Breaktue Pres. Deekline&Wizard @ LaPlaya,Varna

Location: LaPlaya, South Beach, Varna
Date: Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Time: 23:30 - 07:00 / Free Entrance
Line-up: Deekline&Wizard /Botchit, UK
+Breaktrue Team Breakz with
Joking, Vagabond & Line Of Sight

Deekline started collecting records as a youngster, inspired by funk and electro, before becoming interested in hardcore and jungle. His first release was the immense “Don’t Smoke (Da Reefer)”, a bass-heavy, two-stepping beat monster with the catchiest vocal line ever – it was the first record put out on the newly-formed Rat Records, an imprint which still continues to churn out top-quality releases at the forefront of breaks and booty bass.

Further tracks with legends like Arthur Baker and Rennie Pilgrem and other groundbreaking producers like Donna Dee and Freq Nasty sealed Deekline’s reputation as a leading light in the UK dance music scene – a reputation helped along by the chart success of “Don’t Smoke”, which went to number 11 in the charts, and which led to Wu Tang Clan-member and twisted genius Ol’ Dirty Bastard asking for an official remix of his track “Want Your Money”.

At the same time, Deekline was livening up breaks in the UK, shaking up the sedentary nu-skool scene and twisting out the fattest basslines in the club nights he put together - Breakbeat Connection and Thursday Night Throwdown, both of which are still among the best and most exciting nights out to be had in the capital.

Greg started engineering at a young age, working freelance in a variety of London studios - once his talents were spotted, he very quickly found himself working with bands such as New Order and the Chemical Brothers. He picked up the moniker ‘Wizard’ due to his speed, skill and expertise within the studio - as a musician himself, his engineering and production work has gone side-by-side with a healthy dose of creative input.

Constant work over the last two and a half years has seen Greg put his stamp on albums for the likes of X-Press 2, Roll Deep, Lady Sovereign and M.I.A. Greg’s programming, engineering and mixing can also be heard on remixes for artists as massive as The Rolling Stones, Damien Marley, Britney Spears, Fatboy Slim and Usher.

Working with these gigantic names has not distracted Greg from his work with some of the more underground sounds in UK music. Working with artists such as Roll Deep, Wiley, Ruff Squad and Lady Sovereign has helped to shape the now-massive UK Grime sound. The Wizard sound has helped define this fast-moving, frenetic vibe renowned for its tight beat, slick programming and deep, dark basslines.

With other strings to his bow including hip-hop engineering work (with The Nextmen, Ying Yang Twins & Skinnyman) and input on tracks for chart-based R&B acts (Shola Ama, Mis-Teeq), it’s possible to see that no genre is outside of his grasp, and that his input has helped shape some of the most groundbreaking movements in UK dance music over the last few years.
www.deeklineandwizard.com

Albums

Breaks, Beats and Blondes

The studio album with Wizard, released on Botchit and Scarper in 2004. Rumoured to be the most dancefloor-friendly album ever made. Little is known about the creation of the songs contained within, other than that the two producers somehow managed to come up with a form of music so addictive that people have been welding their CD players closed with the album inside since the day of release, in case anyone tries to take it out. More information will be forthcoming soon from Deekline and Wizard themselves, who were last seen being sprayed with Krug by ecstatic record company execs, bundled into a jeep full of blonde girls and driven into the sunset, a sign reading “Next Stop - Miami” the only clue as to their current whereabouts. Buy this album, because frankly it destroys anything else released this year. M8 Destined to be massive

Beat Freaks

A mix album with Donna Dee, featuring such blinders as the Deekline-revamped version of the Prodigy’s Out of Space and the Stantons’ remixes of Azzido Da Bass’s Doom’s Night and Jump and Shout by Basement Jaxx. Their own Elephant Tune, Rennie Pilgrem’s Rippin’ Up Wax, Zinc’s breakstep signature tune 138 Trek and Tsunami One’s Hip-Hop Phenomenon also feature on his landmark compilation, a million miles removed from the trancey and slow efforts put out by Adam Freeland and the Plump Djs, and which deservedly was voted Mix Album of the Year by Mixmag.

Hardcore Beats

Mixed with Ollywood and featuring the vocal talents of the Ragga Twins and Blowfelt on extra scratching duty, this awesome compilation showcased the best tough breaks sounds to come out of the Rat and Hardcore Beats labels. Voted Album of the year by Time Out magazine.

Remixes

Boomblast - Deekline and Wizard Remix

Deekline & Wizards Remix of the Freestylers track ‘Boomblast’ secured its place as the opening track on the Freestylers Fabric Live CD; and It’s obvious to hear why. An awesome club record in all respects; Killer Vocals fused with Bass Heavy Riffs and epic soundscapes make this remix one of Deekline & Wizards most accomplished to date.

