hulojamdown

Photo

Mon, 13 May 2013 06:49:27 +0100

Mon, 13 May 2013 06:35:00 +0100

Busier..& Busier…

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 10:43:00 +0100

Busier..& Busier…

Lineup!!

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:36:38 +0100

Photo

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:04:55 +0100

The Man With The Golden Sound strikes.. again...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 04:17:00 +0100

:: previous Parker ::

05/28: A date for your diary, and a very special riddim on...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:51:28 +0100

05/28: A date for your diary, and a very special riddim on there, renewed and refreshed. Something a bit like this? Shouts out to VP Records!

Awe IX 4 the beautiful and haunting images

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:17:00 +0100

Awe IX 4 the beautiful and haunting images

:: Oh my gosh… ::

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:57:00 +0100

:: Oh my gosh… ::

:: Ohhhhhhhh yehr! ::

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:15:00 +0100

:: Ohhhhhhhh yehr! ::

:: ancient dial ::

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 16:07:00 +0100

:: ancient dial ::

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:38:15 +0100

Image by Awe IX

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:39:28 +0100

Image by Awe IX

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:37:00 +0100

Image by Awe IX

Clarks Originals x Greensleeves Records

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:41:43 +0100

Clarks Originals x Greensleeves Records

Dubbel Dutch blends: Leftside – Bubble || Aidonia - Pon Di...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:26:22 +0100

Dubbel Dutch blends:

Leftside – Bubble || Aidonia - Pon Di Cocky

It's a Funky Ting Right Now

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:37:00 +0100

Since his strong association with Butterz, Champion has become a household name in grime; he’s a regular feature at Cable and other big London events and owns his own label, ‘Formula Records’. Sensitivity was a big release - ever since I heard it alongside ‘Cactus’ by Objekt on Ben UFO’s masterful Rinse 16 mix, I was hooked on his unique sound.

Taking full advantage of Ruby Lee Ryder’s soulful UK garage-style vocals, just as Terror Danjah did on ‘Let Me Be The One’, this one was intense and emotive:

‘Crystal Meth’ and ‘Speed’ were, undoubtedly, absolute tunes, on and around the 138bpm tip, but if you’ve heard ‘Champion Sound Vol. 2’, you’d be craving delicacies and productions of a slightly slower nature; i.e., funky tempo. So, something more like this?

Yezir! And on the flipside, more bongos, shoes and socks off biznis:

The samples on this new joint are so crisp & neat; love those offbeats with added gun-cock-back-metallic flourishes in ‘Hydra Island’ and the classic dancehall “hey!” in ‘Prince Jammy’. Syncopated, nicely reverb’d Hammond organ sounds (reminiscent of deep, early DMZ dubstep), set amongst a backdrop of clever, varying rhythmic sequences, all blended with his signature wobble bass - nice!

Strictly a vinyl pressing, so get on boomkat or whatnot ASAP. This one’ll get swept off the shelves in no time, I guarantee.

Lil Silva did a similar kind of pressing earlier in January named ‘The Split / The Venture’; both sides of the white vinyl are so fresh and bouncy, I feel honoured to own a copy!

Above: Champion on deck

Anyway, back to my main point; Champion - the young London producer also seems to be a fan of reggae and jungle; other than his obvious referencing of Jamaican-born Jammy aka Lloyd James aka King Jammy, you can’t forget his first (unofficial) release - a refix of Original Nuttah by Shy FX & UK Apachi:

Click here to see the DJ’s 10 favourite funky tracks: I have to agree, LR Groove ‘The Key’ is definitely big!

In conclusion, let’s hope he keeps it in this current vein!

Stush | Necessary Mayhem | Curtis Lynch

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:44:58 +0000

Stush | Necessary Mayhem | Curtis Lynch

My Favourite Things (in dancehall, currently).

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 15:29:00 +0000

Thanks to artists like Dubbel Dutch, Murlo and Dre Skull (Mixpak), the dancehall scene has received a much needed refresh. Unfortunately, since I moved to Taiwan from London, I feel like I’m slightly (or possibly very) out of the loop when it comes to new riddims.

