4/7 NATURAL SELECTION: LOXY (Cylon | Metalheadz | Exit)

NATURAL SELECTION

Saturday, April 7th, 2012

LOXY
(Cylon | Metalheadz | Exit)
https://www.facebook.com/LoxyUK
http://www.exitrecords.co.uk/artists/loxy
http://soundcloud.com/loxy_

It’s been a long road for London-bred Loxy, aka Andrew Campbell, who has played a seminal part in every step of Drum & Bass’ evolution over the last two decades. He’s one of few artists that has continued to influence all elements of the Drum & Bass movement from the underground up, with no signs of stopping. Keeping his face in the background, but a strong, characteristic sound in the front, for someone like Loxy it’s never been about image, fame or hype – it’s only the music that speaks. It was music that spoke to Loxy himself at a very young age, growing up in a house where sounds vibrated off the walls, around the clock. As he tells: “Music was very influential in our family – from dub, reggae, ragga, hip hop, soul, funk, pop, you name it. If it was good, it got played in our house.” A B-Boy and fan of hip hop and electro in the late 80s, it was only natural that he would fall into what was then dubbed a “new phenomenon”: pirate radio opened his eyes to the futuristic sounds of acid house and techno. A blink of those eyes and several mixtapes later, and Loxy became immersed in the world of rave and DJ culture, which was slowly morphing into the sounds of early Jungle. Attending events such as Telepathy (in Marshgate Lane, Stratford in London), he went deep into the sounds of Jumpin Jack Frost, Fabio, Grooverider and Rat Pack: “I was hooked,” he says.

Loxy started hunting down vinyl with insatiable dedication, and by 1990-1991, he started to share his collection and talents behind the decks. Through a friend promoting parties, he ended up on the stage at East London’s legendary Dungeons - and from there, the gigs started flying in at an unruly pace. Loxy’s name was soon spread across flyers for events that now hold their veritable place in rave history books, including Elevation, Desire, Club Jungle, Thunder and Joy. He also became a regular on various radio waves across London (such as Underground FM, Pulse FM, Chillin FM, Rude FM and Eruption FM), bringing a darker edge that was influenced by the sounds of Face Records, Reinforced and Moving Shadow. In 1993, with a head brimming with ideas that combined his musical upbringing and a future-forward mindset, Loxy came across two likeminded artists at Brain Studios – Bizzy B and TDK. His first forays into production came hard and fast – their very first track ‘Roll Call’ became regularly played by the likes of DJ Rap, Trace and Bryan Gee. With an exacting production style, he started forming a network that connected the dots of the music that inspired him: Bay B Kane not only fed him the newest dubs, but also signed one of his tracks to his 4star record label (which went through the then-popular Whitehouse Records) – and his encounters with LTJ Bukem and Tayla revealed both their common interests in music and a healthy supply of Good Looking dubplates. It wasn’t long before his record bag was indisputable.

One of his most fated introductions came when he met Giles Mensah, aka Ink - when they joined forces, the chemistry was instant and absolute. Loxy tells that the two connected through “a shared love of the music and similar yet varied tastes.” Their first track – ‘Submerged’ - was released on Architecture Recordings, and also held a feature spot on Kemistry and Storm’s ‘DJ Kicks’ mix compilation. From the beginnings, it was clear that destiny held much promise for the duo – and eventually they became an archetypal pair in D&B, creating some of the most essential anthems in the harder, darker, more dub- influenced terrains of the genre. Though his productions were gaining his name more attention, Loxy’s DJ’ing never slowed up – growing from strength to strength, he always staying dedicated to the craft. As Loxy puts it himself: “I would always consider myself a DJ first and producer second, but making tunes to play was what got me motivated to pursue it more.” As Loxy and Ink came across like-minded artists at D&B events, they

befriended the likes of Digital, Spirit, Source Direct, Photek, Peshay and Kemistry and Storm. When the scene-defining Blue Note club opened in the mid-90s, it was the latter two DJs that suggested to Metalheadz leader Goldie that Loxy should be the resident. “The rest is history,” Loxy tells, which couldn’t be further from the truth: his name was locked in the D&B archives from then on, alongside the Blue Note’s legacy, even holding down the record as the only artist to DJ a whole night at the Sunday Sessions. Loxy became a mainstay on the club circuit in the early years of D&B, DJ’ing the events that would one day set the blueprint – Leisure Lounge Sessions, Hannover Grand, the Cafe De Paris Sessions, Speed, Swerve, Logical Progression, and Pure Science. His residency at Blue Note stemmed on to all of Goldie’s Metalheadz nights from that point forward (to this day), and he’s since held London residencies at Renegade Hardware and Therapy. Beyond his rotating nights, Loxy has played at all D&B events across the board, and around the world – including Exit Records, Sun & Bass, Creamfields, Fabric, Club Jungle, Desire,Elevation, One Nation, Slammin Vinyl, Valve, Breakbeat Kaos, Revolution, Legend of The Dark, Movement, The End, and Theory, among many others…the list is seemingly endless.

