Widening the reach

After recording our biggest monthly viewers total in March by some distance, I thought it might be a good time to take a look at the hows, and whys our numbers went up up and away.

64:6 artwork revealed

The artwork for the sixth #64barchallenge mix has been completed by leading abstract graffiti artist Remi/Rough.

Bristol headz get super sneaky 64:5 peek

The famed Pipe and Slippers bar in Bristol was the setting for an exclusive reveal of the latest beats from 64barmusic, on February 24.

DJ Moneyshot and Roy Strong host a night each and every Thursday by the name of Flipzilla. It’s an opportunity to showcase their eclectic tastes to a crowd that are open to persuasion.

If you’re not familiar with this location, think of a compact bar with vintage stylings. There’s a mish-mash of clientele, ranging from socially functioning crackheads to asymmetrically hair-cutted hipsters.

Its also a hub for headz who like nothing more than a progressive bassline and a crackling beat.

In fact, the first person to arrive on the scene is Purple Radio‘s Sherlock Ohms, a character whose nu-funk record bag has seen plenty of action in the recent weeks.

He openly describes himself as an “obsessive music nerd since his formative years” on his Soundcloud page.

“Hot.” was his simple assessment of the beats of Cosmo Lopez, just one of the artists showcased during the hour long set.  And Sherlock couldn’t resist a sneaky peep at Kovas’ laptop every time a new beat dropped. He added:  “Sonic lushness from the 64 bar music boys and girls – I’d love to get my hands on a few of these tunes …”

He wont have to wait much longer as the 64:5 mix is now due in March.

“It was good to get a feel of which tunes actually work in a live setting,” said Kovas. “It’s one thing mixing them in the house, but you never really know how the mood will be in a place at a particular time.”

“I was especially pleased with the response to ‘Yellow’, by Cosmo Lopez. Pleased but not surprised. His beats are bang current and expertly crafted.”

The 64barchallenge mix is of course a free download, and will be available on Postbocks and Mixcloud from the first week in March.

There will also  be a high value-lo cost EP available from Bandcamp from March  with six selected slices from the mix.

beat selection from kovas

Kovas has finally got around to uploading a selection of tracks to Soundcloud, saying “no point in them living on my pc for ever now is there”.

There are extended versions of tracks known to 64bar lovers, Desire, which appeared on 64:4 and Death Walk, which was on 64:2. There is also the highly ridiculous “This is Hardcore” track, which featured on Gas’ This is the Fucking Hardcore” mix of 2008.

Apart from those, the remaining tracks have all remained hidden on his laptop. He explains: “We’ll I had nothing better to do this particular Sunday, so I thought I’d wheel out some of the beats I’ve done over the past couple or three years.

“They are all very different tracks, I’m not sure it there is a theme running through them, so in that way it’s hard to define a sound for myself. They were just tracks I felt like writing at the time.

“Anyone who knows me knows I never sit down to write a track with the finished sound in mind, I just put noises together I think will work.. and try not to overdo it.”