Happy mother's day! I wonder if there are any mothers who read this. My mom doesn't really know how to use a computer so we can count her out! But she does listen to the radio show and get other people to as well so I can't complain. Speaking of radio I'll be putting together my Hype.FM show tonight which will broadcast (I believe) next Saturday at five.
Anyway, there's loads to celebrate about today for lots of people... and free music always seems to add that little extra bit of cheer... SO without further ado I unveil a very tasty tracklisting from Hessle Audio's Ben UFO and his Fabriclive mix!
In celebration of Hessle Audio’s takeover of room three next Friday the 15th of May, Hessle Audio founder Ben UFO has put together this special mix for the occasion.
ROOM ONE: Rusko (LIVE), Skream, The Gaslamp Killer, Jackmaster, Patchwork Pirates
ROOM THREE: HESSLE AUDIO... TRG, Ramadanman, Pangaea, Ben UFO, Untold MC Asbo
Ben UFO Fabriclive Mix Ben UFO Fabriclive Mix YSI Here's the eclectic and awesome tracklisting... LOADS OF UNRELEASED STUFF! I love how it's got Omar S and L-Vis 1990, and then Ramadanman and Peverelist and Bump and Flex! You know that's some hot shit! Enjoy the mix, have a good day, go to Fabric and dance you arse off this next Friday!
Greena - Maracay (Forthcoming Applepips) Omar S - Busaru Beats (Sound Signature) Aphrodisiax - Unfinished Business (Jus House) Karizma - 33rd Street Anthem (Defected) Unknown - Unknown (Unreleased) Altered Natives - Rass Out (Fresh Minute) Pearson Sound - Wad (Unreleased) L-Vis 1990 - Hey! (Unreleased) Brackles and Shortstuff - Sutorito Faita (Forthcoming Planet Mu) Deep Cover Inc. - Deepin' Side [NYC dub mix] (FX) Ramadanman - No Swing (Unreleased) STP - The Fall [T++ remix] (Subsolo) Peverelist - Teachings (Unreleased) Shortstuff and Mickey Pearce - Tripped Up (Unreleased) Untold - I Can't Stop This Feeling [Pangaea remix] (Unreleased) Bump and Flex - Promises [Hardstep dub] (Urban Heat) Untold vs. Tempz - Nextaconda (Unreleased) Youngstar - Bongcat Riddem (White) James Blake - Air and Lack Thereof (Unreleased) Untold - Flexible (Unreleased) Ikonika - Fish (Unreleased) Mala - Hunter (DMZ) Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo (Unreleased)
We were getting wild with the dubstep last night at The Strutt (thanks to everyone who came out). I'll admit Felonious Punk did a much better job than I did (I'm sort of rusty on my dubstep) but we killed it nonetheless.
Hearing some of the new tracks Punk was up on got me excited, so no doubt this will get him riled up... A new Caspa track is cause for celebration... This little slice of fried gold would have been nice last night! (On a side note State Crime is back in full effect. I think SC needs to make t-shirts with Punk's "Illegal Shit B the Most Fun" on it... I'll let you know if that happens lol)
Here's some press about Caspa unveiling his debut next week: Next Friday at FABRICLIVE were celebrating the launch of Caspa’s debut album ‘Everybody’s talking, nobodys listening’ with a Dub Police takeover in room one. On the night Caspa be be joined by the likes of Skream, Benga and David Rodigan.
And here it is... what didn't even know you were waiting for... happy Thursday! Scroll down for a track off the album... Caspa Mini Mix for Annie Mac
1.La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream Remix) 2. Caspa - Marmite 3. Caspa - Riot Powder 4. TC - Where's My Money (Caspa Remix) 5. Emalkay - Explicit 6. Caspa & Rusko - Power Shower 7. Caspa - Low Blow 8. Rusko - Do You Wanna Have A Party 9. Rusko - Cockney Thug (Caspa Remix) 10. Caspa - Terminator 11. Chase & Status - Saxon 12. The Others - Kingpin 13. The Others - Africa VIP 14. The Others - Bazooka 15. Rusko - Jahova 16. Benga - Bodyrockin 17. Caspa - I Beat My Robot 18. Emlakay - Angie Got Stoned 19. Art Of Noise - Moments In Love (Caspa Remix) 20. SubScape - Nothings Wrong 21. D1 - Sorrow 22. David Rodigan Outro And more listening pleasure... something I've been dying to hear... Caspa- "Lions Roar"
The first time I heard drum and bass I thought it was, well not god awful, but repetitive and sort of grating. After repeated listens, determined to figure out what the fuss was about, I started to see the weaving patterns and subtle changes that make a drum and bass record intriguing.
When I turned 17 I leaned more toward the London Electrikity, Hospital Records, type stuff and finally was able to appreciate stuff like LTJ Bukem.
And then about 2 years later I could have cared less. I felt like drum and bass was music for jocks who wanted to be DJs or something. A lot of artists I really liked released shit albums in that time period... and I just stopped listening.
After meeting Goldie at WMC a couple years back I pulled out all my d'n'b records (downloaded some Rufige Crew etc) but I still wasn't pulled back into it. It wasn't until I heard the Noisia Fabric mix that I started to really give a shit again.
Commix are a different breed of artists all together. They're the type of duo that'll get you pulling out your old records AND buying new ones. Don't believe me? Pick up Fabriclive 44 (out today in the U.S.)... at least a few of you can skip that step because Fabric and I are teaming up to give 3 copies of the Commix Fabriclive mix away!All you have to do is send your info to put your name and email in the comments and winners will be drawn at random by the end of the week! Just use the soandso [at] whatever [dot] com format to avoid spammers!
Here's a little taste of why Commix are so awesome:
I've been up to my eyeballs in real world work, and illness, or you would have gotten this sooner... but life happens. This is the first part of the interview, expect the 2nd part tomorrow! AND MAKE SURE TO ENTER YOU ADDRESS IN THE COMMENTS, because if you don't enter you can't win!
ISoA:Is it hard to decide on a track list?
Commix: Yeah I think initially we chose about 100 tracks to go through. We had some tracks that we were definitely going to use so we knew, for instance, that "Photograph" at the end of the mix, we always knew we were going to use that at the end. And there were certain old school tracks like the Johnny L track, and the Photek track, that we knew were were going to use. But other than that there was a lot of new material to go through. So it was quite a challenge to get the right mix of tracks on there.
ISoA:Did you do multiple revisions? Or did you just come up with a track listing and say "this is it"?
Commix: No, we kind of grouped together a bunch of different styles of tracks, you know this kind of more minimally, more techy sounding stuff. We sort to tried out some of the, more Calibre, soulful things and grouped it together and then it was a bit of a game like line graphs really whether we started off quite heavy and went down in the middle and back up again...and we tried lots of different ways of doing it. And in the end we settled for the one you listened to. We really wanted it to be really dynamic with a lot of space in it, a lot of ups and downs, and we just about managed it.
ISoA:Drum and bass has been seen as a genre that is stuck? What do you think brought on this perception?
Commix: I think there were lots of things... with everything you get different sorts of subgenres. To a certain extent there are parts of drum and bass, at the moment, that are a bit stuck with people not really experimenting enough. I like to think with what we do, and people like D-Bridge, Instra:mental, Alix Perez, Markus Intalex, we're still trying to explore the groove a lot more. A lot of people say "Well I'm really enlightened and it's still going on" they've got the opinion that it's really stuck and not going anywhere. But as far as we're concerned it's still very experimental music, still got a lot to offer...
ISoA:Where do you think the genre is going in the future?
