Schematic Events
in association with Local 13 & Defcon present:
OUTBREAK!
Saturday September 15, 2007
Admission:
$15 before 10pm
$20 after 10pm
Time: 9pm -3:30am
18 to enter 21 to drink
Location:
Transit Nightclub
600 Spring Garden St
Philadelphia, Pa 19123
The Main Room Epidemic:
Photek
Metalheadz , Photek Productions, TEKDBZ, UK
Rupert Parkes, aka Photek, Special Forces, Studio Pressure and Aquarius, first became hooked on music at the birth of hip hop in the mid '80's with the first electro and rap tunes. This naturally evolved into an interest in jazz and inspired by John Coltrane he learned to play the saxophone.
In 1989 pirate radio turned him onto the warehouse parties and underground clubs of the UK rave scene. Parkes first rave experience was at east Londons Telepathy in Marsh Gate lane where he saw Fabio and Jumpin' Jack Frost for the first time playing music that blew him away. A move to Ipswich marked the beginning of his music making in '92. Parkes began working at a record shop owned by Rob Solomon with whom he also began to record his first tracks. An early result was the 1992 jazz-inflicted hardcore track Sensation, recorded as Origination, which was picked up by Ray Keith, a friend of Solomon1s, who was involved with Soho1s Black Market Records and was influential in the rave scene at the time. The following year Parkes and Solomon released "Make You Do Right / Out Of This World" under the same name. As Studio Pressure Parkes recorded "Jump" for Certificate 18 Records as his first solo release.
A landmark moment came when Parkes found a new family in the form of Goldie and Metalheadz, His first Metalheadz release was "Consciousness", "Into The '90's" and "The Rain". After the Metalheadz releases Parkes felt it was time to start his own label and imprint, in 1994 Photek Records was launched with a loan from the Prince of Wales Youth Business Trust. A series of legendary releases like "The Watermargin" and "Rings around Saturn" were soon to follow. By this point Parkes was established as one of the leading pioneers of the scene that was soon to be christened "Drum and Bass". The evolution of the scene saw different camps emerging creating a wide array of styles with Parkes making some notable contributions. As Aquarius, Parkes recorded a number of tracks for LTJ Bukem's Good Looking Records, including "Drift To The Centre /Waveforms" on Good Looking, 1995 and "Dolphin Tune / Aquatic" in 1996. It was around this time that Photek met long time friend and ally Peshay who had just released the incredible "Protoge EP" on Reinforced.
Photek was now an established artist and proceeded to land a publishing deal with Universal. The next few years saw him remix artists such as Attica Blues, Goldie, Roni Size, Therapy, Dr. Octagon and later Bjork, David Bowie, Everything But The Girl, Zero 7; at the same time the major labels became interested and in 1996 Photek signed to Virgin Records1 subsidiary Science Records for a 5 album deal (his work is released by Astralwerks in America).
Parkes1 first release on Science was "The Hidden Camera" Ep in 1996 followed by "Ni-Ten-Ichi-Rye" and "Modus Operandi" in 1998. In the same year the latin future jazz "Yendi" accompanied the release of the album1s title track as a single. As he was emerging, Parkes1 subtle style led the media inadequately to proclaim him as the leader of a new Ointelligent1 drum 1n1 bass sound, after the raw energy of early jungle. By the time his work on Science had matured, his approach into a unique personalized style quite unlike anything else around. Despite its variety and diverse influences, "Modus Operandi" is coherent throughout; as with his thrifty instrumentation, the attention is mostly focused on Parkes1 incredibly detailed drum programming. Many tracks such as "The Hidden Camera" and "KJZ" have a jazz feel, employing cyclic double bass and impressionistic chordal effects while the taut drum sounds fidget underneath. At the same time other tracks such as "Aleph 1" and "Minotaur" illustrate the techno influence in their choice of sounds, while "Smoke Rings" and "The Fifth Column" are virtually all drums accompanied by textured soundscapes. Parkes' debut album was an in depth body of work that gave Parkes a place way beyond dance music. The following year1s Form & Function collected together early Singles and various remixes alongside two new tracks. With his economical, static approach and a high level of abstraction, Parkes has summed up the direction of, arguably, the most creative dance music of the 190s in the most eloquent form. His high production quality and brilliant drum sound and patters gave him the name O Master of beats1 a true legend.
