Rochelle’s “Chin Up” has gotten the remix treatment by 2 of the U.K.’s rising stars, Moda resident and Radio 1 Dj, Andy George and one half of Partyshank, A1 Bassline. Released this past 13th April on Planet Clique, “Chin Up” is big electro pop, that’s perfect for the clubs. A1 Bassline injects his signature feet stomping, wobbly bass and Andy George will make you bounce with his gritty rework. The Andy George Dub version has been blogged for the past few months, but it’s one of those tunes that slipped by and I never got around to posting.
So do you guys recall Fake Blood’s outstanding Essential Mix that we posted in March? There was a load of exceptional little known tunes on there, particularly in the first hour (although I’ve heard a lot of people claim the second half is better), that I quickly clamored to track down as soon as I heard them. There was one tune, though, that continued to elude me and my merry band of scrounging bloggers that happened to be my favorite tune of the whole mix. Up until a moment ago, thanks to (I assume) the Radio One website, the conglomerated interwebs seemed to think that this song was by someone called ‘F#M’ and was titled ‘Riptide’. No such artist or song existed in any of the hidden corners that I scour for those hard to find tracks.
I had all but given up until moments ago when a Dutch artist called RipTidE fortuitously contacted me via myspace asking that the tracklist of said Essential Mix be corrected to read RipTidE – F#M. I saw this random clarification as a sign, so I took the opportunity to beg that I be able to post said track to share with you lot. He graciously consented, and now you too, can bask in its driving simplicity and freakish wobble. Now that I am listening to it again, I’m positive that this one will be building a permanent home in my sets for the Summer. And kudos to Fake Blood for making the effort to continue to dig for young unknowns and making me aware of such an awesome producer.
If there’s one thing you must do this weekend, it should be to listen to Fake Blood’s Essential mix. No need to leave the house when you’ve got the club AND afterparty on hand for your indoor weekend festivities. Beer. Food. Fake Blood. Courtesy of the ultra fine BBC Radio 1, this mix was recorded at 3:00am, Saturday, 14th March 2009. Had a listen last evening and it’s one for the kill. Love the track at the 10 min mark and things start getting vicious around 17mins in. Check the track listing below for details. Here’s what Fake Blood had to say about the mix. Get yer fill. . .
“Hello there…
Last Friday, the 13th March, my ESSENTIAL MIX was broadcast on BBC Radio 1.
The theme was this: Rather than just bang it out for 2 hours (yawn) I thought I would split it into 2 distinct halves, and show a wider range of music I love. Plus it makes it more interesting to put together, and to listen to hopefully:
The 1st hour represents THE CLUB, and is the kind of stuff I am playing out. A bit heavier for that apex of the night.
But the 2nd hour is THE AFTER PARTY, and is me playing other stuff I love, but goes a bit deeper, stripped back, melodic and unusual. Music to watch the night turn into morning.
It’ll definitely throw a few people, but that was kind of the intention.”
And with that, enjoy the next 2 hours of nonstop Fake Blood goodness.
Two bouncing hours taking in Hip Hop, Dubstep, Italo-house, Fidget, Ghetto and Techno, from Italy’s Phra & Bot for Radio 1’s essential mix, 21 June 2008.
