Late contender for tune of the year?

Picked up Part II of the Juan MacLean's 'Happy House' Remix series featuring the brilliant Chateu Flight whose contribution fuses a clear, crisp beat with wonderful vocals and some great percussion work. Check it here, well recommended.

This year's biggest comeback (after Raekwon)

Really didn't see this one coming....yes R. Kelly, arguably the biggest name in R'n'B is back with a new track. Like a lot of his output of late it's totally original and could only come from a man who wrote, starred in and yes sung his own 'hipopera'.

I'm not going to give too much away but check it out here

some of the lines are gold:
Never felt nothing like this,
she’s more than a mistress,
bout to handle my business and put that girl in my kitchen

Zinc - Essential Mix

It's been a quiet few months for the Essential Mix following some massive mixes in the first few months of 2009 (Jesse Rose, Joris Voorn etc) and of course Garnier/Lawler in successive weeks in May. However this week saw a real return to form with Zinc stepping up to showcase his 'crack house' sound. Anyone who's seen him over the past few months will know that Zinc has (thankfully) given up DnB altogether and has focused more on a bass driven 4x4 sound embracing the jacking 'fidget' sound of the Count & Sinden and the harder edge of funky i.e. Hard House Banton, N.B. Funky. Check it here

Real standout is the Ms. Dynamite vocalled 'Wile Out'. Basically it's her MC-ing over Blunt Edge but it really works in the dance and has been getting cained on Rinse amongst others. Listen here

Free Hatcha Mixtape

Coursety of Blackdown (big up) is a free Hatcha mixtape from late 2001/early 2002. It features the clipped minimal sound which defined early dubstep and features multiple dubs from the likes of Skream, Benga, and Benni Ill (of Horsepower Productions). Enjoy it here

Tracklist (according to Skream)

Skream and Benga - The Judgment
Benga - Star Wars
Skream - ?
Skream - Dubsteppa
Macarbre Unit - Its All About
Benga - Skank
Benga - Skank VIP
Jameson - Switch
Skream N Benga - WAR BOOTLEG
Dubchild - Roll That,Light It,Smoke It
Benga - The Virus
Skream - The Bug
Menta - Jacknife
Jammin - Tonka - Menta Remix
Benga - Full Cycle
??
Benni Ill Vs Hatcha - Highland Spring
Skream - Futures Dark
Skream - CapeFear

Oxia - Whole Life

Number 1 on last month's Resident Advisor is a slab of tribal heavy house from France. Really enjoying this one, heavy rotation from Anja Schneider, Sven Vath, Luciano etc

Check it here

A while out the game

Sorry about the lack of updates, only a handful of people read this stuff anyway....

Of late two things have stuck out to me: One, dubstep is pretty much done. Two, Ricardo Villalobos is possibly the most exceptional artist of the decade.

First things first, dubstep. In 2005/6 it was without question the most exciting thing in the world of electronic music. Guys like Skream, Loefah and Shackleton's application of a minimalist aesthetic (especially the latter) to the 2 x 4 template of UKG and Grime created a sonic landscape of distinctly British sound. The clubs were drenched in sweat and the bass was deafening at times but the energy and intensity of the music was something else. But now? The most exciting producers still associated with dubstep (Bok Bok, Dead Boy, Jam City, Oneman etc) are moving into new territories way down at 130-136 bpm, whilst the void up at 140 seems almost solely occupied by sub-wobble donk for students and cheap soundsystems. Plastic horns coupled with the 'womp' of Caspa, Rusko, 16 Bit etc has essentially created the lowest common denominator of the 'ardcor Continuum. It's sad but it's becoming unlistenable. Basically dubstep seems to have become everything which is wrong about drum and bass, and drum and bass fans in particular (no offence to any on here, but post-97 it's all a bit.....rubbish)

Two (far more uplifting)

fabric celebrated it's 10th brithday bash of late with quite honestly the mother of all shindigs. For a full 32 hours the club was going all guns blazing (and for a fair few more on Monday morning in chill out mode). I was only there for Sunday afternoon/evening but it was undoubtedly one of the most uplifting experiences of my life. The crowd was superb: up for it, unpretencious and teeming with pretty girls with smeared mascara...nice. The real draw though was the music: Ivan Smagghe, Steve 'The General Bug', Rub-n-Tug, Daniel Bell, Daniel Wang, Nacho etc were all straight fire but one man above all made it the great event it was: Ricardo Villalobos.

Villalobos is without a question the most innovative man in dance music over the past few years. His dancefloor productions (MDMA, Lugohitz etc) are impeccable but anyone can make a dancefloor banger these days. What really sets him apart are the dynamic shifts and subtleties within his music, whether remixing Shackleton or blurring the lines between Berlin MnMl and Chilian Folk he is always in total control. In all honesty I was a little worse for wear during his set but the mixing and track selection was impeccable. I've been to fabric mulitple times but no-one has worked the dancefloor like that. Majestic, the subpar dubstep boys could learn a lot.

