June 4, 2009
This is the best thing I’ve ever heard.
“It’s like dipping into a cold bath on a boiling day, and as you cool for a second, while your body adjusts, you get goosebumps…
…the whole track is like that.” ~ Ollie Johnson
May 21, 2009
Sampling is Shit – Part I
I jest, of course. Sampling is by and large, ‘the shit’ when done correctly. As long as it’s used as a creative tool, and not used solely to rip off a great melody (Kanye West – Touch The Sky), most people don’t have a problem with it.
I’ve noticed a trend recently, and unlike talking about Porcine Influenza and MP’s expenses, it’s a trend I like: In a continuation of the musical circle of life, a number of artists have moved away from sampling, and started creating original music. Likewise, on a slight mind-bender of a note, some artists are covering songs with a live band, which were originally built around a sample.
‘Keep Reading’ for some classically interpreted hip-hop:
May 12, 2009
The Streets – Trust Me
Mike Skinner is quite an interesting fellow to follow on Twitter. He routinely chats candidly about the business side of the music industry, and posts new tunes. His latest trick was to post the stems from ‘Trust Me’, for people to remix.
This is the original tune:
I have done a pretty rough and ready remix this evening, here:
(Right click and Save-As) The Streets – Trust Me (Rumblejazz Refix)
Stream it here:
May 11, 2009
High Contrast – Confidential
“Highlights, Remixes and No Perms”
Just a quick post about Cardiff’s High Contrast. His latest offering on Hospital records is Confidential. A double CD, one containing 12-tracks of classic ‘contrast liquidity; the second, a fine collection of his stellar remix work.
‘Keep Reading’ for MiniMix download and “Two Fisted Tales”: High Contrast does House.
May 10, 2009
"Our Survey Said?"
Dub Police’s Trolley Snatcha has teamed up with Flux Pavilion for a killer new release on Dubmented Beats: Family Fortunes / Steppa.
For ‘Family Fortunes’, the clue is in the title. Les Dennis samples, contestant buzzers and that ‘wrong answer’ noise, are somehow crafted into a dance-floor smasher.
I caught up with North London’s Flux Pavilion for a little chat about the lovely Les Dennis, Labels, and Funkadelic Monks.
‘Keep Reading’ for the full interview.
May 7, 2009
Hi! What? Who?
So, my plan was:
1. Write Stonephace blog.
2. Clean desk.
When I got to step two. I found this! :
Nostalgia 77 covering: Eminem’s ‘My Name Is’?
Jazz/Pop-Hop. That’s fine…. it really is!
This was a great surprise for me. Finding an unexpected vinyl on your desk, is a very similar feeling to finding a £20 in an old jacket.
If you are musician, it is extremely fun to jam over, especially if you are a horn player.
Stream here:
Those of you that are into sampling-trivia, feast your critical,nerdy ears on this:
May 7, 2009
Phace-off
As a fellow Saxophonist from the South-west, Larry Stabbins is, quite frankly, a hero of mine, regardless of the fact his name sounds like that of a porn star, and that I don’t like deigning people to be ‘heroes’.
So as news trickled through that he had a new project with Arian Utley and Jim Barr, of Portishead fame. I came over a tad faint. A group of institutional Bristol musicians, signed to the brilliant Brighton-based Tru-Thoughts. I was literally gasping for air.
If you aren’t familiar with Larry Stabbins (most famously of ‘Working Week?), I suppose I can forgive you. If you haven’t heard of Portishead, I don’t know, I’m incandescent with rage? Something like that. The point is, they are all very successful, virtuoso musicians, known for blending Jazz with more contemporary styles of music. (That’s a good thing)
I was lucky enough to grab one of the 500 Stonephace LP + CD packs from Etchshop. As an aside; I really wish more labels/artists would do this. A nice big 12″ rekkid with a CD inside, or as Mr. Scruff likes it, a voucher for free MP3 download. No one really likes ripping a vinyl, maybe denoise-ing, tagging and converting it to MP3 as well, it’s a pain.
The Vinyl contains 4 cuts from the album, and the full CD album is in a plastic sleeve inside. Hoorah for being sensible!
First track on the LP and Album, is the track “Wedgehead gets Lucky”. This oddly amazing title, immediately conjures up an image, at least in my strange mind, of this man:
In my day-dreams, he manages to confuse/trick/inebriate sufficiently, a woman into bed with him. Wedgehead gets Lucky. ….right?
Sorry, digression over.
The track opens with a spiritual, Tenor Sax led, free-jazz, cacophony.
(Reminiscent of the intro to J.C’s “Acknowledgement” from ‘A Love Supreme’) After being lulled into an improvised sense of soulful security, the flute stutters in an alarm, it knows what’s coming… The track changes completely as a *classic hip-hop beat hits home. (*I wanted to avoid ‘old-skool’, but this is a proper early 90’s, jazz record-to-mpc style beat, and it’s heavy in that crackly lo-fi vinyl sort of way.) The track somehow gets groovier as it progresses; a flute solo makes way for horn section riffs, twanging vibrato guitar, and extra percussion.
But why imagine what is sounds like in your minds?!?! You fools! When you may now listen, through the power of the Internet, for yourself…….Aha!
May 7, 2009
In lieu of me….
As my posting is patchy, to say the least..(It’s also frequently incoherent or focused on my own music) I thought I’d point you towards another Blog, in the highly probable case you come here and I haven’t written anything for months.
I stumbled across this through the magic of Twitter. Turns out the guy running it is from the same town as me, knows some one I know (gasp!), and we have almost identical musical taste. Back pats all round everyone!
Oh of course, the Blog: http://dispensejohn.blogspot.com/
very cool.
