CLASSIC MARCUS INTALEX MIX . DRS AND MC STRATEGY. 8 GOLD RINGS FOR SALFO...

CLASSIC MARCUS INTALEX MIX . DRS AND MC STRATEGY. 8 GOLD RINGS FOR SALFO...

ORIGINAL PIRATE MATERIAL

From Newcastle to Manchester

The Pirate Material and Lively Up crew who are bringing huge events to Mint Lounge.

The Pirate Material crew are currently killing the scene in Manchester with huge artists performing on an excitingly regular basis. They first came over from Newcastle in October 2015 with garage legend Sunship. Since then, they have welcomed Flava D, Mungo’s Hifi, D Double E and Royal T to name a few. 

Tonight they have Manchester’s very own Zed Bias, Hyphen and DJ Nokia, as well as resident host MC ZICO. 

To top this off, they also run sister night Lively Up.

Bringing the best in jungle, reggae and drum and bass, they hosted the incredible General Levy at their recent launch event and already have Aphrodite and Charlie P on their way.

Keep your eyes peeled on these guys, there’s a LOT more to come.  

Blogger: Liam Banks Carr 

Photo: Josh Bannister Photography 

THE MOUSE OUTFIT FT. FOX - STEP STEADIER [MUSIC VIDEO]

Buy the album here!

The music video for Step Steadier, the title track of Mouse Outfits latest album released in March last year, is OUT (and viewable above). Featuring Manchester’s finest FOX spitting his own brand of Jamaican infused lyrics over an infectious Mouse Outfit beat, it’s a first class slice of North West vibes to nod your head to.   

The video’s smooth camera work, courtesy of Ellis Meade, pans across Manchester’s grey city scape to a ¾ lengths and snap back wearing FOX whose confident bop through the streets of Manchester matches the songs steady flow. Surrounded by the city centres’ ritzy, claustrophobic skyscrapers; FOX struts uncowed and unworried through his hometown. Inviting one to literally ‘Step Steadier’, in typical Mouse Outfit style the beat, vocals and video are in complete sync forcing one to swagger along with the MC’s relaxed wandering. 

A perfect parallel to the chilled, inner-city vibes of FOX and the Mouse Outfit; the song and video (filmed by Ellis Meade and edited by Defty) represents a steadier approach to hectic Manchester living we could all learn from.

@themouseoutfit 

@theOGMrFox 

@EllisMeade 

Blogger: @OwenGearty 

Bloc2BlocEntertainment 

INTRODUCING THE NEW BLOC2BLOC SITE

We've only gone and launched a new website! 

Check out www.bloc2bloc.co.uk for all recent movements and all things B2B including photos, articles, events, videos and nuff exclusive stuff. 

How Excitin'! 

As the Blog Boss I'd like to thank you for the views and support and I'm happy to announce the blog will continue to run alongside the site and as part of Bloc2bloc, with a focus on giving an opportunity to new writers. So if you're enthusiastic about music and are interested in the world of blogging then contact me: 

stillmcr@hotmail.co.uk

@CJHamand

facebook.com/CJ.Hamand

If you're too cheeky, expect to see your work on the new site too. 

The possibilities are endless. 

Bloc2BlocEntertainment 

BIOME LAUNCH + KURUPT FM @ ALBERT HALL

Friday night was a relatively busy one for me. At 6pm I headed over to Eastern Bloc Records to watch Biome in the mix, promoting his new 3 track EP ‘Griddled’, out on Madam X’s label, Kaizen Records. Biome is a personal favourite of mine, his dark, unique and menacing style of music is sometimes hard to put into a genre, with his new EP being no exception. I’ve booked Biome, along with Kaiju and Gentlemen’s Club for my launch event on the 20^th February so this was also a chance to network and strategically place some flyers near the decks. 

Next I headed back to my flat to get ready for Kurupt FM at Albert Hall. Ran by The Warehouse Project, who will be putting on events at the venue throughout the year, the night's line-up was pretty impressive; MYSTRY, Barely Legal, Toddla T & DRS, Slimzee, Dread. D (T.Williams grime set), Oneman and Kurupt FM. 

