The World on Fire

Gaslamp Killer Hits Smartbar!!

2010-05-07T09:28:00.001-07:00

The Gaslamp Killer is a maniac among maniacs of several different categories, but attains his highest highs as a producer, turntablist and hairstyle daredevil. His birthday was Wednesday and he speaks now while resting up from another night at Low End Theory. This interview by Chris Ziegler.

Is it fair to say you made over 1,200 trips to L.A. for parties before you finally moved here? Shit! Now the first word of this interview is ‘shit.’ I think that might be accurate. It’s well over a thousand. The most repetitive things I’ve done in my life are try to make a beat, try to learn new scratches, practicing music, playing my drum set and complaining about the weather or something retarded. Ever think about complaining over a beat you sampled from your own drum set? It’s almost there—I should try and bring it all together! One giant OCD freakfest! Are you the George Carlin of the slam mix? That would be such an honor! To be compared to such a genius! Depending on how drunk I am, a lot of things come out on the mic at night—like the word ‘motherfucker’ every other word! Wasn’t ‘motherfucker’ once an official part of your name? I was angry one day and angry at the world and society! But there is a story behind the name. Did you wake up with blood on your hands? I played in downtown San Diego, which is Naval Surf Academy meets the Laguna Beach MTV show—that’s what I grew up with. I didn’t have a nurturing community to DJ from. I’d be playing—from the age of 17—every weekend, escorted in and out of fancy Gaslamp District clubs to play for meatheads. Give me one Coca-Cola and escort me out—couldn’t sell CDs, couldn’t give away stickers. Usually I cleared the dance floor and made the meatheads mad—the girls wouldn’t dance. But the promoters liked it. So they kept bringing me back to educate these meatheads. I was always playing instrumental psych dirty beats. A friend of mine was like, ‘You’re the only one in the Gaslamp doing what you’re doing—the only one killing the Gaslamp!’ And we didn’t have a name for the mixtape, so we called it Gaslamp Killers. Do you ever get nostalgic? Miss the meatheads? Definitely. People take longer to evolve—no disrespect. But I see people from my high school now and they’re like, ‘Willie, we’re so proud! I never knew this music!’ I’m glad people are getting into it. Maybe there’s a little more education. But I still clear the dancefloor! It still fucking happens! I start with Little Weezy and I still kill! B+ dubbed me the Dancefloor Killer—lovingly. I clear it and fill it with nerds—people who just wanna break their necks and freak out. People who wanna be sexy—there’s enough of them in the world. They can all suffer. Are you hated by the sexy? Hated by people trying to get sexy. There aren’t any sexy moments—I can’t see people grinding to my music, and if they were, I’d tell them to stop! Nah, I dance. A lot of DJs say, ‘My job is for the people—I’m here to cater’—you gotta be an artist, too. You gotta have passion—be an artist, an educator, have more motivation than ‘I wanna make people dance around.’ How did you decide that was important? I had really good friends letting me know. I was jocking their shit, and my good friend Michael Raymond Russell of MRR-ADM—dirtydrums.com, who just did a 10” on Now Again—told me, ‘Don’t ever cater! If there’s any advice you ever take for me in your entire life, don’t cater! It’s not gonna get you where you’re gonna go! Your job is to educate—to play the dirtiest rawest stuff! Push it to the next level!’ He inspired me. And it took them so long to get their music out the way they wanted. People like Mike Russell, Adam Manella, my friend DJ 10shun—they were playing the rawest shit and scratching the illest and were on the next shit, in my opinion. They were all killing it so hard. You gotta be as good or better than your friends. And now it’s people like Samiyam, Flying Lotus, Ras G, Dimlite, Nosaj Thing—they’re all pushing! Mr. Chop, Heliocentrics, Cherrystones—they’re making me wanna lose my mind and explode! Making me wanna be a DJ who just spins their music! You seem like you have a lot of high highs and low lows. I have no balance in my life right now. I’m searching for balance. Is that why you have half an afro and half braids? Exactly! Highs and lows—always intense! Not only am I a neurotic obsessive-compulsive Jew—I’m a Scorpio! Every Scorpio I know is a freak like me. We’re very intense people. We don’t really have a choice. What your favorite souvenir from every continent you’ve been to recently? I don’t buy ‘em—but I have mental and emotional and soul souvenirs! Tons of those! In the U.K., I was getting to hang with Cherrystones. The guy is a virtual—well, library! I go over there and he has books and movies I never heard of—not to mention the illest records! I could sit at his crib all day and educate myself. And spending time with new friends in Australia—my hosts were so cool! As soon as I got off the plane, they had a joint in my hand. Did all those Unreleased Beat Invitationals make you pay extra attention to your own work? Hell yeah! It’s because of Low End Theory—not only me, but everyone has actually stepped it up, you know? Low End Theory made Lotus freak out—every one of us. Nobody’s beats are so fucking hard lately. People are gonna be blown away! Low End Theory has affected all of our styles—‘Yeah, I can use samples, and sample psych and Ethiopian, but you still gotta have the 808 in there…’ You’re a Low End Theory resident—what do you think the club has brought to Los Angeles? It’s given nerds like me a platform to be really—accepted? Accepted and appreciated and—Low End Theory provided a place for nerds and beatheads to be really nurtured. It’s a community outreach program! I shit you not! 18-year-old kids are coming in and all they hear is the same stuff on the radio and they can’t go to clubs so they just go to raves or house parties—everybody remembers being a kid, and there was never a time when you could go to a weekly to hear such ferociously progressive music at that age. Every week! We bring young people in and they’re getting made fun of in school—all the same stuff we were going through—and they get a place to be themselves! We get hundreds of bright-eyed bushy-tailed kids in our face—no beer in their hand and just an ‘X’! It’s a beautiful thing. I’m very very proud of Kev for his idea and the fact that it’s happening—super stoked. You’ve mentioned education a lot—what are you trying to learn? Or teach? I feel I’ve been given the ability to make people feel free—act like a freak, bang their heads, whatever it is I’m doing. It feeds me to hear their applause and roars! All I’m doing is looking for the next fucking crowd to turn out. It serves me and it serves them. It lets kids know they can be free—be whoever they wanna be—that nobody can tell them what they can or can’t do. Who do you look to that’s doing that now? Thom Yorke—Radiohead. They made it through whatever the fuck was going on. People dropped like flies around them! I can’t say Hendrix, Cobain or Marley—three of my favorite most inspiring dudes, and people might say they’re played out but they’re famous for a reason! John Lennon was famous for a reason—a god among men! Hendrix and Cobain may not have been as political, but their music said enough and traveled enough—the hardest dudes ever! Then you have Radiohead, who were maybe not epic in the beginning but who blossomed into one of the best bands in history in my opinion—the top ten of all time, possibly top five—and the fact that they’re still together! No ODs, no one died, they’re not too eccentric to not stay in the studio or drop off tour—so Thom forgot a song, big fucking deal! So would you—you’re not a machine! But the fact that they keep going and keep involving—the fact that Thom Yorke sat down with Lotus and talked shit and had a cup of tea! He knows about L.A.! He knows about me! I will shit right here if that motherfucker knows about me! That’s how hard I think Thom Yorke is! I’d love to just hide for a year and just make dope music, but it’s not meant to be right now. There’s so many elements to a musician’s life. It’s damn near impossible—but it’s a new age and it’s a new day and anything is fucking possible! I got my drums downstairs with a bass guitar and a Rhodes—I’m trying to evolve as a human being and a musician. And as much as I wanna focus on my relationships with my friends and getting out to the world and sharing and performing, I always want actually to have a record that will stand next to my heroes. I’m 25—I think I can make this happen! God willing—if I stay alive! I didn’t drop out of school for nothing! What did you go to school for? For my parents! So they wouldn’t think I was a loser! And when I dropped out, they were like, ‘You’re insane!’ But now I’m at P.F. Chang’s for their 44th wedding anniversary and the server says, ‘Hey—Gaslamp Killer! Rad!’ And my mom grabs my dad—‘Willie made it! HE MADE IT!’ They were so motherfucking happy!

