Cats and cats and cats Back Home at Staines

Oct 16 2008      7:00P
The Hobgoblin HOMETOWN ALBUM FUNDRAISER SHOW!      £3 entry

CATS and cats and cats

Welcome the heroes home and give 'em some cash for recording

Ben (Vocals, Guitar)
Doug (Drums)
Tom (Bass, Backing vocals)
Adam (Synths, Guitar)
Eve (Violin)
plus sometimes John (Trumpet)

http://www.myspace.com/catsandcatsandcats

2.

Get some sleazy rock - Imperial Vipers

Oct 18 2008      8:00P Windsor,Old ticket Hall     Windsor

Evolving from a gang of mates with a shared love of rock n roll, Imperial Vipers exploded into action in early 2005.

Ripping out tunes that fall somewhere between Soundgarden & The Clash their sound and live performance is hard to pigeon-hole and has been described quite simply as "Street Rock" by Anne Maria from Total Rock, a genre that the band
identify with.

http://www.myspace.com/imperialvipers

3.

Jazz Drummer- Masterwork

19 OCTOBER Concert  Riverhouse Barn

Walton-on-Thames is delighted to welcome back Clark Tracey who last played Riverhouse backing his father Stan. Here he leads a quartet featuring the sparky Gareth Williams on piano, augmented by eclectic tenorist Brandon Allen, best of the current crop of Australian saxophonists. Their latest album, ‘Given Time’, is a select anthology of British songs including evergreen standards as well as worthy lesser-known originals by Tim Garland, David Newton, Bobby Wellins and other contemporary jazz musicians.Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Andrew Cleyndert. Later groups included Guy Barker, Jamie Talbot, Nigel Hitchcock, Dave O'Higgins, Mark Nightingale, Mornington Lockett, Julian Arguelles, Gerard Presencer, Alec Dankworth and Steve Melling.

He currently runs a quintet with luminaries from the new generation (Mark Armstrong, Simon Allen, Zoe Rahman & Peter Billington) and a trio with Gareth Williams and Arnie Somogyi.

Tickets:

full price £11.00

riverhouse boxoffice
Manor Road
Walton-on-Thames
Surrey KT12 2PF

01932 253354 (24 hrs)

4.

Hard Rock and Blues at Hampton

Oct 17 2008      9:00P    Royal Oak, Hampton

The Loudshirts

Loudshirts are a hard-rocking, close-harmony, blues-influenced rock covers band.
Formed in 1988 by guitarist brothers Steve & Jeff Summers along with powerhouse drummer Bruce Bisland and Malcolm Hoskins on bass. Line up changes over the years has now produced the current crew of Jeff & Gary Summers (bass) and Nigel "Reg Hampton" Robinson on drums & percussion.

Jeff has an illustrious recording career including international releases alongside ex-MSG vocalist Gary Barden and ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson. Jeff is currently guitarist and songwriter in the reformed Statetrooper with Gary Barden.

The LOUDSHIRTS are a regular and popular act on the London music scene who can guarantee a great night of entertainment!

http://www.myspace.com/loudshirtsband

5.

Amazing Rock Guitar at Shepperton

Oct 17 2008      9:00P    Kings Head-Shepperton

Firewater - with Ed Hudson

FIREWATER consists of Ed Hudson (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, harmonica) and Tim Scopes (lead guitar, slide, backing vocals). They started playing together as a duo in 1999, having got to know each other while in a rock band called Shakestone.

Their taste and musical influences have always been similar, incorporating the great American and British rock and blues bands of the '60s and '70s (Hendrix, Free, Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC-DC).

They play this music live with a stripped down approach but losing none its vibe, integrity or passion - no backing tracks, 'cos they don't need them!

http://www.myspace.com/edhudsonband

--------------------

For more info on Mr. Scruff peep his website: http://www.mrscruff.com

For more info on Alice Russell peep her webisite: http://www.alicerussell.com/

See MiMi Soya at Staines

Oct 2 2008      7:30P The Hobgoblin (18+)     Staines

MiMi Soya

Formed in the British summer of 2006 MiMi Soya have risen fast in their short career. Now the pop punk quartet from sunny Brighton aim to bring their addictive melodies, innocent lyrics and beastly guitar riffs to the world.

After the initial EP self release which included the anthemic lead track “Crazy” and the visionary salsa pop song “A Memoir”, they then recruited their current front woman Hero at the start of 2007 and started creating brand new stadium
crowd pleasers. Since playing shows constantly they’re bringing their intense, passionate, killer live shows to a town near you. With crowd participation and band energy second to none, it’s visual ecstasy for their fans.

Now signed to LAB Records with Crown management (Sugababes, Good Shoes, Get Cape,Wear Cape. Fly) in tow, expect incredible things. MiMi Soya are hot, you’d be crazy not to check out their mixed gender, punk-driven singalong anthems!

Hero - Vocals
Chris - Guitars/Vocals
Mike - Bass/Vocals
Joe - Drums/Nudity

http://www.myspace.com/mimisoya

You can purchase the new MiMi Soya EP Here >>>

The Four Penny Knee Trembler [Single]
~ Mimi Soya (Artist)

Price:     £3.99

2.

