Friday, January 27, 2006
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
Brand Newham
As we enta 2006, there’s no grime album more of an exciting prospect than the Newham Generals’ ‘Generally Speaking,’ forthcoming on Dizzee’s Dirtee Stank.
D Double E is as abstract an MC as they come on road, bending words until they dissolve between sounds and syllables. Footsie’s all rough and gruff. You don’t want war wid him. And Monkstar, the relative unknown in the camp, is the anti-D Double, lyrically abrupt and stiff, rigid and inflexible. As a trio they complement each other gloriously.
Another mouth watering prospect is the Newham production sound. Unlike some MCs, they don’t rely on outsiders to build their riddims. And although they all produce, it’s Footsie that’s turned most heads of late.
In the light of how the electronica community – where an increase in degrees of complexity is perceived as an increase in value or innovation – have reacted to grime, there is a wonderful restraint to Footsie’s riddims. What they do, they do very well.
Furthermore, unlike a great deal of grime, Footsie and Monk are “bass dans,” fans of dub-influenced subbass, as their recent Forward>> set attested. There’s a weight, a physicality to their sound, as well as feeling.
Finally they’re signed to Dirtee Stank, Dizzee’s independent label. While most grime MCs spent 2005 unsuccessfully chasing six figure major label contracts, and those that did get deals didn’t get the success they desired, the challenge for grime in ’06 is to collaborate to build a self-sufficient infrastructure. Stank has got to be a model for that infrastructure.
With this in mind, I met Newham Generals in the Raskitt’s Lair, where they were recording their mixtape…
Blackdown: So how did the link with Dirtee Stank come about?
D Double E: “The link come from way back in the day, still. I knew Dizzee from back in the day when mans was on Flava FM. I used to see him about and that. We’re talking 1999? Dem times. I used to be in a crew called 187 and NASTY Crew was up there and I used to talk to a couple of members of NASTY. Then over the years I joined NASTY and got to know Dizzee better, getme. I joined NASTY in 2001, so the link with Dizzee was way before that.”
DDE: “Dizzee called me in 2004 and asked me to do a feature on one of his tunes, ‘Give U More.’ Since then we stayed in contact. Newham Generals came about in the end of 2003, beginning of 2004. So this makes it our anniversary, two years.
B: So how did Newham Generals come about?
Footsie: “It just happened. We were all in NASTY at one point and then we left and formed Generals. But we all new each other differently. I knew Double from school days, and we were on jungle stations back in the day. And Double and Monk new each other from school too, but I went to a different school but lived around the corner from Double. And that was in Newham, of course man. Otherwise it would be false advertising if we didn’t live in Newham … haha. We’re all in Newham one road you can get to everyone’s yard.”
B: That must make organising everything easy…
F: “No we’re always late for everything ahha.”
B: So why name yourselves after Newham?
F: “Well double had a bar, he called himself ‘a Newham General from day.’ Everyone knew the bar, a big sing-a-long. As we came together it was an obvious name for us, being that we run the ends.”
B: I’ve seen busses in Hackney that go to ‘Newham General’ – that’s free advertising for you!
F: “Freebies. Yeah the hospital helps. We done some shooting for a little hood video at the hospital itself. That was for ‘The Anthem’ produced by Monk. It’s quite big, everyone knows that track still. We just bowled up with a camera quickly, though we weren’t in the hospital, lounging about with injured people haha, we were just outside the hospital where it says ‘Welcome to Newham General.’”
F: “Right now we’re working on our mixtape ‘Welcome to Newham Vol 1.’ It’s to warm people up before the album, let people know the link with Dirtee Stank is real. Because a lot of people think it not even real. Cos we aint got anything officially out with the logo on it, people were chatting shit. But we just done a big Dirtee Stank tour with our names plastered all over it, so they know really what’s goin on.”
B: Your mixtape is in conjunction with Lord of the Decks. What’s it like?
F: “It’s just raw and un-album-like. Rather than just a set of 1-14 tunes, it’s gonna be 1-to-whatever of us telling you about the album, label and us. We’re gonna add some radio sets and raves – places where we’ve murked. Little demonstrations of skill.”
“We’re gonna keep it our productions. There’s three producers in Newham Generals, we don’t need no dancehall instrumentals or no American hip hop. I know they do help people but we want to school people on Newham.”
B: So you’ve been producing Double?
DDE: “Bwoy, just been producing now for about nine months to a year, still. I’ve just been getting on it. There’s tunes that people definitely know from radio. I’ve got a vocal tune produced by me on my solo album, soon coming and a couple on Welcome to Newham. Monk and Footsie have been on it longer than me but I’ve definitely got the levels.”
B: What was the tour like?
F: “It was us, Dizzee and Klass A. It was a shop window, an exhibition of the talent of what’s going on with Dirtee Stank. People came out to see Dizzee but we had a few people come out to see us still. Fans new us, though essentially people are there to see Dizzee so you do have to school them on what you’re about. We had loads of people say they’d not heard of us before but now they’re into us. That’s what you want really, winning over new fans. It was good entertainment, Klass A, Dizzee and Newham Generals we’re all different.”
B: Did you enjoy your Forward>> set too?
F: “Yeah we fucked up Forward>>. They love Tubby down there because he’s been into that sound from day. I like going down there to hear what’s going on.”
B: Do you have a name for the LP?
F: “Yeah ‘Generally Speaking’. So far it’s just me and Monk on the beats. We’ve got a couple of singles planned, like ‘Humpty Dumpty.’ And ‘Mic Centre.’ We wanna use ‘Anthem’ too but we’re undecided.”
B: The three of you have very different yet identifiable flows, how did that come about?
F: “It’s just nature. Double’s flow is just … fucked. Monkey is just … fucked, in a different way. We’re like different grades of weeds: all good.”
B: It means your voice is like your calling card though, your identity…
F: “It does help, rather than having three people that are rhyming in a similar way. But with us, with anyone who touches the mic, they know who it is. Some crews all rhyme like their dad. In some crews there’s a dad and they all rhyme like him.”
B: So explain to me if every grime MC is waiting around for £100,000 deals when there aren’t even those on offer deals for the top MCs let alone every single MC in the scene, why did you go with Dirtee Stank and not a major?
F: “Dirtee Stank is being run by people who have done it. Dizzee and Cage have success under their belt. For us you’re looking at a realistic shot at something, rather than an advance and the chance to say ‘I’m with these people [ie a major label]’ except you don’t really know what they’re going to do for you and they don’t really know what they’re gonna do you for you. At least we’re not in that situation, we know we’re gonna get a shot. What’s unique about Dirtee Stank is that it’s not run by people who are out of touch, don’t know what’s going on or what we’re experiencing. It’s being run by people who are still even doing it. Dizzee’s still doing it, is in touch with the scene and we’ve been brought in. So that’s what unique about it.”
B: And together I trust Dirtee Stank to put out a grime artist album that actually reflects the grime scene…
F: “What’s unique is we’re getting the chance to be ourselves. That’s all we wanna do. We don’t wanna sing or sell our souls for a high chart spot. We’re getting a chance to do our shit – which is loved, but we’re gonna make people love it differently. “
B: I think you guys have the chance to take the real grime sound to people outside of the scene, to break grime out of it’s core yet unprofitable audience.
F: “I don’t know if grime’s been represented properly yet, of what’s come out and gone on already. Maybe that’s why people might look at the scene and not take it serious. People look at the scene and say ‘you’ve only got one guy, Dizzee. Who else has done it?’ It’s not like you can run off a list of well successful brers. They ask: ‘what else is going on? Will there ever be another Dizzee?’ We’re gonna change that all.
B: It feels like Dirtee Stank could potentially bridge the ever increasing gap between grime and the pop world…
F: “Yeah man because there is every now and then a song in the charts you actually do like. Y’getme? So what’s wrong with being that guy who gets in there with that song you do like. It’s not easy – but it is if you know what you’re about.”
B: I could definitely hear ‘Mic Centre’ on daytime radio.
F: “Standardly. We’ve got a tune called ‘Your Life’ as well by Monk. On the tour that was one of the best tunes of the set. “
B: In what way?
Monkey: “It’s just the way it touches you, it’s a deep deep tune. It’s just different. We saw people’s reactions: standing up, listening looking to what’s going on.”
F: “When you hear this tune in the club it’s got a deep bottom end on it. We saw people just stand up, firm up for this tune.”
B: Listening to you three record bars for your mixtape, it’s noticeable you have lots of sub bass in your sound, which is different for grime. How come?
F: “We’re bass dans, all day. Me and Monk build very differently but the bottom end, is there for both of us. I know Jah Shakka, he’s my dad’s mate. Sound people. I knew him from a yute, still. I’ve been to his yard. So my love of bass is from right there. My dad’s a roots man, all day. He’s got a soundsystem. I grew up with 18” scoops around me – speakers bigger than me. I never heard music at low volume, ever. And that’s the most distinctive thing in reagge music, the bass. That’s all I got fed, so when I started building [beats] that’s all I knew. I’m on weight.”
B: So tell me about Klass A…
F: “People just need to hear them. At the minute they’re a little bit unheard. They’re deep man, Klass A. Big spitters, all of them, big producers. They’re similar to us, just different accents. They showed me that the accent works. We go up and down the country and spitters are there, you hear them… but I’d never come across a group of brehrs on this ting and they’re doing it well. You might hear some crews but when you hear their tunes they’re a bit loose. Klass A can build tunes and their choruses are deep. On the label we are vying for the same pie still but then it’s different angles. And when you’re different working together becomes special. That’s why colabs even on the label, will be so different. You’ve got the London/Midlands accent barrier. Us, Dizzee and Klass A … we’re different. The combos is endless really.”
B: People heard ‘Wasteman’ by Dizzee on the tour. Footsie are you going to be producing for Dizzee’s future LP?
F: “Yeah ‘Wasteman’ is one and there’s a couple of others that he likes that he’s gonna vocal, still.”
B: So what do you remember about the NASTY Crew era?
F: “They were the biggest crew on the scene, at the time standardly. Double was overly merking. Monkey was overly merking. Them two was in it before me. I was the last to join. I was only in there for about a year – 2002/3 - and it did a lot for my name.”
B: Jammer, Ghetto, Kano, Mac10, Terror Danjah, Hyper, Monkey, D Double E, yourself Foots … if you look at the sum of the talent that’s come through NASTY, if it had ever been in one place at one time it wouldn’t it have been so much more of a force to reckon with though?
F: “There was a lot of talent about. But whatever will be will be, progression, things move on…”
B: Do you feel lucky with your current situation with Dirtee Stank?
F: “I don’t feel lucky. I feel if you don’t buy a ticket you’ll never win the lottery. Mans have grinded, mans have been out here for a very long time blud. Been on a lot of radio sets, a lot of shit raves. Been bumped by a lot of promoters. So it’s not an accident that we’re here blud.”
B: You seem to have that work ethic that’s so lacking with many grime MCs, even the ones who want major label deals...
F: “No matter what grind you’ve done, to some people you’ll always be new. They’ll never have heard of you. You’ve got to win people over. So we’re kinda in that situation.”
B: ‘Original,’ the tune you made with Mizz Beats is amazing and it makes a feature of how people ask about your lyrical trademarks. How did they come about?
DDE: “Every now an again I just hear MCs who are cracked out on my flow. One day I just wrote that tune. I was writing a lot of imitator bars in that time, people trying to take my flow. It’s the reals man.”
B: And how did you come to your trademark ‘moiee moiee’?
DDE: “It was 2001. Just randomly … just progressed with it. I was saying it normally before and then I affected it. I just played with it one day and got it deeper from there. People kept telling me there were feeling it. Now there’s bare MCs with pure different noises – but this isn’t about noises. I just did that for a hosting thing, it’s not involved with the bar. But certain man have taken it too far.”
B: It gives you such an unmistakable lyrical identity.
DDE: “Now everyone needs a tag, everyone’s got a tag since they’ve seen me go to the rave and say that and everyone goes mad. That’s how it is now, it’s all a tag ting.
B: So what have been your end of year highlights?
DDE: “My highlights were linking up with the Dirtee Stank and the tour. Progressing this far, production, bars. That’s one thing you’ve got to always check: as every year passes certain people get shit, certain people get better, some people fade away. We’ve been in the game for longer than most of the game and we’re still there now.”
B: So how do you ensure you stay in the game?
F: “Continue seeking levels man. That keeps you on your game. If you think you’re ‘there’ then that’s when you’ll stop. You look at people how have been big in the game and you wonder what makes them go on. They must be seeking levels.”
DDE: “It’s a natural ting. Most MCs try too much and they over do themselves. It’s not stress for us. Certain people in the game are stressed out. I don’t know what it is. You’ve gotta just chill and keep doing what you’re doing. We don’t look at no one.”
F: “Do you know what we might do when we come out with an album? We might help people be more real.”
DDE: “People you see in raves chatting their lyrics but when you see them on telly it’s all pop…”
F: “You can’t be known for merking Sidewinders and then come out with songs that sound ridiculous. It’s not right. That’s a bump to your fans, bump to the game.”
DDE: “We’re the first raw sound.”
B: Well, Dizzee’s two albums were pretty raw…
F: “But he’s been out here for three years and no ones caught him. It’s almost like he’s the granddad in the game now. He’s gained vet status automatically because no one has challenged him. No one’s got his record and it is a challenge to do what he’s done. Us coming out is a whole new event. And a lot of people are fooled. They don’t know how to progress in this game. A lot of people think they can shoot for Dizzee and their single’s not a flash in the pan - the pan’s not even warm. Singles dead in a month. People have come out and gone and you didn’t even know. You’ve got to seek the levels, get me.”
DDE: “It’s not a rush man.”
F: “A lot of people are seeking that signature on a piece of paper, but the Dirtee Stank thing has happened on a natural one. We put the work in.”
B: So give us your guide to Newham…
F: “Bow’s only down the road. It’s quite mixed. There’s a lot of crime going on. Normalness. It’s bait there. Thing get tried out in the ends: Zero Tolerance and all that. When they pick areas to do it, Newham’s one of them. The ends is harsh. The MP got robbed at the train station. ‘Welcome to Newham… where’s your fucking Rolex?’ There used to more places to hang out in Newham, but the roads is so risky now your house is the safest place.”
F: “The nightlife in the ends is deep. There’s a lot going on at night. There’s clubs that don’t get started til 1am that go on until the following day. Clubs on roads that if you looked in the day time you wouldn’t even think there’s a club there. Night time there’s just pure cars. A lot of them tucked away joints, illegal gambling houses. It’s what’s going on. I saw the new Monopoly board and Forrest Gate is on it. Are you stupid? It’s on the cheap side still, I ain’t gonna front. Past the blue bits on the jail corner. I’m gonna buy Forrest Gate, build it up and make it worth something. That will be me. Build it like Bob.”
The Newham Generals mix LP “Welcome to Newham vol 1” is out late January. The artist LP “Generally Speaking” is due out in March. D Double E’s solo album will follow towards the end of the year.
The mixtape “Welcome to Newham Vol 1” is being made in conjunction with Lord of the Decks. It should feature coverage of Newham Generals at Luton Carnival and live in the Stank basement. It also features an exclusive freestyle by Footsie’s American Cousin, Dollar, who does dancehall.
