This weeks show is a Tipper & Ninja Tune Special. In particular playing 5 star tunes from their latest online releases, Surrounded & Ninja XX boxed set respectively. This is 2 hours of some of the very best tunes all mixed and hosted live on a 2 hour dj journey.
P.s you can also download the last 4 showsfrom my soundcloud account here – http://www.soundcloud.com/marcreck They are unhosted and designed as multigenre well mixed dj mixtapes, so do grab them while they’re up (as i’ll have to delete this week as have ran out of space on the account)
Tonight’s Mr Elephant show features – a live recording of The Correspondants, an electro swing mix from our last Project X Presents event, a Balkan mix of some of the best tunes that rocked gigs like Balkanic Eruption & The Destroyers album launch last year, a couple of balkan tracks from two brummie balkan bands, and a few great free tracks for download.
As always the show is put together as a whole with a series of mini mixes, but from hereoin we will be coupling that approach with hosting. New features include some recommended nights out and various web links that are well worth your attention, and these will grow into features on various topics of interest, similar to the audio documentary about the history of old school featured on one of the earlier shows.
Hope you enjoy the show and please check out the links to any artists you like in the tracklisting and featured weblinks below that.
They are unhosted and designed as multigenre well mixed dj mixtapes, so do grab them while they’re up (as i’ll have to delete this week as have ran out of space on the account)
As you may know we are taking a break from all the monthly events for the forseeable future, to concentrate on other projects, so until we return, we just wanted to say a massive thank you on behalf of the whole Mr Elephant crew for bringing the vibes to our last 41 events, and to everyone who has been part of any Mr Elephant event, workshop, radio show, or website.
We’ll really miss the events, and each one has been a truly inspiring experience, but the time feels right to move on to other projects until next year.
It was really important that we left things on a high, and we’re forever grateful to all the venues that have housed us throughout the last years, the Adam & Eve, Hare & Hounds, Epic Skate Park, Rainbow Beach, the Bulls Head & Prince Wales.
When we return to do events we will certainly be looking to promote local talent through smaller regular events, but there was a unananimous decision that we all wanted to return to another reason why we started Mr Elephant in the 1st place, and that is the larger more festival style events. Like the 1st 2 at Epic skate park in 2007, the family days at the Prince garden, the 12 hour celebration pf Birmingham’s Underground on the Rainbow beach/warehouse, and the workshops & multistage 2nd Birthday at the hare and hounds. Events that are one offs and that encompass all the areas of Mr Elephant in one cohesive event, or to put it another way, a balance of all the events over the last 3 years, and pushing some of the Mr Elephant ideas forward.
We’ll still be hosting our radio show on www.rhubarbradio.com with Marc Reck every monday evening at 6pm & Mr Elephant residents Skeleton & Dolhasz will be hosting The Beat Suite every wednesday from 11.30pm. However to avoid the whole website being taken up with the radio shows, it seems more appropriate for these to exist on their own websites & of course the rhubarb ones, so that the artists & events can remain on the front of this one. One of the main aims of Mr Elephant is to shine a light on great stuff, and so hopefully the videos of the events housed on this website helps further that.
There are many ideas and goals that we have as Mr Elephant and while we’ve achieved so much more than we hoped, (due to the ever expanding platform of talented contributors) there is so much we have yet to explore.
We have always been totally unfunded, and, as most will know, it becomes difficult to devote such a large portion of your life when you have to cover your own costs, and have other ambitions to explore. With that in mind we are looking at ways to fund future events so we can realise their true potential, and we’ll be taking time out to further our own interests in order to bring them back in bigger and brighter. We all want to keep the free party ethos alight wherever possible, simply because it allows the most accessibility to people, regardless of financial status, and therefore the most diverse mix of people, which is always a good thing… The logisitics of sorting the time and resources we can work out.
Anyway, once again, thanks to one and all for a truly inspiring 3 years, and on behalf of all the Mr Elephant crew, we wish you a beautiful hot summer.
Part two of our 3rd Birthday Celebrations & our final Mr Elephant event for the forseeable future saw inspired performances from all, and provided a fitting closure to our monthly live & free. We shall really miss both our homes and we’d like to say a massive thank you to the Adam & Eve & the Hare & Hounds for all their support & great work. And of course to everyone who came and created the vibes.
