Dj Afro Monk

I’ve been asked by a few people what are the events that I’m considering on going to this Winter Music Conference in Miami for 2010. WMC can get a bit wild and you never want to miss someone you’d want to see and found out about it too late (Rusko LIVE at Apple Store 2009). Right now this is what I’ve collected so far.

Wednesday:
Bang Bang @ White room
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ViRam @ Mekka
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Galaxy Music Gathering @ 90 Degrees
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Witness the Sickness @ Twelve Lounge
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Stanklove @ Jazzid

Thursday:
SMOG vs Basshead @ White Room
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World of Drum & Bass @ Mekka
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Friday:
Future Sound and Breaks @ Mekka
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Dub N Bass II @ Living Room
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Saturday:
Slippery @ Cinema (Upstairs + Patio)
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Dubstep Massive @ Cinema (Downstairs)
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Metal Headz vs Bassline @ Heathrow
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Sunday:
Down WMC Edition @ Cinema
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WMC 2010 So Far…
Alright I did a bit of searching to see what I could find out.
I figured many of the parties from last year were returning plus heard some rumors about other parties so here’s what I got so far.

I’m excited to see who is headlining these events.
Also hyped to know that Datsik & Caspa will be in town considering I haven’t seen either of the two.

March 24th
Bang Bang @ White Room
ViRam
Craze’s WMC Party
Stanklove WMC @ Jazid?
TruSkool Breaks @ Steel Toast

March 25th
Smog vs Basshead @ White Room
World of Drum & Bass @ Mecca

March 26th
Future Sound of Break
Dub N Bass 2

March 27th
Metal Headz vs Bassline @ Heathrow
Glitch Hop Showcase Party
Dubstep Showcase
Caspa somewhere…

March 28th
AM Showcase
Dubstep.fm + Down @ Cinema

Here is an amazing compilation put together by Pitchfork, XLR8R, Syfy, & Create Digital Music.

This is the first release from new series called Caprica. This one is titled Music for Our Future. Great title with amazing producers on this like: Low Limit, Hudson Mohawke, Untold, & Otto!

The main reason I’m posting this besides for the obviousness of needing to share BUT it’s cause Miami’s own Otto Von Shirach is on this. Big up to Otto for this! This man is a legend! Not to mention one of the coolest cats in the scene here.

The track list is straight heat!

1. Lusine - Gravity
2. Atlas Sound - Walkabout w/ Noah Lennox
3. Hudson Mohawke - Fuse
4. White Rainbow - Raw Shanks a Million
5. King Midas Sound - Outta Space *Slow Version*
6. Low Limit - Turf Day
7. Willits & Sakamoto - Toward Water
8. The Field - I have the Moon, You have the Internet *Gold Panda Remix*
9. Tyondai Braxton - Uffie’s Woodshop
10. Untold - Luna
11. Nice Nice - See Waves
12. Richard Devine - Matvec Interior w/ OTTO VON SHIRACH
13. Peter Kirn - Anaxagoras

Download Music for Our Future

I was asked awhile back by my amazing new friend, Adam aka Munkz, if I wanted to DJ a house party. It would have to be a glitch hop funk oriented set similar to Pretty Lights show we had recently been to. I Agreed.

Women are silly creatures and turns out party was a no go at their place. I let Adam know that I have no problem moving the event to my house. I’ve been working on this parties set for awhile and had tons of friends asking if they could attend this event. He said forsure and December 18th is my first small glitch event. I’ve been hard at work and in a matter of less than a month I’ve picked up Ableton and APC40. It’s going to be the start of something BIG!

The party is a few days away now and feel fairly comfortable and ready for this. Instead of recording a live mix for December I plan on recording my set at this party and releasing it as my December mix.

Get ready Miami I’m going to try my best to bring this glitch sound to the mainstream as much as I can. Makes me sad when I see the events that go on the other side of the States. Miami, I believe in you and hope you embrace this.

Expect a more IDM Glitch mix for January. December has been more oriented to the glitch-hop and going to start 2010 with more of a mellow IDM feel of glitch.

