Showing posts with label london. Show all posts
Showing posts with label london. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Artist of the Day: Mount Kimbie



One of the coolest new groups this year is Mount Kimbie, comin out of London. Their sound is so off-the-wall, so beautiful and so gangsta all at the same time, that it would be difficult to throw these tunes on for anyone and have them go unnoticed. They've come out with two EPs so far on Hotflush Recordings - Maybes, released back in February to critial acclaim, and the very recent Sketch On Glass:


Mount Kimbie - Sketch On Glass


Mount Kimbie - Serged


Mount Kimbie - 50 Mile View


Mount Kimbie - At Least


Here's what some people are saying about Mount Kimbie:

"These guys are in the zone! Pioneering a catchy brand of light-as-air, deep-as-the-ocean, feel-good dubstep, here they offer us four more superb tracks [on Sketch On Glass]." -Little White Earbuds blog

"Back in February, they unleashed the Maybes EP on Hotflush, a four-track slab of vinyl so full of originality and creativity it astounded most of the world of dubstep – a scene that is already brimming with inventiveness and constantly mutating. Slicker than most Flying Lotus productions and mired deep in thick ambience, it still kept its songs anchored with spinning, unquantized halfstep beats...Sketch On Glass is a triumph for Mount Kimbie and considerably raises the bar for producers. This is the second time they have proven to be the most forward thinking and restless musicians in the dubstep scene, and I expect more genius to come from them." -IglooMag.com Sketch On Glass review

"Mount Kimbie is a London based duo that produce simple, minimal thoughful tunes that are very visual. They evoke rainy images of the UK but in a very epic and hopeful way not like Burial’s dark, melancholy way." -Asian Man Dan blog

"Mount Kimbie have carved out another superb foursome for Hotflush, and once again the music is just as comfortable in the hiphop or electronica realm as it is dubstep." -Phonica Records review

Mount Kimbie are in a genre all of their own...Where Maybes showcased their ability to write lush, downtempo (mostly) instrumentals, gradually adding layers of melody and wonderment, Sketch on Glass proves the duo also know how to bring the party - crafting another EP of inventiveness and creativity, but this time with more of a focus on bass and groove...And it all sounds so simple: never over-complex or disconnected. There are touches here of Zomby, Joker and others, just as there were Shackleton and Burial on Maybes, but Kimbie's sound is their own, and over two releases they've essentially proved that they can take on most of dubstep's more interesting strains and fit them to their own vision; in many cases bettering their more experienced peers." -FACT Magazine review

"[Mount Kimbie composes] a music equally informed by the expansive emotions of post-rock and electronica as the rhythms and attitude of dubstep...For anyone investigating the fringes of the dubstep scene this is among the most intriguing and best informed gear you'll find." -Boomkat Maybes and Sketch On Glass reviews



Mount Kimbie on Facebook

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Artist of the Day: N-Type



Rinse.fm is coming out with Volume 9 of their killer exclusive mix series, with South London dubslinger N-Type (Mark Newton). Rinse recently did this thing on their blog where they asked people to send in questions to N-Type, and he will pick his favorite 15 and answer them. So, I'm stealing his 15 Q&A's from the Rinse blog because they're hilarious! Check it:

“If you could be any mixture of two animals which ones would you be and why? - Calum”

I would be part Pterordactyl (I know it’s extinct but it’s better than saying i’d be half bird ‘cos that’s sounds like I wanna be a cross dresser! lol!) Flying would definitely be very Decent!
I kind of like the idea of Dinosaurs cos they are gangsta, but i couldn’t be a Tyrannosaurus ‘cos their arms are too short so i wouldn’t be able to mix. Fuck being anything in the sea! God only knows whats down there in the depths!
I could say fuck it… ill be a Shark! but have u seen those massi’ve fucking giant squids! that could take out a shark easy I swear! They got beaks! Big fucking beaks! Filth! Keep your tentacles to yourself mate!
Erm I reckon I would have to be something with strong legs so I could be agile, erm, can i be three animals? Fuck it I’m gonna be 3!
I’ll have the face and legs of a tiger cos they are quite fast on land and they look cool, but if it goes off they draw for the war face! I would say ill have the arms of an Orangutan cos they are long and can swing from tree to tree but they are quite hairy so i would look a bit of a freak!
I’ll definately have the body of an Armadillo cos they have that natual armour which would protect me if i had a crash landing when i was flying about. You know what, I’ll have some Gorilla arms cos they are stronger than Orangutan but have hands similar to ours so i would still be able to mix.
Is that 4 animals?

