Competition: Win VIP passes to Bloc. @ In:Motion, Bristol

We've linked up with the people behind In:Motion in Bristol, who are at the forefront of the city's underground dance music scene, to give you the opportunity to win a pair of VIP passes to next Friday's huge Bloc. takeover. The winner will receive two VIP tickets, including queue jump and VIP area access, as well as a bunch of drinks tokens provided by the club.

Since Bloc. is 're-booting for 2012' and moving to a new location this night serves to distill the core elements of the legendary Bloc. Weekend that has become a mainstay on the electronic music world's collective calendar; and Bristol, with its world-renown within bass music, has been chosen as the ideal place for the event. The lineup presented is an eclectic mix of some of the leading lights across the bass music spectrum, taking in the purple sounds of Joker, 2562 relentless desires for progression within the hardcore continuum, a musical pioneer and multi-faceted producer/DJ, among the innovators responsible for the birth of the dubstep sound, in the form of Artwork , Gemmy's unique take on the loose hybrid sound of dubstep and grime and Manchester's innovative Illum Sphere all on top of the likes of James Holden and Nathan Fake.

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the following simple question:


Where was the Bloc. Weekend held last year?


Answers should be emailed to hedmuk@gmail.com with the subject 'Bloc Competition', and emails should include a contact number by which you may be contacted upon winning. The competition will end at midnight on the 23rd of November and the winner will be announced via the Hedmuk - Bass Music Facebook Page.

.Preacha.

FORMAT: Pinch & Distance

Format put together yet another special lineup, this time in celebration of their second birthday. Further details, including how to get tickets, can be found here.

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Hoya:Hoya switching it up...

Easily one of Manchester's most forward thinking bass music nights, Hoya:Hoya is changing things up again this Autumn as Illum Sphere and Jonny Dub, who run the night, explain:



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Kode9: DJ-Kicks

Running since 1995, !K7's DJ-Kicks series has included mixes from Smith and Mighty, Four Tet, and Hot Chip. Next up is Hyperdub boss Kode9 with a set to include his own productions (most notably a new, exclusive dub entiled 'You Don't Wash') aswell as showcasing tracks from Hyperdub's Ikonika, Scratcha DVA, Terror Danjah and Cooly G. Also featuring tunes from Digital Mystikz, and the reclusive Zomby, the mix covers a wide spectrum of the most progressive sounds in urban bass music at the moment.

Release date: 21st June 2010

1. Lone - Once In A While
2. Aardvarck - Revo
3. Kode9 - Blood Orange
4. Kode9 - You Don't Wash (Dub) [DJ-Kicks exclusive]
5. Cooly G - Phat Si
6. Ill Blu - Bellion
7. Ikonika - Heston
8. Scratcha DVA - Jelly Roll
9. Mr Mageeka - Different Lekstrix
10. Grievous Angel - Move Down Low
11. Sticky feat. Natalie Storm - Look Pon Me
12. Sticky - Jumeirah Riddim Sequel
13. Mujava - Pleaze Mugwanti
14. DVA - Natty
15. Aardvaarck - Re Spoken (Nubian Mindz Released Mix)
16. Morgan Zarate feat. Sarah Ann Webb - M.A.B.
17. Rozzi Daime - Dirty Illusions
18. Zomby - Spiralz
19. Kode9 - It
20. J*DaVeY - Mr. Mister
21. Digital Mystikz - 2 Much Chat
22. Terror Danjah - Stiff
23. Digital Mystikz - Mountain Dread March
24. Zomby - Godzilla
25. Digital Mystikz - Mountain Dread March (Reprise)
26. Addison Groove - Footcrab
27. Kode9 vs. LD - Bad
28. Maddslinky - Cargo
29. Ramadanman - Work Them
30. Terror Danjah - Bruzin (VIP)
31. The Bug - Run (feat. Flo Dan)

-SHOOK-

Manchester still bringing the goods...

Never a city to be left behind when it comes to its music scene (if we can excuse the occasional bunch of Oasis-alikes or Madchester revivalists), and its bass music representatives are currently pulling their growing weight in maintaining this reputation. Local DJ/producers Rich Reason and Al Sonar continue to bring in the heavyweight DJs and producers from the often intertwined spheres of Drum & Bass and Dubstep with their weekly clubnight Hit&Run at Area 51; the base that this provides for other, smaller clubnights is an essential ingredient for the development and progression currently evident in the city's music culture. Whilst The Guardian runs features on the latest crop of forward-thinking Manchester bands (Delphic, Egyptian Hip Hop...), a select few individuals are continuing to push boundaries with music for the dance, in all its various forms.

Local boy and co-promoter (alongside Jonny Dub) of the Saturday night Roadhouse clubnight Hoya:Hoya, Illum Sphere, is currently residing among some of the most tipped artists for 2010 after not only being included in FACT's annual predictions, being selected for the Red Bull Music Academy and having his 'Long Live The Plan' EP as a featured release on Boomkat in January. His 'next-level' beats (unfortunately, for the purpose of these words) genuinely defy genre through their innate experimentalism. This was particularly noticeable on his remix of Martyn's 'Brilliant Orange', which transformed three minutes of little more than stringed chord progressions into a fully fledged tune. With the digital release of 'Long Live The Plan' forthcoming, and an album in the pipeline, Illum Sphere could well be one to watch.

Illum Sphere - Agent White

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