Dub Phizix and Skeptical feat Strategy - Marka - There's a Wardance in East London Park

Yes, yes! I can't believe this anthem slipped by me, I must be listening to the wrong DJs. The biggest tune of 2011 is reminds me of the old and proper dubstep. Brings me back to a time you can go out and hear Loaefah's "Goat Stare" and Mala's "Left Leg Out". There's Indian Chiefs in the woods and firedancers prancing in the park. A wardance in East London. Catch this vibe. Get it on vinyl at Exit Records site.

We a kill dem a bloodclaat gain Got the tings on lock down again Them a tek ten shots in again Dem pon a old pan sound dem again Man a gash dem and light them again Becaa me nah hyping again Man are ready fi di war, when it comes on top, ‘ca me nah feel frightened again

BLNRB-NRBLN *Update*

In early 2009, three bands from the world-reknown Berlin electronic music scene set out to a journey, their destination: Nairobi, Kenya, in East Africa. The idea ‘Berlin meets Nairobi’, brainchild of Goethe-Institut Nairobi and electronic music duo Gebrüder Teichmann, was as simple as it was complex at the same time. Berlin musicians would come to this vibrant East African metropolis and meet, mix and mingle with artists from the local music scene.

BLNRB - WELCOME TO THE MADHOUSE (DALA DALA MIX) by OuthereRecords

Ok wow, it's hard to even wrap my head around this project in a proper way. To me, it feels like an electronica missionary, so maybe you should read the full scoop on this straight from the source, because I think my take on it is just all wrong: Welcome to The Madhouse.

Talking straight music, the tune that comes in at 9:45 by Nazizi is pure spitfire, and can run alongside any top grime artist, no problem. In fact I'll go as far as to say it brings a new energy to genre in terms of beats and vocal cadence. It's intricate, weirdly glitched out funky dancehall with some squee-like fx peppered throughout. It's the intensity of a gang-war at the nightclub, boiled down to a blindin' club banger. Then at 10:45 it takes a sharp left turn into some driving hard strumming alterna-punk. It might be that a new tune was mixed in with the same vocalists, or it's part of the song, it's always hard to tell with no track listing. Either way, a bit out of place.

It all comes a back more into focus with the BLNRB EP Available on iTunes This sampler is bit more on the average side for me. The standouts are Dirty Laundry and Very Necessary, the former is some unusual tribal two-step, and the later is electro-alt band/ nerdcore soundclash. None of the songs on this really match the energy of that Nazizi tune in the mix, and just kind of fall into the mediocre realm. They're not bad, but I can't say I'm really excited or into them either.

That's about all I got on it, and I'll leave it to you to make heads or tails of this project, there's just too much going on for me to sift through. Good luck!

Update: Mike Oates found the Nazizi tune on You Tube, and fuck yeah, here it is in it's full unadulterated glory - Modeselektor feat. Nazizi & Abbas "Monkey Flip" (Monkeytown Records) Out March 18 :

Juakali - Interview

Juakali, longtime Dubwar MC & host, has appeared on commercial recordings with Alpha & Omega, Raz Mesani, Pinch, Matty G, Kush Arora and others, impressing both industry and audiences with his ability to innovate across dub, reggae, dubstep, dancehall, bhangra, electronic, and experimental genres. This lead to him being featured as one of the top 5 US Ragga MCs who are, "launching careers as artists and producers...pushing dancehall beyond its boundaries..." ('Chat Bout' XLR8R Magazine - Issue118). 

I know you lived in Brooklyn for a minute and were involved with Dub War NYC, give us a bit of back story and history of your Dub War days. Is that when you were first exposed to dubstep?

Well, I went to College in Brooklyn, New York after immigrating from Trinidad & Tobago. While in College I got into spoken word and hip hop, was rippin and runnin all over New York City with a group known as Second2Last.  After I left college, the group more or less fizzled.  Life happened!  It was no longer about being the hot shit on the block or looking for cred.  It became increasingly clear that a huge sacrifice would have to be made by each person to realize our collective vision.  Sacrifice undertakes a different meaning for every individual.  In short, it became too much.  Meanwhile, I always knew I wanted to get into singing and performing utilizing my talents.  At the time - around 2004 - I was looking into any genre of music that sampled from reggae/ ragga/ Caribbean music/vocals.  A few things in my life at the time ushered me into the life style of an artist and I took the time to honor those moments and make the best of my knowledge of the music industry and performance circuit.  I researched for 2 months, sent emails to over 500 people and got about 25 serious replies.  One of those people was from a guy going by dqxt who invited me to the first Dub War night at Sputnik in Brooklyn. There I met Dave (aka Dave Q, dqxt) and Joe (Joe Nice).  I became a resident after that 1st night on the mic.

I know you did that "Reasons" tune with 12th Planet for the SMOG Scion CD Sampler. I know a "reasoning" is a simple event where the Rastas gather, smoke weed, and discuss, is that tune about that? BTW My brother is DJ Evol and he's been running with those guys for awhile and has been kind enough to introduce me to everyone when I visited with him in LA. How long have you been doing stuff with SMOG? Is that your main crew now? What's the current landscape of the scene in LA?


