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
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.
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
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
On a totally electronic tip this week with an exclusive mix from Dfrnt in honour of his excellent forthcoming album Metafiction, and an old mix from Marc Reck found on the hard drive earlier in the day
#Tracklist 01 Hatcha – Flippin’ (DFRNT Remix) [Dub]
02 Adam Johnson – 4 Squares (DFRNT Remix) [Dub]
03 DFRNT – 808 State of Mind [Dub]
04 DFRNT – On The Move [Forthcoming... On The Edge]
05 DFRNT – Tripped (Synkro Vocal Mix) [Forthcoming... On The Edge]
06 DFRNT – Decay [Forthcoming... On The Edge]
07 DFRNT – Sectioned [Dub]
08 DFRNT – Tenfold (DFRNT Less Is More Edit) [DFRNT.co.uk]
09 DFRNT – Dark Jazz (DJ Madd’s Even Darker Remix) [Forthcoming... On The Edge]
10 DFRNT – An Early Place [Forthcoming... On The Edge]
11 DFRNT – The Warmest [Forthcoming... On The Edge]
12 DFRNT – Wake Up [Forthcoming... On The Edge]
Some exclusive live recordings this week from our 1st Live & Free event back in April, followed by a Mr Elephant Mixtape “Mr Elephant’s Journey Around the World”
1. The mighty Thievery Corporation start us off. A Washington DC-based production and DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton and their supporting artists. Their music can be characterized as downtempo/electronica with influences of dub, acid jazz, indian classical and brazilian styles fused together with a lounge aesthetic, and they really know how to produce bass!
2. Then it’s to the city of Birmingham with the inspiring Friendly Fire Crew, reggae collective, featuring the talented Paradox on the vocals and Robin Giorni on the production, with this proper track called “Web Of Deceit”
3. Down into the the south of Spain we find the beautiful voice of Yolando Rayo, with an equisite traditonal salsa track “Salsa Con Sabor”
4. Then its to the bright lights and big show tunes of Broadway, with Catherine Zeta Jones blasting out her rendition of “All That Jazz” from the musical Chicago (reedited for full dancefloor effect)
5. Thrown onto the streets of London with this dirty classic track from Noonsday Underground
6. Going Deeper into the capital for the inspired fusion of Tricky (with great vocals from Martine), with their seminal track “Black Steel” from the album Maxinquaye.
8. Staying East we get treated to the combined musical skills of Shankar and the Epidemics.
9. Then lush African Marimba sounds from Batanai Marimba with a track called Shangara.
10. To the streets of Barcelona is where we find the Minimal Acoustic Band, and their track “Saraha”. Mainly using traditional didgeridoos from Nepal, and steel pans from Jamaica their fusion is/was a highlight from the Catalunyan streets.
11. Then its a quick trip back to the U.K to catch the hugely talented fusion that is Nitin Sawhney, with this title track from his Beyond Skin Album.
12. Then were off all the way across the globe to New Zealand with a brief stopover in Australia and a classic track from Crowded House
13. Over to now Europe for two short vists. One is to France to see the excellent French Hip Hop Sounds of Nuttea
14. And then over to Germany to check out a light hearted Dauerfisch
15. A business trip to Japan allows us to let our hair down and catch the pure funk of Major Force, with this wicked track taken from Thievery Corporation’s “Outernational Sound Mix Album”
16. Then its over to the west coast with a little bit of deck skills from Dj Shadow with this bit of Walkie Talkie,
17. and then NWA give us a slice of Compton life with the classic “Fuck Da Police”
18. Manu Chao is a Latin folk singer of Galician origin, fusing all sorts of …well you probably heard of him too.
19. Over to the continent of Africa to visit Mozambique for a Maputo based multi generational collective. Mabulu are one of a number of nu-generation African bands balancing dance music, traditional roots sounds, and the verbal acrobatics and conscious social lyrics of rap and hip-hop. This track is called Aids.
20. Then of course, The Pink Panther from North American composer Henry Mancini
21. And to bring us back home, we haved the inspirational soundtrack esque Barry Adamson, with the very cool “Jazz Devil”
Last night in a cosy 160 people live music venue in Digbeth called the Adam & Eve, 3 live Birmingham Artists, and 1 alternative dj gathered together to create a night to remember, going by the names of Black Heart Generator, Geordie Blake, Andre Aristotle & The other woman club dj. (Unfortunately Barnesy had to cancel at the last minute due to a broken guitar.)
This was our first rock and indie Live & Free event, and with the mighty Supersonic Festival just around the corner we really weren’t sure how it was going to go. What followed where 3 inspiring live performances & 5 hours of quality djed music, which left our souls touched and our ears ringing!
Cassie from the Other Woman Club djs was introduced to us by Carlo from 444, two individuals who are key in our live music scene. Cassie is one of the leading djs on the local indie scene and has a wealth of experience from promoting the Barfly to writing for the N.M.E. What was special about her djing was that she can work a crowd, has a vast selection of great music, and really knows how to use it. Effortlessly hopping genres, Cassie both engaged the dancefloor, whilst also leading beautifully in and out of each live act. Most definitely someone we hope will be appearing at future events, and you can keep up to speed with her own appearances and projects via this facebook group.
