electric vindaloo - 07/03/09

i'm really pleased to have been invited back up to my second hometown, Aberystwyth, to play another set at the corking Electric Vindaloo in a couple of weeks...


the promoter, Joab, has been running the night for around four or five years now, hosting parties at various locations around Aber and getting some top names to visit the isolated little bit of coast in the process. it's really good to see the night running regularly again after a short lull, and just as satisfying to see it back in its spiritual home, the Bay Basement.

last time i played there (December, i believe) it was a brilliant night - the Aber crowd love their hiphop, and always go nuts for some beaty, bass-heavy, funk-laden tunes...hence why i get so much of a kick out of heading back to help the party along!

it also gives me the chance to catch up with some old mates and playing records alongside the likes of Eddy Scissorhands, Duska, Ether and co is a right laugh. not to mention a good chance to nosey up on what tunes are doing it in our respective boxes at the moment.

check the price, too - £3 - absolute bargain. if you're in the area or fancy a weekend by the sea with a bit of a rave-up, do come and join us...

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

my new toy

for the last month or so i've been pratting about with my new toy: an Akai MPD24.

for a while i've wanted to mess about with loops, beats and basically attempt to produce some of my own tunes, and always had an eye on buying something from Akai's now-legendary MPC range of sampler/sequencer units. however, after much consideration i decided that the outlay cost on an MPC was just a bit too much to try and deal with at this point, so i opted for the next best thing: a MIDI controller with the basic interface elements that the MPCs boast.

i'll be honest: i've got next to no production experience/knowledge, so this has been a massively steep learning curve to embark on. for now, i've got the MPD24 running in sync with FL Studio 8, as this seemed to offer much of the same "working method" as you'd find with an MPC.

it's been a mixture of success and failure in varying degrees thus far. i've worked out how to use Edison (a module within FL Studio) to chop my samples, and then load them into the FPC (FL's equivalent of an MPC), and then assign the MPD to the various samples within the software. that's all well and good, but latency is proving to be a real issue thus far - i'm not sure if it's my soundcard (Creative 24-bit external) or just the fact that the unit's running through a USB connection rather than dedicated MIDI, but it's proving almost impossible to overdub into sequences live.

although a lot of my friends are currently blasting out beats on MPCs, i've not been able to get much help from them as this is a different kettle of fish...none of them are familiar with the FL Studio setup. thus it's been a long, lonely and frustrating few weeks of reading help guides, watching YouTube tutorials (a mass of them, quality varying as ever) and hammering my poor old desk in frustration.

as soon as i've got any beats worth writing home (or online) about, i'll stick some download links up and you can slate them as you see fit. just give me three years or so. haha.

likewise, if anyone out there's got any tips for using the MPD24 with FL Studio, or could maybe help out with my latency woes, please holler at me and i'll be eternally grateful.

in the meantime, look after yourselves.

xx

still alive!

sorry i haven't posted anything up in so long. things have been proper hectic and my head's been everywhere...trying to take on the world and win again...must.stop.doing.that.

so, what's gone down since i last posted? well, 2008 went (bye bye) and 2009 came (hello). i had an awesome christmas with my family, so relaxed this year - and such a pleasure to spend some quality time with them all, especially my young cousins Karl and Thomas, who really do help to keep the magic of the festive season alive. i guess christmas is all about the kids, eh? here they are "helping Nan unwrap her presents"...



the start of 2009 has been tough. january is always a slog, but this one felt particularly vile. job insecurity and a muggy head haven't helped, and i had to lay low on any further radio DJing for a bit because it just didn't seem to be bringing me much fun anymore. i suppose instead of feeling refreshed by the onset of a new year, it's just served to wear me out.

do we set too much ambition for ourselves in these modern times? that's what i've been asking more and more, lately.

on a more positive note - seeing Obama being inaugurated was wonderful. not that i was there in person, but i was one of the billions of people who watched live, clutching a post-work cup of tea and harbouring a hope for genuine change that i'm sure you all hold, too. he seems like a cool guy, and i just hope he doesn't try to take on too much too early. or that he doesn't buckle under the pressure of the system like so many US presidents in the past. tough to break free from those corporate backslaps and big-money nudges, Barack...i hope you can. i really do.

more locally, and despite my shying away from radio DJing at present, i had a great time last week DJing with my mate Neil Raygun at Clwb Ifor Bach, in Cardiff.