“What up N-type, i’m from San Francisco, California. I listen to your Rinse shows nonstop while I’m out skating or at the arcade playing Street Fighter 4….that leads me to this question who is your best/favorite Street fighter 4 character? Second one for double points. Also, when are you gonna start labeling your white labels so you can remember the tracks titles? Your memory is almost as bad as mine….. Much respect and keep melting the decks with your madhouse spinning - pezdspnzr”

Right I got to be honest wid ya, my street fighter skills aren’t what they used to be! Back in the day i used to be able to smash it with nearly all the characters, my favorites were Ken, E Honda, Vega, Balrog, Blanka, Dhalsim. I bought Street fighter 4 as soon as it come out but I haven’t had much time to play and i cant remember all the special moves. I love all the new combos and ultras! That is gangsta! But the only character I’m decent at any more is still Ken! I can bus all his moves easy! Ken is better than Ryu! Ryu is a fassy. He reminds me of some wasteman from a boy band or something! If Ryu was real he would probably be next on Jordan’s hit list. As for labelling my dubs and white labels correctly i think fuck it Its more fun making up names! I think the most important thing is the artist gets the big ups for the chune! I cut so much i cant be bothered to remember names - it’s all about the music not what its called.

“Did you sell your hair for vinyl? - Monstaman”

Yes who needs hair when you got bare dubplates! Hmm if that was true each strand would have to be made of gold! lol! The floor in my bedroom started bowing because of all the weight of dubs and vinyl, i’ve had to distribute them around the house in boxes now so the bloody ceiling didn’t fall in.

Anyways as for hair, I’ve got the original Pub cut hairstyle! Sometimes i think I wouldn’t mind little a swavy cut but I reckon I would always end up going back to the good old Pub stylie! Loads of us lot from Croydon look like pub locals! When you walk in Croydub some of the original Pubstep selectors would have to be Beezy (his dad even owns a pub), Hatcha, Pokes, Skream, Chefal, Walsh, JJ Lewis, Plastic Ian, Benny Ill (he used to have long hair like a rockstar but now he has got a pub cut as well! Go on Benny! Well in son!) Babysham, Hijak, Loefah, Artwork, Cluekid, Distance, Coki, Mala, Cyrus, Ah and not forgetting Benga the Russian… he is swaved up to the bollox and has got more hair than all of us lot put together but gi’ve him a vodka and the pub shines through! Blatant Pubsteppers! Also loads of us have all got BMW’s but we don’t get in them after the public house! No No No! Not on your nolly mate!

“What was your favourite show on rinse.fm joke wise?! - david”

Chefal is the funniest geeza on Rinse! His laugh is the best thing i’ve ever heard!

“We’re sending our demo tunes to different djs/producers and labels. Myspace player, soundcloud and sendspace… but generally they even don’t check it as I can see no increasing downloads or even views. Can you gi’ve any advice to newcomers how to make labels to check their stuff? - minikin”

Ok, this for me is the first step in establishing you as a new producer and getting your tracks out to the big DJ’s. I have found through personal experience the best way to get your tracks to me is to present what you think are your biggest tracks in a short message on myspace with a couple of download links. Try to present a couple of tracks in the first mail, it doesn’t need to be loads as if I’m feeling a couple of them i will definitely hit you up for more. Don’t forget to add them to your music player on your myspace page, this means i can quickly check the tracks on the music player before having to go through the download process. If i like the tracks i will download them from the links and contact you regarding other tracks.
Its best to present a small amount of tracks with good quality rather than loads of shit.


“When was the last time you followed through? - Will”


OOh yer mate! Do it all the time! lol! You know what i say… Whats the point in doing something half hearted, u might aswell gi’ve it your all! lol!

“If you had to choose, would you rather have four arms (two normal arms plus two arms for legs) or four legs (two normal legs plus two legs for arms)? considering if you had four legs you could gallop. - ficks”

4 arms man! it would be tricky wiggling the pitch with my big toe! Also say if you got verrucas on your feet hands! it would be painfull and look minging! With 4 arms you could do the sickest mixing and back flips and shit!