Til we return this will be our last video & photos for the forseeable, so without further ado, here’s a few of the performances caught on the little camera.
And some photos
And the original page with all the artist links
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FREE CONTROL – http://www.freecontrol.co.uk are back. Currently storming through the battle of the bands, and with a packed festival schedule, their last gig was pretty much incredible. Somewhere between Lamb & Unkle. Check the video for their sound
FRANK MOON & JOELLE BARKER – These two are musicians of the highest sense. Frank – http://www.myspace.com/frankmoon on the stringed instruments and member of a huge number of bands and sounds from destroyers to desert groove has just come off a world tour and is thankfully in birmingham rehearsing with destroyers. Joelle – http://www.myspace.com/joellebarker is a percussion magician, She teaches, she composes and she jams with a huge range of percussive instruments. See what they magic up together.
DIK GURU - http://www.myspace.com/dikguru – This man is a legend, and who’s last 2 albums have been creating waves all over the place, both truly deserving of the label Urban Folk. Hilarious tales about Birmingham life & characters presented with great musicianship and instantly likeable charm.
CABSTERS – http://www.myspace.com/cabstars – The full ska band complete with brass section will be performing and kicking up a storm
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.
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. 1st time we heard Jon play we’ve asked him back ever since. Great music and wonderfully done.
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 puts on some wicked events to boot.
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.
NB a lot of people have been asking why we are stopping Mr Elephant events as they are all going really well. Truth is is that its a really hard decision but they take up a huge amount of time, and we dont earn money from them. We could spend less time, but they wouldnt be the same, so we are taking some time out to focus on other projects and ways to fund the development of the events.
We will still be running the odd free event, our radio show will continue every week, and we are planning a return to the big festival style events, which was the reason to start it back in 2007.
You can check all the associated video, photos and blog posts for every single event on our website http://www.mrelephant.com by clicking on the events menu item.
Massive thanks to all who came down and bought the vibes. Great night and one we wont forgot.
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Part One will be the phat underground floor shaking party rockin mammal sessions with 5 of Birmingham’s most versatile party rockin djs & the return of a new vj.
DOCTOR http://www.bassoperations.co.uk/NewerTheDoctor.html plays many musical genres including Hip Hop, Dnb, Reggae, Dubstep, Oldskool & Breaks. With a massive reputation from his residencies at Scratch Club & Heducation, and his forthcoming releases, its safe to say you can expect the unexpected, with a host of genres cut up in his individual scratch style.
Malicious Dj – http://www.bassoperations.co.uk/NewerMalicious.html is another genre hopping turntablist who continues to create a floor filling party experiences for a wide variety of audiences across the country. Long time resident for Scratch Club and Heducation, Malicious dj has developed a unique scratching style mashing up his love for hip-hop, reggae and drum and bass during his versatile and creative sets.
MARC RECK – http://www.marcreck.com has been taking 6 months off djing to work on a brand new setup for May, but will be giving a sneak preview on the night alongside celebrating his own birthday. Coined as the Dj with no barriers by the Night Times and winner of best local dj in Dec 2008, Marc has 6 residencies, a radio show, and has supported a huge spectrum of live bands and headline djs, so expect peak time party rockin genre hopping.
SKELETON – http://www.myspace.com/skeletonskratch is a diverse turntablist party rocker, with bookings every weekend, and an ever growing armoury of styles. A keen ear for dynamics and superb deck skills, expect everything from dubstep, glitchybreaks through to rolling jungle and phat drum and bass.
Dolhasz – http://www.myspace.com/dolhasz brings the party to the decks and the bass to the airwaves. Host of two radio shows, a producer with recent releases, and a dj who can drop the biggest tunes at all the right moments, Dolhasz’s party rockin style of bass music will be in full effect for our last session.
This event was created by our resident Vj monsieur Blendstate, but as he will now be in Japan on the date, we will be welcoming back our last guest at cinephonci.http://www.mrelephant.com/events/featured/cinephonic-5-photos-review . All the way from Italy, Vj Delsyd will be adorning the big screen with her beautiful blend of visuals, keeping our vision enthralled throughout the evening.
And our crew will also be bringing you Elephant Crafts to get your creativity a flowing when you need a sit down from the party rockin tunes.
As a little way of saying a big thank you to everyone for their incredible support of Mr Elephant and the events over the last 3 years, these parties will be free all night and the venue have kindly given us an extra hour til 3am.
