2009 has been a good year for the Correspondents.  From Glastonbury to Bestival, Brixton to Bethnal Green, this talented duo from South London have been delighting increasing numbers of fans and critics alike with their unique sound and polished stage performances.  Last Friday saw the pair making their Leeds debut headlining the critically acclaimed New Bohemia at the Faversham, and in anticipation of their arrival I took it upon myself to find out a bit more.

The duo consists of Mr Chuckles, the DJ and producer, and Mr. Bruce, the effervescent vocalist and dancer. On meeting them, the contrast in style and personality of the pair is marked. Mr. Chuckles, sporting casual clothes, a beard and glasses, is definitely the less extravagant of the two. Mr. Bruce meanwhile, with his slicked side parting and full moon spectacles, rarely leaves home in anything less than a three-piece suit and polished brogues. The old adage that ‘opposites attract’ is perhaps applicable, but these two have been friends for some years, both hailing from the leafy suburb of Wandsworth, South West London.

Their musical journeys have been fairly contrasting however, with their time at their respective universities important in shaping their current musical exploits. Whilst Mr Chuckles plied his trade at our beloved Leeds University, Mr Bruce could be found further North, dancing around stages whilst attending Edinburgh University. He recalls his time in the Scottish capital: “I was the MC for a crew of DJs called ‘Trouble’ who played a mix of Funk, Breaks and D’n'B. By the end of my time up north I was craving something a little more classic and felt that my insistence on wearing a three piece suit for gigs was a little incongruous with the general vibe. “

Mr Chuckles interspersed serious academic study by making jazz rooted Hip Hop, remixes and DJing, “playing the Hyde Park house parties and a few other bits and bobs here and there.  You know, that irritating DJ playing Ugly Duckling before the DnB/Dubstep comes on and everyone breathes a sigh of relief.” The birth of The Correspondents is attributed to a time around November 2007, when the two men returned to London and decided to start working on some material together.

There has been some debate as to how to classify the sound that the Correspondents are creating, with a number of names being suggested. Mr Chuckles, when asked how he views it, responds in a typically modest manner. “I didn’t realise there was a debate! In fact, I was having a chat about this to a few people after a gig the other day. Things have been thrown up, Electro Swing, Swing’n’Bass, Swingstep, but we decided Swing Beat kind of described it best.  Swing with a contemporary drum beat.  Funnily enough I’m not a huge fan a swing, I find most of it’s a bit bland and watered down, it just seems to work well chopped up with a heavier drum beat! 

Mr Bruce is more frank in his assessment. “I rather pretentiously used to call is Contemporary Swing but I agree that Swing Beat is ambiguous and broad enough to describe the music that we make. As Mr Chuckles mentions we don’t want to sound like we are making novelty big band remixes.”

However people choose to describe the Correspondents music, there can be no doubt that it has been well received. The honest truth is that it is difficult not to like it. Anybody who watched the jungle book as a child could never have imagined the day when they would be raving away to Mr. Chuckles version of “I’m the king of the swingers”, whilst Mr. Bruce scatted and danced around like a man possessed for their enjoyment.  And yet this is standard fare at a Correspondents show.

This summer saw the duo embark on a hectic schedule of festival performances, and it was on the travels that people began to stand up and take notice. Mr. Bruce recalls the time fondly: “I don’t want to see a tent for a while – it can be quite a bore making sure that starched collars remain stiff and dry! But it gives us the greatest satisfaction to know that all the admin, ticketing stuff, setting up camp, techy stressing and sweating has paid off.

Mr Chuckles takes a more pragmatic outlook: “we ended up playing 7 or 8 I think.  Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party, Bestival, Big Chill, Lovebox, among others. Bestival was the real break for us this year as we ended up doing sets on the Main Stage and Big Top for 10,000 people or so each time.  It was a bit of struggle as none of the techies seemed to realise we were a duo and not just a DJ, so be had to beg borrow and steal a fair bit of equipment, but pretty sure it worked out ok in the end.”

On the back of these stomping live performances, the Correspondents have gathered an ever-expanding cult following. Their shows are increasingly well-attended, with people of all shapes and sizes taking pleasure and enjoyment from their music. Mr Chuckles is philosophical here. At present the group handle all their promotion and bookings themselves, and as a consequence he makes the point that “when someone discovers us, they really discover us.” His outlook is typical of what the Correspondents are all about: “I think it forms a tighter bond than if you’ve been told by someone else what to think.  We don’t even plug any releases or websites during or after gigs, just like to let people discover it for themselves!”    

