Monday, December 12, 2011

Bashy feat Giggs - Backhand P.R.I.C.K.S

Bangers and Smash tipped me off to another hot one. Bashy kills it with this rather even-handed but thugged-out tune about haters and envious fanboys. Seem's to be alot of that going around at the moment with D Double E doing a similar tune called "Never Be Like Me" or some shit. Anyways I prefer the Bashy one as the beats are way more aggy with military snares layer with white noise claps and big slapping sub.

"You know why I got white gold and platinum? - Why's that? Because I wasn't born with a silver spoon and I grind for that money, fam. I grind for it." Motion graphics are on the crude side for this video with brightly colored late 90's styled vector art that's a bit on the sloppy side. Kinetic type treatment, jump cuts, twitches and crude transitions actually make this very watchable. The animations are a bit rough and visual themes are obvious but that's the point. It unifies it in a raw aesthetic that vibes well the sonic growl of Bashy and Giggs. The video ends with a great quote form Honore De Balzac "Envy is the most stupid of vices, for there is no single advantage to be gained from it."

Buggsy's 'Connect The SPDIF' Featuring U.K legends Jehst & Farma G

Bit of a odd mellow yellow weed smoking tune. Its mostly a mid-paced bong-ripper until the Buggsy get's hyper at the end, kind of killing the lifted vibe. The video is weird little tea party at someone's crappy apartment. All around a bit of a wacky tune, but I really dig the groove and it's freakin' Monday, so who needs to be all upfront on a Monday, really. Sometimes you got to take it down a notch, and this one does the trick.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Klashnekoff "Clear my throat"

Got this one from the peeps at Bangers and Smash. K-Lash comes correct with a grime rework of Biz Markie's legendary Let Me Clear My Throat. The video is rather standard footage of boxing rings, cars doing donuts in parking lots, tattoo parlours and housing projects. I like it though. It's simple, honest and straight forward. They are just having fun, hanging out and goofing around. Not posing too be ultra gangsta and not hiding behind lots of bling, or hoodies and masks. Klashnekoff belts-out heavyweight bars with a minimal taunting chorus, and to me, it's a proper tribute to the Biz. It's crazy how fucking catchy and fun that beat is still after all these years. It still sounds fresh.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

MRK1 Freebies

Here's a whole mess of MRK1 freebies and remixes. From synthy epic vibes, to grimed-up dancehall, and trance-out pop, he's got multi-flavors running. Not very typical stuff you'd expect from MRK1. Personally I dig the dancehall and grime vibes, not a big fan of his trancy champaign dubstep cash-in's. MRK1 - Revival (free download) http://www.sendspace.com/file/dqc2p5 by MRK1 Dukebox - REPLAY EQ'D [DKS] free download! (MRK1 and Doctor) by MRK1 Lady Gaga - Telephone (MRK1 Booted it Rmx) free download by MRK1 Rossi B and Luca feat FLODAN - Shooter (MRK1 remix) by MRK1

1Xtra D&B Show with Crissy Criss 2011-11-24 Upfront Mix

http://www.filesonic.com/file/3997659955/1Xtra_D&B_M1X_Crissy_Criss_2011-11-24.mp3 There’s new music from Nero, Wilkinson, Fred V, Grafix on this one. It's a proper mix n blend and sampling of the current state of drum n bass from a guy that's literally grown-up doing this. Crissy Criss really knows his shit and you can tell he's got mad passion for this music. It's always a pleasure hear his latest mixes, have a listen. Sorry no TL.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Critycal Dub feat Level 2 - Touch the Sky VIP

Critycal Dub feat Level 2 - Touch the Sky VIP BBH018 by VRECORDS

This EP should be on soon on Chronic (V Recordings sub-label) and oh my god does this go off. Big old school flavors are flowing heavy in this bombastic dance floor stormer. Easily one of my favorite tracks at the moment as it brings up all the great elements I like about good drum and bass.

A warm intro with lush pads and mellow keys set the stage for the for this bait and switch mood swing. It devolves quickly into a rocketing white noise. Samples of "Touch the Sky" get tortured through a Matrix filter and pulse in tandem with the noise and a 2-step stomping break, rising until we get the drop. Gunshot, gunshot! Glorious old-school bass thunder erupts from the heavens to tear shit up. It a slammin' distorted 808 and Dillinja-esque in all the right ways. This tune is a runner that take off like a cruise missile, and only pauses on the change-up for a little cheeky tweak, before it dives back into it's dirty stonking driving kicks. A unrelenting anthem with grab bag full of old school tricks with new school sensibilities. I will always love that combination when done the right way.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Kraddy - "Black Box" Video

Here's the video for the free Kraddy track I posted up a few months ago, you check out the review here for what I had to say on the tune: http://bomborafallout.blogspot.com/2011/09/kraddy-black-box-free-track.html To paraphrase I basically said it was a breakbeat strip club grinder. The video pretty much confirms the sexualized intention of this tune.

It's a slow motion hipster party, interrupted by times jitters. There's drunken revelers in goofy party hats drinking out of glass skull sifters, doing coke off a scratched cd. Smoking joints in the hallways of an unassuming house party.

