A Few Forward Motion Photos

I thought as other blogs deal with the year gone, in terms of top 10's and discussions about the demise of quality in genres. I generally agree that dubstep is becoming less ground breaking, and is recovering old ground, with exceptions of course.

So what did I decide to do, go through my photo archives and show you the lonely few hours a week that was Forward Motion the show, however much fun I had dancing to myself across the studio and thus creating some dead air.

(This one as you can see, is me chilling out, I assume.

Those Clydes are now in some state, they were the wrong size)

The walk home was always fun, this bright yellow light was

found glowing in an University building.

The walk home usually made me take some nice or

horrendous photos of Newcastle at night

The Union clock, halfway through a 9-11 show,

I'm guessing it's not a 10 o'clock start, I'd be too

self concious to do such a thing with others in the studio

A view by Hetton Park sometime near Midnight




Traffic Cones, they just seem so much nicer at night
Maybe that's just me?

I don't know why but this Grit bin is my favourite photo

from the Forward Motion on NSR FM period.

In case anyone is wondering I'm currently putting together a speech based youth show, and maybe a one off Forward Motion both for community radio stations up here in the North East.

Radio, a medium to use anytime

I have to admit that as of the last week and a bit I have been throwing myself into listening to on demand radio, listening again, or just podcasts and audio that are up and about. I think this has something to do with the shifts I work, not pleasent, and the fact that some of the radio that I could be listening to is not what I want at that particular time, or it could be the fact that I feel like I don't listen to enough music these days. A fact that was driven home to me, a few weeks back listening to Desert Island Discs with Jill Balcon.
Right now I'm listening to Radio Free Hvana on Dazed Digital, there is something charming about Howie B and Craig Richards presenting it, the fact they find themselves so funny, that they're laid back and unfazed by slip up's, something that calls to mind some of the more amusing radio shows I have heard on student radio and other amateur sources, and that ain't dissing them, that's just saying that they clearly care more about the music than the scripts, if there are any.
My other on demand favourite is probably unsurprising, Rupture Radio, presented by DJ /Rupture gives a nice overview of a world of music that fills the blogs but you don't often here together on a show, which is a shame, to many radio shows are genre specific whether with a loose genre grouping or a very tight idea, which to be honest actually agrivates me after a while.
Meanwhile Kiss Fm, has also provided me with a nice selection of shows to pick from. Joe Ransom, Sinden and of Crazy D and Hatcha, there are probably more I should check out too.
I also intend to check out Samurai FM as well in the near future, and of course I have to listen to Sub FM.

Meanwhile I'm a little disappointed to see that two big dubstep nights are on in the toon on the same night, the 23rd, it just don't make sense.

I heard those beats on the radio

After a day, spent lazily listening to Gilles Peterson and Benji B on listen again, yes I like soulful beats. I also am very impressed by Soil and Pimp Sessions, check out the live sessions from the electric proms on Gilles' show. On another positive bit of radio from the last week Mary Anne Hobbs presented a very tasty selection from Flying Lotus.

While in a good link Mary Anne and Virus Syndicate roll into Newcastle on the 23rd November to play Northumbria Uni's Reds Bar courtesy of my old friends at Stropic and their live wing Catastropic.

While I'm on it, I have to say it's now unlikely that the radio show will return in it's old form, though I'm working on a few ideas and we may have something in the new year, after an all too quiet 2007.

Sound Bombing

I just thought these little spheres would be of interest to those that read this blog, although I do have a vague recollection of mentioning them to some before. Anyway the concept is simple a small motion sensor and speaker system that play out a prerecorded piece of audio, the possibilities as they say are endless, a walkway of audio, or even possibly a low tech guerrilla advertising method, you have a radio show to plug? Why not drop one of these babies outside a local club, bar or record shop and advertise to all who enter or pass by. So a sound bomb it is.

I also love the fact that you have to apply to get one, it's not just as simple as just buying them. I'm tempted to add one to my Budda Machine as part of my soul lo-fi audio gadgets.

Meanwhile Dan Hancox has gone and got an interview with the mysterious man known as Burial.

If you want something to add to your calendar why not consider going to World Headquarters on Thursday, November 22nd. Why? Tayo is playing Deviate.

It's better than a cold October morning!

It's been too long, and I say that too often.

I'm gutted to say I had to skip the last heavyweight, and to be honest my attendence at heavyweight is truly shambolic, if it was school my teacher would be writing to my parents by now. I will say now that I will be at the next heavyweight.

So that's Saturday 10th November, starting at 7pm. Should be a good one!

Also looking good is James Holden at the Cosmic Ballroom, for Habit. That one is Friday 2nd, and I'm tempted to pop down for that one.