NB a lot of people have been asking why we are stopping Mr Elephant events at a time when they are seemingly going so well, and so in answer to anyone who may be wondering the same, it’s mainly because the regular events, while hugely enjoyable, take up a lot of time & with us all working for free, there was a consensus that we need to drop them for a while in favour of moving back to the original reasons to why we started it, which is the bigger festival events, and various related strands. Plus this year some of the core members need time to focus on other areas.
We will still be running the odd free event, and our radio show will continue every week, but for now we just wanted to leave things on a high, so these will be our last two for the forseeable future.
You can check all the associated video, photos and blog posts for every single event on our website http://www.mrelephant.com by clicking on the events menu item.
Here’s the camera video of two of the live headline artists, Relative Dub & 360 who both delivered fantastic sets.
Proper video to follow, and here are some photos from the same said camera
Below is the full line up / preview of last night’s event with links and a little background on the artists.
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Following our haiti fundraiser last month, we are back with our last two live and free events for a while at one of our favourite venues in Birmingham. UPDATE – The mighty 360 will also be joining us for a special live set, courtesy of a mixup at another venue Get your skanking shoes ready for the crowd pleasing skafunkapunkreggae rockers! – http://www.myspace.com/360sound
On the live stage will be Relative Dub – one of the freshest new Dub bands on the Birmingham music scene, who have been creating big waves with their unique blend of electronic dub, featuring live bass, guest vocalists, & a huge mixing desk all creating a live sonic journey. – http://www.myspace.com/relativedub
Their guest vocalist this time will be none other than Laura Louise, a live loop pedal artist from New Zealand who has played a many at mr elephant event, due her amazing voice & beautifully written songs. Normally armed with her acoustic guitar, & boss loop pedal, we know not what to expect with her collaboration with Relative – http://www.myspace.com/lauralouiseowen
Also up will be Cabsters – a band who are tearing it up on the ska scene with their crowd pleasing blend of ska, dub and funk. In just over a year, they are fast becoming big names on the circuit, and we’re well pleased that they are able to come down to once again rock the adam and eve. UPDATE > -We had news this week that their drummer can’t make it, but everyone else can, so cabsters will be bringing a special acoustic sublime style ska set with keys, bass, guitar and vocals. http://www.myspace.com/cabstars
On the 1210′s we have 3 treats keeping the venue toasty til 4am. The mighty Jam Jah will be adorning the new bassbins courtesty of Mr Bongo Damo & his seriously fine roots, reggae & record collection. – http://www.friendlyfiremusic.com/
Also returning is Tangawizi from the legendary Jibbering, who will be mixing it up once again with funk, hip hop, reggae, and anything else he has laid his hands on. – http://www.jibbering.co.uk/
Any also we welcome Shelley from Arts de Ville who hosts the sunday city musicbox every week on rhubarb, and heads up the arts de ville events. Another great record collection which spans, reggae, funk, soul and a whole load more. – http://www.rhubarbradio.com/programmes/sundaycitymusicbox/
You can also feast your eyes on our resident Vj Blendstate’s big screen antics, which will be a mixture of live camera work, and his unique vj style. – http://www.blendstate.com
As always its free entry all night long and we’ll be partying until 4am.
This Saturday is our 2nd Party Rockin Mammal Sessions at the new home at Hare & Hounds. 1st one in January was off the hook (see pics and vid below) so we’re excited about this one.
Party Rockin Mammal Sessions is back with another free party following January’s large launch. We were blown away by the response and the vibe at the last one, so we’re going for another free entry all night.
This month we are very pleased to be welcoming DJ Reaction as our special guest. Heading one of the leading drum and bass events in the city aka Break Thru, and the man who bought us the infamous underground nightlife newspaper – The Night Times, Ric aka DJ Reaction has supported a wealth of big names, including Goldie, LTJ Bukem, Calibre, High Contrast, and London Elektricity. Expect a journey through lush sun kissed liquid drum and bass all the way through to those massive peak time club bangers. Not to be missed.
