Hey UK Glitch Hoppers! Been a minute since our last blog post, but there's plenty going on over at UK Glitch Hop HQ… more news coming soon about our new club night for London, the new format for our Glitch.FM radio shows and releases & gigs from your favourite UK Glitch Hop labels.
Our radio archives are available on Soundcloud, and now Mixcloud too! Over the last 2 years we have smashed out over 110 shows. Whether from the Morbidly Obese Midget, Colony Productions, Skanky Panky Records, Wonk#ay Records, Beta Test, Mouldy Soul, Your Niece or a whole host of other guest DJs the shows have always been full of killer jams and info about your favourite genre.
You can listen again to most of the shows on Soundcloud, and we try to keep this playlist updated with all the latest shows! Most of them can be downloaded too!
Due to popular demand, our latest shows are now also available on Mixcloud by clicking the image below…
Don't forget you can listen LIVE to UK Glitch Hop on www.glitch.fm every Wednesday night from 10pm - midnight UK time of course! Big ups!
Mike Wabro (glitchrate) reports on The Glitch Mob's Love Death Immortality Tour from a sweat-soaked Forum. Opiuo and our kid Your Niece in support.
We arrive at The Forum just in time to catch the end of Your Niece’s first opening set of the night. It seemed like he had set a great tone for the night’s events.
London goes mad for Opiuo
Kiwi glitch-hop don, Opiuo was next to hit the stage and was greeted with a huge reception from the crowd. Boasting a new live setup replete with laptop, controller, mixer, fresh drum-pad & his big orange drum-sticks, he began knocking out the beats live over his set - moving swiftly into, and mixing seamlessly between, some of the new corkers like 'Clumpy Cider', 'Snorkle' and 'Misty Digit' from his latest album, Meraki. His staple crowd favourite remixes of Koan Sound and Ray Charles got the, now nearly full, dance-floor vibing, bums shaking to his infectious stage energy. As ever, he kept his set diverse and fun - effortlessly spanning between tempos and styles - yet always with that trademark, cheeky, super funked-up Opiuo sound we have grown to love so much. After a set filled with more funky fun than you can shake a glitchy stick at, the whole place was buzzing with anticipation of The Glitch Mob.
Mike & Donna during Opiuo’s set
Your Niece got his second sneaky 15 minute set of the night on after that, whilst the stage was set for the mighty Mob, starting with Boards Of Canada’s 'Dayvan Cowboy'. The dancefloor started cramming fuller than a sardine can. As I was pressed hard against the front side wall of the live mixing desk area, I realized then that the dancefloor had not actually been full at all until that point. I wondered again why they chose The Forum over Electric at Brixton- as they did on their last tour. Crowd dispersion, sound system, & room acoustics all seemed to suffer somewhat at The Forum.
The lights dimmed. That sudden feeling of being at a massive rock gig- crowd screaming with all hands in the air as Ooah, Boreta & ediT walked onto the stage. As the stunning lazer light show began, the mysterious cover was drawn away, to reveal the massive silhouettes of their awesome new drums- looking like an HR Geiger inspired fusion of a jumbo jet engine and a Kyoto Drum. Each of them had the same setup in front of them, with the massive drum behind them, another electronic kit below that, & a pillar in front with 4 ipad-like screens in each, angled down facing towards the crowd- on which they played most of the riffs live, in divided colour quadrants that lighted up each time they did.
The energy was immense as they began pounding their drums with explosive visuals to the tune of the epic, ‘Drive Like You Stole It’, from their previous album, 'Drink The Sea'. Surrounded by such a diversely eclectic array of people, made for an electrically inclusive atmosphere. Their grueling schedule of almost a show in a different country every alternate day, had clearly done nothing to hamper their energetic spirit and passion for their sound, and the love for their fans.