Until she gets there. The crazy platinum blond with a ratted out dye-job sticking out of her knitted hat, looking like a White Zombie roadie. She struts through the party on a mission and finally stumbles into her arch enemy. That bitch with the black hair and red lipstick. BOOM! Throwdown time. These two chicks break into an epic cat fight. Hairs is pulled, bongs are thrown, cocaine is spilled, and tables are knocked over. There is a bunch of shoving, falling down and groping. After they tear through the party in a whirlwind brawl. Meanwhile the beat is grinding, sputtering and throbbing it's way to it's peak. The video climaxes with them somehow landing in the hot tub for a full blown make-out session. It's actually kind of predictable really since you never seen a punch being thrown, or anyone catching an elbow in the eye or a boot to the gut. But there you go.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Plastician on Rinse FM 2011-10-30

http://www.filesonic.com/file/3040090334/Plastician301011.mp3

Man, haven't posted much from Plas in a minute,so here's his birthday show. Not much has changed to be honest, his usual bag of ticks and treats include: straight top-40 bangers, hard-edged dubs, the occasional synthy love and grime and 2-step anthems. There's a couple of nice double drops and long riding blends, and some background chatter. A few technicals pop up later in the mix, the mike lead gets real spotty, but it never derails the mix or the vibes. That's what the radios show is all about isn't it? Pure vibes. And with that, the Plastician formula works well, what can you say. Happy Birthday Plastician, sounds like you had a good one!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Modeselektor feat. Thom Yorke - "Shipwreck"

Wonderfully sublime tune from Modeselektor feat. Thom Yorke. Warm moog-y pads flood the main builds ups while York floats mysterious vocals on a sound bed of galloping, skippy breaks and rolling subs. Fuzzy, dubby, and sunny with a sense of dread and panic lurking in the distance, and another tune I find hard to pigeon hole, which is fan-fucking-tastic.

The video feels like what Hanna would have been in the short form. Some texured dark near-future, with a kid running from a large dog, scrounging for batteries, so he can go to sleep with the lights on. It's simple, tactile, and whimsical. Also cold, and kind of lonely in the vein of Where The WIld Things Are. While it looks and sounds great, I'm a bit over this kind of look and story. Can we move on from the dirty sweaters, twigs, sunny ruins, and wild lost kids?

Great Scott vs Transmissions - Mad Hydraulic Bounce / My World Mashup FREE Mp3

http://40hzmedia.com/Music/GreatScott/Great_Scott_vs_Transmissions_-_Mad_Hydraulic_My_World_Mashup.mp3

Great Scott vs Transmissions - Mad Hydraulic Bounce is lush aural gltichscape with a mid tempo breakbeat. Safe enough to be used as a film soundtrack, but interesting enough not to make it on the radio. It's a freebie and being used to promote:

Glitch.FM Founder Great Scott Drops New EP on Muti Music + Freebie and Music Video "Glorious Dystopia" Now Available on Addictech + Music Video for "Looking Good" feat. Dual Core

Link to: GLORIOUS DYSTOPIA on beatport.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Police Brutality Isn't a Dream

This normally not a political blog, and I apologize if this conflicts with any of views our new contributor Mike might have, but I have to get this out there.

Video analysis by blogger Matt Kresling: "Footage from the Occupy Oakland protest, October 25th, 2011. After protesters ran to the aid of a badly-injured person, Oakland Police deliberately lobbed a flash grenade into the crowd. Whatever you think of the Occupy movement, police behavior of this kind is criminal and should be prosecuted."
This is fucked up for sure. IMO it's only going to get worse. And if that happens, people need to get their shit together and send a bit more of unified message. Otherwise this movement isn't going to amount to anything, just general discontent with corporations, tax inequalities, campaign finance and student debt. Violence and bloodshed like this isn't worth a message of general discontent, because then nothing, will change. It's too vague. There's a lot that's fucked up, but let's try get at least one thing accomplished. My top 3 issues in order of importance are: 1. Repeal Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy. 2. Prosecute Wall St. financial criminals. 3. Close Corporate tax loopholes. What are issues do you have? Remember my friends, United We Stand. Now is the time to focus. Be safe out there.

BTW here's an update for those of you concerned with the victim:

Veteran For Peace member Scott Olsen, a Marine Corps veteran twice deployed to Iraq, is in hospital now in stable but serious condition with a fractured skull, struck by a police projectile fired into a crowd in downtown Oakland, California in the early morning hours of today.
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/news_detail.php?idx=123

*UPDATE* Apparently there is a planned general strike and day of action for Nov. 2 in Oakland. Good luck you brave souls, let's hope someone can get their shit together enough to get a solid point across. More info can be found here: http://www.occupyoakland.org/2011/10/general-strike-mass-day-of-action/ *UPDATE2* Cleaned up some of my fucking typos.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Azealia Banks and Lunice - Runnin'

Azealia Banks and Lunice - Runnin' by Azealia Banks

'You're only as good as a your next one' applies just as much to music as it ever did to the world of film so I thought it'd be interesting to see what Ms Azealia Banks, her of the relentless swag and naughty lyrics, did after 212 blew up music blogs and mainstream media. Just the other day, the Harlem native assured Mary Anne Hobbs that she had a mixtape and album on the way; 'Runnin'' looks like it'll feature on at least 1 of these.