First up on the live stage, was Mr Geordie Blake from Shana Tova, who was performed his first solo set in the history of his impressive career. What followed was a powerful and at times moving display of great musicianship, impressive vocals, and beautifully crafted tracks, which left the listener locked and moved at the same time. Pop hooks with rock guitars and a brilliant voice (even with an apparently sore throat)… Geordie Blake has songs that you want to hear again and again, and i feel is one of our cities hidden gems.
Next up was Andre Aristotle, another artist with a truly great voice. Vocal melodies were hit each time with pitch perfect accuracy, and members of the audience were notably surprised that the whole performance was one man a mic, and a roland 505 groovebox, Dark indie electro pop is the best i can describe it as. which told of tales of ketamine spiked experiences, and portrayals of life in Sheldon, all of which took you to a place which could have very easily existed in a film, (and probably further exemplified by the nice use of lighting courtesy of the top venue sound engineer.)
Last up were our headliners Black Heart Generator who absolutely blew the roof off. The power generated by only 3 people was immense, and the hooks, musicianship and synergy of the 3 individuals created something raw, and energy fuelled. A perfect balance of punk rock and alternative indie hooks, with a sound that seemed inspired by bands like the Pixies and Nirvana, through to Joy Division and at times even Napalm Death. They finished their set with a great cover of Nirvana’s Molly’s Lips, leaving the crowd hyped and happy.
The photos above are courtesy of a new member of the Elephant collective who joined us for the evening. Mr Will Marsden, son of Keith & Diane (who you may recall as hosts of our first home at Epic Skate Park, or our 1st family event at the Prince, has recently finished a photography course, and was keen to flex his skills and new slr camera, so we were most chuffed that he was down with the eve. You can check out his work above, and he’ll be appearing next at our 2nd Cinephonic event at the Hare & Hounds on Sat 8th August.
Huge thanks to everyone who came down on sat, and our next live and free will be with none other than Mama Matrix and Laura Louise on Sat August 22nd @ Adam & Eve in Digbeth.
UPDATE : Mr Rich Batsford has written this great write up on website -
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Following sensational sets from the Heels, Hidden Half & Flame of Fervour last month, its almost time for our 4th Live & Free event @ the Adam & Eve in Digbeth – this Saturday 25th July.
This month we’re on an alternative, indie, and rock tip with 4 great brummy live artists, and some top alternative djs
Black Heart Generator are our special guests this month, and no stranger to tearin up the live circuit, with each member being in some Birmingham’s best alternative bands on the local scene such as Baxter, Egososo, Koala Grip and The Starries. - http://www.myspace.com/blackheartgenerator
Geordie Blake from Shana Tova, himself as a legend on the rock / indie scene, sharing a history with members of Black Heart Generator back when the Starries toured with Idlewild, will be performing a special one off acoustic set - http://www.myspace.com/shanatova
Also performing will be the inspiring Barnesy who be showcasing his unique blend of acoustic music and street poetry – http://www.myspace.com/barnesyboy86 …Really someone not to be missed!
And to keep things diverse, we are also welcoming the front man of Recall 34 in his solo guise of Andre Aristotle, with his very cool one man and box electro style outfit. - http://www.myspace.com/andre48k
And joining us on the decks this month, we are very pleased to welcome The Other Woman Club who are taking a night out of their busy schedule to come and host between the bands and keep you all dancing and a-singing until 4am. - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48705022394
There’s a load of festi’s on this month, but if you’re not already booked up, come down between 9pm – 4am for bouncing, singing and merriment for what promises to be a great night of live and djed music.
Yes yes, we are chuffed to have our radio show back on the airwaves, so without further ado, here’s what was played in the Rhubarb Studio by our host Marc Reck.
“You can check it out from the player on my dj site, or right click + save as to download it for your mp3 player, and if you like the artists the links to their last fm profiles in the tracklisting are for your digging pleasure.
Comments and feedback always welcome and cheers for listening
Marc x”
Nitin Sawhney
Beyond Skin
Homelands
05:58
1999
World/Eastern/Electronica
Fun Lovin’ Criminals
Mimosa
Scooby Snacks (Schmoove Version)
03:21
1999
Funky Rock
Bomb The Bass
The K&D Sessions (Disc 1)
Bug Powder Dust
07:21
2000
Trip Hop
Percy Filth Ft Sonny Jim, Foreign Beggars, & Dj Weetamix
Elbow Grease
Out To Getcha
04:11
2009
Hip Hop
Riz MC
Epic (Single)
Post 911 Blues (Fantastic Mr Fox Remix)
03:58
2007
Hip Hop/Rap
Mestizo & Mike Gao
Electro Swing
Pick Up 52′s
03:32
2009
Swing
Beenie Man
Who Am I
Who Am I
03:17
1998
Dance Hall / Reggae
Senser
Stacked Up
Switch
04:34
1994
Rap Metal/Rock
The Destroyers
Out Of Babel
Copanitsas
07:50
Balkan / Gypsy / Birmingham
Idlewild
Scottish Fiction (The Best Of 1997-2007)
American English
04:35
2007
Rock
Black Heart Generator
Black Heart Generator
Summer Snake
02:39
Rock / Alternative / Indie / Birmingham
Nirvana
Incesticide
Aneurysm
04:36
1992
Rock
We Were Promised Jetpacks
These Four Walls
Ships With Holes Will Sink
03:22
2009
Indie/Alternative
Propellerheads
Decksandrumsandrockandroll
Spybreak!
