10 of my favourite websites/blogs

These ten websites are the ones that I visit the most on an almost daily basis. They're informative, concise and packed with knowledge aplenty. Dive in, they're all ace.

Tyler Askew


Tyler has been blogging a while now for Japanese wesbite Maround and his blog is incredibly enlightening and covers ground from design to music with a great eye for the aesthetic. I particularly like the fact that Tyler is a typography junkie and I have gotten many a font from his recommendations. Tyler is also a former correspondent for World Wide and Straight No Chaser and previously ran a night called Rude Movements at APT and now runs the highly promising My Favorite Things. Read his blog here.

The Hundreds


I have to admit that I am not the greatest fan of The Hundreds' clothing range but I am an avid reader of Bobby Hundreds' blog as it is an honest account of the streetwear market today written without bias and with a huge dollop of humour. He's also more than willing to lend a helping hand to anyone starting a brand and most certainly seems to have his heart in the right place. Read his highly informative blog here.

Rope-a-dope


I've been reading Rope-a-dope for years and it is my first stop for anything jazz/funk/soul related but it doesn't just stop there, it covers a wide range of topics and from time to time can be highly political, which I like. Again, I respect this one for its honesty and I hardly know about any of the artists or people that they cover but they do it in a way that makes me want to seek them out and know more. You can't ask for much more than that. Read the blog here.

Northern Comfort


Manchester-based blog that offers great mixes from the likes of Kelvin Brown, Rob Dobson, Chris Morris, Qool DJ Marv and many more as well as some quality finds from the web all delivered with enthusiasm and a lot of humour. Big up the Blackley massive. Read the blog here.

Nearest Far Away Place


This is a new blog that I stumbled upon in recent weeks and instead of treading the same old tired re-edit/obvious disco route they have chosen to look at the more leftfield side of dance, disco and balearica with an obvious amount of knowledge and enthusiasm for the music that they choose to highlight. Read the blog here.

Josh Spear


Josh Spear is a blogger supreme, one of those career bloggers who gets something like a million hits a week and he covers all bases from art to books to music to travel and if there is a prominent event in the world of popular culture then you can bet your arse that Josh will cover it. Read the blog here.

Jeff Staple


Jeff is the owner of The Reed Space in Tokyo and New York as well as the man behind Staple Design. He seems to be perpetually on a plane traveling somewhere doing what he does and he's a kicks man much like myself and whenever he gets a limited edition pair I get massive sneaker envy. He writes eloquently and basically whose who of popular culture seems to find themselves crossing Jeff's path at some point. Read the blog here.

Hypebeast


This is the best thing/worst thing about streetwear and popular culture. Unlike Jeff Spear and Jeff Staple's blogs which people check to find out what is cool in the world of streetwear, it is almost the kiss of death to have your product featured on Hypebeast. Having said that brands were lining up to have their new lines featured at the Magic Trade Show in Las Vegas last month. It can be quite hit and miss as they cover literally everything with seemingly very little quality control but occasionally they uncover a future gem. Check the blog here.

Another Night On Earth


The best thing from South Africa on the web. Run by the incredibly talented Chris Keys, this blog offers the very best in disco, house, balearic and occasionally broken beat/funk with insightful pieces on every record as well as the supreme Press Play series. Check this blog regularly, your record collection needs you to. Read the blog here.

Analog Africa


Quite simply the blog on African music. This is an absolute goldmine of knowledge and tunes that will have you checking it every day waiting for those unbelievably rare finds from the depth of the African diaspora. Incredible blog and you should bookmark it regularly. Read the blog here.

A Couple From The Collection (Videos)

The Players Association 'Turn The Music Up!'

I was turned onto this group by going to Eyes Down and The Chair and listening to Kelvin Brown playing 'We're Almost There' which is probably the best example of their work but seeing as I couldn't find a video of that I thought I'd settle for my other favourite tune from them and that is 'Turn The Music Up!' which appeals to my jazzier side, it's basically a proto-house tune from before 4/4 was house and it just ticks all the right boxes for me. One of those records that you can play to the sweaty masses at 3am or out in the sun on a terrace at 3pm. A great record that your collection needs if you don't have it already.



