Monday's suck

Especially 6 hour lectures. Here are a few bits to pull you through the monday blues.

Jamie XX's remix of Adele's Rolling in the deep is genius, easily one of the most exciting bits of music out at the moment. Slight problem being it's pretty slow; in step Prince Club with an excellent house edit shaped solution; Adele's vocals chopped up along with Jamie XX's original screwing and shuffling fitted nicely into a house format. Download, if for nothing else, the epic hands in the air moment when the break down rolls around and those synth stabs rise up before dying to make space for Adele's vocals. 

Rolling in the deep (Jamie XX shuffle - Prince Club house edit) - Adele - (Try writing that on your CDs)

Next up is someone I found on soundcloud totally on accident. His name... Fear, Matt Fear. His latest bit up for download is called clouds and is on a George Fitzgerald/XXXY kind of vibe; really sweet sounding house music. Arpeggiated synths run amok over some techno chords and plenty of low end. There's also a whole host of mash ups and blends available for free download on his page, check'em out.

Clouds - Matt Fear

Mind the gap

Our friends at the Wicked bass follow on from Volta Cab's Give it juice EP, with Lokiboi's mind the gap EP, backed with big remixes from Moleskin favourites Klic, Ratcatcher and Talk. The three originals all wear classic dubstep influences; the sinister film samples, the sense of space in the tracks and deep lurching sub bass. Klic's remix is being given out for free to help promote the release and it's a doozie. Completely over hauling the dark dubstep lurcher into a superb garagey dancefloor remix, complete with a catchy hook and ridiculous bass pressure. Cop the remix and look out for the whole release dropping on the 7th of february.

Pressure (Klic remix) - Lokiboi

MODULATE

Big ups everyone who was at the last Modulate, it was rammed and with good reason; Mella Dee, representing for Mista Men, absolutely killed it with his dusty vinyl only garage set as did George Fitzgerald and Resketch. And now Modulate are coming correct again with a Well Rounded label take over night. It pretty much sells itself. More info here 

January top 10

1. Deny - Pantha 

2. Incomplete - Pantha

3. You always start it - XXXY 

4. 303s & 808s - Prince Club

5. Don't you - George Fitzgerald

6. Foolish feat. Alys Blaze - Klic

7. AC Riddim - GuGu

8. So hard - Pantha

9. Battle for Middle you - Julio Bashmore

10.Spartan - Spooky

▽nkown ShΔpes

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook the other day; this has to rank as one of the best free EP giveaways for a long time. Filling a void, somewhere between the brain feeder crew, Rustie and Girl Unit, this shady group have brought together 5 tracks, entitled the "If I should Die EP" full of massive 808  basslines, RnB percussion, distorted vocals and big aggressive synth lines. Used to give a Fuck edges it over the others for me, but download the lot and make up your mind.

Used to give a Fuck - ▽nkown ShΔpes

The world keeps turning - ▽nkown ShΔpes

If I should die - ▽nkown ShΔpes

IGP Riddim - ▽nkown ShΔpes

Shapes and Stars - ▽nkown ShΔpes

A bit for valentines

Sampha has long been a producer I've wanted more from, ever since Sbtrkt played Atomic peace in his Mary Anne Hobbs mix (please release that tune already!), an appearance on the boiler room only helped wet my appetite. Jessie Ware created one of the vocal cuts of the year, also with Sbtrkt, with a tune called Nervous. Well now the two have linked up to create something which really brings out the best in both musicians; Valentine is like a slice of heartbroken space age twee mixed with a christmas number one from the 80s. It's being given a limited 500 copy release with the excellent Young Turks label on the 7th of next month AND it's on heart shaped 7" (ahw!)

