This 1 right here is for the hardcore Bassline, Grime and UKG fans in Sheffield, especially those of you who are very familiar with the Vibe/Niche Nightclub on Charter Row in the City Centre.
For the first time in around 15 years, Freddo and Mister X will be on the same lineup and playing back to back. Some may already know this is going to be a madness but for those who have no idea why this night is going to be 1 you want to witness live, we thought we would give a breif history on the pair.
The Beginning
For you to understand why some may be excited about this upcoming event, we need to go to the past a little. Both Freddo and Mister X (TDX) before becoming a member of the Niche team at that time, used to be members of the Sheffield based crew, Sheffield City Underground Movement (S.C.U.M). Between 2006-2008, S.C.U.M made a lot of noise in the Sheffield underground scene along with other crews such as All Out Krew, JD, Beat Bandits, Northern Alliance and more.
1 day, TDX received a message from 1 of the members of Niche saying that they would like to talk to him and Freddo about a project they are working on. This project would turn out to be the studio, radio and record label as they wanted to platform the next generation of talent to follow from the likes of Bassline legends such as Jamie Duggan, Nev Wright, Saun Banger Scott, Big Ang, Jamie Ferguson and Booda.
Freddo and Mister X clearly were interested in the proposal and after identifying the best positions for the pair, they got to work trying to make their own mark in the genre which was birthed and pioneered in Sheffield City.
The Unexpected Storm
It would be easy to say that there was a big plan of action but honestly, this was more of a group of friends coming together to try a ting, have fun and see what happens. It just so happened to turn out that A LOT happened.
Freddo and Mister X was in the Niche Studios daily with all the latest tech, custom built recording booths, CDJs, microphones, the best speaker monitors, all the softwear and a massive brand in Niche behind them. It was never going to be long before they both started invited their peers and music friends to the studio to check it out and have some fun. On the back of this fun came a few songs that are still lasting the test of time.
For example, Get Milli Get Mad with K Dot and AK was recorded on a random day Mister X was in the studio bored, a random phonecall between him and K Dot happened. Within an hour or so after that K Dot and Ak was in studio and little after that, Get Milli Get Mad was recorded after going through a random list of beats on the compuer. Or, Memories with Nicole Marie came after either Double N or Kase brought a random vocal for Freddo to remix which did ok. Due to this, he asked for more accpellas from Nicole 1 of which was Memories and the rest is history. Both of these tracks had their time on the BBC 1Xtra UKG Chart and both are still enjoyed by people today, even the younger generation now getting onto Bassline.
Due to their positions and opportunities to play in the Nightclub, Freddo and Mister X became the DJs introducing these new songs created in the Niche studio to Bassline fans and other DJS on the same lineup. Before long, DJs and Promoters were ready to play tracks from Sheffield artists without the need to hear the tracks played live first, even wanting to be the first to drop an exclusive from 1 of these artists. Their position also allowed for them to campaign for other local DJs to get an opportunity to play at the Nightclub and make their own marks also.
Again, this was never planned, I guess this shows the power of when people with mutiple skills and experiences come together.
Why Everything Ended
After the Charter Row venue closed, there was not a regular home for the genere and DJs. Add a number of other things such as more promoters now wanting to do events and other genral competition, people having children, other career opprtunities and some just being a little deflated, many of this era went their own ways and life kinda just lifed. There is not really anything special or dramatic to anything, everyone at the time were in their young/mid 20s and as you grow in life, you at some point want to find your own lane or self.
During this time, Freddo has continued to produce for artists, feature on national radios such as BBC 1Xtra, DJ around the UK while also enjoying his fitness and time with family. Mister X (TDX), went on to pursue a career in sports digital content creating for broadcasters, athletes and major brands, probably most known locally for his work with Sheffield United Football Club.
Both have kept their skills sharp and have worked on some big projects quietly in the shadows being the more lesser seen characters out of this era. As active as they both are, you may have come across their content and not even known it was them who made it. The majority of their work and achievments is not something they share a lot and people may be shocked to hear what they have produced in the time since Niche. Between the pair, they have worked with some of the biggest brands in Sports and Music Entertainment including ITV PPV, BBC, Bass Fest, Niche, Anthony Joshua, Sky, Floyd Mayweather, Adidas and many more.
We say this just so you know the pair are still lazer sharp and on the ball!!
Why You Should Be Excited
Locally to Sheffield, 1 of the sets still talked about by some of the hardcore Bassline following is the Freddo b2b Mister X set from the Niche Relaunch Night in 2010. When you listen back to this set now, you can hear where Freddo and Mister X were ahead of their time with some of the dubs they had, artists they worked with and mash ups created. This set is available via the Animated playlist on the Playlist page of the website.
If you ever went to Vibe/Niche Nightclub on Charter Row and attended events such as Download, North Vs Mids, Sheff City All-Stars, Sidewinder, and () at the well known venue around the UK, then you already know to expect nothing but VIBES!
If you missed this golden era and have only heard the stories, then the best thing to do would be watch the videos below which will give you a taste of the energy of this time and the electricity Freddo b2b with Mister X is going to bring in March 2025.
When Is This Happening
On Saturday the 29th March 2025, Beat 1X Radio will be hosting an exclusive limited ticket event. We was going to just do a live radio show but we thought we would allow 200 people a chance to witness something they may have missed, or, for those who know to have a nostalgic moment and relive some good times. 50 tickets have been removed from the listing for the VIP guests wanting to attend this event.
We have done everything we can to give our members the best experience possible for this moment, down to the location, venue, sound system to make sure you feel every frequency of the BASS.
Supporting Freddo and Mister X will be some new faces that are trying to push the scene forward today to give them a chance to display their talent. However, we know you are going to want to see some other known faces from the Sheff City All-Stars era and we are keeping this a surprise. All you need to know is we have spoken to a few people who will for sure be passing from on this night!!!
We want to leave a little for the imagination so go have a little throwback session with yourselves, listen to some old mixes, watch some videos, find the old flyers and see if you can work out who make a special surprise appearance on the night.
In closing, they may not be the first names or the biggest names in Bassline, but Freddo and Mister X for sure played their part and made a mark, especially for Sheffield Bassline during this era. When you consider the doors the pair managed to open while being apart of the Niche team and what everyone else did in their own right once they got their opportunity to display their talents, everyone from this period of time didn't do too bad we would say.
When you mention pioneers of underground music in Sheffield such as Bassline and Grime, does this entire group from this era need to mentioned as all played a part to carry the Sheffield scene forward for the next generation at a time when some still called this new sound at the time Grime, Authorities didn't want it played and campigns to once upon a time ban this music everywhere. Many who are new to the music or of a certain age wouldn't even know such a battle existed with how Bassline is played in all kinds of places now. If you take a moment to think about it, the impact of music from names such as Tez Kidd, DJ Double N, Freddo, K Dot, AK, DJ Skillz & Cardiac, Nicole Marie, DJ Mala P, DJ Mister X, Shinobi, Kase, Big Turbz, Ripsaw to name a few, had a bigger impact than anyone thought at the time.
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