It's been a while wince I posted another Thugstep blend. Massive thanks to everyone who's been supporting them, whether it's playing them at raves, on radio, or on you iPods... It means a lot.
This was originally done as a mashup for my BBC 1Xtra Guest Mix for Mistajam back in February. I figured that it worked so well, I though I'd make it into a proper blend. I've called it a quick hitter as it's only the first verse and chorus; the reason being that the rest of the acapella doesn't fit so well with the whole tune. Also, like myself, most DJs like to mix quickly, so it's always nice to have something short and sweet with a clean intro and outro.
Let me know what you think!
P.S. This will also feature on "Fuck Thugstep Vol. 2", which is coming soon!
We already loved this Mumdance track enough to put it in our Knowledge mixbut then he told us it was inspired by our old skool Cardiff amigo DJ Oddz (who sadly gave up Grime for God a while back) which made us love it even more, then the final icing on the cake was him letting us pass it to you guys in advance of his forthcoming EPs on Mad Decent and Trouble & Bass this Summer... it is now the best 'Kerplunk' tune we've ever heard (okay so it's the only one so far but let's not squibble on details).
Speaking of Cardiff, here's a sneak preview of a new tune from another of the city's lost sons you might just recognise (okay so he's not quite lost, just gone AWOL in Berlin).
Yes, it's a provocative headline, but alas, we don't have a juicy story about R. Kelly's latest sexual controversy involving chipmunks. Nearly as exciting, however, is the fact that DJ 0.000001(AKA Th' Mole of Daly City Records) has two brand new free releases, both oozing with crazy futuristic freshness.
In honor of Earth Day, April 22, "Earth Day Sex" transforms the popular "Birthday Sex" track (by Jeremih) from a weak pop tune into a banging spaced-out slow-jam. Another signature "thrash-up" containing elements from over five songs (including R. Kelly's "Sex Planet" and "The Zoo", Lil Wayne's "Zoo", and more), complete with over-the-top cover art, the track is as hilarious as it is catchy.
Also from DJ 0.000001, in collaboration with Chickenhed, comes All Chipped Up, 20 minutes of exclusive "thrash-ups" with one thing in common: rapping chipmunks! Experience pitched-up vocals from Die Antwoord, E-40, DJ Assault and more, laid atop 0.000001's bumping mutant beats.
Tracklisting:
01. Die Antwoord "Beat Boy" 02. Jamie Foxx "Straight To The Dance Floor" (ft. Lil Wayne) 03. E-40 "I'm On One" 04. Chris Brown "I Can Transform Ya" (ft. Lil Wayne) 05. DJ Quik & Kurupt "Jupiter's Critic & The Mind Of Mars" 06. Th' Mole "Go Horsie" 07. DJ Assault "Ass N Titties" 08. Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes "Block Party"
Some big things have been goin on in the world of our Irish bredren DROKKRrecently. He has EPs on the way for (about to launch) Scottish label Urge Mode and also Badman Press Recordings. The track Big Drink is very different to any thing that he has produced in the past. 100bpm anyone? This will be out sometime in June with label ownerDZon duty for the remix. Here is a clip...
We're involved in a great new venue in Cardiff called Cardiff Arts Institute . Some real incredible acts coming up on their new Fridays and Saturday nights from May but before then even there's a couple of beauties. On Friday 30th April the big man himself High Rankin will be dropping by, whilst the day before Kruger Magazine are bringing Bass Clef back to the city for some more One Man Bass antics. One of the new Friday residents and Kruger stalwart Adam Corner caught up with Bass Clef for some wordage before he arrrives.
Put the date in your diary – on Thursday April 29th at the Cardiff Arts Institute on Park Place, the one-man-band-like-no-other Bass Clefwill be in town. Following a late-afternoon performance in the lobby of the Cardiff Museum (part of the Artes Mundicelebrations, and quite possibly the first time live dubstep has been played in a museum), zwolf, Kruger DJs (Adam & Phoenix) and Mr Healanwill be warming up the crowd from 9pm in the Arts Institute, before Bass Clef takes to the stage at around 11.00pm.
I caught up with Bass Clef – AKA Ralf Cumbers – and found him waxing lyrical about the joys of playing in Cardiff. “I think I've done Cardiff three times, and each one has been a cracker, especially the last Swn show (in 2009), it was one of my all time favourites!”