My, My, My

Surprise, surprise - Armand Van Helden continues to attempt global domination by changing styles more quickly than the dance music press are able to keep track of, and releases a radio-friendly slice of “cool cheese” (amounting to a Gary Wright sample from the early ’80s stuck over a heavy house beat and analogue bassline). But it’s been left to Deekline and Wizard to convert this into a dancefloor-destroying booty bass tune - the sample’s been left intact, ensuring that those who can’t body-pop will at least have something to sing along to, but the track has been mutated into a jeep beat-esque electro rumbler. The switching bassline veers between a melodic top-end and foundation-troubling sub bass, and the beat has been fattened and sped up to please the breaks and electro heads - the real treat in this version, however, comes from Yolanda’s soulful vocal additions to the sample and verses. With a reverb-heavy drop to die for and plenty of awesome rolls and breaks to keep dancers guessin as to what’s coming next, this toughened-up version of a chart hit deserves plenty commercial and underground success. Guaranteed to stick in your head longer than the original, this is the kind of tune you want to listen to in your car or in the bar - and it knocks the other remixes of the same song into a cocked hat. My, my, my, what a banger.

Lost Your Mind

Another ‘Strictly for the clubs’ Bass and Break laden monster; Deekline & Wizards Remix of Alex Cartana’s track has been ripping up dancefloors across the globe for the last year. Don’t Miss.

Got Your Money

The success of “I Don’t Smoke” prompted East West records to commission this mix of the Ol’ Dirty Bastard track - this track brought the emergent electro-tinged breakstep style to a wider audience.

Singles

Outta Space

Almost as if it was a timely reminder of what the Prodigy sound like before they started making songs with Juliette Lewis, Deekline has released an awesome rerub of what is arguably their best song - Out of Space. Keeping the unmistakable bleeps and melodies and fattening up the already titanic bassline into something which could level buildings, this is a true club monster. The reggae samples have been removed and replaced with a hardcore ragga toast by Top Cat and a filthy sample from bass legend DJ Assault, and the beats have been boosted to true Miami Bass proportions - imagine Liam Howlett and Max Romeo sitting in a Jacuzzi in Palm Beach coated in fast women and bling and you’re still only half-way there. It’s made a bigger dent on dancefloors than Andy Fordham makes on a buffet and hit number one on the DCC dance charts in Germany. It’s set to blow up immensely over here thanks to some wicked support from the usual suspects. Easy.

Touch Your Toes

Deekline and Wizard have proven that they can make basslines fat enough to set bootys bouncing involuntarily within a fifteen-mile radius, and this summer the White Island is going to be at risk from bass overload. Already being tipped for massive success in Ibiza (and it’s only January) due to serious support from the Southern Fried roster and a remix by Uncle Norman Cook, the original is a grinding monster with all of the things you’d expect from the boys - jeep beats, crazy b-lines and a vocal from Darrison which is set to shock and titillate clubbers in a way we haven’t seen since the Detroit Grand Poobahs decided to make sandwich-making dirty. Phat isn’t the word.

Why Don’t You/Blo Dem Away

Why Don’t You is a tantalising mix of diva vocals delivered in a house/breaks style perfect for the dance floors and radio. The track has already had massive underground support from the likes of DJ Craze, M J Cole and The Wideboys together with strong support from London pirate radio stations Shine FM, Freeze & Y2K. Flip for the action packed breakbeat monster sounds of ‘Blo Dem Away’ featuring expert lyrical flicks, spits and tricks from wonder boy Spoonface! The emphasis here is big arena breaks that aim straight for the jugular - Word!

Ill Street Bluez/Truth is a Lie

This one is as ill as it sounds. The double A side Ill Street Bluez/ Truth is a lie, features vocal talents from the UK’s finest up and coming vocalists Yolanda & Spoonface. Throwing the remixes by MJ Cole the don of UK Garage and breakbeat supremo’s Freestylers into the mix makes this one serious package delivering the party vibe!

FreqNasty - This is the bomb

4×4x4

Thundering into the number spot in the Australian dance charts on its initial release, 4*4*4 is the single leader taken from the Deekline & Wizard debut long player ‘Breaks Beats & Blondes’ featuring rich backing vocals from house legends Michael Watford & David Elliot.

Rob Sharp Station Manager Ministry of Sound Distinctive styles that fuse the gap between house and breaks - perfect for plays on Ministry

Secret Place (Deekline and Wizard mix)

This version of Jason Sparks’ song, remixed by the boys and put out on Botchit and Scarper, takes the cinematic feel of the original and rips it to shreds, retaining the atmosphere and making the whole affair much more dancefloor-friendly.

I Don’t Smoke

A breaks star is born, alongside a new sound for breakbeat in the UK, merging the basslines of UK garage with a sparse breakstep sound and a cheeky sample. Riotously and deservedly successful at the time, still gets played today.

Every Posse and Crew (with Freq Nasty)

Another show-stopping tune, with Deekline and Freq Nasty’s juggernaut basslines riding over heavily steppy and syncopated beats with some insane jazzy fills. The B-side, the “Dancefloor Bully” mix, is an absolute gem. Voted one of the top 10 tunes of the year by DJ magazine.

Rippin’ Up Wax (with Rennie Pilgrem)

Another breaks anthem saw Deekline teaming up with scene stalwart Rennie Pilgrem for a tough electro breaks track. Miss it at your peril.