After I record this mix on Friday hopefully it’ll be the last piece of my resume for Glitch.FM. This might get me the radioshow I’ve always wanted and goal for 2009 reached.

Big things popping in 2010!

I’ve recently been shown a new up and coming artist tracks. I’m all about that crazy dubstep fifth even if its just laying in bed, driving, work, or club. As much as the growing trend is to hate the aggressive styles of some dubstep producers, welcome to you’re worst nightmare haters!

Tomba is about to explode all over your face. This guy’s styles are quite parallel with the infamous Borgore’s style. Mind blowing samples to hook you in and then unleash pure bass all up in your face.

Keep your ear out for this man.
He has two upcoming releases coming out on Rottun Records and Bass Punch Records.
Also don’t be surprised if you catch a fresh new mix tape by him in near future.
You might also be lucky enough to catch him on UK tour in the works.

Big up to you Tomba!

WMC 2010 Dates are Official, Tuesday March 23rd to Saturday March 27th.

I have such a great feeling about the upcoming events. I know lots of people here have already started making arrangements. Looks like I’ll also be involved in an event if all goes well. Recently been quite active in the Glitch community and they might be trying to throw a party. Right now it’s being discussed so we’ll have to see what the future holds.

WMC is one of the biggest events that goes on in the city of Miami when it comes to electronic music. The infamous Ultra Music Festival is a massive event that people from all over the world come into town for. The week is full of madness and parties non-stop.

If 2010’s WMC is anything close to WMC 2009 I’ll die happy, probably will die considering don’t know how I survived work or sleep deprivation.

Last year I was lucky enough to catch: Plastician, Skream, Benga, Shy FX, 12th Planet, Mala, Rusko, Kutz, Juan Basshead, & many more.

The most exciting part of this upcoming WMC is the fact that Glitch will be present. I don’t care if we have to setup a party in the park or small venue, it will happen.

Dubstep is gaining some groups all over the world. I am fortunate enough to be in a solid location for Dubstep. Miami has become a common place for electronic DJs from all over the world to visit since the Winter Music Conference (WMC) is held here.

For the past couple of years we’ve had the pleasure to see someone of the greatest and pioneers in Dubstep visit us. We have to thank all the promoters and investors because we’ve become quite spoiled.

With the success of these events more parties have been able to happen. At the current time there is a chance you can hit up a solid party with the underground sounds of Drum & Bass and Dubstep every week. If you live in Miami or just a visitor be sure to check out any of these events.

Get Low at Vagabond
This is the big party everyone waits for. It always has a promising line up.  Never have gone to one of these events and not had a great time. Not to mention Vagabond sports a sick Funktion One sound system and never disappoints.

Upcoming artist: Borgore, Joker with Nomad, & Noah D (maybe?)

Arcade at White Room (Saturday’s)
This is a brand new night that has big promises all over it. My major concern is the setup for some of these big DJs. I have yet to go to an event there where there was no issue with sound or technical difficulties. I’m sure they’ll have it in control with all these big names passing through.

Upcoming artist: Bassnectar, Klever, Drop the Lime, & Rusko

Dubbed Out at Hulas (Thursday’s)
This has more of an underground feel from even stepping into the venue. Construction isn’t done but they’ve agreed to keep the party going on. Tons of old sounds of Drum & Bass with some Dubstep and Reggae

Stank Love at Jazid (Last Saturday of Month)
I’ve gone to a couple of these and got to love the feel of this event. It’s at Jazid which is a great venue for these parties. Upstairs the bass is pumping and just enough room to dance around. Even features live artist at times.

Takeover at Maracas (second Saturday of month)
I’ve yet to check this event out but from what I’ve heard its a smasher. Can’t go wrong mixing Tacos and Bass. You’ll be sure to find some dubstep in the wide variety of sounds going on there with the Digital Felon crew.