Dennis Coffey - Theme From Black Belt Jones

They simply don't make them like they used to and this is proof. I love records that are balls to the floor and you don't get much more to the point than this impeccable piece of music that always gets the party started. I have worn out the grooves on at least two copies of this and with my third copy a bit worse for wear it may be time that I got my next replacement lined up. This is easy as pie to find and go for the re-issue as it is cut just that much louder. I dare you not to dance to this. Superb stuff.



Edwin Starr - Get Up (Whirlpool)

This was a record that was broken in 2006 by my KUMO co-hort Paul Hughes at his numerous gigs in the city, and it became a record that was simply known as 'Paul's Record' and even though a couple of us played it, it never sounded as good as when Paul did much in the way Ashford & Simpson 'Stay Free' never sounds as good as when Adam H drops it. Edwin Starr may be better known for the anti-war anthem 'WAR' which really came back into prominence once Laurent Garnier started playing it after the US invaded Iraq and numerous other jocks followed suit. Another great record of his to hunt down is the supremely funky 'Easin' In' which was featured on the first World Wide compilation by Gilles Peterson at the turn of the century but as good as these two records are, and Edwin's whole back catalogue for that matter, nothing stands up to the magic that is 'Get Up (Whirlpool)' which is a hands in the air call to arms if ever I have heard one. Shouldn't be too hard to track down a copy and you need it, the 7" version has a bit less of the intro and the 12" is the full deal. I have both, it's that good.



Wilbert Longmire - Black Is The Color

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know a thing about Wilbert Longmire beyond finding this record in Vox Pop during one of my epic Friday digging sessions and playing it to death on our radio show. Obviously the more I went out in Manchester I realised that it wasn't really as long lost a gem as I thought it was but I'd still like to think that through the radio show we broke it to a few more people. This is one of those records that is sheer perfection from start to finish and my favourite bit is the horn-led breakdown towards the middle with the sexy 'Yeah' vocal snippet followed by some of the funkiest sax playing ever. This record gets me on the dancefloor each and every time I hear it and probably will until the day my knees give out and I can't dance anymore but then I'll probably just bust out some of the funkiest wheelchair headbobs imaginable. I never tire of this masterpiece.



The Temptations - You've Got My Soul On Fire

There are so many records from The Temptations back catalogue that I could've chosen for this but today I am leaning towards 'You've Got My Soul On Fire' which epitomizes the influence that Norman Whitfield had on the group. They could've so easily have just stuck to singing their Motown ballads and most people would've been happy but with the vocal talent on offer their Whitfield-led move towards funk, which was becoming more and more prevalent at the time with the likes of Sly & The Family Stone leading the way, truly enshrined them in the annals of music. As far as harmonizing goes you simply can't beat them and the timing both vocally and musically is impeccable. Play this or 'Plastic Man' or 'Ball of Confusion' and watch the dancefloor erupt.

A Few More of My Favourite Artists

This is just a quick post but I've decided to highlight a few of my favourite artists and the three below are certainly the type that stir my creative juices. The bios are from various sources on the web, something which I never usually do but it is late, so my apologies. What impresses me about all three is that they certainly have their own styles, some of which have been aped in recent years, and they're all entirely unique. I pretty much try and buy whatever I can afford by any of them (usually just books or toys as the prices of canvasses are skyrocketing and rightly so) and one of my goals in life is to have a house big enough to have original works of art stacked on them like the old French salons of yore. Seek these artists out, you won't be disappointed.

Os Gêmeos

Os Gêmeos (Portuguese for The Twins) are graffiti artist identical twin brothers from São Paulo, Brazil, whose real names are Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo. They started painting graffiti in 1987 and gradually became a main influence in the local scene, helping to define Brazil's own style. Their work often features yellow-skinned characters, but is otherwise diverse and ranges from tags to complicated murals. Subjects range from family portraits to commentary on São Paulo's social and political circumstances, as well as Brazilian folklore. Their graffiti style was influenced by both traditional hip hop style and the Brazilian pichação movement.