“Worst memory that you have from when you first started djing? - DJ_Aaja”

Well this is in the early days of when i was a bedroom DJ. They threw a DJ competition at a local pub in Redhill where you had to do like a 20 min set of what ever music u like. I was playing Jungle / DnB and I had been practising for a while on my first decks… Some shitty belt dri’ve Kam decks! I thought “yer man I’ve got the hang of this” so i entered the competition. When i got there they had Technics decks. I had never mixed on them before and got up to do my set. Fuck me talk about galloping horses! Jesus Christ! I was clanger banging it up hard! I sounded like I had just got up there and had my first ever go at DJing… I suppose i had really lol! The way technics work felt completely different to the belt dri’ve shit outs i had at home! After that complete embarrassment I went home and got some direct dri’ve sound labs, they were complete Bo-lax as well so saved for a while and bought my first pair of Technics 1210’s. Then I never looked back!

“What does N-type mean? Are you a semiconductor? - Stephen”

It was a coincidence that N-Type is actually a semiconductor. lol! If you read the explanation of N-Type it could almost be translated into the basis of a DJ! N-Type actually means New - Type. My surname is Newton so everyone used to call me DJ Newton or N. As my DJing developed, I played at loads of parties for friends etc and people saw me play and used to say I had a loads of new tunes (cos i used to spend half my life in record shops such as Big apple Records and Wax city in Croydon) with a new type of style, so people called me Mark Newtype so for short.. N-Type.

“What set up do you produce on? - ingo”

I got a MAC PRO: 2 x 2.66ghz Dual Core with 7GB ram. Logic & Reason rewired. Loads of plugins, Monitors, Keyboard and small mixer.

“What do your parents think of your career choice? Have they ever come out to see you play? - Paul”

Hahaha well at first they were like “Don’t gi’ve up your day job”!
I went to Uni and did a Degree in Graphics. When i left I went straight into a Graphics job which kept me busy for a few years. When i was at college and Uni I had more time to make music, as soon as I was working full time and DJing round the world, I hardly had much time to build riddems. My job became more demanding and I found that it was taking away from my studio time, hence i went quiet on the production front for a while. I felt that it was hard to spread my concentration between two things and i didn’t want to miss this massi’ve opportunity. My boss was very understanding and always wanted the best for me so I decided to say thanks and leave and follow my dream.
My mum n dad haven’t seen me play out yet but they have watched videos on YouTube and show their friends so they must be proud. They can come to a gig whenever they want I don’t mind, my brother Jim comes to a lot of raves. I want to make a tune with him soon.

“What were you doing before you were a DJ, what job had you come from in your smart garms on dubfiles? - Soup”

I was head Graphic Designer for Jaques London, a very old british sports and games company that was established in 1795. I was brought in to re-brand the firm, manage the website and help design new products etc. We did some quite high profile promotions while I worked there. Urban Croquet in Harrods was probably the biggest! lol! Basically we took over level 5 in Harrods and had all these Urban croquet courses set out for shoppers to play and win prizes etc. I had to design these limited edition Croquet sets with exclusi’ve stenciled artwork and customised colours as a new range on display. We also had a sound system set up with Rinse FM DJ’s playing throughout the day! Loads of these posh shoppers were bombarded with Dubstep, Jungle, Garage and Rnb lol! Cor blimey Guv we got some funny looks! Big thanks to everyone who got involved with that, it was a laugh!
As for Dubfiles DVD, the only thing i remember is getting my boxer shorts out. My mum buys my boxer shorts from Marks and Spencer for me every Christmas I didn’t need a job to pay for them. P.S they do look terrible! lol! I tell her to allow it every year for the sake of my poor girlfriend. I must admit though they are comfy!

“Do you think that Vinyl will one day become a thing of the past? If so, would you be gutted or would you not care? - Sketch”

Well I heard something that vinyl is running out?? Soon there wont be any left and unless they meltdown old stuff? I don’t know how true this is?
It sounds a bit like the KFC story, that they grow these massi’ve genetically modified chicken mutants, with no head and feathers that are kept ali’ve via pumps going into their bodies in a lab. For this reason they had to change the name from Kentucky fried chicken to KFC. I believed this for ages but my mate said that they changed the name to KFC because it was a marketing exercise to get rid of ‘fried’ out of the name. This sounds a bit more believable than mutant chickens.
As for vinyl I would be gutted if it disappeared. I love vinyl!!!! I still buy loads even though i cut dubs every week. I’ve got loads of double copies of some of the sickest tunes ever made but i wont get rid of them! I would rather gi’ve them to my bro or someone (once he actually buys his decks).
You can see my love for vinyl in the way i run my new label ‘Wheel & Deal Records’. Each release has full colour sleeve artwork to make them look as good as they sound. I think this makes them more collectible and pays homage to the artist.

