Following Stylo G‘s take on the classc Poirier riddim Sikh Knowledge brings a humongous reggae sampled laced beat extraganza that is tempered by Elaquent‘s standout soulful headnodder and the pace is back up with kwik fits stupendous house vibes. Finally, Mincha takes us to the club with his sublime Compton Chic Remix. Big up to the bootybake crew for allowing all the local talent to shine and putting such solid tracks and anyone looking to capture a glimpse of Montreal’s burgeoning beat scene will be well served to bump this all summer long!

If one of his songs has left an imprint, it is undoubtedly the stunning Didn’t I, a melancholic soul masterpiece that is both heartstopping and gutwrenching in its honesty and moarnful delivery. The sorrow filled guitar leadup is met by an angelic wave of strings and harmonized ooohs that immediately captivates the listener.

The song’s appeal is universal (used on the series Breaking Bad amogst others) and whenever I’ve played the 45, people have left astounded. Definetly, a desert island record for me, as I still remember the day Bay area soul expert Justin Torres shared his discovery with the vinyl community..; Gilles Peterson comped it and the rest is history. This is truly a track that instantly became timeless and the soundtrack to breakup angst and remorse around the world. Spare a thought for Darondo and thank him for laying his soul on wax.

PS: This Trishes edit which juxtaposes Dilla’s F*ck the Police drums breathes new life into the song resonating all the way to where Darondo now peacefully rests. It was realeased by our good friends in Vienna, the Loud Minority crew as a 7′.

Download Link

Coming ahead of Shad‘s new Flying Colours LP, the MC teamed up with collaborator Skratch Bastid to record a five-track EP they released to highlight the coming of the summer season.

Described as “the result of fortunate timing, grapefruit Perrier, a shared high school obsession with Outkast’s Aquemini,” EP also features the scratching talent of DJ Jazzy Jeff on the opening track, while Cadence Weapon makes an appearance on “Homie”.

The EP is released as “name your price” on Bandcamp.

While on the topic of Shad, check out his remake of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air opening credits for his track “The Old Prince Still Lives At Home”:

We’re into day #4 of our Europe mini tour and things have been awesome so far. 2 dates in Vienna and a really cool dancefloor jazz party last night at the Jazz Attitudes night.

So, today we’re doing a surprise set presented by the great folks at LeMellotron.com with ONRA, our main man in Paris! If you’re not in Paris you can tune in to the broadcast link starting at 16h (Paris time)

Broadcast Link

]]> http://www.musicismysanctuary.com/onra-lexis-suprise-set-in-paris-presented-by-lemellotron-com/feed/ 0 http://www.musicismysanctuary.com/mims-forgotten-treasures-compilation-5/ http://www.musicismysanctuary.com/mims-forgotten-treasures-compilation-5/#comments Sun, 09 Jun 2013 23:51:12 +0000 Lexis (MIMS Founder) http://www.musicismysanctuary.com/?p=32105

Here is fifth compilation of ”forgotten treasures” which is – if you’re new here – one of the pillars of this website. The idea is usally to ask our DJ and Producer and all around Music Junky friends to pick one track they’d like to share with you.

The fifth volume however is a “MIMS Writers Special” meaning all the selections are by members of our wonderfully talented & passionate MIMS Family! 15 hand picked treasures: some you might know about but if you’re like us, most you either didn’t know or completely forgot about. (Link for previous editions below)

Jazz, Soul, House, 80′s Boogie Funk, Latin gems… connecting the dots!

01. Wee – I Want to Show You How (pick by B-DUB)
02. Héctor Lavoe – Tu bien lo sabes (pick by MARKINGS)
03. Ti Pouchon – Toto Necessite (pick by AISHA)
04. Blair – Nightlife Edit (pick by ASMA)
05. Chris Simmonds Project – Work It / Mike Huckaby Remix (pick by THE RAWSOUL)
06. Jeremy – Soul Kicks (pick by SANDY TEA)
07. Pattie Blingh & The Akebulan Five – Brother – 2562 Remix (pick by CAL)
08. D’Cruze – Lonely (pick by YOHANN KOSHY)
09. Taral Hicks – How Can I Get Over You (pick by DOC’TRIN)
10. 15, 16, 17 – Good Times (pick by JOANNE LAM)
11. Horace Andy – Skylarking (pick by PHILIPPE SAWICKI)
12. Astor & The Potentials – My Baby Knows (pick by EVO)
13. Knight Action – Single Girl (pick by DEVON EVE)
14. Dick Hyman – Alfred the King of Disco (pick by PHIL SPARKZ)
15. Tommy James & The Shondells – Crystal Blue Persuasion (pick by NICO BOESTEN)
16. Clifford Jordan – John Coltrane (pick by LEXIS)

* Disclaimer * Please note that this is a free compilation for promotional purposes only. The goal here is to make people discover some forgotten songs & artists. If you have any legal problem with a track on the compilation, let us know and we will take them  down.

Download Link

Also, check out the other 4 volumes in this series.

MIMS Forgotten Treasures Vol. 4

MIMS Forgotten Treasures Vol. 3

MIMS Forgotten Treasures Vol. 2

MIMS Forgotten Treasures Vol. 1

For the second year straight I’ll be doing a few dates around Europe and I can hardly wait. Getting to play these shows is something I am very grateful for and I plan to represent what Music Is My Sanctuary stands for to the best of my ability. Although I am the founder of “MIMS”, we are now a family of over 20 contributors from all over the world! A beautiful thing.

The thing that really gets me excited about all of these events is that they are all very different and that I won’t play the same set twice (not that I ever do anyway).

June 13th in Vienna will be more of a “beats” set as I’m playing with my good friend Kaytranada from Montreal! On June 14th, i’ll be playing for the second night in row in Vienna with my good friend Mr. Guan at Volksgarten Pavillon, a beautiful outdoor venue, i’m thinking this one will be all over the place musically as we play very well together. June 15th is in Paris in a night called Jazz Attitudes so you know the deal with that one: all jazzy & soulful treats.

June 19th is a night in Berlin called Beat Evolution with LeBob; this one will be more on the Hip-Hop & Funky tip. June 22nd is a very exciting one for me as I’ll be playing at the legendary Mojo Club in Hamburg (the week before me it’s Benji B and the one after it’s Mala… to give you an idea of how nervous I am!). I don’t know what I’ll be playing at that one yet but I’ve got to bring my A game!

Then, finishing the mini tour in fine fashion with 2 dates in beautiful Montenegro! June 22nd at Casper, my favorite tiny club in the world. June 29th is my very first festival gig in Europe, i’ll be playing the same day as Jazzanova and Theo Parrish!

JUNE 13 VIENNA - GRELLE FORELLE
JUNE 14 VIENNA - VOLKSGARTEN PAVILLON
JUNE 15 PARIS - LA JAVA
JUNE 19 BERLIN - CASSIOPEIA
JUNE 21 HAMBURG - MOJO CLUB
JUNE 22 BUDVA - CASPER
JUNE 29 MONTENEGRO - SOUTHERN SOUL FESTIVAL

It’s already the 10th edition of our Forgotten Treasures mixes series and we couldn’t be happier with the results so far. Each mix has been magical! Well, this one fits in very nicely with the others as a mix that is very personal and full of nuggets you probably never heard, or at least not for a while!

So, #10 comes from none other than Toronto’s Elaquent,  one of our favorite producers out there. We’ve been huge fans of EQ for years so we’re very happy to get a mix from him. (We bugged him about him for a long time!)

We asked him to step up to the “Forgotten Treasures” mixes challenge: make us a mix that is really personal and lets us know about your musical influences.

Tracklist
Patricia rushen – settle for my love
Boogiemonsters – recognize thresholds of negative stress
Celestics – long distance
Joey bada$$ – snakes
Michael franks – st fire elmo
Syreeta wright – black maybe
Samiyam – space
9th wonder and buckshot – no comparison
Mndsgn – stumble
Amy winehouse – know you now
Aaliyah – are you that somebody
J dilla – circus
Onra – don’t stop
MoO – space travellin
B.B. Rights -funky radio (jet set radio sndtrk)
J dilla – Rico suave bossanova

Download Link

The good dudes at Eglo Records (Alex Nut & Floating Points) who I both got the chance to play with recently celebrated the 4th anniversary of their label. And since FP was in a happy mood he decided to treat people to a nice all 45′s set. Want the track list? Check out the picture… (Love that idea)

via Floating Points: “Wow, what an evening. Thank you to everyone that came out to the eglo 4th birthday jam down at the Jazz Cafe. Pics & a short video coming soon!

Peter Hadar & Strange U all performed enchanting sets, with the eglo first lady Fatima previewing a host of new material from her forthcoming debut album.

The biggest thanks goes to everyone out there for the continued support! As a small token of our appreciation, FP has thrown together this mix of the 45s that he was spinning throughout the evening in between sets.

Wishing everyone a beautiful summer!”

Love, Eglo

Floating Points – Summer 13 at 45

*UPDATED DOWNLOAD LINKS*
WeTransfer
or
SendSpace

Guest mix by:
Jazz Amnesty Sound System (Montreal)
Andy Williams & Dj Luv

The man behind CTI Records was no stranger to the jazz world, Creed Taylor had been recording and releasing jazz for years. Starting at Bethlehem in the early fifties he moved on to ABC-Paramount and by 1960 he worked out a deal to start Impulse! and began “The New Wave In Jazz”. After signing John Coltrane and many other greats to this new label he left to work for legendary Verve Records.

By 1967 Creed was at A&M with the mandate to create a new label called CTI Records. Becoming a stalwart of jazz in the 1970s CTI drew an impressive family of musicians from Creed’s long history in the business. Classic recordings from so many jazz greats. Keep in mind that this catalog has been pilfered many times and a few tracks in this mix have been sampled in many a hip hop and house track. CTI’s influence runs deep.

So ease into this seventies soaked mix of all CTI Records; blended with care by the Jazz Amnesty Sound System.

www.facebook.com/JazzAmnestySoundSystem

J.A.S.S. #32 by Jazz Amnesty Sound System on Mixcloud

Highlights include scorching heat, thunderstorms, diverse acts and world premieres. Here’s our picture recap:

Local showcases get a bum rap. Montreal is the biggest little city in the world, with a large concentration of would-be artists crammed onto our teeny island but, unfortunately, not everyone is built for the limelight. That’s cool, though: Being the eternal optimist, I would contend that you can’t make cream without a little bacteria. On Saturday, June 8, Montreal gets a full course, home-cooked meal in the form of REAL LOVE: The ’90s R’n'B Revival, an ambitious showcase by local pillars Wyzah Musk and OverTheBreaks with the sort of universal appeal that distinguishes our artistic community from the global pack. Dinner will be served at Le Belmont, 4483 St-Laurent Blvd, in Montreal.

Starring beautifully big-haired trio Sarah MK, Sam-I-Am and Nomadic Massive‘s Meryem Saci, the leading ladies will be accompanied by legendary Jazzman & vocalist Alan Prater as well as an all-star band composed of members from the Kalmunity and Groundfood collectives. To further hammer the point home, MIMS head honcho DJ Lexis will be spinning that fresh deli slice, surely infusing the evening with his selection of slow burners and ’90s favorites. Headlining the whole affair will be power couple KenLo Craqnuques and Caro Dupont as O2, fresh off mat leave and poised to fill the air with that same feeling that made them make babies in the first place.

Tickets will be $10 at the door, show starts at 9PM EST. Lose the preconceived notion of what a local showcase is and witness firsthand just how great it can be.

Here’s a preview, courtesy of Sam-I-Am, Waahli and Dr. MaD‘s original song commemorating the event. Shmoove, real shmoove.

For a glimpse of what to expect from our man Lexo, look no further than the Throw’Em Up mix he put together along with French connection Onra. Killer!

Onra & Lexis – Throw'em up by Laid Back on Mixcloud

What sets A K U A apart for me is how she manages to dose the strength of her voice so wisely, one moment it feels like it weighs enough to cave your chest in and the next its lighter than a feather’s caress. In ‘Gravity’ we really get to see that beautiful vocal range and her great lyrical skill. I’ve been reading the lyrics over and over this week just so in love with the depth and images she manages to pull out of me with humble poetry. Now you must be wondering why I’ve kept this gem from you for so long. Well first, I wanted to wait for the release of the amazing video and secondly I wanted to time it perfectly for you to go and get her Full EP ‘One’s Company’ that comes out this Tuesday June 4th and for those of you who are Montreal be sure to save Monday June 3rd for her album launch at Le Belmont. Big ups A K U A, I so looking forward to having the physical of your masterpiece.

About “Snowloops”: “The idea behind the record was to freeze a moment in time. My wife Modlee just gave birth to our little girl (which inspired the song “Little Queen”) so I wanted to mark the event by recording the sounds that were floating around during the birth of our first child. “Snowloops” is on a space is the place vibe: some disconnected parts, some connected. I was trying to capture all the emotions surrounding that period… but like most of my productions, it’s made for night walks and headphone trips.”
- VLooper

About VLOOPER

VLooper is one of the most influencial beatmakers in the exploding Quebec / Montreal beats scene. The reclusive and enigmatic producer prefers to do his talking behind the sound board, crafting a style that is truly his own. A very organic approach to beats : one foot in future and another in the past. He’s been doing his thing for a number of years now but is now finally getting the worldwide recognition he deserves. His music has been pushed by a good number of the world’s best taste markers: Lefto, Moovmnt, Soulection and Music Is My Sanctuary’s Lexis.

It’s already the 9th edition of our Forgotten Treasures mixes series and we couldn’t be happier with the results so far. Each mix has been magical! Well, this one fits in very nicely with the others as a mix that is very personal and full of nuggets you probably never heard, or at least not for a while!

So, #9 comes from none other than Paul Nice,  legendary DJ / Producer from New York. We’ve been huge fans of Paul for years so it’s quite an honor to get a mix from him especially since he hasn’t put out a mix in a long time! I’m sure after a few listens we will know it by heart just like we know every cut and juggle on Soul on the Grill, the Brazil mixes, etc…

We asked him to step up to the “Forgotten Treasures” mixes challenge: make us a mix that is really personal and lets us know about your musical influences.

Tracklist
1. In the Thick of It / Brenda Russell
2. Guilt Junkie / Vinia Mojica
3. Right Here / DJ Mitsu (featuring Dwele)
4. I Believe In Miracles / Mark Capanni
5. I Believe In Miracles / Jackson Sisters
6. It’s Great To Be Here / Jackson 5
7. Che Che Cole Makossa / Antibalas Orchestra (featuring Mayra Vega)
8. Soul Makossa / Manu Dibango
9. Sunshine of Your Love / Spanky Lee
10. (Sittin’ on the) Dock of the Bay / Peggy Lee
11. Shaft In Africa / Johnny Pate
12. Evil Vibrations / Mighty Riders
13. Evil Vibrations / Rebirth
14. Joyous / Pleasure
15. Blow Your Whistle (reprise) / Average Yellow Band
16. Blow Your Whistle / Soul Searchers
17. Fantasy / Aquarian Dream
18. Street Player / Chicago
19. Funkanova / Wood Brass & Steel
20. Date With the Rain / Eddie Kendricks
21. Brand New Love / Grupo X
22. Feelin’ Fine / Markus Enochson (featuring Jocelyn Matheieu)
23. Tryin’ / Quant
24. Tell Her / Okada Taxi (featuring Kim Hill)
25. Mishaps Happening / Quantic
26. Sugar (Joey Negro Remix) / Roy Ayers
27. Jelba / Russ Gabriel

Download Link

Paul Nice Links

Paul Nice Facebook
Twitter
Discogs

Check out the brilliant “We Stand Together” EP here

Huge!

Luckily, filmmaker Gus Sutherland is here to shed some light on the birth of experimental hip hop/glitch/wonky/etc with a new documentary. All Ears takes in the LA Beat Scene, with appearances from Ras G, Kutmah, Dâm-Funk, House Shoes, DJ Nobody and the Low End Theory community among others.

However you feel about the music (and whatever you insist on calling it) it should be a good watch. All Ears was screened at SXSW 2013 and more screenings are planned later this year. Stay tuned to the All Ears Facebook page or @gussutherland on Twitter for more news.

https://twitter.com/gussutherland
https://www.facebook.com/all.ears.documentary

Sometimes it is hard to frame it right.

Maybe the least confusing way to present the backstory of the artist is to sum up some of his previous identities.

Sixtoo/Six Vicious/Megasoid/Speakerbruiser/Prison Garde might thus sound familiar to people in and around Montreal during the last decade, but it is still not an adequate depiction of the character as it only focuses on elusive past identities…

Fortunately, this improper lack of general context does not take away from this 2008 mix, labelled under the Six Vicious moniker — perhaps some of the most uptempo work done to date:

Six Vicious – Ghostride The UFO (2008)

For the people in Montreal, Prison Garde will be performing a series of live events in the upcoming weeks:

• Live recording of Prison Garde‘s next release, at PHI Center.
• Boiler Room x Mutek with Boundary, Onra, Deadbeat, Nils Frahm & Robert Hood.

For more info: www.prisongarde.com

Tracklist:

00:04 Klaxons – Golden Skans (Sebastian Remix)
00:16 Jung Joc – Goin Down Accapella
00:28 Mr.Keys – Kea Lo Riddim
00:53 Wiley – Gangsters Riddim
01:20 Bun B – Trill Recognize Trill
01:57 Chase and Status – Top Shotta Riddim
02:09 Paul Wall – They Dont Know
02:22 Milanese – Mr.Bad News
02:46 Debmaster  – Bang The Mind
02:58 Wes Fif – Haters Everywhere Instr
03:08 SebAstian – H.A.L
03:34 Lil’ Wyte – Good Dope
03:46 Crime Mob – Stilettos Accapella
04:23 Rich Boy – D-Boys
04:35 Cool Kids – I Rock
04:46 Debmaster – Close The News
04:59 Put-M-On-Click – Super Soaker
05:53 Goon Camp – Peep Game (Dirty)
06:05 Ghislain Poirier – Close The News
06:08 Bossman – Tinted Crown Vics
06:17 TI – Dope Boy Fresh
06:29 Lil Flip – I Just Wanna Tell You
06:41 Lazer Sword – Stuntin Like My Daddy’s Lazer
07:08 Jadakiss – They Aint Ready
07:18 Slum Village – 1,2
07:29 Lazer Sword – Schmorgidgeborg
07:46 Hi Tek – 1-800-homicide
07:58 HPrizm – Hardest Dub
08:30 Slim Thug – I aint heard of that (remix)
08:31 Pastor Troy / Miss Jade – Are We Cuttin’
08:58 Ghosts on Tape – Straight From Cassette
09:08 Flying Lotus – 1983
09:35 Tepr – Chantez! feat. Cuizinier
09:40 Ms. Jade / Bubba Sparks – Ugly Remix
09:50 Debmaster – Subbeat13v.2
10:01 Turf Talk – Bundle Bush
10:11 Spacek – Eve (remix)
10:32 Megasoid Bonus Beat
10:53 Megasoid No More Blood Remix
11:22 50 Cent – I get Money
12:10 Ghislain Poirier – Dem Nah Like Me Riddim
12:31 Armand Van Helden – Hot Butter
12:40 Modeselektor – Hmmmmm
13:18 Modeselektor – Hasir
13:28 Nas – Made You Look Instr with Guns
13:38 TTC – Codeine Beat
14:10 Ratatat – The Mule Remix
14:17 Ghislain Poirier – Witness Bass Chop
14:29 Plus Move – Organism
14:38 Sebastian – Bossy Remix
14:49 edIT – Battling
16:02 Ghislain Poirier – Dont Smile It’s Post Modern
16:04 Lazer Sword – Last Level Remix
16:05 Busta Rhymes – Put Ya Hands (Dirty)
16:27 Bun B – Git It
16:41 Leftside and Esco – Light My Spliff
16:59 Nadiya – Tout Ces Mots
17:17 Wolfpack – Wolfpack Party
17:34 Architecture In Helsinki – Heart It Races (Trizzy Instrumental)
18:14 Milanese – Caramel Cognac
18:34 Ratatat – Hot Remix
18:50 Dizzy Rascal – Pussyhole (Mike B DJ Edit)
19:49 Justice – Phantom
19:58 Phones – Worryin’
24:45 END

As the first video “Pour le love” indicates, Obia triumphant return from battling in France has left him hungrier than ever and he takes control right from the start with the solid bars and detailed imagery over atmospheric and soulful production. Meilleure vie is another example of enthralling storytelling and the hypnotic Ou konnen represent the signature voodoo rap that the duo brings with a bouncing beat that fuels the ambitious doubletime delivery mixed with some creole flair. The title track is the distilled element of the album where a prophecy describes the duo’s alchemistic formula and clearly the final track about the end of the world describes it in all its overwhelming bleakness. However, even if I truly appreciated the the suave Désolé and the drive slow factor in Paire de coquilles along with the hiphop history namedrops on Dédicace my favourite track has to be Meilleure Vie. The song’s majestic beat manage to make an uplifting song keep the listener grounded and the lyrics are strung together beautifully. It serves to represent the album’s dynamic where we could be lead to a corner as dark as ‘’encre de chine’’ the imagery, delivery and Cotola’s cinematic soundscapes lead us to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Finally, although the group’s strength resides in the one producer, one MC mentality I have to mention the stellar work of the session musicians who added intricate layers of sounds to the beats and the stellar hooks by Agua Negra’s P-Noize and Jahnice who really melded his style with the voodoo bounce on Plus loin. Guest MC’s were sparsingly used to great effect by allowing them to shine in their element. Montreal vet Dramatik drops another complex rhyme scheme effortlessly while Souldia’s grimy flow enhances the gutter factor of the multi-syllabic back and forth with Obia.

Indeed, throughout the whole album Chief Peace showcases the versatility and hunger that make him one of the most feared battlers in the World with a flawless technique and a level of metaphors, references and all around pen game that places him in another stratosphere as far as francophone rap is considered. There is a poetic subtlety to say that ‘’une cartouche dans ta tête se creuse’’ instead of another played out gunbar. And this where I strongly disagree with the aforementioned critics calling for the album to lighten up, because to me this record is a breath of fresh air as far as consciousness and knowledge is dropped in a more realistic fashion drawing our attention and hyping us to stand up instead of boring us to tears and tightening our collective backpack. Same for the spaceraps dropped with purpose (featuring staunch verses by Cotola himslef) and the beats which even in their primary form are transformed by Soltec’s producer’s scientific sampling and the researched vocal snippets that deepen the record’s global message. Many have tried with varying levels of success to pull off the experiment that Obia & Cotola mastered and the result is one of the most original yet consistent rap records to come out of this province in the last decade. Anyone into true hiphop needs to purchase this record (link…support their solid merch as well…) and we can only hope this immaculate collaboration keeps on developing for years to come.

“Dooyo” by Somalia’s Dur-Dur Band was by far the track in my 2 hours of research with the absolute lowest sound quality but boy does it make up for it in feeling with an absolute killer groove. Courtesy of the good people at Awesome Tapes from Africa, this is another treasure that has pretty much never been heard outside of Somalia. A total revelation, spanning ecstatic high-life, gritty funk and killer leftfield pop styles, but delivered with an economy and precision that’s just completely righteous and commanding.

Dur-Dur Band “Volume 5″ (ATFA004), out March 19, 2013

CD/LP: bit.ly/ZLGxp1
iTunes: bit.ly/Y6DKkt

via Awesome Tapes From Africa: Dur-Dur Band emerged in the 1980s, during a time when Somalia?s contribution to the creative culture in the Horn of Africa was visible and abundant. Seeking inspiration outside the impressive array of Somali traditional music that was encouraged at the time, everyone from Michael Jackson and Phil Collins to Bob Marley and Santana were fair game. This recording, which was remastered from a cassette copy source, is a document of Dur-Dur Band after establishing itself as one of the most popular bands in Mogadishu.

The challenge of locating a complete long-player from this era is evidenced bythe fidelity of this recording. However, the complex, soulful music penetrates the hiss. In a country that has been disrupted by civil war, heated clan divisions and security concerns, music and the arts has suffered from stagnation in recent years. Incidentally, more than ten years after Volume 5 (1987) was recorded at Radio Mogadishu, the state-run broadcaster was the only station in Somalia to resist the ban on music briefly enacted by Al-Shabab. Dur-Dur Band is a powerful and illustrative lens through which to appreciate the incredible sounds in Somalia before the country’s stability took a turn.

The first line was so emotion evoking that I wanted to see what the original artist had envisioned and I was just blown away with the Lapalux’s track and video. Lapalux has a beautiful poignant almost haunting voice that vibrates in your bones and brings out your most hidden emotions and the production is just so clean giving each shaker and key drop ample space to deeply resonate with you. It was like being in a trance where I was being draped with motherly arms that were inciting me to cry but comforting me at the same time. Since I had listened to the audio first I was afraid the video would steer me from that sensation of serene melancholy but the video director Nick Rutter just further deepen my love for this piece. His style reminds me a lot of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet where the line between surrealism and reality is so thin that you have feel obligated to question the world around you. Definitely a piece that needs to be watched several times to understood it in all of its complexity.

Now the video George has actually sent to me is a dope cover by BINKBEATS where we see him play the piece in his insane studio set up. I love this video mainly cause the instrumental customizations that BINKBEATS decided to make are just so on point but also cause seeing someone play this piece lets us into the complex process it took to produce it. That’s what I’ve always adored about live shows its like that VIP access to what goes down in the studio, who plays what when and how do all theses instruments work together to take my mind to such a serene place?

We’ve been loving Eric Lau‘s music for quite a while now. Ever since we heard his first LP on Ubiquity (“New Territories” in 2008) we’ve always been on the lookout for his work. We played two of his tracks in our last MIMS shows (“Oh Dara” on #61 and “Everytime” on #62) which tons of people loved.

His new LP “One of Many” is being released on June 17th via Kilawatt Music. The album is entirely produced by Eric Lau and features guest appearances from Oddisee, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Olivier St. Louis, Fatima, Rahel and others. —> Buy Link

We asked him to give up a couple examples of his current favorites that inspire him as an artist.

Watson Beasley “Dimensions”

@EricLauMusic: Kaidi Tatham put me onto this, the intro is spectacular and then the first 3mins 30secs are beautiful. THEN the end section kicks in unexpectedly and you can’t help but to get down! The end is so funky that I extended it for dj sets!

Watson Beasley – Dimensions

The Two Of Us “Looking Glass”

@EricLauMusic: Produced by the one and only Master Wel aka Weldon Irvine. I’m huge fan of Weldon and never came across this track until recently. The movements in this just get me every time. Haunting.

King “Supernatural ‘Live at KPFK”

@EricLauMusic: I really enjoyed the original but Paris Strother (The producer) just killed this version. I love her arrangement and harmony. Vocals are beautiful too, feeling the vulnerability of the live version.

Aquarius “Europanema” feat. Burnier & Cartier

@EricLauMusic: Just brings pure sunshine through my speakers. Rhythm guitar and vocals are perfect. Been playing this a lot lately as the winter in the UK still doesn’t want to go away!

Aquarius – Europanema

Darryl Reeves “Every Time I See You” feat Gwen Bunn

@EricLauMusic: I love Gwen Bunn, I think she’s one of the brightest talents right now. I was digging all her solo stuff but this is slightly different for her. This is a Roy Ayers cover and I love the way they freaked it. Her vocal sound is the best I’ve heard from her and love the backing vocals on the ‘Go, go, go’ part. Drummer is killin’ on this too.

Darryl Reeves – Everytime I See You

About ERIC LAU

Eric Lau is a London-based producer, known for his work with an array of international artists such as Lupe Fiasco, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Chris Dave, Guilty Simpson, Oddisee, Muhsinah, Kaidi Tatham, Olivier Daysoul, and a family of artists from London including Dego, Tawiah, Rahel and Fatima.

In addition to his production work he is also a well-respected DJ having toured the world as well as supported acts such as Erykah Badu, Questlove and Robert Glasper. As well as being the sound engineer for LA based BTS Radio, he has also provided mixes for renowned music platforms such as RBMA Radio, Put Me On It and Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide.

His debut album ‘New Territories’, released on Ubiquity Records to great critical acclaim was nominated as one of Gilles Peterson’s Top Albums of the Year 2008, and established him as a key name at the forefront of progressive new production talent.

His follow-up EP’s and instrumental projects in 2010, 2011 & 2012 saw him work with Grammy® nominated artist Muhsinah, Washington DC rapper Oddisee and Detroit native Guilty Simpson. It also saw him begin to collaborate with multi-instrumentalist Kaidi Tatham (Bugz in the Attic), a partnership that can be heard most fruitfully on his upcoming album “One of Many”.

BUY LINK – ERIC LAU “ONE OF MANY

via FACTmag: “Mr. Beatnick always seemed, to us, destined to go down as one of those great underrated DJs – the sort of guy that half of London knows, and an even larger percentage of the city has danced to, but never quite got his due outside of the capital.

Thankfully, that seems to be changing. Although he’s produced music for well over a decade – and released some well-received singles in that time: his Ahu-featuring ‘I Know All The Bitches’ was a highlight of Alexander Nut’s Rinse CD, and his ‘The Fourth Day’ 7″ was simply a delight – Mr. Beatnick’s stock has really risen in the last year, when a trilogy of 12″ EPs for the Don’t Be Afraid label – Synthetes, Sun Goddess and Savannah – proved an unexpected success with the wider house community.

It’s really overdue: we’ve sung Beatnick’s praises before, and yes, he writes for us in his spare time (check his Essential guides to Theo Parrish, Giorgio Moroder and more) but he really is someone who deserves the hype he’s started to get – a DJ with an encyclopaedic knowledge of his records, who simply loves playing them and talking about them. In a weird way, we guess that makes him a traditionalist, and his FACT mix is long, long overdue.”

Mr Beatnick FACT Mix 383

Typesun – Last Home (Dj Nature Remix) [FutureBoogie records]
UMOD – Unreleased beat
Kelpe – Answered [Drut Recordings]
Mr Beatnick – Symbiosis [Don't Be Afraid]
About Group – You’re No Good (Theo Parrish Remix feat. Andrew Ashong) [Domino]
Pepe Bradock – Lifting weights [Acid Test / Absurd Recordings]
James Blonde & Oliver Deutschmann – Milanese (Quarion’s Sicilia Profonda Remix) [Sweatlodge Records]
Levon Vincent – ??? [Novel Sound]
Walt J – Nite Gruv [FIT records]
Tinman – Tip The Acid [Keys Of Life]
John Heckle – Life On Titan [Mathematics Recordings]
Marcelus – Enlightenment [Singular Records]
The Reflektor (aka Gifted & Blessed) – Chicken Itza [Wild Oats]
JTC – Gallup [Hoya:Hoya]
Actress – Holy Water [Honest Jons]
Barker & Baumecker – Nobody (Machinedrum Remix) [Ostgut Ton]
Kingdom – Stalker Ha [Nightslugs]
Mr Beatnick – Parallax Scroll [Don't Be Afraid]
Samoyed – Sloe Eyes [Vase]

As you know, at MIMS we like to keep things very eclectic: one foot in the new, one in the old. So we love meeting and connecting with like minded crews and DJ’s from across the world with that same love for good music; in all its shades.

