Still Holding The Torch
Two of my favourite artists coming together here, Scarface and Bilal, both of them people who I think really see sense… anyway check the vid, it’s powerful - ‘Get Right’
Charo in France III: M.A.P
I can’t tell you a lot about M.A.P, or Ministère des Affaires Populaires, coz me French is rubbish, but they’re a group to look out for because their sound is original and they’re keeping it politically aware - which always warrants support.
The name M.A.P comes from the belief that politicians have no regard or understanding of popular culture or the ‘real’ people, which is something I know a lot of us young urban types can fully relate to. The group consists of the standard DJ and two rappers alongside the less conventional violin and accordian, something that I think really underlies the fact they feel they are representing the real France more than any member of parliament (whatever they’re called in France!). It also highlights their status as immigrants, and the juxtaposition of these two metaphors makes their message even more powerful.
These guys address so many issues (urban life, Palestine, communism, revolution) that they’re well worth a listen, especially if you have any French skills. Even if you don’t the original instrumentation is enough to make them an act to pay attention to.
Check out “La Chasse Est Ouverte”:
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.
Roots Manuva - Again & Again Video
This is the one I told you we’d all be singing this summer, please make me right! Loving the summer vibe of this one… vid’s not all that special, but I love that it ties the old cricket match with reggae-tinged summer anthems as vital parts of the British summertime!
James Pants - We’re Through Video
Anyone who’s feeling that James Pants tune below needs to check out the video, as old-school/lo-fi as the tune itself…
Brand New Roots Manuva Single
Brand new tune Buff Nuff comes with current club favourite Toddla-T on board the beat, it’s another classic bonkers video…
Having heard the new album ‘Slime & Reason’, I can say Rodney’s truly catering to new musical trends, with more production appearances from Toddla-T among the Manuva beats. Although this single doesn’t really call out to Roots’ long-time fans, there is plenty of his idiosyncratic style and swaggering singing on the rest of the album, so keep your ears open for new material… it might not make much sense now, but my prediction is the hip-hop heads among us will be singing ‘Again and again and again’ a lot this summer.
Preview - 9th & Buckshot Album ‘The Formula’
9th`s 2nd collab with buckshot is due for release on next month (29th April) titled “the formula” Heres the vid for his 1st release “go all out” charlie murphys comes harrrd.
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