Drilla's Free-Edits

i should probably spend a bit more time perusing the DJ History pages, because it's always chock-full of gems each time i do make a visit.

Drilla's work is a case in point. a couple of months ago i popped over to check out what was floating boats in chuggydiscobalearicland, and noticed he'd started a thread giving away an edit of his - a reworking of a Lack of Afro remix of a Diplomats of Solid Sound track. still with me? good...

it's a belter because it takes an otherwise quite tricky DJ's track and extends the intro out to something a bit more manageable than the original. it also rates highly because the original is so damn good! LOA's drums never fail to raise a smile here.

Diplomats of Solid Sound - If You're Wrong (Lack of Afro Remix) (Drilla's Edit)

not only that, but Drilla also puts up a re-edit of Breakestra's "Little Miss Funky Sole" for us to enjoy too. i think i prefer this to the Diplomats/LOA edit, it's immense...and every time i've dropped it at a party since, it's gone down a storm. the stretched-out intro break and drop into the horns are summink else; if you're spinning funk, you can't really go wrong with this.

Breakestra - Little Miss Funky Sole (Drilla's Edit)

finally, on a more downbeat tip, Drilla has recently dropped a Cymande edit - this time taking "Zion I" and dubbing it up, whilst maintaining the original melodic lifts. this is going to sound great in the summer, but until then, use it to warm yer frosty cockles.

Cymande - Zion I (Drilla's Edit)

GOOD FREE MUSIC - you can't really argue with that, can you? if you dig these be sure to pop over to DJ History and thank Drilla yourselves! oh, and check out the work he does with Drrtyhaze too - fine stuff.

xx

top 10 albums of 2009

i know i should've got this done sooner, but i've been arsing about and umming and aahhing and generally being a bit hopeless in whittling it down to just 10 ( i'd say that's down to the sheer amount of quality music that's being put out there now really). anyway, now i finally have and here they are - in no particular order...

Kinny – Forest of Idle Chit Chat [Tru Thoughts]
we've been spoilt for choice in terms of new material from Tru Thoughts in this, their 10th anniversary year. this release really stood out for me, though - no doubt due in part to the production approach. in simple terms "Forest of Idle Chit Chat" sees Kinny belting out some brilliantly-conceived modern soul vocals over a selection of beats crafted by the finest of the Tru Thoughts production talent (along with a few friends). familiar names Quantic, Hint, TM Juke, Nostalgia77 and Diesler all feature, as do new "ones to watch" Souldrop and Unforscene. the variety (and quality) of the producers, along with the incredible talents of Kinny herself make for a fantastically varied and entertaining listen.

BUY IT HERE

Julien Dyne – Pins and Digits [BBE]
i've said more about this very recently here, so i'll keep this brief: electronica, soul, funk, disco and hip-hop all collide in a wonderful brew of sheer listening pleasure. there's echoes of past sounds mixed very cleverly with modern, dusty, wonky, slightly glitchy head-nod stylings. can't stop listening to it!

BUY IT HERE

Pseudo Slang – We’ll Keep Looking [Fat Beats]
according to the (relatively sparse) Wiki page on this hip-hop duo, the Chicago Times say Pseudo Slang are "the thinking fan's kind of hip-hop". and i'm inclined to agree. there's not too much "new" in terms of production style on this long-awaited full-length debut, but if you're already content with jazzy, melodic, unobtrusive beats and intelligent, thoughtful lyrics then you're bound to appreciate what Tone Atlas and Emcee Sick have to offer. i'm yet to encounter a hip-hop fan who doesn't like it!

BUY IT HERE


Tanya Morgan – Brooklynati [Interdependent Media]
i think these guys might be on the verge of hitting the big time. then again, i also insisted Olly Murs was going to win X-Factor, so i wouldn't necessarily trust my musical predictions all the time. originally hooking up through an internet message board back in 2003, Von Pea, Donwill and Ilyas put their first album together sitting in different parts of the US, swapping their production and vocal files via AOL. by the sounds of it, things have moved a bit on since "Moonlighting" and this year they released "Brooklynati" to much applause. sounding both familiar and fresh, quirky yet accessible, this release really struck me. it's got a concept album feel, with small skits dotted throughout which help bring to life the fictional city implied in the LP's title. chock full of infectious tracks, it's a real treat of a listen - and i dare you to listen to "So Damn Down" and not get yer groove on.

BUY IT HERE

Dorian Concept – When Planets Explode [Nod Navigators]
an often-challenging but ever-rewarding journey through glitched out synth-led soundscapes, sub-bass filth and messed-up beats. quite simply one of the best electronic music albums of 2009...which is why it's in this list. unmissable for fans of FlyLo, Dabrye, Dilla et al.