"Reasons" is about the collective high you achieve when all hearts are grooving to music.  I wrote that tune around 2007 with a scratch track I got from D1.  it was heavily syncopated.  all I was thinking about was back in the day in Trinidad when we would go to concerts, blockos/parties on the street, and just remembering the vibe of a few hundred souls moving to a riddim.  no fuss... no fight. 12th Planet asked me for a vocal around the time I moved to LA in 2008, and I gave him "Reasons" a Capella with no plans or instructions. The following year he was rinsing it around the US.  Joe Nice asked for the original, and cut a dubplate of it.  In 2010 the Doctor P remix hit.  Scion was already in talks with SMOG about a collaboration project and "Reasons" was the vehicle that provided the opportunity.  The tune is signed to SMOG’s label and that is about how far my official affiliation goes. For the most part, folks in Los Angeles know I'm based in their city. There is definitely city pride and all that, like any other major city with a music scene happening.  The recent Red Bull Culture Clash is a testament to that.  There is however, a full spectrum music culture here claiming the depths of the underground to the top of the pops and everything in-between. As far as electronic music goes in LA, there are a lot of artists and crews pushing for their time in the spotlight and it's near impossible to determine who will explode or implode within this construct. 
 
I like that you don't just have a typical dancehall flow, and you branch out with some pop culture references in your lyrics talking about Coors beers, Gamera, Hendrix and Yoda in "Freak You Back" and so on. Is this a conscious mashing of styles, or something that's just evolved over time? What are some favorite themes to rhyme about? Is there an overall message you are trying to get across?

My style and voice has definitely evolved over time.  I have been a host and feature performer since 2005.  I have learned how to get a crowed moving, jumping, to be still and to listen without loosing sight or pace with the event, promoter, DJ or myself.  My greatest lessons came from performing for an audience whose first language is not English.  If you can rock a crowd that does not understand what you're saying, you can wow any native speaker who has never heard of you!  I've learned to hone my strengths and laugh at my weaknesses on the stage.  As far as lyrics go, I tend to bury a message in the song write.  I started typing out my lyrics to the tunes I've done and didn't really start paying attention to it until reading it back on the computer.  I can write a party song with a message, I can write a dark song with a message... it comes natural to me.  I enjoy telling a story or writing about a particular experience. When I began hosting, I made it a point to not utter any cliché catch phrases to hype the crowd, a bunch of my own phrases have naturally developed from my creative process and I have made choruses from them. At Dub War we have long since called "dark" dubstep "sexy".  
Here are the lyrics to "Freak You Back".

This one here smoothie groovy

Pour the loosey goosey tonic

Grab this young gyal me choose she

Caribbean Sea flex

From Trinidad to Haiti
Cuba to Bahamas like them cruise be

Wanna sip something fruity

Rum Punch and Margarita the Samba

Barista come pour a Daiquiri

Fit n Sharp this yout' be

When me walk about

Sweeter juice akin to black berry


Chorus:
We gonna Freak You Back
Hands-on in the club
All wall occupied in the club
We gonna Freak You Back
Come dance in da club
Right cha now lights off in da club (x2)



Move 'bout as a loner

Show up paparazzi smile

Flashy without camera

Sound check, green room, toast it up

Take stage, rock 'bout like Hendrix ask Nona

“Voulez vous…” Juakali see you

Hypnotize by the sound 

Speak backward like Yoda

Shock out to the rhythm you must

Ok, UK in the vibe we trust

I guess that brings us to most important question really, which is what is Juakali all about? Is just about pushing different sounds, about Rastafarism, something more personal, or a little bit of everything? If there's one thing you wanted people to know about Juakali what would it be?

Juakali is about a voice.  It is personal.  

There's seems to be a trend of a lot of sounds melting together all at around the same BPM 135-145 or so. Production-wise for yourself what would like to see happen in the future, more cross-pollination of the sounds of dancehall, grime, dubstep, dub, glitch-hop, and jungle... or a final distillation into one or two really strong styles? Do like the direction where dubstep is headed currently? Has it lost sight of it's "dub" influences?

This world is fast moving toward a global community.  The style will become, 'who is not connected' ... 'who's off the radar'.  The cross-pollination of styles, as you call it, is inevitable. However, there will be room for the root music or style of any genre, look at Classical, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Rock & Roll, Country, Hip Hop for instance.  As we move forward, time will call the genre into being and it will be taught and cherished. Currently, dancehall, grime, dubstep, dub, glitch-hop, and jungle...  fit within the electronic realm, however, participants of our time have given them a name - it's a human thang. Dubstep has moved from 20 - 50 people in a 150sq.ft. dark room with decent sound to festivals.  It didn't get there from a lack of understanding how music and sound influences people.

Who's hot right now and who are some of the up and coming MC's and producers to look out for?

