Calling UK peoples, especially those in the B’TON area – that means you TM AMY! The good people at ADDICT are throwing a free party on Saturday 26th July – two days before my birthday – to celebrate the launch of their new Brighton store at Audio. As per usual the music is brukka. My good man Young & Positive (Thugs & Hugs resident) brings his ragga flava. On the get down.
Keeping in the mood – peep this exclusive new Aaron La Crate & Samir refix of Mr Vegas’s classic ragga stomper “Oh My Gosh”. Delicious Vinyl’s Rick Ross (the OG Rick Ross) hollar’d it over – sneak peak of Rmxxology 2? Hell yeah. Top 5 Notting Hill Carnival banger for 2008? Hell yeah. Ya got ya bogle on yet?! Hell. yes.
Now in its 5th year running, the 10-day Rising Styles Hip Hop Festival smashed up the UK’s London-by-the-sea, music lover’s favorite, Brighton. Rising Styles threw together all sorts of exciting elements and colorful people: artists, dancers, rappers, graffiti artists, filmmakers, photographers, b-boys and b-girls, hip hop lovers and enthusiasts. From breakdance battles to freestyle open mic to a massive all day festival on the beach, there was a lot to get into.
Festivities kicked off on Friday 4th July, with a private view of the 3-dimensional graffiti sculpture exhibition featuring the works of legendary NYC hip hop graffiti artist Mare 139 and UK’s Zeus, on display at the store-front-esque University of Brighton (Grand Parade) art school site – followed by the Rising Styles Festival Launch Party at Positivity at the Loft.
Carlos ‘Mare139′ Rodriguezat work on his 3-d sculpture. Photo from Rising Styles website.
Mare 139 (Carlos Rodriguez), who appeared in the 1982 graffiti documentary “Style Wars”, was commissioned to create a 3D sculpture, which he’s been working on all week in super tough, ultra thin steel.
Carlos is a lovely guy, doesn’t look a day over 29, and when I met him, looked a bit overwhelmed by the jetlag and buzzing crowd who turned up on the night to enjoy the art, hip hop, free wine and of course the chance to meet the legend. Later in the week he gave a talk about his work and process at local film development agency Lighthouse.
Brighton blew up on Sunday 6th July when b-boys and b-girls descended from all over the country for the festival’s annual Battlejam, in association with All Elements, where individuals and crews went head to head. The day started with a screening of “Inside the Circle“, a feature-length documentary about a breakdance crew from South Texas (courtesy of Black Soil from Holland), followed by a day of beatboxing, MCing, druming and rapping battles. There was some insane moves and crazy energy, with heats in popping, locking, crew battles and bonnie and clyde.
On Monday 7th July, there were film screening of “Rappers of Senegal”, “Whole Train”, “Inside the Circle” and shorts. On Tuesday, Brighton’s monthly open mic/decks rap night, Slip Jam B led the freestyle spirit of hip hop. The night was hosted by Hinesy Hines and Richie Cunningham and included special guests Dr Syntax and Ramblers Association (Vecks and Herbie Dragon). This night is a Brighton institution – the place was PACKED with people – it was hot, sticky and sound! On Thursday, there was a slam poetry night Hammer & Tongue, another Brighton institution. The night featured a battle between poets and…you guessed it, rappers!
Yesterday (Saturday 12th July) was the hip hop festival finale – the Rising Styles Block Party!!! The forecast was shitty cloudy skies with a splattering of rain, which for summer in England is pretty good going, but by about 3pm the sun was out, people were pissed, and the place was buzzing.
This year’s line up included hiphop acts from the US, all over the UK, plus local talent from the Brighton hip hop scene: Kidz in the Hall (USA), Sway, Emmanual Jal (Sudan), the Infomatics, Blak Twang, Skinnyman, Jehst, Skilf & band, Serocee, Percy Filth, Kosyne, Soweto Kinch, Floriginal, Million Dan, Special School, Dizreali, Longusto, Witchdoctor Wise, Southern Suspects, Koaste, Enlish and loads of special guests. Plus aerial hip hop performances from Bandbazi and live samba from Baruhlio.