BUY IT HERE

Jon Hopkins – Insides [Domino]
i'm just going to get a few compulsory words out of the way first: Brian Eno, Royal College of Music, Coldplay, world tours. right - sorted...on we go. Jon Hopkins has been knocking out incredibly stunning, melodically jaw-dropping electronic music for a fair few years now. if you've already had the pleasure of previous albums "Opalescent" or "Contact Note", you'll know exactly what i mean. "Insides" sees his sound evolving in a very satisfying way. the lush, achingly beautiful melodies are still there (if opener "The Wider Sun" doesn't take your breath away, you have no soul), but there's also the incorporation of some frankly excellent glitchy, dub-stepesque nastiness amongst it all. second track "Vessel", for instance, feels like being taken from the warm comfort of the womb and plunged into a piranha infested ice-bath. but, y'know, with less actual pain. just do yourself a big favour and go and buy it.

BUY IT HERE

Rupert – Just Woke Up [Hear Today]
in a year where there's been increasing volume on the "hip-hop is dead" murmurings, this album from London MC Rupert waltzes in and plonks itself in the middle of the nay-sayers' table. and flicks the v in their faces quite spectacularly. Rup had already established himself as a fine wordsmith and talent worthy of recognition in "Rup On Zebra", put out on Tru Thoughts' hip-hop sublabel a couple of years ago. since then Zebra Traffic ceased to be, and Rup moved onto Hear Today records to continue developing his sound. it's a move that seems to have paid dividends, as a range of producers have contributed to make an album which is both varied and coherent. Opener "Moves" is a crunchy, bouncy synth-stabbed statement of intent - hats off to Steve Clear. the Naim-produced "Something That You Like" wins my award for catchiest beat/hook/bit of brilliance of 2009. getting Bonobo in to run the beat for album-closer "Geography" is a touch of programming genius. tying it all together though, is the main man - Rup. people say "he sounds like Mike Skinner", and while i can see the comparison, it's fair to say he weaves a much more complex, well-thought, intelligent, witty flow than anything The Streets' man has achieved yet. sorry Mike, if you're reading. one of the best UK albums this year, if not this decade.

BUY IT HERE

Bibio – Ambivalence Avenue [Warp]
Bibio has been doing a fine trade in quirky, scratchy, wonky acoustica for a while now...but this year he really seems to have made strides in both adapting and progressing his sound, as well as winning wider praise for his work. i can't really do any "it sounds a bit like", because it's so far-flung in the influences and contributing elements that it's difficult to put a finger on it. it's tempting to say "there's echoes of Mike Oldfield" or "if you miss Lemon Jelly...", but i don't want to put you off. overall the sound has a summery vibe and there's tracks (such as "Jealous of Roses" or "Lover's Carvings") which will help to put a skip in your step on the coldest of winter days. there's also some blinding low-slung wonk-hop lurking in there too - album closer "Dwrcan" plods along like a malfunctioning toy robot, and "Fire Ant" wins my award for beat of 2009 - no contest there at all. everyone should have at least a bit of Bibio in their lives, and this is as good a place as any to start.

BUY IT HERE

Dam Funk - Toeachizown [Stones Throw]
i never thought i'd find myself bigging up an 80s-inspired gloriously sleazy boogie synth release...but then i suppose that's the joy of music! my good friend James Remote insisted i give Dam Funk a try way back in the spring, and his excitement for the sound proved infectious. initially confined to just a couple of EPs, eventually the "Toeachizown" album has been released. all 5 parts (or 2.5 hours) of it. this is one of those brilliant releases that says "yo - remember the past? now look at the future" without ever feeling too pretentious or twattish. surprisingly varied and texturally outstanding, this is definitely a listen for anyone who might be feeling a bit lost or disillusioned with the same old funk sound. oh, and can someone take me to Dam Funk's club night, please?

BUY IT HERE

Beem - The Future
yet another shout of thanks going out to James Remote for putting me onto this - and it was FREE, too! Beem is a resident of Sweden and produces a fine line in futuristic, synthy funk. in a similar way to Dam Funk, Beem manages to harness a familiar old sound and apply some modern production techniques and sounds to make it feel a little more progressive. and of course, pleasing to listen to; opening track "Muni" is a chirpy, broken-beat styled funk number, while "Mouth Everest" has a more wonky, spacey hip-hop sound. the penultimate song, "Days", is an absolute peach of downtempo, lush, piano-string-deep-breath-loveliness. i don't know how you can possibly say no to this album - it's free and you can still download it over at Beem's website, HERE.

hopefully you'll find something to please you amongst that lot. oh, and there's a few other albums which didn't quite make the top 10 cut, but are definitely worthy of a mention nontheless:

Architeq - Green & Gold
yet more wonky chuggy deep spacey electronica.