Commix: We consider it our jobs to try and get it out to... well, there are a lot of people my age who have been scared off by the more garish, sort of jump ups, the wobble bass stuff. I think the future's concerned, there's so much more to be done with drum and bass. We're going to carry on persevering and trying our very best to further it, experimenting, finding new, and one of the things we loved when we got into it is it can be "punky", it can be hip hop influenced, it can be techno influenced, you can pull from so many different things...
And that is it for tonight kiddies because I LITERALLY have to recharge the batteries on my recorder lol. Gonna have A-Trak on the line tomorrow so that's pretty important to take care of! Oh yeah, REMEMBER TO ENTER lol...
About to be a wild night at Fabric... my boy Mackaveli is playing alongside MJ Cole, Toddla T, Martelo and Oneman. He made a WICKED two-step (and splintered related genres) mix here to make it juicy for ya. This one comes HIGHLY recommended (more so than the usual)... the weather over where I'm at just got nice so this is gonna be booming outta my car! 1. Headhunter – You Say 2. Joe – Rut 3. Joe – Grimelight 4. Ramadanman – Humber 5. Masterstepz – Melody 6. Scott Garcia feat MC Styles – A London Thing 7. Nesha – What’s It Gonna Be (Sticky 2 Step Mix) 8. M Dubs – Over Here (Iron Mike Vocal Remix) 9. Wideboys – Stand And Deliver (4 to The Floor Mix) 10. DJ Narrows – Hidden Heroes 11. Dexplicit – Resistance 12. Dexplicit – Might Be 13. Zomby – The Lie 14. Sticky – Triplets 2
If you're in town and you don't go... you're gonna regret it! I hope you guys like this as much as I do. I've got more content to put up guys but I've been really ill recently, I got some bad news, and like everything is kind of messed up right now... but over the weekend I should be able to get some stuff done for ya. Stay tuned! AND LISTEN TO THE SPIRIT OF ALBION TONIGHT ON 89.1 WIDR FM KALAMAZOO (-5 GMT) from 7pm-9pm!
Here's an exclusive mix from Jack Beats which was done for Fabric in anticipation of Fabriclive's New Years Eve party. This one should have you going from Christmas all the way to NYE for sure :) Make sure to check out who is playing as the line up in bonkers awesome!
Here's the tracklisting... digitalism - home zone (proxy remix) laid back luke & atrak - shake it down hot chip - touch too much (fake blood remix) dj mujava - township funk (boy 8 bit remix) dj mehdi - pocket piano (joakim "piano debout" remix) mr oizo - gay dentists mystery jets - half in love (foamo remix) ??unknown?? audio bullies - dope fiend (tommie sunshine and udachi remix) project bassline - drop the pressure (jack beats remix) herve - who da champ ac slater - jack got jacked (jack beats remix) tc - wheres my money (caspa remix : Jack beats re-work) what giggle riddim skream - thik chase & status - saxon
And here's the info on the NYE gig... 31 DECEMBER ROOM ONE: Craig Richards, Terry Francis, Dixon, Âme, Mike Shannon, Matt Tolfrey
ROOM TWO: DJ Yoda, DJ Craze, Scratch Perverts, Jackbeats, Patchwork Pirates
ROOM THREE: Toddla T & MC Serocee, 2562, Tayo, The Heatwave, Moody Boyz
Kasai Allstars
On a completely different note I've also got a culturally diverse heap of music to throw your way. Crammed has been bringing global electronic fusion for years and they want to share some of this awesomeness with you this holiday season! Below are some free tracks with a little press on each one to give you an idea for flavour. I suggest you check out the larger selection of free tracks that they're offering by clicking on the link below!
"Long before the internet began collapsing the boundaries between musical cultures for those ready to explore a little, Crammed was doing it anyway. Proudly cosmopolitan, the Brussels-based label has continuously reinvented itself, and has come up with new forms of fusion, mixing elements of rock, world music, pop and electronica ever since its inception in the early '80s. Never a label to be pigeonholed, Crammed has often anticipated musical movements and still continues to do so.
Crammed Crash Course is a free download compilation, given away through the label's online shop, which offers an exhilarating 13-track taster of the musical journeys Crammed has undertaken: from the Balkans to North and Central Africa, from South America to the Middle East as well as the more regular musical pastures of the US and Europe, a lot of territory has been covered... and there's more exciting adventures to come in 2009.
Crammed Crash Course features tracks by Konono N°1, Lonely Drifter Karen, Suba vs Zero dB, Allá, Tuxedomoon, Cibelle vs Kocani Orkestar, Shantel, Kasai Allstars, Taraf de Haidouks, DJ Dolores, Think Of One, Mahala Rai Banda and Balkan Beat Box."
Crammed Greed Bag is where you ought to go to get these tracks... but if you need a little inspiration here's a couple tracks to whet your whistle :)
Kasai Allstars - "Kafuulu Balu" From the same 'Congotronics' series that brought you Konono No.1 come this 25-strong collective, with a track from their debut album (deep breath..) "In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish And Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic" - currently popping up in 'Best Of The Year' lists the world over!
Lonely Drifter Karen - "The Angels Sigh" This pan-European, piano-led pop trio released their sublime debut album "Grass Is Singing" this year (from which this is a melancholy standout), and home listeners, critics and crowds alike swooned in praise.
Cibelle vs Kocani Orkestar - "Maxutu" A classic Crammed soundclash, with acclaimed leftfield Anglo-Brazilian chanteuse Cibelle - whose third album for Crammed is expected to drop some time in '09 - reworking a track by the funkiest Balkan band (and favourites of Zach "Beirut" Condon) Kocani Orkestar, who, with third Crammed album "The Ravished Bride", provided a swinging, brass-propelled soundtrack to the Autumn just gone.
Ok guys, sorry I haven't been able to write much but there's so much coming in so quick and I'm trying to get it up for you all! Hope you're all enjoying the holidays :)
Alright then! Hope you guys had a good weekend. Yours truly had a... well... cough... see, I was sort of trying to do this remix of Frankmusik's"3 Little Words (due today I believe)... and my Macbook crashed. Completely. So thankfully I have a old backup Powerbook G4 right? Welllll... It doesn't even have a gig of RAM. So, I try to start up the RAM sucking production programs, and I get started only to notice my Sony studio headphones won't stay on!
So, because I desperately wanted to get this remix done, I went out and bought new SkullCandy headphones (which are great by the way) seeing as the $300 Sony ones plastic broke... and I came back home and went to work... Only to have the G4 crash out over and over. The vocal was sucking so much power that I thought "Ok, I can mute the vocal and keep getting the melodies all sorted out, then I'll go back in and add new synths and touch up the sound AND DO THE DRUMS"... And after many hours of work and running around buying new headphones and everything else... the computer could no longer handle the workload and POOF... that was it.
So bottom line was I got the foundation of the track done and that was as far as I could take it. Very very upsetting. One day you'll hear the full version with drums and all that... I'm not even sure I am willing to stream it here because it's still so rough. I guess be on the look out :)
ANYWAYYYYYY... while we're on the topic of remixes, remember that awesome Hannah Holland remix of VV Brown that I posted a couple months back? Well Hannah has done an exclusive mix for Fabriclive! It's pretty eclectic and I really dig the selection... I've been hearing her name more and more so I'd say that she's for sure one to keep your eye on! Also, make sure you GO TO THE SHOW ON FRIDAY to catch her and Skream, Plump DJs, Duke Dumont, and a whole bunch of other awesome peeps... as always Fabric does it best...
Here's some press... "This week at FABRICLIVE we have the Plump DJs Headthrash back with a full takeover of all room three rooms. In celebration of her performance this Friday Hannah Holland has done FABRICLIVE an exclusive mix."
