PERTHQUAKE

What: Boomtick presents DCUP

Where: Ambar

When: 24 June 2011

Cost/Ticket details: $25+Bf, Boomtick shop

An A cup is fine if that’s your thing, but let’s be honest – it’s all about the DCUP.

If you ever wondered what you could bang out in a year, check out DCUPs ‘done’ list. In 12 months, he made a huge name for himself in the NuDisco scene in no small part to a wee little ditty with Yolanda Be Cool, ‘We Speak No Americano’. With a freaky unique brand of club ready, dancefloor heavy disco breaks, power synths and sugar-coated hooks, he’s turning up in a wide range of record bags.

The latest signee to Ajax’s record label, Sweat it Out, DCUP has drawn comparisons with Treasure Fingers, Miami Horror and Shazam. There’s no turning back.

His EP dropped, the major labels have come, wallet in hand, looking for DCUP to add his dose of funk fuelled disco to their releases, and everyone wants more. ‘We No Speak Americano’ totally took the world by storm, rocking clubs from the UK to Brussels to NYC, whilst in Australia receiving commercial radio play and topping the tastemakers ARIA Club Chart.

With an alternate techno moniker, HiBeams also on the cards, there’s no knowing what this man will come out with next, other than getting stuck in your head and rocking you all night at the Home of the Underground.

Supported by: DNGRFLD, Micah, Oli

What: Boomtick presents The Proxy

Where: Ambar

When: 9 June 2011

Cost/Ticket details: $30+Bf, TBA

The Proxy’s ascent to the top of what can only be described as Electro Rave has been rapid to say the least. From the ashes of the Soviet empire, his story reads like a Tolstoy from his native Russia’s enormous bookcase, and enormous is most certainly a word to use when describing The Proxy’s presence and command of a room demanding more. The best bit? This is only the beginning and already he’s THIS good.

From his hometown just outside Moscow, his passion for music started with breakdance and hip-hop before discovering his beloved Electronic music. DJing to hungry Russians in packed out clubs every weekend it wasn’t long before he discovered he could write as well as he could play. Thank Gorbachev – his own brand of experimental Electronic squeaks, beats, bass and other blends are now music to our ears.

Brazenly, he approached Boyz Noize and Tiga. Within 24 hours he had a contract from Tiga. Turbo Recordings had found its protégé.

The rest is history. He is now a man in demand, flying out from his Russian hometown every weekend to play. Supporters include music royalty such as Erol Alkan, Justice, Soulwax and the Ed Banger crew to name but a few.

His first single ‘Destroy’ became an immediate anthem, his follow-up ‘Decoy’ has been dubbed THE post-nu-rave anthem of 2008 and then came the hauntingly beautiful ‘Dance in Dark’. ‘Raven’ has torn up dance floors globally and as the world waits for the release of his debut album on Turbo, The Proxy continues to bring floors across the world to fever pitch.

It’s not often Ambar opens its doors on a Thursday – so join the Russian revolution that IS The Proxy.

What: Boomtick presents Yolanda Be Cool

Where: Ambar

When: 25 April 2011

Cost/Ticket details: $25, door sales

Talk about taking it to the top – with one record, Yolanda Be Cool are at the top of the music industry A-list.

‘We Speak No Americano’ (co-produced with DCUP) sold over 5 million copies. It was the highest selling single on the ARIA Charts in 2010. It hit radio waves, TV stations and every dance floor throughout the world. You’d need to be a Tarantino assassinated corpse to not have felt its impact in some form. Speaking of Tarantino – their name is a nod to the final scene in Pulp Fiction when Samuel L Jackson’s character yells to the crazed female gunwoman: “Yolanda Be Cool!”.

Johnson Peterson and Sylvester Martinez have demonstrated that with panache and production skills to back your work up, it’s possible to be an international smash without compromising yourself – instead choosing to stick with homegrown Aussie indie label; Ajax’s Sweat It Out.

Their productions have a distinctly tropical flavor and a fiercely educational attitude to sampling (who else do you know digs back through their crate to 1950s Italia?). Yolanda Be Cool has big room pull to pack out a festival, but as we know – they truly shine in venues like the Home of the Underground.

Expect big things.

Supported by JMC, Oli, Micah & Mono Lisa

What: Japan 4 feat. D*Funk

Where: Ambar

When: 23 April 2011

Cost/Ticket details: $15, door sales

Russell Crowe, Mel Gibson, Elle McPherson: all pseudo-Australians we like to take credit for and claim as our own. Add to that list breakbeat-a-tron, D*Funk.

Doug Masters, aka D*Funk, did all the hard yards on the south coast of England from the age of 14. Started off spinning jungle and techno before moving on to house, you know D*Funk has tried all the goods before settling in where the grass is greener – breakbeat.

