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This Saturday we shall be touching down at Simple Things in Bristol for one of the best Electronic Music line ups we've seen in the country since... last Simple Things.

Last year we played in Lakota and spent most of the time there listening to the likes of Jackmaster, Throwing Snow, Lunice, Hudson Mohawke and Rustie. Although we were more than happy with that, this year the festival is much more focussed around the centre of the city so it's easier to manoeuvre. Sadly Apparat has been involved in a motorcycle accident (but is apparently recovering well) so has had to cancel the planned Moderat shows but Modeselektor will still be representing hard along with 50 Weapons signings Doc Daneeka and Benjamin Damage.

Although there's far too many artists we want to see there, as well as the above we shall definitely be making an effort to catch Nicolas Jaar, Jon Hopkins, Mykki Blanco, Darkstar, King Midas Sound, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Evian Christ, John Wizards, Ital Tek, Typesun, DJRum, Dam Mantle Jazzy Jeff and our fellow Cardiffians Islet and Face & Heel.

If the pic's too small to read, click on it to enlarge.

Top marks to these guys, I think this is an excellent move and shall definitely be down there. Fantastic selection of acts including family, friends and favourites such as Clark (AV Show), Martyn, Pinch, DJ Die, Close (aka Will Saul), Arkist & Komon, Skudge, Indigo, Also (Appleblim & Al Tourettes), Bass Clef, Cheeba, Behling & Simpson, Eliphino, Typesun and Face & Heel.

For the full line up or to buy tickets head over to http://www.arcfestival.co.uk/

Those of you who actually read these posts may remember us mentioning one of our family members called elmono the other day. Well we can now let you know that his 'debut' outing will be the first release on Pinch's new Cold Recordings label and that he shall be playing in the Tectonic hosted Room 2 at Fabric this Friday. For a taster of what to expect, check out his Fabriclive Promo mix below and a mini interview with him over on the Fabric site.

Kaptin Is Dead - Reflections 2012 by Kaptinisdead on Mixcloud

We haven't done any 'best of' this year but Kaptin has put together a 'reflection selection' for 2012. Here's what he said about it.

"As I enter the final stages of the roller coaster ride that was 2012 I've left little time to consider a 'best of mix' really, with such a good year for music it might possibly last til 2014 anyway. However whilst in Studio 2 of Radio Cardiff I put together this selection of tunes that owe more to the reflective nature of the year's end. No fancy mixing or tricks just some incredible tunes from 2012 played pretty much in their entirety. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have."

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?skjb71rthba32d9

Actually the Tensnake remix of Ritual Union came out in 2011 but we'll let him off this once because it was still a great tune in 2012.

Tracklisting:

Metabeats feat. Dubbledge - EyeSeeYou

Remember that scene in Blade Runner where Daryll Hannah starts flipping out and nearly f**ks Rutger Hauer into oblivion, saving Harrison Ford a shed load of hassle? No nor do we but something tells me that’s what happens in the ‘Ghettozoid Director’s re-cut’ and this is the soundtrack to that very scene. Vangelis would probably be crying into his synthesiser if he heard this... or not. This is driving robo-booty bass music of the highest order and is out next week on One4Ho.

O4H003 Ghettozoid Boy Toy Finyl master by One4Ho

On the flip side evil genius Silverman has taken control of the 'Boy Toy' and has pushed it to the limits so it’s bordering on malfunction. It seems like he’s trying to use it to take over the planet, and he might just succeed.

Ghettozoid - BoyToy (Silverman RMX) by SiLVERMAN

If you're anywhere near the Sarf Larndon area tomorrow night (Saturday 9th April), go buy the One4Ho girls a drink down at the Brixton Bar & Grill. In return they shall play you much good tuneage, seems a fair swap.

We know Anika from her time living in Cardiff, however, knowing her as more of a promoter and general girl about town than as a recording artist, we have to say this new track on Stones Throw (produced by Geoff Barrow fom Portishead) came as something of a suprise. Much props and all the best to her indeed.



Anika - Yang Yang by stonesthrow

Following up from his killer Ludacris v. SebastiAn Mash up, Glitch hop pioneer Kraddy hits us with another meeting of musical monsters. This time it’s a royal rumble between the Oakland crew, Luniz' classic I Got 5 On It and the purple tinted track City Hopper from Bristol's Dubstep don Joker. Grab a copy below.

LUNIZ vs JOKER [KRADDY NEXT LEVEL MASH-UP] by KRADDY

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.