The classically-trained Ms Banks kicks into an impressive double-time flow before warming to her lyrical theme - the condemnation of men-folk who lack in swag. Relentless bars roll by with Azealia not letting things like rhyme variation hold her back; 'If not, he better come with the right dick; If not, then bitch you probably know that he like dick'.

Lunice's production is awesome, reflecting all the diversity of a young Canadian who cites Ed Banger, Dilla and Bangladesh as his creative influences. Frantic, juking, high-hat toplines could have been built by Machinedrum while breakdowns and basslines would grace Jeezy's finest flows. Lunice Fermin Pierre III has, effectively, birthed a musical chimera.

There's so much more to Azealia Banks than we see on this track - I genuinely missed the honey-soaked hooks which made such effective counterpoints to her ranting, distorted verses on 212. When Ms Banks uses all her massive vocal talents, she's a refreshingly-creative, hard-edged MC. When she doesn't, she resembles a female Waka Flocka whose weak bars are carried by outstanding production.

DJ Class // Smash Gordon // Mark Instinct - Tear The Club Up 2099

TEAR THE CLUB UP 2099 - DJ CLASS - SMASH GORDON - MARK INSTINCT by SMASH GORDON - SUBHUMAN

This is commercial dubstep, I mean really, really, commercial. To be honest, I normally wouldn't post up about this kind of stuff, but I have a weakness for Baltimore Club and this is a remake of the "Tear The Club Up". I've heard the original a bunch of times on a Tittsworth mix or somewhere like that. It's booty-shaking roller-skating birthday party anthem. A total club bangin' dance floor killer.

The dubstep refix, is actually not horrible. I hear some Flux Pavillion/ Doctor P type influences, and a basic rave-up approach that's very broadly commercial. There's nothing too heavy or filthy about it and it certainly isn't deep. It's top-end is a bit too crisp for my tastes and a bit much on the chirpy whistle noises. I mean if Funkmaster Flex were to do dubstep, he'd probably do it like this. It kind of reminds me of when Adam F returned back to drum n bass with Breakbeat Kaos after spending years producing hip-hop and all of sudden had this really cleaned up sound. It's certainly better than the G-step shit from Snoop-Dog and Battle Cat. So yeah, I hate to admit it but this tune kinda works. I'll be interested to see what else comes out of Smash Gordon and crew.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

So Undead! Trailer

SO UNDEAD! trailer from so undead on Vimeo.



So Undead! is an exhibit about making connections between seemingly unrelated genres: Extreme Guitar Music ie. Punk, Metal and HC and the endless shades of Electronica. The art that will be shown at the event is wholly based on interviews conducted with artists, who in the past have dabbled in guitar distortion and are currently masters of the art of the synthetic. The interviewees include: Mary Anne Hobbs, Robot Koch (Jahcoozi)..., Cristian Vogel (Super Collider), T.Raumschmiere, Lars Kirchbach (Tolcha), Vladislav Delay (Luomo), The Foreign Beggars, CREEP, Sneaky (Fingathing), The Bug etc.

This looks pretty cool. I myself have a a strong background with punk, hardcore, grindcore, death metal and black metal. In high school I did a death metal fanzine called "Lockport Underground", and contributed to several others. Put out several tape compilations and one professionally released cassette EP by a band from the Netherlands. Years later, in college I did a punk/hardcore/extreme music fanzine called "I Hate you!" which was later changed to "I hate you! (And I hope you fucking die)" so I wasn't confused with a another 'zine that took my exact name (even though I had it first). Also a more lifestyle/story garage punk 'zine called "Fucked For Life". This was like '96-'98. I got into drum n bass in '98 and started a record label called Assassin Records around 2000. Put out two DnB 12"s before calling it quits after our European Distro closed owing us hundreds of dollars. Not to steal the thunder, and make this about me, but I'm interested in checking out this movie/ doc, as it seems to closely parallel my experience in underground music and many of my friends. I don't often get a chance to reflect on that part of my past, and this is the first I've actually blogged about it.

There's is something interesting in people on that journey searching for uniquely voiced aggressive music and taking similar paths to get there. Musicians get there one way, journalists and label owners another, and fans probably take the longest most winding trek of them all. It will be cool to examine this subject in a longer form and make the connections. I remember being floored when I first found out drum and bass producer Klute was also the drummer for U.K. skate punk band The Stupids, a band I used to listen to all the time. Mitch Harris from Napalm Death, Terrorizer, and Scorn fame; also went on to producer drum n bass and various dubstep projects. And Borgore, of course, was in the death metal band Shabira, and influenced by the band Death from their LP "Scream Bloody Gore" in taking his Dubstep moniker. "It comes from Borger, which is my family name and then Gore comes from Death's album, ‘Scream Bloody Gore’." For a music nerd like myself it will be exciting to examine those kinds of personalities, and just hear people talk about hardcore, punk, and metal; that are into bass culture as well. If you are down, support this movie, spread the trailer.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Skream & Benga - BBC 1xtra 23/09/11

http://cdn.getdarker.com/bacbc1b7ea5d4adc420e07a9c15ca9ef/download.mp3

It seems like it's been ages since I've posted a full mix, so thought I'd go back to the roots of this blog and post up and one by Skream & Benga who are playing at the Congress in Chicago Oct. 19th. Go check it out if you can, they always put on a killer show.

