LV "38" EP

Out now on 12".

Out now on digital too.

Me & Dusk in Fact mag.

Interview in 412 mag reveals the hidden influence of Now10 on "Margins Music".

Pitchfork May: SBTRKT

This month's Pitchfork column featuring SBTRKT.

SBTRKT interview...

Blackdown: I first clocked your music about 18 months to two years ago. For someone we’d never come across, your music seemed really finished: had you started producing then? You seemed to be far further down the production curve than most people we first encounter.

SBTRKT: I’ve been creating music for about 10 years and spend most of my spare time in front of Logic messing with tunes. Ever since listening to Masters At Work mid 90s house, drum & bass from the Reinforced/ Metalheadz era through to 2-step I wanted to make tunes, & started messing with those sounds. My early stuff was more of an imitation of other artists rather than my own direction. Over time I learnt how to record and arrange any of the ideas I had in my head from the beats to bigger strings.

B: You DJ in a mask and you’ve seemingly come out of nowhere to remix number 1 records. Perhaps unsurprisingly I’ve heard lots of cheeky rumours about you, that you’re really well connected in the music business for a “new” producer, that you’re friends with Gilles Peterson, you know Sinden and Switch … hahaha. How do you plead?!

S: Lol. Not guilty! It’s true, no-one knew who I was when I sent tracks out as SBTRKT... I’m pretty anti 'well-connected' artists. The only reason people heard my tracks is because DJs like yourself and Mary Anne Hobbs/Sinden/Benji B started playing them first and then it caught on to DJs like Annie Mac, Skream, Zinc...

Twitter has been great at hitting people up - I just write tracks and let them out there through my email. Or I just chuck my new tracks up on Soundcloud for people to hear. Chances are they won’t come out for ages because I’m crap at hooking finished tracks up with labels!

I used go to plastic a lot ‘bout 5 years ago where I became friends with Sinden. We lost touch for a bit. And then he started supporting my sound without knowing he already knew me - he booked me as SBTRKT to play at his fabric night last year. Only on the night, after months, he found out it was me...

Remixing Tinie Tempah is just luck of the draw. I turned it down at first but then it came back on my iTunes and decided I would give it a go... didn’t realise the original was set to no.1!

I’m now getting a load of crazy remix requests prob on the back of that. J.L.S for example?! I love remixing but it’s got to be a decent track!

B: When you first started sending us beats , they had a percussive, 2step influence that pre-dated the “future garage” movement. How did you find yourself going down this path and why did you choose it…

S: I’ve always been big into 2step since its early days. When you are first buying music you try and find a sound that you call your own. And that was UK garage for me. Used to spend a lot of time & money as a kid down in Release the Groove & Uptown records basements. Jay Da Flex [Ghost] used to be my main source of knowledge in R.T.G. its kinda strange hearing the name being used now as when I first started playing around with sequencers I sent out CD demos to my mates named 'future garage'!

I was really into the Seiji/ Bugz world. That was my journey from 2-step thru broken beat to basically where Appleblim, Kode 9, Burial came around. Playing & making music which fused all the similar strands of electronic music I’m into.

Garage has also always been my link to London. So the image it creates in my head drifting over the pirate station airwaves back in the day is inseparable. It’s that thing people say like 'unless you been to Detroit you won’t really understand the music' or similarly to Berlin. London has always been my city so that swing element has always been in my music - however far removed from the original 2-step sound it is.

B: You’ve also been known to play live sets in clubs using Ableton. How did that come about and how is it better/worse than traditional DJing?

S: I used to play strictly vinyl sets but I lost the enjoyment of playing in a traditional way. Could never really settle on one - vinyl ,CDs, digital?!

Ableton definitely works for me. I can splice between loops and cue points in tracks & full songs. Guess you have to use your method and run with it. Cooly G is great with CDrs. Gaslamp Killer flips the way to use Serato and Derrick May I admire for his turntable mixing skills!

I’ve rarely seen anyone playing laptop sets I’m impressed with. Generally its either head in the screen or too much -too loud/ too many overdubs/ timestretch to oblivion! The laptop set is byword for shit these days/ I want to change that image!

B: As I mentioned above, you often DJ or play live in a mask: what role does it play and how is it important to your performance?

S: live performance and music in general these days seems to be about the celebrity of it. something I'm not into. the music i make is slightly unexpected and the mask is part of that idea. I'm really into old cultures and new, also my background has roots globally. its inspired the way i conceptually write music, and in the end its just the visual identity of that. Everyone knows what SBTRKT looks like and that's enough, I just want people to focus on the music, not on where I grew up or what I ate for lunch!

The mask itself is created by Hidden Place they are working on a lot of the visual stuff - more to come on that front for live shows later in the year...

B: Can you tell people about the releases you’ve had on different labels and what they were like…

S: Well, to this point there’s only been a few releases. I’ve had two vinyl releases out on Brainmath Recordings & one on Young Turks. All the tracks on these were the ones which got a lot of attention before the summer last year. The first tracks people heard really. 2020 on the Brainmath EP and “Soundboy Shift” on Young Turks both got some really good feedback.

