The Christmas Chiller...

Yes yes y'all, Christmas is upon us with a capital C. Snow has fallen all around us, children have been playing and having fun, and it might even be the season for love and understanding.

All this aside however, if your celebrations are proving to be a little more stressful and tiresome than you would like, here's a piece of music that may give you a little respite from the madness.

Released in February of this year, Cinematic Dubstep Vol. 2 is the soundtrack to a film that hasn't yet been made. The final track on the compilation was the one that hit me hardest. 6 minutes of skittering drums, and synths that hit you like waves. Check this out on a good pair of headphones with a drink in your hand and feel the stress wash away.

Merry Christmas everybody.

Cogent - The Guard

Discogs
Stream & Buy at Digital Tunes

Slam & Groove 4 - Mixed by Optimus Gryme...

This does what it says on the tin, the latest in the Slam & Groove series is a serious heavyweight mix. Get it while you can, Noize Zealand is on the rise!

Featuring 30 tracks of pure Dubstep goodness from some of the world's top producers including Datsik, Chasing Shadows, Excision, Kryptic Minds & Optimus Gryme.

Direct links:

Good Quality (192kbps : Faster Download Time, approx 8 mins)
http://www.mediafire.com/?iejozmzlnit

Best Quality (320 kbps : Medium Download Time, approx 11 mins) http://www.mediafire.com/?mhyiyjmyiyz

Tracklist:

1. DR. ISRAEL - GANGSTA N POLICE
2. DISTANCE - HEADSTRUNG
3. FREELAND - ROCK ON [EMALKAY REMIX]
4. TIKI - TANGAROA VIP [BULLETPROOF REMIX]
5. OPTIMUS GRYME - SING IT TO ME
6. NERO - BAD TRIP [BAR 9 REMIX]
7. CHASING SHADOWS - AMIRAH
8. 12TH PLANET & DATSIK - TEXX MARS
9. STEREO TYPE - SHOCK [NERO REMIX]
10. CHASING SHADOWS - ILL
11. ULTRABLACK - BEAR TRAP [EXCISION REMIX]
12. OPTIMUS GRYME - MEZZANINE [VIP]
13. VASKI - RESONATE
14. DON GOLIATH - NO SOUNDBWOY NO CRY [DZ REMIX]
15. TRUTH - INTERNATIONAL
16. OPTIMUS GRYME & BULLETPROOF - BUNGALORE
17. BULLETPROOF - SAN CROW
18. PLANAS & RUCKSPIN - THE NATURE OF IT
19. SCHEMA - CHUTNEY GRIP
20. BOOT - SPEECHLESS
21. DISTANCE - TRAFFIC [GOTH TRAD REMIX]
22. BREAKAGE - HIGHER
23. ROB SPARX - BLOODBATH
24. EXCISION & THE SUBDIVISION - TITANIUM
25. KRYPTIC MINDS - ONE OF US
26. BLACK SUN EMPIRE - THE INVASION
27. KRYPTIC MINDS - SIX DEGREES
28. SUB SCAPE - NOTHING'S WRONG
29. SUB SCAPE - ARTIFICIAL DREAMER
30. ANNE RANI - FALL [TECH ITCH REMIX]

For more Free Dubstep Mixes go to: http://www.optimusgryme.co.nz/downloads

And check out http://www.nzdubstep.blogspot.com/ for more scene info

Return of the Mac...

My girlfriend is called Caroline.

Fleetwood Mac have a song called Caroline that I hadn't heard of until last month. (It was released in 1987. What's 22 in blog years?)

The bottom line is that the song is huge in the best 80s way possible. Tons of echo on the drums and a massive chorus that I still can't get out of my head.

Regardless of what my girlfriend is called I would have posted this track anyway because it's a beast, but i like the synergy nonetheless.

Whatever music you're in to, take a break from it for 3 minutes and 49 seconds and turn those speakers up.

Fleetwood Mac - Caroline (YSI)

Buy Tango in the Night

Noise Zealand style...

I spent this summer in New Zealand, and between all the skiing and partying managed to dig up a few gems from the local scene.

Optimus Gryme aka Charlie B is the biggest name in the NZ dubstep game right now. I saw him play live at the BASE 10 year party in Wanaka, and was surprised the roof was still on the building by the end of his set.

He released his debut LP back in June, and his Annihilation of the Ego EP is considered one of the best records of the year. If you like your beats heavy, smooth and experimental then this is the guy to check out.

