Tuesday, October 31, 2006

HALLOWEEN


Freaky is the word I would describe for the atmosphere of this night. Maybe because it was or maybe because I just like the word 'Freak'. The whole place was adourned with spider webs and a blood red wash of light that permeated throughout the room. A bouncer with a Jason mask on and an axe. Bar staff who all wore muzzles like Hannibal Lector. I tell you again i was freakafied. Music with organs as you came in, pumpkins and bones hanging from the ceiling, a couple of tombstones here and there.

Anyway back to the main show. Happy hour Gizmo started off the night and f*^% did they start off with a bang. Great vocals from a singer who really knew how to mvoe and rock, this guy not only knows how to sing like the lost singer of At the Drive-in but also how to swing around a mic like he is in the circus... no joke. I loved these guys sounds and you should do, not only because I work with the infamous Golden Lion of Mount Zahir (who you should also take note will be playing some deep dub and reggae with me on thursday, Rubbadub styles make it down boys and girls). Great tight drummer and and amazing guitarist as usual Sham, professional 100%. Real rock, catchy riffs and a whole lot of energy for everyone to feed off...

Next up were 1234x, a band who consisted of a sexy bassist a shy by mouth but not by the sticks drummer and the son of the prime minister of darkness himself (also guitarist for the infamous force vomit). This guy and lovely ladies really brought the darkness to the house with some droning melancholic and atmospheric sounds. They even included 'London Dungeon' by the original kings of darkness, The Misfits. Hats off, capes still in tact.

Valium took to the stage with a unique take on their rock on roll more like disco infected joy division than anything else. With the guitarist and bassist down on the stage they took a difference approach to their performance than any of the other bands. The change obviously had a considerable effect, you could hear screams from the audience as they performed. The singers narrative vocals almost (but not quite being) drowned out by the cries of of the crowd. The vocalist made his presence known above the crowd but for me the one who really shined out (and this could have been because he was the only one visible to me where I was sitting behind the stage) was the drummer, attacking the drums with utter ferocity without any sloppy or throwaway hits.

Ronin closed this evening. True rock stars, the singer immediately came up and told us his state of mind at the time. They had a relaxed feel to them, almost as if they weren't trying, but their music spoke louder than their words, incredibly well put together, more like real rock from a time that is not now, these guys really work well together. On absolute fiend on the lead guitar, this guy was never short of solos (in between downing his beer), the singer never short of completely immersing the crowd in his lyrics, mannerisms and enthusiasm. Captivating I must say. These band really ended off the show with style, complete anti-establishment rock star standard.

Hope to see you all back soon!!!



more pictures soon... stay tuned...

Monday, October 30, 2006

Ghetto Blasta!!!



The first Ghetto Blasta at HomeClub, coinciding with the celebrating of S.O.U.L.S a neighbouring store, the club went bling for a night equipped with booty shaking ladies, sideways caps and alot of oversized chains. I'm not making fun, I'm just telling it how it is. DJ BadBoyBen opened up the night with some floorhammering and remixes of tracks with too many over produced guitars over the top. DJ Koflow and MC Garuda then went behind the console to dish out track after track of hip hop, funk and soul for the masses who we all now knew this is what they really came for. A marathon set which was well recieved in anybodies books, how the hell he brought enough wax i don't know, it never really translated surely there was more than two crates worth? Signature scratching and beat juggling as Ko Flow is famous for were all there, showing once again why he was DMC champion 3 years ago and always a constant run for the money at later championships... and with MC Garuda telling all the "Mo-Fo's" to get down it was hard for the masses to resist. At one point and this was the high point at least for me, an out of place observer, the 'b-boys' got down in a ring to dish out some breaking moves. Later on residents loopinmotion, lock'n'groove and DJR showed those still there what dance music is about... the dancefloor and not the dj anyone???? P.S. check out the graff put down on the wall...

Beat Live!