All of the artists were on top top form, but the camera crew & I were especially enamored with Million Dan and his crew, who were just totally lovely people & really got people bouncing – and who our photographer called Millionaire Man Dan (nice one Els!). Million Dan, who’s just come out with an album called Spektrum, is most well known for his collaborations with the Freestylers – does “Dogs and Sledges” ring any bells?
Emmanuel Jal was also a total sweetheart. He raps with conviction about the state of Africa and the hell he endured as a child soldier, and off stage was so appreciative to be there with everyone. He’s going on a 15 city tour this autumn, showing his documentary at universities followed by a Q&A. It was great to catch Kidz in the Hall – you could feel the NYC/Chicago ‘more bounce to the ounce’ flavour bursting off the stage.
The only drawback to the day was Blacktwang getting their set cut off half way. The programme ran over (technical difficulties) and the Council said if the power wasn’t cut, people would lose their licenses. Fair enough but – everyone was like “what?” Blaktwang were really cool about it, but I know production crew felt shit. And then, right at the very end, Skinnyman lost his rag with the crew over food and threw over the entire table. That was a major downer, and I sincerely hope he does some major apologies to the main organiser (Indy of Kala Phool) & crew, who all worked their asses off for free to put the festival together.
Yesterday – Sunday 13th July – was the last day. Mare 139 unveiled his commission at 3pm – an intricate graffiti design crafted out of thin steel, with the shit shined out of it and back-lit with invisible lights. The design splintered off into directional arrows, “weaving in and out of the wall” – the sculpture appeared on either side of the wall and to see it properly you had to stand in the doorway.
The crew were recovering from hangovers from the late late hip hop party at a local pub (Full Moon), but otherwise in good spirits. We had our final farewell celebration at Wagamamas followed by drinks at Riki Tiks. I’m tired today, but it was definitely worth the effort to be part of a great celebration of hip hop.
I’ll post a bit more photos and footage shortly, but in the meantime, cut your teeth on these fine UK hip hoptracks, which form the Rising Styles Hip Hop Festival Soundtrack for 2008. They were featured as a free giveaway with the July edition of Hip Hop Connectionand pulled together by Rising Styles andDJ Excalibah.
UK HIP HOP!!!!!!!!!! You may not have heard much, it’s a bit more intelligent than the US counterpart, but hip hop is hip hop isn’t it??
Rising Styles Hip Hop Festival Soundtrack for 2008
Brighton-based Passenger, are full of stories to tell, with songs of heartbreak, disappointment, rejection, being jaded, you’d almost feel as if you’d have to sit down with yourself at the pub, beer in hand and contemplate life. Despite the lowliness to it, these words have a quirkiness about them and have probably found a place within all of us at some point or another.
If you prefer to live life at a faster pace, Passenger frontman Mike Rosenberg has written lyrics and loans his voice to “Torque of the Devil“, the forthcoming release from one of my all time favorites, Plump Djs!! “Torque of the Devil” appears on the hotly anticipated album ‘Headthrash‘, due for release 2nd June, available at Finger Lickin! Belgian boys The Subs have added their vibrant remix skills on Torque as well!! Check the above MySpace pages for a listen.
Beyond songwriting, Mike also dabbles in film editing. He has put together the nice animation featured above, for “Saturday Night TV“. Passenger are set to release their first EP, ‘Night Vision Binoculars‘, digitally in the US on 24th of June and will follow up with their debut album release, “Wicked Man’s Rest” late summer.
If you’re for an evening out with new and good sounds, then you’ll be pleased to know that Passenger will perform two shows in the US this June! Catch them, 9th June, Los Angeles, CA at Hotel Cafe and 11th June, New York, NY at Mercury Lounge.
I first caught light of Londoner, Hugh Frost aka, Sportsday Megaphone, off his friend Nic Nell’s page as well as past features on Big Stereo and BiBaBiDi. His remix of Envelopes, “Party”, was a pleasant surprise. Who doesn’t like a good party?! This one was full of his trademark bleeps and blips!