KAWS

Brian Donnelly, aka “KAWS”, manifested himself for the first time in the early 1990s by painting walls and writing graffiti in and around Jersey City and New York. In the mid-1990s, he began appropriating advertisements from bus shelters and phone booths in New York City and painting a graphic, cartoon-like skull-and-crossbones image into them. He continued to develop this motif for the next few years, re-working advertising materials not only in bus shelters and phone booths in New York City, but in Paris, London, Berlin, and Tokyo. This work has been featured in numerous publications, as well as exhibited at Colette, Paris, PARCO Gallery, Tokyo, MU Art Foundation, the Netherlands, as well as at BAPE Gallery, Tokyo. His recent work has been influenced by iconic characters from modern pop culture, such as Mickey Mouse, “The Michelin Man”, and The Simpsons. KAWS’ work treads the fine line between art, commerce, cartoons, and commercials. It is a disruption of, as well as a tribute to, all objects produced, bought, sold, exchanged, desired, and cherished. KAWS studied at The School of Visual Arts in New York City, and currently lives in Brooklyn.





José Parlá

José Parlá currently lives and works in New York, and only recently traveled to Cuba for the first time. His life, like his work, is therefore at once extremely particular and generally reflective of the wanderings of today's urban populations. In the context of these migrations and upheavals, Parlá is concerned with the way that cities function as palimpsests, upon which the experiences of those who pass through them are materially inscribed in decay, in writing, in the well-worn paths of their inhabitants. Parlá's work attempts to extract and synthesize fragments of these urban environments in flux and reproduce them using the materials and methods of architectural construction: cement, wood, vinyl as well as those of traditional art like paper, paint, powdered dye, wax, and ink. Yet because these fragments are inflected by the memories and experience of the artist, he considers them to be paintings in sense that is probably truer than one that refers merely to the physical presence of pigments and oil. Parlá describes the object of his method as segmented realities or memory documents. Leading these ideas to form a personal philosophy of his work he calls Contemporary Palimpsests. Each painting bears the name of the location or experience from which it draws its source.

José's artist statement probably best defines his work, "My work is inspired by the anonymous art found in the streets. The art is often in the form of calligraphy or the actions of torn and stripped posters. The inscriptions in my work are used as a form of drawing, and to maintain a record of my observations.

In my travels I have encountered a similar dialogue that takes place in most cities. I find compositions on surfaces of deteriorated walls, and remnants of construction markings. In my paintings I create layers and textures representing the age of memories collected through different periods of my life.

Evidence is left on walls by fleeting creators both aware of their message, or oblivious to what I may find in their signs. Still, they remain mostly unidentified.

When working on my paintings I imagine different people are making choices to write, paint, or destroy the surfaces. To do this I employ techniques to age my work, adopting materials normally used in construction.

I am using my imagination to capture the psychology of a segmented reality. These realities which are deposited into our subconscious everyday are the basis for a dialogue that goes mostly unnoticed. Once these "segmented realities" or images are transferred and converted into paintings they become a "memory document" , a sort of time capsule for my experience in history.

With this language I hope to communicate and provoke thoughts of the past and present conditions in the human spirit."

Upper Space Gallery

THE UPPER SPACE GALLERY OPENS IT’S DOORS WITH AN INTRODUCTION TO SKETCH CITY’S FLAGSHIP GALLERY SPACE WITH FRESH WORKS BY SOME OF THE UK’S MOST EXCITING STREET ARTISTS.

Upper Space gallery is delighted to announce that our first exhibition, This Is Us, opens on the 1st March. This show brings together some of the most exciting artists from the UK for the first time in the North West’s only designated Street Art Gallery. The show features work by well respected, established contemporaries along side up and coming underground artists. The first exhibition serves as an introduction to the gallery where the artists have been given full creative control over how they use the space.

Artists Exhibiting:

JON BURGERMAN (www.jonburgerman.com)

The UK artist has built a strong reputation through his unique and colourful doodle-artworks of swooping, intertwining lines and hyper-emotional characters. Working across a variety of media that includes drawing, painting, print, animation, large-scale murals and toy design, his art retains a hand-made, hand-drawn quality. A sense of British self-deprecation, dry humour and modern-day anxiety imbues his work along with an enthusiasm for salads.

Burgerman has exhibited internationally since 2001 with his work in the permanent collections of The Victoria and Albert Museum and The Science Museum in London. He regularly gives lectures at Universities and presented his work at the prestigious Pictoplasma Character Design Conference (Berlin, 2006).

He received a D&AD Silver award nomination for his work for Levi’s and has worked on many commercial projects for high profile organisations including: The Science Museum (UK), The BBC (UK), Sony (Worldwide), KidRobot (Worldwide), MTV (Worldwide), Coca Cola (Worldwide), 55DSL (UK), Crowm Creative Inc. (Japan), NookArt (Worldwide) and Rip Curl (Worldwide).

