Krazy Snares

"...as any junglist will tell you, a snare can be as evocative as a smell."

New Skool Boogie / "PDK-Bass" Remix

Does this sh*t...

...remind you of this sh*t?

IT DOES ME!!!!!

The 'Ritual Homicide' Mixtape

Butterz & Hardrive @ Cable

So basically, Elijah was nice enough to sort us out with a free pair of tickets for Butterz & Hardrive at Cable the other week to do a review.

Sweet - Butterz is the label. You all already know.

Was very excited getting there as had been meaning to check out cable for a bit, and managed to get a bunch of mates together to go all of whom had not been out together for ages which was great! The line up was looking hype enough already, but then got there AND...

P left the room!

Not that I don't rate him, but - DIRRR TEE TEEE!!! Even more exciting? I think yes.

Set up worked very well inside. Funky in room 2 with a massive bar, and nuff grime in room 1. First time I heard this classic tune for a start. And this one appeared to be the antem for the funky guys atm, which I fully back.

Needless to say, the whole night was pretty sick. D Double was obviously fucking fun. Blacks jumped on the decks at some point (literally, not DJ wise), and I'm fairly sure Trim was about which was unannounced. Bruza smacked it too.

Shit starts getting a little hazy later on, but my mate from Hackney apparently went to Church with Elijah Butterz so they were chatting bare, desperados was pricey but v effective, and Kode9 was on suprisingly late @ like 5am.

He killed it doe.

1 unlicenced taxi ride back to Vauxhall, some SERIOUS CAR-AOKE with my man Sam the driver and a whole one of deeezzz as standard and it was all over.

Fanx all Butterz / Hardrive crew for having us down. Reet old knees up to the soundtrack of some seriously sick and very polished contemporary grime / house / urban London music.

Big up Elijah, Skilliam, Terror Danjah, Royal T, Hard House Banton, Champion, Swindle and all of the rest of the DJs that made this a night not to forget.

Srsly looking forward to the next one...

Irie Friday (Slight Return...)

Cos it's been a while since I did one innit.

Irie Friday!

Best Shit Of The Year?

Well, certainly a contender innit.

Mr Dubz EP 1ST OF AUGUST TO BUY Release Project Allout by Projectalloutrecords

More mudness coming straight outta Sheffield. Echoes of 2 Bad Mice, Burial, Cryogenix, Taktix aka all me favourites JUST TO NAME A FEW.

It's a killer EP.

Support from Plastician already down ere. I don't know what they're putting in the water up there right now, but I genuinely and very desperately would like some of it.

Out 1st August 2011 on Project All Out.

Come 2 Voodoo Rave

Voodoo Rave 3...Promo Mix. The Dogstar, Brixton. Saturday 9th July 2011! by Jambie on Mixcloud

Time to get Gremi

Absolutely banging Finnish Grime producer Gremino (Rag & Bone Records / Car Crash Set) has now confirmed to co-headline alongside J69 at the Dogstar on the 9th July.

It's his debut set here in the UK.

I am absolutely shitting myself.

You (dun know)

You (J69 Remix) by J69Music

Wicked R(nB)efix from our Voodoo Brixton party headliner J69 now up on Soundcloud.

Just my type of shit.

Voodoo Rave 3

F*cking Voodoo Promo

It's actually happening. Not long now.

All the info you need right here - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=150047688400236 

See you at the front.

Avin It

That Living Feeling

Following on from the mention of the Jeffersons in my previous post.

Particularly fond memories of this track. Absolutely love it.

That's The Dead's very own Jerry G on guitar noodles as well there that is, just so you know.

When I first got the CD of 'Surrealistic Airplane' as a teen I remember being very shocked that Marty actually sung on most tracks on the album (their famous tracks are all Grace Slick's efforts...Somebody To Love, White Rabbit).

I think that the Marty love ballads vs Grace's over-sexualised rock outs on tracks and on stage were what lead the band to split up in the end. Glanced somewhere, but definitely worth checking up on.

I remember making everyone sit down and watch this video from their Woodstock performance the morning after my 17th birthday party (that I'd spent hours downloading off kazaa or something, pre-YouTube...Yea I know, right?!?).

Big tunes from party night itself included this, this and most definitely this. Not nearly so retro, though I do believe I did in fact get an acoustic bass as well as a Tim Buckley album present-wise.