Psycut from France is definitely one of those dudes, very busy guy running a bunch of different projects like handling the Funk & Soul section of the mighty 22Tracks in Paris but also one of the guys behind the great Jazz Attitudes monthly night in Paris along with Koko and Switch “Groov” Exp. The night entertains and educates dancers with dancefloor jazz but also hip-hop, latin, acid jazz, broken vibes. A few of the previous guests were Mad Mats, Dusty, Lefto and we’re very happy to let you know that we will be playing there in Paris on June 15th! (Very excited!)

But while we wait for our first time in Paris, here is Psycut’s favorite classics to drop at his Jazz Attitudes night! (Check out the Jazz Attitudes FB Page Here)

Proper!

Danser’s Inferno – Sombre Guitar

@psycut: One of the best tracks combining Vocal Jazz with Latin influences. An amazing song full of emotion!

Danser’s Inferno – Sombre Guitar

Izit – Everywhere pt 2

@psycut: A single released on an english label during the Acid Jazz glory years that has become pretty hard to find. The groove and orchestration have both aged so well!

Izit – Everywhere pt 2

J.A.M ft Jose James – Jazzy Joint

@psycut: When the Japanese Jazz scene meets Jose James, the hiphop / soul / jazz crooner. Vocal jazz + Rap + Scat = Dancefloor sure shot!

J.A.M ft Jose James – Jazzy Joint

Alex Dimou – Nina And The Band

@psycut: Killer Deep House track with an amazing Nina Simone sample

Alex Dimou – Nina And The Band

John Klemmer – Free Soul

@psycut: Sampled by Ed OG back in the day, this Psychedelic Funky Jazz track is huge and never leaves anyone indifferent.

John Klemmer – Free Soul

Orquesta de la Luz – Carnaval (12inch KJM Edit)

@psycut: Who ever said that the dope Salsa music can’t come from Japan? Maybe one of the best releases in the genre in the past 15 years!

Orquesta de la Luz – Carnaval (12inch KJM Edit)

Sonny Stitt – Slick Eddie

@psycut: A very good example of when a jazz musician tackles Disco Funk… with success.

Sonny Stitt – Slick Eddie

Jazz Attitudes FB Page

ABOUT DJ PSYCUT:  Psycut was born in the suburb of Paris. As a music and vinyl addict, he created his own universe among following styles: Soul, Jazz, Funk, Independent Hip Hop, Nu Soul, Afro Beat, Samba Soul, Latin Groove, Deep House, Broken Beat, Wonky, …

He organized the famous concept party in Paris and its regions “Get on the Bus” dedicated to the black music, and then, currently shares his eclectic selection after changing the name by “JAZZ ATTIDUDES PARTY”. Active and passionate, DJ PSYCUT has become a serious actor of jazz dance floor and Rare Groove in France.  Since September of 2012 He has been in Charge of the Soul, Funk, Jazz Funk and Boogie part of Paris’ Page of http://22tracks.com/#par/funk

Before founding his label Cross Sections Records in 1994, Chris Simmonds was producing and operating Baby Blue Records. This label was specializing in Hardcore / Ragga / Rave / early Jungle. A trip in Detroit in 1993 changed Mr. Simmonds perspective. Here’s the reason of the hookup with Mike Huckaby and Defintive Records heads at the time: John Acquaviva, Richie Hawtin & Karl Kowalksi. Plus 8 was doing major move at the time, having hits records all over Europe. Definitive was set to spread their idea of the perfect house track.

Now, back to “Work It“. The original itself is solid, but the Mike Huckaby remixes are kinda stealing the show. Mr. Huckaby is truly a man of many trades. He can produce midas classic Detroit Techno, Minimal Dubbish affairs, Deep discofied house. Here, he’s on the massive Garage tip. This just sounds like a lost NJ / NYC track with that Detroit ruffer edge. This has been a favorite of mine for ages and with that 90′s house revival now, it’s sounds just right!

Chris Simmonds Project – Work It (Mike Huckaby’s Reworkin It Remix)

Sessionist Marshall Allen recalls ‘’Ra would go to the studio and he would play something, the bass would come in, and if he didn’t like it he’d stop it; and he’d give the drummer a particular rhythm, tell the bass he wanted not a “boom boom boom,” but something else, and then he’d begin to try out the horns, we’re all standing there wondering what’s next…”I just picked up the piccolo and worked with what was going on, what mood they set, or what feeling they had. A lot of things we’d be rehearsing and we did the wrong things and Sun Ra stopped the arrangement and changed it. Or he would change the person who was playing the particular solo, so that changes the arrangement. So the one that was soloing would get another part given to him personally. ‘Cos he knew people. He could understand what you could do better so he would fit that with what he would tell you.”

This record is a real trip to another dimension, but is quite digestible and a perfect introduction to Sun Ra’s excentric œuvre. It goes beyond free jazz with an ephemeral structure and driving force behind what at first glance seems like reckless abandon. There is a constant expansion on sounds bouncing off one another and fusing to build a flux that makes for quite a hypnotic listen, even if it’s stripped of any notion of harmony. Take a ride with Saturn’s angel and his Arkestra on this the day of his birth.

Sun Ra – Other Worlds

Also, check out this brilliant BBC Documentary on Sun Ra

Hawk House is a London trio consisting of MC’s Sam & Eman and vocalist Demae. They’ve recently released a mixtape called A Little More Elbow Room which you can get for free (here). We haven’t heard the whole record yet but we’re definitely loving the “Tidal Tendencies” track… classic jazzy vibes reminiscent of Lone Catalysts meets the Digable Planets.

The production on the track is from Evil Needle (France) of the Soulection and HW&W fams. We’re just wondering if the instrumental was borrowed or lifted depending on how you view this sort of thing. Because to be honest, the production on this is just as much of a homerun as the vocals are so props to Evil Needle no doubt.

We will definitely be keeping a look out for Hawk House! Truly, a breath of fresh air.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE MIXTAPE HERE : http://we.tl/pCW8qvVuMw

Directed by Paul Akinrinlola
Production Credit: Evil Needle
Mixed by Joe Meehan

I have a white label copy of the ’94 release on Prescription and it is one of my most cherished records. “The Wanderer” is the kind of track that might have happened if Prince did a session with Frankie Knuckles or Larry Levan.

We were very sad to hear the news of Romanthony’s passing a few days ago. Big loss for the music world. Our heart goes out to his family and loved ones.

Romanthony – The Wanderer

Also, check out this great interview that Romanthony did for Slices… featuring an accoustic version of “The Wanderer”. Chills.

Finally, after 5 long months of winter, the sun is back! So I decided to make this edition of the Music Is My Sanctuary show full of sunshine vibes. 30 nuggets ranging from soul, beats, latin, house, and hip-hop. Hope you discover some great tracks & artists.

For those of you in Europe be on the look out for a few DJ gigs i’ll be doing in June. On the list: Austria, France, Germany and Montenegro so far. Check the website for all the details.

Much love to all of you music lovers worldwide!
- Lexis

Tracklist
01. King Knut – A Lil’ Soul (Aquadrop Remix)
02. Letherette – Restless
03. Les Sins – Grind
04. Chubb Rock – The Chubbster (Clark Kent Remix)
05. DjRum – Obsession
06. Dusty – Mozafrique
07. Benga – Unknown
08. Lalo Guerrero – Los Chucos Suaves
09. ? – StilLoveForMusic
10. Catalist – Girl I’m Goin’ Back
11. Touchy (instrumental)
12. Mr Scruff – Music Takes Me Up (feat. Alice Russell)
13. Sensible J Smith & Dutch – Too Many
14. Quasimoto – Astronaut
15. Hit-Boy – The Cypher
16. Black Milk – Sunday’s Best
17. Billy Hoyle – One4TheWizard
18. The Gene Dudley Group – The New Lots Of Cooperstown
19. Biggie – Kick In The Door (Nottz Remix)
20. Jai Paul – ?
21. James Blake – Life Round Here
22. IAMNOBODI – BDKMV Refix feat. The Clubcasa Chamber Orchestra
23. Lil Texas – Goin Round
24. Lianne La Havas – Elusive (Flako Remix)
25. Shuggie Otis – Special
26. Lady – Hold On
27. Eric Lau – Everytime (feat. Rahel)
28. Pro Era – Maxwell
29. Weldon Irvine – I Love You
30. Eddy Louiss – Colchiques

Download Link

I think that any city that is hosting a D’Angelo show after his 10 year + hiatus is in all sorts of states but with our female and artist dominance in this city it almost feels like the trees are whispering smooth brown sugar melodies in our ears. The countless shows I’ve been to recently all seem to sneak in a few D’Angelo instru samples or at the very least follow in his smooth groove. As for the ladies, present company very much included, you just say that word that D’Angelo and it’s like hot flash city, everyone needs a glass of water. The best thing though is seeing how everyone seems to be speaking in a Voodoo language where every second sentence is a direct quote from its lyrics.

Now as exciting as that all is, how are we supposed to keep ourselves satiated for the next two weeks? And what about those less avid D’Angelo fans who might need a refresher course in all of his genius? Well we have our main man Eric the Tutor for that. He put out this absolutely insane 1 hour D’Angelo mix about a month ago, which has been cradling me to bed pretty much every night since and I think it is definitely time that I share this gem with you all. You might tear a little; it’s that kind of beautiful.

1. D’ANGELO – SHIT, DAMN, MOTHERFUCKER (LIVE AT THE JAZZ CAFÉ LONDON)
2. D’ANGELO – BROWN SUGAR (DJIB REMIX)
3. SNOOP DOGG FT DR. DRE & D’ANGELO (TUTOR’S D’ANGELO-ONLY EDIT)
4. D’ANGELO FT REDMAN & METHOD MAN – LEFT & RIGHT (FREDDIE JOACHIM REMIX)
5. D’ANGELO – I FOUND MY SMILE AGAIN
6. D’ANGELO – CHICKEN GREASE
7. D’ANGELO – SMOOTH
8. D’ANGELO – DEVIL’S PIE
9. THE ROOTS FT D’ANGELO & ERYKAH BADU – SHINING STAR
10. COMMON FT D’ANGELO – GHETTO HEAVEN (PART 2)
11. D’ANGELO – LADY (LIVE AT THE JAZZ CAFÉ LONDON)
12. D’ANGELO – SHE’S ALWAYS IN MY HAIR
13. D’ANGELO – ME AND THOSE DREAMIN’ EYES OF MINE (DJ PREMIER REMIX)
14. D’ANGELO – JONZ IN MY BONZ
15. D’ANGELO – PLAYA PLAYA
16. D’ANGELO – CRUISIN’ (WET REMIX)
17. D’ANGELO – ALRIGHT
18. D’ANGELO – THE ROOT
19. D’ANGELO – EVERYBODY LOVES THE SUNSHINE
20. LAURYN HILL FT D’ANGELO – NOTHING EVEN MATTERS
21. D’ANGELO – HIGHER
22. D’ANGELO – ONE MO’ GIN
23. D’ANGELO – SEND IT ON
24. D’ANGELO – UNTITLED (HOW DOES IT FEEL) (ALBUM VERSION)

B-Dub – I first came across you via Myspace about ’08/09 (remember that?!) and the 1st track I heard was Muthafunkagetsbeatdown, and that one still does it for me. That’s a solid Hip-Hop style banger, which is what your roots are. How’d it all start, Sard?

SARD BOOGIE - Yes I do, and you had that funky little nugget ‘B-Funk’ that made my day. Well, my Dad had one of those old HMV record consoles and a little boom box, so naturally I just started making pause tapes, spent many hours in front of that thing as a kid, and when PE came out with ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back’ I was sold! When I got to high school I met Rema, the other half of the original Ruffnexet (my old crew). Rem, myself and a couple of other guys used to write diss battles on little notes in class then pass them around at lunch time and respond with new notes (written in class of course), a lot of fun! Rem and I where the only ones that took it seriously, hooking up after school at his Reservior house. He had a shack out the back with two turntables and a microphone, where we started to record around 1991.

B – B-Funk, cool! I’ve been listening to that since you put your remix up for download. That’s one of my favs too, man. So now you’re firmly in the production/djing seat, how do you prefer that to being part of a crew? Any chance you’ll get on the mic again?

SARD BOOGIE - I always had handled the production back in the Ruffnexet days. I may have not pressed all the buttons in the studio, but I found and brought all the samples in and coordinated the tracks. After a few years I felt like I was doing it all, Hip Hop was not popular, and dudes in the scene started giving it up thinking it wasn’t going anywhere. I’ve kept at it, just a natural progression thingy, I like both. Touring and doing shows as a crew is hella fun, but sitting in the studio I prefer the solo side of thangs. I still rhyme a bit! I busted some rhymes on Peep Show and Boogie Shakes on FWDT, the bug bits me here and there, but nothing like back in the day. I lived and breathed it 24/7. I’m not going to push it, I mainly get my kicks from producing now.

B-Dub - Ahh, wondered who was rhyming on Peep Show, after that line line about ‘Hey Sard, say something political!’ came in. Sounds great bro, get back on the mic! How does a Sard Boogie track kick off? I know you use a few samples, but you add a lot of played sounds too. Sample first, then add?

SARD BOOGIE - With a bang ;] Yep, when I use samples I tend to build around the samps but theres no written laws.

B – One for the gear-heads, what sorta equipment and software are you most comfortable using with productions?

SARD BOOGIE - Gear heads will probably be disappointed with me… Current set up is my trusty Yamaha RM1X, I love using this for arranging/sequencing, as I know her so well. I’ve had her for at least 13 years! An SP-303 for samples, an Alesis keyboard, it’s midi, has velocity keys and a pitch wheel. That’s all I need, sadly I sold all my rack mount effects and compressors. I plan to get them back, I miss them shits, but for now I use Reason and Audacity for those jobs. I’m a firm beliver in, it aint what you got its how you rock ;]

B – ‘Funky Walker, Dirty Talker’ has been coming for awhile. I’ve been waiting for it! To my ear, this one is more bloc party Funk based in general than some of your earlier grooves. Like, Tremendo had some tunes that were almost funky house style. Was that a conscious decision, or just where you ended up?

SARD BOOGIE -Yeah, tell me about it, light years! I started out with samples making straight Hip Hop, then around 2000 I got the RM1X and just wanted to make my own from scratch, just whatever, no genre in mind. Especially with “Tremendo” the only samples in there are a couple of hip hop vocals, everything else is played or constructed from scratch. Its just the sound I came up with, I love the earlier funky breaks stuff. People aren’t really doing it anymore, a lot of cats are moving to the ghetto funk sound but I still can’t get enough of that funky breaks B-Boy shit.

B – Is there any tune in particular on FWDT that says to you, yep, this IS the Sard Boogie sound, the one you feel identifies most what you’re about? Have you started work again on new tunes?

SARD BOOGIE -I love them all, they’re all my babies, but tracks like The Item and Sucker Removal Kit get me amped! I have at least 3 remixes I’m working on for other people/bands, but I’m sworn to secrecy ;]

B – Same for both tunes for me, too. Loved the Soundcloud preview, where The Item kicks in right after ‘Easy To Earn’. Boom! So the album comes out 23rd May on Oz, and online. What happens next? Got some release gigs, maybe some shows interstate? I believe there may be a remix album coming out later too, yeah? Details, my man.

SARD BOOGIE -No real plans at the moment holmes, I’ll just see how thang’s go. Yes, a remix album later this year, featuring remixes done for me and ones I’ve done. So if anyone wants to have crack at any track hit me up!

B – I’ll spread the word! How’d it feel to have Rusty from AGFA give you serious props for The Standard on his blog? Cool like gazpacho, am I right?

SARD BOOGIE- Dope as soap on a rope, in the big house! Im a big AGFA fan which makes it that much better, Rusty also bought all my releases in one hit, what a guy.

B – Damn, that is really cool! He def had nice stuff to say about The Standard on his blog, which was awesome. Just like me, you’re feeling the good stuff from back in the day, and still exploring it. Anything new in the last coupla years or right now that you’re feeling? And how do you hear new stuff, as again much like me, the radio in your joint is firmly off?

SARD BOOGIE - Yep, I love the old stuff! Hip Hop, Funk, and still after all these year I still find gems, its crazy. I do like a lot of new stuff at the same time, a lot of new stuff that I like has that old school feel about it. I find a lot on Soundcloud at the moment, awesome stuff, non label artists with 100 followers can have some of the dopest tunes I’ve heard. PBS 106.7FM in Melbourne is the bidness, especially most of Friday afternoon and evening there’s at least 3 two hour shows that will rival anything in the world, just quality and no repetition, the way good radio should be, but yeah otherwise that joint is disconnected!

B – Yeah that’s right, Ethan has his show on PBS on Fridays, streamed that a few times. He played your ‘Get Down’ remix too, I remember. You’ve got a few records laying around, no doubt. And I know there’s more on the way! What’s a few you’d grab in your bag if killer bees were invading your space, looking to stay? And for what reasons with each record?

SARD BOOGIE -Killer bees hey, I think I could take ‘em… but if I couldn’t and if I could only grab a few, for Hip Hop, ‘Ultramag – The Four Horsemen’. That raw production on there, love it, and Keith’s flows. For chill mode ‘Donald Byrd – Places and spaces’ (LP), it’s a just a beautiful masterpiece. Funk mode I would grab ‘Pleasure – Joyous’ (LP). It’s got Joyous on it! Then my backup USB back up hard drive with every thang on it, because everythangs on it ;] This list might be different if I didn’t sell most of my booty back in 2002…

B – And there it is. Massive thanks to Sard for making time for the chat,out of his busy schedule, mighty kind! The LP also feature’s killer cuts from DJ Welly (UK) and Melbourne’s own DJ/Producer extraordinaire, DJ Agent 86. You can find out what you need to know about Sard Boogie remixes and releases, including the upcoming ‘Funky Walker, Dirty Talker’ on his website.

There’s a link to pre-order FWDT on LTD edition Vinyl, 100 copies only, cut from the master, not pressed. Quality sound! Get in before 23rd of May, 2013. I KNOW for a fact that a lot have been sold already. Get on it.

Or connect via good ol’ Facebook, right here…

This is a trip through the history of techno. Starting in 1978 I mix in one record per year, in chronological order, all the way to 2013. 36 years of man made machine music + 36 records + 3 Technics 1200s + 1 mixer + the prism of luv = a flowing journey through a version of the history of electronic dance music.

DJ Luv – luv173

Tracklist:

01. The Man-Machine – Kraftwerk – Capitol (1978)
02. Pakmoväst – Telex – Sire (1979)
03. Riot In Lagos – Riuichi Sakamoto – Alfa Records, Inc. / Island (1980)
04. Megatron Man – Patrick Cowley – Megatone Records (1981)
05. Ohne Titel – E.M.A.K. – Originalton West / Soul Jazz (1982/2010)
06. Clear – Cybotron – Fantasy (1983)
07. Surgery (Instrumental) – The Wreckin’ Cru’ ft. Dr. Dre & D.J. Cli-n-tel – Kru-Cut Records (1984)
08. Time Space Transmat – Model 500 – Metroplex Records (1985)
09. I’ve Lost Control – Sleezy D. – Trax Records / Soul Jazz (1986/2005)
10. Strings Of Life – Rhythm Is Rhythm – Transmat (1987)
11. IN-TEN-SI-T (Dash Rip Rock Mix) – Mickey Oliver – Hot Mix (1988)
12. The Adventures Of Das Man Macanik (Drum Assault) – V.T – Institute Records (1989)
13. Mentok 1 – LFO – Warp (1990)
14. Analogical – Speedy J – Plus 8 Records (1991)
15. Isoprophlex – The Aphex Twin – R&S Records (1992)
16. Wake Up – Laurent Garnier – Fnac Music (1993)
17. Protective Custody – Dave Clarke presents RED. 1 – Bush Records (1994)
18. Extra (Dave Angel Remix) – Ken Ishii – R&S Records (1995)
19. The Vinci – Jori Hulkkonen – F Communications (1996)
20. 9 Hours Into The Future – Surgeon – Tresor (1997)
21. Rekall – Plastikman – Minus (1998)
22. Descent – 0-1-11 vs. Lekebusch – H. Productions (1999)
23. Body Freefall, Electronic Inform (Slater’s Needle Damage Mix) – Luke Slater – Novamute (2000)
24. Nachtfahrt – Trike – BPitch Control (2001)
25. Darkness (Inst.) – Anthony Rother – Mikrolux (2002)
26. Working Sister – Denis Rusnak – Arcola (2003)
27. Track Ten (Re-Worked by Kirk Degiorgio) – Juan Atkins – New Religion Records (2004)
28. Vertigo – Paul Woolford – Junior Boy’s Own (2005)
29. Allegorical – Scarletron – Touchin’ Bass (2006)
30. Japan 4 – Audiojack – U.F.O. (2007)
31. Sprung – Ellen Allien – BPitch Control (2008)
32. Thraqqqwa – Syntheme – Planet Mu (2009)
33. VW Jetta – Modeselektor – Monkeytown Records (2010)
34. Vibe Decorium – Blawan – R&S Records (2011)
35. The Lord’s Graffiti – Actress – Honest Jon’s Records (2012)
36. Drugs – Moiré – Werk Discs / Ninja Tune (2013)

Dubstep happened to me when I started uni in 2005. It involved spending hours in a grubby room under Brighton seafront with a soundsystem big enough to vibrate your alveoli. The music was pretty good, consisting of little more than a bass noise and a snare positioned in a rhythmic fashion. The word ‘Squillexcth’ hadn’t yet been invented.

For me, dubstep worked in a club, pissed off housemates and sounded good in the back of my mates dented Peugeot but didn’t go too much further than that. Then, the next couple of years brought a pair of Dutchmen playing something sounding a bit like garage mixed with Basic Channel. Martyn and 2562 made music I listen to everywhere.

Martyn got to me first but the best tune I heard that year was 2562’s remix of Brother: The Point by Pattie Blingh and the Akebulan 5 (aka Georgia Anne Muldrow). It’s a bit of an oddity for 2562 – a combination of soulful choral vocals and shuffling steppy beat – but works spectacularly well. The original is also worth a listen; all gloriously skewed psychedelic hip-hop.

Pattie Blingh – Brother: The Point (2562 Remix)

In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of A MADE UP SOUND‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : Clone, Rotterdam

@2562AMUS: Not literally my hometown, but close enough – and they distribute my label. They’re a real nice and down to earth bunch who really know and love their techno/house/electro/italo, regardless of what’s the hype of the day.

Clone Records (Link)
Mauritsweg 60, 3012 JX
ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands

Favorite International Record Store : Hardwax, Berlin

@2562AMUS: TIP!

Hardwax (Link)
Paul-Lincke-Ufer 44 10999 Berlin, Germany
+49 30 611301 ext. 11

R.I.P Store you miss the most : Music World, Hilversum (Netherlands)

@2562AMUS: First recordstore I ever set foot in back in ‘95, after reading about their opening in the local newspaper. Manned by gabba dj Rosti who was nice enough to give young 2562 a little tutorial when bluntly asked ‘how do you mix?’. That’s right, I learned it in a recordstore from a gabba dj.

ABOUT 2562 / A MADE UP SOUND:

Dutch nonconformist Dave Huismans may be best known for his heartfelt and genre-defying bass music experiments as 2562, but his longest-going project A Made Up Sound has been gaining just as much momentum lately. ”You might as well try and stop a train with wire coathangers” is how one of techno’s most widely recognized journalists quite aptly described the sheer force of A Made Up Sound’s oddball yet funk-fueled take on house/techno.

More specifically Rear Window, his recent appearance on the revered Delsin Records, indeed went down a storm on dancefloors worldwide – and still does, as do his previous releases on Clone’s Basement Series, Shed’s Subsolo imprint and his own self-titled boutique label that in 2011 is approaching its fifth 12” release.

↵ Back to Full List

There was a time in the late 80′s and early 90′s, especially in New-York and Chicago, where Hip Hop acts or MC’s would try to mess around with house in order to gain more radio and club play. Of course you’ll think about Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah or Mr Lee. But you’ll be very surprised to find out that crews like Ultramagnectic Mc’s or even Kool G Rap made some very corny and uninspired Hip-House in those golden era days.

One of the few that made that fusion in a very heartfelt way has to be Chubb Rock. He and his producer Howie Tee always made sure to use Disco and Garage samples by classics groups such as First Choice or Inner Life.

“The Chubbster” has to be my favorite one. The original version is a winner, but the Clark Kent “Smooth Haus” mix takes it all for me. Based around a sample from one of the hottest and realest underground House jam from 1991, Basil Hardhouse’s “City Street”, that particular mix really made me believe that House and Hip Hop could walk hand in hand.

This Clark Kent mix clearly shows that they were doing it for the love instead of trying to cash in using a more club-ish format. A laid-back groove, some moody keys and a deep baseline really create some magic here. Also it’s a rare situation in the early 90′s that a Hip Hop beat would be based around a House sample…

Chubb Rock – The Chubbster (Clark Kent Remix)

Download Link

Also a really interesting read. Clark Kent goes in about the details behind the making of this track. Read Here. 

Thankfully in 2008 I was introduced to Vox Sambou’s debut album Lakay (translation: home). It was the first time in my life I heard a full Hip Hop album in creole (with a few multilingual collabos) that actually spoke to me. Not only was Vox spitting crazy flow in my native language but he was also bringing insane new music to my ears. Drums samples that I grew up on fused with beautiful horn melodies and powerful female vocals laid on new school production beats, all this while downright schooling fans with Haitian history. As a Haitian this album brought me loads of pride and hope, but as a music lover I knew I had just heard a classic.

5 years later, Vox hits us with his new release ‘Dyaspoafriken’. His lyrics as razor sharp as before if not more to the point. If I may roughly translate the chorus to the opening track you clearly see that isn’t your beat-around-the-issue type of album ‘our culture threatened, our lives threatened, our history threatened we must to wake early to resist and not disappear like the indigenous’.  Musically, the album takes us on the African diaspora world journey, where Vox managed to collaborate with artists from Mali, Brazil, the Caribbean and right back to Canada. A beautiful representation of all these cultures that reminds us that at source it is the same culture. One of my favourite tracks on the album is ‘Tout Moun’ where Vox Sambou collaborated with Kaytra Nada on a beat that you may have recognized as ‘Freaky Haitian Party’. Beyond the fact that I was so psyched to hear Vox’s flow on Kaytra’s sick AfroHaitian-Hop beat, this track is also the perfect illustration of how you keep a culture alive for generations to come: Respect and Innovation. As I mentioned earlier, Vox is also known for finding the most powerful female vocalists to hold down his pieces so I definitely have to highlight Malika Tirolien the lead female vocalist on this album. Easily the best female vocalist I’ve ever heard live and the without a doubt the perfect fit for this album. Yet another classic, thank you Vox Sambou.

Shopping Suggestions
Turntable Lab (New York & Los Angeles)
www.turntablelab.com

via TurntableLab: Detroit is in the house! What more can you say when 3 Chairs are on deck? The quartet of seasoned producers is back with the four track Demigods EP. It’s interesting because you can hear the touch of Theo Parrish, Kenny Dixon Jr, Rick Wilhite and Marcellus Pittman throughout the record. Whether it’s the minimalism of Pittman as witnessed in the title track or the looseness of Theo in “Celestial Contact,” each of them seems to have their way within the tracks.

Demigods is a masterclass in Detroit style production. On a side note, I’m always impressed with the way the Detroit producers have been able to keep a hold on their music (the numerous KDJ bootlegs floating around not withstanding). They pretty much all have their own labels, or release each other’s music. And they’ve created the Three Chairs label just for these releases. Seems to be working well for them. Don’t sleep.

Three Chairs – A

Three Chairs – B

Three Chairs – C

Three Chairs – D

BUY LINK

One song stood mowhawked head and shoulders above all else, its title declaring proudly the artist’s left-leaning take on the genre: Differentology by Bunji Garlin. While everyone else was busy jumping and waving over themselves, dancing, drinking, liming and palancing in intricate detail over trancy or cartoonish riddims, Garlin took a typical Carnival-themed song and fashioned it into a sunrise-tinted epic unifying rallying cry. It has since become the biggest song of the year in Trinidad, yet Garlin didn’t even enter it in the Soca Monarch Competition. How different. And what’s so musically different about Differentology? A minor-chord piano vamp reminiscent of Tears For Fears, Bronski Beat AND John Tesh. A flamenco guitar break that immediately made me think of Wookie’s Back Up (because I’m a nerd). Characteristically clever lines like “Everybody with painted body / Clean credit and tainted money”. Synth stabs that imbue the chorus with both longing and euphoria. And THAT chorus, the one you can be dead sure everyone else will be singing along to as well.

With Differentology not having been part of the Soca Monarch Competition, its life expectancy goes well beyond that of Carnival. And with the hot and heavy pre-summer giving us a taste of the good living yet to come, this will be the perfect soundtrack to our Festival season.

Bunji Garling – Differentology

As Ghostbeard himself tells it best:

Back in December of 2012 I found myself in Toyko with the Amon Tobin “ISAM Live” tour. Taking 4000 pounds worth of stage design to the other side of the world seemed like a perfectly good excuse to spend an extra 7 days tooling around Tokyo. And of course my first mission was to find the good reggae shops. You know when you’re in a record store and the reggae bin consists of like two good records and a bunch of UB40 and you wonder “where are all the good used reggae records”… well they’re all in Japan. So after spending a ludicrous amount of money on a large stack of Jamaican classics, I turned my attention to the local bins. I admit to knowing absolutely nothing about the Japanese reggae scene. Except to say I found some amazing records and that it sounds like they all grew up on On U Sound classics. I don’t know if these are the freshest tunes out of Japan or like 10 years old or whatever. This is just some awesome stuff I finally found the time to mix together (Ghostdad has slowed down the output…).

Ghostbeard – Live at Budokan

Tracklisting:

Ken2-D Special : Sleng Teng In The U-G
Ken2-D Special : Sunday Afternoon In The Presidents Room
Ken2-D Special : Sleng Teng In The UmegaoKa
Fly-T : Dub
Fly-T : Song
Dry and Heavy : Private Plan Dub
Jiny A (Echo Soundsystem)
Dry and Heavy : Radical Dubber
Dry and Heavy : Run Away Dub
Dry and Heavy : Somebody Has Come
Sly Mongoose : El Bamba
Dry and Heavy : Strictly Baby
Dry and Heavy : Treat-Me-NT Dubbed
Dry and Heavy : Tiger Claw Skank
Karamushi & Green Massive : 2012
Dry and Heavy : Rumble Dub
Soul Dimension : Step Forward Dub
Soul Dimension feat Ja-ge & Mal : Step Forward
Mighty Massa : Version
Mighty Massa feat Ras Dasher : LOVEwise & DUBwise
Soul Dimension : Spiritual Version
Freedom Ensemble : Patagonia
Kyo Sakurai feat. Ja-ge : Biribiriba
Soul Dimension : Age Of Fame
Sure Shine & Sister Mami : Jammin Jamaica
Rub-A-Dub Market : Bubblin – Vampire Pt 1
Rub-A-Dub Market : Bubblin – Vampire Pt 2
Tsuyoshi Kawakami & His Moodmakers : Double Barrel Dub
Tsuyoshi Kawakami & His Moodmakers : Double Barrel

Big up to faithful MIMS reader Simon for the heads up on this one!

