Thursday 27 June 2013

Chemist [MMM002]

Hertfordshire based Chemist has gone from strength to strength over the past few months. Receiving heavy support from Slackk, ScoreFive, Asa, Breen and more, Chemist released his first single late last month (Cop Here) and we've heard exiting news of a forthcoming Chemist EP on Coyote Records due next year.


Here he contributes the second installment of the Musically Mad mix series.



Tracklist:

Rabit - Satellite Transition
Strict Face - Shibuya Gunner
Neana - Bow Kat (8 Bar)
Chemist - Hoodrat
Slackk - Empty Bottles
P2j - Hands in the Air (instrumental)
Baxta - Raindance (Tony Phorse Remix)
Dot Rotten - Green Garden (instrumental)
Devlin - Zdot Freestyle
Tony Phorse - 1984 (Strict Face's "Vector Chase II" Remix)
Chemist - Sticks & Stones
Impey - Royal Flush
Slackk - Silk Robe
Bridge - Do Ya Right (Impey Remix)


Sunday 16 June 2013

Strict Face

There’s been a lot of excitement at the moment for a young producer from Adelaide. Strict Face has been getting support from DJs like Dusk and Blackdown, and Slackk. I caught up with Jon for the first installment of the Musically Mad interview series.
Download the mix here

First of all, for everyone not already aware, can you briefly introduce yourself...
Hey, hey! My name's Jon. I'm a 20 year-old producer based in Adelaide, which is down south in Australia, and I make music under the name of Strict Face. 

There seems to be a handful of producers doing exciting things with grime in Australia at the moment, producers like yourself, Arctic, Juzlo and Dellity. Do you know each other outside of music? Are there any collaborations on the cards?
Yeah, there's some fuck-off-amazing music being made in Australia by those guys and dudes like Dro Carey at the moment! The grime scene in each of our states is a bit small, but it's definitely getting the attention it deserves now, especially with Arctic and Juzlo. I'm really hoping the four of us get to link up at some point this year... I might be flying over to Melbourne some time to link up with Arctic. Dellity's over in Essex at the moment, but when he gets back, someone should definitely get the four of us in a room with some decks and a good soundsystem.

I know Juzlo and Arctic have done a track together, which is absolutely mental! Arctic and I have just started off on a four-way collaboration with Dellity and Juzlo as well, which is slowly getting off the ground. I'm really looking forward to how it turns out; it'll be an interesting one. 

Talking of collaborations, a video was uploaded recently featuring a track you produced with Rabit. How did that come about? 


That came about shortly after Rabit and I started chatting. It's pretty straightforward, really: I sent him a couple of loops, which he absolutely murked the first time round. We sent 'em back and forth a little bit, but halfway through the process the project file got corrupted, which was a bit of a shame. It actually sounds good in its current (and permanent) state though, I will say.

How long have you been involved in music? What made you start producing?
I think I've been producing for about ten years now... close to about eleven years, I'd say. I've been making stuff under the Strict Face name for three years, though... there are a few older aliases floating about if your detective skills are A+.
When I first started making music, I suppose it was a case of general boredom while living in the Philippines at the time combined with the itch to see how easy it was to make rap beats, since I was listening to a lot of East Coast hip-hop. The only software I had on me at the time was an old version of Fruity Loops and Audacity: a little primitive, but it got work done.

As for the Strict Face stuff, a lot of it was inspired by the "club" stuff I'd stumbled upon during high-school (i.e. some of the early Wiley/Dizzee stuff, the Night Slugs discography, a lot of the American UK funky-inspired stuff), though I was a total outsider to that kind of environment. To a small degree, I still am an outsider to it, really. I haven't heard much of it played in my city outside of the radio station I've done shows at. 

When I listen to a lot of your music (tracks like Mylar Swamp and Grey Saviours) one thing that is very noticeable is the space in your tracks. Does that come from a particular musical influence?

I'd understand if someone thought the usage of space comes from dubstep, but I didn't really 'get' into dubstep until a couple of years ago! I think the 'space' mostly stems from listening to a lot of avant-garde music and dub reggae when I was young. Stuff like Steve Reich, Arvo Part and Alvin Lucier's 'I Am Sitting in a Room' definitely changed my perspective towards music, especially with how stark and stripped-back the music (or sounds) can be. I guess it ties in with a lot of the King Tubby and Lee Scratch Perry records I'd listened to religiously during those years as well... those reverb sections are deadly on their own.
As for musical influences, there's a fair few... apart from the obvious stuff and what I've mentioned previously, there's stuff like synth-pop, field recordings, weird stripped-back Chicago ghetto house (i.e. the Dance Mania discography), "quiet storm" R&B and boogie, some of the weirder industrial/post-punk in the 80s (i.e. This Heat, Zoviet France)... it kind of depends on what tracks of mine anyone gets to hear, but a lot of it's pretty influential to the stuff I make.