NEXT THURSDAY AT SMARTBAR CHICAGO with CAURAL // K-RUZ // DJ SOLO

DJ Belly dropping a new album!

2010-05-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

You have heard him at the Dubstep Massacres, followed him closely on Soundcloud and on Facebook, but something was still missing from the equation... And today it has happened!!!!
That's right! Today you can download your very own 12 track dubstep mix album created for your listening pleasure by your very own DJ Belly! And the best thing is that it's absolutely positively 100% for sure totally FREE!

Yes! Belly is THAT awesome indeed!
Grab yours while it's up at the following address: http://djbelly.bandcamp.com/

Increase In Cover Charges at Dubstep Massacre at Highdive Were Unauthorized, 217mafia Apologizes

2010-05-03T09:02:00.000-07:00

To everyone that attended (or tried to attend) the Dubstep Massacre on Saturday, May 1,

As always, thank you to our fans for turning out in droves once again for our Dubstep Massacre party this past Saturday. We were always confident that our loyal scene would pack The Highdive and you certainly did not let us down.

However, in a way, we the organizers feel like we let some of you down. The show was advertised as costing $5 if you bought a presale ticket. If you just showed up and wanted to pay at the door, it was supposed to cost $7. We advertised those prices consistently.

The night of the show, someone from The Highdive took it upon themselves to raise the price to $10 per person without consulting any of the organizers of the show. Let me repeat that to be perfectly clear, charging $10 at the door was never discussed with any of the Dubstep Massacre organizers, and it certainly was not authorized by us.

We took on the costs of promotions, extra sound rental, hotel for our headliners, transportation costs and the artist guarantees. We had some help from Red Bull, but at the end of the day, the risk of not covering costs of the show falls solely on the 217mafia. With our experience booking shows, we knew that $5 and $7 tickets were all we needed to put on this show. We put on these shows for the purpose of putting on good shows, not to get paid. There was no need for anyone to charge $10 for this show, and there was no way we would take advantage of over a year's worth of loyalty by jacking up ticket prices with no announcement and for no good reason.

As we sit here on Monday morning trying to figure out how to make this right, we've talked about how we would love to take the extra money you spent on this show and give back -- maybe throw you a kick ass BBQ or a cool free show to say that we're sorry. The problem is, we the promoters of the show, have, as of yet, not been paid an amount that reflects the unauthorized increase in ticket prices. We're working on that issue too.

If you were one of the people that were charged $10 at the door, please contact us. Hit up djbellymusic@gmail.com and we'll do what we can to make things right with you.

In addition to that, all we can say is that we're sorry this happened. We have never had this type of problem since we started throwing the Massacre in February 2009. We are already taking steps to make sure this sort of thing never happens again, even if we do end up back at The Highdive for another show.

We know that none of these shows would be possible without our fans. We know the value of your loyalty, and we would never exploit it. We are very sorry if any of you felt otherwise on Saturday.

Thank you again for your continued support.

Sincerely,

The 217mafia

Il Breaks in CU!!!

2010-03-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

We're very excited about the upcoming Dubstep v. Electro show which is
now going to be held at Highdive. All indications are that Cowboy
Monkey would not be nearly big enough to hold both the dubstep and the
electro scenes in this town. That makes us happy.

We're also very excited that on the same night, one of the best and
longest running music events in Champaign, IL Breaks, will be
happening just a few miles away at the Ilini Union.

A lot of the people that throw dubstep events in this town helped set
up and run previous IL Breaks. Those same people, and a LOT of the
dubstep fans have been supporting IL Breaks for years. We still
support it.

So instead of making a competition between the two events that night,
we're going to be handing out FREE TICKETS at IL Breaks to the DUBSTEP
v. ELECTRO show at the Highdive. Just find a member of our street team
at IL Breaks and they'll hook you up. We want people actually going to
IL Breaks and then coming to dance themselves at Highdive. There will
be a limit of one ticket free ticket per person because we want you to
actually witness the IL Breaks experience because it is such a great
event.

We hope that people will support both events as they're perfect
examples of what independent promoters and local music lovers can
accomplish working together in Champaign.

Sincerely,

The 217 Mafia

FB event for il Breaks:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=318224295790&ref=ts

New shows for the crew!!

2010-02-04T17:39:00.000-08:00

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited about this one guys, buy your tickets in advance, it's going to be a PACKED show! Looking forward to blessing SmartBars Funktion 1 system again too, I CAN'T WAIT!!! Excision aint nothing to fuck with! I'll be posting some of his mixes and tunes up so you all can get a taste soon!

Positive Vibr8ions will be supporting bass slinger RUMBLE JUNKIE at Cafe Lura also this month. If you are in Chicago this shouldn't be missed, a HUGE sound system and Massacre host AMS will be on the Mic to get things rolling!

Mertz just got booked to open for freaking BASSNECTAR..... and if thats not enough, DJ Vadim is also on the bill!!!! Thats coming up in April be on the look out for fliers and tickets for that. Its going down in Urbana @ the Canopy Club!

217Mafia is holding it down accros the state, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK you to everyone who has shown such imense support for us over the past year or so, we wouldn't be doing any of this without you!!

Heres a few mixes to put ya in the mood!!
DJ Belly - Original Sin Vol.2 by djbellymusic

Breezys Christmas Chill Dec 09 by positivevibr8ions

Beef With The Boat Drunks - Mertz's New Mix

2010-02-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

Hello hello everybody... Mertz here checking in.... I put together a new 2 hour, 46 track dubstep mix called Beef With the Boat Drunks.

You can read the full story behind the mix (including the title) and get a tracklisting of all 46 tracks over at my site (djmertz.com).

Or just get to listening by downloading it right here.

BATTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-22T15:10:00.000-08:00

So the gents at Red Bull decided to throw a friendly little DJ competition between the two leading dj crews in C-U. The resident DJs at Rave to the Grave, (formally Physical Challenge) are set to throw down against the 217mafias finest. Breakdown will look like this: 4 DJs per team, 15 minute sets back to back. Crowd pics who will be the winner of the throw down. Expect some HUGE tunes from both sides and a night where some of the best in CU go head to head in a duel for musical supremacy!

16 Bit Hits Smartbar!

2010-01-16T15:33:00.002-08:00

16Bit lands in Chicago once again, this time blasting through SmartBars Funktion 1 sound system. If you missed them last time, you should not miss this one! Timid and Chris Widman will be backing up the Chainsaw masters this time around. Legends in the dubstep game, with a huge collection of amazing tunes to get you moving right!

Peep some tunes here:

Happy New Years Britches!!!

2010-01-08T15:51:00.000-08:00

I say goddamn!! 2009 went out with a bang and left all of us at World on Fire hurting. I know we have been quiet on here, But that is mainly due to making things for your enjoyment! I recently finished up a remix of DZs Up and Down that is currently being reviewed by the good fellas at Badmanpress.com to see if they like it. Check it out right here:

DZ- Up and Down (Bellys for the ladies remix) by djbellymusic

For those of you who missed the Eoto show it was INSANE, Positive Vibr8ions KILLED shit and kept about 800 people hot and sweaty in the break between Eotos set. It was an INSANE night.
The pic at the top of the post is myself and AMS rocking out right before Eoto hit the stage.

