Scene: M Data

Photo By Dom Peters

Newcastle producer and electronic music artist M Data has had a busy Summer dropping bangers left, right and centre, and the prolific music maker is set to release more singles throughout Autumn. M Data’s music blends a variety of styles, including techno, electro, house, ambient, dub, glitch and minimal, and he will be bringing his unique blend to Northern Electric Festival on Saturday 3rd September and the Slacks Residents Party at The Lubber Fiend on the evening of the 1st October.

Here, M Data tells us a bit about the North-East’s underground electronic music scene…

The whole North-East underground electronic (not just electronic either) music scene is seeing a huge amount of growth, change and diversification across many areas, resulting in new venues, events and opportunities for many. This recent explosion of creativity has seen events such as Holme Festival, venues like The Lubber Fiend, and new online radio station Slacks arrive with massive, positive impact, only adding to the existing wealth and talent already established within the region by providing opportunities and outlets for new and upcoming artists and performers

It’s difficult to keep up with everything that is going on and it also can’t be encompassed under one banner; there is such a huge range of creative output from both new and already established artists and performers.  The underground electronic scenes are growing; whether that be in Durham, Darlington, Newcastle, Tynemouth, Whitley Bay; whether it be ambient, experimental, electro, beats, industrial, house, techno; there will always be something for someone, going on somewhere. Many venues seem to have diversified and appear to be more flexible and willing to consider showcasing live music, especially electronic music; could these opportunities, alongside a demand for more independent and live music, possibly be considered a creative catalyst?

The Lubber Fiend
The Lubber Fiend is a recently established, community/inclusivity-oriented, independent DIY music venue and events space in Blandford Street, Newcastle, and hosts a multitude of events covering all genres of music, film screenings, parties, socials, is an approved Food Bank Drop Off point and also provides a base for Slacks.

I played a recent gig there for Opal Tapes 10th birthday celebrations and it was electric! The atmosphere was absolutely unreal; I’d set up right in front of the stage, at the edge of the dancefloor really, it was amazing having the crowd that close, everyone there seemed to be well into it, the whole venue, its character, its unique qualities, you have to go and experience it for yourself.

The venue is open Wednesday to Sunday, check their website and socials for more info and listings.

Slacks
With the explosion of creativity in mind, Slacks, a new online independent radio station based at The Lubber Fiend must be included. The range of shows and diverse schedule covers many, many genres and is inclusive of all. The station is run by a small team and is live from Friday afternoon until Sunday evening each weekend. Schedules are released towards each weekend and are guaranteed to include something for almost everyone.

Slacks has a roster of residents (including Nightdancing, Jacklyn, and many others) and also features one-off shows from contributors. One of the unique points of the station is, through being based at The Lubber Fiend, they often provide an opportunity for performers to also do an hour radio slot before their nighttime gig at the venue.

Monthly residents’ parties are also held at The Lubber Fiend in order to bring the contributors together as a community and raise much-needed funds to support the ongoing cost of maintaining the station.

My introduction to Slacks was a one-hour, vinyl-only, underground techno show on a Saturday afternoon before I performed there that night! It was great to provide a background and introduction to some of my influences over the years, play some underground techno at 4pm and also give the audience a glimpse into what lay ahead for the live set that night!

The station is on-air from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, check their website and socials for more info and listings.

Northern Electric Festival (2nd & 3rd September)
As one of the more established gatherings and hubs for live electronic music, Northern Electric Festival must also be included for capturing a vast range of North Eastern creative talent throughout its time. Now on its 6th occasion, the festival remains in the Ouseburn Valley, being based over two venues; The Cumberland Arms and Little Buildings.

This year’s line-up includes artists such as Badger, Worry Party, Danica Dares. Kovert and  John Dole as well as many others providing a vast range of electronic music for all tastes.

I’m looking forward to performing Live at Northern Electric Festival 22 at Little Buildings on Saturday 3rd September; it’s great to be included in the line-up, especially the opportunity to play alongside some of the other artists on the same night, including Chop5, Vigilance State, Holy Braille and Novyi Lef… it’s going to be a great weekend, I’ll be there both days!