From the desk of the Beat Broker

Don't know about you, but for me the past few weeks have been a bit of fun. Last week I went on tour with Grandmaster Flash which was pretty cool (and yes before you ask, he is a nice guy). All of the shows sold out, so big ups to James at Sonar and the promoters responsible for each show. Also a special thanks to everyone in medialand who got behind the tour. Flash had a great time and even announced at a number of his shows that he wants to come back next year.

Ultrasun runaway
Aussie pop-trance act UltraSun, consisting of Melbourne's Katie Michaelson and Christos have just released their second single 'We can Runaway' through Ministry Of Sound Australia. So far a number of radio stations around the country have added the catchy tune and the vibe is hotting up with more rotation additions slated for the coming weeks. Their first single 'Love Me More' was released in Australia late 2002, with preparations underway for its release in another 8 country's over the coming months. Their next single 'We can Runaway' has the same hook styled chorus of the last single.

Tony faline comes up for air
Ali B's Air Recordings label burst onto the scene in January this year with the outstanding Mr Velcro Fastener's 'Electrical Appliances', featuring a blistering remix from the Plump DJs. This debut release caused quite a rumpus, picking up props from all and sundry in the breaks scene, and farther afield from big names such as Pete Tong and even Judge Jules. Flushed with such success, Air returns with another slab of bass driven breaks in the form of Tony Faline's masterful 'Feel The Funk'. Faline is one of the premier break-beat DJ / Producers in the United States. A prodigious talent, Tony's penned over 30 tracks, many of which have been licensed by the likes of Fat Boy Slim, D.J. Keoki and Afrika Bambaata.

'Feel The Funk' is a typical example of Faline's production prowess. Big drops, rolling basslines, and a vocal hook that raises a sea of hands whenever the tune gets played. For this release, Ali has brought in Lee Coombs on remix duty. Lee's rerub takes the original into housier territory, bringing in a bubbling 303 line and extra percussion to form a perfect breaks-house hybrid. The result has had crowds reaching for the rafters at anywhere from Fabriclive to the much talked about Air parties. Early DJ support has come from Paul Oakenfold, Krafty Kuts, and Meat Katie amongst others, with Pete Tong exclaiming "Very large indeed!" on his Radio 1 show.

Lee Coombs Australian tour dates:
June 6 - Canberra, Babylon
June 7 - Brisbane, Advent*jah festival
June 8 - Sydney, Sounds on Sunday
June 8 - Melbourne, Slinky
June 13 - Adelaide, Traffic
June 14 - Perth, Ambar

Phil K mixes album for functional breaks
Functional Breaks mark their 20th vinyl release with a double CD release 'retro>future'. The first CD is a 13 track mix from one of Australia's finest DJs Mr Phil K whose stylish mixing and programming shows the strength of the previous releases on Functional and features the labels big tunes including Shoe Monkey from Spoon Wizard, Aquathought from Blue Effect and Slide from Frakkar. The second CD of 10 unmixed tracks has been selected and programmed by long standing Beatz & Bobz residents Ben & Lex and features tracks and mixes from DJ Killer, Frakkar, Spoon Wizard, and Blue Effect, US acts an-ten-nae and new Functional act LP as well as debut tracks from UK acts Diversion Distraction (Dan Blue Effect and DJ Andromeda) and Ben & Lex, a taste of what's to come from the artists who will be taking Functional Breaks into the future.

There are two vinyl samplers for the release
Sampler One A. 'Cosa Nostra ' Ben & Lex AA. 'Recycled' DJ Killer Release Date 19th May 2003
Sampler Two A. 'Under Thunder' Diversion Distraction AA. 'Keihatsu' LP Release Date 19th June 2003

The retro>future album will be released in australia by shock on June 2nd

Phil K Australian

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