It’s always a buzz when you find that you have a connection with an artist you admire; it somehow feels like it brings you a little bit closer to understanding them and their work.

I’ve been a fan of anime screenwriter Dai Sato ever since his work on Cowboy Bebop, and more recently enjoyed his writing on the OVA Freedom. Those of you that follow my ramblings on Twitter will probably remember me flipping out recently when I stumbled across the list of episode titles for his series Eureka 7, and wondered what the hell I was going on about. So Sato-san had named the episodes after some songs? Big deal. Not the first time it’s happened in anime, and it almost certainly won’t be the last.

The thing was, Sato hadn’t picked a bunch of well known pop songs, the majority of the tracks he’d chosen were underground house and techno classics from the 1990s – and more to the point, some of my favourite records of all time. Looking at that list triggered an instant flashback to my younger years, times when I would go partying for days on end, memories of long summer beat-filled nights and dreams of being a superstar DJ. These are records I own, still, on vinyl – and although there are never played anymore they sit next to me right now – as parting with them would be like letting go of part of my past. And with Sato-san being only a few years older than me, I can only assume the same music is part of his past too.

I only just started to actually watch Eureka 7 this weekend, and was thrilled to find the musical references weren’t limited to just the titles, but are littered throughout the script. I’ll post my views on the show when I’ve watched more – but so far based on the opening episodes it seems like an interesting, but fairly standard coming-of-age mecha-drama – which is just fine by me, seeing as the music he references was pretty much the soundtrack of my own coming-of-age story. Sadly the music itself didn’t make it into the show – whether for licensing reasons or that the studio didn’t feel it was appropriate – so for those of you who have no idea what I’m going on about, below is a selection of the tunes that we apparently both love.

Maybe one day I’ll get to meet Sato-san and we can talk about music. Maybe one day he’ll come round here and we can flick through my vinyl collection together. It’s pretty damn unlikely. Not that it really matters though, I’m happy enough right now just knowing the connection is there.

808 State – ‘Pacific State’

Hardfloor – ‘Aceperience 1′

F.U.S.E – ‘Substance Abuse’

Jeff Mills – ‘Changes of Life’

Tuff Little Unit – ‘Join the Future’

Red Planet – ‘Star Dancer’

Primal Scream – ‘Higher than the Sun’

Rhythim is Rhythim – ‘The Beginning’

LFO – ‘We Are Back’

The Beastie Boys – ‘Sure Shot’

It had been far too long since the last time I made it down to Bristol’s live graffiti night Weapon of Choice, so last night I actually managed to get off my backside and represent. King Audel & Dirty30 were the resident live painters for the night, with music provided by – amongst others – Asaviour & DJ IQ and light hearted Bristol hip-hop crew Hairy Parents. If you haven’t heard of the latter then you need to go hit that link and check them out now – clearly UK rap needs more West Country accents to survive.

Sadly I had to leave before midnight due to old-sodness, so I didn’t see the final result of the painting, but I did manage to grab a few shots of the work in progress – see below, plus lots more on my Facebook album. Props again to the WoC for hosting a great night, and a reminder that if you’re ever in the area and have even a passing interest in graf or hip hop you owe yourself to get down there and check it out.

UPDATED: I actually picked up the book this was taken from when i was in Tokyo – check out lots more images here.

This is just very cool: classic headphone designs modeled by anime girls. Click for a bigger versh.

Courtesy of Global Nerdy.

Not wanting to get peoples hopes up too much, but according to the Daily Mail Rider could be getting out in just a few weeks:

The 43-year-old is included on a list of possible pardons which will be dealt with during Ramadan, which falls in September. A spokesman for the DJ’s management said: ‘He’s bearing up but desperate to get out.’

Fingers crossed, stay tuned for more.

Another month, another Intrigue…

But a slightly special one this time, for me at least. Not only was it the launch party for the new D-Bridge album, but second on the bill was Belfast drum and bass deity Calibre. Anyone that knows me in person knows how my appreciation of the man’s production skills borders on the near obsessional, but surprisingly I’d never seen him DJ before, managing to miss his previous, fairly rare appearances in Bristol. Despite a heavy week and feeling pretty whacked out, there was no chance I was going to miss him doing a 2 hour set at my favourite night.

