// Date: 15 May 2012
// Venue: Festsaal Kreuzberg, Skalitzerstrasse 130, 10999 Berlin
// Time: 20:00
// Tickets 15 € › advance sale
// › facebook event
Program:
DEBRUIT (live with band, FR, Civil Music) SENSATIONAL MEETS KOYXEи (US/JP) DJ SCOTCH BONNET (aka Scotch Egg, JP)
dÉbruit
“His Music is a no holds barred assault through dark Congolese sound systems, downtown L.A. block parties gone wrong, haze filled Kingston recording studios and freaky Tunisian backstreet souks; all powered by a fat hip hop engine….” – Civil Music
French-born, UK-based Xavier Thomas, aka dÉbruit, is a synth wizard obsessed with Congolese percussion, jack-knifing riddims, syncopation and bass. To date the artist has released two full-lengths and a string of singles and EPs, mostly on the Civil Music label.
After recently relocating to London UK the French Rhythm Wizard made Europe & Beyond his playground, touring his Impressive Live Show throughout the US, CA, UK, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Russia and tearing up the festival circuit along side Skream, Busy P, Benga, Afrika Bambaataa, Anti Pop Consortium, Kid Cudi and many more. Now returned to his Ouest coast studio he’s holed up delivering remixes for Black Devil Disco Club, Zero7, Grovesnor (Hot Chip), Rusko, Lee Scratch Perry, Architeq, Kotchy, Meanest Man Contest and more, as well as making beats that have grabbed Q-Tip’s ears and most importantly preparing an album project that takes in travels to studios in Kinshasa (Congo) and an all new live experience.
› debruit.com› youtube.com/watch?v=cGGyAgb0eV0› soundcloud.com/debruitSENSATIONAL
(US/ Wordsound/ Skam/ Matador)
Equally hallucinogenic is the futuristic, Afro-psychedelic enigma they call Sensational. After proving his mettle on the mic by rhyming to records by German avant-garde composer Karl-Heinz Stockhausen the Jungle Brothers took him in when he was only 15 years old. His legendary performance on their album „J Beez Wit Da Remedy“ was way ahead of their time and is still blowing minds.
In 1995 he came to the attention of WordSound through producer Bill Laswell which resulted in Sensational´s solo debut „Loaded With Power“, an album like no other in the annals of hip-hop. CMJ called it: "The most bold and experimental hip-hop record of the last decade! ". The tripped-out flows, broken beats, and lo-fi ambience all created an epic event in hip-hop that unfortunately went largely unnoticed by the Puff Daddy-worshipping masses.
Unlike most rap producers, Sensational has never been one to sample, but plays all his sounds live. Upgrading to an 8-track and using a real microphone instead of recording vocals through his headphones resulted in his sophomore effort „Corner The Market“. Still wowing heads with his blunted, poetry-in-motion sickness, he then released two singles for the popular indie rock label Matador before dropping his third full-length „Heavyweighter“ which continues on a trajectory for outer space. As Timeout NY noted, Sensational is "underground hip-hops number one upstart-in-waiting."
Hip-hop abounds with eccentric personalities such as Kool Keith or Old Dirty Bastard (R.I.P.) and just recently the genre is experiencing a new wave of younger artists like Odd Future or Death Grips breaking boundaries with their sonic explorations. As groundbreaking as it may seem though, for Sensational those boundaries have never existed to begin with.
His abstract flavor defying all explanations, his off-the-wall lyrics and his curiosity destroying all preconceived notions as to what music is simply make him one oft he most unique musicians oft he past two decades.
In reggae, we were blessed with the maniacal genius of Lee Perry, in jazz we had Sun Ra and in hip-hop no one even comes close to the one they call Sensational, a visionary sent by the future and just like the other two, luckily, he hasn´t arrived in the present yet.
› myspace.com/chunkoblissKOYXEи aka KOUHEI MATSUNAGA
(JP/ Mille Plateaux/ Raster Noton/ Flying Swimming)
In 2005 Sensational started collaborating with Kouhei Matsunaga, Japans doyen of noisecore. Until then Kouhei had already collaborated with the likes of Merzbow, Autechre and Conrad Schnitzler. It was a match made in heaven. Their first album Sensational meets Kouhei was recorded in only one day while being on tour and is nothing less than a mindbending masterpiece of raw, bouncy and chest-caving beats, spectral textures, gruff, marble-mouthed self-aggrandizement and unparalleled grit. Their equally outstanding second release Sensational meets Koyxeи followed in 2010.
We are extremely proud to have both artists performing together at Festsaal Kreuzberg since it is a rare chance to see two expetional artists in progress.
DJ SCOTCH BONNET
(aka DJ Scotch Egg/ JP)
A maverick, crazed with energy and excess creativity, Shigeru Ishiharas chance meeting with Kouhei Matsunaga spurred an isotopic explosion of activity and inspiration. The result was the new dope style distorted bass and beats of DJ Scotch Bonnet.
Swapping GameBoys and 8-bit limitation for a hefty distortion unit, Ishihara delves deep into the world of bass-driven hip-hop breaks, melding dense distorted beats with his signature pop sensibility and references Scorn, NHK, and the dance music culture of his new home-town, Berlin.
Ishihara is prolific in his output, and has collaborated with E-Da (ex-Boredoms), plays in the epic psychedelic outfit DRUM EYES as well as with the newly reformed electronic pioneers Seefeel.
He has performed at major festivals including Roskilde, Glastonbury, and Primavera and has shared bills with a diverse selection of artists including Devo, Lightning Bolt, and MF Doom.
› http://jaapan.com/blog/index/billet/2751_dj-scotch-bonnet