Betin Cocek – Intro Ca-Ca (PIC)
Erykah Badu – The Healer (Motown)
Nostalgia 77 – Seven Nation Army (CDR)
Dabrye – This Is Where I Came In (Ghostly)
Dabrye – Game Over (Flyin Lotus mix) (CDR)
Mr.Oizo – Z – (Ed Banger)
Portishead – Machine gun (Island)
Ratatat – Bird Priest (XL)
CSS – Lost (Dj Mehdi rmx) (CDR)
Syl Johnson – Different Strokes (Twilight Records)
Benga – Pleasure (Tempa)
Rusko – Mr. Chips (CDR)
Alter ego – F**kingham palace (Modeselektor rmx) (Klang Elektonik)
Radioclit – Secousse (Mental groove)
Radioclit – Secousse (Crookers Spino mix) (Mental groove)
Crookers – Il Buono (Mad Decent)
Tommie Sunshine – Limit Of Your Mind (Nic Sarno Remake) (CDR)
Crookers -Il Cattivo (Mad decent)
AC/DC – Thunder (CRKRS 10 min re-fix) (CDR)
Plastikman – Spastik (CDR)
Jape – Floating (D.I.M. Rmx) (CDR)
Chromeo – Fancy Footwork (D.I.M. Rmx)
Chromeo – Fancy Footwork (Crookers Rmx)
Boy 8 Bit – The Things That Freeks Are Made Of (CDR)
Kw Griff – The Force (CDR)
N.E.R.D. – Everyone nose – Phra re-fix
Outlander – Vamp (CDR)
Crookers – Il Brutto (Mad Decent)
Crookers – Il Brutto (Bloody Beetroots Il Bruttissimo rmx) (Mad decent)
Alan Braxe – Addicted (CDR)
AC Slater – Jack Got Jacked (Jack beats remix) (Palms Out Sounds)
Don Rimini – Let Me Back Up (Crookers Tetsujin mix) (Mental groove)
Crookers – Sveglia (Southern Fried)
Crookers – Knobbers (Southern Fried)
Duke Dumont – Hoy (Dubsided)
Math Head – Get Hype (Trouble and Bass)
Math Head – Turn the music up (Trouble and Bass)
Kid Cudi – Day’n'night (Crookers mix) (Fools Gold)
Busy P – To protect the entertain (Crookers mix) (Ed Banger)
Crookers – Big Money Comin’ (Southern Fried)
Yelle – Ce Jeux Acapella (CDR)
Foamo – Rockerman (CDR)
TJR – Sonic Chronic (Lee Mortimer mix) (CDR)
Bumblebees – Rio (Crookers mix) (Modular)
Crookers – Magic Bus (Southern Fried)
Crookers Ft Kid Cudi – Embrace the Martian (Southern Fried)
Summer is coming to and end, its been a good one, kept me busy, got to do some traveling, made my way across the country and back a few times, ran into old friends, made some new ones, found myself at more day events and festivals than clubs, which was really great. Soon enough its going to be cold here in New York, and ill be taking shelter in a club and paying $8 for cocktails. Since i’ve been slacking in the post department, i’m going to try and make up for lost time with a “summery” of my 2008.
Santogold @ sound check for Radio 1 – Annie Mac show, WMC March 2008
Saw Santogold perform a few times, although unfortunately, I missed her dates with Coldplay. I did however see her just about everywhere else I went, on the side of buses, in the subway, in magazines, TV, on the wall of Terminal 5 when I went to see Brian Jonestown Massacre (Joel performed, it was great, nobody got in a fight, bummer.) Anyway, you get the idea, Santi is everywhere, repping in style for Converse Connectivity. I have to say, the campaign is pretty tight, they did good, no one is trying to shove blatant adverts your way, the micro site is crafty, there’s a lot going on, you can even design your own kicks, and sonically, the artists on board, I genuinely like and listen to. Someone in the marketing department did their homework.
Brian Jonestown Massacre, Terminal 5, New York July 25 08
Crowd gathering for Radiohead – Lollapalooza Chicago, Aug 1 08
Lollapalooza in Chicago was definitely one of the highlight’s of my summer, I traveled from NY with Spank Rock and crew – Amanda Blank, Devlin & Darko, and Natalie. Their schedule was as full as it could for the weekend, press, after parties, and of course, their Saturday performance on the Citi Stage. Everyone rolled in Friday night, and headed over to the festival site for Radiohead.
I ran into the Foals, which was a super unexpected and pleasant surprise. I grabbed a piece of lawn and had a few drinks with Yannis and Jack, caught up, talked about the past year, how things have changed since we had last had seen each other in New York, when they were recording their album. They’ve got the typical touring band schedule, traveling constantly, playing tons of great festivals, waking up and not knowing where they are. Yannis and I tried to recall what it was that we were debating a few months back in regard to minimal techno (we are both fans – Minitek!!! ), never did figure it out. Soon more Foals came to graze, a grass fight ensued, and it was truly an “Electric Bloom” moment when they started shoving chunks of earth down each others shirts, it was my “Warning Call” to make an exit, so I galloped away to wait in the mile long line for a Vodka and Vitamin water.
While I was waiting in line, Radiohead took to the stage, all day everyone I ran into was gushing in anticipation of their performance, I was no different. It had been almost 2 years to the day that I had seen them last, also in Chicago, but in a theater setting, this time, it was outside to a sold out crowd of well over 70k, I love festivals. When Radiohead went on, the masses were well into it as expected, I had a side view, so I wasn’t able to see much of the production, that being the massive LCD’s and light show, or even much of the band for that matter, but hearing was good enough. What I was able to see was the woman at the front of the stage signing Radiohead’s lyrics, dancing, and clearly having the time of her life. (Note to self – learn sign language, what a great gig to have.) During their performance I was filled in on the fact that Thom Yorke is in fact a big fan of Spank Rock, and listed the album, Yo, Yo, Yo, Yo, Yo, as one of his top 10 albums of 2007, my eyes bugged out of my head a bit. Really?
