MX Review of 2011 - A year for Drum and Basslines, KrisisDnB and as a DJ all over Europe

Before I start on 2011, it has to be said that the last 2 years have been a massive turning point for me. Not only have I been to so many different countries both to visit and as a DJ, but I have also met a lot of good new friends along the way.

The start of 2011 saw me in the UK for a month to finish work at Amelco. I had a good time there and helped to implement a lot of projects including the Jboss ATS system. However IT has been boring me for a good few years now and I was itching to get away from it.

That opportunity came in February. After a few months planning from the UK, it was time to launch Drum and Basslines in Ukraine. With a huge amount of help from Fade and Mnial in Kyiv, we managed to pull off a successful first event. Not easy for any of us especially as I was living in the UK during all of the planning and promotion for the party. It was evident at the party that a new beginning had started. A lot of very happy people, good music, and people for a month after the party asking us when there would be another one! Making a handful of international DJs and MCs on the way the Ukranian capital saw something they had never seen before.

Then time to visit my friend Alex in Tbilisi, Georgia! I had an amazing week in Tbilisi and the surrounding areas, and felt the hospitality of the Georgian people. They really do have a lovely country with wonderful people.

As I have done for the last few years it was then up to Minsk in Belarus for 3 months. This time staying with Sergey and his brother Alexandr just outside of the centre I had to get back used to russian food, but also to show them some of what we eat in the UK. The 3 months always passes too fast with DJ bookings in Minsk, Gomel, Bobruisk, Novopolotsk, and Molodechno, and before I knew it was just 1 last party for my birthday in Minsk. The second Drum and Basslines party and was very happy to be able to bring Mutated Forms to play alongside me before I headed back to Kyiv.

Still plenty do do over the next month with another trip this time in the summer to Georgia to visit Alex and my new friends there including David Noise and everyone at the Hangar Bar in the centre who once again made me feel very welcome.

Another promise I made a few years ago was to visit Esa-Pekka up in Finland. We managed to do this in June and got the opportunity to headline 2 events in Helsinki!! To add to that one of Esa's friends gave me a personalised MX tattoo which I absolutely love. Hopefully I will return to Finland again during 2012.

With a quick trip to Tallinn in Estonia and Prague in the Czech Republic the summer months had been amazing.

Coming back to the UK for a few months wasnt easy, and I really didnt enjoy it, so fast-tracked the next Drum and Basslines party in Kyiv for November. The lineup turned out to be so easy to form. After meeting Raiden in Kyiv in June, and having Mutated Forms at my birthday in May, the only real question I had was which of the top class DJs and MCs from KrisisDnB could I invite. With Inertia, Ruskal, Breakneck and MC So-Low I couldnt have asked for any better! We all had an amazing few days before they returned to the UK.

Its now the 23rd December and Im back in the UK for a few days to see the family for christmas. Then its back to Kyiv for New Year and their christmas on the 7th January.

Drum and Basslines 4 is already being planned for the end of February or March 2012 in the Ukranian capital. A lineup is being formed in my head as we take Drum and Basslines into its 2nd year, and KrisisDnB into its 5th year! I dont think NeO or myself had ever realistically expected things to last as long as they have, but with steady progress, a lot of fun, and constant hard work its seen not only a radio station but now a successful international event brand formed.

Lastly but by no means least I want to thank all of my supporters and people who have seen me this year. Ive had an amazing time, and cant wait for more in 2012. As always get in touch if you would like to see me play at one of your parties. Unlike a lot of other Drum and Bass DJs I am NOT in this for the money, I do this to make YOU have a good time, and because I love the music no matter what style or genre.

I have some ideas to increase my versatility for 2012 to bring me more into the visual side of a party experience. Hopefully that will make its debut at the next Drum and Basslines party in Kyiv in March.

I hope you all have a great christmas and new year wherever you are around the world! Keep tuned to KrisisDnB, and let us know if you want to see Drum and Basslines in a city near you!


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

MX 2011 Tour of Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus

Its started again ! 2011 and another few months out of the UK. After being hugely disappointed in May 2010 after not being able to sort the work visa I needed to stay in Belarus, ive had a few months back in the UK to sort my head out. Firstly starting work at Amelco which was a big opportunity for me to help build their helpdesk and automation strategy, test and implement their latest releases of software and to migrate to an offshore solution was an ideal situation for me to return to.

October 2010 and I met Viktor Ramonas ramdomly in London. I recognised the russian accent to his English and we instantly became friends. Nearer the end of the year I decided that with my forthcoming event in Kyiv, Ukraine coming up in Feb 2011, it was the perfect opportunity for me to make a second attempt to move to Belarus. It was not an easy decision to make as I was enjoying my work in the UK and had made a new friend who I had barely got to know properly yet. I wanted to stay at Amelco if I possibly could, and came up with a solution that I hope will work out for everyone.