In the meantime if you want some audio delicacy and fancy something grimey then may I suggest the Lower End Spasm's (Dot-Alt) contribution to the Blogariddim series.

Or if you fancy a mash up then I'm quite liking this one by DJ C. If you want more go visit mashit. In case you're wondering that is a remix of sorts of Ghislain Poirier's new single Blazin' on Ninja Tune.

The Weapon of Choice

A while back now Forward Motion was dominated by the sounds of anticon, and while I won't go out and dismiss Anticon forever, I have to say that I haven't been too interested in what Anticon et al have been up to. Though as always there is an exception to the rule, and in this case the exception is Sixtoo.
When I found out that Sixtoo had a new album out I decided I would check it out, to be honest I don't think I ever thought that it was a risk, because while others have disappointed every so often Sixtoo's releases have always hit the spot, and Jackals and Vipers in Envy of Man is no different. Well actually it is different, the dark brooding melodies are present, and it certainly sounds like Sixtoo, however it just seems ten times heavier than previous efforts, maybe not the proto dubstep of Fear of Flying dub. This heaviness would seem to be in some way related to the prominence of bass at the moment, not that I'll complain about bass' prominence. Anyway back to the point, this album is great, go out and buy it. I'll continue looking forward to new Sixtoo albums. (Whilst researching I noticed that Dan and Alex over at Dot:Alt have analysed the place of anticon in the current soundscape.)
Meanwhile these last two weeks have taken it out of me, mainly for a ridiculous commute that was improved only by Radio 4 (Today, Just A Minute, and PM, to name but a few)and several great mixes on my mobile phone. So thanks to the Faggatronix Push soundsystem promo mix, Prancehall's Anger is a Gift and that old DJ /Rupture Hamburg Radio Mix, which is still amazing.
Soon I'll be also adding this Six Vicious Mix to my phones arsenal.

I did notice an interesting phenomenon on my journeys to Teeside, that of the bastardised bike. Several kids were seen riding around on strangely modified bikes, including an urban penny farthing of sorts, suspension forks and mountain bike front wheel, bmx frame (I think) and stunt pegs and bmx wheel...strange combination to see, if you ask me. Some odd chopper style little girls bikes were also seen.

A Manifesto of Sorts

Well, I'm clear headed after a night that should have seen me out and about at the Other Rooms for Heavyweight, I have to apologise for not going because to be honest things have been a little surreal this last week and it has left me feeling far from 100%. Anyway I have to say I'm gutted to have missed Youngsta.

Next I would like to congratulate Utopia FM who although are on air now with another RSL broadcast, have just been given a community licence for Sunderland, Ofcoms press release is here, nice work. I look forward to it, and hopefully being involved. Interesting to see that Newcastle will now have two community stations. If you want to read about community radio, wikipedia offers some details here.

Anyway on to a related manifesto of sorts, which will be no doubt be interrupted by me laughing at Just a Minute.

Student radio in the UK, in my eyes at least, seems to be in a bit of a squeeze financially, and so the stations seem to be looking at new directions, or seem to be falling at the way side. Online broadcasting seems to be the direction that a few stations have decided to head for, or the other is the community licences as mentioned above in the post. I feel that although both have their pitfalls, it is a great relief that student stations are escaping from the FM RSL broadcasts that dominated student audio media in the UK. These licences crippled student radio, how do you keep a station popular while it is off air for 6 months, you need a dedicated marketting team and a strong promotional campaign, and even that won't do the job.

So what to opt for, well I believe that both will now present challenges to those running the stations in how to create and maintain an audience. If the nations commercial station's are struggling to deal with the challenge of competing with new media sources, what does it mean for the student stations. We, the listener, have access to a huge array of audio, from web only stations specialising in a particular genre, podcasts on demand, or stations that are trying to be a localised station in a worldwide market place.

This is where I reach my key problem facing student radio stations working online alone, that although they have an audience, are they really maximising that audience. A student station operating online only, is not accessible to it's full audience, and even worse I feel will be guilty of alienating any listener who has stumbled across the station by accident, admittedly not as likely as with your FM dial. Online stations are only accesible to the students who have access to broadband, at the library yes, but what percentage of students have broadband at home? In an ideal world, it would be closer to 100% than it actually is. This also raises the question of how the station earns money from advertising without a real hold of the audience.

Cue the advantage of the community licence, you have access to an audience all of the time, through their mobile phones (well the one's that have FM radios), their radios at home, and also at work. It also means that you have access to the wider community of your city or town. And with student reputations constantly being damaged by local media sensationalism, unhappy locals and to be fair poor behaviour, it is a perfect oppurtunity to build bridges within the community. Also, and I hope that this is noted by University marketting departments, if your station is providing something that is local and far more engaging than other commercial stations in your area you can start to attract potential local students to your university.

