I first heard the name Dylan Rhymes when I discovered Whole9Yards – the UK record label that would forever change my taste in electronic music. It started with Dark Globe, then I discovered Meat Katie and Elite Force. I knew Lee Coombs from Fingerlickin’… but this was the beginning of my love-affair with all things tech-funk.

The record store I frequented the most in LA at the time was on Melrose Avenue… one of the shop DJs knew I was into breaks and ordered me all kinds of great stuff from the UK. After moving from LA to Chicago and Gramophone Records being my new home for music – it didn’t take long for the shop to know all Lot49 music would be purchased (at $12 per 12″) by yours truly.

Almost as quickly as I had discovered this music, I made my first visit to San Francisco – where a talented young DJ named shOOey was playing Salty at a small bar in the Mission. I knew at that moment that this town “got it”… not less than 4 hours later I would hear Melyss play my all-time favorite Rhymes track Party People at an underground Opel event. This was May of 2005. It was decided: we had to move to San Francisco.

It is fitting that we feature Dylan Rhymes this week – the 8th anniversary of Opel is this weekend. I know SF has become as special of a place to Marvin as it has to me, so I decided to ask him a little about his experiences in the city on the bay:

JR: When did you first hear about breaks being popular in San Francisco?
DR: Before my first trip, which seems an age ago now, I had heard there was a big party scene in SF. For such a relatively small city I was amazed at how many people were in to the whole underground culture. Luckily having always worked with Opel promotions there I wasn’t DJing to a one genre crowd. They were very accepting of all styles of dance music which was great for me as I play a lot of different music.

JR: What is the most special about visiting and/or playing in San Francisco for you?
DR: I love going to SF because it is one of the most welcoming places I have ever been to. There is a great spirit amongst the people that live there and I have made some amazing friends. The shows are always fantastic but you gotta prepare for the after party onslaught

JR: Can you share with us a memorable moment from your gigs at Opel over the past several years?
DR: One of many special moments I can remember was playing @ Mezzanine with my Label partner Meat Katie. Prior to the party there was a fashion show of all local talented designers and manufacturers. It blew my mind the work and effort that went in to this production and how well it went. It was only my 2nd or 3rd time in SF and this experience cemented the fact that it would be my number 1 destination to play.

JR: What is it like playing at Opulent Temple at Burning Man?
DR: It is an experience which I find hard to describe as every time I think about it I conjure up different moods and memories. You have to go to Burning Man to fully comprehend and appreciate the hedonism of it all. I guess the easiest way I can describe playing there is to imagine thousands of people in front of you that are having the best time of their life and you are responsible. At the risk of sounding like a Trance DJ, I would say EUPHORIC…if that’s allowed?

JR: What is different about playing in SF compared to other cities around the world?
DR: The main differences are the crowd is very open to different styles and they are out to party. It’s a very simple process for the Bay Area people……they go out…..they get down……they enjoy themselves! SIMPLE!

I would like to thank Marvin for participating in this years “Take Five” (we did a five question interview with Syd Gris last year prior to the Opel 7 year anniversary). His music has been an inspiration to me and I am thrilled we could feature an amazing mix of his this week on Jungo Road.

A little more about our friend Marvin…

Dance music has been the biggest part of Rhyme’s life from a young age. Inspired by early hip hop and electro a la Kraftwerk and Doug E. Fresh, Marvin purchased his first set of decks at 15 and caught the bug in a bad way. Rhythm Design Studios in Uxbridge became the birthplace of Outsiders, Drake and Beaver’s much-lauded project for Junior Boy’s Own Chicago influenced Jus Trax label. Friend, DJ and London mainstay Clive Henry then joined the team and the trio became Peace Division, a project that gained props from every corner of dance music without exception.

Since then he has cemented his reputation as one of the leaders of the breakbeat and tech house scenes through his output through Kingsize Records, Meat Katie’s Whole9Yards and Lot49 labels and his own Blue Black imprint. Besides original work, Beaver has also remixed the likes of Deep Dish, Infusion, Dave Gahan, BT, Overseer, Unkle and Puretone while he has collaborated with Meat Katie, Christian J, Force Mass Motion (as Silencer) and Anthony J Gorry (on his 2004 album, Dead Famous).

