OK... first things first. I understand that copyrighted works are not to be fucked with.
I too, like many of you, am a musician and a DJ and I sure as shit wouldn't want a really great single of mine posted for free somewhere. But, truth be told, law or not, if someone posted a b-side or a remix of mine long after it had come out? I couldn't give a shit regardless of whether I was making money hand over fist or barely had enough to feed my family. Why? Because you can't stop (so called) "piracy"... ever... at all.
And what's worse is with blogs you're usually alienating the people who DO go to the shows and buy the records. We most of the time are NOT the people who are causing the problems... torrent sites, P2P networks, even fucking forums are the places you should be concerned about. Not content oriented blogs that are usually posting ONE song to SUPPORT an artist...
I'm still reeling from yesterday's C&D notice originating with the DCMA. I'm going to have to sort it out because a) it contained one of my best posts and b) presumably,the company that took issue is one that a dear Arcadian friend is signed to (you know, *cough*, the great white hope... the one I can't shut up about) so some resolution is needed. I'M NOT HATING ON THE LABELS OR THE ARTISTS... I'm just not cool with the witch hunt. I could have been ASKED to take the song down and I would have. Some of the other bloggers have posited that there is a reason behind the surge of posts being taken down (perhaps a few new online services that somehow see us as competition?)... I hope whatever is going on doesn't effect this blog or the rest of the decent ones out there.
ANYWAY, first up we have an awesome Halloween mix from Arcadian Family members Heads We Dance. I was just thinking this morning "What am I going to play before my Halloween party?" and now I have two answers lol... peep the track listing... Heads We Dance Halloween Mix
FULL TRACKLISTING:
John Carpenter - Theme From Halloween (Heads We Dance Remix) Ray Parker Jnr. - Theme From Ghostbusters (Don Rimini Ectoplasm Edit) Excerpt From The Shining Michael Jackson - Thrilla (Louis La Roche Remix) Felix Cartal - Skeleton Designer Drugs - ZOMBIES! The Black Ghosts - Repetition Kills You (Laidback Luke Remix) Bernard Herrmann - Theme From Psycho (Crooks And Gun Remix) The Presets - Talk Like That Zombie Zombie - Driving This Road Until Death Sets You Free (Joakim Remix) Harry Manfredini - Theme From Friday 13th The Bloody Beetroots - Rombo Death In Vegas - Hands Around My Throat Yuksek - Tonight M83 - Graveyard Girl (Yuksek Remix) Boys Noize - Volta 82 Midnight Juggernaughts - Road To Recovery (Miami Horror Remix) Bob Pickett And The Crypt Kickers - The Monster Mash
If you miss the download on YSI then get it on their Myspace! Don't forget HWD's new single coming out soon!
SPACE-DISCO NEW SINGLE 'THE HUMAN TOUCH' / 'YOU ARE NEVER ALONE WITH MODEL 21' OUT 24TH NOVEMBER!!! INCLUDES REMIXES BY CHARLIE FANCLUB, LOUIS LA ROCHE, HARRIS ROBOTIS & MORE TBA
Hell's yeah. Now here's one you can't even think about missing out on (especially since it's free)! I mean, do you ever think "How can a label/club as big as Fabric be so fucking cool as to give away free stuff that they could charge an arm and a leg for?"... I do! I think it's super rad when labels and artists give stuff away because it makes me want to support them... I hope you guys feel the same way.
Here's the press on this one! "To celebrate the Scratch Perverts Beatdown here at FABRICLIVE on the 14th of November, 5 x World DMC Team Champions C2C DJs Pfel & Atom aka Beat Torrent have done an exclusive mix for FABRICLIVE that I can let you make available as a download on the site. The Beat torrent show is an intense 90 minute journey through hip hop and electronica mixed with jaw dropping precision and skill, on 4 decks, by record breaking world champion DJs C2C's DJ Pfel and DJ Atom."
ROOM THREE: SCRATCH PERVERTS' BEATDOWN... Coki, Loefah, Caspa, Rusko, Hijack, Jeff Metal
Make sure you make it out to Fabric this weekend as well (this line up listed above, remember, is a two weekends from now) because it's going to be just as unbelievable. In fact let me repost that flier for this weekend so you don't miss out on that... Man, I wish we would get more dubstep artists out to the U.S. (or at least I wish I could see more of them). Also if you missed it there's a Caspa mix a few posts back that is one you dubstep fans CANNOT miss out on... it's too good to pass up!
Anyway loyal readers, hopefully the DCMA issues will be resolved and we can go back to a peaceful existence with the powers that be. PLEASE AIR YOUR CONCERNS IN THE COMMENTS! I've enabled them again so feel free to say what you think of the mixes, what you think of the DCMA situation, or you know... you could just say hi as well :) Be back soon!
I got a letter today saying a Howie B track I posted, to promote his new album with Casino Royale, had to be removed immediately.
The track has been removed as have a number of other tracks from previous posts. Based on this news I don't believe I will be able to post any tracks without consent from artists labels. I'm sure you all understand what that means.
I was recently having a chat with some of my coworkers about how "mainstream" radio is intersecting quite a bit with underground artists (many of them being British). Good examples are the success of "Paper Planes" by M.I.A., the oft passed around Gnarls Barkley cover of Radiohead's"Reckoner", Timbaland bringing "Courtship Dating" to the people via "Ayo Technology" (maybe that's the other way around, I haven't been paying attention to Crystal Castles news recently). Of course it's not just limited to that, It's Radiohead selling a shitload of albums in a country that forgot about them as a whole only to start displaying their album in every Target store and Starbucks... and loads of other shit I can't even begin to get into.
But one of the coolest intersections between the mainstream and indie music is this collabo between 100 Suns (Massive Attack's production company) and Snoop Dogg. The track is for a new movie about Mumia called "In Prison My Whole Life". Here's some background from Stereogum:
"Calling Mumia" is a collaboration between Snoop and 3D from Massive Attack ("100 Suns" is MA's music production company) for the forthcoming Marc Evans-directed documentary In Prison My Whole Life. The storyline: A dude (Will Francome) born the day Mumia Abu-Jamal was arrested in Philadelphia for the alleged murder of a police officer, Daniel Faulkner, investigates the case, trying to imagine what it'd be like to be on death row his whole life (25 years so far). Abu-Jamal's maintained his innocence since being locked up, and a lot of folks believe him: The film includes talking heads like Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, Mos Def, Snoop, and Angela Davis. It also includes this track (pretty great production), which you can hear at massiveattack.com. The movie opens in the UK this weekend."