I guess musically they are all quite different. I’ve never really stuck to a tempo or template sound. So it’s harder for people to pinpoint my style. I just write tracks I feel fit my mood.

There’s also been the EP I co-produced with Sinden last November. We decided to hook up and experiment, see what would come out. Really happy with what we made. Def sounds like a blurring of two worlds. Learnt a lot about what works in clubs by hearing what else he’s producing and playing out. Reckon I’ve shown him a few studio tricks of mine too! We’re working on a follow up for later in the year. Future releases are “Break Off,” a collab EP with Sampha which is on Ramp, and then a couple of bits on Tempa & some other labels that people will find out about soon.

Additionally working on a 2nd EP for Young Turks which should be out in July and to follow up with an album, which I’ve spent most of this year working towards. Trying to hold down these tracks until its all done, as things end up on YouTube within an hour or being on radio these days , then people won’t appreciate it when its actually released & fully mastered & packaged...

B: You’ve had some pretty high profile remixes of late: Basement Jaxx ft Kelis & Chipmunk, Gorillaz and most recently Tinie Tempah’s number 1. How did they come about and how did you approach each of them?

S: Yeh, some of them are big artists I always wanted to remix , other remixes I really enjoyed making were for Fantastic Mr Fox, These New Puritans, Cessa & Modeselektor too. Jaxx came about through the label, same as Tinie Tempah. I’d been sending tracks to Modeselektor for a few months when they asked if I’d like to remix them. An offer I couldn’t refuse! Massive massive fan of theirs. I like the challenge of reworking someone else’s track. Responses to remixes I’ve done have been really positive. Gorillaz aint gonna happen though for No. of reasons. That A&R video that did the rounds sums that up. Haha

B: You’ve recently played on Rinse and at FWD>>, what were those experiences like?

S: It’s a seminal night to play at. So- pretty big shoes to fill...
Was pondering whether I should Ableton to play at Plastic as it’s just not the done thing in that club! But Plastic has always been about forward thinking music from whatever era & of course the atmosphere & sonics. So the medium for me doesn’t matter.

Rinse was mad. Really enjoyed that session. Nice to be able to stretch out over 2 hours. Showcased a few other tunes I wouldn’t normally drop in club sets. Something I’ve tuned into over the past few years listening to the Dusk& Blackdown show, Skreams Stella session, Zincs & Roska etc.

B: What do you make of music right now? Do you find it inspiring, and if so, what is inspiring you? What other producers or scenes – if any – do you feel inspired by or musical kinship with?

S:It depends on my mood. Producers who sounds I’m feeling like Roska, Ramadanman, Untold, Faulty DL, James Blake, Mount Kimbie, Lil Silva, Dubbel Dutch, Blue Daisy, Zomby and of course the mighty Zinc and MJ Cole. And then in a slightly different musical plain I really like the music of Santigold, Metronomy, M.I.A, Little Dragon, The XX, Animal Collective: the songs, attitude & energy of all this stuff appeals to me.

Sometimes I go on a digging mission and find some inspiring West African stuff or early techno, or a danceable jazz record. It’s too easy to follow trends and make tracks which just fit with everything else people are playing. It’s not really your own musical vision or path anymore. That’s my main thing is to write tracks I want to create and listen to, not just because it ticks certain neat current comparison boxes: “tropical yep, funky yep, 8 bit yep, vocal stabs yep, Detroit yep.”

I’m pretty impatient in listening too. I hate badly arranged tracks, there’s gotta be a beginning, middle and end.

B: The music industry and the scenes that interact with it have changed massively in the last 5 years or so: how do you see those changes and how have they affected you

S: I think the change from the days of vinyl stores, distributors and label being the focal point of a scene. To now nights, radio and internet sharing is a massive leap. Lot of new producers are pretty comfortable with the new regime! But noticed a lot of more established producers can’t deal with the uncertainties. When I first made tracks there seemed like a huge barrier between knowing someone to get your played, to now where you can upload it and people can respond to it immediately , and all by completely bypassing the 'who you know school. The music fans speak for you! I don’t have a problem with the way things are now. It seems there’s more empowerment as an artist than before. I always worked from a distance too so it works well for me.

B: What are your next big musical challenges or projects?

S: Have a couple of projects on the go. First up on being the support artist with a band called Holy Fuck on their UK tour in May. It’s different to the way I’ve been doing performances so far, but don’t see why tracks have to confined to being played in a club.

Finishing a record is a big thing for me. Gives me an opportunity to show what kind of artist I am without it being just a single track heard in different places. Working on live performances for the end of the year but I’ll give more info on that when it’s clearer...


For more info: http://www.myspace.com/subtractone

LAX to ATX...

Just got back from Dusk and my two date tour of the US for Scion. To fight off the jetlag for a few more hours, here's some ramblings. Big up Danny and Adam for bringing us over.



First off, whoever named it Greenland was having a laugh. I've flown over it before but never been struck just what amazing skiing it would make. You could climb one of those peaks and ski all the way out to sea!

