Sat 1st March sees the UK Glitch Hop Awards Tour arrive at the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath.
Promoted by Jam Hott and Beta Test Records, the Birmingham purveyor of the Glitch Hop genre, the Hare & Hounds event will be headlined by William Breakspear – one of the nominees for Best UK DJ in the 2013 UK Glitch Hop Awards.
Also playing will be Krymes, Your Niece, DJ Mylz, Ben Dunn, Beta Test founder Terrorbyte, and UK Glitch Hop founder Morbidly Obese Midget. And the award for Best Pseudonym goes to…
Adopting the cuts, samples and distorted production that underpinned producers such as Autechre, Two Lone Swordsmen and Aphex Twin, Glitch Hop has done to Hip Hop what Warp did to Electronica and Ambient.
Nurtured in the UK’s independent club scene, and seeing significant success in the more eclectic party towns such as London and Bristol, Glitch Hop is picking up both domestic and international momentum. Many UK DJs and producers are now expanding the genre, including Birmingham’s own DMC champion DJ Switch, with further flung artists such as India’s B.R.E.E.D. also finding a home behind the sound.
UK Glitch Hop are the UK’s leading promoters of Glitch Hop (clue’s in the title) and manifest as an events company, a record label, an online radio station (Glitch.FM) and a DJ agency. The March 1st event will also be a precursor to their 2nd birthday bash, whilst also marking Glitch.FM’s 5th time round the sun.
Beta Test Records are Birmingham’s undisputed champions of Glitch Hop, with several artists on their roster currently promulgating the genre.
William Breakspear will be headlining the UK Glitch Hop Awards Tour at the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath) on Sat 1st March. For more info & tickets, visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/event-listings/event/?eventID=10030484
For more on William Breakspear, visit http://www.williambreakspear.co.uk
For more on UK Glitch Hop, visit http://ukglitchhop.blogspot.co.uk
For more on Beta Test Records, visit http://www.betatestrecords.com
For further listings form the Hare & Hounds (Kings Heath), visit http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk/event-listing
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Ed’s note…
I first heard and heard of Glitch Hop after receiving Beta Test’s album, Council Pop, in April 2013. An excellent compilation from some top draw Brummie producers; stealing samples from the rare and recognised to mash into a Glitch Hop soundtrack. Superb stuff.
I had heard Harley Davies, the founder of Beta Test Records, talk about Glitch Hop for a while but nothing had honestly sunk in. Brains get full, there’s a lot of music out there, and there’s only so much memory my addled existence can manage. But once I heard Council Pop I had to know more, so I cleared out some less precious childhood moments and went to interview Davies in his Hockley studio – read more here.
UK Glitch Hop have been working hard to promote this burgeoning genre, as have Beta Test Records, but Birmingham has arguably not embraced the sound as much as other UK cities. Not sure why; but I know enough like-minds with a B postcode to give it a solid audience, so there’s no reason why not.
So by the power of Google I suggest you check it out; dead simple, type Glitch Hop, press return.
Or you could go to the source and email Beta Test Records (remember – Council Pop, or their new album Chemical Coercion). Or even better go to the UK Glitch Hop Awards Tour at the Hare & Hounds, you might squeeze a dance out of the endeavour too.
Ed King is editor of Birmingham Review. Follow him @EdKing2210