1. Buraka Som Sistema — Hangover (Caspa Remix)
2. Joker — Back In The Days
3. Stenchman — My Favourite Tree
4. Icicle & Distance — Exhale
5. Actrazor — Infadel
6. Echo Park — Fibre Optic (12th Planet & Finch Remix)
7. Kode9 — Samurai 9
8. ConQuest — Hard Food
9.
10. Showjacker - Rob da Banks guide to barely believable genres of music
11.
12. Chase & Status — Hitz (Dillon Francis Remix)
13. Sam Frank — Simple Life
14. Rusko — Taking It Back
15.
16. Sgt Pokes MC Session with Skream - Various Tracks
17.
18. Welcome To My Hood - Trolley Snatcha
19. Emalkay ft. rod azlan — Flesh and Bone
20. Amon — Tobin (16 bit remix)
21. Trolley Snatcha — Flying Missiles
22. Buraka — ba ba ba (caspa remix)
23. The Others — First Flight
24. Trolley Snatcha — Nasty sh**
25. Emalkay — Fabrication
26. Trolley Snatcha — Giving Up
27. Trolley Snatcha — The Jungle
28. Yogi ft. ayah mahar — Follow You (Trolley snatcha remix)
29. Foreign Beggars ft. noisia — Contact (Trolley snatcha remix)
30. Spor — Pacifica (chasing shadows remix)
31. Trolley Snatcha — Make my whole world
32. Goth-Trad — Babylon Fall
33. Goldie — The Core
34. Buraka Som Sistema — Hangover (Ba Ba Ba) (Caspa Remix)
35. Stenchman — My Favourite Tree
36. Actrazor — Infadel
37. Echo Park — Fibre Optic
38. Kode9 Kode9 — Samurai 9
39. ConQuest — Hard Food
40. Chase & Status — Hitz (Dillon Francis Remix)
41. Sam Frank — Simple Life
42. Rusko — Taking it Back
43. Flux Pavilion and SKism — Jump Back (feat. Foreign Beggars)
44. Goth-Trad — Babylon Fall

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Throw Ya Dubs Up: Dubstep LA Volume 2 - Snoop/MistaJam/DJ Battlecat


"Our pasta this evening...
is squid ravioli in a lemon grass broth...
with goat cheese profiteroles, and I also have an arugula Caesar salad.
For entrees this evening, I have swordfish meatloaf with onion marmalade,
rare roasted partridge breast in raspberry coulis with a sorrel timbale."
Maître D' of Pastels to Patrick Bateman and Friends

American Psycho (B.Easton Ellis)


Easton Ellis guts yuppie culture every time Patrick Bateman forces himself into a ‘hot’ bistro and forces down filthy fusion cuisine purely for the sake of fashion. Mindless, ill-considered and superficial trend chasing doesn’t make him admirable; it makes him ridiculous.

‘Throw Ya Dubs Up: Dubstep LA Vol.2’ is swordfish meatloaf, it is goat cheese profiteroles; it is pork loin with lime jello. No-one can question the credentials or skills of the chefs cooking up the beats‘n’bars on this tape - whether they’ve made anything worth listening to is another issue entirely.

The success of ‘Dubstep LA: Embrace the Renaissance’ lay in artists like Chae Hawks and U-N-I tailoring their flows to the dubstep production while Plastician’s inclusion of instrumental interludes provided a solid counterpoint to some of the tape’s weaker collaborations. Sadly, the normally-excellent hosts of Vol:2, MistaJam (UK) and DJ Battlecat (USA), offer up a consistently ill-matched collection of big-name beats and big name artists. I’ll only deal with my standouts and lowpoints tonight but cop the mixtape here and check it yourselves; I’d love to hear your take on it.

Standouts:

Speaker Pop – Soopafly ft.16-Bit

Anything featuring 16-Bit’s monstrous Boston Cream is guaranteed at least a 6/10 purely on strength of production. The relentless, staccato, high-pitched flows of long-time Snoop collaborator Soopafly fit 16 Bit’s rolling, low-fi beat perfectly.

Platinum – Snoop ft. R.Kelly and Busta Rhymes x Lex Luger

This track is strictly a fraud since Lex Luger, who produced the monstrous ‘Hard In The Paint’ for Waka Flocka and ‘How We Do It’ for Slim Thug, creates a beat which owes more to hyphy than to dubstep – it reminds me of ‘Vans’ by The Pack. Regardless of the beat’s genes, it’s nails and Snoop does it justice. Having 44 year-old R.Kelly crooning like it’s 1999 is just the icing on the cake.

