Trackers and Breakbeats: Brain Records exhibition

'Trackers and Breakbeats: Celebrating Brain Records’ Underground Revolution' was an exhibition  at The Stephen Lawrence Gallery, University of Greenwich (October/November 2024) exploring 'the groundbreaking influence of Brain Records and its pioneering use of 8-bit technology in the 1990s', highlighting 'the often overlooked yet pivotal role of Brain Records and its founder Bizzy B in shaping the UK hardcore and jungle scenes'. The exhibition featured original studio equipment, flyers, zines, interviews and film.

The scene was centred around Leytonstone in East London where Bizzy B and Dlux ran 2Getherness record shop in the 1990s (238 Leytonstone High Road)

They put on parties at The Dungeons, 'a maze of tunnels' off Lea Bridge Road.

'Bizzy B - creator of the dark style' (article by Adrian H from Ravescene zine)

A letter to the record shop from Peckham junglist venue The Lazerdrome

 

Speed (and other club listings), i-D 1995

Club listings from i-D magazine,  no. 135, April 1995, covering lots of places in Britain and Ireland, but with the photos all from legendary drum'n'bass club Speed, including shots of DJ Kemistry and Goldie. I remember dancing to the former there alongside the latter on the dancefloor. 

Tony Marcus writes: 'For the last couple of months, Speed (Thursdays at Mars, Sutton Row, W1) has been playing London's most futuristic, raw, experimental and sci-fi grooves. Resident DJs Fabio and LTJ Bukem spin the latest drum'n'bass sounds on dubplate for a crowd that regularly includes junglist heads like Goldie, 4 Hero, Nookie, DJ Rap, DJ Ron, DJ Crystl, Deep Blue and A Guy Called Gerald. The sounds are immaculate: divine harmonies and crystalline breaks that wash, float and massage the dancefloor. A few stray hippies and tantric types take the floor for some wildly expressive dancing, while small groups of skinny boys lean against the speakers and solemnly nod to the rhythms. The vibe is relaxed, chemical-free and unites musicians, music lovers and dancers for a few hours of sonic bliss. And at times it looks like a scene from William Gibson, as sci-fi skate and B-boy fashions collide under sounds for the next millennium. Recommended'.

i-D, April 1995, cover star Nikki Umbertti

Speed reviewed by Dom Phillips in Mixmag, January 1996:

'Speed was the brainchild of a young man called Leo, formerly employed in the dance department of A&M Records. He met Bukem hanging out in the legendary Basement Records in Reading, through breakbeat producer and shop owner Basement Phil. "Just basically wanted to hear the music I was into  under one roof," explains Leo. "l didn't want no big PR, just word of mouth. Because musically it's intelligent and it's Central London, you're gonna get the people you want".

So you get an older, more mixed crowd, into the music, there to dance, not show off nor take their shirts off. At  |Speed there's a quiet, determined appreciation of the  best drum n' bass has to offer and the hands and feet are  frequently flailing in delight come midnight. No attitudes,  just good vibes and even better sounds. No wonder   peed is perhaps the best midweek night London has got. 

"It's a personal thing down there," says Leo, paying respect for the hard work put in by his resident DJ crew of Kemistry and Storm, DJ Lee and of course Bukem and  Fabio. "l didn't want to turn it into a trendy West End  thing. It was just a room that felt good. I was lucky because I knew [club owner] Nicky Holloway..." 

[post last updated 18/12/2023 with added Mixmag article]

See also other listings posts:

London Gay Disco 1972

NME Guide to Rock & Roll London (1978): Disco

NME Guide to Rock & Roll London (1978): Gay clubs

NME Guide to Rock & Roll London (1978): Reggae

London Club Listings 1982 - Time Out

Clubbing in London i-D listings, 1984

Clubbing in Sheffield i-D listings, 1984

Clubbing in Manchester listings, 1984

Clubbing in Luton, 1984

1987: Dancing in Brixton and beyond

1988 London club listings: 'do not play acid'

The Face London Club listings, March 1989

Muzik Magazine 1995 club listings

More 1995 London Clubs