This weeks Beat! live saw special guests Elektone and Force Vomit each performed their own unique styles of sound for those who made it there to enjoy. First up, Elektone created beautiful soundscapes to sit back and lose yourself to. Towards the end of their set, a friend came up and masked himself in those eye-shades you get on air planes. The lead singer took to the drums and he became the vocalist. Suddenly the tempo increased, real drums instead of the sampled ones were much more upfront and in your face. These guys really rocked and whoever the singer was had a presence like a real twitchingly strung out rock star. Force Vomit came on and it was clear these guys are as big as they are, a whole new crowd turned up. They had some kind of black magic talk or so it seemed like that. Despite their name and presence these guys are all super nice. Real sticks and stones, rock and roll, tight as f+*% and real performers. Personally I liked the cover of light my fire at the end but hey I'm old school like that. great performance by both bands, really hope we see more of you two soon. Beat! was next but I'm sure you all know that if you don't then i'll see you next friday??? Peace out.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Guerrilla Delivers


Quality production in every possible shape or form. Guerrilla really went out of the box on this one and it showed. Mad Props! The crowd started easing in from 11 o'clock onwards, steady acceleration meant that by about half past midnight, a bustling crowd of eager groups were clearly having a great time.

T-shirts at the door, designed by Mark Sbtg, eager individuals desperately got their hands and teeth into these limited edition items of clothing. Amazing decor, carrying the theme of the midautumn festival, lanterns hung from the ceiling, a healthy, warm and inviting glow of light came from the centre of the venue. After moving around you found yourself taken aback by visuals that were unique and artistically captivating. Nothing like the usual combination of visual eye candy type of shapes and images but more like projected photography with thought provoking text. Black and white stills, silloutes and city scenes, I stood and stared going through the motions and questions posed by such imagery and wording. Designed exclusively by Shawn Loo, I praise something different and so professionally put together. What a great idea of projecting these images through pieces of cloth consecutively, I'm surprised I've never seen this before. Respect goes out to the other contributors who without this event could not have been anything near what it was. Darius from Interactive Armada and Mark from Kennel made sure this place not only sounded amazing but also looked that way.

The music was as usual top-notch. Cherry started the night off, easing the crowd in with some melodious drum and bass. Numbers on the dancefloor changed drastically from the start of her set to the end. Later on in the night Kiat and Twinhead went back to back, tightly weaving together original bits of production as well as tracks perfect for their tapestry of dancefloor beats. DMZ and Kane vocally kept the floor alive, both complimenting each other with their different forms of narration. An excellent event, showcasing the indisciplinary nature of this creative collective. Quite rightly, there was an enthusiastic crowd that supported such a well executed event. Guerrilla's dont mess around, they take their goods to the platform and deliver without question. Booya!

Beat! - Joe Ng


Everybody has probably seen Joe around, most visible when he is manning the console with George and Ginette on Friday's Beat! There are certain things about Joe, (if only from a glance) that will forever stick in your mind. The first is his smile, it resonates with ease, never forced and always inviting... never imposing and always open. He emanates a quietly happy wisdom you find only in certain individuals. His hair is unashamably out of place, lively and free, it is an extention of his character, his state of mind perhaps. A professional in every sense of the word, Joe will always be at the venue long before his official duties have begun. By day, Joe works directing and creating music for Boku films. On fridays he is one third of the team we have come to know as Beat! The indie rock trio that have taken this night by storm with their impeccable track selection and intimate relationship with the crowd.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Acoustika


The soft launch of Gibson and Wake me up's Acoustika saw March Twelve and friends take to the stage on a stripped down to the sincere bones of a performance. Acoustic sessions saw a crowd enraptured by the bands heartfelt songs and their intimate performance. A perfect Thursday evening to sit back and relax, have a drink with close friends and family.

The audience couldn't help but be taken in by lyrics and melodies to songs they had never before heard in such renditions.

For me, it was March Twelve that was really worth the wait. With Joseph, plucking and picking with precision, control and a drummer that knew just how to keep from playing all those extra beats, not to mention a singer who went from beautiful whispers, to melodious higher range melodies... I realized hearing for the first time what the commotion was all about. A great event, I cant wait for the next one. Come on down, share the space and the songs with those close to you.

Interpopped!


The launch of interpop saw an enthusiastic crowd enjoy the sounds that Daniel and Shaun brought to HomeClub on Wednesday night. Open ended started off the night smoothly with some heavily structured melodic rock. Their set consisted of mostly original songs apart from the cover song of 'creep' (my personal least favourite radiohead song, why do so many bands try and do radiohead cover songs, you think you can sing like thom yorke? i think not.) The music was highly musical with alot of compositions and layering and the musicians were all clearer talented. Maybe a bit of oomph and spontanaity was missing? The next band up was Caracalcaracal, not only was it a great name that kept people wondering what the hell it meant, but they were in fact a great band with alot of energy. I did not think much of the vocalist but as you can tell i don't think much of vocalists (especially when my list of top vocalists would be bjork, thom yorke, jamie lidell, robert smith, stevie wonder, louis armstrong, Horace Andy, aretha franklin... quite frankly i'm sick of the adolecent voice straining to tell us of the trials and tribulations we have all already gone through, i apologize for my cynicism, either grow up and choose some relevant themes or learn to sing.) Anyway, back to the band, the drummer was awesome, amazing changes between snares and hi-hats, and variation in rhythms.