Lowpoints:

Off That – Mykestro ft.Redlight

I cannot believe that Mykestro’s bars were ever, ever written to fit this beat; the mismatch is total and embarrassing. If you fancy hearing Redlight’s psychedelic, woozy production done justice, check ‘What You Talkin’ About?’ by Ms Dynamite; it’ll restore your faith in music.

Summary:

This feels like a massive step back from the generally-solid Volume 1; I simply don't see the point of selecting elite production like High Rankin's 'Digital Sex' only to ruin it with lazy lyrics delivered by rappers who don't understand or care about the art of dubstep/grime MCing.

The saddest thing about this mess is that Snoop Dogg is now a franchise every bit as lucrative as Pirates of the Caribbean or Transformers - there will definitely be a sequel because unquestioning fans and dick-riding reviewers will embrace anything bearing Snoop’s name. I await Volume 3 with curiosity and no little fear.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Zero 7 - Everything Up (Zizou) (Joker&Ginz remix)




Hot on the heels of the homie J-Crash unveiling Kraddy's grinding, filthy beats comes a slightly nostalgic disinterment of this 2009 masterpiece from the fevered minds of Bristol's own Joker and his American accomplice, Ginz.

The original 'Everything Up' is a pleasant, if slightly forgettable, piece of ambient pop with breathy lyrics being complemented by well-balanced layers of snare and synth. It's the sort of relaxing, jingling tune that mothers would enjoy while commuting or wholesome young folk might listen to during a picnic.

Joker&Ginz slow down, distort and darken everything remotely up-tempo and sunny about this track. The sweet girl-scout next door suddenly grew-up, changed her name from Emily to Coco and swapped Glee Club for Spearmint Rhino. The original drums, arpeggiated synth and some vocals remain while the track's personality is driven into the gutter by a grinding bass riff and twisted, tortured vocal sample. These two layers are enough to make even the most innocent of pre-school instruments, the tambourine, sound smutty.

What Joker&Ginz have created here is a work of remix genius; the whole track feels changed while still staying faithful to the original. Kick back and wallow in this dirty, seedy banger - you'll see what I mean.

KRADDY - Operation Prometheus and Free Album update

KRADDY - Operation Prometheus Well my Kraddy heads, here's another new freebie for you all to devour. Bit-crunching Van-Halen styled guitar soloing rise up and explode to trance-y hollowed-out rave organ riffs over a hip-hop anthem beats. It's a mish-mash of unlikely elements forced into a unsettling shotgun marriage, and it kind of makes me uncomfortable. Like in a overly-art directed kind of way. By that I mean it sounds like there were too many cooks in the kitchen. The styles clashed on me a bit, in a high school kind of way. This feels like it should be a in a video game trailer for some dystopian futuristic first-person shooter, or maybe a Zack Snyder movie like Sucker Punch.

I got privvy to a couple of other choons on his upcoming free album. "Holy Avenger" is a mid-tempo steady-as-she-goes talk-boxer with some freak-out classic rock stylings at the end. Like if Peter Frampton and Chemical Brother's had a baby. As ridiculous as that sounds I mean it in a good way. I really dig the dramatic cinematic break-downs, and warbly vocoded keyboard rolls. My only crit was it seemed really reliant on the looped rhythm and could have benefitted from better phrase and riff variations. It would make the overall tune more dynamic and interesting instead of just being surprised by the dope ending.

See my other post for the Black Box review. To paraphrase I basically thought it was a dope strip club grinder. Unfortunately the other tune on this called "NYC" I wasn't much feeling much either. Guitar and beats with a electro synth can be done a million different and exciting ways, but this isn't one of them. It sounds like a freeplay tune used to open a lame CSI ripp-off show. It's slow, it meanders, it tries to be a little funky and wail, but ultimately it goes no where. There's just no payoff and as a result there's very little point to this tune. It could be the foundation of a cool glitch-hop type tune. But could've, should've, would've it's not. This is a case where less is less. There's just not enough going on to keep my interest.To sum up, 2 for 4 is the count and so far Kraddy's new album is batting .500. I guess that's pretty good for baseball, but we'll have to see how the rest of the tracks work for a proper real world album evaluation. Hopefully it's not just pandering to the post-production world in order to get a movie/TV score deal.