Digital:Insight at Fat Cats (ever first Monday of month)
This is another event I have yet to show up for. I have been to Fat Cats and it’s a chill bar. Have great memories of the last time I went out to Fat Cats. One of best nights of the year =)

Drum and Dub at The Living Room (Wednesday’s)
I’ve yet to go to this location ever. The line up is always solid with some of the favorite local Dubstep DJs. This is another event I need to make some time for during the week.

Miami Dubstep - There’s a new weekly night in town starting October 17th, Arcade at White Room. This is going to be another big event every week to add to the dubstep scene here in Miami. The first night to kick off brings in legendary DJ Bassnectar back to Miami. Bassnectar is one of the biggest acts around that brings the bass and energy levels to new heights. He headlined one of the nights at Lollapalooza this year and there’s unbelievable footage of it on the net that you should check out.

The week after that on October 24th they have Drop the Lime stopping by. I know a lot of people are anticipating checking that night. I’m sure you’ll see a large diverse group of people that night. Drop the Lime has made quite a name for himself running the Trouble & Bass label. He sounds take from all sorts of roots and blends it into this trendy bass loving sound that people have come to love.

Halloween lands on a Saturday so you know what that means… Halloween party and a special guest, 12th Planet. As of now I don’t have set plans for Halloween but this might be a consideration for the night. 12th Planet aka Infiltra comes all the way from the West Coast to rock it. I caught him a WMC party at White Room and he plays some fresh cuts. Let’s see what my Halloween brings me…

November 7th right now is listed as Mixhell on the bill. While to be completely honest I’ve never heard of the Mixhell project I’m sure it might be something work checking out considering it’s a husband and wife dou. From reading up quite a bit about them it seems like they are quite diverse in their sound. Igor Cavalera, was the drummer for Sepultura and has tons of projects he works on. This might be something different and going to see what happens that night. I’ve seen Caspa’s name come up for this same night so we’ll see what happens.

November 14th brings Klever. This one I’m quite excited about. I’m hoping that Craze joins him for this set. Klever is one of the best turntablist right now in my opinion and when he teams up with Craze it gets WILD. This is a show I definitely plan on attending and really hope they have the setup where you can actually catch him scratching. This should be a great night if there are no issues with the decks or needle bouncing.

That is quite a line up for a new weekly event. Saturday’s definitely seem to have gotten a lot better here in Miami for bass lovers. After Nov 14th there is an empty gap that I’m sure will get filled up but we do know that Rusko is coming into town December 19th. Rusko absolutely murders dance floors. I’ll never forget the night I first saw him live at WMC. He is one of the coolest nicest guys out there.

If there any event I’m looking forward too its Bassnectar and definitely Rusko!
I’m sure this is only the start of more good things to come to Miami.

Miami Dubstep is alive and recently made a post highlighting the glorious Get Low event at Vagabond and all the big acts that have come through Miami. What I didn’t get into was the local DJs that help represent our city of bass.

This is for all you DJs that have repped Dubstep and play out in the clubs!
This is a list of local DJs that I know of that actually have been playing out in recent months.
Please let me know if you want to be added to this list.

Juan Basshead

This is one of the head honchos of the club we use to love Laundry Bar aka Black Sheep. He is one of the main reasons Miami has been blessed with some of the biggest names in Dubstep and Drum & Bass. He use to go by Burn but has converted to the new alias of Juan Basshead. Basshead comes from his established label with A-Sides that has put out some big records. This man does it all. He brings his own style of music into every set leaving tracks stuck in our heads and showing all of us was the meaning of dubplate really is, EXCLUSIVE SHIT! He’s world renown pretty much haha and friendly with some of the biggest names in the Dubstep scene. Despite all that and the fame he’s one of the most down to Earth guys and straight forward people. Juan doesn’t really put out many mixes out but you can be sure to catch him spinning at almost every big Dubstep event going on in the city, even outside of Miami sometimes! He recently was on the UM radio station promoting Get Low and Basshead Records…

Otto Von Schirach

This guy is a mastermind. One of the oddest people from what I can tell and that’s a compliment. I haven’t had the pleasure of speaking to him but have caught him numerous times live. He is a pioneer in the genre of Breakcore and has put out TONS of material out. He’s one of those guys who travels all around but makes it know that he is from Miami. His live performances are nothing sort of amazing. It’s more of a show than a DJ set when he has Peasant with Feathers alongside. He has been a huge contributor bringing new and diverse sounds to Miami. I’ll never forget the two nights I’ve caught him with Venetian Snares. Another big artist he has worked with is Modeselektor on their album Happy Birthday! Despite his major involvement in breakcore you can catch him spinning Dubstep at Get Low events. Be sure to check out any of his albums and latest release on Basshead Records.