Joining Ric are our residents Skeleton (Trigger/Secret Wars/The Beat Suite) & Dolhasz (The Beat Suite) taking their killa radio show on rhurbarb radio to the live environment with a diverse party rockin set of beats, breaks and basslines. It always goes off in a big way when they step up, and music wise it’ll range from from turntablism to glitch-hop, all the through to phat breakbeat, dirty dubstep, and lashings of peak time jungle & drum & bass. Blendstate visuals will be on VJ duties making the place look the part, and resident charm offensive Emily will be hosting with the most.
As mentioned it’s Free entry all night long, and have a gander at the little vids of our last party rockin mammal sessions below.
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.
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.
————————————————————————————————————————————————– 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
A few photos from a couple of our elephant crew. 1st half from Marc, & 2nd half from Emily (who both contributed this little review of the evening)
Bass love in the air at Cinephonic #5
Mr Elephant Presents hosted another audio-visual encounter in Venue 2 of the Hare and Hounds. Saturday saw a martial arts special that encompassed the visual wizardry of VJ Blendstate and VJ Delsyd with DJ duties expertly wielded by Smokedog, Shelley Rootz and Mr Elephant residents Skeleton and Dolhasz (The Beat Suite).
Shelley Rootz made her Mr Elephant debut playing a superb eclectic mix of funk, reggae and soul. Great selections with each and every track and it definitly wont be long before we ask her back.
DJ Smokedog, was up next. A man who has rocked 2 of our Party Rockin Mammal Sessions with his love of Jungle. This time however we were treated to a trip to the old school, with a big selection of music that is almost impossible to find these days and which triggered a loyal band of old-schoolers to bust out all the old rave moves. Catch Smokedog’s audio documenatary on our upcoming 23rd radio show.
And last but certainly not least our inspiring residents, Skeleton and Dolhasz, did their usual duty of playing floor filling underground hiphop, glitch-hop, at funk at the start, and those massive breaks, dubstep and drum ‘n’ bass bangers at the end, with Kipp dropping his skilful scratching & Dolhasz vibing the crowd with his energy and sick basslines.
Catch them next month at our 13th Party Rockin Mammal Sessions on Saturday March 13th 2010.
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//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…
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.
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
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 were massive : )
Here’s a few photos from Emily’s new Slr :
And a short pre video from our cameraman Jack Brabant
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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!!
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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!
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.
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.
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…
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!
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.
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.
Cinephonic returns for a big ol’ christmas knees up. To get you seriously moving this month we’ve got the prodigious RCAINE joining us with his driving basslines and techy energetic breaks. Old friend of Mr Elephant, he absolutely smashed it for us back in at our Celebrate Birmingham’s Underground event last year and went down a storm at our Party Rockin Mammal’s event more recently. Be sure to check out his full bio below.
Joining him on the decks as ever are Rhurbarb Radio stars Skeleton and Dolhasz, who are without a doubt running one of the most popular and top show’s on Birmingham’s own www.rhurbarbradio.com at the moment. On the visuals we have resident VJ Blendstate and this month a special guest, Leicester’s finest VJ: The Lab. Having worked with Roland/Edirol around Europe and now working as Lisa Lashes Tour VJ his work has to be seen to be believed.
This month we are going to get in the Christmas spirit, we’ll be mashing up any and all the Xmas movies we can get our hands on to accompany the massive tunes. We wanna hear what your favourites are and we’ll get them in there for you. Just leave a comment below or email us mrelephantpresents@gmail.com.
Also for reduced £2 entry leave us your name below:)
RCAINE
RCAINE has been DJing since 1998, and like most DJ’s, he experimented with many different genre’s until finding his feet with Breaks, Techno and other associated forms. Things got a bit more serious when he won the DJ Mag/Pioneer DJ competition in June 2006 @ Earls court and has since gone from strength to strength. He’s been part of the backbone for many promotions over the years, from London to Birmingham and in his home town Wolverhampton. More recently Drop Beats Not Bombs, Rockfall and his new venture ‘Scandal’ with Boogie Dave @ Gatecrasher Birmingham. Now a regular on the Birmingham scene as well as guesting at parties all over the UK, playing alongside the biggest headliners the world has to offer, fullfilling his early years ambition. He continues to push new innovative music which also inspires his production. With the release of ‘System at Risk’ on ADHD digital featured on the ‘It’s good for the soul’ album, and a remix for a forthcoming Subsource track, from the new album due out March 2010, his productions go from strength to strength.