*UPDATE*: Here's the full free album. Looks like at least one tune got renamed, NYC changed to Bare Bones. After giving it a full listen, the batting average get's far far worse, like Ryan Dunn bad. Just wasn't feeling most of this one, and the post-prodcution demo reel diss is not far off really. Oh well, it's free at least. ANTHEMS OF THE HERO by KRADDY

SKREAM - Demented Free download

Demented - FREE DOWNLOAD by SKREAMIZM

SKREAM - DEMENTED

Man, can't believe I slept on this freebie for nearly two weeks. For shame, for shame. Skream is about as close to a flawless producer as you can get. He just about knocks everything out of the park, and the tunes that he doesn't, he makes up for it by making slamming tracks like this and giving them out for free. What can I can I say, it's a must download. This one is a lazer-fueled battle with dementia, forever rising and building a wobbly staircase to nowhere. It's Maximum Overdrive but instead of machines revolting, it's 1980's computers. A white-noise digital rinse-out with a tearing repeater bass, printer's freaking out, and modem's screaming they're going to kill you. A complete archaic robotic meltdown. When Skream flexes like this it reminds me that not everything robotic and digital has to sound like some stupid Transformer out-take reel. Hats off to you Skream, and thanks for the freebie.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Azealia Banks - 212 Free Track

DOWNLOAD – AZEALIA BANKS – 212

Here's an odd counterpoint to the Iggy Azealea tune that I found on this rad UKG blog Bangers And Smash. It's a crack house work-out banger with Azealia hawking up some vile taunting bars in a nasally So-Cal voice. And soulful singing on the break downs. Screaming distorted like Prodigy, "I'm going to ruin you cunt".Whoa.

Angry, appealing and somewhat less narsty than that Iggy tune. Two sides of the same coin, I suppose, but if for some weird reason I have to decide I'm down with Banks and the 212. It's got a proper underground club vibe and a familiar dirty garage beat that I can get down to. Strong female MC's keep on bringing it, you all are murdering it lately. What do you think?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Sunchase - One Another




The ever-evolving Alexander Pavlenko (aka Sunchase) keeps it fresh with this slow-burning roller, released on up-and-coming UK label Dubzilla Recordings.

Sunchase's backstory seems like that of many dubstep/dnb heros currently killing the scene: wunderkind producer sits in his bedroom churning out bangers on his Playstation before gaining widespread notoriety with major releases on labels such as Moving Shadow and Citrus. However, unlike Bristol-based Joker or Skrillex coming out of LA, Sunchase grew up in snowy Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. He didn't ride a musical movement or, he was Ukraine's movement. From such humble beginnings, the Ukraine is now home to a blossoming dnb scene which exports almost as many musical heavyweights as it brings into Kiev's clubs.

Here, Sunchase has branched out from his roots in breaks to create an infectiously dance-able masterpiece. A bassline reflecting 2-step influences underpins layers of accelerating synth and a croaking, looped sample of the track's title 'One Another'. It's a genuine slow-burner that will get you out of your seat and throwing shapes in no time...unless you have a swivel chair like me, in which case you'll just spin round, and round, and round.

For obvious reasons, this joyous, playfully-choreographed sequence from the movie 'Breakin'' reminds me of the classic Volkswagen 'Singing in the Rain' advert; it deserves to be watched at least twice. I defy anyone to have more fun with a broomstick than this guy; his broomstick magic puts anything Quidditch-related to shame.

ps. Please support Dubzilla Recordings on the Facebooks, Twitters and record shops so this young label keeps letting tracks like this see the light of day. Big ups to Dubzilla.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

George Lenton - Inform EP

Inform EP by georgelenton

George Lenton's got a new EP out on the glitchier side of house/electro/breaks."Inform" is a bit of a 2-step crack rocker with some fidget stylings, a random piano line, and some gated snippets. Pretty standard "rock-the-club" elements, but mixed up and arranged with a fresh perspective. I find the Brazillian dancehall vibe to be really capitvating on this. The flip side of that coin is "Why Not" which is absolutely loose in the cage. Glitch house disco squelched out of what could easily be some poor DJ's laptop after a beer has been spilled on it. I like it though, it's experimental enough for me get past the disco guitar which is normally hard for me to stomach. It's a bit beat juggle-y and broken-down, and junked-out in the right kind of way. Computer glitch fx and downsampling can get pretty annoying when overused, but restraint and taste are flexed properly in this instance.

"Believe" isn't my steez, so I'm gonna skip. "RDD" wraps this one up with some warm synthy love in a vein similar to Joker or Stinkahbell. It's a more dubstep 4-on-the-floor, than the other house beats on here. DJ's like N-Type and The Others should be all over it.

Kraddy - Black Box Free Track

Kraddy - Black Box (Free Track) Got this in an email yesterday saying
BLACK BOX is the first single off of the upcoming album ANTHEMS OF THE HERO out on Oct. 10, 2011.
This is a strip club grinder. A heavy break-beat tune with a sweaty throbbing bassline, perfect for some throw-down action. Like Benny Benassi's "Satisfaction" but without the lame samples and S&M overtones. This squeals digital sex appeal. It screams in bit-crushing glory with guitar distortion wails and marches to a stomping Zepplin beat. Simple, dope and free. Say thanks for the freebie in the comments.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Lioness - Don't Tell Me

Great little grime-step number by Lioness. The video is boring club crap, and I hate the trancey breakdown, but the meat of this tune is something I can deal with. That's what counts anyways right? Lioness roars some fierce bars on top of a thick dubstep bed. The mechanics are all Rusko spare parts, circa 2009 with a random wobble thrown in for good measure.Actually not sure who is on the buttons to be honest,if anyone can ID please comment below. But I like the vibe. There's a certain unity to the delivery that makes sense, neither the dubstep nor the lyrics are an afterthought. It's thoughtful, aggressively independent and almost kind of feminist. Not in a long armpit hair kind of way, but just in the strong female sense. Lioness isn't objectifying herself, sexualizing or trying to make an "ism" out of some bullshit. It's kind of refreshing.