SomeJerk

This guy is one of the first names I heard of when I started a search for Dubstep in Miami. He is one of the few producers of the dubstep sound and remember listening to Sobriety back when it was first put on his myspace. This man brings a serious passion for the music and is always hard at work. He currently represents Digital Felons and works on tons of projects. You can be sure he’ll always be up to date on the latest news in music. He also runs a new blog Pattern Awareness where you can find out all the latest scoop. SomeJerk has opened up for some of the largest names that have come around town. His sets are electrifying and just keep getting better and better every time I catch him spinning. If he’s not up there blasting tunes he’s on the dance floor throwing down skanking hard. Be sure to catch him at any of the dubstep events like Stank Love, Digital:Insight, Takeover, etc…

Gooddroid

Another lover of all types of electronic music Gooddroid. She plays from Dubstep to UK Funky and will have you dancing it up all night. She’s no stranger to dubstep playing in almost all the venues that have brought the Dubstep sound to Miami. Her sets are full of every style and sound out there especially the dub feel. I’ll never forget her set at Vagabond for Get Low with N-Type. She closed it off with 16Bit - Shallow remix, first time had heard that track be dropped in a big system. I def need to make time to catch more of her sets life considering she’s been busy spinning at new events such as Drum & Dub and Dubbed Out.

Ashworth

Don’t know much about this dude besides that he seems to be running the sound control stuff at the Get Low nights. Only have caught some of his sets but he brings the fire tunes. He is sure to be a regular at the Get Low events and hitting up tons of other locations around town lately repping Dubstep tunes. I’m sure this is only the start for him and will continue to play out.

Damaged Goods

I’ve recently caught Damaged Goods set at White Room when Skream & Benga came. Damn to be honest right now this guys set is what impressed me most of that night. It was just solid track after solid track. Don’t get me wrong Juan, Skream, and Benga brought it but Damaged Goods set is the one that stood out too me. After doing some research it seems like he is no stranger to playing out and playing along side big names. This is one DJ that I got to make sure I check out whenever he plays out, although many places he has spun at I avoid. He seems to be a resident for the new night, Arcade, at White Room.

Escher

I don’t know much about this cat except that he does throw down dubstep tunes. It seems like his styles are quite diverse and comes from a hip-hop scratching feel. He seems to have a base in Orlando but came over to Miami. He is part of the Collective squad, he is bringing the night back to the News Cafe. Seems like another Jazid in the making where there will be live painting on nude women and live art with Escher bringing the beats. This is def a night I got to check out.

El Topo

This guy is one down mofo. He produces all sorts of tracks and runs a small label here in Miami. I’m a big fan of some of his tracks and hope to see more come out of him. He’s one of those guys into all sorts of stuff such as anime, gaming, and just about anything fun. Haven’t had the chance of catching any of his DJ sets but hope he gets the chance to play out one of these days. He proforms with a mask on so should be exciting.

George Young

This man is on the grind and trying to show not on Miami whats up but all over the world. You can probably find him in the studio right now working on some beats. He represents Digital Felon and can catch him playing Dubstep tracks but also that Drum & Bass business. He brings heavy energy and his own unique style throwing his own tracks in his mixes. You can catch him throwing down at most events thrown by him and Digital Felons either spinning or on the mic MCing.