Uproot Andy‘s “Worldwide Ting” Mix is a preview of tracks forthcoming on Que Bajo Records! For more info visit the Que Bajo website

Tracklist:
1. Worldwide Dembow (ft. Pablo Piddy) – Uproot Andy
2. Homenaje a Justino (Uproot Andy RMX) – Grupo Socavon
3. El Forastero (Uproot Andy RMX) – Galileo y Su Banda
4. Raba Raba (Uproot Andy RMX) – Khaled
5. Bassoue (Uproot Andy RMX) – Les Rapaces
6. Guacha (Uproot Andy RMX) – Frikstailers
7. Lamento de un Guajiro (Uproot Andy RMX) – Fania All Stars
8. Luna Negra (Uproot Andy RMX) – Los Cojolites
9. Camino a Colombia (Uproot Andy RMX) – Estrellas de la Kumbia
10. America (Uproot Andy RMX) – Mulatu Astatke vs. K’naan ft. Mos Def
11. Sada Vasda Rahe Punjab (Uproot Andy RMX) – Mahendra Kapoor
12. Sina Makossa (Uproot Andy & Chief Boima RMX) – Les Wanyika
13. Bonina (Uproot Andy RMX) – Siba e A Fuloresta
14. Mangala Special (Uproot Andy RMX) – Kabaka International Guitar Band

Don’t look for braces in a gift horse’s mouth, they say! Along comes, in a nicely thumping gallop, the latest grime compilation from Ninja Tune‘s off shot Big Dada compiled by  none other than writer / A&R extraordinaire Joe Muggs. Adding “2.0″ to the title should set it aside from all the retrospective compilation that have popped up recently (the outstanding Ruff Sqwad compilation, a classics compilation on Rinse, and others).

Quite obviously, Grime still has a musical and cultural relevance in 2013. The neon synths that grime sported can be found anywhere these days. Giving props to early grime and calling it an important influence is common practice among the young and upcoming producers of today. New releases of any genre are sold with reference to Ruff Sqwad or the eski-versum. Aspirant producers from around the world try their hands at the grimy stuff, hoping to deflect the attention of labels and important blogs to their soundcloud. Grime has detached itself from the pirate radio and MC roots and has become a globalized catchword. Let’s tighten the saddle strap and check out “Grime 2.0”!

Inkke – L-O-K

The title “Grime 2.0” makes the obvious link to the first wave of grime tunes in the noughties, or what some conservatives now already label “golden era grime”. And we accordingly find a good number of tunes on the 2 CD compilation produced by old-time big names. Wiley’s there, and Youngstar and MRK1. A whole bunch of names we’ve heard of quite a bit recently like Spooky, Royal-T or Starkey. Add Tre Mission from Toronto and Matt Shadetek from New York for a lightly tossed salad with international seasoning.

Matt Shadetek – Battery Charge

We find some big heavy beats with the obligatory square waves and octave jumps. The “boing” bassdrum from Youngstar’s “Pulse X” is another brand recognition feature and makes its appearance. Influences from trap and US hip hop are obvious. Form dubstep, too. Cut-up and pitched vocal samples a gogo of course. Overall with an emphasize on the heavy side of beats, which will make for some good moves on the dancefloor.

Darq E Freaker – Trojan

… nice example. (Remember his beat for Danny Brown, btw?)

There sure is great music on this compilation! Still, we miss some of the most interesting producers of the last years – an S-X or Kid D beat would surely have added value to the lot, a Samename tune would have made for some melodic absurdity. But as mentioned, don’t look for grills in a gift horse’s mouth … or however that saying went. This is a galloping race here, and not dressage!

Grime 2.0 is released in North America on May 14th

BUY / INFO

DISC 1
1. “Oh My Gosh” – Footsie
2. “Dollar Bill” – Tre Mission
3. “Rum and Coke” – Teeza
4. “Dem Times” – Visionist
5. “5000” – Faze Miyake
6. “Cartwheel” – TRC
7. “Logan’s Mind” – Chaos & Order
8. “Vinyls VIP” – Preditah
9. “Loop 29” – Youngstar
10.“Codeine and Dragon Stout” – Chimpo
11.“Bend” – DECiBEL
12.“927” – Shy One
13.“L-O-K” – Inkke
14. “Shotta Krew” – J Beatz
15. “Battery Charge” – Matt Shadetek
16. “Nail Thrower” – Juzlo
17. “Like A G” – Major Grave

DISC 2
1. “Trojan” – Darq E Freaker
2. “Winner” – Moony
3. “Frosty Lake” – Mr SnoWman
4. “Viking” – Mr. Mitch
5. “Logic Pro” – Wiley
6. “Smash It Up Hard” – MRK1
7. “Kissin U” – Prettybwoy
8. “Numb VIP” – Swifta Beater
9. “Mongrel” – SNK
10. “Space Cowboy VIP” – Royal-T
11. “Machine Molester” – Stenchman
12. “Arcane” – Sinden
13. “Spray” – Slackk
14. “Moonlight” – Spooky
15. “Tunnel” – Starkey
16. “Lazer Riddem” – TC4
17. “Desi Bullet” – Gumnaam
18. “Emergency” – Threnody

This might seem like a bit of an odd choice for my first Future Classic selection; one of her most raucous, hooker-would-blush tracks. But a young chap from Leeds, UK called Jonas LR has turned it into something of a dance floor grenade. I first heard it on Kaytranada’s mix for Bromance Records and haven’t been able to get enough of it since.

It seems to fit with the whole future garage/house thing that’s lurking around pop in the UK at the moment, with choppy synths and a fabulously filthy repeating refrain throughout (I love it, I love it, I love it when you eat it, etc). And all this just as the sunshine turns up. It feels like Jonas Haslam has a bright future ahead of him.

3 hour mix from Andrew Ashong for NTS RADIO from Hackney, UK. Full of unexpected twists and turns. Perfect for a drive through the desert with a 1978 Duster. We’re just begging for a tracklist now…

Big up to Yohann Koshy who is new to the MIMS Family for sending this mix to us. Great find!

Independent radio broadcasting out of Hackney, London.
www.ntslive.co.uk

In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of EDDIE C‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : Play De Record, Toronto

Eddie C: Certainly my favourite record store of all time. Conveniently located on Toronto’s Yonge St. next to the Zanzibar and still there as a matter of fact!! I went there the year it opened in 1990 when they were in the back of some kind of drug store/porno/weapon/gold chain shop. I was 14 at the time, looking for something on EightBall records I think. Eugene “Soooooold Ouut!!” Tam is still at least part owner and the shop has employed and catered to Toronto’s, Canada’s, the US and the world’s finest jocks.

A very close second is Recordland, Calgary.

PlayDeRecord (Link)
357 Yonge St Toronto, ON M5B 1S1
(416) 586-0380

Favorite International Record Store : Oye Records, Berlin

Eddie C: Definitely the best in Berlin. Record shop for the people! Feels like the good old days!! Great at recommending records I may have overlooked. Best part is never having to shop on-line anymore. Just up the street from my house, good place for a coffee.

Oye Records (Link)
Oderberger Straße 4 10435 Berlin, Germany
+49 30 66647820

R.I.P – Record Store I Miss The Most : Starsound, Toronto

Eddie C: Starsound, Toronto – my first fav, I get chills thinking about it! Record Peddlar, Toronto – same Sam The Record Man, Toronto Goldy Music, Victoria – first and only record shop I ever worked at. Arguably one of the best jobs in the world.

ABOUT EDDIE C:

Raised in Southern Ontario somewhere between Detroit and Montreal, Eddie C began his experiments in music some time in the late 80s. Inspired first by Hip Hop and the burgeoning Acid House scene, he began making tape edits of late night radio and shortly thereafter began visiting record shops and warehouse parties to discover the music first hand. Record collecting has since been a way of life for the man, followed closely by an opposing passion for skiing which lead him to his 10 year sabbatical in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. With plenty of time over the past decade for reflection and research in his log cabin studio, C has recently re-located and reconnected with the electronic music community in Berlin. His raw yet sophisticated approach to production has yielded countless releases and remixes since just 2009 and his now renowned eclectic and passion-fueled DJ sets have garnered a cult following world wide.

Eddie C could well be described as one of the Slo Mo/ Edits/ Disco scene’s heaviest hitters. In just over three years he’s featured on or been the main attraction with over 25 original EPs and singles and countless remixes. Having graced labels like Jiscomusic, Endless Flight, Crue-L, Sleazy Beats, Wolf Music, 7 Inches of Love & Home Taping, amongst others, with his deep, lush and beautiful grooves, C is constantly name checked by every major playa this end of the underground. In 2011 he released his first full length album “Parts Unknown” on Endless Flight and later that year began releasing new projects on his own Red Motorbike imprint. The fact is, the guy hardly needs an introduction.

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Summertime is coming, and with it starts the hectic daily schedule of Montreal’s nightlife.

Afterpartys pile up one after the others, venue calendars fill up and streets are closed for outdoor music. One could argue that it is due to the fact that most people have been hibernating for the last few months and only compensate for the long wintery nights. While the Canadian winter might seems terrifying for outsiders, it has the benefits of allowing producers to take the time to do their thing and research what they will cue during the sweaty summer days.

And with that, Montreal ambassadors Poirier and Ghostbeard are coming back with their monthly Sud-West gigs located halfway between downtown Montreal and the river, beer and BBQ, and reggae and dancehall.

A preview of what to expect mixed by Poirier himself:

TRACKLIST
- Hosted by Face-T
Marcia Griffiths – Feels Like Jumping
Dennis Brown – Revolution
Virtus – Ragga Music Inna Mi Life
Million Stylez – Roots Of All Evil
Mr. Vegas – Jamaica Nice
Yami Bolo – Jah Is The Fire
Raggasonic – Rude Boy
Protoje – Kingston Be Wise
Shabba Ranks, Home T & Cocoa Tea – Pirates anthem
Deborahe Glasgow – Champion Lover
YT, Million Stylez, Mr. Williamz, Blackout JA, Iverse & Jah Knight – Champion Sound
Protoje – Our Time Come
Raggasonic – Mon Sound
RDX – Champion Sound
General Levy – International
Skarra Mucci – Movie Star feat. Delroy Wilson
Shaggy & Rayvon – Big Up
Busy Signal – Tek A Draw
Stylo G – Press Up
Leftside – Phat Punany (Press Up Riddim Remix)
Bunny General – Full Up A Class (Press Up Riddim Remix)
Leftside – Tic-Toc
Beenie Man – Gal I Know Yuh
Konshens – Hot Patty
Cutty Ranks – As You See It (Mr Benn Remix)
General Levy – Incredible (Wrongtom Remix)
Busy Signal – Come Shock Out
Face-T – We Rule The Area feat. Mikey Dangerous (Dubmatix Vibes Remix)
Lacksley Castell – Johnny Brown
Lutan Fyah – Bossman
Face-T – Talk Of The Town

Post Disco Boogie! I found the LP while browsing an online site, the original as kinda pricey, but I got instant happy in the pants to this tune. Uptempo groove, great bassline, glassy Funk guitar tones, and some killer horns. lot’s of little breaks and fills to mix in/out of/loop. You can get an inexpensive re-issue via Dusty Groove, and I’m happy to report the re-issue sounds great, unlike some.

The album has maybe 3 killer tracks on it, but suffers a little from the ‘here’s-a-nice-soul-ballad-too’ thing that a lot of groups at the time had going on. Can’t blame ‘em, who wouldn’t want some of that George Benson money, son?!

Amuzement Park – Groove Your Blues Away

During the London riots in 2011, a warehouse of stock belonging to a huge list of independent record labels caught fire. It was a tragic turn of events for British music, particularly for some smaller companies already battling an increasingly hostile marketplace. No matter where in the world you’re reading this from, you probably either own or have heard music stored in the warehouse. Do Warp, Lex or Soul Jazz sound familiar?

Luckily someone at Ninja Tune, another label affected by the fire, had an idea to bring lost records back; take the concept of crowdfunding and apply it to out-of-print music. A year or so later, Beat Delete was born.

Simply put, Beat Delete is Kickstarter for vinyl. Indie labels including Big Dada, Brainfeeder and Brownswood set minimum orders for a selection their deleted records. You browse the catalogue, pick what you need and as soon as a title hits 100%, it’s repressed and delivered to your door.

The first record to reach full funding was MF DOOM alias King Geedorah – Take Me to Your Leader. By the time I’d found the Beat Delete website, it had gone well over 200% and they had stopped taking orders. Even just a few months in, the success of Beat Delete poses some interesting questions for the music industry. The appetite for niche represses is clearly there but is there any way it could work on a larger scale?

My first order arrived earlier this week; Roots Manuva’s solid gold classic debut album Brand New Second Hand. It cost £12.00, less than half a mint copy of the original would set me back. And best of all, the Beat Delete family is growing. Ghostly international recently joined the fold and I’ve already started harassing them on Twitter to repress old Dabrye records. Please join in.

BEATDELETE.com

Poppin My Collar and Stay Fly are Triple Six Mafia anthems. Poppin my Collar instrumental would be my boxing entrance music and the kicks/snares and vocal stabs are the blueprint for a memphis track. The original Stay Fly used highly dramatic strings sample to punctuate the song’s cadence and I love the way Controller 7 flipped the song structure. Indeed, he truly transformed a hype track into an airy song that’s as smooth as Tenessee whisky and more akin to the song’s subject matter. The contrast between the beat and Young Buck’s delivery is amazing and Memphis is not better represented than with veterans 8Ball and MJG’s verses.

Poppin My Collar – Remix ft. Project Pat

Stay Fly

Stay Fly (Controllet 7 Laidback Mix

Doe Boy Fresh was released after the infamous Academy Award win (and subsequqent crew restructuring) and if the OG beat had me dozing off, the Bcause remix woke me up with a bang! BCause is an amazing DJ/remixer who deserves his own post but this track really stands out and literrally blows speakers out of their sockets. If Stay Fly was punctuated, the piano sample and earth shattering drums should be considered syncopated C4 detonations and a warning from the surgeon general should be issued. As hyperbolic as it may seem i dare you to pop this in your ipod or car stereo and not feel the rumbling. Finally, one of my favorite Three-6 tracks. Project Pat’s (Juicy J’s big borther and former leader of the click) That’s What Money Do represents the essence of the group’s work. Flipping southern soul samples (Wilie Hutch as always) and seemlessly integrating synth work with a catchy hook and ignorant lyrics at its finest (the song calls upon ballers to throw stacks of money in other less fortunate members of society’s faces). I think it’s the best use of the classic song (sorry 7 samurai) and quite a complex beat that works on all levels, sad to say it’s only a mixtape cut and no wax is to be had.

Now that the Triple Six Mafia is left with only two members more focused on reality shows than music (their recent foray into euro techno and celebrity restaurants was an embarassement for all involved) its good to listen to these tracks and just focus on the past. Hopefully, the nostalgic fans will discover amazing remixes and the uninitiated will be converted.

Project Pat – What We Do

Doe Boy Fresh (B. Cause Came Down Re-Twerk)

Here’s a super funky edit of the live version of Donald Byrd’s “Dominoes” by one of my favourite dudes from around the way, the one and only, J-Boogie.

Mr. Boogie did a nice job of beefing up this timeless classic for the dance floor, making it a staple go to joint for a lot of DJ’s this summer – the perfect fusion of jazz, disco and house

Here’s what J-Boogie had to say about it, “I added some house drums to bring back that 90s disco house Masters at Work sound I love so much. Please listen, enjoy, share and play on the dance floor!”

As an added bonus, check out his tribute mix commemorating the works of Donald Byrd, it’s been getting a lot of play at home and in the headphones

from J-Boogie: “Donald Byrd has been a huge influence to myself and several other DJs and producers in the game since the Blue Note era. He was one of the first to bridge the gab between jazz, funk, soul and hip hop over several generations.

I have a soft spot in my heart for both the heady jazz side of Byrd, as well as the funky disco boogie bizness. Enjoy a trip through the amazing land of the Black Byrd.”

Blackbyrds – Wilford’s Gone
Donald Byrd – (Ethiopian Knight) Little Rasti
Donald Byrd – Steppin Into Tomorrow (Madlib Remix)
Blackbyrds – Reggins
Blackbyrds – Life Styles
Blackbyrds – Mysterious Vibes
Donald Byrd – Places and Spaces
Erykah Badu – Think Twice
Jay Dee – Think Twice
Donald Byrd – Wind Parade (King Most’s Dub ‘Em Down Redirection)
Donald Byrd – Pretty Baby
The Blackbyrds – Do It, Fluid
Donald Byrd – You and the Music
The Blackbyrds – Happy Music
Konald Byrd – Lansana
Donald Byrd & The Blackbyrds – Rock Creek Park LIVE
The Blackbyrds – Rock Creek Park
Biggie Smalls – Doin It In Her Park
Donald Byrd – (Falling Like) Dominoes (J Boogie Live EDIT)
Donald Byrd – Change (Whiskey Barons Edit)
Donald Byrd & 125th Street NYC – Love Has Come Around (Sake1 DJ Edit)
Donald Byrd – Star Trippin’ (12″ Version)
Donald Byrd – Love’s So Far Away
Donald Byrd – Dreaming About You (C&S)

www.jboogie.com
@jboogiedubtronic
twitter.com/jboogiejustin
facebook.com/jboogie

Vintage Diversity is a journalistic mixtape project which exposes the music and stories behind unheralded artists who were way cool, way before their time. Listen to exclusive mixes of this incredible artists by J Boogie, as our staff writers take you on a biographic journey back in time.

Like the concept? we’re turning it into an event in San Francisco, RSVP here.
www.facebook.com/events/342928712483099/

Learn more about the Vintage Diversity articles:
mixologicity.com/category/vintage-diversity/

Joanne Lam: I’ve been thinking a lot lately about music as a form of sound design. In most film productions, for instance, music is often understood as a separate entity (hence the official soundtrack) from diegetic sounds, sounds that are constructed from whatever is happening on screen. To me, these two realms are much more intertwined than audiences are made to believe.

The film Silence is a particularly fantastic example. In this movie, the music – whether introduced on or off-screen – is as much a part of the natural landscape of Ireland as the sounds of rain dripping through the ceiling of an abandoned home, or the rise and fall of Gaelic dialogue. As a musician and a composer, how do you relate to the art of sound design?

Diggs Duke: Well, in essence, there’s nothing that can be created in music that doesn’t already exist naturally in the world. I totally agree that there has to be a smooth interaction between everything that’s going on as part of any presentation. The best singers are the ones who come across as the most natural, as well as the best actors, chefs and so on. The challenge when you are trying to create something great is to keep a high level of realism without sacrificing what you have in your imagination, and vice versa. Music is certainly a form of sound design. It’s really just sculpting silence, which is basically what the character says in that film. The silence is always much more valuable than any of the sounds that are being made.

There was a composer named John Cage who used this theory of silence as the centerpiece of his entire musical ideology for a while. Have you heard of him? He took it over the top to prove a point, of course. But, the concept of silence and space is the key to being good at anything creative, don’t you think?

JL: Oh yes, John Cage of 4’33″ fame. One of my favourite versions of this piece is “Cage Does Cage“. Now that is really taking it over the top to prove a point!

What fascinates me about the concept of silence is that it is physically impossible. Isn’t that such an absurd thought? A man sitting inside an anechoic chamber, for example, may be in a space completely absent of external noise, but he can eventually go crazy from hearing his own heartbeat and pulse (internal noise). Nobody can truly escape sound. Silence, then, is but a state of mind, a concept which we use to make sense of the environment around and within us; sculpting, as you said, is a great way of putting it. In that regard, silence shares the same space as creativity: both require the work of the imagination. Music just happens to exist in the space where silence and creativity overlap.

DD: LOL that Nicholas Cage thing is funny. John Cage is one of my favorite composers. He’s remembered for the more controversial work that he did, of course…the weird stuff. But, he really did some original shit and his legacy is tarnished by that weird stuff, I think. His best , in my opinion, was the prepared piano work. My favorite is Gemini…

I relate the idea of silence to space. When you’re writing music, you have to give everything it’s own space or else the conversation sounds like a bunch of people fighting for space to talk. And you have to give the listener an opportunity to grow with the song. More than anything, learning to play or sing a melody is about understanding where the spaces are and what they mean. So, writing is the same. You can hear where a person is writing from in the music. When, in your writing, you’re completely thinking of yourself, it sounds like you’re trying to fit in everything in one song. That’s probably the thing I fear the most about my compositions. I don’t want to try and show everything I’ve ever learned in one song, just because I can. It’s often an exercise in humility.

JL: So in a sense, the way you write music is quite similar to writing poetry, and in many ways, poetry is a musical form; the two exist in symbiosis. How does your approach differ though when it comes to writing instrumental music versus writing music with words? Do you interpret space any differently when lyrics are involved?

DD: Absolutely and absolutely not. When there are words involved, the interpretation of space becomes much more difficult because you have to decide which words you want to accentuate with the listener. Some writers don’t take this approach. They want to let the listener decide what’s important, which is an equally useful and respectable approach that I use sometimes, as well. But, I tend to want to lead the listener in a certain direction usually. I tend to integrate the words into the music as part of an arrangement. It’s why many of my songs don’t have many lyrics, why they have 1 verse or even just four lines. Words are just another instrument to me in that way. Do you write poetry?

JL: I write regularly, but my writing does not often take form as poetry. Writing is, in a way, a form of adornment, the dressing up of a story in diction or prose. Writing can be improved through practice, but poetry is quite the opposite – poetry is a baring of the soul. It is much more an act of courage than skill. I find the process of writing poetry exhausting sometimes, as much as I revere the form, so I try to weave poetry into other forms of expression instead… for instance, through my contributions to The Mixtape Club. A musician (who listened to my mixes while travelling) once asked me for the secret formula behind my curatorial process because he thought he recognized a common logic running through each mix. I didn’t know how to reply him at the time. I guess my answer now would be poetry, as far from logic though it may be.

DD: Yeah, I feel that poetry is a form of writing that’s lost it’s relevance. The greats from the past will always be relevant because of how the medium fit within their time period. We can accept what they’re saying and it will always be foreign and exciting because it was a different time. But, it’s just not the best way to connect with other people anymore, as far as new writing. As time has gone by, the everyday language that we use has become less elegant, in my opinion. Also, as the world gets smaller through speedy travel and the internet, dialects of languages are becoming extinct and everyone is starting to speak in the same way, leaving less excitement to language. So, the challenge is to find your own dialect and try to convey your thoughts to people in an original way. And now we’ve come full circle in this conversation back to the purpose of why we do this at all.

Diggs Duke – Official Site

As far as I know, Make It Happen is pretty much the only commercially available solo 12” from J Treds. Other than this, he’s an evasive character. Close friend of Bobbito Garcia and his Fondle ‘Em imprint, J Treds made a handful of radio appearances as well as rapping on records with Company Flow and label mates the Juggaknots to name two. Committed Lyricist Lounge loungers will also recognise him as part of the Indelible MCs.

For me, this is what makes Make It Happen stand out. In spite of keeping such battle-hardened company, J Treds steps in with a different style on this track; upbeat, positive and philosophical. I remember having to dig Make It Happen out of Shadout Mapes’ flawless Fondle ‘Em mix, rewinding it constantly. It’s a classic, up there with the best late 90s rap records you could hope to find.

J.Treds – Make It Happen

Optional snitch sentence: For the curious, producers Supe and Kan sample Jail Cell by Air to great effect.

Air – Jail Cell

Nice little surprise right here. The three dope boys from Montreal known as LoudLaryAjust have just dropped a really interesting remix record with guest verses and remixes from some of the best producers MTL has to offer.

Their “Gullywood” record which came out last year surprised a lot of people including us, they are another example of why the Montreal/Quebec rap scene is doing pretty well these days. Beyond the Alaclair Ensemble crew you have up and comers like Dead Obies and LoudLaryAjust that are on the come up! Loud & Lary are really solid on the mic and Ajust is just deadly on production.

Get the whole record, it’s really all worth your time (+ it’s free) but if we had to pick just one track we’d go with the Kaytranada remix. Yes, you knew we’d pick that one but seriously… it’s a pretty undeniable Summer Banger!

The new LLA record drops this June.

So who is Outboxx?
I had never heard of them until a few months ago (thanks to Lexis) and the only thing I did recognize was the label. I asked myself, who is the sexy smooth female vocalist featured on these tracks and who makes these wicked slow tempo beats?
What I do know is that Outboxx is made up of two members, Jacob ‘Hodge’ Martin and Matt Lambert and features Naomi as a vocalist. They are from the UK and this is their first full album production. It was recently released by Idle Hands this April and it’s a solid collection of House tracks.

I really enjoy this album as a whole and at least three quarters of the album is smooth easy listening. Their music is a bit of a mixed bag of styles, jumping back and forth between Slow Tempo Minimalist House to Deep House, with some tracks more upbeat than others with varying lengths. A few of the recordings featuring the female vocalist sound very Lounge in style and create a more emotional and soulful vibe. I like the slight variety this album offers, and I especially like the minimalist beats. I would definitely recommend Outboxx’s new album to anyone who likes House music and has an open mind about it.

Outboxx – Outboxx – IDLE018 – April 2013

Here are my personal favorites from the record.

Jaded (House)

Jewel City

My Destination (Deep & Dark House)

Can’t find a clip anywhere… so buy the record!

Lotta subtlety here, so you gotta let some grow on you, but that’s the pleasure of listening, right? The vibe is more down-tempo than anything else, but no downer buzz-kill tracks, nahmean? I should say – this ain’t no ‘DJ only’ recommendation, it’s an album full of groove, for early in the party, or late. Or during, depending on the vibe. I’m getting the wax and the MP3′s. It’ll be my music Visa, in that I ain’t leaving home without it, in any format. (F**k Amex, by the way)

SIDE A

A1 – New Connection
A2 – Down To Business
A3 – Take It Back

SIDE B

B1 – Let Go
B2 – Philly
B3 – If you build it

SIDE C

C1 – No Games
C2 – First Class
C3 – Attention

SIDE D

D1 – Front Row
D2 – Wave
D3 – Nothing Lost

Order Record

He was a very energetic and talented keyboardist (eventually ranked 8th best in the world), but since most of his band mates were decades older, they made him do most of the “roadie” work as well. This tired him out until he found a source of energy in New York: cocaine.

Upon realization that he wasn’t making anywhere close to as much money as “the white guys” on his label and was even uncredited for some of his music, Kiki left the band in 1977 by teaming up with two musicians and bailing on a live show/recording in London. Shortly afterwards, he started a successful solo career making as much as 8,000 pounds per weekend in the studio and eventually got together with Kofi Ayivor in 1979 to record the European hit-single “24 Hours In A Disco“. According to Ayivor, Kiki claimed he had to go back to Ghana to take care of his sick mother, but took the record to Nigeria instead and released a Kiki-only vocal version (which appears on this compilation) and kept all the money for himself.

While maintaining his advantageous position in an especially prosperous time for Nigeria, he got engaged to Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti (Fela Kuti‘s daughter) in 1979 but left her four years later amidst a physically and financially damaging drug addiction. His condition was so severe, it left him begging in the streets of Ghana while trying desperately to warn up-and-coming musicians of the dangers of cocaine. Seeing as Kiki became unable to practice what he preached, a long-time friend and musician, Hugh Masekela decided to help by sending him to a six-week rehab clinic in South Africa. Unfortunately, this recovery was only temporary as he could never abstain from his temptations. Kiki was found dead on a church toilet on the eve of his birthday in 2004, due to several drug-related health problems (including AIDS).

Kiki Gyan – Keep On Dancing

Kiki Gyan – Disco Train

24 Hours In A Disco is compilation by Soundway Records featuring Kiki’s best work both as a solo artist and frontman of his various musical outfits. There are a lot of really amazing tracks here, but “Disco Train” is personally the most exciting and addictive track I have discovered in a long while. It’s as deep, smooth and funky as one can get with a bass line that sounds like Earth, Wind & Fire at the top of their game (especially considering how the vibe is more American than anything else)! DJs should really file this one in the “last song of the night” category as party-goers are likely to hum this boogie anthem all the way home. Even the track itself goes on for far too long like a lingering melody that refuses to change! All this being said, “Keep On Dancing” is another recent favorite discovery of mine, almost beating “Disco Train” in preference with it’s crazy-catchy, brightly enthusiastic horn section and stereotypical (yet always welcomed) party-themed lyrics. Final words: Kiki Gyan was clearly a legend who left us too soon, but gave the world some amazing music that will most likely survive many generations and this compilation is a testament to his greatness.

The documentary does a nice job of highlighting some of the classic releases of the era, the history of the 12 inch record, the marksmanship of Larry Levan and the significance of Paradise Garage.

The film does a great job on the social front – illustrating the struggles of the gay community, their push for equality within the club circuit and the horrible, unfortunate grip the HIV epidemic had within the scene.

Having heavy-weights like Danny Krivit, Marley Marl and Louie Vega weighing in throughout is an added bonus for the discerning music fan.

Even if you’re not a fan of the boogie-disco era, it’s still worth the watch if you’re a documentary buff. Definitely worth two hours of your precious time.

Summer also provides an opportunity to play some records that would have otherwise felt incongruous and downright depressing in the winter months. With its cathartic strings, oscillating guitars and synths solos that meander like so many an aimless summer walk, “For Real” by Flowers is the perfect seasonal complement. One of only two releases by the elusive Richard Flowers on the equally elusive LAXpressio label, this extended 7 minute cut from 1976 speaks blues skies and green grass. Remember when, as a kid, you’d unscrew the fire hydrant on a sultry summer’s day so that you and your friends could play in the gushing, cold water, spraying other peoples’ cars until the cops came and stopped you? Me neither. Because I didn’t grow up in a Spike Lee film. But that’s what this song does to you, it forges glorious, fake memories in your head of summers never-lived, a testament to both the power of the season and the groove.

Flowers – For Real

No wonder it’s a diggers’ treasure fetching around 500$ for the original 7″ version. It was big in the Northern Soul scene back in the day too. Flowers also cut another track for LA Xpressio, the equally lovely ‘We Can Make It Happen’ (LAX 102) which is also highly-indemand amongst collectors of this genre. It’s an absolute mystery (and shame) that someone who could create such an amazing piece of music history could release two singles and then fade into obscurity.

Label: LA Xpressio – LAX 101
Format: Vinyl, 7″
Country: US
Released: 1976

“Spicing up ya summer vibes!
Enjoy

For a free download EP of a new remixes of The Terrorist by me, JFB and Mr Critical please check – Download Link“

About DJ Vadim

DJ Vadim (aka Vadim Peare) is a prolific DJ and producer, born in Leningrad, USSR (now Saint Petersburg, Russia), raised in London and currently residing in both London, New York and Berlin, his music combines electronica, soul, dubstep reggae and hip hop. He has been described as “one of the few artists creating genuinely new work in the Hip-Hop field” and an artist who “cannot be ignored”.

