We arrived to the sounds of Danny Corn, who got the ball rolling for the rest of the Frite Nite crew. Unfortunately at this time it was apparent that the previous three all nighters had taken their toll on the camera batteries. Salva, Comma, and Eprom continued to lay waste for the remainder of the afternoon. Truly awesome to hear those beats in broad daylight outside of a club setting, with children and dogs running amuck.


By this point in the day much of the crew had pretty much drank themselves sober. Not necessarily a bad thing as it provided a lacking purpose to the pre-game and with that, an opportunity to literally recharge the batteries before the penultimate night's shenanigans. The plan of attack for the evening was to begin at the Showbox, hit up The Crocodile, and formulate the after-party on the fly.


The Showbox has played host to many legendary performances. Founded in 1939, it's arguably the premiere music venue in the city for live music. It boasts a healthy sized dance floor surrounded by tiered sections with bars flanked on both sides. Spacious enough to accommodate plenty while still retaining an intimate feel.


Plain and simple, Jaguar Skills put it down. Easily one of the top sets witnessed over the festival. At this point in the night most in attendance [one of dB's few All Ages showcases] probably had a curfew and one could venture to say that this was likely their first rodeo. Most people would complain about this aspect, but personally found that the young'ins contributed a great deal of energy to what would have otherwise been a dull room at 9:30 at night. Couldn't think of a more suitable DJ to school them on all forms of Bass music than Jaguar Skills. Quick with the mix, no genre was left untouched. With a heavy emphasis on jump up Drum & Bass and all the rinsed out dubstep anthems cut up and dropped in a fashion that you've never heard before. Did it matter that the kids didn't believe that Benga & Coki's "Night" was infact a dubstep tune? No. They didn't know any better and presumably had never even heard Drum & Bass music before that night. What mattered was them being exposed to a whole new range of sounds that will hopefully expand their horizons. Jaguar Skills put on a proper clinic for those both young and old.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________




BF: Can you give our readers a quick recap on the story of Jaguar Skills? 
JS: I'm a dude from the Uk who plays a lot of bad-ass electronic music in a mask. I have a mix every week on the national radio station in the UK, BBC Radio One. I jump up and down a lot when I DJ.

Tools of the Trade? 
I use two 1210 Technic decks and a laptop running Serato.  

Favourite Festival? 
Bestival in the UK. That shit is crazy dope!

Favourite meal on your North American tour so far?
I've been trying to go to all the spots that the dude from Man Vs Food has been too. I had this massive double-dipped french sandwich in LA which was amazing!

Favourite & Least favourite thing about North America? 
I did notice that San Fran had a whole load of crack-heads walking around. It's a bit like a zombie movie sometimes in the US…..

Favourite release of 2011? 
My Son - Maximus. He popped out at the start of the year!  

Outside influences/inspirations? 
My Dad. He was a Dj in the UK. He taught me everything.  

Most underrated Selector? 
Jazzie B from Soul II Soul. I'm not too sure if he's 'underrated' - but he's definitely an influence and someone I utterly respect as a DJ.

Estimated amount of records in the collection? 
Oh shit, like, 100,000 - maybe more….  

If you had to pic only one D&B label to draw from what would it be? 
Ram Records. Andy C is a hero of mine.  

Working Time Machine: What era are you going to? 
I've always wanted to go into the future maybe 5 years - and get all the amazing records - then go back to 2011 and play them first. Or even remake them and get the credit! Ha! Yeah, take me 5 years into the future, leave me there for a few days, then take me back. I'll be a Back To The Future type thing on this music game.  

One thing a ninja can't live without when assembling some of your massive mixes? 
My computer!  

Much respect for doing what you do, thanks for taking the time! 
Many many thanks….I'd love to talk more, but I have a party to rock!!!! HoooooOOOOO!!!!

Notable Jaguar Skills Mixes that should occupy every hard drive:

History of Drum & Bass
10 years of Ayia Napa Hosted by Kano
30 Years of Hip-Hop, 538 Tracks 1 Mix
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Keeping to the original game plan, it was time to bounce after Jaguar Skills and trek it north a few blocks in hopes of catching the end of Ital Tek's set at The Crocodile. To say the place was packed would be an understatement. Bartenders handled this well though, as little time was spent waiting for the reasonably priced drinks.


Ital Tek's set was packed full of, for a lack of a better term, just crazy dope beats. Don't really know how else to describe them other than it's probably what the standard hip-hop beat will sound like 20 years down the road if we're lucky.




Machinedrum followed suit and certainly kept it live, as billed on the flyer. At this point the venue had reached the certified sauna phase, and perhaps not ideal for the claustrophobic. Bottles were the preferred beverage vessel for these conditions, as many a drink hit the floor in the twerkd out madness. Slippery, but a godsend for those pretending to footwork.


Kraddy had closing duties on the night. Having witnessed Kraddy on the buttons numerous times before, this would be the first with a live drummer in tow. Glad to see Kraddy still keeping the Kareem Abdul-Jabbaresque sky hook alive, a staple in every Kraddy set.