As a producer, Loxy’s discography is a tour through D&B history, and about as thick and chronological as it gets. It’s the attention to detail that always makes a Loxy production stand out: tough and hard-hitting, with basslines and drums intricately layered with meticulous precision. Building fierce rhythms, his sharply sculpted beats slide against different backdrops: sometimes bringing the feel of a smooth club roller, other times dropping the listener straight into the deepest end of the dancefloor. With such a vast depth in sound, it’s no wonder that over the years he’s worked with labels as varied as Good Looking Records, Exit Records, Metalheadz, Renegade Hardware, Razors Edge, Digital Soundboy, Shogun Audio and Architecture Recordings. Always on the hunt for the next sound, Loxy started Cylon Recordings in the early 2000‘s with Dylan, as a way to revive their love of hardcore. He also went on to start a joint imprint with Keaton (of the Usual Suspects) called X-tinction Agenda, which reflects both artists’ tastes with an aim to represent and cultivate the near ‘x-tinct’ sound of what they deem “true Drum & Bass – breakbeats & sub bass.” His most recent imprint, Cx:Digital, has been a labor of love on his own, as a platform to push the D&B sound even further.

With his partnership with Ink being the most notorious, Loxy was also the founder of the infamous The Four Horsemen – with original members Ink, Dylan and Keaton, it became a global group with artists such as Gremlinz, Mutt and Outlook (to name a few). Over the years, Loxy’s also collaborated with other names dotted around the D&B spectrum, including Bad Company, Consequence, Zinc, Digital, Swift, Flatliners, Ena, Isotone, Genotype, Cern, Munk, Matt-u, D Kay, J. Dub, Usual Suspects, Universal Project and Resound. It’s Resound that Loxy has teamed up with most recently, putting together an album for dBridge’s Exit Records in 2011. Watch this space.


ART BLAKEY III
(NYC)
https://www.facebook.com/Art.Blakey

Art Blakey III was born in NYC into a family full of music, influenced as much by the gigs his Father and Grandfather would play at Jazz clubs and concerts as he was by the diverse musical culture that the greatest city in the world had to offer. After spending years training in piano, trumpet, and voice, his interest in DJing was piqued by the block parties in his Manhattan Valley neighborhood. It was not until he was struck by the lightning bolt that is Drum & Bass that he vowed to actually become a DJ, if only to be a messenger as his forefathers had been before him, spreading the music to all who would listen.

Thanks to Camouflage’s Christian Bruna and Tommy Etzi, Art was able to step forth and play out in the New York Drum n’ Bass scene and has been able to DJ with the likes of Raw Q, DJ Paul C, Odi, Dara, Mousky, TankTop NYC and Micah Chockley as well as Total Science, Sub Focus, The Insiders, R.A.W. and Wavewhore. Art now goes forth, bringing Drum & Bass from the Creator, to the decks, to you.


With Natural Selection Residents:


DJ STRIFE
(Driven AM | Natural Selection | NYC)
https://www.facebook.com/DJStrife

Music is her life. Drum and Bass is her passion. Erica Munday, A.K.A. DJ Strife, has had a love for music for as long as she can remember. It’s that feeling that when you close your eyes and simply listen…the whole world disappears. Strife’s involvement in the U.S. underground music scene started back in 1994 when she was only 14 and attended her first rave. After this one night she knew right then that this music was something that truly touched her soul and would be a part of her life forever. She soon thereafter was going to every event on the east coast that she could, which eventually lead her to her next natural step…promoting. She started promoting for one of the largest event companies on the east coast, Park Rave Maddness. And by the time she was 16 she had made enough contacts in the scene and wanted to continue going forward by learning how to DJ – to be that person that controlled the crowd’s inner feelings by taking you on a journey with the music they wove together. At first by playing fast-paced Hard Trance and Hard Acid music that got the crowd going, but eventually at 19 while in college in New York for Audio Recording, switched to her growing love for Drum and Bass.