Also the good people at Furthersound Artist Management have decided to give me a little helping hand with getting gigs. Starting this year I have been added to the roster you can check out the full line up here: http://www.furthersound.com/

I put together a lil promo mix for the site (which will be available through the Furthersound site soon as my page is finished) but you can listen right here!

FurthersoundMix-DJBellymp3 by djbellymusic

Got some great stuff coming your way in 2010 guys, expect ALOT more original tracks from 217mafias djs :)

Some things to look forward to:

January 29th: DUBSTEP MASSACRE ft Lincoln Jones, Positive Vibr8ions, DJ Belly, and newcomer to the massacre stage: WHITE RABBIT
Feb 10th: Physical Challenge DJs VS 217mafia in a duel for electronic supremacy!

More to come no worries folks were just getting started ;)

Heres some more goodies for your listening pleasure:

Positve Vibr8ions DR DECKS mix (congrats to Substr8 on that PhD!!)

The Dr Decks Mix Substr8 & Breezy by positivevibr8ions

The Aftermath: Dubstep Massacre 9!!!

2009-11-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

Yeah People!!! Big ups to everyone that made it out to Dubstep Massacre 9!!! Phaded and Richie August KILLED shit and kept you all rocking it out late, More pics to come, Mixes from the cds also!!!

Heres a Mix I dropped a few Sundays back on dubstep.fm for The Dented Sessions with Phaded out of Chicago. Had a blast laying down some tunes with the Dubfix crew!!! Bigs ups, tune in every Sunday from 2-7pm for your weekend bass fixxx!!!

Djbelly on dubstep.fm by djbellymusic

N.A.S.A. REMIX

2009-10-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

Yo peeps, check the remix I put together for the N.A.S.A. remix contest voting begins later this month!!

Whachadoin djBelly mix by djbellymusic

Check out Eoto, and a NEW MIXXX

2009-10-07T21:35:00.001-07:00

Yo people, who here has heard of Eoto? The drummers from String Cheese Incident come together for a side project known to blast dance parties out every time. The good thing for you guys about that? They are coming to Canopy Club December 12th! Even better news for you guys? 217mafia luminaries Substr8, Mertz, and myself well be taking over the decks before, inbetween, and after they play. Check out a video of em dropping some bass knowledge on a packed out crowd, and expect nothing different in Dec!

Eotos myspace

ALSO, new mix from yours truely, a lil 20 min mix to get you in the mood ;)
Djbelly-Oct20min by djbellymusic

If you missed it: Pics from Skream

2009-10-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

MAD PROPS TO CHRIS PERARDI he is THE man!!!
more pics here: DUBSTEP 8 PICS

all I can say is: "goddamn!"

2009-10-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

Playing a little catch up!!!

2009-10-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, its been a while since we got into touch with you all since the Skream show.

First off: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH
Without you guys we would never have been able to have a show like that in Champaign!

I know its been quiet on our front, but that is because we are working on some BIG things coming up for Champaign! Bringing some great acts into town for you to get down to over the next couple months! Upcoming shows include (but are certainly not limited to)

10/31: Dubstep Massacre 9 HALLOWEEN with Dubfix DJs Phaded, Richie August and Brandon S!
(Furthersound Artists management, Chicagos TOP dubstep talent!!)

11/12: Dubfix vs 217mafia @ SMARTBAR in Chicago! Belly, Mertz and Substr8 vs Phaded, Richie August and Brandon S!!

12/05: Eoto with 217mafia support at Canopy Club! Live band dubstep throw down!

12/09: 217mafia vs 60htz @ Lava Lounge in Chicago. Mobius and Geist with resident dj Cringer

I have been busy on my own front trying to finish up this album to get out to you people!
Been putting in work in the studio over the past couple weeks and have a few tidbits to share with you all, check it here:
djBelly - Ooohh by djbellymusic

Deadman remix - djbelly by djbellymusic

Also my most recent 20min mix for those who missed it!!
Aug20min by djbellymusic

Skream is only a Week Away

2009-09-10T08:25:00.001-07:00

A week from now, on September 17, we'll be picking up Skream from the airport and bringing him to Champaign to perform at The Highdive for only $5. That whole idea still seems somewhat surreal to all of us here, but surreal isn't stopping us from being completely excited to welcome this dubstep legend to Illinois for his first performance in the state. Big ups to Red Bull Music Academy and the Pygmalion Music Festival for making this possible.

Just in case you haven't seen a flyer or read our initial writeup about the show, here are the down and dirty details: Geist, Belly and Mertz will be opening up and have the always hype support on the microphones from Harsh and Agent Mos.

Highdive is 19+ to enter and doors for Skream will start around 8:30/9:00.

Tickets are actually $7 at the door the night of the show, so you'll want to snag $5 presale tickets either at Exile On Main St. in downtown Champaign, or online from the Highdive's online ordering page. There's a good chance we're going to be at capacity, even at Highdive, so make sure you snag tickets NOW.

We'll see you next Thursday for Skream!!!!

Dubstep Massacre 6 Videos

2009-08-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our friend Pirkle we've got some awesome video footage from Dubstep Massacre 6! Check it out:

Skream Tickets Available this weekend!!!!

2009-08-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

Whats good people, SKREAM tix go on sale this weekend, and we happen to have some to sell!

HERES THE THING!!

We are totally 100% appreciative of our fans help! So we have a lil something special set up for you folks! If you come through and buy 5 tickets, you receive an invite to a special Skream Pre-Party at The Highdive. So those of you who want to come out a lil early, get your drink on, and get the party started right, and possibly rub elbows with some Dubstep elite, get your friends together, sell some tickets, and your in! And yes for every 5 tickets you get an invite, so you know 10 people who want to go? Get at us and you get 2 invites to the preparty! These tickets are CHEAP too! 5 bucks for THE leading name in DUBSTEP?? All made possible by you guys!! All of the Massacre DJs will be holding down tickets, or comment on this post for a way to get ahold of us! We'll be putting the list together starting this weekend so nows the time!

WE WILL HAVE TICKETS TO SELL AT DUBSTEP MASSACRE 7 if you can't find us before then!

As most of you know our shows hit capacity everytime anyway, but as this is a part of Pygmalion Music Festival, and having freaking SKREAM on the line up, you KNOW this is going to be packed, you WILL need to get your tickets ahead of time!

Heres some video of Skream spinnin a set in France, just so you know what your getting yourselves into!

See you guys next weekend at Dubstep Massacre 7!!!

DZ August 28 at Cowboy Monkey

2009-08-17T10:35:00.000-07:00

If we haven't made it clear enough let me make it crystal clear:

DZ IS COMING TO DUBSTEP MASSACRE 7!!!!

It's going down at Cowboy Monkey on August 28, which is the first Friday that the University of Illinois is back in session. In other words, GET THERE EARLY because we're going to have the biggest party in town that week! Cover is $5 before midnight, $2 after.

Have no fear though, we're giving away FIVE FREE ADMISSIONS that we'll be drawing randomly from the list of people that are on the confirmed list on the Dubstep Massacre 7 Facebook Event.

AND we're bringing in the biggest and best sound system in town, so if you thought past Massacres have had a lot of bass, you have no idea what bass is!

Peep the web flyer, spread the word, and get to Cowboy Monkey EARLY on Friday the 28th, cause we are going to be packed and rocking ALL NIGHT!

Gettin DOWN with DZ...

2009-08-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

As you read in the past few posts DZ is coming into town to rock our collective socks off. We caught up with the Badman himself and asked him a few questions concerning what hes up to, where he came from and the like. Some good reading here, check it out ya'll!

World On Fire: First off what's the story about how you got started as a DJ/Producer?