Catch some Contemporary Jazz - at Ascot

Nicolas Meier Band 5 October 2008      1:00P Jagz Ascot, with Roast

Swiss guitarist Nicolas Meier is one of the rising stars of a vibrant British jazz scene, his trademark sound a mixture of Methenyesque jazz and spicy Turkish and world music rhythms. Already well known in Europe, where his Meier Group have
toured extensively and shared the bill with such illustrious names as Elvin Jones, Brad Meldau, Trilok Gurtu and Bill Evans. Meier and his band recently won the enormously prestigious Grand Prize Of The Jury and 1st Prize Jazz Guitar at Jazz
a Juan Revelations 2006 a competition for the finest new jazz musicians and bands in Europe run by the legendary Jazz A Juan Festival.

But he is becoming increasingly well known in his adopted country as well where his Meier group features brilliant Israeli world-bebop saxophonist Gilad Atzmon, bassist Tom Mason and drummer Laurence Lowe who all contributed to his hugely well received Naim label debut ‘Orient’ .

As well as leading his own band, Meier has worked with the likes of Harry Beckett, Dave O'Higgins, John Etheridge, Gilad Aztmon, Renato D'Aielo and Deidre Cartwright. He has recently recorded "Guidance" featuring Vivaldi's 4 Seasons with a guitar orchestra (acoustic, electric & synth guitars) for American Classical label Centaur and until last year was in the nu-metal, techno, industrial band Avoidance Of Doubt, with whom he recorded some Indie label ‘EPs. He also recently formed
nu-metal-industrialists Seven. He cites influences as diverse as John McLaughlin,P at Metheny, Paco De Lucia, Al Di Meola, Chick Corea and Erkan Ogur.

Sunday, 5th October
Show will start at 1pm to 3.30pm
Ticket cost: £6.00
Special -entrance and roast £12

Jagz Ascot 01344 878100

3.

Get Midi Midis at Staines

Oct 5 2008      8:00P MIDIMIDIS + MORE @ The Hobgoblin, Staines

Post punk / Electro / Thrash

'Displaying an infectious enthusiasm for life, due to their independently motivated work ethic and energetic albeit shambolic lifestyles, MidiMidis loaded up with no memory card being removed. Spawning from an element of confusion and a longing for a bold incorporation of interesting and innovative influences, MidiMids represent a creative surge of creativity orchestrated by two brothers-in-law. Two brothers who enjoy spending far too much time drinking beer and experimenting with retro midi sounds on their old dusty unreliable laptops, GameBoys, GameGears and scuzzy broken guitars.

From an early age, the two have embraced everything from Gary Numan, AC/DC, Howard Jones and Bahuaus, to Nirvana, The Velvet Underground, and Television. MidiMidis create their minimalist fuzzy-buzzy 8-bit music by meticulously weaving the harsh feedback-heavy guitars of Sonic Youth together with the sharp angular work of Talking Heads, Kraftwerk and Human League.

Whether pondering over forgotten thoughts, the ubiquitous subject of relationship breakdowns or pining after a bottle of wine, lead singer Marcus manages to somehow circumvent the bile bitterness that many a songwriter would fall for. He treats these and other dark subjects with a bohemian carelessness and humorous irreverence only to the back drop of feedback laced angular guitars and electro bass and midi bleeps.

http://www.myspace.com/midimidis 

4.

Play with Spectrum 7 - at Staines

Spectrum 7 Oct 5 2008      8:00P Hobgoblin w/ The midi midi’s     Staines,

Its Rock Time!

In early 2006 two friends Sean Shreeve (Bass) and Jon Hardless (Guitar) began their early careers like most musicians; crafting songs in their bedrooms. Soon the ideals and conventions of a traditional rock band set-up were wearing thin with
the duo and they began to look for new and innovative ways to bring their vision of the way bands should sound to a future generation of listeners. Shreeve and Hardless immediately got to work crafting unconventional musical structures and
electronic beats on their Playstation while layering lyrics, guitar and bass riffs over the top. Although the band was still in a very premature form the duo managed to convince vocalist Jason Mirchandani to come onboard and after scrapping
their Playstation in favour of a laptop the group began hoaning their unique sound. Spectrum 7 were born!

Link:

http://www.myspace.com/spectrum7

5.

Check Get Set Radio at Staines

Oct 2 2008     8:00P Hobgoblin w/Stay Away From Paris     Staines

Pop Punk / Rock

Will - Vocals/Guitar ; Steve - Guitar/Vocals

Ruby - Bass; Jonas -Drums

Get Your Tickets for Beck Theatre, Hayes

The Beck Theatre
Grange Road
Hayes
Middlesex
UB3 2UE

-Visit AdPontes-Staines Regularly for Staines Arts-

* * *

Picture perfect postcard fun is yours to be had with the new video from Those Dancing Days. Starting with the surely destined to immortal opening line "Hello big family! Who's going to cook the noodles today?", 'Home Sweet Home' is the latest single to be taken from the Swedish band's debut album In Our Space Hero Suits, out October 13th. 

Liked that? Download this!

FREE MP3: Those Dancing Days - 'Toxic' [live Britney Spears cover]

And watch this: the new video from Those Dancing Days labelmates Sky Larkin. It's called 'Fossil, I' and features flying amps! Lots of them!

* * *

Remember 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'? Of course you do. Well, Jessica Grace is not a rabbit and as far as I know has no mobster connections, but her new video does contain a brilliant mix of live action and animation drawn by her fair hand. I'm allowed to say it's brilliant because I helped to make it, on the London Underground no less. In her own words: "honestly, you should try running around tube stations in a £3.50 charity shop nylon nightie. It's liberating in the pinkest sense of the word." The song is called 'What Is It In You?' and it's from her 2007 album Insert Quirky Title Here...

