Konkrete Jungle Missouri Presents- AK1200

That's right Columbia Konkrete Jungle Missouri Presents:





THE PAST:

AK1200, America’s original jungle/drum n bass don has been pushing the sound since the music’s initial incarnation as hardcore breakbeat. As one of the U.S.’s original proponents of breakbeat music, AK started DJing in 1989, playing electro and other beat friendly music of that time. In 1990, he opened a record store in his hometown of Orlando, FL called The Hottie Shoppe, where he began developing relationships with burgeoning breakbeat labels such as Suburban Base and Moving Shadow. Via these early relationships, he quickly became known in the UK as someone who could spread the message in America, and by 1991, he was writing articles and reviews in the classic US Rave. Around this same time, Dave Minner also gained his moniker as AK1200 when fellow Floridian DJ Icey noticed the hyped-up BPM’s of the tunes Dave would play in The Hottie Shop, and said “You’re playing so fast that you are like an AK on the 1200’s!” Icey started throwing raves at The Edge and he would put “Dave AK1200 Minner” on the flyer. The name stuck ever since.

For the next few years, AK headlined the second room of countless parties throughout the US, continuing to make a name for himself. As Jungle music evolved and became more popular, so did AK1200. Also in 93, he was invited to the UK again, this time to DJ, and played alongside such greats as Hype, Mickey Finn, Swift and Zinc, Danny Breaks, SL2, and several others for a Christmas party for Suburban Base Recordings. AK was also the first American to play on the UK’s pirate radio, playing alongside Swift and Zinc on Format FM. Back home in the US, Jungle was beginning to finally get its due, though still hated-on by many of the nations party promoters, it was too big to be ignored.

At this point there were literally tons of US jungle DJ’s coming up, and AK searching for something different, found a great appreciation for the lighter side of jungle championed by labels such as Timeless & Good Looking, which became known as Drum and Bass. AK found light in the soulful sounds of musical Drum and Bass, and began opening or closing for people like Sasha and Digweed in the main rooms of many raves and clubs across the US.

Slowly over the later half of the 90’s, AK1200 again enhanced his sound and style, giving his fans a smooth transition to the rawest, most aggressive sounds of the time. By constantly touring nationwide, releasing 4 very highly received mix CD’s on the Moonshine label, remixing many acts such as The Crystal Method, Rabbit in the Moon, A Tribe Called Quest, Dub Pistols, Keoki, Cirrus, & Freestyle, AK1200 was regarded as one of a very small handful of DJ’s to truly conquer the scene in America.

More recently, AK and longtime colleagues Dieselboy and Dara came to realize that they on their own had become the top three dnb DJ’s in the US, so what would happen if they joined forces? The answer of course, was world domination, and the Planet of the Drums (POTD) crew was born.

THE PRESENT



Nominated for a Grammy, the “Autopsy”-album leads us to the heart of drum’n’bass. This album is a kind of concept resulting in the collaboration of two main musicians, producers and DJ’s from the American d’n’b scene. The 1st disc entitled “The Examination” is a bi-coastal studio collaboration, in which both musicians used ‘Ableton Live’ (an audio sequencer playable in real time like an instrument) to create a mix set of handpicked gems from the Project 51 back-catalogue, piled high with remixes, edit and effects treatment exclusively for the purpose of this project. The result is simply devastating! We get an amazing succession of great d’n’b pieces. This is pure energy and power while some tracks get injected with an extra touch of industrial power. The first part of this selection is simply overwhelming and brings us the best of what d’n’b can mean. Deep, bouncing bass lines mixed with all the dynamism of the drum loops directly leads the listener in a frenetic dance. After this great debut, the 2nd disc entitled “The Diagnosis” is the duo’s response to the current state of d’n’b. 10 tracks are here delivered in total new mixed versions while several guest musicians were asked to contribute. The collaboration between Origin, LA Riots and George Clinton on "Only Love" is deep down and dirty with its blend of genres.

http://www.myspace.com/konkretejunglemissouri
http://www.elementsofbass.com
http://www.myspace.com/fenomenon
http://www.myspace.com/daveak1200
http://www.groundxero.org
http://www.pamdjs.com