win tickets for Az-tech on Friday with MAELSTROM!

3 IS THE MAJIK NUMBER…………

Yes folks, March 12th celebrates the end of Az-Tech’s third full year tearing up The Caves in Edinburgh, and what a thoroughly banging time it’s been. Since March 2007, Az-Tech has tried to push the envelope of Edinburgh clubbing to embrace a whole new dimension of late-night debauchery, bringing you the finest in DJ talent from the length and breadth of Britain and beyond, and boasting one of the best, most up-for-it and most faithful crowds in the city.

Looking back over three legendary years’ worth of artists, it was hard to pick a favourite that would bring all the perfect ingredients for this party. After much debating and happy memoirs, one special set from October 2008 stood out beyond the rest… French master of his craft and Noise Porn favourite Maelstrom’s last set at the Caves was a mind-blowing journey through more styles than you could shake a dusty vinyl at, definitely one of the freshest and most forward-thinking sets we’d heard in a long long while… Performing live, he whipped through an astounding back-catalogue of breaks, beats & bumps, flipping tunes on their heads and barely stopping to catch a breath- those still standing at the end went off the hook…

The past two years have seen Maelstrom launch his own label in his homeland, and bash out a monstrous amount of extra-high-grade tuneage. He’s taken in a tour of the southern hemisphere and is one of the busiest of the continent’s dance artists. Never one to rest on his laurels, Maelstrom has also fashioned an alternative identity for himself, playing and producing up-tempo funk worldwide under the alias of “Misterstrom”… for a sneak peak at both sides of the alter ego, check the two brand-spanking new mixes below.

Maelstrom – No Prisoners Mix 2010.mp3

Mr. Strom’s Nu-Funk Mix 2010.mp3

For discounted entry on Friday and free lifetime membership to Az-Tech, drop an email with your full name to az-techbreaks@hotmail.co.uk.

COMPETITION:

Az-Tech are giving away two guestlist places to Friday’s event especially for Noiseporn. To enter, please reply to the above email address with the subject line NOISEPORN COMP and the answer to this question:

What year did Az-Tech launch at the Caves?

Answers in by 10pm on Wednesday 10th March and we’ll notify the winner by email on Thursday. Good luck!

This entry was written by siren, posted on March 8, 2010 at 4:11 pm, filed under Competitions, Mixes, Noise Porn Nights. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

free baobinga and i.d. album out now!

Before I say anything about the album, I’ve got to hand out some massive props to Baobinga and I.D. for this incredibly cool project. Since the end of January, Bass Music blog has been featuring their Diary of a Free Album, a week-by-week account of the ins and outs of releasing a free album in today’s digital music industry, which as they highlight, can have many useful inroads for artists but can also be pretty unforgiving at times. The whole thing was done really as an experiment, and a way of learning more about the process of releasing and promoting an album digitally for free, and doing it properly. It’s a fascinating read, and I.D.’s commentaries are entertaining and well-detailed, throwing some useful light on many aspects of the digital industry. New producers and anyone involved in pushing music online should definitely give it a browse.

Now onto the good stuff. The album itself, called Bass Music Sessions, is a brilliant summary of the duo’s style – it’s a multi-genre collection of eight tracks, with lots of hip-hop, dubstep, two-step and broken beat influences. Many of the soundscapes are stripped-back and futuristic, and, noticeably, the tracks are really well-polished for the dancefloor; they’ve done a superb job on the mastering front, a topic that was broached in the discussion leading up to the release. The one drum & bass track “The King” is a standout for me, soulful and deep with nice tough breaks driving the track. Loving it. “Hush Up Riddim” is my favourite dubstep track on the album, with twisted synths and a fat pulsating bass, and the housey crowd are sure to love the bouncy kuduru-style beats of “Man Down”, featured previously on Noise Porn.

It’s had a lot of DJ support on various fronts, and there’s definitely something for everyone here. You can download it for free or for a donation: Proceeds will go to Dove House Hospice in Hull, UK. Obviously with so much hard work put in, the boys would love your feedback, so let us know your thoughts or check in with them over at Bass Music.

DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM HERE

BONUS:

We’ve also got a brand new DJ mix from I.D. for This is Breaks, with a focus on breaks, dubstep and everything in between. I.D. says, “…it’s my take on where next for ‘breaks’ music  – i.e. incorporating loads of funky, 2-step, ragga, dubstep and everything else that’s got funk and interesting beats.” Take a look below.