Canadian singer-songwriter Meaghan Smith has also got in on the live action/animation fun with her latest video, 'A Little Love', from her new EP The Cricket's Quartet.

* * *

How lovely is Rolo Tomassi's Eva Spence in this interview with Kerrang!? She sure can screech mind you. The band's album Hysterics was released on Monday. It's 'inshredible', apparently.

* * *

Other videos we've been enjoying this week

Katy Perry's grandma reading out the lyrics to 'I Kissed A Girl'. WTF?

'Music Takes Me Up', a declaration of love for our favourite thing by the lovely Alice Russell guesting for Mr Scruff

'My James Dean', the new single from Swedish export Sofia Talvik's recent second album Jonestown

'Drive My Soul', sweet bedroom synth sounds from Canadian singer LIGHTS 

Little Boots using a Tenorion to bash out a cover of MGMT's 'Time To Pretend'

...see more Little Boots + Tenorion madness here and here...

* * *

Finally, for interest's sake, here's the new Katie Melua single, 'Two Bare Feet'. Taken from her upcoming greatest hits (out October 27th), it's quite a different sound for her and boasts a grittier, harsher vocal. It's hardly Babes In Toyland but, y'know, it's progress...isn't it?

* * *

Alan Pedder

i am stranded in moose lake for another stint.  the backstory is beside the point; what matters to YOU is that i have been pirating muzak all week and have a bunch of excellent finds to share with yall.

so let's get on with it, shall we?

in the news, a couple of old-tyme favorites of mine are releasing new lp's this month.  if you have been in my presence near a music player, you have undoubtedly heard me pimp the shit out of mr scruff and the people under the stairs.  chances are you like them a bit yourself.

the P are coming back with another full length,entitled, Fun DMC. it promises to impart more of the goods they have so consistently delivered over the years; funky breaks and tight verses.  the first single, "step bacc" has a "fishbucket"-esque sound with thester continuing to improve on his broke-cadence delivery. another number, "anotha bbq" brings the party funk up a notch.  cop it 9/30.

Anotha BBQ - puts

Step Bacc - puts

Scruff's been hard at work as well, giving us a taste of his upcoming album Ninja Tune. the two singles pump out some quality, groovin electrofunk that has become his trademark sound of late. check out the singles "donkey ride" and "kalimba" at the shops to keep you tided over.

fix that speaker - mr. scruff

kalimba - mr. scruff

and let's not forget the illicet video for his new single, "music takes me up" featuring alice russel!

that's all for now.  a rather lame first blogcast, i'm sure, but not without musical merit! rrer

“The Clock”
A fairground organ for the 21st century, with added clonk, ping, snip and parp, a sprinkling of yip and a huge mechanical prosthetic bass attachment. Wind it up & watch it go! Fun for all the adult family!

“Fix That Speaker!”
The sound of a bassist trying to fight his way out of a paper bag while being pummelled by the other members of the band. Vicious, low down, dirty, but funky. Who says that life on the road is all fun and games?

The album is available as 12" vinyl or as digital copy (mp3 or wmv) on the Ninja Tune site or at amazon (digital copy).

Original story at Ninja Tune.

And finally, proving that all photographers have a loving relationship and total respect for one another, even those that are your best mates, heres Gideon (not the singer / rapper) aka G, aka Th3g...

Saturday started brightly, I finally got our poor broken down washing machine fixed, its been blocked up for over a week and we were starting to run out of clothes and the water in it had started to smell! YUK!

Then all the football results went my way, much to my delight, oh well apart from Aresenal cruising to a 4-0 win at Blackburn but hey you cant have everything ;-) As for Saturday evening, what can I say things couldnt have gone better. G and I set off just after eight and after a couple of hours driving and some blasts from the past; including Roni Size, Mr Scruff, KRS 1 and other such musical delights, on the stereo we arrived at our meeting place with Andy, a contact from Flickr. Neither of us had met him but were both more than happy to meet up with him as he seemed like a cool guy and was more than capable at "our kind" of photography! We owed him a visit anyways as a previous planned trip had fallen through. All the way down we had been watching the clouds slowly disappear and the stars coming out to play, twinkling in the Autumn sky.

By the time we reached our intended destination, mist had started to form and was swirling all around us, as we crossed a freshly cut field visibility was patchy but the way was illuminated by a full moon and the scene around us was pretty much otherworldly. When we finally approached the location the mist had become thick fog and we could see little more than 15ft in front of us.

The General
F5.6 / ISO 100 / 167secs / 10mm.
Green gelled flash from behind and to right of camera, cab red gelled flash multiple times, underneath gelled flash yellow, again multiple times.

Lil Pinkie
F5.6 / 201secs / ISO100 / 16mm.
Pink gelled flash from front, cab lit by yellow gel, rear and underneath lit by aqua gelled flash. All fired multiple times.

Keep On Truckin PT2
F5.6 / 225secs / ISO100 / 12mm
Exterior greeny blue gelled flash (only once or twice), interior lit with violet flash multiple times and finally underneath lit from rear and far side with "Chrome Orange"

The next shot isn't amazing but it shows you just HOW foggy it was...

Relic
F5.6 / 106secs / ISO100 / 20mm
Red gelled flash from rear and front lit by yellow gelled 2million candle torch.
Hopefully this will give you a size of some of the beasts that we encountered, to the left of this there were empty containers lined up, they are by no means small and this thing absolutely dwarfed them. I remember feeling last time I visited and particularly this time, that some of these now decaying relics resembled massive dinosaurs as they slowly lumbered out of the thick primordial fog.