A second DVD is Stank Vision volume 1 made in conjunction with Risky Roads. It’s a DVD introduction to everyone on the label and will feature footage of Dizzee in South America and full live show from the tour. It will come as a mix CD and DVDs. Klass A have done a guide to the Midlands, going around the proper hood, getting people spitting.
D Double E is as abstract an MC as they come on road, bending words until they dissolve between sounds and syllables. Footsie’s all rough and gruff. You don’t want war wid him. And Monkstar, the relative unknown in the camp, is the anti-D Double, lyrically abrupt and stiff, rigid and inflexible. As a trio they complement each other gloriously.
Another mouth watering prospect is the Newham production sound. Unlike some MCs, they don’t rely on outsiders to build their riddims. And although they all produce, it’s Footsie that’s turned most heads of late.
In the light of how the electronica community – where an increase in degrees of complexity is perceived as an increase in value or innovation – have reacted to grime, there is a wonderful restraint to Footsie’s riddims. What they do, they do very well.
Furthermore, unlike a great deal of grime, Footsie and Monk are “bass dans,” fans of dub-influenced subbass, as their recent Forward>> set attested. There’s a weight, a physicality to their sound, as well as feeling.
Finally they’re signed to Dirtee Stank, Dizzee’s independent label. While most grime MCs spent 2005 unsuccessfully chasing six figure major label contracts, and those that did get deals didn’t get the success they desired, the challenge for grime in ’06 is to collaborate to build a self-sufficient infrastructure. Stank has got to be a model for that infrastructure.
With this in mind, I met Newham Generals in the Raskitt’s Lair, where they were recording their mixtape…
Blackdown: So how did the link with Dirtee Stank come about?
D Double E: “The link come from way back in the day, still. I knew Dizzee from back in the day when mans was on Flava FM. I used to see him about and that. We’re talking 1999? Dem times. I used to be in a crew called 187 and NASTY Crew was up there and I used to talk to a couple of members of NASTY. Then over the years I joined NASTY and got to know Dizzee better, getme. I joined NASTY in 2001, so the link with Dizzee was way before that.”
DDE: “Dizzee called me in 2004 and asked me to do a feature on one of his tunes, ‘Give U More.’ Since then we stayed in contact. Newham Generals came about in the end of 2003, beginning of 2004. So this makes it our anniversary, two years.
B: So how did Newham Generals come about?
Footsie: “It just happened. We were all in NASTY at one point and then we left and formed Generals. But we all new each other differently. I knew Double from school days, and we were on jungle stations back in the day. And Double and Monk new each other from school too, but I went to a different school but lived around the corner from Double. And that was in Newham, of course man. Otherwise it would be false advertising if we didn’t live in Newham … haha. We’re all in Newham one road you can get to everyone’s yard.”
B: That must make organising everything easy…
F: “No we’re always late for everything ahha.”
B: So why name yourselves after Newham?
F: “Well double had a bar, he called himself ‘a Newham General from day.’ Everyone knew the bar, a big sing-a-long. As we came together it was an obvious name for us, being that we run the ends.”
B: I’ve seen busses in Hackney that go to ‘Newham General’ – that’s free advertising for you!
F: “Freebies. Yeah the hospital helps. We done some shooting for a little hood video at the hospital itself. That was for ‘The Anthem’ produced by Monk. It’s quite big, everyone knows that track still. We just bowled up with a camera quickly, though we weren’t in the hospital, lounging about with injured people haha, we were just outside the hospital where it says ‘Welcome to Newham General.’”
F: “Right now we’re working on our mixtape ‘Welcome to Newham Vol 1.’ It’s to warm people up before the album, let people know the link with Dirtee Stank is real. Because a lot of people think it not even real. Cos we aint got anything officially out with the logo on it, people were chatting shit. But we just done a big Dirtee Stank tour with our names plastered all over it, so they know really what’s goin on.”
B: Your mixtape is in conjunction with Lord of the Decks. What’s it like?
F: “It’s just raw and un-album-like. Rather than just a set of 1-14 tunes, it’s gonna be 1-to-whatever of us telling you about the album, label and us. We’re gonna add some radio sets and raves – places where we’ve murked. Little demonstrations of skill.”
“We’re gonna keep it our productions. There’s three producers in Newham Generals, we don’t need no dancehall instrumentals or no American hip hop. I know they do help people but we want to school people on Newham.”
B: So you’ve been producing Double?
DDE: “Bwoy, just been producing now for about nine months to a year, still. I’ve just been getting on it. There’s tunes that people definitely know from radio. I’ve got a vocal tune produced by me on my solo album, soon coming and a couple on Welcome to Newham. Monk and Footsie have been on it longer than me but I’ve definitely got the levels.”
B: What was the tour like?
F: “It was us, Dizzee and Klass A. It was a shop window, an exhibition of the talent of what’s going on with Dirtee Stank. People came out to see Dizzee but we had a few people come out to see us still. Fans new us, though essentially people are there to see Dizzee so you do have to school them on what you’re about. We had loads of people say they’d not heard of us before but now they’re into us. That’s what you want really, winning over new fans. It was good entertainment, Klass A, Dizzee and Newham Generals we’re all different.”
B: Did you enjoy your Forward>> set too?
F: “Yeah we fucked up Forward>>. They love Tubby down there because he’s been into that sound from day. I like going down there to hear what’s going on.”
B: Do you have a name for the LP?
F: “Yeah ‘Generally Speaking’. So far it’s just me and Monk on the beats. We’ve got a couple of singles planned, like ‘Humpty Dumpty.’ And ‘Mic Centre.’ We wanna use ‘Anthem’ too but we’re undecided.”
B: The three of you have very different yet identifiable flows, how did that come about?
F: “It’s just nature. Double’s flow is just … fucked. Monkey is just … fucked, in a different way. We’re like different grades of weeds: all good.”
B: It means your voice is like your calling card though, your identity…
F: “It does help, rather than having three people that are rhyming in a similar way. But with us, with anyone who touches the mic, they know who it is. Some crews all rhyme like their dad. In some crews there’s a dad and they all rhyme like him.”
B: So explain to me if every grime MC is waiting around for £100,000 deals when there aren’t even those on offer deals for the top MCs let alone every single MC in the scene, why did you go with Dirtee Stank and not a major?
F: “Dirtee Stank is being run by people who have done it. Dizzee and Cage have success under their belt. For us you’re looking at a realistic shot at something, rather than an advance and the chance to say ‘I’m with these people [ie a major label]’ except you don’t really know what they’re going to do for you and they don’t really know what they’re gonna do you for you. At least we’re not in that situation, we know we’re gonna get a shot. What’s unique about Dirtee Stank is that it’s not run by people who are out of touch, don’t know what’s going on or what we’re experiencing. It’s being run by people who are still even doing it. Dizzee’s still doing it, is in touch with the scene and we’ve been brought in. So that’s what unique about it.”
B: And together I trust Dirtee Stank to put out a grime artist album that actually reflects the grime scene…
F: “What’s unique is we’re getting the chance to be ourselves. That’s all we wanna do. We don’t wanna sing or sell our souls for a high chart spot. We’re getting a chance to do our shit – which is loved, but we’re gonna make people love it differently. “
B: I think you guys have the chance to take the real grime sound to people outside of the scene, to break grime out of it’s core yet unprofitable audience.
F: “I don’t know if grime’s been represented properly yet, of what’s come out and gone on already. Maybe that’s why people might look at the scene and not take it serious. People look at the scene and say ‘you’ve only got one guy, Dizzee. Who else has done it?’ It’s not like you can run off a list of well successful brers. They ask: ‘what else is going on? Will there ever be another Dizzee?’ We’re gonna change that all.
B: It feels like Dirtee Stank could potentially bridge the ever increasing gap between grime and the pop world…
F: “Yeah man because there is every now and then a song in the charts you actually do like. Y’getme? So what’s wrong with being that guy who gets in there with that song you do like. It’s not easy – but it is if you know what you’re about.”
B: I could definitely hear ‘Mic Centre’ on daytime radio.
F: “Standardly. We’ve got a tune called ‘Your Life’ as well by Monk. On the tour that was one of the best tunes of the set. “
B: In what way?
Monkey: “It’s just the way it touches you, it’s a deep deep tune. It’s just different. We saw people’s reactions: standing up, listening looking to what’s going on.”
F: “When you hear this tune in the club it’s got a deep bottom end on it. We saw people just stand up, firm up for this tune.”
B: Listening to you three record bars for your mixtape, it’s noticeable you have lots of sub bass in your sound, which is different for grime. How come?
F: “We’re bass dans, all day. Me and Monk build very differently but the bottom end, is there for both of us. I know Jah Shakka, he’s my dad’s mate. Sound people. I knew him from a yute, still. I’ve been to his yard. So my love of bass is from right there. My dad’s a roots man, all day. He’s got a soundsystem. I grew up with 18” scoops around me – speakers bigger than me. I never heard music at low volume, ever. And that’s the most distinctive thing in reagge music, the bass. That’s all I got fed, so when I started building [beats] that’s all I knew. I’m on weight.”
B: So tell me about Klass A…
F: “People just need to hear them. At the minute they’re a little bit unheard. They’re deep man, Klass A. Big spitters, all of them, big producers. They’re similar to us, just different accents. They showed me that the accent works. We go up and down the country and spitters are there, you hear them… but I’d never come across a group of brehrs on this ting and they’re doing it well. You might hear some crews but when you hear their tunes they’re a bit loose. Klass A can build tunes and their choruses are deep. On the label we are vying for the same pie still but then it’s different angles. And when you’re different working together becomes special. That’s why colabs even on the label, will be so different. You’ve got the London/Midlands accent barrier. Us, Dizzee and Klass A … we’re different. The combos is endless really.”
B: People heard ‘Wasteman’ by Dizzee on the tour. Footsie are you going to be producing for Dizzee’s future LP?
F: “Yeah ‘Wasteman’ is one and there’s a couple of others that he likes that he’s gonna vocal, still.”
B: So what do you remember about the NASTY Crew era?
F: “They were the biggest crew on the scene, at the time standardly. Double was overly merking. Monkey was overly merking. Them two was in it before me. I was the last to join. I was only in there for about a year – 2002/3 - and it did a lot for my name.”
B: Jammer, Ghetto, Kano, Mac10, Terror Danjah, Hyper, Monkey, D Double E, yourself Foots … if you look at the sum of the talent that’s come through NASTY, if it had ever been in one place at one time it wouldn’t it have been so much more of a force to reckon with though?
F: “There was a lot of talent about. But whatever will be will be, progression, things move on…”
B: Do you feel lucky with your current situation with Dirtee Stank?
F: “I don’t feel lucky. I feel if you don’t buy a ticket you’ll never win the lottery. Mans have grinded, mans have been out here for a very long time blud. Been on a lot of radio sets, a lot of shit raves. Been bumped by a lot of promoters. So it’s not an accident that we’re here blud.”
B: You seem to have that work ethic that’s so lacking with many grime MCs, even the ones who want major label deals...
F: “No matter what grind you’ve done, to some people you’ll always be new. They’ll never have heard of you. You’ve got to win people over. So we’re kinda in that situation.”
B: ‘Original,’ the tune you made with Mizz Beats is amazing and it makes a feature of how people ask about your lyrical trademarks. How did they come about?
DDE: “Every now an again I just hear MCs who are cracked out on my flow. One day I just wrote that tune. I was writing a lot of imitator bars in that time, people trying to take my flow. It’s the reals man.”
B: And how did you come to your trademark ‘moiee moiee’?
DDE: “It was 2001. Just randomly … just progressed with it. I was saying it normally before and then I affected it. I just played with it one day and got it deeper from there. People kept telling me there were feeling it. Now there’s bare MCs with pure different noises – but this isn’t about noises. I just did that for a hosting thing, it’s not involved with the bar. But certain man have taken it too far.”
B: It gives you such an unmistakable lyrical identity.
DDE: “Now everyone needs a tag, everyone’s got a tag since they’ve seen me go to the rave and say that and everyone goes mad. That’s how it is now, it’s all a tag ting.
B: So what have been your end of year highlights?
DDE: “My highlights were linking up with the Dirtee Stank and the tour. Progressing this far, production, bars. That’s one thing you’ve got to always check: as every year passes certain people get shit, certain people get better, some people fade away. We’ve been in the game for longer than most of the game and we’re still there now.”
B: So how do you ensure you stay in the game?
F: “Continue seeking levels man. That keeps you on your game. If you think you’re ‘there’ then that’s when you’ll stop. You look at people how have been big in the game and you wonder what makes them go on. They must be seeking levels.”
DDE: “It’s a natural ting. Most MCs try too much and they over do themselves. It’s not stress for us. Certain people in the game are stressed out. I don’t know what it is. You’ve gotta just chill and keep doing what you’re doing. We don’t look at no one.”
F: “Do you know what we might do when we come out with an album? We might help people be more real.”
DDE: “People you see in raves chatting their lyrics but when you see them on telly it’s all pop…”
F: “You can’t be known for merking Sidewinders and then come out with songs that sound ridiculous. It’s not right. That’s a bump to your fans, bump to the game.”
DDE: “We’re the first raw sound.”
B: Well, Dizzee’s two albums were pretty raw…
F: “But he’s been out here for three years and no ones caught him. It’s almost like he’s the granddad in the game now. He’s gained vet status automatically because no one has challenged him. No one’s got his record and it is a challenge to do what he’s done. Us coming out is a whole new event. And a lot of people are fooled. They don’t know how to progress in this game. A lot of people think they can shoot for Dizzee and their single’s not a flash in the pan - the pan’s not even warm. Singles dead in a month. People have come out and gone and you didn’t even know. You’ve got to seek the levels, get me.”
DDE: “It’s not a rush man.”
F: “A lot of people are seeking that signature on a piece of paper, but the Dirtee Stank thing has happened on a natural one. We put the work in.”
B: So give us your guide to Newham…
F: “Bow’s only down the road. It’s quite mixed. There’s a lot of crime going on. Normalness. It’s bait there. Thing get tried out in the ends: Zero Tolerance and all that. When they pick areas to do it, Newham’s one of them. The ends is harsh. The MP got robbed at the train station. ‘Welcome to Newham… where’s your fucking Rolex?’ There used to more places to hang out in Newham, but the roads is so risky now your house is the safest place.”
F: “The nightlife in the ends is deep. There’s a lot going on at night. There’s clubs that don’t get started til 1am that go on until the following day. Clubs on roads that if you looked in the day time you wouldn’t even think there’s a club there. Night time there’s just pure cars. A lot of them tucked away joints, illegal gambling houses. It’s what’s going on. I saw the new Monopoly board and Forrest Gate is on it. Are you stupid? It’s on the cheap side still, I ain’t gonna front. Past the blue bits on the jail corner. I’m gonna buy Forrest Gate, build it up and make it worth something. That will be me. Build it like Bob.”
The Newham Generals mix LP “Welcome to Newham vol 1” is out late January. The artist LP “Generally Speaking” is due out in March. D Double E’s solo album will follow towards the end of the year.