DZ: Not much of a story i guess, i was born with it in me somehow, i remember losing my shit when hip hop found me, and the break became my heartbeat. add some rave and hip hop's re-invention of sorts post 1993 and the rest is history, or so far at least...

WOF: Can you remember the first dubstep song you ever heard, or first time you ever heard a DJ spin dubstep? What was your initial reaction?

DZ: First tune was 'lightning' by Skream that a friend brought me back from England, and a tape of the "Dubstep Warz". I dug the production but couldn't get into it at first until I listened to the Dubstep Warz show a few times.

WOF: How is producing and spinning dubstep different than being part of the drum n bass scene?

DZ: The only part I had in Ottawa's DnB scene was the fact all my boyz spun it and the foundation of "Badman Press" is breakbeats in general, from breakbeat/hardcore to acid & bigbeat thru to nuskool breaks and jungle/dnb. Ottawa is a house city so it was always breaks & jungle/dnb that would get put together in the side rooms, so it was only natural that we repped each other's genres up as the underdog material. As a producer I am a breaks fanatic, from growing up (like many) on NYC hip hop, so I built DnB not so much to get tunes signed, but to understand the different ways of using the same break. Spinning it was fun, but the bar was so high to begin with skill wise we started to adopt the 90 second rule when mixing, which meant as soon as the needle touched the wax, dude has 90 seconds till he's done. That was ok, but was it fun? Not half as fun as playing a dubstep set with so much diversity within itself as a blanket term to keep even an hour set fresh and driving.

WOF: What has been the best party you've played at so far, and what event or city surprised you the most as a DJ?

DZ: Best party bar none was NYE 2008/09 at 1015 Folsom in San Francisco. Diplo & Jesse Rose were the main headliners and the dubstep room consisted of rastatronics, the spit brothers, antiserum, plastician, mrk1, kromestar & myself until 4am, then I went down to the main room and played to a packed place for another hour while mrk1 & kromestar just vibed. dubstep and sublow owned that night, very special indeed!

WOF: Hip hop samples seem to run through some of your tunes (obvious ones like Oooh or Regulate or less obvious like the Steinski sample on "Wildstyle"). And we know you got started out spinning old school hip hop, electro, breaks and hardcore. In terms of where you find sample inspiration, do you mainly rely on the classics that you know, or are you are trying to keep up with newer songs to nick things from? What qualities does a sample have to possess for you to use it in a song?

DZ: Man, there are sooooooo many classic samples that have their firm place in our culture, it's nuts... for me, it just kinda fits if it fits, I build a lot of tunes that the process is like a piggyback, or call & answer session, where the sounds play off of each other. I think it's just in my nature to keep using hip hop and funk samples because I know them, they reverberate with me as memories and feelings - always back to when I first heard it used and went 'damn, that was fucking witty!'. it's not quite an OJ thing, but if it fits, it fits.

WOF: What are you listening to when you're at home?

DZ: samples, synths, old accapellas, funk, the voice in my head that keeps asking me why I don't have a beer in my hand, lately I haven't been listening to much unless I am working on it, spare dubs from the lads when I get my head out of my arse and need to assemble the weapons for shows.

WOF: How has being a father influenced your music?

DZ: 100% or more directly, in drive and determination. I don't have the relationship with my daughter that I had hoped for, but to hear that she is proud of her father has really helped me get through some tough times and stay focused on what I am trying to achieve with my music.

WOF: Where do you get your inspiration to make such ridiculously heavy tunes?

DZ: The desire to hear something I have not heard before I guess, we used to get treated to ridiculously big breakdowns and drops in breaks in the 90's and they were fun. I see that and feel that in dubstep as well, so when I build a chune and hear it out, my headspace is in the crowd vibin onit. A bunch of my tunes aren't procuced as crisp and meticulous as most in dubstep, but I'm not a fan of constantly re-visiting a tune and fiddling with the idea that spewed out in the first place. I like raw shit that bumps, it's what drew me into the scene in the first place, that 'dub' aesthetic, pure vibesssssssss....

WOF: Conversely, tell us about the Bobby Caldwell track... what has it done for your producing and DJing career in terms of opening doors? And how does someone making heavy tunes in a heavy genre end up listening to that original song and think "I should make a dubstep version" ?

DZ: I like this story... I had a studio session that lasted a couple days and was on fire, and wanted to do something different while I had the spark going. My girlfriend's birthday was coming up and she had just recently sent me an mp3 of her fav tune ever, "What You Won't Do For Love". I thought it would be a cool lil project to try and about 6 hours later that track was done. I couldn't hold it back and sent it to her, she loved it, and I said "wouldn't it be cool if it came out some day?". Sent it to a few lads, including Starkey, and it just started blowing up hard. Starkbot asked if i'd be interested in putting it out on Slit Jockey and the rest of that is blogfare history. Opening doors-wise, I am not sure. I'm not a blog junkie by any means and try not to hear what 'they' say when it comes to hype, but when I started doing a lil googlin' trying to get reference points for my last bio, I noticed it did some major damage across the globe in the dances. I still think that my JOTS remix was the one that probably got me a bigger look. Who knows, cause I sure don't, and it's better that way I reckon.

WOF: You've also done dubstep remixes of Pink Floyd, Crookers and Major Lazer... is there any genre or artist that you keep off limits in terms of remixing? What artists (dubstep or not-dubstep) would you like to work with or remix that you haven't gotten the chance to yet?

DZ: There are so many, I have a wishlist for my real artist LP, but we'll see. I just always love working with different situations whenever possible, steady learning. I'll admit the Major Lazer remix was calculated, I did it to get Diplo's attention by giving it out and not posting it on the Mad Decent blog - I think just to see if I could get him to holler for it. I'm not trying to mimick styles sounds or techniques necessarily, I just don't want to do what I did yesterday.

WOF: We know you've got some nasty tracks hidden away. What's the word on new releases coming up?

DZ: In the last month Badman Press 002 (vinyl) has come out and is selling out like mad (AWOL/Crack), I have a dubwise release out on DubsAlive, a track out with Excision on EX7 (Ying & Yang), a track out on Rottun (Oooh) & my "Coast II Coast" EP just came out this week on my Badman Digital Media label. Coming up you can expect my 13 track digi LP to drop (DZ - The Proliferation Sequence - BDM004), my 10 (or 11) track house LP after that (DZ - The Flophouse - BDM005) and SamXL & I just signed off 2 tracks to Contagious Records, so keep an eye out for that as well. Oh snaps, and the Crookers ft. Wiley & TJ "Business Man" remix on Southern Fried any day...

WOF: Please finish this thought: In ten years, dubstep will be......

DZ: ...sponsored by sirrichard@thevirginspacestation.com

BIG UPS to DZ for spending the time to answer some questions, check some of his mixes and tunes out here:

http://badmanpress.com/

Some DOPE mixes and exclusive bootlegs!
We'll be seeing you all out @ Dubstep Massacre 7!!

New DZ Release "Coast II Coast" on Badman Digital

2009-08-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

New release from DZ on his record label Badman Digital. Looks like these tracks are exclusive to Beatport, so preview them below, and snatch them up! They're killer!

Oh, and in case you've forgotten, DZ is coming to town August 28th to play for Dubstep Massacre 7!!! It's going down at Cowboy Monkey, and it features resident dubsteppers Mobius, Lincoln & Substr8 as openers. Be on the lookout for a facebook event, it will be up shortly.