It should be said it's mental that the same flight then goes over stuff like this:



And yo, all my US agricultural mandem, what the hell is the deal with your vast circular fields?

Also I should add that looking down on the clouds while listening to LHF Infiltration mixes is intense. But oddly the tune of the trip for me was this...



... which got looped and looped on this Kowton podcast (also featuring WBeeza and Moodyman gems). Why can't I find "The Love Quadrant" on vinyl anywhere? Found this on vinyl thanks to the comments box, wahey! Bigup Mr Space Dimension for getting in touch too.



So yeah, LA... or to be more precise, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood.

This was kind of nuts...



So was the backstage "green room". This shot is Dusk in the mirror next to the photo of Bob Marley standing in this very room...



As the signed photos of Bob, Dolly Parton, Skid Row and 45,853.2 other bands suggested, we were in rock territory. The gig looked a bit like this...



I'm pretty much zero compromise, so we did 'us': started with a beatless new Farrah tune, played 30 mins of UK funky, then 50 mins of dubstep and grime before ending with Origin Unknown's "Valley of the Shadows (31 Seconds)". And honestly? I think they were there for Nero's stadium rock. Trim, Tempa T and Goodz tracks got air. Any track that took longer than 1min to mix out of got air. Even 31 Seconds got blank looks: only Joker v Terror worked. They wanted a show not a set: we could have probably done with an MC. But that's cool: we did us and learned a thing or two about what LA crowds want.



After the gig, Juakali was a really welcome face. It was so good to reconnect with dubstep, or in this case Dub War, family. Sadly it was too late to head over to Low End Theory: next time.

We did however, completely by accident, stumble upon this place:



So you think you have a few records? This guy has 500,000. Half. A. Million. I bought some Arabic music and hoped the US border guards wouldn't take it funny.

Soon it was time to head for Texas...



"Keep Austin Weird" say all the t-shirts. Keep it wonderful I say. Green and leafy from above, creative and funky from the ground. Mmm to BBQ and warm nights. Ohmydayz to the guys from the US 3rd Armoured Cavalry turning up at our hotel in Stetsons, spurs and green uniforms for some kind of function. (I didn't take any photos, sorry, they have tanks... lots of tanks).



The gig itself was total bliss: beginning with a half empty dancefloor, people seemed to join and really listen and respond to what we were playing, like our new 130bpm stuff or "deFocused." They were so responsive we began to dig out all kinds of dubs. Vibzin's "Hot 4 U" got reloaded seconds after it began giving me goosebumps. The set ended in jungle: Omni Trio, Shy FX and Adam F "Metropolis" amongst others.



Chatting to VVV and his lot afterwards, me supping what is called a 'shot' of tequilla in the US but we'd call 'half a pint', Dusk pondered if it was his favourite set of ours ever?



Austin, we salute you. Give us a shout if you ever need us back. Then it was time to roll home...

Dusk + Blackdown live

Rinse April

Rinse FM Dusk + Blackdown ft LV April 2010

Download the audio HERE.

Funkineven "She's Acid" (Eglo)
Kush Arora "Humidifier" (unreleased)
Martin Kemp "untitled" (unreleased)
Nehuen "Chased in the Woods" (Corsario Digital)
DJ Naughty "Quicktime (Roska remix)" (Roska Kicks & Snares)
DVA "New World Order" (DVA)
El-B and Noodles ft Natasha "I Feel" (unreleased)
Poirier "Gyal Secret Pictures ft MC Zulu (Baobinga remix) (unreleased)
Rishi Romero "African forest" (Made In NL)
XXXY "Blue Flashing Light" (Infra)
Mumdance "Smasher" (unreleased)
Grievous Angel "Badboy" (unreleased)
Danny Weed and Cage "Creeper (Maxwell D and Beans funky remix)" (unreleased)
DJ Naughty "Gearshift" (Roska Kicks & Snares)

***LV in the mix***

LV + MessageToBears + Zaki "Explode" (unreleased)
LV + Errol Bellot "Don't Joke with Love" (unreleased)
LV + Josh Idehen "Your Coat" (unreleased Keysound Recordings)
LV + Smiso "Boomslang" (unreleased)
Scratcha + LV "Dumpling" (unreleased)
Doc Shebeleza "Ebumnandini" (unreleased)
Jahcoozi "Specklshine (LV RMX)" (unreleased)
LV + Quarta330 "Hylo" (Hyperdub)

Rhiana "So Hard (Rahtid Sound remix)" (unreleased)
Compound One "Get Loose (Landslide remix) (unreleased Compound One)
Calibre "Tenopause" (forthcoming Deep Medi)
Double Helix "Shadow Of The City" (unreleased)
Vibzin "Hot 4 U" (unreleased)

Desto "Glass Clouds" (unreleased)
Terror Danjah "Air Bubble (Dark Tone Sound remix)" (unreleased)
Terror Danjah "Air Bubble (Mr Mitch remix) (unreleased)
D Double E "Streetfighter" (unreleased)
Footsie & SX "Woooo" (unreleased)
Terror Danjah "Air Bubble (Teeza remix) (unreleased)
Mr Mitch "Fright Night (SRC remix)" (unreleased)
P Money and Sukh Night "Slang" (unreleased True Tiger)
Rudekid "Lush remix" (No Hats No Hoods)
Yeti "Bamboo" (unreleased)

LDN017

An exclusive dub mix by LV of the 5 tracks from their forthcoming "38" EP ft Josh Idehen, out in May on Keysound Recordings.

