Kickdrums New Album
I wrote a while back about the Kickdrums - a hip-hop-production-outfit-cum-indie-band. Well, the album has dropped, and onsmash have dropped a free download for all you lucky people.
Or if you want it in higher quality/to support the industry, you can cop it on iTunes
My favourite so far:
The Kickdrums - Things Work Out
UK Artists Out In Force For New Scratch Album
Dropping (in the US) on May 26th, Roots beatboxer Scratch’s LP Loss 4 Wordz seems to have pulled out a host of UK talent - unfortunately no MCs, but Estelle, Terri Walker, Daniel Bedingfield, Damon Albarn and, most interestingly, UK jazz/hip-hop producer & singer Elmore Judd are all set to appear.
It’s a big thing for Elmore (Louis Slipperz’s older bro btw), and I’m glad to see him succeeding after seeing him drop a sick set at the Jazz Cafe earlier this year. I highly recommend you support and buy the Insect Funk LP.
I’ve got two joints off the Scratch album, but the Musiq Soulchild one is disappointingly weak. So here’s the Estelle/Terri Walker tune, which is pretty good…
Scratch ft. Terri Walker & Estelle - The Man
Introducing the Kickdrums
Please don’t sleep on this, the Kickdrums are going to be very big. This is how Timbaland should have done his indie crossover, it’s like indie hip-hop meets Radiohead. Having already produced bangers for 50 Cent and many more you know it’s time to start listening!
Check the ‘Smash The System Mixtape’, featuring Scarface, Kid Cudi and more, here
Diz Gibran - Once Again
This beat, produced by Moonshine, makes you want to bop down the street like nobody’s business… the Diz Gibran mixtape with Crooks & Castles is dropping soon.
Q-Tip + Busta + Raekwon + Wayne = Damnnnnn!
Dilla’s Renaissance Rap beat is my favourite off the Q-Tip LP, this remix takes it to new heights with some of the most distinctive voices in hip-hop.
Q-Tip feat. Busta Rhymes, Raekwon & Lil’ Wayne - Renaissance Rap Remix
Beat Nuts: Part 1
Us lot at Mortal Methods are basically a bunch of beat nuts, and I thought it was time to let you know who we’re feeling and who we’re not. As we’re a UK hip hop crew I think we’ll start in the land of chippies, chavs and pubs!
Lewis Parker has been a round for a long time and made the move out to New York a few years back to do his thing, where he’s worked on Ghostface Killah’s Fishscale and More Fish LPs amongst many others. He’s the deadliest on the SP1200 (classic beatmaker gear) and has a big body of solo work from the rare B-Boy Antiks to Masquerades & Silhouettes (a great LP which is well worth a listen) and the It’s all Happening Now LP.
Check one of the FUNKIEST remixes I’ve heard; his Lean Back Remix
Harry Love is a North West London based beat maker and has made some of UK hip-hop’s classic tracks such as Klashnekoff’s Parrowdice and Murda. Other Harry Love classics include J-Zone and Jehst’s Staircase to Stage and Jehst’s Alcoholic Author.
Drew (who makes beats with UK favourite TY) has crafted some of UK hip-hop’s most soulful joints, including TY’s Closer. Don’t think that TY can’t do his own thing though, check him out in the studio. All (and I mean all) you soulful hip-hop fans need to see that, he’s already worked with De La Soul on his last album.
If you want to hear more UK hip-hop check this little mix out.
MADlib - King of the Wigflip
30th Sept new Madlib Album : WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip,
Guests Include Talib Kweli, Guilty Simpson, Prince Po, Murs, Oh No, Frank N Dank, MED and more
I used to disregard Madlib as some quirky cat with a following, but his abstract sound has grown on me to earn a place in my top 3 producers, if you are unaware of madlibs work or sound il sum it up to you as a “beautiful mess” it will raise eyebrows and appear exempt from beatmaking rules and templates, but he has his artform down to a T, hiphop as it should be, unconfined and fresh.
there are a few rappers who just dont do it for me and i dont like hearing madlibs quasy shit but production wise im sure this release will be fire
Charo in France II: Musicalarue Festival
In 1990, someone in the village of Luxey (with 650 inhabitants) had the f***ing genius idea of hosting a music festival within the very walls of the village. Eighteen years later, and ‘Musicalarue‘ must surely remain one of the most unique musical experiences out there.
I was originally drawn in by the promise of Hocus Pocus (see post IV for info) on the Thursday, but unfortunately couldn’t get there in time. Nevertheless, I decided it would be worth a look so me and my girl went on down to see what the deal was. I think we were expecting your bog-standard big field with stages. What we were certainly not expecting was to walk into the back of a village hall to be greeted with homemade country-fair-esque games and French street artists hanging from scaffolding or dressed as hairy imaginary Mongolian beasts.
The most solid of our expectations was that we would have to pay typical through-the-nose rates for food and drink.
€2 for wine, cider and beer.
Yes, €2 for wine, cider and beer. Brilliant.
The food was cheap and tasty too, so before we’d even heard any music it was clearly going to be an awesome night. The music certainly didn’t disappoint though. We sat on a slope to watch Les Ptits Thommes play a really creative set of old-school French style music with a really quirky twist and Les Flow drop some pretty soulful but undeniably French folk and then saw a brass band send an entire crowd of metal and hip-hop fans absolutely bonkers (Sans Soucis, check them out).
I think the uniqueness of the experience is enough to make Musicalarue worth a visit. You’ve really got to admire the people of Luxey for putting on a festival that not only embraces the wackiness and originality of French culture but also is not scared to hire some fiercely political acts. Hip-hop group M.A.P ran onto stage with the slogan ‘Sans Papiers’ (without papers) on t-shirts, referring to the number of illegal immigrants in France, and proceeded to rhyme about a number of national and worldwide political issues. I’m going to give these guys their own post though because it’s hip-hop and they deserve it!
The hip-hop highlight for me was watching Spaniards Ojos De Brujo’s ODB Soundsystem. Taking flamenco as a base, the group saw the sun down with a percussionist, bassist, flamenco guitarist, DJ and flamenco dancer creating a mutating fusion of hip-hop, dub, trip-hop and drum & bass. The crowd was crazy for it, and if you see the name any time soon, I seriously recommend you go and watch. Here are some highlights from their set:
Charo in France I: Parkour
I’ve been out in France the last couple of weeks and thought it was about time I shared some of the things I’ve come across. Since arriving I’ve visited Musicalarue, the festival in a village, where I discovered a few new groups worth mentioning, and I’ve heard some banging new music.
Before all that, though, someone sent me the way of this stunning parkour video. Although the video is made in New Zealand and the music is from Montreal, parkour is a French art developed on the streets of Paris. It’s a real culture here, and one worth exploring.
I mentioned the music and I’d like to elaborate for a second: The track is by a guy named Vorpal and I reckon his music is worth a listen - it’s an interesting, glitchy take on breakbeat music and, although jarring at times, creates some beautifully deep soundscapes (it’s almost a developed version of Akufen, also from Montreal). Check out his free EP ‘The End’, the title track is an epic 17 minutes long and is accompanied by a selection of shorter tracks and remixes. Let me know what you think.
Eddie Holdman - A Soulman
Some real soul here, Eddie Holdman is one of the greatest! Comparedwith all the massive names like Barry White, Al Green and Otis Redding, Eddie Holdman seems to be not as well known a name, which is a shame as he is wicked. This track is taken from the “lonely girl” LP which is fire from track 1 right till the end. He has been sampled few times such as in Nas’s “if heaven was a mile away”
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