inside.

so yeah...

2008-11-06T16:04:00.002Z

hmm, so its now what, November? and my last post mentioned the June podcast would be along shortly..

so yeah, still no movement on that one! pretty good with blogging, no?

Although, if its any consolation I have new songs... they can be checked out on the myspace (www.myspace.com/throwawaymixtape).

enjoy!

(im not making promises about when i will be back next!)

detox is back...

2008-07-01T12:40:00.002+01:00

hey all,

my latest plan is to start a monthly podcast of, well, music. Many a year ago, whilst in uni, along with a friend (mc session) i hosted a drum'n'bass radio show on the uni station entitled "the detox session" so I am ressurecting the detox name for my podcasts, however, this show will incorporate any and all music that i feel fit - if i were to host a real radio show my dream show would be something like "The basement" on BBC Radio 1Xtra or like the late, great John Peel show in terms of ecclecticty.

The show will be playing pretty much any genre, and will feature old and new music, classics and unsung underground tunes and anything in between, although I will try to theme some shows at least a little and group similar bits and pieces together.

Althought it is probably a bad omen to start a monthly show late, the June show will be online shortly (well, within a week hopefully).

so, as they say, keep it locked...

Revolution Bank Holiday Party

2008-05-03T13:49:00.001+01:00

Hope that everyone is enjoying the sunshine today and all looking forward to the long bank holiday weekend ahead, I know i am. Those of you who are looking for something to do on Sunday night and are in the London area, I have heard news of an exciting new event going on in The Jazz Cafe which will feature some of the best of London's soul talent. If that wasn't enough, there are also rumours that our very own Revolution will be making a cameo appearance.

Full details are as follows:
SUNDAY MAY 4th from 10.30pm - 2am:
UKSOULJAM @ JAZZCAFE
JAZZCAFE, PARKWAY, LONDON, NW1
keepthefaithful@gmail.com
soullounge@hotmail.co.uk

getting back in the groove

2008-05-01T11:16:00.004+01:00

It has been a bit slow on the music front of late, both in terms of production and purchase - the former largely due to having recently moved flats and the current flat not having the required space for my studio (read computer) without setting up and taking down for every session, but I am getting back in to things slowly, helped along by moving music work on to a new laptop that we have now and by having more free time in general now work is going through something of a lull.

The latter seems to have been largely down to the fact that there has been very little new music that I have heard that has excited me - the news of a Talib mixtape with the inclusion of a Hostile Gospel remix excited me, but that turned out to be quite a let down (If anyone has any exciting new music then please do let me know!). However, I have these past few days discovered that my local library has a music library, which is indeed great news, and am taking this opportunity to indulge some classic George Benson, John Holt and stax stuff, which is nice.

So having been getting back into music stuff this last week or so, I put together a beattape thing as part of a thread thing on StonesThrow message board, which has motivated me to get going at the production lark again. You can check the mix I put together here.

Enjoy.

back, again

2008-05-01T10:12:00.003+01:00

Wow, well it's ceratinly been time since the last post, all the way back when in September '06. But anyway, my desire to blog has once again been re-awoken and here i am all keen and raring to go again, and just like Madonna, I have only gone and reinvented it. Well, kind of. Basically, rather than just setting a theme for the blog and then changing it all the time I'm going to make my intentions clear from the start, I am just going to blog about any old crap I so fancy (although chances are that will still be mainly music related). So, thats the return post, I will post proper soon.

remix projects

2006-04-17T11:14:00.000+01:00

My well deserved week holiday is finally coming to an end, so i thought i would post something here. I haven't really heard anything worth mentioning in the last week or so. I mean, there have been plenty of things going round for a while which havent been mentioned yet - more kano and kanye mixtapes, samplers for the forthcoming dre and busta albums(dropping in the summer) and plenty of other mixtapes, but i think i'll leave talking about some of them for a while. I'll probably leave the dre/busta bits untill i get hold of the full albums (dre-detox, busta-the big bang).

