DJ Munks.com

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MY VOID came in on Showcase Wales @ GTFM on 8-11-06. I remember it as yet another great live on air session. Makes it so much easier to remember a show when you have a good time doing it. And that’s how it was when these guys showed up.

 Was another usual radio session for me.. but a lot changes when the band shows up. Ali, Si, Gav & Norman.. A four piece band with a female lead from Cardiff.. hmmm.. dont get loads of these.. but when you do.. the combination is usually wicked.. This was the 2nd female lead band that I  was working with. But this one is quite different. The real difference was Ali’s voice.

I get a rough idea about the band before they come in by logging on to their myspace page & listening to their samples. You can check them out as well on their myspace i.e. www.myspace.com/myvoidband. I knew it was going to be fun setting up these guys but it was a little more than what i expected. Ali on vocals, Simon on Guitar, Gavin on Bass & Norman on Drums. The setup wasn’t difficult but it does get monotenous. But these guys brightned it up for me with all the chit chat we got going while getting things together. lol.. It was fun. We then started on a few sound check runs while we mix them down. Now this is where the main work came in.

Ali has a fantastic voice. One expects a Avril voice when you think of a female lead band. But these guys sound like none other. You can actually hear all the harmonies in her voice come together and spread out as well while she is singing. Her voice completely stands out in a mix. And the best is the little small range of shakers this girl carries in her pocket.. haha.. Some excellent stuff.. She gives those shakes while she’s singing.. It’s really cool.

We decided to let her voice completely stand out in the mix & that’s where we thought it will be best for her vocals to go while their songs take off on air. Si’s guitars .. some excellent riffs for their soft mellow songs.. He would just take these songs higher with some excellent patch ins. Gav’s bass and Norman’s drums… man they were tight. Bang on & well tuned. Makes such a difference when the band knows how to tune their instruments & that’s what these 20 somethings knew well to do.

We put them on with their first song called “Pirannah” at about 8:20 pm..  Few things went wrong in the mix as we put them on air. But we immediately improvised. I guess you wont notice when you listen to them down here. The 2nd song “Shoot Me Down” went on about 20 minutes later which went of well.. & I think is one of their most popular songs.. It’s pretty good. But my favorite is their third one called “Your Reply“. Some real good lyrics in there & a great band performance. Sounds fab.. !!!

You can listen to all their 3 tracks that were played live on GTFM Showcase Wales here. Just click on them down here & download them. You can also listen to their live on air interview with Stan & Wilf as well. So that will give you a little about them & to know more about them just jump in to their myspace page here. Listen in to their songs, check out where are they playing next & tell them what you think about their music.

Well about my comments… Not only were these guys vibrant & friendly, they were polite and professional. I really had a good time working with them at GTFM. So much so, that I even invited them over for a professional recording session. I am also putting them up on my next major gig that I organise in Cardiff. So keep it tuned to munks.cyn.in to know when is this happening so you can pop down to catch My Void in action.

Cheers guys.. and keep the music rolling.. !!!

audio: 02 _ shoot me down.mp3
audio: 03 _ your reply(2).mp3
audio: my void _ gtfm interview 8_11_06.mp3
audio: my void _ pirannah.mp3

So here are the photos from the last SAMS party for the term.. I ain’t going to blog much about it as I have very faint memories of it… { my eyes kind of speak the truth there..}

No i wasn’t drunk.. lol.. i had basically not slept for 3 days there.. had an overload of assignments and work for the end of term. I had just put in a couple of assignments in before I came in to the party. That was a relief but not to my head. But a special thanks to everyone who came to the party for not jumping on me that day with your requests and other stuff and bearing with me and simply for just having fun like you always do at a SAMS party.

A big mention to Waqas, Wali, Emma & Ivan for helping put things up and executing the event. Great job once again all of you. It was a wicked night as usual.

Did loads of RnB & House this time with all the usual Desi music. Added quite a new line up of latest Bollywood music as well this time. & it worked pretty well.. Everyone loved it. It was great to end the term with a dance floor rampage like we always do. I am getting a number of requests to get SAMS parties back after the Easter break and in the next term.

If you want more SAMS events to come your way, please drop in your comments & requests down here. Depending on how many requests we get, I’ll make a call if we can do anymore events for you that is your DJ’s word… So get going.. Get everyone you know to message us.

The video coming up shortly.

