Chestplate US Tour [Distance, Tunnidge, District] at SMOG Sunday Night Sessions @ Los Globos 11/18 [Concert Review]

The Chestplate sound took over the SMOG Sunday Night Sessions at Los Globos in Los Angeles on November 18^th, filling the dimly lit and crowded club with the dark and twisted basslines that Chestplate has become notorious for. The cold, dark November evening set the tone and mood for the whole night, reflecting the cold, dark vibes of the Chestplate sound.

Goldenvoice & La Nuit Present: Disclosure + Samo Sound Boy @ El Rey Theatre 10/31/12 [Concert Review + Tour Dates]

Goldenvoice & La Nuit Present: Disclosure + Samo Sound Boy @ El Rey Theatre 10/31/12

For about a year or so we've been supporting the brothers Disclosure. We've spun their tracks on Dank Radio + blogged about their tours & releases. Basically spread the word about their amazing music to anyone who would listen. It was only a matter of time before they made their way across the pond to spread their sexxxi UK Garage // Deep House sounds to the Los Angeles region. My brother Eccentric and I secured access to their sold out show [Many thanks to Jay + the whole Disclosure team for their hospitality] and made our way up to LA on Halloween.

Kode9 - SMOG Sunday Night Sessions @ Los Globos 09/16 [Concert Review]

Kode9 on the decks – Photo credit: Regal D

Hyperdub head honcho Kode9 played to a very eager and crowded Los Globos on September 16th for SMOG's monthly Sunday Night Sessions. The man responsible for the success of many artists (i.e. Zomby and Burial) came out to LA to play out a very eclectic selection of bass music across a wide variety of bass music genres/subgenres and tempos.

Goth-Trad @ SMOG Sundays - Dim Mak Studios 06/17 [Concert Review]

Flyer for SMOG Sundays 06/17 - SMOG website: smogla.com

Goth-Trad - Photo credit: Dataset

Last Sunday, June 17, Goth-Trad played out a massive set at SMOG Sundays to a very eager and bass-hungry crowd. His performance at SMOG Sundays in Hollywood at Dim Mak Studios was one of his stops for his west coast tour of the US. For those of you who haven’t heard of Goth-Trad, he’s a Japanese dubstep producer who has had several releases out on Mala’s highly respected bass music label Deep Medi Musik. Goth-Trad’s latest release was his LP New Epoch on Deep Medi Musik, which is essentially a very minimalistic yet deep and substantial album that embodies the Deep Medi vibe. He also made an appearance on Bassweight, a documentary about the origins and rise of dubstep that I would highly recommend viewing if you want to know what dubstep is really all about.

SMOG Presents: Von D @ SMOG Sundays 6/10/12 [Concert Review]

French bass music producer Von D was in town for his first LA appearance, and let me tell you, I was pumped that he was going to be at SMOG Sundays. Even though he came on a weekend that a good amount of the LA crowd was in Las Vegas for EDC, that didn't bother me ‘cause that meant more room and bass for me. Von D is underrated with his style – he brings that "sexy" form of bass music with female vocals while also bringing in that dark and deep bass. I use the word “sexy” because of his track "Show Me" – just take a listen to his latest LP "Daydreaming," and you will understand. 

SMOG presents: Rustie @ SMOG Sundays 5/20/12 [Concert Review]

SMOG presents: Rustie [Warp Records] @ SMOG Sundays//Dim Mak Studios
Big ups and many thanks to Drew and everyone w/ the SMOG crew for their continued support + hospitality. By far some of the easiest + coolest cats to work with. We made the trek up to hollyhood on holiest of days, the Sabbath. For some it's a day of rest and for those like us it's a day to absorb and experience new music. We brought along our fellow alien artist travelers, Bass Commander + T'Challa Lee from the band Z, along with us so they too could experience this form of Bass music first hand...