I.D. – This is Breaks Mix 2010.mp3

Tracklist:

1. Altered Natives – Bullet Blade Knuckle Slap (Fresh Minute Music)
2. Seiji – Hohoho (seiji.co.uk)
3. Baobinga ft Rubidan – Raggipahop (dub)
4. Martyn – Megadrive Generation (Hyperdub)
5. Toddla T ft Herve & Serocee – Shake Ya Body (DJ Sega remix)
6. Redux – Acidbomb (601 remix) (Trickery Collective dub)
7. Ghislain Poirier ft MC Zulu – Gyal Secret Potion (Baobinga remix) (Ninja Tune dub)
8. Geeneus – Raggoo (Rinse FM)
9. South Rakkas Crew ft MC Gi & Mr Dockery – Hands Up Brazil (Mad Decent)
10. South Rakkas Crew & Killa Queenz ft Lady Chan – Double Up (Mad Decent)
11. Flore & Shunda K – Feel Me (Peo de Pitte remix) (Botchit & Scarper)
12. Snide – Cot Damn (dub)
13. Freestyle DJs – Back To The Old Jack (Rektchordz remix) (Ape dub)
14. Martsman & John Gloss – Wrecking Girlcore (dub)
15. Pocz & Pacheko – Zarbak (Mr Gasparov remix) (Senseless Records)
16. DJ Madd – Bass Come Down (Subway dub)
17. Sully – In Some Pattern (Keysound)
18. I.D. vs Skinnz – Shimmy (Double Science dub)
19. Brackles – Rawkus (Planet Mu)
20. I.D. & Baobinga – Inland (Bass Music dub)
21. Untold – Gonna Work Out Fine (Hemlock)
22. I.D. – Once Again (Passenger dub)
23. Redlight – Pick Up The Phone (Lobster Boy)
24. Baobinga & I.D. – Tongue Riddim (Build)
25. I.D. – Mustang (Sub Slayers dub)
26. Afghan Headspin – Cocaine (Gella’s Rather Have A Tablet remix)(Valium)
27. D1 – Jus Business (Dub Police)
28. Vipercorps – Overclocked (I.D. remix) (Lucky Break)
29. Si Begg – Brain Activity (Wascal remix) (Noodles)
30. I.D. – Handbagger (Baobinga remix) (Passenger dub)

Thanks for all the new material guys, and a hefty big up from us at Noise Porn for the effort!

This entry was written by siren, posted on March 3, 2010 at 1:16 pm, filed under Mixes, News, Video. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

The Loops of Fury

One of the best singles so far this year has come in the form of my Brisbane favourites, The Loops of Fury. The boys have sent over a tasty mini-mix promoting their new single Soap, with some shit hot remixes from Peo De Pitte and Hatiras, as well as an original to die for. This mix has also got their chart topping single Flick A Switch and it’s accompanying remixes and their amazing remix under their old moniker of Hyperion of Dylan Rhymes I Am Sweet.

But, I implore you to gun over to Beatport and pick up the single, it’s an exclusive and it means the world to the boys. Plus you’ll be supporting the best single to have come out so far in 2010 (One of anyway!) You’ll also add some quality electro, breaks and wonk to your already bass driven libaries. Scope it up!

The Loops of Fury – 30 Minute Mini-Mix

Tracklisting:

The Loops Of Fury – Flick A Switch (DJ Dan & Mike Balance Mix)
Dylan Rhymes – I Am Sweet (Hyperion Mix)
The Loops Of Fury – SOAP
The Loops Of Fury – Mesh It Again
The Loops Of Fury – SOAP (Peo De Pitte Mix)
Hyperion – Gotta Hold It (The Loops Of Fury Mix)
Daft Punk – Rollin’ & Scratchin’ (The Loops Of Fury’s “High Roller” Bootleg)

This entry was written by Bleekster, posted on February 16, 2010 at 9:12 am, filed under Mixes. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

Sam Hell @ Az-Tech

Got a brand new mix here for you from a phenomenal talent in breaks that is gracing our Scottish shores next weekend for a mammoth party at Edinburgh’s Caves. Having taken a three-month Christmas holiday (yes, we’ve milked it somewhat), Az-Tech is back and proud to present Sam Hell, who’s been picked up by the likes of Annie Nightingale and Far Too Loud as one of the top names producing breaks at the moment. Saying this, the mysterious Mr. Hell has more than one string to his bow in the way of production. Sam is the man behind the massive new Electro-House sample pack for Zero-G, you can browse and/or purchase at their website.

