Ginger DJ Rob

Some deep tech house flavours for your fried brains. Fryday Knight by Gingerdj on Mixcloud

Unbelievably I've only discovered this track and cannot get enough of it. Looks like there's only vinyl format unless anyone else can point me in the right direction.

The beatboxing, multi-instrument playing music supremo was on top form. Loved his intro as he surprised the up-for-it crowd walking down past the audience and inviting interaction with the mic. He was joined with 3 guys doing visuals who mixed up searched for Google Images which worked well. I had expected to hear him mimic well-known dance tracks in his own beatbox style. Instead the show encouraged the crowd to shout out ideas of made-up song titles and musical styles to make up songs. This worked well up to a point but I sensed either the crowd were more used to his past shows of get-up-and-dance or were getting too drunk and leery with predictable suggestions. Don't get me wrong, his performance was excellent. I felt the show's format needed some variation and perhaps a standing room-only venue so people could dance. It might have been the wookie reggae song that was my favourite.

Thanks to friend Sukey for nagging us to buy tickets and go to this audio\visual splendor. Turned up way too early though and could have avoided bunking off work an hour early. The support DJ Ital Tek played a sort of drum and bass set which didn't really interest the crowd. Although I was aware of Tobin's performances I'd never actually listened to his music so did some YouTube listening. Good to see some video game soundtrack on his CV via Splinter Cell but it was certainly music that you would listen to rather than dance to. His set started with a massive black curtain unveiling his white cubic set with projected visuals. I was reminded of Etienne De Crecy's cube visuals we'd seen years ago but Amon Tobin had taken it to the next level.  His first half was the money-shot with a spaceship theme and cinematic electronic music. Tobin could be seen in the centre of the cubed wall with a clever switchable see-through screen whenever he wanted to show himse...

Sunday was a packed day of London sightseeing with almost a minute by minute travel schedule. Rolled up to Holborn at around 12pm to see the Mr Brainwash exhibition expecting the door to open at 11am only to find a sign saying opening at 1pm. Bah! Instead I had a back-up plan to watch the Men's Marathon down on bankside. With it being such a nice warm day, Londoners were packing in to see the long-distance runners. Managed to see the race just opposite the drinks pick up point. Funny to see all the pro-photographers in the lorry in front. Menier Chocolate Factory Restaurant Next on the list was lunch at the Menier Chocolate Factory Restaurant for 1:30pm. It was almost deserted when we got there but this soon filled up to capacity. Next to us was an US actor who kept us trying to guess which film or TV show we'd seen him before. Starters was the sharing platter but for two people it was a little greedy. The ham hock with chutney was a highlight. My main was t...

First of all, thank you to those who came along to make our first Sonic Sushi night a success. We had a blast and from the grins and giggles of those dancing, looks like you had a good one too. We didn't quite expect the crowd to want it quite so hard and fast but you all lapped it up like tech-house nymphs! As well as our normal party crowd it was great to see and meet some new friends including some from my hometown (Dereham) in Norfolk. Hopefully the venue will get their air-conditioning to work otherwise we'll have to bring in even more fans (the blowing kind). We've already been asked back but haven't quite decided when's the date. If you missed the opening set of Sonic Sushi by myself, gingerdj at the Globe then look no further (well look a little further than this awkward statement...its below here, right.) House set - Sonic Sushi at the Globe (Brighton) 15/10/2011 by Gingerdj on Mixcloud   ...

A date for your diaries: 15th October 2011 will be my first public DJ appearance in Brighton! Along with (secret after-party Disco Dungeon regular, Porntsar (or Kev to his mates) we'll be taking our bouncey, positive house music to the Globe Pub on Middle Street in Brighton . For a taster of the sounds we will be playing visit my Mixcloud page (gingerdj) . Both Porntsar and myself use Traktor and Native Instrument's excllent Kontrol S4 and plan to link our two laptops and controllers to mix 8 channels. Inspired by Xpress 2's legendary 6 deck DJ performaces future Sonic Sushi play outs could involve multiple sound, sample, loops and effects.

If it hadn't been for Underworld , I doubt any of us would have gone to South West Four festival on Clapham Common . The previous few times we'd been it had a slightly shambolic organisation and the crowd were getting less interested in the dancing and music aspect and more about the getting twatted and annoying others. Looking back through my blog and it seems that the last time was 2005 titled 'Cheesy daytime disco' ! Although the line-up was great, the organisers of SW4 really did skimp on the essentials such as tents that have enough room for people to actually dance instead of constantly being jostled and barged into by others and security staff who could give a fu*k. But it was the sound levels that were the main issue and according to South West Four website it was 'restrained by conditions set on us by the (Lambeth) Council'. First thing that put us in a bad mood was the queue. Seemed that the vast majority of those attending arrived after lunchtime...

Although I've lived in Brighton for fours years this was the first time I've been able to see the Brighton Pride Parade. Starting at 11am from Madeira Drive it snakes its way up West Street then down North Street turning left past Old Steine and down to Preston Park via London Road. We staked out a good shaded spot along Gloucester Place. It must have taken nearly an hour to reach us but it was worth the weight in gold glitter. There were some excellent costumes and some cheeky moments. The local police got a nice cheer after the riots business last week. Surprised to see many politcial parties having their own float and dressing up as outlandish as possible keeping within the brief of 'Out of this world' with so many sci-fi and alien costumes. This year's Pride was no longer a free event at Preston Park (at £12 pre-booked or £18 cash entry). I didn't really enjoy it the other year , mainly because of the soaking wet rain that drowned even the highest platfor...