Party Rockin’ Mammal Sessions at Jibbering’s 10th birthday
Mr Elephant Presents gave a giant birthday trumpet to Jibbering in in honour of their 10th birthday at the Hare and Hounds.
Jibberings main room was full of great music from start to end, featuring artists like Mc Xander, Dj Rubbish, and Smerins Anti Social Club
In room 2, it was the first Mr Elephant Party Rockin’ Mammal Sessions in the Hare since moving from the Bulls Head last month. The venue seemed to suit the diverse vibe granted from the great line up of DJs. At the tender age of one, Party Rockin’ gave its all with our mighty residents Skeleton and Dolhastz (The Beat Suite) whilst Roy Roastbeef was welcomed back by Mr Elephant, playing a fine blend classic funk.
A sneaky selection of Jibbering’s residents also took time out from the main venue to seduce the room with some cutting edge and vintage hip hop, funk, reggae, jungle and dubstep.
Skeleton and Dolhastz did their usual duty of playing floor filling underground hiphop, glitch-hop, funk, breaks and drum ‘n’ bass – with some skilful scratching which made people’s ears twitch.
And the mr elephant room also featured some arts and crafts, with the “Best Dressed Elephant Competition” keeping many occupied for hours.
Over 70 elephants were dressed up with glitter and rags, and the winner came in the form of an Elvis elephant wearing some impressive shades. A year’s free entry to all Mr Elephant events was the generous prize from the elephant pride.
To close off the evening everyone was herded into the main room for a live set from Gentleman’s Dub Club. This awesome Leeds based 9-piece filled the room with an electric energy, and their heavyweight dub and roots reggae combined with the band’s larger than life stage presence made for a mesmerising experience.
Our camera had unfortunatly ran out by then, so here’s a little footage of Jibbering Jon mixing it up with some dubstep and our Liam Blendstate’s visuals
Catch Cinephonic vs Party Rockin mammal Sessions xmas special at Hare and Hounds on Fri 11th 2009
Rich Batsford’s 40th Birthday / Free Control – 1st B’ham Date / Mark Smallman / Dj Chromatouch
For this month’s Live and Free at the Adam and Eve we saw a very special concert with two of the finest midlands artists, a great chillout dj and a some special guests
Rich Batsford celebrated his 40th Birthday as well as his debut UK album and album relase and peformed a great crowd pleasing set with some new material and 2 special guests. Great talent and brilliant audience rapport. If you havent already head on to his website and get yourself a copy of Valentine Court. You wont be disappointed.
Free Control were up next with their first Birmingham appearance, and they were quite simply awe inspiring. The room was packed with people and like most mr elephant gigs, there was a wide range of people. Aside from the roaring response during their set, they also were congratulated by so many people throughout the night, they are already wanting to come back. Big shouts also to some truly inspired live visuals from The Lab (as he’s the resident visual maestro with Free Control, and their very cool management.
On the decks this month there were 3 great sets from Mr Elephant regulars. Mark Smallman, Vj Chromatouch and our resident Marc Reck. The room was still dancing at closing time, but despite the clocks going back we didnt get an extra hour.
Next month we are well excited to be welcoming the return of Munch Break and their home cooking djs back and Mr Elephant favourites Jam Jah will also be returning.
Headliners of our first Live & Free, the fabulous Munchbreak are back!
They truly rocked it last time so we well pleased they’ll be back (if you missed you can hear some on the radio show, or check the vids from the last event)
Home Cooking is amongst others Munchbreak on the decks – real turntablists with a classic selection of funky hip hop, classic funk, and proper ass shaking grooves. As the rest of the band are there – expect some live jamming action similar to that of the classic sessions they used to pioneer in Moseley and the weekly Home Cooking sessions they fill the yardbird with each month.
Jam Jah – If you know Mr Elephant, you must know jam jah by now. If you like reggae or dancing or just pure uplifting vibes Jam Jah are serious delivery men. They rock crowds from whole tents at shambala to their weekly parties at the bulls head and of course their hugely respected monthly events at the hare and hounds which have bought so many great names in roots and reggae to our city. They also release great music with their live bands and talented artist roster and to be fair are just simply, brilliant. They can rock it with roots, ramp it up with jungle and chill it out with dub. Great men on a musical mission with music that truly inspires.
All of this is FREE and is on til 4am with all the usual venue treats like pool table, nice drinks, friendly staff, and nice smoking area and really cool late night vibes.