I must confess that by that stage, the rounds of beer & shots in-between in celebration of my extended birthday, had started taking effect as the specifics of which track was which, became somewhat blurred- especially since they were mixing tracks into one another. All the epic bangers: the old & a lot of the new off their latest seminal album, ‘Love Death Immortality’. I was fully enveloped in their performance. I remembered the contrast of seeing them in their very early days on their first ever UK visit in 2008- in the very shanty surroundings of the Rhythm Factory. That was like sitting on a couch in someone’s over-sized living room, watching a bunch of guys having fun mixing tunes up all-over each other on one controller. This, in contrast, was like an extremely tight and flawless extravaganza of sound and visual orgasm! The Glitch Mob are undeniably a powerful force now, entirely unique with their own take on that infamous big West Coast Lazer Crunk Metal sound- yet always relevant & nodding to the current sound.
twitter.com/theglitchmob
After their last song, it did not take long for them to be screamed back on stage for an encore, dropping one of my favourites, 'We Can Make The World Stop' - which seemed like a climax for the crowd- with extra high crowd jumping & fist pumping action. They ended with the new rework of 'West Coast Rocks' - to huge standing applause and Glitch Mob finger signs. They seemed so happy, taking a moment to take a bunch of selfies against the backdrop of the crowd, while Boreta took to the mic & confessed how much it meant to them to have so much love & appreciation from the UK crowd- as all their influences came from UK.
facebook.com/theglitchmob
This was my third time watching The Glitch Mob preform over the years; and they certainly didn’t disappoint. I had to buy a T-shirt this time- purely on the basis that my T-shirt was utterly sweat-drenched.
Mike & Lizzy after the show
To round things up, Your Niece took back to the decks, keeping the remaining crowd moving to some fresh ghetto bassy trap and dubstep. A brilliant night all-round.
Filth has it's second outing at Vibe Bar on Friday 3 February to hail the return of Your Niece. He spent the second half of last year swanning around the West Coast so we can't wait to see what kinda low down an' dutty crunk he's got in that record bag! Also on the bill are Beat3 bringing the triple talent in their first live London show in a while, alongside Uppercut's Sweet Jesus and Filth regulars Dyson and LE3D. All that and only a fiver, there's no excuse not to get your ass down. YOUR NIECE (Meteor stage, Glade, Z-Shed) (Nominated best DJ in UK Glitch Hop 2012 awards) BEAT3 (Badgers Nutz, SGP) (Nominated best remix, best track and best live act 2012 in the UK Glitch Hop awards 2012) SWEET JESUS (Uppercut, Vibez) DYSON (Boomtown, Zoola, Filthy3Some) LE3D (LoveFilth resident) Hosted By SKOLA X & RIZLABLU (Filthy3Some) 6pm - 1am Vibe Bar 91-95 Brick Lane E1 6QL www.vibe-bar.co.uk Free b4 8/ £5 after https://www.facebook.com/events/460100140716557/?ref=22
It's all about the Mersey beats on Friday 25 January when Liverpools finest SixAM (Buddha and Dog's Pocket) preview a brand new set at Whatz Gwaaanin #3, ahead of their upcoming release on Skanky Panky Records. They're joined by Bristol's Kotch, bringing ghetto funkin' glitch and swing vibes from the South West, local lads Glitchez.B.Trippin, and a whole host more . Big 'tings gwaaanin as far as we can tell!
Our Glitch.FM guest mix last week came from Exeter's Dephicit. Here's the lowdown on where he gets his glitch, bass in Exeter and plans for the summer. If you want a clean download of the mixtape with full tracklist, it's at the bottom. Might as well have a read on the way...
Please introduce yourself....
This is James Stafford aka Dephicit aka 1 half of Critical Cuts.
How would you describe your particular style of bass music?
Chunky funky slimey basslines and beats with as much glitchy/synthy interest as I can squeeze in.
My style is pretty warped from all the genres I've been listening to on the dance music scene for the last 5/6 years. I've found taking the best bits out of different genres really helps to stay away from categorisation and keeps the originality flowing. From dubstep to psytrance, I've found theres always something positive to take away incorporate into your own music.
What first turned you onto bass / glitch / lazer music?
Any particular artists or tracks? I think the first track that drew my attention away from dubstep was when a friend showed me Bassnectars ''heads up'' and from there I went on to discover another american guy called Subvert. These guys tracks had the heavy basslines I knew could destroy a dancefloor but were fast enough and funky enough to shun the dubstep critics. From then on Opiuo and Tipper seemed to appear out of know-where and to be honest I found it hard to find anything else of that tempo that I felt could stand up to them In my sets. But the last couple of years has been awesome for the scene, especially in the U.K, (big ups U.K glitch hop) and the freshness coming out of the tracks is consistently inspiring and keeping me glued to my soundcloud!