Go Ahead and Skream

2009-08-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

Take a look at that guy right there. We're very excited to announce that he's going to be coming to Champaign to play some tunes on Thursday, September 17th. Why are we excited? Because that seemingly unassuming guy does things like this:

"That guy" just happens to be Skream, and he is one of the rare musicians out there that you can say, without exaggeration, is responsible for an entire genre sounding the way it does now. To be very blunt, the sounds of dubstep that we all know and love would not exist in their current form if it were not for this 23-year-old from South London. (And yes, the fact that he's only 23 amazes and frustrates all of us as well)

Anyhow, Skream will perform on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17th at the Highdive in Champaign as part of the Pygmalion Music Festival. It will be his FIRST US Festival appearance and his FIRST appearance in the Midwest.

Dubstep Massacre DJs Belly, Geist and Mertz will all provide opening support, and we know our fans will be out in full strength to see this dubstep legend.

Now for anyone that has even a passing knowledge of dubstep, Skream is a household name. But for those of you that are new to the genre, we're going to do our best to do some educating on this blog between now and the show.

We could start with his wikipedia entry, which does a nice job of providing an overview of his career. Just know that if there is a major European festival, he's played it. He's played every major dubstep night on the planet. He's criss-crossed the globe, and he released one of the biggest tunes in the history of the genre, "Midnight Request Line."

But to fully understand how much he was at the very epicenter, the very beginning of the dubstep sound, you should really read this interview from 2005 that he did with the blog Blackdown. It's incredible reading how Skream, Benga, Hatcha, El-B and the Big Apple Record Store all were directly responsible for UK Garage evolving into dubstep. Plus, there's a mix from Skream from 2005 in that post!

Skream's productions are of the highest caliber, and have provided some of the most epic moments in dubstep's relatively short history. Between now and the September 17th show, all of us blogging at The World On Fire will posting up favorite Skream tunes. But here's a few to get things going:

LaRoux - Going In For The Kill (Skream Remix)
Possibly the biggest crossover remix to date for Skream. It's a major hit in Europe, a top seller in record shops, and hopefully it'll soon be picked up by a certain Champaign radio station (hint, hint). And for all you interwebtweeter types, the YouTube video has well over 2 million plays:

Skream - Midnight Request Line
The tune that changed the face of dubstep forever. Grime artists like Wiley were still down with the new more melodic sound and the change in the hook, and even techno artists like Ricardo Villalobos were mixing it into their sets.

The Klaxons - Not Over (Skream Remix)
Like I said earlier, all of us will be posting up some of our favorite Skream tunes between now and the September 17th show. For me (Mertz) this Skream remix of the Klaxons remains one of my all-time favorite dubstep moments.

We'll have more for you soon and we will see you all THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17th at THE HIGHDIVE in CHAMPAIGN for SKREAM!!!

Dubstep Massacre 6 20-Minute Mixes

2009-08-06T06:39:00.000-07:00

Hello again fellow dubsteppers. Got some goodies for you! If you didn't get a CD at Dubstep Massacre 6, have no fear! All the 20-Minute Mixes are posted up right here! They're playable within the browser, and downloadable as well!

Oh, and much thanks to Chris Perardi for the amazing photography Friday night! You can check out a gallery of all the photos he took right here. Look for more photos from him in the future... I smell a great partnership in the making! And head over to the Facebook album and tag yourself in the crowd photos!

Also, we had camcorders rolling the whole night, so look forward to seeing video in the near future. Thanks again to everyone who made it out! And enjoy these mixes!!!

Download Mertz's 20-Minute Mix

Download Substr8's 20-Minute Mix

Download Geist's 20-Minute Mix

Download Lincoln's 20-Minute Mix

We're All Playing Out This Week

2009-08-05T08:42:00.000-07:00

When you've got 5 different DJs spinning 5 different sounds when they're not playing dubstep (and Substr8 as our 6th DJ always holding it down for the dubstep), it is not very often that we all end up playing out in the same week.

But the moons must be in the right alignment because all six of us that throw the Dubstep Massacre parties are playing out this week, starting today! Some of us will be playing dubstep, others will be playing techno, hip hop, house, reggae, dub, soul, disco and then Mertz will probably play the Bangles or When In Rome or Curtis Mayfield or something like that. :D

Here's where you can catch each of us, broken down by artist, with a full schedule by day at the end of the post!

BELLY
Wednesday, Aug 5 - 10 pm - 2 am Physical Challenge with BELLY (alongside Massacre friends White Rabbit and Wildcard) at Canopy Club
Thursday, Aug 6 - 10 pm - 2 am BELLY at Boltini Lounge
Friday, Aug 7 - 10 pm - 2 am BELLY at Radio Maria
Saturday, Aug 8 - 10 pm - 2 am Dubstep Invades with BELLY and SUBSTR8 at Mike N' Molly's
Sunday, Aug 9 - 6 pm - 2 am Sunday Dub Revival with BELLY and MERTZ at Cowboy Monkey

GEIST

Wednesday, Aug 5 - 8 pm - 10 pm Malediction Dub with GEIST and MOBIUS (listen online at kunninmindz.com)

LINCOLN JONES
Saturday, Aug 8 - 9 pm - 1 am Radioactivity with LINCOLN JONES (listen live at www.the217.com)

MERTZ
Friday, Aug 7 - 10 pm - Midnight MERTZ live on The Show on WRFU 104.5 FM in Urbana, IL
Saturday, Aug 8 - 10 pm - 2 am Saturday Night Throwdown with MERTZ at Boltini Lounge
Sunday, Aug 9 - 6 pm - 2 am Sunday Dub Revival with BELLY and MERTZ at Cowboy Monkey

MOBIUS
Wednesday, Aug 5 - 8 pm - 10 pm Malediction Dub with GEIST and MOBIUS (listen online at kunninmindz.com)
Friday, Aug 7 - 10 pm - 2 am Fever with MOBIUS (with support from Friday residents Ian Procell and Reflex) at Boltini Lounge

SUBSTR8
Saturday, Aug 8 - 10 pm - 2 am Dubstep Invades with BELLY and SUBSTR8 at Mike N' Molly's

Schedule Broken Down Chronologically:

Wednesday, August 5
8 pm - 10 pm Malediction Dub with GEIST and MOBIUS (listen online at kunninmindz.com)
10 pm - 2 am Physical Challenge with BELLY (alongside Massacre friends White Rabbit and Wildcard) at Canopy Club

Thursday, August 6
10 pm - 2 am BELLY at Boltini Lounge

Friday, August 7
10 pm - Midnight MERTZ live on The Show on WRFU 104.5 FM in Urbana, IL
10 pm - 2 am Fever with MOBIUS (with support from Friday residents Ian Procell and Reflex) at Boltini Lounge
10 pm - 2 am BELLY at Radio Maria

Saturday, August 8
9 pm - 1 am Radioactivity with LINCOLN JONES (listen live at www.the217.com)
10 pm - 2 am Dubstep Invades with BELLY and SUBSTR8 at Mike N' Molly's
10 pm - 2 am Saturday Night Throwdown with MERTZ at Boltini Lounge

Sunday, August 9
6 pm - 2 am Sunday Dub Revival with BELLY and MERTZ at Cowboy Monkey

Dubstep Massacre 6 Live Recordings

2009-08-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

The live recordings from Dubstep Massacre 6 have been posted up, and every little bit of the event is included. It's even got the part of the night when we toasted and announced that Skream will be playing at Dubstep Massacre 8 as part of the Pygmalion Festival. So snatch these up now and relive the craziest night you've had in a long time.