2003 brought the way of House DJ, Fame and his Simply Bangin’ Productions which merged Strife and Fame together for combined efforts in weekly events in NYC. By joining a night of House and Drum and Bass music this allowed them to bring both styles of music together in one place. Also in 2003 Strife got linked up with all female crew Sister NYC (the NYC chapter of successful San Francisco group). Right away this combination of all genre woman DJ’s and MC’s connected with her, and knew together they could really make a dent in furthering woman and their place in Electronic music. Being interviewed for Los Angeles collective Technotreff’s nationally distributed “Girls of Techno” DVD also gave her a chance to speak her mind on the empowerment on being a female DJ. Hosting and playing at events all the way from New York to Miami to Brazil to Germany to London and back again, Strife continues to push the Drum and Bass sound that she strives for everyone to hear and feel.

Strife’s flow of Liquid Drum and Bass sounds infused with Brazillian flavor and vocal tunes make her track selection stream together with each blended mix. As well as being endorsed by keyboard company Korg, Strife has performed all over nationally and internationally at such events as the DEMF, Detroit Electronic Music Festival, at renowned UK monthlies “Therapy Sessions” & “Metric”, and touring in Brazil and Germany alongside heavyweights such as High Contrast, Bad Company, Dylan, Loxy, & B Key, Patife, Andy, Drumagick, and Mickey Finn. In addition, she has taken part at conventions in Nashville, TN for the NAMM show, at Madison Square Garden in her residence of NY for product demos, and in Miami for the WMC, Winter Music Conference, with Sister USA.


DAVE SHICHMAN
(Driven AM | Natural Selection | Luv Disaster)
https://www.facebook.com/DaveShichman

Representing New York City, Dave is a respected contributor to the North American Drum and Bass community. Owner of Driven AM, the premier North American DnB Artist Management, Record label, and Production company. Events coordinator and resident DJ for various NYC parties including part of the legendary NYC production team Direct Drive and recently part of the team presenting 'Natural Selection' in NYC. Dave has released music on Luv Disaster (alongside Dave Owen), Peer Pressure Recordings, Liquid Brilliants, Basswerk (alongside Sol.ID), Influenza Minus, Electronic River Recordings, and his own imprint Driven AM Recordings. His music is being supported by DB, Random Movement, TC1, Dstar, Stunna, Mixmaster Doc, Dave Owen, Kevin Focus, Submorphics, Calculon and many others. A Dj that has performed live more than 220 times in 13 States in the US as well as in Puerto Rico and Spain in the past 12 years alongside some of the biggest names in DnB, everyone from Goldie to High Contrast. In the last year Dave's music has been heard on a Metalheadz Podcast, featured in a mix and interview with Knowledge Magazine, and coast to coast on Dave's various US tours. Dave is a driven individual, whose passion for Drum and Bass shows in his music and live performance.

ADRED
(Natural Selection)
https://www.facebook.com/Adam.Baker.Adred

Born Adam Baker, son of a musically talented father and artist mother he was destined to be a great musician. Growing up listening to David Bowie, Eric Clapton and Thomas Dolby shaped his love for music at a young age. At the age of 16 Adam first heard Drum and Bass at a rave and wanted to replicate the energy and excitement he witnessed first hand. It wasn’t until years later when he had the opportunity to express it first by DJing. At the age of 20, he bought his first set of turntables and a mixer. Quickly learning and understanding the techniques of mixing music, a year later he was given the opportunity to play out. He knew all along that he wanted to create his own music and that being a DJ wouldn’t be enough to set himself apart from rest of the world. Little did he know, that a chance meeting in a neighborhood record store would launch his career as a producer. He didn’t stop at Drum and Bass but ventured into Hip Hop, R&B, Techno, House and everything in between. He doesn’t believe in being pigeonholing himself in one genre and always produces music by feeling and bpm. Currently he is working on multiple releases with Robert Manos in many different genres. Keep an eye out for him and these songs.


Venue:
PUBLIC ASSEMBLY - BACK ROOM
70 North 6th
Brooklyn, New York
21+, 10:00PM - 4:00AM
$10 before 12 or all night with RSVP to NaturalSelectionNYC@gmail.com
$15 after

+Presented by Natural Selection & Driven AM+

Inquiries & mailing list:
NaturalSelectionNYC@gmail.com
http://www.TheNaturalSelectionNYC.com
http://www.DrivenAM.com
http://www.PublicassemblyNYC.com

Natural Selection is New York City’s premiere Drum & Bass event, dedicated to booking the best stateside and international talent. Since June 2011, we have hosted the following DJ's: A-Sides, Adred, ATP, Calculon, Cory James, Dara, Dave Shichman, dBridge, DJ Dust, DJ Marky, DJ Strife, DJ Seen, Kemo MC, Lynx, Mousky, Random Movement, Raw Q, Sinistarr, SPY, Tanktop, The Upbeats

BUMP!! This is going to be a great show!!

TONIGHT!