Spotted in Kumo Gear

Stuart Patterson spotted in a Kumo shirt. Nice one, Stu.

From Bodytonic.

"The very NYC sounding East Village opens in February in London on the site of the old Medicine Bar (the former venue that Bodytonic had a residency in for a short while) in Shoreditch.

Resident Stuart Patterson is one of the men behind the new venture and we've heard whispers of a quality sound system being installed and eclectic line-ups that already sound great. Giles Peterson and his Brownswood label family will be running a monthly residency too and the likes of Karizma, Andy Weatherall, Clive Henry and Terry Farley are playing in the coming months. From our experience there, the downstairs area in particular has great potential. The venue is located right beside Favela Chic and our favourite bar in London, the Foundry, is only across the road too. All are worth checking out if your in London anytime soon..."

It all kicks off on Friday, February 22nd and more info can be found here.

One Hundred Project : James Kumo

What is on your stereo at the moment?
The forthcoming New World Aquarium album, deepness to the full!

3 records that changed your life. Why?
Underground Resistance - Galaxy 2 Galaxy
Why? Why do you think!!!

Kerri Chandler - Inspiration
Very warm track with emotional lead vocals from Arnold Jarvis.....very MOS in the mid 90's

Blake Baxter - Sexual Deviant
First heard this in 94 when Weatherall used to rock the 'Drum Club' at the Sound Shaft - dark!

What are you looking forward to?
My son being able to talk to me......(he's only 4 months at the moment!)

What couldn't you live without? Why?
Crumpets......love em!

Most memorable gig?
Easy - Killer Robot, Cape Town, December 2006 - they love their techno!

Who/what are your influences?
Tough one to call really.....so many. Early on it was Danny Rampling, Colin Dale people like that, basically any good DJ on Kiss 100 FM (back in the day), these days artists or labels like Delsin, Brendon Moeller, Chymera, Vince Watson, Aril Brikha, Toby Tobias, Todd Terje, Kaoru Inoue, Styrax Leaves, Deep Space Media, New World Aquarium, the list could go on & on...

What is the best and worst thing about the city that you live in?
Manchester, my adopted 2nd home.....well really, i guess the country side......it's very pleasant. Worst.....hmmm has to be the rain, it never stops!

Given the accelerated pace of modern culture, what are we due a revival in?
Bollocks to that......lets look forwaaaard.

Hero? Why?
None really....a few people who i admire and respect, for example like FK, how can you not admire or look up to someone who's been at the top of his game for over 25 years! Very little people achieve this.

Is there anything else that you feel that we should know?
Kumomusic Vol 2 will be dropping soon i hope - watch this space.



James Kumo - Kumo Blog Mix

TRACKLISTING

Brendon Moeller - Lost And Found - Eskimo
Toby Tobias - Breakdown - Rekids
Kuniyuki - Earth Beats (Cloud Of Dust Guitar Dub) - Seeds And Ground
Kaoru Inoue - The Secret Field (Todd Terje remix) - Mule Musiq
New World Aquarium - Tresspassers - Delsin

Download it here.

James Kumo's first EP has just been released on Delsin sister label Ann Aimee. To buy your own copy you could always put in an order here.

For more information on James read here, and for more information on his EP read here or here.

Nomadic Wax + Stones Throw

Nomadic Wax is a record label, music/film production company and events producer specializing in hip-hop and underground music from around the globe. They choose to depict artists that have distinctive political messages which they push through their music and are active in stimulating change in their various communities because like Chuck D said, 'Hip Hop is the CNN of urban youth.' Having said that if all you were ever exposed to was MTV's watered-down take on hip hop you'd be excused for thinking that it was all about Cristal, bitches and bling-bling, which is about as far away from the rampant fire-brand use of the medium by the likes of Public Enemy and POC.



Thankfully in large parts of the world musicians and emcees are still using their music as a platform to effect social change and to enlighten the youth as to how the policies of the fat cats in power serve to do nothing more than have detrimental circumstances in the neighborhoods that they live in. That is why the hip hop scene in most French-speaking countries is so interesting, they are most certainly not afraid to stick two fingers up to their governments and let everyone know that shit is fucked up.



Up here at Idyllwild Arts Academy we've invited the makers of the film to screen their film and then to discuss the issues related with the students at our school. The demographic of the school is privileged to say the least and it is through events like this that we hope to show them that the world is a melting pot of chaos, oppression and violence but in between all that negativity there are creative voices that resonate and rise above all that bullshit and make lasting impacts on the world in which we live, it is this sort of creativity and energy that inspires me greatly and I have nothing but praise for the work that Nomadic Wax are doing in bringing this to our attention through their films. Check their blog for more truth.

We're filming a short documentary on their visit to the school and when that is done I will put it up here for those of you that are interested.


Photo by Chris Woodcock

This will form part of the Black History month celebrations here at the school and in addition to this we have a talk from Stones Throw label manager Egon who will be raising the curtain on the history of jazz, blues, funk and soul in the US as well as playing his favourite records to accentuate his talk. If any of you have seen the videos of him talking at the Red Bull Music Academy you'll know that he is an articulate individual whose knowledge runs deep.

I'm very excited about these two events and I'll be doing in depth interviews with both Egon and the guys from Nomadic Wax, which will appear on here over the course of the next couple of months.

