Well, thats it – its all over for another year. The community Skratch Tour 2010 ended in Brighton this saturday, at what was one of the best events we’ve ever been to – the Community Skratch BBQ. Yet again the Gladstone garden was at capacity as everyone climbed onto the tables to catch a glimpse of the action.

Every year the atmosphere is incredible at this event having seen brilliant shows from Clockwork, Foly, Blak Randy , Jimmy Penguin and Deviant, Unemployed Superheroes, Grandeurs Of Delusion’s sizzling new line-up and the amazing Oslo Flow alongside Keita.

Unfortunately after a heavy night in Bristol, we lost Mikey Fingers and Tweek along the way. Although we understand that they both enjoyed themselves.

This year’s BBQ was hosted by Enlish who was on fire all afternoon despite not having been to bed for 2 days. One of the great things about these events is that people come from all over to get involved. As well as performers from Ireland, Canada, Norway, UK and even Japan(!), people travelled for hours to be a part of the crowd.

We spoke to people from Ireland (Gem), Leeds (Mike-L), Guernsey, Norfolk, Germany, and London at the BBQ – and everyone left knowing the journey had been worth their while.

The highlight of the BBQ show for me was Blam and Plato. With a venue full of people sporting Oslo Flow shirts, their infectious natural funk was the perfect soundtrack as the sun went down. What they do is so unique and brilliant, everyone in the venue could feel they were witnessing something incredible.

The past month of shows has been amazing. We have all met some brilliant and achingly generous people from across the world. At times it was very hard work. A lot of travelling with very little sleep (to be fair that was our own fault) and a lot of intoxicants at times took its toll.

But the most incredible thing about these shows is that the standard of talent, musicianship and people make it all worth while. As Blam (@daggaless) said himself “There was some serious business going on in Brighton that day – something is changing” – and I can’t wait to be involved in whats coming next.

Keep checking the site for the forthcoming video..

To get everyone ready for the forthcoming Oslo Flow album on NozL Recordings we now have some very limited edition T-Shirts available in yellow, green, grey, pink, and  light blue. Drop us a line at info@nozlrecordings.com if you want one for £10 + delivery but the shirts will be available at the shows at an even more reasonable price.

After a strange decision to stay up all night to ensure they were in a right state for the flights to Berlin, Grandeurs Of Delusion (pictured) made their way over to the magnificent city of Berlin. Jimmy Penguin and Deviant were already there and Johnny Doobs arrived the next day.

Beautiful weather meant that the days were spent drinking by the river and in Berlin’s parks. The show itself did not take place until much later than advertised online. But the hardcore Berliners stuck it out and stayed there until the last show at 2:30am.

The venue was great – a converted car garage off the beaten track – so big thanks to Jan and Simon for sorting it all out. Great shows from Melodica Deathship, Jimmy Penguin and Deviant and G.O.D and a DJ set of electronic funk from Johnny Doobs.

G.O.D had to leave almost straight after the show to the airport leaving the Irish lads in Berlin before heading straight to the UK on Thursday. You can check some photos at:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?id=100001390400773&aid=5684

So the Irish leg of the tour is completed. Great atmosphere at every show and amazing performances from Jimmy Penguin and Deviant, Mikey Fingers and Tweek, G.O.D and the Neil Bucannon. We have amassed over 60Gb of audio and video recordings which we’ll put together with the upcoming footage from Germany and the UK.

The proceedings opened up in Cork with Jimmy Penguin and Deviant showing why they are (in my opinion) the best in the world at what they do. An unbelievable scratch/folk set like nothing I’d heard before. To boot their solo scratches are amazing – there is nothing that these boys can’t do!

Mikey fingers and Tweek next with an MPC/ Loop Pedal/ Turntable show with brand new material alongside hypnotizing rendition of tracks from last years Tuphat Paddys EP (See the Downloads section).

G.O.D were up next  with their battering electro and some blistering new songs to boot.

The in-store in Dublin was a proper Community Skratch Vibe, with people from all walks of life pouring into CRU and sharing a beer. At one stage there was even a trumpet player turned up to play Happy Birthday ( and inexplicably ring of Fire) to Birthday Boy Moschops.

Nearly all of the scratch DJ’s in Ireland were out and later everyone met up for drinks in Dublin where we had a lock-in until the early hours. Great to see the likes of Tuki and Savwar there..

