Brikworx Studios...something YOU should know about

Calling all aspiring musicians, DJ's and producers... Brikworx has landed in Brum, and is causing quite a stir...

Brikworx is a fully equipped commercial studio in the heart of Birmingham’s Jewellery quarters in an old Warehouse style building - offering a multitude of services from sound engineering, mastering, guitar tuition, artwork and photography to a fully fledged music production course.


One of the primary functions of this studio is to provide post-production finishing and mastering services. This is because the kids at Brikworx are aware that there are a lot of young producers out there who are creating music from bedroom studios. Mastering and mixing down of the final product however needs to be done in a professional environment. Consequently they offer the professional finishing of music at reasonable prices so that they are suitable to be played on big club systems. AMAZING!

BUT HANG ON.... IT GETS BETTER!.....

In order to mark the opening of the brand new BrikWorx Studio the team have decided to host a competition that could see YOU coming into the studio FREE of charge to have your track mastered and quite possibly released on one of the BrikWorx Studio labels!

The terms of the competition are simple – whoever creates what we judge to be the most original, most inventive and most potential-filled 3 minute piece of music, of any genre, from the chopped up parts of an old track will win that astounding first prize.

In addition, if you don’t quite make the top prize we will be offering a second prize to a number of other entries who we feel also have potential. This will involve free advice on engineering and production tailored to your genre and ability.

So boys and girls. There's no excuse is there?!? Take a look at the website for some more info and pictures (all looking very flash) and get involved with the competition on the facebook link

Good Hunting.

BOOKA SHADE @ SPACE2

Hello guys and gals,

What a fantastic little night was had at Space2 on Saturday when the leg-end-dairy Booka Shade played to a packed out venue that went nuts for the massive tech-lectro tunes that the Shade threw into the teeming mass of mentalists.  Also to be heard was the amazing Technasia, who has been a staple favourite on the Techno scene and Joris Voorn, a madman from Rotterdam who's exploded over the past year or two. All of this was bought to your ears via the lovely chaps at  Eclectricity!

Booka Shade rocked out with a hugely impressive live set playing on electronic drums, fiddling dials, cranking levers (a bit like the musical version of Willy Wonka).  Sensing massive-ness from the crowd, who were baying for bass, Booka stayed on for a 3rd encore and played well past their original 1 hour set times bringing you not only great sounds but value for money.  The price was quite steep at £20 a ticket, for those who weren't quick enough on the draw to get student/early-bird tickets, however its hard to put a price on seeing such a stalwart classic as Booka Shade and when backed up by Technasia & Joris Voorn you really can't complain (so don't try).

If you aren't familiar with Booka Shade they hail from Germania and were forged in the dark heart of the Frankfurt electronic scene.  This duo has managed to play to 10,000 people in the 2nd largest tent in Europe at Global Gathering, get one of their productions into pretty much every DJ's collection, collaborate with M.A.N.D.Y. to form Get Physical Records and perform with such vitality that it's hard not to fall in love with their roguish good lucks.

Joris Voorn has had a huge year also making him possible the hottest act on the underground house & tech scene!  Releasing his first record on Keynote it attracted attention from huge names, including the late John Peel.  Having destroyed pretty much any venue/festival you can think of his Birmingham debut was something very very special.

All in all, an excellent night for those into underground electro and techno, also excellent for those who were yet to be exposed to the malevolent music that made us weep with joy!

SMASHING!

The 2nd Artists' Book and Independent Publishing Fair

Hello again all.....

For all you budding artistic and literary types (we know you are out there kids!), here is a little something special. Obviously, its not exactly in the center of Brum, but Walsall is no more than a 15 minute train ride form town, so it's no excuse!

Peruse or buy your very own affordable books, zines, and multiples by artists and independent publishers across the UK and Europe, including: Books Works, Marbled Reams, Dent-De-Leone, EAK Publishing, Four Corners Books, Stephen Fowler, Simon Goode, Jatinder Kaur Bains, Variant, Wild Pansy Press, Carson & Miller, Alex Pritchard, Karoline Rerrie, Books About Nothing, Antepress, Basement Art Projects, Gandt, Trigger Editions, and colleges from around the UK.