After packing up our gear we made our way back slowly, pretty blindly, through the fog to the car, where I preceded to make us all a nice cup of tea on my Pocket Rocket Stove. Andy having not met us before was well impressed by how prepared we were! After sharing thoughts about this amazing place and how well we thought we had shot etc we were off to check out a spot we had briefly checked out earlier in the evening before coming here.

10minutes later, zipping down lots of country lanes we were there, due to the nature of the place I am not going to mention where it was but safe to say we didn't break in or do any damage whatsoever. That goes against our ethos, if we couldn't have got in we wouldn't have bothered. Anyways here follows some shots, they are not amazing as I was a lil uneasy shooting there at first but we all settled in after a while and were happily shooting after a little uneasiness.

Shooting Star (Lockheed T33a)
F5.6 / 132secs / ISO200 / 10mm
Green gelled flash from right side once or twice, cockpit flash twice with red gelled flash and intake lit by red gelled Maglight, joint lighting from myself and Andy.

Thrust (Mig 27k)
F5.6 / 64secs / ISO200 / 10mm
Lit by red gelled 2D Maglight (centre) and again same torch gelled blue, run around in a circle. Whilst shooting this Andy, quite rightly, commented that it looked like an X-Wing from Star Wars! You can pretty much see just how bad the light pollution was here, I really hate that horrible orange sky but what can you do and having said that think it looks ok in this shot.

Blue Nose Bast*rd (Avro Ashton)
F5.6 / 38secs / ISO200 / 10mm
Like a big squid like creature, swimming out of the darkness, all that remains of this beast is the nose and partial fuselage. I was gutted I couldn't get inside to light the windows but what can you do eh!

After shooting a couple more shots, which sadly didnt make it past the cutting room floor, we all decided it was time to call it a night as it was fast approaching 5am. A very productive night was had by all and I look forward to seeing the others shots.

Will add other pics later, hope you enjoyed the shots and delights this trip provided.

Чичко Mr. Scruff и другарката Alice Russell се хванали под ръка и си спретнали чудна забава! Запитали се един друг кой от какво се вълнува и се оказало, че имат нещо общо... Музиката! (Ай, стига бе!) Взели, че решили да изконсумират своята взаимна любов и ето, че се пръкнало отроче. И то какво?!

За чудо и приказ! Името му е "Music Takes Me Up", a рождената му дата - 1-и септември тази година и на всички желаещи е предоставена възможността да му се радват, да си го гледат, слушат, лигавят и дундуркат колко им душа и сърце дава. Позицията покровител обаче е заета още преди раждането (не изпращайте CV-та) и това е сдружението Ninja Tuna.

Чадото не е само - има си малки братчета, които освен фамилията Scruff носят и имената "The Clock" и "Fix That Speaker".

Да ни е честито и все така да се отдава нужното на музикалния демографски прираст!

Mr.Scruff за видеото: "... a video​ for the new singl​e featu​ring my good frien​d Alice​ Russe​ll as a singi​ng lemon​,​ and a motle​y assor​tment​ of fruit​ causi​ng havoc​ on the stree​ts of Stock​port!​"

I have a way too early shift tomorrow morning, so here I am, left to chill before having to get up at 6 AM tomorrow. Gah. Cue Mr. Scruff with a new release. Well, when I say new, it's nearly a month old by now, so you'll forgive me for not updating the Ninja Tune release list frantically. I actually did pick up Kalimba at the day of its release and the release of this one just two days later kind of just... missed me.

Anywho - as Mr. Scruff (real name Andy Carthy) takes in inspiration, he puts out music scarily similar to his stated fondness for "good, varied, soulful music". He really does have a grasp on this highly jazz-infused and indeed exquisitely soulful tuneage. His most known tune, Get A Move On, was even based on a tribute track to Charlie Parker.

This new (ahem) single features the lovely Alice Russell on the vocals, who supplies us with - yeah, you guessed it - some soulful, inspired lyrics, centered on the love for music. "Think of life without music..."

I wouldn't want to, I'd much rather listen to that chorus one more time.

MP3 › Mr. Scruff - Music Takes Me Up (Ft. Alice Russell) (Boxstr)

Normal service shall be resumed tomorrow, as Telemitry has produced a fantastic new mix, there's this guy.. and most likely something else.

'til then.

Closer Than Close (Rosie Gaines - Paul Roberts and Paul Birchall mix) I'd never heard completed.

[audio http://homepage.mac.com/realstrings/mp3s/RosieGainesCloserEdit.mp3]

Never heard Thank You Lord (Connie Harvey - Audiowhores mix), but at least I recalled doing the strings for both of those.

[audio http://homepage.mac.com/realstrings/mp3s/audiowhoresthankyouedit.mp3]

Right Where You Are (Amp Fiddler) was a surprise though; I recognise the lines but had no idea it was an Amp Fiddler track! I'd have done this with Dave Jones (Zed Bias) - his sessions were always just a series of backing tracks for various artists. We'd bang out as many as possible in a session. I'm sure he told me who the artists were but it was all a bit of a blur!

[audio http://homepage.mac.com/realstrings/mp3s/AmpFiddlerEdit.mp3]

Then there was a credit for Do You Want To Be Someone, by The Lazarus Plot. The track is on their myspace and I don't think they ever contacted me, but what they've done is take the copyright free samples and worked them into a track. Excellent! I did those samples ages ago and I'm really pleased they getting some use. (In fact I'm working on a new loops library - should be finished in the next month or so.) The sample is drastically slowed down, so it sounds a bit tatty, but the band is getting loads of good reviews.

