In your opinion which are the most vibrant cities

[Simonator]

Originally Posted by AJ Reynolds

they got some moves over there

This is obviously in the pre-D'n'B era.

Once they heard Timeless, EVERYTHING changed.


They took Dillinja & Lemon D over as sound-system consultants when they constructed their first super-club 'Fission' in 1999. Apparently it's got an absolutely sick-ass sub-bass response.

Kim Jong-il has his own private VVIP suite there with a hot-tub & steamroom to ease the comedowns.

[Primativ]

Well I'm off to Berlin end of Feb...what clubs shall I check out? any ideas for hotels? it'll be over a weekend

[analogbass]

Originally Posted by AJ Reynolds

if london doesn't have a vibrant scene than nowhere has.
in london you can go out every night of the week and next friday night there are 59 events listed and on the saturday there is 75. it's the centre for genres like Drum & Bass, Dubstep, Grime, UK Garage, UK Funky and some more.

And some of those last only hours, after which time it's common to have musical format changes.

Even with all that London doesn't work for some. But sure when it comes to quantity it's there.

[bizness80]

Originally Posted by boon

that's a stretch. sure, there is decibel festival every year and a handful of venues and lot's of people making music but calling it a 'big time' scene is a real stretch. it does go through peaks and valleys though where it'll get busy then die off then get busy then die off... portland is the same way.. seems like there will be 2 months when there are shows every night and you can't get to all of them then there will be months where there isn't much going on.

the NW USA is a tough nut to crack. i'd say LA has a better scene and it's easier to throw a party there and get people into it. the NW is great but takes time to find your groove.

I was pretty into the scene there from '98 to '06' and while there was a lot of parties and a lot of people into the scene there was really nothing cool or original 'from Seattle'. And I distinctly remember Seattle being very derivative of, yet quite a ways behind, London (which I tended to follow for new music ideas back then, I still have some ratty old copies of Mixmag and Musik lying around somewhere hahaha). Anyway, I'd love to hear that things have changed for the better since then!

There was a nice little underground psytrance scene going on but it seemed to kind of sputter out by 2003 or 2004. Some of them were in Seattle, some near Portland. I remember seeing Hux Flux, Cosmosis, Process (he used a Doepfer modular live), Goa Gil and lots of other fun stuff back then! I'd also love to hear that is still going strong but who knows.

[bizness80]

Originally Posted by Simonator

No... he's right;

Kim Jong-il is mad for Drum & Bass. He flew Fabio & Grooverider out to DJ at his 60th Birthday celebrations in 2001.

Kim Jong-il - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He's actually had DJing lessons himself, and has some of those limited edition gold-plated technics 1210s & a rotary mixer.

Apparently he was well into dancing... but has had to stop now on the advice of his personal physician as he's had some health issues recently.




Although the state has very tight control over what its citizens get to become aware of, they do often allow foreign journalists to go there to report things that they want known... for example, they allowed journalists recently for some big gala extravaganza... with the real, unstated purpose being to present one of Kim Jong-il's sons as his heir.

Also, there are many North Korean ex-pats throughout the world (and even a North Korean university in Tokyo).

... So whilst many details of technical things like distribution networks are unknown to the west, lots of social & cultural information is known.


Supposedly, Pyongyang has a pretty wild club scene. D'n'B is obviously hugely popular, and there is also a really strong techno scene. Dubstep is starting to gain a foothold.

You wouldn't expect it... but Kim Jong-il is just mad for raving, and so allows his citizens to go clubbing as a release.

It's true.

Big Up Pyongyang Junglist Massive:



And notice in this picture, he is grinding his teeth:

[GuruInSpace]

That new dance craze will be coming to your country soon.

[Simonator]

He has a little bit of a bad reputation in the West, but in The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, he's known as an insatiable party animal.












It has not been confirmed, but it's widely believed that it was actually Kim Jong-il's team of scientists that invented methadrone- as a response to the international community's restriction of the chemicals needed to synthesise MDMA.

[Seamus O' Bottle]

Well you learn something new every day eh!! Here's a picture of him in Pyongyang's independent record shop, Dear Leader Records.



Did a bit more reading and apparently he got into club music after his doctors prescribed him some pure MDMA to combat persistent feelings of loneliness.