Guy Begbie will be running a drop-in book making and binding adult workshop from 11am to 3pm, suitable for beginners. Materials will be provided.

Also at 2pm join Julian Warren, archivist at Arnolfini and Paul Clarke, member of the Performance Re-enactment Society for a free talk about The Cover of a Book is the Beginning of a Journey, an exhibition of artists’ books on floor 2.

Artists-in-residence a.a.s. will be responding to The Cover of a Book is the Beginning of a Journey by constructing new ‘performance scores’ from the exhibition material which they will perform with the help of visitors on the day.
Drop into the artist studio or contact mailto:aas@aasgroup.net if you would like to get involved.

Entry is free.check this link

ROFLCOPTER

Chugger Chugger Chugger Chugger Chugger Chugger.............

As the sounds of the roflcopter recedes into the distance, AUDIO-FREq find themselves left in a crumpled heap, weak from continual laughter.


We are, of course, referring to last nights full length sketch show from the Comedy Society, which was held in the Underground of the Guild Of Students. Written, directed and acted out by an all student cast and committee, the Sketch show entitled 'We Are Comedy Society' was an attempt to raise the profile of this talented group of young people, and the society as a whole. And, judging by the great turnouts on both Thursday and Friday, AUDIO-FREq can only assume that the boys and girls of Comedy Society have succeeded!

The show itself was a series of sketches, many of which seemed to focus on poking fun at the world of media and television. Cleverly, the Comedy Society riffed off material that students would find acessable, with sketches lampooning the X-Factor, Tv Panel Shows, Facebook and other recognisable pop culture references. To keep the audience hooked, they used a number of returning characters to link sections of the show, with a few noteworthy personalities popping up over and over, including our personal favourite 'Svetlana', the Russian mail order bride (who was, in fact, an alchoholic goat herding man).

The individual sketches were linked together very well with a well thought out use of lighting and voice-over skits, which kept the audience entertained during the many scene changes. The only slight downside to the night was that the voices of the actors got a little lost in the caverns of the Underground, and a few more stage mics would have helped.


Overall, the audience left with a very clear idea of who and what Comedy Society are all about: They are very funny men and women, who seem hell bent on making us chuckle (which AUDIO-FREq approves of 100%!!!).

For more information on Comedy Society hit this link to see their facebook group where you will be able to get updates on upcoming stand up shows etc. and for those of you who didn't get a chance to catch them in action, Comedy Society will be chucking out a video of the recordings soon, which if we can get hold of, we'll shove up here for your pleasure.

Well done Comedy Society.

Tracks of the Week from Pandora's Box

This week we're shaking our rumps mainly to this:

1. Somebody to love me (Congrock Remix)- Mark Ronson ft. Boy George
2. Love Jackson – Prince Club
3. Remain in Jah (Chrissy Murderbot Remix) - Lemonade
4. Var E Naaaken – Marcus Price & Cali

RIZLA RE-CRAFTED: MYSTERY JETS, SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO, MJ COLE AND STAYING UP TILL IT GETS LIGHT AGAIN...

CRIKEY!

One of the best nights to be had in town went down at the Rainbow Warehouse last night (9 hours ago ish) with the rather shamelessly logo-emblazoned, but equally rather shamelessly awesome, Rizla re-crafted event.  Wasn't quite sure what to expect when Audio-Freq checked it out but we were blown away.

First thing - as many free Rizla's as you can stuff your dirty pockets with.
Second thing - AMAZINGLY KICK ASS MUSIC
Third thing - so clearly been run at a loss for PR that nobody really gives a shit whether anyone pays...

The venue. alas, as so often is the case in Birmingham, didn't pack out much but was so full of delectably ravey people dancing like Germans that it was probably a good shout giving us all more elbow room.  Which was important as this was a strictly electro/techno/disco vibe so no dub-dub-step was heard all evening. The line-up was massive with Mystery Jets, Simian Mobile Disco, MJ Cole, Le Corps Mince de Francoise and some local talent mixed in for good measure (all of whom got a rather cheerful nudge in the direction of checking out Audio-Freq, so if you have give us a comment, don't be shy, we're actually not as weird as we came across last night whilst stalking you all like prey...)