So like i said, i am coming to the end of my holidays and decided to have a bank holiday sunday session working on some beats that i have had ideas for kicking around my head for a while. and , well, one thing lead to another and i turned them into remixes. The tracks werent specifically built with specific tracks in mind so it was tricky finding acapellas that fit nicely, but i managed to mash some together in the end.

if you want to listen to them they are currently online so feel free to have a peek...
busta rhymes - touch it remix
common - the corner remix
blackstar - bright as the stars remix
eminem - toy soldiers remix

do you remember when?

2006-04-05T21:53:00.000+01:00

Despite its realtively quick rise to fame you can't help but to know Gnarls Barkley's "crazy". whilst you might not know the artists behind it, or for that matter, the song's title, but you will definetly know the instantly catchy song itself. Having been championed by Radio1 from the start, and pretty much every other popular music radio station going, as well as being used in a radio1 television advert, it is pretty much everywhere. On sunday it broke world records by becoming the first ever song to reach number one without being physically released, so you know big things are on their way.

Despite being a debut from outfit Gnarls Barkley, these guys are no newcomers. Made up of now legendary american producer Dangermouse and eclectic hip hop veteran cee-lo it was always inevitable that the combination was going to be one to watch.

Dangermouse achieved his almost overnight status as a cult legend with his "Grey Album"(combining the beatles white album and Jigga's Black album). It quickly became a highly sort after album accross the web, when the majors finally got involved and tried to ban the recording its share price rocketed.
He has since produced an underrated solo album, produced Dangerdoom's album, probably the best hip hop production in '06 and topped it all off by winning a Grammy for his work producing the Gorillaz latest album. So where can anyone be expected to go from there?

Cee-lo on the other hand is certainly not an overnight celebrity, having been on the circuit since the ealy 90's as part of the original southern rap group "Goodie Mob", and since then being involved in a range of weird and wonderful projects, each one as eclectic as the next.

It was actually their teaming up again for the Dangerdoom album that produced the standout track from the album, Benzi Box.

And so to the album. Entitled "St Elsewhere" and due out the end of April, the album shines from start to finish with wildly eclectic influences, each track leaving a different style ringing yet still managing to gel together well to form a complete, cohesive cd. From "Go-Go Gadget Gospel" where the distinctly 60/70s soul horns sit alongside Cee-lo's gospel style vocals to the darker electro-break sounds of "Just a Thought" to the minimal toe tapping single "Crazy".

On first listening to the album i was not hugely impressed, however, on my second, proper listen i was won over. If you are planning to buy this based solely on Crazy, and expect more of the same catchy, laid back two-step then i would advise a listen before buying. If you are buying this on the back of Dangermouse's prior work i would also advise a prior listen,as this is not really similar to any of his other high profile projects. If, however, you buying this being a fan of the eclecticity of Cee-lo coupled with the genius of Dangermouse then buy buy buy.
The suprise of this album is the changes of tempos and tricky drum edits that flow through the album. I think there are maybe only two or three tracks with relatively simple, conventional drum patterns - but here lies the beauty, the complex drum chops and edits underlying the eclectic selection of samples all held together by cee-lo's fantasticly varied vocal stylings makes a real treat to hear and the album standout above the rest.
My only criticsim, if any is that i personally feel the drums have been over-produced and that the chops and fills could have been put to better effect if they had not been subject to an extensive range of effects and processing- but still, this minor drawback succeeds in doing nothing to detract from the quality of this album.

So have a listen, in fact have two. By the third you will probably have bought it.

well, the time has come...

2006-03-31T08:41:00.000+01:00

Well, this week we have another mixtape - however, not in the conventional sense but a dj/producer mixtape. In an attempt to follow Dangermouse's unprecendented success with his Grey Album (a reconstructed mixtape made using Jay-z acapellas from his Black album and the tunes from the Beatles White album), DJs Smitty and Cappel try their hand at reconstructing the album from old Frank Sinatra tunes and acapellas from the late, great Notorious BIG. Entitled Blue eyes meets Bed stuys, the album starts brilliantly, with New york New york/Juicy - making full use of the original BIG intro over an unaltered New York New York - and it works very well with both parts very suited to each other and retains a real bigband, live show feel to it. When the beat drops properly with their edited version it doesnt dissapoint, whilst it is nowhere near as good as the original tune, the beat in itself is really good. And here lies the key to enjoying this mixtape - don't view it as sinatra album, or even as they are trying to market it, as a Sinatra mashup album, instead, try to distance yourself from the source and see the wider picture, see it as a hip hop album(hip hop albums have been sampling other peoples music and reconstructing it since its conception, however, it is only recently that we have started seeing concept alums created using all the samples from the same source).