DAVID EARL DIXON aka DIST (www.distone.co.uk)

Dist has exhibited his work wide and far, constantly looking to push the barriers of where his luminous and hollow beings will take him. He also art directs his own skateboard brand ‘The Harmony’ as well as being a member of the prestigious London based ‘Scrawl Collective’.

Dist has exhibited his work in both solo and joint exhibitions in various cities around the world including shows in; London, Marseille, New York and Los Angeles.

His work is in high demand and Dist has created work for many high profile clients including: Adidas, Orange, Analogue Books, Nike, SB, Konami Games, MTV, Virgin Media, Roxy Surf Wear and Magma Books.

SKETCH CITY ARTISTS (www.sketchcity.co.uk)

From it’s start over 2 years ago, the live street art and music event in Manchester has gone from strength to strength. Some of the most talented Street Artists in the North West have become resident artists painting alongside DJs including Manchester’s own Mr Scruff, Danny Breaks, DJ Woody and Natural Self. Sketch City artists have painted throughout the UK and abroad and have completed projects with clients including: Sony (UK), New Balance (UK), Marsatac (Europe), EA Games (UK), Westworld (UK), Grolsch (UK) and Revolution (UK). We have also taken the event format to festivals including D-Percussion (2005/06/07), Hub Festival (2007) and Glastonbury (2007).

ABOUT UPPER SPACE GALLERY

Situated in the heart of the Northern Quarter in an old warehouse in Manchester city centre, 1600 sq. ft. gallery space will give local street artists as well as national and international artists the opportunity to gain exposure and experience by showcasing their work to the public.

The ethos behind the gallery is the same as our monthly Sketch City event held at the Contact Theatre, we are all about inclusivity and promoting art as a positive form of expression, we aim to provide street artists and illustrators with a safe environment to create work for exhibitions and show the public the art forms that rarely get that chance to be seen in Manchester. This is the first gallery of it’s kind outside of London and is a first for the North West.

We know there are many limitations placed on artists when they exhibit work within a gallery setting, at Upper Space we plan to give these contemporary art forms contemporary space and we encourage artists to interact with the space as they would on the streets outside. We believe in pushing things forward.

For further enquiries please contact:

Barney Francis on 07787 384 814 or via e-mail barney@sketchcity.co.uk

www.sketchcity.co.uk



This weekend also sees the launch of Sketch City's new night Hoya:Hoya at the Music Box in Manchester. To find out more you can read Jonny and Ryan's One Hundred Project installments here and here.

One Hundred Project : Andy Burge

What is on your stereo at the moment?
A Certain Ratio Early Years
RZA Ghost Dog: The Way of The Samurai

3 records that changed your life. Why?
Three experiences musically changed my life in terms of listening and being exposed to music.
1. Being introduced to the Two-Tone sound and post punk music by mod revivalists in my first year of high school.
2. Not long after being exposed to graffiti culture, break dancing and electro/hip hop in the early to mid 80s and all that went with that.
3. Experiencing house music for the first time, which profoundly changed my life.

OK, now to the actual records. Due to there being too many I've picked one from each defining movement. Off the top of my head.

Talking Heads - Remain In Light - Sire 1980 LP
Quite possibly my favourite band of all time. From Fear of Music, Remain In Light to Speaking In Tongues they're hard to split, overall this just edges out in front. I never get sick of this album and its polyrhythmic, funk appeal mind blowing.

Various - Beat Street: Soundtrack Volume 1 & 2 - Atlantic 1984 LP
This was the soundtrack to my youth. In hindsight this was the commercial end of this culture bat at the time it was the newest, freshest thing we'd heard as kids. We listened, watched and immersed ourselves in this daily.

Rhythim is Rhythim - Nude Photo - Transmat 1987 12"
This was just simply from another world. Perhaps Kraftwerk fans felt this in the 70s but for me this changed the entire game plan along with Model 500 and Underground Resistance releases.

What are you looking forward to?
Paul 'Mudd' Murphy playing in Sydney next month.

What couldn’t you live without? Why?
My fiancee, record collection and friends. I think the above speaks for itself. Also, maps, tea and mexican food, not necessarily combined.

