Give the gift of music with a Dubspot Gift Certificate this holiday season! Dubspot is offering a variety of savings on music production and DJ courses  for any aspiring producer or DJ on your gift list.  To order gift certificates, browse our course offering and then call 212.242.2100 or email info@dubspot.com.

Check out a list of classes along with certificates below.

Friday Night Spin Session Gift Certificate

Hands-on and interactive, this 2hr 45min DJ class will introduce you to the equipment and basic techniques of DJing. Create your first 2 song mix and see what really happens behind the booth! The perfect gift for the curious soul. You may deduct the cost of this course if you decide to continue on. ($125)

Call 1.877.DUBSPOT (1.877.382.7768) to order.

Electronic Music Production Workshop Gift Certificate

Choose from one of our 6 hour weekend workshops Intro to Electronic Music Production, Intro to Ableton Live, Intro to Logic Pro, Intro to Reason & Record, or Intro to Pro Tools. Get hands-on experience with tools of the professionals and learn the building blocks of making your own track. ($195)

Call 1.877.DUBSPOT (1.877.382.7768) to order.

DJ Extensive Program Gift Certificate

This 6-month course was designed for those who really want to experience the techniques of professional DJ’s. This certificate includes the DJ Extensive Program as well as the Intro to Ableton Live weekend workshop. ($1,895)

Call 1.877.DUBSPOT (1.877.382.7768) to order.

Dubspot Custom Experience Gift Certificate

Any Dubspot program, course, or weekend workshop can be scheduled and wrapped into a gift for your music lover. We can even arrange private one-on-one sessions with our instructors at an affordable price. (Call for details)

Call 1.877.DUBSPOT (1.877.382.7768) to order.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dubspot celebrated Make Music New York Festival 2011 with a series of exclusive live performances and DJ sets from NYC’s best kept secret in the field of electronic music production and performance. The video above recaps the even which took place in front Dubspot’s HQ in Manhattan’s West Village.

In September Dubspot had the pleasure of hosting Deep Medi Musik recording artist Tunnidge for a live streaming workshop. In these Dubspot-produced video recap of Tunnidge’s appearance and workshop, the London producer offers a significant array of production advice, from EQing samples, to mixing and mastering suggestions, and even some tips on how get top DJs to play your tunes! Tunnidge goes in depth on his use of a PAZ Analyzer to clean up samples, Kontakt 5, and the frequency minefield of mixdowns.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Some of Tunnidge’s best advice can be heard clearly enough in his music, all of it made to a perfectionist’s ear, each element obsessed over, and sitting perfectly balanced within the mix.

Tunnidge’s latest 12” is “Control” b/w “Decay,” released on the Get Darker imprint, sounds like standing outside of a space ship construction zone, the muffled sound of a metal-cutting saw occasionally rising and falling.

Click here to view the embedded video.

An easy standout release from both the Tunnidge catalog and Deep Medi’s is 2008’s blistering “Geddeon,” which expertly positions a ruff ragga vocal with an ethereal female voice, creating an emotional palette ripe for a heavy drop that bubbles and bounces with a tight, thick bassline.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In other decidedly gothic and relentless productions like “7 Breaths,” a release for Distance’s Chestplate imprint, Tunnidge unleashes a stomach-turning amount of bass weight that will have anyone near a sub, out of breath.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Purveyor of deep, dark, sub-driven beats, Tunnidge has quickly forged a reputation as a heavyweight of the Dubstep scene. Possessing a murky, cavernous sound as equally hypnotic as it is enlivening he has consistently produced quality progressive music since his first release. And what a first release: still rinsed by the biggest DJ’s in the scene, Geddeon/Face Melt remains a classic 12″ that will batter the best of sound systems and leave the dance floor well and truly slain.

What’s more, it’s testament to Tunnidge’s production prowess that this debut came on Mala’s Deep Medi Musik imprint, widely acknowledged as a seminal label and one known for its exemplar releases. Stripping the sound back to its key components of bass and beats, Tunnidge produces a purist’s sound: sub-bass that can be felt from head to toe, alongside a carefully-crafted snare that makes you flinch every time it rings out across the dance floor.

Indeed, such is the strength of his sonic identity that a Tunnidge tune is instantly recognisable, with characteristic snares, intelligent use of samples and unmistakeable control over bass line melodies. A perfect example of this, and a highlight of Tunnidge’s production repertoire, is Higher Forces’ (released on established underground label Boka Records), a tune fit for a cold, dank dungeon, with haunting echoic vocals and a relentless, mesmerising kick drum.

When in collaboration with producers of a similar stature and style the results have been blistering; The Lights/Ding Ding 12″ produced alongside Cyrus and released on their Origin Audio imprint – a new label set up to support producers still making challenging, sub-low beats – was a top seller in Blackmarket Records, one of the leading bass music shops in the UK, a week after its release. Collaborations with Distance have been fruitful too with the evil, ball and chain sounds of Blame currently receiving heavy play on Rinse FM and other stations dedicated to the best in UK bass music. [read more.]

