Music : Breaks and Techno
Freaky Dancing welcomes back the legendary Ben Sims, on of the UK’s most
sought after techno DJs and producers, playing a full 3 decks set.
Freaky Dancing
Friday 23rd March
The Cosmic Ballroom,
Stowell Street, Newcastle
Main Room : Techno
Ben Sims
[theory / dynamix]
Kai Foyen
Kol
Room 2 : Breaks (tbc)
Ben Sims
Starting with hip hop at ethe tender
age of 10, Sims multi-styled turntable skills have developed into a
precise compound of rhythm, texture and groove. Although a highly revered
producer, Sims admits that producing takes second to his love for playing
live.
Since establishing Theory Recordings towards the end of 1997, London-based
DJ / producer Ben Sims has undergone a swift rise to prominence within the
global dance music community. His globally extensive DJ'ing performances
have earned him a ranking amongst the world's top techno spinners, many of
whom have fully embraced his studio production work.
Ben's DJ'ing apprenticeship began with hip hop at the tender age of ten.
In the fifteen years since, his multi-styled turntable skills have
developed into a precise compound of rhythm, texture and groove. Following
on from spinning at parties, his long-running involvement with pirate
radio began in 1991. A key figure in the establishment of London's
Atmosphere FM, Ben subsequently took his skills to the clubs when the
authorities began sanitising the airwaves in 1995.
In the years that followed, he steadily built up a reputation for
ultra-tight techno mixing, infusing elements into his sets from his
earlier days of DJ'ing hip hop and house. Snapped up in 1999 by esteemed
Berlin-based booking agency Dy-Na-Mix, his skills behind the decks have
been much in demand, touring worldwide from Australia to the US calling at
nearly every country in between. Regular high profile gigs throughout
Europe and at long-running UK nights such as The Orbit, Voodoo and House
of God have also help further his reputation as one of London's most
exciting DJ exports.
A self-confessed vinyl addict, Ben's own recordings clearly reflect his
long-standing passion for groove and funk based music. His production
style - an amalgamation of jackin' Chicago funk, driving filtered loops
and dark tribal house music provided popular despite the deluge of
funk-deficient minimal cuts dominating the techno scene during the late
Nineties. In magazine interviews Ben often describes his production of
music simply as the natural continuation to many years spent behind the
decks. Forging tracks in an energetic metallic mould with a rich, hypnotic
consistency, much akin to his DJ'ing style, he admits that his penchant
for producing is secondary to his love of playing out. Hence, he views his
studio output very much as dancefloor music constructed for manipulation
by the DJ.
After waiting patiently for both his music and confidence to develop,
Ben's first release (Theory 001) paved the way for a whole new school of
floor-friendly funk-based rhythms, gaining instantaneous recognition and
prompting an influx of recording offers. During April 1998 he began to
receive widespread recognition for his first Killabite release - a
slamming EP of cut-up warehouse classics hammered by everyone from Jeff
Mills to Carl Cox. Although the Killabite EP's were never intended for
release, the records quickly gained cult status with DJ's on both sides of
the techno / house axis, and in many ways set a precedent for the string
of sample-based dancefloor tools that ensued. Since the launch of Theory,
Ben's material has enjoyed success on numerous prestigious labels, such as
Primate, Primevil, Code Red, Tresor, Phont Music and Pure Plastic.
Following the completion of many reputable remix projects and the launch
of four further labels - Hardgroove, Native, Symbolism and Ingoma - his
records have found constant club application from many of the scene's most
respected players, thus remaining in-situ in record boxes around the
globe.