1. "THE BIG STEF" – SOLO 2. WHAT CANTO IS IT? - MIKE MONDAY BOOTLEG 3. MY ANGELIC DEMONS - JUSTIN MARTIN 4. CHOP - BINGO PLAYERS 5. GENERATION NOISE FEAT. BOOGSHE (AFROJACK REMIX) - LAIDBACK LUKE, ROMAN SALZGER 6.GET UP (DIPLO RMX) - BINGO PLAYERS 7. RHYTHM INSURANCE - CHAIM 8. TANZBOMBE (ROBAG WRUHME REMIX) - ROBAG WRUHME, PASCAL FEOS 9. THE CUT - BENGA 10. FLOOR DEM - CASPA
While I'm at it... I thought I'd share this years Christmas card with you. Now, for those of you who know me, I'm rather tame at present but in the past hellion wouldn't even begin to touch on my behaviour. But I'd since I've cleaned up my act I had always wanted to do something REALLY outlandish for a Christmas card in jest (like me frazzled with a crack pipe and a Santa hat or something... NOT THAT I'VE EVER DONE THAT SORT OF THING). However, I have my wife and her family to think about, so we decided to still do something funny (and obviously staged) with a "Nice & Naughty" Christmas card.
Nice...
And...............
Naughty ;) Hehehehehe
SO MERRY F^%&ING CHRISTMAS ASSH*LES! Hehehehehe No, but seriously, thank you all for your support and big up to all the people who have made this blog part of their lives and have taken the time to help me out (or share their time with me)... that goes for you readers, as well as Vince, Oli, Theo & Simon, GTA, Heads We Dance, Toddla T, Robert Koch, Acid Kids, Markus Lange, Mike from Dead Kids, FreQ Nasty, Larry Tee, JDSY, Dot Allison, Princess Superstar, Treasure Fingers, Acid Girls, Outputmessage, Foals & Bang On, South Central, Kilowatt, Boys Noize, James at Fabric (as well as the whole Fabric family), Anna & James, Zoe, my homie Gabriella at EMI who always has me covered, David Lennon, The Projects, Saturna, The Joy Formidable, all you people I interviewed... Dom, Darshan, Graeme, James & Jas, Howie B, FreQ Nasty (tks for putting me in your blog bro, I'll buy you a drink next time you're in Chicago)... as well as anyone I forgot :) I'll keep updating this thank you as I remember more people, check back... and please keep your eye on the ever changing "best of 2008" list! Thanks for stopping by, come back soon!
I had the pleasure of interviewing Sinden recently for his Fabriclive 43: Get Familiar disc (which is baller I might add). It was one of the most relaxed and enjoyable interviews I've ever done. If he's ever within the tri-state radius you better bet I'm going to go buy the man a drink. We got to cover a lot of topics from preparing a mix, to female rappers, to the future of dubstep... and along the way stumbled across the most daft name for a 'musical genre' I've ever heard... read on...
Sinden: Hey what's good how are you doing?
ISoA:I'm doing pretty well, and yourself?
Sinden: Pretty good man, pretty good.
ISoA:Good to hear, good to hear. Hey I was gonna say, I really enjoyed this new CD because you give a lot of hiphop stuff right off the bat and then a lot of great dance tracks, dubstep, grime, bassline and then you switch it all up again musically without sounding wildly all over the place and fragmented. Did it feel risky at all when you were putting it together?
Sinden: Yeah, it did in a way actually. There's this little bunch of people who still associate me with a certain sound. And so I really want to kinda, with this mix, clear the air with it and just say like 'it's not what you're expecting'. Like some people know I'm all about pushing new sounds from around the world, like it's especially important with bassline stuff, and so it's kind of cool to just set the record straight and say 'this is what I'm about'.
ISoA:Did you find it difficult to catch the vibe of your club night on one single CD?
Sinden: It was kind of difficult because you only have a certain amount of time to play with, and tracks and stuff, so you do feel that you have to chuck a lot of stuff in there. But like you say, you have to really flow, and you can't just put this track next to this track if it doesn't work... so it's all about trying to make it really cohesive and make it flow... like put a bunch of tracks next to each other that compliment each other and then kind of move up tempo wise slightly. But that was the challenge to put this wildly eclectic club night into one CD!
ISoA:Yeah I imagine that wouldn't be easy at all. I was going to ask you, when you play in the U.S. do you play similar stuff to what you play when you're in the U.K.? Or do you cater it more? Because I know that U.S. audiences can be notoriously difficult...
Sinden: Yeah, I've gotta say, I was in the U.S. last week and I found I had to sort of adapt really. Like you can't play... there's definitely things that you can't play over there that you could play over here! And it's not like it is a bit of compromise but I'm not compromising too much. Especially with kind of more U.K.-centric stuff, but even Europe is like that... some of this music hasn't moved or traveled there yet.
ISoA:Yeah I guess dubstep has within pockets of mostly DJ kids and baseline hasn't hit over here at all lol...
Sinden: Bassline has barely reached London let alone America! It's such a Northern sound even over here!
ISoA:Hell, I didn't even know what it was until Simon Reynolds wrote about it! Then I realized I was missing out on something. I was reading something where you said 'now that people are downloading more people are starting to appreciate more genres of music it makes my job as a DJ much easier'... do you feel now, a couple years later, that it's also shortened the shelf life of new tracks to a degree?
Sinden: Yeah, I totally agree. I was saying this recently, I've been thinking about it, it's almost like people get tracks too early and they don't really stick around for that long. Like there's this whole thing about 'it's old because it's been on the blogs for a few months before it's been released'. And like when things are leaked early... I mean I have tracks in my box that I still play and it doesn't matter if they were made 6 months or a year ago, it sounds good to me, it's a good track! And I think kids are getting, they're getting ahead of themselves especially when they're trying to find the new thing or the new track and they sort of forget about these other tracks that are just as important.
ISoA:I think it's sort of unfortunate because while there's some joy in hunting down new tracks, it's unfortunate because people are unwittingly giving away pre-release tracks because some of these peer to peer downloading programs where people don't even realize they're giving them away. It's not just the blogs...
Sinden: Yeah, with the peer to peer... I'd be pissed if my album was on there and it got leaked early!
ISoA:I would be too I'd wanna kill somebody! *laughing*
Sinden: Yeah I know! *laughing*
ISoA:I was going to say, on the note of new music, there have been loads and loads of new labels and loads of new names slapped on to new music... I know Josh from Flosstradamus was using the term Zunestep the other day...
Sinden: Josh, he's on some new level, he is...
ISoA:What's the weirdest name that you've come across in the last couple years?
Sinden: There's got to be some good ones. I heard someone talk the other day about Midget House...
ISoA:*bursting out laughing*
Sinden: So, you've got like figet house, and you've got like all the midget house which is like more more micro. So it's like the more minimal fidget house records because its more micro it's midget house. That made me laugh. It's where the basslines aren't so... they're still big but the drum and everything is minimal like a techno record or something.
ISoA:Well maybe that will be the next REALLY big thing *laughing*... I was gonna say DJs like yourself have helped pave the way for the hiphop dance crossover, which even a few years seemed like it could never make a comeback. Do you think it's something that will stick this time and maybe even integrate itself with mainstream music?
Sinden: Yeah you can kind of see that with hiphop happening with... well all the Rihanna tracks that have been really big over here on the radio have fit into dance stations really well. They're really like dance records and I think... oh and that NeYo tune too... it's kind of like a dance record. I think maybe more producers might be tempted to go down that route, and definitely dance producers have been flirting with hiphop more. Like sort of rap house crossovers seem to be coming back, not just in the mainstream but independently as well. Hopefully yeah this time it will cement itself more. I mean over here dance music and hiphop are kind of in bed together really most of the itme especially with the garage scene and drum and bass which comes from MC culture. You can't go out raving without hearing MCs, or like rap tracks mixed with dance music...