What should people expect from you in the near future?
I've just wrapped up a couple of remixes which should be out at some point this year: one of them's for Tony Phorse, who's an absolute boss, and another one's for Yung Nation, a rap duo outta Dallas. An EP or two is slowly in the works, though I can't say much more than that at the moment. There are heaps of collaborations in the pipeline as well... I should chase 'em up, actually. I recently unearthed a couple of projects I thought I'd lost forever + revisited projects I'd made early last year which were scrapped as well, and they still sounded really good to me, so "Birthday Riddims III" will probably be a tiny bit larger this year. I've been really happy with the 'styles' I've dabbled in throughout the last year, the 'dystopian/cold' stuff and the 'astral/romantic' music... fuck, that'll reflect badly on me. But yeah, those two worlds will probably co-exist a lot more solidly this year..

Sounds good! Tell me about the mix you've recorded. Is it the sort of set you'd play in a club or a more conceptual mix?
It's pretty straightforward... there's some dubs from friends of mine and stuff I've been feeling lately thrown in there. It'd probably be along the lines of a usual club set from me, but I say that mainly because I never get to play out much in my town... if I pulled this stuff out at peak time, it would probably clear the floor, haha.
               
Thanks for the interview, any shout outs?  
No problem, man! Umm, I dunno... shout-out to anyone who's ever given a shit about my music, I guess?




Tracklist:
Jeremih - R.I.P.
Chemist - Sticks & Stones
Slackk - Bamboo Houses
Strict Face - Shibuya Gunner
Kakarot - Lagos VIP
Codex - Neither
Parker - Niagara
Acre - Physically
Visionist - Try & Resist
Jon DeVille - Crossed Eyes
Gantz - Lifebound
Rabit - Black Dragons (Dellity Remix)
Bloom x Merky Ace - Juniper (SF Edit)
Lemzly Dale - State of War (Lington Remix)
Breen - Bridge
Juzlo - Head Gone!
Spooky - #1 Spot Refix
Filter Dread - Take it Hyper
Rabit - Scully Low

Friday 14 June 2013

Rabit – Double Dragon EP (Glacial Sound)

Irish label Glacial Sound's first release is brought by Houston based producer Rabit with his Double Dragon EP. The EP contains 3 tracks by Rabit and one remix each by Logos and Epoch. Rabit's a name that will be familiar to many of you, earlier this year he released “Satellite” in Keysound's “This is How We Roll” compilation.

The EP is kicked off by the title track “Double Dragon”. It carries all the Rabit trademarks, being skeletally minimal but still strongly melodic. It also packs a punch due to the rumbling sub, intermittent distorted bassline and surprisingly hard-hitting FX. Rabit's decision to write Double Dragon at 120 bpm (as opposed to the more traditional 140) gives the track yet more space without it ever seeming sluggish. "Black Dragons" is next, driven by a synth line that gets longer and more elaborate until the climax just after the stringed breakdown. "Wolf Spider" is perhaps the most brutal of the three Rabit cuts, with its overdriven 8-bit synth accompanied by a bottom end that switches fluidly between crushed bass and sub-bass.

The first of the remixes is from Epoch, with his aptly titled Soundboy Demolition Remix of Wolf Spider. The track is slowed to a head-nodding, half-stepping 130 bpm and flipped into a total monster driven by two powerful basses. The second remix (digital-only) sees Logos transform Double Dragon into a more emotive track with a delayed call and response melody split between the two lead synths.

A very strong EP that lives up to and surpasses expectations.

Out on 12” and digital on 17.06.2013




DJ Spyro vs. DJ Mak 10 vs. DJ Slimzee

On Thursday we were treated to two hours of the old school grime triumvirate. Legendary stuff.

Cop Here. (Right click, Save link as...)

Wednesday 5 June 2013

DJ Kakarot Mix Series - June Mix

Stream/Download the June edition of Musically Mad's DJ Kakarot Mix Series.