JESSIE WARE + SAMPHA / Valentine by Young Turks

Drumz of the South

Anyone that lives in London needs to head down to the Lava Gallery on the 17th of february as Georgina Cook, the photographer behind Drumz of the South is showcasing her photography. The Drumz of the south blog played a big part in the development of the Dubstep scene, from it’s early days in South London to it’s current position as a global movement. What initially started as a blog later became a monthly club night, which took place at Plan B in Brixton. Georgina Cook's flickr page is one of the only sources which documents the evolution of the dubstep scene. Often when you look at her photos of DMZ events you can see soon to be big names dancing around in the background. The opening night will also play hosts to Martelo and Skipple, so I'd recommend emailing info@lavacollective.com to guarantee entry. Don't worry too much if you miss the opening night as the exhibition will be on all week. More info on the facebook event

Jamie Woon

Plastician at DMZ

Von D

Joe Nice

Loefah

Generation Bass on Radio 1

FWD

Burial's album covers

Mary Anne Hobbs at Generation Bass

Kode9 + Spaceape

A wee absence

Haven't been feeling particularly great recently, probably something to do with my uni deadline day last week (too many bludclarting words) which explains my break from blogging. Here are a few bits that have got me through. 

Kingdom up first with a bit that sounds like a cross between a soulja boy beat and the theme tune from the fast and the furious; Tokyo Drift. This one's straight ballin'

Tell 'em (kingdom remix) - Sleigh Bells

Next is a bit from Josh Humphris who has a forthcoming ep out on Wickedbass records. Really nice summery vibes on his house bootleg of Family's soulful funk song Larf & Sing. Sampling a few vocal strains, he manages to keep the vibe of the original intact. Keep your eyes peeled for his release dropping in February.

Larf & Sing (Josh Humphris remix) - Family

Glasgow's Koreless is making waves at the moment, and with this remix you can see why. Taking the vocals and percussion from Jacques Greene's The Look as the basis of the track, he strips back all the acid elements and adds a warm synth and small bass bumps. The overall effect is a slightly more subdued track, perhaps not something you'd hear in a club, but something that ought to be appreciated all the same.

The look (Koreless remix) - Jacques Greene

From me to you by Mista Men is a beautiful jazzy garagey bit, complete with jazz bar piano keys and warm pads (check it out here). Bristol's Price plays down the tuff garage percussion and instead layers softer funky percussion with jazzy shakers and woodblocks. He also splits up the pads and piano keys playing on the melodies and atmospheric sounds. This one's for sunday drives in the country.

From me, to you (Price re-rub) - Mista Men

Last up is a bit from the very much under rated and over talented Klic (more on him soon) and the excellent Alys Blaze. This one's from 2008 and it comes with a rather tragic stolen laptop story (too many of those at the moment). Realistically, this was never going to be a bad track, but still it managed to surpass my expectations. Foolish is an eerie Ation-esque (was that Scuba in disguise?) half stepper built with plenty of space for Alys' soulful vocals to weave around. Playing on atmospheric sounds and a distorted trumpet, this is an essential for fans of old hotflush and abucs releases. Klic's also, kindly, remastered it so it's ready for the dance. I also highly recommend downloading the excellent jazzy 2 step remix of Ajar by E.S.T. as well.

Foolish feat. Alys Blaze - Klic

Ajar (klic's 2 step boot) - E.S.T.

Sunday re-rubs

Here are some free downloads I've seen in the last few days that are pretty sick. First up is a bit from Fantastic Mr. Fox; his rerub of Brandy's angels in disguise, originally released on a white label 12" with pariah's remix of on & on by Erykah Badu back in April, which the guardian gave away last month as a part of their best of december article. Reconstructing the original with a twisted vocal hook, off kilter half time percussion and a lot of low end into a smooth and soulful number.

Angels in Disguise (Fantastic Mr. Fox nature boy rerub) - Brandy 

Next up we've got a HUGE garage re-rub of Canblaster's jet pack, packed with a RIDICULOUS amount of bass pressure. I could describe what else is in the track but you really won't care when you hear the bassline. Talk on the buttons for this one.

Jetpack (Talk remix) - Canblaster 

Last up I've got this bit from a guy called Lee Webster. Lee Webster is a production alias of someone called Mr Hi-Rize; he's got a few aliases, each making a different style of music from tech house to disco and hip hop. This bit, however, is a 4x4 rerub of Diana Ross' upside down; straight classic vibes and this one doesn't disappoint, for fans of Scott Garcia

Upside down (Lee Webster rerub) - Diana Ross

Jamie XX

Juno have recently suggested this might just be 'The year of Jamie XX' and with recent remixes and solo material I'm inclined to agree. Here is selection of my favourite Jamie XX bits; cop his remix of Adele out now on XL and his remix of Falty DL's hip love and watch out for his Gil Scott-Heron remix album, dropping on the 21st of february, which judging from the teasers we've heard is going to be a big one!