His latest tune, “LA“, showcases his talent for creating a song heavy in lyrics, yet maintains a catchy, pop feel. Love the intro. “LA is about the inhuman philosophy toward people with mental illness advocated by the church of Scientology. It was written about the time I spent working in LA for American Apparel at their factory downtown”, says SM. Not your typical first thoughts whilst thinking of the city of sun and dazzle.
As for “Young Lust“, SM says, “It’s about not seeing someone for ages and meeting somewhere, (in this case a borrowed house) and making a mess and not caring – that kind of thing!” You don’t have to convince us, we’re cool with making a mess and forgetting our manners, especially if it’s due to lustful affairs…
Look out for the seven inch single “LA”/”Young Lust”, out 16th June, off Sunday Best, as well as Sportsday Megaphone’s debut LP, ‘So many Colours / So Little Time’, due out in August, loaded with a long list of remixes! For more Sportsday Megaphone, check his remix page, Sportsday Megamix.
UK Live dates + June dates with I WAS A CUB SCOUT coming soon!
MAY 13 / Edinburgh / The Ark / w Envelopes
16 / Brighton / The Great Escape Festival / w Alphabeat
When the iheartcomix/Scion mixtape hit the streets, it was passed around like a fat, freshly rolled spliff. Everyone was smokin’ it and word on the street was that iheartcomix had the goods! With a plethora of sounds to be heard – TheDeathSet, Radioclit, Gameboy/Gamegirl, LA Riots, Flosstradamus, Designer Drugs, Miami Horror, Heartsrevolution, Lies In Disguise, Acid Girls and more, we pretty much felt at one with iheartcomix for delivering. Everyone shared and it was a beautiful thing.
iheartcomix is like the perfect dealer, they keep spreadin’ the love, feedin’ us the bombs, gettin’ us hooked. Just when we think they’re about to let up, they send over, Radioclit’s remix of Matt & Kim’s, “No More Long Years”. The smiley Matt & Kim and the ever so tropical Radioclit. What a combination of love!
For those in the E.U. Matt & Kim are finishing up their U.K. tour, so catch them at a pub/club near you and grab a copy of their record which is out in Europe on Telle Records!
MAY 13 / Beat Club, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND
14 / University of Sheffield Fuzz Club, SHEFFIELD, UK
15 / Great Escape Venue, BRIGHTON, UK
16 / The Luminaire, LONDON, UK
Got my hands on the new release (17th March 2008) from a local favorite, the Brighton Breaks label, for which Northern breaks/electro recluse Sam Hell teamed up with the ever-so-young, but wise-beyond-his-years breaks head Rektchordz, and boy are you in for a treat!
I’ve written about SH plenty on these pages, but Rektchordz is definitely one to get cozy with. The boy’s credited with a hefty stockpile of tracks and remixes – he’s out on BreaksFM, BombTraxx, Unstable, Trans:Verse, to name a few – and they’re all belters.
Blipvertz – Sam Hell & Rektchordz [Brighton Breaks]
“Blipvertz” starts with Sam Hell’s signature big chunky breaks, followed by a casual assault of bleeps. The track has a one-minute intro before it all totally kicks off. Turn up your speakers and get ready for it.
Subliminal? Quite possibly. For those who were born before 1980, the reference might not be lost on you; “blipverts” were the lightning-fast tv commercials that overloaded viewers’ nervous systems and killed them on ’80s Reaganomics-inspired tv show Max Headroom.
Boolash – Rektchordz [Brighton Breaks]
“Boolash” (Rektchordz works alone on this one) is a super-catchy, quite minimal tune with a funky bass groove throughout. I like it a lot and I’m sure you will too. I will be very surprised if I don’t hear this one played out incessantly this spring. Very surprised.
Love ‘em and buy ‘em is the new catchphrase. I expect a sensory overload when I hear both tunes on speakers better than my shit ones, that’s for sure.
Hot Chip is back with a new album “Made In The Dark” we’ve been rocking it all week and it’s HOT HOT HOT CHIP! The first single, “READY FOR THE FLOOR” drops January 28th on EMI. On remix duty, Front Room’s main main Jesse Rose, Soulwax, and dancefloor destroyer Diplo.