07:00
Electronica/Breaks
Si Begg
Breaks / Old School
The Bleeps (Shades Of Rhythm rmx)
07:06
Breaks / Old School
Concord Dawn + Ill.Skillz
VA – The Best Drum and Bass
Be There 4 U
07:04
2002
Drum & Bass
Si Begg
My Style (Ill Gates and Stefane ‘Teknostep’ Vera Remix)
Settling nicely into its new monthly slot Mr Elephant’s Party Rockin Mammal Sessions, saw Dr Pepperspray joining our residents for a Moseley Festival special. A hot day, so took a while to fill up, but as the sun set, the place filled and the party basslines dropped, until a big singalongafinale (and an expected heartwarming comment).
Long running DJ and producer Dr Pepperspray demonstrated his unique diverse style & sound building up through about 10 different genres of music and picking up the pace with each record. A wholesome concontion of strangely Trip Hop, Hip Hop, Breaks, Tech, Funk, Bass & lashings of sample based humour! You can check his many aliases – http://www.myspace.com/doctorpepperspray & http://www.myspace.com/3d2m
We were also joined by our Mr Elephant cameraman, Mr Jack B, who bought along some of his classic Jungle tracks for the floor. A dj in his days in Manchester, and a vinyl lover, it was great to see the roles being shifted in true elephant stylings. Great tunes from a top bloke.
The other visual maestro of the night was also on fine form, with his super power projector and a whole load of new clips he’d been working on. Liam Blendstate rarely has a free weekend these days, being booked out by most of the underground promoters in Birmingham, so we feel pretty priveliged that he’s such an integral part of the elephant crew. Check his visuals on this video here
Our other resident sock rocker Marc Reck was on devastating form, with a whole load of new promos, and some really filthy drum and bass. The last hour was pure joy/bedlam, and an impromptu b2b session created that special party rockin atmosphere synonymous with the mammal sessions.
After a big finish we got treated to 3 classic elephant encore tracks – The Correspondents mix of I wanna be like you, and end of night elephant faves – The Banana Boat Song, & Dont Worry Be Happy, which left many a happy mammal leaving the bulls head, and chilled out the pace beautifully.
Next Party Rockin Mammals is on Friday August 7th 2009 @ the Bulls Head, with brummy Funk King – Roy Roastbeef
A lot of hard work, but ultimately a great experience
Liam & i have been working on getting an a.v set together all week with 3 am finishes most nights. Hard work but necessary as we were both using new technologies, and obviously wanted the launch to be something special, not least because Quantic was also on the bill (after a chance call from Adam asking if we could fit him and his new film into the night)
What was interesting to learn on a personal note (once again) that pre planned sets aren’t suited to djing. Its was essential that Liam knew exactly what was played so he could create video clips and an av set to accompany (for our first one at least), but we both learnt that there is only so much planning that works in this environment.
After watching the Transition in Tradition filming, Paul our guest percussionist played an inspired solo set while we plugged the cd decks back in (as they were obscuring the screen) and then we launched into our 1st cinephonic set. The set was a real pleasure building up through all kinds of music, from the opening track (Bombay by A R Rahman) through Tipper, Thievery Corporation, Kruder & Dorfmeister, into some funk, swing, and then Quantic style rolling house tracks.
The response was just as i’d hoped up until one of the swing hop tracks. It was here when the dancefloor went from everyone up to some people getting a beer. Normally as a dj you wouldn’t think twice about switching it up or back, into something that works, but as we had a set plan, there was no way out. It was the first time i’d had this experience for a while, and is best accustomed to taking the wrong bag of records out. I’m always a bit overly critical if the floor doesn’t stay remain full/build up, and people said positive things afterwards, but iwas reminded that some styles of music just work better played end to end.
Reason i say that is because, Quantic and B+ plugged in, and just put on some great records. There was no mixing, just selecting, and the floor responded to the records it liked. For certain styles of music you need to be free to play, and the crowd will groove to the parts they like and that’s what they did. While it was a new experience for me and liam as a partnership, it reminded me that 5 days working out how to fit various genres of more difficult records together is not normally as productive as it can feel. That said there’s nothing that beats a proper dj set using the equipment and scratchig it up in terms of really setting a crowd off.
Nevertheless i have great memories of the night, and feel lucky to have been reminded of something i learnt so long ago. Paul’s Cole’s (free control) percussion was inspiring, and we were also joined by the equally inspiring Tony Coleman from The Lab who not only vjed with Quantic, but also recorded the whole set, and has even edited and uploaded a section while the rest flies its way over via carrier postmen.
I’ll be posting the full audio and hopefully sections of video as soon as it arrives, and i’ll leave you with the opening 10 minutes of our Av set courtesy of Tea.