And this is what a number of people did indeed do as they piled in to the Faversham on Friday to witness the Correspondents first live show in front of a Leeds audience.  The dynamic duo take to the stage just after one o’clock, and anticipation is high for their performance. Mr. Bruce gives Mr. Chuckles the signal to take it away which he duly does by dropping ‘king of the swingers’. Predictably the crowd go wild, and as Mr. Bruce bursts into life, dancing and scatting across every inch of the Faversham’s small stage, the crowd’s enjoyment is only heightened.

The following hour is a delightfully enjoyable musical odyssey covering a range of genres from hip hop to breakbeat to drum and bass, all with the Correspondents signature swing samples chopped up and laid out accordingly. Following ‘king of the swingers’, Mr. Chuckles drops ‘rentaclown’, one of the groups strongest tracks. Mr. Bruce continues to sing and dance with infectious energy, and by now the Faversham is definitely paying attention. I have seen the Correspondents perform a number of times and I have to say that Mr. Bruce’s dancing exploits really are something to behold, arms and legs all over the place but never once out of step with the music. Add to this his nothing short of flawless Mcing performances and it is safe to say that you are in the company of an extremely accomplished entertainer. It is not long before he has worked up the now standard coating of sweat, but surely he takes comfort in the fact that there are plenty with him on what can only be described as a muggy Faversham dancefloor.

The set moves along with a relenting pace, and in seemingly no time at all the hour is up. Personal highlights included the double time ‘look what you get’, Mr. Chuckles’ half step banger, ‘Washington Square’, another established track depicting a seedy, vaudeville world that in another life the Correspondents could surely have hailed from, and ‘run run run’, a new, up tempo number with a rather catchy chorus. To end proceedings Mr Chuckles drops ‘Kiss kiss bang bang’ by High Contrast, allowing Mr. Bruce one last hurrah with his fresh band of converts.

It has been another rip-roaring performance, with smiles on faces and good times enjoyed. I catch up with Mr. Chuckles afterwards and ask him what he made of it all: “Yeah, great fun.  Really good to be up North again!  I’d been in that crowd so many times as a student so good to be on the other end.  Bit of hot one, was about to pour a bottle of water over Mr Bruce’s head but yeah, excellent stuff.”

So, what now for the Correspondents? No doubt will they continue to go from strength to strength, gaining fans and critical acclaim alike as they fly their ‘swing-beat’ flag with enthusiasm and serious talent on their side. I asked them what they thought:

Mr. Chuckles:  Bigger and better gigs, hopefully an album out when we work out what we’re going to do with all the samples.  We’d never sign to a major and I think they’d be foolish to sign us, bar having some Goldie Lookin’ Chain style one hit wonder, which we wouldn’t and couldn’t do anyway.  We’re not that stubborn though, if someone has a good idea and wants to do something exciting we’re always up it!  There are a few things on the cards which we can’t really comment on yet.

Mr. Bruce:  I’d like to build some sort of elaborate stage set for our live performances – a Correspondents playground with dancing platforms, trampolines and conveyor belts with Mr Chuckles enthroned in the centre! So more opportunities for bigger better and more ridiculous live shows. 

Whatever it is, (and I hope that Mr. Bruce’s plans for the live show come to fruition!), It will surely be original and entertaining. I can’t help but think that this is only the beginning for the Correspondents. 

Free download – “Look what you get”

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CRYA3VWX

Now there aren’t many people (I know anyway) who don’t like Still Dre by Dr. Dre. So for your friday enjoyment here are two videos, One of L dot Man, and one of Lutan Fyah, murking it over said beat. Enjoy!

(I tried to embed them but its not happening for me…so just follow the links below!)

Lutan Fyah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItSyGn7pUV0

L dot Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-7BEh0i95M

Last Saturday saw the first outing of the established Leeds powerhouse that is Vagabondz at the Leeds Met Student Union.  With a line-up boasting Coki, Gentleman’s Dub Club, Zion Train, Trolley Snatcha and Bar 9 among its number, this one definitely had the potential to be a cracker.

And yet my feeling on leaving at the end of the night was one of slight disappointment. Not because I had had a bad night, but because if things had turned out a bit differently I could have had a really good one. Let me talk you through it.

Bar 9 were in charge of kicking off proceedings in the main room. As has come to be expected, their selection is never anything short of straight up heaviness, and there were plenty of people on the dance floor taking in the tough beats.  

