to begin with, a phat shout out to philippa, of our northamerican ninja
crew. gracias for the ninjaskinz, and the smooth shirt. anyone who
attended and didn't pick up apparel.. well, shame on you.
heheheh.. anyway.
so the evening finally came and the ninja masters of the u.k. arrived to
school the san francisco "urb" scene. pleasant education i must say... a
sf dj set was manning the turntables when i arrived, said he was on his own
label "360." hmm... anyway, the venue placed the four turntable dj station
smack in the middle of the floor, and the whole night a crowd gathered
round watching the vinyl manipulation... a sight to be seen..
the evening proved to be as amazing as my expectations. the ninjas mixed
not only their own material but all of the label's wares. it was great to
attend a show recognizing snip bits and samples mixed into completely new
tracks...
ollie of herbalizer turned out an amazing set. the drone of the bass is
still resounding in my bones three days later. :) bringing
drum'n'bass/acid jazz back to its roots in hip hop, ollie mixed a number of
tracks under the powerful rhythmic styles of Black Sheep, Del the funky
homosapean, and CL (of the late pete rock & cl smooth). i can only imagine
his hands on the turntables, as i could not keep my feet off the dance
floor as he spun away... just phat. and the schooling continued...
later in the evening, i spoke with ollie about his set and any upcoming
material. he mentioned how much he enjoyed visiting california/san
francisco as it represents so much of hip hop's origins. unfortunately,
with their tour schedule, the ninjas had little time to shop for vinyl or
simply chill in the city. purely unfortunate. herbalizer's wicked set
seems to be representative of his up and coming work. ollie mentioned to
look for a new release within the coming months. i hope that he continues
to explore this synthesis of rap and d'n'b. dj krush began to play with
this on "meiso," clearing the bridge between the oh so similar worlds...
and ollie's beats just rolled with it like they were brothers, grown up on
the same home style oatmeal...
and dj food (strictly kev) stepped up to the blackboard to give a few
lessons. you get the feeling the guy is a veteran. just has this aura
about him as he steps up to the decks.. and beats.. well, its all food..
been stateside before and consistently smooth and funky. dj food is dj
food. and in many ways, what more is there to say?
my revelation for the evening regarding kev: the man's "day job" (as he
called it) is designing the ninja's accessories and artwork. the man
behind the propaganda. and what excellent work it is. left the evening
with a vast respect for dj food.. have always loved his jazzy beats and
now knowing his talent with graphics just pushed him up a few notches...
the man deserves some props for all his work... the ninja in action.
so.. the kid koala mix tapes were hot. after two short sets whipping on
the vinyl, he had the crowd quite pleased. look for some excellent vibes
from this fellow in the future... as i am sure many are now looking
forward to..... sounds like he had similar effect on the la crowd.. just
a beast on the vinyl.
sad to hear the negative feedback (from la) about dj vadim's set.
remember, its all about opening your mind.. personally i really enjoyed
his sound.. a fresh new ingredient to the ninja tune style.. couldn't
help myself but giggle every time he shot off the electric bomb.. it was
just great, some comic relief thrown into his groove. he played with the
set, not just a phat beat rolling for the dancers.. some slowed down shit,
letting the sample just sit and repeat.. music is for the ears not always
for the feet. dj vadim kept my attention with every whacked out beat.. a
nice wicked set of change...
show ended promptly at 4am with the venue owner arriving at the table
giving the "cut" sign.. venue could have been better, but it wasn't bad.
security was a tad tight, haven't been padded down in years.. but hey.. he
thought the pipe was car keys, so they weren't that strict.. heheheheh..
:)
anyway.. ninja tune ended class at 4am in sf. and i graciously await our
next session. eyes wide open, awaiting the upcoming herbalizer material,
and loving that plush thick cotton of my ninja tune gear...
but for now.. roll those skinz and relax in your living room to the
stereophonic rhythms of our teachers..
hasta fellow ninjas...
e r i k
@bossanova.com
http://www.bossanova.com/erik/
| forget horns, bells & whistles as warning devices. they take too long to
| use & most aren't loud enough to be effective. a loud scream originating
| deep in your diaphragm is instant & requires no hands.
|
| checkpoint #10 "for safe commuting & city cycling"