Optimus Gryme - Immortal

Optimus Gryme - A Billy (ft. Billy Fluid)

Buy Optimus Gryme @ Beatport
Grymepace
Check out nzdubstep.com for more info, tour dates and free mixes

Purple Trinity...

I've been listening to a lot of Dubstep this summer, and Joker is one producer who's really caught my ear. Part of the Purple Trinity group with Guido and Gemmy, his bright, technicolour beats are just what the scene needs to revive itself after getting slightly sidetracked into the 'who can make the heaviest bassline' thing. The Purple Trinity's brand of psychedelic dub is much more my thing.

So to catch you up, a mix from each.

Joker - Purple Wow Sound Mix (Z-Share)

Tracklist:
1. Heny g – Delayed Style
2. Silkie – 7-1
3. Joker & Ginz – Purple City
4. Joker – Psychedelic Runway
5. Joker – Gullybrook Plain
6. Joker – Digidesign
7. Guido – Tango 140
8. Gemmy – Espaniola (SOMETHING LIKE THAT )
9. Gemmy – The Box Remix #2
10. Gemmy – BT Tower
11. Gemmy – Back 2 The Future 2012
12. Gemmy – ……
13. Joker – Do it
14. Joker – Early morning
15. Benga – Buzzin’
16. RSD – Naked Mario Kart
17. Skream – Unknown
18. Silkie – Weird Piano
19. Quest – The Unknown
20. Rude kid – Are You Ready (Instrumental)
21. Maniac – Three Crows
22. Joker & Rustie – Play Doe
23. Joker – Untitled

Guido Mini Mix (Save as)

Tracklist:
Guido - Tantalized
Guido, Aarya & Ruthless - Beautiful Complication
Guido - Chakra
Guido - You Do It Right
Guido - Orchestral Lab
Gemmy - Johnny 5
Guido - Mad Sax
Joker - Do It!
Guido - Tango
Joker - Digidesign

Gemmy - Mix for Fact magazine (Sendspace)

Tracklisting:
Jakes - 'Nyabingi'
Rustie - 'Black Block' Remix
Gemmy - 'Purple Moon'
Gemmy - 'Johnny 5'
Kutz - 'Spaceman' VIP
Davinche - 'Jam Hot' Remix
Joker & Ginz - 'Purple City'
Joker - 'Do It'
Gemmy - 'Shanti Riddim'
Gemmy - 'Kodoma'
Gemmy - 'Rusty Tin'
RSD - 'Pretty Bright Light'
Gemmy - 'Bk 2 The Future'

Further reading on the Trinity and Purple sound.

myspace.com/guidoproductions
myspace.com/thejokerproductions
myspace.com/djgemmy

One more (Ninja) Tune...

Oh, hello there. It's been a while, but I keep getting fine slices of aural science delivered directly to my inbox by the good folks over at Ninja Tune records, and who am I to deny their artists the essential air of hype and publicity (even though this blog has the readership of the proverbial one man and his dog) that music makers so relish in these days of multi-faceted media platforms? No-one, that's who.

Fink's track 'All Cried Out' has been a favourite of mine since it featured on his Biscuits for Breakfast album all the way back in '06. He released latest album Sort of Revolution this summer, and to celebrate an i-tunes only release of Sort of Versions (acoustic versions of tracks old and new) i'm giving you his take on R.E.M.'s 'The Apologist'. The ghost of John Martyn pervades, but never dominates Fink's work, which is by turns original, evocative and engaging.

Fink - The Apologist (acoustic)

Get Sort of Versions here
Get Sort of Revolution here
Finkspace

Now I know that PR folks can stir up a lot of BS about their hot new artist, but I must say comparing Emika to Fever Ray, The Knife and Burial (three of my favourites) in one sentence more than piqued my interest. Add to that a remix by none other than Scuba and I was a goner.

I'm a big fan of Scuba's crackly, claustrophobic and driving production, and this track delivers on all accounts. It also reminds me of another of Hot Flush Records talents, Vaccine.

The single 'Drop The Other' plus remixes is out on the 18th January on Ninja Tune. Big.

Emika - Drop The Other (Scuba's Vulpine Remix)

Emikaspace
Scubaspace

Why can't I have a smart dog like that?...

This, and a couple of other questions, has been raised by Rex The Dog's remix of new Fever Ray single Triangle Walks. (Eclectic Hermit trivia, The Knife were the first artist to be posted here on this blog).

