A hypnotic blend of up-to-date electronica with genre crossing as its manifest. In its wide-spectral electronic mix Abuse combines Ambient with soundwalls of breakbeat and Hip-Hop beats, Hi-tech courses with Lo-fi Pop, bizarre movie-like atmospheres with extraterrestrial folklore... Abuse is now a five-piece band with electronics, drums, guitar, bass and turntablist/scratches visually supported with VJ Clad. In the last  past four years they have performed in United Kingdom, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Austria and Hungary even played several shows in USA including one at the SXSW music festival.

Born in Macedonia but having relocated to London a few years ago, Alex has been performing storming DJ sets throughout London. He is equally happy playing small sweaty clubs through to huge international music festivals. His influences range from James Brown to Squarepusher and everything in between.

One of the leading DJs from the Slovak dance music scene, Branko is now relocated to London.  Well known for his DJ sets at the edge of minimal beats and tech-house. Resident DJ for "I’mpulse" at Cargo, London, and well known in Central European communities in London for his special events dubbed “*reCreation”.

In 2002, when the debut of the BSD, „Na hraní“, was published, nobody was left to doubt that there is ferocious rock youth here, with a clear idea of the future direction, without depression and with a young energy. In music, it is possible to compare them to the Hole, for the combination of the melodic or even pop parts, with yelling refrains. Now one can see that the band has not stopped to develop and has not lost anything of its beauty. During the three years between the succesful debut and „My o vlku“, the musicians made a progress, improved their musical craftmanship, but did not lost anything from their cute innocence.

Ctrl Z are a Nu Skool Breakz production duo hailing from London. Tom Petais and Nicky D'Silva aka Dash and Inch met through the Community Music Program in London. The pairing up of these two DJs by their tutor was to be the start of something special and their first Ctrl Z Production was unleashed. Snapped up by DJ Mutinys Funkatech Recordings, Disko' and 'Pain made up the debut single that was to cause a big splash in the Breaks Scene. Straight to number 1 in the Mixmag Chart and straight into the boxes of the Breakbeat elite. Ctrl Z had the honor of receiving two nominations for Best Breakthrough Act and Best Breakthrough Producer at the 2005 Breakspoll Awards. Their latest productions include the new Freestylers album And on going collaborations with Screwface and Freq Nasty.

Cult world music band “Czechomor” originate from the Czech Republic. Deeply rooted in Moravian Village music, their repertoire reflects the passion and anguish of a region moulded by centuries of Ottoman raids, Napoleonic battles and folk ballads. The band’s unique melange of traditional folk mixed with Ottoman dissonance, Gypsy czardas and Celtic rhythms have succeeded in winning over young and old alike. They have sold over 200,000 albums throughout the world.

At 37 years old Dan Barta is one of the Czech Republic’s best known and charismatic vocalists. With his distinctive voice and his ability to reference rock, funk, blues and jazz in his unique songwriting Dan and his band Illustratosphere have released acclaimed albums including such as ‘Illustratosphere’ and ‘Entropicture’ and have been awarded 7 Czech Grammy Awards since 1998.

One of Birmingham’s more unusual musical offerings, they are a 15 piece band who are made up of ex students from Birmingham Conservatoire plus other like minded souls who met at various jams sessions in the city. The vital ingredient of their musical style is Klezmer and East European folk music which they play with great precision layering their own twists and influences onto the music.

Divokej Bill originates from the Czech Republic.  Over the years they have developed their own musical style which has been described as electric folk rock featuring traditional Czech instruments.   Their fourth self titled album went to the summit of the album charts and they played over 40 arena concerts in the Czech Republic, no other home grown artist has ever achieved this feat.

Dr Das is a bassist, programmer and performer and was one of the founder members of Asian Dub Foundation. Having, over 13 years, been part of the process of ADF's development from a London based sound system to highly respected international touring band, Dr Das retired from ADF at the end of March 2006 to resume teaching and musically, to return to his exploration of dub and experimental world music and to engage in new collaborations.

For the past few years, psychedelic fusion band Gevende have attracted increasing recognition for their sprawling improvisations and experimental collaborations as well as for the ability to channel their emotions into their live performances. When watching them play one senses that each chord played is a raw emotion, each note an expression. In September 2006 Gevende began their musical journey through Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal where they shared their talents with the local artists of these countries and filmed their experiences.

In 2004 Gipsy.cz appeared on the Czech music scene like a flash of lightning, coming from the dark clouds of the Hip-Hop scene, he started cooperation with the top Czech gypsy musicians and created a new explosive mixture. To Hip-Hop he added violin, accordion, acoustic guitar, double bass and cimbalon sounds, throwing in Romarythms and language and letting himself be inspired by Balkan Roma brass bands playing songs at 200 bpm.

Goldielocks is part of the new breed of female hip hop talent that has emerged out of the UK in the last few years. Her music education evolved through working with community music, where she enrolled on their production and performance courses. A unique vocal delivery and infectious beats have won over many fans and she has been described as the grimey lost member of Girls Aloud! Currently performing around Europe including guest appearances with Lady Sovereign on her latest tour, Goldielocks is equally respected for her production and remix skills.

Kerekes are a Hungarian band who are inspired by folk music that has passed   down through the generations, they absorb jazz, roots, funk and even drum and bass creating an eclectic style of music. Using a vast array of musical instruments including a modified Shepherds flute, viola and a Koboz (a short necked lute of Middle Eastern origin). This particular genre has been dubbed “ Magyar Funk”, a lively jazz- funk interpretation of  Hungarian roots music.