Tunnidge heads – artwork for Deep Medi

In October of this year the Dubspot team descended upon Seattle, WA’s Decibel Festival for a weekend of creative mind-meld as we presented two workshops (on Ableton Live and Maschine) and then caught some groundbreaking DJ performances and live acts at an event that is delivering an amalgam of sound and vision to  Seattle’s discerning art and music scene. Dubspot’s rogue squadron of Steve Nalepa, Michael Walsh and Suzanne Strong hit Decibel this year armed with cameras, questions, ideas and an open mind for what this event might bring to the future of music. What follows is our collective account of experience at Decibel 2011.
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Eprom at Decibel 2011, Photo by Suzanne Strong

Decibel is one of the most cutting-edge music festivals in the world with a diverse lineup of artists that range from well known veterans like Moby to underground heroes of the moment such as Starslinger. Decibel bridges the gap between technology and creativity through visual art, workshops, panel discussions and cutting-edge electronic music performances at various venues across the city to create a dynamic offering of sound experience. Just a few highlights from our journey include Amon Tobin’s groundbreaking ISAM audio/visual show,  Martyn’s live PA, Machine Drum’s kinetic set, Frite Nite tearing up DB in the Park, Mike Huckaby’s return to deepness, Green Velvet’s classic performance, Kyle Hall’s young enthusiasm, Mad Professor mixing on a full console, and Night Slugs bringing the new blood for a night of debauchery.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kicking off our excursion was a trip to Seattle’s Fred Wildlife Refuge which worked as Decibel’s home base for discussion, presentation and technology during the first three days of the event. A Microsoft sponsored technology lounge allowed patrons to check out Windows 7 and the latest in controller surfaces from companies such as Akai, Rane, Livid Instruments and Madrona Labs while the downstairs area held a series of presentations and discussion from producers and industry professionals. In the technology center we were especially impressed with Madrona’s first live demonstration of their Soundplane controller (which you can see in the above video.) Madrona explains the instrument as follows: “The Soundplane A is a computer music controller with the sensitivity and feel of an acoustic instrument. It detects a wide range of touches on its walnut playing surface, from a light tickle to a very firm press. The Soundplane can be configured as either a 150-note keyboard with position and pressure sensing on each key, or as one continuous surface.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Our first night out for the eventing events happened on Thursday when we caught Amon Tobin at the Paramount. The venue was packed to the walls for Tobin’s U.S. debut of the much talked-about ISAM audio/visual show. Since its debut in Montreal earlier this year, the ISAM tour has been gaining much press for the exceptional sound and projection mapping that constitute Tobin’s on-stage presence. A massive installation of blocks surround him on stage while he performs in a cube at the center of the stage. Projected images of smoke, spaceships, gears, mechanical movements and abstract visuals jump in time with the music, grind to different places and create a third dimension of space for the audience. The music remained mostly abstract and worked as a catylist for the visual movements, almost downplaying the audio narrative for the sake of the visual narrative. In that sense the show was groundbreaking. The sound mapping projections were tight and effective leaving the audience with a new  perspective on performance. But just when we thought we had this show figured out, Amon Tobin brought the music around for the old school fans, dropping drum and bass rhythms for a musical ending that left fans satisfied.
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Girl Unit - Night Slugs at Baltic Room, Photo by Suzanne Strong

After absorbing the gallery vibe of ISAM it was time to get moving on the dance floor so we headed up to the Baltic Room for the much anticipated Night Slugs showcase. The Baltic Room is like your cool graphic designer aunt who always knows what’s up, but still maintains mad classiness and never-showy, but smart style. The Night Slugs Crew dropped knowledge this night, with Kingdom, Girl Unit, and label co-owner Bok Bok keeping the capacity crowd moving with UK bass meets US R&B influenced tunes. Kingdom stepped to the decks and handed down a slick mix of melodic beats with warped out vocals riding out on an R&B motif. Girl Unit kept the momentum going by seamlessly relieving Kingdom from the decks and jumping right into post-dubstep tracks leaning toward UK dance with significant builds and breaks. As Girl Unit graced the decks, the dance floor swarmed with people going nuts, clearly enjoying themselves. Rounding out this perfect circle of an evening was Night Slugs co-label owner, Bok Bok.  Maintaining the alchemy of the peerless beat with the peerless crowd, Bok Bok catapulted the crowd into a polite frenzy with a set of heavy bass and juke/tech tracks spiced with a dash of R&B.  The evening wrapped up too quickly, but ended with a one-song-each tag team play-out by Bok Bok, Girl Unit and Kingdom.

Steve Nalepa and Mike Huckaby at Decibel 2011, Photo by Suzanne Strong

As partners with Decibel Festival, Dubspot presented two workshops at the Fred Wildlife Refuge on Friday in an effort to bring our classroom experience to new spaces. Ableton Live Course Designer and prolific producer Steve Nalepa kicked off Friday’s workshops with an hour long presentation on how to construct a track from scratch in Ableton. Always brimming with ideas, Nalepa crammed a lot of information into his exploration of Live, discussing composition ideas and production techniques in one take to a full house of music enthusiasts.

