Amazing vibes and inspiring performances from everyone involved, Mr Elephant is full of good vibes after last night.

Massive love, props and gratitude to all who bought the vibes and all who made it happen.

Together we raised just over £300 for Haiti, and created a night we wont forget.

Here’s a little video of some footage of a few of the artists caught on camera last night, until the “proper” footage shot by our man Jack, gets edited together.

(There’s also proper photos coming from Emily)

Mr Elephant Presents “Live & Free Haiti Fundraiser” – Friday 26th Feb @ Adam & Eve – FREE ENTRY til 4am

Its one month ago today that Haiti was struck by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake. Obviously a collossol disaster with 200,000 killed, 1 million homeless, huge international response…everyone is aware of the details.

Something that the quake has thrown up is that there is an urgent need, now moreso than ever, to address the fact that Haiti as one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries is in a very vunerable position.

The long history of oppression by dictators has markedly affected the nation and so as well as provding aid, we must also work towards enabling the people to create a sustainable infrastructure that isnt at the mercy of big businesses or powerful governments, like many previous reconstruction attempts have been (and shown).

Haiti needs rebuilding from the ground up and local economies need to be built in small towns and villages. Local people need to be trained and equipped with skills so that the economy can be built from the ground up, and not the top down.

herefore for this fundraiser, we are looking at 2 (Now 3) organisations, who are setting up long term solutions – http://www.earthship.org/haiti-disaster-relief & http://www.haitifoundation.org/ If you can suggest any other options please feel free to let us know. (UPDATE : We have emailed earthship to define their position, as we werent clear on exactly how the money would be used & are looking at http://www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti as an alternative)

This is a totally free event and on til 4am. Musicans and Djs from Birmingham & Bristol are coming together to produce a quality line up. All costs of the gig will be covered before the event, so that 100% of donations can go directly to two organisations

There are more artists being added to all the time, and the set times and more info will follow next week, but here are the confirmed artists so far.
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DUB MAFIA (Live jazzy drum n bass & dub) – http://www.myspace.com/officialdubmafia

Coming all the way from Bristol, and with one of the most played videos on youtube, this band features seriously talented Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar, Drums, Bass, Turntable, Percussion, Saxophone, musician and are set for very big things. Possibly the only chance to see them (for free) in Birmingham before they go on their big festival tour in the summer.

THE HIDDEN HALF (Flamenco Fusion) - http://www.myspace.com/thehiddenhalf

World fusion at its finest, with spanish guitar, latin percussion, and 2 vocalists. The Hidden Half always go down a storm at our Live and Free Events. Check our website for past videos

EVA LAZARUS (Acoustic and vocal) – http://www.myspace.com/evalazarus
Making a huge storm in Bristol, the vocals are quite simply jaw dropping. Another artist you may be more aware of via a you tube vid that went viral, this exclusive solo performance is going to be something very special.

GARY WILLIAMS (Special Live Acoustic Looping) – http://www.myspace.com/garywilliams74

A legend on the live scene in brum and the man behind many bands from Dr Dan Blues remedy to the ever impressive Playing Django. If you are in anyway interested in guitar or musicianship then very special live looping performance will be a treat.

SMILEY MIC – www.smileymic.co.uk

Another live looping performance but this time in a very different one man band style with human beatbox, acoustic guitar, vox & xylophone. Smiley mic has rocked two of our previous Mr Elephant events and recently supported De La Soul, so if you havent check him out yet, get there early as he’s opening the live sets, and you prob wont have heard anything quite like him before.

GEORDIE BLAKE (Shana Tova) – http://www.myspace.com/shanatova

Inspiring singer, guitarist & part of some of Brums finest bands over the last ten years from the Starries to Baxter, this guy made his solo debut last year at our 4th Live & Free and was literally that good, he caused 2 reviews to be written the very next morning! Another probable early performance as he has two gigs on that night.

JODI ANN BICKLEY – http://www.myspace.com/onenoneblonde

A poet that is making big waves in brum and london at the mo, witty, honest and charming poetry delivered with personality. Just back from a string of special performances in London don’t miss this.