Fabric Podcast + One Hundred Project

So yesterday when I was sitting down to design the new Earthworm (what is that all about?) and DJ Quiet cover, I wanted a little bit of musical inspiration and stumbled upon the Fabric Podcasts. Basically what they're doing is pretty much the same thing that I'm asking people to do with my One Hundred Project and that is play the music that has influenced you however bizarre or obscure that may be.


Craig Richards - former Tyrant king of bleeps - kicked off his podcast with the frankly amazing Lets Straighten It Out by Lattimore, which is just the sort of record that would get worn out by me, and if any of you know where I can purchase a copy of said release then please get in touch as I've tried Discogs and GEMM and had no luck whatsoever. He also found the time to stick in I Am The Greatest by the great Cassius Clay now obviously known as Muhammad Ali and it just underlines how unique he was in his pomp and his superb delivery and turns of phrase are superbly reflected on this recording.


Andrew Weatherall's is an anecdote heavy slash though his youth while Doc Scott's charters water everywhere from soundtrack to old school hip hop and ends with the beautiful Journey of The Dragons by the mighty UR. Next up is Jonny Trunk of Trunk Records infamy who as you may know has a penchant for the obscure and he plays a heap of music from his extensive collection of library music and soundtracks for what is ultimately something that I never thought I'd be into but I have to admit that I have been seeking a few of them out on the ol' Interweb this morning.


You can subscribe to the podcast here, and I'm imploring you to do so as it is shaping up to be quite brilliant.

Now, if you're reading this and love music then you should get in touch as I'd love to have you take part in the One Hundred Project. I don't really care if you are a DJ or not, all I care is that you're passionate about the music that you love. I'm going to get my wife to do one as I'm always surprised by the frankly brilliant records that she pulls out of her extensive CD collection, and she is about the furtherest thing from a DJ that you'll ever get although if she was one she'd be brilliant at it.

Dive in, the water is warm.

Oh, and this is what the cover looks like so far. I'm going to be adding some elements to it later but as it is I quite like it.

Hercules & Love Affair

Hercules & Love Affair are being hailed by all and sundry as the next big thing, and like LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture and The Juan MacLean, they have found a home amongst the frankly brilliant DFA stable. Andrew Butler with a little help from Tim Goldsworthy has produced an album that will make an impact on dancefloors the world over during the beginning half of this year. The collaborations with the likes of Antony Hegarty (of Antony & The Johnsons), Kim Ann and Nomi underline the fact that this album is a brave move on their parts because it could so easily have ended up as some horrid disco/pop rock pastiche that would've been instantly forgettable but the reality is that it is well thought out yet honest with great production values combined with hooks aplenty and I'll eat my hat if this isn't in the end of the year charts for the likes of everyone from Piccadilly to the NME, it's got that look. My personal favourite is Athene which is the perfect early doors record to get everyone in the mood for the debauchery ahead.

The album is out on March 10th and then you can judge it for yourself. Hopefully people won't be lazy and compare it to LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver, which seems to be the bar they are judging it against across message board land. Enjoy the tunes, they probably won't be around long before I get asked to take them down.



Hercules & Love Affair - Blind

Hercules & Love Affair - Raise Me Up

Hercules & Love Affair - This Is Your Love

Death of a Magazine

I am a magazine reader and for years Tokion was my bible but sadly it has, in recent months, been sold on and as a result editors and contributors have jumped ship but thankfully not before taking the time to release Revisionaries which you can read about here. What is left of Tokion is a shadow of its former glorious self. I've been down this road twice before with Muzik and, under slightly different circumstances, Jockey Slut both of which I devoured initially but was turned off the more corporate they became. It comes as no surprise that neither still exists in any shape or form although Jockey Slut has since morphed into Dummy, a magazine they struggle to give away due to its slightly sanctimonious content.

None of those hurt me like the demise of Tokion though. If someone asked me what I wanted in a magazine, I'd have said in depth articles about all forms of popular culture, forward thinking design and photography and just enough cheek to liven things up a bit. With Tokion I got that in bucket loads. Some of my favourite issues have been their retrospectives of their Creativity Now conference, which they held in the States and in Japan once a year. They'd get interesting people from all walks of creativity to get together and have a good old fashioned pow-wow. To give you an example of who they'd ask to sit on a panel in 2005 they got Trevor Jackson, Hanck Shocklee and Carl Craig on one, Christopher Doyle, Harris Savides and Anthony Dod Mantle to sit on another and so forth. What would emerge from those discussions was bullshit-free inspiration immersed in a world of truth. It was looking to the future by respecting the past.

Tokion was always as much brain food as it was eye candy. It would always strive to set the trends rather than follow them. It would sit on the perimeter of hype and only take the time to cover work that had some longevity to it. No flash in the pan, pretentious, no talent cunts allowed and thank God for that. The typography was always unique and worked in perfect symbiosis with the text and imagery displayed. There was thought and concern for the reader in every issue, so it is with a sad heart that I turn the pages on what is ultimately a huge amount of disrespect to its legacy and its loyal readers.

Gone are the in depth articles and interviews, they're replaced with short pieces that are poorly written and with seemingly very little care for presentation. A magazine that you used to have to set aside an afternoon to get through is now a 10 minute read and a dull one at that. The artists they seem to be backing now are no more than passing ships in the night, utterly forgettable. They used to tell you the whole story, all the drama and intrigue but are now just selling a product. The thing that grates me most about it is that amongst its contributors now is that bandwagon jumping, self-glorifying dipshit, Larry Tee and I know it's a bit shallow to dismiss a magazine based on one person but he is the personification of everything that is wrong with society. Remember Electroclash? This is the prick that 'invented' it and it didn't even last 15 minutes, which is pretty much the same amount of time it'll take for this new watered down version of Tokion to disappear from our newsstands.