Futuresonic festival

L-Vis 1990, Roska, Oneman, me & Dusk, Oldboy

Future Sonic Festival
15 May 2010
11pm - 4am
Sound Control, New Wakefield Street
Manchester


More info here.

Pitchfork April: MJ Cole

Pitchfork April: MJ Cole.

US Tour

Woiiiiii LA and Austin are you ready???!!!

Keysound Takeover

It's a stickup, nobody move.

"We built this thing in secret, but now the cat’s outta the bag!"

LHF, Kowton and myself get the interview treatment at Pipedown blog.

Rinse March

Rinse FM March. DOWNLOAD it here.

Dusk + Blackdown Rinse FM March 2010

Gremino "Shining" (unreleased)
S.Chu "Quickfoot Revisited" (forthcoming DVA)
Plasmik "Faces" (forthcoming Hype)
C.R.S.T. "Need You" (unreleased)
Maxwell D "Gone Away" (unreleased)
Slackk "Theme from Slackk" (unreleased)
Wiley - Never Be Your Woman (feat. Emeli Sand) (Solo (UK) Loves Garage Remix)
VVV "Slack Tide" (unreleased)
Untold "Flygirl" (unreleased)
Egyptrix "The Only Way Up (Ikonika remix)" (Night Slugs)
Zed Bias ft Omar "Special (MJ Cole's Back To The Future mix)" (unreleased)
Sines "Do It Up" (unreleased)
VVV "Climate Change" (unreleased)
Gorillaz "Super Fast Jellyfish (Sbtrkt instrumental remix)" (unreleased)
Metalbox Products "Keep It Moving" (forthcoming L2S)
Kuoyah "Angel Dubs (Sully remix)" (Frijsfo)

Desto "Disapearing Reappearing Ink VIP" (unreleased)
James Blake "Footnotes" (unreleased)
James Blake "CMYK" (unreleased)
Guido "Cat in the Window" (forthcoming Punch Drunk)
Quasimoto "Broad Factor (Harmonimix)" (unreleased)
Low Limit "Inspirational Jumpsuit" (unreleased)
No Fixed Abode v Amen Ra "NO Love" (unreleased)
Devonwho "Nimbus" (unreleased)

Dream McClean "Woo Riddim freestyle" (unreleased)
DOK + Terror Danjah "Peanut Punch" (unreleased)
Trim "Monkey" (Monkey Features CD)
Swindle "Daredevil" (forthcoming Planet Mu)
Trim n Scratch, Obese "Chat Shit" (Monkey Features CD)
Terror Danjah "Air Bubble (Jack Daniels remix)" (unreleased)
Terror Danjah "Air Bubble (Mooney remix) (unreleased)
Unknown "Tuff Africa" (Erba)
SNK "Wavey 8's" (unreleased)
Amen Ra "Essence Investigation" (unreleased)
Amen Ra "One Way Ticket" (unreleased)

Save Plastic People 2

Is it the last FWD>> at Plastic People tonight?

If so, I'm not being funny but...

THERE'S STILL TIME FOR EVERYONE (including hackney residents who missed the first deadline) TO SEND A LETTER TO THE FRIENDS OF PP COMMITTEE:

PO Box 302
Rosden House
372
Old Street
LondonEC1V 9LT

Friendsofplasticpeople@googlemail.com

These letters will be considered by Hackney licensing at a later date. The more of these there are, the more it will show how much we love the venue and how many people across the globe are against its closure. Same goes for petition signatures:

Sign the petition here. ~8,000 people from the Facebook Group haven't yet!

Pitchfork March: Ikonika

"8bit chips sing like cyborg buskers in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district..."

My Pitchfork column this month is dedicated to Ikonika's absorbing debut album, "Contact, Love, Want, Have." The piece is my thoughts on the album: below is the full interview...

Ikonika interview

Blackdown: Hyperdub has become a wonderfully powerful force in certain sectors of the music industry, what does it mean to you to be part of such a creative and influential squad?

Ikonika: I thought it was a little daunting at first, because I was a big fan of Burial and Kode9. I understood what Hyperdub meant to so many people and felt that I couldn’t really justify being on a label like that, thinking that this label was too big for someone like me, someone who just accidentally landed on planet Dubstep. I still think I’m a risk, I have no rules and that makes it very hard to label me, but then I just think I wouldn’t be signed to Hyperdub if that wasn't the case.

B: Writing an album is often a very challenging process, how did you set out to tackle writing it and how did you find the journey?