Next on Friday’s presentation schedule was an excursion into N.I.’s Maschine with Detroit legend Mike Huckaby. As one of the hottest producers in house and techno today, Huckaby had an eager crowd for his take on how to make tracks in Maschine. The highlight of this discussion was when he explained how he uses Maschines “Scenes” mode, an unconventional workflow where he fills each scene with a different drum pattern (while keeping the same kit for all scenes.) This allows for the exploration of different rhythms to find the perfect fit for whatever project you’re working on. And in Mike’s opinion it offers a simple workflow for remixes as he explained in the presentation: “Need a remix for Vladislav Delay? No problem. Check your scenes, check your PayPal.” Around this time Michael and Suzie met up with legendary producer Moby for a great chat and a photo session which we published last week on the Dubspot Blog.
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Moby and Suzanne Strong at Decibel 2011, Photo by Michael Walsh

Friday evening offered a number of events to check out and we were jumping cabs all over town to try and hear it all. Starslinger commanded a packed room at Crocodile – proof that he’s gained quite a following in his short career. After bumping shoulders with a few hundred people we figured it was time to get over to the SunTzu Sound’s Trust showcase at the Baltic Room. SunTzu has been holding down a soulful corner of the Seattle dance music scene for over a decade now with DJs (Atlee Treasure and J Justice) who have become local legends and some of the city’s favorite promoters. For this showcase SunTzu brought some new blood and some local legends to the party for a nice cross-section of music. Atlee Treasure started the night off with soulful house music to warm up the audience in a tactful way. Next up, Detroit’s Kyle Hall brought youthful energy and sound to his DJ performance – quick mixes and big drops characterized this set that was fueled by Hall’s original tracks on the decks. Lastly we were incredibly impressed by Hanssen (Bob Hansen from Jacob London) who performed a live PA with keys, effects, huge basslines, house grooves and a live bass on top of it all. Rocking out on a fold-out table on the dance floor had the crowd engaged and screaming for tech/house bass lines with lots of substance and soul. After the Trust showcase we got over to Neumos to catch the end of Resident Advisor’s Blurring The Lines showcase. As we walked in Martyn was in prime form rocking a live PA that moved through breakbeats, house grooves and futuristic movements of sound – clearly the most impressive offering of live music performance so far at Decibel. Running an Ableton Live setup with outboard delay (Boss DD-1) he worked feedback loops into a frenzy over shuffled beats, all the while tweaking a Korg Monotron’s filters to blistering peaks. Needless to say we headed home sweaty and satisfied.

Comma and Danny Corn, Photo by Suzanne Strong

On Saturday during the day we found Decibel warming up to its peak with DB in the park. With killer sets from Danny Corn, Comma, Salva and Eprom, this party was epic. The rain stayed away but a slight misty drizzle kept the packed park cool while the Frite Nite crew heated up the speakers. Danny Corn rocked a killer DJ set peppered with originals, followed by Comma who played an impressive set of all originals Comma compositions.  Comma is also half of Slidecamp (along with Boreta from The Glitch Mob), who recently released their beautiful debut album on Glass Air / Alpha Pup.
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Beans – Blue Movie (Salva Remix) by SALVA

Frite Nite leader Salva was up next, he played a wicked live set full of footwork vibes and bass heavy bangers. Clocking in over 150 bpm for the most part, his set was packed with energetic dancefloor heaters. Salva’s remix of Beans “Blue Movie” absolutely smashed it, ‘I said I don’t step aside I step up. So if you speak, shut up. This kid is about to erupt. New York! My record’s on fire, fire. My mic is on fire, fire….” So good!!!
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Eprom @ DB In The Park, Photo by Suzanne Strong

Eprom brought it home with the heaviest set of the day. His productions are some of the most unique and insane sonic explorations out there right now. He dropped a couple unreleased tracks that completely lit the place up and then announced a new song called “Honey Badger” that was serious fire. Ridiculous! A future smash you will hear everywhere soon. His work incorporates an intense sound design element, yet also utilizes minimal, sparse production tactics, heavy with 808s and a massive amount of attitude and confidence. This label is making big moves and Frite Nite delivered in a huge way. For more on this camp check out the label’s new compilation Surreal Estate which features tracks from Sepalcure, XI, Distal, Starkey, Salva, Eprom and more.
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Green Velvet at Decibel 2011, Photo by Suzanne Strong

Next we were off to catch Green Velvet who totally slayed the crowd at the Showbox on Saturday night with his live performance. Hypnotizing fans with steady house sounds laced with a straight techno beat, Curtis A. Jones had us mesmerized by the glow of his Fraggle-like green fauxhawk. Leading the crowd of young (waiting for Designer Drugs) and old (waiting for “Camera’s Ready…”), Green Velvet was like a priest conducting a mass of swelling and steady beats. And we were all caught up in his rapture. Cajmere was left behind in this very Green Velvet-focused set, grabbing the vodaphone-sounding mic for songs such as “Flash,”  the whole room bounced as if riding a four-on-the-floor earthquake. He held a calm, cool, and collected vibe as he rolled through his repertoire. Sadly, it all ended too soon so that young duo, Designer Drugs, could step up for their set.
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Designer Drugs, Photo by Suzanne Strong

