In a city where electronic music has been a predominant sound over the last 14 years, its been hard to keep the formula fresh, but the advantage of having a collective team who have raved in this city for a number of those years we understand what it takes to bring back what the foundation of electronic dance music was based on.
We understand the culture of dance music, we know what it is that the general public expects, however the reality is that you can only do the best with what you’ve got, sometimes we nail it sometimes we don’t. What we can promise you is that our passion and drive is nothing more than to get the scene back on track.
Brown Alley has always been a venue that supports underground dance music, it may be a venue that has let people down at times, but it has also been a venue that has had nights to remember, friendships that were made, and experiences that were shared. Music is what brings us all together, and all that we can promise you is that every day we will push and work towards improving your clubbing experience, be it from the local DJ to the person with their hands up in the air in the front row, we would love all of your support and involvement.
The approach is is going to be different this time, the approach is going to be Brown Alley presents,
No brands, no labels, just one collective.
We are proud to announce..
James Zabiela [UK]
Tom Budden [UK]
Robert Hood [USA]
Midland [UK]
Plus: Phil K, Dave Pham, Rollin Connection, Craig McWhinney, Sam McEwin, Muska, Jon Beta, Alam, Ace Stojevski, Caine Sinclair + More
JAMES ZABIELA [UK]
“Watching James Zabiela play should remind everyone that DJing is a performance art as much as it is being the purveyor of great musical sequences. The man (is a Dalek!) is an inspiration to his peers and his apprentices.”
Pete Tong, Spring 2009
The “glistening sonics” of electronic music enticed a grunge loving 16 year old James Zabiela to his first set of belt drive turntables some years ago, fast forward to 2010 and James is one of the most prolific DJs and producers on the planet. Over the last 10 years he has played endless gigs the world over, some era defining like his ongoing (8 years and counting) residency at Space in Ibiza to one off shows like Exit Festival 2006 where Goldie MC’d over his set. James has released critically acclaimed compilations on various labels including Renaissance and Ministry of Sound; In 2009, James released The Masters Series, an audio diary of 3 months in the life of James. It out-sold all its predecessors, rode high in both UK & USA iTunes stores and received top reviews from across the board. His remixes (official and otherwise) hold the same esteem, commissioned remix artists include Ladytron and Spooky, not to mention killer bootlegs like his amazing meld of Radiohead and Joris Voorn. Other singles include Robophobia, Weird Science, The Darkness EP and Perseverance EP.
His style spans house, tech-house, techno, melodic sound-scapes and breaks whilst he still cites Depeche Mode as one of his major influences he also finds time for the likes of Extrawelt, Modeselektor, Paul Woolford, Apparat and Phil K amongst others. A deep understanding of what makes electronic music tick; he’s also constantly pushing the technical side of his art, both in the studio and during live performances. So it’s no surprise that the Japanese engineers from Pioneer came to James’ house to pick his brains; an alliance that James is deeply honoured to be part of. In 2006 James was awarded the People's Choice accolade as 'Best International DJ' at the Australian Dance Music Awards. In 2007 he was awarded the Best British DJ at the DJ Mag Best of British DJ Awards while 2007 and 2008 saw James sit in the top 20 of the world famous DJ Mag Top 100. 2010 sees the release of a follow-up to The Masters Series in which James Zabiela and Renaissance have joined forces again to develop a very exciting new concept to release The Masters Series: Life. The compilation once again features James’ field recordings from around the globe and will be given away FREE at all of James’ headlining club shows beginning March 12, 2010.
ROBERT HOOD [USA]
“Before I got into this music I wanted to be an originator ; I wanted to be original”.
Robert Hood needs little introduction. Founding member of the legendary group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister Of Information' with ‘Mad’ Mike Banks & Jeff Mills, his seminal works on Jeff Mill's Axis and his very own M-Plant imprint paved the way for a wave of stripped-down dancefloor minimalism that directed much of techno's path throughout the late Nineties.
Robert Hood makes minimal Detroit techno with an emphasis on soul and experimentation over flash and popularity. Having recorded for Metroplex, Jeff Mills' Axis label, as well as Patrick Pulsingers 'Cheap' label, Peacefrog, and more recently Music Man, Hood also owns and operates the M-Plant imprint, through which he's released the bulk of his solo material. He has only released 2 ever CD mixes one for French label Logistic, and a mix for the club 'Fabric' mix series
"Growing up in Detroit, I grew up with Motown in the house - a lot of Motown and Philadelphia soul, artists like Marvin Gaye of course and Curtis Mayfield. I remember Isaac Hayes, the soundtrack from ‘Shaft’ had come out. My father was a jazz musician; he played piano, trumpet and drums. My mother was in an R’n’B group. We listened to a lot of Motown - in fact, my grandfather’s first cousin is Berry Gordy. "I was influenced by my father - I wanted to play trumpet like he did." Robert's father tragically died when he was just 6. The photo of Robert siting down holding a trumpet is his fathers. "I had to beg my grandmother to let me borrow the trumpet to take a picture with it"
In the early 90's he began to concentrate on his own production 'Vision EP', the 'Riot EP' and X-102 were big stepping-stones for him as they were the first releases he worked 100% on his own. The X-101 to X-102, were Waveform Transmission projects with Mills for Tresor. He slowly progressed to work more and more on his own, but collaberated on some of the first Axis releases with label owner Jeff Mills as H&M (Hood & Mills) with ‘Tranquilizer EP’ and ‘Drama’.
