Drum ‘n’ bass conference thumped Alley Katz

Let me tell you where you should have been last Saturday: Alley Katz for the DC/VA Drum ‘n’ Bass Conference. This party was jumpin’. If you were there, you know exactly what I’m talking about, and if you weren’t, you really missed out.

There were 14 different DNB sets, and they seemed to get better and better as the night went on. The line up was Bruce J, Abducted Recordings, Empyreal, Mashine, Mixed Conscience, Camp Zero, Accela, KGB, Volume, 2012, Runn Riddum Recordings, NUCO, Modified Recordings and 2 Tuff.

I must admit, I was a little worried I’d have to deal with some weak DNB in the beginning, but this was not the case at all. The opening DJ, Bruce J., put a smile on my face with some awesome atmospheric beats.

MC Diggadee from England was spittin’ it up as well. You know what’s better than some good DNB? Some good DNB with an awesome MC. With such a great opening, I was confident it was going to be a great night.

As the DJs switched up, the music continued to flow and remained at a pretty steady level of greatness. The room was pretty empty, but I was definitely feeling the vibe already.

D-Minus and Artillery threw out some distorted, abstract beats, which are always fun to listen to.

Mashine was an awesome combo of deep, dark beats (DJ Ezra) under a beautiful voice (Tabatha), kind of like Sneaker Pimps. That was definitely a cool display of organic balance, as Tabatha puts it.

Mixed Conscience was a group of four DJs, two guys and two girls. We had the pleasure of hearing some scratching, but the disappointment of some train wrecking, too. It’s OK though, DJ Grimm Reeper of the group came up and saved the crew’s dignity with his spinning skills.

By the time Camp Zero came on, the house started to fill up and people were starting to move. Acella got the pleasure of spinning to a full house. It was too bad he kept messing up but he held his ground and kept on rocking. Right on Acella.

The show skyrocketed from this point on. The DJs would not stop. MC Diggadee, alongside two other MCs, were really tearing it up and the crowd was feeling it. DJ Tittsworth really got the crowd hyped.

Will Miles of NUCO was definitely a sight to see. He’s got an, “I am the s-t,” attitude with the skills to match! People were going nuts for this guy. The already pumped crowd got even more pumped through the end of the show. People were getting down left and right, the DJs did their thing and the MC’s enhanced the magic with their “don’t-stop-till-ya-drop” vocalizing.

2 Tuff carried on the immense energy and rocked the crowd until 2 a.m. As all good things must come to an end, so did the show.

The Drum ‘n’ Bass Conference was an amazing experience. I was pleased and impressed by all the performers. It’s nice to see Drum ‘n’ Bass represented by such talented people. As MC Diggadee said, “Jungle is a mission, jungle is a cause.”