I: I just had to do it. I’ve learned so much about my music this year that if I hadn’t done this album I just wouldn’t have done anything. I feel invincible and confident. I feel like I could make another album right now! I want to keep moving, do my thing and progress to the next level.

B: You have some great titles for your work, from the album title “Contact, Love, Want, Have” to “They Are All Losing the War?” Can you explain what inspired them? Who for example, does “The Idiot” refer to and who is “Sahara Michael?”

I: Some are great and some just don’t make sense…I like balancing dumb with clever. The album title was a bit random, its merely 4 word magnets stuck together.

I just thought it was a beautiful collection of words. I like the idea of them talking and getting to know each other in the packet and becoming more and more attached. It’s definitely how I feel about making music right now.

‘Idiot’ could refer to the book, but it doesn’t and I haven’t read it…it was a working title that seemed to work with the wiggle and stomp of the tune, so I just left it. ‘Sahara Michael’ is my Assyrian alias when I’m out with my Assyrian friend. We basically go out and lie to complete strangers. We just do it for a giggle, bit horrible but we don’t care. ‘They Are All Losing The War’ is a song about everyone who is stuck in the mud back there somewhere and can’t get out…I’ve just realised that’s probably not the best analysis of song titles, ever.

B: One thing that’s clear from the album is that you chose to avoid vocalists, what was your thinking on a fully instrumental album?

I: Well I don’t have any means to a vocal booth, so that’s one reason. But yeah, I just intended it to be an instrumental album because that’s normal to me. I’m the singer, I sing in synths…music is really the only way that truly expresses who I really am, no matter how clichéd that sounds this expression is really important to me. I just want to dance and feel something.

B: One musical theme that’s run through your productions for quite some time is the use of dissonance, offkey or sour melodies. How do you go about writing these kinds of melodies and what draws you to them?

I: I don’t really know how to play keys so I just smack them until something nice comes out. But I want my melodies to speak. They’re simple, polite and to the point…I guess they're from my attraction to Pop and R&B hooks. I love things that are catchy and memorable, they do turn out a little sour and deranged but that’s what I love about messing around with synths…To me, that’s the whole point, making these machines express their emotions, just like WALL-E.



B: How did you come to choose the name “Ikonika?” It could be taken as quite a statement…

I: I think ‘Ikonika’ is just someone who doesn’t care about following trends, someone who is here to destroy certain elements of the dancefloor and explore new routes, new ways of dancing and new ways of feeling something. Maybe I’m here just to confuse everyone.

B: In URB last year you outlined a very diverse series of influences, but sonically your music seems focused. Do you ever have urges to make music sonically similar to Madonna and Dillinger Escape Plan?

I: I don’t think I have urges that direct. To me all my influences have this certain vibe about them, the context. That’s what attracts me to make the music I do. I know exactly what I want to achieve. I’m all about contrast, but it has to be structured a particular way. The inlay of the Hyperdub 5 album says ‘camouflage of a sad song’ when defining what the label is. That really speaks to me.

B: What’s been inspiring you musically recently and what releases are you looking forward to this year?

I: At the moment I’m very excited by people like The-Dream, Salem, Cubic Zirconia and Nicki Minaj. Also producers and DJs like R1 Ryders, Bok Bok, Jam City, Optimum and Kingdom.

B: Daedelus recently said he’s into your music but doesn’t feel like its “embodying a female perspective” musically. Do you feel your music does or should have to embody a female perspective and more generally, how do you find being a female producer in the male-dominated music industry?

I: My music could only embody my perspective. If that means my gender plays a big part of that, then OK. But truthfully I never really know how to answer questions relating to gender. I find it very hard because a lot of females big me up for getting a little attention in the industry. I’m just glad people feel my music and respect the idea that I won’t make an issue about gender, or even exploit gender to succeed. I read another lazy blog post that called me the M.I.A of Dubstep…that’s another issue entirely, but one that bothers me a lot. the thing is people won’t really know what they’re saying or how things will be perceived because they simple don’t know.

Save Plastic People petition

Dear reader,
If you have ever enjoyed any music from this blog please sign and share this petition to save Plastic People: here.

Martin

Rinse February

We were back on Rinse Thurs 25th, fun set, especially strong on the grime this month.

DOWNLOAD our set here.

Bias & Gurley "Roll" (unreleased)
Monkey Steak "Haarlem Drift" (Steak House)
Roska "Time Stamp" (unreleased)
VVV "Final Frame" (unreleased)
Roska "Squalk" (Rinse)
Zed Bias "Flipper"(unreleased)
Todd Edwards "I Might Be (MJ Cole remix)" (unreleased)
Brackles "6am El Gordo" (unreleased)
Naptha "Soundclash (Grievous Angel funky remix)" (unreleased)
ID and Baobinga "Backfoot" (unreleased)
Girl Unit "IRL" (unrleased)
Cassie "Official Girl (Deadboy remix)" (unreleased)
Kowton "Looking at You (Hackman remix)" (unreleased)
Tiny Tempah "Pass Out (SBTRKT remix)" (unreleased)