I think that it is for the best that it ceases to exist, so that its legacy can preserved for what it was and not remembered for the crap that it has become.


Old v New


Crap use of typography and placement in the new Tokion


Some of the older issues


That my friends is a master-class in magazine design





One of my favourite articles with legendary Blue Note engineer Rudy Van Galen who did the 'Love Supreme' session with John Coltrane. Turn the page and Andy Johns tears Rick Rubin a new one.

RIP Electric Chair

Best club ever.



...and while I was looking at Owain Electrikboy's photos I came across this one, and no I didn't write it. Apparently it's above the VIP toilets in the Music Box. Check the rest of the photos here.

Some Things That I Got Today

For some of you who have been reading the blog for a while will have read my short piece on Sleeve Art and have recognized this sleeve from the third gallery on the Keyboard Masher site.


...and today I found a copy of it for $1, and it is a gatefold and comes with a 12" booklet and a bloody massive poster. Some great funk on there as well, and some of the spoken word dialogue is going to be used and abused by me on future mixes. A dollar well spent.


These are my new kicks that arrived today.


This is closer to the truth than you'd think.

More Bears Upstairs

Jeffo, Jif and TC

The Bears Upstairs managed to record a radio show the other night after Jif, and I'm not making this up, decided to read the instructions for his new gizmo.

Thursdays show saw TC, Jif and Jeffo playing music from the likes of Jaz, Man Friday, Michael Head & The Strands, Fink, Black Mountain, Norman Connors, Aeroplane and many more while I listened to it with one eye on the snow coming down outside my house in California. Yes, you read right, it does indeed snow in parts of California and I live in one of them...just my luck.

Download the show here and for more details including a full tracklisting look no further than here.

You can listen to the show every Thursday from 10pm until midnight here or you can see them in person at their monthly excursions at Jam St. and The Salutation over the course of the next year. Check the blog for more details.

One Hundred Project : Shanky

What is on your stereo at the moment?
Better Days by the Million Dollar Orchestra (of course!), The Best of Norman Connors and a Leroy Hutson album.

3 records that changed your life. Why?
The Salsoul Orchestra - Ooh I Love It (Love Break)
Heard this at Yellow in about 93 in Manchester and dug out the tune by asking (pre-internet you see!) around record shops and trying to sing the lyric.. must have looked like a twat..Hadnt heard of Salsoul before then I'm affraid to say.. this lead to me pretty much ditching all the disco I then owned (which was shite cheesy stuff) and opened my mind to the underground sound. My OCD then kicked in and I took it on myself to find out about and listen to every Salsoul tune.. then turned to Prelude.. and when I could afford it, I bought the records I liked from these labels... Next was Westend.. Even though I think I know most of the back catalogues, something new always turns up.. I remember writing a list of all the Salsoul records I wanted and giving it to anybody I knew who attended Car boot sales... all they ever came back with was Avenue B Boogie Band.. no fucking wonder why its shit and everyone was trying to sell their copies.

Patrice Rushen - The Hump
Perfect jazz funk rare groover. Sublime. Sent me on another journey (down the rare groove route).

Stereo MCs - Connected
Just summed up my youth A'levels / University period. A very well crafted and now (in my view) underrated Album which should be reverred as much as Massive Attack albums of the same era.

What are you looking forward to?
The Summer. I dont function well in dark cold weather.

What couldn’t you live without? Why?
Family, close friends and my cats (and dog)... Everything material pales into insignificance.

Most memorable gig?
Playing - Electric Chair shack as part of the last rights team
Promoting - Dimitri@Northern Disco

Who/what are your influences?
Musically - in terms of sound, I'll always lean towards the orchestrated disco sound as oppossed to the P&P sound that so many others love so Montana, Baker, Harris, Young, etc...

DJ wise - gotta be Al Kent. Wouldnt be in partnership with him doing the ND ventures if I didnt rate him very highly. Although we do have very different sounds / like different tunes / different parts of tunes ("I hate that break" "I'd loop it"), theres nobody who knows as much about underground disco music from NY/Chicago areas in particular than him as far as I know. Hes got all the tunes.

In life - my mum. Simple. My first lady

What is the best and worst thing about the city that you live in?
Best - people and their attitude. Mancs are cocky bastards, with hearts of gold. And Im a Manc through and through.

Worst - lack of decent music venues. Shit public transport system.

Given the accelerated pace of modern culture, what are we due a revival in?
Cape Town DJs making a home for themselves in Manchester.

Hero? Why?
Too many.

Is there anything else that you feel that we should know?
I have size 12 feet.



Shanky Disco Mix January 2008

No tracklisting unfortunately but I can tell you that there are some rather sharp re-edits of Candido and Dee Dee Bridgewater in and amongst all the other gems.

Download the mix here.

Shanky is the promoter of Northern Disco alongside Al Kent that has hosted DJs such as Kon & Amir, Dimitri from Paris, Sean P, Rahaan and, erm, me. He's also a top DJ with an incredibly deep knowledge of all things disco, which is reflected every time he gets behind the turntables.