Though here I draw on a question, one that I can't answer myself. Is a student community station really looking to replicate a commercial staion or is it looking to provide programming for the whole student community?

By this I mean that student radio in the U.K, in my experiences, is certainly dominated, if not totally programmed to the audience of the British music lover, whether that be an indie kid, a hip hop fan, or like Forward Motion when it was on air the electronic/ experimental music lover. And although I cannot deny music does cross borders what I want to know is their a case for student stations to accomodate programming for the more vunerable students those who are in a different country and a new culture, should international students be more strongly targetted by student radio programmers? I think so, and I regret never having tried to push this fact previously. The key issue is accessing these groups and getting them interested in student radio, in doing so I now believe that it would be possible to not only link up with this student community but also similar minority groups in your local vicinity.

What student radio stations now need to do is consider who their audiences are, and how to reach out to the community. Too much time is devoted on air to the same genre, and although the oppurtunity to give a good number of people experience on air cannot be knocked, I think that the need to try and attract a wider community to the station both as an audience and participants is necessary, otherwise community stations will soon become micro commercial stations and is that what is really intended.

I hope some will come and knock my arguements on the head, there are far more points I could make, but let's leave it at that. Community radio can be interesting, look at Resonance, therefore you would hope a station ran by students could offer something just as interesting.
If you want some more community radio related details check this out written by Gregory Whitehead

A hard nights work, well dancing

So Saturday night, well what can I say, I had a great night...a nice bit of dubstep is good, a truckload can always be healthy every now and again. Not always though, just in case you think that I could spend all my time listening to dubstep, as with every genre there is stuff out there I don't care for.

Anyone who saw me on Saturday, may well have thought that I looked fed up, instead I was just worn out and to be honest on my last legs by the time I got to The Other Rooms, running the couple of miles from the Tyne along the quayside and up to central will help kill you off trust me. Anyway I'm procrastinating.

I think I chose the most unusual method of framing my mind for dubstep on the metro ride into town, I chose to listen to a mix linked to by Rupture of an interesting, if mildly confusing, pitched down cumbias by Sonido Martines, it's downloadable here. It might just confuse my ears due to the fact that I have no relationship with the music, and therefore the frame of reference I come to is only picked upon when some sample from a Rod Stewart track creeps in.

So No Name offered a delicious line up topped by Benga and Appleblim, needless to say both did what they do so well I can't complain. Benga's sets always strike me as some of the most colourful dubstep sets, it gets to a point that Georgina Cook mentioned in the documentary I recorded, that it would be nice to see Dubstep at festivals, Benga is the sort of DJ I can see doing a daytime set in a green field. Meanwhile Dynamix played another great set, that to be honest really started off the dubstep affair nicely and got a few more bodies moving out on the dancefloor.

To the Other Rooms and the Heavyweight boys, I haven't been to enough Heavyweight nights lately, I think £27 taxi rides home reinforce the downside of living in South Shields. It might also highlight why I was so reluctant to leave early. Dynamix and Funk Ethics (check out The Blues is Now on his myspace page, somewhere between Prefuse73 and Benny Ill) both played heavy sets that got the night going, and that I thought were both up there. Gravious and Scuba to be honest seemed to find my body trying to shut me down, and to be honest Gravious I found the most enjoyable, Scuba, as much as I do like his sets usually, was just a little to dark for me with my body in meltdown, on a different night, I may well have been singing the praises of Paul Rose and not leaving early, sadly a long day just took its toll.

For future reference I will drink more energy drinks and water, and less beer, and maybe have a pizza midway to avoid this sort of burnout. Now to bed.

what to do on a saturday night?

So it appears Lower End Spasm is the hottest podcast series to subscribe to, getting plenty of attention, as is 4x4 check out Rupture's thoughts here. To be honest I'm loving 4x4 along with minimal just for the fact that it offers something different to dubstep, and trust me I'm not sick of it, just I firmly believe you need to get as much of a variety of music as you can, and well I happen to love DJ's who blend a variety of tunes together well, and forget genres.

I am currently happy to say that M.I.A's new album Kala has grown on me greatly, at first Jimmy was the only track that jumped out at me, on repeat listens though things seem to pick up and get a lot more interesting, and not as laid back as I first thought. Maybe the summer sun has made me love it more, but good god I wish I had Forward Motion on air now just so I could drop some of those tunes.

Another lady who's work I'm loving is my friend Laura, who's tune Nosey Nosey is quite frankly one very nice piece of techno....I should sell it more, but I feel very biased, go listen to it on her myspace and make up your own mind.