Upcoming in the next few? Dead Prez/K-Lash at Koko next Friday followied by the Trouble and Bass Crew at Fabric with Herve and Zombie Disco Squad. Missed Nat Self at T-Bar this weekend (did see Anja Schneider though, wicked set how anyone can make 'Diva' sound fresh again has got to have something going for them) so really up for ZDS.

Also tracked this down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I05QvTXMys it's by Luciano and is without question one of the biggest dancefloor bootlegs I've heard in ages. It really stands out from the Michael Jackson refixs coming out left, right and centre.

Derrick May Live in Paris

New mix from one of the Godfathers of Techno, Detroits very own Derrick May. Recorded on Sept 19th at 'Techno Parade' this mix showcases The Innovator's superb mixing style and features some classic tracks as well as some fresh dubplates. Well worth checking out here.

New Kode 9 Interview

Steve Goodman a.k.a Kode 9 a.k.a arguably the most important man in British urban dance music offers his thoughts on the new Hyperdub compilation. Engaging stuff, well worth checking out here

Hyperdub Anniversary Compilation

One of the most anticipated releases of the past few months, grab it here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/285673547/Various_Artists_-_Five_Years_Of_Hyperdub_HDBCD005_CD1_2009.zip

http://rapidshare.com/files/285688142/Various_Artists_-_Five_Years_Of_Hyperdub_HDBCD005_CD2_2009.zip

Dizzee Rascal - Tongue 'n Cheek

In 7 years and 4 albums Dylan Mills a.k.a. Dizzee Rascal has gone from being one of the most respected Grime MC's out there to National Treasure status; winning pludits, critical acclaim and (following 3 successive number 1 singles) commercial acclaim. It's been a totemic rise, one that's even more remarkable when you consider the subject matter of debut offering 'Boy in da Corner'.

A dark gritty album punctuated with gutteral beats and street level wittism, Boy in da Corner was critically lauded- winning the prestigous Mercury Music Prize, but failed to propel Dizzee to commercial success. His follow up, 'Showtime' recieved somewhat mixed reviews. Despite an impressive single in 'Stand Up Tall' it lacked the imagination and dexerity of his debut. More recently 'Maths & English' saw Dizzee dice with arena sized hip-hop beats with mixed success. Though 'Pussyole' and 'Sirens' became veritable anthems, ill judged collaborations with Lily Allen and Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner seemed to sully the record.

As sales dwindled Dizzee was at a cross roads. Rather than retreat into the shadows of the post-UKG pirate radio scene from which he emerged he linked up with Scottish super producer Calvin Harris to record, arguably, 2008's biggest anthem 'Dance Wiv Me'. This record more than any other seems to perfectly encapsulate Dizzee's take on life; fun, carefree and filled with young, attractive women.

Although Dizzee is clearly trying to latch onto traditional saucy British humour (think the Carry On films) Tonuge 'n Cheek often comes across as being riddled with laddish injokes. Lyrically Dizzee sounds not unlike 2 Live Crew of the 69 Boyz for 2009. The album's two dominant themes (as with many/most urban records) are girls and money. But even Dizzee seems unsure of his views on them. Whilst 'Dirty Cash' offers up criticism of post-Credit Crunch greed Dizzee is only too happy to extrol the virtues of "money money money, girls girls, cash cash" on the aptly titled 'Money Money'.

Freaky Freaky sees Dizzee boldly proclaim "I like that kind of girl / You didn't even need to ask her name / Can you believe it? / She was sucking my dick, you should have seen it / Sprayed in her mouth, then watched her kiss her boyfriend." Although sexist bravado is hardly new in the rap game it marks a clear shift in Dizzee's observations of lust when compared to the modern day battle of the sexes that was 'I Luv U'.

Lyrical contradictions aside Tongue 'n Cheek showcases Britain's most successful MC in funloving mode. Monster hits 'Bonkers', and 'Holiday' showcase Dizzee's ear for an anthem whilst 'Chilling wiv da Man Dem' is from the same lineage as his early Jungle pirate radio slots and Maths & English's 'Da Feeling.' Though commerically viable these tracks do seem heavy on the novelty factor with cheesy trance synths and references to Playstation games providing little in the way of substance. Production wise Dizzee also seems to have taken his eye off the ball. Though he claims to be a contender for Pop stardom he fails to make it to the next level- currently occupied by (amongst others) The Neptunes, Will.I.Am and arguably his former collaborater Calvin Harris.

I have no doubt that this album will propell Dizzee to stratospheric commerical success but in my view it lacks the clinical execution of his previous efforts. With fine honing he could become a real contender to the long-term viability of stadium sized producers/artists like Jay-Z and Kanye West but on this offering he lacks both the lyrical wit and artistic vision to achieve such corinthian heights.