I'm gonna post this track, but only long enough for the Hype Machine to register it... then I'm pulling it (so don't C&D my ass). Unfortunately I just can't justify leaving this up... I think it's more important to draw attention to the movie than it is to share a track. I'm going to go so far as to say DON'T DOWNLOAD THE SONG IF YOU DO CATCH IT UP. You've gotta respect that this is bigger than this blog...
I do have do say though it's a really effective crossover track that will hopefully get people interested in this film. If you've gotta hear it stream it from the link above. If you're looking for something new and that's why you're here? Well remixes of "Midnight Request Line" just appeared online from both Hot Chip and Switch... there's something that's worth finding :)
To My Boy have been very good to Arcadia. They were one of the first bands (followed by the likes of Frankmusik, Black Ghosts, SMD, GTA, etc) to give us exclusive "big name" tracks before anyone else had posted them and for that we're eternally grateful!
They're presumably working on the follow up to their amazing "Messages" album... but they've got a little treat for you! A nice new mixtape with fantastic tracks... here's the tracklisting...
Robyn vs The Cure - Close To Konichiwa Micachu - Golden Phone MIA vs Annie Lennox SebastiAn - Momy Walter Murphy + The Big Apple Band - A Fifth of Beethoven (Soulwax Remix) Mr Oizo - Hun Jupiter - I Love America Jay Z ft Don Rimini - Jockin Jay Z Sparks - Music You Can Dance To Santogold - Lights Out (Kid Gloves Remix) Moby - I Love To Move In Here (Crookers Remix) Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream (Van She Tech Remix) MGMT - Kids (Soulwax Remix) Klaxons - Gravitys Rainbow (Nightmoves Remix) Metronomy - The End Of You Too BPA (David Byrne, Dizzee Rascal + Fatboy Slim) - Toe Jam
Just in case you need the update, here's the To My Boy biography... "Liverpool duo To My Boy make their full-length debut with Messages, an album of synth pop pastiche unapologetically inspired by pre-Dare! Human League, Vince Clarke-era Depeche Mode, early Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and the rest of the early-'80s U.K. synth pop scene. They're not genre purists: the booming, heavily reverbed drumbeats of songs like "Eureka" are a stylistic anachronism (outside of Phil Collins, that sound tended to become more omnipresent later in the '80s), they're not afraid of using guitars as well as electronics, and these songs have an almost punky energy level that was anathema to the studied Roxy Music-inspired cool of the original synth pop bands. That's nitpicking, however, because Messages is great fun for anyone who ever coveted a Phil Oakey-style asymmetric haircut. The Sparks-like quirkiness of the hiccupping "Model" ("I have a model for you that I made on my computer") and the propulsive forward drive of the opening "Tell Me, Computer" are particular highlights, as is the tightly wound herky-jerky dance-rock of "Game Over," the album's one homage to the more stylized American form of synth pop à la Devo."
So that's that for now... I hope you enjoy the tape and I'll be back asap!
Acidkids WERE Markus Lange and Daniel Dexter. Markus put together my favourite remix of Black Ghosts"I Want Nothing (which their management let us post; at the time it was a North American exclusive as the rest of the world already had their hands on it) which was an absolute DJ set staple.
WHILE I'M MENTIONING HIM you HAVE to check out his blog that has fantastic remixes re-edits and everything else to make a dance floor go CRAZY... check it it here
NOW Acid Kids are Daniel Dexter, Topper Harley and Xander Thunder. And although Markus has departed he's still close to the group and so we give them an Arcadian blessing :)
Now I've got Malente & Dex - "Hyperactive" remixed by Acidkids... with verses from British MCs Jammer & Frisco. I love some Jammer and really like Frisco's verse on this as well. Read about the remix and the original below... BUT FIRST get this exclusive remix and edit!
Here's a video trailer for ya... it's a little faster than the remix you're getting but both are sick...
You need to peep the original "Hyperactive", (on Exploited / GH-10), by Malente&Dex w/remixes from Bobmo, Riva Starr feat. Jammer & Frisco/Dirty Canvas, Bird Peterson
"Hyperactive" has been supported by Surkin, A-Trak, Herve, Crookers, Sinden, Trevor Loveys, Erol Alkan, Brodinski, Acidkids, Dave Clarke, Jokers of the Scene, Kraak&Smaak, Bassnectar, Jesse Rose, Zombie Nation, Guns'N'Bombs, Riton, Fake Blood and many more. Tommie Sunshine included "Hyperactive" on his forthcoming Mix-cd scheduled for October08. "Hyperactive" has reached the Top 5 of the german club charts (DCC).
"Frigged-up bastard electro house utilising every old skool techno sample available to create a monster. The essence of old skool rave, distilled and bottled for your delectation." (CRACK MAGAZINE, UK) "Bobmo, Bird Peterson and Riva Starr are wheeled out to do their business all over Malente&Dex's cut-up, monster-bassed ravetasmagorical original. (IDJ, UK) "Hyperactive combines old-school rave with Herve-style twisted bassline noise." (DJMAG, UK) "Lively, dark, buzzy electro." (MIXMAG, UK)
You should also check out "Where is my Mind", Markus Lange & Daniel Dexter w/remix from Malente...
"Where is my mind" has been supported by Diplo, Yuksek, Rex the Dog, Shir Khan, Disco Trash Music and many more.
"The original gives simply everything which it needs to be a Hit: Power, Feeling and a constant smile in your face. Malente gives still another Remix and he wents crazy! " 6/6 (RAVELINE, GER)
You wanna see em? Go international jetset crew and see them play with a LOT of other great names!