Mr Elephant Presents – Party Rockin’ Mammal Sessions 1st Birthday – 2nd October 2009
The Party Rockin’ Mammal Sessions have become synonymous with playing floor filling underground dancing music, guaranteed to make your tail feather shake, and a reliable way to find some of the best underground djs in the city.
Celebrating it’s 1st birthday, and final party at the Bulls Head, great vibes were in full effect, with balloons, kazoos (& those lighty up things) adorning a lovely and well up for it crowd, whilst superb sets were thrown down with celebratory style from Marc Reck, VJ Blendstate, DJ Lopan, & The Beat Suite, all of which kept the birthday mammals stomping with a dancefloor journey through hip hop, glitch-hop, funk, breaks, drum ‘n’ bass and jungle!
New residents, The Beat Suite, are a Birmingham-based duo, who can scratch, genre hop, and rock the party, joining the Mr Elephant collective at the 2nd Cinephonic. Comprising of Skeleton and Dolhasz, these two DJs began their journey at the venue filling (and much missed) Open Beats events alongside Skeleton’s residencies at Trigger. Now they host their own radio show live on rhubarb radio every Wednesday at midnight, and watch out for big things from the new 4 way partnership in 2010.
DJ Lopan was welcomed back with his record bag full of party breakbeat, and dirty electro, with some fine turnatablist skills, alongside fellow resident VJ Blendstate who delivered without doubt the finest visuals yet seen at the venue.
whilst resident sock-rocker Marc Reck once again brought his magic to the turntables with a massive crowd pleasing breaks and drum and bass set,
followed by The Beat Suite’s 2nd set of the night with some huge jungle which set the place on fire.
One of the 4 regular nights from the Mr Elephant collective, the next Party Rockin’ Mammal Sessions will be on Saturday 14th November. Sadly saying farewell to the Bulls Head, but happily taking up a new Saturday night residency at the Hare & Hounds, where it will be on rotation with Cinephonic every 2nd Saturday of the month (though the next Cinephonic will be on Friday Dec 11th for a xmas movie mashup!)
Look out for other nights belonging to the Mr Elephant family including Live and Free @ the Adam & Eve, (great live music til 4am for free!), the return on Intermix in 2010, the bi yearly festival style events, and of course the Mr Elephant radio show live on www.rhubarbradio.com every Monday evening from 6pm – 8pm.
One year after the start of our Party Rockin Mammal Sessions and almost 3 years since the birth of Mr Elephant we have combined the two to bring you the best dancefloor rockers under one roof to celebrate our 1st Birthday Celebration @ the Bulls Head in Moseley.
Party Rockin Mammal Sessions is a night of party rockin dancefloor music, building through party style underground dancefloor genres featuring funky hip hop, phat ass funk, a lil monkey swing, party breakbeat, old school jungle and big room drum and bass.
We need people who can rock the party and thats why we are pleased and excited to be welcoming our very first special guest from 2007, the breakbeat, electro and drum and bass heavyweight turntablist, Mr Dj Lopan, who will be recreating that huge VS battle from our first event back in Epic Skate Park in Feb 2007 with our resident sock rocker Marc Reck. And our new residents the very versatile and talented duo – The Beat Suite.
You may remember the Beat Suite from our very last Cinephonic event and their performance was so good, we are very pleased to be welcoming them as our two new residents. Skeleton and Dolhasz can scratch, they can genre hop, and they can sincerely rock the party.
Vj Blendstate will also be stepping it up back with the multi screen visuals and we have live percussion and a very special turntablist battle to kick us off.
If you get there before 10pm its free entry (£3 after) and for the first two hours until 11pm, you can enjoy these drinks promos courtesy of the upstairs bar.
2 bottles of beck for the price of 1 !!
Glens Dark Rum / Imperial Vodka Double £2!!
A bottle of house wine for £8 !!!
And shots of Tequila for £1 !!!
Aside from knocking a tenner of your night, it also means you you will get to witness 2 real turntablists battling it out dmc style with funky hip hop, big bottom funk, and classic breaks.
Free Kazoo on entry, Streamed Live on Rhubarb Radio, Filmed Live for Mr Elephant T.V. More attractions to be announced and if you’re on facebook, here’s the event page if you’d like to attend – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=134749128924
Another free live music party at the legendary Adam and Eve with the Foot Stomping raucousness of FLAT STANLEY, the truly beautiful sounds of LAURA LOUISE & dancing all night long from THE OTHER WOMAN CLUB DJS!
