Woodburner is proud to present our legendary weekly festival season, every Tuesday from June to September, with London-based production duo Blue Lab Beats, love-jazz sensation The Dylema Collective and spoken word songstress DemiMa.
BLUE LAB BEATS
Blue Lab Beats is the brainchild of NK-OK and Mr D.M - The pair are the engine room behind many of the freshest new acts - Age Of Luna , Ruby Francis , Louis VI and also remixers for Jodie Abacus, Dua Lipa, Rag n Bone man to name a few. The production style is raw but also sophisticated - musical but not introvert. Their recent Blue Skies EP intro video caught the attention of Dazed and Confused Magazine and has been clocking up views ever since.
With all this music happening they decided to make their own album. Their journey began at a weekend arts club - WAC in Belsize Park. NK-OK met Mr DM invited him back to the studio and from there the two started making music in the now Infamous Blue Lab Studios.
Many production rooms that produce a lot of good music historically are tiny - Motown in Detroit was one - Sun studios was another such studio and Blue Lab boasts a shortage of space that would leave scratch marks on many an elbow. Still the music is hot - and that's what counts.
The duo cite the following as influences: Mad Lib, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Knxwledge, J Dilla, Milt Jackson, Ahmad Jamal, Oscar Peterson. Tribe called Quest. But the interesting part comes from the fact that NK- OK's production journey started with Grime. He learnt to programme at age 12 against a background of UK Grime - Kano - Ghetts - Wiley - Wretch 32 all played a huge part in his musical upbringing. The Jazz came later. It's this musical mishmash of Mr DM's music instrumental wizardry and a whole lotta NK-OK bottom end and programming know how that gives Blue Lab Beats the edge and takes it out of straight Jazz format whilst paying full respect to the artform.
THE DYLEMA COLLECTIVE
Sweet Neo-Spoken Soul. Dope-Ass Funk. Multi-sensory Killa Jazz. The kinda music that makes your brain and booty dance. This is the infectious blend of groove, swag and often disarming fragility that confronts you as The Dylema Collective oozes their way through their young yet hypnotic set.
Drawing on a smorgasbord of musical influences – inevitable considering the diverse backgrounds of its members – you find Russian classicism and Nigerian Afrobeat meeting Latin American rhythms and old-school soul, all woven into London’s contemporary jazz sound.
The inspiring, empowering poetry that flows from Dylema’s lips and effortlessly between these poly-rhythms and sounds makes for an overall magnetic experience, one full of trembling crescendos, tingling intimacy and simpering sexuality.
DEMIMA
Demi DemiMa Mseleku is an AngloZulu word and sound artist from South West London.
Singer, Song writer, Poet and Co-creator of A L C H E M Y a monthly event honouring the art of WORD SOUND SOUL.
DemiMa creates soulful multisensorial performances to provoke conscious dialogue. Inspired by themes of identity, spirituality, social dynamics, divine femininity and Afrofuturism. DemiMa’s passion for improvisation enables her to freely channel sounds as a canvas for her poetry.
ABOUT THIS EVENT
Since our first season in 2013, our event at Dalston Eastern Curve Garden has always inspired audiences in a unique and thrilling way. This season of events captures the essence of a weekend rural festival, all in the centre of Dalston on a Tuesday evening.
The phenomenal surrounds of the garden combine with delicious pizzas from David Latto, and a supreme and ever-evolving roster of acts, to create a magical atmosphere which brings people together in a friendly and welcoming space.
It's a community of music-lovers, summer-lovers and life-lovers, brought together to celebrate the warm months in a carefree and supportive atmosphere, with a compelling live soundtrack.