Next up Daniel and Shaun attacked the dance floor with their arsenal of indie rock tunes. Starting off with a bang it took a while before the crowd started approaching the dancefloor like may flies to a lightbulb. Great track selection and great energy, this proves that indie rock is truly the growing trend of today get on the band wagon or attach yourself to the rails of an coming freight train.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Silent Agreement by George Chua

S I L E N T A G R E E M E N T

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
19th Oct 2006, Thursday, 8pm
The Guinness Theatre
The Substation
45 Armenian Street
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Silent Agreement is a solo concert by George Chua on laptop computer presenting segments of his on-going work with sound art and the Genealogy project. It is also the last public performance for the year for his solo sound work set within an intimate evening (of nothing much to see).

Recent investigations include

1. Obtuse angles in a framework of sounds in which audience evolve their own stories that are interconnected with all stories that happen in time pass and time to come.

2. Natural processes; supernatural processes.

This performance will consist of raw sketches of sonic materials for future works and George welcomes any feedback.

This concert announcement is only circulated among friends to other friends and within communities.

Tickets are at a nominal fee of ten dollars to cover the expenses for this event.

“When we arrive in a performance space, we come to a silent agreement.”
Uncle Song

Contact: info@georgechua.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/georgechua
Websites: http://www.georgechua.com
http://thegenealogyproject.com

Monday, October 16, 2006

Shameless


Saturday night saw the return of a rocking night of electrifying electro (2 letter e's one straight after the other, always wanted to do that). A collection of DJs got people stomping holes through the dancefloor. That's the kind of energy we feed off boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, give us more please or we may start to starve.

G:tek and Z.itch gave people nice tasty morsels of sound to get their tooshies down (yeah that's kind of like a tootsie roll and a marshmallow) to. Guitar riffs and that big bada bang snare kept a continual flow of 'to-the' dancefloor coming. Bradley Kaos's arrival clinched those remainding stragglers where a full dancefloor of electro heads got properly into some dirty melodies and twisted beats. This meant an abundance of scratching of the head in disbelief at warped sounds as well as an uncotrollably violent twitching to the groove. That's the way to get the crowd going.

Home's resident DJs loopinmotion, lockngroove and DJR attacked the decks, mixers and cdjs with a feverish hunger. They continued their patented sound architecture, chopping and dicing, mixing and blending tracks, segments, drum patterns and acapellas to create a soundscape that got people asking for seconds, thirds and fourths long afterhours. Check out 4am in the mix these guys are seriously creating something special for your early morning indulgence.

Friday the 13th!!!


This years Friday the 13th was a landmark in both club and internet radio history. Unpopular radio broadcasted this event live from their computers so that music was streaming live from their internet radio broadcast. Both unpopular and sweetmusic relished in both the ghoulish flavour of this night and their new found broadcasting abilities while playing both the obscure and the familiar. Opening ears and satisfying hearts.

Log on to either radio station Unpopular @ http://unpopular-music.blogspot.com/ or Sweetmusic @ www.sweetmusic.fm... Stay tuned for Sweetmusic's official launch on the 25th of this month.

Beat DJs Ginette, Joe and George kept the dancefloor pleased, taking it up that neccesary notch where feet and hips couldn't help but jive. Later on in the night resident Home DJs gave late night soldiers a marching theme to the latenight soundtrack of their early saturday morning. Keep on moving and grooving and we'll guarantee to keep on trucking.

I have to give props to my partner in crime Adek who adourned the club with an array of storm clouds, blood dripping branches and an overtone of crimson which permeated the stage and floor. Anyone who wants to f%£^ with the stage props remember someone took some time and effort to make all of this possible... Can someone please tell me where the manequins left forearm and right wrist is???

Friday, October 13, 2006

RUBBA dUB dUB...