Feed Me w/ Teeth + AC Slater @ Music Box | The Henry Fonda 3/17/12 [Concert Review]

Feed Me w/ Teeth + AC Slater + @ Music Box | The Henry Fonda 3/17/12

The forecast for that evening was rain and during the whole drive to the re-opened Music Box/Henry Fonda we couldn't help but think about how late we were and how early it was for a headliner to be performing. The week prior at the Palladium for Laidback Luke's Super You & Me event we arrived around the same time and we caught the second act for a full night's event that would last until 5am. So it was a surprise that as we walked up the Hollywood Blvd steps the sidewalk was completely empty. Sure it was raining, but it was Feed Me right? This show was supposed to be sold out. No matter, as Eccentric and I entered the venue we thought about how we, along with so many concert goers + bass heads, have expressed how much we've missed this venue. The rumble of the infrasonic frequencies underneath your feet is not to be forgotten. Making our way across the various festively dressed St. Patty's day attendants, Feed Me's TEETH lit the entire venue. At this point we knew we were in for a special night...

Laidback Luke & Insomniac presents: Super You & Me @ Palladium 3/10/12 [Concert Review]

Laidback Luke & Insomniac presents: Super You & Me 3/10/12 @ Hollywood Palladium
With a little bit of luck and a whole lot of persistence we were able to secure access to Laidback Luke's first Los Angeles presentation of his Super You & Me Party at the Hollywood Palladium. These infamous comic book dance events have been thrown primarily across the pond in many European cities. With less then a week leading up to the event I had to figure out the best person to contact for media access. Who better to ask then to ask Luke? So I tweeted him and he responded with who to contact. Who would of thought it was going to be that simple? [Sometimes the best way to break into this whole web of music industry personalities is to start w/ your favorite artist.] After a handful of tactful e-mail exchanges with a key emphasis of "If you tell us that same night of the event, even if it is a couple hours right before the doors open, we'll drive up to LA to review the show", we were in. Thank you Luke + Justin @ rephlektor + the comic book gods!

Bassrush presents Funktion Wednesdays: Photek & Reso @ Dim Mak Studios 02/08/12 [Concert Review]

Photo credit: Oh Dag Yo/Bassrush

This was my first time attending a Bassrush event as well as attending an event at the Dim Mak Studios in Hollywood, formerly known as the Cinespace. Bassically (see what I did there?), I didn't know what to expect, which I felt was a good thing, because it meant that I had no expectations (good or bad) walking in. After spending a good amount of time looking for parking, I finally was able to get to the venue. Although I was a bit late, I managed to get there right when Reso was starting his set.

HARD and SMOG present Dub Police Tour 2012 at House of Blues Hollywood 3/3/12 [Concert Review]

Photo credit: Timothy Norris/LA Weekly

The Dub Police Tour presented by HARD and SMOG made its stop in the LA area at the House of Blues Hollywood off Sunset Boulevard this past Saturday, March 3rd, 2012 with a massive line up that caused people to flock to the venue from everywhere – I saw cars from Maryland and Georgia in the parking lot, just to give you an idea of how far people probably traveled for this completely SOLD OUT event. I saw people who desperately wanted to get in asking everyone in line if they had an extra ticket to the event. The line to get into the event was insane, wrapping around the whole entire House of Blues and extending further down Sunset.

On the decks for the evening were Matty G, a surprise set from The Others, D1, a back-to-back set with Trolley Snatcha and Subscape, and Dub Police label founder Caspa headlining the show. The sound system for the evening was cranked up to floor-rattling volumes and you could tell that mostly everyone that attended the show were pretty huge fans not just of the Dub Police label and artists, but of dubstep and bass music in general – this was apparent as I was standing in the long line and saw people sporting Circus Records, Dub Police, Sub Soldiers, and Rusko shirts as well as blasting their favorite dubstep songs out of their tiny iPhone speakers. While the event did start an hour later than the ticket advertised (the event started at 9pm instead of 8pm), as soon as Matty G started playing, the sonic assault of basslines was just nonstop throughout the whole evening.

Full breakdown of the event after the jump!