He soon decided it was time for him to start his own label to focus on what was in his soul musically. M-Plant started in ’94. I had developed this “grey area” sound - what I mean by that is that in Detroit, even when the sun is out, there’s something in the atmosphere. I don’t know if its pollution or whatever, but the sky has that grey haze over it. It’s got to be something from the industrial factories there. I’d never really heard a sound like that before and it came from a Roland Juno - it was a chord sound that really went along with my depiction of what Detroit was at that time. A lot of buildings were abandoned and there was a lot of lifelessness in the city, especially downtown. The M-Plant, in minimalism, kind of reflected that. I remember thinking of Detroit like a museum. You know, like a work of art standing still, suspended in time. There wasn’t a whole lot of activity going on.
Releasing singles such as "Internal Empire,", “The Protein Valve” "Music Data," and "Moveable Parts", "The Pace", more recently "Range", "Alpha" and that isn't even touching his other monikers Floorplan, Monobox, The Vision, etc.
"M-Plant is what I've always wanted to hear: the basic stripped down, raw sound. Just drums, basslines and funky grooves and only what's essential. Only what is essential to make people move. I started to look at it as a science, the art of making people move their butts, speaking to their heart, mind and soul. “It's a heart-felt rhythmic techno sound. M-Plant is just M. minimal. “
Although his desire to remain underground has been replaced by an urge to reach a wider audience, Hood remains fiercely critical of artistic and economic movements destructive to inner-city communities and has combined his musical enterprises with outreach and social activist ends. With this in mind the seminal ‘Nighttime World Pt.1’ in 1995 and ‘Nighttime World Pt.2’ in 2000 incorporating Jazz, Soul, Hip Hop as well as Techno and House.
"These days I am focussed purely on minimalism and really embracing minimalism, because it’s taken on a life of its own. It’s now a music style separate from techno. I would never have imagined that it would take this direction. I didn’t see that one coming! I saw minimalism in life becoming more and more evident - in furniture, in electronics, in art, in automobiles, appliances - you know I could see that coming. But, as far as music itself being thought of now as an art form? Back then, I think people looked on at it as a trend but they didn’t realise that minimalism is an art form. I did not realise it would take on this characteristic as it has now. So, where I’m at right now is embracing minimalism and seeing how far I can push it - in my interpretation of what simplicity and the music is all about. I am really representing it as an art form and not a trend. As the future evolves, we’re going to get more and more minimal"
MIDLAND [UK]
Midland made his 2010 debut alongside longtime friend Pearson Sound aka Ramadanman with their anthemic track "Your words matter. The pair wove, defied, and played a number of genres and, in doing so, Midland laid a clear foundation stone for his vision of how electronic music could be. It is a sound that is rooted in House & Techno but with the rumbling low end of Dubstep and wide screen experimentation of electronica.
His contribution to the esteemed Fact Mix Series further demonstarted this diversity and with bringing influences from accross the sonic and musical board. His subsequent releases on Phonica, and More Music as well as remixes for Ninja Tune, Werk Discs, Southern Fried, and PRM have gained fans from many different avenues of electronic music. With wide ranging and soplid support from DJ's including Sasha, Mary Anne Hobss and Giles Peterson as well as solo and collaborative work wih artists like Pariah and Ben Westbeech, Midland's intriguing, off beat story has just begun.
TOM BUDDEN [UK]
The rise of Tom Budden epitomises what can be achieved when a dance music obsessive
channels all that dancefloor enthusiasm wisely. By patiently building a reputation and not being afraid of the graft as well as the good times, he’s carved out an enviable position for himself as an in-demand DJ, producer, label owner (ALiVE Recs.) and promoter.
Presenting a thoroughly modern sound that has furrowed paths at both the deeper and the more driving end of the spectrum, his DJ sets are renowned for being precision tuned perfectly for the vibe, the venue and time of night… or indeed day.
With a string of high profile gigs at UK clubs including Ministry of Sound, Sankeys, Shindig, Matter at the 02 and Cocoon at The End, his international profile has taken off in recent years too. Whether it’s smashing it at Kristal in Romania, touring Australia and Asia alongside James Zabiela or joining James and Nic Fanciulli’s legendary DJ tag team at the Snowbombing festival in Austria.
He remains loyal to his hometown crowd in Southampton too, with an ongoing residency at the infamous High Tide Boat Parties, which he also helps promote. It was from this party pedigree that he took another major leap in 2008 and launched his own label, the respected ALiVE Recordings.
The label’s tenth release, Tom Budden – ‘The Tree Dance’ was a real milestone for both the imprint and its owner. It appealed to some of the finest ears from across the board and was snapped up for a range of CD mixes including Global Underground and Subliminal. You’ll also hear his touch on remixes including Tijuana’s ‘Groove Is In The Air’ for Bedrock, Danny Howells ‘Laid Out’ on Dig Deeper, James Zabiela ‘Blame’ on Renaissance and Groove Armada 'History' featuring the vocals of Will Young.
Tom’s popular ALiVE show on Proton Radio has been running for 7 years and he’s dropped successful guest mixes for internationally syndicated radio shows including John Digweed's Transitions, Carl Cox's Global and Mark Knight's Toolroom Knights.
If there was a textbook on building solid credentials for clubland success then Tom Budden should have written it. He’s methodically earned a position as one of the most exciting names in dance music, and his continued ascent looks as sure-fire as his enviable track record.
$35 + BF - AVAILABLE AT MOSHTIX PLEASE CLICK HERE
