NSB NYE CD SWAP (Oh, hello)

Blimey, it’s been a while since I graced this pages with my presence. Instead of just filling in a several thousand word report on what I’ve been doing over the last… lots of months, I’m just going to cut to the chase and tell you about a new project, started very recently.

The NSB CD Swap for NYE 2009/2010

The lovely Henry aka Skywave Systems, who runs the Myuzyk net label, set this up on the www.nuskoolbreaks.co.uk forum just the other day. The concept, for those not already aware, is that group of forum members, all put together a mix/compilation cd, complete with packaging and all. When all the names are in (this is capped at 30 participants) everyone produces as many copies as there are names on the list. They send all of these to the person organising the swap, and he then sends out a package to each entrant with a copy of each mix in. Simples.

The numbers for this are steadily building, with about 26 already signed up. So far there are a lovely selection of names already joined, people who readers of this blog will most likely be familiar with; DVNT, Jung, Benny(Metroboy, Ben&Lex, everythingelseunderthesun), James Fox, Clodhoppa(midnightminustwo boss man) and of course, Henry Skywave himself. Needless to say, there are going to be some pretty special mixes coming out of this.

Anyhow, what with being the massive over achiever I am, I’ve already finished my first mix (that’s right, I’m putting together two CD’s worth of goodness), and made good progress on the cover.

So far, the mix is a pretty hectic affair, with lots of techno, electro, breaks, glitchy, heavy, bassy nonsense, a little portion of hip hop, and some stupidly fast tempos here and there. I’m pretty chuffed with it so far. I’ll keep you up to date with the happenings of this.

I must be off now… Bestival is tomorrow and I haven’t packed a sausage. Ciao.

[Review] Halogen – Recycled Broadcasts EP [Maternity]

Halogen – Recycled Broadcasts EP [Maternity]

This debut EP from Brighton based producer Halogen, also see’s the first release on brand new net-label ‘Maternity’.
The release is comprised of four tracks of deep and sexy downtempo electronica, with big nods towards hip hop and idm.
Opener; Not The Remix sets the scene nicely, with a set of lush pads, beautiful harmonies, and plenty of rhythmic glitch. The production is nicely polished.
Manilla takes things down a couple of steps in tempo, a classic moody downtempo track.
A short and well placed vocal sample gives way to some superb scratching effects.
Next up; Previous Future is probably the most idm influenced of the bunch, with layers of skittering double time glitch rhythms giving a sharp edge to the lush depth of the melody.
The closing track; Transmission, is a much more ambient affair, using a more abstract set of sounds, and replacing the strong beat of the others with a selection of subtle glitches.
Overall, this is a very strong debut, both for the artist and the label. The production is well rounded, slick and has a cohesive sound throughout the release. Grab this now, you won’t be disappointed.

Download it here: http://www.maternitymedia.com/

Halogen Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/halogenbulbs

Laura Gibson Art and Illustration: http://lauragibson.co.uk/home.html

Stuff and Things.

Snow, snow snow.

Falling from the sky, covering everything in sight with a thick, crunchy layer of innocence and nationwide paralysis.

Or so I’m told. Us lucky sods in Bristol seem to have managed to avoid every last flake. Tucked away in the snug little crevice between Wales and the southern leg of England, the UK’s sweaty little cleavage stays nicely sheltered from any unwanted attacks of that awful stuff. A taxi driver once told me that his two sons had never seen snow, I seem to remember they were aged around five and seven. Now, I’ve learnt to take things that taxi drivers say with a sizeable pinch of salt, but then as the old saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire. (Or a smoke machine, guffawz. That isn’t smoke you silly buggers.) But I haven’t gathered you here today to moan about snow, or the lack thereof.

No, I have updates.

First of all, I would like to extend an invitation to you, dear reader, to the Brap Vs Void Winter Warmer All Dayer. Taking place on Saturday 21st February 2009, at The Farm pub, St. Werberghs, Bristol.