Questions such as: Why can't Rex The Dog do an entire Knife remix album? How does Karin Andersson manage to write such damn good songs? Why can't I keep the smile off my face?

I for one would love an LP full of hands-in-the-air italo-swedish disco tracks, so let's make it happen. The petition starts here.

Fever Ray - Triangle Walks (Rex The Dog Remix)

Buy Fever Ray - Fever Ray

Buy Rex The Dog £4.98 on Amazon! Get your hands on it.

Hey! I know that song! #1...

The first in what may become an occasional series of posts that deals with well known tracks and the original music they sampled.

In today's case we have the modern classic Aint Got Time To Waste by Aim, which took inspiration from Marc Moulin/Placebo's Humpty Dumpty.

The Marc Moulin version appeared on the playlist at my work last month. It reminded me just how good Mr Turner's work is, and brought memories flooding back of playing Tony Hawks for hours on end in my teenage years.

Marc Moulin/Placebo - Humpty Dumpty (YSI)

Aim - 'Aint Got Time to Waste (YSI)

I believe Cold Water Music was reissued last year with a couple of bonus tracks, but here's a link to the original on Amazon.

Side note: Cold Water Music also features one of my favourite covers of all time (see above).

I was at Glastonbury when...

We Have Band played The Queens Head, when Skream dropped In For The Kill, when Crookers tore the metaphorical roof off, when Blur stormed the Pyramid, when a hundred other things happened, including the death of Michael Jackson. I was about to watch Metronomy when I heard the news, and walking about the site in the early hours of Thursday night with crowds of people dancing outside the Jerk Chicken bar to old MJ hits was a surreal sight.

I saw We Have Band twice over the weekend, firstly on Thursday right after Maximo Park had just opened the festival at The Queens Head stage, and secondly on the John Peel stage on Sunday. As you might expect, Thursday's gig was full of energy and excitement, the crowd was well into it, and i felt a real thrill about seeing live music again. Sunday was a tough slot for the band, as no amount of enthusiasm from them was going to gee a crowd up early on a Sunday afternoon after 3 days of revelling behind them.

Swiftly re-dubbed I Can Haz Band? (by me), they have firmly rooted themselves into my consciousness as a group destined for big things, and the tracks You've Had Band and Honeytrap have rarely been off my stereo since the festival.

We Have Band - You've Had Band (YSI)

We Have Band - Honeytrap (live) (YSI)

They recently released You Came Out on Kill Em All, buy it at Boomkat.

Wehavemyspace

Murder never sounded so good...

A straight-up downtempo banger from Slow Train Soul here, providing an instantly engaging piano loop, a beat that'll make your neck ache, and vocal hooks that will stick in your brain for a long while.

Released in 2004 on Tommy Boy records, i've clearly been sleeping on this for a long while. But, as with many things, better late than never. Make sure you don't sleep any longer and download this track, as it's one of my favourites of the year so far.

Slow Train Soul - In The Black of Night (128) (YSI)

Slowspace

Amazon throws up the relevant info on purchasing the album.

Got any Clarky Cat?

As if an obscure Brass Eye reference wasn't enough to make your day, the news that Chris Clark has just dropped his new long player 'Totems Flare' certainly will.

In celebration of this news (and it must be good news as it's forced me to blog after 2 months of silence) i'm throwing up an mp3 from his previous album 'Turning Dragon' to remind you, if necessary', just how good he is.

I haven't yet listened to 'Totems Flare' but if the marked evolution of his work so far is anything to go by, this new album should be an interestingly fresh take on the classic Clark sound.

Clark - New Year Storm

Buy some Clark from Boomkat, you know you want to.

Clarkspace

Knight Baggy, you are the man...

An Australian friend put me onto this video, not that his origins have any bearing on the pure genius/autism that is Knight Baggy. In it, a Swedish man extols the virtues of his bezzy mate, and confuses us all in the process. A lot.

1) The mystery. Just who is this Knight Baggy? How did they meet?
2) The lyrics: "He's the king of the hill on the top of his horse, he's the master of all living warriors"
3) The hideous overexposure
4) The white dreads
5) The masks and overall dress of the dancers
6) The euro-rave beats
7) 5-30 secs - The lead singer's dancing.
8) The chorus! "Knight Baggy, he is ma friend, forever, and ever again". wtf?
9) 1.05-1.15 - Special effects split-screen bonanza.
10) 1.25 - The singer mimes the first bit of the verse and then what, forgets the rest?
11) 2.10 - During the breakdown the singer sits and contemplates his friendship with Knight Baggy
12) 2.25 - The dancer picks his nose, eats it, then sings the chorus.

