Podcast #16: Miss Crawford

Friday, March 12th, 2010

mfDoomblog

She’s been lurking (and working) in the shadows for some time now and she’s decided it’s her time to shine. We’re happy! She’s got ridiculously good taste in music, and she pleases herself before making any concessions for you or I….our kind of girl….check for yourselves. This is her first podcast mind so go easy on her. We were all first-timers on the mic once:

 

Tracklisting

Strong Arm Steady feat Talib Kweli// Get Started
Medina Green feat Mos Def// Party Done
DTMD// Fantastic
Jneiro Jarel// N.A.S.A
Olivier Daysoul// The Walls
Pollyn// Still Love (Debruit Remix)
Will Powers// Adventures in Success (dub)
Mulatu Astatake// Esketa Dance
Shafiq Husayn// Nirvana
Bei Bei and Shawn Lee// Into the wind
Robert Glasper// The Robert Glasper Experiment
Gill Scott Heron// Me and the Devil
P.O.S// Goodbye
Atmosphere// Shoulda Known
Dabrye feat Doom// Air
Janelle Monae feat Big Boi// Tightrope
Big Boi// Royal Flush (Clean)
Juggaknots// Settle Down
Cunninlynguists// Mic Like a Memory
Mos Def feat Talib Kweli// History
Doom// Ballskin
Oddisee feat Tranquil// It’s Over

Podcast #15: Duke Etienne

Monday, March 1st, 2010

congotronics1

After an inexcusably long hiatus, the Duke drops some fresh gems on y’all. Detroit House, Hip Hop, Raw Roots music from Africa to the Caribbean? It’s all here:

Duke Etienne Podcast #15

 

Tracklisting

John Roberts//White
Chez-N-Trent//All about You
Bookworms//African Rhythms
Donaeo//Riot Music (Shy FX Mix)
Marcé//Ca Ca Ye (Frankie Francis Edit)
Georgia Ann Muldrow//Jina Langu Ni Afrika (my Name Is Afrika)
Brittany Bosco//Black Keys
Will – I – Am//Money
Pal Joey//Breakin’ Necks
House Shoes//The Makings
Georgia & Dudley//Shine On
Dabrye//I’m Missing You
Reggie B//Spoken Lenny
Flying Lotus//Quakes
Jay Electronica//Exhibit A (Transformations)
Fatima//Higher
Black Joy Edits//Edit 10
Red Earth Collective ft. Manasseh//Hard Times Dub
Vincent Taylor//Living A Lie
Connie Bell//Vampires
Midnite//Enter
Nneka//Africans
Baloji//Karibou Ye Bintou

Event: South LDN Afro Movements…

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

yaabaweb

If you didn’t already know, London is currently being shaken by a new-wave afro explosion. Dele Sosimi, Afrospot, The Soothsayers, Eric Soul….the list goes on.

Not afraid to step beyond the borders of Afro-Funk, Yaaba Funk are one of the more interesting shards of the aforementioned afro bomb. If you know Heads High, you should know Yaaba Funk from a heavy NYE basement session we collaborated on in East’ London’s ‘Life‘ venue (word to Kato!). if you don’t yet know Yaaba, you’re in for a treat. Peep the sample stream below, check the video and if you like what you hear, head over to SHOOK to investigate the interview I recently did with them…

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

….and the event? Deep South runnings courtesy of Jamie Renton and his Chilli Fried machine…

CFYaabaFunkblog

Connie Bell: Roots & Culture Style…

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

connie_bell_450

Still waters run deep and Connie Bell is no exception. While most of us know her for keeping things together as Heads High’s host and vocalist in chief, not many know that the end of ‘09 saw more than a few late night studio excursions by our favourite Jamaican songstress.

Her cover has officially been blown now as the first of many products of those sessions hits the streets in the form of the awesome ‘Vampires’ on UK Roots imprint ‘Top-A-Top”. Riding a fresh reimagining of a classic Lee Perry rhythm, Ms Bell gets raw on those who choose to take without giving. With a dangerous dub on the flip to seal the deal, it’s all about supporting music of substance in 2010…

Cop the freshness here….And if you missed her first release for the label, here’s what could have been yours…

Sofrito Tropical Soundclash!!!

Monday, February 15th, 2010

170005-12_4500

As I opened my front door to a spine-chillingly cold blast of Arctic air this morning I found myself thinking ‘When the rass is this winter going to end?’ Thankfully, the warmth and wellness of an equatorial existence was closer than I’d imagined as my inbox opened and a warm breeze carried news of the next Sofrito Tropical Warehouse bash!