Another long journey and we were in Galway, the home of the Community Skratch Games, for a club show and a scratinee(!). Some of the best musicians from Galway got together to improvise together as part of the Galway Big Jam. Including Sebi C (pictured, right) , Vince Mack Mahon. Jimmy Hatetank (pictured, left) even got involved too.

We arrived to Cuba to a display of banging techno throughout which Noid the Droid read  his book quietly in the corner. This was not our usual crowd but they loved it. All of the sets were well received and we got the CSG atmosphere going in full swing. Finishing up with G.O.D on a loud system where the punishing electro rhythms came into their own.

Next stop is Berlin, watch this space…

Thanks to Sebi C, Jimmy P and Sarah, and Moschops for your hospitality. Much appreciated as always.

The remaining tour dates can be seen in the Calendar on the right so come down and get involved with the Community Skratch Movement.

After months of organising we are proud to announce the dates/ venues and line-ups for the Community Skratch Tour 2010!

This years event will take in Ireland, UK, and Germany as we step things up for the third year in a row. The tour includes new music performances from your favourite CSG artists such as Jimmy Penguin, Deviant, & G.O.D… but also featuring performances from the one and only LORN all the way from the U.S for the Community Skratch BBQ, UK…. and exclusive album performances from Oslo Flow (Blam and Plato).

This year there will be Community Skratch BBQ’s in Berlin on Saturday 21st August and the usual finale in Brighton on August 28th.

Posters for all events will be online shortly, so please spread the word. Lets make it another amazing year!

Simple… Click the Skratchstream tab on the homepage, or the Skratchstream previews window to the right of this news piece.

Brand new NozL Looper 3, scratching, a bad back, microphone, wayward discussions, yes the driver of the Skratchbus will be live at 8pm tonight (UK time)!

Well the new series of Skratchstream is well underway with shows from Maroon and Lone Wolf in the coming weeks. Here’s a strange flyer for the Maroon show..

In one of the strangest line-ups we’ve ever heard, Grandeurs of Delusion will be supporting Stig Of The Dump, Dr.Syntax, The Boxettes, and Jarvis Cocker tonight at Cargo in London. The advance tickets have sold out already, but there are 50 tickets available on the door. We can’t wait for this, it promises to be a belta. If you’re in London be sure to get there early!!!

As we mentioned before, Billy Jam was at the Community Skratch Games this year and here’s what he had to say about it all..

a short excerpt for you…
“Now in its fourth year, the aptly named Community Skratch Games (CSG), which features several DJ based showcases and a scratch DJ battle over the long weekend, is truly all about community with a genuine emphasis on fun & camaraderie rather than on competition & seriousness. In fact, the prize for the winner of the CSG’s annual DJ battle is not a trophy (a la the famed DMC or ITF battles) but a big bag of Irish breakfast meats (rashers, sausages, black pudding etc., all supplied by the local butcher) that the winning DJ traditionally shares with the other participants in a big breakfast cookout on “Skratch Monday” after all events are over.”

click the link above to read the rest… Big thanks to Billy for making the trip to Galway!

The final night of the Community Skratch Games took place last night to another full venue at the Bierhaus. Lots of great music all night. Difficult to pick the highlights, but for me they were the Noid The Droid DJ set, T-Wok, Manus Goan and the brand new set from Rubble Digits which was incredbile. I wasn’t able to stream it as it was too dark in the venue, but I am confident that Rubble Digits (pictured)  is one to watch in 2010 and beyond. The crowd were assaulted by glitched up beats and hardcore Gabba (especially Jimmy Penguin who has a bad neck as a result of it today).

It was great to catch the Neil Buchanan show. These guys have real skill and smashed it yesterday..  they would do DEADLY business in a huge venue.

So today, we are at Jimmy Penguins house for a skratch session with Moschops, DJakulate, Jimmy Penguin, Blak Randy, Maroon, and Deviant. Dinner is on the cards thanks to Sarah Face!!

Yet again the skratch games has highlighted what a berserk place Galway is, and how much skratch and music talent there is out there. Thanks again to the Vince Mack Mahon boys for putting this together. Everyone is keen to make sure our summer tour shows are even bigger and better than last year, so make sure you check NozL Recordings.com for the details!!