Those lovely people at the Night Times have featured Mr Elephant twice in this month’s issue! An interview and a review! Click on the pics for a readable version
Cinephonic
Born out of frequent collaborations between Marc Reck and Blendstate Visuals at Mr Elephant’s various events as well as with Project X and The Night Times, this project aims to take the relationship one set further…
A new night from Mr Elephant, Cinephonic aims to be something a little different. A treat for both your eyes and ears, each night will take you on an audio visual journey. We take two films from a genre and remix them together VJ style with a carefully selected choice of tunes to take the audience on a trip start to finish. Expect seriously danceable tunes of all flavours wrapped up in beautiful big screen visuals.
We are launching the night with a very special headlining guest DJ, none other than Quantic, aka Will Holland. In honour of our guests beautiful South American surroundings, the tropical vibe of his latest albums and with a nod to Mr Elephant the first Cinephonic will be based around a nature theme.
Quantic
Jazz sensibility with future dance floor orientated grooves, deep funk and tough drums.
Will Holland is one of the most talented and prolific artists in the world of alternative dance music today. Recording under various guises, Will first found acclaim as Quantic. As well as Quantic and the Quantic Soul Orchestra Will is one half of The Limp Twins, a duo he formed with Russ Porter. Initially a deejay partnership, it wasn’t long before they started recording, with Russ taking on the vocal duties and Will adding the magic with his savvy production.
He has enjoyed consistent success with his Quantic moniker, releasing his first album, ‘The 5th Exotic’ in the summer of 2001. It was picked up on by some of the most respected names in underground music. Richard Dorfmiester, Mr Scruff and LTJ Bukem all rated it very highly, not surprising when tunes like “Common Knowledge” and the near classic “Life in the Rain” had blazed across dance floors all over Europe. With elements of Jazz, Funk and Afro blended with tight breaks and Will’s distinctive production, ‘The 5th Exotic’ proved irresistible and won him many plaudits.
He built on this acclaim with the release of ‘Apricot Morning’ less than a year later, dispelling any talk of “the difficult second album”. His sound seemed to expand in every direction on ‘Apricot Morning’ and he became the first Tru Thoughts artist to collaborate with Alice Russell as well as recording with MC EQ and Bristol’s freshest hip hop crew, Aspects. ‘Apricot Morning’ is a perfect snapshot of everything happening at the jazzier end of underground music in 2002, as proved by Gilles Peterson who ranked it amongst his albums of the year.
The release of the album ‘Mishaps Happening’ in 2004 saw Quantic continuing to work with Alice Russell as well as recording two tracks with the legendary Spanky Wilson (with whom he went on to collaborate on a tour and an electrifying album for his Quantic Soul Orchestra…but that’s another story).
Quantic released a two-disc ‘One Offs, Remixes and B Sides’ album in 2005, which featured a collaboration with Mr Scruff and remixes by Pilooski and Seiji; and his fifth long player, ‘An Announcement To Answer’ followed in 2006, cementing his reputation as a 21st Century Quincy Jones.
Quantic regularly DJs across the world (and we mean the World not just America, Europe and Japan) spreading the unique Quantic sound with each set. His music has been featured on countless compilations and appeared in TV soundtracks, and as ever he has a busy schedule of remixes from respected labels across the board. In 2007 he relocated to Colombia, where he has had a studio built and is continuing to create exciting music at a characteristically prolific rate, taking inspiration from the heady mix of rhythms and sounds on his doorstep.
2008 saw a new project come to life, under the moniker Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno, a summery dub and reggae-inspired affair with an authentic tropical vibe. The album, ‘Death Of The Revolution’ came out in July 2008 and features Will Holland on various instruments with contributions from a host of Latin American musicians, including the legendary Peruvian pianist Alfredo Linares. This album pricked up the ears of many tastemakers and fans alike, including Gilles Peterson and Mark Lamarr (BBC Radio 2), who have been excited and curious about the new progression in Quantic’s music – and impressed that it sounds as stunning and original as any Quantic album to date.
The big story for 2009 is Quantic and his Combo Bárbaro, a handpicked band of internationally renowned musicians set to take over from The Quantic Soul Orchestra in realising the next stage of Holland’s musical vision.
(www.quantic.org // www.tru-thoughts.co.uk/artists/quantic)
Tradition in Transition: A Postcard from Cali
Shot in Cali and Buenaventura in Colombia. A Postcard from Cali is based around the music of Quantic and his Combo Barbaro from their forthcoming Tradition in Transition album on Tru Thoughts Records . (Screening starts 9pm)
Tony from The Lab who hosted vj workshops, vjed all night, and is to be producing Mr Elephant T.v has wrote his review of the Mr Elephant 2nd Birthday, so until he has a log in on this site (big elephant things afoot with The Lab) i’ll post it. The link one of his many excellent sites is http://www.vurt.org.uk
Tony from The Lab hosting the Vj Workshop – Photo by Dan Roblin
After three hours sleep, I’m awake! and running through the final kit checks for the train journey to Brum. Not only the Mr Elephant birthday party, but also my first VJ workshop. This will be seen as an introduction to hardware VJing using the Edirol kit I have now assembled. With an early start to these preceeding scheduled for 3pm, it’s all hands on decks wilst myself and Liam setup the two rooms for the evenings mayhem and merriement. Anyway, the hardware tutorials went (I think) well, and the star pupil without a shadow of doubt was Charly. Talk about getting it quickly or duck to water (or do feel free to enter your own analogy for that matter) anyhow, I digress ….