A visit by Bass Clef is any city’s gain – and back in 2007, when Ralf played The Point as part of Mary Anne Hobbes’ Warrior Dubz tour, Cardiff knew he was something special. “I love the Cardiff crowd”, said Ralf, “if they're in to it they will really let you know!”
And what’s not to be into? The Bass Clef sound is visceral but sophisticated – a blend of dancehall rhythms, trombone flourishes and electronic production that never fails to blow the roof off. Most people’s introduction to him was through the stunning single ‘Cannot be Straightened’, lifted from his debut album ‘A Smile is a Curve that Straightens Most Things”. Operating in the same anthemic bass territory as Roots Manuva’s ‘Witness (1 Hope)’ or Dead Prez ‘Hip Hop’, dropping ‘Cannot Be Straightened’ is a shortcut to a skanking dance floor.
The new album – titled May the Bridges I Burn Light My Way and released earlier in the year on Blank Tapes – keeps up the pressure, although there’s a little more depth to the songs. “I had a few lovely reviews, but if one person out there gets it and loves it then brilliant” says Ralf humbly. “I’ve been gigging a load, plus writing a ton of stuff, some of which may or may not be the start of album three…I’m currently based in London and most of my music is recorded at home. But with the latest album I took my home recorded tracks to a fantastic south London studio called Snorkel, to add the stuff I can't do at home: brass, percussion, drums. It's something I'd like to build on, the blending of electronic and acoustic is the exciting thing for me these days.”
Bass Clef is only on his second album, but given the speed that electronic music seems to move at, it feels like he’s something of a veteran of the dubstep scene. “I guess in these accelerated times, having released records in 2006 would qualify me as the 2nd wave of old skool or something! God knows, ask someone who cares about the hardcore continuum thingy.”
It’s a refreshingly self-effacing attitude from a man who has done as much rummaging around under the engine of the dubstep-mobile as any of the more consciously cooler Hypedub crowd. While refusing to be pigeon-holed by lazy journalistic clichés is the prerogative of any underground artist, the acts that make up the prism of styles that dubstep has splintered into are sensitive about the way their music is labelled and described. It’s probably a sign of a scene filled with healthy self-confidence, but Bass Clef has a slightly different perspective: “I think I started on the outside edge of dubstep, now I've moved farther out and the egdes of dubstep have moved waaaay closer to the centre. I haven't ever thought about where I stand really. I just try and make tunes I think are good and true, and then whatever anyone wants to call it is fine with me.”
Whatever we do-or-don’t call it, 2010 is a ridiculously exciting time for electronic bass music with new acts and labels popping up everywhere, and Ralf is right in the mix: “Hell yeah, there's a ton of stuff going on. The new Mr Majeika tune on Numbers is absolutely rocking my world. 'Because of you' by Panagea is an amazing record. Geiom is kicking it as always. There's a new act called Raime that will release their debut 12" this year and it's absolutely stunning. I'm deep in to Kenyan Benga music from the 70's too. It's really stripped down, but so funky.”
With such an eclectic bag of influences, its no surprise that Bass Clef is such a unique artist. What other dubstep artist could play a museum lobby and the Scala in London in the space of a week? “I think the weirdest gig I’ve done would have to be at a Cambridge May ball. I played at 4am, after a Take That tribute band, in the courtyard of a beautiful old historic college, to a lot of drunk people in tuxedos and ballgowns. Good times! Well I say a lot. There were about 7 people.”
We’ve all been there…drunk in a tuxedo that is, not playing a trombone and Theremin at 4am in the morning at a Cambridge ball. But what next for the Clef-monster? “There should be a 12" of 'Promises' (single from his new album) with an absolutely beautiful Appleblim & Peverlist remix, then not one but two shows with the almighty Konono No.1, plus my first trips to Malta and Tel Aviv...and of course my return to wonderful Cardiffland!”
And wonderful Cardiffland is looking forward to his arrival…
Emika - Drop The Other (Scuba's Vulpine Mix) Beast - Out Of Control (Emika Remix) Emika - Double Edge (2nd EP release) Emika - Double Edge (DJ Pinch Remix) Pinch - 2012 (feat. Emika)
Our bredren Superisk from out of Bristol's mighty Central Spillz collective hit us up with this killer mix, hosted by fellow Spillz member and general man about town Koast. We've heard a few of the forthcoming tracks from Superisk's Space Travel LP and they are sounding heavy. The Central Spillz boys will be hitting our home town of Cardiff alongside Pangaea and our very own Monky on May 21st, looking forwards to that one for definite.
