20.11.08 I've got a lot on this weekend so I'm going to sign off for the week by asking you to join me DJing at Big Chill House, King's Cross, London on Friday or, if you like it a bit more high brow, playing live at Clore Ball Room at Royal Festival Hall, South Bank Centre on Saturday... Hope to see some of you there.
19.11.08 Top 10 just updated, well a bit at least. I think I said that last time too.
18.11.08 Dope video for Black Milk's new single 'Give the Drummer Some'. In the words of Phonte, "Pipe down, give the plumber some".
17.11.08 Rap History 1991 in Berlin was one of the best clubs I've had the pleasure of playing at in a long time. If you've not already done so, visit Marc Hype's website and download his excellent Super Vision mixes for free.
12.11.08 Another great new beat tape from Blueprint out in Luxembourg: Sunology, a selection of beats and skits constructed from the music of Sun Ra. Go check it!
... and whilst I'm here I might as well let you know that I'm out of town for a few days. If you're in Berlin tomorrow night, come check me along side Marc Hype at Rap History 91 - nothing but rap tunes released in 1991 played!
11.11.08 If every commercial rapper insists on using auto tune and vocoder on every track, isn't about time the machines got some production credit? This video - too funny, too accurate.
08.11.08 Another London date tonight if you're out and about - Headshell at Corbet Place, Old Truman Brewery, off Brick lane, East London. Entry is free.
07.11.08 If you're in London tonight, make sure you join me Djing alongside Herbaliser, Mr Thing, Ross Allen, Killa Kela, Yarah Bravo and a bunch of other cats down at The Doctors Orders at Herbal. Entry is only £5 and all proceeds go to Cancer Research.
06.11.08 If you regularly check out Rappers I Know you'll know there's a movement going on in Houston that's pushing hip hop in new and exciting directions. New single 'New Flava' produced by the ARE rounds up the area's new school talent. Check the video and download the tracks (including a remix from Illmind) here.
05.11.08 I was going to post some new music today, but in the circumstances it seems childish to do anything except express some gratitude that America finally has an intelligent individual in the driving seat and that Bush's reign of idiocy is finally coming to a close. Change done came...
04.11.08 With US election coverage reaching fever pitch, there's little left to be said that hasn't been said already. I think this video sums up my views pretty succinctly.
30.10.08 OK, so back to the music. My man Blueprint over in Luxembourg, host of the excellent This Is Tomorrow blog, is setting up a new label, Sounds of Tomorrow. To kick things off they're offering up a free mixtape comprising forward thinking instrumental tracks created by beatmakers from around the globe entitled 'Skillz - A Universal Beat Tape'. Check and download here.
27.10.08 Huge apologies not only for the lack of updates in the last couple of weeks, but also for the nasty error messages some of you may have encountered when visiting the site. To cut a long story short, somebody out there with too much time on their hands and, I suspect, very few friends hacked the site (and dozens of other music blogs) causing all kinds of things not to work as they should. The good news is that we've sorted it and moved to a new service provider. Proper udates coming soon!
13.10.08 Taking the mickey out of grime MCs accompanied by amusing videos? Yep - it's a winner alright. This had me on the floor.
08.10.08 If it's a really well chosen selection of free mixes to download that you're after, then there's not many better places to go than Dirt Castle (who incidentally just posted a link to one of my mixes). Permanent link to this site going on the links page shortly.
03.10.08 I'm really feeling Black Milk right now and I can't get enough of this video featuring Torae. Absolute genius. Trust me when I tell you you'll watch it twice just to catch all the details second time round.
02.10.08 Maylight is now on Myspace. The recordings of our recent gig at Birmingham Jazz Club are up on the player. Sign up and be our 'friend'!
01.10.08 This is a great song with a brilliant video. If you're under 20 and have never seen the opening credits to Fresh Prince of Bel Air then go youtube that before you watch.
30.09.08 I'm ashamed to say it's taken me a long time to check out my friend Blueprint's beat tape posted on his excellent blog, This Is Tomorrow ... but now I have and I'm very pleased to recommend that you do so too.
29.09.08 Two more videos of Maylight's debut show in Birmingham to check here and here. Again, it's one track split into two parts.
26.09.08 Thanks to anyone who came down to Jazz Club in Birmingham on Wednesday to see Maylight's first show with the full line up. You can check out a review of the show here and also check out a couple of youtube vids of our show last week (minus singer) here and here. Both vids are of the same song, split into two parts. (For those who care, my solo is around the 3:30 mark on the second video).
22.09.08 Top 10 updated (well a little bit at least).
19.09.08 Tomorrow night I'll be playing at the excellent 'Je Ne Sais Quoi' night at the Vibe Bar. All manner of soultronic jazz business with Simbad (Raw Fusion) and guests. Don't miss!
18.09.08 There's a free sampler of the new Foreign Exchange Album 'Leave It All Behind' to download from their new site.
16.09.08 If you are amused by bad Disney movies and the frequent absurdity of American politics then this interview with Matt Damon (yes Matt Damon) should give you a chuckle.
15.09.08 If, like me, you are feeling both the music of Prince and the productions of Black Milk, there are worse ways you could spend your time than downloading Black Milk's new Beat Tape entitled 'Music from the Colour Purple' - yes you guessed it, beats made from Prince samples.