Vadim moved from St Petersburg to London at the age of 5, but this story begins in 1992. Vadim bought a sampler and started working on the music that would become Abstract Hallucinating Gases and Headz Ain’t Ready EP’s (1995), and founded a record label, Jazz Fudge, to release his music. He was spotted by a small, startup record label called Ninja Tune and embarked on a journey that has taken him to more than 68 countries on every continent, where he has performed nearly 2,500 times.

Within five seconds, I felt like I knew where the track was going. But then a drum fill came out of nowhere, knocking the groove into a delirious spin. Then that perfectly harmonised refrain, “Oh Lord, please help me! My neighbour has something that I haven’t got!”. It was like the Ten Commandments being shouted by some overgrown, petulant child. I dropped my Subway Sub and boogied until my friend asked me to stop .

From what I can tell, “The Cannibals” were a South-African disco-boogie band active in the early 80s. That’s all the information I could gleam from my minutes of online research, but it’s probably all we need to know. This sublime track, “She Knows”, is taken from their 1981 LP entitled, “Put Your Dancing Shoes On”. That’s not a request, by the way, it’s an order.

The Cannibals – She Knows (1981)

Oh my! What could be better than a Lianne La Havas remix by Flako, one of the most talented and original producers out there.

Flako really keeps evolving and improving with every release and is transcending the “beatmaker” label and blossoming into someone who can be considered as a composer / producer who actually puts together original songs with structure. His previous EP with the beautiful “Mating Dance” comes to mind as one of the most original pieces in years.

Well, all this to say : what could be better than an official Flako remix commissioned by Warner who really let him go to town on those beautiful vocals by Lianne La Havas who is everyone’s not so secret crush. Ours too…

Official Video

via STONES THROW | Quasimoto – Yessir Whatever

Produced by Madlib. 12 tracks recorded over a roughly 12-year period. LP & CD come with a peel-off cover sticker revealing Quasimoto’s guts; LP with bonus 7-inch single.

Release date: June 18, 2013. Pre-order and digital available now, exclusively at Stones Throw.

Quasimoto first came to life on Madlib’s personal beat tapes in the producer’s early years in Oxnard CA – private music, not meant for release, made for himself and a small circle of local smokers and their car stereos.

By the time of Quasimoto’s debut The Unseen, most had caught on to the fact that Madlib and Quasimoto were one in the same. The MC as artistic alter ego, like a talking dummy from surreal rap vaudeville. Quasimoto is usually the “bad character,” doing and saying what the producer doesn’t, with Madlib along side as a noncommittal collaborator. The Unseen(Stones Throw, 2000) was among the new decade’s first sleeper hits, ranking on Spin’s year end list at a time when the producer and label were unknown outside hip-hop DJ circles.

After a subsequent journey through jazz production and now-legendary collaborations with MF DOOM & J Dilla, Madlib called on Quasimoto again for The Further Adventures of Lord Quas. The album played something like a smoked-out comedy/crime Blaxploitation flick, and continued to build Madlib’s reputation as one of the most creative and fearlessly skewed creators in hip-hop.

As for Quasimoto – usually represented by pen & ink with brick in hand – he has been many things over the years: rapper, cartoon, the poor-man’s Gorillaz, a toy, bad tattoo, internet meme. To all this Lord Quas might say, yessir … whatever. It’s all about the music.

Yessir Whatever collects 12-tracks made by Madlib and Quasimoto over a roughly 12-year period. A few were released on rare & out-of-print vinyl, while a few others are previously unreleased, now mixed and mastered for the first time. Take two & pass. Yessir … whatever.

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Artwork by Jeff Jank. Mastered by Dave Cooley. 

I recently finished reading “The House that Trane Built : The History of Impulse Records by Ashley Kahn” which covers the whole story of the jazz Label, and it gave me a new appreciation for how this LP came about. First of all the cover almost says everything you need to know. Any self-respecting jazz head or record nerd is swayed by the iconic photography, trademark orange spine and gorgeaous gatefold. (Impulse invested heavily in their artistic dept in order to stand out from the competition). The names featured on the cover read like a patheon of jazz performers: Hubbard, Dolphy, Chambers, Haynes and Evans! However the record and it’s story all revolves around Nelson and what Impulse allowed him to do. Nelson had established hiself as a sessioned bandleader recoding six albums between 1959 and 1961 for Prestige. However, Impulse eager to represent its motto ”The New Sound in Jazz” took a chance and signed Nelson to a one off deal allowing full creative freedom. The album is an exploration of the mood and structure of the blues, and can be considered as a continuation of the harmonic trend instigated by Miles Davis’ seminal Kind of Blue (Evans and Chambers played on both albums).

Oliver Nelson – Stolen Moments

The opening piece ”Stolen Moments’‘ is my favorite cut and is the one that illustrates the magic that was generated with this one time group. Coincidentaly, it became crossover radio hit and later a go to standard for jazz groups. Nelson took on the challenge of composing all the songs and according to his liner notes chose to use the classic 12 bar blues form a move that allowed him to expose the strength of all the players. Giants in their own terms, it is very interesting to see how the artists progressed from the launching pad that Nelson set up for them. Hubbard was lining up to be the ”next Miles” and his soft tone but strong interplay immediately shines on his opening solo (Impulse would go on to release Hubbard led albums as he became their star trumpeter). It’s a much more tame Dolphy that we have a chance to appreciate on the flute, not that Impulse could be considered a conservative label in any sense (John Coltrane, their top seller was allowed to sufficiently spread his wings for close to a decade) but the restraint he show fits in perfectly with the recurring melody that Nelson penned. Evans, Haynes and Chambers round out the rythm section and hold their own, melding themsleves in the harmony and sustaining the momentum. The result is a very special song that can fit any mood and is a perfect ”gateway drung” into more complex jazz sounds.

As one of the first Impulse releases it not only helped the label gain traction as a force to be reconned with in the record industry and with jazz afficianados alike, but its open environment and care for the artist attracted many talented cats to its roster. It sold so well that it encouraged the label heads at ABC to continue investing in Impulse and gave the creative team breathing room to continue experimenting freely. Oliver Nelson went on to write scores for Hollywood and all of the players eventually lead their own groups. But for a short instant (the record was recorded in a week), Rudy Van Gelder’s incredible engineer work encapsulated a small ”stolen moment” in jazz history where all the stars were aligned and incredible albums like this were given the space to shine brightly for all to enjoy.

+ Bonus Live Action in Berlin 1970

He organized the famous concept party in Paris and its regions “Get on the Bus” dedicated to the black music, and then, currently shares his eclectic selection after changing the name by “JAZZ ATTIDUDES PARTY”. Active and passionate, DJ PSYCUT has become a serious actor of jazz dance floor and Rare Groove in France.

Since September of 2012 He has been in Charge of the Soul, Funk, Jazz Funk and Boogie part of Paris’ Page of 22 Tracks.

Jazz Dance Only vol 1 by Psycut Jazz Attitudes on Mixcloud

In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of LEFTO‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : Jukebox, Brussels (Belgium)

@Lefto: I would say Jukebox just because they have a wide range of second hand records and record formats, LP / 12″ / 7″. It’s basically the place you take all the vinyl collectors to. J.Rocc loved it, DJ Shadow calls him up a day early to prepare him a couple crates… it’s THAT kind of record store. There’s other shops selling the new stuff but more specifically oriented towards a certain style.

Favorite International Record Store : Bettinos (Paris) & Rush Hour (Amsterdam)

@Lefto: Betino’s in Paris and Rush Hour in Amsterdam are good small record shops where you can find anything new from world music to house and techno to hip hop and electronica. I’ve seen many good and inspiring small record shops all around the world.

R.I.P – Record Store I Miss The Most

@Lefto: Probably the shop I used to work at in Brussels, my hometown. Every time I pass by that place which changed into a Japanese restaurant it’s breaking my heart. We still need a record shop in this town that would sell all the new bits, the fresh collector items, a shop that has the Wax Poetic atmosphere (my term, it’s copyrighted).

ABOUT LEFTO:

As one the most important tastemakers Europe has to offer, and affiliated with labels Brownswood, Blue Note, !K7 Records, Stones Throw and Jazzy Sport, this bearded early riser is consistently a couple steps ahead of your average early adopter. He doesn’t wait for the next thing to land on his lap, actively seeking it out – just take a peek at his playlists on Belgium’s foremost national radio station Studio Brussel which received compliments from Rough Trade Shops and Gilles Peterson.

However, don’t assume that he’s only working futuristic angles – no sir. Firmly rooted in jazz and hip hop, he sharpened his digging sensibility working at the now legendary Music Mania record store in hometown Brussels. His passion for jazz resulted in a remix album for Blue Note which was well received by the community. Lefto is forever moving forward but always has an ear in the past. Famed for his gloriously eclectic DJ sets, he switches effortlessly between hip hop, funk, breaks, neck-snapping beats, future bass, South-American influences, bruk riddims and some wild African rhythms. He’s not only a deejay and producer but also curates his own stage at the Dour Festival and his own nights in Gent in collaboration with Democrazy.

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For the past 20+ years, Omar has contributed countless soulful anthems and collaborations with Stevie Wonder, Badu, Common, Maddslinky (aka Zed Bias) and so on.

Anytime you hear an Omar track it instantly cuts through any sound system and brings a sunlight to the dancefloor, or your kitchen. Few people have managed to stay relevant and fresh for as long as Omar. He did his thing in the Acid Jazz days and is still on the top of his game!

Recommended for a sunny bike ride!

Remixes by Shafiq Husayn & Maddslinky

iTunes pre-order: itunes.kud.li/fsr099d

There are precious few, if any contemporary UK artists whose creative credentials and influence extend as far and so consistently wide as Freestyle Records‘ most recent signing Omar. Since first breaking through to worldwide renown all the way back in 1991 with his first releases on Gilles Peterson‘s seminal Talking Loud label, and going on to work with all manner of musical legends including a certain Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Angie Stone, Syreeta Wright, Common, and Carleen Anderson.

Fast forward to 2013, and Omar’s reputation for being a thoroughly original artist following his own individual path remains undiminished. After recently picking up anM.B.E. for his outstanding contribution to the UK music scene, even the British Establishment has now acknowledged what many already appreciated and understood for many years.

There cannot have been many times a bass clarinet b-line was destined to become one of the most memorable and catchiest moments in contemporary soul, but on the new single, The Man, that’s precisely what happens. Add to that a stunning vocal performance, the slinkiest of beautiful key changes, and an uplifting vibe that simply emanates class and style, and you will understand why those who were privileged to hear The Man early on, all without exception, flipped, slipped and fell totally in love with its soul, its groove and irrepressible spirit.

This release sees three reworkings of the title track; US mainstay of conscious hip hop and electronica, Shafiq Husayn, literally leapt at the chance to remix The Man and gives it a minor mood feel, with spacey synthesiser lines added to emphasise this most memorable of melodies, Maddslinky (aka Zed Bias), came with a remix from a pumping, contemporary club direction including a driving beat coupled with spacy breakdowns and his trademark production skills, and Scratch Professer puts his unique stamp on his retwist of The Man like no one else could!

Completing the circle that began all the way back in the early 1990s, Omar has completely re-recorded his classic love song There’s Nothing Like This, which this time features bass player to the Gods Pino Palladino. The touching sentiment remains undiminished, but with the addition of soaring strings, soulful, jazzy horns, an all round live and acoustic feel, plus an extended and new arrangement, Omar has done the impossible; improved upon the un-improvable, that is likely to become the definitive version of an already much adored classic.

This weekend our good friend Moonstarr sent us a heads up on a mix he thought we would definitely be interested in. Well, our tall brother does know us well. He knows that we really enjoy and miss that classic London Broken Beat sound.

So here is a mix from Mark Force, member of the Bugz In The Attic and Blakai and also one of the founders of the legendary CoOp night in London.

Tip!

Tracklist

Hips Dont Fail Me Now
By Shokazulu
Exclusive dub
By TMLR
Dis i Ya A Love Somthing
By Shokazulu
Exclusive dub
By TMLR
Dreams
By Mark de Clive-Lowe
Twisting
By Bugz in the Attic
AK48
By TMLR
Sour Grapes
By Shokazulu
Willis
By Lord and Tatham
Tumache
By TMLR
Part 4
By Shokazulu
Missing in Action extended mix
By TMLR
Not In My Disco
By Dego
New York to the sky above
By TMLR

Mark Force Bio

One of broken beat supergroup Bugz in the Attic, and one of the many founders of legendary London club night, Coop, Mark Force was born and raised in West London and has been producing and DJing for 15 years. He got this first pair of turntables at 11 and started practicing and Djing immediately, playing hiphop and electro. Skip forward to the dawn of the 90s and the young G Force gets his first schooling in how to programme breaks and cut up beats when ILS, king of breakbeat, takes him on as protégée. By seventeen G Force, (as he was known until about 2000) had released his first record on drum and bass label Rugged Vinyl. He began playing drum and bass and jungle on South London pirate Don FM around this time too – holding down the coveted Sunday night slot from ’92 to ’96. More productions followed, including for Good Looking and the infamous Reinforced Records. The album Just Another Number was released on Reinforced in 1999 – a collaboration with Reinforced label-mate Seiji. It was while making this album that Mark first met and worked with Bembe Segue and Kaidi Tatham, and it’s a musical relationship that’s maintained through to current productions and collaborations under various names and on various imprints.

Seiji and Kaidi Tatham are fellow members of the nine-strong Bugz In The Attic, and Bembe Segue wrote and performed for the Bugz album. Kaidi and Mark also collaborate with Matt Lord, (another Bug), under the name Blakai, and are the production team behind -classics like the underground hit, Afrospace. Bugz were originally a supergroup of producers that came together to turn out killer remixes. On the back of their success, V2 released Got The Bug in 2005 – a compilation of their finest mixes. They were then invited to record their own original productions. Dancefloor smash, Booty La La was the first of these, and the recently released Back In The Dog House album is the culmination of that work. Mark continues to split his time between production and DJing. A natural born collaborator and inspired by the talent and soulfulness around, he continues to deliver brilliantly produced, progressive British dance music. As a DJ he still loves playing to the crowd and can tear up any party from broken beat to soulful house. He also releases music by Grudgemonkey on his own imprint Schtum.

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About the SHAMPOING & TONER project

In 2011, High-Klassified and MusoNi, members of the ALAIZ collective, teamed up to present their collaborative effort titled “90’s Babies Vol.1”. Upon release, I remember the one track that caught my attention right away. It was called “Shampoing Fortifiant”.

It sampled an unreleased song by 90’s R&B group SWV (Sisters With Voices) in a very clever way. MusoNi flipped it in a simple but genius way and so it was destined to become a future classic. Rumour has it that (fellow ALAIZ member) Dr. MaD blew up his monitors from cranking it up a little too loud. It inspired him to make a revenge remix called ‘’Après-shampooing’’ witch eventually led me to do my own version that I named ‘’Shampoing Revitalisant’’.

Following rehearsals of a tribute band I had put together for the fifth anniversary of J Dilla’s passing, I continued working with Noah Barer and Alex Mclean, two very talented musicians. During the same summer ALAIZ released MusoNi and HK’s project, we recorded two singles under the “SparkZ n’ the plugs” name. One of which was “Toner”. The name was derived from the french word ‘tonnerre’, which means ‘thunder’ because of the sounds resembling lightning I added to the beat. We chose to give the multi-tracks to a few of our beat maker friends and see if we could accumulate some remixes before releasing it. Since I often had jam sessions at Noah’s place, I decided that it would be best to leave my desktop computer over there. I recall working on my own version of ‘Shampoing’ in the same environment that inspired the ‘Toner’ track.

In 2012, MusoNi and I got together and realized we were both working on remix projects that were stagnating. We determined that by combining the two, it would make a decent enough number of tracks and collaborators to consider a physical copy of the release. So, that’s how ‘’Shampoing & Toner’’ came together. Only afterwards did we find out how shampoo and toner were manifestly related. Turns out that toner is a hair-related product as well. This gave us the feeling that this union was indubitably meant to be. I usually go deep into things trying really hard to come up with conceptual beat tapes. This one just happened to hold itself altogether in the most natural way.

Featured Artists include
MusoNi, Phil Sparkz, Noah Barer, Alex Mclean, Dr. MaD, KenLo Craqnuques, Malky, Shash’U, Munno, Bongiovanni, Guilty and Tommy Kruise

Release Date
April 20th on MIMS bandcamp

Teaser by LNDR
facebook.com/wearlondre
Model: Anna Maria Negulescu
Song: MusoNi – Toner Electric Violet (sparkZ redub)

In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of LEXIS‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : Aux 33 Tours

@MIMSLexis: 33 Tours is definitely the healthiest record store in Montreal and it’s been great to see it grow. Really inspiring to go on a wednesday at 2pm and see it full of people. It does however represent pretty much the complete opposite of a “DJ” focused store, which is what i’m used to and love. Not really a “dusty digging” kind of vibe. It’s more focused on the audiophiles who want to listen to records at home. But that’s not a bad thing of course… just great to see a store always filled with people actually paying for music. But big shout out to all the MTL record stores still doing their thing, especially Death of Vinyl & Phonopolis.

Favorite International Record Store : Sounds of The Universe (London)

@MIMSLexis: London is such an amazing place to buy records. I think my Visa card suffered for months after my visit. Lots of amazing stores like Honest Jons, Rough Trade, Blackmarket, Vinyl Junkies (RIP) but there was one store which I was so happy to finally visit because it is also the home of Soul Jazz Records which I adore. Sounds of The Universe is a great little store tucked away in Soho where every single record feels like it was meant to be discovered. Highly recommended!

R.I.P – Record Store I Miss The Most : Inbeat Records

@MIMSLexis: Every time I walk past where Inbeat used to be I feel a little pinch in my heart. That place meant so much to me and my development as a DJ / music lover. It was open for over 20 years and was mecca for “cutting edge dance floor music” as was written in the window. I was the youngest guy working there in the last few years and I consider myself very lucky for having gone through that school. Much respect to Christian Pronovost, Francois (Dr. Love) and all the Inbeat fam.

ABOUT LEXIS:

Lexis is one of the most eclectic minded DJ’s out there and is absolutely obsessed with music research; always excited to discover new and old treasures. He founded MusicIsMySanctuary.com in 2007 and has now seen it grow into one of the go-to websites for lovers of next level music. It now reaches over 50,000 people a month from all over the world. He also started the24HoursofVinyl.com project, a 24 hour marathon featuring only vinyl records which is turning into a worldwide adventure.

His monthly radio show has been steadily growing over the past years and every episode is now listened to by approximately 10,000 people. His last few shows managed to make it to #1 on the very popular Mixcloud.com platform who also voted his show as one of the best. Last year, the 5th anniversary of “MIMS” was presented by the Montreal Jazz Fest on the very last night of the festival in front of a packed house.

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We love record stores so much that we decided to compile our very first edition of the Favorite Store round up in honor of the international “Record Store Day” happening on April 20, 2013. So we asked some our favorite artists / dj’s (and most importantly record lovers) to compile a brief list of their favorite record stores.

3 Simple Questions:
1) Favorite Hometown Store
2) Favorite International Store
3) (R.I.P) Record Store You Miss The Most

QUANTIC (Columbia)
LEFTO (Belgium)
A MADE UP SOUND / 2562 (Holland)
EDDIE C (Berlin)
DOM SERVINI (UK)
SKRATCH BASTID (Canada)
DJ DAY (US)
ANDY WILLIAMS (Canada)
COLM K (Ireland)
CATALIST (Canada)
J-BOOGIE (US)
EVO (Canada)
LEXIS (Canada)

Much Respect to

In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of J-BOOGIE‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : Groove Merchant, San Francisco (US)

@JBoogieJustin:  It’s been around since before I was even buying records. Great folks and there’s always a gem or 2 hidden in there (Klute OST like whoa).

Favorite International Record Store : DMR, Tokyo (Japan)

@JBoogieJustin:  DMR in Tokyo. Amazing selection across all genres + stuff I’ve never seen in US, with listening stations and all the hot new joints on the wall!

R.I.P Store you miss the most : Open Mind, San Francisco (US)

@JBoogieJustin:  Open Mind. It was a cultural mecca for DJs in SF, and half the time you just dropped in to talk shit with the staff. Maybe you were lucky enough to make it to the basement, or drop by when some DJ was giving up the game and letting go of their collection.

ABOUT J-BOOGIE:

Justin “J-Boogie” Boland is an American DJ/producer from San Francisco, California. He was born in September 1973. He is signed to the Om Records label, and has 2 full length albums as well as several mix CDs. He has also been featured on several compilations such as Mushroom Jazz and the OM Lounge series. His style includes a mixture of hip-hop, funk, nujazz, afrobeat, latin, dancehall, soul, and electronic.

He is the co-creator of the radio show “Beatsauce,” along with DJs Raw B, and Wisdom on KUSF, which was awarded “Best hip-hop show” by citysearch.com, the S.F. Bay Guardian, and the S.F. Weekly. He is one of the residents at Dub Mission, a weekly reggae/roots party in San Francisco ran by DJ Sep.

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In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of DJ DAY‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : The Record Alley, Palm Desert (US)

@DJDay:  It’s been around since before I was even buying records. Great folks and there’s always a gem or 2 hidden in there (Klute OST like whoa).

Favorite International Record Store : Groove Merchant, San Francisco (US)

@DJDay: This is a tough one…and while I’d like to say Superfly in Paris, or O-Ton in Berlin, or Northside in Melbourne, I’m gonna have to go with Groove Merchant in good old SF. Hands down my favorite record store on the planet.

R.I.P Store you miss the most : Aron’s Records, Hollywood (US)

@DJDay: So many great memories of that place and I always left with something good. RIP.

ABOUT DJ DAY:

Championed by the likes of Gilles Peterson and Jazzy Jeff, DJ Day is a producer, DJ and musician from Palm Springs, California and one of the founding members of the Innernational crew. Having worked with artists such as Aloe Blacc (Stones Throw), Clutchy Hopkins (Ubiquity), and doing extensive remix work for the likes of Quantic, Alice Russell and People Under the Stairs, Day has always shown musical diversity while bringing a style all his own.

He has played the world over at venues such as The Rub, The Do-Over, APT, SXSW, WMC, Choice Cuts, The Dour Festival and shared the stage with artists from Amy Winehouse to Eminem.

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In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of ANDY WILLIAMS‘ personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : Phonopolis, Montreal

Andy: Great assortment of world music,indie,jazz,and probably the tastiest $5 bin,which is something new for me after years of dollar bin picking of library records,and obscure digs. Not too mention the knowledge of the staff to comply to my beck and call.

Favorite International Record Store : Recordmania, Stockholm (Sweden)

Andy: Lars and his staff have the edge over Spruzzi’s MONO RECORDS in Zurich because of their expertise in everything old and new. Their recommendations have always been spot on! For example my first Lorez Alexandria album was highly recommended by Russ Dewbury,and I found it. Also some of my rare STUDIO ONE digs such as Freddie McGregor’s “Bobby Babylon”

R.I.P Store you miss the most : SAM The Record Man, Toronto

Andy: On Yonge & Dundas was a great spot to dig in the mid 70′s ’til it closed.I would rush downtown after basketball practice on Friday to see what was on special, and also return the following day.

ANDY WILLIAMS (Montreal, The Goods)

Andy’s collaborations with various deejays and musicians reach to and from many sources globally: Andy has had the opportunity to grace the turntables with many underground deejays, peers who have the utmost respect for obscure rarities in dancefloor tracks. It wasn’t easy at first playing mediums of ethnic backgrounds such as Cumbia Paseito, Mento, Avant-Garde Jazz, Funk and hard hitting Electro sounds in North America and Europe, but it’s nothing new to intelligent avid listeners since the mid-century.

He is to the Canadian freestyle scene what Jazzanova are in Berlin or Kyoto Jazz Massive are to Japan. He has joined forces with Kevin Moon (a.k.a “Moonstarr”) and works with deejays and musicians who are always ready to push the boundaries: Quantic, Mr. Scruff, Carlos Nino, and many others.

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In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of DOM SERVINI‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : Sounds Of The Universe AKA Soul Jazz Records, London

Dom: It’s survived everything that’s been thrown at it and you can always find lovely people behind the counter, like Abi, Neil and Karl, who are always happy to help you out, have great taste and are simply lovely people.

Favorite International Record Store : Jet Set Records. Kyoto, Japan

Dom: I remember going to Jet Set Records in Kyoto, Japan and being blown away by what they had there, how precisely it was all cataloged, and how nice the guy were who worked there. I remember as I was getting in the elevator to leave, the owner ran towards me screaming “Rosie Brown Rosie Brown! Thanks for putting out that record!!” That was in 2005 and I still have a Jet Set Records bag and use it often.

R.I.P Store you miss the most : Mr. Bongo

Dom: That’s easy. Mr. Bongo – in all of its guises. I used to visit it every day in the early 1990s. Hew, Tony, Kev, Richard, Dave Buttle and co always sorted me out. Every day I came home with a bag of white labels. Amazing shop. It was also the first place I encountered Chris Goss!

ABOUT DOM SERVINI

Dom Servini is one of the main players and a stalwart of the eclectic music scene in London. Having started DJing in the early ‘90s in Brighton with the legendary Snowboy, he then moved back to the capital and took it by storm, starting a Sunday afternoon session at the Jazz Cafe, a residency at the Blue Note, and then his own club venture, Mouseorgan, which ran for 8 years.

Dom then joined the Wah Wah DJ crew at The Jazz Café, and went on to become part of their record label project in 2001 – a label he now runs with Wah Wah artist Adam Scrimshire and Hospital Records boss Chris Goss.

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In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of COLM K‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Store: Plugd Records. Cork, Ireland

@Colm_K: Chosen not because its our only option here in Cork, Plugd consistently provides quality new stock and never fails to drop a surprise gem my way. The amount of great music the Plugd crew introduced me to is phenomenal. The staff are great, I even worked there for a period, and they have grown in the face of a very poor economic climate here in Ireland, to such extent that they have a cafe downstairs now also. A must stop shop for any music fa, worldwide.

Favorite International Store: Academy Records. NYC

@Colm_K: Every-time in in New York I always hit Academy in the LES. I love shops that don’t overcharge based on whats hip. When the whole OG Dilla craze hit shortly after his death I picked up an OG sealed J88 EP for a mere $10. Great for Jazz too. Big City would have rated joined first on this list too prior to its closure earlier this year.

Favorite Defunt Store: Comet Records. Cork, Ireland.

@Colm_K: I bought my first records in Comet way back in 1996. I was a cd and tape enthusiast pre wax purchasing. I began buying vinyl before I started DJ’ing mainly because I preferred how the format looked and felt. Comet nurtured me into the vinyl enthusiast I’ve become and subsequently through contacts I made in this shop I got my first DJ gig at the ripe age of 16.

COLM K (Ireland, Bastard Jazz)

Colm K is one of the most respected DJs in Ireland. Humble beginnings at the infamous Sir Henry’s saw him grow as DJ in his hometown of Cork, Ireland and lead to numerous residencies at reputable bars and clubs around Ireland including: The Pavillion, The Savoy (Cork), Ri Ra (Dublin), Trinity Rooms, GPO, Bar Cuba & many more besides.

Colm K draws from a wealth of knowledge in soulful sounds, which sees perform at many reputable clubs and festivals around Ireland and abroad. He has played and supported many of the globes most respected names including Run Dmc, De La Soul, Jazzy Jeff, Afrika Bambaattaa, Kenny Dope and others.

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In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of CATALIST‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : Play De Record, Toronto

@Catalist: This was the first record store I went to in Toronto. Jason (Palma) always seems to know the records that I didn’t know I wanted… There are other stores I dig in town, but for longevity and consistency Play De takes it.

Favorite International Record Store : Waxwell Records, Amsterdam

@Catalist: First went here in 2007, and found some dope joints.. I was digging for more dusty breaks and soul and they had what I needed and then some. Went back last year and copped some great 45s for cheap. The owner (Taco) is a super friendly dude and knows his stuff. Highly recommended.

R.I.P Store you miss the most : Lost And Found, Toronto

@Catalist: Used to be up on Bathhurst for a bit. The owner (George) was into crazy psych records and was always super bitter in an awesome way, so it made things entertaining when I went there. Had some homies who worked there too, so it was that place you could go, chill, listen / buy , whatever. Definitely got some nice pieces there (after Kaewonder picked everything over).

ABOUT CATALIST (Toronto)

Growing up in Peterborough, NH, a small town in north eastern US, Alister Johnson aka DJ Catalist, drew his first influences from the sounds of hip-hop producers DJ Premier, RZA, Pete Rock & Large Professor. Armed with a turntable and Cool Edit, an audio sampling program popular in the day, he soon began making hip-hop beats of his own. Alister has given his special touch in production to remixes for artists such as Feist, Hird w/ Yukimi Nagano, LAL, Layah Jane, Voice, to name a few. When he is not working on tracks for other artists, Alister is making music with a team of writers at The Hive for television shows and commercials.

As Catalist, Alister has produced for local MCs Louwop the Dirty General and Scot Free; but he is perhaps best known for his production efforts on the ‘unofficial’ remixes, the DJ Catalist re-edits, of Nina Simone, James Brown, Love, Ruth Brown, and Billie Holiday.

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In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of SKRATCH BASTID‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : Taz Records, Halifax (Canada)

@SkratchBastid: I STILL haven’t made it through that whole store. It’s been open as long as I have been alive and I never leave empty handed. I’ve found top records from every genre of my interest within. Great staff through the years: Bill, Jimmy, John, Bob, Bob & Bob (RIP).

Favorite International Record Store : Amoeba, San Francisco / LA (USA)

@SkratchBastid: You can not front on Amoeba Records (SF/LA) for the sheer volume of vinyl that goes in and out of those doors daily. They’ve weathered the storm with flying colors. And prices have stayed reasonable — maybe that’s why they’re still around. Don’t use eBay prices if you’re not an eBay store…

R.I.P Store you miss the most : Revolution Records, Halifax (Canada)

@SkratchBastid: I miss Revolution Records in Halifax. Kind of a cop out because I used to work there, but that local record store experience is something that I am so grateful to have grown up with as a young DJ. We never had the endless crates that Taz did/does, but if you ever had to find out what was happening in the city’s scene, what the hot record in any genre was, or who was screwing who, you could go down and hang out for an hour or two and get right. It was a big part of what brought the local scene together, and I miss record stores being that epicentre. Twitter & Facebook just don’t cut it. Many thanks to Nick Oliver for offering a young man the job.

ABOUT SKRATCH BASTID: Having rocked the bar many times, Skratch Bastid is now ready to raise it.

In 2012, The Bastid has become one of Canada’s most in-demand DJs and respected producers but don’t think it happened overnight. From his humble beginnings a decade ago as a teenager in Halifax- pumping out mixtapes from his bedroom and earning a loyal following already back then- he slowly spread his skills first at DJ competitions like DMC, ITF, and Scribble Jam and now around Canada and the world as a widely recognized go-to guy for party-rocking. The illest redhead on turntables has since gone viral. Seriously, youtube that shit.

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In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of QUANTIC‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : The Discery, Birmingham

@QuanticMusic: This is the closest major record store to my hometown in Worcestershire, it was the first record store my father took me to. Its always got a great selection of Jazz, Reggae & Rock and the guys who run the store have a very unique brand of West Midlands humour! That and always a cup of tea on offer when you walk through the door.