What's the scene like where you are?
The scene in Devon is fuking awesome, I'm mainly based in Exeter and the quality and diverstity of the nights is amazing. If you wanna get your smile on & knees up theres electro swing nights (Cabaret Volitare) , if you wanna get your hood up and skank on you’ve got the deep dubstep nights (The Deep End), weve got the ghettofunk/Hip Hop & Glitch hop nights put on by Riddim Fruit head honcho 'Hidden Riddim' and Totnes's 'Flywalker' and if you just wanna get your rave on we’ve got the infamous 'Onelion' nights where I started Djing 2/3 years ago, (big ups Subindex) I thoroughly recommend getting involved if your ever down here, good vibes and pumping tunes all the way.
You've got a radio show with Barely Legit aka. Dodgey Style. How did that come about and how can we get ours ears on it?
Seb, (Dodgey Style) is a DJ genius and one of the few people that was into glitch hop in exeter when I started producing it. We have very similar tastes and this lead us to form 'Critical Cuts'. You can find us here... Critical Cuts
Where do you like to play the most?
I like to bust it out anywhere where people are gunna be lovin the tunes, Its wikid playing to a home crowd in exeter as people know what to accept and Its always sick to get positive feedback, but I also love the challenge of playing sumwhere new, where potentially they have'nt come across the sound before and need to be... educated :) Festivals are always a winner, the ultimate vibes that they create are always a wikid platform for funky dirty beats and bass.
What's the craziest gig you've ever played?
A pretty mental set was in Bristol for 'Big:Large' at the black swan. It was a sell out crowd in the main room and from talking to people before I played the vast majority had not really heard glitch hop before, so it was sick to see everybody quickly warming to it and losing there nut towards the end.
Who's inspiring you most at the moment?
Thats a big question, but if I had name a few, Bad Tango and all the Broken Robot crew, Koan Sounds tracks are just ridiculous, Digital Rust, Dj Alias & Smoke Sign (who featured in the mix) Griz, obviously Opiuo and Tipper...
But its the UK Glitch Hop scene thats inspiring me the most, homebrew talent like Mouldy Soul and Breakspear, SixAM and all the others who have been at it for years and are really pushing the sound in the right direction.
Who are you looking out for in 2012?
Staunch has been getting my juices goin, Looking forward to seeing what they can come up with. Bad Tango and Mouldy Soul are good friends of mine and are absolute machines at tearing out the goods, watch that space.
I played a word up remix from 'Olmec 'forthcoming on his Motley Bass EP in the mix, he's another one to watch out for. Dj Alias (NZ) whos working on a remix for my EP is also bringing out the killa vibe, watch out for his first EP landing on our shores soon. Local Deep Dubstep talent like Skeptix and Pulsar are also ones Ive gotta mention.
When can we expect to hear a Dephicit EP?
In 2-3 months I will be releasing the Lazer Crack EP with various remix's and originals from some awesome talent, so watch out for that on Riddim Fruit Records.
Where can we see you play next?
Riddim Fruit vs Cabaret Volitare @ The Cavern (Exeter) - June 1st
Supporting the Funk Hunters @ the Angel (Exeter) - June 2nd
Secret Garden Party festival - 20th July
Big:Large 2 @ The Black Swan (Bristol) - 21st July
Standon Calling Festival - 4th August
Aeon Festival (@ Crediton near Exeter) 25th August
Glitch FM Mix Tracklist
Eardible - Audible Pancakes (Unreleased)
Staunch - Busted up – Out now
Digital Rust - Chocolate Sauce – Out now
Haywire - Mindchamber – Out now
Shimi Sonic - Follow up (Dephicit remix) – Out now
Dephicit - Clef Residue (Forthcoming)
Dephicit - Lazer Crack (Forthcoming)
DJ Alias & B - San Francisco Bay (Forthcoming)
K lab ft Sacha Vee - Need to know (Audio Infunction Remix) (Forthcoming)
Olmec - Word up (Forthcoming)
DJ Alias - Empire Ft I.T (Forthcoming)
Obscinity - Funkology (Forthcoming)
K lab ft Sacha Vee - Need to know (DJ Alias remix) (Forthcoming)
Smoke Sign - Sub Minimal Message (Forthcoming)
Morbidly Obese Midget will be hosting guest mixes from Kursa, Nimbus and DJ Primer on Glitch.FM from 10pm BST Wednesday 2 May. See you in the chatroom www.glitch.fm/chat
Mike Wallis went to school with Dave Tipper. Sharing a love of electronic dance music and IDM they started producing together as Crunch, with their first release in 2000. By 2001 Mike had co-founded Colony Productions, the label he still runs today with Sam Ashwell from Vent. Tune into Glitch.fm from 10pm-12am Wednesday 21 March to catch Mike's first UK Glitch Hop radio show or catch up on our archive here.