But for now, get a load of this minimix below, it’s 30 minutes of gargantuan basslines and driving beats, breaks meeting the heavier end of electro-house for the perfect Thursday lunchtime treat! And, if you like what you hear, make sure you make your way down to the Caves next Friday for a belter of a party to see in the new season for Az-Tech!

Sam Hell – Aztech Minimix.mp3

Tracklisting:

1. Zodiac Cartel – Stay On Top
2. Sam Hell – Logjammin
3. Fake Blood – Dozens
4. Sam Hell – Mothership (Rektchordz Remix)
5. Neurodriver – What You Gonna Do Now
6. Sam Hell – Mothership
7. UNKLE – Heavy Drug

THE ESSENTIALS:

Az-Tech presents SAM HELL

AL MAJIK
SIREN
RE:TOX

Live artwork – freebies – love – lollipops

Entry: £7 // £6 members

Doors: 10:30pm – 3:00am

FRIDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2010

THE CAVES, Niddry Street South, Edinburgh

This entry was written by siren, posted on January 28, 2010 at 9:22 pm, filed under Mixes, Noise Porn Nights. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

rico tubbs

Oh my crikey! This just landed on bass music blog courtesy of Rico Tubbs, and it’s a pocket rocket of a dubstep track, coming in all nice and lushly stringed and then boom! the lights go down and the bass goes off! Loving this track in big ways, and I’m not usually the dubstep’s biggest admirer, so hats off to the man. He’s got a new label coming through with Atomic Hooligan, by the name Bass=Win, and there’s a tidy mix from the Hooligan on Mixcloud to introduce the label, stream it here.

Rico Tubbs – Hold That Sucker Down Remix.mp3

This entry was written by siren, posted on January 20, 2010 at 8:52 pm, filed under MP3, Mixes. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

shut up and dance

Happy Christmas y’all! I’ve had this little interview and mix package from breakbeat trailblazers Shut Up and Dance wrapped up and sitting under my Christmas tree for a while, and have just been waiting for you all to be full of mince pies, nicely tipsy and sitting comfortably before bringing it out (or, more likely story, I’ve been subjected to an internet drought due to moving house and so had to surgically remove myself from the laptop and abandon blogging for a couple of weeks). So sit back, grab another mulled wine if the fancy takes you (work starts again tomorrow so make the most of it!) and read on….

Welcome PJ, welcome Smiley. It’s a pleasure to have you on Noise Porn today.

The aim of this interview is to delve into your musical past, to hear about what you’re up to nowadays, to celebrate the all new mega-album “How the East was Won 1989-2009″ (a showcase of the last two glorious decades of Shut Up & Dance) and to show breaks-heads reading this blog where their music of choice has come from! Over to you guys then!

NP: When/how did you guys meet?

SUAD: We met at secondary school plus we both lived in the same area, Hackney, east London.

NP: Would you say that your local area played a big part in shaping your sound and your musical success?

SUAD: Definitely, cause in our area you could go to so many different types of clubs and hear a wide variety of music…the sound system thing was very big in east London as well.

NP: You started off by hauling your soundsystem (“Heatwave”… with DJ Daddy & DJ Hype) around disused warehouses and holding your own illegal raves. What kinds of music did you guys play at this stage? What did a typical live set consist of?

SUAD: Well you had us on the microphone rapping, DJ Hype was on the decks cutting and scratching, and Daddy Earl was a reggae Mc, so we would play from Hip-Hop to Reggae to rare groove to dancehall, it was a mixed bag, but very exciting cause you never knew what you were gonna get next. We were one of the only sound systems to mix up our music like this, which made us different from the rest.

NP: At what stage did you get into production? What equipment did you record on in the early days?

SUAD: We got into production in about early 1988, back then we had a Digitec sampler, and a Tascam 4 Track recorder.

NP: Which one bit of production gear would you say you could never have lived without?

SUAD: Our S5000 Akai sampler, that piece of kit changed the face of music. Because of the in built effects & filters etc, it suddenly opened up your imagination a bit more, and allowed you to push the boundaries in terms of twisting up sounds etc.