“How far and which direction do you think dubstep stream will and can go? How massi’ve do you reckon it might become in europe and around the world? Would you prefer to keep dubstep “underground” or make it more “commercial” and “pop”? - Denis”

I think Dubstep has got a long way to go, its always changing and evolving, its all in the hands of the producers and the DJ’s in the limelight. i’ve seen it growing buy the thousands in clubs all over the world.
A lot of big artists in the states have shown interest in Dubstep and there is bound to be some chart releases. I like what skream did with La Roux - In for the kill, it had a quality sound to it and works well in dances up against deep or dancefloor tracks.
I think there are so many different types of Dubstep that it will always have a flourishing underground. Im happy to keep playing what I like, I’m not interested in whether it’s in the charts or not. I just want there to be a balance. I think there is a balance at the moment; I have seen people apprieciate the full spectrum in clubs and festivals all over the world.
I beli’ve it’s how you present what you play and how people experience it.


“If you was not to be djing what would you else do for a hobby? - Maurice”


You know what Maurice, I aint got a clue what i would be doing other than this? I reckon I would do more fitness, thats dropped off a bit recently, but on the flip side i would probably be down the pub more?? Maybe do more Graphics again? Fuck knows!


That's it for the Q&A's. Make SURE to snap up a copy of the Rinse09 CD; here's a peep of the tracklist and it looks BIG:

01. Kryptic Minds - Badman
02. Silkie & Kutz - Carpark
03. Headhunter - Experience
04. Kromestar & Jay 5ive - Bass 96
05. LD - King of Kong
06. Unknown - Cali Weed
07. The Others - Karma
08. Benga - Descending
09. Mungo's HiFi - International feat. Earl 16 (LD Remix)
10. Distance - Twilight
11. Benga - Dramatic
12. Kalbata - Ninja We Ninja
13. Seven & Youngsta - Who's There?
14. Emalkay - Solid State
15. Benga - iTunes
16. The Others - Dot 2 Dot
17. Skream - Filth (Silkie Remix)
18. Jakes - Rhythm
19. Benga - Intensions
20. Benga - Falling
21. John & Jehn - Looking For You (LD Dubstep Remix)
22. Kutz - Freak
23. Benga - The Sound Of Asia
24. N-Type & The Others - Shadow
25. Jakes & Joker - Freaklane VIP
26. Flux Pavillion & Trolley Snatcher - Fucking Noise
27. Skream - Guitar Hero
28. Benga - No Bra, No Panties
29. Coki - New Blood
30. Benga - The Camel (Ride 2)
31. Emalkay - When I Look At You
32. N-Type & The Others - Technophobia
33. Trolley Snatcher - The Future
34. Skream - A Jungle Tribute
35. Benny Page - Take You Back (Tease)


Here's a few tunes to peruse in the meantime:

N-Type - Hacksaw

grab this 12 here

N-Type - Street Justice

grab this 12 here

N-Type - Misunderstood

buy this tune here

N-Type - Way of the Dub

buy this tune here

N-Type - Square Off

grab this 12 here

Monday, May 11, 2009

Sigha

Sigha (pronounced "S-eye-ah") of Hotflush Recordings has been releasing some pretty cool tracks this year. He describes his productions as having a heavy bass sound, which is true, but the overall feel of his tracks is very mellow and spacey. I guess in that sense he's kind of like Burial. The tempo and beats are technically danceable, but you can just as well space out to work or whatever while you're listening to it.
Sigha also throws his own "Medium" party at the Plastic People club in north-east London. And when he isn't playing or producing music, Sigha is standing behind the counters of London's famous BM Soho record store, where I'm sure you'll be able to find some of his own music too. You will also find it here.


Sigha - Expansions

Download

Sigha - Remembrance


Sigha - On the Strip

Download


Buy On the Strip/Remembrance

Sigha on Beatport

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Burial & Four Tet

Garage wunderkind Burial teamed up with Four Tet to bring us two sweet new tracks. Now we've all heard of Burial, but Four Tet is a guy who isn't quite as widely known, even though he's been around for much longer. Straight out of London, Four Tet's tracks have been featured in commercials and TV shows such as House. He has a dreamy sound to him that definitely complements Burial's, although his own productions sound very different.
The record is titled "Moth/Wolf Cub". Both tracks are excellent. The Burial touch is noticeable in both of them, but they have an edge to them that steers away from his usual sound. That's what collabs are for.
Get the vinyl here.

Burial & Four Tet - Moth

Download

Burial & Four Tet - Wolf Cub

Download

Four Tet - Ribbons

Download

Burial - Unite

Download


Buy Moth/Wolf Cub

Get Burial on Beatport

Get Four Tet on Beatport