017 - Meanbucket Music (DJ Tuco & Quime)
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Following Reinforced’s glorious drum n bass mash up courtesy of Manix (aka 4Hero’s Marc Mac) we now welcome Prague based British DJs Tuco & Quime from Meanbucket Music. The guys are behind the successful Dutty Weekend club nights in that beautiful city, which has hosted the likes of Sinden, Mumdance, L-Vis 1990 and Solo, spawned a blog and in 2010 the duo’s own label, Meanbucket.
Here in the mix Tuco & Quime give us a taste of what is currently rocking the Czech capital. Featuring a mash up of house, electro, breaks, dubstep, garage and ghetto tek beats the duo mix up the likes of Bok Bok & Cubic Zirconia, DJ Rashad, Dirt Crew, Tvyks, Venom & Damage, DJ Clent, Syntonics, Terror Tone, Zort and more into a high octane party mix.
Whilst the label is still in its infancy it has already attracted globally acclaimed remixers such a Fool's Gold's Nick Catchdubs, DJ Donna Summer and Planet Mu's Chrissy Muderbot, including support from a number of established artists such as Seiji, Feadz and Doc Daneeka. Despite this outside interest the label has a wealth of talent at home in the Czech Republic uncovering local gems and presenting them on a worldwide scale. In fact the label’s fourth release is out this week which sees Berlin based New Yorker Naifian, aka Mike Genius, drop his debut release on Meanbucket ‘Blue Snow’ - a synth driven, garage influenced, rhythmical master piece which also features remixes from Quime, Tuco and DJ Donna Summer.
EPM Podcast 17 – Meanbucket Music (Tuco & Quime)
Tracklist:
Tvyks - Mitte Riddim (Instrumental) - (Meanbucket)
Ethix - Breakin' Bad (Nick Catchdubs & Proper Villains pumer remix) -(Meanbucket)
Dirt Crew - If You Dance (Dirt Crew)
Terror Tone - Sunday Morning (Intellegenix)
Margaret - Yosa (Dirt Crew)
Tvyks - Speed Bike (Bad Mojo remix dub) – (Meanbucket)
Zort - Mambo Poa Martino (Ben Mono remix) (Revolt Into Style)
Venom & Damage - Deeper (Doc Daneeka remix)
Naifian - Blue Snow (Quime remix) (Meanbucket)
Bok Bok & Cubic Zirconia - Reclash Dub (Night Slugs)
Motion - Big Blocks (re rub) (Intellegenix)
Syntonics - Work dat Body (Vocal dub) Intellegenix
Mr. Mozaphanka & Big Dope P - Pop Dat Thing feat Fanny Pack (Mveltraxx)
Dj Clent - Im Ya Daddy (Juke Trax)
Dj Tuco - Not Crenshaw (Meanbucket)
Jonny Megabyte - Dance Till We Drop (Databass)
Dj Knowledge - Make it Jiggle (Databass
Dj Rashad - Get Down Low (Juke Trax)
Dj Hilti - Like A Fuckin' Superstar (Juke Trax)
Dryman and Side9000 - Raindance (Meanbucket)
All tracks used in the mix are digitally distributed by EPM Music www.epm-music.com except where indicated. You can subscribe to all of EPM’s podcasts via iTunes.
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Q&A with Tuco & Quime (Meanbucket Music)
1. Please give us a quick walk through your selection. Why did you choose these tracks for the mix?
T: We wanted to give people more insight it what we are about, not just the type of stuff we put out on the label but also the kind of thing you might hear in our DJ sets.
Q: The tracks reflect what we are releasing on our label Meanbucket Music and the styles we like to Dj. EPM is a treasure trove we were more than happy to dig into.
2. How did two Brits end up in Prague running a successful club night?
T: Out of frustration more than anything, at the time when we started there wasn't really any club nights playing the Ghetto/"Global bass" stuff we were into, so we decided to cut our losses, I guess people found it refreshing. I think it was the first time hip hop kids were going out listening to electronic music and vice versa in Prague.
Q: We had started meanbucket.net, our blog, a few months before in 2007 and had been discussing starting a club night that booked DJs and artists we actually wanted to see. There were so many R&B and Drum and Bass parties in Prague, but nothing that seemed to be tackling anything new and refreshing, so it seemed a logical step to get our hands dirty and book them ourselves. Although it can be quite tough running this sort of night in Prague, it has definitely been worth it.
3. How has the Czech Republic taken to dubstep, grime and ghetto-tek?
T: It's huge, grime has been bubbling steadily here for years I think for a long time a lot of grime artists were coming here before going to Germany, Scandanavia, France etc, now Dubstep is pretty much the number one "sub-genre". It seems to have taken over from D & B or at least is very close to it, you can throw a Dubstep... Im calling it Prague's new R & B haha... the Ghetto stuff still has a long way to go, if we play it at parties people like it but I don't think the majority of people really know how to label it.