ISoA:Yeah I think it's interesting because it's starting to carry over to some mainstream U.S. tracks. I know Darshan Jesrani from Metro Area was mentioning that producers are willing to embrace the idea, and they wanna make 4/4 tracks, while radio programmers still aren't willing to put it on the radio...
Sinden: I think the U.S. has an issue with it. I think people have an issue with dance music.
ISoA:Yeah, it all stems back to disco and the homophobia but that's not there in the U.K.
Sinden: EXACTLY! There were a couple people who I was speaking to they were like "Yeah people just think, It's common to think it's fag music, you know it's just gay music". But it's a very different perception in Europe just because it's not out of the ordinary for a dance tune the biggest tune in the pop charts or whatever.
ISoA:Well it's also not odd for really really macho dudes to go raving every weekend over there!
Sinden: And it's a shame really that there's that sort of hang up.
ISoA:Yeah yeah... well! On another note I was going to ask you, during this most recent dance hiphop crossover period there have been a lot of female rappers that have made it. Any guess as to why people are now more receptive to female rappers?
Sinden: That's kind of interesting. I dunno man... maybe the recent wave of female rappers have stood out more. Maybe they're bringing back the attitude more. I mean where you're talking about M.I.A. and Amanda Blank and Kid Sister and stuff, they're kinda more sassy, they're kind of edgier and they're not just rapping they're doing their own spin on it. So I think it's an interesting time... Yo Majesty too, they're kind of all unique rappers, they're not just doing what male rappers are do, they're asserting themselves more and the more characters like that, I think, the better it's going to be and it'll open up more doors.
ISoA:Speaking of female rappers... I'm sure this question has been asked 10,000 times before so bare with me... but what happened between the original version of "Beeper" and the Kid Sister version of "Beeper"?
Sinden: Ok, so, that track really started off as a kind of a fun, quite accidental track where I found the FamLay acapela and we based the beat around it. Once that record started to get picked up on the dance stations over here and it crossed over more and people knew about it we just thought 'this track really has the chance to cross over'... but the thing is, with the sampling thing, it could only go so far so we thought we really need to re-vocal this because there were a lot of labels interested but they wouldn't touch it with that acapella, it just wouldn't work. So, that's when we started to look at artists we could get on there. And then through A-Trak, the link with him, we meet Kid Sister who was just starting to make some tracks like "Damn Girl" and "Pro Nails" and was starting to make some waves so... she was just the natural person to get on it.
ISoA:You've collaborated with a lot of people, is there anyone you'd like to work with that you haven't been able to yet?
Sinden: Diplo and me were talking about doing something, so that would be a quite interesting angle, that would be quite mad. There are loads of high profile people. I'm trying to think of something more interesting. It's almost more challenging to find someone everyone's forgotten about and bring them back, you know? Like we just started collaborating with Ms Dynamite which is going to be really fun. I would have said Ms Dynamite for that question but that's kind of happening! That someone who came out when she was really young and changed the game, and now working with her is the most exciting thing happening in a minute. She's an absolute legend. She's cool...
ISoA:I'm looking forward to hearing that. Hey, what advice would you give to kids who are trying to make it out here in this difficult musical landscape?
Sinden: I'd say stick to your guns all the way. And try to innnovate... if you have a sound that's really unique then really just go with it. The reason that people aren't getting out there is because they're kind of carbon copies of things that are already happening and the thing is the producers who are already out there are doing it are doing it better! So maybe the thing is to just stick to your guns and create your own scene independently, don't wait for people to notice you... do it for yourself.
ISoA:There's sort of been that problem with dubstep a little... I mean there's still innovation but some people have said if it doesn't change it may suffer the same fate as drum n'bass...
Sinden: Yeah there is that problem is because people are going for that 'wobble'... wobblers they call them. And I think the stuff that's standing out more is the deeper techno stuff. Benga was saying in an interview more and more people from other scenes are coming into it but they're not really sort of providing anything different. But at least when you hear people like Appleblim and that sort of stuff, that deeper sort of stuff is standing out more, like Pervelist and stuff like that.
And then we went on to talk about mutual friends and pulling an prank on Herve which I don't need to reprint. But there you have it! Go cop FABRICLIVE 43: Switch and Sinden present Get Familiar out in stores now! And, also, hit me up if you figure out what the *%&^ Zunestep is lol...
Whoooo hoooo! I'm back. Sorry for the sloppy posting...
I was on the longest stretch of days off since my wedding so I wasn't really able to post much as I was out having a life for once. But now it's back to the samo samo... which isn't a bad thing! I mean, hell, I got a superstar line up of people to do legal idents (a la Hello this is ______ and you're listening to 89.1 WIDR FM) for 'The Spirit Of Albion' which I'm quite happy with. In fact I just added the bed music the the one Frankmusik sent over so it'll be added to the Albion liners this Friday. If you haven't picked up Frankmusik's"3 Little Words EP" I suggest you get at it because there are limited quantities!
Fabric as usual have an unbelievable line up for this weeks party. And I've got a wicked mix to accompany it! I knew it would be killer when I saw that it started with Audio Soul Project (*cough* hit me up *cough*) and ended with Anja Schneider but you really need to hear it yourself to know how dope it really is! This is another example of where I think to myself "How much would I have paid for this ten years ago" and marvel at the fact that we are getting stuff like this for free now lol...
Here's a little press about the event and the mix... This week see’s Get Familiar and Chibuku lock horns at FABRICLIVE on Friday the 5th of December. Chibuku Residents Lewis Boardman and Dom Chung will hitting up Fabric's room three alongside Jesse Rose and Riton. To celebrate the evening Lewis and Dom have given us an exclusive mix for FABRICLIVE that was recorded in Sept / Oct...
CHIBUKU... ROOM ONE: CHIBUKU vs GET FAMILIAR... Jeru The Damaja (LIVE), Sinden, Zinc (House Set), Fake Blood, No Fakin' DJs
ROOM TWO: CHIBUKU... Andy C, Goldie, Grooverider, Commix, Ray Keith, Macpherson MCs Dynamite MC, IC3, Wrec & Mad Rush
ROOM THREE: CHIBUKU... Jesse Rose, Riton, Lewis Boardman, Dom Chung
Audio Soul Project - Community 07 (Peace Division remix) Dj Koze - I want to sleep Loco Dice - Pimp Jackson is talkin now Nick Curly - Happy 5 Sis - Standing Dimitri Andreas – Run and Hide (Guido Schneider remix) Kenlou – What a Sensation Mountain People – Mountain 002 The Mole – Knock twice Argy – cantstandlovegetaway Anja Schneider – Belize
As I'm sure you couldn't help but notice Sinden is playing at Fabriclive here so it's worth mentioning his new Fabriclive 43 came out everywhere but the U.S. today lol. I seriously wrecked my speakers in my car listening to his 'Get Familiar' Fabriclive... pretty infectious stuff! I've been having trouble deciding whether to post my interviews when the albums come out in the U.S. (since I have a Sinden interview on my digital recorder right now) or when they come out in the rest of the world... but for now I'm going to stick to UK release dates as best I can (which means you should be seeing that Sinden interview tomorrow!