[audio http://homepage.mac.com/realstrings/mp3s/DoYouWantToBeLazPlot.mp3]

Speaking of tatty (or scruffy at least) , I played on a Mr Scruff track last year, produced by Andy Kingslow and recorded at his studio near Sankey Soap in Manchester. All I played along with was a basic backing track but just listen to it now! It's called Kalimba and it's on Ninja Tune Records. Mr Scruff - great example of a musician as a brand! Reviews for this are good too, here's one from The Times, with a big-up for the strings.

[audio http://homepage.mac.com/realstrings/mp3s/scruffkalimbaedit.mp3]

This is the lovely Lola... at the beginning of her journey to meet Leonard Cohen......

Lola met Leonard Cohen 38 years ago at the Isle of Wight festival... she has been waiting all this time to meet him again. She failed to blag it backstage at Glastonbury. With a little pain and persistance we help Lola backstage and get the only autograph with Leonard Cohen.... all coming soon... ONLY on www.ohdearyme.com so please be patient and check back soon. We will also have interviews with Mr Scruff, Esau Mwamwaya, Radioclit and Mo Laudi, John Shuttleworth, Fink, footage of The Mighty Boosh... .This is the lovely Lola... at the beginning of her journey to meet Leonard Cohen......

Mr Scruff digs out some long lost gems and pop’s them into a melting pot with new and favourite nuggets, including artists Jimmy Jones, Theo Parrish, Gloria Scott, Bobby Reed, The Soul Controllers, Bill Spoon among others. 2CD

I took a hiatus from this series to tighten it up. Then I noticed something crucial was missing - I'd never made any attempt to provide a map, any co-ordinates, for what I'm talking about.

So here it is: a short breakdown of key types of VJing, as it stands.

1. The AV Geek

Obviously most VJs are AV geeks. But when you track back to the early works by people like Coldcut and Hexstatic, you see where it all came from.

The AV geek likes to sample. Loves to sample, in fact. Because they're hooked on video. The more directly, and literally, the video can relate to the sound - the better.

The results have a strong element of pastiche and pop-post-modern. Two of the best contemporaries in this mould are Eclectic Method and Addictive TV.

The laziest AV geeks loop samples from Fear and Loathing and the Kubrick archive with zero editing and little live manipulation. Watch you don't fall into that trap.

[dailymotion id=x3r20]

2. The Mo-Graphic Designer

No less important in the history and development of VJing. On a bad day, this is the kind of performer you'd describe as a Screensaver VJ because their style is more closely aligned with computer than film.

At the one extreme, you'll see the High Concept Electrician - tinkerers so deep in the machine they can produce sets through the visualisation of feedback/ distortion/ channels from old analogue equipment.

At the other, you'll see beautiful, bespoke 3-D motion graphic design and a high-level of MIDI synchronisation. Dispensing with film allows a much more accurate and minimalist representation of sound. See below.

3. The Animator

I haven't seen this too often in clubs and it tends to be less live. The first example that came to mind was Mr Scruff. As he illustrates his albums with line drawings, it makes perfect sense to animate them for performance.

If anyone's got a better or more developed example, please share. VJing could be a rich terrain for the old-fashioned animator but it tends not to be how it's done. Perhaps the live editing is too challenging.

4. The Director

I've picked out Ben Strebel here because he's a huge talent and a good friend.

This kind of VJ is a director first and foremost - VJing provides an opportunity to test out their original material in front of a large audience. It's like live showreeling, to an extent.

Ben does a lot more than that, and his performances involve motion graphics and animation too. But his work in music video and short film directs and characterises what he does live on a night.

Here's one of his latest music videos for the Stereo MCs.

5. The Light Artist

Artists like Simian Mobile Disco and many other big name headliners perform with LED shows. They strip back to light and light alone.

The very best in this field, however, work more along the lines of installation. They aren't shackled by a single screen. Their projections are multiple and the results are breathtaking.

Massive Attack have moved into this area in the last few years, but my favourites remain The Light Surgeons for their constant boundary-pushing and absolute focus on creating 3D-lit moving habitats wrapped right around their audience.

It'll be back to business with How to VJ #5. But if anyone wants to challenge these loose categories - add, amend or expand - go for it. Post a comment.

Previously: #3 Keep it in time; Up next: #5 Layers upon layers.

'BROKE FUTURES' - THURSDAY 10pm til late on FM 99.3 (Sydney EST)

Following on from 'the newness' last week, we have a new name and a fresh outlook. Basically if things were going to keep moving forward, then we had make some changes. Plus I'm a Sagi, and we're nuts for this shit (change that is).

So this isn't really a return then.  Well, not for the show. That was last week, and was massive quite frankly. But for Samiyam..... if you're talking about him, well then it definitely is.  In a big way. His new four track EP on Hyperdub is killing shit. This heater alongside that Flying Lotus/Lil Wayne mix that's hurtin' em, a rough NEW J Dilla joint,  ANOTHER huge Yellowtail track, crazy heaviness from both Jahdann Blakkamoore and Lewi White, a bass stomper from Connecticut, new Q-Tip (w/ D'angelo!!) and a reflective beauty from Kid Sublime.