DOOM - Born Like This
MF returns with a damn fine album. if it hadn't taken so long to click with me, it probably would've made the top 10...

Mochipet - Bunnies & Muffins
definite contender for "album title of the year", this is another mish-mash of a huge variety styles, underpinned with some fine electronic production.

DJ Frane - Journey To The Planet Of The Birds
the only reason this doesn't make the top 10 of 2009 is because it was released in 2008. and while i'm gutted about that, i'll just give it its own post at some point very soon. you need this in your life.

right, i think i'd better stop there! here's to plenty more fantastic music being released in 2010. if it's anywhere near as good as this year has been, we're in for a treat.

xx

julien dyne - pins and digits (bbe 2009)

i was going to leave posting about this album until tomorrow but, after having put it on for the first time this evening and now just finished listening to it for the third time...i felt it warranted a few words before slumber sets in.

it's immense in that it seems to straddle a diverse range of musical styles, and weirdly brings together wonky glitch hop and elegant soul (for instance) in a way which makes for interesting and rewarding listening. although only rewarding, and probably just mildly interesting, if you're a fan of both wonky glitch hop and soul...of course.

there's more to it than that, though. Julien Dyne's music also takes us on a tour of chugging tribalesque funk in "Layer", or deep into ambient freakout jazz territory on the beautiful "Spirits". late night-lovers will find warm cwtched up bliss in the understated soul on "Fallin' Down", and tucked away in the middle of the album i think i may have found one of my beats of the year: "The Jung & The Fine" just blows me away - worth the admission price alone.

it's a great album though, because it seems to contain so little filler. each and every track is a winner, and that's pretty rare (although hopefully less so in this digital age of consumers' ability to pick and choose tracks as they wish from releases). "Pins and Digits" seems diverse enough in its style to be interesting, but somehow manages to stay coherent enough as to not annoy...or more importantly see you skipping through the tracks.

without a doubt, definitely one of my contenders for album of the year.

glitchdiscotripwobblefunkjazzwonksoulhop?

yeah g'wan then...

listen to samples & buy at Juno
Julien Dyne on MySpace

xx

space rangers - plimsoll 002

how d'you like your disco? deep, spaced out, funk-edged and with enough chug to wear the soles out on your best bopping shoes? if you're answering in the affirmative, then you'll want to get on this new release from the fledgling - but highly impressive - Plimsoll records.

following on from their excellent debut release "Guardian Angel" (and subsequent digi-MJ-tribute-release), the Shoes-offshoot keep firmly on the re-edit trail - this time signing up Space Rangers to deliver a belting duo of reworks.

the a-side features a workout on D-Train's "Keep on Moving", which is nicely dubby but equally chuggy...and builds and builds into a stomping finale, which is always a winner. especially for those late-night afterparties.

on the flip you'll find a much more boogie-synth driven dancefloor pleaser, which rates highly on all 5 of my funk-meters. it's a re-edit of New Jersey Connection's "Love Don't Come Easy", and if it doesn't get hips shaking and women throwing themselves at your disco-king feet, you're at the wrong event.

serve dressed in your Hugh Hefner outfit, accompanied by a winning smile.

buy it at Juno

xx

review: hint @ glo bar 03/04/09

I’ve been living in Cardiff for a couple of years now, but much to my dismay have yet to see a Tru Thoughts artist playing here. That was until this weekend, when the mighty Hint made the journey into the Welsh capital to play at the opening night of Glo Bar’s new weekly event, “Big City Beats”.

Musically, the flyers and posters promised “funk, soul, hip-hop, breaks & mashups”, and I had a feeling that a set from Hint, who’s style has come a long way since his debut Portakabin Fever (Hombre, 2003), would fit the bill perfectly. It’s definitely fair to say that his latest offering, Driven From Distraction (Tru Thoughts, 2008) has seen him take a bigger step towards dancefloor-orientated beats, with his funk, soul and jazz influences melding nicely together with electronica – more specifically those current yoot fave elements “basslines” and “wobble/wonk”. Just go and check out “The Tremmuh” or “At The Dance” if you want a better idea of what I’m talking about. I guess it’s easy to see, when listening to that album and then reading Glo’s musical remit for the event, why they chose Hint to come down to open the party.

