Review of 2012

Wow how fast a year goes by !!!

Its been another year of experiences for me, having spent the freezing temperatures of winter in Kyiv, Ukraine to the heat of the summer in Tbilisi, Georgia !!

Starting the year in Kiev brought another Drum and Basslines party this time to Xlib Club and to headline the event we brought Doc Scott over from the UK. It took a long time to find someone who would fit the bill for the Ukranian market and there were possibly better options available but nobody else that could fit in with my pricing structure. The party as a whole went fine, although out of the 4 parties we have held so far my favourite has to be the one we did with Raiden and Mutated Forms, closely followed by the first with James (Unknown Error) Gash.

Anyway after the party in Kyiv it was time for another flight back to Tbilisi. The main intention of this trip was to try and finally after 4 years travelling was to settle down a bit (my bank balance also needed it as well).

The first few days I sent out maybe 30 emails to various companies here in Georgia, and within a few days (and speaking to a handful of different companies) I had an interview at ITDC. After an hour or so interview with Sergo, George and Theo they decided I could fit into the organisation and utilise my skills not only from an IT point of view but also as an Englishman. It was a big step for me joining a company in not only a different country, but also where I knew it was not going to be a simple task to integrate with everyone else where I dont speak the language.

After picking up the details of how the main systems are organised (basically myvideo.ge) with the help of Theo things were progressing well. It has been always my intention to learn at least some basic Georgian as I am well aware it will help with communication and explaining things to others maybe a bit better than Im able to in English.

It is now almost 9 months after joining ITDC and im the first to admit I have not made nearly as much progress on that side as I would have liked. From my point of view I think there are a number of reasons for that... firstly settling into living in a new country is not an easy task in itself and there are lots of things that I have needed to work out. Secondly is having the time in which to actually learn. The weekdays in the office means I lose the entire week (no real difference to being in the uk where the pattern is work/sleep/work/sleep etc), but it meant that my only real chance was at weekends. I would say that maybe I havent put in enough effort to find a teacher who can spare me 1-2 hours on a saturday or sunday to get me at least a start. Saying that I have picked up the alphabet (even thought not 100% confident), and can read most words written in Georgian so there has been a tiny bit of progress.

My main aim after I get back from UK after christmas is to put as much effort as I can into not only finding a teacher, but to have as much of a crash course as possible to manage to string together a sentence or 2. If I can achieve that then im hoping during the rest of 2013 then that can develop much further.

In my own mind its perfectly simple the task that I have... my year contract at ITDC will be up for renewal at the end of March. The projects I have completed since I started at ITDC have been fine, but it would be better in during 2013 I can play more of a role within the company. Breaking the language barrier will help make that happen (barrier is the wrong word as everyone at ITDC can speak some english, but it is not always easy for them. Plus I am the visitor in Georgia so it is my responsibility and desire to learn their language).

Cant think of anything else to write at this point but will add over the coming days or weeks when things come to mind !!

Thought of the day for producers of Electronic Music....

To all the new wave of electronic music producers (and I know theres thousands of you...) out there making tunes in a few hours, or a day, or even a week.... does it actually give you the satisfaction that you have actually made something GOOD??

My thoughts are no it doesnt. Or at least to the person listening it doesnt.

Wheres the achievement gone for working painstakingly for weeks, months, or even years to get that sound perfect, and to come up with something unique and revolutionary that will stick in peoples minds for the next 10 years.

Is electronic music that simple that it can be made in no time? Wheres the passion for perfection?

Or is it just about money now? Make 5 tunes a week, and sell a few on Beatport to make a few pound, then make 5 more....

Are you proud of the music you make? Does it promote you as a producer who does something different and unique and make you stand out from the thousands of other producers out there? Does every tune you make mean something to you? Either by the issues or problems you had making it, or where you were when the inspiration for it came into your head?

Lets put this simply.... Did your tune make people think? Were people affected by your tune? Did it change things? Or was it just more of the same?

Drum and Basslines 4 - 24.03.2012 - The MX Review

Drum and Basslines hosted its 4th party in the space of a year at Xlib Club in Kyiv, Ukraine on 24th March.

To mark the 1st birthday we decided to go back to the beginning and invite a special guest as old as Drum and Bass itself Doc Scott.

The planning for this party was much more extensive compared to the first 3 parties. We had a Management Team ranging from designers, DJs, event organisers, as well as plenty of friends I knew who would help us distribute flyers and assist with the general promotion of the party, plus with me living in Kyiv it was easier for me to have a much more hands-on approach than before.

As always the biggest obstacle to get over was finding a headliner that would match a Ukranian budget. For 2 months I searched and asked but the egos in the DnB world were demanding huge prices when (no names mentioned) they were simply an average DJ or producer that was not going to pull me enough of a crowd to even stand half a chance of drawing level. And then on top of that the amount of DJs now running themselves through an agent just adds an agent cost on top as well. Most of these DJs are so fuckin tiny, and cannot even guarantee having enough of a following to fill a small pub in the UK, let alone a decent size club in Ukraine !!! Then on the opposite ends of the scale there are a few who think even talking to a promoter is just way too much effort for them. Therefore now all of these people have been removed from my list for all events.