El-P - 'Fuck the Law' - Definitive Jux

Connecticut - 'Charisma' - Eklektik

J Dilla - 'Oxtopus Boom Boom' - moovmnt

Flying Lotus, Phonte, Oddisee, Tor - 'The Perch' - CD-R

Oh No - 'Oneness of JuJu instrumental (27:10 mark)' - Stones Throw

Skillz ft. Common and Talib Kweli - So Far So Good (remix) - Koch

Q-Tip ft. D'Angelo - 'I Believe' - Children of the Sun

Hawthorne Headhunters - 'She Wanna' - HVW8

J Davey - 'Lil Big Heads' - Illav8r

Nosaj Thing - 'Bach' - Stussy/Turntable LAB

Samiyam - 'Trick Platform' - Hyperdub

Flying Lotus/Lil Wayne - 'Robotussin' - moovmnt

A.D. Bourke - 'SP' - Treble O

Various Production - 'Lost (Actress remix)' - Various Production

Blackpocket - 'Ur A Star (Martyn remix)' - Fat City

2562 - 'Redux' - Tectonic

Lewi White - 'Sideline' - Z Audio

Jahdan Blakkamoore  - 'Nice Green' - Dutty Artz UK

Fool - 'Real Thing (Various Productions remix)' - Hum & Haw

Lekan Babalola - 'Asokere (I.G. Culture remix)' - Mr Bongo 

S.K. Radicals - 'Troubled Times (BITA remix)' - Groovement

Erykah Badu - 'Honey (Seiji mix)' - Sony

Yellowtail ft. Selma I - 'Miss 17 (Arch-Typ's Punk Funk mix)' - Bagpak

Yellowtail ft. Russell Morgan - 'Changes' - Dancing  Turtle

Mr Scruff - 'Get Up to Give' - Ninja Tune

Andy H - 'Kick Kick' - First Word

Stac - 'Ball's Bounce (Bonobo remix)' - Wah Wah

Natural Self - 'Alexandra and Gabriel' - Tru Thoughts

Kid Sublime - 'Pityful Times (extended version)' - Dopeness Galore

LATE

next week we have an in depth look at one of our fave labels, Stockholm powerhouse Raw Fusion. Can't wait!

'BROKE FUTURES' - THURSDAY 10pm til late on FM 99.3 (Sydney EST)

Enfim, aí estão as duas músicas. Sampleada e original. Mr. Scruff. e Moondog. Difícil saber o que é mais bizarro. Reparem no álbum do Moondog. O Vicking da 6å avenida.

Printed in complete form here: http://thebeathappening.wordpress.com/ go and download it! Issues 1 and 2 available now, its a great read and they put on decent events in London town.

I first saw Mr Scruff DJing one long set for the length of an entire 3 day festival! Now, im not one for stereotypes, but i noted the presence of 'hippies', 'townies' and scamps alike in the audience. Our paths crossed again at uni in Timepiece! The almighty student pit described by Mr scruff himself as "that place", I couldnt have said it better myself! With three hugely popular albums and fingers in multiple pies… hailing from Manchester, and proceeded undoubtedly by his imense reputation, the legend that is:  “Scruff – let’s talk art, bussiness and vinyl…”

Hi, how are you doing? Im phoning about the interview with Beat Happening…

No problem, Yea very well

Hows the weather?

rubbish... had a good weekend though, thats Britain for you though i guess... you?

Alright, except there was a thunder storm last night...

At least we've had it better than you!

Yeah ha! - I may or may not stick to my questions... do you do many interviews over the phone?

about five a week at the moment...

You working on a new album coming out?

No, not for a while... just some new music... various bits and bobs... making good use of the phone!

The first question is fairly generic... in terms of the aesthetic of your music, what makes someone’s music their own?

Well, anyone who makes music personal to them, ends up with a mixture of personality and influences... for me, a DJ, Im influenced by a hell of a lot. For a very long time ive been interested in the social conditions and the history behind the people who made the music. I get a lot of inspiration, and a lot of ideas this way.

So your more interested in making music for yourself than the masses?

Well… basically just enjoying it i think... trying out new stuff, not being too scientific. im not bound by genre, kind of bass noise or tempo. I just put a bit of a twist on stuff and it happens. Some music that’ss 50 years old puts a modern music to shame. Nothing’s really new, just combinging peoples ideas, nuances, subtlties and presenting them in a different way or different context. Having a knowledge of everything, house to blues, dubstep to cuban music, to latin, to reggae, disco, to library music, to classical music, or whatever... I can create a lot of happy accidents... and also, draw connections within music, like being in a lab with loads of mad chemicals and finding what goes together!

How many records you got then?

20,000 or something. I have a few of rooms full of them, im married so i gotta keep it a little bit under control. There's no way you could ever possibly listen to them all anyway.

Do you still enjoy listening to records?

With that amount of records, your always discovering things that you forgot you even had. There would be no point if i wasnt enjoying it. When something comes out of your hobby, as long as you maintain the right attitude to it, dont start doing stuff you wouldnt normally do, just coz your getting paid for it, then theres no reason why you shouldnt carry on enjoying it. I was djing and collecting music for over ten years before i got my first gig. Its habbit. it has always felt like that, and still feels like that to this day, only today, but i dont have to work in quick save! Im always aware of how lucky i am, that i can play whatever i want, and that i can make a living from it, but i definately dont take it for granted.

Do you feel a kinship with the Manchester scene?

There's so much music going on in the city, its incredible... I think because its had a legacy for quite a while, you know, northern soul, punk, factory records, it attracts people, it definately has more than its fair share of talented, creative people.