Focus Presents: Martin Buttrich @ Focus Tuesdays 2/21 [Concert Review + Upcoming Focus Events]

martin buttrich | focus-oc

First off i would like to thank focus-oc for their generosity of having me attend Martin-Buttrich. From Long Beach to tapas newportbeach it was a bit of a drive but totally worth it. It also was my first time attending Focus. I didn't really know what to expect but i knew they were all about house music and basically keeping it real with the music they love, big ups on that.

Martin Buttrich is a very well known artist of mixing behind a console in front of a virtual drum kit, pretty much it's a very technical way of mixing music . On Tuesday February 22nd at 12am, he set the tone of some crazy stuff drifting to some techno to house and minimal, one track in particular that he dropped was like a deep techno minimal track called produced by Martin Buttrich himself called "Back It Up" released on desolat music group. He was also nominated for a grammy in 2003 for a remix track of tori amos "Don't make me come to vegas". Overall I thought it was a really good set from him, and from the vibe i felt from the crowd they too could feel it also. - semA

Rome Promotions present: Riton at Los Globos 2/16/12 [Concert Review]

riton | romepromotions

First thing I would like to thank romepromotions for their generosity of having me at the riton show. I will definitely check out another event by rome. It was a great thursday night on Sunset Blvd in LA because Riton from carte blanche (R.I.P. dj mehdi ) was in town. And let me tell you i was ready for this dj set with my Pabst Blue Ribbon in one hand and a tissue in the other (just in case if I couldn't handle any mehdi songs without tearing up a bit).

SMOG & GetDarker present: This Is Dubstep 2012 Album Launch Party w/ Benga + Katy B + DJ Craze [Concert Review + Free Download]

SMOG | GetDarker | The Observatory
Eccentric, Fabricated, G1ockz, and I headed back down to Santa Ana's The Observatory to experience another wonderful SMOG event [many thanks to Drew and the whole SMOG crew for their continued support + hospitality]. This time they partnered up with the one and only GetDarker. It was the first website I ever went to see Nero do a Drum & Bass dj set as well as Skream spin a set on a pair of Technics 1200s. GetDarker was celebrating the release of their compilation This Is Dubstep 2012 [purchase at iTunes | Amazon] and decided to join us here in Southern California for a proper party. Speaking of parties, after an extremely fun and eventful time with Skream + 12th Planet + Flinch we were really looking forward to seeing Skream's other half Benga. In addition to Benga's beats we were in store for the vocally stunning Katy B, multiple DMC champion turntablist and Slow Roast Records head honcho DJ Craze, and the creator of GetDarker himself, Darkside. Fabricated will take it from here and take you through that night's festivities. - Nativity

Red Bull Music Academy Presents: Boombox 5th Annual J Dilla Tribute [Concert Review]

In the spirit of this wonderful J Dilla month, i had the great opportunity to attend one of the many J Dilla tributes happening out here in the city of Angels. Fellow music aficionado Joolyaah and I were in attendance at Boombox's 5th annual J Dilla Tribute hosted by the Red Bull Music Academy, held at the Grandstar Jazz Club in Chinatown Los Angeles. This years tribute show included sets from the legendary Maseo of De La Soul and Ali Shaheed Muhammed from none other than A Tribe Called Quest. In addition our ears were also blessed with the local talented Boombox LA Djs. Amidst the swarm of bodies by the bar and packed room Joolyaah began frantically screaming, "Guilty Simpson is here, Guilty Simpson is here...!" yet another musical emcee gracing the streets, airwaves, and that night those in attendance with his tantalizing beats.

Tommie Sunshine at The Yost Theater 2/4/12 [Concert Review]

yosttheater | showsaturdays

Well to start off i would like to thank nytehype for their hospitality for the night. So let's get to it. The Yost itself is just an awesome venue from inside and out. This was actually my first time visiting this venue, I have been hearing a lot of good things about it. It definitely lived up to it's hype, the stage setup was just perfect, huge led screen in the background, sound system was excellent, you could even enjoy the concert from the bar area without "dancers" bumping into you. If you live in the OC, even LA area, I would def take a drive down to Santa Ana to check it out. Here is a little preview of what Show Saturdays is about.

