Back in business!

So, after a long hiatus to finish my last year(s) of college, I'm getting back into working on music - DJing as well as planning for event promotion.

Due to some issues with previous web hosts, we are no longer in possession of the domains brutforce.net or djsushi.com. The new home for yours truly is at THE SUSH dot COM. The new home of Brüt Force Entertainment, BRUT-FORCE.COM, is currently in the works (we're basically trying to find a good WYSIWYG website maker in order to facilitate faster updates for the future website) - check this blog or try brut-force.com every now and then to see if it's finally up (I'll be sure to post to the blog when it is).

To any graphic designers out there skilled in Adobe Illustrator, I am looking for someone to convert my new hand drawn Sushi logo concept into a digital image file. It should be fairly simple - black and white logo. So, anyone who can provide their services to me for this, I would much appreciate it and you will be properly compensated with either $25.00 cash or promotional items (CD's, vinyl, etc.). Please e-mail me at sushi@brut-force.com if you're interested or willing to convert my hand drawing to an Adobe Illustrator file.

Other than the websites, I am confirming work on two new mix compilation releases in the near future, as well as a few others that are a possibility:

• The first, tentatively titled "Fashionably Late" will be a Grime & Hip-Hop mix (possibly with a little bit of Dubstep, Proto-Grime, and/or Breaks) with tunes mostly from the year 2003 to the present. I'm still in the process of deciding whether this project will be the response to Whoa-B's December 2007 Grime mix, "Fast Forward", or if this release will be the proper follow-up release to my last official mix compilation, "Hotsteppa" (Back 2 Life - Disc Two). Both of us have discussed the need for me to release a "real" Grime mix, since "Hotsteppa" was recorded during the transition from Proto-Grime to "proper" Grime, so whether this project will result in two separate mix compilations or just one is yet to be determined. Just know I am definitely considering the idea of separating the "Fast Forward" response mix, which I would consider titling something like "40/40 Club" (because the final release could possibly be both 40-ish minute mixes each, Whoa-B's "Fast Forward" and my reply mix, together on one newly-packaged release; I would probably drop the "Club" if I use this title as to not infringe on the most likely trademarked name of Jay-Z's sports bar/lounge, The 40/40 Lounge), "Rewind: US" (okay, so maybe that's a bit too cheesy), "Reverse", or something along those lines.
• The second, tentatively titled "A New Lees On Life" (a dedication to the "boss lady" in my life, Lisa) will be a mix compilation of 4x4 Garage/Bassline House, most likely with a touch of classic UK Garage and (somewhere in between possibly and probably) no scratching/turntablism. I'm heavily considering omission of the scratching/turntablism if this mix leans a bit more toward a "ladies' mix", but will heavily considering the use of scratching/turntablism if this mix lenas a bit more toward a "club banger mix". This project will definitely take longer than the Grime mix due to myself not keeping up with purchasing new 4x4/Bassline releases. This mix will be one of the new mixes that will attempt to expose a new crowd of Stateside club/rave-goers to the fairly new genre of Bassline House. My hope with this mix is that Bassline House will hopefully be embraced by Chicago "Househeads", EDM followers, and Urban music followers (sooner, rather than later). Needless to say, a mix like this is one of the top musical priorities of myself, as well as the rest of Brüt Force artists.
• Other mix project possibilities include: a B. Raw (the name for the DJ tagteam of myself & Whoa-B) collabo version of the Bassline mix project, a straight "pop" Hip-Hop mix (in order to work my way into the mainstream Hip-Hop crowd), as well as one or more full or "mini" classic UK Garage mixes.

I am also considering another venture into production, although this is one of my lower priorities at the moment. I enjoy DJing more than I think I would ever enjoy producing, just because I find that I constantly want to push myself to be an even more skilled/technical DJ. So, I'm waiting for Midwest DJ Summit 4.0! Where you at Abducted? I speak for myself and Whoa-B when I say that we're ready to bring that heat to the competition again, this year. If Midwest DJ Summit 4.0 does happen, I'll put out a public notice to all haters who question the ability of a Brüt Force DJ's to come out and challenge us for the crown. This may all sound a bit cocky, but I really think after Whoa-B and I took 2nd and 1st place, respectively, at Midwest DJ Summit 3.0, we have the right to be so. Don't get us wrong - we fully respect all DJ's who put their all into their craft (especially the ones who outplaced us at 2.0 - big big big ups to DJ OAM/Once-A-Month), but we're anything but scared of our competition. Our competition is what pushes us to take our creativity and skill to the next level on a consistent basis, so we fully appreciate it.

In other Brüt Force news (since I've pretty much turned this post into a post about my own progress), if you haven't heard already, J. Courage has started his own record label, Trenchant Recordings, and will soon release TRNCHNT001 which is the official release of one of the biggest Grime tunes to come out of the States, "Too Deep". The release will contain the full vocal mix of "Too Deep" featuring East London MC, Shizzle , as well as an acapella and the original instrumental version. If that wasn't enough, one of J's newer tracks, "Guardian", is also included on the release. DJ's: look out for the promo release on May 6, 2008. For the rest of you, look for the vinyl and digital releases coming up on June 3rd, 2008.

On the performance front, if anyone is looking for some good DJ's who play Grime, UK Garage (any), or 4x4 Garage/Bassline House with a twist of Hip-Hop/R&B/other Urban music and scratching/turntablism, please send an e-mail to bookings@brut-force.com because all of us are coming back in full force (or have been representing in the meantime while some of the rest of us were busy or slacking off)! Don't forget, we cater to other genres, such as House, Techno, and Drum & Bass, to name a few, so if you're looking for DJ's outside the realm of UK Garage, we would also consider it a pleasure to try to arrange bookings for your next event! You can also try to book J. Courage for a Live PA, but since he's a superstar producer now, his booking fee may be a bit pricey (read: lots of US Dollars or British Pounds, or at least a keg's worth of beer). ;)

Until next time, I'm out. Keep checking this blog and all the Brüt Force websites and affiliates!