B Live & Silencer " Warfare" (unrleased)
D.O.K. "West Coast" (unreleased)
Kaychi "Runaway Strings" (unreleased)
Terror Danjah & Joker "Gully Goon Estate" (unreleased)
SRC "411 Lemsip (Mr Mitch remix)" (unreleased)
Sharkey Major "Shark Attack remix ft Ghetto, Dot Rotten, P Money, Devlin" (unreleased)

Ikonika "They Are All Loosing the War" (unreleased Hyperdub)
Starkey "Starting Gate" (forthcoming Planet Mu)
Amen Ra "Candy Rain" (unreleased)
Kyle Hall "Kaychun" (forthcoming Hyperdub)
No Fixed Abode "Sunset (Mumbai Slum Edition)" (unreleased)
ID and Baobinga "Red Dust" (forthcoming)
Distance "Ill Kontent" (unreleased)
Emika "Double Edge (Pinch remix)" (forthcoming Ninja Tune)
Ramadanman "Don't Change For Me" (forthcoming Hessle Audio)
ID and Baobinga "Man Down" (unreleased)
Blawan "Potchla Vee" (unreleased)

LV ft Josh "Walk It" from "38 EP" (forthcoming Keysound)
LV ft Josh "Face of God" from "38 EP" (forthcoming Keysound)


· Don't forget you can download all our older sets from the Dusk + Blackdown Archive page.

Save Plastic People

"There is a light and it can never go out..."

Official Statement from the Management of Plastic People

"Hello everyone and thank you very much for your support. We know that Plastic People is loved by all of you, but we could never have predicted the reactions from so many people in such a short time. It has been overwhelming. On behalf of everyone here at Plastic People, special thanks to Benny Blanco for starting the ‘Keep Plastic People Alive’ Campaign and to all of you who are showing your appreciation for what the club has done over the last 16 years

Charlotte and I are in no doubt how serious this situation is and as a result had a meeting with the solicitor yesterday. This does not mean that all hope is lost and that Plastic People has come to its end. However, it does mean that we must do all we can to co-operate with the Police and Hackney Council in order to ensure that we can keep the best dance music venue in London open for all to enjoy.

Here is a breakdown of the whole process:

• The police have made an application to Hackney Council for a review the premises licence at Plastic People on the grounds that the way the management have been operating the club has breached the existing terms of its licence and failed to prevent crime and disorder and public nuisance.

• The notice outside the club’s premises will be there till the 11th March, which is the closing date for representations to be made by ‘interested parties’ (unfortunately this does not include you guys, but there may be an opportunity for you to make a contribution, see below) for or against the closure or any other outcome of the review.

• After the 11th, the licensing department at Hackney Council will, within 10 days, write to all parties concerned to invite them to a sub-committee hearing on a given date at a given address where they would make their case. That hearing should take place by the 31st of March.

• It would then be up to the Committee to decide on the eventual outcome which could be one or more of these:

(a) To revoke the license altogether;
(b) To suspend the license for a period not exceeding three months;
(c) To modify the conditions of the license;

Once a decision has been made, we would be notified and in the worst case scenario, we would have the option of appealing, but our current aim is to work with the Police and the Licensing Authority to find a solution that is satisfactory to all. Having never had problems with our licence over 16 years, whether in Oxford Street or Shoreditch, we are optimistic that this will be possible. Whilst the management concentrate on working With the Police and Hackney Council to address their concerns, much still needs to be done. Unfortunately, we can’t make the full version of the Police application openly available at this stage. A collection of people involved in the club are setting up a Committee called Friends of Plastic People. They will gather people’s experiences of working with and attending Plastic People over the years. They will meet this week and no doubt they will let you know how you can help.

I would urge everyone to hold back on making representations to the Police or the Council in the meantime, but by all means carry on spreading the word.

Once again, my most heartfelt gratitude to all of you!"

Bernard KOUDJO
Plastic People LTD
Curtain Road
Shoreditch, EC2A 3QE


Truthfully, I'd be totally devastated if Plastic People closed down, there's nothing like it in London. It is totally fundamental to London-based bass music: from dubstep to early grime, breakbeat garage to UK funky and broken beat, it has incubated so many amazing sounds that have subsequently gone on to conquer the globe.

Hatcha's sets there changed dubstep forever. Kode9 cut his DJ-teeth there. Burial's "Archangel" was first played there: say no more. I've lost count of the number of my hero's who have played there - I once saw Mala hand over the decks to Wiley and Roll Deep. I've lost count of the number of people who I've seen play there and become a hero of mine and subsequently so many other people around the world.

DJing there was one of the most amazing moments of my life. Privately, I've feared this day for many years: I profoundly hope its not about to come. So we need to fight for this special place.

Please join the Facebook group here. Remember joining the Facebook group isn't the solution just a means to get organised. When the committee called Friends of Plastic People is formed we must support their needs.

Pfork: it's a 130 ting right now...

New column in Pitchfork from me, trying to pull together all the strands of the different funky-catalysed 130 bpm movements.

"It's a 130 ting right now..."