I think it's fairly well documented that they were a fantastic live act, although I haven't seen much mention of it on the web.

This Jimi bit constanly gets wheeled as your defining Woodstock moment, and music-crit-wise surely The Stooges, Stones and Doors were your ones not to have missed back then, surely?

All very rightly so as well. Good times.

Cloudy Headed

I really like this. Surpisingly apt video pic by our YouTube uploader too! It is just a very UK take on sunny US psychedelia a la los Jeffersons etc isn't it, I guess (making it cloudy, vibe and lyircswise...)? If you want to look at it that way.

Nice and moody.

Lots of 60s UK psych tunes are about the sky actually. That or staring at walls (and both actually, check both "Sky Of Plaster" and the Gods' track).

Plenty of songs are about absolutely nothing mind you. Probably my favourite ones.

I suppose it's quite safe to blame it on the drugs really. All subject matters covered nicely. Different hippies in different places lying around staring at things.

Not a bad thing that though, mind you.

3 Three Six Mafias

Been listening to quite a bit of these guys this week.

They just love getting high! Think that their early stuff's probably their best. Apart from 'Stay High' ovvies, and 'Sippin.' Didn't realise that they used to have a girl on board either, she's great!

And Michael 'Swishahouse' Watts does their chopping & screwing.

Dark name for a hip hop clik innit.

Joey Joe Joe!

Cheese & Peas / State Of Emergency

I wonder if Coki will get an "Unreleased Dubs" style release in 5 years time or so (once this ridiculous DMZ nostalgia dies down a little maybe...).

That would be good.

Killed It / Hardchive Bizzle

Also, for any of those that missed it HERE is the archive for the Voodoo Radio Bassline special on the Innacity FM show a few weeks ago ft. Sheffield's own J69 Productions!

Obviously the man killed it dead, and it was sick having him down. Any time you fancy coming down again mate!

Big up the mixcloud lot each and every for hosting our now fatty amount of archive shows up there, and a MASSIVE big up to the man like Blackmass Plastics on favouriting the dam fing! Ya a BIG MAN!

To return the favour, here's a cheeky plug for some of his new bits up on Soundcloud. Plenty of very deep and dark dirt up there, including a free d/l that's already maxing 83 grabs! So don't sleep!

LINK.

Enjoy the sunshine, and a very irie Friday to you all.

A Great Day For Dub(step)

[CHECK THIS OUT]

I know shit all about this label, though as far as I can tell it has a lot to do with Kromestar / could well be his.

From out of absolutely flippin nowhere a whole back cat's worth of stuff just popped up on the Boomkat downloads page, and it's great.

If you can't be arsed to sift through it all (well, shame on you!) but just search for 'Shot Of Patrone' by Kromestar or 'Beast' by Hatcha and you'll get the idea. Proper FWD thinking stuff (all the old CR2 heads involved here - Skream, Cyrus, Hijack etc).

Looks like the aformentioned Kromey tune got a vinyl press last year, of which there are a very few TP copies kicking around online. Unfortunately I'm too skint to discogs it, and I'm sure I'd be the only breh running it on wax these days anyhow - so straight to the Boomkat download cart and too blessed to stress!

Dive in and take a walk down memory lane. I'm sure I've skanked to a fair few of these bastids over the years.

Keep jumping (2011).

Killa Sound

Duppy.

Voodoo-U Do

Was listening to some old '06 barefiles archive bits and felt moved to do a wee broadcast of some old tracks circa then and a little bit before then for the man dem.

Little retrospective session going from dubstep to grime on a bit of a darkside tip, to get you party people set for the long weekend. Plenty of personal faves in there. 100% vinyl, of course.



Good times. Bless up.

Voodoo Rave meets J69 Productions Downtown

Yup, tomorrow's the day.

Our first non-Voodoo guest of the year J69 will be coming down all the way from Sheffield to make a guest appearance on tomorrow's extended Voodoo Radio show, broadcasting 5-8pm on London's Inna City 102.5FM.

One of my favourite young producers of the moment, with support from DJ EZ and releases out already on his own CryBaby Records as well as the UK's muddest Off Me Nut, our man J's gona be tearing up the London airwaves with plenty of that Steel City Bassline sound that this man loves so much (alongside whatever else sneaks in to his bag, I'm sure!).