SOUTH COAST ONLINE COMMUNITY OUTOFTHEVOID.CO.UK AND INTERNET RADIO STATION BRAP.FM PROUDLY PRESENT

VOID vs BRAP WINTER WARMER ALL DAYER
SATURDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2009 AT THE FARM (BRISTOL)

PART OF OXJAM MUSIC FESTIVAL SUPPORTING OXFAM

South Coast dance music scene online community http://WWW.OUTOFTHEVOID.CO.UK and Brighton based internet radio station http://WWW.BRAP.FM are joining forces for an all dayer charity fundraiser party! The list of DJs involved is as diverse as it gets, serving up all sorts of musical styles including dubstep, hiphop, breakbeat, jungle, breakcore, techno, house and much much more.

The event will be taking place The Farm, Hopetoun Road, St Werburghs, Bristol, BS2 9YL Click here for map.

1pm – 2pm … ollspin … hiphop, funk, jazz
2pm – 5pm … Dr Fish vs HiHat … hiphop, funk, breaks
5pm – 6pm … Jellybass (dj set) – dubstep, bigbeat, hiphop
6pm – 7pm … Mr Minimax … electro, techno, breaks
7pm – 8pm … odc04r … house, breaks, electro
8pm – 9pm … Paulie P … house, electro, techno
9pm – 10pm … DVNT … techno, breaks, darkfloor
10pm – 11pm … Deadman DJ … jungle, drum&bass, electronica
11pm – 12am … Boy Hoover … breakcore, gabba, hardcore
12am – 1am … JDO … dubstep

All proceeds from this event will be donated to Oxfam as part of Oxjam music festival. At previous events in 2007 and 2008 we have raised almost £1500 for Oxfam. We hope to continue this fundraising success long into the future.

Now, for some reason I have been listen on the flyer as playing Minimal Techno and Progressive Breaks… Anyone hoping for a bit of deep, spacey Max, I regret to inform you that this will not be the case. I will instead by playing a set of “proper electro” funky acid, hip hop, wonky techno and a bit of ghetto tech thrown in there for good measure. As much as I would have liked to bring a bit of deepsexy techno to the line up, I hardly think it would transition well from Hip Hop, Funk and Bigbeat, into darker, heavier territory as the night progressed, and after all, electro badness is much more my style. For anyone who hasn’t been to the Farm, it’s a lovely pub, good selection of beers and ciders, and with all that great music for free, there’s really no excuse not to get yourself down there.

In the lead up to this, I will be doing a guest set on Void head-honcho Ollspin’s Sunday Roast radio show on good old Brap.FM.  That’ll be taking place on Sunday 15th Feb, 6pm – 8pm GMT.  I’ll be playing the same sort of tracks as I will be at The Farm, so any fans of Electro, Bass and Acid, be sure to tune in, and anyone who isn’t already a fan, tune in and find out what you’re missing. Maybe I could convert you…

In other news, a little change of plan in the Valentines Lucid line up, means that I am now playing 2 sets! I’ll be in the main room, early on in the night, playing big, fat, dirty breaks and psy-breaks, then after that I’ll hop over to room 2, where I will be taking things down a slightly more experimental route, lots of glitchy rhythms, bits of techno, step, electro.

I’m pretty sure that’s about it from me for today. I really aught to get round to uploading a few of those mixes I spoke about all those weeks ago… maybe later.

Brand New Live Set to Download + Lots of Minimax Updates

Hello…

It’s been a while since I’ve graced these pages with any new material, so in typical fashion, here is a massive update all at once.

First off, have a copy of my latest Live set.

Recorded by me using Ableton Live on 11/10/08.

Hosted by the lovely Henry at Myuzyk. Download it now and Enjoy it loudly.

+ Mr Minimax live 11.10.08 52:25 | 192kbs | 71mb

Recorded in one hit and made up from unfinished tracks, loops, edits and stray shrapnel.
Broken beats, electro stylings and techno with slabs of bass.

live + other sets and mixes
http://myuzyk.net/overflow/mixes.php

direct link
http://myuzyk.net/mixes/Mr_Minimax_live_11.10.08.mp3

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Now, as some of you may know, I moved house about three months ago. Left Oxford and re-located myself down to Bristol.

