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+ 2009 / JANUARY / THE BUG + WARRIOR QUEEN + RHYTHM & SOUND

VOID Civil Society, Inertia and Sydney Festival are proud to present the debut Australian performances of two of the most prolific and unmistakable outfits in electronic music, The Bug featuring Warrior Queen from the Ninja Tune label and the legendary and mysterious German techno dub collective Rhythm & Sound - the creative force behind Basic Channel, Chain Reaction and Maurizio.

On Saturday January 24, The Beck’s Festival Bar is set to erupt into a sonic field of deep, dark and brilliant future dub. London/Jamaican act The Bug featuring Warrior Queen debut with their mix of Ragga, Dancehall, Hip Hop and Garage set to Dubstep and Grime arrangements. Berlin outfit Rhythm & Sound’s stripped down, rootsy, hi-tech dub/techno has earned them legendary status – joining Mark Ernestus (half of Rhythm & Sound, Basic Channel and Maurizio with Moritz Von Oswald*) is their regular collaborator the enigmatic Dominican vocalist Tikiman (aka Paul St. Hilaire). To compliment this unique ensemble of artists is a stellar local line-up. Mark Pritchard representing the Warp Record label, Sub Bass Snarl, Victim and Garage Pressure team up with vocalist’s Steve Spacek and Ozi Batla to make Saturday January 24 at Beck’s bar the biggest date on the calendar this summer.

Saturday 24th January 2009.
SYDNEY. Becks Festival Bar, Hyde Park Barracks.
The Bug and Warrior Queen with Rhythm & Sound (Berlin)
Tickets $38+bf from..

THE BUG

When it comes to making beats, Kevin Martin (aka. The Bug) is as prolific as he is diverse. He has performed as part of groups Techno Animal, Ice and God – all alongside longtime associate, Justin Broadrick (ex-Napalm Death, Godflesh, Jesu) – as well as Razor X Productions alongside The Rootsman and King Midas Sound. He runs his own Pathological Records imprint; he’s has collaborated with the likes of El-P, Kevin Shields and Antipop Consortium; he’s recorded for labels ranging from Rephlex and Hyperdub to Virgin and City Slang; and he’s been personally asked to remix work by Thom Yorke, Grace Jones, Einsturzende Neubauten and Primal Scream. A producer, who as of late, has been associated with London’s (and now internationally) vibrant Dub Step scene. However for a lot of others, it’s the current state of mutation for rogue producer Kevin Martin, and his projects current association with Dub-Step is just a small and almost inconsequential detail in the greater lineage of his career, as his sound defies easy categorization and has been increasing in mass and imagination with each and every new decibel pumped recording.

Further Reading:
www.elasticartists.net/w/node/6?id=948
www.ninjatune.net/ninja/artist.php?id=135
www.myspace.com/thebuguk

RHYTHM AND SOUND (MARK ERNESTUS)

Mark and Moritz established themselves as pioneers of techno in the early 90s with Basic Channel and collaborations with Jeff Mills and Carl Craig et al. Basic Channel’s ground breaking aesthetic changed the shape of the genre. Rhythm & Sound is the realization of the collective’s desire to take the sound of Basic Channel to its next logical conclusion. This evolution developed the dub-reggae bass lines of their earlier techno work to create a new sound in dub. This new creative endeavour is challenging the norms of the dub in the same groundbreaking manner they did to Detroit style techno a decade earlier.While still drawing on the techno elements from their past, Rhythm & Sound is a move from the dancefloor-orientated techno sound to a dub-reggae aesthetic – a move which signaled a shift in both the collective and in the wider European dub community. During this period of development Rhythm & Sound garnered the support of Dominican born, Berlin based vocalist Tikiman whose singular ‘broken’ voice has made him a highly in-demand artist in Europe’s dub and electronic music scene. Cited as a major influence on Dubstep by the leading lights of Dubstep - Burial, Kode 9, Pinch and many others - Rhythm & Sound have once again been able to carve a new niche for themselves and change the shape of a genre.

Further Reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Channel
http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/132/
http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/on_first_listen/basic-channel.htm

TIKIMAN(PAUL ST. HILIARE)

Paul St. Hilaire is an important part of the Berlin reggae and dub scene. Born in Grandbay on the Caribbean Island of Dominica, he began to make music in his early childhood and became an excellent vocalist and musician. In 1993 he produced the CD ‘Angels Of Music’ with his band ‘Golden Squad’ in the Caribbean island of Martinique. Eight years ago, Tikiman sets up his base in Berlin during a tour through Europe. The association with the reggae band ‘Livin’ Spirits’ as a singer and their packed concert schedule made Tikiman known all over Germany. He recorded the CD ‘Promotion’ and the Maxi ‘Rain’ with ‘Livin’ Spirits.’A very strong relationship links Tikiman to the ‘Rhythm & Sound’ team of Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus - the founders of the worldwide renown cult labels ‘Basic Channel’ and ‘Chain Reaction.’ Their famous minimalistic sound-scapes and Tikiman’s flowing roots-reggae vocals melt to a fascinating futuristic aesthetic in the CD-productions ‘Showcase’ and ‘Round One To Round Five’ and ‘With the Artists’ (top 50 record of the year for The Wire magazine) on Basic Channel’s sub-labels ‘Burial Mix’ and ‘Main Street Records.’

WARRIOR QUEEN

Warrior Queen is one of the most in-demand vocalists on the Dubstep, dancehall and grime scenes at present. She has released records with Skream, The Bug, Kode9, DJ Zinc and many more on labels such as Rephlex, Soul Jazz, Hyperdub, Tempa, Casual and more. Warrior Queen began her career in Jamaica, MCing on her uncles soundsystem in Kingston and quickly elevating to releasing dancehall tracks on the Penthouse label. Since first releasing records in the UK she has worked with some of the finest underground producers in the country.