One Hundred Project : Naoyuki Ebihara

What is on your stereo at the moment?
G&D 'The Message Uni Versa', these are my new favorite artists and 'The Story Of Jamaican Music' (Raggae/4CD's album ) which I got it when I was 13 years old but now I'm still listening to the album. Even now this album is very fresh and I love this kind of unrefined and warm sounds.

3 records that changed your life. Why?
Let me talk about 5 records instead and even then it's still not enough to get the whole picture.

Wreckx-N-Effect 'Rump Shaker'
This is my first song that I listened to Hiphop when I was 12 years old. It totally knocked me and took me to Hiphop way a moment and from the next day I put the boombox on the my shoulder and I said to Everyone 'Yo, whats' up' instead of 'Konnichiwa'.

Buckshot Lefonque '1st Album'
I found this album when I was 13 years old and it taught me what is the real Jazz hiphop instead of my music teacher in
a Junior High school. The album was a my music textbook instead of 'The Sound Of Music' at that time.

Mic Geronimo'Shit's Real'
I think this is definitely a hiphop classic. The 12 inch was too difficult to find out in record shops in Japan 1994 because Japan had such a poor hiphop market. I still remember the time that I got very excited when I got the 12 inch at a used records shop.

Common Sense'Take It Ez'
This title is from his 1st album 'Can I Borrow A Dollar' and I love all of Common's productions but, I prefer his 1st album more than his present one. One of my favorite tracks of his is 'Take It Ez'. His style was more funky and street than now, it was an unrefined production but, that was simply cool for me. I don't think all the productions always must be perfect, sometimes it needs to be rough. You should check the 12inch when you have a chance and I recommend 'Jazz Instrumental' very highly.

Digable Planets 'Rebirth Of Slick'
I heard this for the first time when I watched the Grammy Awards in 1993 I think, and their live performance and music video were aired on TV. The performance made me very excited 'What a great sounds......' You know, it shocked me so quickly. As you can imagine, I went straight to the record shop after I watched the show. It was a good memory and I'm still listening to Digable Planets because it's still fresh.

I think there is a lot of great hiphop around 1990-1995 and they also opened the window for me to seek out Jazz/Funk/Soul/Reggae. If I discovered Hiphop around 1996-2002 I would not love this genre and enjoy music as much as I do now. The 5 records gave me a great time and changed my life.

What are you looking forward to?
Well, now I am looking forward to going to the football camp which will hold an amateur competition at the bottom of Fujiyama in February. We made a brand new football shirt for this and I got a No.10. I can't wait to play in this competition now.

What couldn't you live without? Why?
The iPod which my ex-girlfriend gave me 2 years ago for Christmas. No Music No Life. Make Money Spend Money.

Most memorable gig?
Fat Freddys Drop at The Academy in Manchester and La Cedille's stage at the Eurocuture Festival in Machester 2006.

Who/what are your influences?
I was definitely influenced by the 6 months that I spent in the UK in 2006. I think that time made my life change. I touched a great art and music and met a lot of good people there. It was as great experience for me and that 6 months provided me with an emotional richness. I loved the Fish and Chips in the UK. There is one Fish and Chips' shop which is run by a Chinese family in Workden. And This Chinese lady always gave me fantastic Fish & Chips with a lot of potatos on the full of a plate, she knows what I like very well. I ate the food 3-4 times every week. I used to eat it and drink a coke while watching football on the couch.

Given the accelerated pace of modern culture, what are we due a revival in?
It's definitely an old school BOOMBOX. Apple should remake it in a modern way but they have to keep the old looks.

Hero? Why?
James Brown, He is The Godfather of Soul. Nothing more to say about him, Everyone knows how great he was already.

Is there anything else that you feel that we should know?
Yes, let me introduce you to one jazz club called 'Body & Soul' which is located in a Tokyo, Aoyama. They have live Jazz every night and many Jazz Artists/ Bands come and play from all over the world. When you come to Tokyo, you should go there. I promise they have real sessions for all audience without fail of a very high quality.

Naoyuki runs the ROOT70 LOUNGE digital label and you can buy releases from his label at Junodownload, King Beat and iTunes. Check his myspace profile for more information.

And instead of giving us a mix, Nao has kindly given us a few tasters from his label for all of you to enjoy. You can download them here.

TRACKLISTING

DJ Quiet - Mr Smith
DJ Quiet - Nihon Kara France Made
La Tribu Du Chef Guida feat. Kev Brown - Combat Perpetual
La Tribu Du Chef Guida - Pause On The Microphone
Sene feat. Prefyx - Madness
Sene - Fuckin' Me Up



Nao at the Fat Freddy's Drop gig in 2006.

One Hundred Project : Neil Clarke

What is on your stereo at the moment?
My KumoBlog mix to see how it holds up against the others! Not being a professional record changer like.

3 records that changed your life. Why?

1/ The Jam-Going Underground 1980
First single I'd pestered mother for all week leading up to it's release that it had to be the double pack what does she get the standard that's when I sussed that there is more to this vinyl lark then looks.

2/The Specials-Ghost Town 1981
First 12" I ever bought and still own it, sounded like nothing I had head before spooky spectral soundtrack to Britains worst riots not that i realised at 10 years old to me it just sounded good!