25.Okt - Frankfurt 30.Okt - Munich _ /w Steve Aoki, Mr Oizo and Whitey live 31.Okt - Halloween /w Trevor Loveys (Dusided/UK) 07.Nov - Regensburg _ Acidkids vs Partyharders 08.Nov - Nuremberg _ Wildstyle 15.Nov - Ulm _ Unter Ulmern _ Sucasa 21.Nov - Vienna 11.Dez - Ingolstadt _ /w Boys Noize 26.Dez - Zurich January/February - Exploited World Tour /w Malente, Daniel Dexter aka Dex, Shir Khan
Current free Dates: Nov 15/16 Nov 22 Nov 28/29 Dez 5/6 Dez 19/20
Man I wish I was going to be in Munich... whooooo... what an amazing line up. Really all the dates look good, so get out and get your Europarty on! Arcadia is pals with Boys Noize and crew so we suggest you also get your ass out to that one :)
I'm going to work on transcribing the fantastic interview I had with Dom from Stanton Warriors this weekend so be expecting that soon! Keep your eyes and ears locked and remember to listen to The Spirit Of Albion tonight (-5 GMT) on 89.1 WIDR FM... and if you miss it search Google for the podcast because we update it every week! We appreciate your support... you guys are helping bring this blog and the show into places I never ever though we would be, so SERIOUSLY thank you for that! Be back soon...
This is a nice little midweek treat! An exclusive dubstep mix from Caspa that is fireeeeeeee. And it comes courtesy of none other than Fabric who of course, as always, is bringing the heat with a party next weekend that will melt your face off (and this is the mix to get you excited for THE Halloween event in London). That's how lowd, wild, slick, it will be... you won't have a face left! Which could make for a great Halloween costume!
Tracklisting: 1. Caspa - My Pet Monster - Digital Sound Boy 2. Klaxons - Its Not Over - Skream Remix 3. Rusko - Mr Muscle - Sub Soldiers 4. Caspa - Louder VIP - Sub Soldiers 5. Caspa - Floor Them - Digital Sound Boy 6. Emalkay - Explicit - Dub Police 7. Sub Scape - Transaction - Dub Police 8. The Others - Africa VIP - Dub Police 9. Unitz - Wait A Minute - Dub Police 10. Rusko - Jahova - Sub Soldiers 11. Caspa - The Terminator - Sub Soldiers 12. TC - Where's My Money - Caspa Remix – Dstyle 13. Skream - Fick – Tempa
Press blurb sayssssss... 25 minutes of bad bass line ballistics to celebrate Dub Police's Room 3 takeover at fabric this Halloween featuring sets from Caspa, Rusko, L-Wis, Cotti & Clue Kid, The Others, Rod Azlan and Crazy D.
I'm gonna be playing this puppy before I start playing at my own Halloween party. Unfortunately I'm an ocean away and can't make it to Fabric but... at least I've got this mix. And now you do to! Yipeee!
Speaking of exciting I'm talking to none other than the legendary Stanton Warriors tomorrow. Yeah. I know. It's pretty wild isn't it?!?! Be expecting that one up on this page real soon! Check back, got good things in store for you!
Fatboy Slim needs NO introduction. From goofy teen movies like "She's All That" ('The Rockafeller Skank') and Cruel Intentions ('Praise You'), to genre defining compilations (almost anything with the word Skint or Big Beat Boutique in it), to stadium packing DJ sets the man has put his mark on nearly everything. Hit videos, adverts, everything. He put out three stellar albums in the last decade... the man is an unstoppable force.
I remember a then little known label called Astralwerks sending me some "Better Living Through Chemistry" stickers my sophomore year in high school... and I remember my ex bought me a lovely orange round cornered poster from "Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars" in college... the point is I've been all over the Fatboy experience before I even knew who he was. And then, hell, I was obviously lucky enough to meet him at Ultra Festival 2007! I'm glad to see he's got some new output.
Having said that, and this is just personal note but... for a while I was like "Bah, forget Fatboy Slim. When there are 'serious' electronic artists out there that deserve attention, every kid and soccer mom on earth is listening to 'Praise You'. I don't want to have anything to do with that. 'Michael Jackson'? Maybe. But not this new Fatboy Slim"... then I read an article where he said "I have no idea what I'm doing. I admit I can't write music. I just want to have fun and make songs" and I retracted everything I said. Some music from the late 90's 'electronica' surge was lazy and dumb, and as over exposed as Fatboy was, his music was anything but lazy and dumb. In fact after I read that I went out and got the CD and convinced my friends to buy it based on what I had read. Many many house parties had me slamming 'Right Here Right Now' after all that... just personal thoughts. Fatboy Slim albums (and other aliases) are not meant to be put up against Autechre... it's party music to help you unwind from listening to Autechre hehehe. I KID I KID, I love them! But seriously Fatboy makes feel good records...
Anyway, now he's putting out more legendary output with The Brighton Port Authority. You may have already heard "Toe Jam" featuring David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal. Pretty rad stuff but that's just the begining! The upcoming album is a collabo with Emmy The Great, Iggy Pop, Pete York, Jack Penate, Jamie T, Martha Wainwright, Conan, Olly Hite, Lateef, Ashley Beedle, Simon Thornton, Thomas Gandey, and Justin Robertson. What a list right?!?!
Those of you who miss a decent music video may want to check out the Streetgang Films' Keith Schofield directed video here
Or check it out right here... I love the look of this as I'm fond of '70s porn photos and this reproduces that very well... I'm pretty sure I saw wood paneling! And what's better than nude people and fake wood?
Both the track and video of "Toe Jam" are available online now and the album comes out in the US on January 20th, 2009. If you're anything like me I bet you're wishing it was still summer after listening to that song! Well by the time the album comes out you'll be getting full blown cabin fever and hopefully it will help you through it lol...
Fabric is the best. But I suppose you already knew that...
If you haven't caught past posts, I said that, a) I believe in Fabric as a brand and think they are a shining star of quality, b) I will post about all of their releases because of this fact. I'm not even slightly ashamed about that. There are certain labels (Astralwerks, Ghostly International, etc) that have proved themselves as being more than a label, they are a brand that equals quality.
So, that said, on with the show... (I know Ame isn't a British artist, but Fabric London is a British institution and therefore is fair game)...