Anyway after begrudgingly speaking to a few agents a slight glimmer appeared with Doc Scott. It was a long way from ideal, but I always try and look positively at things and his name has travelled the world as an ambassador for Drum and Bass and his price was the best I could get. His agent Caroline was helpful with any questions I asked, and apart from a couple of delays on getting a reply to an email I was quite happy that we had things sorted.

Meanwhile in Kyiv the first bombshell was about to hit. Mnial had been told he was about to be moved to work in Austria for a month. Mnial was the core of the management team and had linked everyone else together to make sure we had everything in place from people to look after sound, to flyer design, printing, and promotions as well. He left with everything looking good and flyer design (which was only a simple task of a change of colour from the previous party) all in progress. Then bomb 2 hit. The flyer design I got back was a completely new theme and layout. It was a cool design (with some cosmetic changes needed), but in my view it changed the whole direction of a successful brand and started things again. Something had to be done fast as it had taken far too long to get to even that stage and now I needed something printed. So back to my original designer Alex Rayden who had the templates from the first party and everyone agreed his design was spot on for the launch with Unknown Error in February 2011.

I knew Alex was busy with his 2 jobs in Georgia, but was confident that Bassmaja would be able to make the required changes pretty easily. Between us we had a flyer within about a week so things were back on track. More slight heart-attacks with a delay on the flyers being printed, and then missing logos which required more needed to be printed adding additional costs, and then internet promotion and we were there.

The unsung heroes in my eyes so far had been both Fade and Alina. Alina has always been there for me with everything I needed help with in Ukraine, and she worked tirelessly sorting apartments, calling taxis for me, and offering advice whenever I needed it. I can say exactly the same about Fade. He thought of everything that needed to be done on the party, assisted getting internet promotion out where it was needed, and sorting out every issue we had along the way. Without both Alina and Fade I would have been fighting a losing battle.

So the day was approaching... the rest of the UK DJs were all ready. I hoped I had brought something a bit different to the party by bringing Sparxy and his sidekick Reamz. And Breakneck and Richy were known quantities to me to keep a bit of english flavour to the main room. Looking back now it was a mistake to try and squeeze everyone into my apartment, as I do like my bit of space and quiet sometimes, and with Richy and Breakneck I should have known that wasnt going to happen. There was a few moments where everyones patience snapped that would have been avoided with a seperate apartment and a bit of space. It would also have saved me a lot of money as I could have just stayed with Alina and saved a months rent (with a bit of talking to the landlord..)

One line about the party itself.....it was good but not good enough. I think thats the basics of it, and with a lot of work from what has to be said a bigger management team than weve ever had before, it should have been better.

On the positive side the club was fine, soundsystems in both rooms perfect (although see note below..), Fade, Physical Illusion, and Crabbsteppa had by far the best sets of the night, Kiddik's visuals were amazing, my combination set with Zim went really well considering we had not practiced before the party, and everyone there really did have a good time judging by the comments people have sent me personally, or posted on the event wall.

Now the bad bits.... Doc Scott was a bad move now looking back. People have said to me since the party that his set was boring, and not what people expected. I have to agree with them as people started leaving halfway through his set. He was on at prime time so it was not a timing issue at all, but with people walking out I think thats all the proof I need. There seemed to be no energy in him and the style of tunes he was playing wasnt the jungle party vibe I was hoping for following on from Richy and Breakneck. Maybe his enthusiasm for DnB is fading over time, but it wasnt what I remember from times I have seen him before.

The second thing I wasnt happy about was the 'free soundsystem' that we added into the second room too boost the bass for Sparxy and Reamz dubstep set. Well free didnt exactly turn out to be what it was. Firstly at the start of the night I paid 300 UAH (approx £25) for what I was assuming was delivery of it to the club. I could handle that so it wasnt a problem even though quite a lot more than a taxi fare.... However then at the end I was asked for another 500 UAH (approx £40) for the costs which was never covered in the plan we had at the first management planning meeting. Then it all looked clear as Mnial said that was his fee. That would have been fine apart from Slavik (who really did help me a lot in the management side) had also paid Mnial his fee as well the day after the party. Ok its only £40 but its something I just dont understand or who did or didnt get more than they should have.

So thats it, party 4 done (3 in Kyiv and 1 in Minsk) so what happens next? Well firstly some time to think which is one of the reasons I had decided in advance to come to Tbilisi in Georgia. Some things definately need to change to make it financially viable, and I have ideas coming in my head slowly for how to make that happen. Im always open to ideas and I know Slavik has a lot of experience in putting on parties and is keen to help out as well. Fade will always be my stabalising factor so I think between us I think they are both positive I can take from the party moving forward.

My initial thoughts are that it is relatively unlikely there will be another Drum and Basslines in Kyiv in October/November at this stage, so it is more likely to be in the spring of 2013. In the mean time I am still travelling so the Drum and Basslines Tour will continue through 2012 hopefully in Georgia, almost certainly Finland, and maybe Belarus as well. Thats very positive from my point of view as a DJ as it will bring my number of international parties to be higher than the number I have played in the UK. For a DJ originally from the UK I think thats something very special and something Im looking forward to.


MX (Drum and Basslines, KrisisDnB, UK)
www.drumandbasslines.com
www.krisisdnb.com

Drum and Basslines 4 - 24.03.2011 - Doc Scott & Sparxy