Most memorable gig?
This is a hard one, virtually impossible to pick! However, I'd have to say hearing Tony Humphries on top form during the 90s when I was living in New York City was a stand out. Also, Mark Rae at Chinese Laundry in Sydney 1997 comes to mind. One the band front there have been plenty, Massive Attack at the Enmore Theatre in the 1990s and The Pixies last year in Sydney.

Who/what are your influences?
Where do I start with this? Production wise I'm into stuff that ranges Norman Whitfield to Sly & Robbie, from Bill Laswell to Arthur Russell and all in between.

What is the best and worst thing about the city that you live in?
The best thing about Sydney is the harbour and surrounding water. The worst thing is its lack of record stores and corporate club culture (which is where its at now, not back in the day). Thankfully, we have a few parties kicking against the pricks keep us going, Paradise Lost and Funk Inc.

Given the accelerated pace of modern culture, what are we due a revival in?
I think African music is making a comeback in all its nuances. Also, perhaps we'll see a revival in proper garage music and more people garage music and more people putting on parties that have less to do with money and more to with underground culture.

Hero? Why?
We don't need another hero! The most heroic deeds are done by average, anonymous, everyday people in my book.

Is there anything else that you feel that we should know?
We have just started our weekly radio show on 2RRR 88.5FM in Sydney. It's a community radio show that we did 10 years ago and have just started up again. We intend to get a blog up and running and a space for people to download our shows.

Andy Burge has been involved in and around the Sydney electronic music scene for the past 20 years as a punter, DJ, and promoter, and has played regularly at underground clubs in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane as well as worldwide throughout venues in the U.S.A and Canada.

In the 1990's and early noughties Andy lived and Djed in New York City working for Francois K's legendary Wave Music imprint which left a profound effect on his musical direction. Although his love for Chicago house is well noted, he now feels that his passion lays in the convergence of underground disco (both old and new) and electronic funk. Citing a broad and diverse range of artists such as Patrick Adams, ESG, Larry Heard, Carl Craig, August Darnell, and Talking Heads as major influences. Similarly new artists such as those from the Bear Funk label, Lindstrom, Idjuts, and Brennan Green tickle his fancy.

Both Andy and Mike Delahunty co-ran Break Even Crew website and the Jam The Box parties with DJ Venturian in venues from The Globe to Moulin Rouge to Club 77, that broke artists such as Diz, Inland Knights, East Coast Boogiemen, Little Beasties, and Jason Hodges to the Sydney house public.

These days, he feels his future is in small intimate venues and back rooms where the original ethos of this music can shine through. Expect Soul, Funk, Disco, Early House and Leftfield electronic music!

Andy Burge One Hundred Project mix

TRACKLISTING

1. African Head Charge - Heading To Glory - On-U-Sound 1993
2. Black Uhuru - Botanical Roots - Island 1984
3. 23 Skidoo - Vegas El Bandito - Illuminated 1984
4. Tim Thaler OST - Wetten Dass? - Diggler 1979
5. Nona Hendryx - Tranformation - RCA 1983
6. Camaro's Gang - Cornflakes - ZYX 1986
7. Tony Monn Concept - Who Built The Pyramids - Ariola 1982
8. Jah Wobble & Bill Haswell - Alsema Dub - Palm Pictures 2001
9. Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports - Siam - Harvest 1981
10. Holger Czukay - Witches' Multiplication Table - EMI Electrola 1981
11. Can - Future Days - UA 1973
12. Quantum Jump - Barracuda - Electric Record Company 1979
13. ELO - The Whale - UA 1977
14. BBC Shipping Forecast
15. Robert Wyatt - At Last I Am Free - Rough Trade 1980

Download the mix here.

Nomadic Wax

We were privileged to have Nomadic Wax founder, Ben Herson as well as Senegalese performer, Baay Bia come up to Idyllwild Arts Academy this past Saturday to talk about the film Democracy In Dakar and perform for the students.

Nomadic Wax is a record label, music/film production company and events producer specializing in hip-hop and underground music from around the globe and in 2007 they embarked on making a film about the general elections in Senegal and chose to make it from the point of view of local rappers and hip hop artists who were so instrumental in getting Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade in 2000 but who in the interim have become disillusioned with the policies put into place by a man who failed to live up to any of his initial campaign promises. Originally shot as a seven part documentary mini-series released via the internet - the documentary bridges the gap between hip-hop activism, video journalism and documentary film and explores the role of youth and musical activism on the political process.

