The Addicts crew has steadily made a name for themselves as Brisbane’s number one purveyors of break beat goodness, and this weekend’s efforts at the GPO cemented just what showstoppers this group really is. The main name featured at this weeks extravaganza was UK turntable extraordinaire A-Skillz, but with more names on the flyer than I have fingers, I knew it was going to be more than just a one man show and with both the Seven40 room and Beluga lounge showcasing some of Brisbane’s best local talent, it was going to be a big night for Brisbane breaks fans. Of course the Adicts crew where featured, with Verner, Devastating Dave and Sangers all bringing the best in electro fueled beats and with guests like Kleenkuts, Rhythm Division and Freddy Flyfingaz also adding their talents to the night’s offerings, the boys had everything needed to put on one of their best performances to date and with Bitrok rounding out the night with their dex n fx show, it was hard to contain my enthusiasm the whole day leading up to the gig.
After what seemed like the slowest day of my life, I finally arrived at the GPO and when I first entered, my ears where greeted by some seriously old school hip hop that immediately brought a smile to my face with Rola D spinning some absolute gems that I hadn’t heard in many a year and with some nice mashes supplied via what looked like a Serato and laptop setup, he warmed the crowd nicely with the familiar tunes being mixed and cut with a few more recent tracks that had many (myself included) swinging our hips and singing to the melody’s. Up next in the Seven40 room was Freddy Flyfingaz, who brought the funk in a big way, blending the freshest in funk and hip hop jams with some of the wildest Latin infused grooves and nu school classics that are on offer. At one point he even dropped the instrumental of Vanilla Ice’s hit Ice Ice Baby mixed in with some smooth rhymes from Jurassic Five which really had the dance floor moving to the beat of his drum. Bringing a lot of fresh new tracks, I found it hard to pick exactly what tunes he was playing throughout but those I did recognize where some of the biggest names in nu funk with artists like Featurecast, Qdup and aussie funk heavy hitter Rehrase all getting a spin
I went and checked out the Beluga lounge and discovered most of the substantial crowd where getting down to the electro flavor being supplied by Verner, who’s seamless mixing and well timed FX tweaking had everyone shaking their money makers and reaching for the ceiling. Through out the night I made frequent visits to this room to find different parts of the Addicts collective doing their thing and at one point, the stage featured the whole crew, with Sangers, Devastating Dave and Verner all cueing, tweaking and dropping some of the phatest electro breaks to my ears delight. Added to this was the rhythmical rhyming of MC’s KNO (who has been nominated for an APRA Music Award for ‘Best Urban Work’ recently) and Divisional Rhymes as well as featuring the tasty trumpet playing of Disco Daz (also of Dubdoubt fame). All this combined to create the perfect recipe for a good old fashioned dance party which had everyone encapsulated not only for that moment but for the entire night of sweat inducing, ass shaking music that was still ahead of us.
For me though, there was one man I was there to see above all others, the world renowned turntabilist and producer A-Skillz, and from the moment he took the helm the atmosphere lifted as he brought his unique blend of bangin’ nu school breaks, soulful funk and hip hop back to Brisvegas in a big way. Combining his superb track selections with his mastery of the scratches and cuts, A-Skillz brought his A-game (no pun intended) featuring a plethora of artists from a multitude of styles including Beastie Boys, Kanye West, Krakk n Smakk and Fort Knox five that where not only mixed to perfection, but also had just the right amount of commercial favorites like Dee Lite’s Groove Is In The Heart to keep everyone happy and moving to the beats for most of his hour and a half set. With his turntable mastery on display, it was easy to see why A-Skillz is the scratch DJ of choice for break beat legend Krafty Kuts, with every cut, blend and drop being timed to perfection it was evident for all who attended that we where witnessing an undeniable showcase of what one man, a mixer and two turntables can really do.
Having been blown away by the talent that A-Skillz had to offer and after thoroughly getting my groove on, I headed outside for a breath of fresh air and when I again re-entered the club, I knew my timing couldn’t have been better as Bitrok had just started their set and it is easy for me to say that those that stayed, they experienced the best Electro-producing duo that Brisbane has on offer. With their successes including featuring on Ministry of Sound albums as well as recognition on some of the worlds top DJ charts, their performance reflected exactly why their star is only going to get brighter in the future, much brighter indeed. Having to leave before they finished up was a disappointment but having a dance partner who had sore feet (why some women wear high heels to a dance club I’ll never know) and also wanting to beat the massive valley cab rush, I left the venue with that euphoric feeling you get when you know you’ve seen something spectacular, that feeling of being part of something extra special.
And it was definitely special in more ways than one, as I was to find out that this was to be the last Breaks n Enter to be held at the GPO. That stunning bit of info was to be the only let down for me the entire evening and at first I didn’t think it was true as the Adicts and GPO have consistently worked so well together in bringing the best in both international and local talent, that it seemed somewhat unbelievable that they would be parting ways, but alas it is a sad and true fact. Though don’t be fooled into thinking this is the end of BnE all together as it is indeed, quite the opposite with the Adicts crew now taking their special brand of break beat goodness to the far reaches of this great state of ours with the Velvet Underground in Cairns being the next stop on a long list of Queensland and New South Wales shows which are coming up in the near future.
As always, Breaks n Enter showed exactly why they where voted the 4th best club night in Brisbane in the inthemix50 (voted by you, the people), and it’s almost a foregone conclusion they will continue to bring the absolute cream of anything break beat to the masses. And why wouldn’t they, when they do it so well?
b_a_g says...
And a couple of Plump DJs tracks went down quite nicely too. Great night and can't wait for BnE to kick-on in their new home!