Massive shout outs must be thrown in the direction of MJ Cole, who definitely bore the brunt of our over-zealous dancing and, naturally, Simian, who looked as if they hadn't showered since 2 years ago and rounded up the excellent evening for the select group of people still "pepped" up enough to dance at 5am.

Look towards the next event and hopefully we shall see more people getting dialled in to this schema of techno-babbling gooch-dribbling brilliance.  Naturally, keep it locked on to Audio-Freq for previews and a special article on the Rizla Re-Crafted competition-type thing where the best local B-town producers can get promo from this behemoth of a company simply by remixing a Mystery Jets song.

Special mention must go to the guy standing at the railings dancing like he was 5 years old and just seen Power Rangers/Teletubbies for the first time (delete as appropriate to age group).  At first we weren't sure if he was trying to hump the artists from the barrier, but it soon became clear that he was just having a smashing time and all sense of rhythm, composure, self-respect had evaporated.  Exceptional effort!  If you know ravey-man, or are him, get in touch..

....we'd like to take you for a drink and then home for dinner with our mums.

RIZLA RE-CRAFTED



DJ set - SUB:STANCE 2nd birthday at Panorama Bar Berlin 9/07/10 by MJ Cole

COMPETITION ZERO7 TICKETS @ Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath

Well hello there!

Here at AUDIO-FREq we have been thinking what we most like in a night out; good vibes, stunning music, chatty crowd, great venue but most of all cheap!  We 'aint afraid to say it, we 'aint ashamed to be it and we will hold our dirty, smelly mits in the air and shout, WE'RE POOR AND WE'RE PROUD!

So to help out our fellow Birmingham brethren, we've gotten hold of a couple of free tickets see the AMAZING Zero 7 this Friday night,  all you have to do it comment on this post or our facebook page telling us why you best deserve the tickets and to come down to a great live music venue in Birmingham, The Hare & Hounds !!!!!

"With 3 consecutive Gold-selling albums and countless appearances on compilations and at festivals worldwide, Zero 7 are a household name. Their latest release, “Record” is a collection of favourites past and present, which also includes a disc of remixes- some previously issued, some brand new commissions- from luminaries such as Carl Craig, Metronomy, Photek, Joker and Madlib. This is a rare chance to hear the music that continues to inspire them.  And in support we are delighted to welcome No Fakin’s Kwinzola and the deceptively slender, Lenny from Openmindedpeople / Organic. "

The winner will be notified by 12pm Friday by email so make sure you give us your address. See you there...

For those of you less blessed in the writing department you can purchase tickets from here.

So...... GET COMMENTING BIATTCHES!   AND MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS! 
AUDIO-FREq

COMPETITION CLOSED!!!

Drop Beats Not Bombs review....

Now, if there is one night in Birmingham that deserves your respect, it has to be the fantabulous Drop Beats Not Bombs. And Audio-Freq turned out to get the lowdown on what was happening last Saturday...

I will have to begin with a small disclaimer - we were a little concerned at Audio-Freq that the loss of certain aspects of the Custard Factory to commercial developers would have a bit of a detrimental effect on the layout of this year's 'Drop Beats' street festival spectacular. We could not be more wrong...

Spanning not only the Custard Factory, Boxxed and Space 2, but also out all over the streets of Digbeth, the 'Drop Beats' crew served an unmissable smorgasbord of music and underground culture fresh from Brumtown. 10 music arenas, kicking out all sorts: D&B, Dubstep, Techno, Minimal, Electro and a sneaky bit of Dancehall here and there, kept the throngs of hyped up boys and girls dancing into the early hours of the morning. An extra special mention must go to the University of Birmingham 1210 Society, who smashed out set after back-to-back set up in the Medicine Bar, where the atmosphere was jumping and the people sweaty.

And to keep everyone entertained whilst wandering from stage to stage, the whole of the Boxxed arena was section off for a fantastic display of graffiti art, from which the heady fumes of tinned paint crept out over the crowd (Audio-Freq has to admit it spent more than a fair few minutes sniffing the air, trying to get a quick buzz). We have to say, it was a bit of a shame not to see some stages inside Boxxed, due to the great quality Function 1 soundsystem they use on most of their nights, but you cant win them all! Incidently, Boxxed do some FANTASTIC stuff in Brum, so check them out here...