Unfortunately, the album doesnt manage to sustain this standard and on the whole, it is a mixed bag. But don't let that put you off - despite having some weaker tracks, none of them are so bad that it should stop you listening to the album. The other track that merits a mention uses Frank's My Way Of Life, whilst this is by no means a new idea(see the Avalanches hit single) it is certainly done well and worth a listen.
For those fans of similar mashup projects and those who liked the Grey album it is certainly worth at least a listen, in my opinion it is actually better than the grey album in terms of content, however, i can not envisage it doing nearly half as well.

For all you Frank loving snobs out there who think this is heresy and completely unthinkable, don't turn your nose up at it straight away, for whilst i would not recommend it giving it to your elderly, easy music loving gran, if you like hiphop/electronica music and love Frank then you might be pleasantly suprised.

Saying all this, if you only but one album this month, and you don't have any Frank Sinatra albums, then don't even think about buying this one. go get yourself a proper Sinatra album. now.

Anyway, I couldn't post talking so much about recent music and mention Dangermouse's name without mentioning Gnarls Barkely. Looking set to reach number one with their debut hit Crazy, the boys have got off to a flying start. This sparse, toe tappingly addictive sing along number is a work of class - and for thosae haven't heard this then they need to get involved, radio 1, along with many others have been championing this for sometime and is used on the Zane lowe advert on tv. However, that is enough of them, i will review their forthcoming album next week some time.

new look

2006-03-16T19:04:00.000Z

Well its been a while so i thought i would come back, i'm changing the focus to encompass all things musical rather than just about me. so i have added the list on the side for a quick overview of things i think everyone should hear. As this is a new feature it has a lot of older things in it but thought they were just too good not to mention. You might also notice that the list is largely dominated by hip hop, and i dont really have an excuse for that... i have just been listening to a lot of hip hop of late. so there, its good, do give it a shot.

From the list, if anyone was thinking about buying blind then i would without a doubt go for the k-os album. trust me, you'll be on to a winner, and going blind will just make it all the more worth while.

The next chapter has only just come out the last few weeks and to be honest, is only really on the list for merit of a few tracks. The mixtape is a big step on from old mixtapes in all aspects, but as you'd expect there are a few tracks which aren't quite up there, but some tracks, largely from Young Kof, are fantastic. Liverpool Anthem is the stand out for me - the track it self being one of the best i have heard from a british artist in a long time(probably since the seminal mentat&skinnyman - give my heart to you), it could do with a bit of polishing in terms of production but it still stands strong. I am looking forward to my next club excursion to play it through a proper system.

The other mixtapes are quite old now, but still worht the investment if you come by them - sway's unsigned mixtapes were, as always seems to be the way for uk urban artists, miles ahead of his finished album, not to take away from the album, but the mixtapes are just better. Akala has been promising a full release album, although that is still very much an unknown. His mixtape is very good, very 'ghetto london' like a lot of the grime artists but very much more a hip hop artist than other uk mcs. the mixtape is a great debut and thos familiar with hip hop will no doubt recognise the tracks he uses to rhyme over, but he does it well - trying to tackle classics such as "C.R.E.A.M" and "Shook Ones" is always a risky move but the boy does well and proves his worth.

The Life aquatic thing hasnt actually had a uk release yet so i have mainly been listening over the net, but for those of you who have seen the film will be familiar with most the songs - its the random portugese man who is always sitting around playing his guitar and singing david bowie songs. its very good, and if you like bowie songs then it might be right up your street.