The mixtape “Welcome to Newham Vol 1” is being made in conjunction with Lord of the Decks. It should feature coverage of Newham Generals at Luton Carnival and live in the Stank basement. It also features an exclusive freestyle by Footsie’s American Cousin, Dollar, who does dancehall.
A second DVD is Stank Vision volume 1 made in conjunction with Risky Roads. It’s a DVD introduction to everyone on the label and will feature footage of Dizzee in South America and full live show from the tour. It will come as a mix CD and DVDs. Klass A have done a guide to the Midlands, going around the proper hood, getting people spitting.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Infinite
Dubstep 2005 according to George Infinite
2006 may well be upon us but it would be hard to embrace the new year without looking at 2005, a year in which dubstep and grime has sparked a new fire to warm British arts.
The music is innovative and pioneering and as an increasing number of journalists, bloggers and labels are noticing, is a true reflection of the UK's city dwellers- thoroughly multicultural, multitalented and striving to break free from the industry's usual restricted way of doing things.
2005 has seen producers increasingly finding new ways to represent themselves in which their music and principles will not be compromised. Pirate Stations such as Rinse are undoubtedly still alive and kicking despite the governments eagerness to lock them down and dubplate and vinyl now works hand in hand with new ways of using the digital technology that our generation has grown up with.
Through instant messaging, blogging, mp3's, forums and phones music lovers around the world have been able to get involved with London's freshest scenes as they unfold and I've been privileged to be just one of many inspired by the abundance of fresh music that the dubstep scene has produced this year.
DMZ
I'm certain that in a few years to come, 2005 will be known as DMZ's year. I've been to a good few parties over the years but for me the first rave DMZ rave in March will live with me forever. Through Croydon's underground connections, it was Digital Mystikz, Loefah, Pokes and the Big Apple crew that truly introduced me to dubstep - Mala's B was the tune that had me hooked alongside the Dubstep Allstars vol 1 in 2004 so hearing these tunes on a proppa sound system in the heart of South London was more than anyone could ask for.
I'm also particularly fond of DMZ raves because not only have they granted a home sweet home to the sounds of dubstep present but have also paid respect to the earlier sounds of dubstep and it's dub, jungle, garage and house roots as well as shining a much needed light on 2005's freshest talent that has included Joe Nice and Heny G amongst others. As for 05's DMZ releases.... ? Officer, Neverland, Root, Goat Stare and the constant rewinds they induce from Brixton to New York. Need I say more?
Bloggers
Vice Mag (say) they don't like us but we don't care, 2005 has been a great year for bloggers. Big ups to Blackdown, Chantelle, Distinction, Gutterbreakz, Prancehall, Alt-dot, DQ Dubway and all the passionate wordsmiths and documenters.
Bristol
Outside of London, Bristol is my favourite UK city. With the fresh
air, comes fresh music from the likes of Pinch and his Subloaded night, the second night held at the Black Swan playing host to Digital Mystikz, Kode9, Vex'd, and ThinKing amongst others. The night was particularly memorable for the crowd which were a happy mix of students, london bods and drum n bass heads. This is also the rave in which I captured two of my favourite shots of the year- this one of Skream sitting on the stage on which Mala and Loefah played b2b with Sgt Pokes and dubstep soulja Kris Beard / Engine Room holding his fists up in salute of the latest Coki riddim, which at the time(if my memory is correct !) was Haunted.
Dubplate.net photoshop jokes
Before the days of the ever growing dubstep forum was dubplate.net - a somewhat low-key underground music site which amidst the aggy rhymes from grime youngers on the grime forum was pretty much the home and message centre for fwd regulars and interested overseas heads. Here you'd find Kode9 and Loefah amongst others battlin each other with crap photo-shop manipulation ping-pong. Bloggers have been cussed for featuring too many in jokes, but how can I help it when some of them were as ridiculous as this?
Vex'd
Their tunes are purely haunting- I love their dark and sinister vibe because they always contain some kind of beauty within them. Degenerate is one of my favourite releases of this year and I've already talked about this a lot on the blog but the Knowledge remix tore my head apart. I was really interested to hear that they get a lot of their inspiration from cycling down the River Thames.
Skull Disco
Like few producers Shackleton, Appleblim have managed to break through genres and styles. Their first Skull Disco party was born last year- the September edition being particularly memorable due to Shackleton's heavy ragga styles and the introduction of The Evil Mastermind alongside one of the most interesting and amusing MC's I've seen this year (the long-bearded, tall hat wearing guy). I still don't know his name, but he made me giggle. Tunes wise I've been loving Shackleton's Limb by Limb remix which I first heard whilst driving at sunrise on the way to Gatwick and Appleblim's beautifully industrial Girder Dub
Skream & Chef
2005 can't be discussed without mentioning these two. Hailing from Croydon, Skream and Chef have been around since day dot despite their young ages and have caused mayhem pon many a dancefloor and airwave this year.
Chef known primarily as a DJ (but someone who I hear will be working on beats in 2006), has had a hell of a lot of good sets this year- he and Chef b2b at DMZ was a mighty occasion, Chef's classic Big Apple and DMZ contrasting with Skreams infinite bag of his own fresh dubs that made for a wicked hour and a half of energy. Skream's Midnight Request Line is to my knowledge the most successful dubstep tune to date, embraced by DJ's and MC's from many genres. I was lucky enough to be at Forward>> when Mala dropped it to an audience that included Wiley, Jammer and Skepta back in April.
Random Trio and N-Type
These two again hail from the Norwood-Croydon ends. Cyrus has been responsible for some killa dubs this year including Haunted remix and Prayer and as has N-Type who produced one of my favourite tunes of the year, Way of the Dub. N-Type also managed to infiltrate the tourist massive with his creation of this Autumn's Urban Croquet event which saw various DJ's take to the decks in the sports wear section at Harrods. How can I forget getting slightly merry on champagne, Chef taking photos of me in the bikini rail before falling on my arse in front of loads of people. I'm sure it's a memory that will stay with a few of the shoppers too.
Dubstep Allstars
Whilst 2002's Dubstep Allstars Vol 1 mixed by Hatcha meant awe and wonder for a newcomer to the sound as I was back then, Youngsta's Vol 2 meant seeing two of my own Forward>> photos in print. It also gave me the opportunity to interview the mysterious Youngsta, whose allstars mix was a perfect profile of some of my favourite tunes of the year - Moonsoon remix, Request Line, I, Neverland, 28 grams and I Believe.
Watch out for Dubstep Allstars Vol3 mixed by Kode9 and feat. Space Ape. Set to drop in the New Year.
you know what to do...
2006 may well be upon us but it would be hard to embrace the new year without looking at 2005, a year in which dubstep and grime has sparked a new fire to warm British arts.
The music is innovative and pioneering and as an increasing number of journalists, bloggers and labels are noticing, is a true reflection of the UK's city dwellers- thoroughly multicultural, multitalented and striving to break free from the industry's usual restricted way of doing things.
2005 has seen producers increasingly finding new ways to represent themselves in which their music and principles will not be compromised. Pirate Stations such as Rinse are undoubtedly still alive and kicking despite the governments eagerness to lock them down and dubplate and vinyl now works hand in hand with new ways of using the digital technology that our generation has grown up with.
Through instant messaging, blogging, mp3's, forums and phones music lovers around the world have been able to get involved with London's freshest scenes as they unfold and I've been privileged to be just one of many inspired by the abundance of fresh music that the dubstep scene has produced this year.
DMZ
I'm certain that in a few years to come, 2005 will be known as DMZ's year. I've been to a good few parties over the years but for me the first rave DMZ rave in March will live with me forever. Through Croydon's underground connections, it was Digital Mystikz, Loefah, Pokes and the Big Apple crew that truly introduced me to dubstep - Mala's B was the tune that had me hooked alongside the Dubstep Allstars vol 1 in 2004 so hearing these tunes on a proppa sound system in the heart of South London was more than anyone could ask for.
I'm also particularly fond of DMZ raves because not only have they granted a home sweet home to the sounds of dubstep present but have also paid respect to the earlier sounds of dubstep and it's dub, jungle, garage and house roots as well as shining a much needed light on 2005's freshest talent that has included Joe Nice and Heny G amongst others. As for 05's DMZ releases.... ? Officer, Neverland, Root, Goat Stare and the constant rewinds they induce from Brixton to New York. Need I say more?
Bloggers
Vice Mag (say) they don't like us but we don't care, 2005 has been a great year for bloggers. Big ups to Blackdown, Chantelle, Distinction, Gutterbreakz, Prancehall, Alt-dot, DQ Dubway and all the passionate wordsmiths and documenters.
Bristol
Outside of London, Bristol is my favourite UK city. With the fresh
air, comes fresh music from the likes of Pinch and his Subloaded night, the second night held at the Black Swan playing host to Digital Mystikz, Kode9, Vex'd, and ThinKing amongst others. The night was particularly memorable for the crowd which were a happy mix of students, london bods and drum n bass heads. This is also the rave in which I captured two of my favourite shots of the year- this one of Skream sitting on the stage on which Mala and Loefah played b2b with Sgt Pokes and dubstep soulja Kris Beard / Engine Room holding his fists up in salute of the latest Coki riddim, which at the time(if my memory is correct !) was Haunted.
Dubplate.net photoshop jokes
Before the days of the ever growing dubstep forum was dubplate.net - a somewhat low-key underground music site which amidst the aggy rhymes from grime youngers on the grime forum was pretty much the home and message centre for fwd regulars and interested overseas heads. Here you'd find Kode9 and Loefah amongst others battlin each other with crap photo-shop manipulation ping-pong. Bloggers have been cussed for featuring too many in jokes, but how can I help it when some of them were as ridiculous as this?
Vex'd
Their tunes are purely haunting- I love their dark and sinister vibe because they always contain some kind of beauty within them. Degenerate is one of my favourite releases of this year and I've already talked about this a lot on the blog but the Knowledge remix tore my head apart. I was really interested to hear that they get a lot of their inspiration from cycling down the River Thames.
Skull Disco
Like few producers Shackleton, Appleblim have managed to break through genres and styles. Their first Skull Disco party was born last year- the September edition being particularly memorable due to Shackleton's heavy ragga styles and the introduction of The Evil Mastermind alongside one of the most interesting and amusing MC's I've seen this year (the long-bearded, tall hat wearing guy). I still don't know his name, but he made me giggle. Tunes wise I've been loving Shackleton's Limb by Limb remix which I first heard whilst driving at sunrise on the way to Gatwick and Appleblim's beautifully industrial Girder Dub
Skream & Chef
2005 can't be discussed without mentioning these two. Hailing from Croydon, Skream and Chef have been around since day dot despite their young ages and have caused mayhem pon many a dancefloor and airwave this year.
Chef known primarily as a DJ (but someone who I hear will be working on beats in 2006), has had a hell of a lot of good sets this year- he and Chef b2b at DMZ was a mighty occasion, Chef's classic Big Apple and DMZ contrasting with Skreams infinite bag of his own fresh dubs that made for a wicked hour and a half of energy. Skream's Midnight Request Line is to my knowledge the most successful dubstep tune to date, embraced by DJ's and MC's from many genres. I was lucky enough to be at Forward>> when Mala dropped it to an audience that included Wiley, Jammer and Skepta back in April.
Random Trio and N-Type
These two again hail from the Norwood-Croydon ends. Cyrus has been responsible for some killa dubs this year including Haunted remix and Prayer and as has N-Type who produced one of my favourite tunes of the year, Way of the Dub. N-Type also managed to infiltrate the tourist massive with his creation of this Autumn's Urban Croquet event which saw various DJ's take to the decks in the sports wear section at Harrods. How can I forget getting slightly merry on champagne, Chef taking photos of me in the bikini rail before falling on my arse in front of loads of people. I'm sure it's a memory that will stay with a few of the shoppers too.
Dubstep Allstars
Whilst 2002's Dubstep Allstars Vol 1 mixed by Hatcha meant awe and wonder for a newcomer to the sound as I was back then, Youngsta's Vol 2 meant seeing two of my own Forward>> photos in print. It also gave me the opportunity to interview the mysterious Youngsta, whose allstars mix was a perfect profile of some of my favourite tunes of the year - Moonsoon remix, Request Line, I, Neverland, 28 grams and I Believe.
Watch out for Dubstep Allstars Vol3 mixed by Kode9 and feat. Space Ape. Set to drop in the New Year.
you know what to do...
Sunday, January 08, 2006
DMZ
I've written more than enough about Digital Mystikz and Loefah's Brixton rave DMZ to find new things to say about it, yet it genuinely continues to confound expectations.
Last night was possibly best ever, rammed on a freezing night one week into January. It defies all known club behaviour.
Pinch played a blinder, a deep balance between bass impact and selection and Chef continued this trajectory, giving the night a sense of upwards energy that drove anticipation into the Loefah v Mala slamdown, 1am - 3am.
The DMZ boys didn't seem to draw for anything that was both completely brand new and required selling relatives for, yet their set was such a total high (or low, of Loe's dropping the low end 'plate weight) that Pinch and Chef's upward trajectory allowed them to completely take off, inducing a sense of abandon seldom felt with dubstep. Mala's off-4/4 riddim 'Anti War Dub' was a joy as always. No one wants real war.
One moment however in Pinch's set was a massive personal triumph: my first rewind in four years. Not me pulling back a tune - I've done that several times at DMZ and it's a rush. But of someone else having to pull back one of my productions.
I find it uncomfortable to talk about my own productions here but the reality is I now invest equal effort in production as writing, and can now no more separate music and production as I can music and culture or music and emotion. Perhaps I should write about my production too - it's very hard to say. From a fans point of view I certainly wish my favourite artists would explain their music in words more often.
Anyway the tune that got licked back was an Asian vocal dubstep tune called 'Lata.' You can hear N Type open his Rinse show with it this week too, which co-incidentally, was on during Pinch's set. It's here.
Last night was possibly best ever, rammed on a freezing night one week into January. It defies all known club behaviour.
Pinch played a blinder, a deep balance between bass impact and selection and Chef continued this trajectory, giving the night a sense of upwards energy that drove anticipation into the Loefah v Mala slamdown, 1am - 3am.
The DMZ boys didn't seem to draw for anything that was both completely brand new and required selling relatives for, yet their set was such a total high (or low, of Loe's dropping the low end 'plate weight) that Pinch and Chef's upward trajectory allowed them to completely take off, inducing a sense of abandon seldom felt with dubstep. Mala's off-4/4 riddim 'Anti War Dub' was a joy as always. No one wants real war.
One moment however in Pinch's set was a massive personal triumph: my first rewind in four years. Not me pulling back a tune - I've done that several times at DMZ and it's a rush. But of someone else having to pull back one of my productions.
I find it uncomfortable to talk about my own productions here but the reality is I now invest equal effort in production as writing, and can now no more separate music and production as I can music and culture or music and emotion. Perhaps I should write about my production too - it's very hard to say. From a fans point of view I certainly wish my favourite artists would explain their music in words more often.
Anyway the tune that got licked back was an Asian vocal dubstep tune called 'Lata.' You can hear N Type open his Rinse show with it this week too, which co-incidentally, was on during Pinch's set. It's here.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Cyrus promo mix
"Cyrus dont want anybody packed, dont want anyone flexing any muscle. Everybody says cyrus is the one and only ... i think we better go check for ourselves..."
