Our final album of the year features Dr. Dre’s controversial ‘The Chronic’. Often regarded as one of the most influential albums of the Nineties, it established the modern sound of West Coast rap. A raw sound, heavily influenced by the Parliament-Funkadelic G-funk style, was married to slick pop hooks, resulting in a crossover smash and an important moment before rap became stratospherically popular later in the decade.
Importantly ‘The Chronic’ showed Dre’s ability as a manager as well as a performer-producer, following his breakout years in N.W.A.. With an cast of future stars including Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Lady of Rage, Suge Knight and Kurupt he created an album that became the slick, defining sound of a movement, and spotlighted a new generation of talent from California.
The album is not without glaring flaws in lyrical content: with homophobic lyrics and in-your-face misogyny, it can be quite hard listening in 2017 where the spotlight on such issues is rightfully stronger than ever. Yet it remains a classic on its own terms as a collection of stone-cold jams, and for the door it broke down with gusto.
The accepted canonising of rap music from both sides of the USA may not have happened without ‘The Chronic’, warts and all, leading the way. Celebrated artists of recent times like Tupac Shakur, Kendrick Lamar, Outkast, The Notorious B.I.G., Kanye West, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Danny Brown and indeed Snoop Dogg owe a debt to ‘The Chronic’.
Kanye himself recently told Rolling Stone: “‘The Chronic’ is still the hip-hop equivalent to Stevie Wonder’s ‘Songs In The Key Of Life’. It’s the benchmark you measure your album against if you’re serious.”
Join us at one of our worldwide events to hear this album as never before.
London
Time & Date: Sunday December 3rd 16:00 – 19:00
Venue: Brilliant Corners, 470 Kingsland Road, London, E8 4AE
Tickets: £10 in advance here
Presenter: Gabriel Szatan (Boiler Room / No Bad Days)
Audio Menu: Dynavector D17D3 MC Cartridge, Rega P9 Turntable, Rega IOS Phono Stage Audio Note Jinro Integrated Amp, Chord Signature Speaker Cable, Chord Signature Tuned Aray interconnects, ISOL-8 Substation Integra Power Conditioner and Klipschorn Loudspeakers
Oslo
Date and Time: Sunday December 17th, 7pm – 9pm (doors open at 6pm)
Venue: Kulturhuset LAB
Tickets: 50/100NOK in advance here
Presenters: Kent Horne with journalist Martin Bjørnersen
Audio Menu installed by Duet Audio: Cartridge: Dynavector XX2 MK2, Turntable: Dr. Feickert Blackbird, Tone arm: Jelco750 LB 12″, Preamp: 4 x Monoblocks Auralic Merak 2x800W, Integrated Amp with phono stage: Ayon Auris, Loudspeakers: Piega Classic 80.2, Interconnects: Midas Reference Silje, Speaker Cable: Midas Reference Silje, Power Conditioner: Isol-8.
Sydney
Date and Time: Sunday December 10th, 5 to 8 pm
Venue: The World Bar
Tickets: $7 at the door or in advance soon students/seniors half price here
Presenters: Jim Poe (Bondi Beach Radio)
Audio Menu: Turntable: Rega RP6, Cartridge: Rega Exact, Amp: Accuphase E-202 Integrated Amplifier, Speakers: Klipsch Heresy, Subs: Klipsch R-10SW
Washington DC
Date and Time: Sunday 10th December 2017 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Venue: Songbyrd Music House and Record Cafe, 2477 18th St NW, Washington DC 20009
Tickets: $5 in advance here
Presenter: Joe Lapan with Marcus Dowling and Timothy Anne Burnside
Audio Menu provided by Audioism.
REGA Planar 3 turntable with Elys MM Cartridge, REGA Fono MM Phono Preamp, Audioism MicroZOTL Preamp (David Berning Design), Audioism Venue-Class Playback System, Xcilica HD System Processor, Audioism ZOTL Amplifiers (David Berning Design), Class AB Hybrid Amplification for Subs, WyWires Audio Interconnects
Miami
Date and Time: Sunday December 17th 5:00pm – 8:00pm
Venue: Sweat Records, 5505 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33137
Tickets: $6 in advance soon
Presenter: Lauren Reskin – Sweat Records
Audio Menu: Audio Note T1 Turntable, Audio Note 1Q1 cartridge, Audio Note M2 Phono Preamplifier, Audio Note Conqueror SET Amplifier, Deja Vu Audio Custom Genoa Vintage Speakers, Audio Note Lexus Cables
Fukuoka
Date and Time: Sunday December 17th, 5:00pm – 8:00pm & 8:00pm – 11:00pm
Venue: Desiderata Fukuoka 1-15-3, 3F Imaizumi Chuo-ku Fukuoka 810-0014 Japan
Tickets: ¥1,000 – email: info@desiderata.jp
Presenter: Masuo (Lighthouse Records founder / CAS Fukuoka) & Wataru Sato
Audio Menu: Klipschorn Loudspeakers, Mark Levinson 23.5L Power Amplifier, Mark Levinson No.26 Preamplifier, Pioneer Exclusive P3 turntable, Koetsu Cartridge and Stepup Trans.
New York City
Date and Time: Sunday December 17th 4:00pm – 7:00pm
Venue: Magick City, 37 Box Street, Brooklyn NY 11222
Tickets: $10 in advance soon
Presenters: Paul Raffaele and Barbie Bertisch (Love Injection Magazine)
Audio Menu: Rega Exact MM Cartridge, Rega P9 Turntable, Audio Note UK pre-amplification and power amplification, AudioQuest Interconnects and cabling, Klipschorn Loudspeakers, Klipsch SW-115 Subwoofers
Birmingham
Date and Time: Sunday December 17th, 2:00pm to 4:30pm
Venue: Cherry Red’s Cafe Bar, 88-92 John Bright St, Birmingham B1 1BN
Tickets: £5 in advance here
Presenter: Chris Watkiss and Raj Jassal
Audio Menu: Turntable: J.Sikora – Initial, Turntable Arm: Kuzma – Stogi S12, 12 inch tonearm, Cartridge: Audio Technica – ART 9 Moving Coil, Speakers: hORNS – Mummy, Mono Block Amplifiers: Ming Da Dynasty – Cavatina, Pre-Amplifier: Audio Detail – Chela- 4, Phonostage: Audio Detail – NV-08 Navistar, Mains Conditioner: Gigawatt PC–3 EVO , Speaker Cables: Skogrand – Tchaikovsky, Interconnects: Albedo Solid ,Mains Cables: KBL & Albedo.
Chicago
Date and Time: Sunday December 17th 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Venue: Saturday Audio Exchange, 1021 W Belmont Avenue, Chicago IL, 60647
Tickets: $5 in advance here
Presenter: Sam Willett
Audio Menu: Klipschorns provided by Klipsch Audio and McIntosh Tube amps provided by Saturday Audio
Stavanger
Time & Date: Sunday December 17th 2pm – 4pm
Venue: Kunsthall Stavanger, Madlaveien 33, 4009 Stavanger, Norway
Tickets: 50 Nok in advance here
Presenter: Tarjei Nygård
Audio Menu supplied by Spaceworld Soundgarden
Turntable – Electrocompaniet Ecg-1 Platespiller – Sort, Pre-Amp – Electrocompany Ecp2 Riaa, Amp – Electrocompany EC4.8 Preamplifier, Mono Block – Electrocompany AW600 Nemo Monoblock, Loudspeakers – Electrocompaniet The Nordic Tone Model 1 Gulvstående Høyttaler