Simple to listen to. A simple message: Electro. Video. Love. Midi Lidi are an electronic project which originated from the darker musical side of Krasny Stehovak Gerard & Sexualni Nabytek (Gerard The Beautiful Flitter and Sexual Furniture), along with video friends from Fiume. They play electronic music in their own unique style mixed with spliced Czech lyrics. The members of Midi Lidi are more famous in the world of Czech culture as film makers, theatre performers and visual artists. On the 1st May 2007, Midi Lidi bring out their first record "Cekani na robota" (Waiting For Robot).

Samurai is much more than your average DJ, he is real to his roots and all though has gained much acclaim in his field and amongst his peers, he still remains one of the most accessible DJs for the UK street sounds and this ability to stay in touch and keep his ear to the ground has built him firm relationships with UK artists.

Although hard to pigeonhole the music of Greece’s Palyrria could most accurately be described as ‘world-electro’, a groundbreaking cross-fertilization of ethnic influences and state-of-the-art electronic stylings.  Blending Cretan music, ancient Greek lyrics, Indian wind instruments and a poem from a Native American tribe amongst other diverse elements, Palyrria occupy a unique position on the contemporary music landscape.

With a big hat and a big smile Penny Metal boldly plays tunes no one else dares. A truly anarchic Russian-loving party queen, she delves deeply into her extraordinary collection of Eastern European music and pulls out Greek folk dances, Serbian kolos, Polish polkas and the richest Russian anthems. She broadcasts her weekly Mad Tunes Show over the internet on Wireless fm and has a monthly club night, Soviet Reunion, where she showcases her most recent tunes to great applause. Always inspirational, it is no wonder Penny is cutting a swathe through the Balkan clubs of London, Paris, Berlin and Vienna.

Russ Jones was behind some of London’s most successful club nights in the mid 90’s, including London Calling and No Room for Squares. He is regarded as one of the leading DJ’s on the ‘Global Beat’ scene. From his seminal club night ‘Future World Funk’ working alongside his regular DJ partner ‘Cliffy’, he has  compiled over 12 compilation cds, including Gypsy beats and Balkan Bangers. Having hosted and playing Europe’s leading music Festivals including Glastonbury and Womad amongst many others, his DJ sets are not to be missed.

DJ Scratchy is a renowned DJ who has performed with Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, The Pogues and Gogol Bordello amongst many others. He has performed all over the world with his unique take on Ska, dub and reggae classics. His soundscapes are a musical journey from London to Louisiana, Kingston to Columbia and beyond.

Xenophile concert promoter Seb Merrick of Kazum! is on a mission to open up new horizons in the music capital of the world and to challenge the London media's lack of interest in things foreign. Having discovered great talent in Europe’s most populous country, Turkey, Seb set up the Orient: Express club night to provide an outlet to play some great tunes - with some great beats, to boot. As no one else knew them, Seb had to spin his own discs, and has since played at the South Bank Centre, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Synergy and other venues. As well as fiddling with mixer knobs, he's been known to fiddle with a fiddle whilst at the decks.

Sziami are one of the most remarkable bands originating from Hungary. They mix traditional eastern folk, world music with poetical rock. They hold the Guinness world record for performing a continuous live performance to over 5000 people which lasted for 48 hours!  Their unique sound has earnt them a reputation as a formidable festival and club act.

Tata Bojs, from the Czech Republic, were founded 18 years ago by two friends - Mardosa and Milan Cais - in their school canteen when both were 14 years old. Notorious for their outrageous live shows that still consistently sell out, Tata Bojs have long been acclaimed as true innovators in their homeland, combining lavish stage productions with dynamic and unforgettable stage performances. The bands refusal to heed convention and their constant striving for creative and musical growth leaves them without peers. They recently received a 6th Czech Grammy - for their live DVD Nanotour – continuing their relentless march into the annals of Czech music history.

These four Polish guys were inspired by the Punk and New wave scene, having formed a band, their breakthrough came in 1991 with the release of “Warsaw” which became a nationwide hit and established them on the Polish music scene. They are a rock band who blend reggae and funk into their own unique style. Having released over thirteen albums to date, eleven of which have achieved “gold” disc status, T.Love are not to be missed.

Dj Tofowski comes from a legendary past of almost only Dj`ing in fields, under rotten Canvas, his records come with the dust of a 1000 mad all night magic festivals from all over Europe for 15 years. He has played at the greatest and smallest festivals and clubs. He is a member of the “Viberama” School of Dj`s. Highlights are always headlining and running various legendary stages at Glastonbury (15 times), Lowlands, Essential Festival, Eclipse Festival, Oerol Festival, Lovebox Festival, Melkweg, Hackney Empire, V Fest, Robo Dok many 100`s more. It is not an underestimation to say that Tofowski DJ sets have often ended in riots and medieval style pitched battles over more tunes, despite Tofowski's peaceful approach.

Zuzana Homolova is a renowned Slovak folk singer, who is extremely popular in her homeland. She has spent the last 30 years collecting, researching and singing deep rooted Slovak ballads.  Her material was selected from distant regions and most often from isolated communities of Slovak living in Hungary, where the ancient language and also the storyline has remained preserved in the purest form. The arrangements range from imtimate voice and guitar creations through hypnotic minimalism to wild polyrhythmic structures.