On the other end of town on Saturday night, half of the Dubspot team caught RAC (Remix Artist Collective) DJs who were rocking a packed house at the Baltic Room with the types of remixes they’ve become known for. Phoenix, Kings of Leon, Holy Ghost and Foster the People were just a few of the artists they chopped up and scattered throughout their set. Simultaneously Neumos was bumping to a packed house of underground house enthusiasts who had come for Mike Huckaby, I:Cube and and Chateau Flight. Huckaby really set the tone of this show with a refined, in-the-pocket sound that teetered between house and techno while remaining understated and thumping.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sunday night was the closing of Decibel 8 and found a series of parties closing the show in proper form. At Neumos the Mad Professor and Gaudi brought live performance to dub music – Gaudi with the use of an incredible beat box MC and Mad Professor mixing on a full console to proper effect. At the Triple Door up the street we caught Dntel (prolific producer who also appears in the Postal Service pop act) for a subtle, understated meld of light and sound in a cozy atmosphere. With a very quiet, dark room at his disposal, Dntel worked subtle rhythms and sounds into a hypnotic movement for the full house of fans. Lastly, and probably one of the best things we caught at Decibel, was DJ dBridge dropping new and old school drum and bass knowledge for an eager crowd back at the Baltic Room. With basslines wobbling and BPMs running quick, we found our final moment to celebrate the week we had experienced – reveling in the fact that genre comes second at this festival of sound and that all styles were represented equally. And just as we were about to say goodbye, dBridge blessed us with a classic from 1994 (see above) that sent everyone home excited for next year’s event. We left exhausted, enthralled and excited for electronic music once again.

The Authors:

Michael Walsh is the Editor of Dubspot’s Blog, a producer of audio/visual art and a journalist living in Southern California. Read more of his work at soundsdefygravity.com

Suzanne Strong is a photographer and journalist living in Seattle who covered Decibel 2011 as part of the Dubspot Rogue Squadron. See more of her work at suzannestrongphotography.com

Steve Nalepa is a Dubspot instructor and curriculum designer who also moonlights as a prolific music producer and performer. Check out more of his work at stevenalepa.com

This week one of electronic music’s largest international events. Now in its 16th year, Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) combines a jam-packed schedule of daytime workshops, round-tables, and technical demonstrations with a world-class line-up of DJs and producers taking you into the night. After its inception in 1996, the event grown astronomically, from just 100 attendees in the 1990s to over 130,000 visitors in the last few years, putting it next to Miami’s Winter Music Conference as one of the most important industry events in the world.

Split into a music industry conference and full-fledged music festival, ADE manages to create a remarkably streamlined community of electronic music professionals that seeks to reflect the special relationship electronic music has to both business and art. It goes with out saying that ADE bring some of the biggest DJs and label showcases to its festival, but for Dubspot readers unable to attend ADE, of which there are probably many, here is a snapshot of the kinds of workshops and industry events that have been going at ADE’s conference.

Photo by Aico Lind

Of the various industry-related events going on, many of them seem to be engaging with the question of the internet’s effect on sharing music and content with audiences.

STATE OF THE BLOGS

If you run or maintain a blog, either as a music enthusiast or artist, you might want to know the State of the Blogs a workshop on how to transform your blog from a hobby into a professional internet magazine.

How to run a successful musicblog in 2011, and how not to? Can you make a living of of it, or does it remain a hobby? How to compete with professional internet magazines, in some cases these are well funded (3VOOR!@, State Magazine) by the big broadcasters? There’s enough to discuss with some of the movers and shakers in de Dutch Blogosphere.

CROWDFUNDING

Are crowd-funding platforms like Kickstarter going to rival labels as a way to reach an artist’s audience and develop interest? A crowd-funding workshop explores this question with Netherlands-based crowd-funding platform Voordekunst.

Roy Cremers is the founder of voordekunst. This is a crowdfunding site where artists can submit their projects to find funding through the crowd. In a time where public funding for Arts and Culture are being trimmed, could crowd funding be a serious alternative? Amongst the donations there are not just individuals, for example also Nike is pitching in. Will this sort of company-involvement become a trend? Come and hear Roy tell us about his experience with voordekunst since they started little over a year ago.

CREATING COMMUNITIES OF VALUE

Workshops have included presentations from co-founder Nikhil Shah of the popular DJ mix platform Mixcloud, about how engaged online communities are an influential force creating a lasting, loyal band of listeners and audience members.

Passionate online communities can be a powerful force. They can create and curate your content; they can police and moderate the site; they can evangelise and advocate; and finally they can be monetized. Nikhil Shah from Mixcloud talks about lessons learned and a few favourite examples of how to build an engaged community with lasting value.

Photo by Aico Lind

Other industry keynote speakers like Scott Snibbe (developer of Bjork’s interactive iPad accompaniment to her latest record Biophilia) have looked at the potential for iPad and iPhone apps to make albums and releases more immersive and dynamic.