To herald the release of their new album and in keeping with their tireless work ethic Hot Chip will be taking their thrilling live show all over the UK throughout the month of February.
UK breaks producer Sam Hell is, as they say, sitting pretty in pink.
The Northern breaks darling, recently snatched up by Sinister Recordings, has released yet another killer track on the label, his piece d’ resistance, “Bone Snow”, coupled with a remix from Aussie breaks badboy Dopamine. I first wrote about Sam Hell after meeting him at a secret festival, where I twisted his arm to make a mix for TM.
Several releases and remixes later (in a few short months), Sam Hell still never fails to deliver the goods.
“Bone Snow” is a stomping, unapologetically electro house, 4-to-the-floor, bass show-stealer. Dopamine’s remix licks the tune into shape, giving it a nice breakbeat polish. The track is currently number 5 on the breaks bestsellers 12″ chart over at Know How Records in Camden, while meanwhile it nicely graces DJ Download’s Top 20 downloads.
But what do the critics say?
“Yep, yep, pounding electric sounding ass-sling with a well cool groove” — Lisa Lashes
Down on the south coast (Brighton & London), Sam Hell’s tunes are winning hearts. Every breaks DJ bag and CD case I’ve rummaged through in the past few months has at least one of his tracks tucked inside. The Brighton breaks scene is getting a lot of mileage from the Groove Diggerz remix of “Stay Out All Night” and his remix of the Beat Monkeys’“Lords of Eldorand”, which both sound refreshingly punchy, yet uncomplicated on a proper soundsystem. The word is out.
“Bone Snow” is Sam Hell’s best tune to date. He’ll have to work hard to top it, but I think probably knows that.
BONUS: I’m featuring Sam Hell’s interview with Ian aka DJ Daniella Downs from Sinister Recordings just for a giggle. It seemed Sam Hell wanted to cut through the booty talk and get to the music — while Ian just wanted to talk about the Spice Girls.
“Sam Hell: Unleashed!”– Sinister Recordings November newsletter:
Starting this issue, i’m going to pick the brain of someone related to Sinister every month. This issue, I have a nice chat with recent ass kicker Sam Hell. His last Sinister release, “Stay Out All Night” was a fine slab of techfunk greatness, and his latest, “Bone Snow” is making serious waves in both the breakbeat and electro communities. Be sure to pick up his current remix of the Beatmonkey’s “Lords of Eldorand” as well – it’s spanking clubs all over the world. So sit back, and enjoy the read.
Ian: I get this question all the time, so I love asking it – Where did you get Sam Hell from?
Sam Hell: From a New York hard rock band I used to listen to lots when I was about 13 or 14 called Helmet. It’s the name of the closing track on an album called “Betty”. It’s a crazy track with a banjo.
Ian: I hear you are going to be a featured artist on myspace? I have to ask – What do you think of Tila Tequila? Fit, or not really?
SH: Yeah, she looks like a very nice girl.
Ian: Speaking of myspace, I see that you like the color pink…
SH: Yeah, no one seems to be digging it though. I was going for the front cover of the Royal Tenenbaums
Ian: See, that’s clever. Even I didnt get it, but now that i do, it is a lot less feminine. Who is your favorite character from the movie?
SH: Eli Cash (Owen Wilson) – There’s a bit where he goes thru the window of the house and says “Where’s my shoe?” I have to keep rewinding a rewatching that bit. At least ten times. Classic!
Ian: That is indeed funny. I love ben stiller and his matching track jackets for him and the kids. And the fire escape plan drills – excellent! But let us move on…You seem to have exploded out onto the scene this year. To what do you owe your sound?
SH: I guess if we’re talking way back and coming forward I’d say Nine Inch Nails opened the doors from rock music to electronica and from there the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers and the Crystal Method. And from there, Adam Freeland and the Plumps and breakbeat. They are the people I owe the most to I’d say.
Ian: How did you get hooked up with Sinister?
SH: Through the wonders of Myspace. I had only one track called “Trash” in my player but they liked the sound of it and wanted to hear more. I spent a few months working on new material (more…)