Check back soon, and please bare with me... things have been high pressure at work, I've got the IRS on my ass, and just... just bare with me :)
Ohhhhh yeah more Fabric goodies. Seriously doesn't shit this make your day much better? Like it was a rainy depressing mess this morning and POOF it's all better because I've got so much good free music to listen to! First thing to address is next Friday's Fabriclive with Yuksek and the free mix to commemorate the event. Which is cool because recently I've been thinking that I needed some more Yuksek in my life :)
Here's a tiny press blurb... In celebration of his appearance at FABRICLIVE on Friday the 21st of November, Yuksek has done FABRICLIVE an exclusive mix. He’ll be joined on the night by none other than Annie Mac, Brodinski, Surkin, DJ Mehdi and Boy 8 Bit.
Also in the spirit of sharing Fabric gave a couple more mixes from two of the most recent Fabriclive 42's FreQ Nasty and Fabric 43's Metro Area. These mixes are both dope, I've gotta say, but you still have to check out both of the actual mixes. FreQ's is full on balls-to-the-wall energy from the beginning and the Metro Area is fun and engaging enough it got my Halloween party to not notice that I wasn't DJing lol! Although shame on FreQ Nasty for stealing my favourite opening song for a mix! When I see you FreQ, I'ma give you a piece of my mind lol...
Freq Nasty mix...
1. Jamie Woon - Wayfaring Stranger – Live Recordings – Burial Mix 2. Zed Bias feat Jay Electronica - The Cauldron – White 3. FreQ Nasty vs David Starfire – Bulge - White 4. Acapella Dl feat South Rakas crew - Mad Again – Mad Decent 5. Evil 9 - They Live (Trevor Loveys HipHop mix) – Marine Parade 6. Epydemix - Thunderpussy - White 7. Acapella - FreQ Nasty vs David Starfire feat Tiffany 8. Beat Monkeys - How You Like Me Now - Rico Tubbs Mix - 777 9. Slipz n Dapz – Hey - White 10. FreQ Nasty & Propa Tings – Peacemaker - White 11. TRG - Oi Killa – Tempa 12. Acapella Saul Williams - Not In Our Name - White 13. Santogold vs Switch and FreQ Nasty – Creator – Atlantic
Metro Area mix...
1) Samson & Delilah – I Can Feel Your Love Slipping Away (Instrumental) 2) Prince – Controversy 3) Elektrik Funk – On A Journey (I Sing the Funk Elektrik) (Instrumental) 4) Gaucho – Dance Forever (D.J. Version) 5) Reese & Santonio – Structure 6) Telex – Moskow Diskow (Disco Mix) 7) Voyage – Souvenirs (Hot Tracks Remix) 8) Mother F – Welcome Aboard
I can say I'm actually proud to be an American again since Obama won... but I still fucking can't stand the fact that I can't go to Fabric week after week! Here's to making it big and playing there somday yeah? Cheers... I'll be back soon. Enjoy the tunes...
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!
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!
So this has been an interview both you and I have been waiting on for quite some time! As their manager and label both know, like a 14 year old girl I've got Simian Mobile Disco and Black Ghosts posters right next to my bed (just in case you somehow didn't know, when Simian broke up one half went on to become SMD, and then their singer Simon Lord teamed up with Touche from The Wiseguys to create the Black Ghosts), so this was a big deal for me! Their smart ass nature shines right through in what was a fantastic interview... I really hope you enjoy reading it.
Wanna hear the crappy part?
I lost three minutes of audio somehow. Thankfully most of it was me gabbing! "Um, uh, I think uh"... but there we're some important bits that got clipped...
SO, I quickly transcribed the digital (f***ed up recording) as fast as I could while it was still in my memory. The digital recorder some how attacked my voice and Jas Shaw's while James Ford's was mostly unharmed. Sorry Jas. You'll probably never read this so it doesn't matter. Nor does it probably matter that on the playback I can't tell if you were saying "New York media" or what?!?!
Lesson Learned: Use analogue tape from now on!
INTERVIEW WITH SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO
Arcadia: This mix is drastically different from pretty much all your previous ones.
James Ford: Drastically?
Arcadia: Yeah, drastically! What influenced the track selection the most?
James Ford: To be honest it was kind of just stuff we were listening to at the moment. We wanted it to be stuff that we would actually play at Fabric, and maybe slip in some older weirder things that you wouldn't hear at Fabric but in a way that wouldn't break your stride, if you know what I mean.
Arcadia: It stuck me as flowing together really well. You had said in the past that Fabric is your favorite club to play at. Is there a particular club in America that sticks out as being what you would consider as a favorite?
James Ford: Probably Studio B in Brooklyn. Our friends Josh and Dave who we've done quite a lot of gigs with... (then a bunch of lost audio)
Arcadia:What was it like doing the SMD live show in America compared to your experience DJing America as SMD during your Simian days?
James Ford: I think we kind of really enjoyed some of (the shows) . We were just going to do a few, but then actually it went down really well, and we really enjoyed it, and we did a lot of touring really. So, we definitely plan to do more of the live thing. With DJing you get to go to a lot of different places, and get treated well, and people get you drunk so you can't complain!
Arcadia: James, I ran into you before your show in Chicago, and mentioned that Chicago audiences often don't dance at shows for thirty minutes or more. It has happened to Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, really almost every band I've ever seen! Did you run into similar situations across the rest of the tour?
James Ford: Umm, I don't know. It was different in different places. I think, we kind of found, that generally we were pleasantly surprised by a lot of the shows out there really.
Arcadia: America seems to be pretty afraid of dancing on a whole. Do you guys care to speculate why dance music has never really caught on in the U.S.?
Jas: It's the media in New York (edit: I'm REALLY not sure if that is what he said. Does it make sense? Or should I have a competition to see if you can figure it out! Someone should win a prize if they can tell what the garbled audio says!) Isn't it in most clubs? At least that's what I was told...laughing...
James Ford: People go out and dance, but to a different sort of music. I don't know, I think now it seems like more European dance music is kinda making some inroads but I suppose there aren't the clubs or whatever. It's a really hard thing to answer.
Arcadia: Yeah, it is strange, I mean we've got Chicago house and Detroit techno...
Jas: Exactly! It all started in their clubs!
James Ford: I mean we came up with football and that's obviously caught on there (in America).
Jas: I'll tell you what's wrong...
James Ford: Oh, yeah, also San Francisco was really good! We had a really good time there...
Jas: All the places we went to there seems to be like small scenes going on but like maybe it just wasn't over ground and I don't see that as much of a problem really!
Arcadia: Yeah it was actually really nice knowing, when I saw you, normally I'd be surrounded by tons of people but there were, you know, 50 or 100 people in the bar that instead REALLY really wanted to be there...
James Ford: In America, a big thing is people wanna sit on their table and get a posh bottle of booze, or whatever, and sit and kind of look cool, you know what I mean? And that's definitely something you don't get in the UK and Europe.
Jas: What we need to do I think in order to fix this is just to flood America with pills.
Ford: Yeah drugs, we're going to bring loads of drugs to America!
Jas: Next time we come, yeah...
Arcadia: Yeah, bring backpacks full!
All laughing
Arcadia: Moving back to your music, your new remix album also has some kind of unexpected names on it. How did you choose the remixers? Are they friends or...
James Ford: Yeah, we just wanted to again go away form the obvious. We always try and make things different and it does work. We did that in Simian and it probably helped out success doing that. I think we basically wanted to make a remix album.. you know you got Chrome Hoof and people we like. There's an American band called Invisible Conga People... and there are other people we like like Joakim, and we've got Silver Apples on there who is a great hero of ours. We just thought it was more interesting than to just get the usual suspects there.
Arcadia: I really enjoyed the Pinch remix of 'I Believe'.
James Ford: Yeah, he comes from a totally different scene which unrelated to us, really, so we felt that it was really interesting... (more interesting lost audio)
Arcadia: Speaking of other artists, who are you guys enjoying most right now? What's getting played most on your personal stereos?
