Volume 6 may be one of the more cohesive entries into the “Trash In the Bassment” catalog, if not the hypest. Previous installments run on the eclectic side, doing many things at once in an amorphous melange of bass heaviness. I hope this one is shorter on motley and heavier on crew as recurring genres and sounds lace what is a particularly high-energy set of the best in bass from the month of June.
Recorded in a live, one-take fashion by myself (The Crooked Clef), this critically-acclaimed series is a monthly collection of songs that I’ve downloaded from a variety of blogs, songs I’ve purchased, as well as the occasional exclusive. The tracklist is featured below with links to songs available for download (free or not), where the link will either take you to the great blog that posted it or the virtual record shop for purchasing. With out further ado…
This mix was recorded using 2 Technics 1210 MKII’s, a Pioneer DJM-400, and Traktor Scratch.
Let me welcome the lovely and endearing leading lady of the Trouble & Bass family, Star Eyes, by first celebrating her work as a writer. For 7 years Vivian Host was Editor-in-Chief of one, if not the foremost U.S.-based music publication devoted to electronic music, XLR8R Magazine. Earlier this month the community of DJ’s, producers and writers said goodbye to Vivian as Editor of the magazine and are now able to finally embrace her in her new full-time job as DJ/producer.
Out of the mire of Drum n’ Bass and Jungle, Star Eyes has been DJing since the genre’s were at their focal point. While paying tribute to those sounds as well as those of Dubstep and UK Garage, Star Eyes is known for her formative role with the Trouble & Bass crew since its inception, and is now only eclipsed by her latest production work on the Trouble & Bass Recordings EP “Disappear.” Vivian’s vocals can be found on the release’s title track as well as the Math Head-produced track “Happy Haus,” with the remix work a particular highlight from Cardopusher out of Spain as well as London’s Dexplicit of Bassline/Niche fame.
To celebrate the release of the first Star Eyes EP and to pay homage to a long relationship with the Trouble & Bass family, Star Eyes has given Trash Menagerie readers an exclusive mix featuring a selection of her own productions and few other heavy hitters from the dark alley ways of bass. This mix also comes in time to celebrate the Trouble & Bass Scion Compilation and tour that began a couple days ago in Miami Beach, Florida. If you’re from Atlanta, Los Angeles, Austin, or Brooklyn you still have a chance to go out for a romping and (free) good time. The Scion CD is out on June 23rd (today) and both the CD and the Star Eyes EP are available on Juno, Boomkat, Beatport, and iTunes. Get bassed.
To commemorate the fifth installment of the critically acclaimed “Trash In the Bassment” mix series, I’ve decided to galvanize the series in a Roman numeral, attaching with it historicity and pretension. But as I remind Trash readers of our Western origins, I’ve come to slap you all in the face with some bass from south of the border.
Mixed live in a one-take fashion, Trash In the Bassment is a monthly mix series mixed by myself, Trash Menagerie DJ/contributor The Crooked Clef, and features the best in bass music from the respective month. Tracks used in the mix are linked to the excellent blogs I downloaded them from, tracks only available for purchase are linked to your local cyber store, and exclusives are exclusive, for now. The mix is done using 2 Technics 1210 MKII’s, a Pioneer DJM-400, and Traktor Scratch. Tracklist and direct download below.
Here is a bubbly treat from our Canadian Curb Crawler’s friend Darren Alias to put an auspicious end to a long week before we enter the delights of a long weekend. Nine Inch Nails and Erykah Badu, via the Squatch, here I come.
Forget bloody swine flu, that’s for amateurs. If you really want to do some damage then check Kanji’s infectious pandemic bass. It rots your teeth quicker than coca-cola and makes old ladies knee caps pop off. But then…. if that’s not your thing then here are some cheap flights to Mexico.
PS… if you’re wondering who the hell wrote this then my name is Rhys and this is my first post for Trash! Virginity officially lost. Drop me a line and see you at Stag & Dagger!
Here for your spring-time listening pleasure is the best in bass music from the month of April! And for all the Eustaces out there, this mix series is now New Yorker magazine approved courtesy of pop music critic Sasha Frere-Jones.
You’ll notice too that the first half of this month’s mix may seem heavy on the ragga tip, but be assured it only reflects a month that’s been happily drenched in ragga. Perhaps it’s a result of the month’s budding flowers, the celebration of bud, or Budweiser (unrelated), but regardless of the influence, it’s an influential month in ragga.
For those who ain’t know: this mix is done live using black Technics 1200MKIIs, a Pioneer DJM-400, and Traktor Scratch Pro. Songs are chosen from a mixture of songs blogged about here on Trash Menagerie, songs downloaded for free from other blogs, an exclusive or two, as well as songs purchased using my recession era cash $.
Below you will find the tracklist as well as links to the blogs where songs were downloaded from. Download free music, but know that it’s free because people still buy music. Enjoy.
One of the defining musical investments in my career as a listener was the period just before and just after 9/11, when Dancehall Reggae came to my sheltered, affluent neighborhood. As much as Sizzla’s album Praise Ye Jah was just another excuse to “bun challice” (see track entitled “Bun Challice” ), Sizzla’s seminal Black Woman & Child was an access point to spirituality, however novel, and a meaningful departure from pop-music’s allergy to themes of spirituality and high morals.
While Google would quickly dispense with any notion of Rastafarianism’s validity, and from closer listens emerged the meaning of “batty” (derogatory Jamaican slang for “homosexual”), still Dancehall pervaded my liberal community with potent themes of unity, peace, education, and the freedom to meditate using marijuana. To this day friends pursue careers in Dancehall production, some even moving to Miami where regional proximity and participation in the genre’s increasing propensity for adopting Rap and R&B rituals, that is, among many things, the mixtape game.
So with out further ado, I bring you, a Dancehall mixtape, as well as a reminder of Reggae’s essential place in the increasingly nebulous world of electronic music often showcased here on Trash Menagerie. This particular mixtape comes courtesy of DJ King Pop, from the tropical island of Flatbush, showcasing the pastiche of undeniable, purely irie-eyes inducing sounds of Reggae music.
This is also a mix that smartly distances itself from the near frentic pace of most Dancehall mixtapes, infusing it instead with moments of irony amidst a genuine love for the craft of the mixtape itself. Pieced together with sharp attention to detail, as well as a thread of comic relief in the case of some R&B refixes, this one is meant hang out to dry on your apartment stoop, inviting the coming change in seasons and inviting neighbors to celebrate 4/20 a day late; sorry, I forgot. An additional bonus nug will also be found courtesy of King Pop. Roll it up.
Sliding yet another into the Trouble & Bass barrel, on March 24th T&B Recordings will release Parisian bass-bandit Mikix The Cat’s EP “Movin’ Around.” With 4 tracks (including the self-titled track featured below) this EP will mark the second release from Mikix on Trouble & Bass Recordings, garnering him as solid place in an already innovative community of DJs/producers. The Mikix sound combines the face-churning wobble of heavy bass as well providing a highly percussive sound akin to Funky House and Afro-Beat. Peppered heavily with epic synth-centric rave elements, Mikix tunes are as dynamic as they are bangers. Be sure to download the title-track and be doubly sure to buy “the cat’s” EP, at the very least for the tune Zulu King, which is guaranteed to get you movin’ around.