And in case you're wondering why I'm online on a Friday night it's because tomorrow night I have Benga, Scuba, Appleblim, Gravious, Dynamix, Funk Ethics and a few more to see, at the Tyne (No Name) and then at the Other Rooms (Heavyweight)

Mixes, Birthdays and a hectic nightlife

Ok so I don't have too much to write at the moment, I could head towards social commentary if the lack of new music keeps on coming, thank god for mixes to download and put on my phone. Next to be downloaded is the Faggatronix 4 x 4 birthday mix. I have to say that I have been feeling the mixes being spun out by Faggatronix and Zombie Disco Squad lately, maybe it's the different vibe that they offer, well a different vibe in comparison to the dubstep mixes that fill up my phone at the moment. On a different tip, I did pick up a nice mix courtesy of Timeblind the other day, which is minimal and very worth while.
This weekend I should hopefully be down at Backlash, on Friday night at the Red Rooms, with Heavyweight occupying downstairs, with Reso, Dynamix and Funk Ethics on duty.
Meanwhile further to the previous posting you can have more dubstep than you can shake a leg at on August 25th, not only do we have Benga and Dynamix down at the Tyne, we also have Scuba, Gravious, Funk Ethics and Dynamix again at the Other Rooms also, sounds like a good evening to me. If you wanna hear Paul Rose discuss dubstep (recorded last summer) check out the dubstep documentary.
In the meantime I'll say happy birthday to Lightbomb for Friday.

Daftness and a documentary

Respect to all those that No Name on Saturday, was a great night and I just wish I hadn't drank so much...but anyway I'll review Coki et al soon.
The point in this post is to highlight the fact that the dubstep documentary I made last year is now online, courtesy of my man Lightbomb.
I'll bring more news to you soon, in the meantime why is Kanye West using Daft Punk so addictive?

Mixed queries and a Canadian Returns

Well I was intending to fill this up with reviews, then I realise hang on I'm a few months behind on records, I've only just got the latest TTC offering, 3615, and to be honest it's a similar situation with most records at the moment, it seems to be a problem related to no longer being a student, having a 45 minute commute on each journey to work and not as much internet access as possible, how record buying has altered. I won't lament the loss of photocopied fanzines to the likes of Pitchfork, because well I never bought enough fanzines to justify that rant.

In case you are wondering 3615 offering is a great record, but it doesn't quite match up to Batards Sensible. I have to say TTC, along with Wiley's Playtime is Over, great album though I think I should be buying Tunnel Vision too. Team Shadetek's Pale Fire, now this is an album I won't grow tired of listening to, which is a similar feeling to that which I have of Soundboy Punishments on Skull Disco. For me Soundboy Punishments had to be purchased I've always loved Appleblim's and Shackleton's tracks but if you can't play vinyl regularly, and hell I can't mix so why would I buy vinyl for a non existent turntable, then CD compilations are one way to keep the guys on the floor hooked and fulfilled.

This also raises the question should a compilation of Dubstep records exist in a non-mixed form? I am going to say yes, purely based on my experience as a former student radio presenter, no never could call himself a DJ and who's budget and love of music wouldn't allow him to buy a crate of vinyl a month. Though for general home listening a mix CD may well be more popular for those who are out on the dance floor. It all depends do you listen to these tracks as a part of the DJ's arsenal or as stand alone creations that are capable of working outside the mix. In some cases I think it is both, and in others well I think it is the former, and in the odd case like Burial the latter generally. Somebody prove me wrong about Burial in a club and I'll smile from ear to ear.

Anyway talking of mixes, I'm listening to a DJ Spooky mix, System Error, that is leaving me a little flat, and well this is a home listening mix for sure, I just can't imagine a DJ playing this set in a club, while the likes of DJ /Rupture will put together a mix that encompasses a wide range of sounds from across the globe and bring politics through while still keeping the party going, Spooky delivers a mix that will keep you head nodding but I just feel that Bush sound bites and those beats will never send a club into rapture. Maybe I'm missing the point, I'm just not feeling it.

Thank god for the evils of Myspace, for I learn that one of my two favourite Canadian producers has an album due out in September, who could this be? Sixtoo, of course, it feels like it's been a long time coming and part of me is wondering where Sixtoo fits in now. After all he emerged in amongst those on Anticon, when my musical discourse was of Def Jux and Dose One. But what now? Part of me is curious to see he is working on a sound system with Ghislain Poirier, the other Canadian whose work I admire.

Mixes for your phones

So with a weekend that didn't present much in the way of going out, I decided to spend some time listening to mixes and seeing what is out there, and of course listening again to Mary Anne Hobbs.
So what were these mixes that caught my ear, and had my headphones blazing on my phone, who needs an iPod, eh?