SMOG 5 Year Anniversary w/ Skream + 12th Planet + Flinch + more [Concert Review + Live Video]

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

Ra Ra Riot at Make Music Pasadena [Concert Review + Live Video]

Ra Ra Riot [Barsuk Records]: Official | Tumblr | Facebook
Photo: Colossal Productions
From the moment Ra Ra Riot took the stage in old town Pasadena I could feel their energy. Maybe it was their radiant colorful outfits. Maybe it was their young hearts ready to rock all in attendance at the Make Music Pasadena Festival. Whatever it was, I could tell that fun was on their agenda and I was in for a treat. Anxiety began to fill me as they checked their equipment and tuned their instruments. As I prepared myself to soak in both the rays of the setting sun and the sound waves of the musical fun, I noticed many different faces from people of all ages squeezing their way towards the stage to catch Ra Ra Riot front and center. It appeared as if a variety of music lovers with a common goal gathered in the streets of Pasadena. This goal was to enjoy great music!

JazzReggae Festival 2011 - Jam Day [Concert Review]

The 25th Annual JazzReggae Festival at UCLA: Official | Facebook | Twitter
A week has passed and enough time has gone by to allow all the memories of a great memorial day weekend to sink deep into the cavities and secret back doors of the mind's infinite hallways. School is out for most, if not all and the weather was perfect for an afternoon of sun + music + fun. Before we get into the actual festival let's back track and explain how we got there: After repeated unanswered attempts [lost track of how many e-mails] fate would smile down upon us the weekend before the event when we met Cole and his fellow Bruins of JazzReggae Fest post interview with TruthSeekers [Shout out Santana & Crew!]. Brief introduction + exchange of contacts + a handful more e-mails = green light for Dank Radio to review the event. [Shout out to John for being instrumental in the final process] (I'm sharing this info to you all so you can get a picture of how these things work. If you have questions please ask. I'd be more than happy to explain the process.)

HARD presents: Joy Orbison, Pearson Sound/Ramadanman [Concert Review]

HARD presents: Joy Orbison | Pearson Sound/Ramadanman | Annie Mac | Flinch @ The Roxy

Early on sometime mid afternoon I receive a text message saying "You won! :)". Confused as to what I won and who this was from I responded with "What did I win?! And who is this?!" It turns out I won tickets for myself and four of my friends courtesy of The Drop Factory to that night's event at The Roxy presented by Hard. Joy Orbison was playing that night and Hyph Mngo was a constant in my rotation along with his remix of Four Tet's Love Cry. So I did what any other person recovering from Post-Coachella sickness would do, I rounded up some fun musically hungry people and headed up to Hollywood.

As we approached the Will Call and Guestlist area my name was no where to be found and no tickets were left for me as instructed. A bit confused I made them triple check my ID to both lists and still no luck. After 20+ calls straight to a voicemail and a handful of text messages we were out of luck. fabricated, [e]ccentric, D$, Ms. Alaijsha, and I made the drive all the way out there and we weren't going home empty handed. So again I did what anyone Post-Coachella, still hungry for more music, with a week off from work, who extremely detests my cubicle day job but is putting up with it because it's a source of income would do, buy 5 tickets for him and 4 of his friends[Total was $150 if you were wondering]. From here on out fabricated will take over the review as I was a bit infuriated at the situation and medicated the situation with a bit too much whiskey and thus was unable to take proper notes that night...

Jakwob at Cinespace 1|25|11 [Concert Review]

Jakwob [Boom Ting Records] - Photo by Nightfox
My brother [e]ccentric, Ms. Nightfox, the LOL Man, and I made the drive up to Cinespace last Tuesday evening for a night of infrasonics and bass thumping music[don't worry fabricated you're joining us for the next show]. For those of you who have been keeping up with our posts you've seen our support for this young and talented UK producer, Jakwob. We've interviewed him to see what his plans were for his label Boom Ting Records and we were treated to an exclusive Hip Hop mix that was aired last month for Dank Radio. So you can imagine the amount of anticipation we had to finally see him make his Los Angeles debut.