3/Farley Jackmaster Funk with Darryl Pandy-Love Can't Turn Around 1986
Seeing bigboy Darryl kicking off his shoes and rolling around the floor on Top of The Pops made me sit up and take notice what the fuck was this all about? What's this thing called HOUSE that they are bleating on about? where can I get this stuff? They were the questions on my mind. It all became clear two years later. See for yourself here.


What are you looking forward to?
Star Trek to see Simon Pegg as Scottie

What couldn’t you live without? Why?
Money and music!

Most memorable gig?
The Who Leeds Uni 17/06/06
One of the worlds biggest rock bands (Yes I know there is only two of em left but at least they are dying in the right order) in a small venue I'd always avoided watching them as I had an image in my head of them and didn't think they would be able to live up but boy was I wrong.

Here's their set list:

Who Are You
I Can't Explain
The Seeker
Substitute
Wire & Glass Mini Opera
-Sound Around
-Pick Up The Peace
-Endless Wire
-We've Got A Hit
-They Made My Dreams Come True
-Mirror Door
Baba O' Riley
Let's See Action
Relay
Behind Blue Eyes
Mike Post
Cry If You Want
Pinball Wizard
Amazing Journey
Sparks
See Me Feel Me
Listening To You

Encore:
Eminence Front
Naked Eye
Won't Get Fooled Again

Who/what are your influences?
Star Wars I try to live my life by its secret code


What is the best and worst thing about the city that you live in?
That it's so Compact and Bijou plus it's seems to be one of a few towns that intend on keeping vinyl alive at least that's how it seems with the amount of punters that say, "There ain't nothing like this where i come from!" often followed by an Ecky Thump!

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

Hero? Why?
Larry David. There are no more heroes when you get to my age, only cynics and Larry is king cynic.

Is there anything else that you feel that we should know?
Maybe but I can keep a secret...

Clampdown Records for Kumo mix

TRACKLISTING

AIM-LOOPDREAMS
DEADBEATS-FUNKY FOR YOU
BOARDS OF CANADA-AQUARIUS
KEIRON PHELAN & DAVID SHEPARD-THEME FROM CARDINAL MENTHOL
VANGELIS-DAWN
JW MEDIA-NO EXIT
EVIL EYE-HOLIDAY DU ZOMBI
DEADLINE-BOAT PEOPLES
ART OF NOISE-BEAT BOX
PUCCIO ROELENS-SWITCH OFF
MORNING KIDS-FREE LOVE
SUZY Q-GET UP AND DO IT AGAIN
SORCERER-SURFING AT MIDNIGHT
JAKI LIEBEZIET-NEON MAN

Download the mix here.

Visit Clampdown's city center store in Manchester, England at 9 - 11 Paton St. just off Piccadilly Rd.



Mailing Address

Clampdown Records
PO Box 27
Ashton-Under-Lyne
Lancashire
OL6 8BE
01612375932
fax 0871 211 8024


Oasis specialists
Rock,indie,punk,vinyl,rarities,cd’s,autographs,dvd’s

Check them out on ebay
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www.clampdownrecords.com (NEW SITE COMING SOON!)
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also find them at
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A few bits from the collection...

CROWN HEIGHTS AFFAIR



Brooklyn natives, Crown Heights Affair were a 70s disco/funk band originally known as the Neu Day Express and who achieved moderate success with tracks such as You Gave Me Love, Galaxy of Love and Somebody Tell Me What To Do over the course of the 70s and 80s but some of you may know them best for Say A Little Prayer For Two which was featured on David Mancuso's The Loft compilation that came out on the sadly defunct Nuphonic Records a few years ago. They're also a heavily sampled outfit and most recently LSB used You Gave Me Love on their fist-pumping floor-filling anthem FOG that was massive for Paul and I over the course of last year during over various DJ exploits. Having said that as much as I love FOG I probably prefer the original especially when the bassline kicks back in after the break.

Crown Heights Affair - Say A Little Prayer For Two

Crown Heights Affair - You Gave Me Love

LSB - FOG

DONALD BYRD



Hailing from Detroit, MI, Donald Byrd initially found his legs in the industry much in the same way that Roy Ayers did by being a member of legendary vibes man Lionel Hampton's touring band 40s and 50s. He was also a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and over the course of his career he played with the likes of John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Thelonious Monk during the hard-bop era. Later he would team up with the likes of the Mizell Brothers and Isaac Hayes to move away from the sound previously associated with him to a jazz-fusion sound and, for me, it is during this period that his best work was released. The record that I've chosen to share with you may be an obvious one to those of you who spend their free time covered in dust digging for lost treasures in record stores and second hand stores the world over but for me this record is as good as anything that you'd care to mention and is a good gateway to the rest of Donald's vast catalog. I love Love Has Come Around as it is one of those 'any time any place' that gets people up off their feet and dancing, that and it is probably one of the best end of nighters ever written. As you can probably guess my copy is worn out good and proper. Some of you who are more inclined to hip hop will remember his collaboration with MC Guru on Loungin' in the 90s.

