After one of the best songs of the year so far from She Is Danger's Lena Cullen yesterday (via Emalkay) I couldn't help but post her partner Maya Jane Cole's track "Senseless"! It is totally awesome in a TOTALLY different way... this reminds me more of my heroes Swayzak than it does of Dub Police stuff... first though check out this track she remixed of Tricky's!
Here's some press: "After donning May covers from Mixmag to DJ Mag: Weekly - Maya Jane Coles arrives with her new 'Focus Now' EP which sees it's all store digital release this week - w/c 13/06/2011 (press release attached).
With She is Danger's Maya currently holding 4 spaces on the top ten deep house Beatport chart, number one in Beatport electronica with 'Senseless' as well as 'focus Now' also in the top 20 of the the tech house charts and receiving club support from the likes of Jamie Jones, Nick Warren, Paul Woolford, Laurent Garnier, Luciano, Claude Von Stroke, Layo, Anja Schneider amongst a whole bunch of other headz - it is safe to say that the EP's reception has been rather favourable so far - enjoy!"
I don't need to say anything about Emalkay... if you listen to dubstep you love this shit already... and if you don't listen to it I doubt you'll be able to resist this track! It features ISoA favourites She Is Danger's Lena Cullen on vocals. Here's a little info on her...
"Already hailed as "the Kate Bush of Dubstep" - Lena Cullen is a British multi-instrumentalist / producer / vocalist from London drawing on dubstep, dub, trip-hop, techno, electronica and dark wave in her work.
Known to many as one half of female dub electronica duo She is Danger, alongside rising supernova producer / DJ Maya Jane Coles; Lena has already made fans out of the likes of Adam F, Damon Albarn and Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja.
As She is Danger; Lena has remixed artists such as Gorillaz, Groove Armada, Ellie Goulding, Delphic and, in particular, an acclaimed dubby reworking of Massive Attack's 'Girl, I Love You' which was included on the deluxe album version of the band's 'Heliogland!'
Lena has forthcoming single collaborations landing in 2011 with Dub Police's seminal Emalkay named 'The World' and Engine-Earz Experiment's 'Reach You' - the latter collab has already enjoyed wide ranging radio and club support prior to it's Spring 2011 release date with the track already gaining almost half a million views on Youtube alone!
After a recent highly successfully solo UK tour supporting Dreadzone; Lena's debut album 'Something Subconcious' [Working Title] will be largely co-produced by herself and Andru Lorenzo and is scheduled to arrive in late 2011."
And here's info about Emalkay if you don't already know:
"With initial support in the form of grime veteran Plastician, “Birmingham’s finest” Emalkay gained the attention of South London based label Boka Records with the warped, future bass drones and epic strings of Gut Feeling. Continuing the success, Testing The Waters EP was released in October 2006 followed by Monsters in June 2007.
The revolutionary sound of Mecha, released in the fall of 2007, gained Emalkay support from the likes of Radio 1 DJ Mary Anne Hobbs and breakbeat pioneer FreQ Nasty, as well as many of the leading figures of the current dubstep scene. It seemed Emalkay’s own potential as a pivotal dubstep artist was finally being realised. His final release on Boka Records was the reggae influenced My Story in April 2008.
In the fall of 2008, Emalkay produced Explicit - a tune that gradually captured the interest of such prominent dubsteppers as Benga and received major support from acts such as The Scratch Perverts and drum and bass duo Chase and Status. After being approached by Caspa however, the track was finally released on the Dub Police label in February 2009 after much anticipation."
NOTE: This list will be updated with songs and music and pictures galore until the end of December! Please keep checking back!
Sorry I haven't been around. I've been trying to figure out what to do. In my opinion if I can't give you guys my all then... there is no point in even trying...
Normally that would lead to me saying I'm packing it in... BUT that's not what I want to do. I want to pull my extraordinarily depressed head out of my arse and get back to work.
All the experiences I've had with this blog have been brilliant! I mean whether it was bowling with Klaxons, or FreQ Nasty interviewing me lol, I can't imagine anything cooler. It would be insane to give up now. Plus I still have archived stuff you guys want to hear/see for sure and how could I possibly deprive you of that?
Enough blather... this is why you came here... BEST OF 2010 Remember this is (mostly) based on U.S. release dates (unless the album didn't come out here *cough* TMB)!
Best Albums:
It would be hard to beat the epic scope of Plastic Beach and the inclusion of "Cloud Of Unknowing" sort of seals the deal on it being my "record of the year". I will say that Surfing The Void was a very very very close second.
Gorillaz - "Plastic Beach" Klaxons - "Surfing The Void" To My Boy - "The Habitable Zone" The xx - S/T Editors - "In This Light And On This Evening" Ellie Goulding - "Lights" Foals - "Total Life Forever" Hot Chip - "One Life Stand" M.I.A. - "Maya" The Chemical Brothers - "Further"
Best Singles:
This time Klaxons win as they rightly should! If I could I'd give 'em like every award for best everything (which I almost am) so we'll save some time here and say that the narco-dreamscape vibe of "Twin Flames" wins both best single and best video of the year!