THE ALBUM RETURNS AS AN APP

The emergence of music apps for mobile devices promises to reacquaint listeners with an immersive, intimate music experience that has been lost in the age of the digital download. Scott Snibbe’s keynote will focus on demonstration and discussions of his recent interactive music iPad and iPhone apps that bring immersive electronic music experiences to a broad mainstream audience. His talk will focus on a behind-the-scenes look at Björk’s Biophilia – the creation of the first app album, and the impact that apps will have on performing artists and the music industry. Scott will also speak on his personal history with interactive music, including rare examples of research and prototypes he created in the 1990s with Lukas Girling featuring video game-style interactive music, nintendo controllers, and interactions with Laurie Anderson and Brian Eno.

The iPad is the focus of workshops exploring its music-making potential as well, through both hardware and software. Rob Mekken of Music-IT talks about iPad integration into a musician’s live setup, something we here at Dubspot have continued to experiment with and explore.

Labels have been a large focus of this year’s event. Unlike any other genre of music, electronic music comes with a dizzying array of artists and labels. Not only do thousands of labels exist, each with a relatively small catalog, DJs and producers with any modest success often start their own labels. In the workshop titled “Off the Record? Labels In the Digital Age,” a round-table of label reps discusses the merits of vinyl, platforms like Bandcamp, and whether or not music should just be free.

Photo by Aico Lind

Of the absolutely dizzying array of events going on through out the week and weekend, here are a list of artists and showcases our Dubspot readers abroad may be enticed by.

Richie Hawtin Presents Plastikman 1.5. Hawtin has one of the most jaw-dropping audio/visual performances in the world, and will likely be the highlight of your weekend. Check out excerpts of a recent live set below.

BOILER ROOM Minus Takeover with Richie Hawtin, Dubfire, Seth Troxler & Ambivalent was definitely one of the highlights for those of us experiencing the ADE from afar. For those who missed it, stay tune because Boiler Room has a lot more in store, including next Wednesday’s Boiler Room Berlin 003 with Levon Vincent, Efdemin, Roman Flügel, Cosmin TRG & 2562/ A Made Up Sound!

Click here to view the embedded video.

To end your ADE experience right, plan for an epic evening with Berlin’s premier techno label Ostgut Ton. Representing the label will be Marcel Dettmann, Ben Klock, Planetary Assault Systems, and Marcel Fengler. For those who are unable to attend Berlin’s world-class Berghain club, this will be a great taste of what you’re missing.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Seattle, WA’s Decibel Festival has been rocking strong for eight years now, delivering an amalgam of sound and vision driven by technology that happens once a year for Seattle’s discerning art and music scene. The 2011 Decibel Festival (Sept. 28 – Oct. 2) bridges the gap between technology and creativity through visual art, workshops, panel discussions and cutting-edge electronic music performances at various venues across the city. The event draws some big names to the rainy city but maintains a cutting-edge lineup of artists who aren’t necessarily the headliners you’d expect but instead some deep choices in performers who bring evolution and new ideas to performance.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Decibel has always had a hand in left-field art presentation and this year seems to follow suit with an eclectic lineup that includes Green Velvet, Amon Tobin (and his ISAM audio/visual performance), Martyn, Mad Professor, Ital Tek, Bok Bok, Mux Mool, Quantic, Oval, dOP, Ulrich Schnauss, Martin Buttrich, DJ Krush, Mike Huckaby, Tanner Ross, SunTzu Sound and many more. In fact this festival seems to push new music more than other events that use headliners to draw the crowd. Decibel pulls its own crowd of discerning (often bald and be-speckled) art fans who want to catch the latest movements in electronic music and digital art. As such, Dubspot will be attending Decibel 2011 to cover the latest in music movements. We are also bringing the school on the road and will be running a couple workshops on music creation with Professor Nalepa and also a special session with Detroit’s Mike Huckaby (who has been tearing up charts recently with remixes.) These workshops will happen on Friday, September 30th. Stay tuned to our blog for more detailed information on these workshops very soon.

THE 2011 DECIBEL FESTIVAL IS ONE WEEK AWAY – THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

ADVANCE TICKETS / PASSES
Advance tickets for all 31 showcases and the 2011 Decibel Festival Passes are all still available through our our TICKET PAGE. Not only do you save money on advance tickets/passes, you avoid potential sell outs.

WILL CALL / TICKET BOX OFFICE
If you purchased a Decibel Festival Pass online, you can redeem it at general will call, which will be hosted at Fred Wildlife Refuge, located at 127 E. Boylston in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Will call hours are 12PM – 12AM, Wednesday through Friday. In addition to hosting the general will call, individual showcase tickets can be purchased at Fred Wildlife Refuge. This is also where the 2011 dB Conference will be taking place (see conference schedule below).

FOR DECIBEL ATTENDEES, ARTIST AND PRESS STAYING AT THE W SEATTLE HOTEL
Decibel will have a guest booth at the hotel, which is located at 1112 4th Avenue. Keep an eye out for the Decibel signs in the lobby. In addition to being the official hotel for the 2011 Decibel Festival, the W Seattle will function as the headquarters for Decibel Press and Photography.