The Discery
99 Bromsgrove St Birmingham
West Midlands B5 6QB, United Kingdom‎
+44 121 622 2219

Favorite International Record Store : Superfly Records, Paris.

@QuanticMusic: Paulo and Manu from Superfly have been long supplying the demand for Niche tropical, african and Jazz records.They have a splendid selection of selected re-issue and an endless supply of quality African LPs and 45s. Well worth a stop by there if you’re in Paris.

Superfly Records (Link)
53 rue Notre Dame de Nazareth 75003 Paris
Tel 01 44 61 06 07

R.I.P – Record Store I miss the most 

@QuanticMusic: There used to be a store in Bogota, when I first moved to Colombia, it was unfortunately knocked down to make way for the Transmilenio mass transit system. It was a small 2 floor house full of vinyl delights, the sort of place you’d enter one day and come out weeks later, bearded and caped in colombian record dust, but I found records there I’ve never ever seen since.

ABOUT QUANTIC

Quantic, aka Will Holland is a British born Musician, Producer & DJ making Soul, Electronic & Latin Music saturated in the tropical soundwaves of the Carribean.

Currently working from his Sonido del Valle studio base in the highlands of Bogota, Colombia, Holland has developed a sound that bridges heritage and progression, marrying spontaneous musicianship with deep, exciting tonality.

Quantic’s enigmatic productions and musical expressions as Guitarist, Accordionist & Studio engineer have earned him a large international fanbase and constant engagements as a music selector, remixer & band director. Quantic’s fifteenth studio record is planned for release in late 2013.

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In honor of all the great record stores in the world still doing their (essential!) thing. We asked some of our favorite artists out there to give us a little run down of their personal favorites.

Here are some of EVO‘s personal favorites.

Favorite Hometown Record Store : Beat Street, Vancouver

@VanCityEVO: Beat Street Records, no doubt.  I know I might be biased cause I worked and managed there,  however, before the digital era started to take grip, Beat Street was the biggest independent music retailer in Canada.  When the shop still stocked all the new stuff, it was a one stop shop for any multi-genre DJ.  You could come in on any given day, stock up on all the new joints, get your dig on for samples, or just find amazing deals on quality used albums and 12′s within all the genres. Plus, it was, and still is, a great music hub for music lovers, DJ’s and promotors to congregate.

Favorite International Record Store : Groove Merchant, San Francisco (US)

@VanCityEVO: This is a tough question for me, I have many favourites for various reasons and demands.  Overall, I would have to say Groove Merchant in San Francisco.  That spot has great records in a multitude of genres.  Especially for what I’m into; wether it be world, funk, soul, boogie, disco or hip-hop – I always come up on stuff whenever I’m there.  Plus, Cool Chris and the rest of the staff are great people and super knowledgeable peeps.

I know it’s not international, but I have to mention Cosmo’s in Toronto.  Aki has expanded his business into two locations, and his shop shares the same characteristics of Groove Merchant.  Plus, he’s a great, knowledgeable cat that always makes you feel welcome in his place of business.

Honourable mentions:  Breakaway Records and Friends of Sound in Austin.

R.I.P Store you miss the most : Basix, Vancouver

@VanCityEVO: When I first moved to the West Coast back in the late 90′s to pursue my career as a snowboard bum in Whistler, this was one of my go to spots in Vancouver.  An amazingly curated shop that stocked a bunch of genres that I was into.  The service was top notch;  a nice, clean boutique look to it that was well laid out, making everything easy to find for the customer.  Even when I moved back to the East Coast, along with Beat Street, I would frequent their location with every visit.  I know a lot of people in Vancouver that miss that spot.  RIP.

ABOUT DJ EVO:

“Ive got one foot in the past and the other locked into the present and future…” ~ EVO

Drawing his inspiration from the dexterous sounds of Mr. Scruff, Gilles Peterson, J-Rocc, Nu-Mark, DJ Shadow, Cut-Chemist, Jazzy Jeff, Kenny Dope and the like, Evo’s library spans wide and deep. From his core knowledge and love of funk, jazz, hip-hop and reggae, Evo’s known to flex with the crowd on any given night, stretching into the depths of broken-beat, boogie, disco, afro-beat, brazilian, latin, and house.

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Waajeed

A true son of the D and proud disciple of the late great Dilla (even using the master’s original MPC) Waajeed’s production has always stoodout to me as a signature sound, my favorite tracks off of Slum Village/Elzhi or Dwele projects always seem to be Jeedo’s and peculiarly the intro to his group efforts (PlatinumPiedPipers and JazzKatz) were always my go to jams. So I’ve prepared a post to the songs that introduced me to his music and said intro tracks to give you a preview of Waajeed’s sound and a proper introduction to the man’s work as to entice you to join us on April the 19th.

Let’s talk is simply an undeniable banger with a soft side, the bass bumps but the harp samples just take it to another level. It’s one of those mixtape joints that you just play over and over. To me this should have gotten a proper release but I love the rough straight out the sampler sound to it.

Elzhi – Let’s Talk (Produced by WAAJEED)

The second ‘Elzhi’ instrumental is more polished and on the excellent BPM instrumental 12’’ but the way Jeedo incorporates the psychfolk sample is simply perfect.

WAAJEED – Elzhi Instrumental

When I heard the original song I was mesmerized and the fact Waajeed was able to craft a beat yet maintain the ‘innocence’ of the sample source is quite a feat. Speaking of being mesmorized I don’t think I’ve played a small intro song as much in my lifetime as the Marvin one. Waajeed and the Jazz Katz was a project that i was so excited about hearing, when tackling vocals of such quality one must be careful to do it proper and Jeedo came through. The intro that is froma detroit concert just fits perfectly with the smooth ambiance Waajeed’s tweeking provides, Marvin would have approved.

WAAJEED and the Jazz Katz – Intro

But enough with soft beats to zone out to. When I made a hiphop mix Cd for a road trip the first song was the Shotgun intro to the PlatinumPied Pipers project. Waajeed’s unconventional drums/claps enhance the stiff horns and make this track a certified banger. Dilla’s vocals always need a dirty heavy sound and you could not get a more solid combo.

WAAJEED featuring Jay Dee – Shotgun

Basically, all these songs where the tracks that got me hyped about the releases Waajeed was involved in and now I hope you will show the man love by copping his music or seeing what the deal is live. If the exclusives we heard on the BenjiB show are any indication, there are many big things to come from the new king of the D.

Oh! and Lexis (the founder of MIMS website) asked me to add “Tron” to the list which has been a staple to his sets for years and years!

WAAJEED – Tron

INSPIRATION INFORMATION / WINGS OF LOVE features the original Inspiration Information album alongside four previously-unreleased bonus tracks on disc one, while the second CD, titled WINGS OF LOVE, is an unreleased follow-up album which includes 14 unreleased live and studio tracks recorded by Shuggie between 1975 and 2000. Also, the people at Sony have done a really good job at putting together a few clips of Shuggie explaining his new release and some of his past experiences.

We talked about an unreleased track called “Trying to Get Close To you” a little while back and about how excited we were at the rumours of this great new material about to be release after 40 years. But now the time has come and we finally bought our copy and had our first listen to the record and it is just outstanding. Just like the great documentary “Searching for Sugar man” it is so great to see an artist who was never truly understood / enjoyed by the masses finally get his second chance.

We can’t stress enough how much you need to buy this record!

Buy on Itunes
Buy on Amazon

TRACKS
Disc 1
1 Inspiration Information
2 Island Letter
3 Sparkle City
4 Aht Uh Mi Hed
5 Happy House
6 Rainy Day
7 XL-30
8 Pling!
9 Not Available
10 Miss Pretty
11 Magic
12 Things We Like To Do
13 Castle Top Jam

Disc 2
1 Intro
2 Special
3 Give Me Something Good
4 Tryin’ To Get Close To You
5 Walkin’ Down The Country
6 Doin’ What’s Right
7 Wings Of Love
8 Give Me A Chance
9 Don’t You Run Away
10 Fireball of Love
11 Fawn
12 If You’d Be Mine
13 Black Belt Sheriff
14 Destination You!

“It’s a lovely, lovely piece of research,” says music psychologist David Huron of Ohio State University, Columbus, who was not involved in the study. The results will help scientists understand why humans attach so much value to abstract sequences of sound waves. “Music is one of those oddball things,” he says. “It’s not at all clear that it has any sort of survival value.”

A favorite song, whether a power rock anthem or a soulful acoustic ballad, evokes a deep emotional response. Neuroscientist Valorie Salimpoor recalls once listening to Johannes Brahms’s “Hungarian Dance No. 5″ while driving. The music moved her so profoundly that she had to pull over. Intrigued by the experience, Salimpoor joined Robert Zatorre at McGill University’s Montreal Neurological Institute in Canada to study how music affects the brain. In 2011, she and Zatorre confirmed that dopamine, a reward neurotransmitter, is the source of such intense experiences—the “chills”—associated with a favorite piece of music. They showed that listeners’ dopamine levels in pleasure centers surged during key passages of favorite music, but also just a moment before—as if the brain was anticipating the crescendo to come.

Salimpoor, now at the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, wondered if the response was due to the music itself or to participants’ emotional attachment to it. She recruited 19 volunteers, 10 men and nine women aged 18 to 37, who shared self-reported musical tastes. “Indie” and “electronic” proved most popular. Salimpoor played 30-second samples of 60 songs they’d never heard before. Within an iTunes-like user interface, the volunteers then bid on how much they’d be willing to pay for each track, up to $2. To make the experiment more realistic, participants used their own money and received a CD of their purchased tracks at the end of the study.

Live Chat: Can We Keep Our Genomes Secret? Thursday 3 p.m. EDT
Salimpoor monitored how the volunteers’ brains reacted to the music using MRI. Multiple brain regions activated when they discovered a new favorite song, but only activity in the nucleus accumbens was well-correlated to how much the participants were willing to pay, she and colleagues report online today in Science.

The nucleus accumbens is believed to be responsible for pleasant surprises, or “positive prediction error,” as neuroscientists call it. Our brains are well-suited to using patterns, such as the structure of music, to predict the future. “We’re constantly making predictions, even if we don’t know the music,” Salimpoor says. “We’re still predicting how it should unfold.”

These predictions are based on past musical experience, so classical fans will have different expectations than punk devotees. But when the music turns out better than the brain expected, the nucleus accumbens fires off with delight. Salimpoor concluded that the nucleus accumbens works in concert with pattern recognition and higher-order thinking centers to assign value to music.

Vinod Menon, a cognitive neuroscientist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, wonders if the presence of lyrics in some tracks introduced confounding variables. “We don’t know if it’s the musical sounds or the linguistic components that drove some of these effects,” he says. Salimpoor responds that previous research showed similar brain effects using only instrumental music. Lyrics, she says, did not appear to skew listener’s purchasing decisions.

Next, Salimpoor will investigate another area of the brain, the superior temporal gyrus. She aims to discover how this region, which stores a record of the sounds we’ve heard, shapes our future musical preferences. Eat your heart out, Pandora.

But since we here at MIMS like to focus on the 5% of good shit let us introduce you to a record from French producer Dandy Teru called “Adventures” on the mighty Ubiquity label. The 10 track LP manages to elevate itself above the typical “beat tape” stigma that is so present these days (we love beat tapes but we can only take so much!)

It’s the vocal collaborations that really help “Adventures” cross over from just being an interesting collection of beats to actual songs. Collaborations from great vocalists like Count Bass D, Moka Only, Tchad Unpoe and other really help complement the laid back production.

It really reminds me of the good records from back in the day with that vibe. Jazzanova, classic Mo Wax Records and all those Mushroom Jazz compilations. It also includes remixes by Tall Black Guy, Belgian production duo Monkey Robot and his partner-in-crime Quiet Dawn.

Highly Recommended!

Buy Record

Hailing from Toulouse, France, Dandy Teru wears many hats; multi-media artist, artistic director, radio host and selector on Laid Back Radio, but foremost as a music producer. He’s been slowly making a name for himself yet still somewhat working in the shadows, with connections and contributions to a slew of young and burgeoning French artists in the Hip-Hop scene such as Tchad Unpoe, Pumpkin, Supafuh, and fellow producers Monkey Robot and Quiet Dawn. His production aesthetic however hasn’t gone unnoticed with his inclusion in TBG’s (Tall Black Guy) Tempo Dreams compilation for Bastard Jazz featuring new producers of note as well as a track on the Do The Dilla 2012 album.

Not only did Eddie C deliver a killer 2 hour set but he stayed with us until the very end of the 24 hour marathon and was as enthusiastic on the floor as a dancer as he was behind the decks.

Words from Eddie: “Le Bleury, Bar a Vinyle was a perfect spot to hold the 24 hours of vinyl!! My second time playing there. It was the last stop for me on my last tour of US and Canada and couldn’t have asked for a better crowd of party people!! Vinyl IS the best way to present recorded music. I am so happy to see an event like this in Canada. Thank you!!!”

** Download Link & Tracklist to come **

Following a request by Jai Paul’s label (XL) we took the link to the mixtape down. But now, out of nowhere comes a slightly more official looking version of new Jai Paul material on his own bandcamp page. The fact that there is no mention of XL Recordings on this web release does raise the question about their involvement in the future with Jai Paul…

In an interview with NPR last year, XL label owner Richard Russell said, “The way [Jai Paul is] going about things is, I think for many, baffling. But it’s how he’s going about things, and as such it can only be right because it’s his way of doing it.”

Dazed Digital journalist Owen Myers has Tweeted that Paul has emailed him, claiming that the album is an “illegal leak”. The message reads: “Jai Paul just emailed me: “I will be releasing a statement later today about the illegal leak. I have not released a new record.””

In any case, this is definitely making our day!

Growing up a neighbour to jazz man Charles McPhearson Blackman integrated his band and went on to play with musical juggernauts Parliament/Funkadelic, EarthWind&Fire and Roy Ayers. Blackman always had his own ideas, however, and it’s his production and songwriting that have really left a lasting legacy. He wrote Twennynine’s hit Peanut Butter, but for me his best song was Morning Sunrise which was beautifully interpreted by Weldon Irvine with Don on vocals. He also helped Irvine with the stunning and uplifting ‘I Love You’. Blackman had a big impact on hiphop as a session musician for Kurtis Blow and more specifically with his protégé Bernard ‘Nard’ Wright whose album was a staple in crafting of the G-Funk sound and a direct influence on Dr. Dre using session musicians for his beatmaking.

L the Headtoucha’s ’Too Complex’’ was my first introduction to Don Blackman’s music and once I heard the original sample ‘Holding You Loving You’ I had to own the record. Indeed, Blackman’s only LP released on Arista is an absolute masterpiece and a blueprint to the modern soul sound. It holds up to any beaded hair era Stevie Wonder record and it is an expression of Don’s sound, personal feelings and absolute creative freedom. Stunning songs, so well crafted and produced it really feels like a musical diary. ‘Since You’ve Been Away So Long’ is the perfect example of Blackman’s unique song structure where the hook is predominant and the vocals are intimate, but ultimately the arrangements are the real star. Anyone with a soul sensitivity or a funky tangent can’t help but love this opus and the S/T LP is an absolute essential album for boogie and modern soul aficionados’ repertoire.

Blackman will be remembered for his free flowing melodies and his masterful craftsmanship behind the boards, keys, microphone and pen. He will be missed but his music will live on forever.

Don Blackman – Holding You Loving You

Don Blackman – Since You’ve Been Away So Long

Weldon Irvine – Morning Sunrise

Weldon Irvine – I Love You

Listening Suggestions
Laidback Radio
www.laid-back.be

Music fan for ages via Best & les Inrocks mags a.o. plus les Nocturnes (with George Lang), Rock à Gogo & “100 Minutes par delà” (Radio 21 back then – respectively with Jacques Depierpont and Tyanne), then Mixmag followed by The Wire Magazine (from which I remain a fan these days, although I still hardly know 10% of what I read in each issue but maybe that’s the point), after a stay in London which broadened my musical tastes towards electronic music.

Jazz came next via some wide advice of a work collegue who introduced me to Jazz & Jazzman mag.

The missing link was Radio Nova, which is to radio what I try to apply to my mixes: remain as open as possible in terms of genres, as opposed to specialized programs and/or radios. Online music (soundcloud, mixcloud, NPR, various blogs) help me as well to try to keep up to what’s new & exciting in music these days.

“Jazz & not so jazz” is about all that.

Mixsoup – Jazz & not so Jazz by Laid Back on Mixcloud

Words & Review from
Create Digital Music
www.createdigitalmusic.com

What if you could do more than just consume music as a passive listener?

It’s a question that has fascinated musicians ever since the dawn of digital technology. Now, a very big label is releasing an app that provides an answer to that question. Ninja Tune – and, crucially, founder Matt Black of Coldcut – are going to mobile platforms with an app that does far more than simple remixing. It can let you radically transform some of Ninja’s artists, even going in a direction that might be considered instrumentalism. CDM contributor Matt Earp has been quiet in these parts in the last months partly because he was contributing to the project. He and the developers give us an exclusive look inside the process of making this app and what it means.

And don’t miss the making-of video; the final app as it ships is built in OpenFrameworks and libpd.

Venerable independent UK electronic music label Ninja Tune have launched Ninja Jamm, their first music remix app, in collaboration with London-based arts and technology firm Seeper. It’s been created (for now) for iOS and it’s filled with tunes and loops from Ninja artists. Seeper have produced the “making of” video above that tells the app’s story, and both organizations answered some of CDMs questions below. It’s live in the app store as you read this and free to download, so grab it while you finish the article!

Ninja Jamm is basically a smart but simple remix sequencer that users can load up with “tunepacks” from Ninja’s catalog – all purchasable through the app. These tunepacks are tracks broken apart into a 4×8 matrix of clips, 8 each for drums, bass, and two more (melody, keys, vox, FX) depending on the tune. Most clips come from the original tunes, but some extras have been added to round out the bill. Users can turn instruments on and off, swap between clips, glitch them out, add effects like reverb and crush in a number of different ways, trigger the “Coldcutter” for beat-repeat action, trigger and pitch-bend stabs and one-off samples, and even change the tempo of the track. “Jammers” can record what they’re doing as they mix and instantly upload the whole thing to SoundCloud when they’re done. It packs a fairly dizzying array of sonic options into a small screen, but you’d expect nothing less from creative director Matt Black, one half of Coldcut – Coldcut did give the world “Beats and Pieces” and are synonymous with the cut and paste aesthetic of large swaths of electronic music spanning their 25+ year career.

Matt Black and Romin Aliabadi‘s video takes us through the various functions of the app

It’s an ambitious project for a record label to make something this complex, and while Black is familiar with writing a line or two of code, he’s far from a iOS developer, and Ninja Tune is far from a software development house. Enter Evan Grant and Seeper – he and his team have done multi-touch interface, projection mapping, and interactive design for some of the biggest names in the world – BBC, MTV, Ted, Xbox – It seemed like a natural fit, but there were challenges. Grant: “We’ve worked with major music labels before and put sound design and music at the core of all our installation and event projects. We develop hardware and software all the time, but this is the first time we’ve released a public mobile app.” Apple’s design specs are rigorous even for the most experienced team. A video of a prototype of the app in the hands of Amon Tobin surfaced last summer, but concerns about stability and a desire to keep making it even better kept it from launching then. Still, hard work and a relentless desire to fix a bug list a mile long prevailed, and the team received approval from Apple a few weeks ago.

Matt Black on the app’s inception and what’s under the hood:

“The concept’s genesis is in software created for [Coldcut's] 90s projects such as Tonetrakker, DJamm and the Let Us Play software. For the 1997 ‘Let Us Play’ album, Coldcut and Hex released a free CD-ROM including our first mixing software ideas like My Little Funkit and Playtime. These let the user swap between loops, fire samples, and randomly cut them up. In 1998 we made a more controllable 4 channel loop glitching engine for our live shows, called DJamm. We got a deal with Steinberg to release it, but we never finished it – though we did release the glitching shuffle algorithm as the Coldcutter VST plugin.

When we met Seeper I was just getting into creating software again, and the App Store/iPhone were changing the whole software business, opening it up to independent operators. Evan already knew the space well and Seeper seemed like great partners to collaborate with to do something. So I knocked up a demo using Ableton and a Launchpad for a mixer app, and at the same time long time Seeper collaborator Christian Curtis had created a MaxMSP patch which cut up loops and also had a brilliant waveform interaction mode. So we mixed those two together as the prototype. However, Max wasn’t the right choice for the final implementation, and eventually we found Ed Kelly, who heroically converted it to a PD patch, itself a work of art.”

“There were other contributors in there as well – Ariel Elkin of Arivibes lent a hand building out the store, which was surprisingly tricky. The lion’s share of the non-audio code was written Chris Bradley and Andy Wallen, the main hackers at Seeper, and they deserve special commendation for their unflagging efforts.”

Black and Grant gave CDM a run down on some of the app’s essential details:

When’s the launch?
Today! April 11th, 2013

How much is the app?
It’s free to download and comes with 1 free tunepack (Beats and Pieces 3). You can purchase single tunepacks for a launch price of £0.69/$0.99, or “EPs” of 4 tunepacks for £1.99.

What tunes and artists will be included at launch?

Australia’s TA-KU, one of our favorite beats producers out there, is a pretty huge fan of the late J Dilla‘s work but where most of us spot at posting Jay Dee videos on Facebook and twitter… the Australian producer backs up his talk and goes on to do crazy projects like his 50 Beats in 50 Days for Dilla. Ta-Ku is one of the most prolific, but more importantly, original producers out there. In a sea of beat tapes you can spot a Ta-Ku joint and that’s definitely a good thing.

- http://soundcloud.com/takugotbeats

“Glamour Shots”

One of my favourites as of late. They way he chops this Janet sample gives me goosebumps. Simplicity at its finest.

J Dilla – Glamour Shots

Lucy Pearl “Without You” (Jay Dee Remix)

I love the original to this song however Dilla kills the remix. Those bouncey drums. The progressive keys and strings. Bliss.

Lucy Pearl – Without You (Jay Dee Remix)

Slum Village “Fantastic” (Instrumental)

This is a staple for me. Those chords always make a brother cry. The strings just linger in the air and never drop. Perfection.

Slum Village – Fantastic (Instrumental)

“One Eleven”

gotta have a jawn of donuts. this is my favourite. Dillas beats always screamed soul or pain. these strings and vocals are beautifully chopped.

J Dilla – One Eleven

“Dreamy”

i cant stress enough as to how Dilla can make something so simple BANG. the heavy snare. the perfect chords. the subtle hi hats. the bass always sitting nicely under the kick.

J Dilla – Dreamy

“Untitled (Sensation)”

this jawn is always played before i leave the house. dilla always had those beats that made want to get your two step on.

“Dancin” (Instrumental)

i listened to dancing machine my jackson 5 soooo many times as a kid. when i first heard Dilla flip this i had NO IDEA how he did it. FREAK.

J Dilla – Dancin

I wanted to wait for our new MIMS Radio Show to come out to unleash this one but it’s such a beautiful song that I had to share it now. It’ll make your day that much better.

Atlanta based Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics released their LP titled “It’s About Time” in September 2012 (Gemco Records) and although my friend Kathleen sent it to me then, I totally slept on it and it took me about 6 months to wake the hell up. Ruby Velle and her group are another act in this huge revival of vintage soul à la Charles Bradley, Lee Fields, Menahan Street Band and so on.

“Agenda” is the first song we’ve ever heard from the group and we didn’t take the time to listen to the rest of the record before calling “The Agenda” a Future Classic… But we’re going to listen to the rest of the record right now! So, if you like that gritty soulful soul that labels like Truth & Soul, Daptone, Ubiquity have been pushing then this is an absolute no brainer. In fact, we strongly suggest you buy the damn record or go see them live!

I was inspired by this antique art when I conceived this mixtape. I had thought to bend many different musical genres, future-oriented: some different musical scenarios that flow together to form an Origami. Like the flow of life, you have to give her a turn in several aspects.

Due to the high content of Bass to not miss some important details/folds, I recommend to listen with a good pair of headphones or hi-fi system.

Special thanks to Simo ‘Origami’ for the nice Artwork.”

1 – Letherette ‘D&T’ (Dorian Concept Remix)
2 – Velour ‘Speedway’
3 – Inkswel ‘Tu Machito’ (Funkineven Mix)
4 – Les Sins ‘Grind’
5 – Saux and Joya Mooi ‘Later in time’ (JarreauVandal Remix)
6 – Janet Jackson ‘Would you mind’ (Rancido’s Passport Hi-Life Mix)
7 – MNEK vs Disclosure ‘White Noise’ (Full Crate & FS Green Remix)
8 – D’Bora ‘Going Round’ (MK Dub ’95)
9 – Moon Boots ‘No One’
10 – Kixnare ‘No more’
11 – Sweatson Klank ‘Oblique’
12 – Gillepsy ‘Contact (3.20AM)’
13 – Mr. Carmack ‘J’ (Penthouse Penthouse Remix)
14 – Toddla T Sound ‘Worst enemy’
15 – Jamiroquai ‘Too young to die’ (Dagger DX Rework)
16 – Atu ft. Sango ‘The Duo’
17 – Morri$ ‘Ladyboy’
18 – Cashmere Cat ‘Aurora’
19 – Uphigh Collective ‘Money’
20 – Kaytranada ‘Killa Cats’
21 – Mike G ‘Little Dripper’
22 – Romare ‘Your love (You give me fever)’
23 – Dj Rashad & Dj Spinn ‘Broken Heart’
24 – Machinedrum ‘Clissold VIP’
25 – Cheri COKE ‘The Interlude’ (Sango Refix)

Berry Weight is a duo of musicians from Canada and Switzerland: Nico (Apewok) and Maël (Stab). Actually, I thought BW was the name of a solo beatmaker but in my defense, most of this kind of instrumental hip-hop (à la Kid Koala) is usally produced by a solo sampling-based artist.

I wasn’t sure if this release was more of a “Forgotten Treasure” or “Future Classic”. Berry Weight‘ s first album, “Music For Imaginary Movie” was released in digital form in 2010 but the vinyl album was re-released in 2012 on Phonosaurus. And these days it’s this been on heavy rotation for me.

At first glance, it seems like a “regular” instrumental hip-hop album with the addition of three vocal tracks with performance by Astrid Engberg and one of those also feature rap duo ASM. There have been so many beat tapes going around these days that this sort of project is sort of overlooked. However, listening to the vinyl pressing of the record permits a closer listen to this album and it makes the level of quality present more evident. Maybe it’s because it’s a group effort but the compositions are much more “complete”. Maybe it’s also the difference between a “beat tape” and a actual album.

Recommended!

BUY Record

Mix, artwork and words written by Royal-T: “Eski, or Eskibeat – as it is also known, was a genre of music founded and lead in the early 2000′s by MC and producer Wiley. Crediting the majority of his songs around this time under the name ‘Wiley Kat’, he established the record label ‘Wiley Kat Records’ from which the first notable Eski tunes were released. This includes the track ‘Eskimo’, which set the cold, winter themed tone that defined the genre. Further releases would include ‘Ice Rink’, ‘Snowman’ and ‘Frostbite’, among others, which eventually lead to Wiley releasing his first studio album with XL Recordings, entitled: ‘Treddin’ on Thin Ice’. The popularity of the Eski sound influenced other producers such as ‘Musical Mobb’, ‘Starfox’ and ‘Dr. Venom’ to experiment with sounds of a similar nature. Emerging from the veins of the Garage scene, the beats grew darker and the vibes got colder. It was this signature sound that would come to solidify the Eski era as one of the most important times in the UK underground Electronic dance music scene, and as the birth place of Grime.

Speaking on the time period himself, Wiley was quoted as saying: “Sometimes I just feel cold hearted. I felt cold at that time, towards my family, towards everyone. That’s why I used those names”.

1. Wiley – Wot Do U Call It?
2. Wiley Kat – Snowman
3. Once Was Nice – What Could I Do (Wiley Kat & Danny Weed Vocal Mix)
4. Outlaw Breaks – Dutty (feat. Gemma Fox & Sweetie Irie) (Wiley Remix)
5. Wiley Kat – Shanghai
6. Wiley Kat – Ice Rink (Tinchy Stryder Vocal)
7. Wiley Kat – Ice Rink (Kano Vocal)
8. Wiley Kat – Ice Rink (Dizzee Rascal Vocal)
9. Wiley Kat – Snowball
10. Ludacris – Roll Out (Wiley Kat Remix)
11. Plasticman – Gotcha (Dr. Venom Refix)
12. Wiley Kat – Eskimo
13. Starfox – Blink
14. Geeneus – Genie
15. Wiley Kat – Frostbite (Devils Mix)
16. Wiley Kat – Bang Bang (Scratchy Vocal)
17. Wiley – 20 Minutes
18. Danny Weed – Creeper
19. Royal-T – Glacier
20. Wiley Kat – Eskimo 3 (New Brand Flex Refix) (Live Recording from ‘Climax vs Loveshy’ (2002))

Subtitled El Gran Baile De Las Identidades (The Great Identity Ball), his mission statement is pretty clear: whether out in the great yonder or at the heart of the dancefloor, the only way to ever find yourself is by taking decisive action. Swapping the French language in favor of his mother tongue does wonders to expand his horizons, as he adapts for an international audience by applying his easygoing raps to a mix of Electronic and World beats, from Cumbia samples to Dembow riddims. His scope is wide enough to include an ode to Montreal’s most infamous Portuguese rotisserie (the cheeky Romados), socio-political commentary on our neighbors south of the border (Súper Gringo) and a paradoxical observation about how being one-of-a-kind makes us all in the same (the Lido Pimienta-assisted Único). I chose to highlight Eres Hecha Para Mí because, as the saying goes, the first cut is always the deepest and it precisely sets the tone for the rest of his album. If true genius is taking a complex issue and making it awesomely simple, then Boogat has successfully found the common denominator that makes us go on treasure hunts, all in search of our golden place under the sun.

The very first reason this record caught my attention is because of Melodiesinfonie‘s involvement in the project. The Swiss producer is rapidly becoming one of our favorite producers here at MIMS. While way too many people are obsessing with the trappy 808 sounds, he’s bringing back the jazzy boom bap. Don’t get me wrong, when it’s not done right the jazzy samples thing can be bad too but in Melodiesinfonie’s case it’s just… butter.

So back to the conceptual portion of this record called “Chills, Trills & Dollarbills“. The album cover says it all from the start: You get 46 (!!!) tracks of Cadillac vibes and tons of great little voice skits taken from 70′s Blaxpoitation movies. Sounds like Pete Rock scored a long lost movie that just resurfaced.

Big up to the Boyoom Connective for this one!

credits

Words & Sounds from
Resident Advisor
www.residentadvisor.net

“It feels like I started all over from scratch,” Kerri Chandler told us in a recent interview. He was of course referring to his relationship with Circo Loco, the Italian party brand based out of DC-10 in Ibiza. After a period of persuasion Chandler agreed to play for the crew at their 2010 opening/closing party and has since become an integral part of the family, making multiple appearances throughout the 2011 season and generally stepping up his worldwide DJ presence. It was evident in our talking with Chandler that the partnership had rejuvenated him in many ways, although that’s not to say he was somehow struggling before. Chandler is known as one of New Jersey/New York’s most celebrated and important house music practitioners, with a recording career stretching back to 1991 and a classics-lined discography to prove it.

