Starting on Thursday 27th March and then every 4th Thursday of the month SmokeLife presents the first of a new night at The Tube....
IKONIKA (Hyperdub) www.myspace.com/ikonika
B2B
OPTIMUM www.myspace.com/optimummusic
2 hour set
THINKING
WASCAL www.virb.com/wascal
+ SmokeLife DJs - Golgot, Tekton Naggar, Smiffy www.virb.com/smokelife
IKONIKA started playing the drums in hardcore and metal bands at the age of 11. At the same time she was also listening to Hip-Hop, R&B and UK Garage. As a consequence, it was obvious Ikonika’s musical genre raiding would influence her dubstep productions. In the summer of 2005, Ikonika started banging out Hip-Hop tracks under the name Kill Kip, but lack of progression and creativity led to endless tedium. After listening to Skream’s ‘Midnight Request Line’, Ikonika knew she wanted to produce dubstep, an instrumental journey where there were no rules for structure and creativity, something that reminded her of bands like Glassjaw and Norma Jean but in a electronic form. The fact that dubstep was from her home town of London, also made it that much more attractive. Dubstep was a way for Ikonika to utilise all the ideas she had had since a young age. In January 2007, she made the decision to change her name to Ikonika. Appropriated from the word 'iconoclast', it was a definite way to assure that she was ready to make a step forward. This new beginning lead to Ikonika’s first tracks being played by the likes of Metal Box Products and Bun-Zero on their Sub FM shows. It was not until October 2007 that Kode 9 first heard ‘Please’. His decision to release the track on his Hyperdub label was a surprise to the dubstep community and also a sign that the scene was maturing and diversifying. With her debut release on the groundbreaking Hyperdub label, the start of her own label (with Optimum) and tracks waiting in the pipeline, 2008 will surely be Ikonika’s year. Expect nothing more than infectious synth lines and off beat structures!
OPTIMUM first began playing Hip Hop in Birmingham. He ran a radio show with Sam Hep on Burn Fm, which played host and supported many local acts of the underground UK Hip Hop scene. He also djed on the same bills as the likes of Dj Cro and Task Force. After a while the allure of Hip hop began to wane for Optimum. While still appreciating the best parts of it, he became more interested in Grime, which in turn led to Dubstep, the sound of his native South London. He has since played on the same bill as the likes of Skream, Kode9, Orien, Contakt and Ikonika. 2008 will see the launch of his new label with co-owner Ikonika, their joint productions, a possible new radio show and more shows!
Can't wait