Donald Byrd - Love Has Come Around

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS



Former Sing-Sing correctional officer (I shit you not), Sharon Jones has been tearing up dancefloors with her politically charged firebrand soul since 1996 when she recorded Switchblade with Philip Lehman and Gabriel Roth. Previously a backing singer for Lee Fields, Sharon has gained notoriety ever since she hooked up with New York's finest funk/soul band, The Dap-Kings with whom she has released three albums - Dap Dippin', Naturally and last years immaculate 100 Days, 100 Nights. Some of you may know the Dap-Kings from their work with Mark Ronson on his marmite Versions album as well as from their Daptones Imprint which has successfully managed to update the funk and soul sound of the 60s and 70s without diluting the message. Some of her work is incredibly politically charged and is probably best shown on her storming record What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes? which denounced the war in Iraq and all the cronies in the White House. I've chosen 100 Days, 100 Nights as it was one of my favourite records from last year and it captures the very essence of the band. Catch them on tour soon and look out for Sharon on albums by Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed and in The Great Debaters starring Denzel Washington that is showing at the moment here in the States.

Sharon Jones & The Dap King - 100 Days, 100 Nights

Kelvin Brown

Manchester has an abundance of superb DJs, some of whom are tragically underrated, such as Adam H, Ryan Hunn, Mr Scruff, Jeff Plant, Andy Peek, Danny Webb, Paul Hughes, Moonboots, Jon K and Balearic Mike amongst others but, with all due respect to the rest, the one man who stands head and shoulders above everyone is Eyes Down hero, Kelvin Brown.

I was given a mix CD of his in the summer of 2004 and I was instantly captivated by both his skills and his ability to juxtapose cutting-edge new records with hidden treasures and for all them to expertly form a cohesive 70 minutes of music that absolutely blew me away. I have been doing infrequent interviews for Basic Soul since October 2005 and in all my time I have only made the effort to do three interviews in person and that was with Ryan Hunn, Jon K and Kelvin which I set up pretty much as soon as I moved to Manchester in January 2006. The interview itself got me some of the most positive reactions that I have ever gotten for any of the hundreds of pieces that I have done over the years. You can read the interview here if you haven't already.


Photo by Emma J Watling

Kelvin is one of those DJs who can play for hours on end and have you enthralled through every tempo change of which there are many and sadly his residency in the Shack at the Electric Chair comes to an end this weekend with the club, which is a great excuse for him to relaunch the dormant Eyes Down night, and he has been kind enough to post his anthems from all his years in the Shack and you can peruse the list here. eBay, Discogs and Gemm are probably going to melt with all the glut of searches for all of these heavy hitters.



Myself, Kelvin and erm...at one of the Riots.

To give you an indication of the man's skills here are a few mixes that will give you just a snippet of the educated and diverse magic that he unleashes wherever he plays.

Kelvin Brown - Celestial Blues

TRACKLISTING

Gill Scott Heron ‘Plastic Pattern People’ (CDR)
Charlie Mariano ‘Thiruvarankulam’ (What Music)
Family Brown ‘Imaginary World’ (United Artists)
Flying Lotus ‘Massage Situation’ (Warp)
Del La Soul ‘Bizness’ (Tommy Boy)
Fela Kuti ‘Sorrow Tears and Blood’ (Kalakuta)
Afra Behn ‘World of Paper’ –Instrumental (1er Cru)
Savage Progress ‘My Heart Begins To Beat’ (Ten Records)
Timmy Thomas ‘Africano’ (TK)
Moodymann ‘Shattered Dreams’ (Peacefrog)
Billy Ocean ‘One of Those Nights’ –Re-edit (CDR)
Chalie Rouse ‘Meci Bon Dieu’ (Blue Note)
Love Unlimited Orchestra ‘Hey Look at Me I’m in Love’ (20th Century Fox)
Theo Parrish ‘Dreamers Blues’ (Sound Signature)
Taj Mahal ‘Why Did You Have to Desert Me?’ (Columbia)
Soul Parlour ‘Ghee’ (CDR)
Dark Comedy ‘Plankton’ (Art Of Dance)
Theo Parrish ‘Sawala Sayale’ (Sound Signature)
Jackie McLean ‘De I Comahlee Ah’ (Inner City)
Osiris J ‘Rob 17’ (CDR)
DMZ ‘Burning’ (DMZ)
Linton Kwasi Johnson ‘Shocking Dub’ (Island)
Steve Spacek ‘Peep Show’ (Jazzy Sport)
Sun Ra – In Conversation (CDR)

Kelvin Brown - XFM mix

TRACKLISTING

Krystyna Pronko ‘Oto Przyczna’ (Wifon)
Linkwood ‘Hear The Sun’ (Firecracker)
Missy Elliot/Pal Joey ‘Really Hot’ (CDR)
Ed Lincon ‘Cochice’ (Musicdisc)
Eolen ‘Massini Yeah’ (Mai)
Cricco Castelli ‘Life Has Changed’ (Aroma)
Clyde- white label (CDR)
Burial ‘Distant Lights’ (Hyperdub)
Agrovators Meets The Revolutionaries at Channel One ‘The Conqueror’ (Basement)
Digital Mistiks ‘Anti-War Dub’ (CDR)
Loefah ‘Ruffage’ (DMZ)
Broke’n’English ‘Take it Low’ –Domu remix (CDR)

These mixes are also available on Northern Comfort.

Kelvin Brown live in The Shack June 2007, download it here.

...and my personal favourite, Diggin' On The Diaspora, download it here.

Oh, and Kelvin bring back Eyes Down.

One Hundred Project : Danny Northernights

What is on your stereo at the moment?
Right now I'm pretty much alternating between the Kelley Polar and Hercules & Love Affair albums plus the latest Bobby Peru long-player from Paul Woolford.