Damian (Owner of Amelco) has been superb and given me the opportunity to do what I wanted, and I have promised him that I will always be part of Amelco. A sudden brainwave happened that it would be the perfect time for Viktor to take over my shift work at Amelco. Damian had always spoke about getting me off from working nights and into more of a central role, and Viktor has IT skills from his time at the University of Siberia to convince me he had the ability to learn the ropes in the same way as I did in June 2010. The only problem was going to be his English, but a mere 2 weeks after me starting my travels I have seen emails from him to various people that may not be perfect english, but are good enough for him to make a positive contribution to a small company like Amelco. I really would like to thank Damian and Leon for putting their faith in me and bringing Viktor in to assist.

Anyway the event in Kyiv was amazing. A busy club with plenty of happy faces was enough for me to say that my first event organised in the Ukranian capital was a success. Bringing Mr Gash (aka Unknown Error) couldnt have worked out any better. One of the most down to earth guys I have ever met. With a huge crew of KrisisDnB DJs from the station coming as well it was a perfect weekend full of laughs and plenty of vodka !

Monday 14th was a hard day to see Richy, Repul, Bartus, Projekt and Breakneck go for their flight back to the UK. Did I want to go with them?? Hmm maybe... but maybe not !!! I think on the balance of things they were the ones who were jealous of me staying here.

15th Feb and time to go to Georgia to finally meet with my good friend Alex Rayden. We have known each other for 3 or 4 years now and became good friends during the Russia / Georgia conflict a few years ago. I was so worried for his and his families safety. I decided then that one day I would visit and see Georgia first hand. What an amazing place with so much history ! I thought Russian was a hard language to learn (and it is!!!), but even reading the Georgian alphabet is so much harder. Fortunately a lot of signs in shops and streets are written in English which shows how international a country Georgia is. President Saakashvili has clearly spent a lot of time and money helping to make Georgia a place for not only tourists, but international businesses to find an attractive proposition. The only issue with Georgia is its disputes over South Ossetia and Abkazia. Hopefully those issues are sorted soon and Georgians can enjoy a peaceful life in their wonderful country.

6 days in the Georgian capital Tbilisi was so good. I had guided tour of the whole city by the staff in the hotel I was staying at, showing me the many castles, churches and monuments the city has, as well as the TV Transmitter and theme park that make the city stand out so much. And then meeting Alex was a mission accomplished for me after worrying about whether I would ever see him during the conflicts a few years ago. What can I say about Georgian food... WOW !!! ITS NICE !!! Dont ask me the names of anything as they al sound very similar, but what a variety of different styles of homegrown food they have!

Then it was the trip back to Kiev to then get my visa for Belarus. It was good to meet up with Alex Mnial before catching the train up to Minsk. Him and Fade have helped me and the Ukraine party at Cinema Club so much in the last few months and mean we will definately do another event at the end of the summer season.

I arrived in Minsk to meet Sergey. I had never met him before but we had spoke on Skype many times about the KrisisDnB Radio player. He had kindly offered to let me stay at his place near Minsk Arena with his brother Alex. I needed all the sleep I could get before my first headline event for this year in Bobruisk at Magnet Club where I played last year. Another wickid night with loads of girls all wanting their picture with me. Thanks to Oleg and Kieran (thats close to his name) for looking after me while I was there and for showing me around Bobruisk as well.

I have just got a text from Streamline asking me to run a few English classes for them today but I dont want to let them down and rush into things. They know my skills from a year ago, but a lot of that has been forgotten in the last few months so maybe start slowly and see how things progress. I cant wait to get back into the flow of things here but this year I want to do things differently and not be focussed just on getting the work visa like I did last year. I want to enjoy my time here and if I end up staying then all good, but if I have to leave I dont want the bad feelings I had in May 2010 when it was clear I couldnt stay.

So Andrew has now left to go to Germany for 6 weeks its all up to me to work things out here. I have always got Alex to help me and it will be good to meet Zeb again as well as everyone I met in Minsk last year. My next headline event is on 12.02 in a town called Novopolotsk which is somewhere I should have played last year if I was still here, so finaly I will get there !!!

More to come soon !!!

Pics from Georgia : http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/album.php?id=100001001114472&aid=37393

Pics from Drum and Basslines Kiev : http://www.basslineskiev.com/event.html

Pics from 25.02 in Bobruisk, Belarus : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=100001001114472&aid=38448