Author: Darren Ressler

Introducing the Ambient Side of Jesse Leach

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jesse leach kse by Mike Demellia

Jesse Leach, the lead singer of revered metalcore band Killswitch Engage, is a musical journeyman who’s probably never met a musical genre he didn’t like.

A devotee of punk, hardcore and all strains of heavy metal, he’s often espoused his passion for reggae, dub, hip-hop and many other genres in interviews.

At the end of the summer, I was tooling around Bandcamp and discovered he had self-released a beautiful ambient album, At First Light. I listened to it and it was the perfect respite to the noise of the chaotic, uncertain times we’re living in. As an unabashed KsE fan, I had to learn more about the ar of this album. I reached out to Jesse with a few questions, and he shared the genesis of how it came together. Continue Reading →

Why We’re Pausing Our Annual Year-End Rewind

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Every December since Big Shot launched in 2003 we’ve capped off the year with our annual Rewind, a sprawling year-end series of interviews with approximately 150 DJs based globally — up-and-coming to superstar — presenting their candid thoughts on the past 12 months of club gigs, festival appearances and productions.

While Rewind is a lot of work to produce, I looked forward to assembling these stories.

What’s more, I always discovered new music courtesy of the question “What was your track of the year?” that I would’ve most certainly missed.

In lieu of the dumpster fire that is 2020 and the havoc it has wreaked on DJ culture and the world, we won’t be presenting our annual Rewind this year. To do so didn’t seem right given the harsh blow the pandemic has dealt DJs and nightlife.

DJs are struggling financially, emotionally and spiritually, but there is hope in the form of vaccines that will hopefully bring the health crisis under control.  

We wish you the best during these difficult times. Here’s hoping the world returns to some semblance of normality in 2021.

No paywalls, free to all. Help us remain 100% independent and unbiased. Please give to Big Shot by making a secure one-time donation to help us continue covering DJ culture and electronic music like we’ve done since 2003.



Premiere: buraq: Scream & Shout

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Zürich-based house DJ/producer buraq has been honing his provocative dance floor sound for more than a decade. During this time, he’s released a steady stream of high-quality tracks for Cyclic Records, Bondage Music, Flash Recordings, Sirion Records and Stil vor Talent.

Following two well-received floor movers for Steve Bug’s Poker Flat, buraq is getting ready to release the two-track Scream & Shout EP on the label’s Sublease imprint.

We’re thrilled to world premiere the emotive title track. It’s a deep, techy and tense instrumental that’s both danceable and pensive.

Get a first listen to “Scream & Shout” by hitting the play button below. Be sure to check the full release when it drops on December 4.

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No paywalls, free to all. Help us remain 100% independent and unbiased. Please give to Big Shot by making a secure one-time donation to help us continue covering DJ culture and electronic music like we’ve done since 2003.



The Chemical Brothers Auctioning Roland TB-303 For Charity

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the_chemical_brothers_by_luke_dyson

Electronic music stalwarts The Chemical Brothers are auctioning off their coveted Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer for the #ILoveLive initiative. They’re doing so to raise money for crew members who’ve been unable to work since government-ordered lockdowns shut down concerts and festivals in March 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Chems’ trusted 303 was played live on classics such as “Go,” “Got To Keep On” and “Got Glint.”

The rules of the auction are as follows:

To be in with a chance of winning the synthesizer we are holding a prize draw with each entry costing £5. You can enter multiple times.

Entries can be purchased between Friday 27th November and Thursday 17th December. The winner will be announced on Tuesday 23 December.

Says Ed and Tom, “This is a favourite piece of our live gear that we’ve sadly not been able to use this year on the road, so it seems a suitable fund-raiser for music crew and technicians across the UK. Hopefully, it will also help someone else keep working & create something special in the future.”

Enter to win The Chems’ 303 here.

If you’re itching to mess around with a TB-303 or TR-808, check out 808303.studio, a site created by Roland musician Yuri Suzuki and the London Design Museum.

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No paywalls, free to all. Help us remain 100% independent and unbiased. Please give to Big Shot by making a secure one-time donation to help us continue covering DJ culture and electronic music like we’ve done since 2003.