If you've not caught his stuff before then here are a few tasters nabbed from his Soundcloud page;

J69 - Falling Dub [UKB] by J69Music

Dexplicit - Bullacake [J69 Remix] by J69Music

J69 ft Charlie Sheen - Winning by J69Music

Myself and Ray Nulds doing the damn fing alongside as well, with lots of new and unreleased material as well as all those standard tracks that we always run cos we think they're big like.

Look forward to seeing you all locked!

UK Pirate Istic In The Cloud / Standard Weekend Rush

http://soundcloud.com/groups/uk-pirate-radio/tracks?page=206
http://soundcloud.com/groups/uk-pirate-radio/tracks?page=205

...followed by pages and pages of Soundcloud Group spam shit, with the occasional gem.

Standardly essential history lesson business. Well worth your ears.

Getting Grimey Time

Here's an '04 grime mix from the man - http://www.ragandbonerecords.co.uk/mixes/DJ_Warlock__Grime_Mix_Nov_2004.mp3

Absolutely chocked full of obscuro white labels, I'm sure. Nothing bate, all fire. Think about how much they would all go for amongst grime heads that hoard that kind of stuff (there are many too. I do it, so do other Voodoo people, and from Twitter it would seem Slacckk and Spooky do it too still. Discogs too, even from within the scene...)?!?

How much would I pay for that second tune? £20? £40? If you could ever find an ID for it that is, or a seller.

Now think about S-X's recent Wooo riddim. Is that ever gona be worth anything? It was the biggest grime riddim of last year bar none, but it was already WELL old by the time it got pressed to wax this year and all over the internet. You can even get mp3s of D Double's unreleased vocal, of a reasonable enough quality to play on the radio at least.

Is it even worth pressing a track that late on (I did buy it btw...)? It's not much use to grime MCs anymore, they need fresh bits. There are some remixes out on road or wherever, and i bet they go for £40 a cop on mp3 / wav as specials via Twitter, Facebook etc...

MP3s can't have 2nd hand value in the same way. Even straight after you've copped them! Well not in the same way as vinyl of course, makes sense, not unless it was somehow unburnable and not available anywhere else but on a specific hard drive / cd.

Think about Slimzee upping his entire collection on eBay recently - google search and check the cache.

It went for peanuts - £400 for 800+ vinyls?

Was he selling them on cos he ripped them? Were they just taking up space then, if he had .wavs? Did he honestly think people wouldn't think that that was an insane thing to do (with that collection you could essentially BE one of the biggest grime collectors at their peak...essentially)?

It's all mind boggling.

Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy

Another article from a few years back for Sonic Router pointing towards this state of affairs - http://tiny.cc/p2kf3

Courtesy of none other than the big man himself, Rag & Bone Records' DJ Warlock.

"The concept of a record label in the sense it has existed up to this point is dead. The future of consuming music is getting it for free. That’s how it is. That’s how it’s going to be. There was a really interesting debate recently organised by Music Tank which stated that in this digital age, anything that can be copied has zero financial value, and anything that can’t has immense value. Thus music has no value but an artist (which can’t be copied) is incredibly valuable. Doesn’t look good for the record labels does it?"

Pearls of wisdom. Cyan say we never did a warn ya.

I dun a rassclart dance

Interesting little rap to gloom up your Thursday over at Little White Ear Buds about the current dire state of electronic music as well as the industry.

Little link here - http://tiny.cc/7zqlz

This section in particular I thought murked it;

"...lost in a flood of irrelevant, crappy music and the feeling that others had more fun before (hence the retro obsession in today’s music). The total de-motivation doesn’t manifest itself only in the musicians’ under achievements, but also in the annoyance of everybody else. A frustrated DJ plays lame tunes in front of people bored to tears. That’s the average event out there. Alternatively, a collective nostalgia for some era of “old days” prevails. Everyone keeps doing the same thing out of the fear that the slightest deviation from the norm will scare away the small remaining, yet patient audience who goes along because of a lack of alternatives..."

The title of the post has nothing to do with this really. It was lifted from some sick bars from a radio rip up on my new favourite mixcloud user Daily241's profile. Holding it down 4 the UK grime scene over there in Osaka JP. Your time cuzzy.