In addition, here's part one and two of an interview I did with the photographer of the Skream Keysound 12" a-side, Greg Tuck.

FWD March

FWD>>. Is. Back.

God damn I've missed it.

Twitter

This is me on Twitter.

If a few more of you lot add me, I'll break 1,000 followers, which would be fun.

Damn I just broke 1000, congrats to Kiev dubstepper Glacial for being the 1000th. Hope you enjoy the Skream 12" fella.

And if 15,301 of you lot add me, I'll break even with Skepta, which would be mental.

Until then I'll just continue to conversate with @Shadrack_Mandem. It's made my day. Laughing is good for you you know, even if Shadrack & the boys make me laugh so hard and so randomly I must look a little weird. I think my funnybone might need re-calibrating.

OKZHARP

Photo: fly on the wall by Gerv LV

I was standing outside Plastic People after the Hyperdub 5 CD listening party last year when someone came up to me and introduced himself. His name was Gerv and what he said made me laugh: turns out he knows the Keysound photographer's sister, who used to be my old flatmate and he's in a band called LV, did I know them? Know them, we'd been playing their dubs on Rinse! We began chatting and after a few Budvars, I confessed my love for a lost dub, "Early Mob" which will - to cut a long story short - be coming out as part of a LV EP on Keysound in April.

While sorting out the EP, he IMed me this infectious South African house track. It set off my "wtf" alarm...



Then he mentioned that not only was he heading to South Africa for Christmas, but he'd clocked some mad music being made, often being circulated by taxi drivers affiliated to local soundsystems. I was fascinated, so when he got back I sent him some questions and sent the boys round to give all of LV Chinese burns until they made a mix to share. Here's what happened...

Blackdown:What brought you to South Africa for this trip?

Gerv LV:I was born in Cape Town and came to London when I was about 6 so I’m kindof English in South Africa and South African in England. I’ve got a lot of extended family over there so the first reason for this trip was to connect with them.

B:Can you outline loosely what you were up to and where you went?

G:I decided to extend my trip and use it as an opportunity to explore a bit. I got put in touch with a couple of people who put me in touch with a couple of people and I wanted to soak up as much as possible so I just went wherever the music took me. I was based in Cape Town for just over a month but I also got to visit Johannesburg, Stellenbosch, Grabouw, bits of the Eastern Cape. Some random collaborations came together while I was out there which was really exciting, it was great bringing it back to LDN and playing it to my LV guys.

B:We talked before about you having heard of a culture of taxi drivers affilliated with soundsystems, did you encounter any of that while you were there?

G:The taxis are pretty fascinating to me. The way they seem to operate outside the law, the way they zoom past you on the hard shoulder at a million miles an hour. Each taxi is a soundsystem. Normally you hear them before you see them. Always with the DOOF DOOF DOOF DOOF. Some have brightly-coloured designs and names like ‘Thunderclap’ or ‘Masterblaster’. I heard that every year there is a taxi soundclash convention somewhere up in the eastern Cape where they all get together for raves and drag races on the beach roads. Music is clearly vital to the taxi culture. You often hear people referring to “taxi music”. To be honest, it amazes me that noone has found a way of using the taxis as a way of getting music into people’s ears in a more organized kindof way. I suppose this is just a sign of how embryonic the local music industry is out there, it seems like those channels are all still being formed.

South Africa is a big place so people have to travel huge distances all the time. Last time I was in South Africa years ago I took a bus from Durban to Cape Town and the driver only had 3 CDs. By the time we reached Cape Town 14 hours later I knew every tune backwards! In fact, one of the tracks I remember from that busride was that Mzo Bullet track which has pricked a few ears over here.

I did hear of a couple of people that have benefited from having their music played by the taxis. An early mixtape by DJ Cleo got picked up by one of the Cape Town taxi firms and that really helped him. He’d come down from Gauteng (an area in the North of South Africa) to play parties in Cape Town and people were already familiar with his stuff. I also heard that DJ Mujava used to drive a taxi in Pretoria and he would play his own music in his taxi, selling cds for a couple of bucks out the back. Pretty soon word got out that his taxi was playing good tunes so other taxi drivers and people with bars or shebeens would ask him for cds.

B:What new-to-you musical sounds and styles did you discover while you were out there?

G:So. Much. Music. Everywhere I went. Inevitably lots of the music you hear is that suffocating piped-in mall music you get anywhere in the world but most of the radio stations have SA quotas so you do get to hear the odd ‘local’ thing.

When I was in Joburg I got taken to a great late night place and the dj was sat behind the bar playing all this wicked stuff. I got chatting to him and he was telling me about all this kwaito/house hybrid music coming out of Durban. Zulupower! He played a tune by some people called Big Nuz that I had to try and find (You can hear it in the mix). Most of the music that really excited me over there was this sped-up kwaito stuff. Really imaginative party beats with loads of inappropriate noises and bits of vocal and synth chatter

The first totally-new-to-me thing I came across was this dance called ‘Pantsula’. There is a whole music that’s grown around it. I’m not really sure how it differs from Kwaito but people seem to talk about it as a separate thing. Lots of the South African rappers make pantsula versions of their tunes. Mostly it sounds quite sluggish to me but I heard a few things I liked.

