One Hundred Project : Jon Freer

What is on your stereo at the moment?

Various things I’ve been sent for review consideration, mixes I‘ve downloaded, recent purchases and older favourites.

3 records that changed your life. Why?

The Source - You Got The Love
The first record I can remember having any sort of an impact on me. It was in the pop charts when I was about 6 or 7. This record led me to eventually discovering house music and start buying vinyl in my early teens.

Doc Scott – Blue Skies
I found the D&B released between the mid and late 90s really exciting. This was one of my favourite records of the era, released on Goldie’s influential Metalheadz imprint.

Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
After years of being an electronic music obsessive, this album reminded me of the power of the voice and an acoustic guitar.

What are you looking forward to?

Tomorrow.

What couldn’t you live without? Why?

Hard to tell. You wouldn’t really know what you couldn’t live without until you experienced life without it.

Most memorable gig?

DJ Gig - Playing in the main room of the Music Box to an appreciate crowd, after spending so many nights in there dancing to other people’s records.

Attended - In terms of live music, it would be a close tie between The Gotan Project at the Bridgewater Hall, Jose Gonzalez at the Britons Protection, Marissa Nadler at the Phoenix and Amp Fiddler at the Fez Club. In terms of DJ driven events, Larry Heard and Brett Dancer at Scuba in Sheffield ranks pretty highly, as does Luke and Justin’s selection at the Electric Chair 10th birthday, Osunlade at Electric Souls and Kerri Chandler at Circus.

Who/what are your influences?

I think everything and everyone you come into contact with shapes you as a person.

What is the best and worst thing about the city that you live in?

Best: The people.
Worst: The weather.

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

Something that hasn’t gone away.

Hero? Why?

Anybody who follows their heart and stands up for what they believe in.

Is there anything else that you feel that we should know?

Check the following websites for my writing…
http://hearingisbelieving.blogspot.com
http://www.r4nt.com
and for my photos…
http://livingthroughphotos.blogspot.com

Bio

I like music. I write about music that excites me. I have been involved with music for over a decade, as a music journalist, promotional writer, shop assistant, event promoter and DJ.

JF's One Hundred Project Mix

TRACKLISTING

Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve - See People
Marissa Nadler - Diamond Heart (Live)
Sufjan Stevens - The Dress Looks Nice On You
PG Six - Cover Art Reprise
Herman Dune - Slow Century
Dego & Yukimi - Pieces Of You
Maxine Harvey - Sentimental
Calm - Above The Cloud
Susumu Yokota - King Of Darkness (Swell Session Remix)
Erlend Oye & Morgan Geist - Ghost Train
Joe Claussell - Je Ka Jo
EBTG - Walking Wounded

Download the mix here.

Kumomusic Muxtape

After taking part in the Last Rites Muxtape which you can listen to here, and being the type of guy who if you let put one track on I'll sneak on three, I thought I'd do one of my own, that and I'm really bored.

So here is my Muxtape. The only frustrating bit was being limited to 10mb per track and some of the tunes that I wanted to put on came in at 10.2mb etc. but I think it came out fairly well in the end for what it is.

TRACKLISTING

Milton Nascimento - Parra Lennon e McCartney
Marsha Hunt - (Oh No!) Not The Beast Day
The Heavy - Colleen
Sumeria - Why Must There Be An End
Lamont Dozier - Going Back To My Roots
The Blackbyrds - Mysterious Vibes
The Impressions - Inner City Blues
Ohmega Watts - The Platypus Strut
Nomo - Nu Tones
Fela Kuti - Everything Scatter
Quiet Village - Too High To Move
Latimore - Lets Straighten It Out

So there you have it, kicking off with some Brasilian funk onto some rawness both new and old then a spot of disco and taking it down to some consciousness and then onto some afrobeat and ending with a balearic masterpiece and a cracking bit of bluesy soul. Not too bad in all truth and pretty much indicative of the sort of stuff that I play(ed) out. I might even do a proper mix soon as I owe Chris Keyz another one, so if he still wants one I'll retreat to the record room and get it done. If you missed the last mix that I did with my great mate Paul which featured tracks by Quiet Village, Coyote, Sylvester, Rune Lindbaek, Mudd and a few others then download it here. It's been downloaded over 1500 times and has that late night sunrise kinda vibe that I like so much.

If any of you want the .mp3 of any of these then just let me know and I'll stick it up but seek out the vinyl, far more satisfying.

Some Good Fortune

Being a record collector has lead me to interesting places from record stores in basements of linen factories in Singapore to attics of hairdressers in Taipei to market stalls in Thailand and to more established stores in Japan and occasionally I get given records by people who have ditched the black crack in favour of a shiny piece of plastic and I am always eternally grateful when that happens as I'm sure you can imagine.

I've had two bits of luck this year, the first one was when I bought a 7" off a guy in Canada who sent me all of his 7"s at no extra charge. I paid $10 for 100+ singles, which included tracks by Giorgio Moroder, Sheila B. & Devotion, various Norman Whitfield produced bits, various Patrick Adams produced bits and loads more. The actual 7" that I bought off the guy was unplayable but I didn't complain.


The second bit of luck came yesterday when one of my colleagues invited me round to peruse his record collection from his 'mispent youth' and said I could have anything that I wanted. I walked out with records by King Sunny Ade, Roxy Music, various albums with The Meters as the backing band, Marvin Gaye, Parliament, Funkadelic, Herbie Hancock and tons more goodness. I'm still going through them, so posting on here might slow down considerably while I find some hidden gems and take a huge gulp of inspiration.