Download: Lincoln Jones live at Dubstep Massacre 6

Download: Geist live at Dubstep Massacre 6

Download: Mertz vs. Substr8 live at Dubstep Massacre 6

Sunday Dub Revival

2009-07-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hopefully everyone is ready for DUBSTEP MASSACRE 6 this Friday at Cowboy Monkey. But if you're the kind of person that likes to plan out the start AND the finish to their weekends, might we suggest this:

Mertz, Belly and Substr8 will be putting aside their dancefloor burners, and digging deep in their crates for chilled out dub, reggae, roots, funk, soul and smoothed out dubstep sounds to spin at Sunday Dub Revival. All of this is going down OUTSIDE at Cowboy Monkey from 6 pm until close.

Spread the word on Facebook and we'll see you under the sun and the stars on Sunday for some dub goodness!

Mertz on Malediction Dub

2009-07-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

Whaddup everyone. Mertz here. I got to spin on Geist and Mobius's dubstep internet radio show, Malediction Dub. It was a really good time, and Geist was nice enough to skip his segment and let me play an extra 30 mins.

If you want to hear a recording of my set and see a full tracklisting, just click this way.

Dubstep Massacre 6

2009-07-15T16:28:00.000-07:00

The party that everyone waits all month for is coming back on FRIDAY JULY 31st.

That's right, DUBSTEP MASSACRE is on its 6th installment and it's going to be a hot one. MERTZ returns to the Massacre stage after a few months hiatus. He'll be throwing down a SPECIAL TAG SET with everyone's favorite dancefloor dub arsonist, SUBSTR8. If you caught their impromptu tag set at Mike N Molly's earlier this summer, you know this is going to be good. Expect nothing but a set of riot-inducing bass heavy heaters that will make every inch of your body rumble!

Continuing their respective streaks of bringing the heat at these shows, LINCOLN JONES and GEIST will also be taking the stage at COWBOY MONKEY to make you shake! These two have been consistently killing it at every show they play, and July will be no exception.

As always, holding down mic duties and making you scream and shout, are HARSH and AGENT MOS, along with the usual cavalcade of surprise guests and general insanity that this town has grown to love on the last Friday of every month.

As you might have heard, we have booked a BIG HEADLINER for AUGUST's Massacre - the one like DZ. We'll be giving you more info about The Badman next month, but to help make sure that August and future headliner shows are always affordable, we're bringing back a cover this month. Your $3 helps keep this completely DIY effort going AND GROWING, so hopefully you and your friends will come out, get crunk and support the Champaign dubstep scene.

With cover we also have the return of FREE GUESTLIST GIVEAWAYS.... all you have to do is be on the CONFIRMED list for this Facebook event and you'll be entered in a chance to win one of FIVE GUESTLIST SPOTS!

As always we've got free CDs for the crowd, lots of photos, lots of video, and afterhours that rages way into the wee hours of the morning.

If you've never been to a Massacre, make sure you check out the videos on this blog.

And if you have been to a Massacre before, we know we'll see you again at DUBSTEP MASSACRE 6 on FRIDAY JULY 31!!!

Dubstep Massacre 5 Promo Mixes

2009-07-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

Promo Mixes from Dubstep Massacre 5 are online for all of you not lucky enough to get a CD at the show:

Lincoln Jones - DM5 Mix
Mobius - DM5 Mix
Belly - DM5 Mix
Mertz - DM5 Mix (tracklisting)

Video of a Massacre......

2009-06-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

So the 5th installment of the party went off without a hitch, glad you people came out and rocked out!! I had a blast spinnin the night to last call, and at afterhours watching Geist and Mertz tear it down some more. For thos of you who missed it or want to see it again check the videos right here!!

Mixes will be posted soon, if you didnt get the CD at the party!!!

Dubstep Massacre 4 Mixes

2009-06-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, Lincoln here. The 20-minute mixes from Dubstep Massacre 4 last month finally got uploaded, and all the download links are below:

Ryan Searchl1te - DM4 Mix
Geist - DM4 Mix
Lincoln Jones - DM4 Mix
Substr8 - DM4 Mix

And remember, Dubstep Massacre 5 is approaching quickly! It's going down Friday June 26th at Cowboy Monkey, doors open at 11pm and the dubstep drops at 11:30pm! It's 19+ to enter, and there's no cover this time! Be sure to RSVP on the Dubstep Massacre 5 Facebook Event too!

Bringing you that Internet Radio HEAT

2009-06-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

Geist has been pushing internet radio for quite some time now, broadcasting shows from his home studio to audiences around the world. He's teaming up with Mobius to host a biweekly dubstep show on Kunnin Mindz internet radio. Taking the other weeks is former Champaign junglist and sound system designer, Scurvy.

Every Wednesday night, 2-4 am GMT (that's 8-10 pm CDT if you are in the midwest USA), check out two shows that will play on rotation (i.e. alternating every other week).

Rotation 1 - Drum and Bass - presented by Scurvy (California)

Rotation 2 - "Malediction Dub" dubstep - presented by Geist and Mobius (Illinois)

Just click on your media player of choice when you visit the kunninmindz.com website. If you want any shoutouts or feel like saying hello, just click to pop into the chatroom.

This Wednesday June 10 will be "Malediction Dub", with Mobius and Substr8 on the decks, and Harsh as MC.

You are a Deadman...

2009-06-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

Whats good people, I've been on the grind in production mode for the past few months trying to finish up my first solo release. Got a bunch of cool tunes coming together for it. Got one for you all to check out. Big ups to HarshPro. for the video!!

Cat Power - Deadman (djbelly dubfix)

Dubstep Massacre 5 Coming At Ya!

2009-06-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

The best underground party in central Illinois returns for a FIFTH TIME! This time around we're giving extended sets to Belly, Lincoln and Mobius. Doors are at 11, bass starts booming at 11:30! We'll have free CDs to hand out featuring mixes from all of the performers, and as always, Afterhours at a location to be disclosed at the end of the show.

There's NO COVER in June, and it is 19+ to enter. For more information, and to RSVP, check out the Facebook Event.

SEE YOU ALL AT DUBSTEP MASSACRE 5!!!

the217.com Catches Up With the 217Mafia

2009-05-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

the217.com's video crew caught up with us earlier this week and this video is the end result:

As a reminder (in case you really need one):

DUBSTEP MASSACRE 4 is TONIGHT at COWBOY MONKEY! Be there early as we're going to be packed and rocking it all night long. Jonah starts the night off at 9 pm sharp!

DM3 Videos

2009-05-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night all six of us in the 217mafia Dubstep Crew were interviewed for a video piece that eventually should get posted to the217.com. We'll link you to the video once it's up.

In the meantime we've got something just to get everyone excited for Dubstep Massacre 4 tomorrow night at Cowboy Monkey in downtown Champaign. The show starts at 9 and features a killer early hip hop lineup with Jonah, Text, Jazz Jurisdiction & the Prelude Crew, and Cornbread. The dubstep portion will start up right after with the 217mafia's own Lincoln Jones, Geist and Substr8. Our extremely special guest, Chicago's Ryan Searchl1te from Dubfront Records is going to light the dancefloor on fire!

But if that lineup, and the free CDs, and the mic stylings of Harsh and Agent Mos, and the afterhours party, all don't have you ready to be at Cowboy Monkey at 9 pm sharp, then maybe these will change your mind.

All from Dubstep Massacre 3... check 'em out and show them to someone that hasn't seen them yet. This is how we party at the Massacres and Friday night will be no different!!!

SEE YOU FRIDAY NIGHT!!!!

Dubstep Massacre 3 Promo Mixes Now Live

2009-05-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

In what is a bit of a running theme, we're going to be better late than never with giving you some recaps of last month's Dubstep Massacre. It was the third installment of this monthly party that just seems to get bigger and bigger. We had 202 paid people through the doors to witness Belly, Substr8, Mobius and Mertz all throw down while Harsh, Agent Mos and Text all held down the mic duties.