DJ Cyrus promo mix: hosted right here. Shout to infinite - the original badgyal dubstep blogger - for the linkup.
tracklist
1- zion
2- prayer
3- bounty
4- irie
5- prophecy
6- warrior dub
7- haunted rmx
8- rupture
9- reble
10- judged
11- indian stomp
12- montego
13- bongi
14- banshi
15- gutter
16- grave diggers
17- saint dub
18- zambi
19- halo
20- the gift
21- island life
22- rags
DJ Cyrus promo mix: hosted right here. Shout to infinite - the original badgyal dubstep blogger - for the linkup.
tracklist
1- zion
2- prayer
3- bounty
4- irie
5- prophecy
6- warrior dub
7- haunted rmx
8- rupture
9- reble
10- judged
11- indian stomp
12- montego
13- bongi
14- banshi
15- gutter
16- grave diggers
17- saint dub
18- zambi
19- halo
20- the gift
21- island life
22- rags
Monday, January 02, 2006
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: The Bug
The Bug on 2005
Cons
"Apocalyptic acceleration, as personal stress, family death and global terror reigns supreme. The war of rich vs poor approaches ever faster as the ecological meltdown continues. The population of the UK continually chooses to ignore imminent police state enforcement with id cards, imprisonment without charge bills, satellite surveillance and blatant governmental lies..."
"The disappointment of dancehall's infuriatingly slow start to the year and the conservative retreat to one drop nostalgia, guitar music's retro fixation, the lack of lyrical anti words across all categories. and the critical diaspora's retreat to ambience, indie mundanity and lo-fi folk as safe havens."
Pros
"A staple diet of grime dvds, Jamaican pre-release 7", chunky kit kats, Ethiopian Jazz and bassbin burials at DMZ/FWD>> keeps me sane.(Big up the Loefah/Mala tag team, Tubby's UKG onslaught @ FWD>>, Roots Manuva's charity event in Brixton, Ricky Rankin at Westbourne Park Studios and Vincent Gallo's Chet Baker like drift @ Koko)."
"Siren, Vietnam, Concubine and Assault Rifle bashment rhythms. Ghislain Poirier mash ups, John Eden Mixtapes, the Hyperdub label (Burial's amazing 12"), Scientist-produced Jah Guidance reissues, Basic Replay's essential reissue campaign. Catching up on Jammys back catalogue. Finally rockin' 2,000 people in Toulouse proving Bug sounds needn't hitch up to ghetto dwelling genres, audience preconceptions, media hype nor noise free safety zones. The birth of Ladybug."
The Bug's top riddims for 2005
Damien Marley "Welcome To Jamrock"
Legendary KO "George Bush Doesn't Like Black People"
Kode 9 Vs Space Ape "Kingstown"
Amerie "1 Thing"
Ricky Rankin "Can't Trick I"
Slew Dem Productions "Grime"
Jammer "Murkle Man"
Missy Elliot "On and On"
All DMZ releases
Rhythm & Sound "See Mi Yah"
Cons
"Apocalyptic acceleration, as personal stress, family death and global terror reigns supreme. The war of rich vs poor approaches ever faster as the ecological meltdown continues. The population of the UK continually chooses to ignore imminent police state enforcement with id cards, imprisonment without charge bills, satellite surveillance and blatant governmental lies..."
"The disappointment of dancehall's infuriatingly slow start to the year and the conservative retreat to one drop nostalgia, guitar music's retro fixation, the lack of lyrical anti words across all categories. and the critical diaspora's retreat to ambience, indie mundanity and lo-fi folk as safe havens."
Pros
"A staple diet of grime dvds, Jamaican pre-release 7", chunky kit kats, Ethiopian Jazz and bassbin burials at DMZ/FWD>> keeps me sane.(Big up the Loefah/Mala tag team, Tubby's UKG onslaught @ FWD>>, Roots Manuva's charity event in Brixton, Ricky Rankin at Westbourne Park Studios and Vincent Gallo's Chet Baker like drift @ Koko)."
"Siren, Vietnam, Concubine and Assault Rifle bashment rhythms. Ghislain Poirier mash ups, John Eden Mixtapes, the Hyperdub label (Burial's amazing 12"), Scientist-produced Jah Guidance reissues, Basic Replay's essential reissue campaign. Catching up on Jammys back catalogue. Finally rockin' 2,000 people in Toulouse proving Bug sounds needn't hitch up to ghetto dwelling genres, audience preconceptions, media hype nor noise free safety zones. The birth of Ladybug."
The Bug's top riddims for 2005
Damien Marley "Welcome To Jamrock"
Legendary KO "George Bush Doesn't Like Black People"
Kode 9 Vs Space Ape "Kingstown"
Amerie "1 Thing"
Ricky Rankin "Can't Trick I"
Slew Dem Productions "Grime"
Jammer "Murkle Man"
Missy Elliot "On and On"
All DMZ releases
Rhythm & Sound "See Mi Yah"
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds on his favourite tune of the year, Kano’s "Reload It"
“Circling back to "Bound 4 The Reload" (arguably the first grime track, no seriously, think about it: electro-bass plus MCing) this track celebrates the pirate and rave tradition of the DJ rewind, when the crowd hollers (or home-listening audience text-messages) its demand for the selector to wheel and come again.”
“Up until grime, the trigger for rewinds would be a killer sampled vocal lick, thrilling bass-drop, or even just a mad breakbeat. Nowadays, the MC being king, the crowd clamors to hear their favourite rhymes. ‘This is what it means when DJs reload it/That sixteen was mean and he knows it,’ explains Kano, before listing the other top dog MCs who get nuff rewinds (two of them, Double and Demon, guest on the track). ‘I get a reload purely for the flow,’ Kano preens, and you can see why as he glides with lethal panache between quick-time rapping and a leisurely, drawn-out gait that seems to drag on the beat to slow it down.”
“The track itself, co-produced by Kano and Diplo, is all shimmery excitement, pivoting around a spangly filtered riff that ascends and descends the same four notes, driven by a funky rampage of live-sounding drums, and punctuated by horn samples, Beni G's scratching, and orgasmic girl-moans. The old skool breakbeat-like energy suggests an attempt to sell the notion of Grime as British hip hop, yet if Trans-Atlantic crossover is the intent, that's subverted by the lyric, its theme being as localized and Grime-reflexive as imaginable. "Reload It" encapsulates the conflicted impulses that fuel this scene: undergroundist insularity versus an extrovert hunger to engage with, and conquer, the whole wide world.”
This copy was originally written for The Wire, though I can’t see it in my issue
Simon Reynolds’ top riddims of 2005
Kano Featuring D Double E & Demon, "Reload It"
Lethal Bizzle "Against All Oddz"
Kano "Sometimes"
Bruza "Not Convince"
Three 6-Mafia "Stay Fly"
Vex'd “Degenerate” (Planet Mu)
Skream "Midnight Request Line"
Doctor, Bearman, L Man and Purple "Let It Go" From Eye Of The Tiger Vol 1
Virus Syndicate "Major List MCs" From The Work Related Illness
Roll Deep "Shake A Leg" and "When I'm Ere"
Lowdeep "Str8 Flush"
Crazy Titch "Sing Along"
SLK "Hype! Hype!" (DJ Wonder refix)
Lady Sovereign "Tango" from Bitchin EP
Ying Yang Twins "Pull My Hair" and "Wait (The Whisper Song)"
Kano "Remember Me"
Wiley "Morgue"
Kanye West "Addicted," "Crack Music", "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" (From Late Registration)
What do you mean you don't know about blissblog?
“Circling back to "Bound 4 The Reload" (arguably the first grime track, no seriously, think about it: electro-bass plus MCing) this track celebrates the pirate and rave tradition of the DJ rewind, when the crowd hollers (or home-listening audience text-messages) its demand for the selector to wheel and come again.”
“Up until grime, the trigger for rewinds would be a killer sampled vocal lick, thrilling bass-drop, or even just a mad breakbeat. Nowadays, the MC being king, the crowd clamors to hear their favourite rhymes. ‘This is what it means when DJs reload it/That sixteen was mean and he knows it,’ explains Kano, before listing the other top dog MCs who get nuff rewinds (two of them, Double and Demon, guest on the track). ‘I get a reload purely for the flow,’ Kano preens, and you can see why as he glides with lethal panache between quick-time rapping and a leisurely, drawn-out gait that seems to drag on the beat to slow it down.”
“The track itself, co-produced by Kano and Diplo, is all shimmery excitement, pivoting around a spangly filtered riff that ascends and descends the same four notes, driven by a funky rampage of live-sounding drums, and punctuated by horn samples, Beni G's scratching, and orgasmic girl-moans. The old skool breakbeat-like energy suggests an attempt to sell the notion of Grime as British hip hop, yet if Trans-Atlantic crossover is the intent, that's subverted by the lyric, its theme being as localized and Grime-reflexive as imaginable. "Reload It" encapsulates the conflicted impulses that fuel this scene: undergroundist insularity versus an extrovert hunger to engage with, and conquer, the whole wide world.”
This copy was originally written for The Wire, though I can’t see it in my issue
Simon Reynolds’ top riddims of 2005
Kano Featuring D Double E & Demon, "Reload It"
Lethal Bizzle "Against All Oddz"
Kano "Sometimes"
Bruza "Not Convince"
Three 6-Mafia "Stay Fly"
Vex'd “Degenerate” (Planet Mu)
Skream "Midnight Request Line"
Doctor, Bearman, L Man and Purple "Let It Go" From Eye Of The Tiger Vol 1
Virus Syndicate "Major List MCs" From The Work Related Illness
Roll Deep "Shake A Leg" and "When I'm Ere"
Lowdeep "Str8 Flush"
Crazy Titch "Sing Along"
SLK "Hype! Hype!" (DJ Wonder refix)
Lady Sovereign "Tango" from Bitchin EP
Ying Yang Twins "Pull My Hair" and "Wait (The Whisper Song)"
Kano "Remember Me"
Wiley "Morgue"
Kanye West "Addicted," "Crack Music", "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" (From Late Registration)
What do you mean you don't know about blissblog?
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Chantelle Fiddy
2005: a year inside grime for Chantelle Fiddy
"In a nutshell, the beginning of the year was an especially exciting opener for the scene what with Kano, Roll Deep and Lethal B embarking on album projects which would garner both them and those in the sidelines greater exposure to a bigger audience. Then there was the success of tracks like 'Pow' and SLK's 'Hype, Hype'. But as the year closes, my lingering feeling on the 05 is that it's a year that's had it's many highlights marred by frustration..."
"Top of the list is not being able to blog or write about everything that goes on (be it jackings, GBH, guns, gossip, truth). At times it's due to the legals, at times through fear of retribution and because quite frankly, right here, right now it's not what I'm about. Let us not forget that blogging too has it's pitfalls (in the words of D Double 'you wanna jack my written?')."
"Exposing certain goings on in the scene would perhaps give those that follow with a close eye a greater insight into the reality of the social context we're often up against but it would also leave perhaps too much room for misinterpretation and/or speculation. Regardless, it's also time to stop making excuses for certain lazy artists and the waste entourages/managers/teams that surround them who will use any excuse to defend their business (or lack of it)."
"Take responsibility. Writing one new bar a month does not mean you're doing something with your life. If you've got to do a day job to fund your mixtape, do it. Be real to yourself and don't fall prey to the imagery and messages surrounding you. Likewise, worry about the press, free clothes and general blagging when you've got something that's actually worth talking about. Be ready to follow your word through. It's time to forget managers and what your boys tell you. Know your business, read the books, go to the free seminars and ultimately don't hate when someone less talented than you is getting props because their game plan is tighter. Respect where respect is due and this is a business we're in. Ultimately you've got to love the music, but you've got to love the game too. You get back what you put in. We don't want to be compared to the Americans but look at the work ethic and it's obvious that as it stands, we're simply not cutting it."
"While people continue to expect big deals and success to be delivered on a plate, the scene will remain where it is at the end of 05: stunted. Don't get me wrong, musically it's still as exciting as ever but MC's are going to have to up their game now. Shit's getting boring. Come different. Come original. Tell us what's really going on and please, isn't it time more people took responsibility for the messages getting putting out there? There's no time for excuses, there's a generation listening and waiting in the wings (hopefully not Pentonville or Brixton). Don't underestimate your power."
"Likewise, we have to look at the 'fans'. Yeah, those of you who go to raves and have them locked off because you haven't grown bigger than your shoe size or the length of your penis. You've left the school playground behind, this is life and some of you idiots also happen to be 'artists'. Now you wonder why it's only the Shoreditch massive laying on the parties? We're the only ones who can get venues! Then we have the 'supporters', begging, downloading and bootlegging. Know the reality of what you're doing - you're aiding and abetting in the impeding of a scene that's financially struggling. If people aren't eating, people aren't making. Kano's album may have sold 70,000 but I'm betting near on a few hundred thousand own that."
"Finally let us not be weighed down by the fruitlessness of segregating the likes of Sway from Wiley, Klashnekoff from Jammer... Play and listen to what you want, but don't let your opinion of a genre and all that comes with it hamper what the UK's building. We've got to work together if we want to build a successful industry. Let's stand up, build the foundations and with no excuses. 2006, let's own it!"
Fiddy's top moments and tunes of the '05
Longplayas
Kano “Home Sweet Home”
Various “Run The Road 2”
Bossman's “Street Anthems”
Logan Sama “Sidewinder Bonus CD”
”Aim High 2”
”Practice Hours”
”Risky Roadz”
Singles
Roll Deep “When I'm Ere”
Low Deep “Straight Flush/Cheeky Violin”
Lady Sovereign “Hoodie Remix”
Skepta “Duppy”
JME “Serious”
Jammer “Murkleman”
Sway “Up Your Speed Remix”
Skream “Midnight Request Line”
NASTY “Run 4 Cover”
Plan B “Sick 2 Def/Young Girl”
SLK “Hype, Hype (DJ Wonder remix)”
Wiley & Ruff Sqwad “Sidewinder”
Slew Dem “Grime”
Live-o
Grimey Awards @ Rex, Paris with Maximum, Wiley, Skepta & JME
i-D Live @ Cargo, London
Straight Outta Bethnal @ 333, London
Run The Road @ Fabric, London
FWD @ Plastic People, London (especially Ms Dynamites show and the various MC cameo's)
For more Fiddy: no long ting
"In a nutshell, the beginning of the year was an especially exciting opener for the scene what with Kano, Roll Deep and Lethal B embarking on album projects which would garner both them and those in the sidelines greater exposure to a bigger audience. Then there was the success of tracks like 'Pow' and SLK's 'Hype, Hype'. But as the year closes, my lingering feeling on the 05 is that it's a year that's had it's many highlights marred by frustration..."
"Top of the list is not being able to blog or write about everything that goes on (be it jackings, GBH, guns, gossip, truth). At times it's due to the legals, at times through fear of retribution and because quite frankly, right here, right now it's not what I'm about. Let us not forget that blogging too has it's pitfalls (in the words of D Double 'you wanna jack my written?')."