Following last months foot stomping Live & Free with Mama Matrix and Laura Louise, we welcomed another band who are no stranger to kicking up a storm and have been playing many of this years summer festivals with a great set of talented musicians going by the name of Flat Stanley. Psychedlic foot stomping blues rock is how they term themselves and was an apt description as they tore through a great set
If you’ve not heard of them, please check out their myspace for their next gig. They’ve supported major artists like The Levellers, Ozric Tenticles the mighty Hawkwind and and as Mark Radcliffe put it “dreadlocks and didgeridoos, o yes have it”
Our other live guest – Laura Louise – needs no introduction. Spell binding performances at Moseley Folk festival and our last live and free mean we just had to ask her back. She performed a beautiful set and were looking forward to her return with some new material next year.
Here’s a little video we hashed together, though our man with the cam Jack Brabant was there and will uploading a much superior version from his footage very soon.
In between and til 4am we enjoy the sounds of Cassie from the Other Womans club djs, who is a supremely talented dj, has residencies all over the city, and had the place dancing all the way til 4am. In fact she was that good she got offered a residency at the adam
Next Live and Free is on Sat 26th Oct with Free Control Rich Batsford and some very special guests. As always its free entry all night (9pm til 4am) and the venue hosts a great soundsystem, smoking area, pool table and very cool bar and security staff, which makes for real nice vibe.
Little feature on Mr Elephant appeared in the recent Night Times publication which gives a little overview of what we do as Mr Elephant.
20, 000 copies of the Night Times have been distributed this month to showcase the best of brums underground and music nightlife to our new arriving students. Copies can be found for free at your local music venues in Birmingham and for those that havent come across the paper, its a must follow publication in our opinion and we lucky to have it in the city, featuring music reviews, events and local information. As far as we know its funded only by advertisting and the fact they make the advertising really affordable and really useful to underground nights and local people who dont have much money, means its something that needs supporting, so get in touch with them if you have something you want to share with the birmingham masses.
Here’s our little biog, and click here to read a bigger version
After kicking off to a great start with Quantic back in June, Cinephonic well and truly settled into its groove with it’s second outing this month. It was a monster weekend with the Mr Elephant team also ramming the bull’s head the night before with a funk flavoured Party Rockin Mammal Session. A little sleep later and we’re back again at the Hare and Hounds for a very different animal.
Video by Jack Brabant
As always with Cinephonic we base the visuals of the night around a theme. This time around it was all about the road movies. Marc Reck opened us up with a great bit of chilled trip-hop, the room nicely filling up to the warm sounds of artists such as Kruder & Dorfmeister, Thievery Corporation & Barry Adamson.
Rhurbarb Radio favourites Skeleton and Dolhasz perfectly translated their radio show ‘The Beat Suite” http://thebeatsuiterhubarbradio.blogspot.com/ into a live environment. Covering a massive range of genres just like a certain resident of ours loves to do, the experimental pair seemed a perfect match for Marc and the night.
The Beat suite’s 1st set saw some great scratching from Skeleton & some seamless blending from Dolchasz. Taking it from the trip hop into the hip hop and building up into choice dubstep and big room breaks, their style, vibe and mixing was 2nd to none and kept the tension building and the party rockin vibe flowing!
Despite the soaring temperature the place was nice and full by 11:00 and our DJ’s responded accordingly cracking the tunes up and getting everybody moving. The visuals hit overdrive with some feedback powered cliff driving, motorcycle acrobatics, and Lawnmower action for good measure.
Midnight came and it was time for Marc’s 2nd set. Starting from breaks and switching it up with each track, it seemed our resident was looking for what was the crowd wanted in order to set the place off.
After breaks, a little swing, it was the huge bite from the liquid drum and bass which set the place on fire and took us into a great hour of crowd pleasing jungle & drum & bass!
Blendstates visuals were creating a filmic visual narrative that bought the cinema to the dancefloor with impressive skill and inspiring imagination! Skeleton & Dolchaz took to the decks for their 2nd set and displayed why they are two of the moste versatile djs in brum, effortlessly jumping from jungle to drum and bass, from breaks to dubstep, dropping in some cheeky numbers and keeping the floor locked and jumping all the way through.