SKELETON (The Beat Suite/Trigger/Mr Elephant) – http://www.rhubarbradio.com/programmes/beatsuite/

Host of the Beat Suite, Resident at Trigger and here at Mr Elephant, Kipp is one of the most versatile and talented djs. We couldnt find any video footage of the turntablist style he’ll be playing on the night, but you can rest assured you’ll be treated to a very special scratch set from one of the city’s best djs.

JAM JAH (Robin G) – http://www.friendlyfiremusic.com/

We’ve said it time and time again, but Jam Jah sound is something to beholden in Birmingham, and is why we at Mr Elephant never fail to get them playing wherever possible. Legends. (Again this footage doesnt do them justice, but gives an idea of the sound at the start of the vid)

JIBBERING (Tangawizi) – http://www.jibbering.com

Jibbering for over 10 years have been bringing bands to Birmingham, the majority of which have gone on to be huge. Tastemakers in their own right with each core member a dj and blatant music devotee, so any opportunity to hear their record collections is always a treat. Tangawizi has a huge spectrum of music and while the vid below is all we could find at the mo, expect funk, soul, reggae, hip hop and maybe even some more underground bizness as he surfs the decks with Jam Jah til 4am.

Vj BLENDSTATE – http://www.blendstate.com

A huge part of Mr Elephant ever since the 2nd event where he bought the indymedia films for the chillout room. Now one of the leading vj in Birmingham3 years later, and a promoter in his own right, with his own cinephonic event going from strength to strength and his managing of the party rockin mammal sessions over the last 6 months. Footage adorns many mr elephant videos, but this is one that doesnt get seen regularly, with soundtrack from another bristol guest from our 2nd birthday mr dub fx.

VENUE – http://www.theadam.co.uk
Located on the 50 route at the top of bradford street, in Digbeth, and a short walk from the city centre, the venue has been putting on music events every week for years. A place to chill and chat, as much as it is to see quality local and international bands and / or dance til 4am. There’s a cool heated smoking area, pool table and chilling areas, quality bar and proper friendly staff, great in house engineer and just they’ve spent loads on new bassbins, so expect the sound to be even bigger and crisper than every before.
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Final note. (Sorry this has been such a loooong event page!)

We moved this event to a Friday as there as there is another haiti fundraiser on from subvert on the Saturday. As we normally do Saturday - http://www.mrelephant.com/category/events/live-and-free we were a little aprehensive, so if you can help spread the word in anyway it’ll make a big difference and be very much appreciated by all involved.

Obviously everyone is coming together to put on a great free night in the hope to raise money, but also we hope will appeal to a wide range of tastes and make for a proper memorable one, so if you’re in birmingham, and can drop by for a beer, drop a few quid into the donation buckets etc, it should hopefully be another night to remember….and raise plenty of cash for where its needed.

Facebook event page is here – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=479592425470&ref=ts

//Martial Arts Special // Only £1 Before 12!!!//

Mr Elephant returns after a massive free party in January. Big thanks to everyone who rammed out the room and made it such a great night! This month Mr Elephant returns with Cinephonic, a night of all things video thrown in to the usual Mr Elephant mix of great vibes and great tunes. We’re on a martial arts tip this month, so look out for punches, grabs and kicks to accompany all the phat beats.

We thought we’d keep it nice and cheap (Only £1) and just have fun with it this month. To keep you moving we welcome back DJ Smokedog. Returning after a massive set (but sadly not nearly long enough) at our last party, Smokedog will be hitting you with some more proper old school breaks and Jungle. This time around though he will be performing an amazing Bruce Lee AV collaboration with VJ Delsyd. Treats for the eyes and ears…

http://www.myspace.com/smokedog5

Bringing the funk we have Shelley Rootz of Rhurbarb Radio. If you never caught her before, her set went down a storm at Shambala fest last year. Expect some seriously funky tunes to get you moving with sprinklings of reggae, soul and anything else she pulls out the bag.

http://www.rhubarbradio.com/programmes/sundaycitymusicbox/

As if that was not enough, we have the Mr E resident duo Skeleton and Dolhasz who are without a doubt running one of the most popular and top show’s on Rhurbarb Radio at the moment: The Beat Suite. Skeleton’s residences around Birmingham (including Trigger and Secret Wars) are testament to his skills and versatility on the decks. Dolhasz brings his production skills to the mix via a live ableton setup. Check out his latest release on FHT: http://www.junodownload.com/products/1492801-02.htm

http://www.rhubarbradio.com/programmes/beatsuite/

Joining all of the above on the visuals is Leicester’s finest VJ, The Lab. And Resident Mr E VJ, Blendstate.

