Mayhem - 404 Audio - Aug 2007

Biography of Mayhem

Mayhem has been involved in Atlanta's scene since 2000 helping organize a number of events. Most recently, his bi-weekly: Transit, which has been running consistantly for a year now. Founder of 404 Audio, an Atlanta based record label and info website for the local d&b community, and Shadow-Law Recordings. Mayhem is gaining a buzz internationally for his production work and Djing. 'Tomahawk' by Mayhem and Noisia was his first vinyl release in September 2003 on Paul Reset and Pyro's Nerve Recordings. Next was 'Chamber' (ft. Impulse) on his own SLR imprint, and most recently 'Oceans of Emptiness (ft. Phaceand Noisia) on TeeBee's Subtitles imprint! Watch out for 'Moonway Renegade'(Ft Noisia) on Andy C's Ram Records, 'Broken Sword (ft. Thinktank and Evol Intent) on Dieselboy's Human Imprint as well as EA Games 'Need for Speed: Most Wanted'. Also in the works are singles for Subtitles, Freak, and SLR and be on the look out for collaborations with TeeBee, Bulleproof, Evol Intent, Noisia, Calyx, Rymetyme, Psidream, Pacific, The Upbeats, Xplorer and much more coming very soon.

- what's your age?
I’m 23 Years old

- your real name ?
Anthony Rotella

- why 'Mayhem'?
I produced in Impulse Tracker and Scream Tracker under the name 3x3 until the year 2000 when I acquired my 1st Dj gig in Atlanta. I no longer wanted to produce under 3x3, so I thought through a few names, a friend suggested Mayhem, and it stuck. I’ve caused my fair share of shit in my days and I think it fits fairly well.

- What was the reason for you to start DJing/Producing ?
I was interested in music from a very early age. I started playing guitar when I was 8 years old, setting up a garage band with a friend who played the drums in my neighborhood. Another neighbor across the street was experimenting with Industrial and Techno across the street in Scream Tracker and I got sucked in. I tried incorporating it with our garage band, and eventually just started writing music on it. I found the IRC scene for tracker based music and got sucked in. When the genre’s had distinguished themselves I found Drum + Bass to overwhelmingly be my favorite. I then got a pair of decks and two years later I begun Djing out in Atlanta and beyond.

- your first vinyl ever purchased ?
I can't quite remember what the 1st exact record was, but I’m sure that J Majik - 'Jim Kutta' was one of them.

-records that influenced you ?
Krust - 'Jazznote' - V Recordings
Optical – “To Shape The Future” – Metalheadz
Roni Size – “Brown Paper Bag” – Talkin’ Loud
Ed Rush – “Skylab” – Metalheadz”
Goldie + Rob Playford – “Innercity Life” - FFRR
Ed Rush + Optical – “Medicine (Matrix Remix)” – Virus
Konflict – “Roadblock” – Renegade Hardware
Konflict – “The Beckoning” – Renegade Hardware
Bad Company – “Oxygen” – BC Recordings
Kemal – “System Bleed” – Negative
TeeBee – “Human Reptile” – Subtitles
Stakka + Skynet – “Timelines” – Underfire
Bad Company – “The Pulse” – Prototype

- Most intense live gig?
I don’t do any live work, but the best live show I’ve ever seen was Tool in Atlanta.

- Most intense club event?
Blackout 1 @ Tivola [Utrecht, Netherlands]
POTD @ The Masquerade [Atlanta, GA USA]
Kuhbus @ some random warehouse [St Poelten, Austria]
Flosserplatz @ Rotation [Aarau, Switzerland]

- What kind of sound should be banned ?
None. Without variation in opinions and taste, the world would be an extremely boring place.

- Favorite venue ?
The Mark Ultra Lounge – Atlanta, GA

- What do you do between club and sleep ?
Organize events every two weeks in Atlanta, Manage 404Audio.com, Take care of my beautiful baby boy, Spend time with my lovely girlfriend, Obsess over Skyscraper development in Atlanta, Work on Drum + Bass / Breaks / and Downtempo, Record blind sessions on the guitar whilst singing with Nick and Mike of Evol Intent, Punch Impulse in the balls, and pet my cat Cruella.

- Personal heroes ?
My father, My Grandfather, Regina Libian, Giovanni Rotella, MLK, Outkast, Maynard Keenan, Kurt Cobain, Kemal Okan, Jamie Quinn, Dave Chapelle, Nick Weiller, Lauraunce Cons, Nik Roos, Thijs de Vlieger, Martijn Van Sonderen, Chris Kringle, Florian Harres, and Josh Clark.

- current top 10
TeeBee + Calyx - The Quest
Atom + Cell - Pressures (Noisia Remix)
Misanthrop - Perfect Happiness
Mayhem + Noisia - Choke (Ft MC Verse)
Evol Intent + Ewun - Reality Check
TeeBee + Noisia - Lost Cause
Mayhem + Noisia - Moonway Renegade
Misanthrop - Bullhead
Break - No Company
Brooklyn - With All My Heart

- all-time favs
Krust - 'Jazznote' - V Recordings
Optical - 'To Shape The Future' - Metalheadz
Roni Size - 'Brown Paper Bag' - Talkin’ Loud
Ed Rush - 'Skylab' - Metalheadz”
Goldie + Rob Playford - 'Innercity Life' - FFRR
Ed Rush + Optical - 'Medicine (Matrix Remix)' - Virus
Konflict - 'Roadblock' - Renegade Hardware
Konflict - 'The Beckoning' - Renegade Hardware
Bad Company - 'Oxygen' - BC Recordings
Kemal - 'System Bleed' - Negative
TeeBee - 'Human Reptile' - Subtitles
Stakka + Skynet – 'Timelines' - Underfire
Bad Company - 'The Pulse' - Prototype

Shadow-Law Recordings is an Atlanta based Drum + Bass record label headed by Producer / DJ: Mayhem [Anthony Rotella].

From it's commercial inception in December of 2003, SLR has been focused on releasing dark, moody, funk laden beats in the vein of Ed Rush, Optical, Matrix, Bad Company, Konflict, Stakka + Skynet, Cause 4 Concern, and other like minded artists.

The artist roster is comprised of Sinthetix (Rob F / Impulse / MC Mecha), Kiko, Noisia, Phace, Break, Psidream, Misanthrop, Pacific, Mindscape, and Mayhem.

Our recordings are currently available in 12' vinyl and mp3 format. Our first CD compilation is in the works. Transit was one of Atlanta's premier club nights for three years presented by SLR in association with 404Audio at The Mark Ultra Lounge in downtown Atlanta. Hosted by MayheM. Ending in July of 2007, the night had hosted some of Drum + Bass's finest including Ed Rush, Optical, Photek, TeeBee, Bad Company, Hive, Matrix, D-Bridge, and more. SLR's promotions now focus on larger weekend shows which have already featured Andy C, Gridlok, Spor, Evol Intent, Ewun, The Upbeats, Chris Renegade and more! In addition to the label and promoting, SLR is also focused on handling bookings for a majority of the labels roster in addition to like minded artists.

http://www.404audio.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thermopticsatl