When Parkes started working on his next album, "Solaris", he looked back at the music that had inspired him when he first started making music. The "Terminus" Ep was released followed by the single "Mine to Give" a collaboration with House legend Robert Owens. "Mine To Give" became a Number 1 dance hit in the US and a club anthem around the world. It came as no surprise when people in the film and TV industry wanted to collaborate with Parkes and a temporarily move to Los Angeles was inevitable. Parkes scored the martial arts film "Invincible", scored the hip hop tv series "Platinum", scored several chase scenes in "The Italian Job", scored music for the "Animatrix" etc. During his time in LA, Parkes also remixed the theme tune for the HBO hit " Six Feet Under" and the theme from the Mel Gibson movie "Signs".
After a long battle and after paying a high price, Parkes managed to get out of his record deal with Virgin to regain complete creative freedom. Besides the film and TV work Parkes has decided to give priority to his own label again which has recently released several singles under his alias Special Forces and signed 2 new artists (see link Photek records). This summer Parkes started a new urban label ; 51st State Entertainment on which he produces new talent (see link 51st State). Between London, LA and many dj tours, Parkes has built an infrastructure which enables him to work in the various fields he enjoys the most; scoring movies, producing other acts or making drum 'n' bass. Parkes' priority is to be creative and flexible being the visionary that he is.
Hive
Violence, Metalheadz, SF
Celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic, it’s in the unassuming personality of futurist B-boy Hive that drum and bass finds its mightiest bridge between the UK and the US. His tracks have become staples of virtually all of drum and bass’ legends, from Andy C to Goldie, and make regular appearances on Grooverider’s Radio 1 program--on which Hive’s towering “Neo” spent weeks at number one on the Five Mighty Rollers. Hive’s label Violence has registered sales comparable to Ram, Renegade Hardware, and Valve. He released a tremendous remix of Goldie’s and Rob Playford’s “The Shadow” for Moving Shadow. Metalheadz has invited him to record an e.p. for the label. He’s toured worldwide, completing a month of dates in New Zealand and Australia in the fall of 2002, preceded by a month in the UK and Europe, which included a guest appearance for the Valve Soundsystem. No American has gained such complete entree into the heart of drum and bass.
Hive came of age as a drum and bass producer in the late 90s, but he’s long been active in underground music, with roots that extend deep into underground hip hop, embodied in a string of iconoclastic releases and credits that include recording O.D.’s “Beneath the Surface” album, followed soon thereafter by his own first album “Working with Sound,” released on his own Mandala imprint. The album was largely centered around jazz-inflected instrumental hip hop, but glimmers of drum and bass flickering across the surface anticipated his forthcoming artistic development. It was on the strength of this album that London/FFRR signed him to an album deal. In 1998 he released “Devious Methods,” a hallucinatory fusion of hip hop and drum and bass. Lauded by critics in Urb, Spin, Raygun, Vice, and DJ Times, the album yielded the single “Ultrasonic Sound, which ultimately made its way on to the soundtrack CD for The Matrix, which notched up double platinum sales, surely as much exposure as any drum and bass artist could hope for…and beyond.
Yet beyond is where Hive has gone. Concurrent with his album was the establishment of Celestial Recordings. The label was dedicated to exposing underground hip hop and included luminaries Freestyle Fellowship, Awol One, O.D., Fat Jack, and The Shapeshifters alongside Hive’s own tracks. From Celestial sprung Vortex, a label dedicated purely to uncompromising drum and bass. Vortex included releases by Dillinja, Tech Itch, Pieter K, Juju, UFO!, Sage, and of course Hive, and established itself as one of the premier drum and bass labels in the US, improving not only on the sound of American releases, but on the overall package as well, with first rate design, promotion, and DJ support. His “The Raw Uncut” project was a rousing statement for the label, its triple-pack vinyl and eight track CD release gathering new fans both in the US and in the UK, represented most dramatically by Moving Shadow’s licensing of three tunes for Killa Bites 2.
A club night to complement the expanding profile of the label was the next logical step, and Hive and label partner Daddy Kev opened the west coast franchise of New York’s venerable Konkrete Jungle. Named best dance club in L.A. by Rolling Stone magazine, Konkrete Jungle positioned itself as Los Angeles’ premier drum and bass weekly until it closed its doors in 2001.