Birthday celebrations for Emski and Affy at the Disco Dungeon. Two new mixes from the night: Before Midnight mix by Gingerdj on Mixcloud After Midnight mix by Gingerdj on Mixcloud

There's some tasty tunes out there at the moment which have inspired me to do some DJing. First of all I've created a new chart of my recent downloads. I have a couple of DJ mixes out there on Mixcloud. First one is a 30 minute 'studio' mix for some competitions I've entered with. I say 'studio' but I actually mean dining room table. Sonic Screw-up by Gingerdj on Mixcloud The second mix is a live one direct from the Disco Dungeon for Paul's birthday party. It starts off quite tame after Paul's house mix then adds more tech-house influences. Quite pleased with this one as the crowd enjoyed it too. Double-D Mayor in the house mix by Gingerdj on Mixcloud

So loving this!

To open the Great Escape festival , DJ Shadow brought his Shadowsphere for some top trip hop sounds and AV delights. We arrived just after the doors opened expecting an early show but were treated to two very good support acts. No idea who the first act was but he did manage to whoop up the small crowd with his guitar and sampler set. Beardyman I was a virgin before hearing him but for a first time Beardyman broke me in good and sore for more. I knew he was talented but his range of beatboxing and bang-on accurate rap impressions were excellent. He had such stage presence and confidence that you couldn't help but smile and laugh at his mouth-making beats. There was no mention of McVities though though he'd probably never buy a packet of biscuits again! Personal highlight was his rendition of Daft Punk's Around the World. The Shadow appears All throughout the support acts there was a sphere structure on stage but no mixing table for the Shadow. After Beardyman...

Some new and recent cracked open tunes in a pecking order of clucking! Number 1 for this month for me is Antranig - 'Back That Up' on Subliminal US . If you can't view or hear the chart see my GingerDJ April Chart on Juno Download Related articles My first Juno Download chart (gingerdjrob.com)

Trying to revive my DJing interest and have been busy downloading new tunes. Love Juno Download 's web services and have created this chart - ooh get me and my top 10 tunes. Its a start anyway. If the embedded app doesn't show then you can see my ' March-ing on! - Between tech-prog-house' chart at the juno website. I also did a small mix last night. After some technical issues with Traktor (downloaded some updates which solved the problem) I managed to put something together. I steered away from any FXs after my Street Fighter II overkill last time. Enjoy. Nexus 1_2011 by Gingerdj on Mixcloud

I'm sure Laurent Garnier played this tune when he was DJing at the Brighton Concorde2 last year. Anyway, you could say this my record of the month, not that I've ever had a record of the month but perhaps I should from now on. Anyway, turn up your speakers or your headphones for this fantastic techno record with a great spoken vocal by smoking Howard Marks and a bassline with a killer attitude. Related articles Techno Francais and Electro Glam (gingerdjrob.com) DVD review: Mr Nice starring Rhys Ifans (mirror.co.uk)

Birthday Set 1 by Gingerdj on Mixcloud

I thought it might have been a sad day when I sold my Technics SL1200s but it wasn't. The cash came in really handy for the gamble to go completely digital. I've been DJing with Virtual DJ 6.0 for a couple of years but I never quite had the control or flexibility to really inspire me. Sometimes tracks wouldn't beat sync right and the TK Filter FX would cause a program crash or trip out the amp. I can now say that the gamble has paid off and that with some hours put in can come away with an addictive smile after buying my new toy, the Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S4. Check out this video to see its magic spinning: Ok, so the guy in the video is a bit hot on DJing but after a few goes at the Traktor Kontrol I've already mastered some new tricks I'd never thought I could do. So, some detailed analysis. The set up was relatively easy by loading up the CD then upgrading to the newer version (requiring some hefty memory). I've since found that the syst...

Typical isn't it?! Last weekend proved that getting to see good DJs and live music is like waiting for buses i.e. you wait ages then two roll up at the same time. Friday night was a masterclass in live techno performance from the French legend, Laurent Garnier at Concorde 2. It was a mature crowd but an up-for-it one packing out the venue. He was joined to two fellow Frencies, Scan X and Benjamin Rippert Rocco who built up a Detroit, melodic sound then peaking the sound effects into a right royal rave-up. We couldn't remove our smiles. The 3 man set lasted for about 30 minutes then Laurent Garner DJ'ed for another 30 whipping up the crowd into a frenzy through sounds of tech-house, techno, some jazzy mutations and my personal highlight, his Acid Eiffel (listen below and educate your ears!). By 2am, we needed some air but made the (regrettable) decision to leave with the next day's Vietnam cycle training and Goldfrapp performance the next night. Goldfrapp at the ...

Earlier this week, Disney offered its Tron Legacy Facebook fans a chance to see 23 minutes of the forthcoming film at a number of chosen cinemas. You have to register with the Disney website for marketing purposes but true fans will know its worth it. Thankfully, Brighton Cineworld was one of dozen or so venues and we'll be seeing this next Thursday (28th October). Watch this space for a review. ElecTRONica opening night photos The Facebook fan page also has the photos from the opening of their Disneyland resort area, ElecTRONica which look really cool. The podium dancers and green lasers look great. Wonder if they sell the new Tron suits? IMAX 3D cinema showing I read that the US IMAX cinemas are starting to sell out of the early showings. In a small panic, I've emailed the London IMAX to see when they'll be releasing tickets themselves. Will update you by Twitter/Facebook. Daft Punk played live last night! Found this lovely poster too of the robot gods, Daf...