The Ame disc starts out techy and deep (which would be the best way to describe his sound) and eventually moves into a more "four to the floor" almost rave type sound. This mix would work well for people who are having people over and want to catch ears initially and then let the music move into a heavier groove. The end doesn't have the warmth of the beginning but that's I suppose what makes it a journey! If you've got a long Evening ahead of you, put this on when you've got a tough crowd to impress. This album doesn't go wildly off the map but it does switch styles, and themes, effortlessly without losing the listener. The album has a mesmerizing quality, and I don't mean in terms of repetition driving you into a coma, I mean in that it draws you in and each change in sound feels like emotion waxing and waning. One sentence to describe this review would be: "It sounds like moving from you place, to the bar, to the afterhours warehouse in the duration of one CD". Upon many repeated listens I find myself getting fixed on one third of the album in a rotation, but listening to the whole thing no matter what my taste is that day. Here's a little blow by blow...
The first two ('Hear The Sun'/'Untitled B1') tracks are really ethereal, the third ('That's A Nice Way to Give Me Feedback') a little more haunting (like a house track with techno overtones). The fourth track ('ModModBlubBlub'/'Moondog Monologue') has a vocal over a stomping track that sounds like house with organic crunch with claps and hi-hats and live instrument sounds. 'Berlin Dub' is a little more of a garage house beat with blips that are reminiscent of the early 90's, but then a static-y woosh that builds into a tense rush and then pulls back into minimal blips again. 'Don't Take It' has a woman talking over a song that could have been Audion doing an acid track... it's at this point that the mix moves out of the lounge bar and into the club. 'Something Is Raw' is a rave lead type track that build and builds with a thumping thud of a beat moving into 'Raw Structure'/'An American Poem'. That slam poetry sound moved into a deep bass track 'Six Ten' that just pushes the mix in a more techy icey direction and it's more eerie. Then we reach a track between Henrick Schwarz, Dixon, and Ame, called 'D.P.O.M.B (Version 1)' that is just a bruiser... it's like all the preceding tracks are leading up to this one... starting low key and moving into a churning, energetic, spacey, club bruiser with a vocal punching in and out of the beat. 'We Said Nothing' is a more experimental tech track with minimal sounds and a vocal that reminds me of a more dance floor ready Swayzak track; it's unrelenting and the high hats just keep it pushing foward toward the end. 'The Symphony' has a beat that steps down initially in intensity from the previous track but the instrumental does everything but... it repeats "Can you feel it?" while growing more and more and amping up the drums. 'The Symphony' then goes in a direction that will remind seasoned dance fans of Underworld's glory days with Darren Emmerson. 'M.A.M.'/'Australiapella' is a very organic (as in, it sounds like you're in a jungle rave) and finally eases us into 'Loop' (an LFO vs Fuse track) that sounds like the best end of a warehouse rave ever. I think I'm going to have to go out and purchase that LFO track and the Henrik/Ame/Dixon one asap!
So if that sounds like your bag I'd go out there and get it with the quickness... no party tricks, no maximal insanity, just a well calculated smooth journey which is what a real DJ mix should be!
Also of interest... seeing as I'm still geeked from my signed Hot Chip record... Alexis Taylor lead singer of Hot Chip has got a solo album out which you can purchase here.
LASTLY! I want to let you know about my boy Mike and his phenomenal band Dead Kids, which you no doubt have heard about (both here and recently in the tabloids... which we'll get to later), has a gig tomorrow. I wouldn't miss this gig since their profile is rapidly rising and you'll soon be lucky to even be able to get into the show lol... Oct 16 2008 HOXTON BAR AND KITCHEN, LONDON @ 11PM Be there or be square... I expect I'll be posting an interview with Mike in the next few days so be on the lookout!
And that's it for today. I interviewed Darshan Jesrani from Metro Area and am writing up an article (as opposed to the typical 'interview') for their Fabric mix. I've got Stanton Warriors on the line next week, for their Stanton Sessions 3, which I'm wicked excited about! If YOU have any question suggestions let me know! Be back asap!
First off, I felt totally blessed to be able to have a nice long conversation with a pioneer like FreQ Nasty. Initially because of outside circumstances the interview almost didn't happen, but he made time to reschedule with Fabric and find time to talk to me. The man has done a lot for musical history and boundaries, pushing breakbeat music, and electronica by fusing it with Jamaican vibes, as well as political messages. His charity Giveback has helped bring a conscious message to dance music and hopefully will not only move people's feet but also their minds towards work for change (which we REALLY need in this day and age). I ended up abandoning a lot of my initial questions because I was so interested in what we were talking about. I'm really happy to have spoke with him and am proud of this interview.
FreQ Nasty's Fabriclive (#42) is coming out this next week on October 13, 2008 in the UK (and on November 11, 2008 for those of us in the United States). It's a blisteringly propulsive mix of fidget house, dubstep, breakbeat, and things you can't even put a label on. It grabs you and will not let go from start to finish. It is easily one of my favourite Fabric mixes ever and I highly suggest it. If the first half doesn't get you moving you probably don't have a pulse! From the beginning track from Saul Williams declaring political intent, to the zeitgeist Santogold track that he did with Switch ("Creator"), to the new school funk of Leon Jean Marie, the balls to the wall energy or Cadence Weapon, and the numerous dubstep and breaks tracks, it's just a classic without question! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do... here's a taste from the track he did with Bassnectar for Giveback...
SECOND THING THAT SHOULD BE MENTIONED HERE... due to an extremely windy day, and doing the interview on a picnic table at work, my iPod recording mic seemed to glitch out worse than ever (this happened with the Simian Mobile Disco interview too). It's made me realize I need a different digital recorder! This was probably my best interview I've ever done because I was able to go off my script more and have a good talk about politics and music. THAT was the plus. The minus is that I have about 19 minutes of audio........... and only 14 minutes of it recorded. There are strange gaps and glitches so I'm stitching this interview back together as best I can. I think the really important parts made it (i.e. him talking) but I apologize for what I lost and I promise it won't happen again. I think it was mostly parts with me talking so no big deal:) I should mention there was a lot of laughing going on so I'm not even making note of it while transcribing. You can tell where it's funny lol... With that said here's the interview...
ISoA:Your mix is very timely... in fact it really shows how far ahead of your time you've been. With the recent surge in hip-hop and electronica merging as well as the emergence of dubstep how do you feel about the current musical landscape? Because certainly your music has helped pave the way for new artists...