VISITOR PAGE
If you’re traveling in for the festival or just looking for a place to eat, shop or sight see, this page will walk you through some of our favorite places. Complete with venue maps and transportation guides, the dB Visitor Page is a great resources for anyone attending the 2011 Decibel Festival.

iPHONE / ANDROID APP
We’re proud to announce our partnership with ROCKSTAR DIGITAL, who have developed both an iPhone and Android app for the 2011 Decibel. These robust apps will include…
-access the full schedule complete with set times, sessions, maps, info
-get important notifications in real time throughout the festival (make sure you click “yes” when the app asks if you would like to share your current location)
-check out artist and DJ profiles
-listen and download music from select artists and DJ’s
-check out the latest feed of news, tweets, blog posts, videos and pictures
-share experiences with your friends using Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare
For more info and to download the app, click HERE

SHOWCASES
With over 144 artists from over a dozen countries performing across 31 showcases throughout 15 of Seattle’s most prestigious venues, the 2011 Decibel Festival program is simply massive. If you haven’t yet, we recommend familiarizing yourself with this year’s list of showcases and then plotting your experience with the most up-to-date SCHEDULE or the our smart phone apps.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dubspot is pleased to announce that our next live streaming workshop will be with Deep Medi Musik recording artist Tunnidge. He will be demonstrating his production techniques and talking about his creative process. Tunnidge’s workshop will take place on Wednesday, September 28, 6PM – 7:30PM. Please RSVP on our Facebook page if you would like to attend the event in person, otherwise return to this post to watch the live stream from the comfort of your home.

Characterized by his a laser-like focus on woozy, alien basslines, and devastating drops, Tunnidge is a producer as much as he is a sound designer. Emerging from South London’s dubstep scene in 2005, Tunnidge has stayed true to the deeper, more spacious elements of the dubstep made by folks like Mala (Deep Medi label head) and his Digital Mystikz project. After hanging around a quickly coalescing group of producers, Tunnidge not only put out some of Deep Medi’s first releases, but also did the artwork to go with them. Deep Medi releases are now often characterized by drawings of the release’s producer, all of them drawn by hand from Mr. Tunnidge himself.

Photo by Andrew Witts

Tunnidge is currently wrapping up a US Tour, with just a few more dates left. Don’t miss an opportunity to catch him live! Below, we’ve listed the remaining dates, which include stops in Detroit, NYC, and Chapel Hill, NC. Tonight, Tunnidge plays Detroit’s Datswotsup! party at Oslo nightclub. Tomorrow, he will touch down in NYC playing Reconstrvct at The Morgan – alongside Joe Nice, TrueNature, Bunzer0 & Mr. Jo, C Dubs. Also catch him at Chapel Hill, North Carolina at Signal Festival on September 29th at Players Nightclub.

23-Sep-2011 Detroit – Datswotsup! (Oslo)
24-Sep-2011 New York – Reconstrvct (The Morgan)
28-Sep-2011 – New York – Dubspot Live Streaming Music Production Workshop
29-Sep-2011 Chapel Hill – Signal Festival (Players Nightclub)

Released last month on the Get Darker imprint, Tunnidge’s latest 12” is “Control” b/w “Decay.” The latter sounds like standing outside of a space ship construction zone as metal gets tirelessly reworked, and the muffled sound of a metal-on-metal saw occasionally rises and falls.

Click here to view the embedded video.

An easy standout release from both the Tunnidge catalog and Deep Medi’s is 2008’s blistering “Geddeon,” which expertly positions a ruff ragga vocal with an ethereal female voice, creating an emotional palette ripe for a heavy drop that bubbles and bounces with a tight, thick bassline.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In other decidedly gothic and relentless productions like “7 Breaths,” a release for Distance’s Chestplate imprint, Tunnidge unleashes a stomach-turning amount of bass weight that will have anyone near a sub, out of breath.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dubstep may still be somewhat underground in Japan, but the country’s primary bass export Goth-Trad is a monster on the international scene. As a kid he was tuned onto the sounds of electronic music bands and labels like Kraftwerk and Warp Records thanks to foreign television stations. And now, many years later, he releases most of his music on one of Britain’s most influential dubstep labels, Deep Medi. He recently came to the US to perform at the Together Festival in Boston. While he was here, we hosted a workshop with him and caught some footage of it. Above, he discusses his musical evolution and means of production -like a fondness for the Boss RE-201 space echo pedal and building instruments.

On Oct 3rd, he’ll drop a new EP with Deep Medi called Babylon Fall, where he brings more of the tough, filthy bass vibrations he’s come to be known for. Goth-Trad has steadily crafted visions of dark outer realms with works like the guttural and dubby “Law“, the ominous alien communiqués of “Two Faced“, and the alarming, boiling “Recovered” remix. A tense, metallic aura permeates his sound, and this new release sees an even higher saturation of sludge bass wobbles. The record will also feature new vocals by influential reggae artist Max Romeo.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Sublimation”, which plunges deep and fast in an exploration of crisis, is the stand out track of the EP. The mission is introduced with a taut steady pulse that grows slightly in intensity coupled with ocean floor effects. In drops throbbing warbles that bubble and wrap the quickened structure in subs. Echoing drum skins dance about smashed snares that bound in broad steps over engine driven kicks. Leagued steel drums encase the track while it races to save underwater metropolises. As the sunken monument comes into sight, it takes a brief pause in skittery suspense before exploding in a harder, faster rhythm and wailing layers of synth melodies.