I’ve been without internet for a while (crivens!) and the connection I do have now, is pretty shoddy. So as a result of this, I’ve had to cancel my Brap.FM show, much to my dismay.

However, being the resourceful character that I am, I’ve managed to get a few guest slots on other shows.

The first, was a 2 hour mix on the Out Of The Void Show on Brap.FM, broadcast from Void HQ in Bristol, that one is available to download HERE. No tracklisting unfortunately, as I turned up to play with a bag full of vinyl, only to discover, Ollspin has no turntables… cue half an hour of scrabbling about Spollin’s CD collection trying to find bits and bobs I recognised. It starts off with a couple of random tracks, then gets into breaks for the rest. bits and bobs of tearout, electro, and some nice good old fashioned breakbeat.

The next radio appearance was for Ollspin’s Sunday Roast Show, I played an hour set in the middle of the show, spanning, dubstep, techno, breaks, drum and bass and a bit of breakcore for good measure. There IS a tracklisting for this one… Download here and check out lots more Spolliny goodness.

ollspin

MIA vs Super Mario Brothers – Superlangalang! – unsigned
Stabilizer – Bounce (Si’s Super Ska bootleg) – Plastic Raygun
DJ Moule – Positive Walk – unsigned
DJ Shadow – The Number Song – Mo Wax
The Guns – Truly One – Jumpin & Bumpin
Mad EP – Acid Jig – Mutate
Red Snapper – Some Kind of Kink – Warp

Mr Minimax

Skream – Monsoon (Loefah remix) – Tempa
Andy Page – Porcelain Elvis – En:vision
Benga – Drumz West – Tempa
Bassbin Twins – Pigpen – Cool & Deadly
Smithmonger vs Kobi – Grizzle – Vertical Sound
Squarepusher – Red Hot Car (Girl) – Warp
Nils Noa – Stereo Style – Lot49
30hz vs Vlad Sokolov – Get Low (Baobinga remix) – Vertical Sound
Meat Katie and D.Ramirez feat. Oddisi – Stop The Revolution (Dubfire’s Arrowhead dub) – Lot49
Richie Hawtin – Twin Cities – M_Nus
EBE – Busted – Grayhound Recordings
Will Saul – Fast Lane – Simple
James Zabiela – Human – white
Optiv and Gridlock – Panache – Project Fifty-One
Noisia – Concussion – Vision
Calyx & Teebee – Cyclone – Moving Shadow
Enduser – The Return – White
Squarepusher – Come On My Selecta – Warp
Shitmat – Hallie Selassie Rules O.K. – Planet Mu

ollspin

Rude Bwoy Monty – Warp Ten – United Music
unknown – Gimme Some Dub – white
FX909 – Darling – Step Express
High Contrast – The Ghost of Jungle Past – Hospital
Gyu – Mettle – Urban Scrumping
Wascal – Hidden Place remix – unsigned
Johan Soh & Myagi – Still (Stefan Goodchild remix) – Sound of Habib
Vorpal – Gymnopedie – Cock Rock Disco

I’ve got another appearance on Void Radio coming up at the end of November, which is most likely going to be full of Rock, Metal, Indie and other lovely guitary music. Full details and promotional spammage will be farmed out closer to the date.

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In other news, I’ve done a mix for the latest Brap.FM Podcast, which should be available to download from the Brap site soon. It’s a 45 minute mix of hip hop, downtempo, chill out and electronica, from the likes of Bonobo, Boards of Canada, Flying Lotus, Jurassic 5 and Prefuse 73. Spammage coming soon.

I also have two other mixes coming… One of hard dirty techno, and one of acid electro and idm. Keep an eye on these pages for more news.

That’s about it for now, but there will be a lot more updates in the next few days, so stay tuned.

Beasts from a Wednesday Night… A New Mix to Download.