Do you feel more on the live music side of things there than say, the ‘glitch electronica scene’?

Not really man, its not segreagated. Theres so much music that you can’t really keep up with all of it. I love Skam records,  as much as... well, a lot of the indie and rock, you get all sorts… Manchester's city centre is actually quite small, there is such a lot going on, but its not like in say London where you can just surround yourself with people who are just into one kind of music... there's no like glitch electronica scene, everyone pretty much knows each other, and there's not that many venues either...so your just sort of squished in to gether…

Like a melting pot?

No, not really like a melting pot, more like a crowded bus! you get to know what other people are up to, you can’t avoid people really... its good.

Sounds like you like it!

Yeah, definately, ive lived here of 25 years so...

What do you think of the music industry then? the state of it? you must have been asked this a hundred times!

Its on everybody's lips, everyone wants an answer and nobody has one! The industry has only been around for sort of, 125 / 130 years and we've had loads of format wars… the thing is, its going from physical to non physical this time, which throws up loads of issues...

Such as?

Payment, obviously... people are expecting music for free... and the way its distributed, i mean you can get 10,000 mp3s on your ipod, but it will sound like a transistor radio, so were going forwards in terms of convenience and portability, but backwards in terms of quality. It could end 'bodies' of work, with people downloading single tracks and whatever. The internet is great in terms of hearing stuff you might not otherwise hear, but theres about an extra 100 000 rubbish tunes on there as well. I expect some 14 year old who lives in orkney will probably come up with a solution to it all!

The people in the most trouble are the major record labels, they have had complete control over pressing plants, distribution, retail, and the machines the music is played on... its getting blown apart a bit, and you've got companies like Tesco who think “well 'we've got a hundred thousand outlets, we'll sign the next Paul Mcartney album' . its odd.

cool.well i saw you play at a festival somewhere... about ten years ago... an epic long set... i have a signed ticket you singed when you played at timepiece in exeter while I was a student too...

oh that place.

Ha ha yeah. All the best for the future! thanks for talking to us.

You can find Mr Scruff a this official homepage www.mrscruff.com or at www.myspace.com/mrscruffofficial. He is signed to nija tune and has had two massive releases through them, namely Keep It Unreal (Ninja Tune, 14 July 1999) and Trouser Jazz (Ninja Tune, 16 September 2002). Ninja also recently released his first album titled Mrs. Cruff (re-release) (reissue of Mr. Scruff, 5 May 2005). Check it.

If you think it's all about the music, then you're only half-right. With a lineup of collaborators like his, it's also about the journey...so I was happy when I checked and found that there is a video that documents his journey and in particular, his work with Mr. Scruff for the cut we're playing currently, "No No." Check it.

xdevx's artists of the week der 26. Kalenderwoche 2008! Viel Spaß!

1. The Grouch - Artsy: "Ganz egal, wie viel ich immer drüber schimpfe: Ich liebe Hip Hop. Meiner Meinung nach ist Hip Hop eine der machtvollsten Ausdrucksformen, die je erfunden worden sind" konstatiert The Grouch. Kann man so sehen.
2. The Carps - Heaven's Gates & Hell's Flames: Alles was wir an Death from Above 1979 mochten, machen The Carps mindestens genau so gut.
3. Meanest Man Contest - Throwing away broken Electronics: Schönes Video, in dem Radiohead/Boombox-Girls elektronische Geräte zerschmettern. Musik ist Hiphop, aber ernst zu nehmenden - mit derbem Bass.
4. One Self - Over exposed: Der orientalische Sound eines russischen Produzenten (DJ Vadim), gepaart mit Reimen eines amerikanischen Emcees (Blum Rum 13) und einer südamerikanisch-europäischen Rapperin (Yarah Bravo) ist höchstwahrscheinlich nicht jedermanns Sache. Wer sich jedoch auf den multikulturellen Kosmos von One Self einlässt, wird das nicht bereuen.
5. Mr. Scruff - Donkey Ride: Wikipedia says: He is known for DJing in marathon sets (often exceeding six hours), his eclectic musical taste, his love of a "nice cup of tea" and the quirky home-produced visuals and animations that are projected on large screens during his gigs. Und genau deswegen DIE Partymucke für gemütliche Sommerabendpartys.

Da wordpress.com (noch) nicht erlaubt, dass man Youtube-Playlists embedden kann, muss die AOTW vorerst ausgelagert werden. Bis auf weiteres findet ihr die Folge der 26. Kalenderwoche 2008 hier!

Highest debut in the BBC1 Indie chart this week (#7) is Mr. Scruff's "Donkey Ride". I'm guessing this video has fueled its popularity there, ya think?:

I'm not 100% sure if that's a novelty song or if they genuinely like the tune. Closer to my taste is the new #8, "Black Magic" by Nashville's Magic Wands. It's never a surprise to see an American act embraced first in the UK, and this duo (trio if you count Sylvester the magical lion), fresh off SXSW, continues the tradition. Their MySpace page inexplicably has their photos set to "private", so these tiny ones are all I can show you:

Add Dexy and Cris Valentine to the list of cute duos making cool low-fi tunes. The single is downloadable a few places in cyberspace, and the other songs on the MySpace are pretty cool too (check Teenage Love). Here's the video for Black Magic:

[edit: it appears that the video can no longer be embedded, so click HERE to see it]

#9 (with a bullet, I presume) is Pogo, by Digitalism. Of the three artists in this post, Digitalism is the only one that Google was ready to auto-complete, which must mean something (what, I'm not sure).