I got to the venue at about 11-ish, and was surprised by how quiet it was – not in terms of volume (Glo Bar doesn’t have a problem there – I think they’ve upgraded their soundsystem since I last paid a visit!), but more numbers of people. It’s a popular place at weekends and I expected it to be pretty packed by 11pm on a Friday. Not so – not this week anyway. Still, it enabled me to grab a seat with friends and listen to the support DJs do their thing.

After an hour or so of funk classics, a smattering of hip-hop and a selection of some pretty shady bootlegs/mashups (it’s a fine art nailing a mashup, and there’s some real guff out there unfortunately), Hint took to the decks. Bizarrely, the venue hadn’t really got much busier than when I first arrived, and I was increasingly amazed (and frustrated) by the fact that, despite having a pretty intimate “club/dancefloor” area on the basement level, Glo Bar had opted instead to keep all the DJs playing in the corner of the room in the upstairs bar. Which is mostly filled with tables and chairs – and thus isn’t really conducive to dancing (or swaying haphazardly, in my case).

Hint didn’t seem too phased by this though, and settled into opening his set with some brilliant soulful tunes. Starting the show came a corking little refix of Sunshine Anderson’s “Heard It All Before”, and not long after we were treated to Mary Jane Girls’ classic “All Night Long”, before he dropped the brilliant “One Woman Army” from his latest album. By this point the atmosphere seemed to be picking up and there was a move from head-nodding and foot-tapping into a few shimmies and shakes…good to see!

It wasn’t long before Hint progressed his set into a more disco-oriented vibe, notably playing Aretha Franklin’s “Jump To It” and (possibly the tune of the night, for me) Firefly’s “Love (Is Gonna Be On Your Side)”. By this point I’d had a few pints and had really begun to enjoy myself – and so had a few others. It was around this time, however, that the venue’s mistake in choosing to have the DJs upstairs, playing to a seating area, became all-too apparent. Though there were small spaces where you could dance, it seemed daft to do so next to people who were just sitting around enjoying a chat. It turned out that the management were piping the music from upstairs into the club space below, although this just resulted in a mass of people heading down there so they could dance, leaving the bar itself feeling even quieter. It must have been a nightmare for Hint to play in that kind of environment – how do you try to read a crowd when they’ve pissed off to dance where you can’t even see them?!

Still, the tunes kept coming and a more heavyweight selection of electronica, 2-step and broken beat began to creep in. I urge you to keep an ear out for Hint’s very own remix of his own “One Woman Army”, which sounded sublime through Glo Bar’s system. A lush bit of knee-shaking broken beat – perfect for city-centre Friday night grooving, trust me. Before finishing his set, Hint took the tempo back down and treated us to a bit of a hip-hop & funk “breaks” mix, rinsing out Prince’s “Gett Off”, the ever-pleasing “Soul Power 74”, and a storming bit of mixing from hip-hop favourite “The Message” into Sly’s “Family Affair”. Ooof – top work!

Hint is a fantastic DJ, there’s little doubt about that. The set eased its way from one genre to another, and within each genre a magnificent representative selection of tunes were mixed seamlessly into one another. Everything was on beat, every drop fell into place perfectly, and every selection flowed nicely into what had gone before. I’ve also got nuff respect for anyone who can keep a dancefloor (in another room) going while all they’ve got in front of them is people sitting at tables! If this is what he can do in a small, laidback bar, I’d love to see him play on a massive system in a decent-sized, packed-out club. Preferably somewhere a bit dark, too - so nobody can see my embarrassed shuffling (it's what i do when i'm "dancing") and drunken air-synths. Again....christ - I should get some help for that.

So, top marks to Hint for taking the time to visit us in Cardiff and for bringing a class box of tunes with him…and I’m afraid it’s a “must do better” for Glo Bar, who should really be using their club space if they’re going to book such great guest DJs.

xx

purple radio launches blog

fair play to them Purple Radio boys - they've only gone and launched their very own shiny new blog! not content with broadcasting music, living music, breathing music and discussing music on the forum...they're now embarking on taking it public in a proper written-word format. nice.

expect plenty of reviews, album props, special track mentions, not to mention up-to-date news on the events being run at various locations around the UK. plus you might even be able to snag yourself the odd free MP3 as a result of visiting it on a regular basis. i didn't tell you that though, right?!

i'll be contributing with my own witterings at some point soon, and rejoining the glorious Purple fold in April after having a few months off, but in the meantime go and check it out:

http://purple-radio.blogspot.com/

nuff props to Marcus for setting it all up and kicking everyone into contributing.

safe.

xx