3 records that changed your life. Why?
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five – Greatest Messages

I bought this at Quarmby's in Chorlton when it had a toy shop upstairs and a little record section down the back of the ground floor. Just past the art supplies. Anyway this album contains the seminal 'Adventures on the Wheels of Steel', of course. That was my favourite - even though I was just a kid with really limited knowledge of all this hip hop malarkey. The sleeve – where they looked like rap's Village People – might also have had more of an effect on me than I care to admit.

Urban Shakedown – Some Justice

I could have picked loads of records from early Chicago house onwards as being pivotal. There are tracks and tracks from years of clubbing that I've forgotten too. Yet this sampled Cece Rogers' 'Someday' vocal so it gets extra points. And then there's that bendy bass. When this came out I was probably more submerged in house and techno than those products of the post-hardcore rave scene but this still made a huge impression.

Spank Rock – Bump (Switch remix)

The problem with picking records that changed your life is that I hear things all the time and do consider them to be life-changing. Compared to war and famine or whatever, they're not, of course. But, still, they matter a great deal in their own way. There will probably be another life-changing record this time tomorrow but, for now, let's pick this. I've liked a lot of Switch's material but this seems to break all the rules. And those Amanda Blank rhymes are filthy.

What are you looking forward to?
A lengthy trip around the US later in spring. And Cloverfield.

What couldn't you live without? Why?
Oxygen. Water. Food. That kind of thing. For obvious reasons: i.e. 'the lack of which would result in death'.

Most memorable gig?
With the Electric Chair closing, I'd recently been asked to do some obituary-type pieces for a couple of publications which had me recounting a special Francois Kevorkian date there some years back. It was my birthday so I was naturally hammered. And, after hypnotising everyone with some seamless dubby technoid stuff, Kevorkian unexpectedly dropped Lauryn Hill's Everything Is Everything. At least that's how I remember it.

Who/what are your influences?
I'm constantly floored by talented, inspirational people. I was talking the other day about how Terry Callier and Nina Simone would probably be top of the list. But then I also get excited by kids wearing stupid clothes who choose to pogo around in basements to 'their' music. That enthusiasm keeps me going.

What is the best and worst thing about the city that you live in?
Manchester's an amazing city. Best thing is how it's always changing and that its population is quick to react to something that's becoming boringly commonplace with something new. Worst thing is those who seemingly haven't realised how that is actually the driving force behind the city's creativity: so, yeah, all those bores who insist on pushing their dreary Madchester and Hacienda agendas. And all those unfortunates that are stupid enough listen to them.

Given the accelerated pace of modern culture, what are we due a revival in?
Something that's probably in the midst of a furious backlash? Hard-Fi? But surely nobody wants that, do they?

Hero? Why?
I was going to say Alan Turing and Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe but, really, it would probably be my mum. "Without her…" and all that aside, she does a proper and fairly thankless job that actually helps other people.

Is there anything else that you feel that we should know?
The capital of Mongolia is Ulan Bator.

TRACKLISTING

1. Fields – Song for the Fields (Ewan Pearson vocal remix)
2. Fox N Wolf – Claws Against Knives (Todd Terje remix)
3. Recloose – Dust (Induceve remix)
4. Jesse Rose & Oliver $ - Wake Up
5. Jesse Rose – Everyday This
6. Ben Westbeech – Dance With Me (Switch remix)
7. Alphabeat – Fantastic 6 (Radioclit remix)
8. Buraka Som Sistema – Wawaba (Radioclit remix)
9. DJ Znobia – Eue

Download it here.

For more on Danny check his superb site here.

No Pattern's New Prints

Chuck Anderson has just released 12 new prints on NP&CO and they're up to his usual impeccable standard. All of them are limited edition, so don't sleep on these. The Exact Moment is my favourite of the new prints and I might have to treat myself to an early birthday present.

Here is a piece that I wrote on Chuck a few weeks ago. Talented guy.

Respect The Shuffle

This morning my iTunes provided me with an inspired selection and played the eight tracks below on the bounce which made for a very entertaining way to start the day. Respect the shuffle.

Most of these .mp3s have been culled from the always excellent Best Foot Forward, which saved me from having to record them from vinyl for all of you. Respect to Kev, Scholesy and Ryan for what is always an outstanding and educated read. You can catch Kev and the rest of the crew at Common every Saturday playing leftfield gems aplenty to an enthusiastic crowd in my favourite bar in the NQ by a mile. Check the artwork on the walls as well if you get a chance to get down there.

If any of these records belong to you and you'd like me to take them down then just holler.

MILTON NASCIMENTO

Milton Nascimento is a Brazilian musician who has played alongside jazz luminaries such as Wayne Shorter, Jack deJohnette and Ron Carter as well as featuring on albums by Quincy Jones, Paul Simon, Duran Duran and Cat Stevens amongst many others. His records have been played at the funerals of Ayrton Senna and Tancredo Neves, which should give you an indication of the esteem that he is held in amongst the Brazilian people. I have no idea what Para Lennon é McCartney is about but I'm going to take a stab at it and say that it has something to do with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Milton has also written songs about other figures of popular culture most notably River Phoenix which made a Brazilian woman I was teaching English to last year cry, so it must have been some heavy shit. This is a record that you can play at any time and it will go off. It's short, sweet and to the point and if any of you re-edit kings are out there are reading this, for the love of God please leave this one alone, it is perfect as it is.