Neurofunk Mondays

Here's a brief little DnB Neurofunk mix, that will wash away those Monday blues (or accentuate them if you have no soul.) It's a spotify playlist so I guess it's not really a mix in the traditional sense. Meaning there's no actual mixing or beat matching or blends etc. It's more like a tracked out mixtape for a friend. I've been going back in to DnB in a big way these days, and listening to The Risky's Drum N Bass Arena podcast on the regula and it's inspired me to share some classic tuneage. There's heaps of Ed Rush & Optical on here, so really you can't go wrong, give it a listen: NEUROFUNK MONDAYS on @Spotify http://open.spotify.com/user/jcrash666/playlist/5h2pCqAW9WSWjuXXOZSHvv

What happened to You Dun Know?

You Dun Know was a great little blog/music 'zine site that covered dubstep, UKG and grime. They gave away freebies, hosted mixes, did interviews, held contests and generally did everything they could to promote the sounds and style of bass culture. The hosted up lot's of exclusive mp3's, I think I got wind of Skream's first Freeism release here as well as Rusko's lost dubs. I re-posted quite a few things from them. And now it's gone. I'm not sure what happened, but a really on-the-spot blog, went and disappeared and now links to some god awful UK fashion blog called http://www.littlebookoffashion.com. Look I'll be honest, I haven't check You Dun Know in a minute, and so my finger may not exactly be on the pulse the corpse seems pretty cold on this, but what the fuck? Trading bass for Fashion just seems, I dunno, kinda wack. Sorry, I realize this is not much of a eulogy, but pour one out for You Dun Know, R.I.P. And remember to comment on the blogs you like so they don't all wither up and die like You Dun Know, give back some love. BTW If anyone knows the full scoop, please feel free to share and comment on this post.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Alex Clare - Up All Night (Skream's behind closed doors remix)



I'm keeping on a darker, break-heavy dubstep tip for a quick minute to bring you a little bit of Alex Clare this Thursday. Croydon's finest, Skream, has worked his particular brand of bass magic to create a rolling blend of unsettling synth loops and growling bass which evolves into slowed-down breaks (I think it's the Funky Drummer break). The final product is the musical equivalent of a hungover moment of clarity; bringing back memories you'd much rather have lost in the sloppy alcoholic haze of the night before.

If you think you've heard this tune before, you're almost right; it bears more than a passing resemblance to Skream's massive remix of 'In for the Kill' which was #5 in NME's list of 'Best ever remixes'. Alex Clare's plaintive, powerful vocals take this latest tune to places that La Roux, for all her talent, could not go; the guilt in his voice is almost palpable as hints at hungover lies covering a host of drunken sins; the line 'oh no, she don't know what I do in my spare time' reverberates through the track like the artist's unforgiving conscience.

I was lucky enough to watch Alex perform to a crowd of roughly 12 people in Oxford in mid-June, the man is ridiculously gifted and my tip to break out of the whole Ed Sheeran/Jamie Woon pack of young British talent; I expect great things. Check his soundcloud here and make your own minds up.



ps. If anyone wants to get at me with new music or their thoughts on any posts, I'm available at michael.oates87@gmail.com

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Rico Tubbs – Madness (The Killabits remix)



Finland’s infant terrible Rico Tubbs’ (Bass=Win) latest work with Toronto’s serial remixers The Killabits proves yet again why industry heavyweights Sinden, Switch and Annie Mac are backing both producers for superstardom.

A gritty industrial past and exuberant, genre-bending musical present gives Rico's hometown of Tampere the nickname ‘The Manchester of Finland’ – this monster of a track reflects both sides of its creator’s city. Relentless high-hat breaks and air-raid sirens bring demented rave energy to a dark bassline overlaid with rolling arpeggiated synth and breathless vocal samples. Sit back, turn it up and take a trip to the edge of audio sanity. Then press repeat and do it all again.

Big up to True Tiger for dropping this high-speed collision of jungle, rave, dubstep and d’n’b on 1xtra and making my day. Their whole 3hr mix (sitting in for UKG soldier DJ Q) can be found here, it's nothing but the truth.


Monday, September 19, 2011

GOLDIE LOC (production by Roksonix) - C’Mon Now

This is a guest review by Michael Oates. He writes way better than I do, so enjoy.

After a summer which saw pre-teen rioters rip cities to shreds and Will.I.Am sampling Dirty Dancing, I thought I’d seen it all. I hadn’t. G-Step has arrived and it’s not going away.

