Kasra (Critical Music | London)
“Kasra is a gatekeeper to what is under the surface in drum & bass. He does what he does with passion and care. He is a kindred spirit” – Goldie, Metalheadz
Since his first forays into drum & bass in the late 1990′s as a burgeoning young DJ, there’s no doubt that Kasra has now made an indelible mark on the scene, a mark that continues to grow ever-stronger as his Critical Music empire prospers.
As Critical’s figurehead, the demand for Kasra’s DJ’ing skills has escalated to the point of a schedule that sees him playing regularly every weekend throughout the UK rest of the world. Vienna, Budapest, Shanghai, Beijing, Miami, Berlin and of course his beloved Lodon are just a few of the places that have beared witness to the Critical Sound and the list just keeps getting longer. Quite a feat these days for someone who’s not yet really gone deep into the production process.
This is all changing though as Kasra’s been busying himself back on the studio readying his own takes on the Critical sound. 2011 saw a collaboration with S.P.Y and also Jubei on the heavily rotated Sequence One EP. With many more collars to come and some solo cuts, expect to see many more Kasra productions gradually working their way into the sets of the great and the good of the D&B community.
Not content with a release schedule bursting with future classics and his own rigorous DJ’ing schedule continually on the up, the label now boasts its own residency at one of the worlds most iconic electronic music venues, Fabric London, where it can regularly be seen smashing up the place with an always superstar cast of DJing elite form D&B and beyond. The first quarter of 2012 saw Kasra achieve what ono a select few people around the world have managed in their careers; being asked to mix the new Fabric Live album was a huge honour and resulted in FabricLive 62 being one of the most successful drum & bass mix albums of the day.
“The rave George Cross, one of dance music’s highest honours.” – DJ Mag
So now as heads turns to 2014 it seems this is the tipping point for Kasra both as a DJ and a label head of one of the most inspiring imprints in dance music today. The Critical age is only just beginning.
Adred (Natural Selection | NYC)
Born Adam Baker, son of a musically talented father and artistic mother, he was destined to be a great musician. Growing up listening to David Bowie, Eric Clapton and Thomas Dolby shaped his love for music at a young age. At the age of 16 Adam first heard Drum and Bass at a rave and wanted to replicate the energy and excitement he witnessed first hand. It wasn’t until years later when he had the opportunity to express it first by DJ’ing. At the age of 20, he bought his first set of turntables and a mixer. Quickly learning and understanding the techniques of mixing music, a year later he was given the opportunity to play out. He knew all along that he wanted to create his own music and that being a DJ wouldn’t be enough to set himself apart from rest of the world. Little did he know, that a chance meeting in a neighborhood record store would launch his career as a producer. He didn’t stop at Drum and Bass but ventured into Hip Hop, R&B, Techno, House and everything in between. He doesn’t believe in pigeonholing himself in one genre and always produces music by feeling and bpm. Currently he is working on multiple releases with Robert Manos in many different genres. Keep an eye out for him and these songs.
Rafael Salvador (Natural Selection / Fuzed Funk / See This Hear | NYC)
Music has been a major force in Rafael Salvador’s life from a very young age. A New Jersey native, his earliest musical memories include breakdancing in preschool and being exposed to jazz through his uncle’s tape collection. His roots as a DJ date back to Christmas 1994 when he was given a pair of turntables, a mixer and an eclectic selection of records. Going on to pursue DJ’ing as a hobby and collecting Hip Hop and House records throughout his high school years, the turning point in Salvador’s musical journey came in 2000 when he discovered Jungle Drum & Bass while attending college in Philadelphia. He later returned to the New York City area and interned at Hip Hop’s revered Fat Beats Records, where he contributed to album marketing campaigns and daily operations. This proved to be a valuable experience as he gained insight into the music business and met many of the artists that influenced him as a teen.
Having acquired a wealth of knowledge about music in both the creative and business aspects, Salvador is now playing a role in keeping New York City’s Jungle Drum & Bass scene vibrant and future-oriented. He co-launched the first Natural Selection party in June 2011 and quickly established it as one of the city’s premier Jungle Drum & Bass events. He has also stepped onto the DJ circuit recently, eager to share the music he’s collected over the past 20 years. An avid crate digger with an eclectic taste, his diverse sets are aimed to make you move.
TankTop (Natural Selection / Carbon Based Beats / DNBRadio | NYC)
Alanna “Bulletproof-Tiger” Blair, a boisterous badass bassist from Memphis TN, found dnb through rock n roll.
Bill DeBlase, a happy humble human from a valley in western NY, has been involved in electronic music since the 1990s.
They joined forces in NYC 2010 over their love for drum & bass.
TANKTOP have shared the stage with The Insiders, Nu:Tone, S.P.Y, The Upbeats, Jumpin’ Jack Frost, Submorphics, Dave Shichman, Raw Q aka Beau, Micah Chockley, Art Blakey III, Mousky, DJTear, Fineprint, Strife, DJ Dust, and Point Break and many more.
Raw Q (Intrigue / Natural Selection / Direct Drive / Driven AM | NYC)
**all styles set**
Raw Q aka DJ Beau is one of NYC’s original Drum ‘n Bass DJs for 12 years and counting. He began producing back in ‘96 with DJ Ani (formerly of Deee-Lite) for DJ Soulslinger’s Liquid Sky Music Label. In 2003 DJ Beau evolved into Raw Q. In the last few years Raw Q has released music on prestigious labels such as Zinc’s Bingo Recordings, Grid Recordings and will soon be releasing ‘Caspian Moon’ on Aaron Jay’s new label Influence Records. His tracks have earned support from DnB’s most respected DJs and artists including LTJ Bukem, Zinc, Roni Size, Flight, Randall, Fabio, Bryan Gee, Bailey, Krust, Marky, Marcus Intalex, L Double and many more. His track ‘Vital Soul’ took the DnB world by storm when it first appeared on dubplate and managed to reach 11th place in the BBC’s Global Dance Charts in 2004. Raw Q continues to DJ as a resident of Direct Drive and as a frequent guest DJ and supporter of Camouflage and other quality NYC DnB parties.
Venue:
Tammany Hall, 152 Orchard St., NYC
9p-4a | 21+ with photo ID | free before 10p, $10 after
New York Junglist fan page - http://bit.ly/nyjunglist