Even when I cheekily stepped away from the mixer for a bit and watched, I was bloody impressed! Hopefully though, the participants of the said workshop enjoyed themselves and have a smidge of a better understanding of what a hardware VJ actually does (apart from getting asked to put on some abba or R n bloody bee). Throughout the workshop, Mr Elephants two superb guest camera ops (Jack Braybant and Julie Hyland) were running around the event capturing loads of footage from the setup, the workshops and into the night. I can’t wait to see the footage and begin the editing for Mr E TV!
The night kicked off with a superb loop set from Laura Louise in which I had the oppertunity to play with the mixer and get in some nice feedback effects for her entire set with additional content coming from Liam (Blendstate). Caught up with Mike Freear of Alphadrive before his gig too, absolute top bloke !!! I loved the music! (I danced the whole set!), the energy (did I mention I danced the whole set?), and the reaction of all those sweaty, jumping about bods that were at the front of the stage! and then the finalae from Marc Reck himself was a joy to VJ to. This gentle reader then led to an early morning unwind back at the hostess of the night’s abode. Thanks must go to Laura for the music, hospitality and tea.
As per usual though, there were so many people that came together to macke this an absolute blinder of an event, and I’d like to thank Marc and Pyn for encouraging me to actually begin with the workshops that have been on a drawing board for so long, Liam for lights, visuals and his siter workshop on software vjing, Rich batsford for an amazing set, the osmosis boys for a storming night of techno and heavy breaks (class work!), Charley for participating and playing!, Laura for a storming opening set and hospitality, and Mr Mike Freear and Alphadrive! Hope to catch ya when you visit these lands further south.
Sleep however, never came … and around half nine I was off on my train travels again back to Leicester for the finale of my weekend!
It’s something else to actually see some of the energy and preparation that goes into creating such a mammal and Marc and Pyn have it down to a tee. The revellers were taken on an ecletic evening of sound and light that puts all of the Leicester events to shame. I look forwards to working closer with Marc and Pyn over the coming months and can wholeheartedly recommend that everyone has to experiance a Mr Elephant party at least three times in their life.
For anyone who is interested in trying out the free mr elephant workshops on saturday here’s the programme.
All workshops are FREE, and are aim to give you a taster of various creative artforms in a grassroots stylee.
Some are drop in, Some are tasters, and some will enable suitable participants to perform on the night.
If you want to try out any of the workshops, booking will be on a 1st come 1st served basis from 2pm as from the drop in workshops.
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Main Room : (These workshops must be booked from 2pm on the day)
3.15 – 4.15 – LYRICS and LOOPS – Laura Louise – All Ages
4.30– 5.30 – DRUMMING – Jon Elliot – All Ages
5.45 – 6.15 – BEAT BOXING – Bass6 – Adults
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Room 2 : (These workshops must be booked from 2pm on the day)
3.00 – 3.30 – V.J WORKSHOP The Lab/Blendstate – Adults
4.00 – 4.30 - V.J WORKSHOP The Lab/Blendstate – Adults
4.45 – 5.15 – D.J TASTER WORKSHOP – Marc Reck – Adults
5.30– 6.00 – V.J WORKSHOP – The Lab/Blendstate – Adults
6.15 – 7.00 – D.J SCRATCH WORKSHOP – Jerome Hill (t.b.c) – Adults
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The Garage : (Drop in workshops from 3pm and 7pm – no need to book)
ANIMATION – (to be shown as part of the V.J set on the night) – Claire Evans – All Ages
MASK DECORATING – (Decorate a card mask/elephant flyer) – Jen Commins – All Ages
POODLE PUPPETS – (Poodles will be part of the performance) – Pyn Stockman – All Ages
POI SPINNING – (Festival style poi in the Sun) – Alice Branston – All Ages
(All ages welcome (children must be accompanied by an adult at all times)
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The sun is shining, and the forecast for saturday is hot, so here’s the evenings entertainment for our 12 hour 2nd birthday this Saturday @ the Hare & Hounds.
Please note the Acoustic & Live Stage will be in Room 1 & the Osmosis Room & Dance Stage will be in Room 2.
For the acoustic sets (9pm – 10pm) we will have tables and candles, so please arrive early in order to get a seat and relax with a beer, so you can see the very special acoustic gig from Rich Batsford & Laura Louise.
Acoustic Stage (8pm – 10pm)
8pm – Doors Open (Live Stage) – Soundtrack music
9pm – Laura Louise (Live Loop Pedal / Flute / Beatbox / Vocals)
9.30- Rich Batsford (Piano & Vocals)
Live Stage (10pm – 3am) (Hosted by Bass6)
10pm-Jam Jah (Reggae)
11pm – Circadia (Live Instruments, Electronics, & Skankin)
11.30pm – Marc Reck (Monkey Swing Set)
12pm – The Mr Elephant Midnight Parade (Hosted By Bass6) – Parade Your Mask & Promenade Your Poodle – Prizes for best mask and poodle plus the Percussion Jam (Drummers welcome), Interactive Performers (Their Dogs may bite) & the return of the Kazoos.