[Primativ]

Originally Posted by Seamus O' Bottle

Well you learn something new every day eh!! Here's a picture of him in Pyongyang's independent record shop, Dear Leader Records.



Did a bit more reading and apparently he got into club music after his doctors prescribed him some pure MDMA to combat persistent feelings of loneliness.

LOL

[dhollmusik]

Originally Posted by Simonator

Hey, he looks like an older version of our spammy friend:

[dhollmusik]

Originally Posted by Primativ

Well I'm off to Berlin end of Feb...what clubs shall I check out? any ideas for hotels? it'll be over a weekend

Send me a mail nearer the time, mate. In the meantime, check out:

Toytown Berlin

for english chat on Berlin, and tips for hostels and stuff. There's plenty of options. Stick to Kreuzberg or Mitte for hostels. The best parties are in the west-side of Friedrichshain. Kreuzberg, Mitte, north-Neukölln and Prenzlauer Berg all have good bar life.

[Simonator]

Here is Kim Jong-il blogging about his favorite d'n'b cuts of all time:

Zoklet.net - View Single Post - Drum and Bass

[Estin]

Originally Posted by invisiblekiduk

Fukuoka's better

Would love to visit there and find out. Been to Japan twice, never had the pleasure of seeing Fukuoka.

[Seamus O' Bottle]

Originally Posted by Simonator

Here is Kim Jong-il blogging about his favorite d'n'b cuts of all time:

Zoklet.net - View Single Post - Drum and Bass

Half the links don't work. That's censorship for you :(

[JoaT]

Wow! I thought you were pulling my leg, but after seeing the photographic evidence I just had to google for more...

It turns out The Supreme Junglist has been into electronic music a long time. I managed to find an old photo from the eighties when he was into Miami sound. He apparently had a series of concerts in North Corea back then, but as he went all-out junglist later he ordered any evidence of this "softer" period erased from the annals of North Korea's history.

This I found laying on the scrap server of the big western advertising agency he had on payroll during the 80's synth endeavour:

[Simonator]

He commissioned this track in 1994:






Most of the lyrics are in Korean... so you'll probably find them unintelligible unless you speak that language. But it does have some English lyrics too, intended as a warning to his opponents on the world political stage:


Wicked wicked,
Jong-il is massive,
Wicked wicked,
When his generals advance.


... This track is actually banned in South Korea.

[MimikOctopus]

Chicago and Atlanta have always had a great scene.

[Fifstar]

Has to be Berlin, I haven't been to every place mentioned in this thread, but I can't imagine that there is another city where Techno and electronic music in general are such a huge part of the lifestyle of such a big part of the population as in Berlin.

It has the good clubs with great DJs, it has so many off spots, bars and secret locations, it's the living place for many big producers old and new, life is extremly cheap which means that Berlin attracts creative people and hedonists from the whole europe, the laws are pretty loose ... It's just the perfect climate for electronic music.

[Primativ]

Originally Posted by dhollmusik

Send me a mail nearer the time, mate. In the meantime, check out:

Toytown Berlin

for english chat on Berlin, and tips for hostels and stuff. There's plenty of options. Stick to Kreuzberg or Mitte for hostels. The best parties are in the west-side of Friedrichshain. Kreuzberg, Mitte, north-Neukölln and Prenzlauer Berg all have good bar life.

Thanks I will do mate I'll be in touch.

[djugel]

NYC? really?

I ain't buying that... that place is a pile.. when it comes to music culture.
What once "was" is not what is "is".

from disco/techno to ... Sleigh Bells ??

[jessem]

NY generally disappoints me but they do get some talent in from europe that wouldn't make it here otherwise.

Grass is always greener but I feel like making good friends and doing your own thing over a long period of time can be more rewarding than mindless nights at mega clubs and djs.

Montreal was amazing in the early 00's when I went up there. The people were friendly and the atmosphere was able to walk that line between engulfing and intimate. Something you won't find everywhere. Not sure how it is today.

From what I read online Berlin seems to be the mecca of electronic music at the moment. I also like music coming out of London, Russia, Netherlands and Tokyo as well right now.

[controlvoltage]

Big up Asheville NC... 70k people and seems like 5k of them are electronic musicians, producers, DJs, party people...

best underground psytrance scene in the southeast, and a fast-rising dub/wobble/whomp scene that is well in sync with the west coast/pacific NW bass junkies... it's a microcosm where the per capita cool-factor is surprisingly high.

that being said, it's no Berlin.
But the event lineup just for the next couple of months is better than any given year in many comparable US municipalities...