Download: Superisk & Koast - What The Foo Mix

Tracklisting:

1. Rodigan Intro
2. Central Spillz – What Ya Know About? (Superisk Remix) (Forthcoming Bad Influences)
3. Royal T – Side Effect (Kahn and Asa remix)
4. Mensah – Stapleton Road (Forthcoming HENCH)
5. Rox – No Going Back (Guido Remix) (Rough Trade)
6. Joker – Tron (Forthcoming Kapsize)
7. B-Lam (Feat. Naomi Jeremy) – Circles (Kahn Remix) (Forthcoming Sureskank)
8. Gemmy – Maroon Chant (Dub)
9. Central Spillz – Centraleyes (Superisk Space Travel LP Sampler)
10. Superisk – Find Your Way (Forthcoming)
11. Central Spillz – Aim High Part 2 (Gemmy Instrumental)
12. Heny G – 1985 (Dub)
13. Joker – Taste The Rainbow (Dub)
14. Siesta – Hide And Seek (Dub)
15. Sduk – YouNyt (Forthcoming Subdepth)
16. Guido – Korg Back (Dub)
17. Gatekeeper & Grillza – Truth In The Booth Part 2 (Feat. Spillz, Dread MC & Rider Shafique)

Can download this track here.

It has to be said that in general Bristol as a city is pretty much on it for music. When it comes to riding on the edge of excitement however we've always been more than partial to the line ups that Crazylegs produce. Since they started up in September 2008 the likes of Starkey, Joy Orbison, Raffertie, Cooly G and Brackles have all had their names beaming out of the posters at us. Now they've collected a posse of like minded promoters to form a collaboration under the Crazylegs banner. With nights such as UFO, Pollen, Focus and Work on board their hoping to step up even further.

True to expectations, their first outing of the year is right on the button as they overtake Basement 45 with: Ikonika, whose debut album on Hyperdub is easily one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the year; Pangaea, who has one of the most essential EPs of the moment out now on Hessle Audio; Martin Kemp, who has quickly proven that there's a lot more to him than simply being Brackles younger brother; and Mosca, who kicked off the month well with a Mary Anne Hobbs mix and set an instant high bench mark for the Night Slugs label with his Square One EP.

It's always a tricky tight rope when you're largely breakin' new artists at your night but this is an exciting line up and if anyone can pull it off it's these fellas we reckon.

Downloads:

Ikonika - Please / alt link

Pangaea - Why? / alt link

Mosca - Nike (128kbps) / alt link

Royal T - 1Up (Martin Kemp Remix) (128kbps) / alt link

Martin Kemp - XLR8R Podcast

For those who want to catch up on some history, the Bristol museum is hosting an interesting exhibition called Wild Dayz which features photography from Andrew "Beezer``Beese who captured the best elements of 80s Bristol through his lens. Scenes which include the Wild Bunch (who later became Massive Attack), St Pauls Carnival and the early Grafitti movement.


There's also a video compilation by Steve Haley which features amongst others, this classic track from our childhood from the Fresh Four, two of whom became big players in the Drum & Bass scene, DJ Krust and DJ Suv. The track was also produced by Smith and Mighty, legendary pioneers of the 'Bristol sound' (Rob Smith also has his hand in Dubstep circles under the name RSD). Learn something new every day.

Bristol crew Central Spillz have definitely got that meeting point between Hip-hop, Dubstep, Grime and Drum N Bass locked. Bringing back that back and forth rhyming that gives a great family vibe to their flows, they have been backed up this time by two of their hometown heavyweight producers in the shape of: Joker, who adds his purple tint to How We Roll and will be releasing the instrumental on Tectonic next week under the name City Hopper; and Guido who boosts up the booze and drug fuelled tales of Fear & Loathing, a party animal's propaganda track rather than a wasteman's anthem, but then I guess that depends how well you're built for a Bristol night out.

Download: Central Spillz - Bad influences EP (zip)

We wholeheartedly support what these guys are about, although not sure this film pushes hard enough the idea that it's not a regressive attitude they're taking by being against the kind of development being proposed by the council, it's actually a hyper-progressive one as they're thinking about further into the future then just making quick easy money and also building upon the internal strengths as well as the external. If ever you're in Bristol, Stokes Croft is a must to visit.

Found this video on The Peoples Republic Of Stokes Croft website.


Speaking of Bristol, we're loving the new release from Wascal, one of the many talented producers in the city. Glisten Up is a warm, sparse and moody Garage roller whilst Sub Mission is a magic carpet ride into the grimey depths of Dubstep with a touch of the Jungle in there too. Pick up a copy here. It's also a good excuse for us to put up this reworking of a classic Niney The Observer dub we've been selfishly holding onto for a while now.

Download: Niney & The Soul Syndicate - Couchi Dub (Wascal Refix) / alt link

We also have a new half hour mix from him featuring all his own productions. You can download or check the tracklisting here.

30min Wascal Only mix [Sept 09] by wascal

Bonus Download: Simian Mobile Disco feat Beth Ditto - Cruel Intentions (Joker Remix) / alt link

We're definitely reaching this... this is why.



Download: DJ Cable - Mr Muscle Hype (Tempa T & Rusko Mash Up)

Just reached back from Boomtown Fair in the Forest of Dean, a real fun little festival with a heavy Bristol following.

Our favourite spot was The Lion’s Den which seemed to be run by those post apocalyptic party favourites Arcadia and had the choicest line up of DJs, heavy on the Reggae, Dubstep and Jungle with The Heatwave fellas, Stivs from free party veterans Life 4 Land & Demolition Man, Congo Natty & Tenorfly, Mungos Hi-Fi and Iration Steppas being amongst the more noticeable. Favourite set came from Baobinga who played a hype set which was possibly the least obvious you can play without losing the crowd.