Catch Dylan Rhymes in the US over the next month or so starting this Saturday February 27th at Mighty (SF) for the Opel 8 Year Anniversary, March 6th in Tucson, AZ at The Rock, and then March 16th & 18th at SXSW as part of Lot49’s Texas invasion!

More about Dylan Rhymes on his site, Lot49, MySpace, SoundCloud, and Twitter.

Booking: Click to reveal email

Stream the mix and support the musicians by purchasing the tracks and hearing them played live! You can also download this full podcast mix above.

1. Dylan Rhymes + Meat Katie – ONLY YOU (Haggstrom remix)
2. Etienne De Crecy – Move
3. Zoo Brazil – FANCY (Popof remix)
4. Andreas Henneberg, Simon2 – BOLINGO GRINGO
5. Dylan Rhymes + Meat Katie – ONLY YOU (Echo Vacio Remix)
6. Reset Robot – v3
7. Thomas Schumacher – HEAT IT UP
8. G.e.R.M. – GLITTERBALL (Dylan Rhymes re-shift)
9. Odissi – DIRTY SECRETS
10. Cirez D – On Off + Depeche Mode – PEACE (Accapella)

Dex Stakker has enjoyed the proverbial ‘meteoric rise’ over the course of his first few years as an active DJ.  Since debuting on an undercard for Meat Katie in 2006, Dex has played all of the major clubs in San Francisco, including 1015, Temple, Mighty, Ruby Skye, Supper Club and DNA Lounge.  His persistent promotion and unrelenting set intensity has found an audience, leading to #28 finish in the NiteVibe polling for Top San Francisco DJs in 2008, his second year on the ballot. Dex’s sound can be described as “viscous, unrelenting, electro-breaks” – this Jungo Road mix being no exception – he has clearly garnered a strong following, sharing the top DJ list with Bassnectar, Mark Farina, Miguel Migs, and Opel-mate Syd Gris. Having joined Opel and Pronoia in 2007, Dex has shared the stage with just about every name in breaks/tech-funk – all the while keeping an approachable demeanor and winning new fans every weekend.

www.dexstakker.com
www.myspace.com/dexstakker
people.tribe.net/dexstakker

Catch Dex Stakker Friday, May 1st, 2009 – Opel 7-Year Anniversary Vol II: Stanton Warriors
at Mezzanine — 444 Jessie St. @Mint, San Francisco, CA 94103

For a detailed list of Dex’s “stakked” DJ schedule, go to: www.myspace.com/dexstakker

Play individual tracks and then click on the links below to purchase!

1. Hedflux – Non-Stop  [Breakin Even Records]
2. Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls (Zodiac Cartel ‘Weapon of Choice’ Remix) [White Label]
3. Dilemn – Stopless [GooG Records]
4. Kamuki – City Lights [Cubism]
5. Jon-E Industry – Take It Low (Lazy Rich Remix) [Nu Industry Recordings]
6. Dylan Rhymes feat. Pablo Decoder – I Am Sweet [Lot 49]
7. Utku S. – Give Me Some Electro (Doc Trashz Remix) [Erase Records]
8. Utku S. – Cosmic Milk [Erase Records]
9. Doc Trashz – Turn It Up [Erase Records]
10. Dynamite MC, Jack Beats – What (Dub Mix) [Music Response Records]
11. Baobinga & ID – The Machine (Aquasky Remix) [Passenger]
12. Drumattic Twins – Don’t Be So Drumattic [FingerLickin' Records]
13. Farace – Fifty-Six [Kick It Recordings]
14. Hironimus Bosch – Gamma [AUX]
15. 4KUBA – Cheap [iBreaks Bass]
16. Quadrat Beat – Hula Funk [Subtribe Records]
17. Deekline & Wizard – Back Up (Krafty Kuts ‘Club’ Mix) [Against the Grain]
18. Sharps – Girl Sweat (Breaks Ain’t Dead Mix) [Promo Records]
19. Ramirez – El Ritmo Barbaro (Blasha & Inetta Raw Power Remix) [Hell Yeah]
20. Moby – Stars (AC Slater Remix) [White Label]

Electronic music in the US is very much an urban expression, in that, each city has it’s own particular style. San Francisco is no exception. One can almost distinguish So.Cal deep house from No.Cal deep house. What is unique about San Francisco, and not many US cities can claim this, is that it has a very healthy breaks scene. Perhaps it is the artistic and expressive history of the city which has set the stage for this particular style of music to succeed. The breaks are nothing new, however, and yet it seems many US clubs are not ready to promote anything other than four-on-the-floor.