[Simonator]

Kim Jong-il's birthday celebrations are in full swing again.

Note the percussion of the backing track in this synchronised swimming event:

Video: Kim Jong-il's birthday show - Asia, World - The Independent


... Classic D'n'B break.

[alexstringer]

New York is surely better than it was during the Guiliani's years but i wouldn't put it on the list.
Berlin -(Big Winner!)
London
Paris
Ibiza
Those to me are the 4 cities with the most active dance music culture.
4 cities where electronic music is an industry, not an underground movement.

[Pier]

Originally Posted by dhollmusik

Hey, he looks like an older version of our spammy friend:

LOL!!!!!

You made my day!

[merveilleux]

Haha, hilarious posts on Kim Jong-Il!


I have to say that I got a bit disappointed from Tokyo's nightlife. Had the opportunity to see some acts at WOMB, Air and other clubs that I've seen other places - but I can honestly say that all my reference gigs with these acts were better outside of japan, how strange it might sound even though the audience goes bananas (that's just the way they are). The downside is the few number of decent house and techno clubs in Tokyo. The WOMB, Ageha category of megaclubs is OK but not a personal club-experience. I found WOMB's upstairs bar to have a much nicer vibe mostly.

Just crossing the sea off Japan's west coast and there comes SEOUL! Damn, what a nice nightlife scene they've got. Ambitious clubs with great décor, crazy partygoers (they also go bananas, lol) and have got up to speed in 2010 with quality bookings. Eden and LUV host quality acts regularly.

Berlin A+
Barcelona A
London A
Other german cities, B+
Italy (seems good, lol)
NYC (below expectations! Cielo in manhattan and Mercy Hotel in Brooklyn are good)
LA (super commercial, except for culprit parties)
Stockholm tutt
Copenhagen D-

Oh, forgot about Paris. AWESOME. I lived there in 2007 and at the time REX, batofar, nouveau casino and showcase were my fave spots. Le REX is legendary and has a really good vibe, highly recommended for anyone visiting.

[giorgio]

the internet

[fooddude]

I am from LA/SoCal. Worst place imo for any kind of music, art, lifestyle, living. Very cynical and closed minded. People tend to do things because of trend or because everyone else is doing it, rather than the actual love for music. Marketed with local and west coast djs/producers mostly.

Lived in:
SF: Loved it. Great party attitude. Great atmospheres, vibes and undergrounds. Only downer for me is it can be a bit local artist/dj oriented and mostly marketed west coast and cali artists, hardly any east coast or european djs/artists...but good names still do come often of course..Just wished a lot more often.

NYC: I kinda agree with some aforeposts on it being a let down. But, I also strongly disagree. If you don't like NYC parties, then you don't know where to look or go. Yes of course there are a lot of ****** clubs and rich people and "table service", but there are so many really good parties if you know how to look and what you're lookin for. My favorite city and I am saving up to move back there in a couple months after living back with parents in socal for almost 2 years now; which really sucks.

San Diego: Bleh...I don't even want to open my mouth and waste my breathe, lol.

Visited and partied:
Chitown: Dead. And yes, I know where to look and have been to the good places. Some good parties here and there depending on the weekend. But no where as close to NYC or what Chi was supposedly been in the 80's and 90's.

London:
Lots of parties, love it. More laser rayish based and techno lovers. A bit more mainstream sounds.

Barcelona:
I couldn't tell since i was there in the winter :/ ...but I could tell it's very open minded and lots of EDM lovers just by the little bars i've been to.

Paris:
To me it's like a mini NYC, the people here love deep house like no other ..love it!

Italy:
Florence: Nil..I think it's a tourist city. Went to a few bars/lounges playing good music.
Rome: Couldn't tell... I haven't been to any neat places there.
All in all, I didn't know any cool places to go to there.

Anyways, my fave city in the world is still NYC, no contest. From the boat parties, the crap *********/table service spots which I hate, to undergrounds, to daytime parties, the sunday parties, to park parties, to ne spots, etc., etc... though my buds do tell me authorities have been cracking down and closing a lot of venues... 2nd fave city in the USA is SF.