NP: Which one bit of production gear is on your current wishlist?

SUAD: We have it already, the Spectrasonics Omnisphere module. A great piece of kit. Love this baby.

NP: Nowadays, pretty much anyone can produce a track in their own home, for very little cost and comparatively little effort! Do you see this as a positive or a negative thing?

SUAD: A bit of both, on the negative side it’s led to decline in the standard of music, because essentially there’s no longer any quality control, if someone can just knock up a track in their bedroom then rush to put it out, if they haven’t played that track to friends or whatever then who’s to say the tracks any good? On the positive, if you have a home studio at least you can potentially spend a lot more time developing your sound without watching the clock because you know you’re being charged by the hour.

NP: How much harder was it to get your name out back when you guys started? You were pretty much the first people in dance music to self-release a record on your own label. How easy was it to do this? Did you find competition from major labels made things difficult at all?

SUAD: It wasn’t easy, there was a lot of hard work involved cause essentially you were doing everything yourself, from music production, artwork, promotion right through to distribution in the early days. Remember we only did it because we couldn’t get a record deal in the first place. We can be very headstrong, (must be our east London background) so when we couldn’t get a deal, we figured we had no other choice but to do it ourselves, creating a DIY (Do It Yourself) attitude to the music business in the process.

NP: Walk us through the album “How the East was Won 1989-2009″. What does it consist of, tell us a bit about what it means for you and for Shut Up & Dance fans worldwide.

SUAD: How The East Was Won is a compilation representing & celebrating 20 years of the Shut Up And Dance Record Label, And also Shut Up & Dance as recording artists. We started the label in 1989 and are still going strong in 2009, so we we’ve put together a collection of classic tracks we’ve released over that period and trust me….It’s sounding good!!! ☺

It’s 3 Cd’s covering 2 decades because we have so many era’s to cover, like the late eighties to the mid nineties which was the rave era, tracks like: £20 pounds to in, The green man, Hooligan 69, Spiiffhead, & Raving im raving, then from mid nineties up till the millennium you had the drum & bass & Breakbeat era, with tracks like: Bastards, Hip-Hip & Here this. From the millennium onwards music was more about the 2 step garage style, and the harder end of breakbeat, tracks like: Holdtight , Nova, No Doubt, Reclaim The Streets. Basically it’s a chance for all Shut Up & Dance fans to get their hands on any tracks from the label they may have missed.

NP: Your tunes tend to revolve around a good breakbeat and a good lyric. What usually inspires you in terms of lyrics?

SUAD: Things that are happening around us, things we or our friends are going through. Inspiration usually comes from needing to get something of our chest.

NP: You were credited with pioneering UK breakbeat, and in turn the genres that it spawned (drum n bass, jungle, breaks etc). What got you started on the whole breakbeat vibe?

SUAD: We hail from Hip-Hop roots, and so we use to chopped them up, speed them up and create our own beats from them.(Nowadays you can just go out and buy a sound bank library). We were the first to do this, and we built our whole sound off of this benchmark. We still stay true to it now.

NP: Which current breaks artists do you rate?

SUAD: We like a whole range, but we’re feeling the Afghan Headspin stuff, we just did a collaboration together, also Mechanoise, Ctrl-Z, the list is quite extensive.

NP: Any new SUAD projects we should know about for 2010?

SUAD: A new Shut Up & Dance artist album in 2010, it doesn’t have a title yet, but it’s sounding FAT!!!

NP: Before you realised your chosen path was to re-write the course of underground dance music, what did you want to be when you grew up?

SUAD: All we knew was we didn’t want to end up working in an office environment; we both like to be out in the open as much as possible. But strangely enough we did anyway, because when taking care of the business side of the label, we can be sat in front of a Pc all day, emailing etc, How ironic is that?

NP: When you are improvising lyrics on the mic, does your mind ever wander to random stuff, like what you’re gonna have for tea?

Naw, im kinda immersed in the vibe, I love my job! ☺

NP: What is your favourite cheese?

SUAD: I’m a big cheese lover, apart from the mouldy looking stuff, YUK!!. I Couldn’t live without cheese, Music & SEX ☺, but not necessarily in that order.

NP: Noise Porn interview challenge… How far can you throw a piece of A4 paper, unfolded?