Ballin'

Only play these tunes if you be straight ballin/got mad swag.

First up are two free numbers off Devonwho's soundcloud. Devonwho make excellent... music that is difficult to define. Imagine hip hop made a baby with star trek; that's close to devonwho. To date I've never heard a devonwho track I haven't liked within 30 seconds and last year they turned in a remix of Mono/Poly's Oil fields which easily ranks in my top 50 tunes from last year. Starting off Slapshot is a bit that Dam-Funk (more on him below) included in his mix for the irreplaceable Mary Anne Hobbs entitled Dam-Funk's future of modern funk mix, I think that sums up the track rather nicely. The second track, and my favourite, is most definitely the more heartfelt of the two, even if the heart it is felt from is that of a robot. I hope I've confound you enough with my sci-fi analogies to hit them tracks. LAZER!

Slapshot - Devonwho

Widmilshire - Devonwho

Ok ok so who's this Dam-funk cat you mentioned? This guy.

There's literally no way he can make music that sounds awful; look at him! I found this remix of Nite Jewel on XLR8R and fell in love with it pretty quickly. It was described as galactic boogie which is pretty accurate. Maybe I should change the name of this post to that? If you need a bit of help to convince you to download the track I suggest you A. look at the photo above again and B. watch the below video of Warm eyes by Fatima, produced by none other than Mr. Funk himself. Finally, watch out for a Nite Jewel + Dam-Funk collaboration lurkin in the near future

It goes through your head (Dam-Funk clubdub) - Nite jewel

Prince Club take two

Not many producers can claim to have been blogged twice on here in one week (a big honour, I know) but those two guys that are Prince Club have only gone and given out 2 bloody stonking tracks. My favourite is the one with those 303s and 808s which is ridiculous and should be rewound an inodinate amount of times whenever possible, but Humpty Dumpty is also bloody lovely chunky tech house. Git'em

303s & 808s (Original Mix) ***Free Download*** by Prince Club
Humpty Dumpty (Original Mix) ***Free Download*** by Prince Club

We dropped this on Rinse and it got wheeled

The above quote comes from infamous duo Dusk and Blackdown. Their show on rinse is one of the best consistently bring new music to the fore. The tune that quote references (Funky grimey goodness) has just been made free to download on soundcloud, along with previously blogged Love hangover which is just smooth dusty garage vibes. Big up Walton - he's got an Ep coming out soon - check the preview below along with said free downloads. DON'T SLEEP

DJ Eastwood - U Aint Ready (Walton 130 Edit) by Walton.

Love Hangover by Walton.

X147001 Walton - Miami Blues EP (Forthcoming X147 Records) by Walton.

Two fingers up to uni work

You know those songs you see on soundcloud and you're like man, I really need a copy of that. You obsess over it and play it over and over again? Hell you even know what the next song sounds like all the way through because the song you love so much has finished and started playing the next one. This is mine and gets me fist pumpin' all the way through. Set to be released in the not near enough future. Keep an eye on Prince Club's soundcloud for release details. Also I've nicked a remix off another blog (hold tight The Unfound)  which is pretty good

Blue Blood (Prince Club Remix) - Foals


303s & 808s (Preview) by Prince Club

Also the person that does their videos is a GENIUS, check more of Skunch's videos here

Glastonbury emerging talent competition

I'm super stoked to say I am one of 40 blogs (meant to be 40 of the best in the UK) helping to judge the competition. The prize is slot on the pyramid stage, that's the main stage for those of you who have never been (why?). For the 2011 competition, acts will be able to enter FOR ONE WEEK ONLY from 9am on Monday 10th January until 5pm on Monday 17th January 2011 on the Glastonbury festivals sight. Entries for the contest will be FREE. To enter, you will simply need to supply a direct link to a web page where you can hear at least one of your songs (MySpace, official site, YouTube, SoundCloud etc). Check the blog list and also the entry form below.