I got there as T. Williams started his set, with his roots being set in Jungle, Drum & Bass and Garage, I was intrigued to hear his grime side. The set was big, a hard hitting mix of new and old grime bangers booming around The Albert Hall. We headed to the upper foyer towards the end of his set, so that we had a good view of the whole venue as Toddla T & DRS came on. It’s hard to believe the place was once used for religious worship, the only remnants being the stained glass windows, which look particularly impressive when the rave lighting bounces off them. I knew the next hour would be mad, with Manchester’s DRS behind the mic, and Toddla behind the decks, the pair had the whole crowd bouncing with a heavy selection of dubplates. Check the video of them here filmed by Olivia Cave. 

Then came the main headliners, Kurupt FM. The crew, who were originally noticed for their BBC sitcom ‘People Just Do Nothing’, now tour some of the countries’ biggest music venues, bringing energy wherever they go. Their mainly garage and grime focused set didn’t disappoint, with Steves behind the decks dropping some big tunes. The night lived up to its title ‘champagne showers’ as MC Grindah showered the sweaty ravers in bubbly. 

I enjoyed myself, and stumbled home with my girlfriend, ready for a couple of hours sleep. Pangaea Festival awaited us the next day, which was one to remember, stay posted for Liv’s write up on that…

@BIOMEmcr
@Twilliamsmusic
@TODDLAT
@MCDRS
@KuruptFM

Photo 1 & Blogger: Ryan Ashcroft 
Video : Liv Cave 
Photo 2: Josh Bannister 

Bloc2BlocEntertainment. 

EXCLUSIVE! SOLOMAN LIVE SET @ HITnRUN HOSTED BY BLACK JOSH & T-MAN

Introducing the Bloc2Bloc Mixcloud!

Expect the freshest sets and audio streams from Manchester's finest and the guests that roll through our city.

Check out the set from Soloman hosted by the Levelz boys Black Josh and T-Man @HitnRun back in September. Keep checking the mixcloud for more musical goodness! 

We're also happy to announce Bloc2Bloc can now handle all your audio needs and will record your sets as well as film your night.

Contact Jack Banner for more information. 

Shouts to Cameron to on the exclusive uploads.

Expect to hear a cheeky 140 mix from Dub Phizix real soon! 

Bloc2BlocEntertainment.

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LAY. - YinYang [Music Video]

Manchester soulstress LAY. (Layfullstop) presents her refreshing new track 'YinYang'. 

Released through independent label and hip-hop collective RootsRaddix, the track combines 90's neo-soul vibes and a laid-back hip-hop feel. LAY.'s catchy melodies and hard verses demonstrate her diversity as a vocalist and result in some serious vibes. 

Vannessa Roth also kept it wavey with the visuals, filmed around the Mancunian Way and China Town,  featuring dressing gowns and some funky moves.

If you're liking the sound make sure you check out LAY.'s soundcloud. 

Hope to hear much more of her this year. 

@LayFullStop

@NESSAROfilms 

Blogger: @CJHamand 

Bloc2BlocEntertainment. 

LEVELZ 11 MIXTAPE LAUCH - B2B @ STAR & GARTER

It's fair to say that the LVLZ 11 Mixtape launch night on Friday didn't disappoint with its rowdy bad crowds!

The Manchester based group have brought something really special to Manchester's music scene. Something it lacked...community. 

Each and every one of Levelz brings a different type of energy to the group and their hard work and talent really has paid off this year. Playing at some very special venues such The Warehouse Project and Detonate Festival, The Star and Garter was no exception, in fact it exceeded expectations. 

The historic venue, which is sadly due to be closed down in the near future, gave the event an added sense of atmosphere, with its low lit rooms and creaky wooden floorboards. With Neuron Pro Audio supplying the sound system, even the ground floor bar was shaking. 

