

Nightsweats have been involved with music in one aspect or another. Ryan as a breakbeat producer/ label owner and partner Johan as a DJ/event promoter. Johan is also part of an indie-electro night thrown by Black Box Revue, in Springfield, Missouri.

If you like what you hear, this link will take you to the last.fm Nightsweats remix of Foals, “Electric Bloom”. As mentioned in the Foals feature below, the top 10 winners chosen are based on how many plays they’ve had. After the 10 are narrowed down, they are voted on by Foals. GOOD LUCK to all!!!!!

Nightsweats - CU Next Tuesday (Dirty version)

Foals - Electric Bloom (Nightsweats Remix)

The Chosen Two is Wiesel and Captain Koma. Wiesel is also recently producing as Easy is Dead. Both projects have a way with the bouncy bouncy that seems to pull a bit here and there from disco, funk, breaks, electro, but with a unique clarity and joviality. This is pulsing, concentrated goofy happiness. I personally dug their stuff enough to help them with some animated GIFs for their myspace profile.

These dudes, split between Berlin and Hamberg, Germany, have been doing multiple projects with multiple names individually and together for a bit, and as Wiesel and Captain Koma got props in February’s “Mixmag” with the breakbeat tune of the month for their track “Nice” (Ruff Dog Records). As “The Chosen Two” they were poised to release their first EP, until recently, but through some rather shady circumstances are now looking for a new label.

Today we’ve got some 128kbps MP3s. At 128kbps they aren’t ideal for front line usage, but Wiesel says if you need 320kbps for mixing, feel free to drop a line on their myspace and they might oblige. Enjoy the bounce!!!

The Chosen Two - Two Much

The Easy is Dead - Easy is Alive

We had to repost this as we were getting some errors with one of the files. Sorry if this inconveniences anyone!

Stanton Warriors accepting “Best DJ” award, photo courtesy of Sharon Alboni

Breakspoll 2008. It’s over. I went, got trampled on by the feet of a thousand breakbeat fanatics, but I’ve lived to tell the tale.

Fabric, Thursday 28th February, London. Imagine a sea of acid house ravers, gay house boys, chavs, and a myriad of sub-genre representatives dancing in a very small dark and sweaty box. Watered-down drinks at £5 a pop. The only glimmer of light breaking through the blackness and shining onto upraised hands produced by lasers. Then, hearing some of the world’s best speaker-bashing breakbeat. Nine hours of back-to-back breakbeat sets. Sick.

Highlights include seeing Atomic Hooligan (recently featured on TM) perform just after scooping up an award for best live act, dancing to Deekline & Wizard’s bass-heavy set, bumping into General Midi, and last but not least my mate Niall finding us a room-sized hole in the wall to dance in.

Atomic Hooligan delivering a belter, photo courtesy of Sharon Alboni

It was all a bit much for me. Fabric was rammed to the gills, and there wasn’t a second that I wasn’t nudged, pushed, or elbowed out of the way. Half the people were munted, shuffling aimlessly the entire night in and out of rooms. Bless the hard-core breaks lovers, who kept the dance floor nice and warm.

Next year I’m either reserving front-row seats or going whole hog and joining the march of the dead!

I know it’s slack of me to go all that way & not announce the winners - it’s been a long week.

Breakspoll Winners 2008

Best Album: ILS - Paranoid Prophets

Best Single: Plump DJs - System Addict (Fingerlickin)

Best Remix: The Autobots & Screwface - Flesh Eater (General Midi Remix)

Best Label: Fingerlickin Records

Best Live Act: Atomic Hooligan

Best Producer: Plump DJs

Best DJ: Stanton Warriors

Best Breakthrough Producer: Alex Metric

Best Breakthrough Label: Tricksta

Best Breakthrough DJ: Plaza de Funk

Best Large Club/Event: Eargasm

Best Small Club/Event: Fuse

Best Radio Station: NSB Radio

Best Radio Show: Annie Nightingale

Best Retailer: Know How Records

Best Website: NuSkoolBreaks.co.uk

Outstanding Contribution To Breaks: Paul Arnold

http://www.breakspoll.com

Beatport, the electronic music mp3 merchants, launched their first music awards, aptly named Beatport Music Awards. Voting kicks off on Tuesday 18th March 2008, giving all users the opportunity to vote for the best electronic music artists of 2007, according to Beatport sales charts.

The awards are broken down into 19 categories including Best Artist categories from each genre and the multi-genre Best Remix and Best Single. Genres covered include breakbeat, chillout, deep house, tech house, drum n bass, electro house, dubstep & grime, house, techno, electronica - to name the proverbial few.

Since the launch of the new award, complaints from users have been rolling in. Some say that the nominee lists are too narrow, while others bemoan the fact that customers can’t buy all the tracks listed due to “territorial restrictions”. Others pointed out that many artists appear in several categories (eg. Trentemoller appears in “Best Chillout Artist”, “Best Electronica Artist”, “Best Minimal Artist”, and “Best Tech House Artist”).

Jonas Tempel, Beatport CEO/Founding Partner, jumped smack into the online debate and explained:

“The BMA’s are our first attempt to really reach out and recognize the artists that are pushing the sound of electronic music. We appreciate the open debate on the quality of our efforts. Believe me, we read these posts and try to adjust our efforts based on user input. As you can imagine, putting together an awards program is tough with all the awesome music that is released every week. Basing it over a year is even harder.”

Publicity ploy or really great idea? I dunno. I stopped believing in the Easter bunny a long time ago. Check out the nominees (below) and see whether your vote is worth casting.