The soft launch for rubba dubba dub dub was a great gathering. Before I go on I'd just like to say, guys and ladies, whats wrong with some slow hip action to some infectiously deep bass and sweet melodies? What are you afraid of? Hell, next time time you might be rubbin and then lovin with someone special. The dancefloor was sparse although the turn out wasn't bad.

DJ Bud, (whose actual name remains anonymous to those who don't know who this is), started off the night with a mix mash of old school 70s reggae to an empty room. Half an hour later, Ras Irie took us into a deep selection of laid back grooves and spacey tunes that warmed up the night more than adequately. Aprropriately, he chose 'dub side of the mood' to start his set off. Next up was Kable who professional strung together a set which paid homage to the old and presented some of the new while retaining that older sound which in my opinion cannot be replaced. Tracks like 'uptown ranking' created shouts from the few on the dancefloor while Prince Far I brought things deep and dubby. There's something about the recording from back in the day, reggae/dub just doesn't sound the same anymore. Castro took over taking things up a notch and he smoothly showcased a transition from the older sound to newer uptempo tracks ending in a a barrage of junglist beats.

These guys were all on top form, but as I said why is the dancefloor so empty... I feel lonely, will someone come and join me in my rubbin to the deepest dubbin and the finest skank???

Monday, October 09, 2006

Sublime Sticker Party



More like a festival than your average event, the line up touched all bases with a variety that ranged from reggae, indie, electro to techno. the night started off late, but it was better this way. I know a number of my friends who would have missed the Bushmen's set if it had started at the original time. If you weren't there (and alot of you weren't!) you really should have been, if only for this initial part of the night. The Bushmen were excellent and I'm pretty sure they had a great time. They played a range of originals and cover songs, they were extremely tight for a reggae band. Syncopated beats and added melodies from the keyboard added extra flavour to tunes you may have heard before. Feel good vibes were all over the place, I could not help swaying to that infumigating sound. By the time it was their last track, everyone was singing along like red, green and yellow dressed caribbean pirates.

Next up a selection of indie rock djs warmed up the dancefloor with feet friendly tracks that started drawing a crowd in slowly but surely. I'd liked this format, everyone was working together, selecting tracks that worked and providing variation from one choice to the next. Not happy jan who was up after the collection of indie rock groups played a set that spanned from older classic tracks, to harder techno and electro. I don't know if it was nerves or a new sounsystem or what, something, or rather someone was off and the crowd cleared.

An afterhours mash up by loopinmotion, lock'n'groove and DJR managed to draw a crowd back with style and humour. Hitting the decks hard lock'n'groove and loopinmotion brought percussion to a peak for the feet, melodies and strings to the clouds for the head. DJR kept things interesting with loops and acappellas, chopping and layering sounds over the basic structure as both l's battled back to back. Creating new tracks out of the combination of 2 tracks and a signature veil over the top, DJR made this set into something that was new for all to hear and dance to. loopinmotion was unforgiving with his deckwork, precise, including chops and effects without a slip. Working together was key and you could tell there was chemistry between the 3, cutting in sounds from each other, playing with one another's sound. Smiles, laughs came from the console with surprise at how things meshed together as if someone had preplanned each and every move.

I had a great time, did you??? please let me know I'd love to hear what you thought.... and felt.

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Beat


Freeflow animals... Freeflow for one hour and be prepared for 'ang mos' (I can say this without prejudice since I'm an ang mo myself, although more often than not there is usually some sort of truth behind stereotypes) to attack the bar like flies to s*^%. Anyway, please stop blocking the way to the dancefloor. A different crowd to who we usually see on fridays, some fresh faces which is always good. Girly whirlies dancing with the 'Hang the DJ' manequin, I like, I like, perhaps we should install a pole somewhere on the dancefloor. Things started heating up soon enough and as you can see the dancefloor soon turned into a group of pulsating bodies and satisfied faces. As I've said more than once, these guys know how to turn the floor on. See you next Friday.

Friday, October 06, 2006


4am in the mix, for all of you late night dance-floor enthusiasts. The party still continues well after hours at HomeClub. Our resident DJs will keep things moving as they take you through a journey of house, techno and electro. DJR, lock’n’groove and loopinmotion keep the beats warm and funky for your early morning indulgence.