The other cool thing I heard was people mixing Jamaican sounds with the local sounds in whatever way they can. There’s always been quite a vibrant reggae scene in South Africa, my uncle played the bass in a group called ‘Sons of Selassie’ that were quite popular anti-establishment party-starters from the Observatory area of Cape Town. I met a Xhosa reggae singer called Teba Shumba who remembers performing with him back in the day. Michael Jones RIP.



B:Any particular tracks or artists really grab your attention?

G:First thing was Big Nuz. I love the way the 3 of them call and respond and bounce off each other, sometimes overlapping. My mate Spoek told me that their bars are killa but I haven’t got a clue what they’re on about most of the time, though occasionally you get an English phrase like “til the break of daaawn”. And the beats are wicked, lots of odd tuned percussion and percussive synth lines. It’s just straight coolness. Soundtrack to many a hot car journey.



My cousin put me onto a guy called Mzekeke that made me laugh a lot. He calls his music Kasie rap (toilet rap) – it’s very dirgy trancey afrolectro with lots of offensive shouting and weird characters and skits. He’s a huge star in the ghetto and does mobile phone promotions. But he always wears a mask so there’s all this speculation about who he is and what he has done and why he has to protect his true identity.

A few of the best things I picked up out there are totally unknown to me, they’re just called ‘track 4’ or ‘track 6’ or ‘track 13’. I was in a cab on Main Road stuck in really bad rush hour traffic and the driver had one of those car stereos that plays off a USB stick. He was playing a wicked tune and we got talking. Turns out he was a law student from Zimbabwe who was living in exile. He urged me to rip his entire USB drive onto my laptop as long as I have him a few things in return. I never got to thank him properly, there was some unbelievable stuff on there.

B:What were your DJ sets like? I hear you had one eventful one...

G:There was one gig under a railway in the centre of Joburg, the club was literally covered in a thick layer of red dust due to the roadworks happening outside. The whole place had a reddish glow, which was cool, but it got ridiculously hot. From 8pm they were playing that megadistorto aggy halfstep and I got the feeling it was quite a drum and bass crowd. So I went for it with the harder stuff I had with me, they weren’t ready for Stageshow Version). Towards the end I played Sweet Mother by Skepta, a tune I love and which I had been looking forward to playing, and some people at the front were shouting pretty obscene racial insults at me… I remember one voice cutting through the noise saying "Why you playing this African shit?” I so wanted to tell them this tune was straight outta North London!

I also played at a huge outdoor trance festival over New Year which was a madness. They had 3 powercuts during the entire 3 day festival and all 3 were during the first hour of my 2 hour set. I played on the African Dope stage on New Year’s Day, went on just as the sun was going down. ‘Fostercare’ sounded different on that system, heartbreaking. Not sure people were ready for that one either.

My favourite gig was in Cape Town at a place called Co.Lab studios. The music and vibe was amazing all night. Spoek Mathambo came down and touched mic during my set, the highlight was him spitting fire over a Zomby tune called Balloon People into the Doc Daneeka edit of Pathwayz by Digital Mystikz. That was a beautiful moment. I even got to play some Pink Dollaaaaz which made me wish my LV crew were out there with me. Maybe next time…

B:How about a quick mix of those MP3s you gathered? Go on!!!!!!

G:This is a selection of favorites from the trip, plus a couple of things I got sent around the time. Will, Si and I put it together immediately after i got back. It’s got a rub of Dream Cargo in there that’s actually closer to the original tempo of the demo that Kode 9 heard. Seemed a nice fit. The mix starts with an outtake of Smiso saying ‘OK ZHARP’ which became like a catchphrase for my time out there and it ends on a personal note, our dub version of a new collab track. The track was started in 35 degree heat in Fletcher African Dope’s beachside studio in Muizenberg, Cape Town…and finished in a cold room in South London.

LV "OKZHARP mix" for Blackdown Feb 2010

DOWNLOAD it here.

Okmalumkoolkat - OK Zharp intro
? - Ketokole
Big Nuz - Le Ngoma
DJ Killer & Nyekx aka Blackboyz - Killer in the Jungle
French Fries feat Bambounou - Coconut
LV - Dream Cargo slomo rub
Tshwara feat DJ Menace - ?
? - Bring Me Love
DJ Clock - Track 13
? - The Offering
Dikota- Track 6
DJ Cndo - Terminator
Big Nuz with Tira, Bonz Twitty - Superman
? - Nkosana
? - ?
? - Arise and Shine
Scratcha DVA - Dump
Spin - Track 3
? - ?
Zomby – Balloon People
DJ Fork and Knife vs Cabbage - Track 4
Mujava feat Tamara and K - Alostro
Brothers of Peace feat Zulu & Costa - Bop Killers
? - Wild Percussions
LV & Fletcher - Michael Jones (LV dub)

LV release the 5 track "38" EP ft Josh Idehen on Keysound in April, more about it, in due course...