Rolling, timeless house music is the order of the day on RA.315.”

Donnie and Joe Emerson were teenagers when they put together Dreamin’ Wild. Two brothers, playing and consuming and recording and breathing music, living away from the city, on a farm. Their story is not unusual in any way, yet somehow, that specific combination of experience proves peculiar to the ears. Donnie and Joe’s music is so eerily reflective of the young adult experience, so bare to the bones with sincerity and careful hesitation, that adulthood seems contrived in comparison. Theirs is the sound of ambivalence towards growing up, a sound that gets drowned out much too often.

It is so easy to shrug off adolescence as a time of general naiveté. “You’ll know once you get older,” as the saying goes. Adolescence, though, is a transient period and a turbulent one in which everybody is forced to be vulnerable in spite of themselves. And so the real burden of life lies here, in the form of terrible head-versus-heart contradictions, within these formative years. It is human to be uncertain. Teenagers brave it everyday.

From this emerges the clearest expressions of the heart and soul, whether out of love or angst or otherwise, that no adult could possibly replicate. Grown-ups like to worship perfection, and tend to overthink everything. Baby is what came before all that.

Donnie & Joe Emerson – Baby (1979)

Buy Link (via Light In the Attic)

Brilliant video from Light In The Attic

Read more about Donnie and Joe here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/garden/touring-the-farm-where-the-emerson-brothers-recorded-their-1979-album.html?pagewanted=all

Well, this one I bought because I knew that Steve Arrington was also the frontman of great 70′s disco/funk group Slave. His work has been sampled by tons of people from Jay-Z, Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Snoop, LL Cool J, Mariah Carey to N.W.A. So when I saw this LP lying around for 1$ between Zamfir and Yanni I picked it up of course.

I then realised that it had the “Beddie Biey” track that I just recently discovered on Sweatson Klank‘s (aka Take) latest mix he did for us part of the Forgotten Treasures series. An absolutely wonderful you should check out : here.

The track is one of those naughty naughty songs you need on your late night mixtape. There are some classic lines like “it’s getting late, and I can’t wait to touch your body silky smooth” / “forget about the door, i’m not gonna open it for nobody no no…” Proof that when you’ve got a nice voice and some sick keyboard melody in the background, you can say anything.

So next time you’re flipping through your local dollar bins and you see that (pretty epic) cover don’t forget to get that. Or you can get it on Discogs for about 2$

Steve Arrington – Beddie-Biey (1983)

Sample used by ATCQ (comes in around :20 seconds)

“Default” is our favorite jam from the new AMOK LP by Atoms for Peace who dropped an absolutely mesmerizing album a couple weeks ago. Yorke just brings that cinematic feel to whatever projects he touches. I think we sometimes take the dude’s genius for granted.

Atoms For Peaceis an experimental rock & electronic supergroup formed in late 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The group consists of Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, and piano), Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich (keyboards, synths), Joey Waronker of Beck & R.E.M. (drums) and Brazilian instrumentalist Mauro Refosco (percussion) of Forro in the Dark. Their debut album, Amok, became available for streaming on February 18, 2013, and was released on February 25, 2013.

Personnel:
Charlie Rouse (ts), Thelonious Monk (p), Larry Gales (b), Ben Riley (d)

When you listen to O.S.B, it’s really the juxtaposition of African elements with the European electronic influence that jumps out at you. I guess it would fall under what certain people call “4th World” : “a style of music employing modern technological treatments and influenced by various cultures and eras”. Personally we love that approach of hyper fusion of styles and cultures. Just perfect for our short-attention span generation, the curve balls keep us mentally stimulated!

Owiny Sigoma Band – led by frontman Joseph Nyamungu – is releasing “Power Punch” which is their second LP released on Gilles Peterson’s mighty Brownswood Recordings. “Nyiduonge Drums” is the B-side to the first single called “Owiny Techno” and definitely the most electronic of the record, it’s an instant classic in the same vein as Dj Mujava’s “Township Funk”. The kind of track that will get some massive plays from soul&funk DJ’s to the big room house kinda people too. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing this track a lot this summer! (Please note that this track isn’t on the LP, just on the 12′ single)

Buy LP / 12″

Listening Suggestions
Laidback Radio
www.laid-back.be

Deano Sounds has been DJing and collecting vintage records for over a decade now. In 2008 he started DJing for Viva Radio and created his Cultures of Soul Radio Show which features eclectic vintage music for the dancefloor from across the globe. Soon after he started his own record label, Cultures of Soul Records and has since been releasing rare but danceable vintage records from all over the world.  Receiving high praise from DJs and collectors alike including DJ Andy Smith, Gilles Peterson, Andy Williams, DJ Prestige, Oliver Wang, Andy Beta, Dimitri from Paris, DJ Soul Sister, Dj Day, James Pants, Cosmo Baker, and Mr. Scruff.

More from Cultures Of Soul on www.culturesofsoul.com
www.twitter.com/culturesofsoul - www.facebook.com/culturesofsoul

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Want to win a promo pack of Cultures of Soul goodies including a T-shirt, vinyl records and CDs? Sign up for their newsletter at http://eepurl.com/f73K1. One winner will be announced on May 1st!

Once again instead of asking one of the artists we’re playing with the same old Q & A you’ve heard a million times, we thought we’d ask if they’d be part of that little something we like to call MIMS Lists. So stepping up to the challenge this time we’ve got none other than Russian born but London raised DJ Vadim! We could go on and on and on about how much we loved Vadim for about 10 years or so but for now we’ll let the little list do the talking…

We let people pick their own themes and for this edition, Vadim proves that he’s a very generous guy, sharing some of his favorite tracks to get the dancefloor started!

“This for the hip hop reggae crowd. They love the big thumping bass!”

Roots Manuva – Witness The Fitness

“I use this when its not so hip hop. More eclectic crowd but still more on the urban edge. It’s something they know but to a rythmn they haven’t heard”

“A straight up ragga monsta. Lively up the dead!”

General Degree – Traffic Blocking

“Well if the disco funky B-boys crowd is there, I go in with this. It’s known but sets the tone and from here u can go in deep”

Roger – So Ruff, So Tuff

“A great remix mash up of erykah badu. It’s tropical, its jazzy but works really across the board.”

Erykah Badu – Cleva (Captain Planet Remix)

“Well i had to put something from me right?! It’s a ska reggae track and if its the right crowd, really goes down well cos its uptempo and a great groove! lol”

DJ Vadim – Hidden Treasure

“Classic stevie but perhaps not one that everyone plays. People love the horns and of course the breakdown. kills it everytime”

Stevie Wonder – Sir Duke

“An Afro beat gem! Its a bubbler and groover. not as uptempo as some but defiently bowls over teh crowd and warms things up nicely!!!”

Mad Man Jaga – Hankuri

“A classic uk grime dubstep hip hop track with the legend – Ms Dynamite. She is so friggin awesome and spits this incredible. destroys dancefloors”

Redlight – What You Talking About

“Well another OG classic. uptempo. great way to break up a house set and get going with alternative uptempo rythmns…”

Roxy Music – Love Is The Drug

A little tribute mix to one of my favorite house music producers ever, the criminally underrated PEPE BRADOCK!

Here’s one of the true house heads! A little mix I put together of all the tracks I have from one of my favorite producers, criminally underrated PEPE BRADOCK. Not the kind of guy to put out tons of material, he’s always made every new 12″ an event in any record store i’ve been to. I didn’t put every single thing on this mix, just grabbed a pile of vinyl and pressed record! Enjoy!

Lexis – Tribute to PEPE BRADOCK

Tracklist
01. Pepe Bradock – Life
02. Panash – Cheval
03. International Pony – Bubble in the bottle (Pepe Bradock Happy Zumby Remix)
04. Pepe Bradock – Deep Burnt
05. Pepe Bradock & Michelle Weeks – Movin’ On
06. Pepe Bradock - Vermeille
07. Pepe Bradock - The Charter
08. Cheek - Venus (Pepe Bradock Saucy Precog Remix)
09. Iz & Diz – Mouth (Pepe Bradock Remix)
10. Pepe Bradock – CU @ Minna & Lafayette
11. Pepe Bradock - 4
12. Candi Station – Do Your Duty (Pepe Bradock Erectus Remix)
13. Zero 7 – Today (Pepe Bradock’s WTF HPND Remix)
14. Pepe Bradock - Path of Most Resistance
15. Pepe Bradock – Love is instrumental
16. Alex Gopher - You, My Baby & I (Pepe Bradock’s Finger Drummin Remix)
17. Cesara Evora – Angola (Pepe Bradock Bateau Ivre Remix)

Download Link

As Boundary, Poirier comes back to its minimalist ambient and techno sound of the early 2000s – with undefined shapes and textures reminiscent of Il n’y a pas de sud (2001) — albeit tinted with the patterns and structures of his latter work.

The end result is a heavily contrasted render of black and white imagery, of northern emptiness and southern diversity, of slow synths and frenetic beats, of horn and bass, where the coldness of the reverbs mashes with the dancehall-esque rhythms. Silences meticulously dropped in the tracks shake up the structure of the hosting tracks, as vibrant and cohesive as the instrumental pieces themselves.

The almost imperceptible orchestration of the album reveals itself not only through the variety of landscapes they cover, but also by the way the tracks are laid out — morphing in and out of each other like an ever-evolving ephemeral environment. That orchestration being a reminder of the human behind this ethereal yet industrial sound; the invisible guide through this journey where polar opposites are brought together.

Dark live debut coming during Mutek at the end of May.

Buy on Juno Download
Buy on iTunes

facebook.com/Boundary.ca
@BoundarySound
www.noboundary.ca
soundcloud.com/boundarysound

The mix showcases Biggie’s a capellas paired with Premier-produced beats. While the original tribute was shorter for air-time, Finesse extends the tribute for hip-hop fans here with a special intro by Premier himself.”

DJ Finesse — B.I.G. Over Premier Mixtape Tracklist:

1. DJ Premier Intro
2. Flava In Ya Ear rmx over I Gave You Power
3. Big Poppa over Ex To Next Girl
4. Dead Wrong over 2 Thousand
5. 10 Crack Commandments over One Day
6. Who Shot Ya over Come Clean
7. All About The Benjamins over Supa Dupa Star (1994 Demo Version)
8. One More Chance over Recognize
9. Long Kiss Goodnight over You Know My Steez
10. Things Done Changed over The Format
11. I Got A Story To Tell over Shit Is Real
12. Real Niggas over Ready
13. Juicy over Nas Is Like
14. One More Chance rmx over Freaky Flow
15. Warning (Freestyle) over Mind Ya Business
16. ’95 Freestyle (7 Mac 11′s) over Who Got Gunz
17. Victory over Project Boy
18. Kick In The Door over Come Get Me
19. Going Back To Cali over The Invincible
20. Mo Money Mo Problems over Golden Child
21. Party And Bullshit over Now Your Mine
22. Unbelievable

Jazz Amnesty Sound System was formed by DJ Andy Williams and DJ Lewis Braden aka Sweet Daddy Luv and has been a truly amazing project which we at MIMS have supported right from the start. Jazz is such an immense universe that sometimes you need two teachers to come along and share the wealth of knowledge on the subject.

I can’t stress how much you need their JASS Shows in your life. They are available (for free!) on mixcloud. (Link)

The doc is the second in a series called PEEPS by Pablo Aravena.

We asked our good friend Jacques Greene to give us a little look into some of his personal influences. We like asking artists about their influences because you sometimes find out more than a standard Q&A. On top of being one of the very best in the new wave of young producers Jacques Greene is a really good DJ, always curious to dig out some long lost treasures. He doesn’t just play the new shit or his own productions, he really works the angles.

JG is getting tons of love worldwide and has now become known as one of the best when it comes to delivering a really solid live performance, as in Live… not synced. He also took on the daunting task of starting his own label called VASE Records which has already become a favorite of ours after only a few releases.

So here are a few of his favorites

Aphex Twin – Vordhosbn

“He was one of the first electronic artists I was ever introduced to, and remains one of my favorites. Vordhosbn (and the entirety of Drukqs) has always stuck with me as incredible dichotomy of the pretty and the ugly, the soft and hard. Vordhosbn features pretty melodies and movements, but some of the most ridiculously aggressive and overwhelming drum programming. Genius.”

Kanye West – Say You Will

“Speaking of genius. I was never really into Kanye’s first few solo records (though always a fan of his earlier production for Jay and stuff). However when 808s & Heartbreak came out that kind of changed the game. There hadn’t been a major label album that so obviously sprung out of some crazy megalomaniac’s head with little A&R filter in a while (Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk? haha). Beyond the drug, ego and paranoia induced lyrics and themes, the production throughout this record is unparalleled..”

Rose Royce – Love don’t live here anymore

“An oldie. The arrangements are great, it’s a balanced mix of live instruments and Moogs. I was in Spain a few years ago and this guy I know there who is pretty deep with records was just playing me 45s all day. This comes on, the whole room goes silent. It’s very intense in a way, that vocal is truly heart-wrenching.”

Crustation – Flame (Mood II Swing Vocal Mix)

“The original is the most boring Portishead trip-hop rip off band single ever made. The Mood II Swing remix is one of the most brilliantly crafted house compositions I’ve ever heard. The way the vocal is chopped & looped without feeling too… “choppy” was a big influence on what I do, obviously. I wish I could capture the kind of bittersweet vibe that’s going on here somehow. Part of it is trying to be an uplifting late 90s house record but the vocals are so vulnerable.”

Boards of Canada – Music is Math

“Yeah, anyone into synths and melody is usually a big sucker for these guys. I know I am. This whole album is such a bizarre mix of conflicting emotions. It can be the most overwhelming listen at times. And if the Mood II Swing Vocal Mix was a big influence on the vocal treatment in my music, Boards of Canada’s synthesizers definitely shaped the way I approach electronic music. The dissonance, the analog drift, it makes everything so vivid and unstable.”

Alicia Keys – Un Thinkable (I’m Ready)

“A fairly recent track, from 2009. Drake wrote this song, and to my knowledge this is the one that got him into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. His friend and Engineer / Producer Noah ’40′ Shebib produced it. I simply love the feel of this song. Little details in the arrangements (the Rhodes lick that only appears once for 2 seconds halfway through the song!) and the production make this one a true gem of modern r&b.”

Radiohead – Idioteque

“I know, I know, list full of obvious picks. I’m not even sure what really needs to be said about this one. arguably the song I have listened to the most in my life. The modular synth-based drum patch was made to sound like when you’re standing in the club and the system is on so loud it you can feel the damage happening to your ears. The lyrics were randomly drawn out of a hat so the whole track has the feeling of a dooms-day sidewalk crazy man. Except this time you start believing all the crazy stuff he’s going on about. Paranoid, dark, slightly overwhelming. I’m starting to see a pattern.”

- Jacques Greene Soundcloud

A self-described “music enthusiast who loves to share new discoveries with like-minded people”, Koray aspires to curate beautiful and meaningful releases with talented artists from around the world that highlight the sounds around him.

Speaking to him, one quickly learns that his conversational tangents parallel his musical tastes: they’re all over the place. However, it becomes unmistakably clear that he has an unadulterated love of music and the art of sound. This love has manifested itself in the establishment of Istolethesoul Records, a place where both unsigned and signed artists of various genres can come together. Istolethesoul is a passion project that has evolved over the years and come full circle. From his early days as a casual DJ playing small rooms using CDJs, to becoming the proud collector of a robust selection of vinyl, he returns to his love of making mixes—hand-picking an assortment of music for distribution to a wider audience through Istolethesoul with an emphasis on promoting underground artists.

Around Sounds brings together artists who represent underground Soul, R&B, Funk, and Hip-Hop. Around Sounds is a pretty sweet record that features: HARRISON, allie, Apollo Campbell & Sabryn Rock, Bakura feat. Amalia, Bird, BUeLLER, Cutty Lark, Catalist feat. Zaki Ibrahim, KeishaLeisha & New Brazilian Orchestra, Maloo, the Precious Lo’s, Splxsh and Sunclef.

credits

When Sevdee, my long time homie and prominent Montreal hip-hop figure, told me he wanted to do one of my MIMS Lists themes based on his favorite posse tracks of all-time I was really up for it! Then 4 months passed and voilà. Finally here are his top 7 picks. By the way, Sevdee is also the co-founder of ArtBeat Montreal, an event which brings together the best beat builders MTL has to offer.

Feel free to let us know if you think we missed anything.

“Although not my favorite, The Anthem 99 had a HUGE impact here. We have to choice but to mention the 94 version, which most didnt even acknowledge before the arrival of Youtube.”

“This album will make it to my Top 7 best conceptual Hiphop albums ever. I started Building Beats more seriously in 1999, and this was a massive blueprint for album conceptualisation. This song make NO sense if you’ve never heard the whole record.”

“This was a tough one, between Buddy, Scenario (ATCQ) and Saturdays (De La Soul). I think this was Native Tongues at their finest.”

“Hands down my favorite Busta album. A true “POSSE” cut, by definition.”

“It simply didnt get any better. D&D (now HeadQCourterz Studio) played an important part in NY Hiphop in the 90s. The album is definitely not up-to-par with the single; but thats a tough act to follow, right there.”

“I’d like to hear the mix engineer’s story behind this one. Im pretty confident it ends with : ”…so after 6 months of mixing, we just said #%?# it and released it as is.”

“You posse cut can’t go wrong if it starts off with Treach (Naughty By Nature). This song got me open like the toy store on Boxing Day. And if you dont know what “got me open” means, then you won’t get this next one either. I’M SWAYZE”

Just when you thought you knew everything about the golden era of rap music people like Dope Folks Records come along with tons of stuff you’ve never heard of. The label specializes in uber rare of even unreleased gems from the glory years of boom bam.

So here is their second mixtape / sampler published on the mighty WaxPoetics. A Collection of songs from their 16 releases. DF0001- DF0016 2010-2012

Get these tracks on Limited edition vinyl here… dopefolksrecords.bigcartel.com

Tracklist:
Paint It Black: We Got Pull (“KILLED BY DEF VOL. 1″)
Rock La Flow: Freestyle Fanatic (“The Ultimate”)
Danger Zone Mobb Sqwad: Flip’n Keeloz (“Danger Zone Mobb Sqwad” EP)
Courageous Chief: Warpath (“Warpath EP” *** SOLD OUT)
MC Capone: Smooth Style (“Payroll Records Rare Tracks 88-91″)
Mixmasta D: Strate Phrum Da Krate (“Turntable Scientist EP +3″ *** SOLD OUT)
Stranj Child: Split Personality (“Stranj Child EP”)
Ruthless Rod & MC Dollar: In the Groove (“Loud as a Banshee”)
Prophets of The Ghetto: West Phil (“Wreckless Writers ’96-’99″ ***SOLD OUT)
Rock La Flow: Wreckamic (“Flowgram Pt. 1″)
Legion of DUME: Knights of the Roundtable (“’94 DUME EP” **** SOLD OUT)
ILL Distracxion: I Heard Ya Don’t Know (“Psychotic Nasty EP” **** SOLD OUT)
Hitman (Earplay Entertainment)- Die 4 my Iggaz (Earplay Entertainment ’96 Brooklyn EP)
The Wizard of Rap: Escape From East New York (Remix) (“Escape From East New YorK”)
The Bizzie Boyz: Turntable Terrorizer (“Rare & Unreleased ’87-’89″)
Supreme Nyborn: Versatility (Versatile Extension) (“Payroll Records Rare Track ’88-’91″)
Rock La Flow: It Ain’t All Good/Outro… (“Flowgram Pt. 2″)

Contact us at dopefolks@gmail.com
Follow us on Facebook here…
www.facebook.com/pages/DOPE-FOLKS…/124919887531455
Follow us on Twitter here… twitter.com/#!/DOPEFOLKS

via HW&W: Got to hear a lot of new music from Kaytranada while he was in LA this past week.. Here’s an unreleased banger from the man himself. #HWW #SQUAD

The other side to the double A-side single is “Monday’s Worst” also on the soulful tip. It’s definitely making us anxious for his upcoming LP which should be coming this summer.

Really uplifting stuff! Great to start your day to.

BUY
Blackmilk.biz: blackmilk.biz/shop
iTunes: bit.ly/ZbErIy
Amazon: amzn.to/ZpxXsV
Google Play: bit.ly/ZS3EeK

After digging around in the current “indie” releases I found this gem by the Unknown Mortal Orchestra. To be honest they had me with the first few guitar licks and the funky drums. Sounded like something like the Dap Kings or Menahan Street Band except instead of the crazy horn section you get a very blue eyed soul meets lo-fi rock type of thing. It’s a grower!

(Really random video though…)

Unknown Mortal Orchestra ‘II’ out Feb 5, 2013 on Jagjaguwar
iTunes - http://glnk.it/1ur
Amazon - http://glnk.it/1sk

Guest mix by:
Jazz Amnesty Sound System (Montreal)
Andy Williams & Dj Luv

This mix of dancefloor jazz bumpers from the Jazz Amnesty Sound System is what you can use to help better prepare yourself for an upcoming get down and groovin’ set from the aforementioned sound system. Use these tracks to help perfect your dance moves or while you’re primpin’ before the next J.A.S.S. set you are planning to attend. Only good times contained within so approach with wild abandon; just don’t forget your dancing shoes.

** Follow J.A.S.S. and receive regular updates and random jazz related tidbits via facebook. Please check out and “like” our new page at https://www.facebook.com/JazzAmnestySystem

Words & Sounds by:
LEFTO (Belgium)
Show #538

Lefto: “Yes I was cooking this mix with Jeremiah Jae, Free The Robots and MonoPoly tonight… It all starts with Cannonball Adderley’s “pisces: allison’s trip” which contains a sample you might recognize. Into a d’Angelo Voodoo outtake and the beautiful new King tune. New Coultrain as well this week and from Detroit another killer tune from Black Milk. Going to Poland with Teielte, and have a new Raashan Ahmad track from his new album.

The voice of Toronto’s Maylee Todd, classic cuts from Cal Tjader and Oneness of Juju. Sick tune by The Sign of Four, new and from Japan coming from my JazzySport fam is grooveman Spot’s new album, another great new album is Bonobo’s record. New DJ Rum, James Blake, Waajeed’s project Electric Street Orchestra, the strange sounds from Yosi Horikawa, new Joyce from Brazil and much more in between. It’s monday, enjoy the start of the week.”

Kleeer was a Disco Boogie/post-Disco band based out of New York, and from 1979 to 1985 they produced and released 7 albums. There are at least 2 to 3 great tracks on each album, so I do recommend becoming acquainted with them if you’re into Disco. Their band had originally formed in 1972 but they changed their name frequently until 1978, finally becoming Kleeer. On a few of their albums, you’ll hear the soulful Luther Vandross and on their last 2 albums you’ll hear the production and deadly synth skill set of Eumir Deodato, another sick Disco producer and arranger from the 70’s.

If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Tonight; hands down easy pick. I could yammer on and on about how much I love this song, but I’ll spare you my Disco cheese. Tonight is a gem and fuses together my love for Boogie, R&B, 80’s synthesizers and instrumental hip hop and will get your body moving at 105 bpm. It’s got one cheesy sexy straight up verse that plays on a loop to a simple beat, and I sincerely couldn’t ask for more in a slow jam, it’s perfect.
(And so is the album art!)

Kleeer – Tonight (1984)

Kleeer “Intimate Connection” Atlantic Records (1984)

Norman Durham – Bass, Synthesizer, Electric Piano, Vocoder, Vocals
Woody Cunningham – Lead and Backing Vocals
Paul Crutchfield – Lead and Backing Vocals
Richard Lee – Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocal
Kris Kellow – Electric Piano, Acoustic Piano, Synthesizer
Eumir Deodato – Electric Piano, Synthesizer, Vocoder
Clifford Adams – Trombone
Michael Ray – Trumpet
Steven Greenfield – Tenor and Alto Saxophone
Debbie Cole, Diane Garisto – Backing Vocals

Suggested Kleeer Tracks:

You Got Me Rockin’
Take Your Heart Away
Taste The Music
Keep Your Body Workin’
Stonesee
Get Touch
Intimate Connection

Well although I started off not fully understanding their approach (keeping computers puting!), I must admit I warmed up to the sound and I found myself sporadically spurting Santana’s ”EY!” in random situations. I dare you to listen to this excellent tribute mix (link) and not snap your neck to the onslaught diplomats bangers. But two songs are not featured on this immaculate mix and coincidentaly they are the two songs that turned me into a believer.

To me, More than Music, is the real dipset anthem, a raw beat from Heatmakerz with sped up soul vocals done right, like they say ”this is a movement, this is more than what you people call music”. The self-aggrandinzing and bravado is fully justified with this ”powerful music that we bring to the people” that resounds in the whip or blows out speakers.

Dipset – More Than Music

”Don’t Fool with the Dips” has a Montreal connection as NDG’s prodigal son A-Trak completely muders the beat and features expansion team dipset members. Not to blow up the sample, but he uses a serious reggae break and scratches his way to glory. You can feel that the MC’s stepped up their bars and really got it in, so the track keeps you hyped up from the killer intro to the dazzling scratch outro. I was so excited to find a copy of the 12-inch locally that I just had to play it out in my 24 Hours Of Vinyl (dip)set.

The Dip recently reunited for a final show but although Santana and Jones did well on their own with their respective hits, these two songs really represent the crew at its finest. I award them diplomatic immunity (pun pause!) for their achievements and will just keep on blasting their music regardless of the looks I get as I scream ”Dipset!” at the top of my lungs!

A-Track – Don’t Fool With The Dips

“Ladies and Gents,

Welcome on this new French Toast delivery! Cold weather, snow, but beautiful releases were on our menu since last show.

Let’s celebrate spring with a dose of beautiful music. Quiet Dawn is opening the show with, as per usual, a very dope selection of tunes, from Afronaut remixed by Simbad to Kan Sano, through an excellent tune from last DJ Day’s album, some Jazzual Suspects as well, and many more. QD spreading is marvelous taste like always!

I’m ending the show, with this beautiful collab between Jose James and Hindi Zahra, and I’m also playing “Free Love” from Esta, a live at RRR from Australian sensation Hiatus Kaiyote, a new tune extracted from Jimmy Whoo’s new album featuring Bonnie Banane. You’ll also find 2 tracks from Scrimshire “Say Something”, and “Convergent”, his last single out on Wahwah45s.

Cheers,”

Last years’ ‘Meditations on Afrocentrism’ EP was definitely one of our favorites of 2012. It was such a breath of fresh air to have a new producer bring a very organic approach to new school isms like Juke and UK House, some tracks on that EP sounded like if Fela with DJ Rashad and Theo Parrish. Very few people can transcend those micro-genres and inject their own magic which will make the song survive beyond the limited time when that micro-genre is hot.

Well, we are very happy to confirm that the new EP is all that and a bag of chips. Hints of Blues mixed with hip-hop drum breaks, footwork, 808 sounds and all that at a very different tempo. “Complex but never complicated.”

BUY LINK

Bonus set from Romare’s Boiler Room set.

Words & Sounds by:
Soulection (California, US)
Show #125 w/ Ta-ku, Kaytranada, & Bahwee

via Soulection: What a week-end it’s been! It all started when Ta-ku and I hung out in Highland Park (LA) and chilled with Eric Coleman (Mochilla). We had a chance to visit Stones Throw! Very inspiring. Shouts to Coleman for that one. Ta-ku is definitely one of the realest individuals out there beyond his music. Friday was also a timeless experience over at HW&W’s fambam party that featured Ta-ku, Kaytranada, Bahwee, Sweater Beats, and many more. The vibe was crazy!

Ta-ku had an early flight to SF when Soulection Radio took place so he did a special pre-recorded set for us. We also had him call in for an interview but we had some tech difficulties and couldn’t include it in this recording. Kaytranada blew us all away with his crazy-intricate selections! Sweaterbeats couldn’t make it after a long night at the event so Bahwee filled in for him. Bahwee played some exclusive vibes as well! Stay tuned for what’s to come from HW&W

His “Aint No Sunshine” mix for our partners at Laidback Radio might have the wrong name because there IS tons of sunshine in there. Tons of different angles (and eras) are covered in the mix.

Mucho recommended!

Being a DJ on the radio is very different than playing in a live venue but in many ways it’s just as rewarding if not more. The availability of radio shows from all around the world via the internet is certainly one of the best things that have happened in the last 20 years (hey, there are some positives to this internet thing too!). The possibility to wake up on a sunday morning and tune in to a show from halfway around the world is amazing.

So, I wanted to acknowledge a few of my favorite radio shows. Of course, i’m forgetting some really important shows but please note this is simply a personal list.

Gilles Peterson Worldwide

Let’s start from the very top. GP’s “Worldwide” show has been such a huge influence on me. I still have printed sheets with show tracklists dating back to 2000. I discovered so much wonderful music and Gilles eclectic approach to the future and past treasures is an influence for probably most of the shows included on this list. Gilles is certainly the world’s most important tastemaker both as a radio host and label boss (Browswood). I could list a ton of other crucial UK shows on this list including Benji B, whose show I do love, but of course but for me BBC Radio will always be about GP. His passion, open minded-ness and generosity inspires me as DJ and a radio show host.

BBC Radio 6 – Saturdays 15:00 – 18:00 (GMT)
Link

Alexander Nut

We love Alexander Nut’s show on Rinse FM in London (and RinseFM in general) because it always brings that very unique British approach to urban music.  Always tons of abstract, soulful, rugged, broken and all around cutting edge dancefloor stuff. His show often sounds like it’s improvised which is one of the main qualities of it (as in top notch improvisation). Alex is one of the finest selectors out there, always tons of tracks to be discovered in every show.

Rinse FM – Saturdays 12:00 – 14:00 (GMT)
Link

Soulection

Soulection is one of the fastest rising new outlets for great music in the world: both as a record label and a radio show. Joe Kay handles the selections (for an outstanding 3 hours) every week and always has some good guests popping by. Definitely the best show in the world right now if you’re into the abstract / future beats movement. Also, a close runner up as far as “beats” focused show go: check out Beat The Future on Radio 808 in Croatia!

KKJZ – Fridays 13:00 -16:00 (PST)
Link

Beats in Space

“BIS” has been a stable force for weekly doses of boogie, disco, house and all around cosmic vibes since 1999. Mixed by Tim Sweeney in New York City on WNYU 8every Tuesday night it always features some really cool guests. Proper New York biz!

WNYU – Tuesdays 22:30 – 1:00 (EST)
Link

Anthony Valadez

Another great eclectic (on the soulful tip) show from California. Anthony Valadez’s 3 hour show on KCRW Radio is always packed with great vibes from various angles. I know that this show has been going on strong for years but for some reason it kept slipping my mind. But for a couple of months now, it’s been in regular rotation… the Cali sunshine always comes through the speakers.