You'll never get bored of going to a Levelz night whether it be at Mint Lounge or Factory 251 the regular crowds will follow. You're always guaranteed a good night out and the connection between Levelz and their crowd is powerful. So make sure if you haven't already, download their mixtape and Check out the video below!

 https://levelzmcr.bandcamp.com/album/lvl-11

Blogger : Livvie Jo Cave - facebook.com/livviejocave Photos : @f_13iizm - f13iizm.vsco.com Video : J Bannister

Bloc2Bloc Entertainment

FREE WIZE MEN INTERVIEW

Last week Bloc2Bloc caught up with the Manchester Hip Hop collective the 'Free Wize Men' at the studio to talk shows, future releases and chocolate bars. 

Known for their musical and homegrown sound, the trio have been making some serious movements since their Room 2 Records debut release the 'Free Wizdom EP'. Members Blind Mic, Afro Sam and Kay Bey have made a big impression on the Manchester scene and beyond and their latest party jam 'Is Ya With Me?' has raised levels even higher.  

How did the 'Free Wize Men' form as a music collective? 

Kay Bey: Through School... well jumping out of school, I met Mike through my cousin Bysshe

Blind Mic: Yeah Shout out to Bysshe! I met Kiva when he was drinking Disaronno with an Innocent smoothie haha 

KB: That was raw that. 

BM: Musically though it was through spitting bars in the park  

KB: Just had similar interests and that, Mike didn't go our school but obviously through smoking and that being on the park and being the only people spitting bars or spitting about similar things..... 

Afro Sam: If we seen eachother like maybe once or twice every week or so we'd be like 'yo check what new bar I've got' and 'oh nah nah listen this, check what i've done' 

BM: It was alot more competitive back then than now 'cos we had nothing to prove to anyone. So if it was among the three of us then we'd always be trying to write something new.

How would you describe your sound? 

BM: Everchanging.

KB: Well the current stuff out there is quite boom-bap but yeah it is changing

What direction are you moving towards?  

KB: It's more up-beat

BM: Yeah party stuff but I wouldn't say it was all going in one particular direction...

AS: We all have an individual sound

BM : Yeah so I think with each tune we do one of our sounds will come across more. I think we're changing one tune at a time at the moment.

Congrats on  your new release 'Is Ya With Me?' you've previously said "It's our message to the scene that we're here and we're doing things differently". Can you expand on that, what is this new approach?  


AS:  It's like I said, as we all have our own indiviudal sound and we're not just MCs init because we produce aswell and we bring that to our music so there's no way you've gonna have heard our sound before. We're all skilled in our own ways. 

BM:  I'm approaching the production more organically. I'm sitting down playing the guitar and then structuring a whole song around that just making music. We've been writing without trying to fit a certain genre. It's not about trying be a rapper, or a producer or anything just whatever is working at the time then that's what you do. 

So what's been going on in 2015 for you guys?  

AS: It's been a pretty slow grind this year, next year is the one man. 

BM: Yeah but I guess when you look back though to NYE we have done some pretty cool stuff like 

KB: We've been working alot not necessarily putting it out but we've been working on what we've got and the support and love from the last video has shown me that it's deffo paying off  

BM:Yeah there are ties that have been built this year from us working with other people and we may not have released much as a crew but we've been doing plenty of shows. Also we've all been working on stuff for ourselves so that when we've boxed off our own sounds and we do come together on a project it will sound a hell of a lot stronger than the last one.   

FreeWize Men have been getting some big support gigs, who have you been playing alongside? 

AS: KRS ONE! 

BM: Me and Kiva (KB) played in the dam supporting The Bluntskins

KB: The Mouse Outfit .....Levelz.... 

Are you happy to continue supporting or will you be looking to headline more often in 2016?

BM: Whenever it comes to playing for a crowd I'm down. We've had a lot of fun supporting in the past but ideally we do want to be building our own name to do shows off and that's only gonna come through releases and videos rather than support slots. 

What releases should we be expecting? Either solo or as a collective

BM: Bare Noise have released our 'Is Ya With Me?' single and I have a project coming out with them myself with RedEye Hifi and Ellipsis called 'Black Lagoon' which should feature these two a little. That release has like a strong jazz, funk, live element played by a band with different MCs and singers featuring. Thats out in March. I've just recorded with Sparkz on a Kydro beat and I've got a video with Dubbul O out on Room 2.  