Tracklist:
OL & Yoin - Nails (Noaipre Remix)
Crazy Cousinz - Funky Anthem (Murlo Remix)
Kollectiv - Hung
Annoy - Last Night
Slackk - Roman Empire
Chemist - Scatter
Ooko - Night Moves
JT - Rusty Nail
Lington - Silver Surfer
Tony Phorse - Havana
Bloom - Zing Panther
Epoch - Gun Talk
Mr K-RO - Glitched
Kakarot - Lagos VIP
Kid D - Brave Star
Strict Face - Grey Saviours
Slackk - Fat City

Tuesday 4 June 2013

Oil Gang sign a JT EP

Oil Gang’s release schedule was already looking strong, with Splurt Diablo’s J3 EP and the Coolie Joyride Remix EP both forthcoming over the next couple of months but it’s just gotten even better. Yesterday, it was announced on their twitter that the newest addition to the roster was producer J.T (also known as JT the Goon). Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’ve been listening to J.T instrumentals for as long as you’ve been listening to grime. A Slew Dem affiliate, his discography includes Tempa T - New Day; Esco, Kraze & Shorty Smalls - Bars & Youngas; and grime classic Gunman Riddim.

Recently, however, JT’s been getting a lot of support from DJs like Slackk, Grandmixxer, Spooky, Satarak, Whitecoat and Odie. You’ll even find JT bits in Musically Mad’s DJ Kakarot Mix Series. We don’t have a tracklist for the EP yet, but Oil Gang has hinted at the title being Twin Warriors. Whatever the title, it’s a release that we at Musically Mad are definitely looking forward too. Big up JT!


Terror Danjah and Champion – Sons of Anarchy EP (Hyperdub)

The Sons of Anarchy EP on Kode9’s label Hyperdub sees Terror Danjah and Champion, who worked together before on Air Max 90 from Terror’s Dark Crawler LP, combine to produce an EP. The 12” contains two tracks where the pair collaborate, and one solo track from each producer. The first track on the EP, Terror’s “Glide” will be familiar to anyone who’s caught his sets recently. It’s an infectious track built around two 8 Bar synth patterns masterfully tied together by a booming bassline. “Bowser’s Castle” is Champion’s solo track, a typically danceable throwback to NES video game days equipped with a heavy garage bass.


The first collaborative track, “Stone Island”, is again built around two 8 Bar synth patterns, but is accompanied by the sort of dynamic, detailed percussion one would certainly expect from a collaboration between these two artists. Terror Danjah has been quite outspoken about the dancehall influences in his music and we see this most clearly in the second collaborative track, “Explode” where Terror’s intricate attention to sonic detail couples with Champion’s unparalleled ability to make playful music to create a dance smasher. The vocals only add to the character of this track, emphasising the message that dancehall and grime can really work together.

Monday 3 June 2013

10 Producer Shout-Outs This Week

These guys are killing it at the moment.
1. Conducta. Galaxy EP recently released. Contains the track Guava which garnered a lot of support from various DJs. Cop Here.
2. WZ. Czech producer that's come a long way. His new track Wibey is a biggun. Cop Here.
3. Breen. Seriously talented producer, with an incredible bag of dubs. Produced the beat for the intro to Wiley's It's All Fun & Games Till... Vol. 3. It's a big look. Cop Here.
4. Bloom. Maze Temple EP out on Visionist's Lost Codes imprint. Every track is a personal. Cop Here.
5. Chemist. This guy has got his musical identity on lock with his dark, heavily percussive beats. This release contains the no holds barred fucking banger Pessimist. Cop Here.
6. Noaipre. Remixed a track for Ol & Yoin's Sink EP. This guy builds some of the most original beats I've ever heard. Cop Here.
7. Slackk. Quietly dropped Passengers EP. Personal Highlights include the brilliant Roman Empire and Sleep Talk. Cop Here.
8. Moony. This versatile producer has released a powerful garage remix of Amy Winehouse's Stronger. Cop Here.
9. Wookie. Storm. Legend. Enough said. Cop Here.
10. Ooko. Another producer building percussive beats. He has recently released his Night Moves EP. Cop Here.

Blog

EZ,

Out to everyone reading. I'm a London producer and DJ that makes music under the alias "Kakarot". I'm starting this blog to document and promote the music I'm been feeling at the moment. Planning to have some interviews and guest mixes coming soon.

If you enjoy any of the stuff I upload, please support the artists by buying the releases. I'll post the links to buy or download the music with each post (where possible). To send me music for one of my monthly mixes or to be featured on the channel, email: dididoesmusic@gmail.com

Big up

Didi