Jas: The Hercules and Love Affair stuff. That new DFA stuff. Yeah and they are touring over here at the moment.
James Ford: There's a new band called Telepath I like, and I think are an American band as well. There's a lot more indie music and rock music stuff going on at the moment and it's quite psychedelic and interesting; left field American music is doing well!
Jas: You know its crazy that American band come over to the UK and and everyone goes crazy for them, and they go back to the States....
James: It worked for Jimmy Hendrix...
Jas: ...they come over here and we get all excited about them...
Arcadia: Yeah, no one knows who the Gossip are in the U.S. but they blew up big time in the U.K....
Jas: Yeah, it's about the drugs!
Arcadia: Hey, I wanted to ask, are you guys at work on the new album? I know you aim to have it be spontaneous and not a routine, and this seems to be the first time you've had downtime in like 2 years...
James Ford: Yeah, we haven't had a lot of time what with dealing with the production and the live show and stuff. Time in the studio is precious to us, if you know what I mean, but that's the bit we enjoy doing the most really. In the last couple weeks we've made a start and we really enjoy it...
Arcadia: James, you've produced loads of albums in the last few years. By the way The Last Shadow Puppets album is fantastic! What's coming up next for you?
James Ford: The next SMD record is next on the cards, as well as the new Klaxons. (And this is the most important piece of audio that I lost... he said someone else important... but I haven't the faintest idea :()
Arcadia: Lastly, Mr. Shaw your baby doing?
Jas: He's old enough to be breaking stuff now, so yeah he's good!
Arcadia:Well, I'm sure that's all sorts of fun! Well hey guys, thanks for calling and you have a good rest of your day.
Both: You too! Cheers!
EDIT: Thank Simian Mobile Disco, their manager, and Fabric... I've got an EXCLUSIVE track from the forthcoming "Sample and Hold", the SMD remix album, which comes out July 28th! You guys know I love dubstep so I'm giving you the aforementioned Pinch remix. Enjoy! And please pick up both the Fabriclive and "Sample and Hold" albums when they are released :)
This will only be up for two weeks, so get it while the gettings good!
Here were the videos from the Chicago show I was speaking of...
If you want to catch them live you should still be able to... if you live across the world from me or have a huge bank account lol...
07-26 Stockholm, Sweden - Esque (DJ set) 07-30 Ibiza, Spain - Pacha (DJ set) 08-09 London, England - Field Day 08-10 Leicester, England - Summer Sundae 08-22 Leeds, England - Leeds Festival 08-23 Daresbury, England - Creamfields Festival 08-24 Reading, England - Reading Festival 10-31 Los Angeles, CA - HARD
Don't forget about this... coming out July 28th...
Sample and Hold:
01 Sleep Deprivation (Simon Baker Remix) 02 I Got This Down (Invisible Conga People Remix) 03 It's the Beat (Shit Robot Remix) 04 Hustler (Joakim Remix) 05 Tits & Acid (Oscillation Remix) 06 I Believe (Pinch's "I Believe in Bassline Therapy" Remix) 07 Hotdog (Cosmo Vitelli Remix) 08 Wooden (Danton Eeprom Remix) 09 Love (Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve Remix) 10 Scott (Silver Apples Remix) 11 Clock (Chrome Hoof Remix)
And last but not least the Fabriclive mix... that you can get your hands on in August!
Fabriclive 41 Tracklisting:
01 Tomita The Firebird "Infernal Dance Of King Kastechi (Clean Version)" 02 Sisters Of Transistors "The Don" 03 Simian Mobile Disco "Simple" 04 Hercules And Love Affair "Blind (Serge Santiago Version)" 05 Smith N Hack "Space Warrior" 06 Discodeine "Joystick" 07 Shit Robot "Chasm" 08 Perc & Fractal "Up Tool" 09 Metro Area "Miura" 10 Worthy "Crack EI" 11 Moon Dog "Suite Equestria" 12 Fine Cut Bodies "Huncut Hacuka" 13 Bentobox vs Chordian "Aemono" 14 Jelo & DeadMau5 "The Reward Is Cheese" 15 Simian Mobile Disco "Sleep Deprivation (Simon Baker Remix)" 16 Popof "The Chomper (LSD Version)" 17 Raymond Scott "Cindy Electronium" 18 Paul Woolford Presents Bobby Peru "Erotic Discourse" 19 Moebius Plank Neumeier "Pitch Control" 20 Plastikman "Spastik" 21 Green Velvet "Flash" 22 The Walker Brothers "Nite Flights (Album Version)"
This has been the greatest post of my life. I hope you enjoyed it! I'll be back soon with more aural pleasures for you all!
So as you can see by the Fabric Podcast banner to your right that I love Fabric. Go back and read the Fabric=Perfection post if you forgot why lol...
The new Fabriclive? Fucking bonkers awesome. I had this moment where I was in a portable toilet once in a Detroit warehouse and, totally sober mind you, I remember this drum and bass coming SO full force that I felt like the toilet was a space ship that was going to take off... like the power of these beats was so strong, so earth shaking, that this chemical toilet was just going to blow up to the moon from the bass...
...the first half of Noisia's Fabriclive is just that type of drum and bass. It is so powerful it will make your car/shower/closet/swingset explode and suddenly you'll be sitting on the moon remembering how awesome drum and bass is (and obviously can be again). Then all of a sudden come the Noisia original instrumental "Split The Atom" shit goes all blog/fidget and sounds more like an old Switch record with a new twist than anything having to do with drum and bass! And suddenly by "Stigma" you're right back to that 'going 120 in the fast lane' drum and bass that makes this cd so awesome. It's just a brief detour but that house-y bit shows what DJing should be about today... if it fits play it... fuck what you're genre is, if it fits play it... if you're gonna rock shit by switching it up then do it. People like my boy Curt from Flosstradmus making their living switching it up NON-STOP but everyone else could would be making shit awesome by making moves like Noisia here!
Here's a little more background...
"While the renaissance of jungle is filling the dancefloors and stereos of drum’n’bass lovers the globe over, there is still a more scientific or sinister element burning bright alongside the rewinds of the masses. More jump-up than jungle, and perhaps originally suggested in the early work of deep science pioneers like Krust, Matrix, TeeBee and Ed Rush & Optical, this deeply shadowy future tek drum’n’bass uses a relentless and complex collection of upfront dark beats and moody soundscapes to encase the ears and get the dancefloor ready to strike, but also carries an intricate subtlety of skill in production, perhaps witnessed more in the glitch genre, than those hailing a constant repetition of Amens."
Damn right...
I'm going to be blasting the hell out of this come DEMF/Movement whatever they are calling it this year... Moby is on the track listing so I guess that would be appropriate as he is going to be there! I don't care if people slam him I grew up on shit like "Next Is The E" and I've seen him like 3 times... and I really liked "Animal Rights"... so there...
Here's the rest of the press... the release doesn't come out til 16/06/08 in the UK and the rest of the world, and 07/08/08 in the good old U.S of A... but I just had to post now. I know you're interested in more background! (Remember you can get the jump on everyone else by joining FabricFirst where you can hear releases before everyone else!