Clwb is an institution and the top floor is a cracking room which boasts possibly the best soundsystem i've ever played on. loads of our mates came out for the night and it gave me a lot of pleasure to see the hiphop hits (in particular) being well-appreciated by a decent, dance-prone crowd. thanks to everyone who came down to support the event, and huge thanks to Ben Potter and all the staff at Clwb for having us there for the night and treating us so well. i'm hoping we'll be doing the same there again soon, so i'll be sure to keep you posted if we do.

gonna make this shit a lot more regular in 2009. and though i don't like making promises, that's a promise. hahaha. be sure to nudge me if you stumble across this and i haven't posted in a week or two. sometimes i just need a kick.

don't we all?

xx

Mystery Mix - Nov 2008

recently, i put together another hour (or slightly less) of tunes in an attempt to baffle the listeners of Purple Radio on its weekly Mystery Mix show. not that many were guessed, so make of that what you will...but i reckon there's some good music on there nontheless.

here's the tracklisting and download link:

00:00 lafayette gilchrist / rumble
02:40 gianni ferrio / un giorno in piu
03:49 thes one / gate city savings and loan
05:30 the pharcyde / runnin (rae & christian remix)
10:10 specifics / take me back
14:00 crown city rockers / no sense
16:53 eluard burt / from “freestyle – the art of rhyme”
17:10 regal / keep on (edseven’s dust lazy remix)
21:00 jon kennedy / the message
22:36 ayb force / do you wanna see
25:21 people under the stairs / step bacc (dj day remix)
28:57 charizma & peanut butter wolf / talk about a girl
30:15 tom caruana / the kraken
31:17 color climax / jigsaw
33:17 john arnold / geminade
37:05 mr scruff / kalimba
40:19 m dubs feat. the emperor richie dan / over here (sugar shack breakbeat funk mix)
45:30 bugz in the attic / reject
48:45 dj format / 2 3 scrape

download

:: 50mins approx :: 128kbps ::

ENJOY!

xx

Marky's Mixtape Archive

looks like that's it as far as the summer's concerned. these short days and dark evenings are creeping in fast now...how long is it til clocks go back?!

anyway - for some reason it's inspiring me to sort through some tasks that have been nagging for a while...and the first is getting my recent mixes back online. well, i say recent - last 18 months or so - but time flies and all that.

there's a mixture of styles and tempos, blahblahblah. most importantly, i hope you enjoy the tunes and that they nestle well within your woolly autumn collection.

Mystery Mix - April 2007

this is a mix i did for Purple Radio's weekly "Mystery Mix" show. every Thursday at 10pm, a different guest presents an hour of music, and the people of the lively forum attempt to name the artists and tunes. i'll save you the hassle they had and give you the full list here:

Vince DiCola – Farewell
I Am Kloot – Loch
Head & Neck Sessions – Romancais
DJ Frane – Ode To Old Toby / Innervisions
Bernard “Pretty” Purdie – Funky Donkey
Rick James – Mary Jane (DJ Green Lantern Evil Genius Mix)
Kissin Cousins – Love Shock
Stabiliser – One Ton Truck
Pete Rock – Smooth Sailing (instrumental)
Rob Swift – I’m Leaving
Nas – Get Down (Quantic Soul Orchestra Mix)
The Pharcyde – Soul Flower (Dogs B*llocks Mix)
Sydney Thompson & His Orchestra – Can’t Buy Me Love
Mongo Santamaria – Heighty Ho
Nick Faber – Simple Meditation
Neil Young – Bandit
Metal Fingers – High John

download here:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/4w2jnk

:: 1hr approx :: 192kbps ::

========

Mouldy Jam Mixtape - Feb 2008

a blend of unashamed party beats that i put together in the arse-end of last winter. it goes:

dj aeon seven - funky furious
stezo - bring the horns
beatconductor - rocksteady skank
mc serch - back to the grill
aceyalone - all for u (rjd2 instr.)
pavlov & mishkin - muchachos
james brown - get on the good foot (mr drunk remix)
sono rhizmo - mambocito mio
lack of afro - roderigo (natural self remix)
arrested development - mr wendal
jurassic 5 - a day at the races
ugly duckling - bang for the buck (instr.)
featurecast - story time
fdel - ladies & gentlemen
freestylers - b-boy stance (dub pistols club mix)
featurecast - go with my flow
michael jackson - wanna be startin somethin
barakas - kes
diesler- when she was bad

download here:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/bwpamr

:: 1hr approx :: 192kbps ::