KCRW – Mondays 1200 – 3:00 AM (PST)
Link

The Goods / We Funk / Electrons Libres

A trio of radio shows I love from my hometown of Montreal and since I can’t pick a favorite i’m just going to highly suggest all three since they are very different.

We Funk has been a global force since the show began in 1996 (!) on CKUT Radio. The show is hosted by Professor Groove and Static is pretty much the worldwide king of all things soul & funk. The Goods Radio Show is the radio side of the monthly night that has been happening in Montreal for over 10 years. Scott C and Andy Williams handle the board every sunday for 2 hours and play tons of different stuff ranging from jazz and future sounds too. Finally, Electrons Libres is my favorite “newer” show in Montreal. It hosted at the beautiful CIBL studios and put together by three lovely ladies The show features really good interviews, good features on the Montreal scene and nice music selections focusing on the electronic and abstract vibes.

Electrons Libres – CIBL on Thursdays 20:00 – 21:30 (EST) – Link
WeFunk – CKUT on Fridays 24:00 – 2:00AM (EST) – Link
The Goods – CKUT on Sundays 14:00 – 16:00 (EST) – Link

The Loud Minority

My good friends from Vienna called The Loud Minority crew have a great show every monday pushing the future soul vibe. The show is hosted by Derrick Foreal, Luis Figueroa and Mr.Guan on Superfly Radio which is probably my favorite radio station in the world to just let play regardless of the show that’s playing.

Superfly FM – Mondays 22:00-24:00 (GMT)
Link

Lefto

Our brother Lefto is definitely one of the best out there when it comes to eclectic radio vibes. If you like GP’s show then Lefto’s sunday show on Studio Brussels is a no brainer. Always tons of upfront and unreleased material and always varied enough to make his two hour show just fly by and leave you wanting more.

Studio Brussels – Sundays 19:00 – 21:00 (GMT)
Link

Laidback Radio

If you know about MIMS, then you know that our partner in crime for putting our monthly show out is none other than Laidback Radio in Brussels, Belgium. LDBK has been a global force for good since 2002 and has been focusing on the online side of radio things for a while now. And visibly it’s doing very well: it features tons of amazing shows and was voted the 2nd best ‘Cloudcasters’ on Mixcloud in 2012. My personal favorite shows on LDBK include “French Toast” by Dandy Teru & Quiet Dawn, “Little Miss Sunshine” by Orsii and a ton of others.

Link

Music Is My Sanctuary

Yes, we’re squeezing our MIMS Show in here because we do think you need it in your life! It’s our list, so we’ll do what we damn want to (hehehe). Unlike most of these shows we don’t have the time to do a weekly (although who knows one day…) so we have to focus on doing the best monthly show we can. We squeeze all of our favorite discoveries of the last month into one show usually around 1h30 long. It has been going on for 5+ years now and has been presented by Laidback Radio for over a year now. Like all the other shows on this list it is available on the internet so we get tons of great feedback from people all over our little planet. We really appreciate the kind words, it keeps us going!

Link

There are tons of other radio shows we love and that inspire us but these are a few of them. Much love to listeners, keep on reaching out and giving love to all your radio DJ’s, they appreciate it!

Those that are familiar with his previous releases can attest that Koze is one of the most creative, forward-thinking and sought-after players in the game. Add this to the fact that it has been 8 years since his last album and it is safe to say that expectations are high. Faithful fans and newcomers alike will certainly be very satisfied here as the majority of these recordings are as unique, fresh and challenging (yet oddly-accesible) as ever! Even some of the darker pieces (Das Wort, Magical Boy) have a sort of floaty/playful/utopian vibe to them. To make things even more appealing look out for guest appearances by Caribou, Apparat, Matthew Dear (2x), Milosh and a crazy re-imagination of Kings Of Convenience‘s Homesick.

If nothing else, Amygdala serves as a beautifully-crafted antithesis to the unfortunately-uninspired cookie-cutter club music that’s been infesting the scenes these days. I can’t think of any other recently-released song that could successfully wake-up and rejuvenate a crowd better than Ich Schreib’ Der Ein Buch 2013 (feat. Hildegard Knef), fusing garage rhythms with Kabarett and semi-aggressively toned vocal snippets. I really don’t understand which planet this is from, but it will nevertheless remain a personal highlight of the year.

Dj Koze – Ich Schreib’ Der Ein Buch 2013 (feat. Hildegard Knef)

Oh, and if you love this track we suggest you check out this AMAZING forgotten treasure we did of a 1970 song of hers.

Forgotten Treasure: Hildergard Knef “Knef” (Decca Records 1970)

Another track on that same type of tempo (105 bpm) and vibe is Positive K‘s “I Got A Man“. As stated by Complex pretty good article on the subject (link), it is on the biggest one hit wonders in the history of rap. This single actually peaked at #14 on the Billboard charts! A very little known fact about this track is that Positive K actually did all female vocals for the back and forth by pitching up his voice in post-production.

The track features a bunch of samples but mainly the backing track is a 1980 disco single “Rescue Me” by A Taste of Honey. Also, the video as expected is pretty damn priceless. s.

I’m in Toronto for a gig tonight and I brought the 12″ so let’s see if it gets people moving!

The album consists of 12 tracks of deep spiritual jazz, almost entirely improvised and created as a therapeutic break from their other constraining aliases, and not originally intended for public release. From a chance meeting with the late Mati Klarwein’s son at an exhibition in Dublin, Ireland the artwork features an officially licensed “Conceptual Tree” painting from the artist that was also responsible for classic album covers for Miles Davis (Bitches Brew), Last Poetics (This is Madness), Earth, Wind & Fire (Last Days In Time), Eric Dolphy (Iron Man), and many others.

Today, enjoy a Mini-Mix for the Yatha Bhuta Jazz Combo album, including a video trailer which takes you into their studio and offers fans a glimpse into their recording process.

Mucho Thanks to our partners in the event:
Red Bull Canada, Le Bleury, 10Kilos.us
Video by Topographies Électroniques

These were my feels exactly this morning when I opened a package to find this Mr. Tophat & Art Alfie 12′ in beautiful white and grey marble. Feel-good vibes and winsome disco grooves – the B-side “No Holdings (Radio Edit)” is definitely the steal for me. It’s an absolute ace classic house jam, keep this one for your summer parties.

Based in Sweden, KVK200 is their second release off of their own Karlovak imprint – keep your eyes out for more future classics.

It’s already the 8th edition of our Forgotten Treasures mixes series and we couldn’t be happier so far. Each mix has been magical! Well, this one fits in very nicely with the others as a mix that is very personal and full of nuggets you probably never heard, or at least not for a while!

Thomas Wilson who has been going under the Sweatson Klank moniker for a little while is one of the veterans of the West Coast experimental beats scene. He’s been doing his thing (sometimes under the name Take) since 2004 on influencial labels like Alpha Pup, Dublab and now the great German label Project: Mooncircle (one of our favorites here at MIMS).

So we asked him to step up to the “Forgotten Treasures” mixes challenge: make us a mix that is really personal and lets us know about your musical influences. It’s awesome, and it’s all vinyl!

His new album called “You, Me, Temporary” is out on April 2nd. on Project: Mooncircle

01. Intro
02. Prince – Bob George
03. Reg Mundy – Finger Pop
04. Change – Hold Tight
05. Bobby Caldwell – Cat Walk
06. Steve Arrington – Beddie Biey
07. Leo Sayer – Easy To love
08. Rene & Angela- Wanna Be Close To You
09. Cat Stevens – Was Dog A Doughnut
10. Scott White – Hypnotized
11. Juicy – Sugar Free
12. T.P. – You’re My Choice Tonight
13. Funk Factory – Rien Ne Va Plus
14. George Duke – Feel
15. Les McCann – Sometimes I Cry
16. The Awakening – When Will It Ever End
17. Pete Jolly – Leaves
18. Bobby Hutcherson – Manzanita
19. James Matthew Quartet – Blue Shadows Will Fall

Sweatson Klank – Soundcloud
Sweatson Klank / Take – Official Site

Ever since we discovered them on a pair of EP’s on Ho_Tep Records (affiliated with Eglo) we’ve been madly in love with Letherette‘s work. The duo’s productions sounds like bits and pieces of a ton of different influences (Onra, Luke Vibert, Todd Edwards, Thomas Banghalter, Modeselektor) but the sum of all the parts is something totally unique.

“D&T” is the first single from their self-titled debut LP coming out mid April on the mighty Ninja Tune imprint. After 20 + years in the game it’s great to see that the Ninjas still have the ear to detect and support fresh new talent. The 12 track record is filled with gems including my favorite called “Restless” which is really representative of Letherette’s signature cut and paste sound. The track is full of left and right turns but it keeps chugging along in the right direction. I’ll be playing the hell out of this one.

The lead single also comes with a massive Dorian Concept remix (stream below the video)!

Buy Album

Perhaps it’s the crackles and hiss, the sway and the swagger, or the lunge and the lean, that make this track stand out. Perhaps it’s the loving use of film noir dialogue that brings the imagination into a familiar but distant environment. Perhaps it’s the moody atmosphere and its abrupt discontinuation at the end. Perhaps it’s hip hop with a hint of jazz. Perhaps it’s not just that.

I first encountered L’Orange through the track Alone which features Blu. After giving the rest of his album a listen and doing a bit of research on what he’s done beforehand, I discovered that L’Orange’s approach to music is, in fact, quite heavily rooted in poetry. It’s odd to think of The Mad Writer as a poet – poets are often contemplative and succinct with their words, never in a frenzy – but the album gets its character, and convincingly so, from this apparent contradiction. After all, L’Orange regularly quotes Pablo Neruda, and speaks of Tupac’s poetry with equal admiration; he gives his many obscure vocal samples (“digging in the DVD crates”) as much exposure as his beats. At the core of it all though is this love of rhythm, texture and flow, a love that has long served both hip hop and literature (and cinema, for that matter). Somehow this essential connection has never been made obvious until now, and L’Orange does so with great respect for the craft of those who inspire his music.

Purchase Issue 54.

via WaxPoetics.com: “Issue 54 split covers celebrate two scenes—blue-eyed soul and Brooklyn MCs—brought together as only Wax Poetics can.

Cover one sports legendary Brooklyn MC and Juice Crew alum Big Daddy Kane, backed with new Brooklyn mic killer Joey Badass. And we venture farther back in time to speak with the elusive old school BK rapper Jimmy Spicer.

Cover two features the poster boy for the blue-eyed-soul movement, Daryl Hall. Wax Poetics digs deep into the scene with features on Bobby Caldwell, Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, Laura Nyro, and Ned Doheny.

Also featuring crooner José James, Keyboard Kid, Nosaj Thing, Clams Casino, and the Ghetto Brothers.”

Smooth Operator

Juice crew alum Big Daddy Kane remains true to the art of hip-hop. a consummate entertainer, Kane witnessed the blossoming of the culture during the golden era and set a high standard for future mcs. never one to take his gift lightly, the legendary Brooklyn mc uses his music to touch the lives of his fans beyond the dance floor.

Cerulean Soul

Daryl Hall cut his teeth on the local Philly music scene under the tutelage of soul masters including the Temptations, Thom Bell, and Gamble and Huff. after serendipitously landing on the same bill as John Oates, the two became quick friends and soon began working together. after reaching sky-high success in a duo with Oates, Hall has settled into a new role as internet music-TV pioneer with a new monthly web series that brings the world into his home.

Fresh Heir

Joey Badass is the future of hip-hop. at only eighteen, he possesses lyrical poise rarely on display in this modern era. Last year, he dropped his debut mixtape 1999to critical acclaim, showing a penchant for classic new York hip-hop sonics and potent verbal wordplay. along with his Pro Era crew, Joey Badass brings skills back to the game while ushering in a new age of consciousness.

Vocal Ease

Infusing vocal jazz sensibilities with hip-hop swagger, José James is in a space all his own. though a Brooklyn resident, it took a trip to London with a bag of self- pressed vinyl to put him on the radar—thanks to Gilles Peterson who signed him to his Brownswood label. now with Blue Note, James drops a multi-layered album that is modern, progressive, and classic all at the same time.

 BUY WAX POETICS – Issue #54

You regular MIMS readers know that we’re turned by many music genres: the connections between Soul and Techno are actually not as far apart as you might think. Well, in the deep techno scene, Levon Vincent is one of our go-to producers for that deep, raw, throbbing sound. If you love people like Theo Parrish, STL, Rhythm & Sound, Carl Craig then you gotta love Levon.  His releases on Novel Sounds, a vinyl-only label, is the stuff of vinyl geekyness legends.

“Specks Jam” grabs you instantly with the first looped notes of the hypnotizing melody. Like all of LV’s stuff  it’s dead simple and to the point. But then around the mid way point he adds a couple of really interesting textures like a guitar lick and some metalic sounds. This needs to be played really really loud with the lights off.

(The track was also featured in Iron Galaxy mix from the 7th edition of the 24 Hours Of Vinyl mixes)

We just released our fourth compilation of Forgotten Treasures (get it here). It’s filled with amazing selections as usual but I just wanted to fill you in on my person pick.

I remember picking up this album from a bin and looking at the cover thinking “This girl knows what’s up. Just look at her clothes and her reassuring smile. She’s totally saying ‘I got the funk’”.

The album has a few standout cuts, however the title track is my favorite due to it’s instantly catchy intro and combination of funky baselines, sweet wide-ranged “diva vocals” and the memorable chorus “I got love, I got to put it somewhere…”.

Another really great mix taken from the 7th edition of the 24 HOURS OF VINYL in Montreal (March 2nd 2013). This one comes from IRON GALAXY who is really starting to make heads turn with releases on Audio Culture, Late Night Tales and Turbo Records. He came through for an afternoon set that really brought everyone back to life at about hour 18 of 24 of our crazy vinyl marathon.

Marcus Intalex – Debbit
Nubian Mindz – Hacker Wacker
Tom Trago – Sky High feat. San Proper (Vocal Dub)
Cosmin TRG – Liebe Suende
Soul Oddity – Freq Shift
Jared Wilson – This Love
Jayson Brothers – Monster Box
Ghetto Brothers – Ghetto Blues
Levon Vincent – Speck’s Jam
Metro Area – Machine Vibes
Anthony Naples – Mad Disrespect
Duke Dumont – The Giver (Locked Groove Remix)
DJ Sneak – You Can’t Hide From Your Bud
Something J – Mercedes Bentley vs Versace Armani (Nu Skool Rave Edit)
El-B – Lyrical Tempo
Boddika & Joy O – Mercy
Ramadanman vs SX – Woo Glut
Special Request – Ride VIP
Omar-S – Give It To Me
Sébastien Léger – The Babe Coke
Felix Lenferink – Second Forlane
Soundstream – Inferno
Daft Punk – Musique
Cassius – Feeling For You (Les Rhythmes Digitales – Dreamix)
Claro Intelecto – Peace Of Mind
Bochum Welt – Interlude (Mix2)

“Lion Babe is the NYC-based duo of Jillian Hervey and Lucas Goodman. The name makes sense. Take one look at Jillian in the video below and you can see that not only is she a total babe, but the combination of her seductive dance moves and puffy afro mane make her seem like a modern lioness in the most literal of senses. But to dwell on Jillian’s looks would only cheapen what is at hand here, “Treat Me Like Fire” is a breath of fresh air. Lucas Goodman’s soulful beat takes us back to Motown records of old, while Jillian’s killer vocals remind us that this is indeed 2013 while recalling singers such as Kelis and Beyoncé. Dare we say that Lion Babe could be the United States’ answer to AlunaGeorge? Only time will tell I suppose. After hearing this track, we can’t wait to see what else is in store from these cats.” (via Plug Gods).

Treat Me Like Fire by LION BABE + Avenue D Cinema
Directed by Lucas McGowen
Edited by Jillian Hervey, Lucas Goodman, Lucas McGowen
2012
© LION BABE

buy: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tre…

http://LIONBABE.com/
http://AvenueDcinema.com/

Treat Me Like Fire
written by
Jillian Hervey + Lucas Goodman (aka Astro Raw)

vocals: Jillian Hervey — http://jillonce.tumblr.com/
production: Astro Raw — https://soundcloud.com/astroraw

My “Burial vs Prefuse73” comparison of my previous post still holds though. But this time there’s is more Prefuse than Burial. Still very textured but more downtempo and hip-hop “ish”. My favorite track Dim Lights and Meteorites (featuring Sorrow) is a masterpiece of reversed sounds, texturised claps and rap invectives (Sorrow on the mic?).

There is also a new trap influence in the drums. The snare sound and the hi-hat pattern on the title track made me think of TNGHT a little bit. Without being too in your face, it stays sweet with nice uses of vocal chops and ambiant synth sounds.

More info on Algorithms and Ghosts there but you can listen a bit right here!

Once again, it’s been too long since the last MIMS Show (although we’ve put out two “off-series” mixes since then) so we’ve been really itching to share this round of discoveries with you all.

Just under two hours of amazing tracks ranging from soul, jazz, house, beats and hip-hop. Every single track we absolutely love and we hope that you’ll discover a few in there too!

Really exciting times right now for Music Is My Sanctuary and our side project called 24 Hours of Vinyl so I want to thank each and everyone of you for the love and support.

- Lexis

Tracklist
01. K-Def – Touching Realness
02. Breezy Lovejoy – 8oom 8ap
03. Melodiesinfonie – Presommerfeelingwithanna
04. Closer – A TalkBox Joint
05. Pro Era – Run Or Fly
06. Cortex – I Heard A Sight
07. Eric Lau – Oh Dara
08. Guts – Mambo Flying Party
09. Unknown – In Love (Waxist Edit)
10. Vanilla – Midnight
11. Kenlo Craqnuques – Mourial @ minuitte
12. Sunset – Call me
13. Behling – Last Chance
14. Hello Skinny – Walking Song
15. Motor City Drum Ensemble – Send A Prayer Pt.2
16. Simbad – Digital Rev Dub 3
17. Romare – Taste of Honey (From the City)
18. Brandy – Slower
19. Casey Veggies – She in My Car
20. Missy Elliott – Vroom (Falcons Remix)
21. Missy Elliott – Sock It 2 Me (Kaytranada Remix)
22. Bahamadia – Rugged Ruff
23. Common – Next Chapter
24. The Marriotts – Tell It Like It Is
25. Linda Williams – Elevate Our Minds (Edit)
26. The Busy Twist – Friday Night
27. Kid Sublime – Afrofunkrhythm
28. Bodhi – Deliquesce
29. DJ Q – JD & Coke
30. Preditah – Oldschool (Instrumental)
31. Rynsa Man – Electrons (Sivey Remix)
32. Bennetrhodes – Tenderness
33. Lion Babe – Treat Me Like Fire
34. Sweatson Klank – Morning After Pills feat. Anna Wise
35. Michel Reis, Marc Demuth & Paul Wiltgen – Néel mat Käpp

Download Link

Here is fourth compilation of ”forgotten treasures” which is – if you’re new here – one of the pillars of this website. The idea is to ask our DJ and Producer and all around Music Junky friends to pick one track they’d like to share with you. The fourth volume has 14 tracks, some you might know about but if you’re like us, most you either didn’t know or completely forgot about. (Link for previous editions below)

14 beautiful pieces of music for you. Jazz, Soul, House, 80′s Boogie Funk… connecting the dots!

01. Sly, Slick & Wicked – Love’s Gonna Pack Up (pick by ASMA)
02. Emanuel Laskey – I’d Rather Leave On My Feet (pick by CATALIST)
03. War – Flying Machine (pick by DOM SERVINI)
04. Mandigo Brass – Boogie (pick by EVO)
05. Mcneal And Niles – Summertime (pick by JESSE FUTERMAN)
06. Letta Mbulu – Nomalizo (pick by WARM IT UP CHRIS)
07. Da Lata – Places We Go (pick by HUBBZ)
08. Spinform – Fallstjernor (pick by IRON GALAXY)
09. Cat Stevens – Was Dog A Doughnut (pick by MR. GUAN)
10. Peggi Blue – I Got Love (pick by DOC’TRIN)
11. River Ocean – Love & Happiness (pick by ROB RIZK)
12. Brent Laurence – Love Is So Good / Kluster Dub (pick by SANDY TEA)
13. Cortex – I Heard A Sight (pick by LEXIS)
14. Komeda Quintet – Astigmatic (pick by DANDY TERU)

Download Link

Also, check out the other 3 volumes in this series.

MIMS Forgotten Treasures Vol. 3

MIMS Forgotten Treasures Vol. 2

MIMS Forgotten Treasures Vol. 1

I feel very fortunate to call Luke a friend, and I appreciate his advice and two cents whenever we talk. He continues to push the scene in Vancouver, as well as pushing his brand of deep house to the masses.

“A product of Toronto’s warehouse scene in the 1980s, Nordic Trax founder Luke Mckeehan’s contribution to Canada’s ever-growing dance culture runs deep, while his innovative deejay sets and productions have earned him fans worldwide. Having founded and operated two of Vancouver’s ground-breaking nightclubs for electronic music in the 1990s (The Chameleon & Sonar), Luke continues to be one of the strongest advocates for Canada’s electronic music community. He is also the promoter behind many quality events in Vancouver under the Nordic Trax banner and has hosted everyone from Kenny Dope, Carl Craig and Groove Armada to Lee “Scratch” Perry in his near 20 years of event production.”

Okay, before we start talking about your involvement in the Vancouver club scene and your record label, Nordic Trax, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself and what life was like prior to music and your move to Vancouver.

Luke Mckeehan: I grew up in Eastern Canada, mostly in Toronto but with some time in Ottawa and Montreal then university in Kingston. I can’t really remember a time before music, but I’ve done all sorts of jobs in and out of the arts. I probably learned the most from the restaurant industry.

What provoked you to move to the West Coast? What was the determining factor on living in Vancouver?

LM: I was snowboarding & doing outdoor sports a lot back then and one summer during university a bunch of us rented a house in Whistler. We all had a great time and the seed had been planted with me to come back after school finished and spend a full season in Whistler. 20 year later I’m still in BC — but I never had a plan to move West funny enough, it just happened that way.

In recent conversations with a common friend of ours, Yoshi, she mentioned that you first started promoting “acid jazz” events back in the 90′s. This was before my time in Vancouver, however, that’s a scene that I hold very close to my heart – the beginning of my DJ career revolved around that sound and hip-hop. Can you describe what it was like back in those days? What kind of events were you throwing? What acts were you bringing to town?

LM: That was an interesting time. There were a handful of different djs doing what was then called ‘acid jazz’ at club nights and one-offs around the city. We played house, downtempo, rare groove, hip-hop – a lot of scenes were cross-pollinating. My partner at the time Seren Kahlon (we did Mo’ Funk, Chamelon & Sonar together) had just moved back to Vancouver from London. He didn’t see the same type of vibe going on in Vancouver and that was the genesis of our early work together. Coming from Toronto, I sort of felt the same thing, and we saw it as an opportunity. We knew there some artists that had not broken here yet on the same level as in Europe, or even Eastern Canada or Seattle, and couldn’t really understand why the shows weren’t happening. As young entrepreneurs we soon came to learn that it wasn’t as easy as just saying “I’d like so-and-so” to come here. So we put our heads down and learned the business.

Besides a bunch of one-off parties most notable in the early days was a the club night Mo Funk we built at Richard’s On Richards in 95, which at the time was having a hard time with its well-earned reputation as a cheesy ‘80s bar. Some people kind of laughed at us like why would you work there, but it was this great live room and you could close off upstairs if it was a smaller show or line-up. At that night we were able to have the likes of Maceo Parker with Fred Wesley one month and then UFO with Kruder & Dorfmeister a month later. I got to know Zachary Breaux through that experience as well. He was the guitar player for Guru’s Jazzmatazz and was an early mentor to me in the music business.

So after establishing yourself as an independent DJ and promotor, how did Nordic Trax come about?

LM: Doing the club night Mo’ Funk we started a label of the same name that did primarily compilations and licensed music from others. As a dj, I wanted to do a label that was more reflective of what I was hearing and playing in the clubs every night. So we started Nordic Trax as a sub label focused on singles / vinyl. When the first manufacturing bills came back for the vinyl, my partners saw how difficult it would be, and so we split off Nordic Trax into its own entity the rest is history.

What were the early days like? How much of a struggle was it to get your own label off the ground and running?

LM: I’ve always had modest expectations with the label, so although it was certainly a struggle, I always felt as long as it was moving forward and not losing tons of money, it was worth doing. At the time I was heavily involved in two venues and deejaying all the time, so the label for me was/is a more artistic expression.

2012 was a big year for you, marking the fifteen year anniversary of Nordic Trax. What have been some of the more definitive moments of the label since its inception?

LM: To me every release is important and so it’s interesting when you put music out into the public space and then see what happens. Very often great music gets overhyped or overlooked because it is (or isn’t) on trend.

Speaking of the fifteen year anniversary, I was fortunate enough to catch the last half of the party after my gig that night. I caught Mark Farina and DJ Sneak’s sets, which were pretty amazing and full of energy. In fact, the whole vibe at the Commodore was nothing but high energy. Reflect for us, if you will, what the vibe was like for you and the Nordic Trax crew.

LM: Thanks, it was a great time and it really felt like family that night. It wasn’t just the guest djs who flew in from out-of-town, we had house heads from all over Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest who bought tickets and showed-up large on the dancefloor. You can’t have a party without the people, and the people really made that night special.

Aside from the fifteen year anniversary, what have been some of the more memorable gigs for you, both locally and abroad?

LM: I’ve been blessed to travel most of the world as a deejay. Locally you can’t beat the vibe of a packed 200 person party with all of your friends.

Nordic Trax has over seventy releases in it’s catalog, can you reflect on some of the more memorable releases? Were any of the releases a scenario where you decided to take a risk on some unknown artist, based solely on their submitted demos?

LM: I still take the approach that I will put out music from unknown artists all the time. Many labels won’t do it, they play it safe and get “so and so” to do a remix to add a brand name to their releases, it’s not a bad model. But I have always taken the long view and let the music speak for itself.

Who were some of the biggest supporters of Nordic Trax in the early years? What was it like for you to hear some of the “A” list guys playing your tracks for the first time?

LM: Well the West Coast has always been our stomping ground, so djs like Mark Farina and H-Foundation were some of the earliest to support our sound and play it out to the world. Early on I remember getting a feedback from London that Carl Cox and others were playing Gavin Froome’s ‘Fly Me To Brasil’ (NT005) and that was pretty cool to know, as it seemed so far from what we were doing but yet people were picking up on it because it was fresh.

This next question kind of stems from a discussion i’ve had with a good friend of mine. He was telling me about the old Chameleon joint at the Georgia Hotel. My friend still raves about it to this day, claiming it as his favourite joint back in his party days. Unfortunately, it was before my time in Vancouver. What were those days like for you? What kind of nights were you programming there?

LM: I was the founding partner of the spot, it was everything to us. We hired the staff, did all the programming, did all the interior renovations, and were resident djs – we basically lived there. The Chameleon was like a mirage, it only lasted 4 years as eventually the hotel got smart and wouldn’t renew our lease (sound familiar?) and by that time we were already on to our next venture.

So it seems like everything has come full circle for you since your time in Vancouver. What are some of the similarities and differences between now and your first foray into the Vancouver night life/club scene?

LM:There are definitely a lot more venues now than there were back in the day. That’s why we opened our own places, there was nowhere really to hear what we wanted on a regular basis. Sadly though, even though there are a lot more venues now the vast majority of them only do top 40, and really your choices on an average weekend night are still pretty modest.

Where do you see yourself and Nordic Trax in the coming years?

LM: Pretty simple, planning to “keep on keepin on”.

Links

• NordicTrax Official Site
• Nordic Trax on Twitter
• Nordic Trax on Soundcloud
• Nordic Trax on Mixcloud
• Latest Nordic Trax release

.

Dandy Teru is one our good friends from across the pond. A great producer, art director and host of the French Toast radio show on Laidback Radio with Quiet Dawn. We discovered him with the great “Massive Suits Quartet” project back in 2011 and it was great news when we heard from the man that he was going to be releasing his new LP titled “Adventures” on Ubiquity, the mighty west coast label behind so much good music.

So we asked him to step up to the “Forgotten Treasures” mixes challenge: make us a mix that is really personal and lets us know about your musical influences. Like our previous editions (via Zed Bias, Ta-ku, Fred Everything, etc…) it doesn’t disappoint! A lovely listen from beginning to end; perfect for a sunny morning, rainy evening, snowy afternoon… or just any damn time!

Dandy Teru – Fogotten Treasures Mix 07

01. Nuspirit Helsinki – Honest
02. Broadcast – Message from Home
03. Stereolab – The Flower Called Nowhere
04. Gretchen Parlato – How We Love
05. Herbie Hancock – Little one
06. Piero Piccioni - Magic
07. Matumoto Horishi & Ichikawa Hideo Quartet – Megalopolis
08. Dave Brubeck Quartet feat Paul Desmond – Forty Days
09. Nina Simone – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
10. Krzisztof Komeda – Astigmatic
11. Howard Hanger Trio – What Wonderous Love
12. Bill Evans – Theme from M*A*S*H (Suicide is Painless)
13. Grant Green – Ease Back
14. Ahmad Jamal – I Love Music

» Download Link « (Right-Click > Save As…)

Ever since his debut album I’ve always thought Medaphoar had the perfect complimentary flow for Madlib beats and Blu well that’s just a perfect match. Thus this great song is a sign of great things to come for the group. The burgundy colored 12 inch (featuring production by Georgia Anne Muldrow and another Madlib banger) is already sold out on MED new imprint Bang ya Head. Make sure to keep an eye out when copies resurface cause if you are like me you’ll want to spin this all summer.

Fast forward 5 years and we are now blessed with Volume 5 of this incredible series. This boogie mixx released for valentines day may be my favorite since the original. Its creator Arni (http://www.arnikristjansson.com/) is truly a gentleman and a scholar. He brings elegant funk to light in his mixes, all while completing his PhD in Music Culture at Tokyo University of the Arts. So on both ends the man puts in work and provides stellar atrwork to boot. This mix is so smooth and starts off strong but continually grows into a crescendo of hard slapping boogie basslines and stellar synth work. The last track is my favorite because it brings in a grimier side of the funk. However, this mix is sure to make you smile and make the day go by better. Any fan of disco/boogie needs these in his life pronto! Finally, keep an eye out for a future japanese boogie mix coming soon!

First of all, The Crossing is all killer no filler (a look at the 45 singles they released should give you an idea) but rare is the record where the first 3 songs represent your ‘favorite’ track, and it’s that hard to make the call because they are all infectious in their own way. From the eery ukelele picking on the title track to the massive horns, ripping organ and reverb on Keep Coming Back always bring the rawness in their instrumentals while setting a mood and delivering harmonic intircacies and melodic progression on every track. The album starts off in familiar territory with the usual eery yet explosive approach to the compositions. However, Seven in the Wind, represents the moment where the album shifts gears and enters uncharted territories.

