This Sunday, May 19, Virus Recordings, 2Tuff and The Vinyl District present Inject the Virus. A celebration of the 15-year run of Virus Recordings, this eponymous event will feature drum and bass legends Ed Rush and Optical as well as artists of 2Tuff and local internet streaming station Expansion Broadcast. And this will all happen at U Street Music Hall.
Virus Recordings, the UK-born drum and bass record label, has targeted “techstep” and “neurofunk” sub-cultures around the world. Started in 1998, the legendary label made way for the futuristic, albeit clinical, sounds of techstep music. London-based DJ Ed Rush tweaked the dichromatic progressions of the genre with improvisational stabs and moody sound design to develop neurofunk.
While ghetto-house was making a name for itself in the States (Cajmere, “Time for the Perculator”), Rush and his frequent collaborator Optical were pioneering avant-garde dance rhythms in the UK. But the late ’90s, Virus Recording was associated with the unique form of thematic “dnb” that might score all things post-apocalyptic.
Meanwhile, in DC, there emerged a drum and bass DJ collective called 2Tuff. Established in 1994, the collective grew its fanbase in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
The core members and founders are Andrew Cerutti and DJ Slant. Slant, a jungle-drum-and-bass impresario, has performed with the likes of Fort Knox Five, LTJ Bukem, and Thunderball. With Cerutti and 2Tuff Productions, Slant has taken acts such as BJOO under his wing within the flourishing DC dance scene.
With as exotic a background as BJOO’s, you would be wise to let her music bend your ear. From São Paulo, Brazil, BJOO’s unique Korean and South American heritage do all but overshadow her acumen on the decks. She speaks the universal language of rhythm and has taken over the world, performing locally (Washington, Baltimore) and internationally (Uruguay, Argentina). BJOO’s become a seminal part of the mid-Atlantic drum and bass renaissance.
This special event at UHall wouldn’t be an authentic drum and bass party without Baltimore representing. And Matt Papsch, aka High Tolerance, will act as ambassador. His style is both kinetic and symphonic, a study in Max Roach at 180 bpm. Joining the Baltimore-based DJ is Jungle Jessi. In contrast to Tolerance, Jessi will introduce a sound akin to the snare-powered stepchild of a jungle-techstep marriage.
As drum and bass leads a double-life in the world of podcasts and internet streaming, Expansion Broadcast brings the evolving genre to the world. Deinfamous, a host and DJ regular at EXBC, will also join the Inject the Virus party. The DC-based DJ flows like water, playing anything from dubstep to liquid funk and techno to “dark/hard” tracks.
Practice your dance moves now. Don’t just imagine yourself going to your run-of-the-mill dance party in the U Street Corridor. Fancy yourself going to a celebration, a 15-year anniversary tip-off to a musical genre born from the simple two-step of percussion and electronica. This Sunday, let’s make it official.
Doors 9PM | $10 Advance Tickets | $15 at the Door | 18 & Up