Bar 9’s hour comes to an end, and with the crowd sufficiently warmed up and now significantly swollen, it was time for Gentleman’s Dub Club.  As polished a performance as ever, Gentleman’s Dub Club know how to get the crowd skanking.  Right from the first drop and subsequent pull up, MC Jila has the audience in the palm of his hand, and the subsequent set is well-structured, covering a range of dub, reggae and dubstep influenced numbers. The great thing about these gentlemen is that not only are they all accomplished musicians, but they seem to genuinely enjoy performing. The drummer’s inability not to skank during the intros and breakdowns is surely testament to this!

Zion Train are up next, and their charismatic front man wastes no time in beckoning the audience to get involved. Another polished performance, it is clear that Zion Train have been doing this for some years. Their set moves from a dub/reggae sound progressively towards some more up tempo dance numbers, with the later sounding a little bit dated to my ears. Still, a good performance which included a poignant reference to some of the political ills present in society, and the power of music to unite people against these.  

The end of Zion Train was supposed to signal the entrance of Digital Mystikz’s Coki. This was who I had really been waiting to see, but it soon became clear that Coki was not about. As I slowly began to digest this information, it was left to Dub Police rising star Trolley Snatcha to fill the void. Now there is no doubt that Trolley Snatcha makes banging tunes, as the instant pull up of his latest release “the future” confirmed. And yet the volume for his set seemed to be turned down when compared with the previous acts, and add to this a frankly wack PA from two MCs he had brought along with him, and the result was less spectacular than it could have been.  There is a rising trend of MCs trying to spit grime bars over dubstep which needs to stop!

 Loxy and Ink of Renegade Hardware and Metalheadz fame were left to wrap up proceedings, but to be honest, Coki’s no show and Trolley Snatcha’s MCing friends had annoyed me sufficiently and I ducked out. Not a bad night, but one that could have been a much better. Shouts to Vagabondz nonetheless, they continue to push the music forward, and there really isn’t much a promoter can do when the people they book don’t show up.

I just read that DJ Hatcha is playing at Gatecrasher tonight……I’m not sure what to make of this information.  Does the lure of Hatcha outweigh the absolute lack of desire to go near Gatecrasher? I’m envisiging jock dickheads fuelled up on Vodka red bull going nuts to Chase and Status’s ‘Eastern Jam’. Think I might leave it. Big up Hatcha nonetheless, he’s playing at Exodus DMZ soon and you know that will be big.

Quick word on the X factor as I know your all watching it. Not sure whose going to win yet, hopefully not those two blonde wierdos. Those silver boots they were wearing were very suspect. You know the show is all about Simon Cowell anyway. His dismissal of Cheryl and Danni as having performed half -naked in the past was good stuff. Also, How gutted did that girl from Miss Frank look when he didn’t know her name!

AND FINALLY – some freebies coming your way soon from The Correspondents – watch this space!

  in a bit…

Get to know – www.myspace.com/thecorrespondentsmusic

 This term sees ‘Bigger than Barry’ bringing the pain to your Tuesday, with a night that is fast gaining a rep as the most badman student night in Leeds. Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting for a student night in this vein for some time. Too many times have I endured wack student nights in wack venues with wack DJs. Thankfully this bloke Barry has come to our rescue. The successful formula is simple. Top-drawer venue, student prices and big name DJs each week bringing a whole range of wobbly, bass heavy madness to the sick Funktion 1 soundsystem installation.

This week saw dubstep and drum and bass heavyweights Nero and Urban Nerds frontliners Rattus Rattus and Klose One with MC Illaman take up headlining duties. If you reached last week and caught DJ Zinc and Jack Beats you’ll know that not only was the venue rammed out but both acts tore the roof off, so expectations were high for the second instalment!

The good news is that, as expected, things popped off once more. First Nero, and then Rattus Rattus and Klose One, continued in the apparent Bigger than Barry tradition of smacking the dancefloor in its proverbial face with a succession of fat drops across a wide spectrum of sounds, from dubstep to drum and bass to electro house, with plenty else thrown in for good measure. The crowd radiated energy and enjoyment and the DJs clearly vibed off this to produce another stomping night of good music and fun times. Got to give props to residents Phat Pat and Pasteman also , whose selections both before and after the headliners both weeks has been absolutely wicked, putting people on the dance floor early and keeping them there till the very end!

With MJ Cole set to step up this week, and performances from AC Slater, Joker, Zed Bias and A-Trak (to name but a few) coming your way soon, It seems that Barry will not be resting on his laurels. All that is left for me to do is encourage you to get down on Tuesday and check it out for yourself!