Babylon Fall EP drops October 3rd on Deep Medi Musik

On Friday, July 29 legendary Philadelphia-based producer, DJ, and remixer King Britt stopped by Dubspot with singer and collaborator Rucyl Mills for a music production and performance workshop with Ableton Live. The duo performs live and release music under the name Saturn Never Sleeps, and this video, they share insights into the recording process for their debut album Yesterday’s Machine, which is out now on their own SNS imprint. The bulk of the record was constructed in a live, improvised, one-take fashion, combining the duo’s intuitional musical sense. The two point to the work of avant-garde jazz revolutionary Sun-Ra as a major source of inspiration, drawing from his value in art’s of-the-moment process. Read more about King Britt’s history, as well as what Rucyl calls, “the Chakakhantroller,” a MIDI controller that she wears on her body, over on the Saturn Never Sleeps website.

Saturn Never Sleeps Ableton Live workshop is part of an exciting series of live streaming workshops on production, performance, DJing, VJing, improvisation, drumming, and more, held at Dubspot NYC HQ on a regular basis. In July, Dubspot’s Live Streaming Workshop Series also feature Percussivo Mundo Novo, a project led by percussion innovator Mikael Mutti, whose equally genre-busting infusions of Brazilian rhythms and music has led him to digital percussion wizardry that includes analog drums and video game controllers. In August, London-based, Deep Medi Musik artist Silkie stopped by  for a special presentation and  offered insights into the PC-only FL Studio, while Holland’s DJ Irie demonstrated his use of Serato and Ableton Live for his work as a battle VJ and turntablist.

Ableton Live users, do yourself a favor and download King Britt and Rucyl’s Saturn Never Sleeps’ Ableton Live Pack here.

This event comes in conjunction with the Dub Invasion Festival, a two-week, Dubspot sponsored event in it’s inaugural year; featuring many performances by legendary artists at some of New York’s premier music venues, as well as workshops with the legendary Mad Professor on September 16th and live dub pioneer, Adrian Sherwood on September 8th. Please have a look at the full schedule of events at Dubspot during the  festival below.

Saturday, September 10th, 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM – Dubspot Hi-Fidelity Workshops

Dubspot Course Preview
Sean Clements – Preview of Dubspot Essential Music Foundations 3-3:45 PM

Ableton Live
DJ Kiva (Production) – 3-3:45 PM: Dubspot instructor DJ Kiva presents some beginning and advanced production techniques using Ableton Live 8.
DJ Kiva (Production) – 5-5:45 PM: DJ Kiva demonstrates live dub techniques using Ableton Live & the Akai APC40.
JUST ADDED: Raz Mesinai a.k.a. Badawi (Production) – 4-5 PM: Composer, producer and Dubspot instructor, Raz Mesinai is one of the pioneers of the NY school of experimental dub music in the early 90’s.
Still to this day Mesinai has a signature sound all his own and he speaks about ways to create your own individual sound and create music that stands out through Ableton Live’s Effect and Drum Racks

iZotope
Jack Cote (iZotope Product Specialist) – 5-5:45 PM: iZotope specialist Jack Cote presents some techniques for using Stutter Edit, a unique plugin co-developed by electronic music producer/composer BT

Native Instruments
DJ Shiftee (DJ/Performance) – 1-1:45 PM: Dubspot instructor and Native Instruments product specialist DJ Shiftee will give an overview of Traktor Scratch Pro 2, using Maschine and X1, with jaw-dropping demonstrations along the way.
DJ Shiftee (Live Streaming DJ/Performance) – 2-2:45PM: Shiftee will do a second, live streaming demonstration.

Reason
Chris Petti (Production) – 1-1:45 PM: New Workflow in Reason 6 -
Chris Petti (Production) – 2:-2:45 PM: New features and dub delay techniques with the new Echo module in Reason 6

Photo by kosinder

Thursday, September 8th, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM – Adrian Sherwood Streaming Workshop
Dubspot presents a live streaming workshop with Dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood who will speak about his approach to production, remixing and performing live dub. If you can’t make the event, click on the above link, where you will find a live streaming video the day of the workshop.

Adrian Sherwood, next to Mad Professor, may be one of London’s greatest dub and reggae champions. Forming the music collective Singer and Players in the 1980s alongside Mickey Dread and Prince Far I, Sherwood quickly became label head to a variety of label releasing dub and reggae, including Hitrun Records, Pressure Sounds, and Green Tea Records. Sherwood has produced for Sinead O’Connor, Skinny Puppy, Depeche Mode, and Coldcut, among others.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dub Echoes trailer

Tuesday, September 13, 1:00PM-6:00PM: Documentary screenings @ Dubspot w/ Dub Echoes, Musically Mad, Devon D’s Dub History
Come through Dubspot during the day on Tuesday for a variety of seminal documentary screenings on the history of dub music.

Friday, September 16, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM – Mad Professor Streaming Workshop
Dubspot presents a live streaming workshop with legendary Dub pioneer Mad Professor who will speak about his approach to production and his extensive history and relationship with Dub music.

