Register your email to download SMSQ MP3s...
Or existing members login here.
 |
| |
[ news ]
Scassa @ West Indian Centre, 12th Oct 2007
Er, yeah, we have been rather quiet on the ol'news page recently haven't we. Well just when you thought we'd all jacked it in and become tarmac scientists, we're happy to announce that Scassa are back on home turf at the West Indian Centre Leeds. It's the Autumn Raise The Roof festival and you'd better believe it's gonna be big!
Check out the live dates page for details.
Happy summer to y'all and hold tight for the live drum n bass ting!
February 2007 Live Dates
Hola people! Scassa are back for 2007 with two special live dates in Huddersfield and Leeds on 9th and 10th respectively. The band are so busy with the ongoing monolith of a studio album (has it really taken this long...?) that there's not been many chances to catch the band live. But now you can, so don't miss your chance if you're in the north! Check out the live dates page for details.
And belated Happy New Year everybody, big tings in 2007!
Leeds Unity Day Festival August 5th
Everyone up north! Scassa are headlining the UNITY DAY festival in Leeds on August 5th. We're on the mainstage from 10 till 11, there's loads of tents with DJs playing drum & bass including the Central Beatz brought to you by DJ Ruckspin, it's on a saturday, we've had personal assurances from God that it'll be sunny, and its FREE! So there is no excuse not to get down there and witness some proper live d&b.
Live Round-up!
Screw us sideways, it's been a good few months and here is a live round-up of what's been happening!
Gusto and Sulene: wave your hands
Live with Foreign Beggars :: 3rd May 2006
Kicking off the mini-tour was
this live show with the Foreign Beggars. A great night for York! it's not everyday that you get this kind of lineup in this quiet northern city! Big set from FB, and Scassa enjoyed the chance to warm up the crowd for them. Also the debut for another member of the Scassa collective, the incredible vocals of Sulene Fleming.
The Doghouse, Halifax :: 2nd June 2006
A completely unlikely venue, this gig turned out to be a real refreshing change from the usual DnB clubs. With an audience obviously hyped up for their chance to catch some good local music in their hometown, this show really kicked off. Get yourself down to this night next time it happens!
Blood sweat and bass
The Rocket Complex, London :: 3rd June 2006
From Halifax, the band were straight down to London the next day to pump some adrenaline into the University of East London summer ball! Also with Tim Westwood on the decks, it was a great night of underground (and not so underground) beats and flavaaasss. Thanks to Patrick Link from the photos.
Ronni's, Leeds :: 9th June 2006
The second of a new regular night running in Leeds, this is a night for live/electronic crossover bands & DJs/MCs. With a 27kw PA system, the night couldn't really go wrong. Scassa played an hours worth of non-stop DnB and we think everyone could definitely hear the BASS. Leeds people keep your eye on this night, big tings!
Live with Foreign Beggars
Scassa will be live in York on Wednesday May 3rd, along with the mighty Foreign Beggars. This will be an obscene night for quiet York! Get yourself along to Fibbers and make that sure you download this flyer, as it means you'll get in for half-price when you present it on the door.
We also bring you news that Stage One of the 2006 Scassa Monakee studio sound is coming to a stereo near you very soon. The band have been in the studio putting down tracks for a forthcoming EP!
Scassa @ Cert18, March 10th
Scassa will be playing out for the first time in ages on Friday night in Cert 18, York. This momentus gig will have three firsts: first gig with new vocalist Ruby, first gig as a 5 piece while Porl is away, and the first chance to hear a whole lot of incredible new material, raw and live. Doors open 8pm, see the live page for more details.
Scassa @ KITCHEN, December 9th
There's nothing like this The final gig of 2005 was at The Rhythm Factory in London for a KITCHEN Christmas special and Scassa took position on stage as the house band for the guests. Breaking from the usual MC parade, there were a few more singers down this time, and headlining was soul legend Omar (who made his name in the early nineties with his hit "there's nothing like this"). It was nice to see him overrule his manager by getting Scassa to back him for his performance rather than use a CD! Also down was Rosie (voice of the Gorillaz hit 'Dare'), Nana (of the Architechs), Big Cakes, Skeme, Nathan and Big P. Quieter night than usual, but still a great atmosphere.
