SMOG | Media Contender | The Galaxy/Observatory
Eccentric, Fabricated, and I had a special invitation to join in the celebration of SMOG's 5 year anniversary at the Galaxy Theater[now called The Observatory]. We were also able to extend this invitation to a lucky listener of Dank Radio. So before we begin we'd like to thank Drew and everyone at SMOG for their hospitality. Previous to Skream's lower frequency onslaught we were able to catch Kelly Dean and Flinch represent for the whole SMOG crew. DJ Skeet Skeet warmed up the back yard boogie with a fun techy/tech house set. While Thee Mike B set the mood right with dub music leading into smooth liquid drum & bass. I'll let our in-house infrasonics instructor, Fabricated, explain the remainder of the evening. - Nativity
Thanks to Regal D [Radiobomb : Aziatik Rhythmz/KPFK | Media Contender] for the photos!
Oliver Jones, aka Skream, is a man who needs little introduction. This dubstep producer is one of the several pioneering producers from the UK who helped develop and push forward the sound of modern dubstep as we know it. It is no surprise that Skream was invited by the SMOG crew to headline their 5 Year Anniversary show to spin alongside some of LA’s biggest dubstep producers including 12th Planet and Flinch.
Those of you who have just recently heard of Skream probably heard about him through: 1) his BBC Radio 1 show with Benga 'In New DJ's We Trust', 2) his latest album: Outside The Box, or 3) his recent single “Anticipate.” The single was released on Skrillex’s newly formed label OWSLA and has been garnering some mainstream attention with remixes by Cassius and Netsky. The rest of you who have been long time listeners of Skream probably know him through his breakout single “Midnight Request Line” released on Tempa Records in 2005, or his series of Skreamizm EPs, also released on Tempa.
Miyuki's friend + Miyuki [Radiobomb : Aziatik Rhythmz/KPFK] + Drew [SMOG]
Skream’s performance at the SMOG 5 Year Anniversary was nothing short of epic. While he kept it hard with the bangers and poppier with the more mainstream tracks that North America has been so familiarized with, he also kept it real with a bunch of tracks that the hardcore dubstep listeners would definitely appreciate him playing. Skream dropped a bunch of definite classics in his “history lesson” including Coki’s “Goblin (Ringo Recordings) and Spongebob (Legendary DMZ label); and Skream’s vintage “Midnight Request Line.” As far as the more mainstream tracks go, Skream premiered his remix of Rusko’s latest single “Somebody To Love,” which was just pure bouncing fire. Towards the end of the event, Skream and 12th Planet began doing a back-to-back set which I felt was the climax of Smog's 5 Year Anniversary, and I’m pretty sure everyone in attendance agreed.
The sound for the evening was excellent almost everywhere. Standing in the pit was horrendous, at least for me, since all I could hear was literally the rumbling low frequencies that were shattering my eardrums. However, outside of the pit area of the main room, the sound was just excellent. There were 2 other stages: one next to the entrance which was playing dubstep, and another one outdoors playing club hip-hop (at least when I was out there for the couple minutes). The crowd was pretty crazy for most of Skream’s set. I was not surprised when the crowd was not going crazy when Skream dropped any older dubstep tracks from his “history lesson.” This was kind of disappointing considering most people in Southern California think most dubstep sounds like Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” (don’t get me wrong, I enjoy listening to and playing out Skrillex, but he’s definitely not who I would use as the poster boy for dubstep). Despite this, I definitely had a ton of fun and I definitely appreciate the efforts that SMOG has been doing to bring the sounds of dubstep to the US.
On a final note, I just want to congratulate the SMOG crew for bringing an underground sound to Southern California for 5 years and to keep on bringing the bass for more years to come! - Fabricated
Nativity + Eccentric + Fabricated
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