ENTRY FORM HERE

Friday remixed

Today I've got two remixes and continuing on from my tron themed post yesterday, Pixelord (all hail),  uploaded this today; sampling noises from the old NES game excite bike and incorporating it into his tron legacy theme remix creating a kind of glitchy hip hoppy dubstep vibe. Then it drops. Mind. Blown. Keep your eye on Pixelord's soundcloud for more glitchy soundbites

Tron Legacy (Pixelord remix) - Daft Punk

A track on a slower RnB tip is Kingdom's remix of Monster by Kanye West featuring among other Nicki Minaj, and it's her vocals that the remix focuses on among those huge bass bumps. This is the dirty version, if you can't handle swearing go to Kingdom's site and pick up the clean version... I'M A MOTHER FUCKING MONSTERRRR

Monster (Kingdom's Nicki-centric Edit) - Kanye West

Daft Punk

It's been a little while since I've heard a lot of decent electro; it just seemed to dry up (Dear Justice, please make another album) but I got this one in my inbox this morning and i gotta admit it makes me feel pretty awesome when it drops; Decalicious going in hard on Daft Punk's Derezzed adding some huge pounding drums while leaving most of the original synths intact. Download this one, if for nothing else, for the build up, so epic...

Derezzed (Decalicious Rearranged Edit) - Daft Punk

MODULATE

All Leeds crew reach this one. Tickets (£4) here

Some skippy beats

Today I'm posting a whole batch of skippy garagey tunes. Also, does Jacques Greene ever make not nice tunes? The above bit ripped from his URB mix is being released in the first quarter of the year apparently.

Next up is a bit I saw on the mad decent blog; Admin makes tunes with kinda garagey vibes, this tune's no different. Skippy clicky percussion, a lurching bassline and a big slice of heartsickness thanks to the slowly swelling synths and vocal snnatches. Admin also runs the bootsncats blog, go check dat

Impressions - Admin

Next up is another Seiji goodie; number 11 in the series, Whisky, is a big slice of tribal broken beat. The freebie comes with the news that he has a follow up release to straylight/weedkiller; Seiji 3 which will drop end of february. Keep your eyes peeled for that because his past two releases have been FYAHHHHH. 

Whisky - Seiji

Next up is a brae I've featured on here a while ago (bone up) really this second post has been a long time coming; Didz is man that seems unable to make a bad beat; everything he's done (by himself or with collaborator Chico) is soulful and a pleasure to listen to, not just inna club, but in a car/train/bus/plane. A few days ago he uploaded the 1st track below; soulful garage, deep house pads; all that jazz. Below that are another two favourites that are receiving a bit of attention at the moment - from the jazzy saxophone sampling "Lucid space dust" with Chico, to the deeper side of things with Suplex. Check the mans soundcloud for more free goodness and keep an eye out for Didz in 2011.

Didz - You Feel (FREE DOWNLOAD) by DIDZ

Chico & Didz - Lucid Space Dust (soundcloud) by DIDZ

Didz - Suplex by DIDZ

Jungle monday

Today's all about the jungle and this is the tune that's instigated it all. It's been a long time coming, but finally Elkat (much more on him later this month) comes correct with a free party starter; paying tribute to fun lovin' 90s hardcore/jungle this one ranks in at 145 bpm.  Cop this one off the player and for best results rewind at least 3 times... EL. KAT. DUB. PLATE.

Lovin' You (Jungle Tribute) *FREE DOWNLOAD* by ELKAT

Upping the BPM to 150 is a bit I've been umming and erring about this one for a little while now and I've made up my mind. This one's a banger, hold tight Breakage + Shy FX

Raver (Breakage's Pattern Moschino remix) - Shy FX

Last up is a free cut from Marcus Visionary's album dropping today; entitled Humble, it's being released on Liondub International, which he co runs along with DJ Liondub. This ones onna sweet ragga jungle tip. Check out his album dropping with some huge collabs, keep an eye out for some future bizniz on Digital soundbwwoooooy and if yuh want more check out his interview and guest mix on Knowledge magazine 

Marcus Visionary Feat. Bunny General - Soundwar [Liondub International] by Knowledge Mag