Scassa / London Elek @ Leeds Uni
Scassa were on stage supporting London Elektricity at Leeds University on 6th October, as part of a Legends of the Dark Black event, arguably one of the biggest regular drum and bass nights in Leeds. A Stylus packed out with DnB heads were warmed up by DJ Ruckspin and then got 45 minutes of Scassa at midnight. MCs Gusto and Newshan along with vocalist Kate Mellor provided in-your-face frontline, while the quartet did their thing. Cheers to the crowd - you were crazy for it!
Also, we've uploaded some more photos to the website (from the Wardrobe gig earlier in the year). Login to BASE to check'em out.
Moor Music Festival 2005
As one festival goer was overheard saying - "this is no ordinary rave" - this show took place in a field up on Ilkley moor. With some very kind weather, three stages and an audience obviously high on the fresh air, it was a storming weekend. The dance-tent was running late though, so Scassa moved over to the main stage to close out the live-acts at midnight just before the Dreadzone soundsystem took over. Hope all Scassa fans got the message about the move, and sorry if you didn't - you missed a gud'un! Expect the festival again next year. And big up Jon
Gomm!
London Lovebox weekender
It was time to enter the summer festival spirit at the weekend (23rd/24th July 2005), and Scassa were down in London playing a set for the Lovebox
weekender in Victoria Park. With Gusto and Lucy Taylor-Gee on vocals, Scassa rattled through a set on the Fusion East stage along side some familiar faces from KITCHEN. Great atmosphere, and certainly no hint of the underlying chaos that's going on in London at the moment. Other festival performance highlights came from DJ Cash Money, DJ Marky and The Bays.
KITCHEN / Woodstock reviews
York University Woodstock
The invite back to York University for their annual outdoor musical festival was an opportunity not to be turned down, so Scassa Monakee made the journey back to put in a headline appearance alongside the cream of the University's live acts. Drummer boy Ned couldn't make it, but stand-in virtuoso Chris Bussey put in an admirable performance, even though the band only met him for the first time 40 minutes before going on stage... there were some 'unique' moments to say the least, but a good time was had by all!
KITCHEN, The Rhythm Factory
On to the big night - KITCHEN was back on July 1st with Scassa backing the guest MCs. This time the line-up boasted headliner Blak
Twang who dropped in and played through 'So Rotten' and 'Red Letters' with Scassa before 1Xtra's Skitz made an appearance to spin the dub plates. Right on cue the venue seemed to fill with the rest of the cream of London's MC talent - MC D, Pesci and Million
Dan were up tearing things apart.
Blak Twang: Nice T-shirt
Scassa were soon back to blast through a 20 minute DnB set, and MC Navigator
and Roni Size's Dynamite
MC stepped up to take the spot for some heavy double time rhymes. If anyone
taped this, please let us know, 'cos we forgot. Dynamite and Navigator became
the sixth and seventh MCs respectively to rap over Night Vision II, following Newshan,
Gusto, Roots
Manuva, Rodney P and Skibadee.
Pretty sure we spotted Tali in the audience too, although she didn't take to
the stage (and didn't bring Roni Size himself to make the Full Cycle hatrick).
Heavy performances also came from Seonefour/8, Craze24, Lethal, Sage, Big P and
host Skeme, all backed by Scassa. Big big big night.
KITCHEN Birthday special + York Woodstock
Scassa have two live dates coming up that should both be storming nights! The first is at York University on June 25th for their annual outdoor music festival, 'Woodstock'. This is always a huge event with a great sound-system, stage and lighting rig. Good weather is always a bonus and it usually obliges. Get yourself to this charity event (it's FREE to come, just make sure you donate something to the people walking around with buckets). Scassa will be on last sometime after 11pm.
Second date coming up is July 1st at The Rhythm Factory, London which will be a special birthday celebration for KITCHEN. The lineup for these events never fails to knock you over, and yet again Scassa will be backing some huge Hip Hop talent as a live band. This time Blak Twang will make a guest appearance performing tracks from his new album 'The Rotten Club' along with other acts such as Rodney P, Skitz, Skeme, Bip P, Lethal, Destruction and SEOneFour/8. More details on the KITCHEN website.
And finally, congratulations to drummer-boy Ned who has married the loverly Alice. Will it slow him down...? We don't think so.