12.30 – Dub Fx (Amazing Orchestral Beatbox!)
1.15 – Alphadrive (Live Dub, Breaks & Drum & Bass)
2am – Marc Reck, Bass6 & Mike Freer Celebration Rinseout.
3am – Banana Boat Song!
Dance Stage (10pm – 3am) – Hosted By Osmosis
10pm – Hijacker (Osmosis Resident )
11pm – 32DM (Very Special Birthday Set)
12.15 – Jerome Hill (International Techno Breaks Legend)
1.45 – Dk Roon (El Presidento)
3am – Just one more!
As always if you’d like to get involved with Midnight Parade and/or win a prize, then make sure you make your mask (Cut out/Decorate Mr Elephant flyer) before midnight , or create your Poodle in the day.
If you are a drummer and want to have a jam at midnight, then bring your drum or email us at mrelephantpresents@gmail.com
N.B – Please note that this is a Not for Profit event, and tickets are (always) based on the venue’s maximum capacity to cover as many of the costs as possible.
NB 2- Entry into the the event will be from the back of the Room 1, (which you access from the “rear smoking garden”) & there will be a steward on the stairs to guide you if you haven’t been to the venue before.
Hope you have a huge bank holiday celebration whatever you do, and the doors always open if you want to get involved with the next Mr Elephant event or workshops – mrelephantpresents@gmail.com
P.S In order to thank everyone for the huge amount of work that has gone into this event, we will be having a free party the following week at the Adam & Eve on Sat 30th May til 4am, so please look out for the invite.
After 2 years and 14 events at 6 of our favourite Birmingham venues, the time has come to celebrate Mr Elephant’s 2nd birthday with our biggest festival style celebration to date, featuring lots of interactivity for all ages, the launch of Elephant Workshops in conjunction with Dramask, and the community based Elephant Tv project in partnership with The Lab.
On Saturday 23rd May 2009 @ the Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath, Birmingham, we have a 12 hour, 4 room event over 3 stages, featuring a great lineup and a 3am license. Alongside some groundbreaking international artists, we will also be shining a light on some grassroots workshops and inspirational birmingham artists, promoters, bands, djs, vjs, and local orgs, with plenty of ways for everyone of all ages and tastes to get involved with the festivities.
A Live Stage, A Dance Stage, An Acoustic Stage, A programme of workshops, and local stalls will be the main focus of the 12 hour celebration at the award winning Hare & Hounds venue in Kings Heath Birmingham. As always local artists, and local promoters will be the main feature, though this time we’ve invited a few international artists too.
N.B - Here follows a little background on the workshops, so scroll down if you’re more interested in checking the music side of things
At the first event back in 2007, we invited all to get involved by either playing percussion with our Samba guests, decorating a mask and parading in the midnight parade to win some booze, dressing up and interacting with our interactive performers aka The Tourists. A year later, and the percussion parade, and interactive performance is now totally made up of Da’locals, with local organisations, the midnight parade has grown with each big event, and local shops and creatives are hosting stalls, with many friends of the elephant now developing their own creative practices by being more integrally involved with the events in whatever their area of interest is, mainly on the events side and workshops side.
The main addition/difference this time will be the evolution of the mr elephant workshops. The workshops began as decorating card masks, followed by 2 family/all ages welcome days, which featured a range of drop in activities for all ages from mask making and djing to drum skinning and juggling.
We always wanted the workshops to enable the participants where suitable to perform at the events in a more involved way, so we are very happy to say that this will be a part of our 2nd birthday with a range of free workshops open to the local community of all ages. Drumming, Beatboxing, Poi, Vjing, Animation, Mask Decorating, Juggling, and of course poodle making will all feature from 3pm – 7pm in our workshop area from a host of great workshop facilitators, with the masks and poodle making materials available on the evening too.
The poodles have been so well recieved that they will also feature in the performance (another open door for any budding performers, no experience necessary) with all poodles being judged in the midnight mask poodle percussion parade. Masks will also as always be available to decorate (the flip side of the flyers so keep hold of them) with materials (and masks/flyers) being provided for all.
Participants of the animation workshop will see their creations live in the visuals on the nights on either the live or dance stage. Participants of the vj workshop will get the opportunity to capture, and perform live in front of a full audience, with online support after the event, and the drummers will be invited to perform in the midnight parade (providing we can find enough drums), and there will be range of other interactive workshops and demonstrations to give the local community an opportunity to try out these various creative practices, all for free in a grassroots, comfortable and accessible environment.
We are and have always been not for profit collective, and are currently not funded in anyway with all of us involved with the event,( including all workshop providers working for free, with costs of the event at just under £2000.
We have a commitment to keeping the entry fee at the minimum, as want the event to be accessible to as many people as possible so there are some £5 early bird tickets available for people on low income, with the main advance ticket price at £7. As the capacity is around 300 at the hare and hounds, there are only 50 of these available.
Grassroots approach seems to be working though, as we’ve already had already a huge interest from workshop providers and people wanting to get involved with the next event, and we will be applying for our first funding to support another full programme of workshops at the next big mr elephant due for the summer.