Well up first are Faggatronix, with a mix that quite frankly made me want to be in a club so I could hear and feel the beats. So go check out the mix they did for Zombie Disco Squad. The mix is here on the ever reliable Lower End Spasm. Also to be honest you could do far worse than subscribe to their podcasts, for plenty of ear candy.

Talking of Zombie Disco Squad I think checking out there mix for Discobelle is well worthwhile, so go on it's here, enjoy.

And finally the local boy Dynamix has a new mix out there, with plenty of unreleased dubs, and it gives you a good idea what to expect when you head down to Heavyweight. The next Heavyweight goes down on 10th August at the Red Rooms, and features not only Dynamix, but Funk Ethics and ED:IT.

Also events to put in your diary, or organizer, or hell even your myspace calendar, No Name is back at the Tyne pub, with the best two free nights you could wish for. Check out No Fi for full details, but July 28th sees:
Coki,
Mundo,
Bass Clef,
Artwhore,
Dave Guy,
Nik Barrera.

While August 25th sees a line up I can't wait to witness, namely:
Benga,
Appleblim,
Dynamix,
Retina Glitch,
Road to Rimini,
Nik Barrera.

Both promise to be great nights, which I will not miss for love nor money.

Wish I Could Retire

I've been sleeping on the more fire, more bass mix by mr. Matt Shadetek for a while, and god I wish I had been playing it daily instead, a nice tough blend that is just what my head needed.
Job hunting requires something heavy.

Also Wiley posts make for good distractions from a lack of assistant producers positions etc. Dot Alt and Rupture both look at the post-retirement of Wiley.

Transporting Audio

So, I've just finished a little re-edit and development of a small snippet of a piece by myself entitled Transportation, there will be a full version finished off this month. You may be getting a strong sense of deja vu, as yes it is a reawakened project.
The basic premise of the piece is to explore the every day sounds of public transportation, and to transport these sounds into another realm beyond what you hear.
If you wanna check out the sample, and give me feedback it's at the myspace

In the meantime a few debates linger, should I up sticks to London and try to start a fresh there? Also is Forward Motion appropriate or would a new name, or my name be a better title...any feedback as ever is welcome.

If you want some music go visit Lightbomb.

Sonar '07

So back from Sonar, and I brought the weather back with me, though I'm finding my body clock is struggling to deal with a change back to the old sleep patterns, it's almost like dancing to dubstep and then trying to do the house moves, your body decides that it doesn't quite understand the old ways.

I suppose the simplest way to do this would be in the form of highlights, low lights and maybe some advice. I don't see the need to pour out words all over the shop.

The one thing with Sonar is the fact that things you want to see come at once, for this see Friday night, where I witnessed some moments of greatness and some falls from greatness. The highlight of the evening for me had to be Radio 1's Dubstep offering, I missed out Oris Jay, for the most part, but Skream, Kode 9 and Mary Anne Hobbs all delivered sets that kept me on my feet all night and made any other form of dancing virtually impossible later on. For my part it was a sadly rare moment for me to feel my body rattle to dubstep, and definitely the most euphoric experience for myself at Sonar, Kode 9 and the Spaceape definitely stole the show for me. I'm starting to discover that Spaceape's lyrics are quite soothing, the repetition becomes entrapped in your mind and so helps position you in a sea of monstrous beats.

With all that going on at Sonar Lab, I had to give Modeselektor DJ-Team a miss. Justifying it with the fact that I caught them at the Tyne last summer, and well I thought along with the dubstep dons DJ Mehdi would be worth investing in, to be honest Mehdi did play a great set, Good Life will always put a smile on my face, and should have brought a t-shirt off my companion had he managed to navigate his way to Mehdi in time, from the Beastie Boys.

I had deserted the Beastie Boys quite early on, I have to say everyone I was with seemed to be enjoying themselves, however there was something that just didn't quite click for me. The set seemed littered with new instrumental numbers that seemed out of place, and for me the energy level never really picked up, and I was left disappointed, though to be honest MC's did that to me that evening.

(Walking the halls of Sonar by Night)

Yes, Dizzie Rascal was a bit disappointing, I'm not sure what it was. I could point out that the sound was a little muddy, and a lot of the productions subtleties got lost in the stampede of sound waves. The energy was there, and there were moments of glory namely Fix Up, Look Sharp, Jus' A Rascal, and I Luv U. Sirens even did the trick, despite the sound system failing to do the job needed. The last point with Dizzie Rascal is who told him to collaborate with Shy Fx, who, of all the drum and bass producers in the world...it just didn't work, and sounded older than the anthems from the Boy In Da Corner.