"Exposing certain goings on in the scene would perhaps give those that follow with a close eye a greater insight into the reality of the social context we're often up against but it would also leave perhaps too much room for misinterpretation and/or speculation. Regardless, it's also time to stop making excuses for certain lazy artists and the waste entourages/managers/teams that surround them who will use any excuse to defend their business (or lack of it)."
"Take responsibility. Writing one new bar a month does not mean you're doing something with your life. If you've got to do a day job to fund your mixtape, do it. Be real to yourself and don't fall prey to the imagery and messages surrounding you. Likewise, worry about the press, free clothes and general blagging when you've got something that's actually worth talking about. Be ready to follow your word through. It's time to forget managers and what your boys tell you. Know your business, read the books, go to the free seminars and ultimately don't hate when someone less talented than you is getting props because their game plan is tighter. Respect where respect is due and this is a business we're in. Ultimately you've got to love the music, but you've got to love the game too. You get back what you put in. We don't want to be compared to the Americans but look at the work ethic and it's obvious that as it stands, we're simply not cutting it."
"While people continue to expect big deals and success to be delivered on a plate, the scene will remain where it is at the end of 05: stunted. Don't get me wrong, musically it's still as exciting as ever but MC's are going to have to up their game now. Shit's getting boring. Come different. Come original. Tell us what's really going on and please, isn't it time more people took responsibility for the messages getting putting out there? There's no time for excuses, there's a generation listening and waiting in the wings (hopefully not Pentonville or Brixton). Don't underestimate your power."
"Likewise, we have to look at the 'fans'. Yeah, those of you who go to raves and have them locked off because you haven't grown bigger than your shoe size or the length of your penis. You've left the school playground behind, this is life and some of you idiots also happen to be 'artists'. Now you wonder why it's only the Shoreditch massive laying on the parties? We're the only ones who can get venues! Then we have the 'supporters', begging, downloading and bootlegging. Know the reality of what you're doing - you're aiding and abetting in the impeding of a scene that's financially struggling. If people aren't eating, people aren't making. Kano's album may have sold 70,000 but I'm betting near on a few hundred thousand own that."
"Finally let us not be weighed down by the fruitlessness of segregating the likes of Sway from Wiley, Klashnekoff from Jammer... Play and listen to what you want, but don't let your opinion of a genre and all that comes with it hamper what the UK's building. We've got to work together if we want to build a successful industry. Let's stand up, build the foundations and with no excuses. 2006, let's own it!"
Fiddy's top moments and tunes of the '05
Longplayas
Kano “Home Sweet Home”
Various “Run The Road 2”
Bossman's “Street Anthems”
Logan Sama “Sidewinder Bonus CD”
”Aim High 2”
”Practice Hours”
”Risky Roadz”
Singles
Roll Deep “When I'm Ere”
Low Deep “Straight Flush/Cheeky Violin”
Lady Sovereign “Hoodie Remix”
Skepta “Duppy”
JME “Serious”
Jammer “Murkleman”
Sway “Up Your Speed Remix”
Skream “Midnight Request Line”
NASTY “Run 4 Cover”
Plan B “Sick 2 Def/Young Girl”
SLK “Hype, Hype (DJ Wonder remix)”
Wiley & Ruff Sqwad “Sidewinder”
Slew Dem “Grime”
Live-o
Grimey Awards @ Rex, Paris with Maximum, Wiley, Skepta & JME
i-D Live @ Cargo, London
Straight Outta Bethnal @ 333, London
Run The Road @ Fabric, London
FWD @ Plastic People, London (especially Ms Dynamites show and the various MC cameo's)
For more Fiddy: no long ting
Friday, December 23, 2005
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Klute
Drum & bass producer and all round music enthusiast, Klute
Blackdown: Jess Harvell suggested on Pitchfork Media that this year has been worse for d&b than 2004, primarily because there's been less 'leftfield' d&b. do you think 2005 has been better or worse than 2004 and why?
Klute: that’s a very tough one to answer. To be simple and get straight to the point though I'll stick my neck out and half agree with him. Musically and morale-wise I think it’s on a pretty low ebb, but then again that could be a very important stage in the gestation of a new rising. Personally I'm not concerned that things be ‘leftfield’ or not, I just like to see a spread in depths of emotions and as far as I can see the majority of d&b produced this year is very surface orientated.
B: is it essential to have both depth and energy? Is d&b swinging into the abstract 'leftfield' as much a mistake as making noisy, disposable dancefloor fodder?
K: I think d&b is really suffering from people establishing factions and sticking to that one thing and shouting about how their banner is the best.
B: But doesn’t that mean they are able to push forward a coherent musical direction rather than doing 'a bit of this and a bit of that'?
K: I guess that’s the nature of it, but from my perspective I'm seeing a lot of isolation happening. We're all guilty of it, but I think it’s a problem.
B: Are some producers guilty of just aiming to make harder, noisier, angrier music?
K: I'm not sure if that’s exactly the main problem. The really popular stuff tends to be incredibly simple and stupid sounding. There can be magic in any type of sound, and if everyone wasn’t so isolated I think the exposure would open us all up a bit and hopefully dampen down the monotony.
B: I always get the impression you seem to be looking for something, a vibe or a buzz maybe... you tell me. Do you know what you're looking for out of d&b or will you only know it when you find it?
K: I've quite a wide ranging taste in music and I’m constantly listening and buying as much new music as I can. Perhaps one of the faults of that is not being able to concentrate on one thing for long enough to see the whole picture. For me I see a buzz in what’s currently going on with techno/house out in Europe, dubstep and also in film scores.
B: But yet you've concentrated your production quite a lot on d&b, more so than any other genre...
K: I guess that’s my current field of expertise but I do also write a fair amount of "other music." For the last 10 years I certainly have produced a majority of d&b, probably as its been the most exciting for me. Making other music is really a case of me having to give myself a kick to remember to do it. I go through big phases. Right now I’m going through a non-d&b phase. Writing mostly one kind of style becomes very habit forming and for me it’s a matter of breaking that habit.
B: Isn't that where the most important/influential producers succeed: they break through their own habits and production conventions in ways that work?
K: Well, I don’t know about that. Everyone has their own way. Some people just stumble across it. I think if you want to stick around for a while you need to constantly question what you’re doing, why and how its done. That’s my personal method.
B: what tunes have made you excited this year (inc d&b)?
K: Well, there’s an album by a guy called Michael Manning called “Public”. He's apparently 19 and making music with shocking maturity… well I was shocked. I was taken aback by a Kode 9 tune that was called “Blues” at the time but has since been renamed “Kingstown”. Nathan Fake “Dinamo.” And d&b wise a tune or two by Amit, the same with Break ... and me!
B: It's healthy you're excited by your own tunes, do you know producers that are actually not excited by their own music?
K: Yes, I know a lot who aren’t. I know a lot who just churn it out. That can happen when you make one kind of music. I think you sometimes forget why you’re doing it. This is why I like to write albums. It gives me a sense of purpose.
B: How could journalism best help d&b?
K: By being constructively critical, but that in itself is really hard to do, but I have seen it! Some American guy reviewed by album online somewhere and essentially addressed what I personally thought were the shortcomings of it and it really pleased me. More than 90% of good reviews. He'd actually listened to the thing.
B: I'm not trying to force you into defending d&b, but isn’t it the case that the vast majority of d&b artists would have reacted in the opposite way to you after a bad review, often in a very aggressive way?
K: Well, in most cases I'd be defensive as well, but then I also tend to get defensive with some favourable reviews as well. I get annoyed when I get the impression the reviewer hasn’t really bothered to listen.
B: A lot of d&b contains sonic references to 'e'. given that acid house happened over 15 years ago, are these references still valid?
K: i think E has a very different effect on the collective psyche these days. Perhaps its a very different drug these days, maybe its to do with critical mass. Perhaps its just stabbing at memories. It's going to take something else to bring back those feelings.
B: what have i missed? what question is begging to be asked of d&b?
K: is the culling coming?
B: Ahaha
B: and what is the answer to your question do you think?
K: I dont think its far off
K: its more a case of people losing their fleeting interests
B: producers or fans?
K: Well, thats a question in itself. Where do you draw the line? What is a fan and what is a producer? One of d&b's greatest assets is also one of its greatest downfalls. The fact that its one of the most DIY get onboard stlyes out there. The moment a "fan" makes a tune on Reason he becomes part of the machine. I'm not here to place myself above anyone in that regard. The proof is in perseverence.
Klute's top 10 sounds for 2005
1. Michael manning "Public LP" (ai)
2. Confutatis "Obsession" (ai)
3. Shed "Stronghold" (solo action)
4. Kode 9 "Kingstown (dub)" (Hyperdub)
5. Amit "MK Ultra" (Commercial Suicide)
6. Basil Kirchin "Abstractions of the Industril North" (Trunk)
7. Michael Andrews WMe & You & Everyone We Know" (soundtrack)
8. Cocteau Twins "Box set" (4ad)
9. Skream "Traitor" (Ital)
10. Dkay "Serenade" (Brigand)
For more info on Klute check the Commercial Suicide site
Blackdown: Jess Harvell suggested on Pitchfork Media that this year has been worse for d&b than 2004, primarily because there's been less 'leftfield' d&b. do you think 2005 has been better or worse than 2004 and why?
Klute: that’s a very tough one to answer. To be simple and get straight to the point though I'll stick my neck out and half agree with him. Musically and morale-wise I think it’s on a pretty low ebb, but then again that could be a very important stage in the gestation of a new rising. Personally I'm not concerned that things be ‘leftfield’ or not, I just like to see a spread in depths of emotions and as far as I can see the majority of d&b produced this year is very surface orientated.
B: is it essential to have both depth and energy? Is d&b swinging into the abstract 'leftfield' as much a mistake as making noisy, disposable dancefloor fodder?
K: I think d&b is really suffering from people establishing factions and sticking to that one thing and shouting about how their banner is the best.
B: But doesn’t that mean they are able to push forward a coherent musical direction rather than doing 'a bit of this and a bit of that'?
K: I guess that’s the nature of it, but from my perspective I'm seeing a lot of isolation happening. We're all guilty of it, but I think it’s a problem.
B: Are some producers guilty of just aiming to make harder, noisier, angrier music?
K: I'm not sure if that’s exactly the main problem. The really popular stuff tends to be incredibly simple and stupid sounding. There can be magic in any type of sound, and if everyone wasn’t so isolated I think the exposure would open us all up a bit and hopefully dampen down the monotony.
B: I always get the impression you seem to be looking for something, a vibe or a buzz maybe... you tell me. Do you know what you're looking for out of d&b or will you only know it when you find it?
K: I've quite a wide ranging taste in music and I’m constantly listening and buying as much new music as I can. Perhaps one of the faults of that is not being able to concentrate on one thing for long enough to see the whole picture. For me I see a buzz in what’s currently going on with techno/house out in Europe, dubstep and also in film scores.
B: But yet you've concentrated your production quite a lot on d&b, more so than any other genre...
K: I guess that’s my current field of expertise but I do also write a fair amount of "other music." For the last 10 years I certainly have produced a majority of d&b, probably as its been the most exciting for me. Making other music is really a case of me having to give myself a kick to remember to do it. I go through big phases. Right now I’m going through a non-d&b phase. Writing mostly one kind of style becomes very habit forming and for me it’s a matter of breaking that habit.
B: Isn't that where the most important/influential producers succeed: they break through their own habits and production conventions in ways that work?
K: Well, I don’t know about that. Everyone has their own way. Some people just stumble across it. I think if you want to stick around for a while you need to constantly question what you’re doing, why and how its done. That’s my personal method.
B: what tunes have made you excited this year (inc d&b)?
K: Well, there’s an album by a guy called Michael Manning called “Public”. He's apparently 19 and making music with shocking maturity… well I was shocked. I was taken aback by a Kode 9 tune that was called “Blues” at the time but has since been renamed “Kingstown”. Nathan Fake “Dinamo.” And d&b wise a tune or two by Amit, the same with Break ... and me!
B: It's healthy you're excited by your own tunes, do you know producers that are actually not excited by their own music?
K: Yes, I know a lot who aren’t. I know a lot who just churn it out. That can happen when you make one kind of music. I think you sometimes forget why you’re doing it. This is why I like to write albums. It gives me a sense of purpose.
B: How could journalism best help d&b?
K: By being constructively critical, but that in itself is really hard to do, but I have seen it! Some American guy reviewed by album online somewhere and essentially addressed what I personally thought were the shortcomings of it and it really pleased me. More than 90% of good reviews. He'd actually listened to the thing.
B: I'm not trying to force you into defending d&b, but isn’t it the case that the vast majority of d&b artists would have reacted in the opposite way to you after a bad review, often in a very aggressive way?
K: Well, in most cases I'd be defensive as well, but then I also tend to get defensive with some favourable reviews as well. I get annoyed when I get the impression the reviewer hasn’t really bothered to listen.
B: A lot of d&b contains sonic references to 'e'. given that acid house happened over 15 years ago, are these references still valid?
K: i think E has a very different effect on the collective psyche these days. Perhaps its a very different drug these days, maybe its to do with critical mass. Perhaps its just stabbing at memories. It's going to take something else to bring back those feelings.
B: what have i missed? what question is begging to be asked of d&b?
K: is the culling coming?
B: Ahaha
B: and what is the answer to your question do you think?
K: I dont think its far off
K: its more a case of people losing their fleeting interests
B: producers or fans?
K: Well, thats a question in itself. Where do you draw the line? What is a fan and what is a producer? One of d&b's greatest assets is also one of its greatest downfalls. The fact that its one of the most DIY get onboard stlyes out there. The moment a "fan" makes a tune on Reason he becomes part of the machine. I'm not here to place myself above anyone in that regard. The proof is in perseverence.
Klute's top 10 sounds for 2005
1. Michael manning "Public LP" (ai)
2. Confutatis "Obsession" (ai)
3. Shed "Stronghold" (solo action)
4. Kode 9 "Kingstown (dub)" (Hyperdub)
5. Amit "MK Ultra" (Commercial Suicide)
6. Basil Kirchin "Abstractions of the Industril North" (Trunk)
7. Michael Andrews WMe & You & Everyone We Know" (soundtrack)
8. Cocteau Twins "Box set" (4ad)
9. Skream "Traitor" (Ital)
10. Dkay "Serenade" (Brigand)
For more info on Klute check the Commercial Suicide site
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Kid Kameleon
In 2005 Kid Kameleon asked one simple question: Remix?
"2005 has completely blurred the line between original work, mash-up, dj mix and remix. Labels like XL are releasing M.I.A.’s vocals and encouraging remixes, then signing the best ones. Artists like Aaron Spectre are loading whole DJ sets into Ableton Live, chopping and remixing the track components on the fly."
"Mashup artists like Jstar are taking vocals from one source and beats from another, then adding enough of their own production to create a hybrid beast. As ever, producers borrow musical or vocal samples, while others pay MCs to completely recreate a track and then tweak it into something new."
"As companies like Sony wheel up outdated copyright ideas with things like the DRM Root Kit, smart musicians and organizations like the EFF realize that healthy musical innovation depends on an open source model getting a forward."