They also say that things happen in threes and I'm off to the big sale at Record Surplus on West Pico at the end of May where they have an attic full of records that they're going to be selling at the dizzy price of 92c for three. I may need to build more shelving.

Round Three feat. Paul St. Hilaire - Acting Crazy

Mark Ernestus and Moritz Von Oswald are probably best known as Basic Channel but their forays into the world of dub have blessed us with multitude of great music as Rhythm & Sound. Their sound is stripped to the core and heavily influenced by the likes of King Tubby but with a modern take that is as relevant as it is timeless.

Acting Crazy features Paul St. Hilaire aka Tikiman and is recorded under the moniker Round Three under which Mark Ernestus and Moritz Von Oswald only released this EP and was a part of a series numbered one to five which featured records as incredible as I'm Your Brother and Find A Way. It's one of those records that is absolute dynamite at the right time of the night and sounds incredible on a big soundsystem with all the echoes and effects. The beauty of any record made by Mark and Moritz is that they take very few elements and have the ability to work them in a way that make them sound perfectly juxtaposed next to one another, they make the best loops. They're also not afraid to leave some space between the notes and that makes their music transcend the myriad of copycat dub techno records that are littering the marketplace at the moment.

I have a whole section in my collection devoted to these guys and I just wish that they'd release more records and thankfully this recent reworking of Sebbo Watamu Beach, which is absolutely immaculate, has been released for all of us to drop the needle on.


Round Three feat. Paul St. Hilaire - Acting Crazy

As an added bonus I thought I'd upload Mark Ernestus' insanely good remix of master drummer Tony Allen's Moyege, which was released by Honest Jon's a year or so back. It is a perfect example of how great a dub house record can be. Drink it in.

Tony Allen - Moyege - Mark's Disco Dub

K. Frimpong

Alhaji K. Frimpong is a sadly missed Ghanaian singer who has had a bit of a renaissance in recent times after his inclusion on the superb Soundway compilations Ghana Soundz volumes 1 & 2, which were a staple of many a DJ's recordboxes a couple of months ago. Soundway is a British record label based in Brighton, England whose mission is to release underground tropical dance music with a funky flavour. With a philosophy of quality not quantity Soundway hope to delve deep into areas that have gone unnoticed, uncovering tasty musical gems for the dance-floor and beyond and their releases are accompanied by detailed research.

Kyenken Bi Adi Mawu was his hit song and is a great launching block to his brilliant afro-funk sounds. I know very little about the man beyond his music and the liner notes on the Soundway releases and if any of you can point me in the direction of more then please do so.

K. Frimpong & His Cubano Fiestas - Kyenken Bi Adi Mawu



Collecting music in Africa can be a time consuming and demanding practice and this article by Duncan Brooker is a great illustration of just how far people will go to get that elusive afro cut. Being from South Africa where records were still pressed well into the 90s finding music on black crack isn't as difficult as it could be for someone hunting down Mulatu LPs in Ethiopia or Air Fiesta Matata LPs in Kenya but as I've come to appreciate my African roots more as I have gotten older, I have found that there is something that stirs my soul whenever I hear records by the likes of Fela Kuti and at the moment every other record that I buy is from the mother land and although it is costing me a small fortune I wouldn't want it any other way. Check this blog for more grooves than you can shake a Mabr at.

Map of Africa - Freaky Ways

Map Of Africa is a band formed of the combined forces of Tonka Soundsystem and balearic DJs wet dream, the legendary Harvey and one half of Rub 'n Tug and former A.R.E. Weapons member Thom Bullock.

Having grown up together in the wilds of Fen-land East Anglia they have found their way into a studio built in the old barn of a commune compound deep in the woods and rivers of Northern New York State. From here they have single-handedly written and recorded their first album of songs that, though they are clearly the work of individual vision, can at times remind you of the bands Can and Hawkwind or for that matter Godley and Creme.

Harvey is known for his ridiculously expensive Black Cock releases and having ushered in the current wave of re-edit hysteria as well as his unique remix and production style that along with his international DJ performances has kept him in a position of cult status amongst disco and dance connoseurs for the past two decades. Here are a couple of interviews with the bearded one that may give you a bit more insight into the mythical status of the man - read here and here.

Bullock is most easily recognized for his role in his DJ partnership Rub 'n Tug but may also be remembered as the man behind the music of an earlier NY super nova; A.R.E. Weapons. Now as well as his work with Harvey he is recording an LP under the handle of Bobbie Marie and producing several other groups all for the Brooklyn's Whatever We Want Records. Both Harvey and Thom aren't shy of a good time and have more fun than the punters most nights, which is my style, and if we had more DJs having a good time and less looking like bored electricians checking their e-mail then we'd be all the better for it.



I've chosen this track by the band, and even though the instrumental is far superior and is mercilessly devoid of Harvey's at times karaoke singing, this track does give you an idea of what the band is all about. It's a record that initially left me very cold but having listened to it a lot in recent months it has grown on me a lot and my wife likes it, so double bonus points there. Buy the whole album and give it some time, I guarantee you'll like it. The vinyl will cost you silly money though, be warned.

Map of Africa - Freaky Ways


Harvey in his element on Venice Beach.

Wax Poetics

An education and a blessing every time this drops through my mailbox. There is no better.