"Having all gone to the same elementary school, it took other interests to bring these three music fans together: “We all went to elementary school together but we didn’t really hang out.” – Nik, Noisia; “We met through graffiti; I knew Martijn through skateboarding and graffiti and Nik through graffiti.” - Thijs, Noisia. But a mutual passion for producing forced their hand to become a collective and they started to create sounds that were somewhat alien to their peers: “I’ve probably been producing for ten years or so. Nik and I both got a CD from this art school guy through Nik’s dad and there were some really basic music making programs on there. We just started fucking around, and I started out basically doing hip hop and house and trance, and Nik and Thijs started doing more like breaks and big beat. At some point they found drum’n’bass and they played me a couple tunes that they’d made, and I was just really into it. Drum’n’bass wasn’t largely represented in this neck of the woods. I remember the point in time where we were in the school cafeteria and I asked Nik and Thijs, ‘Would it be possible for me to join Noisia?’ I didn’t want to just do what all the other kids were doing.” – Martijn, Noisia; “All the other kids were either studying or doing some kind of extra-curricular high-society type shit. There were a lot of posh people in our school. But when Martijn came up to us and asked if he could join, I said “we’ll talk about that” – I was already being diplomatic. (laughs) And pretty soon afterwards, it just kind of happened.” – Nik, Noisia Their acceptance into the drum’n’bass world seemed to come at breakneck speed, having now released on seminal imprints such as Subtitles, Moving Shadow, Ram Records, Virus Recordings and Renegade Hardware, as well as collaborating with Cause 4 Concern, Teebee, Phace and Bad Company UK, and remixing Konflict, Pendulum and Matrix, without even releasing their first artist album. “When we first released with Ram and Virus, those two were like – whoa! Subtitles was our first big label, after that was Moving Shadow. I think we actually drank champagne when we signed to Moving Shadow, that was really, really big for us.” – Thijs, Noisia. Others on the periphery of this scene like The Freestylers and Amon Tobin have asked for the Dutch trio to collaborate, and Robbie Williams requested a Noisia remix of his cover of Manu Chao's Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus (for EMI). Their remix for Moby, ‘Alice,’ left the illustrious producer so impressed, he said he wanted to be a DnB DJ. Big things. But more so prolifically, the trio have a constant DJ schedule playing 3 to 5 shows every weekend, and constantly travelling without reprieve. Although this is more the fuel of Noisia, then the makings and mechanics, “I don’t really see us as mainly DJs, I see us as professional musicians, producers. We have to DJ for the money but if we can DJ less and still pay the bills, we would be in the studio more.” – Thijs, Noisia But conjuring these much in demand DJ skills, NOISIA take no prisoners with FABRICLIVE 40, and create a mix that forces the ear and the feet to high alert from the word go. Moving through all manner of shadowy darkness with an almost light filled segue way touching on future breaks, FABRICLIVE 40 is not for the faint hearted, but will open up the ears of every listener who falls into its path. “We wanted to make a mix that represents what we do in the studio as well as what we play when we play a show. So we've put in a lot of fresh drum and bass but also some breaks tunes from our label division and some weird downtempo. We use every show and every mix as a medium to showcase what we make, and as a medium to show people what kind of stuff we really like. Sometimes aggy, sometimes deep, sometimes just down right weird, but always dirty. A load of filth in a cage that's sometimes opened. I hope people are going to like it, especially techno people, because so many aspects of techno are related to drum n bass but they may never hear this kind of drum n bass. Maybe it will open some ears, I hope so.” - Thijs, Noisia"
Here's the tracklisting...
01 Noisia & Phace – Cannonball – Vision Recordings 16 Noisia – Split The Atom [Instrmtl] – Division Recordings 02 The Qemists – Stompbox [Spor Remix] – Ninja Tune 17 Spor – Mordez Moi – Division Recordings 03 Phace – Alive [Dub] – Phace 18 Noisia – Seven Stitches – Division Recordings 04 The Upbeats – Anti Social – Cyanide Recordings 19 Noisia – Brown Time – Division Recordings 05 Break – Splash Step – Quarantine 20 Noisia – Stigma [Dub] - Noisia 06 Noisia – Diplodocus [Dub] – Noisia 21 Moby – Alice [Noisia Remix] – EMI 07 Spor – Claret’s March – Lifted 22 Noisia – Concussion – Vision Recordings 08 Noisia – Head Knot [Dub] – Noisia 23 Noisia – Façade [VIP] – Ram Records 09 Noisia – The Tide – Vision Recordings 24 Ed Rush & Optical – Medicine [Matrix Remix] – Virus 10 Icicle – Nowhere – [Dub] – Icicle 25 Noisia & The Upbeats – Mudslide – Vision Recordings 11 Noisia & Phace – The Feed – Subtitles 26 Misanthrop – Viperfish [VIP] – Subtitles 12 Sabre – Global [Dub] – Subtitles 27 Noisia – Crank [Dub] - Noisia 13 Phace – Cold Champagne [Dub] – Phace 28 Noisia & The Upbeats – Creep Out – Non Vogue 14 The Upbeats – Panic – Subtitles 29 Noisia – Square Feet – Division Recordings 15 Noisia & Black Sun Empire – Infusion – Vision Recordings
Remember to check back, peep the Fabric podcast, FabricFirst (which in my opinion is the coolest fucking service on earth next to eMusic), and this blog for more Fabric and more future music!
Sometimes a label is more than a label. Sometimes it's an indicator of what you're all about. Commercialism and consumerism aside, we all align ourselves with bands/groups/personalities/magazines that mirror our beliefs, hopes, and desires in an attempt to connect to SOMETHING in this post-9/11 (or 7/7) world we live in... maybe that's a little intense but it's true.
As the record industry is pumping schlock in an attempt to sell anything possible, a few labels still stand out as being consistant and admirable; to find one that isn't JUST concerned with money is difficult (and if that's not the sole focus it's almost heroic given the economy and the pressure to sell or fold). A great label doesn't compromise and they do what's best artistically. Astralwerks is one of those labels... Dim Mak... all the major indies in the U.S... Sub-Pop, Matador, Thrill Jockey, Touch & Go, Kill Rock Stars etc... obviously the UK/EU has way more amazing uncompromising labels like Warp, Modular, Kitsune that get attention... the list could go on for days!
One label stands out especially though... because it's not just a label... it's a brand. A brand the way that Factory Records was... or Ghostly International is (ps. buy the JDSY album, it's amazing). It's a club that people feel they are really a part of, it's a touchstone for burdgeoning graphic design, it a label people respect for it's quality control, a venue that people look at as a mecca, it's everything a fan/clubber/dj/bloke could every want all at once. It's Fabric.
Now, even as a DJ, I've grown tired of DJ Mixes. They are fucking EVERYWHERE. I could amass 10 gigs worth of free mixes between now and midnight so how can I have any interest in a DJ mix (which is bad news for my DJing self because I know other people think that too). Fabric is some whole 'nother shit though. The tunes and the quality of the mixing, the mastering... it's just awesome. I'm going to begin doing regular posting about Fabric's cd lines (both Fabric and FabricLive) because in my mind they are a British institution that has been a vital part of clubland (and everywhere else) for this whole decade. Regardless of whether the artist is British or not I will be reviewing the work seeing has home base is in London! So let's get cracking and I'll go over the last few releases that have really popped out to me...
Fabric 39: Robert Hood I live close to Detroit (at least closer than you probably!) so Underground Resistance and Robert Hood are hot shit in my mind. As soon as I opened the envelope and saw that I went apeshit. This cd isn't fucking around and gets fast and frenetic from the get go. We've probably all had those moments (for me it was Matthew Dear and Ryan Elliot as well as Kevin Saunderson at DEMF.. errr, I mean Movement) where we appreciate techno so much we wish we could touch it... this cd will allow you to embrace the physicality of dance music whether or not you are dancing because the bass is THICK. We probably wouldn't have minimal techno without this man and this release shows he's as vital as ever.
Here's some of the press...