Cheers..

 DJ Munks..

WHY IS IT THAT ROCK SHOWS ARE STUCK TO PARTICULAR VENUES MOST OF THE TIME ?

WHY IS IT, MOST COMMONLY, THAT THESE VENUES ARE DARK & DINGY ?

WHY DO THEY LACK AN AMBIANCE AND A LIVELY FEEL ?

Ever thought about these..? I just got wondering about this sometime back.

Have been in Wales for about half a year now. Seen the rock culture here.. Seen the craze.. the passion.. the work.. Even recorded and produced quite a few bands…. No I am not an expert & don’t know anything better than loads of you out there leading a rock and roll life everyday. But still.. I have these questions and point of view and I look to everyone for answers..

I have been quite a few times to the local rock clubs.. the “B,,,..” & the “T…” & the “W…. club” and the others.. Quite tired I would say. Not because I have lost interest in the music. But because these venues are ‘making’ me loose interest. Plain dark walls [mostly black in color], barely any lights, no glitter, no show.. & no hype. Some of them have taken their venue and music style so much for granted that they don’t even bother about the actual sound output. They don’t even think if it sounds right or not….

Why is soo much music talent that is coming out of a small place like South Wales just stuck to these few venues ? I come from a huge country like India and the number of bands that just South Wales produces must be equal to the number of rock bands in half of India…. Is it just because these venue’s have a live PA system, a small stage and a tradition of hosting rock gigs in there ?

Many people associate rock music with dark and dingy environments. It is associated with what the American’s would call, “Give it to the man”. It is associated with revolt.. with opposition.. with sadness.. with DEATH !!! I have heard loads of happy rock n roll songs. I have commonly heard rock n roll songs with a story in there. Then why just that image ? And why such a dark feel and ambiance at venues supporting Rock music ?

Rock n Roll to ME is about LIFE… then why shouldn’t I associate rock with being happy and being alive ? Why can’t rock be enjoyed at a venue with lots of flashy lights, a big open feel, a more interactive and lively ambiance ? Why should I just have the option to go to these dark places to be happy and have a good time ?

Why can’t a rock n roll audience go to a “Nightclub” with all the flashy lights, a DJ sound system [obviously adjusted & tuned to a live sound], open big feel & a big dance floor ? Would this audience be too apprehensive to try the same music in a new environment ? Would rock bands be happy & willing to play at such a venue ? Can we look forward to an integration of different music cultures under one roof ? Would that invite RnB and electronic music lovers to come and try rock music at their same favorite venue ? Would the head bangers be willing to join the hip shakers on their music nights ?

I SAY WHY NOT.. !!! Music is religion to me… Different genres of music are just the different ways of praying …. Can’t we have a temple where we can go & pray in our own style…. ?? Would that make sense to our audience..??? 

I THINK IT’S POSSIBLE.. IT CAN BE DONE … I’D LIKE TO TRY … I want to start a Rock nite at a nightclub with a beautiful decor to promote local talent. I want to get rock music from all over the globe but give my audience a bigger and happier place to have a good time. I want no compromise on the music and sound. I want to treat rock lovers lavishly and get them out of dark, clogged up places .. and I want to do this real sooooonnnn..

Yup… played & performed at the INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FESTIVAL [ISF] 2007… & I will elaborate on that in a bit..
But to clarify before you get wondering what is “back to India” doing in the title up here…. No.. i haven’t left UK yet.. {Not that easy to get rid of me .. lol.. atleast not till I have finished my course..} Trust me on this when I say that it actually did feel like I was back home driving around a market street in Delhi when I was on the Belgrave Street in Leicester.. {only a little cooler..} BLOODY FREAKIN HELLLLL !!!!! it was worse than an Indian market street… some real crazy shit… Please don’t mind the language used here cause I am still FREAKED OUT !!! God.. I have not seen soo many Jewelers & Saree shops together anywhere… It was just a little tooo much… I had heard that Asians can go just about to any corner of the world & make it their own.. but dint know to this extent.. !!!