Beat


Another week comes around and another Beat is ready for a rocking dancefloor. Come down for some beautiful people moving to some history pillaging indie tracks. George, Joe and Ginette will show you how to really control the floor and the moves contained within it. Precision, professionalism and delivery. Witness it yourself and be part of the feel good that is friday at Home.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Sweetmusic.fm and Sublime


What can i say that hasn't already been said? Alot really... It's not like I'm trying to squeeze blood out of a stone. Has anyone else heard of that image before? It seems to spring to mind more often than not but i can't seem to place where it's from, either Shakespeare or the Bible... either of which I have to say I haven't read much of.

Back to the event that was last night. As usual these guys always surprise me with their track selection, you're always guaranteed to hear something that sounds familiar yet nothing like what it sounds similar to. the Bee Gees (Damn that is catchy but boy do i hate the Bee Gees, even if their initials are the same as mine, that just makes it worse) crossed over with Jay-Z and another version of Beyonce's 'Crazy in Love' (originally Chi-Lites 'Are you my woman?')... I love remixes, reproductions, bootlegs... come on, what is really really original anymore? everything is a recreation of life, all art mimicks nature, the greatest creation there was, music is no different.

Sorry I'm going on all sorts of tangents but since no one comments to these, I guess I have complete license to write what the f*+% I want. By the way that's a backhanded comment to try and get some more people to comment on this blog (and really to say you guys can write what you want, but please remember this can be used for good, like all things powerful, technology being one, can be used for both good and evil purposes, maybe the force be with you, or the darkside if you so choose.)

Anyway I love sweetmusic, i love the music they are playing, the collective, their selection and by the way, last night I was shown (by Joseph, Mr. Baby Blue) that the effects unit on the djm600 can be used to sound like a guitar and a pedal, no joke. Be prepared for the up and coming launch of Sweetmusic nights here at HomeClub later on in the month where there will be live stream of the music played. Stay tuned and keep informed. Peace.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Sweetmusic vs. Sublime


Tonight, Sweetmusic and Sublime come together for another night of quality dancefloor entertainment. Be prepared for a feel good selection of great tunes both known and obscure, indie and alternative gems scoured, found and played for your pleasure by this online radio station, Sweetmusic.fm. Later on, Home resident DJs, lock'n'groove and loopinmotion take the floor for some hi-tek machine funk that you'll be ridiculously stubborn not to dance to. Mix that salad, hell, toss it if you want. See you on the dancefloor. Stay tuned for Sweetmusic's official launch later this month!!!

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

+65, local Drum and Bass Flavours at HomeClub


Donavon from Kinemat kicked off this month’s +65 with a dubby yet percussive set which slowly set the stage. Almost samba-esque in sound his set went from funky breakbeats to deep house. It was something different than I was expecting being a drum and bass event, but it definitely started things off in style. Next to take to the controls were DJs Zul and Deen who went back to back, delving into the submerged world of big long rumbling bass lines. Starting off with some hip-hop infused dub step it was clear these guys had a plan and were intent on carrying it out with precision. Heavy with bleeps and a tight snare, they slowly worked there way into some more up-tempo beats of a jungle nature. As the crowd started moving in from outside… What is it with you guys? There was some really interesting and different music going on, but a lot of you were still outside, was it just me or was it the Arsenal game? Anyway, the crowd started moving in as Zul and Deen started pummeling into the harder stuff, slightly on the ravey tip with a lot of familiar melodies was my assessment. Dymaz came in as an MC getting the crowd involved as only he could. Vortex took over when the dance floor reached peak high-density population. Atmospheric melodies, a fat bass and heavily metallic hi-hats over the top gave dancers something to get aggressively gyrating to. Did anyone else here that cut up Michael Jackson vocal? Next were Dymaz, Ko-flow and Bruce, who together put on a live act like none other that I’ve seen before in Singapore. Check the picture and list of equipment for a closer look. Dymaz lay down the skeleton as Koflow put down his signature scratching and heavy raw beats from his MPC, did anyone else think some of these elements were too loud? Bruce gave great melodies from his keyboard that fit in perfectly to the arrangement. I was thoroughly impressed with what these guys had created with their toys. More like a heavy hip hop set with live elements fit in, it may not have been what everyone was expecting, but props for going out of the box guys!!! Next up was Shawn Livewire, sorry to say that the dance floor cleared quickly and it wasn’t until Nez came on that a few lonely soldiers came back to enjoy the sounds on an empty dance floor. It was late and everybody was feeling it but these few. Another quality drum and bass event at HomeClub, so much variety and experimentation, don’t tell me the scene is dead, this proves it’s only just the beginning of it’s growth into something great.