Spank Rock is also a big fan of Radiohead and Thom Yorke. For a slight second I wondered if there was anyway for the two of them to meet, considering they had this mutual artist respect thing going on. But I also realized it was probably next to impossible, i’m sure everyone and their mother was probably trying to have a chat with the band that night, plus, it was a massive show. I put to rest the idea trying to make the introduction, got back to reality. The band did a few encore’s everyone was blissed out, it was a very memorable evening. We took off right as they were doing their last song to avoid getting caught up in the mass exodus. 70k people all leaving at once is a bit much. After parties were popping off all over the city, Foals were DJ’ing, Bloc Party, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, all kinds of madness, but I was exhausted, and Saturday was going to be crazy so I called it a night.
Saturday, well, I ended up not hitting after parties, but went to a local bar and tied one on with some old friends. We made a late night run to Rockstar Dog’s, ordered a couple of “Los Lobos”, and “tots” and yeah, we felt like what we ingested. When we woke up the next day we asked ourselves what the hell were we thinking? Oh! We were not thinking, we were drunk.
No time to be hungover, there was stuff to do, no rest for the wicked. I headed over to the Hard Rock Hotel, to meet up with the Spank Rock crew for Spin & Metromix’s gifting suite. They threw down, excellent grub, fancy juices, energy drinks, spa services, and sweet schwag. This was good, I was starting to feel better. Then it was interview time, Ms. Amanda Blank was losing her voice, and was under Dr.’s orders not make a peep until the Lolla performance later that afternoon. She made a clever name tag and attached it to her shirt letting everyone know, hey, I can’t talk, and worked some sign language of her own. The girl is amazing, she still managed to convey what she wanted to say, and charmed everyone.
Spank Rock & Amanda Blank Interview for Metromix @ Lollapalooza, Aug 2 08
Interviews were over, the crew split up, Spank Rock (Naeem, solo) and I jetted off (actually crawled through major traffic) as he was DJ’ing at the Diesel store. It was his first gig outside of Philly, he’s been dj’ing regularly every Monday night at a party he started called The Jang House, it all goes down at the Barbary. I’ve been told by many this night is hot, and hella fun, so it’s on my “to do” in the very near future list. I’ve never heard Naeem DJ before, he plays an eclectic mix of retro, disco, mash-up’s, heard some Prince, said ‘oh yes, I love this too!”, when he threw on a remix of MGMT’s, “Electric Feel”, we both agreed the video was sexy as hell and wish we could have been in it.
It was nearing Spank Rock’s 5:00pm stage time, we high tailed it outta the Diesel store, jumped in a car, and headed to the Lolla site. The first thing that reached our ears when we got on site, MGMT, of course, go figure. We sighed, got over the fact we were missing their performance, and jumped on a golf cart that delivered us to the Citi Stage. Booka Shade was just wrapping up their set. For me, seeing them provided some solace for the MGMT loss, hey were amazing as always. Spank Rock took to the stage and performed to a charged up crowd, Amanda’s voice was in top form, the crew brought the party, Plastic Little jumped on stage and did a guest spot, everyone was caught up in their energy, the stage and the audience may have well been one.
The Lolla performance was over, but the day was is not, one more interview with Fuse TV, then back over to the Hard Rock for an after party performance with Mark Ronson and Spank Rock. We were starting to feel like we might be hitting the wall, festivals are fun, but they are hot, and have the ability to suck the energy out of you. Besides being tired, everyone was hungry, we had dinner reservations at the China Grill, which thank god, we didn’t have to go far for, as it was adjacent to the hotel. Dinner was excellent, but now we were really tired, time to rest. We made our way out the door mumbling about various things in our food comas, then everyone got really quiet. After we walked outside the door, we looked at each other, and all at once started talking – “hey that guy looked really familiar?”,”do you know that guy?”, “who was that?”, “was that Thom Yorke?”, “That WAS Thom Yorke.” We snapped out of our comas. Damn, It’s Thom Yorke.
All things considered, Thom being a fan of Spank Rock, and vice versa, we should go over and say hello, right? It was kinda too ironic that we were having dinner in the same place at the same time. But everyone agreed, interrupting him, or anyone for that matter, during dinner, who probably already has a hard time in the “peace & quiet” department, we didn’t want to go there. So we continued on to our rooms where we twiddled our thumbs. It was definitely one of those “what would Jesus do?’ moments.