Well coming back to the main event… We left Trefforest in the universities mini bus on Friday the 16th.. 8 of us to represent the UNIVERSITY OF GLAMORGAN at the ISF 2007. We left around 2pm from here.. The drive was phenomenal .. all the way.. through the countryside.. Loved every second of it… wait for me to put the video up.. I took loads of it on the drive throughout all the way to Leicester. It was just too good.. Nature at it’s best !!!                              
                                                                                                   Me & Buray with LORD MAYOR OF Leicester

I got a call about an hour away from Leicester from the organisers if I would be able to play on the Friday night as well.. It was quite a surprise .. but I was up for it anyway.. We reached Leicester in just about 3 hours but it took us about an hour in there to actually find the hotel. We stayed at the Travel Lodge a lil on the outskirts of Leicester just off the highway. Quite a good place. We immediately got on to getting dressed and moved out asap to get to the venue thinking I might have to do the setup. So we got to the Ramada Jarvis hotel and up to the banquet. We were welcomed with Champagne and orange juice & shown through to our table in the hall. A very beautiful place with lovely decorations and ambience. They even had all the flags of different countries there. As far as the music was concerned, I dint have to do much.. Just chucked in a lounge Cd and let it play for the dinner time. For the after dinner party they had the hotel’s dj there anyway.. So I had some time off & could have some fun myself.. Really glad about that..

The honoraries for the evening including the LORD MAYOR OF LEICESTER with his spouse made a grand entrance in their lovely traditional dress. Government officials and members of different Embassies also joined in. After all the welcome speeches by the organisers, the Mayor gave us a very warm welcome speech & made us feel at home… Then the soup with bread came in followed by some lovely chicken & then the sweet dish n coffee. After that we had a good chat with the Mayor & photo session and then the DJ jam session. We hung around for a bit & then left a lil early to be all geared up for the next days performance.
Check out other photos of th Ball here on the 20-Photos site.

Next day… we took to the streets at bout 11 after a lazy getup.. Looking for someplace to break-fast.. n real fast.. we were dying of hunger.. buray was supposedly shivering of hunger.. yeah yeah.. I know he is weird.. lol.. I came up with a brill idea then.. We drove into Asda’s n did loads of shoppin.. bought lots of chicken n ham n bread n butter n drinks etc.. Kept eating on the go in the van for 3 days.. Ate like dogs.. We dint have to stop anywhere n we had all this at an economic price.. haha.. wat a fun time..

We then head to the Ramada hotel again to visit the exhibition and seminars. Well.. dont want to write much about this.. Not a very bright area to talk about. You rather just see the pics here. We then moved around central Leicester a bit.. Just a little walk around the market. In between we also went to the 2nd venue where the evening program was where I was to play as well. The rehearsals for the fashion show and the cultural show were on then. My equipment arrived a little later.. Trust me.. it was crap.. The weirdest Cd player i have ever seen..some chinese make..couldn’t even say it’s name.. & it dint even have a DJ mixer with it.. Had a pretty tough time but managed somehow.. the pics from the Rehearsals can be seen here..

We then drove back to our hotel as it was around 5pm & we wanted to rest for a bit.. freshen up and come back all set for my performance. We did exactly that.. I took a nice hot bubble bath shower with a hot cup of coffee while the other lay their backs on the bed.. After an energy revival.. we left again for the main program..

Further details of the gig.. coming up soon with the videos.. Keep it tuned to this space.. Pictues of the gig from my camera can be seen attached down here.. Rest from 20-photos the official photographer at the venue.. can be seen here..
Cultural Show
Fashion Show
After party with DJ Munks…

Loads more about Leicester very soon.. Cheers..

Woohooo.. !!! See what they have to say about munks.cyn.in on the official blog site of cyn.in http://blog.cyn.in/

Munks is tooo happy to be in the spotlight.. It’s really overwhelming.. I dint know there was soo much on my site anyway.. lol.. but definitely good to know that .. & that my work is being appreciated & seen by soo many people all over the world. It’s really heart touching & encouraging at the same time.

Thanks a mill to the cyn.in team for not just putting me on there & exposing me to a much bigger audience then I can reach but also for making cyn.in in the first place.. It is such a fantastic tool.. so easy to use & versatile at the same time.. Cant imagine a day without it..

Check out http://blog.cyn.in/ the official cyn.in blog site..

Loads more stuff coming up soon.. keep it tuned to “MUSIC RELIGION” at

Cheers & Respect..

Munks..

P.S. – You can get your own website like mine & run it completely on your own without bothering about knowing HTML & other web languages.. This is the simplest thing ever.. & you can get it for FREE for life… drop me a line & i’ll tell you how & get you one..