Sunshin Crackin'

Little Buju sampling '09 party Juke number from DJ Hilti, repping out of Juke Trax' now long established French-side crackin' contingent, B.YRSLF.

Very worth getting down their remix of Fis-T's 'Night Hunter,' one half of the debut EP from Slick Shoota out last week for free download on the page (may max out at 100, so don't sleep! "Ya never know...").

Strictly summer vibes 'ight here for the London Massive out there enjoyin the Sunshine!

DJ HILTI - Sunshine - 2009 [Geto Inferno EP - JKO.057] by DJ HILTI

Everybody loves it...Folks get down.

#freebuju.

Babylon Timewarp

YouTube RIPs

RIP Smiley Culture.

Died in extrememly dodgy circumstances. A great UK dancehall DJ, who will be sorely missed.

RIP Nate Dogg.

One of the coolest voices in rap ever. Very sad, especially since his tunes have made me so happy over the years.

God bless.

Steel City Grime Time

DS1 is a bassline producer from Sheffield who has recently been making some really sick grime beats. Grab em from his Soundcloud page before they're all maxed out pon the d/l!

Cyan say me never did a warn ya.

Righteous Ragga Hit

I hope this gets absolutely massive. You know it would if it had a bate US Hip Hop artist version it.

I like it just the way it is.

#sunshinevibes

Righteous Ragga

Deep, young, vibes.

This Adi Remix

Up Norf Crew...Is...Killin It

J69 is one of my favourite young producers from Sheffield at the moment, and you could do far worse than checking out his Soundcloud page here to see what I'm saying.

He's got a free EP up for download on the Off Me Nut records site (all of their stuff is up there free, "I know, it's insayn...") runs a label called CryBaby Records which is well worth a pree (@crybabyrecords) and recently got radio play from no other than the UKG don gorgon or-ig-inal DJ EZ.

Go check him out. You ain't dark like...

Smooth FM Broadcast no. 1,???,???,???

The ongoing soul soothing body grooving series continues with this here ANTEM from Ye Olde Gap Band.

Sample *spotted* recently on the first track of Rashad & Spinn's srsly bangin XLR8R podcast.

Out 2 the footwerkers...U ALREADY KNO!!!!

#loud

"Doubly Blessed The Night..."

http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/music/dionysus-emp.php

Bloody good piece of anti(ish)-rock star music crit from the blogosphere, covering assumptions surrounding Dionysian revel in Rock History.

Scoped via Grimey Simey's Energy Flash blog.
Well worth a read.

"...But him who scoffs he hates,
and him who mocks his life,
the happiness of those
for whom the day is blessed
but doubly blessed the night;
whose simple wisdom shuns the thoughts
of proud, uncommon men and all
their god-encroaching dreams.
But what the common people do,
the things that simple men believe,
I too believe and do..."

WUT?!?!?!?

AND

AND

I know what you're thinking...They're all really really good right?

Innit!

There's more fun to be had on his tumblr page too, dubwise & otherwise: http://toys.tumblrist.com/audio/drocar/1

My one 2 watch atm.
As of this morning.

Bloody 'ell!

Out 2 DJ Controlled Weirdness for the heads up on this one, obscure old Mexican wrestling horror...Looks like all parts are up on the YoutTube too.

Apparently there's only 1 ape in it.

Brilliant.

Free Bones

http://soundcloud.com/ragandbone/sets/freeness-1/

A bunch of free tracks now up for download on the mighty Rag & Bone Records' soundcloud page, all at a CDJ friendly 320 mp3 / wav!!!

The tunes come in a set of three w/ forthcoming sheeeet from the man like Stagga's album (HYPE!!!), a free Valta & Minikin tune to accompany their recent Man Down \ Bad Sex release, and a funky lickle mutant housey type banger of a remix by DJ Warlock for always wicked Senseless Records last year.

Stagga tune's a mad ting based around a vocal from the grunge god Bounty Killaaa [vintage 90s Ragga footage - he's the one with the nuttiest voice], and some heavy drops of that mad bass spacestep thing that only he can do (and maybe Monky, who's also on the album...).

It's up as a promo for THE LONDON BOROUGH OF BASS night at Corsica on 26th February [SEE POST BELOW].

After the night, the link will expire. So don't sleep on it.

Just so you know.

Enjoi.