Scassa album under way
If you noticed a bit of a break in live dates for Scassa, you might be interested to know that Scassa are currently writing for the forthcoming album release. No date for it's completion yet, but we'll let you know.
Thanks to the Leicester crew for a good night at The Attic back on April 15th. Small venue, small stage, but big vibes. Seriously confusing one-way road system though! (for some band members)
Apologies to those looking forward to the next KITCHEN in London, as we've had to postpone the night. It'll be back soon though.
News from March 05
Cheers to everyone that came down to one of the Scassa live dates in March. The month was kicked off with the Faversham, Leeds where we were very pleased to welcome back MC Newshan for his first gig with us since he came back from China. He and Gusto really smashed this one up! Then there was the BYT gig at The Wardrobe, Leeds, where about 15 people with clipboards ran the night like a Solicitors office with excellent results - a sleek, professional night with a top PA and top venue. The following evening couldn't have been more different, as Scassa turned up for a sweaty night in Kendal at The Park - very heavy night, and a big thumbs up from da Monakee!
The month was rounded off with a charity night at The Brudnell Social, Leeds - freakin' weird night, but actually pretty darn good. It was made more odd with an appearance on BBC Radio Leeds by a selection of Monakees in order to promote the show earlier in the day, where the afternoon listeners where treated to an acoustic and unplugged exclusive performance. And if you missed the giggles, we've posted a recording of it on the web. Login to BASE and have a laugh on us.
KITCHEN: Estelle, Rodney P, Skibadee + more!
February's KITCHEN at the Rhythm Factory, London once more lived up to everything
it promised, with Scassa live on stage backing some of the biggest names
in UK urban music as a live band. The night was kicked off by top DJs,
Baby Blue (Itch FM / Deal Real) and X-Ray (Genesis). The live portion of
the night was opened by a gorgeous vocal number by the fantastic Rosie
which was followed by a up-tempo set from Lethal and Tor. Check all these
guys out - they've got real ability.
Deman Rockers from the Ragga Twins
Estelle dropped by right on schedule and clearly had a point to prove, testifying
quite convincingly that she genuinly has some serious talent, and isn't
just another pop RnB sensation. Scassa played through '1980' and the single's
B-side with her, before she had to dash back off to fufil some other commitments
for her record company. And from that point on the night just went off.
The Dark Horizons crew featuring Seanie T, Rodney P, Karl Hinds, The Ragga
Twins, Shortman Wolverine, Iceman, Jef3, Breis, Champaigne & Keith Lawrence
really tore things up and the double timers Skibadee, Det, D, Shabba and
Skeme abosolutly smashed the place apart when they dropped a live version
of The Greatest Show with Scassa backing.
Seanie T warms up the crowd
for the Dark Horizons set
As usual, from that point onwards we lost count of everyone that came
up on stage to spit some lines with Scassa, but it was a serious showdown
of talent - you wouldn't have known that the London Hip Hop awards
were running on the same night not so far away, as just about everyone
worth mentioning on the UK scene seemed to turn up. Next one is scheduled
for sometime in April... keep your eyes open.
Media news: Undercover Magazine & Channel 4
For those of you who didn't get yourselves a copy of Undercover magazine in February,
you might be interested to know that the last Kitchen back in November got
a storming write-up. Here's a few tasters of what they were saying:
"Every act was backed by Scassa Monakee, a full live band who were able to create every beat required for each artist, with little or no rehearsal"
"Rodney P truly excelled with the band perfectly recreating hits like Murderer Style"
"One of the most enjoyable live experiences of the '04"
And we've also heard that the Scassa will be appearing on Channel 4 in part of a hip hop documentary. (some footage was filmed at the last Kitchen). We'll let you know when it's being screened if we can - probably some time in April or May. It will be called "Rapping’ At The Royal" if you see it in the TV listings.
February Live Dates
Details of the February live dates are confirmed. Scassa will be playing Kendal and London, and will be backing Estelle, Rodney P, Karl Hinds, Skibadee and many more... Check the gigs
page for more information!
Scassa in the studio...!
A quick announcement - SMSQ have been back in the studio recording a new track! It's the first time the band have recorded properly since May 2003! The results of this will be released to your ears very soon, and in the meantime, some photos have been posted here.
> click here for old news
|
| |