Drum & Bass Pioneer Goldie Plays Elements Tonight, 2.10.11

Image credit: http://www.freewebs.com/brokenbeatarena/goldie_mk.jpg

If you have been listening to dance music for longer than the last 5 minutes, then you probably should have come across the name Goldie at least once in your musical explorations. Originally a well-known graffiti artist who resided on both sides of the pond, his return to the UK in the early 1990s allowed him to witness the early days of their exploding rave scene. He hooked up with members of the Reinforced crew, released a couple of seminal 12”s (such as “Terminator”), and by the time he finished his 20-minute opus “Timeless (Inner City Life)” in 1994, the rest was history.

The title “Timeless” says more about the endurance of both that song, as well as the same-named debut LP, than anything else. Goldie doesn’t just ride trends or make songs that people want to hear now then forget about six months from now. He has a knack for making such a bold statement in his work, both musically and lyrically, that enables much of his music to stand the test of time. And that is aside from the fact that he introduced a number of people, especially in America (such as myself), to drum and bass for the first time with many of the mainstream channels he had access to (MTV, Columbia Records, Stussy, etc.)

Never ONCE did Goldie compromise his artistic vision in order to achieve mainstream recognition; this isn’t something you see from an artist every day.

And let’s not forget all of Goldie’s other endaevors outside of music production and DJing. Acting. Dancing. Writing. Painting. Even conducting a classical orchestra. Goldie also founded the Metalheadz record label, which is one of the most enduring labels in drum and bass, releaing almost 100 singles and a dozen albums since 1995. He’s done it all.

Goldie plays Elements (512 Mass Ave, Cambridge) tonight. Cover is $15, it is a 21+ night (as opposed to 19+). This is going to sell VERY quickly. Get there early, like 10pm. It is the first time Goldie has played Boston since 2006, and the largest scale DJ to ever be booked at this specific night. It’s going to be a rager for sure!