Got plenty more recommendations and will be posting to keep things going every now then with more must hear songs, i might also start doing mixes of required listening every now and then. so untill then.

As Promised...

2006-02-13T19:11:00.000Z

i have finally confirmed with otty that it is cool to put some tracks up for you to hear, so here is the first one, its kind of a netpunes feel track and it has been done specialy for the Urbeatz forthcoming mixtape. It isn't properly mixed yet, so levels and vocal arent proper yet, but enjoy none the less. i might put another one up in a bit...

listen here

New Year, New Post

2006-01-04T15:49:00.000Z

After a long time coming, and with a little prompting from tim, I have finally got around to updating this blog. Whilst the new post may be enough to satisfy the most desperate of you, I'm afraid there is little to say on the topic of music.

With my busy schedule i have had little to no time to work on music, however, things are picking up now as i am almost mobile(in terms of a studio) and i am coming close to having finished setting up my laptop with all the neccesary bits and pieces to start producing on the road - it will get its first real outing on friday when i have taken the day off to meet up with otty and put some serious time in in preparation of his forthcoming album. Things on that front seem to be quite exciting, otty has been putting in a lot of work and has got almost all the lyrics written and most of the tunes sorted. And being as it is due to be a double cd that is no mean feat.

I am also happy to say that his stuff is progressing in so many ways, each time i hear new stuff from him it is that bit better, whether it be in flow, delivery, production or songwriting, so for those who heard the last album you can expect a massive step up in quality.
If i feel cheeky enough i might put up one of his latest tracks, i shouldn't think he would mind too much, as it is not exactly going to be on the album, and is being released on a mixtape in a week or two. The track is called 'Things to edify' and is a demo/mixtape version of a track that will eventually feature on the album.
Other than this you would be wise not to expect too much else in terms of news/music from the album, as it is all very hush hush, with not even otty's entire family hearing the stuff or knowing the title and theme.

As for me, like i said, things have been quiet, but maybe come the weekend, after spending all day in the studio friday i'll have some new things and will have had a chance to finish off some bits and pieces. Either way, check back in a bit because i will probably put up some stuff from Otty.

Note: I am aware that noone checks this blog

the latest...

2005-11-01T16:12:00.000Z

well not much happening on the music front right now, i have just sent some music off to a recording group in liverpool called urbeatz. they're only quite young as a company but they work hard and are certainly making the effort to live the dream.

I recently put a little mashup/bootleg ten minute mix online that i did a couple of years back for somebody so i figure i might as well link you up right here with it.

its all just a bit of fun and the mixing tends to stray off a bit at times with the accapellas, but nothing so bad as to make it unbearable to listen to. Now i come to think about it i should probably stop putting all these dodgy mixes online because it's probably not doing me any favours. oh well, here it is all the same go here now>>

the tracklisting is something like...
1. intro
2. fiddy - in da club(bhangra remix)
3. usher & lumme dee - ohh yeah
4. mj & kelis - milk smoothie

so enjoy.

Lost

2005-10-24T15:00:00.000+01:00

Well, it suddenly hit me. After setting up this blog months ago an completely forgetting about it i have now rediscovered it. It is essentially just about music stuff as you might be able to guess.

Anyways, the jukeboxes on the side allow you to listen to music from otty(revolution) or swansea artists - including dj mixes, original tracks etc.

thats all.

The Soul Session: Back to your roots vol 1&2

2005-08-01T14:17:00.000+01:00

I currently have two mixes online featuring some classic sampled soul and hijacked beats. The mixes are nothing special in terms of mixing, and for many instances are not even beat mixed. For those of you who are familiar with the Sampled CD series they're in a similar vein to that but featuring more rare and unusual tracks, plus in my oppinion more listenable tracks...