There was disappointment from missing Jazzsteppa who apparently tore it up, and didn't manage to catch Reso or Komonazmuk either, but none of the music anywhere in the festival was in itself disappointing, which is rare these days. Most of the bands were some combination or other of Dub, Ska, Gypsy and Folk, relying on festival favourites rather than big name pullers, with especially good sets from: Babylon Circus out of Lyon; Babyhead, whose sound has got a lot deeper and dubbier of late but who still remain one of the top festival bands; and Glitzy BagHags.

Unfortunately because Los Albertos, a fantastic Ska based band from Brighton had the last official slot of the festival they only managed to get out two tunes before they had to shut down. It must have killed the organizers to have to do this but with such a good little thing going in a beautiful location it would be a shame to have their license revoked for next year.

We don't really have any suitable tracks to give you from the festival this time so here's a few recent Dubstep favourites from our inbox, starting with these Bronto sized beats from The Snare Bear. Both tracks make up the Jurassic Park EP some eerie tribal Dubstep business, heavy on the 808s and growly on the bass.

(YSI) The Snare Bear - Rex / alt link

(YSI) The Snare Bear - Raptor / alt link


Reasonable little reworking of the fantastic Bats for Lashes track Daniel by Graphics here, not sure how the mix will stand up on a proper set of speakers as just got a shitty pair of headphones on me, but definitely worth trying.

Bats For Lashes - Daniel (Graphics Dubstep Remix)

Next is a mash up by Blessed Love of a few different Skream tunes and some Linton Kwesi Johnson samples that's brimming with chilled intensity. Check out the UK Bass Culture Mixtapes from Blessed Love too for a quick history lesson from Reggae classics through UK Hip-hop and into the current Dubstep trends.

(YSI) Blessed Love - LKJ Vs Skream Dubstep Mash Up / alt link


Finally a heavyweight selection of Dubz that's right up our street, courtesy of The Hoax, holding it down over there in Antwerp.

(Sharebee) The Hoax - Dubstep Mix Aug 09

Tracklisting:

D.Kay - Fire (Rusko Remix)
Mike Lennon - Brass Eye (Reso Remix)
Joker & Ginz - Purple City
Ed Solo - Watch Your Eyes
Benga - One Million
Chase & Status - Eastern Jam (High Rankin Remix)
Tek-One - Broken String
Bar 9 - Murda Sound (VIP Mix)
Reso - Smash Yer Face In
Man Like Me - London Town (Doorly's Cockney Wideboy Remix)
Kevin Rudolf Ft. Kid CuDi - Welcome To The World (High Rankin Remix)
Kyza - Go (Bar 9 Remix)
Cookie Monsta - Ginger Pubes
High Rankin - No Money For Guns
The Prodigy - Breathe (Numbernin6 Remix)
Subscape - Wrong Number
16Bit - PCP
>> B.Rich - We Ball Harder
The Prodigy - Warrior's Dance (Benga Remix)
Reso - Onslaught
Cookie Monsta - Bliss
Don Diablo & Example - Hooligans (Doorly's Dubstep Remix)
Don Diablo & Example - Hooligans (Wire Remix)
Dub Crookz - Skeleton Dust
F-One & Kromestar - Head Twiss
Rico Tubbs - Gangsters (Tes La Rok Remix)
High Rankin - Escape From The Hood
Tek-One - Mate
Major Lazer - Hold The Line (DZ Remix)
Deftones - Shove It (Dubstep Remix)

Our boy Parker has come up with some fine funkdafied goodies in the past, generally a tad too traditional for these pages but dope nonetheless. However when it comes to his interpretation of the Godfather of Funk himself he's gone rather Dubstep on us, albeit from a classic live stance in keeping with his general style. The track is part of a wider collection of James Brown 'regrooves' by Bristol based club night come label Goodgroove Records.

(YSI) James Brown - It's A Man's Man's Man's World (Regrooved by Parker) / alt link

Download the whole EP for free.

(Sharebee) James Brown Regrooved (zip)

HENCH Head Honcho (try saying that 10 times fast) J@kes has just dropped this tense and brooding Dubstep mix, with a fire that definitely burns darkly. For all those who are stuck in tonight whilst the world is off partying, this is for you.

(SS) J@kes - March 09 Mix

Here's a touch more Dubstep from the residents of Bristol Bi-monthly night Patchwork.

(SS) NME and Edz - Patchwork Dubstep Promo Mix

Tracklisting:

Caspa - Noise Disorganiser
Richie August - Cloverfield
DZ - End Dub Remix
G man - Dont Be Afraid
The Bug - Skeng
Mungos Hifi - Dubplate Fi Dem
Unknown - Big Up A Bun Her
Bazzle - Kisses
Unkown - Praise Jah
Intent & Rare Dynamic - Dont Need No One
Caspa - My Pet Monster
Richie August - Hardstep
Synkro - Music Makers (Bar 9 Remix)