Inspired by early Stanton Warriors stuff which fused breakbeat and house together, D*Funk stepped to this sound and kicked off his own night – Break Da House. It quickly established itself as one of the most essential nights out in the south, hosting top-notch acts like the Plump DJs, Stanton Warriors and Meat Katie. It was after striking up a friendship with one of the headline acts, the Dub Pistols Soundsystem, that spawned his first release, ‘Electrotek EP’.

Releases, remixes and rave reviews followed, as did a move to the other side of the world. Now D*Funk is set to bring his brand of beats to the Home of the Underground up alongside our award-winning Japan 4 crew. Get on board!

What: Meat Katie

Where: Ambar

When: 15 April 2011

Cost/Ticket details: $25+bf, perthquake store

Who loves Meat? Meat Katie, that is!

South West Londoner Mark Pember (AKA Meat Katie) is one of the OB (Original Breakbeat) crew. He’s jam-packed Ambar so many times over the last 10 years we’re considering giving him a key. His first record deal was with Iggy Pop’s Kill City Records (as a bass player in 3 piece skate punk band, Sandladder). Pember has also remixed for and collaborated with Arthur Baker, U.N.K.L.E, Boy George, Deep Dish, D.Ramirez, Peace Division, Chicken Lips, Robbie Rivera and James Zabelia, to name but a few. He’s got three diverse artist albums to his name (Off the Bone, Long to Belong, Vibrator) and one slated for release in March 2011.

In 2000, Mark also made a one off alternative album ‘Never The Less’ under the name Avenue A, a collaborative project with Jason O’Bryan co-producer with the Dub Pistols. It was this project which lead Mark to score the music for film adaptation of Martin Amis’ Dead Babies- an art house production by Gruber films (Shooting Fish, Waking Ned), starring Paul Bettany.

Let’s face it – we love Meat Katie the DJ and his tough, techy style. A world class performer with excellent technical ability and a great understanding of the dance- floor- in turn promoting a reputation that extends worldwide. His skills have led to paying bills by compile and mixing compilations for landmark series’ Bedrock Breaks, Fabric Live and most recently, Sessions for Ministry of Sound.

Not satisfied with being a world class DJ/producer the self-confessed workaholic also found time to set up and run his own highly influential LOT49 imprint with Dylan Rhymes (signed to the label are luminaries Elite Force, Lee Coombs, Dylan Rhymes, Vandal).

Meat Katie has perfected a crossover of techno, electro with a subtle breakbeat feel -Friday 15 April can’t come quick enough.

What: Japan 4 feat. Janette Slack

Where: Ambar

When: 9 April 2011

Cost/Ticket details: $15, door sales

Anyone who lists their interest as ‘Work hard and play hard, otherwise shut the f*ck up’ is welcome as a guest of Japan 4. Welcome, Janette Slack.

She’s a Mixmag future hero, the winner of the 2010 Pink Armada European female DJ competition and was hailed by DJ mag as the ‘top breakbeat gal’. Hong Kong-born Londoner Janette Slack rocks her residency as fetish night Torture Garden and she’s set to shine alongside our Breakbeat Elite for her debut performance at the Home of the Underground.

Slack’s upcoming compilation album for Torture Garden will give us a window into that world and you can bet it’s full of sexy naughtiness. Slack’s latest track ‘Slack in Black’ is a downright filthy electro-touched remix of AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ and caused waves around the world.

Her hybrid mix sets sit comfortably across breakbeat, electro, tech and house – that driving style that lights up the dancefloor like it’s been doused in petrol and lit with a box of matches. She sure knows how to hold a crowd in the palm of her hand – she took over from Annie Nightingale as the host of the International Breakspoll Awards in 2008.

She’s also hot. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

What: Peo De Pitte

Where: Ambar

When: 1 April 2011

Cost/Ticket details: $20, door sales

Hailing from Stockholm and living in London, Peo de Pitte’s been cooking up a storm with fresh tunes – he is indeed the Swede to feed you. His trademark combination of big room beats and cutting edge synth’s has resulted in making Peo one of the most exciting new producers to emerge out of Nordic-land since…IKEA.

It all started at the ripe old age of 13 when he got his first gig as a DJ on a radio station. Seriously. 13. The English-speaking nations got a whiff of Peo as he turned up the heat in breakbeat with three scorching viral remixes: Marcus Rambo’s’Bringing’, the Drummatic Twins’ ‘Crazy Love’ and his own ‘Be My Baby’. He notched up two nominations in the 2010 International Breakspoll Awards (Best Remix and Best Breakthrough Producer).

Mr de Pitte runs his own label FlatOut Records, home to both his two aliases, Peo de Pitte and Haggstrom, which have seen support on radio, in press and at the forefront on headline DJ’s sets right around the globe.