Enter Syd Gris – legendary San Francisco promoter and founder of Opel Productions. From his humble beginnings as a DJ and part-time party promoter, Syd has always been a man with a mission. His parties always encompass a greater sense of community and responsibility – very much consistent with the philosophy and prevailing attitudes of the cities (SF and Black Rock). Over the past 7 years, Opel has grown to become one of the biggest crews in San Francisco. Between Opel and Opulent Temple (Syd’s Burning Man camp – incidentally the largest sound camp at Burning Man), Syd has booked the biggest DJs in the world – but none more consistently than tech-funk heros like Meat Katie, Dylan Rhymes, Lee Coombs, and Elite Force.

With Opel’s 7 year anniversary (a party too big for one night! see below…) on the horizon, it seemed fitting that Jungo Road features one of Opel’s newer DJs: Dex Stakker. I also used this opportunity to launch a new series on Jungo Road – “Take 5″. Five questions posed to accomplished and influential people in the breaks/tech-funk community. We begin this series with Dr. Syd Gris…

Take 5 with Syd Gris

1. What has made the breaks and tech-funk scene so successful in San Francisco?

I see it as a symbiotic relationship between the well established SF underground crews simply liking that sound as promoters and dj’s and so bringing it out to their parties.  The parties are sweet, and the ball starts rolling and it becomes self perpetuating.  I think because the 3 of us (myself as Opel, Seismic, and An-Ten-ae) are dj’s, we know what we like musically, and have trust that we know what the SF crowd will be up for.  We have an idea of a particular sound we want to push and expand here and so we take the steps to make it happen.

2. Will breaks and tech-funk remain a sub-genre that most promoters in the US won’t touch with a ten-foot pole?

They won’t?  That’s odd to me, especially as in the tech funk realm the whole point is it’s a range of house, electro, breaks and techno, so it’s got much more broad appeal that let’s say just straight ahead funky breaks.

3. When and who were the DJs/Producers that interested you in this sound?

No surprise there.  I bought the first Lot 49 release – ‘All I Need’ by Meat Katie, w/ one side a remix by Dylan Rhymes, and the other by Lee Coombs.  Off that track alone, and how sick it was, I booked Meat Katie to play a Opel Halloween party in 2005, and have since broadened the roster I like to bring out to be a bunch of the guys on that continuum such as Lee Coombs, Dylan Rhymes, Elite Force, Rogue Element, Vandal, Blende, + other guys that might be associated with breaks but do much more such as Adam Freeland, Stanton Warriors, Rennie Pilgrem, Hyper, Hybrid, etc.

4. What does the future hold for Opel Productions?

I like the talent cycle we’re on and we love doing what we do with special events such as our anniversary parties, LoveFest, Halloween, NYE, street fairs, etc. so we’ll likely keep that up.  Plus, our sister playa community the Opulent Temple will be looking to expand our production outside of just doing Burning Man, and that holds all kinds of exciting potential.

5. What is your most memorable moment over the years with Opel?

Simply impossible to say.  We’ve been blessed with more awesome memories than I could sort through, and we look forward to more.

We thank Syd Gris for taking the time to share with us his insight into the scene and some history on Opel!

Opel 7 Year Anniversary
Part One: April 25, 2009 featuring Meat Katie & Dylan Rhymes (with full local support)
@ Mission Rock 817 Terry Francois St. San Francisco
Part Two: May 1st, 2009 featuring Stanton Warriors (with full local support)
@ Mezzanine 444 Jessie St. San Francisco

for more information visit www.opelproductions.com