FreQ Nasty: Thank you for that. Yeah it's great because there's two things... one is the dub music and fusion and the stuff that's coming out now, I've been feeling that music since it's inception, and it's taken on more dance music stuff. Then garage and breakbeat have been half timed into dubstep and there's this odd sort of meeting point. Everything has become this sort of melting point and it's awesome to see new forms of music develop and come through... and on the other side you think 'what's next', what else can we twist and fuse and move forward into a new space you know?
ISoA:Going back to the so called 'current musical landscape'... a lot of genres have been dominating for the last couple of years, stuff like Baltimore club, bloghouse, and we've seen a holding pattern... are there any sounds you see becoming big in the next year?
FreQ Nasty: This sort of crop of scenes and sounds... this cultural palette that people have been working with... On the house side, and electro, and the minimal side and fidget side of things, I mean I have major ADD, but I feel like I have heard all this stuff before! As far as finding a new sound I think that palatte is nuked now. I mean there's still a lot of producers making great records but if I never heard another Baltimore record I wouldn't be upset about it.
ISoA:Speaking of new music, your track with Santogold is out of this world awesome. How did that come about?
FreQ Nasty: Dave Switch and I were touring Australia together. We enjoyed each others music, we ended up playing before or after each other, and we had an appreciation for what the other person does so decided to jump into the studio together in Sydney. We only had a day in the studio so we didn't really finish anything, that was in January '06 or '07... and then we ended up in New York we busted out some beats and started looking for a vocalist. We were out in Seattle at a club with Diplo, and Santi White was there, and he said "Check this singer out, she's awesome" so we went into the studio with her and did that track. And we found out afterwards that Diplo had never heard her sing before! He had just heard that she was good! She hadn't rapped like that either for a long long time. She said "I haven't done anything like that for like 15 years, this is weird" but it turned out great.
ISoA:Are there any other young artists you're working with in the future, or want to work with?
FreQ Nasty: In terms of vocalists... There's a lot of cats coming out of the underground dubstep scene that are doing crazy different stuff... for them, what they heard was the beginnings of the dubstep scene and they're starting to move it along already. In terms of underground vibes theres a lot of great dancehall artists out there, there's a lot of grime and dubstep MCs that are great, but really for me it's about people who can write good hooks and good songs. Anyone can spit on a track... I mean there's a lot of great hip hop MCs here, or in NY, or LA; the difference is the ones who can write good hooks. That's why Santogold has done so well, is she can write great hooks and great songs. She's a really good writer. You can see her writing skills on that album.
ISoA:When you're putting together a mix like this do you find yourself wishing you could put in more tracks than you can fit on a CD? Is it hard to choose what is going to make the mix?
FreQ Nasty: I think I got Fabric to clear more tracks than every artist ever bar one! I had load of new minimal stuff from Berlin, and I had all sorts of shit. I got to the point where I was like I'm not going to chuck a bunch of stuff on here just to say, 'Hey, look at me I listen to loads of new underground music!', you know what I mean? For me it was stuff that connected to me. And also there's some cool stuff in odd pockets around the world, and you wanna choose stuff that sounds great on a big system, that's why I went in the direction I did... I found some cool lo-fi bits but they didn't sound as good against some of the better produced dubstep and breaks and the UK Baltimore stuff. You want to choose what flows well at the end of the day!
ISoA:It flows really well, it really caught my attention. Those first 6 tracks grabbed me so hard that suddenly I realized I was almost all the way through the mix!
FreQ Nasty: I was a little bit worried what people might think about coming in so hard and heavy straight away, but like I said in the (Fabic Press) bio, that's how I'm playing at the moment just coming in on 11. Maybe chill out a bit toward the end, start out heavy and take it somewhere different and maybe chill out toward the end. Most mix cds start out slow and take you on this linear journey but this one just comes out and slaps you on the head straight away!
FreQ Nasty: I'm one of the founders of Giveback and it was me and some other cats who just wanted to to do something cool that allowed musicians to do something. And that wasn't really a platform for musicians to get out there and say 'I want my music to do this, or I want it to help with this cause' so I'm going to make a track and give the campaign a track and let all my fans know it's up there' and then allow the fans to be involved in the campaign. We started off with the 'March For Tibet' campaign with Bassnectar, and we raised money for a bunch of those guys to march for Tibet, and to raise money, and to raise awareness with a human rights record. and then we had the 'Harmony Fest' in Norhtern California which was to get clean water for this village in Ethiopia... you know you hear these stories about these villages and it's not really real, but you go into a campaign like this, and we try be organized and let people know where were going with it, and if you look at it you have a full fleshed out campaign to let people know what's going on and what we've achieved. It's not like chucking $20 to Greenpeace and wondering where the fuck it went! I'm giving money, and I know where it's going to, AND I'm getting a cool track from artists that I like.
ISoA:I think that's an important part in things like this nowadays. It's important for artists to come out and say something. The best way to get people involved is what you're doing because young people can get closer to a cause when they see 'Hey, here's a person I really admire, and I like their music, so maybe I should take a closer look at what's going on'... it's probably the best way to get the message across.
FreQ Nasty: I like that..
ISoA:Looking back to the past, it seems a lot of people a moment where they really felt like they had "made it"... was there a moment where you felt like "wow, this is it!"
FreQ Nasty: I'm still waiting for it! Some people are good at maybe having a little celebration or clocking what's happened in the last few years but I'm not really good at that you know? I try to get to one place and by the time I've gotten there I'm kind of over it already like "wicked I've done that, that's great" but the journey has to go further still! I'm trying to change that a little but I guess if there's one thing I remember... having toured by myself as a DJ, and I don't have a DJ partner and I don't have another production partner, most of the time it was just me over the last 10 years or more. And when I did the 'Video Nasty' tour, we had a drummer two MCs and I was like "This is what it would be like being in a band touring the world!" We had me, and some motion graphics people, and animators, and you know we put together this crazy 6 to 8 screen show with all this political crazy shit that looked good as well... and you know we went and jammed it out! And we went around the world; museums, Australia, and Russia, and the UK... and I remember thinking "This is what it would be like being in a band with a bunch of people you really like" because I got to pick the people and they were really good. I got the best of the best, I got to tour with music that I've made with this incredibly talented group of people, and we really get on, and I remember thinking this is why I started out, to spread a conscious message with cutting edge music. That's what a lot of the artists were doing when I was a kid from Public Enemy to KRS 1, to Rage Against the Machine, to Jane's Addiction... they were all people who had some message other than "Let's Rock!"
