James Brooks has been spinning dance tunes since the days of vinyl. He was a staple in Indy’s early broken beat scene, regularly playing breaks at a weekly DNB night called Broke(n) Tuesdays at The Melody Inn. James was also known for throwing down a hell of a trance set. I can personally protest to him showing absolute zen like calm behind the decks with a packed dance floor, with his focus on making the most intricate mixes, and is extraordinary at reading the room. James reached out to graveyardradio.net several weeks ago to tell me he’s ready to take the next step in his musical journey. He’s been secretly producing tracks for some time now and has been really itching to give people a little taste of what is to come. These 2 compositions are available on SoundCloud as streaming only, but it’s been confirmed we’ll be getting official releases available on multiple platforms at some point-in-time.
“Headway” is a 6 minute slab of dark pulsating progressive trance vibes. It seems to relentlessly pound and chug along, however, it’s so clearly and beautifully produced, you get pulled into it’s drone. James “breaks it up” literally by synching some broken beat into the mix, making an intriguing listen. Those entranced by this get rewarded with a super sick break-down right around the 4 minute mark. The tune peaks, then goes out as quick as it came in. We get some vinyl pops at the end or the track, giving a nice touch to the experience.
“Roller” is definitely my favorite of the 2. This bad boy has a funk to it that should have the power to get the most jaded raver to bust-a-move. As with the previous tune, “Roller” is mastered perfectly, with snare and bass drum giving the speakers a super punchy sound. You could totally visualize this vibrating the walls of a dirty warehouse. The tune is dark, but has some amazing bounce to it, along with some sick little breaks that give it a kick.
James Brooks will be going b2b with DJ OJ on March 14th at The Vogue Theatre! This will be an opening set in direct support world famous, Grammy-nominated, Paul Oakenfold. We’ll also get some tune spun from rising local star, Trung Ngo. Tickets are available here.