========

Disabled Romance Mixtape - October 2008

this is basically a bunch of wonky/filthy/wobbly/glitchy/beaty electronica tunes that i liked and wanted to have all in one place - so i made this mixtape.

it's not full of perfect blends, but then that's all part of the fun. my excuse is: wonky tunes = wonky mixing. ;)

jimmy edgar - prêt a porter
massive music - find my way (kode9 remix)
jumbonics - bubble drop
dorian concept - fort teen
flying lotus - message situation
dinner at the thompsons - daily vitamines
prefuse73 - detchibe
me&you - last night (bassnectar remix)
waxfactor - reggaenomics (luna landa remix)
pest - heard yer bird moved in
charlie dark - keepintime theme
baldwin brothers - incident in the lab
blend - scream for i
milanese - caramel cognac

download here:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/cul2j8

:: 45mins approxx :: 320kbps ::

========

all these artists have done tons more great stuff, so if you like what you hear on these mixes, be sure to go and purchase some more of their wares. it's a worthy investment - and you don't hear that too often at the moment...

xx

Biggabush - album launch party @ Aardvark to Zebra (25/10/08)

sorry, it's been a while. plenty to come from me in the next week or so though, including a few mixes (old and new), a new radio show for you to listen to...and possibly some chat. let's see...

in the meantime, i thought i'd better let you know about this little gathering next weekend:


myself, Digital City's BarryDark and A2Z resident/promoter Ketsbaia are honoured to be supporting the fantastic Biggabush as he launches his new album, "13 Faces of Lightning Head", at Aardvark to Zebra @ The Green in Clerkenwell on Saturday October 25th.

it's running from 8pm til 1am, and it would be great to see you there!

big up my brainy sis!

had some great news today - my younger sister Laura got her GCSE results, and passed every single one of them!

i'm so so chuffed for her. she's had a tough time in the last year and i worried she might lose focus - she told me herself that she didn't think she'd passed a couple of them just after she'd done them. hahaha - what a result though! :D

she's off to art college in September, where she'll no doubt continue to ace her studies. in the meantime: well done Laura, i'm so proud of you - enjoy the rest of your summer because you deserve it! big love. xx

a few late-August soirees...

the summer's not quite over yet, and there's still plenty of fun to be had if you look for it. and well you might be looking for it, because those long dark winter nights are not far away now, and SAD once again beckons...

Bank Holiday Weekend of course promises plenty to keep you entertained. this Friday night (22nd August) i'll be playing records at Peepshow, @The Prince in Brixton, along with fellow Purple Radio DJs & all-round hardcore ravers Mr Black and Myles. it's a legendary night and it'll be my first time in attendance, so i'm very much looking forward to it!

having barely recovered from that, on Sunday 24th August i'll be heading over to the Big Chill Bar in Shoreditch to provide more tunes at Purple Radio's monthly all-dayer, Big Chill Sundae. running from midday until midnight (free entry), it's always a crackin party and never more so than on a bank hol weekend. come along and enjoy my inevitably feeble effort, alongside the sublime sounds proffered by Andy BGPZ, Dr Piz, Mat Hoods, King Rob, Mr Black and Myles.

i guess you could've just read this flyer:

the following week, it's time for another festival weekend (my last of the summer). ever-brilliant and ever-pleasing, the wonderful Festinho will be running at Kentwell Hall in Suffolk, and features a stunning array of live musicians, artists and DJs in a beautiful setting. All in aid of the ABC Trust, it's the perfect way to spend the last weekend in August, and is highly recommended here.


again, it offers another chance for me to break out some music, and i'm really chuffed to be asked to play at the notorious DiscoShed. that's on the Sunday, but hopefully i'll see you there from the Friday for some Brazilian-themed banter.

xx

big chill 2008 review

such a great festival again this year, so much fun to be had! if you've never been you should check it out. to hopefully whet your appetite, here's a review i did for the Big Chill's website.

you might want to get a brew ready and ensure you're seated comfortably. it's a bit lengthy...

**massive thanks to rui, sparky and everyone at BCHQ for sorting the review and providing us with such an awesome weekend - yet again!**

xx

welcome

so, i've started a blog. why have i done that? don't i already spend ample time pratting about on the internet? probably, yes. but now i'm hoping to do more of my pratting about in one place (i.e. here), and share it with you.

of course by pratting about i mean writing reviews and providing musical heads-ups, sharing some possibly likeable urls with you, and occasionally just wittering on about something that might've come up.

thrilling, eh?

hopefully some of it will be, at least. if it isn't, complaints to the usual address...

xx