ISoA:For some reason political music doesn't seem to really be as prominent in the US anymore, at least political artists getting their way to the mainstream and actually getting heard. There's sort of a political vacuum here in the U.S. as far as the public goes...
FreQ Nasty: There's a lot of stuff going on in America that's very underground, and I think (it's changed since) the days where things like Rock the Vote were around. I mean when it first came through it was this big revolution, but it's kind of have changed... I think it's symptomatic of the state of culture in general. Now you're in a position where you have to go so far to get one group of people's attention in this day and age. In Europe? People are watching TV, but they're watching very diverse things. I mean 18-30 year old males are on the internet and god knows what they're looking at you know? They're not listening to the radio and they're not reading the press. The information is quite dispersed. Who knows where it's going now with the economy with the world, and in the States; people have become quite complacent about the miracles we enjoy every day, where if you lived in India or Africa you wouldn't take for granted.
And that kids was the interview. We talked briefly about music and I was expressing my love for my "local" scene here in the Midwest (Ghostly International, JDSY, Matthew Dear, Detroit techno, Chicago house) and perhaps running into each other when he's in the area. He's a great guy, fun to talk to, with a good word to express about important causes, and he makes fucking ridiculously good music. Cop that Fabriclive 42 kids!
Here's a video highlighting Giveback's video showing the human rights abuse going on in Tibet...
Once again, thank you for stopping by... this will no doubt be the BEST month ever in Arcadian history so keep checking back! And thanks for all the support!
I mentioned in my previous post that there was some confusion with me being on the list for the amazing Hot Chip show in Chicago. Well, that was the biggest blessing in disguise ever :) As you can see from the picture above I just about fainted when I got the mail last night... big thanks to Gabby and the Hot Chip boys!
Since I'm on cloud 9 because of this perhaps I should do something to put you in the same frame of mind. If this legendary remix doesn't do it I don't know what would!
And here's another more rare one for you... off the "All Filler, No Killer" tour cd... Hot Chip- "So Free" Rapidshare
If somehow you STILL don't have "Made In The Dark" I suggest you go to record store right now and get it because you're really missing out! Also while we're on the same subject go cop the "One Pure Thought" 7" with a fire ass remix from Toddla T! It's on blue vinyl too with a sleeve that's really really really dope. In fact the sleeve is like this video for the song...
Ok, as I said I've got loads of interviews I'm working on... I'd expect Dead Kids and Adam Ficek next... keep checking back!
Toddla T is rapidly approaching 'Arcadian Family' status... I've been trying to get a moment with him but suddenly he went from 'promising upstart' when I first started talking to him to 'one of the biggest names in the game'... I understand he's been a little busy lol... because of this I haven't posted much since his initial debut on this page (unless you count like 3 posts about Machines Don't Care, which I suppose we ought to) but now I'm getting a chance because of this awesome event/mix...
Toddla T is one of the big names that should be pulling you out of your dwelling to go to Fabric's Birthday Weekend. I've seen a fair share of the people on the bill, but to see them all in one place (much less Fabric), has got to be a dream come true. Too bad I'm a whole country away lol... go be my eyes and send me pictures yeah?
Toddla T did have a little something to say preceding this event and his mix...
'' sendin out a happy birfday wishes too youuu .... big up fabric we lookin foward to the weekend ''
Truly, give the drummer some. Give Adam Ficek from Babyshambles all you've got!
This man has not only works in one of the best bands ever (ok, I'm totally biased, look at the site name and the radio show name), but he's worked in two other groups that fucking rock... those groups being Mains Ignition and the currently featured Roses Kings Castles!
Roses Kings Castles first popped up on Myspace with some demo songs and a Babyshambles assited track. Attention grew and grew and grew... now we have an awesome single called "Entroubled", an album that came out this week, and two fantastic remixes for you guys!
Here's some info... The track 'Entroubled' and is, by its authors own admission, a quirky little summer alcopop of a song certain to wrap listeners around its nimble fingers. Would be great to get these up on the site as downloads. The remixes come from both Boy+Girl and Geek Chic Soundsystem, both fittingly transforming the track for the dancelfoor.
Entroubled is being released via Mr Ficeks own label, The Sycamore Club, which takes its name from the community centre of the council estate that he grew up on in Bletchley, Milton Keynes. You could go there on Friday night to meet girls or Saturday morning to fight boys.
Check out the animated video of 'Entroubled' here...
They Boy+Girl remix is 8 bit electro dancefloor gold. I really like how stripped down the track is but still has loads going on. The Geek Chic remix is more for minimal, whereas the other is maximal even in it's low-fi sound, and will be a bigger hit with the techno listeners. Roses Kings Castles debut album was just released on the 6th Oct.
Here's a little more info on the whole album... "Pete's not the only 'Shambler with a swish line in solo material - through his Roses, Kings, Castles project sticksman Adam Ficek shows an ear for melody that the likes of Belle And Sebastian would smash up a tea party for." NME
"A wistful soup of lo-fi English pop, peppered with sparkling shards of summer and a pinch of Shambles to make things exciting." Clash
"Roses Kings Castles shows Ficek is as sweet and starry-eyed on the quiet, as he is strutting and swaggery in Babyshambles. A lovely, lo-fi treat." Daily Star
"Roses, Kings, Castles is blessed with the type of insatiable charm that people fall in love with. In fact, don't be surprised if you're married with kids by the end of it." Gigwise.com
"Sounding reminiscent of Graham Coxon's solo material, Adam proves there's more to him than just a beat for Pete." Future Music
Babyshambles drummer, fast-rising DJ and deft multi-instrumentalist Adam Ficek, who records barbed and bittersweet solo material under the moniker Roses Kings Castles, is releasing his eponymous debut album.
Recorded in Adam’s own bedroom over a two-week period that presented itself when Pete Doherty took time out from Babyshambles to work on his own non-band material, Roses Kings Castles is a short, sharp and savvy burst of sorrow-pop perfection, shot through with jingling melodies, toe-tapping acoustics and a wry lyrical nous.
