2008 saw the birth of Bass Kitchen, a new eclectic clubnight on the Bristol music scene. We caught up with the nights promoters and resident DJs, MiniJay, Dr Fish and DJ Chamber, for the lowdown.

How did Bass Kitchen begin?

Dr Fish: Myself and DJ Chamber met in the virtual world of a breakbeat forum. We were both living in Bristol, played similar styles of music, and both keen to start a new night so got talking. Chamber suggested getting MiniJay on board who he knew through uni and it all progressed from there.

DJ Chamber: Yeah. The first event we all played at together shortly after discussing club night ideas was a little festival I set up called Phezfest. We all had a great time doing that and I think that was where we got a bit more serious about the plan to run a night and realized that we could make it work.

How would you describe Bass Kitchen to someone who's never heard of it?

Dr Fish: Bass Kitchen is all about creating a fun party atmosphere with top quality music and production. We believe the night should evolve as it goes on which is why your likely to hear us play quite an eclectic mix of styles.

MiniJay, you originally come from Taiwan. How is the music scene there different from in the UK?

MiniJay: Most people in Taiwan like Hip Hop and RnB because of Americanization. My goal is to bring new stuff to the people, despite the fact that it's never easy to be a pioneer. In the UK, I find most people are really open to music. People can enjoy your music even if they've never heard it before.

You each host shows on online radio stations. How does this differ from playing out in clubs?

DJ Chamber: I love my show on NSB Radio because it allows me to play in a totally different style to my usual 'playing out' style. When I play out its usually a case of sticking to one or two main genres and not straying too much from them. A lot of the time it might be a case of starting off with hip-hop then moving gradually into breaks and finishing up with some dnb because crowds respond well to that sort of Scratch Perverts-esque evolution as the night goes on. However, playing on the radio is more a case of mashing up every genre I can think of in some ridiculous order, exactly as the mood takes me. I've been known to play shows with stuff like reggae, funk, country, jazz, rock and blues and its really nice to get to play a lot of the tunes I would never usually get a chance to. Also, you get this direct feedback you never really get in clubs via the chatroom which allows for plenty of praise and of course its always nice seeing the same regulars popping in and out and talking rubbish.

Dr Fish: DJing on the radio is great. It allows me to play a much wider variety of music to what I’d play in a club where you’re constantly working a dance floor. I have a lot of friends who live in different locations around the world, so it's also really nice to be able to play live to those guys who don't normally get to see me in a club.

MiniJay: The radio station is a great place for playing alternative stuff. When I play at a gig, I want to make people dance. On a radio station, I can play some chill out, and/or experimental stuff. I sometimes get texts when I'm doing my show to thank me for really calming them down (my slot is 11pm-midnight). Sometimes people keep on asking for my playlist as they are so curious to know the stuff I play on the radio station.

Dr Fish, you bested over 400 entrants and went on to win the 2007 D-Joust competition. What was your experience at the finals like and how have things been since?

Dr Fish: The DJoust was an amazing experience from start to finish. The quality of DJs in the competition was unbelievable and I was so surprised to win the whole competition. The vibe at the finals was amazing. It really kick started my career, and I got a lot of high profile gigs off of the back of it like playing at Ministry of Sound alongside Eric Morillo. It really helped to build my confidence as well playing out in front of so many people and big names from within the industry. Preparing for the competition really pushed me to be a better DJ all round as well. I remember being locked in my room for about 6 months preparing the sets.

What are all of your favorite venues to play at and where can the best clubbing be found in Bristol?

DJ Chamber: Native is one of my favorite venues to play. There's always a great atmosphere and its nice to be down on the same level as the crowd soaking it all up. The Croft is also a bit of a beast to play at. As for the best clubbing in Bristol, I reckon you cant beat Motion and Lakota for massive all hours raves.

Dr Fish: Motion is probably my favourite venue to play in Bristol. There’s nowhere quite like it for size of the venue and the soundsystems. Timbuk2 is another great venue to play, and I really like playing at the Farm in St. Werbergs for the awesome vibe you get down there.

How did the Frome branch of Bass Kitchen (Beats on Toast) come about?

DJ Chamber: Frome is my home town and really lacks a nightlife in a big way. The biggest event every year for young 'Fromies' is the famous Boxing Day Rave which is currently run by our pals at Electric Night Garden. Beats on Toast was really our effort to try and give the young people stuck in Frome another event to enjoy. I would love to think that Frome will one day be famous for its underground dance music scene in the same way that Bristol is. Since we started running events in Frome, I have definitely seen more cropping up here and there, hopefully we were something to do with it. Frome has produced some very recogniseable names in dance music such as Eat Static and the up and coming breakbeat superstar Affinity. I know the Propellerheads are pretty local as well (one of them used to live where my mate does now) so I figure there is something a bit special going on here for such a small town to produce such talented DJs and producers.

Bass Kitchen has a very eclectic music policy which differs from a lot of club nights. Was this intentional?

Dr Fish: Yeah, we planned this from the start. My favourite nights are the more electic ones. I find it can be pretty boring and stagnant to listen to one genre of music the whole night, so we wanted to be able to mix it up a bit to keep suprising the crowd and taking them on a journey. In the main room you can expect anything form Funk, Hip Hop & Big Beat to Breaks, Dubstep & DnB. We wanted to offer a contrast to the jump up style of the main room in our second room’s, which is where MiniJay comes in providing something a bit deeper in the form of Minimal, Techno & Tech House. Bristol is the perfect place to run a night like this, there's so many open minded people who appreciate different styles of music.

DJ Chamber: Getting MiniJay on board certainly sealed the deal for eclecticism. He plays a very different style from us and also has a very seperate music taste. Me and Dr Fish are known for our 4 deck back to back sets which usually journey through many different genres, but MiniJay plays things well outside our genre-bubble. He attracts a totally different crowd to our nights and books totally different acts to us.

MiniJay: The music policy of Bass Kitchen is worldwide; it consist of English, European, and Asian cultures. DnB, dubstep and breaks are the heart of English culture (especially in Bristol). Minimal, tech house, and techno however, can be heard from all around Europe. The Bass Kitchen's goal is to bring the music scene further to the Far East. One of MiniJay's jobs is to bring the European music scene to Asia.

Finally, what does the future hold for Bass Kitchen?

DJ Chamber: Bigger and better things! In the short term, we have got a couple of big nights at Timbuk2 lined up and will hopefully be bagging another night at the Croft soon. Expect to see more of the popular 'Beats on Toast' events in Frome in the future too. Eventually we want to start rocking out at the biggest venues in Bristol like Lakota and Motion skatepark.

Upcoming Events

Bass Kitchen @ Timbuk2: Thursday 12th March 2009
Beats on Toast @ Frome Football Club: Friday 10th April 2009
Bass Kitchen @ Timbuk2: Thursday 14th May 2009

Links

Bass Kitchen @ DontStayIn: Bass Kitchen
Bass Kitchen @ Facebook: facebook.com
Bass Kitchen @ MySpace: myspace.com
DJ Chamber @ MySpace: myspace.com
Dr Fish @ MySpace: myspace.com
MiniJay @ MySpace: myspace.com

Radio Shows

DJ Chamber's Cluedo Homicide on nsbradio.co.uk 3-5pm every Monday
Dr Fish presents Shire Rats Radio on brap.fm 10-midnight 1st and 3rd Monday of the month
MiniJay's show on hubradio.co.uk 11-midnight every Tuesday