Q: I guess its gaining more and more momentum, Dubstep is pretty huge now, and the right booking can attract a big crowd. There are still a lot of lesser known artists waiting to be discovered here though. Grime is surprisingly big, I think it has been championed a lot by Czech DJs and is something you can hear often on the radio. Ghetto stuff is another story. I think people recognise it and it definately goes down well now, even if it's not fully understood.
4. Tell us about the artists on your label?
T: Everyone involved on the roster so far is pretty closely connected to us in some way, Ethix is an old friend based living in Tokyo who used to be heavily in involved in Drum & Bass, when we were doing the blog he was sending us these awesome old school jungle remixes and garage tracks, this goes back a few years. Tvyks is a DJ/Producer based in Berlin but originally from Prague, he's been doing really great things here for years so we really wanted to help him push his production further as much as we can. Naifian is a part of the Get Wavey crew in Berlin with Tvyks, who passed some tracks he had been sitting on for a while, he has a lot of great stuff finished, all ready for a follow up to Blue Snow. Side9000 and Dryman are two of the most talented producers in Cz no question, they have their own label Own Tempo which has been doing well in dubstep circles but they felt like a few tracks were better suited for us which was cool, this part of the world is nearly always over-looked but if you dig a bit there is a wealth of talent but no infrastructure for people to get there music beyond the borders.
Q: Like what Tuco said, running our club night 'Dutty Weekend' has definitely helped us to be in contact with producers from Czech and abroad, we have Djed with Tyvks on a number of occasions and were really into his production, he was able to introduce us to Naifian as well, and when we heard 'Blue Snow' we had to jump on it. Side9000 and Dryman have some really tight productions and their label is a beacon in Prague, we feel there is a lot more to come from them in the future.
5. How has the music scene developed in Prague since you have been there?
T: When I arrived it was at the start of the commercial Hip hop boom, and for a while it seemed all there was, was R & B or D & B. Cheesy R & B music was considered cutting edge, the bubble has burst now and the younger generation of kids going out seem a lot more adventurous so the future looks good, producers are popping up all over the place and there is a lot of talent around. I have to say though the bigger more mainstream bands still suck.
Q: When I fist came here Drum and Bass seemed to be everywhere, where it wasn't, R&B and cheesy Hip Hop were a given. Fortunately now there are a lot of small parties starting up with a better range of music, it is still quite difficult to find the right venue here but things are definitely improving.
6. What are your musical backgrounds? Do you both share a lot of common history?
T: I’ve been DJ and promoting for half my life, I started DJing in 1996 after going to a few clubs and getting into house music, before that I listened to hip hop and indie rock. My brother used to work in our local HMV so I would get first dibs on all the US house imports, I guess that’s where the interest in Chicago Ghetto House started. After a few year I discovered turntablism and the hip hop took over for a while, specially after leaving the UK, I couldn't take all my records so until Serato came out the house music was put on the back burner. When Baltimore Club started blowing up it really took me back and reminded me of all the dope records I used to have. I fell in love Baile Funk the moment I heard Pantera Os Danadinhos over Diplo Rhythm.
Q: I started Djing when I was 17 or something, back at school, it was strictly Drum and Bass, hardcore and Jungle then. Since then my tastes have mellowed a little. I think my main turning point was when I took a trip to Brazil in 2004. I was hearing all this cool Brazillian Ghetto music and loved it. When I came back to England I started doing some research, this was about the same time as Diplo was putting out mixtapes, and M.I.A was getting big. It sort of lead me on a Baile Funk crusade that I continue to enjoy, but on the journey I found B-More club, Ghetto house and then really started to explore all house music. Now its pretty unlimited what my tastes are, if I like it I play it.
7. How do you see the label developing over the next five years?
T: We would definitely like to expand the roster more globally, but at the same time it would be great if we could play even a small part in getting, the Czech scene taken seriously, most of neighboring ex-communist countries have managed to shake the stereotypes & I think with a little work it's also possible here.
Q: We would also like to bring it back to our blog's roots, and get some Ghetto music producers on the label. We are in contact with some really exciting names and we would love to take that further with some exclusive releases. A Baile Funk special would be great, especially if we can wangle a trip to Brazil.
8. Meanbucket? Whats in the name?
T: It's the name of the blog we started before the label!
Q: As Tuco said. What is a 'Meanbucket' is another question.
9. You are both trapped on a desert island. Who is the first to crack?
T: Quime, he wouldn't be able to make roast dinners.
Q: Is there internet connection? I could probably roast a wild pig like in Lord of the Flies. Or a Puffin or something.
T. Oh, I would definitely need an internet connection or I’d crack within approximately 4 hours.
10. Please give us your top 5 ‘All Time Producers’.
T: Prince Paul, Armand Van Helden, The Neptunes, DJ Funk, Frank Ski
Q: Dj Zinc, Armand Van Helden, Dillinja, Dj Deeon, Drop the Lime