Monday 22 September 2008

Killing It




Review: TRAILERTRASH VS DEADLY WAREHOUSE RAVE

Queue queue queue. Long queue. on my own.

As all hope was about to be lost, a kind chap,

sold me a cheap wrist band.

In I went, stumbling on rubble, but sober.

Found some love dup girls, shaking it to Knobbers.

They gave me whisky and coke, as Crookers

put down the big ones.

But the highlight was Bart B More,

taking us on a journey through

re-edits, jiggling basslines, bigguns,

And most importantly,

Killing It.


Bart B More - Killing It

Wednesday 17 September 2008

Classics




Two classics I found in the bargain singles section of Music and Goods exchange (I think it's called that!) on Chalk Farm Road.

Having heard a mashup of PDiddy and White Town in Urban Outfitters earlier in the day (yes, I'm so London now) it seemed fate the this one popped up.

White Town - Your Woman


And this one I last heard on a mixtape whilst working at Glastonbury, reminding me of its brilliance. Tune!

Busta Rhymes - Gimme Some More



Incidentally, seems White Town (aka Jyoti Mishra) is still making music. he released a new album earlier this year titled 'Don't Mention The War', which got a fairly favourable review on i-Tunes, though I was less than impressed with the acoustic version of the album track Death In Kettering available on Last FM, though Merry Fucking Christmas is a bit more promising, if a bit too outdated-shoe-gaze.

FREE download on Last FM


Buy on ITunes

Wednesday 10 September 2008

Return of the Mashup




Bestival is over -

Had an incredible time [giant scrabble (KETAMINA!)/bollywood rave massive/costumes/rainrainrain/pear cider/rain/mud/MBV noise fest/parliament-funkadelic/touche killing it/fakeblood-a bit patchy-super sharp shooters-machines don't care multi-drop/justin robertson killing it/latenight sugahill madness/roni size killing it/thali kitchen love/maze/jew lewis wearing his rucksack on stage/beardyman on form/mud wrestling/salsa dancing/EROL killing it/A.N.N.I.E. killing it/born slippy giant helium balloons and firework euphoric finale/...... to name but a few highlights]....

but it has left me just a bit poorly (to work's apparent chagrin). I was sick on the coach over to the ferry, which was a low low point (apologies to all my fellow passengers) The ferry/walk/train/tube/tube/train/walk wasn't much better, but worth it. And a forgotten visit from my mum (who gave me some real TLC and support) and a surprise visit from my lovely friend Kate Stanley today helped me out no end. And the news I recieved whilst at bestival that I became an uncle (welcome Eva Daisy Wigzell!) certainly helped.
ANYWAY

on point again... I'd thought that the mashup was on the wane, but someone's set (I'm afraid the details escape me... let me know if you were there) in the Bollywood Bar on Friday included several brilliant dancehall/bashment/hip-hop mashups that signalled to me the rebirth of the mashup. I mean, it's just great fun. Not one for the chinstroking blogstarr, but when five hours into a festival, pear cider in hand, in a jumping tent it is absolutely perfect.

In celebration here's a re-edit of an old favourite mashup of mine wot I made, and a new one. I have to confess they're both a little simply done - certainly not masterpieces, but I think they do the trick.

Justice Vs Beastie Boys - Intergalactic Waters

Benga Vs Basement Jaxx - Where's Your 26 Basslines?


Haven't got any photos yet! So the above is a Paint representation of the affair.

Tuesday 9 September 2008

REVIEW: SECRETSUNDAZE, The Arches Open Air Courtyard, Sunday 24th August




Many things can ruin a Sunday garden beat fest: winding toilet queues, progressively warm beer, tentative volume levels – but more than anything a potential sunsetter knees-up can be foiled by rain. The sky started off beautiful - clear, and blue. Then we had cloud, wandering over in patches. Then it went grey, very grey. People carried on dancing, pretending they weren’t ready to run for cover. Aviators stayed out. Flipflops stayed on.


Pornographic and very funny art adorning the walls.


But in the end…the rain never came. And the beer wasn’t that warm, nor the toilet queues that long. The soundsystem was not quite running at a healthy volume – it did mean the chance for a proper chat, but as the afternoon wore on the need for a more involving volume became apparent. The fact that on approaching the venue there was no chance of getting lost, as the bass could be heard several streets away, made the reality all the more disappointing. But the rain never came, and despite other complaints this turned out to be a class event.


Shiny Disco Balls in the sun.

The venue was perfect – a flashing, intimate indoor space (if mostly deserted for the first five hours due to the good weather), and a brilliant, atmospheric outdoor courtyard, flanked by arches on one side, and by traditional London brick buildings on the other, it lived up to its ‘sprawling urban backdrop’ claim. The décor was fun and flashy whilst not taking itself too seriously, and the two bars quick in service and not over priced.


Musically things started off a little too housey for my personal taste but soon progressed to become sharper and more techy, whilst retaining the funky and breezy element perfect for a Sunday afternoon. Keith Worthy also added an eclectic element, checking in via the Detroit vibe before going leftfield to a more chilled out feel, and then back to a progressive tech style. As the sun set Carl Craig took things a little darker, notching up the four-to-the-floor factor, before the 10.30pm curfew drew things to a close before the rain could be further tempted.


Me and Phil in front of some urban decay, and shit.


All photos are thanks to Hannah Parkin, my photographer, and are her copyright, All Rights Reserved 2008.