New monthly night Breakin’ In welcomes the UK’s Audio Bullys to the Basement this Thursday, for the first of a new session that will focus on some of the underground musical styles that have so far often been overlooked on Dubai’s clubbing scene – specifically the bass-heavy elements of breaks, D’n’B, Bass House and bassline garage.
The launch night guests are probably best remembered for their Nancy Sinatra-sampling 2005, UK number three hit Shot you Down, though purists may note that breakthrough hit, 2003's We Don't Care from their debut album Ego War is more representative of their snarling, punked-up take on electronica. The Basement's Entertainment Director Marko Ben-Aicha says: "Over the last few months, though not always, historically, the club has pretty much focused on house and techno, and I wanted to do something different. I knew I didn't want to put commercial R'n'B or anything like that in there so I needed to create some new events, so I decided to do something taking a variety of bassline sounds and rolling them into one night. I did a bit of research and looked into some artists - and Audio Bullys are a firm favourite, for a long time, of mine. They were available, so we booked them." Local Superhero - Undermoon will open for the Audio Bullys. Bassline may not be the biggest draw in the world of Dubai's five-star designer venues, but Ben-Aicha is convinced there's a solid market for the more underground sounds: "There's a decent scene for the breaks market here, and a couple of other nights around, but I'm trying to avoid the familiar names too and look at artists who may not be so familiar to local crowds. I've got some really special plans in the pipeline, though obviously I'm not saying too much till we have confirmations."
From what we hear on the grapevine, Ben-Aicha has some very nice, leftfield surprises on the cards for regional bass and breaksheads, so we’ll be watching with interest.
Breakin’ In launches at The Basement, Boutique 7, Tecom, Dubai on Friday 5 February. Entry on the door is 100AED.