SUAD: Not very, can we cheat and throw a whole book ☺

Thanks! NP

So there we go, the album is out on Beatport, you can go buy the full release or any of the individual tracks here. Never before has such a comprehensive back catalogue been available for Shut Up and Dance, so now’s the time to get downloading your favourite tracks by the east London legends!

Oh, and you can get their latest mixtape below as well. Download, stick it on, be quiet and boogie.

Shut Up & Dance Winter Promo Mix 2009.mp3

1. Shut Up and Dance feat. A’de – Love Will [Shut Up & Dance Music]
2. Rennie Pilgrem – Somewhere [TCR]
3. Shut Up & Dance – Cream [Shut Up & Dance Music]
4. Zinc – Unknown [White Label]
5. BSD – This Could Be You [iBreaks]
6. Hackney Soldiers – Holdtight [New Deal Recordings]
7. Augur – Unknown [White Label]
8. Tittsworth – WTF (Deekline & Tim Healey Remix) [Rat Records]
9. Kosheen – Unknown [White Label]
10. Bomberman – Unknown (Shut Up & Dance Remix) [Lucky Break]
11. Shut Up & Dance – Gunfinger [Shut Up & Dance Music]
12. Breakfastaz – Acting Wrong [Breakfast Club]
13. Shut Up & Dance – The Green Man [Shut Up & Dance Music]
14. Shut Up & Dance, Afghan Headspin – Suicide [Shut Up & Dance Music]
15. Unknown – We Rule [White Label]

This entry was written by siren, posted on December 27, 2009 at 10:55 pm, filed under Interviews, Mixes. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

Mark Lam

News from Mark Lam – the Irish fidget-beast, with his new mix bouncing around our inbox like a playlist on crack. Up-and-coming talent of 2010? We think so. Get acquainted with this mix showcasing his wide-ranging style.

Mark Lam – Nice n’Slow (Original Mix)
Malente – I Like It (Riva Star Remix)
Dj Falcon – Untitled (HiJack Remix)
Kid Cudi – Make Her Say (Nadastrom Remix)
Jakz – Get your ass up (Kelevra Remix)
Crookers – Put Your Hands on Me (Jesse Rose Remix)
Mark Lam – Beat Down (Original Mix)
Tiga – Shoes (Noob Remix)
Prodigy – Take Me to the Hospital (Adam F & Horx Remix)
Black Noise – Knock You Out (Andy George Remix)
John Dalhback – Autumn (Extended Mix)
Spencer and Hill – Cool (Afrojack Remix)
Dj Gant-Man – Juke Dat Girl (Nadastrom Remix)
Aquasky Feat Goldmouf – You A Star (Original Mix)
Sub Focus – Could Be Real (Original Mix)

Mark Lam – Just Good Music Volume One.mp3

This entry was written by NoisePorn.com, posted on December 12, 2009 at 11:52 am, filed under Mixes. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.

deadmau5

Got a tidy little post for you today, deadmau5 just got in touch with a preview of his new album “Deadmau5 @ Play Vol 2″ featuring 10 DJ friendly unmixed tracks for you. Before deadmau5 hopped on board with the big dogs at EMI, he was with a Canadian label called Play – and this sees his return to that stable with a load of previously unreleased tracks (although you’ll probably have heard them in his sets!)

The minimix we’ve got takes you on a brief and tantalising journey through what the album is going to sound like. Needless to say it’s got Deadmau5’s signature deep and driving sound all over it, with more than enough vocal hooks to keep things interesting. It’s available on Beatport as of 1st December and it will be on iTunes from 26th December (perfect for Boxing Day listening!). So if you like the preview, haul ass and buy the thing.

1. Billy Newton-Davis Vs deadmau5: Outta my Life (Touch mix)
2. Mellefresh Vs deadmau5: Attention Whore
3. deadmau5: Mr G
4. deadmau5: Reduction
5. BSOD: This is Also the Hook
6. deadmau5: Orca
7. deadmau5: Tau V2
8. Mellefresh Vs deadmau5: Sex Slave
9. deadmau5: This Noise
10.Billy Newton-Davis Vs deadmau5: R My Dreams

Deadmau5 – Deadmau5 @ Play Volume 2 Minimix.mp3

This entry was written by NoisePorn.com, posted on December 4, 2009 at 10:59 am, filed under Mixes. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.