All in all then? Abso-bloody-lutely brilliant. Another corker from Drop Beats Not Bombs. We have to admit, there is nothing better than rolling out into the streets of Digbeth at 6.30am, Red Stripe in hand, shit-eating grin on face, and realising not only have you had the best night you've had in a long time, but that the money you spent doing so went to a good cause.

spot on.

Speculating the City.

concrete birds.

a wave of paving.

industrial bones.

city expanse.

 

Malevolent Mystic

Bringing you an essential mix for the weekend and making it Drum and Bass in a seriously smooth way.  Malevolent Mystic (a.k.a Nathan Young) is an aspiring DJ/Producer hailing from the B-Town who believes in anything sub and anything broken.  Playing mainly DnB and dabbling in a bit of dubstep, you can check him out at Drop Beats Not Bombs this Saturday along with other B-Town faves in the 1210 stage.

Be there or we'll send the boys round....

Fancy Pants Header!

You may have noticed our new fancy logo!  We are currently in the process of updating our logo and layout so stay tuned to the blog for more modernity.  The logo is currently under development but this is a sneak preview of what we are working towards in conjunction with our good graphical friend Mr. O!  Many thanks in advance for all his hard work and effort!

Bigger than Barry Vs. Digital Sound Boy @ Custard Factory

Safety peeps,

Audio-Freq here bringing you a round up of last weekends big night at the Custard Factory, which of course was BIGGER THAN BARRY - Audio-Freq was there in force to check out the vibes.

The night marked a slight change from the staple Barry fave, The Warehouse @ The Rainbow complex, and brought two rooms of tunes from the underground world of bass music.  First thing to say about the evening was the crowd was superb!  Many many people checking out this night and some great craic to be had amongst the cornucopia of eclectic people, all dressed in a wide range of costumes getting their moves on.

Those of us who attended enjoyed the evening but felt that it was somewhat lack-lustre when put up against the other Barry nights we've regularly attended.  Something just didn't quite gel in the massive venue of Space2 and it didn't get that packed.  Not for want of people, it just felt a little bit spaced out and a bit too large a venue for us to get a sweat on.  Also the music was good, but took a while to warm up, there's not really any excuse to be hearing massive tunes from LAST year when we are in the prime-time for new releases.  Having said that though later in the evening some CLASS acts were to be found, SHY-FX, DONEAO & HUDSON MOHAWKE to name but a few...


Overall , a cracking night from some of the best Brum is offering at the mo'

Looking forward to the next event...DROP BEATS NOT BOMB'S

STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION!!!

AUDIO-FREq

Poetry Slam 4th November - BE THERE!

 A DATE FOR THE DIARY!!!!!!

4th November. Beorma Bar, Guild of Students. £2.

On Thursday the 4th the performance poetry society, 'Writers Bloc' will be hosting a unique event - a poetry slam, featuring two teams of four from the University of Birmingham and Bath Spa University. Poetry slams originated in North America, where national team competitions are held annually, but there are currently no regular team slams in the UK.

A poetry slam differs from a regular poetry reading in that the poems are selected competitively to outdo the opponent and win the favour of the crowd. On the evening the audience will get to decide which poet has won each bout, and the team with the most wins will earn the titles of slam champions.

The competitive edge pushes poets to be truly inventive - expect coordinated team poems, and part dramatised duo pieces as well as an overall very high standard of poetry.

We created this event with the hope of getting more Universities involved, and creating a slam team league. This is about making a community of young poets who can grow and improve by competing and socialising with one another.

The Birmingham spoken word scene is just bubbling away under your radar, and this event is a great way to dip your toes into the pleasingly warm waters that is the performance poetry circuit here in Brum.

If you ever thought poetry had to be about poems about pretty flowers, listened to quietly, then this event will change your whole perspective. Come and vote, come and heckle, come and see how poetry can truly involve an audience and be inspired.

See the 'Writers Bloc' Facebook event for more details

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=136770773037850

Love AUDIO-FREq