Clearly, MSB have already covered blues riffs with the production of Charles Bradley’s album but this song is much darker and brings in an almost country feel which transports you to a deserted baren lanscape filled with tumbleweeds. It would make the cut in any spaghetti western and I am glad the band took the time to fully flesh it out and provide amazing intro/outro buildups for us to mix with. Indeed, cinematic is an apt description for Menahan Street Band’s sound and their consistency so far has been scary, let alone the fact that i have neevr played one of their tracks and not have someone ask me who they we’re (most recently @24HOV#7) This album will appeal to any music lover and is the perfect LP (as the cover indicates) for facing a harrowing winter. I can’t recommend the band highly enough and its music like this that gives me hope and keeps me excited about the current musical scene. This is the definition of a future classic and 3 records in sky is the limit for the stellar discography the group is achieveing so far.

The only thing that anybody recognizes for sure is the tune itself, first recorded by Aaron Neville in 1965; that version was apparently ranked #381 on Rolling Stone’s “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” in 2004. But who are The Marriotts, and why don’t more people know of their brilliant cover? I for one would love to find out because this 7″ single is a favourite in my collection, yet at the same time, I enjoy the mystery of not knowing anything about it. No encrypted information, no tags, no source files, just sweet, sweet music and the satisfaction of realizing that I am, holding in my hand, an imprint of a long lost recording session from almost 45 years ago. What a thrill!

The Marriotts – Tell It Like It Is

OG version by Aaron Neville

Aaron Neville – Tell It Like It Is

Every music lover could list an entire book’s worth of album covers that are meaningful to him or her. So many classic designs, some are beautiful, funny, awkward, some just plain wrong. So, I decided to keep things very simple and go with these three.

- If it’s your first time here and you feel like reading more about me you can go here
(Lexis – Founder of Music Is My Sanctuary / 24HOV)

A really great guest mix from our dear friend mr. Moonstarr. He did this one a few years ago and it’s timeless! This one is definitely helping us get through the last months of the long Montreal winter.

01 – Edu Lobo – Jogo De Roda
02 – Vinicius De Moraes – Garota De Ipanema
03 – Wanda De Sah – Agua De Beber
04 – Sergio Mendes Trio – Tristeza Em Mim
05 – Vinicius De Moraes – Lamento No Morro
06 – Edu Lobo – Embolada
07 – Baden Powel- Samba De Una Nota So
08 – Astrud Gilberto – Gingele
09 – Wanda De Sah – Who Knows
10 – Astrud Gilberto – Take It Easy My Brother Charlie
11 – Nico Gomez – Rio
12 – Sergio Mendes – Bim-Bom
13 – Vinicius De Moraes – Formosa
14 – Baden Powel – Licao De Baiao
15 – Josef Paulo Ramsey Louis Trio – Cara De Palhaco
16 – Wanda De Sah – Tem Do
17 – Vinicius De Moraes – Tomara
18 – Sergio Mendes – Triste
19 – Milt Jackson – Flying Saucer
20 – Baden Powel- Consolacao
21 – Sergio Mendes – A Felicidade
22 – Baden Powel- Samba Do Aviao
23 – Sergio Mendes Trio – Berimbau
24 – Sergio Mendes – Cinnamon And Clove
25 – Vinicius De Moraes – Samba Em Preludio

Words & Review from
Create Digital Music
www.createdigitalmusic.com

Call it a massive attack of fruits and veg.

Simple circuits have long been able to make use of sensors in real-world stuff like apples or JELL-O. ButMake Makey deserves special credit for making interfacing those circuits with a computer silly-simple. (The project grew out of research at MIT Media Lab’s Lifelong Kindergarten; to get a small sense of how much is involved in getting an idea like this off the ground successfully, check out the incredible list of men and women who contributed on the about page.)

The original dream behind many computers was extending the interface between your mind and the world. With something like Makey Makey, including physical objects in what you imagine is made easier. And it’s especially gratifying – and telling – that the interface that’s most popular is often a musical one.

The latest, greatest example: Massive Attack’s Teardrop, as covered on vegetables and fruits using the system, playing some very impressively-tight percussion and melody lines. It’s the work of versatile and inventive artist j.viewz, whose previous, clever videos, making use of stop action photos held by fans andstorybook landscapes, we’ve covered on CDMotion.

This one is just great (though now I also want to make a bass drum sample with an eggplant; sounds nice):

“Making a Salad v 2.0″, as seen on iTunes, Facebook; shot By Roy Rochlin.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg … salad.

You’ll find endless variations on the Makey Makey “piano,” like the one made from apples, at top. That project is documented in an extensive blog post:

Makey Makey Apple Piano

For a seafood variation, here’s one with shellfish:

Sorry, there are too many clever puns here to pick one. Photo (CC-BY) Eric Rosenbaum, from Aspen Ideas Fest.

Experiencing Audio has a whole site devoted to Make Makey music making. That includes drawing sounds, too – something CDM has done, via our Handmade Music/MusicMakers series, albeit with a self-contained circuit. (See our story and video of this PAIA circuit. Also: Paper, Drawing as Musical Controller: A Round-Up.)

Eric Rosenbaum and University of Massachusetts Lowell are turning these projects into an integrated educational system. It seems like a great idea – a chance to teach interaction, physical computing, electronics, sound, and music, all at once. Some views of how these projects have gone:

Makey Makey, of course, is just one way to accomplish this. From Hack-a-Day, for instance:

Fruit piano uses a different circuit than the Makey Makey

(Okay, that headline more or less makes my point.)

I’d love to hear other ideas about how to work with this idea – via Makey Makey or other circuits/kits – particularly in regards to education. So, let’s use those comments for something productive, eh?

http://makeymakey.com/

My brother from another mother, the one and only, DJ Hubbz, just dropped a new all 45 mix for the heads. This mix is a seamless fusion of funk, cumbia, dub & latin infused beats.

On top of being one of the nicest guys around, Hubbz is one of the best and most diverse DJ’s involved within the West Coast scene. It’s always a pleasure to listen to him in the mix, and I’ve always respected his ability to dig a little further than most other DJ’s.

To be honest, if you’ve never heard of him, this mix is a good indication as to what you’re missing out on. Enjoy!

PS: Don’t forget to grab his previous all 45 mixes as well:

https://soundcloud.com/hubbz/45-all-the-way-live
https://soundcloud.com/hubbz/45-all-the-way-live-2

Oh my lord did we ever have a good time at the latest edition of our beloved 24 Hours of Vinyl project.

The 7th edition was hosted at Bleury Lounge in Montreal and broadcasted live, as usual at 24HOV.com. On both fronts it was absolute madness: at one point there was a one hour lineup to get in the bar and online things were as busy as usual with around 4,000 people tuning from South Africa to Nunavut.

Everyone involved had a great time: the music was very diverse from jazz, house, soul, disco, hip-hop, techno but it was all shared with love by the 15 DJ’s who came through and shared their deep love of music.

Big Shoutouts!

• All the DJs
• Bleury Bar & all the wonderful staff (they worked for 24hrs straight!)
• The Nuit Blanche à Montréal organization
• RedBull Montreal
• 10Kilos.us
• and to all the music lovers who came through or tuned in online!

** DJ Sets & Pics will be online soon.

See you for 24HOV#8 soon!

Your Friendly 24HOV team.
- Lexis, Phil & Evo

We’re going to post the DJ sets very soon but while we wait for that we’ll do a couple of “Forgotten Treasures” picks of memorable tracks. So in no other particular order, other than it’s still in my head, here is one by one track we discovered in Simahlak‘s set, one of our favorite Montreal DJ’s.

The first thing every one recognized was the Funkadelic “One Nation Under a Groove” sample, one that has been lifted so many times (46 according to Whosampled) that it might as well be called a riddim! So, after the first couple of seconds of boogieing to the beat we all recognized everyone started racking their brains to try and recognise whose track this is!?? I started debating with a friend… Digital Underground? Hmmm… Maybe but my pick was X-Clan and was damn surprised and kind of proud (yes, I’m a nerd) that I was right.

I remember having an X-Clan CD when I was a kid but I definitely didn’t have that record which turns out is 1990′s “To the East, Blackwards“. The only thing I vaguely remembered from X-Clan was that they were pretty hard on the pro-black activism, which made it funnier for a white Montreal kid to be listening to that I guess.

From Simahlak himself: “I copped this ‘Vanglorious’ piece of wax while doing the Audio Research Tour in the UK with A-Trak back in the day. I was always a fan of Brother J but the production (Stereo MC’s) gave it a lot of burn as well..it samples P-Funk All Stars and Funkadelic with a key, sissssssieeeees!”

Well, personal anecdotes aside. What. A. Banging. Track!!!

Lyrics

[Professor X:]
“Freedom or death, we shall all be moved. Vanglorious! This is
protected by the red, the black, and the green, with a key,
sissssiiiiieeeeeeeees!”

“Huh!”

[Brother J:]
Abracadabra,
Allah baby, professor,
All hail Funkin’ Lesson,
Sweet tongue, grand writer of scrolls,
Now behold, let the legend unfold,
Born unto cosmos, for no timin’,
Space to exist, vibe in the midst of the chaos,
Mourners label me as illogical, mythological,
They couldn’t comprehend when I brought the word,
A stick called verb, a black steel nerve,
Teachin’ those actors and actresses,
Who write a couple of lines on what black is, really?
Then they label me a sin,
Cause a brother just speaks from within,
I guess I’m darker than the shadow of the darkest alley, that they always
scared to go in,
Boo!
I wear boots and beads, bags and braids, stick and scrolls, rings and
shades,
Walk in the light of the moon, but I’ve never been a Batman,
African call it Blackman,
Brother extracts your African steps in your movements, enhance for
improvements,
Grand funk, a new home for the phrase,
Funkin’ Lesson the pathways,

“Ready or not here we come, get in down on the one which we believe in.
One nation under a groove; can I get it on my good foot, get gone now!”

“Huh!” [x4]

[Verse 2:]
Let me tell you about blackness,
Grits and cornbread how can you act this?
I exist on a plane, where the jar is my brain, I’m livin’ to retrieve
cells,
Antenae my stick, picture bigger, made of liquor, figure,
The pull of the trigger goes zoom not boom,
Not a bunch of sissies, but saviors braver,
The red, black, and green,
It’s just so much more than red, black, and green,
You ask what I mean, but yet the sundial shades on lights and dreams,
Watch too late, oops, upside your head!
You drop through abyss like lead,
Where you goin’, what’s your speed, what’s your pleasure, what’s your
need,
Trees to branches, roots to seeds, forwards, backwards many
degrees,
Questions answers, what’s the sum?
We have come,

[Professor X:]
“Out of the darkness in panther skins comes doctors. Bearing the remedy
of your existence. Yes, it gets blacker, with a Nat Turner lick. Martin,
Adam, Malcolm, Huey, there’s a party at the crossroads!”

[Verse 3:]
I returned from the stone crib,
Bringing verbal milk, a stool, and a bib,
Be filled of the black sap, from the tri-womb,
It flows fully un-attuned,
Wheat bread, tastey jam, come take a stroke to the rhythm of the grand-
Verbalizer comin’ from the temple of void,
Crown from a hat, man from a boy,
Onward ride as I talk of Rah, converse with Horace, create with Ptah,
Arrive to Geb, to roar with Bast, “Aton Tamu” as I ride the raft,
Roof of the world I sit, crosslegged, right over left,
Drums of dance to drums of war,
Who knows the score? Speak no more,
Who watches down with the eyes of black?
To the east blackwards, sissssiiiiieeeees!

I’ll be honest – I love the ridiculous catchy sex chant strung out into a choreographed dance number, it’s my favorite part, but I can equally appreciate how unconventional and experimental this song is. The way the song is constructed and sounds is not necessarily easy on the ear as it doesn’t work with a standard formula. It’s repetitive, speeds up and slows down irregularly, and it sounds distorted on purpose. He even randomly throws in an over extended period of silence after a drop in the track, leaving you on the edge of your seat with just the sound of a record spinning, wanting more.

There’s a lot of pitch dropping and so much sampling happening, layers of vocals, samples and beats on top of each other fading in and out, making everything sound slightly confusing. But it’s all centered around this amazing House chant and to me, all these things combined make for an exceptional production. Bakey Ustl does it well.

The music video for A Tender Place, by Luca Granito, is just as creative as the track; it is perfectly fitted to and reflective of the experimental nature of the song. The images are synced to the beat as much as they could be, and the footage is a splendid collage of old school clips, from where I do not know. I sadly do not possess that level of master musical nerd-ism to know what Rap and R&B videos/films the imagery is from but I think I saw Tupac and Whitney Houston in there at least once.

Brilliant collage of imagery and sound

Floor-killing House music from Firecracker‘s new sublabel, dropping the hugely in-demand heat of Bakey Ustl‘s ‘A Tender Places’. This cut has been receiving much attention of late in the sets of Jackmaster, Ben UFO and Joy Orbison, sounding like some crazy scientist with a Dance Mania addiction splicing Soundhack and Moodymann just for the hell of it. We’ve not heard a House record this deranged all year, kudos! Flip it and you’ll find the slightly more simmering vibes of ‘Nose Candy’… every bit the connoisseur’s wet dream.

Bakey Ustd – Nose Candy

News tracks from Tehu, Famelik, Skribe, FelPrezidente and 8 others. Like it’s often the case for compilation album, the ambiance is diverse. French producer R33 Soundmakin comes with more of a banger while Archibald Singleton (The Gulf Stream) serves up a great ambient piece reminiscent of the mood found on many of Ravi Shankar compositions.

There is a cinematic feel to the album: It’s like all the instrumental pieces are the backdrop of the story of a life or maybe it’s just the title of my track (Voice Over) that hints at that.

The album is in free download right now. Go get that and pay tribute to Ravi Shankar, a lost music genius.

Credits
released 06 February 2013
FOLLOW OUR BLOG unlog.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/unlog-a-tribute-to-ravi-shankar-free-download-beat-tape/

Cover : Julien Charbonneau
Mastering : Axel Hélie Fontaine.

Great mix from Eddie C (Canada via Berlin) who is also playing at our upcoming edition of the 24 Hours of Vinyl in Montreal on March 2nd. Live on www.24Hov.com starting at 7pm (Eastern Time). I met Eddie a couple months ago and i’m thrilled to have him be a part of the 24HOV event. So while we wait anxiously, here is a recent set of his on Tim Sweeney‘s always awesome “Beats in Space” radio show.

Eddie C – Beats in Space #665

1. Eddie C – Far West – Red Motorbike
2. Maciek Sienkiewicz – Song For Mohindar – Polish Cut Outs
3. Mikhaylo Vityk – Untitled -
4. Ptaki – Krystyna – The Very Polish Cut Outs
5. Tornado Wallace – Cloud Country – ESP Institute
6. Roxy Music – Avalon (Lindstrom & Prins Thoms Version) – Virgin
7. Eddie C – Jam On Dallas Road – Endless Flight
8. Azymuth – Partido Alto (LTJ Experience Remix) – Far Out
9. Eddie C – Every Life Under The Invisible Hands – Endless Flight
10. Apiento – The Orange Place – World Unknown
11. Rubber Room – Taliban Discotech – Disco Devil
12. – - Porn 1
13. Groove And The Gang – Gimme Some (Phat Dub) – Rey-D
14. LTJ Exoerience – I Love You – Irma
15. Cottam – -
16. The Rimshots – Super Disco – Stang
17. – Midnight Girl (King & Hound Edit) – Golden Goose
18. Jamie 3:26 – Can You Feel It – Lumberjacks In Hell
19. TNT Subhead – Ecstasy & Release (Tom Of England Mix) – Groovement
20. Major Problems – Overdose (The Final Trip) – Nu Groove
21. Skatebard – Confirmation Bias – Untz Untz

Links

• +FACEBOOK
• +SOUNDCLOUD
• +RED MOTORBIKE

Mo Kolours has offered us Promise, a free track from his upcoming EP3: Tusk Dance released 24 Feb. Listen & download below and pre-order here. – See more at: http://onehandedmusic.com/artist/mokolours/

“Over the sort of cheery wobble that Peaking Lights wouldn’t turn their noses up at, the producer croons and purrs like John Holt. It’s certainly not dozy, though, with some skittering incidental percussion work adding urgency and drive.”” – via FACT

Music Is My Sanctuary, Red Bull Montreal, La Nuit Blanche de Montréal & Le Bleury presents :

24 HOURS OF VINYL #7
The Montreal Nuit Blanche Edition!

DJ LINE-UP

Eddie C
Akufen
Iron Galaxy
Poirier
Christian Pronovost
Tazz
Riddimwise
Scott C & Simahlak
Vincent Lemieux
Dave Allison
River Lance
Pierre De Lux
Lexis & Evo
Asma
Naes
Guilty & Phil Sparkz

The concept is simple but genius: Put together approximately 15 DJ’s, have them relay on the decks while playing only vinyl records for an entire day and stream the whole event on the internet.

It is a daylong tribute to the musical format that simply does not want to die. Vinyl records have outlasted 8-track tapes, cassettes, CD’s and are still putting up a good fight against MP3?s. But above the love of vinyl, there is the love of good music and this is what the main goal of the event is. It is a musical sharing / discovering marathon.

Former DJ’s include: Amir, Ohmega Watts, Taal Mala, Jacques Greene, Moonstarr, Poirier and tons of other great DJ’s!

Well, let’s just say he did justice to the track and Big L’s short but powerful legacy. The remix sounds like it just came out as a new version straight from the DITC camp. Really authentic, gritty and jazzy boom bap from hip-hop’s glory years!

Check out the rest of Nicky Lars’ Bonus Remixes project

Lyrics

Aiyyo, you betta flee Hobbes, or get your head flown three blocks
L keep rapper’s hearts pumpin like Reeboks
And every year I gain clout and my name sprouts
Some brothers’d still be large if the crack never came out
I got the wild style, always been a foul child
My guns go poom-poom, and yo’ guns go pow-pow
I’m known to have a hottie open, I keep the shottie smokin
Front and get half the bones in your body broken
And when it comes to gettin nookie I’m not a rookie
I got girls that make that chick Toni Braxton look like Whoopie
I run with sturdy clicks I’m never hittin dirty chicks
Got thirty-five bodies, buddy don’t make it thirty-six
Step to this you’re good as gone, word is bond
I leave mics torn when I put it on

[Kid Capri:]
So put it on Big L, put it on
C’mon put it onnn, and onnn, and onnn
C’mon put it on Big L, put it on
C’mon put it on represent put it on, C’MON!

[Big L:]
Nobody can take nuttin from Big L but a loss chief
The last punk who fronted got a mouth full of false teeth
I’m known to gas a hottie and blast the shottie
Got more cash than Gotti (you don’t know?) you betta ask somebody
Big L is a crazy brother, and I’m a lady lover
A smooth kid that’ll run up in your baby mother
I push a slick Benz, I’m known to hit skinz
And get endz and commit sins with sick friends
Cause I’m a money getter, also a honey hitter
You think you nice as me? Ha ha, youse a funny nigga
I flows, so one of my shows, wouldn’t be clever to miss
I’m leavin competitors pissed
To tell you the truth, it gets no better than this
I’m catchin wreck to the break of dawn
And it’s on, yo it’s a must that I put it on

[Kid Capri:]
Yeah, so put it on Big L, put it on
C’mon put it on, big fella put it on and on
Put it on Big L, put it on represent
Put it on, c’mon put it on…

[Unknown patois chatta - best guess]
Some boys see me gun nozzle and take a we fi joke
Boy you gwan dead before you see me gun smoke
See me gun nozzle and take me fi joke
You gwan dead, from army you provoked

[Big L:]
I drink Moet not Beck’s beer, I stay dressed in slick gear
Peace to my homies in the gangsta lean, I see you when I get there
And it’s a fact I keep a gat in my arm reach
I charm freaks and bomb geeks from here to Palm Beach
I’m puttin rappers in the wheelchair, Big L is the villain
You still fear, cause I be hangin in harlem this shit is for real here
If you battle L you picked the wrong head
I smash mics like cornbread, you can’t kill me I was born dead
And I’m known to pull steel trigs and kill pigs
I run with I’ll kids and real nigs who peel wigs
My rap’s steady slammin, I keep a heavy cannon
It’s a new sherriff in town, and it ain’t Reggie Hammond
Peace to my peoples, the Children of the Corn
Cause we put it on, adios, ghost I’m gone

[Kid Capri:]
So put it on Big L, put it on
C’mon put it on, big fella put it on and on
Big L, you gotta put it on and on
Put it on Big L, put it on and on
Word up, knahmsayin?
My man Big L, runnin things for the nine-four
And nine-oh-S, you know what I mean?
It’s the Kid Capri, in full flair
And we gon’ put it on a little somethin like this
Big L, c’mon

[Big L (Kid Capri):]
Lord Finesse (He be puttin it on)
My man Buckwild (He be puttin it on and on)
My man Fat Joe (He be puttin it on)
Showbiz and A.G. (Yeah they be puttin it on and on)
I can’t forget Diamond D (He be puttin it on)
The whole D.I.T.C. (Yeah they be puttin it on and on)
And of course Kid Capri (Yeah I be puttin it on)
The whole N.Y.C. (Yeah we be puttin it on and on)
And I’m out [echoes]

I asked DJ Luv to let us know a little bit about how the J.A.S.S project came to be:

Luv: “J.A.S.S. came about after I djed a friends wedding who specifically asked me to play a few hours of jazz during the dinner. During the set many people (young & old) came up and commented on how good the music was. I would usually respond with “well it’s Art Blakey” or “It’s Coltrane, of course it’s good!” This got me thinking that nobody in town was exclusively pushing jazz behind the decks and that it was fun to do. Then, thinking it would be funner with a partner and I instantly thought about Andy. We had been wanting an excuse to do something together and he is a wealth of knowledge and generally an all around good guy so I mentioned the idea to him. He was into it and, as it turns out, we both had similar tastes in jazz but not similar records, which meant combined we had one killer jazz collection. The Jazz Amnesty Sound System was born.

The idea behind the Evolution of J.A.S.S. mix is a chronological look at jazz music so the listener can actually hear the music transform before their very ears. I am personally quite interested in how music evolves and how influences trade hands from generation to generation. Jazz is the perfect genre to do a mix like this with because it has been around for as long as recording technology has been and has gone through many changes. Also this mix idea is something we want to do more often. We are thinking it could make a nice live performance, as the idea can be recycled but the set can always be different by using different recordings each time we perform while retaining the chronological aspect of the mix. Perhaps even adding a visual element to it.”

J.A.S.S. #30 : The Evolution Of J.A.S.S. by Jazz Amnesty Sound System on Mixcloud

For those that have decided to continue reading: Joe Meek was behind-the-scenes for a fairly large share of the biggest hits in the early 60s and should be considered as nothing short of a revolutionary genius. While the recording process of that time involved very strict, scientific and standardized procedures (ei: all personnel had to wear lab coats) Joe was busy bringing his musicians into his apartment (much to the irritation of the landlady) and experimenting with the strange new techniques that gave him a unique sound. He was also fascinated by the occult and would call out to the dead (namely Buddy Holly) for guidance.

The sensational results were as much an avant-garde and other-worldly listening pleasure as they were a technical achievement. Competing labels spent a great deal of time and money trying to replicate effects that he had simply created with objects like an empty bathtub. This man is definitely one of the O.Gs when it comes to D.I.Y. and “indie” music.

Unfortunately, Joe’s most successful single “Telstar” was met with a lawsuit for plagiarism, which halted all royalties and sank him into debt. In 1967, Joe (who was also known for his states of paranoia and depression) shot his landlady during an argument before turning the gun on himself. Three weeks after his death, the courts settled the lawsuit in his favor.

Note: If you are interested in checking out some of his music after the doc, I highly recommend Joe Meek & The Blue Men – I Hear A New World (recorded in 1959 and released in full in 1991). It is very representational of his eerie sound and is one of my favorite records in my collection. This usually sells for $80-$100 if you can find one.

Also, there is another documentary coming out (which has been years in the making). Check the Kickstarter page for more details.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joemeek/a-life-in-the-death-of-joe-meek

Enter Kaytra Todo. Poised to be his strongest body of work since first going the DIY route, his release on beatnik label HW&W is an audio document of what going from nothing to everything sounds like. His signature is polished; round bass kicks and ginsu-sharp snares combine with his choice of ambient backdrops that communicate his ambition to make you feel as he does: strong, defiant, human. What will scare some and titillate the rest of us is the fact that he’s only getting started. Here’s hoping he keeps the window wide open for us to marvel into so when he finally does arrive in a major way, we can proudly say that we all saw it coming.

Here’s what the label heads have to say:

“Vancouver based artist, DJ Spiltmilk has been liquefying minds and demolishing dancefloors since many of us were a glimmer in our mama’s eyes. An integral part of Homebreakin Records, Spilt Milk is well known for his vinyl funk, disco, house, and hip hop sets all over Canada.On February 21, Spilt Milk will be releasing the Spiltmilk EP on UK label OCD records. The EP has 3 tracks including the ill bass funk tune ‘One For tha $horties’, and two other hype bumpin house tracks ‘Bounce’ and ‘Love the Way’.” (Buy on Juno)

Also, make sure you check out Spiltmilk’s remix of Angel Funke’s ‘Disco Nights’ which was just released earlier this year on DC label Super Hi Fi. (Buy on Juno)

Other links:

www.djspiltmilk.ca
www.soundcloud.com/djspiltmilk
www.facebook.com/spiltmilk

An incredible artist has passed on and although he may yet remain unknown to most hopefully his music will be brought to the forefront because the only record he has ever released is a poignant masterpiece. Lou Bond is the epitome of an engaged artist, his self-titled release on Stax subsidiary We Produce touches upon many social causes in a very original way with unique and creative lyrics and vocals. He brings the earnst hard hitting memphis soul approach with folk sensibilities while trying to reach ”What’s going on ” levels of artistery, relevance and orchestration. The result is a soul opus that will leave no one indifferent. This BBC review really details the context in which the record was created and allows you to hear what Bond was aiming to accomplish.

For me personally, the song To the establishement is the crowning achievement, a timeless song that transcends genres and is sure to touch any listener to the core. I was so excited to get a copy i used it as the opening to my 24HOV set. So in rememberance to Lou’s music do yourself a favor and purchase the light in the attic reissue i guarantee the record will occupy a special place in your collection. At the very least listen to this song and spare a thought for a humble artist who left all of his soul on an sublime forgotten treasure of an album.

Lou Bond – To The Establishment (1974)

HOLY bass line, electric guitar and super cheese lyrics! Paul McCartney’s Good Night Tonight is a smooth Disco jam with the most fantastic booming bass! It was only after I heard this song that I gave Wings a chance. I had it made up in my mind that for some reason solo projects by Beatles members wasn’t worth my time (so wrong). That slowly changed after I bought a John and Yoko album that I now love dearly, but I had initially dismissed Wings all together. I am here to tell you that Paul McCartney & Wings has all kinds of hidden gems worth listening to.

Produced and written in 1978 by Paul McCartney, Good Night Tonight was officially released as a single in 1979 on two different labels, Parlophone in the UK and Columbia Records in the US. Wings was a British Rock band that was formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney after the Beatles broke up and initially included his wife Linda McCartney, Denny Seiwell and Denny Laine. Their single was a huge international success and was certified gold.

Paul McCartney & Wings – Good Night Tonight (12” version)
My friend later gave me my very own copy of the single on vinyl, which I am so happy to own and play, and I am grateful that I gave Wings a second chance.

Paul McCartney & Wings – Good Night Tonight (12 version)

Another Wings hit in case you’re curious

Paul McCartney & Wings – Let ‘Em In (1976)

And a super strange and awesome Post-Punk Paul McCartney track

Paul McCartney – Temporary Secretary (1980)

The record in question was Igloo by Wiley, the instrumental version of Wiley’s 2004 hit “Wot do u call it?”. Igloo can be seen as the quintessential Wiley track and brings “eski” music to the point. Eski is the music genre Wiley single-handedly invented with tracks like “Eskimo” (hence “eski”), “Ice Rink“, “Colder” or “Morgue“.

Wiley – Igloo (Instrumental)

These tracks come with a very specific, minimalistic sound palette, an assortment of clicks and noises, a set of square-wave basslines and highly compressed drum samples. The melodic motives are simple, as is the sparse arrangement. The production technique is not very much refined, but brought to the point.

Wiley – Ice Rink (Instrumental)

Wiley – Colder (Devils Mix)

These tracks are meant to be spit over by MCs on pirate radios and served as a stepping stone for UK’s emerging grime scene at the beginning of the noughties. Wiley excelled both in production and MCing. Grime’s often vicious MC battles brought him deserved fame.

Lethal Bizzle vs. Wiley

Most of Wiley’s early grime works were released on white label 12″ and are today highly sought after rarities. Many of the records would have the full instrumental on the A-side. The B-side would then have the so-called Devils or Bass mix of the same track with only the bassline. Track names initially often rotated about everything winter related (“Avalanche”, “Blizzard”, “Freeze”, “Frost Bite” etc.) and “described the mood I was in back then” (Wiley). As grime music got widely popular and Wiley the “King of Grime”, he lost this habit. It were, however, these early releases that would found his fame, define eski music and make him die-hard fans all-over the world.

Eski music has since gained it’s own life. Producers like Slackk, Walton, Logos are emulating the classic Wiley sound today and develop it further.

Logos – Kowloon

Slackk – Eski Clicks

The big hype about grime had lost its momentum after a few years. While his former Roll Deep crew member Dizzee Rascal had firmly established himself as an artist, Wiley has since been chasing fame and releasing more and more chart-oriented club tracks (“Wearing my Rolex”) with the declared goal to land a top hit. In 2010 he broke ties with his manager and the record label and put out download links to 11(!) finished, but unreleased albums via this twitter account (called the “Zip Files”). Creating a buzz was obviously the aim here. Occasionally a mixtape would appear with biting MCing and Wiley in old form (“It’s all fun and games till Vol.1″).

Wiley – I’m On One

Wiley – Crystal Clear

Oh, you wondered what happened at that party where I dared to play Igloo? Another DJ had obviously stacked grime as his claim in that particular city. Intruders faced the consequences. I avoided punishment, made myself elusive and emigrated to a faraway country.

Here are ten more jams with themes of loneliness, heartbreak, hopeless romance, delusion and sad memories. It’s O.K to wallow, just as long as you get it out of your system.

To make sure you snap out of it, I’ve included a link to an interview where Sir Michael Caine explains how he met and married the girl of his dreams. I know that sounds super cheesy, but trust me, it’s totally amazing. Back to the music…

Although these tunes span across many genres (Rock, Soul, R&B, Techno, etc), I tried to piece them together in a way that makes sense both sonically and thematically. Basically, they sound pretty great played in order…

1. Arthur Russell – A Little Lost

This is a perfect opening track for this playlist as it holds all the key elements: unapologetically open-hearted lyrics, floaty/dreamy melodies and excellent musicianship. Sadly, Arthur Russell (Dinosaur L, Loose Joints, Felix) was one of those great musicians who not only left this world at a young age, but had only gained most of his popularity posthumously.

He was a criminally underrated cellist/singer-songwriter who’s avant-garde compositions (which remain fresh to this very day) transcend our understanding of disco, rock, folk and many other genres. Pure outside-the-box thinking! Rather than share any more about this extraordinary man I will point you to one of the best music docs I’ve ever seen: Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell. Absolutely essential!!!

Arthur Russell – A Little Lost

2. The Association – Cherish