Our bredren Ming decide to try his hand at making a video for his crew Lex Umbra, having no equipment to hand other than his Blackberry, this is what he managed to cook up.
Look out for the new Hyperdub meeting of minds and music from L.V. and Quarta 330 which drops on April 26th. Hylo is a glitched up electro ping pong game set to a future grime bleep fest whilst Suzuran, a remix of a tune by Chiptune artist Dong, is what it might sound like if the first pop tune to break out of Furby land into the Japanese charts was a Future Garage track.
Speaking of Hyperdub, we're currently watching this lecture from head honchoKode 9 that we got from the fellas over at the Red Bull Music Academy. One of the most interesting guys in modern music so you know it's gonna be a brain booster.
Finally we have a tune which Hyperdub starlet Ikonika felt was a little too close to her label mate Zomby, so she offered it up on her Twitter feed.
Our boy Killa Kela has certainly taken a different direction over the past few years but with the sun shining through the windows of Chrome Mansions this tune has definitely put a smile on our faces this morning.
Here's a little taster vid for our Berlin based amigo Robot Koch's new EP Listen To Them Fadewhich is out next month. Some of his most beautiful productions to date whichLorn from the Brainfeeder crew described as 'like watching mountains melt without LSD'. A fair summary we'd say.
Stuttering drums, space age organised chaos, a touch of funk and a whole lot of soul. Just the kind of flavour we dig and Leonard Dstroy got all the right recipes. Can't tell you too much about him except he's from the Innate Sounds Crewbased out of Kansas City, this is one of those unexpected gems that dropped in our inbox. You can pick the whole thing up for zero dinero at Bandcamp but here's a couple of our choice cuts.
You gotta love Starkey for letting us satisfy our MTV Base side in a respectable manner. A worthy outake from his Street Bass Volume 4 album here but if this is still a touch too wet look gel for some of you guys you could do worse then pick up the BD1982 album Let's Talk Math on Starkey's Seclusiasis label now.
The wanderer has returned. RQM is back in Berlin and has hooked up with his long time collaborators Robot Koch and Baba Jahcoozi for this X Rated outing which gets a raved out Electro remix with a slight latin twist from Portuguese duo Octa Push.
As we mentioned before, bass freaks HeavyFeet have a new label. Their first single features Northern Grime outfit Virus Syndicate on vocals plus big remixes from AC Slater on a Dubstep tip and themselves, switching up to more of a House tip. You can pick them both up fromBeatportbut as with all future releases you can grab the original for free right here.
The excellent Svetlana Industries label has a a new release from London's Jackhigh and LA's Teebs who landed lucky when he found himself living with Flying Lotus and Samiyam for flatmates and has since been welcomed into the prestigious Brainfeederfamily. You can pick the 7 track release up on vinyl right now or digital from May 3rd, but we also have one of the tracks Clutch, whom some may remember from FlyLo's Essential Mix, for you here.
Dubstep and pop is possibly like Matusalem Rum and Rola Cola for some people but we do think there's a certain mix you can get just right whereby one compliments the other without being too compromised. A man who is well used to getting such mixes right, and who would never be seen dead soiling his rum with cheap cola is our LA amigo Troublemaker who follows up his previous two remixes of the year in a similar vein for Colorado's OneRepublic.
With the new Foamo single Jookie gaining some strong support, the guys over at Fat! Recordshave sent us over a killer Junglesque style remix from Warrior One of the B Side Centavo for you all.
We've been running round like a bunch of mad March hares for the last month or so and we've taken our eye off the ball a few times. One particular ball just hit us in the face when we realised that the March mix we had off our amgio Don Leisure has slipped into April. We're not the most respectful of rules or time however and this mix will remain fresh for many moons to come so for your listening pleasure...
Unless specified, any mp3s linked to on this blog are purely for promotional trial purposes only and should be deleted from a computer within 24 hours. If you like what you hear show respect to the person who made it and go buy the album.
If an artist or label spots material of theirs on this blog and is not pleased by this, contact me and I will remove it immediately.
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