Massive thanks to all those who came out and created a truly lovely vibe creating a proper night to remember. Also special thanks the venue for staying open an extra half hour allowing our DJ’s a unanticipated B2B set at the end!
Cinephonic will return on the 10th October with details to follow soon. If you’d like to keep posted automagically, please subscribe to the rss, or join the facebook group (invites for each event)
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Cinephonic returns with its blend of party tunes and big screen movie visuals, in room 2 of the Hare & Hounds on Saturday 8th August 2009, and this time around we’re be taking you on a journey with a road movie theme.
We have some very special guests in the form of Skeleton (Trigger/Open Beats/Secret Wars) & Dolhasz (The Beat Suite) who will be journeying with a varied set of beats and breaks ranging from dancable funk and hip-hop to glitch-hop, breakbeat and dubstep.
They will be joined as by resident dj Marc Reck, who will be revving it up on the decks with party breaks, classic jungle, and big room drum & bass, and VJ Blendstate who will be crashing you through the road movie theme with a visual mashup of films you know and films you don’t.
We’re also celebrating a big birthday from one of Mr Elephant’s collective so head on down a join us for the audio visual celebrations.
Catch Skeleton & Dolhasz experimental collaboration live every Wednesday at midnight on http://www.rhubarbradio.com
Our 2nd Inter-mix will feature not one but two Birmingham based promoters and their residents who bring international music to the city. The mighty reggae collective Jam Jah & legendary tropical dance music selectors Moseley Tropical.
Elephant favourites Jam Jah need no introduction and we try and get them in whereeever we can due to their unmistakeable blend of roots reggae and dancehall which never fails to set the room alight. Chief selectors Robin G and Damon will be repping the show and they’ll be kicking it off from 10pm.
Moseley Tropical similarly bring a whole load of great musical culture to our fair city of Birmingham, and have hosted their unique mix of past present and future tropical dance music at many Birmingham venues – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55522940457
“The past, present and future of tropical dance music”…”leave your preconceptions at the door”. One of the chief selectors Mr Zuppa Inglese not only has a great skill on the decks but also a great show on the mic, so expect to be shaking your thang from midnight til 2am.
Doors open at 10pm / Entry is free before 10.30 & £4 after
The Party Rockin’ Mammal Sessions are back once again with summer drinks promos and not one, but two special guests joining our residents!
Boogie Dave (Drop Beats Not Bombs /My Bass / Rockfall)
Birmingham legend Boogie Dave will be bringing down his big box of Dubstep and Breaks to share with us. You may or not know the Drop Beats Not Bombs founder got himself in a spot of bother with the law over a certain radio broadcast earlier this year. After entering a plea of not guilty he awaits his day in Birmingham crown court on the 3rd September. So in true Boogie style we will be either celebrating or commiserating the verdict with a big party!
Subcitizen (Resistor Records)
Subcitizen has spent years searching for the most experiemtal 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!
Resident Marc Reck will of course join both of our guests on the decks. Expect the usual eclectic treats alongside the big breaks, dutty basslines, rolling drum and bass & jungle classics. He’ll be joined as always by Video Supremo, Blendstate Visuals who will be adding a beautiful layer of light to the proceedings.
This is going to be a phat party from beginning to end, so please turn up early to support us and the venue. We’ve got a massive 5 hours of music planned for you all – it would be a shame to only experience the last few hours now wouldn’t it! We’ve got a double happy hour in place to encourage you, running from 9- 11pm. Offers below:
2 bottles of beck for the price of 1 !!
Glens Dark Rum / Imperial Vodka Double £2!!
A bottle of house wine for £8 !!!
And shots of Tequila for £1 !!!
There’s also a summer rooftop terrace if you fancy a chill or a smoke.
So Friday 4th September, The Bulls Head, Moseley, £3 on the door. We look forward to seeing you all shake your thing very soon!
Much Love , Mr E xx
UPDATE – The mighty 360 will also be joining us for a special live set, courtesy of a mixup at another venue 
I’ll be continuing with our
Party Rockin Mammal Sessions is a night of party rockin dancefloor music, building through party style underground dancefloor genres featuring funky hip hop, phat ass funk, a lil monkey swing, party breakbeat, old school jungle and big room drum and bass.