This Website doesn't really help clear things up.

Tell your friends.

Waiter, there's a Black Moth Super Rainbow in my soup...

I discovered BMSR while sitting at a bus stop in a French ski resort, and was instantly taken in by their blend of robust beats, fuzzy synth loops, distressed vocals and all-round good vibes.

Now, thanks to the power of the internets, you can be too. Go listen somewhere you wouldn't otherwise.

Black Moth Super Rainbow - I Think It Is Beautiful That You Are 256 Colours Too (YSI)

This post was inspired by good music and the power of memory.

Grab yer crayons kids...

Let's not mess about. We all know who Blockhead is and what he does. This latest project from him titled 'Uncle Tony's Colouring Book' is self-released and features all sorts of jaunty, catchy, instrumental hip-hop beats for you to nod your head to over the coming months or try to hone your leftfield rhyming skills on.

This sample track contains all the jaunt you could possibly need for a good night in, so make sure to buy the album if you just can't retrain those feet from tapping.

MP3: Blockhead - Grape Nuts & Chalk Sauce (YSI)

Buy it

Also, this track feels instantly familiar. Has it been used on any commercial/film/tv project recently?

It's Dubstep, but not as we know it...

...Or maybe it's exactly as we know it. Dubstep is one of the fastest growing musical genres in the world today, often breaking far away from its roots in UK garage, 2 step and grime. Producers like Vaccine, 2562, and most recently Martyn spring to mind as artists who are tackling the genre from different perspectives, whether geographically or musically.

Martyn doesn't like to pigeonhole his sound into a particular category, rather he prefers to dub it 'Martyn music' (fair play seeing as he's the one who's making it). It's a preference that becomes clear when listening to the new LP Great Lengths, as each track reveals something more about the Martyn sound, whether it's Boards of Canada style vocal samples, stabbing rave synths or lolloping melodies that ground the track while giving other sounds room to manoeuver around the bassline.

So, a dubstep album that isn't strictly dubstep, but neither is it techno, ambient, house, garage, or any of the other genres you may care to fling at it. It is however interesting, challenging and fresh. Let's hope producers of a lesser caliber than Martyn's don't try to emulate his sound, as i doubt the result would be any more listenable than this fine effort.

The album Great Lengths has been out for a week. Go buy it.

Martyn - The Only Choice (YSI)
Martyn - Little Things (YSI)

Martyn Myspace

TiredEyes...

Pic: Christian Pondella. Rider: Eric Pollard

Those of us who keep half an ear to the soft, fluffy ground of the freeskiing world will doubtless need no introduction to TiredEyes aka H-Mob Productions, soundtrackers as they are of the hugely popular Nimbus Independent webisodes that began last winter season with the future classic 'Hunting Yeti' series, and continues this year with 'En Route', a travelogue of the world's best powder locations and feelgood moments, brought to us by the Nimbus crew that includes, among others, Eric Pollard, Pep Fujas, Chris Benchetler and Andy Mahre. Note to self: bone up on grammar and sentence structure.

However it seems that outside the skiing bubble TiredEyes is yet to make significant waves. With a forthcoming album (digital release only so far), things are hopefully set to change. With influences ranging all the way through soul, hip-hop, jazz and beyond, this music aint your typical jump-out-yer-seat stuff, in fact it can be slightly soporific if you're not paying attention. But once you start to peel back the layers, this fresh, innovative and emotive sound will soon become your powder cruising/summer barbecuing/(insert any relaxing moment here) music of choice.

A couple of tasty morsels to whet your appetite for the full release: Take Care of My Family, which is structured round a Cali P acapella; We're OK Watch TV; and To Say Goodbye.

TiredEyes - Take Care of My Family (YSI)
TiredEyes - We're OK Watch TV (YSI)
TiredEyes - To Say Goodbye (YSI)

No solid release date on the album yet but I know i'll be checking his myspace regularly for updates, and i hope you will too.

Nimbus recently dropped their second episode of 'En Route', and it looks like they enjoyed getting to grips with the lederhosen as much as the beer steins. Check it out, then go right back to the start and watch Hunting Yeti. Pow.

TiredEyespace
Nimbus Independent