It was from listening to the below refix of Kartel’s ‘Weed Smokers’, blended perfectly with the classic Richie Spice track ‘Marijuana’, that inspired me to offer a list of bashment style tunes that just feel right..

Brash, yet intelligent and emotive, all in the same breath. Shouts should also go out to Russian (originally on the buttons) who’s responsible for past hits like Straight Jeans & Fitted and Chan Dizzy’s Nuh Strange Face.

That Stylo G joint late last year, also from Heatwave, was the ‘What The Dunks’…

…of reggae music; a sort of ‘how many riddims can you fit on a stereo mix’:

Quite nicely done.

So my most visited Soundclouds seem to belong to the golden trio: Mixpak Records of Brooklyn, London boy Murlo and Dubbel Dutch. It’s like a drug, I have to get my fix, click and see if there’s anything good at least twice a day. After all, Dre Skull referred to Dutch as ‘the king of Soundcloud’ due to regular and generous sharing of his own productions..

The great thing about Mixpak is the way it has bridged the gap between JA and the West; modern dancehall is now synonymous with the States and Europe, not just that little island in the Carribean. Dre Skull’s collaboration with Beenie Man (plus Snoop Dogg, if that’s your thang) and most notably Poppy and Kartel, really has linked continents. It feels like bashment is reaching a wider audience in a very positive way. (Obviously, you may beg to differ).

Mixpak Pressure, Vol. 2 is a fine example; with three standout tracks and shades of the amazing 2011 Soul Jazz compilation ‘Invasion of the Mysteron Killer Sounds In 3D’, this collection carries the crisp and modern synthy properties of post-2010 bashment, but honours the old-school roots and sounds. Take ‘Bob Riddim’ by Bert on Beats, for example. You know you’ve heard those trebly old-skool wood blocks before on early Buju and Singing Sweet, but the pads and keys are mint, digital sounding. Here’s another:

I think it’s so beautiful when people decide to rework top top riddims, adding their signature style. ‘Egyptian’ on Greensleeves was quite simply, as the vinyl said, chock-full of ‘tomb raiders’, the Kartel cut being one.

Check Samrai’s relick:

It was also great to see this:

transformed into this:

..and here’s another classic, switched to a grime tip, but topical nonetheless:

More refixes of current artists that are addictive include:

Swing Ting Ft. Fox - Head Gone (Murlo Remix)

Elephant Man - Nah Stop Smoke (SPF666 Femmefeel Riddim Edit)

Busy Signal - Up In Har Belly (Ay Menino Stepwise Refix)

…and this; the most recent, possibly my favourite. Raw and worthy of multiple rewinds:

In other news, Busy’s back from jail (not that that stopped him in the game anyway, ditto Kartel) - hits a plenty. If ‘Everybody Turn Artiste’ is anything to go by, Reanno’s next big release will be shell upon shell! Incidentally, still waiting on that Pearson Sound remix of ‘Da Style Deh’. Could be a while still!

Rodigan leaving Kiss was a shame, but…now he’s joined Robbo Ranx and the gang on 1Xtra, so it’s all good (plus the BBC website is more informative, no beef intended).

How could I forget to mention The Bug’s recently initiated ‘Acid Ragga’ label, if not purely based on the incredible artwork:

Arguably darker and more intense than all the above put together, these 7s really are gems. Heavy, ear-bashing dancehall, constructed on analog gear such as the Roland TB-303. Can’t wait for the album ‘Angels and Devils’.

The list of quality material really could go on (Murlo’s funky/soca/bashment Quartz EP - initially featured on this mix, Dubbel Dutch’s highly regarded and colourful Self Help EP..), so I will stop here ||

PS - I would have offered my views on the amazing developments in the UK funky scene and venture into the ‘dark 130bpm’, but Blackdown already encapsulated it so very well in his in-depth analysis here.

I will, however, leave you with this one track:

Nuff said.

Guild of Mandem

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 18:28:00 +0000

Kartel | Richie Spice | Russian | The Heatwave