I then attempted to dance to Timo Maas, that officially is a blur caused by tiredness and my frustration at my inability to dance to 4/4. Which must have looked pretty similar to a fair few confused heads in Sonar Lab for Benji B and Spacek, broken beat just didn't seem to fit the mood sadly...maybe it's one for Sonar by Day.

Sonar by Day is an odd affair, it can pass by quite quickly if you're not careful, and for those still recovering from the night before I'm sure they wish it passed by just like that. This year it seemed like there was less on then back in 2005, maybe my memory deceives me. The Thursday was spent to lazing in Sonar Village, for those who have only seen the pictures its that sunbathers paradise on astroturf, also home to some great live moments. The Thursday however went by in a blur, James Holdens ambient electronica DJ set always seemed like it would pick up and kick the evening off, but just seemed to float back down just as the bass threatened to pick up feet. While Accidental records presentation went by quickly with little of interest to my ear, all three had something about them that might have worked elsewhere but on the main stage of sonar by day they seemed to struggle.

Struggling didn't seem to be a word needed for the Friday, once the crowd had settled themselves in. The vibe was made by the Barna Basstars: Fatkut and DJ Code, who played out a set of hip hop, with a soulful edge that got the crowd and myself energised. A J Dilla production and Barcelona sun seem almost perfect together and the ideal way to start the day.

A leap and bound away, down at Sonar Dome, Nettle produced a set of beauty that to be honest I'm glad they're doing, and one that makes me long for a new album. DJ /Rupture and co, are producing some of the best beat laden music around at the moment, so ok it's more home listening but it's still invigorating. A fact that the audience could certainly testify. This along with Kode 9 made my Sonar.

(Nettle live at the Sonar Dome)

A whole different scenario awaited me back at the village with Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators, where the party was in full swing. A nicely accomplished set of funk and soul, that it is almost impossible not to at least bop your heard to, let alone sway about in the sunshine too.
The Saturday was a warning, we made it down just in time for C2C, a bit fatigued from the evening before, however any weariness was soon shook out of our systems by four french turntabalists who know what they're doing. A set that combined party tunes, and tricks is rare and to be honest I've seen some great turntabalists turn out sets only half as a good as these guys, all because they just couldn't find a balance and couldn't engage an audience, C2C can and I will check them out again and again if they perform like that.

The last daytime DJ we decided to check out was Miles, from Modern Love, who produced a set of minimal beats with a Detroit edge that to be honest was far more enjoyable than I was expecting, and was up there as my unexpected gem of the festival. I often forget that I enjoy techno, and so skip that section of the line up, it could all come down to the fact that it's not what goes into my sets or shows so therefore I often forget to go and check it out.

Though we did accidentally stumble in on Aloe Blacc of Stones Throw fame letting the good vibes roll out through the Red Bull Academy Lounge. If I'm going to be honest this was one of the best party atmospheres of the festival, with a crowd really enjoying themselves and letting it all out.

Checking it out should have been the plan on Saturday night, sadly a bit of fatigue and losing track of time when food consumption was concerned led us to miss large chunks of Saturday nights line up, that and the fact that frankly I wasn't that interested to be frank. Christian Vogel I was disappointed to miss, he's always been on my list of DJ's I would go to see for sure, just out of curiosity. We did however make it for Mogwai, who I have to say weren't as lost at Sonar, as to many their inclusion sounded. Also caused the debate to be raised Sigur Ros, Mogwai or Godspeed You Black Emperor...Mogwai get my vote, oh I forgot Silver Mount Zion. So yes Mogwai, epic, splendid and just what the doctor ordered. Though curiosity nearly led this cat to run out and see Matthew Dear's Big Hands which sounded like an interesting occurrence, I'll await reviews to tell me if I made the right decision sticking with the Scots.

This was then followed by what I had tried to forget had occurred, Rhazel and DJ J S-One, who booked them, I'm sure on paper they must be a good bet, but dear lord that was a debacle and a half, there's only so many times you can partially beat box someone elses tunes, and again there is only so many times that you can hand out red roses while beat boxing utter crud for the ladies. It's simple to say that the only enjoyment we got was to laugh painfully at the clowns on stage (Just in case you're wondering, there were no clowns just Rhazel and DJ J S-One), I'm not even sure they could do a freshers week set.

It said something for Rhazel that Mala Rodriguez was ten times more enjoyable, the beats aren't the best, but they do the job and despite spending the whole set lost in the langauge gap, I have to say it was a good experience, even if it was a little odd. Legs were giving in at this stage, and with taxi at 8 in the morning, we retired to the apartment. Missing out Altern8, Radio Slave, Jeff Mills and Dave Clarke. Next year anyone?