That same year, Hive and Kev dissolved Vortex, and Hive introduced his most recent label, Violence, which has exploded onto the drum and bass scene with ferocious determination. Featuring releases by Klute, Teebee, John Tejada, Gridlok, Keaton, Echo, Juju, and himself, Hive has steered the label into the vanguard of drum and bass.
Since the inception of the label, Hive’s musical output has grown ever more assertive and daring, personified most clearly by “Neo,” one of 2003’s great anthems. “Neo” has reached into virtually every corner of drum and bass, from dedicated ravers to disaffected breaks aficionados, binding fans of different stripes together in common cause. Hive has also been spending more time in the studio with collaborators, including Keaton of The Usual Suspects. The two of them were responsible “The Plague,” another massive anthem of 2003, released on Hardware. 2004 will see the release of their even more broadly appealing follow-up “Bring it On,” for Violence.
Tough, propulsive, forged out of both the traditional sampled aesthetic and leading sound designs of contemporary drum and bass, the sound of Hive today bears the imprint of an artist searching for new ways to reinterpret the music by his own lights. Neither a retrospective purist, nor a follower of fashion, Hive’s music, his DJing, and his label strike a steely, inspiring balance, hewing closely to a tight creative vision that has propelled him into the forefront of drum and bass wherever it thrives.
Mason
Gasm, Metalheadz, Freak, Philly
“I live, eat and breath DnB, when my sweat falls off my forehead it falls to the ground like subsonic charges. I’m not just in this shit for the money and fame, I’m in it cause I love it. I can’t stop thinking about it. Everything around me revolves around beats and bass. I’m always striving to learn more, make more and hear more and to be the best at what I do. I just want to do the shit that makes me happy. I’m determined and passionate about everything I do, I put 200% into it. Rougher and Harder.”
Mason circa 2003
Hailing from the area known as South Philly, the home of the legendary heavyweight, Rocky Marciano, Mason aka Myster Mason is as intense as anyone could be. This strength of character and no nonsense approach to life is the fuel to Mason’s powerful production style. With releases on Freak, Eastside, Intasound and the monumental signing to Metalheadz, Mason has exploded into the international arena. 2004 has nothing but good things in store for America’s brightest star.
Mason began djing in March 1998 with the most basic set up ( a belt driven Gemini, an old ass technic w/o a pitch-shift and a 2 channel mixer that barely even worked) . Within less than 6 months Mason quickly caught the attention of some of the leading promoters in the east coast, and landed his first gig at Space. From that point on there was no looking back and Mason quickly established his position as one of the top drum and bass djs in the east coast.
It was not son after that Mason took it to the next level. After seeing his mix tapes perform amazing sales numbers, Mason ventured into the world of production. Philadelphia, having a strong musical history and culture, was the perfect environment for a budding composer. Outside of drum and bass the likes of Beenie Siegle, The Roots, Jill Scott, Jazzy Jeff and more were developing into fantastic talents. Drum and Bass in Philadelphia was not to be left behind. The city boasted of the biggest and best line-ups that could be found anywhere in North America. Each week you could hear and see the baddest of dnb talent and being an integral part of the scene, allowed Mason to interact and feed from the most brilliant in the industry.
Mason is not only a musician but also an artist. His work is featured each year at the annual Mummer’s parade. This talent was used to design the environment and decorations for the events produced by Local 13 where he is the production manager.
Although Mason has totally immersed himself in the world of drum and bass, he has maintained a strong connection with the rest of the world. Like every Philadelphian, Mason has a fond love for hip hop and some future projects include work with the Mental Sharp. His tastes in music extend to rock, dancehall and house. He draws from each love to create a powerful and unique sound. His versatility and experience allow him to dj energy driven sets for masses of 5000 people to intimate events for even 50.
Downstairs In Quarantine:
Jen Mas
Vitus, Females Wit Funk, NYC
Jen has been rocking dancefloors all across the US and Canada with her intense mixing and scratching style. Voted the 16th best female DJ in the world by Shejay magazine, she has surely made her mark as one of America's top hardcore DJs. Heavily involved in the rave scene for a decade, she remains dedicated to her art form by continuing to explore her craft. She keeps the music alive by constantly refining her turntablist skills, throwing events with her crew Vitus, or working on tracks at home. She represents the harder dance sounds to the fullest, and her energy-packed sets are always a crowd pleaser. When she's spinning you'll never know what to expect due to her affinity for variety and vast collection of tracks, and her beats will be sure to make you move. She is excited to return to Philly once again to bring you another memorable head-banging performance!