This is kind of an elephant experiment and can only work with the support of the local community, so if you do like what you see, please think about passing on the email to 10 friends, and if you are on facebook, we really appreciate inviting as many facebook friends to the event, and/or the group as you have time to click on… Really does make keeping in touch with interested or local people a whole lot easier.
Alongside the workshops (3pm – 7pm folks) there will be stalls from local people from reflexology to local art, sone fine drinks promos courtesy of the hare and hounds, interactive performance from james, dom and the crew, the mr elephant midnight mask poodle parade featuring local percussionists (with prizes for best mask and poodle made), multi projector visuals from Vj Blendstate & The Lab, and a whole lot more….
We are more than excited to have this guy down from Bristol on the 23rd May 2009. He’s one of the best beatbox and loop pedal artists we’ve seen, and just check out his youtube videos for what you can expect. On heavy rotation on the mr elephant radio show, and one of Bass6’s recommendations, Dubfx is an inspiring artist, and we are going to be making a lot of noise about his incredible skills. He has a new album out on May 30th, and his last cd is available from his website… well worth a tenner.
An introduction to what he does (worth watching these through)
Jamming on the street
At Glastonbury Stone Circle
At Glastonbury on stage (Apologies for sound quality)
Our other headliners for the 2009 may bank holiday gig on sat May 23rd, these guys are quickly gaining a reputation for being one of the freshest live dance acts around showcasing “a perfect fusion of danceable dub, breaks and electronica” (Raise the Roof Festival”. Following a string of high profile appearances at UK festivals and club nights, this up-and-coming live trio have supported acts such as: Atomic Hooligan, Beardyman, The Bays, DJ Deekline, Tayo, Rogue Element, Scratch Perverts, and DJ Yoda. Definitly one to watch.
What can we say about the beatboxer Bass6, a true grassroots star in our opinion. With superb hosting skills, a inspiring attitude and a huge range of skills from beatboxing to workshops, this guy really brings the vibes, with his own productions are opening doors all over the country. He hosted our Midnight poodle parade on the beach at Celebrate Brums Underground, and he’s back for our next big event on Sat 23rd May 2009…not to be missed.
Hosting our last mr elephant midnight poodle parade competition
These guys have really come into their own this year, and one of the reasons why we are chuffed that they will be performing at our 2nd birthday. They house a great line up of talented musicians, which include multiskilled instrumentalist Jon Elliot has been one of the percussionists since our 2nd event.
Osmosis is a a co-operative run by a group of people who are passionate about their music and sharing it with like minded people. Each member of the crew has given their talent, equipment and time freely with any money made being ploughed back in to improve lighting, decor, sound, produce free CDs, and if we’re really lucky, buy us a couple of drinks.
Supported by the vibrant and eclectic venue, Rootys (rip), Osmosis has developed a reputation for it’s atmosphere, music and support of local talent, with names like Paul Damage (1881 Recordings/House of God), Sir Real (House of God) , and Sub Citizen (Resistor Records/Inukshuk) joining Residents and local heroes DK Roon’, Mack, Dr Pepperspray, HijACKER and M-AK.
A huge techno and breaks artist, and an international legend in his own right, we can’t quite get our hat on that he’s going to be headlining the dance Osmosis stage! Prepare yourselves.
Live at Glade (Apologies for Sound quality)
Scratch Practice
We couldn’t find any footage of their residents aside from the osmosis myspace link, so will be looking for mixes to help promote in the next week or two. Suffice to say Osmonauts need no introduction, and their programming and residents skills are hugely respected in the Birmingham Underground. Osmosis have organised legendary packed out parties from day one, and always attract the friendliest crowd of people you could hope to meet on a night out.This will be their first outing at the hare and hounds, so we look forward to a lot of warmth and phat music on the evening.
The other dj appearing is our own resident Marc Reck who will be playing either swing or a live eclectic set on the main stage, or a big room breaks techno, and drum and bass set on the dance stage. Here’s a recent clip of the end of his gig at the Night Times at the Custard Factory.
A core member of Project X Presents, one of Birmingham’s finest piano players, and all round top bloke, Rich Batsford is one of Birminghams’s musical treasures, and his music has been compared to that of the great steve reich, Keith Jarret, Michael Nyman, Claude Debussy, and Brian Eno. His debut album is currently free to download on his website, and his live performances are not to be missed. Check the valentines day Mr Elephant Radio show for a live recording of a gig from 2007.
Rich Batsford – Namaste
Live at Project X Presents
Laura Louise – www.myspace.com/lauralouiseowen – Hailing from New Zealand, Laura is a huge talent, and somewhat undiscovered on these shores. An amazing voice, and multi instrumentalist, she creates beautiful layers and well crafted songs with her loop pedal and a microphone. She performed a great set at the gigbeth fringe show, and we look forward to welcoming her back for our our 2nd birthday.
Cover of Fat Freddy
Laura Louise – So many days (Apologies for first 30 secs of sound ..worth watchin past)
So thats an overview of the eve, more to be added so feel free to subscribe to the mailing list, or facebook group for updates and info over the next fortnight.
All that’s really left for this post is to invite you to come and join the celebration. Its free til 9pm and tickets are needed for main stages entry upstairs
P.s here’s a little footage hashed together of our last 3 bigger events to give an idea.