The London Borough Of Bass

On 26th February, six of London’s grubbiest will take over Corsica Studios for a rave that stands to take you lower than ever before. The London Borough of Bass is here and I can tell you now, it’s not a pretty sight. 

THE Z-SHED, RAG & BONE, COIN OPERATED, SPAM FRITTA, SENSELESS RECORDS AND CREEPS LAW PRESENT...  

▼▲▼▲▼▲ 

Stagga + Skamma & Joe Blow (album launch) 

Burgaboy

Dexplicit

Remarc 

Jerome Hill 

Rrritalin 

Warlock

The Squire Of Gothos

Pirate Soundsystem 

Mustard Gunn VS Spaceface 

DeVille & Sasquatch + MC’S 

Silky Boys 

Your Niece 

Bump n’ Grind VS Josh West 

Das Boot 

UK BASS// GLOBAL BASS// MUTANT BASS  

▼▲▼▲▼▲ 

Saturday 26th February, 10 til 6am

Corsica Studios, Units 4/5 Elephant Road, SE17 1LB

£4/£6/£8 

 ▼▲▼▲▼▲ 

£4 EARLY BIRD TICKETS SOLD OUT! £6 TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM: http://tinyurl.com/4ltv72z

Be there, or be a square.

Sound Bwoy

Come check me now on Soundcloud - http://soundcloud.com/jambie
Got some of me recent dub clips up there, for your pleasure.

Don't mention it...they're only very short.

The Layers Of The Onion

...or The 5000 blog views.

It's not earth shaking, but it means a lot to me.

I'm, certainly, not the kind to complain.

Don't stop watching - there'll be plenty more gully shiyat to come up on here in 2.011 (...see what I did there? Literally came up with that one on the spot as well. No wonder y'all keep checking back, ey?!).

As a token of my gratitude, here's a little #easteregg for you all.

It's a leftover half hour of Ardkore / Junglism wax (1995-1992) from my 'advent mix' series on mixcloud - http://www.mixcloud.com/jambie/.

Track list ting as follows,

Foul Play – Open Your Mind (Remix)

Omni Trio – Torn

Amazon II – Booyaaa! (Open Your Mind)

DJ Flash – Pulp Fact

Remarc – Ricky (Remarc & Lewi Remix)

Warped Kore – The Power

2 Sinister – Let It Roll

Mega City 2 – Darker Side Of Evil

SMF – Guillotine

Johnny L – Hurt You So (cuts out…)

It's very much a beta version (cuts off very abruptly at the end, some of the mixing's a bit off, blah blah blah), but I had to dart off to me gran's and got caught short, so never finished it properly.

But then I know y'all like tings a lil ruff around the edges ; )

Thanks all ye readers of the jampie, and enjoy.

Thenjoy.

Hardcore For The Headstrong

And in context....

[...labrynth vid via Energy Flash @ blissblog. Out 2 Grimey Simey...]

Know The Koo

Effing Ish(mat) Up

So basically - I was just thinking recently how BLARDY GOOD Shitmat's 'chopped & screwed' style dubstep remix of Ebola's Teledildonics was a few years back [I've put the link in further down for dramatic effect, don't watch], as well as how (apart from on that tune really) producers never really capitalised on the links between the more more f*cked up + ridiculously slow elements of harder bits of the two.

Then BAM - the track just pops up right at the end on this fantastic new Jerk'n'Jive mix from the man himself on mixcloud (by name at least - heads up to anyone trying to actually spot it inna mix...).

You'd have thought that the two sounds would have been perfect for cross-fertilisation (dubstep + chopped & screwed), and indeed, many people linked the deep south's post G-funky purple drankin crunkness with the massively popular purple trend in the UK circa '09 super trendy Joker and Gemmy shizzle.

But, let's be honest here, the link was really one of convenience / #trendspotting, and more in the name than anything else. UK purple stuff was really more Chronic 2001 than Swishahouse, don't you think?

Texan dubstep producer Parson put out a really good 12" on Planet Mu back in 2007 hybridizing the two sounds nicely, but it wasn't very screwed up, was it?

Shitmat's Ebola remix was, however.