And getting in the club just after eleven, it was obvious I wasn’t the only one – with the place already close to rammed while guest DJ Tasha rolled out the warm-up set. By the time The Insiders themselves took control it was wall to wall in there, with Joe and Ben dropping their usual, precise selection of deep D&B, gulley b-lines and the occasional dubstep slo-mo breakdown. Anticipation for the headliners was visibly building though, with Calibre (featuring newly enhanced hair) and DRS stepping up at just after 1am. Even just a few minutes into their two hour set it was clear they weren’t going to disappoint; DRS chatting over Calibre’s signature mix of dubby FX, soundtrack samples and fresh jazzy breaks. Even with a perfect mix of previews from his new LP Overflow, unreleased dubs and old crowd pleasing classics, I was flagging by 3am, and am embarrassed to say I had to bail before D-Bridge hit the decks. Like I’ve said before, I must be getting old, but I’ll still be back next month…

Big thanks to The Insiders, the chilled as ever Dojo staff and everyone that made it such a buzzing night….as always…

I had an excellent Easter weekend, but since it ended I’ve had an evil motherfucker of a head cold, with mucus seeping into every part of already feeble brain, especially the parts which deal with blogging, apparently. Hence the brief and sporadic nature of recent posts, and why over the next couple of days I’ll be trying to catch up with events from over the weekend.

First up: on Saturday, despite recovering from Friday’s session at Intrigue, we managed to venture out to see the legendary DJ Derek. For those of you unfamiliar with Derek, the 60-something, white, ex-accountant is something of an institution in Bristol, being one of the city’s leading reggae DJs and hailed as a huge influence by the likes of Massive Attack. Not that he limits himself to just reggae – Saturday’s brilliant set covered soul, funk, reggae and even some house – all played off minidisc. Not someone that’s worried about the vinyl vs CDs debate, apparently. But then he’s not worried about mixing either; preferring to get on the mike and introduce each track in his distinctive, infamous Brizzle-meets-Jamaica patois, harking back to to the traditional sound system style of DJing.

It was actually my first time seeing Derek in Bristol (I’d seen him at festivals before), and also my first time at The Thunderbolt, despite it being within stumbling distance of my home. Seems like a nice enough place, suitably grimy with friendly staff and a decent enough sound system. Ace crowd too, slightly older than I’m used to in student-infested Bristol, but completely up for the beats Derek was dropping. Plus it was nice to find out where the local crusties, ciderpunks and BoHo MILFs all hang out…

Picture courtesy of Tomahawk, because I forgot my camera…

Ugghh, maybe I’m finally getting too old for this shit.

Feeling more than a little battered this morning, after my regular monthly session down at Intrigue @ The Dojo Lounge here in Bristol. Run by local producers/DJs The Insiders, it’s getting a rep as not only the best DnB night in Brizzle but also one of the finest nights for deep, progressive, future-thinking vibes in the country. With term just over and no students around the crowd was perhaps a little subdued last night with few regulars to be seen, but that didn’t stop Marcus Intalex rolling out a blinding set that covered everything from soulful, jazzy beats and the Detroit influenced sound he’s best known for, to dark, glitchy, bass heavy rumblers. Plus DRS on mike duties made for a killer-combo. And not forgetting it was Ben from The Insiders’ Birthday, it was a buzzing night. I set out to take a pile of photos, but I kinda got, erm, distracted. So all I have is the handful below. Thanks to Ben and Joe for a great night (as always), and to Marcus for sorting out the guest list.

Now I’m off to find somewhere quiet to lie down…

Cat Le-Huy, 31, head of technology for Big Brother makers Endemol, finally returned home last Thursday after being thrown behind bars on a holiday in the UAE in January, also for cannabis possession. He had less than 0.03 grams – about the same weight as a grain of salt, apparently – in his suitcase. What’s also interesting is that he shared a cell with Grooverider.

He’s told his side of the story to the Hampstead and Highgate Express, and it doesn’t make for very happy reading. It sounds pretty grim in there. Again, my best wishes to Rider and all his friends and family.

Got out and about last night – dropped into “Weapon of Choice” – a live graffiti jam at Mr Wolf’s – a little bar here in Bristol. Couple of drinks, some nice beats and some, erm, entertaining rhymes from Nerdcore rapper MC Nucleuz – all whilst local graf talent Lokey and Cheo busied away making some art. Originally headed down there under the premiss of doing research for a short story I’m writing about near-future AR graf artists, but ended up having too much of a laugh to care about all that. Did fire off a whole bunch of photos though, so check the links below or hit the Flickr slideshow for even more…

UAI news site 7 Days has the first interview with UK drum and bass legend Grooverider since he was imprisoned for four years for smuggling cannabis into Dubai…well, the charge was for smuggling, but the DJ had about a spliff’s worth on him, apparently by accident.

As always, my thoughts go out to Rider and his family. Hold tight.