"In an era where credit is rarely given when due, a lot of today’s so-called “minimal” enthusiasts may not actually be familiar with its creator: it’s near impossible to find anyone who can rival the magnificence and innovation of Robert Hood. With an absolute, visionary state of mind, Hood has been one of the most extraordinary and forward-thinking artists in the history of techno. He’s regarded by some of the biggest names in electronic music as being one of the founding fathers of techno’s development, yet some of the newer faces to minimal are none the wiser.
Raised primarily on Motown in Detroit, Robert Hood’s family was enveloped in music: his mother recorded a 45” locally, his uncle managed jazz and R&B bands, his grandmother’s first cousin was Berry Gordy, his father was a jazz musician (piano, drums, and trumpet). Robert followed his father’s footsteps at a young age, picking up trumpet in the school band. But, distracted by youth, it wasn’t long before he swapped the trumpet for vinyl, obsessively focussing on the arrangements, musicality and instrumentation of the records he cherished. His zealous interest in production guided him to a pawn shop, where he picked up some basic equipment and began recording demos. Unable to find someone able to do “some kind of political abstract MCing – a cross between Chuck D and Q-Tip,” Robert laid down his own lyrics on his productions. Eventually, a fortuitous introduction to a well-connected musician, Mike Clark (a.k.a. Agent X), led to him eventually pass on a demo to a key player in underground Detroit, Mike Banks. Instantly enamoured with his lyrical styling, Mike Banks and Jeff Mills took Robert on board as an MC for 2 tracks on a compilation they were putting together. As Robert’s productions grew stronger, the incomparable Underground Resistance crew formed, putting political outrage to an experimental beat, and Robert found his place as a seminal member, the “Minister of Information.” With UR, Robert forged a path for himself, creating a simple yet powerful sound that fully encompassed the Detroit ethos, but also pushed unparalleled levels of imagination.
Fabriclive 39: DJ Yoda This cd is b-a-n-a-n-a-s. You've got a reqiuem, a shout out from Kanye, and the Violent Femmes in the first like 2 minutes. It's mostly straight up purist hip-hop with nice DJ tricks but then you've also got like The Coral toward the end. This is the one I put on the most at my house. This cd would be a great present for your friend who blathers on about how hip-hop sucks now, no one is doing anything dope or pushing boundaries anymore... because Yoda does that. The force is strong here... you know I had to say that lol...
Good press blurb...
"FABRICLIVE.39 ArtworkWe’ve all been there at one point: sat in our bedrooms, making homemade pause/record mixes with our tape decks, convinced that someday our names would grace music history books alongside Grandmaster Flash, Steinski and Jazzy Jeff. But alas, our mixtapes that could’ve made Spinbad sweat have been chewed up and acquired nothing but dust, and ‘cut n paste’ has sadly become a term that causes even the strongest of us to shudder, as we recall a grueling day in the office struggling with Excel. But one DJ, hailing from North London, held tight to his dreams; his undamaged mixtapes have only gotten more polished and famed as he continues to commandeer the cut n paste fight – the irreplaceable, definitive hip hop protagonist, DJ Yoda.
Surrounded by music from his very onset, with both parents avidly working in the industry (his father a manager of legendary artists such as Eddy Grant and Eurhythmics; his mother working for various producers), even young Duncan Beiny’s bedroom was no escape, being the storage space for his dad’s abundant record collection. His father’s cherished pop records were thoroughly ruined when Duncan began learning to scratch at the ripe age of 15. Originally DJing under the name DJ Beiny (actually his first two initials and surname), it was a Yoda toy that sat by his turntables that ultimately gave him a DJ name that stuck when he was 19 years old. His combined loves of quirky pop music and 90s hip hop became fused and intertwined on home-made demo mixtapes, at first modestly distributed amongst the smaller of record shops. They eventually caused such a stir on the underground hustle – by the year 2000, over 5,000 were being distributed around the country - that it caught the attention of Antidote Records, through whom he released three consecutive volumes of an official mixtape series titled ‘How To Cut & Paste.’ Entertaining, sentimental, kitsch and musically unbound, the mixtape series brought an accessible sense of humour to what had essentially become the serious, elitist world of hip hop.
“From around 2000, hip hop went downhill for me. It was getting a bit samey – for me, all the best stuff was out in the early 90s. It was the rawness, you know? Now I think a lot of middle class, happy people are making it, whereas for me a lot of the best music comes out of frustration, anger and difficult times. I just think that hip hop has become safe. To me, I’m a hip hop DJ but my understanding of hip hop means you play everything. The style you play it in makes it hip hop for me. It’s why I’ll play anything from TV themes to kid’s music to religious music – it can be anything. But I think if you know how to scratch or can feel a beat, then you’re a hip hop DJ.” – DJ Yoda"
Fabric 40: Mark Farina I lived in Chicago for a few years back (hence why I still yap about that scene even though this is a primarily British blog; gotta support my boy Curt Autobot and Flosstradamus, Kid Sister, Cool Kids, and all them cats)... so once again Farina is another big name for me personally. Farina can do a straight up funky ass Chicago/SF house blend, or just drop the sunniest alt-hip hop with the smoothest transitions on earth. I got to see him in Miami in 2003 and it was like magic. I was at the party by myself, it was actually my birthday, and I wasn't even trying to pick up girls or get crazy waster-cated... Farina brings the type of DJing I enjoy most and I just wanted to bask in it's glory. I'm a firm believer (just for me when I'm DJing) in riding out the transition and dropping bits of the record back in after it's dropped and that's something he's really skilled at. This cd highlights that and reminds you why Farina is one of America's treasures as a pioneer and an amazing DJ. I tell you, Fabric means quality, and Farina brings his best in a minute here...
The press for this cd...
"fabric 40 ArtworkMusic has ruled Mark Farina’s every step, since his vibrant youth: days spent marching routines with a trumpet in his Chicago high school’s band blurred into wild nights stomping around hardcore and punk shows. Eventually persuading his parents to allow him to ditch the brass bugle and bring a drum set into the house, Mark held the beat down for a New Wave alternative cover band (reworking The The, The Smiths, The Cure, Front 242, Ministry and the like) that tore through countless garages, gymnasiums, churches and Battle of the Bands. As Mark’s musical tastes took a turn for the electronic, he dove head-first into the luscious world of turntables and nightclubs, a shift reflected by his band becoming the high school’s first to incorporate a drum machine in its setup. Zealously weaving in and out of late-night teen clubs in-between his electronic band’s shows, Mark celebrated his first solo DJ gig at the Chicagoan underage mecca, Medusa’s, at the age of 16."
So there you go kids... You can get streams of the albums over at FabricFirst. I suggest you do that and then get yourself a copy because it's hot. If we want quality we have to support the people who are giving it to us.
Coming up on the 2nd you lucky Londoners (or people from the surrounding area) can get down on the hottest shit in the universe @ Fabric... Joe Chip? Switch & Sinden? Kid Sister boyfriend and Kanye DJ Mr. A-Trak? Surkin's album launch AND Para One is there (I just bought that Para One album "Epophanie"... what a fucking banger)? Plus there are like 7 other people I'd kill to see... Rusko... damn... you gotta go for me... take pictures!
Room One: SWITCH AND SINDEN present GET FAMILIAR Switch Joe Goddard (Hot Chip) DJ Set Sinden A Trak J33
Room Two: INSTITUBES PARIS TERROR CLUB Surkin (Album Launch) Para One Curses! (Live) Orgasmic Bobmo Das Glow Jean Nipon Room Three: Scratch Perverts DJ Fresh Rusko
I've got a review I'm going to do for Radioactive Man, which was released on a Fabric sub-label, but I want to give that it's own review in it's own space. Keep your eye out for that! There will be more to come so I hope you guys have enjoyed our first foray into the music universe that is Fabric London... come back soon!
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