The footage has since been edited into a feature length film and we were only the third or fourth audience to see it in its entirety. The film deals with the few days leading up to the elections and finds a nation that is in turmoil due to rampant emigration to Europe and beyond as well as a poor infrastructure that sees a large portion of the population unemployed and impoverished many of whom choose to voice their feelings of disenfranchisement through hip hop making it truly, to paraphrase Chuck D, the CNN of the youth in Senegal.

The thing that struck me most about the rappers was that they weren't interested in going down the misogynistic and money-orientated route that US hip hop seems to find itself in but rather in speaking out to their brothers and sisters about how they feel about their current plight and letting them know that the only way to effect change would be to unify and stand together as one. Unfortunately the message was diluted a bit by the lack of decent candidates for whom they could vote. Many of the candidates were previous members of Wade's government and therefore couldn't really be trusted to bring change and reconciliation to Senegal's 11.5m inhabitants.

It's a theme that runs through elections all over Africa and being a South African I am can empathize with the people of Senegal as it seems that Jacob Zuma will be elected to office even though he has a fraud case looming as well as a conviction for rape, which is makes him an abysmal choice of leader for country experiencing as much turmoil as mine but I'll save that for another post.

The film concludes with Wade winning over 50% of the elective and being re-elected in the first round of voting, which is unheard of in Senegalese election history. It is heart-breaking to see a nation with so much vibrancy and artistic creativity so disheartened by the fear of what will become of them under the next five years of Wade's inept tenure in office. The documentary is balanced and expresses its viewpoint with a certain charm that belies its subject matter and proved itself to be incredibly thought-provoking for the students at the school who were engaged in the discussion that followed the screening and hung on Baay's every word as he gave first-hand insight into life in Senegal.

After the discussion it was time for Baay and Ben on percussion to whip the students up into a frenzy as their set brought out the spirit of Africa in all of them and concluded with Baay surrounded by students on stage singing and dancing to the rhythm-driven flow that Baay and Ben expertly crafted. With a ton of merchandise sold the party moved to one of the commons rooms on campus where the students got the mother of all drum circles going that kept the party going long into the night.

The event proved to be a huge success all in all and a big thank you must go to Sydney Robertson who had the foresight to make this happen and was instrumental in getting the project from concept to fruition as well as to the various department chairs who graciously ponied up some of the cash needed to pay for it. In my 12/13 years of promoting events around the world this would easily rate as one of the most positive that I have had the honor of being apart of, and that is saying something.


Ben & Baay on stage


Baay & Ben performing




A new hero for the students

Baay Bia & Ben Herson part 1.



Baay Bia & Ben Herson part 2.



To book Baay, Ben or any of the members of Nomadic Wax for a screening or an event contact them here.

Gilles Peterson Has Records To Burn

My wife tends to complain from time to time about my ever increasing record collection and to be fair it is getting a bit out of hand with loads of bits that will probably only feel a needle every two years or so but I'm going to use this video to show her that it isn't as bad as it could be. Gilles Peterson not only has the best radio show about but easily one of the deepest collections by the looks of things. Feel the width.



You can listen to his show every week here.

One Hundred Project : Toby Tobias

What is on your stereo at the moment?
Some old Mike Dunn record I just got off Discogs.

3 records that changed your life. Why?
Clear - Cybotron
Because it was when i realised what deep was about.

Beltram - Energy Flash/LFO - LFO
Made me realise where I wanted to be since 1990, on the dancefloor!

Kano - I'm ready
That lovely fine line between disco / electronic funk / house etc.

What are you looking forward to?
My album dropping in April.

What couldn't you live without? Why?
Er water? I'm sure I'd adapt to having to live without most things.

Most memorable gig?
I think it was Dansistor in London (Horsemeat Disco) last year - it just went off massively and I played an hour or so longer than my alloted time - it was my first gay audience, too!

Who/what are your influences?
Obviously thats a massive question - and it spans my whole life so I couldn't really answer as i m constantly being influneced - but top of the list are, for production- Francois K, Carl Craig, Maurice Fulton, Tony Carrasco, Sly and Robbie, Gino Soccio, Kano, New Order, Matt Edwards, Chicken Lips, Mike Dunn, Charles Webster and for DJs - Maurice Fulton (again!!), Prins Thomas, Sasha, Steve Kotey, Colin Dale and Kev Harding.