The back-to-basics dynamic that drove the recording process and inspires the RKC concept as a whole has produced a ten-track LP at once pared-down and multi-layered, comprised of sonorous, chiming highs and whispered, spaced-out lows.
From the dirge-laden bluster of ‘Entroubled’ to the lush, flute-embalmed instrumentation of ‘Brass Winter’, the ragtime swagger of ‘Horses’, the smoky accordion flourishes and pan-clatter percussion of ‘Never Certain’, and haunted, lovelorn lull of ‘Folk Song’, the album combines delicate moments of genuine intimacy with splattered pallets of soaring melodic romanticism.
“I always wanted it to be slightly DIY in the music and artwork,” says Adam of his hands-on approach to all things RKC-related. “It’s far too easy to become clean and glossy in today’s world of assumed perfection.” This philosophy has seen him successfully self-release limited edition versions of singles to fans via PO Box. “I want people to feel they are becoming part of my process and me of theirs,” he continues.
Roses Kings Castles is being put out by Mr. Ficek’s own label, The Sycamore Club, and will be available in all good record stores. Buoyed by the success of his previous releases, Adam intends to insure that the personal and uncompromised relationship he has built-up with his audience goes from strength to strength. “The main ethos behind the music is that it exists in a community between artist and fan. I’ve never been into the ‘look at me’ school of music. I want the music and concept to exist in a two-way, all-encompassing community workshop.”
In this candidly imagined and skillfully executed album – indebted to a vision of England that would make Ray Davies proud – the swelling ranks of the Roses Kings Castles community have undoubtedly found a voice fit for the task of uniting them.
Adam Ficek’s track-by-track guide to Roses Kings Castles:
‘Entroubled’: “A poptastic narrative on the troubles of the world. It has grit, spit, polish and glitter all wrapped up in a melodic gobstopper.”
‘Horses’: “It's nothing at all to do with horses! One of my earliest songs, a slightly shamblesque swing with a brooding chorus.”
‘Sparkling Bootz’: “A swaggered pop song with Steptoe undertones.”
‘Broken Homes’: “It reminds me of living in Essex. It's all very suburban, sullen and melancholic, with a silver lining.”
‘Burn Your Town Down’: “An ever-changing chameleon of a song. It’s a miniature classical sonata.”
‘Brass Winter’: “It's about a dream I had of someone involved in a car accident at Christmas.”
‘Run and Hide’: “Motown meets the Housemartins – a pop jive shuffle. It's about liars.”
‘Never Certain’: “[Singer-songwriter] Catherine Feeny makes this punkier song exist in the place where it was destined. A Smiths-esque stomper.”
‘Folk Song’: “This was directly influenced by the English folk scene of the late fifties; Davey Graham, Bert Jansch. Thanks for the lessons, Bert.”
‘Fool's Revenge’: “My psychedelic parting shot, lots of big choruses, big verses, and a drum-laden outro.”
I'm really excited to be posting these because I'm a huge fan... I need to order the album asap... as do YOU! Tell me what you think! I'm hoping to be in contact with Mr Ficek soon so perhaps we'll have more goodies or information for you :) Keep checking in!
Eugene Francis Jr was on the site a while ago for a REALLY catchy single "Poor Me" and I figured it was time we checked out what he was up to again. Normally his "sound" isn't up my alley but I really enjoyed his songs...
I got my hands on a nice *cough* 'new rave' (didn't I say I wasn't going to use that phrase anymore?) mix of his new single... so I'm hoping you iPod folks and the DJ kids get into this one... 'HOBO OCCUPATION' (aka 'Electric Hobo')... this will actually be perfect for fans of Bright Eyes "Digital Ash In A Digital Urn" album...
If you're in the UK cop the album from the link below!
Eugene and 'The Juniors' are playing the following UK/US and European Dates :
23/10/08 : USA : Webster Hall, New York (for CMJ) 06/11/08 : UK : Academy, Manchester : with Todd Rundgren 07/11/08 : UK : Picture House, Edinburgh : with Todd Rundgren 09/11/08 : DENMARK : Amager Bio, Copenhagen : with Todd Rundgren 10/11/08 : FINLAND : House of Culture, Helsinki : with Todd Rundgren 12/11/08 : SWEDEN : Traddgaarn, Gothenburg : with Todd Rundgren 13/11/08 : SWEDEN : Kulturbolaget, Malmo : with Todd Rundgren 16/11/08 : GERMANY : Harmonie, Bonn : with Todd Rundgren 18/11/08 : ITALY : Rolling Stone, Milan : with Todd Rundgren 20/11/08 : FRANCE : Trabendo, Paris : with Todd Rundgren 22/11/08 : UK : Waterfront, Norwich : with Todd Rundgren 23/11/08 : UK : Kentish Town Forum, London : with Todd Rundgren 29/11/08 : UK : Arena, Sheffield : with Coldplay 01/12/08 : UK : NIA, Birmingham : with Coldplay 02/12/08 : UK : NIA, Birmingham : with Coldplay 03/12/08 : UK : NIA, Birmingham : with Coldplay 06/12/08 : UK : SECC Hall, Glasgow : with Coldplay 07/12/08 : UK : Echo Arena, Liverpool : with Coldplay 09/12/08 : UK : SECC Hall, Glasgow : with Coldplay 15/12/08 : UK : O2, London : with Coldplay
Those are pretty big names so I suspect big things in Mr. Francis' future. Once again glad to get in on ground level with his career so that a year from now when he's blown up I can still get an interview lol... Here's the video for "Poor Me"...
Hope you enjoyed... there's probably another post coming today about Roses Kings and Castles, a project from Babyshambles' Adam Ficek, for which I have some dope remixes. Stay tuned...
I figured we needed something special for the 200th post so here it is. I want to say thank you to all of you, the people on the inside and the people behind the keyboards for everything. This blogging thing has changed my life and I never would have guessed that when I started this account. So I hope this is as much fun for you as it is for me... but I really just wanna say thank you.
Heads We Dance have received quite a lot of coverage here on the site... enough to warrant being part of the fam. I liked their music from the time we first spoke, and their involvement with Frankmusik is what allowed me to become chummy with Monsieur Vincent.