Mad Professor is one of the most widely respected and well known dub producers and engineers in the world. Known for bringing dub production and engineering techniques to London’s musical landscape at a time when dub was still emerging in the city, and long before it would transform everything from punk to electronic music. Mad Professor has produced records with Lee “Scratch” Perry, Sly and Robbie, Sade, The Orb, and Massive Attack.

Starting Thursday, September 8 in New York, Dubspot is excited to be a part of Sound Liberation Front and New York label Subatomic Soundsystem’s Dub Invasion Festival. Spanning 10 days in both Boston and New York, the festival will feature a collection of live music, workshops, and documentary screenings. Gathering many of dub and reggae’s most influential, past and present, is not only a celebration of the genre alone, but the massive sound revolution dub culture sparked—reverberations that are felt through out today’s most progressive music, electronic and otherwise.

Here at Dubspot, we honor that history in more than name alone, and will be hosting a series of masterclass workshops, at Dubspot HQ and live streaming, with Dub Invasion performers Mad Professor, Adrian Sherwood, and Clive Chin, as well as a Dub Expo featuring presentations from music production leaders like Ableton, Native Instruments, Propellerhead, and iZotope. If these sessions aren’t informative enough, we’ll be screening three different dub documentaries during the day on Tuesday, September 13th.

Mad Professor is one of the most widely respected and well known dub producers and engineers in the world. Known for bringing dub production and engineering techniques to London’s musical landscape at a time when dub was still emerging in the city, and long before it would transform everything from punk to electronic music. Mad Professor has produced records with Lee “Scratch” Perry, Sly and Robbie, Sade, The Orb, and Massive Attack.

Adrian Sherwood, next to Mad Professor, may be one of London’s greatest dub and reggae champions. Forming the music collective Singer and Players in the 1980s alongside Mickey Dread and Prince Far I, Sherwood quickly became label head to a variety of label releasing dub and reggae, including Hitrun Records, Pressure Sounds, and Green Tea Records. Sherwood has produced Sinead O’Connor, Skinny Puppy, Depeche Mode, and Coldcut, among others.

When you’re not getting an education in dub, the festival’s stacked bill features performances from infamous dub producer Lee “Scratch” Perry, playing at BB King’s in New York on Saturday, September 10th. Other headlining artists include will include workshop guests Mad Professor and Adrian Sherwood, as well as Brother Culture and Twilight Circus Dub. Other performances will feature New York fixtures, Nickodemus, Francois K, Jahdan Blakkamoore, and Raz Mesinai aka Badawi.

OFFICIAL DUB INVASION FACEBOOK EVENT

DUB INVASION FACEBOOK PAGE

CHECK BELOW FOR FULL FESTIVAL SCHEDULE. DUBSPOT EVENTS ARE IN BOLD.

Thursday 09/08
Dub Masterclass with Adrian Sherwood
6-7pm, Free with RSVP
@Dubspot—348 West 14th Street, New York

Friday 09/09
ON-U-SOUND 30th Anniversary: Adrian Sherwood ft Brother Culture
10PM, 21+, $12 ADV/$16
Dominion—428 Lafayette St, New York

Photo by kosinder

Saturday 09/10
Dubspot Hi-Fidelity EDU Sessions:
Technology showcase featuring the latest in music technology from Ableton, Propellerhead, iZotope, Native Instruments, and more.
1-6pm, Free
@Dubspot—348 West 14th Street, New York

Saturday 09/10
Dub Masterclass with Clive Chin—Workshop
3-4pm, Free with RSVP
@Dubspot—348 West 14th Street, New York

Photo by Wraith34

Sunday 09/11
Universal Sundays presents Alive Dub:
Dub Poet Infinity, Super Hi-Fi, Top Shotta Band feat. Screechy Dan, Prince Polo, Double 05, King of Zulu Entertainment, DJ Sal P
$10, 9pm
Sullivan Hall—214 Sullivan Street, New York

Monday 09/12
Deep Space Presents Francois K with guest Raz Mesinai (Badawi)
$15, $12 with RSVP
Cielo—18 Little W 12th Street, New York

Tuesday 09/13

Documentary Screenings: Dub Echoes, Musically Mad, Devon D’s Dub History
1-6pm, Free with RSVP
@Dubspot—348 West 14th Street, New York

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dub Echoes trailer

Wednesday 09/14
Liondub International Presents: Pressure Dub
Ticklah, Dave Q, Liondub, DJ Lifeline, DJ Deluxe
9pm, Free with RSVP
Kush—191 Chrystie Street, New York

Thursday 09/15
Turntables on the Hudson Presents: International Dub Showcase
Spy from Cairo, Dr Israel, Nickodemus, DJ Lil Tiger
10pm, $10 ADV/$12
Dominion—428 Lafayette St, New York

Thursday 09/15
Deadly Dragon Presents DTR in a Tribute to King Tubby
10pm, Free with RSVP
Happy Ending—302 Broome Street, New York

Friday 09/16
Dub Masterclass with Mad Professor—Workshop
6pm-7pm, Free with RSVP
@Dubspot—348 West 14th Street, New York

Friday 09/16
Dub Invasion meets Ariwa: Mad Professor
12am, 18+
$18 ADV/$20
The Knitting Factory—361 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn

Click here to view the embedded video.