A few tips for Sonar next year, this is not just a note to self.

1, Find your accommodation on a map, it has to be off Las Ramblas, about a mile each way should suffice, any further and you end up missing too much.
2, You should have two meals only on the Friday and Saturday, medics can tell me off for this, but you only have time for two proper meals a brunch and an evening dinner if you wish to see it all. Otherwise bring a packed lunch. Ham, cheese and baguettes are cheap. The carrefour on Las Ramblas is a good provision stop.
3, Make sure you keep yourself hydrated, water is 1.50 and beer 3 euros on the day, so stock up on fluids before you go on the site, though you can't bring it in with you. Hence me leaving two litres of San Miguel at the gates, arse biscuits.
4, Wear your flip flops in, but also don't dance in them, avoid blisters at all costs.
5, Cook your evening meals on the nights of the festival, as restaurants don't give you enough time to get ready and to the night bus on time. Also when cooking pasta on an electric hob, keep an eye on it, cleaning hobs is a waste of your time.

Just to Lukid's Onandon is a very nice slab of hip hop, ideal home listening, review typing stuff, detailed and foot tapping, head noddingly good.

The pics are on there way.

Sonar, Woot!

So, I seem to make a habit of posting promises that I don't keep, maybe I should stop posting promises of the return...well this is the last promise...I will revive Forward Motion this month. I guess I'm hoping a trip to Sonar, and a holiday in Barcelona will we awaken my creative juices, and also keep me away from watches enough for my mind to focus on something else.
I have just about finished a training pack on watches for work, maybe I should put together a watch documentary...a history of the swiss watch industry, perhaps.
Anyway moving on, you should expect a full lowdown on Sonar within two weeks, and perhaps some snippets while I'm out there.
In the meantime it's good to see Faggatronix getting some well deserved attention.
Also while I'm away all you Newcastle dubstep peeps should get out there and support Heavyweight at the Other Rooms, featuring Jack Sparrow on Saturday 16th.
Whilst I'm in the fair city of Barcelona I may well pop into see these guys, Ward 10, at the Suite Club on Thursday 14th.
If anyone has any Sonar week suggestions hit me up.
In the meantime who thought hair related puns could be so much fun?

So what has happened?

What on earth has happened?

So Forward Motion is still off air. Don't panic though, new audio is available here, and notice that a new Matt France who has a penchant for grime has appeared on my friends list, what are the chances.

I have a few new documentary projects in the research stage, and not just documentaries but soundscapes and other small scale productions.

Also coming soon will be some reviews, I've decided I might as well type something of interest to those cruising the net. Upcoming this week will be reviews of High Priest's new effort, and also the DJ /Rupture and Filastine shotgun wedding mix CD.

In the meantime if you want some soundscapes go visit Northumbrian Sounds, courtesy of Lucy Pritchard.

I have heard good news that some good friends of mine will be on air in Newcastle on NE1 FM. I'm looking forward to that station coming on air. For those in the Newcastle area that don't know, NE1 FM is a community radio station that will soon be taking to the airwaves in Newcastle. You can find out more about community radio here at wikipedia and here on the maze that is the Ofcom website, don't worry I've found the useful page for you. Also can find a good article by Gregory Whitehead here

On the North East dubstep front Heavyweight now have their own myspace which can be found here.

I am also now contributing to my good friend, and Sonar companion, Sarah Chapman's new blog adventure Curl Up and Dye

Benga, Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid, and some other bits

So last night saw myself and a motley crew of associates heading down to the Cluny for what could only be described as a mixed bag of a line up, it made sense to me, unlike the time of the last metro.
The Cluny I have to say is not the best venue for dubstep, neither is the soundsystem. Those facts did not prevent Benga playing a storming set, despite jumping records due to over enthusiastic skanking and unsuitable turntable set ups, but enough of the negatives because they didn't ruin a great set. Once again I got the great feeling that dubstep could really take a grip on Newcastle, which is good news for the Heavyweight guys, athough the dancefloor started to fill slowly, by the end it was packed up front, which is a great sign. Benga's set just went to prove that well he is one of the top dogs in the ever growing sound that is dubstep.
Sadly I only witnessed about 15 minutes of Hebden and Reid's set, due to the run to the metro, but from what I heard it was a great one. Steve Reid's drumming just seemed remarkable, I won't pretend to be a jazz afficiando, so I'll just goddamn that man can play.
So just to confirm, Benga tore apart the Cluny and reaffirmed my love of dubstep once again.

On a business tip, I'm thinking of investing in a few bits and pieces to try and get Forward Motion on the go again. A new microphone and a portable digital recorder top my list, and I may also invest in a website too, after promising this far too often I wouldn't hold too tight especially as the major sticking point is a website name at the moment, so any suggestions?