Heads We Dance do a type of pop music that the world needs more of. I'm very sad that right now in music most "pop" is ephemeral and won't endure at all. The remixes may be fun but the longevity does not exist. For Heads We Dance, this is not even an issue which is why I keep my ear to the ground for everything they do.
You may have caught previous bios but it bears repeating :)
Leeds based band Heads We Dance write "custom chromed aerodynamic pop" (Losing Today) influenced by Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, Roxy Music, Timbaland and Pet Shop Boys. Taking their name from a Kate Bush lyric, Heads We Dance are inspired by the early sci-fi visions of 'Metropolis', Aldous Huxley and Philip K Dick, and a fascination with love, modern life and the internet. Heads We Dance played their first show at the Dead Disco single launch in September 2006, three weeks after forming, and have since been described live as achieving " an unfathomably glamorous and energetic take on disco pop... damn, it's great to watch" (via Tasty fanzine)
Ahhh yes... so many of my fav bands share that love of Philip K Dick (I'm looking at you Vince) and Huxley. I literally feel like this is music I've been waiting my whole life to hear. Not that there are other bands that haven't been influenced by the same things... don't misunderstand me... it's that these are the some of the first groups in my generation that are making waves and know what they stand for. The talk the talk, walk the walk, read the books, and have impressive record collections (no doubt). I need this from artists/bands that I want to align myself with... commonality in the most uncommon way... HWD are those types of trailblazers.
I meant to get this up a couple of days ago but this cold WILL NOT go away. Sorry about that... I promise I'm doing everything I can to keep things moving.
Here's the real fun part! A fucking SWEET mixtape from Heads We Dance just for you kids! The track choice is perfect... and what's better is it's only 24 mins long! That's perfect for the drive to work or cardio at the gym. Unlike some mixtapes you see online and think "is this any good?"... I can assure you this one is exactly what you wanna hear... I mean it's got some more 'rare' Daft Punk for the first two tracks (Le Knight Club being one of the Daft Punkers)... and then tracks from Arcadia friends SMD, The Kills, and fam Black Ghosts and Ladyhawke! And gobs of aural goodness inbetween!
The full tracklisting is:
Daft Punk - Fresh Le Knight Club - Nymphae Song Simian Mobile Disco - Hustler (Joakim Remix) MSTRKRFT - Bounce (Felix Cartal Remix) Treasure Fingers - Cross The Dancefloor (Lifelike Remix) The Presets - Talk Like That (Miami Horror Remix) Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire (Knightlife Remix) Public Enemy - Harder Than You Think (NeOn Remix) The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful (SebastiAn Remix) The Black Ghosts - Any Way You Choose To Give It (Boy 8 Bit Remix) A-Trak - Say Whoa Ladyhawke - Dusk Till Dawn (Linus Loves Remix) Chromeo - Tenderoni (MSTRKRFT Remix) 2pac - California Love (Big Na$ty Remix) MGMT - Kids (Soulwax Nite Version) Black Affair - Tak! Attack! Madonna - Into The Groove (Sidechains Remix) Heads We Dance Nailgun Mixtape YSI
If the downloads have run out go over to their Myspace and cop it! The tape of course is to draw attention to their Nailgun nightclub night, which if you're in the area, you'd be a fool to miss...
Their next single, 'The Human Touch', will be available on 24th November through Gold City Records. Apparently Empire is doing the design work and it's different from what we've heard from them thus far... I'm VERY interested.
I was told to "encourage people to contact us with song requests and for free guestlist places at the new club night"... so do that shit up! And make sure you tell them 'Arcadia' sent you! I mean it! Once again their Myspace link...
Remember... SPACE-DISCO NEW SINGLE 'THE HUMAN TOUCH' / 'YOU ARE NEVER ALONE WITH MODEL 21' OUT 24TH NOVEMBER!!!
INCLUDES REMIXES BY CHARLIE FANCLUB, LOUIS LA ROCHE, HARRIS ROBOTIS & MORE TBA
So Hot Chip was fucking crazy awesome. I had missed them coming around town like 10 times so I figured it was time to haul my ass down to Chicago and see them no matter what...
Problem was, somehow I was not on the list... now, after driving 3 hours, that'll make you a little pissed. But it has since been resolved with a lot of tact and understanding so I can't be a bitch about it... I've since been taken care of :)
The audience was way into everything, they played everything you could possibly want to hear and it was amazing... what was most amazing was this new song!
This isn't the best quality video because, like all concert videos, it distorts... but you can still get a very good sense of what this song sounds like.
Since you stopped by I imagine you're looking for some music, so here's the oft passed around cover of Snoop Dogg's "Sensual Seduction (aka Sexual Eruption)"...
Awww man! I fucking love this song! As I say every time I post GTA (from Oxford) I mention that outside of grime, UK hiphop can be pretty stale... pretending to be fucking Jay Z doesn't work across the Atlantic! I mean, we all have poverty, struggle, strife, racism... that shit is everywhere... as well as baller ass whips, chains, rings, and bitches. UK hiphop falls apart in trying to be an exact counterpart to the US... it means EVERYBODY comes off like Fabolous or Canibus... no, not the good songs, the shitty ones. The problem with most of Brithop is that they are trying to use someone ELSE'S VOICE! I mean, the UK has so much amazing shit and such a progressive musical pedigree (especially producers)... why would you turn your back on that and try to be someone else?
GTA don't fall into any of those traps and therefore they get consistent support from me. This track is just Chima Anya from GTA (his partner Ineffable doesn't make it out for this one)... it's sick ass blippy hiphop, not entirely unlike Flying Lotus and Timbaland locked in a room. The track was done by Hudson Mohawke (who I need to look into after this track), straight outta Scotland... someone should do a track like that to the tune of 'Straight Outta Compton'... pardon, I'm wasted on cold medicine (which is why I haven't posted that Hot Chip video or anything else for days; I still haven't transcribed that FreQ Nasty interview but I'll get right on that)...
I hope you guys like this... I fucking love it. I would call this an 'Arcadian Family Portrait' but I'd rather do that when both the boys are on the track. Anyway, feel free to comment, I'll be back as soon as I can with a NEW HOT CHIP TRACK on video I caught the other night, and the FreQ Nasty interview (which is one of the best interviews I've ever done)...
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