AS:  Other than my Official Rogue EP which should be out ASAP I'm only waiting on 2 mixdowns I'm also working on a grime EP it's still untitled but the concept is that I'm trying to make the whole thing out of stock sounds on Reason take it back to 2005 and get some guys to shell off on it basically. That's where you see these different elements 

Yeah Jazzy, Grimey... 

AS: Then Kiva is like the Dub  

Until now Lyricalligraphy aka MC Jon had been chillin up but he takes a sec to declare Kay Bey a 'Dub Raver Ancient Ghandi - the oldest in the group soul and soundwise' 

KB: Rather than writing solo stuff I've been hosting  at a lot of nights in Manchester and did a couple festivals like Beat-Herder & Gottwood over the summer. Next year I'm booked to be at Boomtown with RedEye Hifi too. 

Who or what are your big current influences? 

AS: 2005. 

BM: Haitus kayote 

Are there any particular producers you want to work with? 

BM: We get a lot of support from the scene and that it will happen organically, if people wanna work then we're ready to work with.  

So what is your process when you are approaching your projects? 

KB: Sometimes it can just happen through jammin' because theres a little crew of us who get together 

BM: Yeah me and Key have written a couple of songs that aren't necessarily rap tunes but are definitely proper pieces of music and yeah that comes from getting the guitars and the bongos and working alongside Mayo and Ollie. (Big shout out to them)  

AS: I think though with the stuff that we've put out so far it's normally one persons initial spark which is then built on.  

BM: Definitely, that's why our songs keep sounding different 'cos it comes from one person. We very rarely sit down and be like 'c'mon guys lets make a song today!' 

AS: 'C'mon let's talk about social injustice we need to solve this!' 

BM: 'Let's write about girls mayneee' 

I wanted to ask you inparticular Mic about a track called 'People' ft Black Josh off your earlier release 'Blue Morning' which sounds like you felt a sense of injustice regarding promotors and the fact you are a young collective, do you feel the same or are things different now? 

BM: I dunno, I think think maybe there's an element of self-entitlement there. We kind of came on the scene quite young and you're about alot of people you look at and you think wow, you're doing it properly.. making x amount of money on the weekends and living in your own place just doing music but that comes from years y'know and maybe that wasn't something I fully appreciated when I wrote that. BUT there's still been instances where... 

AS: Promotors have been wet guys! So we need to be able to save our own P put on our own shows. All about independance really.  

BM: But yeah the theme of the song was injustice really and when i wrote it that was just one of the situtations that came to mind. 

Anyone you'd like to collaborate with? Any plans to branch from Manchester scene? 

KB: Nah, now I'm sorry but Manchester is the best really 

BM: I don't ever wanna leave for any reason...at all. 

AS: These man can stay here I'm going Korea to make Trap init. 

KB: I do really wanna make a tune with Ape Cult though, Lyricalligraphy especially.... 

AS: hahaa 'man's sat here yano but nah not him I'm set to get that MC Jon 

BM: We'd deffo like to get it in Europe more. Tunes that are more musical rather than just bars cos it doesn't always translate

KB: That's another thing me and Mic have been talking about making some instrumental Eps..... 

Anyone else you'd like to shout out? 

BM: Everyone that's ever played my tune 

KB: Or shared it. All of Manchester basically, the Levelz lot, DRS everyone! 

BM: Everyone who is backin it!

And to finish... Favourite Chocolate bar? 

BM: Mate! Them Marvellous Creation with the popping Candy

AS: I go hard yo I'm about that solid block of chocolate. A Yorkie yo.

BM: They had a genius marketing technique........

@FreeWize

@BlindMick 

@AfroSamMCR

@KivaHulme 

Artwork : Pete Obsolete
Blogger: @CJHamand 

Bloc2Bloc Entertainment. 

BIG BOU YAH REMIX - BEHIND THE SCENES WITH TRIGGA!

Behind the scenes of mc Triggaz Video shoot. Full video in link belowhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYisvzUo9uw

Posted by Bloc2Bloc Entertainment on Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Bloc2Bloc Boss Jack Banner was down at Chicken Run documenting the behind the scenes filming of Trigga's part in the 'Big Bou Yah Remix' video by Coco & Toddla T on the beat!