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Get your hands on a free copy of Shakes’ bootleg of Beats International – Dub Be Good to Me

Shakes — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:00:00 +0000

With a summer of anticipated releases ahead I've had this bass driven little gem mastered for my own sets, but I didn't want to be selfish and keep it all to myself. Starting with one of the most iconic vocals in dance music all it took was a huge wad of bass, some big drums and a touch of reverb to create this haunting, gut churning monster.

Jam Hot by I Am Shakes

All you need to do to get this track is join my facebook page, so you can keep up to date with future mixes and tunes.

Then just email me at Stewart@pogo-djs.co.uk with your name to get the link.

New Shakes Tune!

Shakes — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:10:04 +0000

Biggest Drop by I Am Shakes

Hopefully to be released this year is my new tune, Biggest Drop. I finally bought Ableton 8 at Christmas and have managed to fit in some free time in front of a computer every so often. I wanted to make a Stantons style tune with most of the bass coming from a big 808 hit under the kick, but once I started looping the melodic percussion over it and found the vocal sample announcing "the biggest drop (something I deleted) in the world" I heard a big bass line in my head coming in on the drop and went looking for the sound to make it work. I put the rest of the track together fairly quickly then had to set about adding layers, distortion, drum compression, EQing etc to fill it out and it eventually became this huge sounding beast.

I'm definately on a steep learning curve and I'm incredibly greatful for those producers that have given me the feedback and advice that has made this a vast improvement on the last tune on the engineering front.

Here's to the next :)

Free remix of Ripgroove

Shakes — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:00:00 +0000

It's been an interesting year for me, branching out as a solo DJ as the other half of Pogo (James Furness) had to do some soul searching and find his own sound. This pretty much coincided with me leaving London and disbanding our show on iBreaks. I've had a lot of fun popping back to London playing at the likes of We Have Fun and Supatronix, though there's only so many times you can play for the same people. So over the summer I started focusing on developing my production skills as my musical outlet and hopefully promotional tool. Having taken on the important job of reviewing tracks for This Is Breaks I was interested in trying to do my bit for the scene by producing breaks rather than the electro people might have expected from me. The result was my first release in November (Radio Epidemic) and a couple of other encouraging ideas.

There was a remix competition to work on the classic Double 99 - Ripgroove back at the end of summer. At the time I was getting Radio Epidemic signed and tweeking that all the time as well as starting full time work so I didn't get a chance to make something for the comp. I had managed to make something that sounded promising though, so I still went back to it whenever I found any studio time. As it is there are no clever drum edits or spectacular effects, but some solid beats, the charm of the original and some nuskool synth work make it a proper party banger that I wanted to share.

So especially for all Pogo fans here's a special Christmas/pagan Winter gift:

Double 99 - Ripgroove (Shakes' 2009 Breaks Mix) by I Am Shakes

Download and enjoy!

See you in 2010.

Download Christmas gifts from the Stanton Warriors

Shakes — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:14:43 +0000

Those prophets of the broken beat have once again shown their infinite humility and generosity by offering up their latest bootleg remixes to their loyal followers for free. Down at The Boom Town Blog videos are often posted with their latest remix and bootleg projects and, more often than not, the tracks are eventually put up for download. The duo had this to say:

“It’s just a little gift to show our appreciation to all who have supported us this year by buying our records or coming to our shows and making this one of the most exciting years for us yet…see you all in the 2010 for even more. Mark & Dom”

Their reworking of Young MC's Know How is a funky booty shaker with that ultra-recogniseable guitar riff from Isaac Hayes's Theme From Shaft and Young MCs lyrical attitude. Booming kicks and the amen break bring it up to date with some clever editing and very little modern synth work.

Good Vibrations was seemingly knocked up in an Australian hotel room while on their similarly named tour. The build up and breakdowns are big room hands in the air affairs with the Beach Boys classic giving everyone something to sing along to. The cheeky use of a sample from Marky Mark's (aka Mark "Max Payne" Wahlberg") chart hit of the same title is used as a punctuation mark between these euphoric moments and the big buzz-saw bassline that kicks in to knock you back into dancing mode.

Go download here and Merry Christmas!

Shakes – Radio Epidemic OUT NOW on Control Breaks

Shakes — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:09:17 +0000

Next up on Control Breaks is first ever release from a DJ/Producer whose been making waves on the Breaks, Electro and Fidget scenes for some time now as Shakes throws out his debut in the shape of 'Radio Epidemic'. Once part of the fabled Pogo DJs, Shakes has recently being making his own path, DJing solo at a range of events including regular guest slots at hot London night We Have Fun, at every event playing outstanding sets that straddle a range of genres.

With 'Radio Epidemic' Shakes takes this DJing style and makes a tune that will happily sit in any cross genre set and many a purist one too! The tracks takes it's main elements from the latest breaks but adds a dash of the modern electro style and a pinch of toughest fidget vibes. All of which combines into an awesome track that'll fill any dancefloor in any decent club!

On remix duties we have Dom Almond, a producer who has been prolific in recent years with a host of releases on a number of big labels, both original tunes and top remixes including a serious banger for Control Breaks. With 'Radio Epidemic' he takes the original in a slightly harder and more pure breakbeat direction , toughening things up without losing the originals charm.

Be sure to check out http://www.controlbreaks.com or http://www.myspace.com/controlbreaks for more details and a taster from both mixes.

Check it at Beatport or any of the other digital stores.

https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/206271/Radio%20Epidemic

Download the Stanton Warriors’ remix of Rye Rye’s Bang for free

Shakes — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Say what you will about the Stanton Warriors and their allegiance to the breakbeat community, but Mark and Dominic are out there dissolving the boundaries, finding the best in new genres and often pushing the broken beat to an unsuspecting wider audience. Being very picky about the quality and style of the music they play, it is not surprising that they have a string of thumping remixes on their resume (including the list of bootlegs that they finally released to the public on their blog this summer).

Keen readers of the Stantons' blog, Boom Town, will have seen the video for their remix of Rye Rye ft. MIA - Bang and been more than a little excited. The B'more/crunk style of the original works incredibly well with a spot of Stantons bass and beats and previous Rye Rye collaborations with Diplo and Sinden have proven very successful. This week sees the anticipated release of the Stantons version and it's bloody well free! Click here to grab one of the best party tunes of the year in full 320k quality.

Don't forget to check out the site for other little gems too!

Shakes
(stewart@pogo-djs.co.uk)