Lonsdale bar recently hosted one of many massive drum & bass events, headlined by one half of the London-born artists, The Brookes Brothers. The other brother, Dan, was unable to make an appearance due to sickness, but was sufficiently apologetic when we called him to harass him about his absence. Nevertheless, Phil kept things ticking over by producing an impressive set that ensured a buzzing, crowded dance floor throughout the entire course of the night.
He was accompanied by special guest DJs Electrotrip, Forthkind and Geeza, and none of the DJ’s faltered in delivering high energy sounds and exciting mixes, which included a variation of well-known chart music, such as DJ Fresh’s successful hit “Hot Right Now”, along with fresh tracks that are guaranteed to be huge.
The main attraction, The Brookes Brothers (who are signed to Breakbeat Kaos Records) didn’t disappoint the crowd. Phil Brookes described their signature sound as having “a jazz and soul element to it” and this was evident when even the less hardcore drum & bass fanatics didn’t leave the dance floor. It is a particularly difficult trick to master, but The Brookes Brother(s) appealed to the mainstream music fans, as well as maintaining their popularity in the underground scene. It was clear from the attendants at the event that The Brookes Brothers boast an array of fans already familiar with their more soulful tracks of drum & bass, which included BBC1’s Record of the Week, “Tear you down”.
The Brookes Brothers have been creating music since 2002 and collaborated with a number of other successful artists, such as Culture Shock and Subfocus. When I quizzed Phil Brookes on what we else we can expect from the brothers, he told me he had plans to ease off on the DJ-ing for a while, so that he could focus on writing more music. During this summer, they plan to take their unique sound global, and there are talks of a tour in either America or Australia.
For the foreseeable future though, they will remain in London to work on their vocals for new material. Phil also commented that he would love to return to Lancaster next month to watch Labrinth at Sugarhouse, because he is a massive fan and has always wanted to see him live. Following their performance last Saturday, there is no doubt that The Brookes Brothers will have gained a few fans of their own, and left a great impact on the Lancaster music scene.