10 2005 essentials from Kid Kameleon
01. Eight Frozen Modules "DJ, Riddim, and Source" [Planet Mu]
02. Deadbeat "New World Observor" [~scape]
03. Aaron Spectre "Life We Promote" [Self Released]
04. Debaser/DJ C "Crazy Baldheads" [Mashit]
05. Rotator "Dissident Sound Maniac" [Peace Off]
06. Jstar ... everything by [Jstar Music]
07. Skream ... everything by [Ital/Big Apple/Tempa]
08. Ripley "Ich Bin Defekt" [Death$ucker]
09. Beck "Guero" [Geffen]
10. The Eff [www.eff.org]
Read more by Kid Kameleon at www.kidkameleon.com
"2005 has completely blurred the line between original work, mash-up, dj mix and remix. Labels like XL are releasing M.I.A.’s vocals and encouraging remixes, then signing the best ones. Artists like Aaron Spectre are loading whole DJ sets into Ableton Live, chopping and remixing the track components on the fly."
"Mashup artists like Jstar are taking vocals from one source and beats from another, then adding enough of their own production to create a hybrid beast. As ever, producers borrow musical or vocal samples, while others pay MCs to completely recreate a track and then tweak it into something new."
"As companies like Sony wheel up outdated copyright ideas with things like the DRM Root Kit, smart musicians and organizations like the EFF realize that healthy musical innovation depends on an open source model getting a forward."
10 2005 essentials from Kid Kameleon
01. Eight Frozen Modules "DJ, Riddim, and Source" [Planet Mu]
02. Deadbeat "New World Observor" [~scape]
03. Aaron Spectre "Life We Promote" [Self Released]
04. Debaser/DJ C "Crazy Baldheads" [Mashit]
05. Rotator "Dissident Sound Maniac" [Peace Off]
06. Jstar ... everything by [Jstar Music]
07. Skream ... everything by [Ital/Big Apple/Tempa]
08. Ripley "Ich Bin Defekt" [Death$ucker]
09. Beck "Guero" [Geffen]
10. The Eff [www.eff.org]
Read more by Kid Kameleon at www.kidkameleon.com
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Burial
2005 according to Burial
"2005 - the only thing I remember properly was at 9am on the 7th of July. I was walking across London crossing from south into central London. I usually get Northern Line but had to go a different way 'cos the underground was fucked. I had headphones on; I was listening to tunes, just lost in it but I could tell vibes around me were offkey and weird. You could feel it. So I took the headphones off and overheard people saying all this stuff. People were ringing me but getting cut off."
"I spent the next hours like everyone watching TV, hearing rumours, telling family I was OK, then getting upset and angry. Then I walked out... you could feel in the air, the streets were empty. I began to walk three hours south back home. People were like refugees walking back, police everywhere telling us to get back at Vauxhall."
"It was weird because I've only ever seen bits of south London and the west end and you don't ever get a feel of London around you. You only usually get this when you're in a car going through it at night or something. I tried to listen to headphones on way back but couldn't."
"That day was like this big trek across my city and you could feel it like it had been hurt, you know: these were like other Londoners. It was horrible, people from work were on bombed trains, people they knew were killed. It was just fucked. I was listening to a compilation I'd made a few days before. Just a bunch of random tunes. I'd made this CD for me to listen to on my way back into London from my girlfriend's house. It was meant to be this kind of deep nighttime London tunes."
"The compilation had some amazing tunes on it, but I didn't listen to anything for weeks after. The tunes I was listening to were various stuff. Some Digital Mystikz, Skream and Rinse mixes, but also some sort of big club tunes, like vocal things, It had this Seba and Paradox tune on it 'Move On'. I was listening to that when I first felt it."
"I've always had a love-hate thing with London but now I thought 'I love this place.' I was also like 'fuck these people who did this.' It was the underground, on the bus... I can't think about it. The music just got sad to me, I was also listening to 'Hold Tight London' by the Chemical Brothers - that tune runs deep for a commercial tune. All the dubstep and jungle shit became like comfort music: the sorrow just came out of it. I felt the music deeper from that point on."
"Space and my surroundings in London have got into my music a lot. I spent my whole train journey to school busting around listen to jungle. Those Photek tunes, they were like nighttime train music to me! I tried to do some artwork for a Burial album recently. I did a figure in a landscape, just standing there in London. It's part of it."
"The space in my tunes is like ... the vocal bits and sound echoing across the surface of it, across the drums... distant buildings, empty streets, a nighttime world ... and that's how London pirates sound to me. Eerie far off ... the tunes I love on the best pirates sound like that.
"A burial album would sound deep and hypnotic at the start. Just like someone picking themselves up, fixing up, getting by. The middle of the album would be proper underground more rolled out and then the end would be club tunes, like 'he made it out of there,' like a celebration of UK d&b dubstep jungle rave garage party tunes."
"But the whole thing would be sad. I can't help it. London feels sad to me, but there's uplift in there, even if it rinses you out. It's something about where I live maybe. I only know south but I know how it feels in my area, always has since I was a kid I never moved far."
"I make tunes in a room looking out of this window and I've got this mad light almost like a gaslight outside. I live next to a prison so that’s half of the view from my room, the other half is prison land. I think where gallows used to be but I dunno, doubt it. The rest is a fucking massive dual carriage way all the way from Streatham down towards the Thames. You can see for miles all the way to the river, past the river and when it’s foggy like it was today, it’s a mad view.”
Tunes Burial loved in 2005
1. Digital Mystikz "Misty Winter"
2. Loefah - everything by Loefah
3. Omni Trio "Torn"
4. Foul Play "Being With You Remix"
5. Digital Spirit "Cool Out"
6. Plastikman "Contain"
7. Speedy J "Tesla"
8. Robert Hood "Stark Reality"
9. Skanna "All you wanted"
10. Husker Du "Chartered Trips"
11. Teebee "Let Go"
12. Chemical Brothers "Hold Tight London"
13. Paradox & Seba - "Move On"
New Burial tunes and what he was thinking about when he made
them.
1. Brutal Deluxe
"I was thinking of food, McDonalds and Speedball on the Amiga."
2. "YearOne LP"
"I was thinking about ... loads of things."
3. "Prayer"
"I was thinking about my brothers."
4. "DistantLights"
"I was thinking of the kind of shit I want to hear that isn't studioboy weak fucking clumpy drum fake tunes. I was wanting to sound like old jungle and 2step ...."
5 - "Sarcophagus"
"It's first tune on the long lost never to be released Burial album. I was in a bleak mood, bad minded, so..."
6 "U Hurt Me"
"I wanted to do a tune for my brothers to hear, something different. A 'me against the world' vibe tune, but it kind of turned out an uplifting tune, not heavy and moody because that was boring me. Like a fucking party tune, but with a sad vocal. I sort of dream they'd somehow play it at DMZ."
"2005 - the only thing I remember properly was at 9am on the 7th of July. I was walking across London crossing from south into central London. I usually get Northern Line but had to go a different way 'cos the underground was fucked. I had headphones on; I was listening to tunes, just lost in it but I could tell vibes around me were offkey and weird. You could feel it. So I took the headphones off and overheard people saying all this stuff. People were ringing me but getting cut off."
"I spent the next hours like everyone watching TV, hearing rumours, telling family I was OK, then getting upset and angry. Then I walked out... you could feel in the air, the streets were empty. I began to walk three hours south back home. People were like refugees walking back, police everywhere telling us to get back at Vauxhall."
"It was weird because I've only ever seen bits of south London and the west end and you don't ever get a feel of London around you. You only usually get this when you're in a car going through it at night or something. I tried to listen to headphones on way back but couldn't."
"That day was like this big trek across my city and you could feel it like it had been hurt, you know: these were like other Londoners. It was horrible, people from work were on bombed trains, people they knew were killed. It was just fucked. I was listening to a compilation I'd made a few days before. Just a bunch of random tunes. I'd made this CD for me to listen to on my way back into London from my girlfriend's house. It was meant to be this kind of deep nighttime London tunes."
"The compilation had some amazing tunes on it, but I didn't listen to anything for weeks after. The tunes I was listening to were various stuff. Some Digital Mystikz, Skream and Rinse mixes, but also some sort of big club tunes, like vocal things, It had this Seba and Paradox tune on it 'Move On'. I was listening to that when I first felt it."
"I've always had a love-hate thing with London but now I thought 'I love this place.' I was also like 'fuck these people who did this.' It was the underground, on the bus... I can't think about it. The music just got sad to me, I was also listening to 'Hold Tight London' by the Chemical Brothers - that tune runs deep for a commercial tune. All the dubstep and jungle shit became like comfort music: the sorrow just came out of it. I felt the music deeper from that point on."
"Space and my surroundings in London have got into my music a lot. I spent my whole train journey to school busting around listen to jungle. Those Photek tunes, they were like nighttime train music to me! I tried to do some artwork for a Burial album recently. I did a figure in a landscape, just standing there in London. It's part of it."
"The space in my tunes is like ... the vocal bits and sound echoing across the surface of it, across the drums... distant buildings, empty streets, a nighttime world ... and that's how London pirates sound to me. Eerie far off ... the tunes I love on the best pirates sound like that.
"A burial album would sound deep and hypnotic at the start. Just like someone picking themselves up, fixing up, getting by. The middle of the album would be proper underground more rolled out and then the end would be club tunes, like 'he made it out of there,' like a celebration of UK d&b dubstep jungle rave garage party tunes."
"But the whole thing would be sad. I can't help it. London feels sad to me, but there's uplift in there, even if it rinses you out. It's something about where I live maybe. I only know south but I know how it feels in my area, always has since I was a kid I never moved far."
"I make tunes in a room looking out of this window and I've got this mad light almost like a gaslight outside. I live next to a prison so that’s half of the view from my room, the other half is prison land. I think where gallows used to be but I dunno, doubt it. The rest is a fucking massive dual carriage way all the way from Streatham down towards the Thames. You can see for miles all the way to the river, past the river and when it’s foggy like it was today, it’s a mad view.”
Tunes Burial loved in 2005
1. Digital Mystikz "Misty Winter"
2. Loefah - everything by Loefah
3. Omni Trio "Torn"
4. Foul Play "Being With You Remix"
5. Digital Spirit "Cool Out"
6. Plastikman "Contain"
7. Speedy J "Tesla"
8. Robert Hood "Stark Reality"
9. Skanna "All you wanted"
10. Husker Du "Chartered Trips"
11. Teebee "Let Go"
12. Chemical Brothers "Hold Tight London"
13. Paradox & Seba - "Move On"
New Burial tunes and what he was thinking about when he made
them.
1. Brutal Deluxe
"I was thinking of food, McDonalds and Speedball on the Amiga."
2. "YearOne LP"
"I was thinking about ... loads of things."
3. "Prayer"
"I was thinking about my brothers."
4. "DistantLights"
"I was thinking of the kind of shit I want to hear that isn't studioboy weak fucking clumpy drum fake tunes. I was wanting to sound like old jungle and 2step ...."
5 - "Sarcophagus"
"It's first tune on the long lost never to be released Burial album. I was in a bleak mood, bad minded, so..."
6 "U Hurt Me"
"I wanted to do a tune for my brothers to hear, something different. A 'me against the world' vibe tune, but it kind of turned out an uplifting tune, not heavy and moody because that was boring me. Like a fucking party tune, but with a sad vocal. I sort of dream they'd somehow play it at DMZ."
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Gutterbreakz
2005 according to Gutterbreakz
"Having discovered dubstep online in 2004, this was the year that I experienced it in it's natural state - spun off dubplates, pumping through a sick soundsystem in a dark, enclosed space; the bass frequencies sending earth tremors up my spinal column, squeezing my throat in an oppressive yet inviting embrace. Although I've yet to make the trek to dubstep's South London homeland, it's been fascinating to witness and chronical the scene's gradual growth here in Bristol, arguably dubstep's second city thanks to the efforts of local supporters like DJ Pinch and ThinKing. Subloaded II in April will live on as one of the heaviest sonic experiences of my life."
"It's also been intriguing to observe the virus spreading, not just in terms of a global fanbase, but also the way it is being absorbed within other realms of the electronica spectrum. Artists's from backgrounds in IDM, breakcore, etc are now twisting the blueprint to their own devious purposes, creating new hybrids and possible futures for this music. Who knows where we'll be this time next year?"
"Here's my attempt at a Top 10 releases of 2005, which is by no means definitive, nor in any particular order, but hopefully covers most of the essential artists, labels and tunes that shook my world this year..."
Gutterbreakz' 10 for '05
Coki - Officer/Mood Dub (DMZ)
DJ Youngsta - Dubstep Allstars Vol.2 (Tempa mix CD)
Burial - South London Boroughs EP (Hyperdub)
Vex'd - Degenerate (Planet Mu LP)
Mark One - Plodder/Devil Man (Contagious)
Loefah & Skream - 28g/Fearless (Tectonic)
Various - Our Sound (Destructive LP)
Monkey Steak - Grim Dubs Vol.1 (Werk)
D1 - I Believe (Soulja)
Boxcutter - Brood/Sunshine (Hotflush)
For more Gutta, check his blog as always.
"Having discovered dubstep online in 2004, this was the year that I experienced it in it's natural state - spun off dubplates, pumping through a sick soundsystem in a dark, enclosed space; the bass frequencies sending earth tremors up my spinal column, squeezing my throat in an oppressive yet inviting embrace. Although I've yet to make the trek to dubstep's South London homeland, it's been fascinating to witness and chronical the scene's gradual growth here in Bristol, arguably dubstep's second city thanks to the efforts of local supporters like DJ Pinch and ThinKing. Subloaded II in April will live on as one of the heaviest sonic experiences of my life."
"It's also been intriguing to observe the virus spreading, not just in terms of a global fanbase, but also the way it is being absorbed within other realms of the electronica spectrum. Artists's from backgrounds in IDM, breakcore, etc are now twisting the blueprint to their own devious purposes, creating new hybrids and possible futures for this music. Who knows where we'll be this time next year?"
"Here's my attempt at a Top 10 releases of 2005, which is by no means definitive, nor in any particular order, but hopefully covers most of the essential artists, labels and tunes that shook my world this year..."
Gutterbreakz' 10 for '05
Coki - Officer/Mood Dub (DMZ)
DJ Youngsta - Dubstep Allstars Vol.2 (Tempa mix CD)
Burial - South London Boroughs EP (Hyperdub)
Vex'd - Degenerate (Planet Mu LP)
Mark One - Plodder/Devil Man (Contagious)
Loefah & Skream - 28g/Fearless (Tectonic)
Various - Our Sound (Destructive LP)
Monkey Steak - Grim Dubs Vol.1 (Werk)
D1 - I Believe (Soulja)
Boxcutter - Brood/Sunshine (Hotflush)
For more Gutta, check his blog as always.