Those that know tend to know about Sofrito’s functions, their heavyweight bills, heavier dubplates and contrastingly light-footed crowds have brought them much attention on these shores and beyond. Add to that a scorching release schedule and a propensity for rooting out excitingly unknown locations for their events and you have all the information required to confirm your attendance at their next session.

March the 6th is a big one, here’s the blurb:

“For our first party of 2010 we are very proud to present an exclusive DJ appearance from QUANTIC alongside many special guests!

Taking control of an amazing new two room warehouse space in the heart of Dalston, we’ll be playing the best in hot and heavy Tropical sounds in a costeño style!

We are bringing together the peerless Family Atlantica (featuring Luzmira Zerpa and Jack Yglesias) and Quantic to present the heaviest Vallenato and cumbia sounds in an exclusive live set that you won’t be able to see anywhere else!  The raw sound of the Caribbean coast, bringing together Afro-Venezualan sounds and the folkore of Colombia.

All this alongside a live set from Afro Latin masters Drymbago, DJ action from Quantic himself and the Sofrito Soundsystem plus some special guests!

Tickets are £10 in advance (plus £1 booking fee)”

con_quantic_3.2500

So there you have it. Cheat winter and get your heat on. In the meantime, here’s a mix lovingly sculpted by the soft hand of Sofrito, taking in rhythms from Colombia, Benin, Trinidad, Angola as well as an exclusive track from Quantic’s Sonido del Valle project…

Download Tropical Warehouse Mix

Dig: Etienne Jaumet

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Whilst passing through the Big Chill House for Slipped Disco’s UFO party last Friday, I was lucky enough to experience one of the most psychedelic electronic amalgamation of sounds I’ve heard in a while, delivered in the form of a live set by a French artist/producer, Etienne Jaumet.

Apparently, before his solo release, he was one part of a duo known as Zombie Zombie. To be honest, up until this moment, I was completely unfamiliar with Etienne’s work (although in my defense, this was his UK debut). What I can say however, is that listening to him live brought back memories of early 80’s sci-fi at its most inventive.

The set seemed to pay homage to techno in its original depiction, brought to mind by the famously reported dialogue between Stuart Cosgrove and Derrick May, who once stated that techno is “… like George Clinton and Kraftwerk are stuck in an elevator with only a sequencer to keep them company.” (Cosgrove, 1988)

As Etienne engaged in tweaking knobs and forging kitsch noises out of vintage machinery, his geeky mannerisms were a breath of fresh air in a scene that is increasingly becoming trivialised by trendy iPod DJs. Another thing that was very evident from watching his performance, was his undeniable skill in the manipulation of various synthesizers. Almost instantly we were transported into another realm of deep space exploration through his masterful deployment of cosmic sound effects, indigenous tribal drum patterns, live instrumentation and machine music.

Not always easy on the ear, plenty of experimentation and awkward noise forced us as listeners to work a little harder in order to reap the harvest of his creativity. It was well worth it.

From the set, Monsieur Jaumet definitely inspired me to dig deeper into his work. The results are as follows:

On Versatile Records, he released his first solo album last year, called Night Music bearing five lengthy tracks. Many label the album a techno effort, however like most semi-decent artists, pigeon-holing Night Music into a single genre just doesn’t do it any justice. My take is this, Night Music would be the creative output of techno, electro, cosmic jazz, deep space funk, disco, krautrock, psychedelic and prog rock forming a sonic conglomerate… Or maybe more simply put, what the Dr. Who soundtrack should be. I’m not going to break down each track but as a whole, the vibe of the album is unsettling, and deliberately so. The constant drone of sharp keys and minor chords may not sit well with everyone but if you are comfortable with this, you will surely get a sufficient dosage of instant vintage. Etienne goes all out on effects, from didgeridoos to birds chirping to bleeps and blips, his peculiar production style packages the aesthetic of a Pac-Man arcade into a highly intellectual yet danceable album.

Not only are electronic dimensions explored, real instruments such as the saxophones and other horns are ever-present in a style reminiscent to early Laurent Garnier tracks. We are truly taken back to the future in Night Music and its understandable why Carl Craig would jump on such a talent.

It is also clear that the same passion and effort Etienne put into creating Night Music, goes into his live performances, thus I thoroughly recommend catching him when he’s next on British soil.

Your modern day space odyssey.

Etienne Jaumet Myspace.