What is the best and worst thing about the city that you live in?
London - worst thing by a mile is the underground - can't wait until I stop commuting.
Best is that it's pretty cool with lots of culture and entertainment.

Given the accelerated pace of modern culture, what are we due a revival in?
The Charleston

Hero? Why?
Francois K - because he hit the nail on the head with his productions in the early 80's and is still doing so now over 25 years later.

Is there anything else that you feel that we should know?
2008 will be a great year for new music.

Toby's first forays into production began around the heady rave days of the late eighties early nineties. Everything before this had been digested in his Gullliver and taken on some kind of influence or another, from hearing his first ever remix at 13... of Bros believe it or not, to listening to New Order's Substance on constant rotation on his Sony Walkman, to his dad's constant insistence on playing Sky or Stevie Wonder in the family car, buying his first electric guitar when he was 13, his mum buying him Crucial Electro one for christmas of 83 and the subsequent breakdancing tirade that followed.

The first productions were scored on a simple Roland sampler, and spawned tracks that were on a techno/house kind of vibe, but warranted a play from Colin Favor on his revolutoinary Kiss show. Toby's first DJing experiences were at Art College where he had the chance to play his records through a bumping JBL system, he also learned the art of throwing his own parties, using the Graphics skills he'd acquired to to do the promotional gear. An early love of deep sounds gained Toby the reputation of having something different to offer and began to spread his djing wings, as far as Scotland and Glastonbury ...

It wasn't till 2000 when he met part time music partner Craig 'Alexis Forge ' Macculough that the productions started to take shape.. they had an oppurtunity to play around with lots of music software together for a year, from these sessions Toby created a whole lot of music. It got farmed out to labels, and some of it made an appearance on Deep house label Low Pressings, one tune got picked up by Steve Kotey of Bearfunk.

From here a steady flow of productions emerged on labels such as Odori, Hi-phen and most recently Rekids and Tiny Sticks. The Rekids release 'A Close Shave' recieving great reviews and consequntly remix offers started coming in. Remixes have been done for Beat Freeze Records, Bent, Bloop recordings (Portugal) and Dialect Recordings. Side projects including edits for Urban Myth, collaborations with Danny Clark for Latenightaudio productions and a live studio group called Mythical Beast with Foolish Felix and Marcus Lee (a track called Magical Creature is waiting for closure at this very moment!!)

DJing wise , Toby DJs monthly at his own night with Danny Clark called www.latenightaudio.com, this has been going great guns and has pulled in some top guests as well as a healthy following, recently Toby was signed up to Warm DJ agency - 2007 promises more overseas dates, as well as the first Rekids release of the year ...with a remix from the mighty Quiet Village, more work with Bearfunk and Germany's Members of the Trick /Sonar kollectiv, a tidy package from Tiny Sticks with a remix from Mark E and more releases on Urban myth. Culminating in his first artist album on Rekids dropping in the autumn.

Toby Tobias on Myspace
REKIDS

Toby Tobias on Beats In Space on November 27th, 2007.

TRACKLISTING

1. Beastly cuts - Communique - (Casinoboy version) - cdr
2. Peter Jacques band - the louder - rca
3. Christian Prommer's Drum lesson - rex drums - sonar kollektiv
4. Grace Jones - La vie en rose ( Casinoboy version ) - cdr
5. Soul Tourist - sidedish - drumpoet community
6. Craig Peyton - be thankful ,instr - elite
7. Rune Lindbaek - Junta Jaeger - drum island
8. Bogdan Irkuk - Foreign Tongues - rollerboys
9. DB - Red - white
10. linkwood - hear the sun - firecracker
11. Slave - baby sinister - cotillion
12. trillion -step by step - xyz
13. Casinoboy - Bluepants - cdr
14. Paul Simpson - Sucker for candy (dub)
15. David Boydell - Dub Dancing - the electric record co
16. The Dutch Rhythm band - Bonaire (max skiba remix)
17. Allen Toussaint - Its a stand off - crystal fire
18. Toby Tobias feat Pete Z - Computari - Rekids
19. Man - Spaceship - dmm

Download it here.