11.09.08 International Hip Hop / Soultronica super-group the Foreign Exchange have a new website. Sign up to their mailing list to receive a free download of the superb first single from their new album 'Leave It All Behind'.
08.09.08 'Back in the lab, without a mic to grab'. After about a three year hiatus, I'm making music again with a new found enthusiasm and some new found kit. Results coming soon!
04.09.08 For the past couple of weeks I have been rehearsing with a BBC new music bursary funded 7 piece jazz ensemble called Maylight, orchestrated by Mary Wakelam of Birmingham Jazz. The band features Lizzy Parks (who has an excellent new album on Tru Thoughts) on vocals and a host of other excellent musicians. Our first show is Friday 12th September at Birmingham Symphony's Hall's new venue alongside Sub Ensemble and the excellent Soweto Kinch. The gig forms part of Arts Fest and entry is free so don't miss!
01.09.08 Top 10 just updated!
27.08.08 A must check for all the old shcool tape heads; www.tapedeck.org.
26.08.08 It's been there for a while but I just stumbled upon UK designer and illustrator 9T's excellent website, 'onedrinpen' which displays past work including illustrations for revered UK label Wordplay and Substance's own 2001 LP, Lyric Superbrand.
22.08.08 Tired of all the name calling and flag waving in the US election coverage? Boston underground fave Mr Lif may have the answer for you. Every couple of days from now until the end of the election he'll be receording a track detailing recent developments and posting it on his Myspace page. Take that Jeremy Paxman.
21.08.08 It seems that every other week London loses another record shop. This week I noticed that East London's excellent Beats Workin has closed. Fear not though - you can still buy online or, if you're local, catch them at the Vibe Bar's regular record fairs.
If digital is your thing and you're looking for that independent record shop vibe online then get into iThink Music, a brilliant site where you can buy quality underground music direct from folks like Raw Fusion, Sick Trumpet and Marc Mac. Nuff said. Permanent link to this on the links page soon...
20.08.08 Back again, and this time it's permanent.
Make sure you check this great video about the sale of the world's largest record collection. A truly amazing story. I vote that, if every DJ out there with a sense of what's right chips in a few dollars, we can get it in a museum. All in favour say ho!
07.08.08 Right I'm off out of town again for a bit. Normal service resumes in about a week...
06.08.08 If good quality Indie Rap and Soultronica (think Oddissee, Sa Ra and a bunch of cats you haven't heard of...yet) is your thing then this blog has more good quality new downloads than you can shake a stick at.
05.08.08 UK DJ Alexander Nut's lates 'Mixed Nutz' Podcast features none other than Oddisee and Eric Lau live in the studio.
04.08.08 A bunch of great mixes to get your mits on over at Pipo Mixes including J Rocc's 'Say It Loud' James Brown Cut Up.
01.08.08 New Top 10 just posted.
Make sure you go check that Lone EP - breathtaking beats on that Flying Lotus tip. Brilliant.
31.07.08 OK I'm back again and well aware that some new music is overdue. So here's a few nuggets to keep you going:
First up, if you're feeling electronic soul on that Sa Ra / Up Hygh tip then be sure to peep Nmiah Su's new mixtape '16 Hours'. Direct download here courtesy of FWMJ. Not so much a mixtape as a beat tape - which in this case is a good thing.
And whilst we're on the subject of glitchy new school beat tapes, the 'State' series of beat tapes are displayed here for your downloading pleasure. I've not had a chance to check them yet but they come on high recommendation.
More soon...
18.07.08 Some time player of the keys and drums in the Substance Orchestra and all round musical genius Ed Lawes has a new blog which displays his musings on everything from architecture and music to symetrical patterns. Check it. Whilst I'm here, I should say that I'm out of town again for a week or so. Links to some good new music here when I get back - I promise.
17.07.08 OK, I'm back again and feeling inspired by the impromptu street perfromance by 12Tone / United Vibrations I caught walking home in East London last night. Call it Jazz, call it World Music, call it Black Classical Music, call it what you like but be sure to check them here. Info on their show next week at Corsica Studios here.
23.06.08 Right, I'm off out of town for a few weeks ... again. This weekend I will be playing in Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Check my myspace for more info.
In other news, the new mix album is finished and will be hitting the site some time in the next month at which point I intend to post some more new content generally. There, I've said it so now I have to do it. See you in a while.
20.06.08 It's not too late to get in on Wale mania; Wale's new Seinfeld themed mixtape, "the mixtape about nothing" (which features production from Mark Ronson and Questlove amongst others) can be downloaded here. His new collab with 45 King which arrived in the post this week is also worth checking.
19.06.08 "Brother's Gonna Work It Out". It's not all about what folks be 'drankin' and what's 'swangin' in the 'clurbs'. Occasionally someone says something worth listening to. Check out J Brookinz' lyrical tribute to Barack Obama here.
18.06.08 I'm back ... and so is Phonte with another Gordon Gartrell podcast in which he reflects on Fathers Day with some great music and banter about sitcom dads. Direct link here.
09.06.08 Right I'm off out of town for a while again. Normal service will resume in about a week's time. See you then. ... whilst I'm here I can also reveal that completion of the next mix epic is dangerously close. Watch this space!
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