Introduce yourself...
Mike Wallis aka Psi Spy, one half of Crunch with Tipper and one half of Abstrakt Knights with Sam Ashwell.
How would you describe your particular style of glitch?
More IDM than anything else.
When you first started making music as Crunch, glitch hop didn't exist. What did you start out doing?
Just chilling in the studio experimenting for the fun of it.
What first turned you onto glitchy music? Any particular artists or tunes? Autechre specifically for the glitchiness but old school Rephlex techno releases
for the mood and most of the Warp back catalogue along with years of buying
Jungle, D&B, Dub, Trip Hop 12"s
We're using a label, glitch hop, to describe quite a wide range of music. When did you first hear music being described in this way?
Only recently really. We had coined the term Bit Hop previously (UKGH -back in about 2003!), but I like the sound of Glitch Hop.
Your own label Colony Productions, which you run with Sam from Vent, has been going since 2001. How have you seen the UK music scene change in this time?
The digital revolution is now in full effect.
How about the rest of the world?
It's getting smaller and smaller.
Where do you like to play the most?
Wherever the best party is..
What's the craziest gig you've ever played?
Miami with the Schematic crew.
What's your favourite track at the moment?
The whole of Broken Soul Jamboree from Tipper.
Who's inspiring you at the moment? Zakir Hussain and the masters of percussion, saw them live a few months ago and it blew me away.
Who are you looking out for in 2012? Vent, new material on the way and Mouldy Soul.
What new releases have you got in the pipeline? Bran (Richards) is up next and has just been sent out on Promo.
Where can we see you playing next and over the summer?
April 13th for Beta Birmingham and Glade.
What have you got lined up for your first show on Glitch FM?
Some classic Colony back catalogue and a guest mix from KrossBow. See ya there!!
Glitch hop pretty much originated in the UK, so I’ve always been a bit puzzled as to why it’s never really taken off here. Uppercut is one of a number of nights burgeoning around the country that has set out not only to remedy this situation, but to raise the bar. With underfloor speakers.
How does that work in a Hackney Wick warehouse?! Well apparently the answer is to build a two tier pyramid-come-boxing ring that takes up most of the main room and stuff it with bass bins. As we arrive, Atomic Drop are demonstrating the Funktion-One system in full effect with their energetic dancehall, electro house and dubstep. You could feel your legs tremble the minute you set foot on the first tier, which turned into full shakes on the dance platform. There‘s no option but to dance, especially with these boys at the controls.
SixAM gets 'em bouncing
The first glitch hop DJ on the bill is SixAM, co-founder of Liverpool's Skanky Panky Records. For a brief moment at the start of his set, I wonder whether the audience is ready for mid-tempo in the main room at 2am, but as Buddha pulls out remixes of DJ Fresh, DJ Hype and Ray Charles the party really got going. Pretty soon the pyramid is packed with bodies popping and bumping to the jacking beats, with fresh dubs from Skanky Panky and big tunes from the likes of The Glitch Mob. The dancefloor is a melee of fur, animal tails and incredible patterned onesises. Secret Garden Party goers would feel quite at home.
L-Biz on the ones and twos (in a pimped-out 1960s spaceship)
Being Hackney Wick, I’d been expecting a rather grimier warehouse, but the Autumn Street Studios are a surprisingly nice conversion with friendly bouncers, affordable drinks and plenty of space to dance. The second room, hosted by Tell Tails, resembles a graffiti jam disguised as a festival tent - the perfect setting for an old skool scratch set from L-Biz of Beat3. It’s further enhanced by some rather talented girls with hoop that looks like it’s been forged from pure rainbows.
