Dope dope dope dope fucking beats from Lewis James, an Irish producer based in Amsterdam. His KRAKATOA EP came out last week on Original Cultures, and here’s a mix celebrating it. Largely his productions, as well as tracks by Submerse, Ital Tek, Clicks and Whistles, EAN and Mr. Carmack to tie it all together – damn fine company. While the EP tracks are great, I think the ordering does them a disservice – the first two (Million Dollar Lady and Mr. Cannibal BBQ) don’t grab me nearly as much as the last three. But in the mix, they all really shine – you can really feel the energy and focus Lew put in to these tracks seeping out.
Like contemporaries Eprom, Desto, and Doshy, Lewis James has been producing crunked-out mutant 808 tracks since way before the whole trap thing blew up. But such base(d) comparisons sell short what Lewis James does in the studio. This is some neon hyphy bitcrushed gangster shit. His 2012 Heavy Romance EP (which featured the best album art of the year) was full of fantastic ideas and great moments; the slap bass on Everything, the sample chopping over gritty bass on Only Me. But the new EP shows a lot of growth. It all just sounds more urgent, more self-assured – cleaner, tighter and far more deadly for the dancefloor.
LEWIS JAMES Xclusive Mix by Mixology on Mixcloud
TRACKLIST:
The whole – Lewis James
Algorithms and Ghosts – Submerse
Cant Believe – Clicks and Whistles
Fire (No Payroll) – Mr. Carmack
All or Nothing – Lewis James
Wrinkle Free – Lewis James
Vesuvius – Lewis James
Burnt – EAN
Powerchild – Lewis James
Powerchild (EAN Remix) – Lewis James
Hyper Real – Ital tek
All Your Demons – Lewis James
METROPOLIS at Love ft. RONI SIZE
Roni Size is pretty much the godfather of Drum n Bass. If you’re reading this blog, you’ve heard his shit. Go see him rip it up on Love’s uber soundsystem with the whole Bass Fueled Mischief crew – Hellfire Machina (who have been absolutely crushing it with their Headspace parties), Code of Arms, Odi and Morphous – holding it down.
Git yr tix here. This is TONIGHT!!!!
CASSETTENYC at the Paul Robeson Theatre
Cassette is a uniquely awesome party. Pseudo-monthly, and held at a different unsexy Brooklyn venue each time, the residents include big names like Machine Drum, Lando Kal (of LazerSword), Eliot Lipp and Praveen (who isn’t a big name afaik but deserves his props cuz he holds it down with the crew).
This time around, they have the very savvy addition of Mike Slott and FaltyDL – who’ve both put out music on such uberhip labels as Planet Mu, Ramp and Hotflush.
What makes Cassette really awesome, though, is how all the DJs tag team, song after song. There’s usually 2 tables with 3 or 4 DJs with laptops and a gaggle of midi controllers and cables – from this techy stew arises a relentlessly danceable mash of original productions, exclusive shit, big tchunes and throwback jamz. Bring your outta-town friends, and tell them you’re takin em to the coolest party in Brooklyn – because you are.
Shakey’s Record Fair at Public Assembly
Take a day off from partying and wobble, and go check out this record fair and party. 7PM to 2AM, so you 9-5ers can come too!
They wrote it up pretty damn good over at the Dubspot Blog, so I’m just gonna quote them:
“Dubspot friend, veteran NYC DJ, and founder of theWarper Party, Julie Covello, aka DJ Shakey, is hosting one of her renowned record fairs on May 9th. Be sure to stop by, roll up your sleeves, and dig through some dog-eared gems, just like those hero’s of yours did before all this DVS digital-DJing craziness.
Sponsored by Dubspot, Wax Poetics, Turntable Lab,Cine Noir Film Society“
First lady of Bass on a Funktion 1 system? Jesus christ on a bicycle, this one is a fucking no-brainer before I even mention that it’s FREE and there’s a FREE OPEN BAR. And the legendary astral-traveler Francois K will be on decks as well, as it is Deep Space.
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