I have knocked up a new mix, in a fairly similar vein to my Brap.fm podcast mix, but maybe a wee bit more techno… so if you like your techno dark, hard and with lots of glitch thrown in, this mix might be for you…

Tracklisting:
Mr Minimax – Please Place All Metal Items in the Tray
System 23 – Peaker
Surgeon – Untitled (Klonk 02)
Robert Babicz – Ping Pong In Moonlight
Clark – For Wolves Crew
Richard Devine – Floccus
Aaron Spectre – Say More Fire
Milanese – Billy Electron (Venger Remix)
iTAL tEK – Pins
Neil Landstrumm – Rockers ‘The Underground Kind’
Vex’d – Canyon
Autechre – Gantz Graf (Mr Minimax Re-edit)
Surgeon – Untitled (Klonk 01)
Chemical Brothers – It Dosn’t Matter

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

Enjoy

Mr Minimax on the Brap.fm Podcast June/July. Download Now

This Month, I, Mr Minimax, am taking over the Brap.fm podcast, and putting together a 50 minute blend of music that’s been making me tick lately, as well as a few of my favourites.

My musical history goes back a long way, playing in bands for years, lots of noisy punk and metal music, gigs in pubs, blisters from guitar strings. That was me. I started producing around the same time I started clubbing, and from there, things have been slowly building to where I am today. I now co-run oxford club night Fresh Out the Box. We have a reputation as a breaks night, but in the past 6 months we have seen guests such as Alex Smoke, Will Saul and Cassetteboy, so things are a bit more varied than you’d think. My tastes span pretty much everything under the sun and I try to give everything a chance, judging every track on its individual merits.

DJ wise, my club sets and radio sets vary greatly. Catch me in a club and you’re likely to hear a selection of breaks, techno, house, on a varying scale of heaviness depending on the night. Radio however, is totally different kettle of fish. The only policy is that if I like it, I play it. Be it indie, breakcore, soul or ambient. So far the formula seems to be working well, and listener figures are rising every week.
This mix, is a middle ground between the two platforms. It flits between genres and covers a wide range of the music I’m into, while still retaining a very danceable quality and a solid groove which keeps steady throughout.
If you like what you hear, you can catch me on Brap.fm every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the Month from 10 till midnight, and now, every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the Month, from 4 till 6 in the afternoon. Tuesdays will generally take things down a more experimental route, playing absolutely anything I feel like, guest mixes, artist showcases, label spotlights and demo tracks from up and coming producers. Saturdays will be a lot closer to my club sets, lots of big, beat driven, bass heavy dancefloor material, less features, more unadulterated music!

Thanks for listening, with any luck it will push as many of your buttons as it has mine.
Anyone interested in booking me for their night (which I heartily recommend) send an email to minimax@brap.fm and we’ll talk business.

Anyway, enough from me. I’ll let the music do the talking.

Tracklisting…

01.    File With Interpol – Refluxion [Myuzyk]
02.    Clark – New Year Storm [Warp]
03.    Surgeon – Untitled (Klonk 4) [Dynamic Tension]
04.    DATASSETTE – Vapour Trails [AI]
05.    Si Begg – Non Stop Cut and Paste [Noodles]
06.    iTAL tEK – Shallow Sun [Square Records]
07.    Meat Beat Manifesto – Less [Planet Mu]
08.    Hexstatic – Auto [Ninja Tune]
09.    Bassbin Twins – ESW [Marine Parade]
10.    Sharon Phillips – Want 2/Need 2 (Trentemoller Remix) [Gut]
11.    Skeetaz – Uneffable Bride [Proboscis]
12.    Posthuman – The Disease [Myuzyk] Forthcoming from the ‘Hilda Family EP’
13.    James Fox – Grifter [Unsigned]

Enjoy.

Rob (Minimax)

Knights Move Thinking – Out Now!

Grab a copy of my new EP at http://myuzyk.net/releases/Mr-Minimax-Knights-Move-Thinking-MZYKN007.php

Feedback is most welcome.

 

Enjoy