Incoming 2006: Dubstep Allstars vol.3 mixed by Kode9 feat. the Spaceape
Dubstep Allstars Vol.3
Kode9 feat. the Spaceape
1. Kode9 - Nine Samouri (hyperdub)
2. Pressure & Warrior Queen - Dem a Bomb We (dub)
3. Geneeus - U Know Me(dub)
4. Digital Mystikz - Haunted(dub)
5. Skream - I (Loefah remix) (dub)
6. D1 - Bamboo (dub)
7. Skream - Groovin(dub)
8. Digital Mystikz - New LIfe Baby Paris(dub)
9. Calenda - Forever(dub)
10. Digital Mystikz - Heartless Ninja(dub)
11. Skream - 0800 dub(dub)
12. Digital Mystikz- Molten(dub)
13. Skream - Tortured Soul(dub)
14. Digital Mystikz - Intergalactic(dub)
15. Loefah - Ruffage(dub)
16. DJ Krave - Minor Skank(dub)
17. N-Type - Way of the Dub(dub)
18. Skream - Colourful(dub)
19. Benga - Mammoth (Plasticman Remix)(dub)
20. Random Trio - Haunted Rmx(dub)
21. Skream - Korma (dub)
22. D1 - ET (dub)
23. Plasticman - Unhappy Shopper (dub)
24. Blackdown - dis/East (dub)
25. Geiom - Overnight Biscuits(dub)
26. D1 - Cocaine (dub)
27. Random Trio - Rebel(dub)
28. Burial - Prayer(dub)
Kode9 feat. the Spaceape
1. Kode9 - Nine Samouri (hyperdub)
2. Pressure & Warrior Queen - Dem a Bomb We (dub)
3. Geneeus - U Know Me(dub)
4. Digital Mystikz - Haunted(dub)
5. Skream - I (Loefah remix) (dub)
6. D1 - Bamboo (dub)
7. Skream - Groovin(dub)
8. Digital Mystikz - New LIfe Baby Paris(dub)
9. Calenda - Forever(dub)
10. Digital Mystikz - Heartless Ninja(dub)
11. Skream - 0800 dub(dub)
12. Digital Mystikz- Molten(dub)
13. Skream - Tortured Soul(dub)
14. Digital Mystikz - Intergalactic(dub)
15. Loefah - Ruffage(dub)
16. DJ Krave - Minor Skank(dub)
17. N-Type - Way of the Dub(dub)
18. Skream - Colourful(dub)
19. Benga - Mammoth (Plasticman Remix)(dub)
20. Random Trio - Haunted Rmx(dub)
21. Skream - Korma (dub)
22. D1 - ET (dub)
23. Plasticman - Unhappy Shopper (dub)
24. Blackdown - dis/East (dub)
25. Geiom - Overnight Biscuits(dub)
26. D1 - Cocaine (dub)
27. Random Trio - Rebel(dub)
28. Burial - Prayer(dub)
Monday, December 19, 2005
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Plasticman
2005 according to Plasticman
“2005 has been perhaps my best year in the industry so far, I thought 2004 would be hard to top but this year has been really special.”
“Something I've felt really strongly about in 2005 is the lack of distribution we have in our scene. After travelling all over the world, I am repeatedly being asked "where can we get this stuff?" and I feel stupid when all I can say in reply is "there are some online stores".”
“Fair enough we are in the age of the internet but how many DJ's do you know who actually do all of their record shopping online? In all my time as a DJ I think I've only bought records online once - there's no substitute for chilling in a record shop hearing the tunes properly and just chatting with the staff and customers. That’s what record shopping is all about - digging through crates or spotting something you like the look of on the shelf.”
“This is why we need to get our music onto shelves out of the UK. A lot of people will argue "it's not selling enough in the UK yet" but I believe these people are the same people who really want grime to hit the top ten in the singles chart. I just want a healthy underground scene in which artists can live off of their music sales - like that of the drum and bass scene, which sells tens of thousands worldwide.”
“So that’s one thing I feel strongly about. On a final note: stop calling my music dubstep! It's simply grime without a vocal on top of it wasteguys! You want to hear dubstep listen to DMZ, Youngsta, Loefah, Hatcha - they are the dons and my sound is totally different to that. Next person to write that I am dubstep will get a wonderpalm to the jawside with my Nintendo Powerglove.”
Plasticman’s top ten Grime tunes in 2005
1. Macabre Unit “Lift Off”
I signed it for a reason - the tune is ridiculously deep
2. Skream “Request Line”
Made every trip to DMZ & FWD worthwile
3. Jammer “Merkle Man”
The video made it even better
4. JME “Baraka”
I was inspired by playing Mortal Kombat to show JME this track from it - then he murked the tune
5. Wiley “Sidewinder”
Perfect vocal tune, full of energy and no hip hop sounding beats underneath
6. Lethal Bizzle “Against All Oddz”
I didn't think an MC would do Funeral Vibes justice but Lethal excelled
7. Skepta “Duppy”
I never thought 4 to the floor would make a grime comeback - cheeky production idea!
8. Davinche “Phase”
Nice to hear Davinche take a step away from the hip hop flex - this tune murks
9. Mark One “Plodder”
Got big off being on the FWD advert for about 4 months!
10. Plasticman “Cha (vocal mix)”
Should be out by now really, but Shizzle's chorus smacked it all year!
For all the latest Plasticman news check his blog
“2005 has been perhaps my best year in the industry so far, I thought 2004 would be hard to top but this year has been really special.”
“Something I've felt really strongly about in 2005 is the lack of distribution we have in our scene. After travelling all over the world, I am repeatedly being asked "where can we get this stuff?" and I feel stupid when all I can say in reply is "there are some online stores".”
“Fair enough we are in the age of the internet but how many DJ's do you know who actually do all of their record shopping online? In all my time as a DJ I think I've only bought records online once - there's no substitute for chilling in a record shop hearing the tunes properly and just chatting with the staff and customers. That’s what record shopping is all about - digging through crates or spotting something you like the look of on the shelf.”
“This is why we need to get our music onto shelves out of the UK. A lot of people will argue "it's not selling enough in the UK yet" but I believe these people are the same people who really want grime to hit the top ten in the singles chart. I just want a healthy underground scene in which artists can live off of their music sales - like that of the drum and bass scene, which sells tens of thousands worldwide.”
“So that’s one thing I feel strongly about. On a final note: stop calling my music dubstep! It's simply grime without a vocal on top of it wasteguys! You want to hear dubstep listen to DMZ, Youngsta, Loefah, Hatcha - they are the dons and my sound is totally different to that. Next person to write that I am dubstep will get a wonderpalm to the jawside with my Nintendo Powerglove.”
Plasticman’s top ten Grime tunes in 2005
1. Macabre Unit “Lift Off”
I signed it for a reason - the tune is ridiculously deep
2. Skream “Request Line”
Made every trip to DMZ & FWD worthwile
3. Jammer “Merkle Man”
The video made it even better
4. JME “Baraka”
I was inspired by playing Mortal Kombat to show JME this track from it - then he murked the tune
5. Wiley “Sidewinder”
Perfect vocal tune, full of energy and no hip hop sounding beats underneath
6. Lethal Bizzle “Against All Oddz”
I didn't think an MC would do Funeral Vibes justice but Lethal excelled
7. Skepta “Duppy”
I never thought 4 to the floor would make a grime comeback - cheeky production idea!
8. Davinche “Phase”
Nice to hear Davinche take a step away from the hip hop flex - this tune murks
9. Mark One “Plodder”
Got big off being on the FWD advert for about 4 months!
10. Plasticman “Cha (vocal mix)”
Should be out by now really, but Shizzle's chorus smacked it all year!
For all the latest Plasticman news check his blog
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Philip Sherburne
Philip Sherburne’s year in techno 2005
“First things first: put as much stock in my proclamations as you wish, but know that they're above all personal. I've been lucky enough to travel a lot in the past several years, to many countries on four continents, though often - ironically - in pursuit of music from a very narrow, and northern-oriented scene. (For those of you who don't know me, that'd be techno - as minimal as you like, thanks.) But at the very least my travels (and I wouldn't discount "traveling" on the internet via blogs and newsgroups and private filesharing communities) has reminded me of the limits of my perspective. I listened to very little that wasn't techno this year; I lost interest in grime almost as soon as its emphasis shifted from producers to vocalists, and I'd be hard-pressed to name you the title of a single tune from this year, outside "Midnight Request Line" (which may turn out to be dubstep's big crossover hit — shit, even Ricardo Villalobos reportedly played it at Fabric). But I can't deny that grime/dubstep and whatever else it's mutating into is clearly, based on what I hear from its supporters, doing things that deserve merit. A few years, my top 10 list would have been a good split between techno, grimey sounds, and more esoteric things; this year, I agonized that my "Critical Beats" column for The Wire was, with a few exceptions for "action" and R&B, pretty damn techno (and white). I had no choice to go with what I knew.”
“The techno and 'ardkore continuums keep branching out, like they always have. For those of us who remain committed to "electronic music," "dance music," whatever you want to call it, but retain particular allegiances to certain styles, I think it's important to step back from the big picture and admit that we're not experts in any larger sense; we can only know what we seek out. And for all but a few extraordinarily curious, perseverant, canny and intelligent writers and listeners, the further we travel down a certain rabbit hole, the harder it gets to hear the thumping in the other tunnels.”
“Having supplicated, allow me to evangelize for a moment. Techno really did pick up considerable speed this year, both within the scene and, more surprisingly, in American indie-mainstream media and even the UK prog house scene (which, perhaps realizing the imminence of its aesthetic bankruptcy, decided to invest in German properties). When I say "techno" I really mean what goes variously by the names "electro-house," "minimal," and "minimal techno," though the categories be fluid and the descriptors thin.”
“The year began with ubiquitous club tracks like Tomas Andersson's "Washing Up" and Roman Flügel's "Geht's Noch," and ballooned to enormous proportions with the psychedelic neo-prog of Border Community artists Nathan Fake and James Holden. M.A.N.D.Y. vs Booka Shade's "Mandarine Girl," crowned "track of the summer" in Ibiza this year, served as the caulking between those two slab-like styles, along with tracks like Einmusik's "Jittery Heritage," rocketing tight riffs into faraway orbits. Acid maintained its cruising velocity, sometimes serving as welcome throwback club filler, and sometimes morphing into surprising forms. (Les Visiteur's "Drop it Like It's Hot" mix sits somewhere in between those two poles.) And retro leanings swelled in the graceful, machinic work of Sleep Archive and his increasingly numerous followers.”
“None of this stuff is really minimal, despite the fact that most of it wears the tag on its sleeve (not Get Physical so much, but oddly, some of their shit - like half of Chelonis R Jones' album, for instance - is far sparser than half of what came out on Kompakt or even Perlon this year). The stuff that used the smallest sounds was bigger and busier than ever (and sometimes, as on Dominik Eulberg's remix for Hell, hid some serious dynamite strapped underneath its sleek, Dior Homme-proportioned vest). Rhythms got stickier, pricklier and more syncopated than ever. Micro-edit experts like Eulberg and Robag Wruhme stuck out, but there were morsels of pure rhythmic inspiration to be found everywhere: Guido Schneider, Matt John, Anja Schneider and her Mobilee label, Alex Smoke, Onur Özer… I could go on, but my apartment has no heating and it hurts to flip through records. (I sort of kid, but this is also a new development, at least for me: despite the ubiquity of certain names, there were more new and unknown-to-me talents this year than in ages, to the point that I could no longer keep artists, titles or labels straight in my mind — they all just blurred into that faceless techno supersystem that they aspire to, beyond identity. Say what you will about the flow of Hawtin's DE9|Transitions mix CD, which spun hundreds of track snippets together in an inextricable mesh; in exploiting the post-identity phase of the best current techno, he tapped into something. Ironically, of course, Hawtin and his most recent press photos represent the peak of celebrity, as far as this scene goes, so who knows exactly where this leaves us.)”
“In 2006 I expect to be writing a lot about the line. Even as techno has fractured internally this year, its overarching scope has become more unified, whether in the trancy melodies of Wruhme's mix for Triola or the neverending undulations of Sleep Archive. This new direction occurred to me while I was writing the press sheet for Ricardo Villalobos' Achso EP for Cadenza (thus full disclosure, etc. etc.). In recent years, even as Villalobos has launched himself into the stratosphere of "superstar DJs," his productions have run deeper and deeper underground, til they feel like water trickling through rocks and loose soil. On Achso, drums disintegrate at will and even looped percussive sequences never seem to stop mutating; but amidst so much chaos emerge long, meandering lines - stringed instruments, voices, pure sourceless sound - that snake unimpeded through the (d)evolutionary ruckus around them. Villalobos is a master of this kind of double intensity, but he's not the only one pursuing its path; Isolée and Lindstrom, for example, are burrowing similar holes through disco. And while acid throwbacks and jock-rock coke-techno and ballsy rave bombast will assuredly continue to reign on floors in 2006, I suspect that this thread will continue to bind things together in unexpected ways, drawing techno ever tighter into a Cat's Cradle of productively conflicting energies.”
Philip Sherburne’s top tech 10 for 2005
Isolée “My Hi-Matic” (Playhouse)
M83 “Teen Angst (Luciano Remix)” (Mute)
Motiivi:Tuntematon “1939” (Freundinnen)
Triola “Leuchtturm (Wighnomy's Polarzipper Remix)” (Kompakt)
Nathan Fake “Dinamo” (Traum)
Matias Aguayo “Drums & Feathers” (Kompakt)
Hell “Follow You (Dominik Eulberg Remix)”
Tori Alamaze “Don't Cha” (Universal)
Les Visiteurs “Snoop's Acid Drop” (white label)
Paul Kalkbrenner “Tatü-Tata” (Bpitch Control)
For more of Philip Sherburne’s writing check his Pitchfork Media column or his blog
“First things first: put as much stock in my proclamations as you wish, but know that they're above all personal. I've been lucky enough to travel a lot in the past several years, to many countries on four continents, though often - ironically - in pursuit of music from a very narrow, and northern-oriented scene. (For those of you who don't know me, that'd be techno - as minimal as you like, thanks.) But at the very least my travels (and I wouldn't discount "traveling" on the internet via blogs and newsgroups and private filesharing communities) has reminded me of the limits of my perspective. I listened to very little that wasn't techno this year; I lost interest in grime almost as soon as its emphasis shifted from producers to vocalists, and I'd be hard-pressed to name you the title of a single tune from this year, outside "Midnight Request Line" (which may turn out to be dubstep's big crossover hit — shit, even Ricardo Villalobos reportedly played it at Fabric). But I can't deny that grime/dubstep and whatever else it's mutating into is clearly, based on what I hear from its supporters, doing things that deserve merit. A few years, my top 10 list would have been a good split between techno, grimey sounds, and more esoteric things; this year, I agonized that my "Critical Beats" column for The Wire was, with a few exceptions for "action" and R&B, pretty damn techno (and white). I had no choice to go with what I knew.”
“The techno and 'ardkore continuums keep branching out, like they always have. For those of us who remain committed to "electronic music," "dance music," whatever you want to call it, but retain particular allegiances to certain styles, I think it's important to step back from the big picture and admit that we're not experts in any larger sense; we can only know what we seek out. And for all but a few extraordinarily curious, perseverant, canny and intelligent writers and listeners, the further we travel down a certain rabbit hole, the harder it gets to hear the thumping in the other tunnels.”
“Having supplicated, allow me to evangelize for a moment. Techno really did pick up considerable speed this year, both within the scene and, more surprisingly, in American indie-mainstream media and even the UK prog house scene (which, perhaps realizing the imminence of its aesthetic bankruptcy, decided to invest in German properties). When I say "techno" I really mean what goes variously by the names "electro-house," "minimal," and "minimal techno," though the categories be fluid and the descriptors thin.”