On Rainbow Beach in 2008
At Hare & Hounds in 2008
At Epic in 2007
Oh and if you want to take part in any of the workshops please get in touch via email, or get there at 3pm. Timings will come soon, and workshops will be Beatboxing, Drumming, Animation, Vjing, Juggling, Poi, Mask Decorating, and Poodle Making. Seperate blog posts will give more details so subscribe to mailing list, facebook group, or the rss feed for instant notification.
Last night went down a blast at our new live & free residency at the Adam & Eve! Three truly special live sets and it was 4am before we could blink!
Thankfully we captured audio, video and photo’s thanks to Gary, Mike & Pyn, so if you weren’t there you can catch it on our site.
In short though, Mikes set was the best he and us have seen of his one man live looping show, really vibing up the early crowd, and totally in his element.
Playing Django created something truly magical, with style, charm, and exceptional playing, taking us through a whole history and getting people dancing and shouting in equal appreciative measures.
And finally at almost 1am, Munchbreak quite simply rocked it, delivering an hour long crowd pleasing set with tight musicianship, great audience connection, and selling most of their cds before they’d even left the stage.
Our resident dj had the crowd jiving and moving with his new swing, and the sound engineer, bar staff, and security were among the friendliest we’ve met, delivering a stellar service.
What was really special was how many people had come out for the event. A friday night, with around a week of promotion, in between two bank holidays and it was full of fans of one or another of the acts, with loads of elephant regulars and lots of people who’d enjoyed the dj sets, coming to try something different.
If you’d like to know when audio recordings go up, please subscribe to the rss feed via email option and you’ll get a message as soon as they are posted.
and to keep up with Mr Elephant as a whole please subscribe to the mailing list and or facebook group.
One love
Mr Elephant
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We are very excited to announce that we have not 2 but 3 fabulous live guests for our first live & free outing on Friday 24th April 2009!
Next Friday 24th April we start a brand new live (and free til 4am) elephant residency at the Adam & Eve in digbeth, and we’re more than excited to confirm that Munchbreak, Playing Django, and Smiley Mic will all be appearing live!
Munchbreak – www.munchbreak.com need no introduction and have been a firm brummie favourite since forming in 2001. Described as “a hungerbusting fried funk special with crispy hip hop and lashings of reggae gravy”, this collective of muti-talented musicians, djs, and producers have been igniting and filling venues all over birmingham since their legendary moseley jam sessions, with 2 albums to date, and a third one just been released. Munchbreak are due on stage around Midnight.
Playing Django – www.playingdjango.com are a 5 piece gypsy jazz band made up of equally pioneering birmingham musicians. While Playing Django is a relatively new project, its members have made up some of the city’s most well loved bands, and extraordinary musicians in their own right. You need to really be able to play to even think about playing some of the music of the legendary Django Reinhardt, and Stephan Grappelli, so we are more than excited to be hearing them perform next week. Playing Django are due on stage around 11pm.
Smiley Mic – www.smileymic.co.uk – is a live-looper and effectively a modern day one man band, creating whole arrangements live on stage by playing several instruments into a loop pedal. From acoustic singer songwriter stuff to hip-hop style beats with some funk thrown in, Smiley Mic plays guitar, bass, glockenspiel, and while he doesnt class himself as a beatboxer) he creates all the parts organically, whilst looping vocals into harmonies and mixing all of these elements together into one live show. He performed a great show at the Gigbeth fringe event with cid music, so we cant wait to see what he creates next Friday. Smiley Mic is due on stage at around 10pm.
Marc Reck – www.marcreck.com – Our residente will be filling in the gaps with his other side of djing. Expect reggae, swing, funk, and ska, with more party style tunes as its gets later.
The Adam & Eve is a legendary music venue with a great atmosphere. Its open til 4am, has a pool table, and hosts one of the best bars in brum.
All events are FREE entry all night, so we really hope you can join us.
For more information on the Adam & Eve, please visit their myspace – http://www.myspace.com/theadammusic , and for more info on forthcoming Mr Elephant events, please join our facebook group. Invites to interested friends are always very much appreciated.
P.s On May 30th we’ll have our 2nd live and free event with Paper Tiger, and on June 20th we’ve got the Heels as our 3rd headliner.
So thats around 6 hours of live and djed Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Funk, Hip Hop, Soul, Reggae and Ska for free! Hope you can make it
Great news and makes for a double header, but we’ve just heard that the fabulous Quantic is set to be appearing with us for our first Cinephonic event, which will start in June at the Hare & Hounds.
We’ve been keeping Cinephonic under wraps for quite a while now while our resident Vj Liam Blendstate was coming up with the identity of the night. Hes suggested making it a part of the Mr Elephant event as it would fit well with our other residencies, and as Liam is our resident, we jumped at the chance. Liams wanted to do a Vj led event for years now, and this is shaping up to be a suitably large launch.
More details soon, but we can reveal that Quantic will be debuting his latest project Tradition in Transition, and we’ll be showing the film at the start of the night, with a dj set from Will Quantic from around 12.30 am to follow. Here’s a sneak peek from the tru thoughts site – http://quantic.tru-thoughts.co.uk/
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.