It's got that all important near psychedelic element to it - just like with chopped & screwed hip-hop, the track doesn't just sound druggy, it sounds like drugs. The music sounds like you're on drugs (not that I would know obviously, just an educated guess), hard drugs; not rainbow chasing, but 'wtf is going on here,' 'i'm really confused' and 'is it just me, or is does that music sound really f*cked up?' Those pull ups that dive in and out of the mix, the twitchy skippy repetitive beat that plows through, all those pads bouncing about resembling a tune going through some sort of phasing flanger blender. It's ravey, in a really fucked up way. Just like how dubstep used to sound to the uninitiated ear back when it started.

All of this got me thinking about the current 'footwork influenced' trend amongst producers in the UK, where the US import chi-sound seems to be making far greater waves than its Southern counterpart ever did in an already very established dubstep scene back in 2007-2009 ish, despite such obvious links.

At that time there was a wealth of enthusiasm towards the purely UK music that was being produced (dubstep, grime, bassline). It's interesting to move from a time like that to a time like this, where cross pollination is not just ripe, it's almost the standard.

Is it just me, or is this inbetweeny, filling in the gap until the next big 'nuum' thing, looking all over the place for new influences (see kwaito, footwurk, drumstep, 90s dance, 808s, permaretro chique) phase that we're in in now not hugely similar to the post-garage pre-grime early '00s  - IDM, jump up d'n'b, electro breaks, breakcore, dark garage etc (I wasn't really 'on the ball' hipsterwise back then, so can't really say myself...).

Also - on the j(UK)e, Addison Groove buying an old roland drum machine instead of a car thing (google it) - despite writing some very sick 140 or less bpm "UK bass" tunes [h8 that ridiculously generic tag now], I do sort of get the feeling that these producers have deliberately left that all important spEEdy 'E' out 'jukE (lol).'
 
Just putting it out there...

Pushing things forward

For those of you that watch these things, our show on www.innacityfm.com (102.5fm on your dial if you're in London) is going to be at 6 till 8 pm this evening, as opposed to the normal 4 till 6pm slot.

Plenty of things to look forward to - some new and exclusive bits (aka genuine wax pressed dubplates, remember them?!?) some not quite so new bits, and some proper hardcore classics.

From my end at least.

This week B2B the Ray Nulds, as well as the man like Wace Mindu. Be good to see ya locky!

Message From A Black Man

Wuuuutttt?!?!?

Stalwart classic - as used (in sorts) on this old King Geedorah tune from MF Doom & Co.

"10, 000 riddims....World A Reggae Music."

Deadly Dragon (Stout? lol)

Quickly becoming one my favourite reggae spaces pon di interweb - http://www.deadlydragonsound.com/ is a Soundsystem / JA music retail outlet based in NYC's chiney town.

Not content with locating copies of several MASSIVELY OVERDUE 7" pressings of up to tha time dancehall riddims (One Day, Skip To Ma Luu...big up the Japanese man dem over at Rockers Island!), they also do a weekly all vinyl show on East Village radio ft. plenty of dusty old acetate obscurities from the Soundsystem's 150,000+ record collection.

Archive up here.

Give thanks.

Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing

"Man Down \ Bad Sex" (plus free download "Let's go mental").

Artist: Valta & Minikin

Label: Rag & Bone Records

Catalogue no: TOTTER 25

Genre: Mutant Bassline / Dubstep

"Valta & Minikin are the kingpins of The Ukrainian underground music scene. For a good few years now they have been running the leading night in capital Kiev dedicated to Bass music...in between gigs they have been busy in the studio developing their sound and it’s a perfect infusion of their Ukrainian roots and the inspiration gleaned from the artists they have worked with at Kievbass.

Rag & Bone Records have chosen 2 tracks that bang on the dancefloor. Already road tested by a few select DJs, they are nothing short of infectious."
 

http://soundcloud.com/ragandbone/sets/valta-minikin-man-down-bad-sex/ 

Out on digital release Moday 31st January 2011.

To coincide with this forthcoming release Rag & Bone are giving away a little freebie track entitled "Let's Go Mental," also on their Soundcloud page.

http://soundcloud.com/ragandbone/valta-minikin-lets-go-mental

I suggest you that you all go and download dat.

Seeing the world through _ tinted Spectacles

Interesting (and unusual) article posted up the other day on ["nuum-General"] Simon Reynolds' blissblog.com, referencing a piece written by a religious writer (a Catholic one, no less!).