Patient Steppah vol.1 – Mixed by DJ Beefstew

1. When I Grow Up (Scuba’s Straight Down Mix) – Fever Ray
2. Obama Bass (Original Mix) – Chefal
3. Calous (Original Mix) – Skream
4. Minor Nine (Kryptic Minds and Leon Switch Dubstep remix) – Kryptic Minds and Leon Switch
5. Bad (Original Mix) – Kode 9 and LD
6. Memories (Original Mix) – Pangea
7. Expert Tuition (Original Mix) – Zomby
8. Mutant Funk (Original Mix) – Dark Knight
9. Klinik (Original Mix) – Scuba
10. One Million (Original Mix) – Benga
11. Next Hype (Plastician’s vocal remix) – Tempa T
12. Dirtbag (Original Mix) – Silencer
13. Purple City (Original Mix) – Joker and Ginz
14. Grit (Original Mix) – Mrk 1
15. Oskillatah (Original Mix) – Skream
16. You Don’t Know What Love Is (Original Mix) – JKamata and 2000F
17. Heart Murmur (Original Mix) – Ruckspin, Planas and DLR
18. 1983 (Original Mix) – Flying Lotus

Click on the Link below to download…

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YADG5J6J

ROOM 1: Cyrus, Exodus, Silkie, Digital Mystikz and Loefah with Sergeant Pokes, Goth-Trad, Quest and Iration Steppas.

Friday the 2^nd saw the return of the DMZ crew to the Leeds West Indian Centre. I went along to check it out.

First up on the controls are the two heavyweights that are Cyrus and Exodus going back to back.  A rare treat to see a combination of this quality, and as the opening salvo an extremely high precedent for the other DJs to follow has now been set.  Both men drop punishing dubplates as an appreciative crowd watch on, the mighty Iration Steppas soundsystem magnifying the music to chest plate rattling proportions.

Next up steps Silkie.  With his ‘City Limits Volume 1’ debut album receiving critical acclaim for its dark, rolling post-garage sound, Silkie and his anti-social entertainment camp (of which Quest is also a member – we see him later) have firmly established themselves in the dubstep movement as something to get excited about.  As expected he continues where Exodus and Cyrus left off, rolling out a succession of weighty bass lines as MC Werd2jah, on his first visit to the UK, controls the crowd with no lack of skill.

Silkie’s well crafted hour comes to an end and it is now time for DMZ. The crew consists of Mala, Coki, Loefah and Sergeant Pokes and should need no introduction. This is the collective that pioneered the sound that is now called dubstep through their music and the DMZ dance.  Mala steps up first, and after a short intro for the crowd to re-gain their bearings, the Iration Steppas soundsystem erupts once more as his ‘return to space’ dubplate takes control of the dance.

With the crowd’s attention now not in doubt, enter Loefah.  Standing at well over six foot tall he is an imposing figure, and his selection never fails to match his physique. Loefah is revered as a master of the low frequencies, and given the opportunity to showcase dark beats on Iration’s sound system he is never likely to do anything else.

Coki is happy to let Mala and Loefah do the bulk of the work.  His appearances at the controls are less frequent than his two crew members, but they are certainly no less imperious. Hear Mala or anyone else talk about Coki’s beats and you begin to realise that this is a man often in a different universe when it comes to creating the sound we call ‘dubstep’.  His bass lines are as severe as they are unique, and they never fail to make the crowd pay attention.

All the while MC Sergeant Pokes marshals his troops whilst refusing to let the focus shift from the all-powerful sounds being emitted.  DMZ’s hour and half controlling the frequencies seems to fly by, but its end only signals the arrival of Goth-Trad.

Goth-Trad has termed his sound ‘mad rave’, and mad is very often an accurate description.  Many of his bass lines whirl through the dance like a demented pattern of low pressure, but there is more to his sound than this.  You need only hear tracks such as his ‘Cut End’ to realise that this is a producer in touch with the deepest and darkest sounds that dubstep can offer.  His sets are always extremely deep and tonight is no exception.

Quest has waited patiently for his turn at the controls.  Another imposing figure, his selection and technical ability are more than impressive.  Seeing a DJ at such ease with the equipment is always a pleasure, especially when his choice of sounds is so on point. His mix of Silkie’s ‘Planet X’ with LD and Kode 9’s ‘Bad’ is a personal highlight of the night.

It seems fitting that the Iration Steppas are left to wrap up another momentous evening on their almighty soundsystem. The dance would not be the same without it, and their selection of dubs is never short of impeccable.

Exodus DMZ is a dance for people who want to hear the Dubstep sound in its element.  Successfully combining unparalleled bass weight and good vibes, this night is a must for anyone who is serious about the power of Dubstep as sound.