http://www.thelab.org.uk/

Saturday 13^th February, The Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath. – 10pm – 2am

Last Saturday the Hare and Hounds saw one hell of a party! The place was buzzing all night long, the venue was rammed, the vibes were great and the tunes we’re even better : )

Before we upload a full report from our massive free party we thought we’d get some photos up for you asap. Enjoy

Mr Elephant’s Party Rockin Mammal Sessions launches at its new home in the Hare and Hounds with a huge free party. We’ve gone all out and brought together as many of our guest DJ’s from last year as possible. Nowhere else will you get such an eclectic, quality line-up of Brum’s underground DJ’s for absolutely nowt, so come join us for a night to remember!

Lineup:

Boogie Dave

Dr Pepperspray

Lopan

Mark Smallman

Sam Redmore

Skeleton and Dolhasz

Smokedog

Subcitizen

+Blendstate Visuals & Elephant Crafts!

9PM – 2AM – FREE ALL NIGHT!!

Boogie Dave (Drop Beats Not Bombs)

A man who needs little introduction, Drop Beats Not Bombs founder Boogie Dave has rocked several of our parties with his crazy dubstep sounds, no doubt he will deliver the goods once again. Look out for his latest venture, a full scale DBNB festival this year: https://www.theticketsellers.co.uk/buy_tickets/events/?id=10007162

Dr Pepperspray

Long running DJ and producer, Dr Pepperspray always brings his unique style & sound to Mr Elephant for a set of strangely brewed breaks, tech, funk, bass & humour!

http://www.myspace.com/doctorpepperspray

Lopan (Sexual AllStars/Sumo SoundSystem)

Member of Birmingham legends, the Sexual Allstars, and more recently resident for Sumo Sound System. The breakbeat, electro and drum and bass heavyweight turntablist Mr DJ Lopan, will be once again bringing it for us.

Mark Smallman (Custom Made)

Mark is one of the few DJs who can play chillout all the way through to drum and

bass. He knows how to rock the party, and his (and Shona’s) award winning custom events are testament to his wide musical tastes and party rockin style.

http://www.myspace.com/custommadeevent

Skeleton (Trigger/Secret Wars) & Dolhasz (The Beat Suite)

Skeleton & Dolhasz of the Beat Suite (Rhurbarb Radio) impressed us so much as guests earlier last year we installed them as permanent residents! As always they will be journeying through a varied set of beats and breaks ranging from danceable funk and hip-hop to glitch-hop, breakbeat and dubstep.

http://thebeatsuiterhubarbradio.blogspot.com/

Sam Redmore (Leftfoot/Freestyle)

One of the hottest DJ’s in Birmingham, Leftfoot and Freestyle Resident Sam Redmore, plays a special blend of funk, soul, hip-hop, disco, reggae and more together with his many custom edited tracks. A man going places…

http://www.myspace.com/samredmoreone

Smokedog

With over 15 years experience, Smokedog is a familiar face in the festival and free party scene, and no stranger to rockin hoards of party mammals with a record collection that is brimming with music from the days before the criminal justice bill came in.

Subcitizen (Resistor Records)
Subcitizen has spent years searching for the most experimental edges of any electronic genre he can find. The most glitchy elements are always on show whether he’s playing techno, electro, electronica, drum and bass, dubstep and much more. Expect to hear many genres you’re familiar with, but chopped and hacked up in ways you didn’t think were allowed!

http://www.myspace.com/subcitizen1

Yes another year is almost passed and as we enter a new decade we would like to whole heartedly wish you all a very happy 2010 on behalf of the Mr Elephant crew.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who bought their vibes to any of our 25 events this year, lent their ears to any of the 16 radio shows, or took part in our community workshops back in May.

And of course a big shout to the 50+ artists who delivered their magic at the various Mr Elephant events, and the 100 + people who came together behind to make it all happen, and platform and share their unique skills, with us (and each other.)