Some Newcastle Events Upcoming

Two nights well worth going to are coming up in the next month or so, first up is Keiran Hebden and Steve Reid, with Benga and Dave Guy in support at the Cluny on Monday (26th) which is courtesy of the guys at No-Fi.
The second of these big nights in my diary comes with Heavyweight @ Stereo, Thurs 12th April , courtesy of Dynamix should be a great night with plenty of sub bass. The DJ's for the night are Jack Sparrow, Forensix(mcr), Bigones, and of course Dynamix. With the soundsystem courtesy of Pangaea Soundsystem. This one is free, so there is little to no excuse for not going! In the meantime big up to Dynamix for continuing to put on Dubstep nights on in Newcastle.
Two posts in one day, what next....the saga continues, I'm thinking community radio next, maybe?

Where Now?

It's been a long time...and well what the hell have I been up to?
I've been applying for several jobs, and well just generally trying to get a foot in the door somewhere.
In the meantime while I try and figure out what is going to happen with Forward Motion this year I think it would be a good idea if I put out there my not so recently completed documentary on dubstep.
I should all being well be in Barcelona this summer for Sonar, I think I'll need it as I feel slightly less connected to music at the moment as I'm used to. I think it's no longer having my own place and being back at my parents and the limited internet access that brings.
And if anyone wants some help with an audio project they have lined up, give me a shout I'm more than willing to try something new in the audio sphere.
Oh and in the meantime go check out Lower End Spasm also known as Dot Alt....including a Wiley interview, what you waiting for.

The end of the road, well until I find some diesel in this backwater

So the day has come, and I have to announce that Forward Motion is no longer on NSR, I'm having to pull the show due to changes in circumstances, and to be honest a certain level of disappointment at the current NSR set up.
In the meantime I'm looking to put together some other forms of production out there, and I don't just mean the blog itself.
In the meantime I highly recommend subscribing to Lower End Spasm's podcast for some very serious and heavy beats.
I'm also not sure what is going on with Rupture but this was a curve ball and a half of a post. Reminds me of discussions I've had on Henry Miller, and the inability to locate the work in fact or fiction.
For now peace

Well look what reappeared

So whats happened to Forward Motion?

Where did the noise turn into static?

Well now panic is over. Panic is maybe blowing it up to a level it's not at yet, maybe a groaning murmur is all that has been mustered.
So whats happened Forward Motion, or as NSR's generally lacklustre programmers wish to call it Matt France Live, well we're back on Tuesday, we should have been back earlier but alot of loose ends were being tied up all over to steady this beast. Expect beats and a bit more, I promise to be a bit less dubstep focused, but let me get my bearings, I've felt like I've been off the radar these past months.
In the meantime if you want to investigate something new Lower End Spasm otherwise known as Dot:Alt should be checked out here.
Also Mary Anne Hobb's show this week includes various treats, including Ghislain Poirier laying down the beats the way they should be.
Oh and that documentary I made, yeah you know the one on dubstep, well it's finished, and will be thrown up across the internet from here, NSR and also in Sunderland all being well on Utopia. For now, peace

Till the next time

So while over here it seems that I can't seem to get my shit together and well I need to get my skates on to some extent on some fronts, I've spent my life being far too horizontal, I never really get out of cruise control. Anyway I digress, I decided that my computer needed a refresh and went on a hunt for a new desktop image to try and distract me from the fact that I now have a race going on between my new credit card arriving and this laptop dying after five years of faithful service and hissy fits. So I went to Eat More Chickens, only to find that it had changed since my last visit, well the facade had and well I'm impressed, loving Electronic Mind Control and also the Paper Cycle, so there we have it I feel better for spreading the word for that.
In the meantime Forward Motion is still on hiatus, and soon you shall be able to hear the dubstep documentary I promise, this has been my undoing too often and well I have found it a bit of a personal struggle, but less of that it will appear I promise.

So if you want some listening choices then I have to say the two usual online radio sources for dubstep should be hit, whether that be Sub Fm or Rinse FM.

Also I have to say that Rupture always provides a blog of considerable note, and there is always a few recommendations to catch the ear too.

I should really put some naff men at work sign here, or maybe a tea break sign

So 2007, a new year, no resolutions except for to get my ass in gear so watch this space...NSR I don't know whats going on with that, as soon as I do I'll give you word, in the meantime check out the man Alex Bok Bok's mix obviously should check out Dot-Alt more often if you like this and well of course Sub Fm.
Oh yeah, and thumbs up/down on the colour scheme...I will get this place running smoothly soon, I promise.
Peace and Happy New Year