On Thursday we'll post up some video footage from the night that still gives all of us goosebumps.

In the meantime tho, if you didn't get one of our 20 Minute CDs (containing four 20 minute mixes), then feel free to download them here. Spread 'em to whoever might like them, but don't forget to give some credit to the 217mafia when you do!

Belly - DM3 Mix
Substr8 - DM3 Mix
Mobius - DM 3 Mix
Mertz - DM3 Mix

Don't forget, DUBSTEP MASSACRE 4 is FRIDAY, MAY 15th with special guest, Chicago's very own, Ryan Searchl1te from Dubfront records.

We've got a few free admission giveaways on our Facebook event page, so head on over there and RSVP! We're already over 110 confirmed guests so you'll want to get out early Friday. Going to be another capacity insane rager!!!

Dubstep 2 Live Sets Posted... Dubstep Massace 3 TONIGHT!

2009-04-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

So if you need something to get you psyched up for Dubstep Massacre 3 TONIGHT at Cowboy Monkey, then we have just the thing for you. Here are the LIVE sets recorded at last month's Dubstep Massacre.

Geist DM2 Live Mix
Mobius DM2 Live Mix
Substr8 DM2 Live Mix
Lincoln Jones DM2 Live Mix

Doors will be open around 11 tonight and first beats will drop at 11:30. We're expecting capacity crowds so make sure you get there early. Cover is a mere $2 and if you're 19 years old, you can still get into the show!

See you there... bringing the bass that melts your face!

Ryan Searchl1te invades the 217!!!

2009-04-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

So we recently had a chance to catch up with Ryan Searchl1te, one of the heavy hitters in the Chicago scene. Expect to hear some tunes of his coming your way in some mixes we'll be handing out in the future. Also make sure you come out to Cowboy Monkey on May 15th to check a live performance from Searchl1te and MC Zulu @ DUBSTEP MASSACRE 4!!! More info on that to come :)

So first and foremost give us a little bit of background on you and how you got into producing and spinning.

Searchl1te: Around age six, I think, I commandeered the family tape recorder, the one that my parents used to record my first words. Re-using my parents' abandoned cassette tapes by stuffing the holes on top with little wads of paper (thanks for the blank Bob Seger!), I documented my random glossolalia, the rubbing of the mic on household objects and pets, did interviews with my toddler brother about the state of the known universe, skits with my brother touting the strength and effectiveness of fictional products like Mr. T Brand Toilet Paper, and that kind of shit. One birthday, my neighbor gave me a generic walkman that had two buttons - FF>> and Play> - that's when my bedroom dj career ensued. I would cued up a tape on the walkman and stick the mic from the tape recorder in between the headphones. When the tune was over I'd pick up the mic and announce the name of that tune and the name of the next tune, with the occasional interview with "Weird Jeffrey", played by my bro. The result was 45 minutes of a radio-type production that provided me and my brother a soundtrack to fort-building and stuffed animal-throwing.

In middle and high school I made pause tapes for roadtrips and makeout parties. I started to know more and more types of music. Hip Hop and punk opened up so much for me, showed my isolated central Indiana ass that the world was big. I also discovered that the more music I shared with people, the more new music came to me.

In 1994 I got a belt-drive turntable after I found a mess of classical electronic records (Edgar Varese, Morton Subotnik, Stockhausen, etc) in a thrift store in New Mexico. The next summer while living in New York I went into stooopid debt buying jungle records at Liquid Sky, Satellite, and later Breakbeat Science. At school the next fall me and a crew of friends, known now as the BassByThePound Crew, pitched in on Technics and a Gemini Scratchmaster, the one with the doodoo sound effect button. We hooked up a Friday a.m. (hungover!) college radio slot playing jungle and breaks and bugged out shit.

What influences you and your style when you play/produce?

I definitely look outside of the genre I'm working in for inspiration. The life of music resides between genres. The space between genres, where you hear them clanging and blending together, that shit excites me...cacophonous-sounding like a street market...or two cars next to each other at a stoplight with their windows down each bumping different music.

Taking cues from the exceptional elements of a genre is crucial to me, too. Dubstep is a prime example...I've learned so much about squeezing the most out of each sound, about sound articulation, about filling the speakers with a range of frequencies that take up as much space as possible without treading on each other. The dubstep aesthetic has motivated me to make tunes that attempt to free themselves from the speakers, like each sound is sick of being in the speakers and wants to bust out into the dance.

Tell us a little bit about the Chicago dubstep scene, who are the big players there, where does it go down?

Chicago is rich on dubstep. Parties pretty much every week, four or five dubstep-oriented promotion crews - Bass Goes Boom, Dubfix, Dj C and the Mashit crew doing Bouncement, Chris Widman, James Amato at Smart Bar. Part Time Sucker Radio every Thursday on WNUR 89.3 Fm.

Are you currently working on any collaborations? What are some past collaborations?

MC Zulu and I are about to drop a single on Dubfront. We've done a cover version of Bad Brains' tune "Leaving Babylon". Zulu is singing, I'm on production, and Dojo from the New Millennium Orchestra laid down some viola. MC Zulu and I have a couple past collabs that were released on the Right Time Soon Come EP (Dubfront). Really nice tunes on there.I'm also putting together an EP with Columbian singer Demoizella (myspace.com/Demoizella) She's fuckin' fierce! I've chatted a bit with one of the Sub Swara cats about working with us on this EP, doing a remix and maybe an original. I'm also working on a remix for Argentine MC's Fauna (www.zzkrecords.com).

My favorite collabs have been with some of my incarcerated students. I teach reading, writing, music production, and do arts programming for the school inside the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. My students record rap, r&b and poetry and I've done several remixes for them. They love it when I come back with a flipped version of their original...it feeds the artistic process and fosters the community of artists in my classroom. I love it beacuse they write amazing fucking lyrics and lay them down in fresh ways. Most of them are way more talented than the mopes who get all the commercial radio play. Here a couple remixes I did with them. The ones that get released, the proceeds go back to my program (www.freewritejailarts.org) to buy books and supplies.

What tracks are in heavy rotation when you play in public?

Right now, my own of course. I have several nasties still under wraps that I've been bombing. Tracks by the Dubfront folks - Jeekoos, FSTZ, Cringer, Trillbass, Ghosthack, MC Zulu. I dig deep into my production cohort...the folks i feel I'm growing up with production-wise - Sub Swara, Kush Arora, Hexidecibel, Bombaman, Wascal, hd4000, Eshone, Ninja Kid, to name a few. And I always have my ear perked and eyes peeled for shit I've never heard of.

What stays in rotation at home when you listen to music?

Fat Freddy's Drop, Fauna, Douster, Tony Allen, Maga Bo, Dub Gabriel, Betty Davis, Anthony & the Johnsons, Nina Simone, Frikstailers, Philip Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble, Budos Band, Erykah Badu, Boris, Edgar Varese, Ghislain Poirier, Flower Travelling Band, Can, Sepultura, Jorge Ben, styles like soukous, blues, cumbia, soca, breakcore, etc. I try to keep it as eclectic as possible...and as the playlist jumps genres / eras / production quality I think about how to mash it all up in a dj set or in a tune.

Where would you like to see yourself going with the music?

Hell, baby. Straight to hell. Nah for real though, I just want to get around to new places and trade stories and sounds with folks who are working hard on this shit like I am.

Check out his tunes at http://www.myspace.com/searchl1te

ALSO CHECK THIS OUT - a lil something from Searchl1te!

Recorded this with two of my incarcerated students - Lava & Robbins. Lava wrote the lyrics to the Wayne beat ("I like this beat so I had to make a part two") and I wrote more music for it and remixed it all. Peep the poetry...