Escaped rainbows sighted in Hackney
Back in the main room, the ceiling sweat showers have already started, whilst Head of State breaks out of filthy d'n'b into a particularly fat remix of Jump Around. As if we have any choice. Outside, in the shadow of the Olympic Park, smokers lounge on bare-spring sofas and crouch on fire escape steps.
Your Niece paints with his face
UK Glitch Hop and Uppercut resident, Your Niece has been pioneering crunk in the UK for years and his opening set for Bassnectar at Secret Garden Party last year completely blew me away, so I’m really looking forward to seeing him. He doesn't disappoint, carrying the ever-energetic crowd on a bass odyssey into the morning, from popping glitch to carpet bombing bass. Psymbionic's Intergalactic remix has the whole floor bouncing like mad, as do fresh tunes from Akira Kiteshi, Ben Samples and Bassnectar, and the odd snatches of familiar riff form the likes of Muse. Lazer noises in the music are sketched out by real ones, strafing the smoke-filled air with coloured shapes and beams.
Beat3 "I can hear Britney"
By the time Bournemouth producers Beat3 take the stage, dawn’s already filtering through the skylights. On laptops, pads and decks, playing lots of original tunes as well as recent releases from Koan Sound, DCarls and Adapted Records, their bouncy funk hop is the perfect end to the night. As party goers drop into cuddle puddles at the back of the vibrating stack, a spilled drink on the stage at the front dances in ripples and spikes with every thump of the bass.
Free back massage
The Uppercut crew recently announced a ridiculous glitch hop line-up for The Meteor Stage at Glade Festival, hosted by themselves, Skanky Panky, Donky Pitch, Jump Music and Colony Productions, with headliners including Ben Samples, VENT, Akira Kiteshi, Slugabed, Zen Death Squad, Memory 9 and Koan Sound. If this is just a small taste things to come, I'm going to have to get in training."
Comprising three of the most talented early innovators of West Coast glitch hop - Ed Ma (edIT), Josh Mayer (Ooah / Of Porcelin / PANTyRAiD) and Justin Boreta (NastyWays / Slidecamp) - The Glitch Mob have done for their music in the US what Benga and Skream have achieved for dubstep in the UK.
The timeline is fairly similar too. edIT's first release on Planet Mu in 2004, Crying Over Pros For No Reason, is one of the earliest examples of the genre that now not only saturates the West Coast of Canada and America, but has followers across Europe, Australia, South Africa and beyond.
2007 was probably the year that saw the scene begin to consolidate itself, with a second album from edIT, a classic release from Bassnectar, glitch compilations on Muti Music and Interchill, and the first tunes from Ooah and Boreta. In the Bay Area and LA, edIT, Ooah, Boreta and co-founder Kraddy found themselves touring together to promote their sound.
A string of genre-defining remixes as The Glitch Mob followed, freely shared through their website, and collated in 2009's Crush Mode mixtape. The music had all the bounce of the most beat focused hip-hop, all the bombast of rock, and a tendency towards the epic, layered with g-funk synths and guitar crunches. Last year the departure of Kraddy foreshadowed the release of the collective's first self penned album, Drink the Sea.
The album marked a change. It was geared towards live shows rather than record bags, with pounding drums and a stadium feel. As a DJ, I was disappointed an found many of the tracks to be too similar, but Drink the Sea is loved by many and found the Mob a lot of new fans. Although I couldn't make it to their UK album launch at Koko and January 2011 tour, I heard reports of the live show: three guys fiddling with laptops, that didn't fulfill the promise of the epic music.
When we arrived, Pete Jordan was playing a banging bass set that just about covered all bases imaginable. In front of him sat three sets of Ableton controllers, touch screens and electric drums, all controls facing towards the audience. Where they going to be turned around? They surely wouldn't play with their backs to us?
As the edIT led the Mob onstage, black shirts, white ties, in a cloud of smoke, crowd chanting, the trio leaned over from behind their kit, still facing the audience, to begin sequencing and playing touch-pad synths and effects in full view. This was going to be a live show.