You may have noticed that this year we wanted to focus more on showcasing as many Birmingham artists as we could (hence the 3 very different monthly residencies at 3 great Birmingham venues) but we haven’t forgotten why we started Mr Elephant, and in 2010 we will be looking to hopefully bring a balance to both with slightly less regular events and slightly more of the larger events.

Because they require so much time we have had to look at how best to move forward so we will be playing the next quarter by elephant ear, but suffice to say there are plans already in action for another festival style event with the return of the mr elephant midnight parade and featuring all the trimmings of the 1st 2 at Epic from 2007, the 12 hour celebrate underground from 2008, our 1st birthday also from 2008 and  our 12 hour 2nd birthday from 2009. We are also aiming to grow our regular monthly events and showcase some great live artists,underground djs, and forward thinking vjs at two of our favourite Birmingham venues.

Our Party Rockin Mammal Sessions will be the first to return with a new home @ the Hare & Hounds room 2 on Saturday Jan 9th (http://www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/party-rockin-mammal-sessions-free-party/) with a huge free party featuring around 10 of our favourite underground djs in brum, and will of course be on rotation 2nd Sat of every month thereafter with our Cinephonic A/V cinematic dancefloor sessions both bringing you a host of great djs, vjs, and live electronic artists.

Along with his unique visual talents, Vj Blendstate has taken over the promoting reigns of both of these events since mid October, along with our super skilled elephant residents the beat suite (aka skeleton & dolhasz) rocking the decks, and Liam has some big plans afoot, so if you like underground dance music and quality visuals, keep it locked.

I’ll be continuing with our live and free residency at the Adam & Eve which will feature more great live bands, eclectic djs and solo artists on the last saturday of February and each month thereafter, and will of course remain free entry til 4am, and will be returning with our eclectic radio show each monday to its home on rhubarb radio from 6pm – 8pm – (Check out/hear all our past shows and artists here) . – On a personal note i’ll be returning to the decks in around April/May with something i been working on since having a break in October.

Along with Jack and friends we will continue to capture and post footage of all artists as best we can on this website and make a loud elephant noises about the wealth of talent that exists in the city we live in. BIRMINGHAM! and our resident journalist Emily P will be continuing her cool column on the news and reviews front, and is rumoured to be bringing her interviewing prowess to the site in the new year.

The website (like the events, workshops, and of course radio) is totally unfunded, and features over 140 posts, many of which with video, photos, and of course links to all artists, so please have an explore round the various posts, check the videos and support any of the artists you enjoy by following their links and making a noise about whatever you’re into.

We would like to work the site better, so if you know about websites or have any ideas, feel free to let us know on how we can improve the community side of the website, or by dropping a comment. (We’ve had major issues with the mailing list plugin which has now been discontinued, hence no mailouts for almost a year now, but we are migrating to another option in jan)

And finally we would like raise the collective trunk and make a huge elephant noise to everyone who is, and has been, involved with Mr Elephant thus far, (which deserves a post in itself!) Whethers it’s bringing music and events this great city, using the platform to showcase and develop a creative passion, or trying a creative interest with experienced artists in hands on situations, the shared grass roots ethos that seem to run through all people who get involved with the phat mammal, is a testament to the abundance of opportunities that it continues to create.

Whatever you are interested in and however you celebrate, may 2010 bring you all you wish for, and the decade be an evolution of all that interests you.

One Love

Marc  (on behalf of Mr Elephant as a whole)

Mr Elephant favourites Munchbreak, (this time with multi genre skills of Home Cooking djs) & the mighty Jam Jah once again showed us why Birmingham is packed full of flavour with 2 inspiring live performances and 4 dj sets which kept our last live and free event of 2009 nice and toasty all the way until the 4am close.

Here’s a little video of part one of Munchbreak where they took us back to their seminal jam session days.

Despite being probably the wettest, coldest night we’ve had thus far, nothing seem to hinder a whole pub full of revellers. Robin from Jam Jah kicked things off with their unique blend of roots, reggae, and dancehall.

Followed by some choice genre hopping funk style crowd pleasing cuts from Maxwell from Home Cooking

Then it was time for the headline live act of the night in the first of two sets. First the Jam session you can see above, and then their full live set. Here’s a little more footage this time from their 2nd set.

and if you want more, do go check out their album. It’s well recommended

P.s there are more photos here and our mr elephant facebook group is here.