This is a work in progress and will be adding some more in the near future… Maybe one day I’ll get the chance to be on a list like this along with these fellow DJs. Right now I’m taking a step back away from Dubstep and diving into a new sound from the West Coast. Big Up to you ALL who play out and show Miami what’s up with Dubstep…

I’ll never forget the first event I attended where I heard dubstep live, ViRam WMC event and caught Plastician’s 2 hour set. Never had I imagined Miami had such a hidden movement. That night wiped me out for days… We didn’t leave the club till around 5am after Evol Intent closed the night off…

This is when I knew Dubstep was alive in Miami. Months past as I saw all the events going on but never ended up going for undisclosed reason… 2009 brought me back into the scene. Boy was I surprised to see how much stronger the community had grown. Old and new familar faces. After the closing of Black Sheep on South Beach it seemed like things were going to change but no one knew if it was going to be a hamper to the community. Little did we know this was going to bring to light a new event all bassheads would look forward too, Get Low!

The first Get Low brought in talent of Dj Lord of TriLLBaSS! His scratching skills tore through the crowd and hyped everyone for the monumental night which put Get Low on the map. The Vagabond blew up with a new sound that was new to the block. Miami Dubstep had a new night to show off it’s talent and whompy bass orginating back from the old Miami Bass days. The sound was new but everyone felt nostolgic when they felt the low frequences blasting through them. Dj Lord didn’t let up and showed us how a Public Enemy DJ gets down.

I unfortunately missed the 2nd Get Low but boy did the third one KILL it. Get Low 3, Mr. N-Type came all the way from the UK to muder the place. That night was WILD. I actually ended up injuring my foot real bad and paid terribily considering hours later I’d be flying out to Chicago for Lollapalooza. N-Type absolutely showed Miami what was up dropping exclusive dubplates everywhere. The sounds of Benga’s iTunes was a big moment knowing that he was one of the few who was dropping this track. After his set I made sure to introduce myself and give him a huge Big Up for a killer set. He simply replied, “Sure you are a bad man, you were skanking the whole time I saw you”. HAHA Miami Dubstep represent! After flying into Chicago word got out that Get Low broke Vagabond’s record attendance for Thursday. This was a huge statement! Miami Dubstep and Get Low is just getting started…

Joe Nice is one man that lives up to his name! I was disappointed when he missed that night at ViRam but wouldn’t have that memory of 2hr set from Plastician. There is a reason Joe Nice is probably considered one of the biggest American Dubstep DJs, this man is seriously nice as can be. This man only touches wax and the type that you probably won’t see for months. He brought it hard yet with such hypnotic vibes. Bigg tunes from Skream, Calbrie, and Untold dropped. Be sure to check this guy out on his montly radioshow. He’s always cracking jokes and participating in the chat room.

The last to hit the Get Low stage was legend Mala from Digital Mystikz. I had the pleasure of catching Skream and Benga the night before and catch Mala for a short chit chat. It is clear where this man pulls the music from… He’s deep. Talk about a guy who has some dubplates and hypnotic sounds in the bag. Mala showed Miami has repeatedly show this town about meditation on bass is and he didn’t hold back this time at all… Highlight of my night was seeing him drop a record and seeing the word “Tron” on the label spin around… Won’t forget the first time hearing Tron on a big system… Thank you Mala for an unforgetable night. That is one way to put these Get Low events… unforgetable.

Think that line up was big? Ha, Miami get ready because some of the next people lined up for future Get Low’s are MASSIVE. We’ll be seeing Borgore all the way from Isreal bring his filfthy hard whomping bass style to Miami. It’s going to be a sight to see him drop his track “Love” after at the last Get Low it went absolutely mental when it got dropped…  The serioussss sounds of Noah-D will be most likely be in our near future. This man is no stranger to Miami so expect an set of big tunes just for Miami. The big event which has been highly anticipated is one of the member of the Purple Trinity, Joker. Don’t sleep on that because Joker has done no wrong ever since his began releasing his tunes. He doesn’t come alone either. MC Nomad is coming along for the ride to show Miami how he gets down on the mic. It’ll be big to catch Nomad live after listening to him along side Plastician for the past 2 years almost every week.