Mindbender
Headcaserecordings.com, HDA: USA, Philly
As a producer, Mindbender doesn’t allow genre categorization prevent him from expressing his unbridled musical talents. Original tracks including “Are You a God, No Resistance and It’s Not Human,” have blurred the lines of Hard Dance Music, combining elements of Hard Trance, Hard NRG, Hard House, Industrial and Old School. There are no secrets as to Mindbender’s goals for his original work; Total dance floor devastation, period. His tracks have been sought after by veteran DJs such as Phil York, Keoki, and Robbie Tronco as well as numerous local favorites from the Philadelphia area.
Howhard
Hard Kriptic Records, Hardmind, djhowhard.com, NYC
"The most important thing about spinning is staying true to myself and the music I love to play- not giving in to spinning another style just because its more popular or because it'll get me more gigs. It's a great feeling when a DJ can pack a dancefloor but a more profound accomplishment though is turning the crowd on to something you truly love." An obscene fan of Gabber, How Hard is known for his general versatility; tasting everything from Darkcore to Nustyle, Speedcore to Breakcore, Jungle to Hard Techno. His view on DJing is as if he is painting a picture. "With DJing, it is another way of expressing yourself through music. To me, each record is not just a song. It's a tool. A piece in a puzzle. You take these pieces of music and put them together in anyway you can to create this larger, more ellaborate picture & soundscape." Having caused much ruckus from the East Coast to the Left Coast, he has the uncanny ability to call the masses to the floor and has become the favorite of thousands of the new generation hungry Hardcore-addicts.
The Infected Upstairs Lounge (21+ only):
Tattoo Detectives
Tattoodetectives.com, Teggnorecords.com, Philly
The Tattoo Detectives are one of the most exciting new talents in the global dance music scene. Their productions, have been released on Intec, Twisted, Playloop, Waxstreet as well as their own imprint, Teggno Records. This duo has found themselves on the playlists & charts of DJ's across the globe. While having only released records for less than two years, the Tattoo Detectives are already drawing praise from some of the most regarded DJs in the world including Carl Cox & Paul Van Dyk. With a number of key singles, remixes and a debut artist album set for release in 2007, it will be the year of Tattooed techno.
Nicky Twist
Visionary Mindz, Warehouse Massive, Adam Worldwide, NJ
Nicky Twist has been considered by many as a prodigy when he steps up to the decks. He quickly started mastering the art of scratching, mixing and turntablism. Soon after, he began a journey playing in places like Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Ottawa, Florida, South Carolina, NY ,NJ ,and countless other places including a tour in 2002 through canada. Nicky has also played in the famous Tunnel, Limelight, and Exit. He rocked the 2001 Winter X-Games in VT and at the party following Pro/Am Pipe Jam at Mountain Creek in early 2003.
Now at 25, he's a seasoned professional when he rips it with his DMC tricks and unique scratching patterns that very few DJs can touch. His record collection has the most unique selection of house music. From the time he was a child he's been a musician and he can play almost any instrument handed to him. Nicky's style has no limits and his mixing is a huge part of his appeal. He's also been producing for several years and has built up a solid arsenal of original tracks which he drops in his sets.
Mikey Parkay
Visionary Mindz, NY
Delivering energy and an unmatched stage presence to every Club he steps foot in, Mikey Parkay has quickly become a driving force in the Northeast electronic Music Scene.
Throwing and invovling himself in some of the Northeast's largest events over the past 5 years Parkay has established himself as not only an entertainer but a unique face both musically and inspirationally to those who know him.
Mixing a diverse blend of big floor basslines and funk filled melodies the name Parkay has become synonemous with packed crowds and smiling faces. Mike never dissapoints his crowds and always puts on a show.
Starting up the Visionarymindz Label/Agency in 2006 with efforts to push the Upstate Ny music scene into a new generation of Producers and entertainers Parkay's Future seems limitless.