‘C’mon Now’ is the lead track off MistaJam (Radio 1xtra) and Snoop’s forthcoming ‘Throw Ya Dubs Up: Dubstep LA Volume 2’ mixtape. The tape’s predecessor, ‘Dubstep LA: Embrace the Renaissance’, featured some huge highlights like Chae Hawk’s rolling, woozy rant ‘Malt Liquor’ and U-N-I’s relentless ‘Drive By’. However, the album itself was laboured and, in parts, a lazy commercial exercise (yes, I’m talking about ‘Snoop Dogg Millionaire’); listening to it felt like being a fly on the wall at an awful, awkward blind date.

The personnel are nothing if not legit: Goldie Loc, a former Eastsida and veteran of the West Coast game weighs in over this grimey, kicking dub by rising British stars Roksonix (Circus Records). Anyone’s who’s heard the duo’s remix of Imogen Heap’s ‘Hide and Seek’ will instantly recognize their fingerprints all over this beat; heavy, kicking bass underpins grinding, dissonant wobble to produce an uptempo, thugged out track which suits Goldie Loc’s tales of LBC life and curbside justice to a t.

The accompanying video looks like the bastard offspring of Pill’s phenomenal ‘Trap go ham’ clip and ‘Training Day’. Everyone has a gun, everyone’s swagged out and there’s even a disabled drug dealer - a tribute to Snoop’s character in Training Day? If you asked a 50 year-old from Kentucky to write a list of things and people he'd expect to see 'in the hood', he'd probably write the plot for this ludicrous video.

The whole experience feels like it was put together by a record label consultant: Credible rapper? Check. Solid production? Check. Thugged out video? Check. It would be perfect if consultants made bangers. They don’t. The few triumphs of the 1st mixtape were based on a pairing the tempo of the rappers’ flow perfectly with producers’ rolling bass and synth toplines. Here, Goldie Loc’s flow stumbles over choppy beats and his attempt to go into double time is almost cringe-inducingly poor. The video is such O.G overkill that it diminishes, rather than enhances, the track’s credibility.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate hip-hop/dubstep as a sub-genre (the Kickdrums’ ‘Trap or Dub’ tape was consistently brilliant) and I’m looking forward with curiosity to getting my hands on Dubstep LA: Volume 2 in October. However, this latest offering is doing little to calm my fears that this is all an exercise to line Snoop’s pockets with Frat Boys’ cash.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Iggy Azalea - PU$$Y Official video

Got this one from my buddy Marco at work, " Oh lord, so we get a new Kreayshawn about once a month now? #disturbing trends". While I somewhat agree, I do think the beats are actually pretty slick. It's a club roller influenced by dubstep and garage, but decidedly hip-hop. And the video, my lord, this thing is visually arresting. I love it and I hate it. I want to punch the D.O.P. in his face and then shake his hand for knocking my socks off. Just look at that kid riding around on that toy mechanical horse, and see if you are not immediately repulsed and sickened. And that close-up of the girl with braces licking her lips.... ugh. Narsty. Just a narsty ghettofabulous video right here. Watch at your own peril. *Update the old version got take down for some reason, here's the new leaked version*

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Kim Pimmel - Compressed 02

Compressed 02 from Kim Pimmel on Vimeo.

I love this video. Made with ferrofluids (fluid that reacts to magnetism), a magnet, soap bubbles, and dye this video tells a simple and energetic story. I'll be fucked if I know what the story is, just an abstract tale really. A life/death cycle? A journey of discovery? A chemical rite of passage? The ambiguity is the charm here. That and the soundscape matches perfectly with the frantic energy of theses macro exploring visuals. What's you're take on it?

Monday, September 12, 2011

Excision - X-Rated LP

Excision - X-Rated LP
It's pretty much crap except for Deviance which is a standard robo-steppa that Datsik help fleshed out. Although 8-bit Superhero shows promise, it ultimately fails during the Pendulum-esque intro. BTW can I say X-rated is the worst title track and name-pun ever. I get it dude, the letter X is in your producer name. No need to show me other cool words that have letter X in it. I liked his Shambhala mixes miles above his production efforts. Excision peaked with Swagger, and has been in derivative decline ever since. Do you agree? Tell me what you think.

16Bit - Dinosaurs Video

Killer little acid trip of violence video for 16-Bit's robo-stompin' dubstep banger "Dinosaurs". 16-bit is an OG hard bro-stepper and I think one of the only producers to have a iPhone game based around him (Lilt-Line I think it was called). Not too keen on his productions, but I love the aggy video.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Birdy Nam Nam - Goin' In

"GOIN'IN" - OFFICIAL VIDEO from Savoir Faire on Vimeo.

Rhythmic chanting, pitched down vocals, and a simple deconstructed, almost beat-less, electronica. I don't where it falls on the music spectrum to be honest. Songs and videos like this are always a pleasant surprise. I wan't to label and categorize it, but I really don't know what to call it, so it sits in limbo to be judged on it's own merits. The video is a weirdo mash up of 2d and 3d computer graphics, some vector, some pixel-pushing and all of it bizarre.

Monday, August 8, 2011

London Riots




Tottenham, keep your heads down! Be safe out there.
* Update - Croydon, Birmingham, Battersea, Lewisham, Kilburn, Liverpool and Camden too.*

Reel it in people, you're better than that.