We discussed the irony at hand. I thought Thom & Naeem should meet, it was kind of a no brainer. And I admit, I had my own selfish reasons, I also really wanted to chat with Thom first hand about music industry politics. I think i’ve easily done 20 + posts about Radiohead and/or Thom. When the band released In Rainbows, it was kind of a big deal.
Everyone I know carefully watched how the band’s, name your own price, self release, limited edition box set concept was going to unfold. For weeks it was the hottest topic of conversation. So the release day came, people got online and placed their order, and continued to watch the concept unfold. In my opinion, it was a beautiful. No, Radiohead didn’t fix everything that was wrong with the industry, and what they did, most bands can’t really afford to do. (I discussed this with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, read it here). They did kick open the door of the major labels, and sent a very strong message. They gave their fans a choice, they made room for both artists and others in the industry, to do even more inspired and creative things, perhaps even take risks they might not have before. They let people know, that yes, you can release music in a non-traditional way and it can work. Not only that, you can do it on your own, they exact way YOU want to do it, real freedom of expression. And isn’t that what everyone wants? Not only in art, but in life.
If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I live for these kinds of moments, i’m all for pushing the envelope, DIY, thinking outside of the box, stick it to “the man”, all those common cliches. I feel i’ve fallen off course at this point, so let me get back to the story and how it all ends.
I lived in Chicago for 16 years, it just so happens that I know the manager of the China Grill, I figure I might as well take advantage of that, so I head back to the restaurant, tell him the story. He tells me that Thom and his friends were almost done with their meal, and adds that they are really pleasant, he offered to ask them if they would be so inclined to meet us. I agreed this would be appropriate, and so it goes, “Thom would love to meet Spank Rock”.
I made my way back up to our floor, and my heart fluttered a bit when I told Naeem, come on, we’re going to go and say hello to Thom, and so we did. I hung back as they spoke about music, production, the writing process, how it can be difficult and unnerving process. As an artist, you second guess yourself, wonder if what your writing is good enough, you feel pressure to create something and your not always sure where you’re going with it, or what it is you want to create. Thom shared that he most certainly felt like that, and felt most everyone does, its part of the process of creating, and if those moments where you question yourself didn’t happen, that would seem to be a bit odd, and that perhaps was when an artist should worry. So as it turns out, Thom’s just like the rest of us, word. We spoke about their performance the day before, I told him I really only got to see the woman signing, he said she was great, stole the show. I got my politics on, we discussed the interview he and David Byrne did with Wired Magazine, on the real value of music.
Thom said it was an interesting interview, rather quiet, not as much talking between the two of them as one might think. Which kind of surprised me, I would assume they would carry on for hours. However, I’ve seen a few live interviews with Byrne, he’s incredibly intelligent, insightful, (I closely follow his industry politics as well), but I could see why a bit of silence between the two, might be the case. There is a particular interview Byrne did that stands out, with Daniel Levitin (author of This Is Your Brain On Music), you can check it out at Seed Mag online. We also discussed the In Rainbows release, Thom was very humble, when I expressed how I felt about the release, he said the release was just a minor start toward rebuilding an ailing music industry, and that there is still a lot of work to be done, particularly when it comes to radio. We had been carrying on for some time now, espressos were to be had, they were off to a show the next day, and exhausted from a day of boating on Lake Michigan, we had our own show, call time was just an hour away, we said our goodbye’s and floated away.
Spank Rock hit the stage for the Spin & Metromix after party, the room was packed, but the crowd was a bit lethargic, however, when these guys hit the stage, it doesn’t take long to get a room going. Lindsay Lohan and Sam Ronson were in attendance with their posse, so in honor of the occasion, Spank Rock finished the set with Lindsay Lohan’s Revenge. I think the posse was caught off guard, as they exited the room before the song was over. Funny stuff.
Amanda Blank & Natalie – Hard Rock After Party, Aug 2
Naeem – Hard Rock After Party, Aug 2
I also hit a few Rock The Bells shows – saw Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde, Mos Def, Nas, even a stellar, surprise performance in Denver from Black Star. Nas – Rock The Bells, Columbia, MD July 27 08
Black Star – Rock The Bells, Denver, Co Aug 23
All in all, great summer, and as this post is quickly becoming a novella, I shall end it here, and leave you with this entertaining video of what I can only assume are cheerleaders learning new dance routines at summer camp to “Bump”. The dude the runs out to lead them rocks.