In it Reynolds mentions a discussion that he'd had recently, with a friend who said that they'd completely given up on music and had become "entirely consumed by following politics."

The article that he links to is a rather priestly (but still very modern!) attack on the virtual reality of the web / news. His point of issue in particular is with people's attitudes towards spectacles in a time when everyone spends all of their time online - spectacle, as Reynolds points out, being a word that cannot fail to conjure up old Situationist ideas about "the poverty of everyday life" (ones which, I really do have to agree with our man here [here!], seem more relevant than ever before in today 2.0).

He goes on to draw some interesting parallels between people's passive obsessivness online towards the compsumption of politics, and that of music; that "addictive, stim-buzz-snacking, distracted-drifting, more-more-gimme-more" approach to current affairs, and the "flitting and skimming, tldr, dl-ing-but-never-getting-round-to-listening, half a YouTube here, half a streamed track there" current every day mode of engaging with music.

I don't like to get too poli'ical on here (as a matter of principal), but I must say that I do think it sheds some light on why so many people seem to be "getting off" on politics at the moment (via blog hype [2nd one's by a friend of mine!] about the student protests, constant coalition goverment as "tory scum" chat etc etc...) in the same way that a lot of us get off on music.

It does appear, at very least, that people actually do give a shit about all of this stuff.

Serious times, indeed.

"The Dragon can be summoned!"

Tribal Ting Dat

Absolutely MASSIVE new one here, from previous DJ Distance collaborator Tunnidge on some mad tribal darkside tip (wtf?!? I KNOW!!!!). The track even gets a lovely deep 180g Transition cut thanks to DMZ soundbwoy Mala's always DEEP Medi Musik label (standard protocol for ALL of their pressings, ennit...).

File alongside classic Skull Disco, T++ etc etc (If you wanna get all Boomkat about things...although they actually rather w*nkily said that the track was, "one of the most esoteric tracks [of?] Deep Medi's catalogue, ripe for set-starting dramas." It's A LOT more than just a bate set opener, trusssss me...).

There's even a pretty effin 'eavy 'alfstepper on the flip - satisfying all of your 'con-tin-#nuum' needs with some excellent future b-line bizniz 'llongsidge that classicly spine tingling 'fiery the angels fell' sample, originally off of Ridley Scott's uber sick darkside sci-fi standard Blade Runner.

[Previously available here and here, and probably pon countless other good club tunes over the past 20 years - circa '95 and '05 respectively, if you're that keen / just in case you din't know!].

VERY Voodoo = Cop on site business.

I'm certainly gona be rinsing both sides out over the next few months pon di radio. Fingerz crossed for more big tings on wax this 2k11!

Smooth FM part ?

As sampled on this wicked old Stones Throw tune, by the man like MED alongside the Madlib.

Bit of a persy.

"The boat can leave now...tell the crew."

Rasing Hell

I didn't do an RIP for Sleazy at the time - but, as I'm sure most of you are aware by now, he was a musician (/writer/producer/video maker, etc etc) best known for his roles in Throbbing Gristle and Coil throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s, who died peacefully in his sleep on the 25th November, 2010.

Having stumbled across Coil's amazing ("bowel churning," to quote director Clive Barker) Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser the other day I felt it necesarry to guide your ears towards some bits from his phenomenal body of work.

Here is an interview with Coil from the late 80s, which touches on some interesting points regarding the usefulness of their brand of challenging and "introvert" music. Sleazy's the one on the midi keyboard organising some of the chaos about half way through.

He leaves behind him one hell of a discography. Long may his legacy live on. Rest in peace.

Classic TraXXX Mania

Just found THIS classic Dance Mania booty / ghetto mix from DJ Flint posted up on the ol' YoutTube (actually uploaded as recently as feb 2010...).

The original CDr / cassette release dates from back in 1997, and (interestingly!) includes many of the names included on the recent Planet Mu Footwork / Nu Skool Juke comps - full tracky here on the discogs page (audio cuts after about track 17, so no RP Boo or DJ Clent unfortunately. See what I did there, with the links...).

"From the back...Bitch. Hoe...Woah Oh..." etc etc etc. This sh*t is fast as hell, and really f*cked up, trust me.

Turn't up, and switch your mind to freak mode.

Enjoy.