As with the ocean, it's the undercurrents which move at a deadlier pace and as garage blew into the mainstream it was reinventing itself on the underground. There was, though, one crucial problem...there was nowhere for this music, this evolution of sound, to be heard.
So it was that FWD» was born, giving a home (furnished with dance-floor and almighty sound system) to embryonic offshoots of British rave music. The year was 2001 and residents included Skream, Zinc, Slimzee and Geeneus, all purveyors and producers of this new, deeper, darker, garage sound. It is commonly thought that FWD» was created to house and develop dubstep but - although the night can be largely credited for spawning the genre - FWD» has never been a single-genre clubnight. The focus here was on progression, and FWD» was progressing in fine style. Word soon spread to heads with their ear to the ground, and before long FWD» became the monthly meeting place for producers to check out each other’s latest and trade CDs brimming with the previous month’s productions. The sound became widely known as the "FWD» sound" and was represented on Rinse by a little known Scotsman named Kode9, who had the station’s sole set dedicated to the rapidly evolving offshoot of garage.
Over the past 8 years the FWD» sound has included every underground facet of Britain’s - and, more specifically, London's - rave music: from Dubstep and Grime through to Bassline and Funky, and plenty of nooks and crannies between. These days FWD» continues to push the sounds of London's underground through Plastic People's Funktion One rig every Sunday, bringing through new artists from around the globe, and pushing the genres into new areas - from the techno-influenced and house-leaning sounds of Martyn, through to the raw kick of Hessle Audio and the syncopated step of funky don Marcus Nasty.
This unfettered ethos has seen FWD» play dancefloor to Rinse FM’s airwaves; together they represent the undiluted core of British dance music, the path of which has always been determined by pirate radio and underground rave culture. Testament to their service and importance to the British rave scene - and electronic music generally - FWD» + Rinse are now internationally recognised and revered… yet still the focus remains squarely on London, the lifeblood of these two creative giants.
Friday the 31st of July marks a meeting of the two seminal minds at matter: FWD» + Rinse. An epic night with a gargantuan lineup brought together to celebrate Rinse FM’s 15th Birthday.
In stark contrast to the homogenised commercial radio landscape, Rinse has championed London's diverse cultural needs, reaching massively underrepresented communities with grass roots music and DIY antics. Rinse has aptly connected the dots between the most exciting, explosive sounds from London streets; no other platform has even come close to being at the forefront of all that's fresh and defiantly against-the-grain.
Never once revolving around mainstream ideals, through the years Rinse FM has kept an immense grip on the London underground as a whole, even breaking iconic artists like Wiley and Dizzee.
On 31 July, matter is lined up to host the landmark 15 year celebrations with a lineup that, without doubt, only FWD» + Rinse could assemble. It's as varied as it is surprising: Ms Dynamite (a regular at Rinse underground club nights) returns to the live stage for a much anticipated showcase; dubstep dons Skream and Benga go head to head; grime entertainers Boy Better Know touch down; the dubstep innovator who turned the wider world onto Burial, Kode9, also performs... and that's only the beginning. The rest of the line up completes a glittering array of grime, dubstep and funky a-list DJs - but of course that comes as no surprise with Rinse and FWD» at the controls. All hail London.
To be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets enter the competition below:
So it was that FWD» was born, giving a home (furnished with dance-floor and almighty sound system) to embryonic offshoots of British rave music. The year was 2001 and residents included Skream, Zinc, Slimzee and Geeneus, all purveyors and producers of this new, deeper, darker, garage sound. It is commonly thought that FWD» was created to house and develop dubstep but - although the night can be largely credited for spawning the genre - FWD» has never been a single-genre clubnight. The focus here was on progression, and FWD» was progressing in fine style. Word soon spread to heads with their ear to the ground, and before long FWD» became the monthly meeting place for producers to check out each other’s latest and trade CDs brimming with the previous month’s productions. The sound became widely known as the "FWD» sound" and was represented on Rinse by a little known Scotsman named Kode9, who had the station’s sole set dedicated to the rapidly evolving offshoot of garage.
Over the past 8 years the FWD» sound has included every underground facet of Britain’s - and, more specifically, London's - rave music: from Dubstep and Grime through to Bassline and Funky, and plenty of nooks and crannies between. These days FWD» continues to push the sounds of London's underground through Plastic People's Funktion One rig every Sunday, bringing through new artists from around the globe, and pushing the genres into new areas - from the techno-influenced and house-leaning sounds of Martyn, through to the raw kick of Hessle Audio and the syncopated step of funky don Marcus Nasty.
This unfettered ethos has seen FWD» play dancefloor to Rinse FM’s airwaves; together they represent the undiluted core of British dance music, the path of which has always been determined by pirate radio and underground rave culture. Testament to their service and importance to the British rave scene - and electronic music generally - FWD» + Rinse are now internationally recognised and revered… yet still the focus remains squarely on London, the lifeblood of these two creative giants.
Friday the 31st of July marks a meeting of the two seminal minds at matter: FWD» + Rinse. An epic night with a gargantuan lineup brought together to celebrate Rinse FM’s 15th Birthday.
In stark contrast to the homogenised commercial radio landscape, Rinse has championed London's diverse cultural needs, reaching massively underrepresented communities with grass roots music and DIY antics. Rinse has aptly connected the dots between the most exciting, explosive sounds from London streets; no other platform has even come close to being at the forefront of all that's fresh and defiantly against-the-grain.
Never once revolving around mainstream ideals, through the years Rinse FM has kept an immense grip on the London underground as a whole, even breaking iconic artists like Wiley and Dizzee.
On 31 July, matter is lined up to host the landmark 15 year celebrations with a lineup that, without doubt, only FWD» + Rinse could assemble. It's as varied as it is surprising: Ms Dynamite (a regular at Rinse underground club nights) returns to the live stage for a much anticipated showcase; dubstep dons Skream and Benga go head to head; grime entertainers Boy Better Know touch down; the dubstep innovator who turned the wider world onto Burial, Kode9, also performs... and that's only the beginning. The rest of the line up completes a glittering array of grime, dubstep and funky a-list DJs - but of course that comes as no surprise with Rinse and FWD» at the controls. All hail London.
To be in with a chance of winning a pair of tickets enter the competition below:
This competition has now closed!
FRIDAY 31/07/09
FWD» + RINSE.
matter.
10pm-6am
£15 advance / £12 students on the door
Skream v Benga, Ms Dynamite (live), Kode9, Geenus, Magnetic Man (live), Caspa, Better Boy Know feat. JME, Frisco & Maximum (live) Crazi Cousinz, Marcus Nasty, N-Type v Youngsta, Zinc, Newham Generals (live), Katy B (live), Chef, Spiro v Silencer v Vectra, Circle, Slimzee
FWD» + RINSE.
matter.
10pm-6am
£15 advance / £12 students on the door
Skream v Benga, Ms Dynamite (live), Kode9, Geenus, Magnetic Man (live), Caspa, Better Boy Know feat. JME, Frisco & Maximum (live) Crazi Cousinz, Marcus Nasty, N-Type v Youngsta, Zinc, Newham Generals (live), Katy B (live), Chef, Spiro v Silencer v Vectra, Circle, Slimzee
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