With the "put your hands in the air" sample of the opening track, things had the instant feeling of a stadium rock concert. As hundreds of live hand claps began to punctuate the beats, I couldn't help but feel a tingle up my spine.
While some might question the virtuosity of playing patterns on pre-programmed touch pads, tracks like 'Fortune Days' soon began to really show off edIT and Oaah's deft finger-work, trained through years of vinyl teasing. Meanwhile Boreta was a quiet presence on the left, like the rhythm guitarist of the group, constantly cuing and tweaking. The drums got a frequent battering from all three, adding a strong dynamic to their movement on stage.
The stand out tracks were the classic remixes 'Red Dress On', 'Monday' and 'West Coast Rocks', which really got the whole place popping like it was New Year's Eve. It also gradually became apparent that the 'same sounding' feel of the album tracks actually held the live set together as a thematic progression.
The set culminated in an encore opening with the suitably epic 'Drive it like you stole it' and it was another cover, The White Stripes 'Seven Nation Army' dedicated to all the "filthy fucking bass lovers out there" that wrapped things up in triumphant style, to a sea of arm, people sitting on each others shoulders and double-time clapping. The Mob's sound is so warm and all encompassing that I don't think anyone really wanted it to end.
On the basis of last night's performance, The Glitch Mob have successful overcome any criticisms leveled at their live show and are all set to be the melodic stadium-rock pin-ups of the glitch-hop world. The real strength of their achievement for me, though, is that unlike Magnetic Man they've managed to do this without compromising an almost entirely instrumental sound.
Having finally understood the context of the Drink the Sea, I'm now looking forward to seeing where they go with the next album.
Full props to Pete Jordan and the Spectrum crew for getting the Mob over here (twice now!). I'd love to see more US acts brought over next year (ill.Gates, Love and Light, Mim0Sa Stephan Jacobs) with support from UK talent like Zen Death Squad, KrossBow, Inaudible, Bobby Tank or William Breakspear. If you're with me, like this!
So, following a 2011 UK tour from Bassnectar (the first in 7 years), The Glitch Mob also return to the UK this weekend. With dubstep getting ever more US sounding (Flux Pavillion, Doctor P), a jaw dropping EP from Zen Death Squad this summer (pictured above) and an amazing forthcoming tune from Koan Sound on Zane Lowe's playlist this week, the time feels ripe for UK Glitch Hop to blow up in 2012.
On this tip I've started a UK Glitch Hop Facebook page to help you keep track of events and releases, as well as keeping everyone else posted with what you're up to (Like Like Like). According to Facebook there's over 30,000 of us in the UK who like US glitch hop acts, so lets get behind our home-grown talent as well. They fucking bounce! Here's a guide to what's out there at the moment...
Released today, here's a sample of that literal Funk Blaster from Bristol's Koan Sound: Funk Blaster by KOAN Sound
With heavy props from the likes of ill.Gates, Ben Samples and Muti Music boss Dov, this is my EP of the year so far from London's Zen Death Squad. They've just completed a US tour and have a new release on the boil. Cyber Dojo Lazer Training EP by Zen Death Squad
Bigup the originator - Dave Tipper is one of the artists that got this whole thing started and probably the first person I ever heard playing glitch hop in the UK
The first DJ I ever heard smashing balls of lazer crunk across UK dancefloors was Your Niece. He opened for Bassnectar at Secret Garden Party this year and blew the Colisillium apart Your Niece - Headshot Masterclass by Your Niece
I seem to remember Vent from London making heavy ass dubstep smashers, but they've recently co-produced a sick track with ill.gates and Opiuo and released more mid-tempo wobble through Colony Productions Ill.gates + Opiuo + VENT - Trillogy by VENT
Orangudan in Worcester has been smashing out the wobble and mid-tempo for some time NippleRash by Orangudan
On the mid-tempo / electro side of things there's a very tasty producer coming on in Guildford called WBBL Wbbl Up Here by WBBL
Also down in Bristol DJ Parker is rather partial to a bit of glitch-hop. Although I've not yet heard a full glicthed out release from him it can only be a matter of time (nudge nudge, hint hint) Parker - The Monkey Butler Did It...Mix by Parker*
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