I'm afraid I can't talk about who's hot right now cause I mostly listen to what isn't "hot" or what's the verge, but let me run down what I've been listening to of late and who I've been checking out.  
Producers = Cardopusher, Pacheko, Knight Riderz, Kush Arora, Nate Mars, Sub Swara, Plastician, Distance, Tunnidge, Silkie, Cyrus, Ramadanman, Kuedo, Flaty DL, DJG, Matty G, Modeseletor, Porier, Marcus Visionary, Yellowtail, Subatomic Soundsystem, Ikonika, Breed, XI, DLX, Tes La Rok, Moldy, BunZer0, Spektrums, Wrexile, Uproot Andy, Magnetic Man, King Cannibal, Memory 9, Addison Groove, Pinch, Ras G, D1, Terror Danjah…

MC's/Vocals/Bands = Jah Dan, Nneka, Little Dragon, Zuzuka Ponderosa, MC Zulu, Spoek Mathambo, Ms Dynamite, Collie Buds, Sade, Gorillaz, Distant Relatives...
 

Would care to share any story road stories with us? What's been the sickest parties? What's the craziest things you seen and experience through your journeys as an MC and host?

Oi, I guess folks could check my blog on myspace or my notes on facebook... lots of stuff has happened... will happen.  Best party from last year was opening for Chemical Brothers with Freq Nasty at the Fox Theater in Oakland. I lost my voice from excitement at the top of the set for about 30 seconds.  Craziest experience was getting a 'presidential' on stage behind one for the side curtains, wont say which show that was...

Anything else to add or any shouts?

Shouts to 25 serious replies I got back in 2005 when introducing myself as a recording artist. Lic-a-shot for the Dub War fam, syncro in Czech Republic, Kush Arora, Sasha Dees in Amsterdam, Sub Swara, DMZ crew, Pinch and Maryanne Hobbs who got me and what I was doing from jump! Out to all area crew who know, are brave and noble. STAMINA CREW!!! I SEE YOU  

www.juakalimusic.com
www.foreignfamiliar.com
www.facebook.com/juakalimusic
www.twitter.com/juakali
www.myspace.com/juakali
www.soundcloud.com/juakali

Talen - The Comic Book Ep

Talen is kinda borderline electro/breaks leaning heavy towards the dance-hall side of the electronica spectrum with some pop-influences. According to the one sheet:"The EP features the vocal talent of Lady Saw,Turbulence and Ward 21. Remix duty is handled by the Bass mafia international: Stereotyp, Kalbata, Robot Koch, Reverse Engineering, Son Of Kick, Filewile, I-Wolf and King Aron." The only tune that really stands out of Talen's original production with any kind of teeth is Batgirl and that's mostly because of Lady Saw's absolutely aggy flow (which reminds me a bit of Warrior Queen to be honest). But I admit the beats are cracking and club hot. His other productions sound like a polished tutorial out of Computer Music Magazine or XLR8R, often relying on conventional tricks, and rather obvious pop devices. Whiles it's not the worst music, I was cringing at few spots during Johnny Blaze feat. Turbulence... some of the melodies were far too sweet for my palette, and the choruses just grating.

The remixes fair much better than originals and are worthy of your time. Kalbata killed it on the Batgirl Remix. It's just a growling beast of a track, very fitting of the "future dancehall" label that their marketing department boasts. Absolutely murky. Son of Kick delivers an appropriately moody and grinding bass heavy version of Green Lantern, translating it nicely into a dubstep pattern. I can see this going off big in a deeper kind of set. It's not the filthiest nasty thing ever, but with the grimey spits of Ward 21 it doesn't have to be, and remains sufficiently thug. I'm kind of in awe of the Reverse Engineering flip of the script on their version of the remix, taking it to a dark Knightrider 80's vibe. Robot Koch cranks out a minimal tech-house post-step version of Johnny Blaze, that is bit easier to digest, although I'm still not feeling all of the vocal work of Turbulence. They can get kind of reggae r-n-b-ish at times, and really who want's that. I give him credit for toning down the cheesier elements as much he can. All in all this Ep is a bit of mixed bagged, with a few brilliant moments. I'm not so sure Batgirl, Green Lantern, and Johnny Blaze( aka Ghost Rider) have all that much in common other than they are comic book characters and Batgirl and Green Lantern are both owned by DC, so conceptually it could be more unified, but a fun idea none the less.

http://www.myspace.com/talenmusic
http://www.talen.ch/
http://www.mouthwateringrecords.com/

preview of the Kalbata remix http://soundcloud.com/mouthwateringrecords/batgirl-feat-lady-saw-kalbata-remix

Tracklist:
A1 Batgirl feat. Lady Saw
A2 Green Lantern feat. Ward 21
A3 Johnny Blaze feat. Turbulence
B1 Batgirl feat. Lady Saw (Kalbata Remix)
B2 Green Lantern feat. Ward 21 (Son of Kick Remix)
B3 Johnny Blaze feat. Turbulence (Robot Koch Remix)

Digital only (included with Vinyl 12”)
7. Batgirl feat. Lady Saw (I-Wolf Remix)
8. Batgirl feat. Lady Saw (Stereotyp Version 1)
9. Batgirl feat. Lady Saw (Stereotyp Version 2)
10. Green Lantern feat. Ward 21 (Reverse Engineering Remix)
11. Johnny Blaze feat. Turbulence (Filewile Remix)
12. Johnny Blaze feat. Turbulence (King Aron Remix)