I first came across Your Niece (aka. Rhys Clarke) in the Master Bedroom of The Dex Club in Brixton during the Secret Garden Party Bacchanalia Ball in early March this year. I was following the sounds of bass that I heard from next door and found a tiny room packed tight with revellers in faun outfits and togas bouncing to the ceiling, and all over the luxury four poster bed that was pushed up against one wall. This Spoonfed reveiw by their DJ editor Lowri Clarke says it all:
"A pair of Pioneer CDJ-400s rests on a desk beside the bathroom door. Behind them a topless, painted madman is hurling fireballs of monstrously heavy, glitchy turbo crunk into the crowd - who are reacting appropriately by creating an undulating carpet of flesh, whirling limbs and bared teeth. People are actually screaming."
Your Niece is Going to Jail Mix by Your Niece
To quote his profile on Spoonfed (one of the best London listings sites when it comes to what's actually going on):
"(My Neice is) of the first UK DJs to bring the sound of glitch-hop that's been cooking in California, he splices it with dubstep, techno, electro and drum 'n' bass and operates a strict 'whatever's rinsing' policy."
"It's the Glitch Mob meeting Beyonce in a less salubrious part of town and fucking her from behind while the whole of Ed Banger dance to her moans."
Since March we've been having an on and off Myspace conversation while I've been pestering him for mixes. To my delight, he's just got back from Burning Man and in in touch with a link to his mix archive on Soundcloud.
The first mix above is a recent one which reflects the dubsteppy lazer crunk I recall from the SGP Bacchanalia Ball . The second below is a party set live from the Tower of Babel (which was later burnt down) in the middle of the lake at the Secret Garden Party this year. It starts off with some tasty glitch-hop, veers off on a MGMT/Nirvana/Micheal Jackson medley and returns with some phat tunes at the end:
Your Niece live from the Tower of Babel by Your Niece
Unfortunately I missed out on all the tower action this year, but again Lowri's Spoonfed review gives you a pretty good flavour of what it was like:
"The final DJ on the Tower is Your Niece. No one ever knows what to expect from this DJ. The stage is set, the crowd couldn't be more gagging for it and the as turbo-crunk specialist throws down a few heavy numbers, the tower shakes. The rain has been threatening to inhibit the fun, but then in blissful cliché, as MGMT 'Time To Pretend' starts, the sun opens its eyes and everyone collected on the tower leave the ground as one. 'This is our decision, to live fast and die young, we've had the vision, now let's have some fun.' The words could have been written for this moment. When the first few bars of 'Man In The Mirror' twinkle in to existence we all join hands. Right time, right place. On a lake in Cambridgeshire, screaming at the top of our lungs and it feels as if we're on top of the world."
Check out My Niece's page on Soundcloud for more mixes. Thanks to Spoonfed for the pix and Lowri for the quotes!
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