On Saturday I went to Day 4 of Paradiso in my home town (Amsterdam). The night was organized through the Colors events group, who organize bi-monthly events in Trouw, one of Amsterdam’s best lesser-known nightclubs. Colors is an event that promotes the UK bass sound, and is known to attract some of the biggest names in the scene. Headliners on Saturday night were Joy Orbison, MJ Cole, Pearson Sound (also known as Ramadanman) and a personal favorite of mine, Ikonika. With Cinnaman opening strongly and Ikonika teaming up with Optimum afterwards, the night could hardly start off better. MJ Cole dropped a somewhat flat set – though still immaculate mixing – but Joy Orbison did not disappoint. Now, seeing as this genre is somewhat underrepresented on UpsideSounds, I wanted to post some sick beats that these guys (and lady Ikonika) have been putting out.
Joy Orbison (real name Peter O’Grady) is a very difficult man to categorize in terms of genre. His productions are influenced by the UK garage and 2step scenes, as well as incorporating the sounds of house and dubstep. HYPH MNGO, the track that launched Orbison’s career to stellar heights absolutely blew me away the first time I heard it. His later productions have been consistently excellent and having seen him twice already, I can’t wait for the 7th of May when he’ll be back in A’dam again.
MJ Cole is another British export, but he has been on the scene since the 90′s. His influence on British dance and garage music over the past 10 years has been immeasurable. While his set was not particularly impressive on Saturday night, his most recent release, “Satellite EP”, is amazing.
Ikonika is a bit of an exception in the scene, not least because she’s a she. Her sound is incredibly unique and, having brought out several releases on some of the biggest dubstep and garage labels in the UK – Hyperdub and Planet MU – Ikonika is a name to keep an eye on. Contact, Love, Want, Have – her most recent album release, is jam-packed with strange beats to go insane to. The last track is the first I heard by Ikonika.
Ikonika – They Are Losing The War
- Steven
Agreenberg 
Hambaby 
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