Long live electronic music!

The Beatport Music Awards 2008 Nominees

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Photo courtesy of Michael Berrigan

Cosmo is back with a load of goods! He has teamed up with Mister Ed (up and coming DJ/promoter from Montreal), from Nu Ravers on the Block, with a remix of “Ce Jeu”, by the French group, Yelle. Lots of sidechain action on this and a great one for those on the dancefloor!!

He has also sent us two other tracks including a remix of “Armageddon”, by the early 90’s breakbeat hardcore duo, Altern-8, that played gigs in “chemical warfare suits” and “gas masks” filled with Vic’s Vapo Rub – A classic back when he was a young lad at the tender age of 17. (Hostage has also remixed an Altern-8 track, “Frequency”) Check the old skool video below, it’s a real pleaser! “Teaser”, is another great track that will definitely wind things up at your next session. I love it, and think you will too.

Some more exciting projects finalizing soon, that include a 5 song EP with Cosmo’s group, The Junkies, which is about to be released sometime this January on Petrol/emi. His remix of Shiny Toy Guns’, “Rainy Monday”, was picked by Universal/Motown Records for immediate release as both hard press and digital. Nice one.

Yelle - Ce Jeu (Cosmo & Mr. Ed Remix)

Altern-8 - Armageddon (Cosmo Remix)

Cosmo & Mr. Ed - Teaser

WATCH YOUR BASS BINS!!

UK breaks producer Sam Hell is, as they say, sitting pretty in pink.

The Northern breaks darling, recently snatched up by Sinister Recordings, has released yet another killer track on the label, his piece d’ resistance, “Bone Snow”, coupled with a remix from Aussie breaks badboy Dopamine. I first wrote about Sam Hell after meeting him at a secret festival, where I twisted his arm to make a mix for TM.

Several releases and remixes later (in a few short months), Sam Hell still never fails to deliver the goods.

“Bone Snow” is a stomping, unapologetically electro house, 4-to-the-floor, bass show-stealer. Dopamine’s remix licks the tune into shape, giving it a nice breakbeat polish. The track is currently number 5 on the breaks bestsellers 12″ chart over at Know How Records in Camden, while meanwhile it nicely graces DJ Download’s Top 20 downloads.

But what do the critics say?

“Yep, yep, pounding electric sounding ass-sling with a well cool groove” — Lisa Lashes

“This is a killer!” — Lee Coombs

“10 out of 10″ — The Crystal Method

Pretty sweet for a newcomer.

Down on the south coast (Brighton & London), Sam Hell’s tunes are winning hearts. Every breaks DJ bag and CD case I’ve rummaged through in the past few months has at least one of his tracks tucked inside. The Brighton breaks scene is getting a lot of mileage from the Groove Diggerz remix of “Stay Out All Night” and his remix of the Beat Monkeys’ “Lords of Eldorand”, which both sound refreshingly punchy, yet uncomplicated on a proper soundsystem. The word is out.

“Bone Snow” is Sam Hell’s best tune to date. He’ll have to work hard to top it, but I think probably knows that.

Buy it

Beatport
DJ Download.com
Juno Records
Streetwise Music

BONUS: I’m featuring Sam Hell’s interview with Ian aka DJ Daniella Downs from Sinister Recordings just for a giggle. It seemed Sam Hell wanted to cut through the booty talk and get to the music — while Ian just wanted to talk about the Spice Girls.

“Sam Hell: Unleashed!”– Sinister Recordings November newsletter:

Starting this issue, i’m going to pick the brain of someone related to Sinister every month. This issue, I have a nice chat with recent ass kicker Sam Hell. His last Sinister release, “Stay Out All Night” was a fine slab of techfunk greatness, and his latest, “Bone Snow” is making serious waves in both the breakbeat and electro communities. Be sure to pick up his current remix of the Beatmonkey’s “Lords of Eldorand” as well - it’s spanking clubs all over the world. So sit back, and enjoy the read.

Ian: I get this question all the time, so I love asking it - Where did you get Sam Hell from?

Sam Hell: From a New York hard rock band I used to listen to lots when I was about 13 or 14 called Helmet. It’s the name of the closing track on an album called “Betty”. It’s a crazy track with a banjo.

Ian: I hear you are going to be a featured artist on myspace? I have to ask - What do you think of Tila Tequila? Fit, or not really?

SH: Yeah, she looks like a very nice girl.

Ian: Speaking of myspace, I see that you like the color pink…

SH: Yeah, no one seems to be digging it though. I was going for the front cover of the Royal Tenenbaums

Ian: See, that’s clever. Even I didnt get it, but now that i do, it is a lot less feminine. Who is your favorite character from the movie?

SH: Eli Cash (Owen Wilson) - There’s a bit where he goes thru the window of the house and says “Where’s my shoe?” I have to keep rewinding a rewatching that bit. At least ten times. Classic!

Ian: That is indeed funny. I love ben stiller and his matching track jackets for him and the kids. And the fire escape plan drills - excellent! But let us move on…You seem to have exploded out onto the scene this year. To what do you owe your sound?

SH: I guess if we’re talking way back and coming forward I’d say Nine Inch Nails opened the doors from rock music to electronica and from there the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers and the Crystal Method. And from there, Adam Freeland and the Plumps and breakbeat. They are the people I owe the most to I’d say.

Ian: How did you get hooked up with Sinister?

SH: Through the wonders of Myspace. I had only one track called “Trash” in my player but they liked the sound of it and wanted to hear more. I spent a few months working on new material (more…)