It is quite an honor for an artist to have their music played on BBC’s Radio 1. An achievement that would elate even the biggest fish in the vast music pond. So when a remix of The Death Set’s “Impossible” by Boston’s Etan was aired on U.K.’s Mary Anne Hobbs show in March and in June on Australia’s RTR ‘Out To Lunch Show‘ with Gemma Pike, feelings must have been high! Etan’s remix of “Morning Tide” by The Little Ones crashed the airwaves again on Colin Murray’s Radio 1 show in June. Indeed a start to a fine summer.
Prior to the radio hype, two of Etan’s remixes – The Death Set’s “Impossible (Etan’s Positive Outlook)” (on The Death Set’s ‘Around the World’ 7″) and Daedelus’s “Hrs:Mins:Secs (Etan’s Greenwich Mean Report)”, landed on long time favorite U.K. imprint Ninja Tune. But first came the Tronstep Remixes 12″ with bootleg dance treatment for Caribou, Crystal Castles, and Justice on Broader than Broadway Records – listen at Tronstep Remixes. With a full length in the works for Ninja Tune, out in 2009 – 2010, the future is looking day-glo bright for the young Bostonian.
Music has been running through the veins of 21 year old Etan (aka Nate Donmoyer), since he first heard the Amen breakbeat at age 13. Influenced by Grizzly Bear, Blonde Redhead, daft punk, Radiohead, and The Beatles, Etan describes his sound as “taking the colors I like from electronic music and using them in a song form that may not fit the genre from which they were stolen.”
Modest in stating that luck and a nice guy is what has brought him exposure, Etan has the talent and skill to back it all. “It’s all about being prepared for when luck chooses you,” he says “for me it completely began with two friends at a shop called Proletariat in Cambridge, MA who let me leave mixtapes on the checkout counter.” These mixtapes fell into the hands of a prolific Boston promoter/journalist named David Day who liked Etan’s sound and interviewed him. “He was the first guy to book me in clubs and invited me into the basstown crew. Everything has really been luck.”
Good fortune is on Etan’s side. Surrounded by a rising crew of talent, Basstown breed, consisting of Dj Die Young, Volvox, Red Foxx, Plus Move, Baltimoroder and several other talented folks, Etan continues to cultivate his craft and go beyond. He plays drums in a band called Passion Pit and has written music for “Lost Friend”, a short animation (see video below) by Susan Chien, which can be seen at the 2008 Boston Underground Film Festival.
With upcoming remixes for Radioclit, Micachu, Ghislain Poirier and his hands in a bit of everything, Etan is proving to be inspiring and unstoppable. If it all keeps up, I have a sneaking suspicion we’re all going to be pining for Etan in the coming year! Now check out the solid remixes kicking off with one of my favorite Death Set remixes!!
Jumping from Invasion’s soul-psych-metal to the emotional depths of South London songstress Adele, soul is alive in many forms. Adele has the kind of power in her voice that can part oceans and leave listeners in awe, just like the American artist Etta James, she so greatly admires.
With her debut album ‘19‘, making a huge splash, there is no denying that Adele is headed for even bigger things in 2008 and has already planned to record her 2nd album in New York City. The immense “Hometown Glory” was heard just last week (7/18) when Santogold performed a cover of it on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge – Maida Vale show, with Jo Whiley. D&B producer High Contrast has worked his magic on “Hometown Glory“, keepin it true to his trademark form. Pick up the 12” with an instrumental version out on Hospital Records. Swedish house mafia producer Axwell highlights “Hometown Glory” with a dubby, proggy remix that is brilliant! And although a version from Brooklyn’s Pocketknife won’t see an official release, it is another fine rework of Adele’s ode to her hometown.
Adele’s 12” remix off XL Recordings, features two outstanding remixes of “Cold Shoulder” by Brixton’s very own Basement Jaxx, and a 4/4 dubstep baseline standout from Rusko. Other remixes of “Cold Shoulder” by Out of Office and a remix radio edit from Basement Jaxx are available for purchase on itunes.
I have literally listened to the variations of “Hometown Glory” hundreds of times and I could continue listening to Adele’s phenomenal voice over and over. Surely you will too, so we’ve got a few tracks for you to love on your ipod and some that will leave you dashing for the nearest record shop or digital download – Phonica, hmv, itunes. These are new releases so please support your artists and buy those that you love! Kicking it off is a live version of “Hometown Glory” performed by Adele. Read more about her in an interview at Blogcritics and pretty much everywhere on the world wide web!
Fun in Central Park + an after party! Race over and listen to Santogold on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge this past Friday 18 July, where she has a chat with Jo Whiley and performs her latest track “Lights Out” as well as an excellent cover of Adele’s beautiful “Hometown Glory“.