He’s toured Australia playing to full capacity clubs (including a sold-out debut at Major Break last year), slammed shows all around Europe and endless clubs in the UK such as Fabric, The Egg and Ministry of Sound and he also dropped a very special VIP set at Global Gathering.

His freshest single is the ‘Burning Up/Berlusconi’ (tongue-in-cheek political references a-go-go). Proving chesty coughs are the new cowbell; this is a beautiful and impressive mix of sub-bass and disco-beats.

Men want to be him. Women can’t help but dance to him. DJ’s and producers are literally queuing up to work with him.

Welcome to the world of Peo de Pitte.

What: Ajax

Where: Ambar

When: 18 March 2011

Cost/Ticket details: $15, door sales

One of Australia’s most skilled mashup maestros and favourite all-round DJs, Ajax, is set to ‘Sweat it Out’ at the Home of the Underground. Join us as we dedicate a Friday to the fun that is Adrian Thomas at Ambar, Friday 18 March.

What we know about Adrian Thomas; aka Ajax:

Voted into the Top 10 of ITM Top 50 every year since 2005 (#1 for two consecutive years),

Famous for cut and paste mixing style,

Drops dance floor rocking electro-mashups like no other,

Founding member of the Bang Gang collective,

Won – Best Mixed CD Mashed 2 Bang Gang at DJ’s Award,

Admired by the likes of Daft Punk, Busy P and Justice, labeling him as ‘one to watch in the future’,

Perth’s favourite Australian DJ, hitting our town for sell-out club shows and slots on Big Day Out and Parklife festivals for nearly a decade.

What we’ve discovered about Adrian Thomas; aka Ajax:

Started Sweat It Out – a record label, booking agency, some-time party place and all round sweat house. Artists on the label include Yolanda Be Cool, D Cup, Act Yo Age, Pablo Calamari, KillaQueenz, Redial, Oh Snap!, Edu K, Loot n Plunder, Ajax (!) and many more,

Nickname used to be Thommo,

Was a lecturer at art school before ditching the clay and picking up the vinyl,

No longer borrows money from his mum,

Ego spiralled out of control while remixing Princess Superstar, Midnight Juggernauts and the Valentinos,

Quite fancies the moustache.

The fight between art and Ajax continues – expect an explosive and intriguing evening!

What: Dubstep Invasion Tour feat. Kid Kenobi

Where: Ambar

When: 5 March 2011

Cost/Ticket details: $15, door sales

Yep, yep – it’s time for some dubstep (with Kid Kenobi!).

Is dubstep is taking over the dance music scene? It’s certainly the most talked about genre of 2011: tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals. Britney Spear’s new album is set to be full of it with Rusko at the production helm, Magnetic Man (Skream, Benga and Artwork) is the most hyped act of the decade and dubstep events and festivals are taking over the country (nay, world).

At the Australian helm is none other than Kid Kenobi (ITM50 #1 DJ in ‘03, ‘04 & ‘05). With a high profile spot on the 2011 Big Day Out tour around the corner, and a proven ability to champion breaking genres (see his top selling 2002 Clubber’s Guide To Breaks release), The Kid brings heavyweight credentials to the just-relased Dubstep Invasion album. He’s joined by newcomers Glovecats for two discs of fierce sub sonic mayhem.

The Kid is set to tour the nation, saturating the country with the dubstep – and you’re invited when the Invasion hits the Home of the Underground.

What: Ambar's Birthday

Where: Ambar

When: 18 February 2011

Cost/Ticket details: 15 door sales

What better way to start our birthday celebrations than by welcoming the First Lady of breakbeat back to the Home of the Underground?

Lady Waks is the best thing to come out of Russia since Smirnoff. Kick starting her career as a Hip-Hop radio show host, Lady Waks was the driving force behind the Russian breakbeat massive ‘In Beats We

Trust’ (voted best club night by TimeOut Magazine). She’s also responsible for Breaks Arena – o…ne of Europe’s biggest breakbeat only festivals.

Her infamous 2007 release ‘Minimal’ – received accolades the industry over, being lauded by scene stalwarts Krafty Kuts and Soul of Man, and nominated for Best Single at the 2008 Breakspoll Awards. She followed it up with ‘Shake It’, ‘Records Back’, ‘Ya Booty’ and ‘Take It Easy’.

Lady Waks first popped our cherry at Ambar in 2008 and returned for a stellar performance at Breakfest 2009. Since then she’s toured the world over, been busy in the studio, curated In Beat We Trust and created a wee Baby Waks!

With tremendous success and experience under her belt, this is your opportunity to see this Russian icon at Ambar as she celebrates our birthday weekend with us!

Lady Waks is the birthday candle on our cake – stay tuned for the 10th anniversary firecracker!

Supported by: Tee El, Ben Mac and Blend, Micah and Mono Lisa.