These German DJ/knob twisters bring circa-Trainspotting Underworld to mind, and who isn't ready for a trip back to the techno/house 90's? Check their MySpace page for a few tracks, download Pogo HERE, or enjoy another video:

Le célèbre label indépendant Ninja Tunes vient d’atteindre l’âge adulte, de quoi rendre fier ses fondateurs Johnathan More et Matt Black, les deux membres des Coldcut. Mars 2008, la maison-reine-mère, abritant sous son parapluie les sous-labels Big Dada Recordings et Counter, publie son nouveau catalogue, « You Don’t Know », 5^e volet de la série Ninja Cuts.

Cette compilation triple-CD rassemble pas moins des 50 meilleures créations (dans leurs versions originales ou remixées ainsi que 9 inédits) édités par notre label anglais, avec notamment un panorama des récentes sorties (Cinematic Orchestra, Ty, le millésimé Sound Mirrors des Coldcut, Fink et The Heavy) et signatures (Ghislain Poirier, DJ Kentaro, Bonobo et le petit dernier, Cadence Weapon).

Voici, dans l’ordre numérique, ce qui vous attend dans les trois menus.

***

Le premier disque peut se définir comme une playlist idéale alternant Hip Hop, Trip Hop, Electronica, Rock et Folk. Les morceaux se suivent et ne ressemblent à aucun autre, pourtant on y retrouve une cohésion certaine, celle qui fait l’identité musicale de Ninja Tune.

Ça commence par le maxi tout frais « Blazin’ » de Ghislain Poirier, amputé des sonorités electro-dancehall par les Allemands de Modeselektor, pour enchaîner sur du Roots Manuva dernier cru. La liste continue : le « Nightlife » de Bonobo ‘reconstruit’ par Zero dB, l’inventeur Daedelus et le duo infernal Mr Scruff & Quantic.

C’est vers le milieu du disque que l’ambiance dancefloor finit par éclater des enceintes à travers un mix infiniment discret : le monstrueux « Gadget Funk » des Herbaliser transite sur l’instrumental déchaîné de « Getting Dumb » de Cadence Weapon, partageant la même piste avec le Switch remix de « Bump » de Spank Rock, en plein sur le couplet d’Amanda Blank !

C’est la folie générale jusqu’au virage rock indé avec The Heavy , puis re-bifurcation du côté hip-hop jazzy  (« Epistomology Suite 1 » des Diplo). La fin du CD s’adoucit sensiblement à partir du morceau de Fink (« Pretty Little Thing ») avant que les Cinematic Orchestra, Amon Tobin et John Mathias rendent l’atmosphère littéralement planante et instrumentale (au sens propre et musical du terme).

***

Le ‘disc 2’ s’agit d’un portofolio reliant Hip Hop aux accents anglais, Abstract et Trip Hop. La majeure partie de ce disque est un kaléidoscope de ce qui se fait de mieux au sein de la scène britannique, regroupés parmi d’autres perles rares venues d’ailleurs.

Le Grime (ce mélange de rap et dubstep) est à l’honneur en début d’album avec le « Chin High » de Roots Manuva (dans sa version ‘Manuvadelics’) et « No Qualms (re-vox) » du mentor Wiley, avant de passer par un « Drop Audio » signé The Qemists et deux extraits à la suite des Coldcut, « Just for the Kick » et « Walk a Mile in my Shoes » (revu par Tiga pour l’occasion), extraits du millésimé Sound Mirrors édité en 2006. Quelques raretés - les fameuses - sont dispatchées dans le tracklisting : un live des Cinematic Orchestra (« Rites of Spring »), le « Blah Blah » du slammeur américain Mike Ladd (enregistré en 98 pour l’anecdote) et le remix signé Orgasmic de « Travailler » du groupe électro-rap frenchy TTC.

Autres tracks incontournables : le clin d’œil rendu par DJ Shadow au producteur vedette de la maison Stones Throw ( « Bring Madlib Up ») et le mix house ultra-groovy de « Pat Song » de Pest.

***

Le 3^e CD est sans aucun doute le plus instrumental de tous. Hormis les remixes du démentiel « Free » de DJ Kentaro (featuring Spank Rock) et de « Wait A minute » de Ty, ainsi que « Fear the Labour » de Oneself et le « Say Goodbye » final par Bigg Jus, tous les morceaux sont quasiment instrumentaux (à l’exception de « Breathe » des Cinematic Orchestra privé de beat dans son remix nippon), et se suivent continuellement sans linéarité, comme une météo qui changerait entre teintes soulfuls, des éclaircies exotiques et chaleureuses, des courant d’air frais, quelques légers nuages annonciateurs de mélancolie,… Des noms au hasard : Ammoncontact, Blockhead, Fog, Bonobo…

***

Ces lignes ne sont qu’un modeste descriptif de ce que recèle cette fantastique compilation. Les maxi-singles ont été écartés au profit de remixes réalisés par des figures réputées de la scène DJ internationale, et chaque morceaux qui y figurent ont été sélectionnés avec soin pour garantir cet éclectisme indéfinissable. Le mieux serait de jeter un œil sur la trackliste complète ou dans le meilleur des cas vous l’écouter, en vous rappelant qu’il s’agit juste d’un aperçu de la richissime trésorerie de Ninja Tunes.

Pour information, Big Dada Recordings a sorti sa rétrospective discographique et vidéographie complète (!) de Big Dada Recordings avec Well Deep, paru en Octobre 2007.