Klaxons - "Twin Flames" (Best song also best video!) La Roux - "Bulletproof" To My Boy - "Hello Horizon" Gorillaz - "On Melancholy Hill" Ellie Goulding - "The Writer" Foals - "This Orient" Kele - "Everything You Wanted" Frankmusik - "Fear Inside Of Me"
Best Non-Brit Dance Album: Matthew Dear - "Black City"
Best Non-Brit Album: Kanye West - "My Beautiful Dark Fantasy"
Best Remix Of The Year: Lady Gaga - "Bad Romance (Starsmith Remix)"
Best Concert Of The Year: Klaxons This is fun because there's a nice story with it.
Well let's start at the end and work our way back to the beginning. Right as we parted company, on our second night with the Klaxons, Jamie Reynolds said "Never has something so negative, in my mind, brought about something so positive"...
What is this negativity you ask? It's around 1:12... it probably worth you knowing that my radio show is called "The Spirit Of Albion" :)
And what was the positivity? The fact I ended up making friends with my favourite band after that mess.
I went to the Klaxons show at the Magic Stick with the expectation that I would have some time to talk to them. I'd already talked to their manager so it was a sure thing (but I kind of expected it to be like 5 minutes, and a hand shake, and off we go). Instead it turned into hanging out with the whole band til 2am and going bowling. Then getting an invitation extended to join them in Chicago the next day blew the lid off of awesome and we entered some new realm of awesome lol...
Highlights: Bowling with Jamie and creating our own new technique; surprisingly I won which made no sense... Bursting into song with James singing Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy" (as he could not remember the city of Kalamazoo) Simon inviting us to Chicago where the list read "Guy from Detroit" Exposing the band to Bell's beer one of Kalamazoo's greatest exports Hearing loads of awesome stories that I'd never read in a magazine, or write about here Jamie bought a fucking CROSSBOW because that's how truck stops in America work Making friends with one of my favourite bands of all time
Lowlights: (or "The stupid shit I say to this band every time I see Klaxons") James: "So I guess the original version of the album sounded more like 'Echoes'"... Me: "(Me thinking of the sound) You mean like Ride? Like shoegazey music?!?" James: "Umm, no, like the song 'Echoes'" Me: "Oh, yeah... *awkward pause*"
Me: "Anthony, I'm really glad I didn't realize who you were last night. I think I would have geeked out" Note: For those of you who don't know Anthony Rossmondo was Pete Doherty's replacement in The Libertines which is this blog's other favourite band Anthony: "I'm really glad that you didn't do that" Me: "Yeah me too, me too" (if you picture me acting like Scott Pilgrim that scene just comes alive with how retarded I was acting)
As far as a review of the live show: The shows both nights were great but the Chicago show had more energy than the Detroit one (largely due to crowd size). They really killed nearly every song they did but one of the biggest tunes was "Flashover"... they do a great job with their poppier songs? But the intensity of their harder songs sort of transforms the crowd and everyone is sort of in tandem (like the "Twin Flames" vid without the nudity lol)... further proof of this was "Atlantis To Interzone" which literally was an amazing bolt of sonic energy bouncing around the room. I've seen them perform 4 times and this tour has been their best so far. They seem more centered, more grounded, and generally happier dudes... or maybe I just caught them on a couple great days and had a wonderful time? Perhaps I can confirm that next time they roll through the Midwest...
I could continue to blather about fun times but let's just say Klaxons are as nice in real life as they are in your heads.
Ok I've got some work to do... but there are literally pages and pages of written material for this I simply have to go back and proof read. I figured if I was going to disappear for months I'd come back with something big lol. Love you guys... thanks for the on going support!
Look at that face. Add the words DJ and dubstep. Then play the songs. Listen for the sounds of fanboys (and girls yeah?) fainting...
I'll add more later but check the press first: "Maya Janee Coles - unveils new dubstep project....
London based, British/Japanese producer Maya Jane Coles - http://www.myspace.com/mayajanecoles is the main production force behind female dub meets electronica act, She is Danger - http://www.myspace.com/sheisdangermusic and is ready to unveil her newest creation - Nocturnal Sunshine - http://www.myspace.com/nocturnalsunshinemusic - a dubstep project with elements of electronica, dub and tech house included with very interesting developments in the not too distant future....
Musical peers ranging from Massive Attack, The Orb, Delphic, Steve Bug, Sister Bliss, Doorly and Caspa count themselves as fans of her work and woman aren't suppose to be able to produce/engineer/write, right? Wrong - or so it would now appear and to prove she's versatile her prodcutions have placed top 10 in both the tech house and dubstep charts on Beatport!