volume 1:
(intro)david mccallum - the edge(dr dre - next episode)
quincy jones - summer in the city(pharcyde - passin me by, aphrodite - rinsing quince, nightmares on waz - les nuits)
ARC Choir - Jesus walks with me(kanye west - jesus walks)
aretha franklin - one step(mos def - ms fat booty)
the chi-lites - are you my woman(beyonce & jayz - crazy in love)
herbie mann - hi-jack(beatnuts - watch out now, jlo - jenny from the block)
bobbie byrd - i know you got soul(eric b & rakim - i know you got soul)
Joe cocker - woman to woman(tupac & dre - california)
buffalo sprigfield - for what its worth(public enemy - ressurection, he got game, skee-lo - i wish)
foriegners - cold as ice(mop - cold as ice)
billy squiers - big beat(jayz - 99 problems, dizzee rascal - fix up look sharp)

volume 2:
20th century steel band - heaven and hell (everyone, including more recently j-lo - jenny from the block)
incredible bongo band - apache (again, everyone, but most famously sugarhill gang - apache)
kool and the gang - open sesame(beastie boys - shazam)
kool and the gang - hollywood swinging(dj kool - let me clear my throat and some puffy tune i think?)
the winstons - amen brother (the amen - need you ask?)
wilson pickett - land of 1000 dances (you'll recognise it when it drops, naaa, na na na na, na na na na, na na na na na na - the track name escapes me )
[interval]the mohawks - champ(live)(prodigy - charlie, the studio version has been used by loads including krs1 - raptures delight)
jean jacques perrey - eva (fatboy slim track of the same name)
aretha franklin - spirit in the dark (kanye west - school spirit)
kool and the gang - summer madness (will smith - summertime, ice cube - you know how we do it)
roberta flack - killing me softly (covered by fugees)
shirley bassey - light my fire (uncut/future cut - midnight)
lauryn hill - mystery of iniquity (kanye west - all falls down)

Enjoy.

music online

2005-08-01T14:02:00.000+01:00

EDIT: the host for these tracks are not working, so will have to wait for them to be back online.

well, there are some hiphop tracks online that you can check right now. Only rough beta versions of the stuff so far, and most probably won't make the album (although some bits here and there might be regurgatated in some form)...

the comeback feat common & saddat x - this tune i wrote with the common acapella in mind, however the sample does fit with common's content, so i wasn't going to bother putting them together, but i did in the end for a laugh. The acapella is from common's 1999.

anything you wanna say - A 1930's swing influenced beat, nothing complex but my love of swing coming through strong.

all that i have - a slow tempo hiphop remix of an old sam brown song.

Noones ready - the first track to be taken for otty's album.

Spread love - a old female funk inspired hiphop beat.

No big thing - another old school vibe on this one, asecond confrimed beat for otty's album.

DJ work

2005-08-01T13:59:00.000+01:00

well, my dj career has been put on hold indefinitely for now, with rubiks cube coming to an end for the summer, and with my plans to move on to london soon, i can not see much more happening, although who knows.

Other music related news in swansea is that 62down(aka mial) is going to be starting two new nights at cafe mambo - a broken beat night on a monday and a liquid dnb night on a thursday.

New solo album underway

2005-08-01T13:52:00.000+01:00

as well as working on revolution's album, i have also started putting plans together for an album. The plan is to have a hiphop edge running throughout it, with a few vocal tracks from guest artists.
I am hoping to get revolution and Mr Yeti for some tracks as well as hopefully convincing my beautiful girlfriend Victoria to sing for me on a cover/remix tune i am planning of an old aretha song.

The whole album will probably be sample based in a similar kind of style of dj shadow/rjd2/the avalanches but with more vocal tracks.

I will give you a link to some stuff online soon.

Revolution album in the works

2005-08-01T12:43:00.000+01:00

Word has reached that revolution has began work on his second lp, the sequel to the much anticipted debut 'the hip hop matrix'. All the work done is highly secretive with only a few artists knowing the title or theme for the album.
To check some clips of his latest work since the album, head to the revolutionary records site(link on the right hand side)

Whilst geographic distance will make it difficult for me to co-produce this album, we have been working as best we can, having already finished several tracks that have been selected for the album. The rest of the beats will be coming from the Urbeatz guys in liverpool (check www.urbeatz.co.uk) and some from Mikey G, with the majority of the final mixing and recording of vocals being done by Mikey G.

So keep 'em peeled.