I'm so hot I can tear
through the atmosphere
and make the sun shed a tear,
the sky cry a river
and make the moon shiver

Lava and Shon G. are 16 and 17 years old, respectively, and they are locked up in the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center awaiting trial.

No proper release for this one. Rock it at will.

http://parttimesuckers.com/Lava_-_A_Milli_(Searchl1te's_Trackbanger_Rmx).mp3

ENJOY FOLKS, SEE YOU SOON

Get yo THUG on!!!!

2009-04-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hip Hop vs dubstep!! Check this mix I put together, 2 remixes by DJ Nappy, 1by the Widdler, the rest are my own personal creations!
Rock this one out at your parties, guaranteed dance party crack!

djBelly-Thugstep mix

Dubstep Massacre 3 - April 24th!!!!

2009-04-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

The best monthly underground party in Central Illinois returns for the third and grimiest, ass shakin-est, bass droppin-est edition yet!!!!

This time around we're going to have Mertz, Belly, Substr8 and Möbius on deck duties. All four of these guys are extra excited for the April show, so expect extra big performances this time around. We'll also have a slew of MCs on stage including Agent Mos and Harsh Pro.

Also, we're starting to implement a $2 cover. The goal is not to line the pockets of the people throwing these parties, but instead to save up funds so that we can bring down major dubstep acts from around the US and maybe overseas, and not have to charge $15 at the door for that to happen.

BUT... since we love our crowd, we're also giving away 20 free admissions to Dubstep Massacre 3. We will be randomly selecting 20 people (not counting our DJs) that are listed as CONFIRMED GUESTS on our Facebook Event Page. You have to be listed as a confirmed guest at noon CST on the day of the event to be eligible to win a free admission.

Also, we will not be contacting the winners ahead of time. You just need to check in at the door the night of the event... if you won, you'll be let right in!

We've also got photos, links to mixes, and lots of other local dubstep fans hanging out on that event page, so if you haven't RSVP'd yet, go to this link and let us know you'll be there!

DM2 Mixes Now Available

2009-04-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

Were you at Dubstep Massacre 2 and missed out on getting a CD?

Did you miss out on the best party in March AND miss out on getting a CD?

Well have no fear, all of the mixes on the promotional CD at Dubstep Massacre 2 are now available online. Download them now and get some bass in your face!!!!!!!

Geist - DM2 Mix
Lincoln Jones - DM2 Mix
SUBSTR8 - DM2 Mix
Möbius - DM2 Mix

Dubstep Massacre 2 Video Recap

2009-03-31T21:16:00.000-07:00

Yo Here's some video from Last saturday's Massacre.

lOOK OUT FOR DUBSTEP MASSACRE 3 APRIL 24TH!!
Big up to DJs Geist Mobius Substr8 and Lincoln for rippin it up!

DUBSTEP MASSACRE MARCH EDITION

2009-03-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

Thats right kids, its back. March 28th its going DOWN at the Monkey, bass blasting til 2 am. We all got some new nastiness to drop on you people.

Just a taste here:

Caspa - Marmite

See you there, prepare to be stepped on.....

Yes I will rock those bells.....

2009-03-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

See this is where things get fun..... Personally I love those nasty, evil, punch you in the chest tunes when I spin live, I tend to play less "dub" inspired dubstep and tend to go more towards the step part. And by that I mean step on your face bass tunes. Heres one by DnB producer Jakes that will knock your face right off.

Jakes - Rock the Bells

Also peeps his myspace here

For all you in the Midwest look out for the next DUBSTEP MASSACRE party in Champaign on the 28th!!! More info to come!

Peace and Love
djBelly

Something you need to hear...

2009-03-12T18:32:00.001-07:00

If you're a fan of dubstep, you already should be checking out dubstep.fm as much as you possibly can. It features a lot of great radio shows and mixes from acts we love here at The World On Fire, like DZ, Phaded, 6blocc, Widdler, FSTZ and the reason for this post... HD4000.

HD4000's show, Hits From The Hard Drive, always brings super upfront dubstep tunes that are meant to shake buildings to their very foundations, and turn dancefloors into sweaty messes. And their show on dubstep.fm usually is the first time you'll hear some of the absolutely incredible original productions from HD4000, or their insanity-inducing remixes, and best of all their perfectly executed bootlegs (seriously, find their tune Fake Wrekkidz and be prepared to rewind a thousand times).

Anyway, their March 8th episode of Hits From The Hard Drive pretty much could get nominated for one of the best shows EVER on dubstep.fm. If you're not a regular listener to Hits From The Hard Drive, just click this link right here to download the March 8th show. Play it loud, and again, be prepared to rewind this mix a hundred thousand times. From the teases of that killer Subscape dub of Wiley and The Qemists, through the rest of the show, it's just heater after heater after heater!!!!

Event recap: DUBSTEP MASSACRE

2009-03-01T11:37:00.000-08:00

Holy shit........ I am literally blown away but what went down Friday night at Cowboy Monkey in Champaign...... 4 djs, 2 hours, and the most insane crowd ever..... seriously everyone there was freaking out about EVERY track we played. I don't know what the hell has happened in the past few months, but seeing people FLIP OUT at every bass drop??? HELL YES this is what I'm talking about people!!!

So each of the 4 of us who played that night recorded a 20 min mix to hand out through cd to the crowd, unfortunatley we only made 50 cds, and you guys ate em up quick. BUT since we here at World on Fire / 217mafia.com care so much about you fantastic people we put it up online for you to download, CHECK IT OUT

DJ Belly: http://217mafia.com/audio/dj-belly-20-minute-mix
Mertz: http://217mafia.com/audio/mertz-20-minute-mix
Substr8: http://217mafia.com/audio/substr8-20-minute-mix
Möbius: http://217mafia.com/audio/m%C3%B6bius-20-minute-mix

Check out some pics from friday night, courtesy of the lovely Ms Rachel Ann and Mr Mark Harrison

More pics from Rachel here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/forms.art/DUBSTEPMASSFeb27#5307991435586859042

If you need something to do this evening....(bet you do don't ya)

2009-02-21T13:53:00.000-08:00

Come check me out at Boltini Lounge tonight 10-2 No cover and you'll get to hear this:

Eastern Jam - Chase and Status

We are concerned about the security of your shit......

2009-02-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

Check the new track from producer/dj möbius!!

Click here to download

Seriously some sick shit, If you wanna hear him spin we are doing a lil event at Cowboy Monkey in Champaign-Urbana on Feb 27th, hope to see you all out there! Also blessing the decks will be Mertz and djSUBSTR8 laying down the sickness.

Rusko Essential Mix

2009-02-09T18:01:00.001-08:00

It really is essential that you hear this.... check out the tracklisting and listen here!

my mission if you choose to accept it....

2009-02-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

If you don't know me and stumbled across this randomly, I'm djBelly, a promoter/producer/dj operating out of Illinois. Heres the thing..... myself and a bunch of people I know have become addicted to dubstep, if you don't know what that is find out here: Mobius dubstep mix
or you can check out this mix djSUBSTR8 Cowboy Monkey mix

So now that you know, you know why we are addicted to this. So we have been pushing to find clubs to let us come play some of this nasty bassed out music to crowds, we have done pretty well so far, these mixes were from one event we put together in Champaign Urbana Illinois. So this spot will be pretty much for me to drop info on you as to where to find this live in the midwest and drop some dope new dubstep on you. I'll be posting up links to major djs mixes in the genre and big events. Also if you haven't checked it out yet go to www.dubstep.fm they have a fantastic streaming radio of it 24/7. Alright everyone, expect more soon, from me and others...