Due to increasing load on Net-Lab and a number of tech problems caused internally from our host, we’ve been experiencing some serious downtime over the last 2-4 weeks to the site and mailserver.

Having now had everything shuffled over to a different server at the same host, we’ve now resolved our site downtime issues, but mailserver issues are still causing a problem.

I am sure there is a large volume of mail that has been sent to us over the last few weeks (as there always is), but please bare with us for a few more days, as we cannot currently access the Net-Lab info@ and submissions@ mailboxes. Mail will still be received in the mailbox - we just can’t get into it yet!

I’m advised that this will be resolved by Sunday afternoon (GMT).

We are 99% sure that we’re going to move Net-Lab over to MediaTemple at some point during the next few months, who should provide a better standard of service overall.

Ital Tek and Chevron pretty much merked it at Planet-Mu’s 200th release anniversary party (200+) on Saturday night.

Highlights of the night were Mike P playing a (now seemingly quite rare) Mu-Ziq set, dropping such bangers as Meinheld, on possibly the loudest (and clearest!) system I have heard… He really needs to get more bookings like that, rather than Mike Paradinas DJ sets - which are still good mind, but not quite so nostalgically jaw dropping. Later on, Mary Anne Hobbs put together an extremely tight dubstep set, again with some great sounding bass. Sadly the timing of the acts between both rooms were not synced so that you could shift between them mid set, so I missed what I’m told was Vex’d best set since forever, but nevermind. Tim Exile demo’d his new tracks from forthcoming album on Warp… stunning also, a proper live act with stacks of vocals… possibly not the best club tunes, but fuck, you cannot say anything to discredit this chap.

Chevron’s set was undoubtedly the best I’ve seen… tonnes of cross-genre mixing between live improvised acid, uk garage, dubstep and lots of little classics from his first album. Absolutely packed room, full of dancing, and J’s amusing crowd interaction. Expect his new Mu album later this year.

Chevron & Mary Anne Hobbs… Camera phones are really shit?

Ital Tek

Ital Tek’s Planet Mu album saw the light of day in the record stall, and he dropped some of the new tunes live straight after Mary Anne’s set. Again, so impressive on that system, and tore up the crowd. Looking forward to his set again in Brighton (after what seems like a long break down here, supporting Hudson Mohawke /Warp).

You should pre-order Ital Tek’s new album, “Cyclical” from Boomkat here.

Wish Planet-Mu would do these nights more regularly.

Corsica Studios was a bit of a joke though… could easily have been hosted at a bigger venue. Even the Electrowerkz was better. Lots of complaints over £3.50 a bottle for drinks too. All I can say is Mass in Brixton please… its such a superior venue, if you can get past the crack heads at the station.

Synthamesk performed a stack of his tunes last night at Open.Mac in Brighton. I heard a lot of people saying only good things for this guy and his music - hyperedited beats at a level to compete with Venetian Snares, but complemented perfectly with some really gorgeous melodic synth lines and bass.

It’s great to hear some really fast and complex acts making a big change from the slow and sometimes quite dull dubstep vibe. Synthamesk’s tunes are nothing like the comedy-value-only-tongue-in-cheek “mash-core” scene of ‘06, theyre precision fast editing and complex break manipulation at its best, elements reminiscent of Snares (but much less Gabber influence), and also of Tim Exile (but less eccentric).

Open.Mac had a good vibe, with lots of familiar faces in the Brighton electronica circuit. Its only the third time I’ve been able to make it down (out of 8 or 9?) but I could see it working something like the good old days at The Fortune of War, with the guys at Instrumentality. Maybe if it was closer to the centre of town anyway.