“The year began with ubiquitous club tracks like Tomas Andersson's "Washing Up" and Roman Flügel's "Geht's Noch," and ballooned to enormous proportions with the psychedelic neo-prog of Border Community artists Nathan Fake and James Holden. M.A.N.D.Y. vs Booka Shade's "Mandarine Girl," crowned "track of the summer" in Ibiza this year, served as the caulking between those two slab-like styles, along with tracks like Einmusik's "Jittery Heritage," rocketing tight riffs into faraway orbits. Acid maintained its cruising velocity, sometimes serving as welcome throwback club filler, and sometimes morphing into surprising forms. (Les Visiteur's "Drop it Like It's Hot" mix sits somewhere in between those two poles.) And retro leanings swelled in the graceful, machinic work of Sleep Archive and his increasingly numerous followers.”
“None of this stuff is really minimal, despite the fact that most of it wears the tag on its sleeve (not Get Physical so much, but oddly, some of their shit - like half of Chelonis R Jones' album, for instance - is far sparser than half of what came out on Kompakt or even Perlon this year). The stuff that used the smallest sounds was bigger and busier than ever (and sometimes, as on Dominik Eulberg's remix for Hell, hid some serious dynamite strapped underneath its sleek, Dior Homme-proportioned vest). Rhythms got stickier, pricklier and more syncopated than ever. Micro-edit experts like Eulberg and Robag Wruhme stuck out, but there were morsels of pure rhythmic inspiration to be found everywhere: Guido Schneider, Matt John, Anja Schneider and her Mobilee label, Alex Smoke, Onur Özer… I could go on, but my apartment has no heating and it hurts to flip through records. (I sort of kid, but this is also a new development, at least for me: despite the ubiquity of certain names, there were more new and unknown-to-me talents this year than in ages, to the point that I could no longer keep artists, titles or labels straight in my mind — they all just blurred into that faceless techno supersystem that they aspire to, beyond identity. Say what you will about the flow of Hawtin's DE9|Transitions mix CD, which spun hundreds of track snippets together in an inextricable mesh; in exploiting the post-identity phase of the best current techno, he tapped into something. Ironically, of course, Hawtin and his most recent press photos represent the peak of celebrity, as far as this scene goes, so who knows exactly where this leaves us.)”
“In 2006 I expect to be writing a lot about the line. Even as techno has fractured internally this year, its overarching scope has become more unified, whether in the trancy melodies of Wruhme's mix for Triola or the neverending undulations of Sleep Archive. This new direction occurred to me while I was writing the press sheet for Ricardo Villalobos' Achso EP for Cadenza (thus full disclosure, etc. etc.). In recent years, even as Villalobos has launched himself into the stratosphere of "superstar DJs," his productions have run deeper and deeper underground, til they feel like water trickling through rocks and loose soil. On Achso, drums disintegrate at will and even looped percussive sequences never seem to stop mutating; but amidst so much chaos emerge long, meandering lines - stringed instruments, voices, pure sourceless sound - that snake unimpeded through the (d)evolutionary ruckus around them. Villalobos is a master of this kind of double intensity, but he's not the only one pursuing its path; Isolée and Lindstrom, for example, are burrowing similar holes through disco. And while acid throwbacks and jock-rock coke-techno and ballsy rave bombast will assuredly continue to reign on floors in 2006, I suspect that this thread will continue to bind things together in unexpected ways, drawing techno ever tighter into a Cat's Cradle of productively conflicting energies.”
Philip Sherburne’s top tech 10 for 2005
Isolée “My Hi-Matic” (Playhouse)
M83 “Teen Angst (Luciano Remix)” (Mute)
Motiivi:Tuntematon “1939” (Freundinnen)
Triola “Leuchtturm (Wighnomy's Polarzipper Remix)” (Kompakt)
Nathan Fake “Dinamo” (Traum)
Matias Aguayo “Drums & Feathers” (Kompakt)
Hell “Follow You (Dominik Eulberg Remix)”
Tori Alamaze “Don't Cha” (Universal)
Les Visiteurs “Snoop's Acid Drop” (white label)
Paul Kalkbrenner “Tatü-Tata” (Bpitch Control)
For more of Philip Sherburne’s writing check his Pitchfork Media column or his blog
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Kode 9
2005 - what stuck in Kode 9's memory
"Transport masochism and geo-politics playing out beneath the surface of London. Daytime apocalypse TV and the security vacuum around Oval tube 7/7. Travelling underground through (Baby)lon(don)'s ecology of fear. Distraction in the factory of potential death. Paranoid, racist stares and the twitchy, uncomfortable fidgeting of underground man suspended in surreal tension amidst a Metro paper jungle of atrocity headlines and snapshots of contorted, melted metal. Tube daydreams of incineration bleeding into claustrophobic blrd flu dread. Acute awareness of damp respiration vector currents during rush hour meat compression, and olfactory alerts to the slightest hint of burning. Moist residue of sweaty palm prints on handrails. The (long overdue) demonization of the backpack and bumbag."
Kode 9's Top 10 for 2005
1. Skream – 'Request Line'
2. Pressure feat. Warrior Queen – 'Dem a Bomb We'
3. Roll Deep – 'Sidewinder'
4. Digital Mystikz - 'Stuck'
5. Digital Mystikz - 'Neverland'
6. 'Terror Danjah & Trim – 'Boogeyman'
7. Digital Mystikz – 'Officer'
8. Burial – 'Broken Home'
9. Trim & Scratch 'Trim & Scratch'
10. Hundreds of Rinse sets on mp3
"Transport masochism and geo-politics playing out beneath the surface of London. Daytime apocalypse TV and the security vacuum around Oval tube 7/7. Travelling underground through (Baby)lon(don)'s ecology of fear. Distraction in the factory of potential death. Paranoid, racist stares and the twitchy, uncomfortable fidgeting of underground man suspended in surreal tension amidst a Metro paper jungle of atrocity headlines and snapshots of contorted, melted metal. Tube daydreams of incineration bleeding into claustrophobic blrd flu dread. Acute awareness of damp respiration vector currents during rush hour meat compression, and olfactory alerts to the slightest hint of burning. Moist residue of sweaty palm prints on handrails. The (long overdue) demonization of the backpack and bumbag."
Kode 9's Top 10 for 2005
1. Skream – 'Request Line'
2. Pressure feat. Warrior Queen – 'Dem a Bomb We'
3. Roll Deep – 'Sidewinder'
4. Digital Mystikz - 'Stuck'
5. Digital Mystikz - 'Neverland'
6. 'Terror Danjah & Trim – 'Boogeyman'
7. Digital Mystikz – 'Officer'
8. Burial – 'Broken Home'
9. Trim & Scratch 'Trim & Scratch'
10. Hundreds of Rinse sets on mp3
Friday, December 16, 2005
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Prancehall
2005 according to gully skeng man Prancehall
"Do you remember that bit in The Exorcist where Linda Blair's head's spinning around and green stomach bile is erupting from her mouth like that kinda thing is in fashion? Well, try to imagine the same scene if Skepta was in an Akademiks nightie and instead of calling out 'Karen', he was spraying out the names of MCs, while Father Jammer was sprinkling the booth with Holy Ribena and popping off shots as each name was bellowed out."
"Only then can you comprehend the merkery that they've both been dishing out. Jammer (who has turned up to every grime event this year with a CD in his pocket on the off chance he can hijack the stage and do a live PA of 'Murkle Man') has been getting the biggest reloads ever witnessed, while Skepta has been showering down MCs quicker than you can make a man say 'OH MY DIDDY'."
"Add to this, the fact that they've both only been MCing for a matter of months, and you can see why this year quite deservedly belongs to Jam and Skep."
1. The Jammer prank call mp3 and his ‘Murkle Man’ video
2. All of the sped-up-vocalled tracks by Low Deep
3. Tinchy Stryder - ‘Underground’ (and everything else Tinchy and Ruff Sqwad have made, apart from ‘Uptown Girl’ which is swag)
4. Skepta - ‘Duppy’ (and Skepta’s ‘Winnie The Pooh’ bars)
5. Logan Sama using the word 'dichotomy' on the Rinsessions DVD (and his Brussels promo mix)
6. Wiley - ‘Tunnel Vision’ (and anything else Wiley has produced)
7. Skream - ‘Midnight Request Line’
8. Ears - ‘Lend Me Your Ears’ (and his bars on Spooky’s ‘Joyride’, which is also a big track)
9. The sound of a reload
10. Plasticman - ‘Japan’ (and the track he produced for Lethal B’s album and the ‘Still Tippin’ remix and basically everything he’s made... I also wanna mention Mark One - ‘Plodder’, but I‘m out of space).
Prancehall's been going on dutty for a minute still. In 2006 catch his new show on London's leading Rinse FM
"Do you remember that bit in The Exorcist where Linda Blair's head's spinning around and green stomach bile is erupting from her mouth like that kinda thing is in fashion? Well, try to imagine the same scene if Skepta was in an Akademiks nightie and instead of calling out 'Karen', he was spraying out the names of MCs, while Father Jammer was sprinkling the booth with Holy Ribena and popping off shots as each name was bellowed out."
"Only then can you comprehend the merkery that they've both been dishing out. Jammer (who has turned up to every grime event this year with a CD in his pocket on the off chance he can hijack the stage and do a live PA of 'Murkle Man') has been getting the biggest reloads ever witnessed, while Skepta has been showering down MCs quicker than you can make a man say 'OH MY DIDDY'."
"Add to this, the fact that they've both only been MCing for a matter of months, and you can see why this year quite deservedly belongs to Jam and Skep."
1. The Jammer prank call mp3 and his ‘Murkle Man’ video
2. All of the sped-up-vocalled tracks by Low Deep
3. Tinchy Stryder - ‘Underground’ (and everything else Tinchy and Ruff Sqwad have made, apart from ‘Uptown Girl’ which is swag)
4. Skepta - ‘Duppy’ (and Skepta’s ‘Winnie The Pooh’ bars)
5. Logan Sama using the word 'dichotomy' on the Rinsessions DVD (and his Brussels promo mix)
6. Wiley - ‘Tunnel Vision’ (and anything else Wiley has produced)
7. Skream - ‘Midnight Request Line’
8. Ears - ‘Lend Me Your Ears’ (and his bars on Spooky’s ‘Joyride’, which is also a big track)
9. The sound of a reload
10. Plasticman - ‘Japan’ (and the track he produced for Lethal B’s album and the ‘Still Tippin’ remix and basically everything he’s made... I also wanna mention Mark One - ‘Plodder’, but I‘m out of space).
Prancehall's been going on dutty for a minute still. In 2006 catch his new show on London's leading Rinse FM
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Blackdown soundboy end of year review: Joe Nice
The year according to DJ Joe Nice
"For 2005, I've felt most strongly about my disdain for our president, George Bush."
"I dont understand how one man could single-handedly ruin a nation, but it seems that GW has achieved the impossible. He's snatched the 2000 election from Al Gore and 250 million Americans (and more worldwide) groaned when his 2004 re-election was executed over 12 months ago. I would like to know why we are still fighting a war in Iraq. I would like to know why his response to the people of New Orleans has been slow and why Americans were suffering with no food and no water for a week. I hope to have the answers to these questions... one day. Sooner... rather than later."
TOP TEN SOUNDS
1. Augustus Pablo "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown."
I'm not sure dub gets any better than this.
2. Stevie Wonder "Songs in the Key of Life"
3. King Tubby "Dance Hall Dub"
4. Anything by Luther Vandross.
His death on July 1, 2005 might be the saddest personal event for me this calendar year.
5. Alicia Keys "Unbreakable."
The lyrics to this tune are poetry.
6. Prince "Small Club."
It's a bootleg 2CD set of an aftershow in The Hague, Netherlands; Aug, 18, 1988. It's the way I believe live performances should be. Creative. Intimate. Personal. Spontaneous. It's Prince at the absolute height of his powers.
7. DanGee & JohnAsk "Live @ Sonar mix."
I will continue to beat the drum for these guys...even when they seem to prefer to remain obscure. They played the lounge at Sonar (a club in Baltimore) for the evening and as usual, I was armed with the mini-disc recorder. I've heard them do their thing before, but August 20, 2005 was different. They were magical... and I was happy to be there for the whole evening... front and center.
Hear the mixes here: HOUSE, DUB and BEATS
8. Godfather Sage "June 11, 2005."
Kian, aka Godfather Sage threw down the best d&b set I've heard in a long time... maybe ever. Another magical performance. This mix will stand the test of time.
Listen HERE.
9. Digital Mystikz "Officer."
Years from now, people from all walks of life, will be playing this tune.
10. Fertile Ground "Black Is..."
They're the next big name in acid/contemporary jazz. And... they're local. I'm so proud of them.
Check Joe Nice's DJs sets in a club 2006 or listen to his radio show on www.gourmetbeats.com. Go Team Nice!
"For 2005, I've felt most strongly about my disdain for our president, George Bush."
"I dont understand how one man could single-handedly ruin a nation, but it seems that GW has achieved the impossible. He's snatched the 2000 election from Al Gore and 250 million Americans (and more worldwide) groaned when his 2004 re-election was executed over 12 months ago. I would like to know why we are still fighting a war in Iraq. I would like to know why his response to the people of New Orleans has been slow and why Americans were suffering with no food and no water for a week. I hope to have the answers to these questions... one day. Sooner... rather than later."
TOP TEN SOUNDS
1. Augustus Pablo "King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown."
I'm not sure dub gets any better than this.
2. Stevie Wonder "Songs in the Key of Life"
3. King Tubby "Dance Hall Dub"
4. Anything by Luther Vandross.
His death on July 1, 2005 might be the saddest personal event for me this calendar year.
5. Alicia Keys "Unbreakable."
The lyrics to this tune are poetry.
6. Prince "Small Club."
It's a bootleg 2CD set of an aftershow in The Hague, Netherlands; Aug, 18, 1988. It's the way I believe live performances should be. Creative. Intimate. Personal. Spontaneous. It's Prince at the absolute height of his powers.
7. DanGee & JohnAsk "Live @ Sonar mix."
I will continue to beat the drum for these guys...even when they seem to prefer to remain obscure. They played the lounge at Sonar (a club in Baltimore) for the evening and as usual, I was armed with the mini-disc recorder. I've heard them do their thing before, but August 20, 2005 was different. They were magical... and I was happy to be there for the whole evening... front and center.
Hear the mixes here: HOUSE, DUB and BEATS
8. Godfather Sage "June 11, 2005."
Kian, aka Godfather Sage threw down the best d&b set I've heard in a long time... maybe ever. Another magical performance. This mix will stand the test of time.
Listen HERE.
9. Digital Mystikz "Officer."
Years from now, people from all walks of life, will be playing this tune.
10. Fertile Ground "Black Is..."
They're the next big name in acid/contemporary jazz. And... they're local. I'm so proud of them.
Check Joe Nice's DJs sets in a club 2006 or listen to his radio show on www.gourmetbeats.com. Go Team Nice!
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