Maya's official credits as a remixer under her varied monikers includes artists such as Massive Attack, Groove Armada, MSTRKRFT, Ellie Goulding and Todd Terry amongst others, not bad for a 23 year old! With her originals and remixes being played on BBC Radio 1 by the likes of Annie Mac, Pete Tong and Mary Anne Hobbs, as well as international spins and recognition by stations such as KCRW Stateside and many more across Europe, Asia and Australasia.
Additional Maya's remixes have won plaudits such as NME Radio 'Single of the week', NME Daily Download, Best of Myspace, Q Magazine 'Track of the Day' and RCRDLBL 'Track of the Day' with her 'She is Danger remix' of Massive Attack's 'Girl, I Love You' alongside band member Lena Cullen being included on the deluxe version of 'Heligoland'.
Maya continues to perform in She is Danger supporting Crystal Fighters, Theopolius London and The Orb as well as DJing under the 'Maya Jane Coles' playing parties stretching from Tokyo to Berlin to Barcelona with Sonar, Bestival, BBC Electric Proms and Fabric's sister club Matter just a few of her scalps."
Here's a little buffet of all the different irons Miss Coles has in the fire...
It's often pointed out that I don't post enough about women (or play them enough on the show)... I want to blame PR people and stuff... but it's my fault too.
While looking for some new female power I almost lost it when I read this on She Is Danger's YouTube page... these girls are bad as hell (and their portfolio is impressive):
"She is Danger are London based female producer/vocalists Lena Cullen and Maya Jane Coles. She is Danger write, produce, engineer and perform all their own music, to create a world of dubstep, electronica and beyond... 'Hurt You' will be released in 2nd February 2010. For more up to date info: www.myspace.com/sheisdangermusic"
Check out this awesome video and then peep the .zip file below for a BUNCH of hot remixes... Massive Attack, Delphic, Groove Armada, Crystal Fighters and Groove Armada... that's a lot of names kids!
This little give-away of remixes by She is to make you aware of the release of 'Hurt You', now on Beatport, out on 8th February 2010 on other download services.
Zip file of tracks below Here's what's in the Zip file of awesome: 'Paper Romance' (She is Danger Remix) - Groove Armada 'Doubt' (She is Danger Remix) - Delphic 'Girl I Love You' (Feat. Horace Andy) (She is Danger Remix) - Massive Attack 'I Love London' (She is Danger Remix) - Crystal Fighters 'Under The Sheets' (She is Danger Remix) - Ellie Goulding
If you wanna check more videos... 'Hurt You' (Radio Edit) - www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArihRgWIjV4 'Hurt You' (Subscape Remix) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhEqeKQkoi8 'Hurt You' (Kanji Kinetic Remix) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo6KUyHFmPU
Love to hear what you think in the comments! Be back soon!
Oh and here's some more info:
She is Danger are London based female duo multi-instrumentalist/singer Lena Cullen and British-Japanese producer/dj/spoken-worder Maya Jane Coles.
She is Danger write, produce, engineer and perform all their own music, as well as their own stage visuals; and are fast creating ripples within the worlds of dubstep, electronica and beyond.
Their sound is a dark mixture of influences from dub through to electronica with nods to 2-step, tech-house, dubstep, techno, trip-hop, speed garage, ska, drum'n'bass, reggae, ambience, film scores, soul, indie and jazz along the way.
Their remixes of acts such as Ellie Goulding, Delphic and Crystal Fighters have already earned the dames of dub spins by the likes of Annie Mac, and a lot of blog love with their remix of Groove Armada's 'Paper Romance' featured exclusively as a 'Daily Download' on NME.com and their remix of Massive Attack's 'Girl, I Love You' guesting Horace Andy on vocals was RCRDLBL's 'Single of the Day' with the track included on the deluxe version of 'Heligoland' available on Itunes.
Recent gigs have included supporting acts such as Crystal Fighters, Heartless Crew, Doorly, DJ Lottie, Engine-Earz Experiment, Theopolis London and even the Orb at the Orb's latest album launch, as well as clubs nights as far ranging as Yo Yo, Dirty Boots, and the world largest fetish club Torture Garden ;)
She is Danger's darkest side is evident on their debut limited edition release 'Hurt You'. Boasting remixes by rising stars Subscape and Kanji Kinetic and has already enjoyed spins internationally and at home in the UK on stations like BBC Radio 1, Galaxy, Kiss and XFM whilst also making a 'Single of the Week' on NME Radio! Not too shabby for a debuting self-releasing act...
'Hurt You' will be released on She is Danger Music:
* Beatport - 2nd February 2010 * All Other Download Sites (exc Itunes) - 8th February 2010
You know I love Massive Attack. I don't think they've ever released anything I haven't liked which puts them in a tie for my favourite band (Joy Division, The Libertines, Massive Attack= 3 way tie)...
So I was very excited when Jez sent me this track yesterday. It's over at RCRD LBL as well but... download it from here because that's more fun :)
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