Milton Nascimento - Para Lennon é McCartney

METALCHICKS

Metalchicks are an all-girl Japanese noise/metal/synth/whatever duo who are apparently determined to make metal for the dancefloor. Now as frightening as that may sound to those of us who use a bit of hair product on our shorn locks, what they have achieved with this track is nothing short of sensational. Conspiracy is a slow, lethargic electronic groove punctuated by the gentlest of female vocals, it is another record that I can't find fault with. On the back of this however I did buy their album and what I was confronted with was something more akin to The Boredoms and OOIOO and not much to do with sand between your toes in the Balearics, which is where Conspiracy is firmly rooted in my mind. That's not to say it isn't good, its just that I could've done with an album of beautiful languid Conspiracy clones.


Metalchicks - Conspiracy

SEBASTIAN TELLIER

I've already waxed lyrical in the past about Sebastian Tellier on here before, which you can read here if you haven't done so already. I have no idea who Principles of Geometry are but all I can tell you is that this record is something that could be played anywhere from cosmic ho-downs to minimal mind massacres and at all points in between. It utilizes a refreshing use of off-beat drum programming and almost melancholic synths that prove that over the past year or so some of the most refreshing advances in electronic music have most certainly been made by the French. They all seem to be looking to the past to produce music that is the steamrolling the blueprint of the future. Superb stuff.


Principles of Geometry- A Mountain for President featuring Sebastian Tellier

UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE

There is nothing that I can tell you about 'Mad' Mike Banks and the rest of the Underground Resistance that hasn't been said countless times by the media rehashing the same scraps of information thrown to us by the notoriously media-shy UR collective. What I can tell you is that the first time I heard this record in a club when it was played by Laurent Garnier in Taipei on a rainy Wednesday night that it nearly took my head off. It's all about the wonky bit that comes in at about 1:30 in and on the night Laurent mixed this in perfectly with Radiohead's 2+2=5 which was a magic moment if ever there was one. I've tried the same mix on countless occasions and failed miserably but that goes without saying as my mixing skills can be at best agricultural. As an added bonus the lyrics aren't your usual 'reach for the stars, I love you' rubbish but are well thought-out and meaningful which endears the record to me even further.


Underground Resistance - Transition

THE BAR-KAYS

The Bar-Kays were initially an instrumental band on Stax/Volt and were most noted initially for being the former backing band for Otis Redding in the late 60s and and who unfortunately lost a number of their members in the same plane crash that claimed the life of Otis when he was traveling on route to Madison, WI. The two surviving members regrouped and experienced mixed success over the years most notably with their Hendrix cover Copy Cat and an appearance on the hugely successful Shaft soundtrack. Over the years members have come and gone but they're still performing their brand of psychedelic soul the world over to appreciative audiences. Personally, I think that Holy Ghost is far away and their best track, it's as heavy as it is raw. This record shakes the foundations in a night club and will do so for as long as people want records that bring out that primal quality in themselves.


The Bar-Kays - Holy Ghost

THE DETROIT EXPERIMENT

Released after King Britt's The Philadelphia Project on Rope-a-dope, this hugely ambitious project under the guidance of Carl Craig and featuring such acclaimed musicians as Marcus Belgrave, Bennie Maupin, Francisco Mora Catlett and a host of others has birthed a host of boogie bursters including the Electric Chair favourite Think Twice, but for me the standout track on an album of standouts is Space Odyssey. It's all about the horn on this one, which is played to within an inch of its life and wrapped up in a spellbinding blanket of electric piano goodness ably delivered by Amp Fiddler and superlative stick work from Karriem Riggins. As far as I am concerned this is in the top echelon of jazz records and is best listened to with your amps set to 11.


The Detroit Experiment - Space Odyssey

ARTO MWAMBE

To be honest, I don't know shit about Arto Mwambé beyond that he is from the 4am pissed out of your mind tongue-twister, Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and that he has released records on Output and Brontasaurus, which is the home to this little beauty. Noh Ngamebo is brilliant a piece of house music. Kicking off with a few hand-claps and some percussion this track really gathers steam once the immaculate piano-line comes in that sets the tone perfectly for the driving groove which is accentuated with the smallest of vocal samples. This is a lesson in how to make great, timeless house music and I'll definitely be buying anything that bears his name in the years to come.


Arto Mwambé - Noh Ngamebo

MARSHA HUNT

Philly-born chanteuse, Marsha Hunt has starred in Hair (for which she was recommended by David Hockney no less), had a child with Mick Jagger and worked with people such as Marc Bolan, John Mayall and Elton John as well as being a breast cancer survivor and author. Basically as far as potential biography subjects go she is top of the list. (Oh No! Not) The Beast Day is a record that isn't particularly hard to find but does come with a price. It's a bare-knuckled no-holds barred rampage through psychedelic soul music complete with a non-sensical chorus backed by those all important hand-claps and gun-slinging guitar work, this is a bomb and then some. If only more records were as raw as this one then we'd be all the better for it. I did hear an edit of this by Lee Douglas that was meant to come out on Editions Disco that is the most superfluous edit in a sea of superfluous edits that litter the stores at the moment. All he did was simply loop the intro a bit and extend the track by a whole 45 seconds which is as pointless as it gets really and is a shame as Lee is normally so spot on with the records that he releases - check New York Story and Our Song for two supreme examples of his usually impeccable work.


Marsha Hunt - (Oh No! Not) The Beast Day