.: LOCK IT DOWN :.

SOUNDHEALERS

2011-09-23T12:06:00.001+02:00

A 14 track compilation featuring laid back hiphop productions, compiled by UK producer Bambooman, has just been released on the net. Bambooman's aim was to shed a light on some of the worlds finest up and coming electronic beat producers, and according to Lock it Down he passed the test with flying colors.

Apart from John Phonics and the compiler himself, I haven't heard of any of these producers before, making it all the more impressive that the overall sound of the compilation is very coherent. The ambient vibes and chilled out beats on SoundHealers bring back the days when Morr was king and the gordian knot of idm was loosened. Although getting fed up with that sound back in the day, this set of tracks sounds remarkably fresh. The main reason for that is, although the producers clearly take influence from their older peers, they've managed to timewarp it into the now. Taking as much from the old days as from current events such as dubstep and the LA beat scene, these soundhealers created a niche of their own. One I hope to hear more from in the near future.

Tracklist

1. Danaet-If I get Iced

2. Blank and Kytt-Same Old

3. S.Maharba-Nice to meet you

4. Crewdson-Metal and Wood

5. Bambooman-Drips

6. Sina-One I Love

7. Soosh-Stay Ft. Sarah H

8. Kashmere-Astro Crunch

9. Option Command-Sunday Sausage

0. Zack Christ-Fox Prawns

1. Deft-Last Night

2. Jabu-Can't See

3. Jon Phonics - 5 stax Max

4. Roof Light- Shut in a box

5. Grouphums-Words

Download (free): http://soundhealers.bandcamp.com/album/sound-healers-vol-1

Anikulapo digs Barcelona aug 2011

2011-09-09T16:05:00.004+02:00

Last month anikulapo visited the beautifull city of Barcelona again, as usual had a great time, discovered a new recordshop with lots of interesting stuff (Discos Juando check here) and visited the Rototom reggae festival in Benicassim. Back in Spain everyday sunshine, lots of records......rumba of course by people like Chacha, Teresiya (the child gipsy), El Gitano Portugues and more....the Herbie Man Version of Summertime as used by Sublime... catalan salsa by La Trinca...soul by James & bobby Purify, a splendid Joe Cocker tune sampled by Dr Dre, and some brazilian stuff...the sound of the Costa Brava in the seventies......

1._   Herbie Mann ... "SUMMERTIME"
2._   Amina ...   "MOJAMACHIS"
3._   Chacho ..." TU CABALLO"
4._   James & Bobby - PURIFY ... "DO UNTO ME"
5._    Trigal    ... "GOL"
6._    La Trinca ... "L'HOME VÉ DE LA PATATA"
7._    Los Amaya ... "BAILEN MI RUMBITA"
8._ The Pretty Things ... MAMA, KEEP YOUR BIG MOUTH SHUT"
9._    El Payo ...   "SOLA, SOLA ESTÁ "
10._ Los Chichos ... "ÉSTO SÍ QUE TIENE GUASA"
11._ Joe Cocker ... "WOMAN TO WOMAN"
12._ Teresiya ...   "MALAGUENYA"
13._ La Chunga ... "CUANDO QUIERA DIOS DEL CIELO"
14._ Elmore James ... "IT HURTS ME TOO"
15._ Dolores Vargas "LA TERREMOTO" ... "EL DESGRASIAO"
16._ El Gitano Portugués ... " EU FOI NA BAIA
17._ Tonyo ... " SOMOS NOVIOS "
18._ Argentina Coral ... " BEBO PARA OLVIDAR "
19._ Los Amaya ... " VIVE LA VIDA HOY "
20._ Antonio Carlos & Jocafi ... " OPUS 2 "

SUPERWOLF VS SMARTIN: CHINA EXPRESS BOMMIE TRIBUTE

2011-08-09T22:41:00.005+02:00

Yes people, sheer vinyl madness...from countryfunk to dutch 80ties wave, all recorded from black wax at the Elephant HQ by Superwolf and Smartin in dedication to our beloved and far-away friend BOM (the guy next to him is also pretty famous). This one goes directly from Utrecht to Bejing, CHINA. Enjoy the music.

or download here

Vernon Wray - Prison song
Rodriguez - Silver Words
Link Wray - Fire and BrimStone
Tony Joe White - Stud Spider
Bobby Gentry - Mississippi Delta
Country Joe & The Fish - Love
Dale Hawkins - Back Street
The Nerves - Hanging on the Telephone
The Romantics - What I like about you
Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
The Clash - The magnificent 7
Lene Lovich - Lucky Number
Jesus & Mary Chain - You Trip Me Up
Velvet Underground - Here She Comes
Ike Turner & His Kings Of Rhythm - The New Breed
Ike Turner & His Kings Of Rhythm - Thinking Black
John Hammond - Cross Cut Shaw
Carole King - I Feel the Earth Move
The Kinks - Victoria
Caterina Casselli - Nesuno Mi Puo Guidicare
Blood Sisters - Ring My Bell
Black Uhuru - Guess Who's coming to dinner
Black Sabbath - War Pigs
Kid Koala - 100%
Roxanne Shante- Bite This
Bill Withers - Grandma's Hands
Muddy Waters - Tom Cat
Dorothy Ashby - Soul Vibrations
Professor Longhair - Big Chief
Cyril Diaz & His Orchestra - Taboo
Serge Gainsburg - Ballade De Melody Nelson
Jean Pierre Mirouze - Sexopolis
Herbie Hancock - Water Melon Man
Azteca - Azteca
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird

COLD SWEAT - LIONS & CUCUMBER

2011-06-26T14:03:00.002+02:00

If you're into sexploitation, funk, hiphop, glitch, beats and a bit of dubstep be sure to check out these lions and cucumbers by Cold Sweat. Enjoy your trip!

ColdSweat- Lions & Cucumber by Coldsweat on Mixcloud

ANIKULAPO - A FEAST OF FRIENDS

2011-06-10T14:31:00.003+02:00

EXCLUSIVE NEW MIX FOR THE NEW WORCK:

ANIKULAPO - A FEAST OF FRIENDS

DOWNLOAD OR LISTEN HERE:

smartin vs KC mix

2011-06-09T00:32:00.004+02:00

Last wednesday our friend KC out of Antwerp visited the Olyphant HQ and this b2b session was created. Strictly vinyl, of course, lots o turkish grooves, rocksteady, brasilian stuff and some good ol' country (straight from the original 10 inch 78RPM record)... check it out...

Listen below or download here....

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - war

Ray Wun - Way Run

Tandy Love - vachina-vabham

Arif Sag - osman pehlivan
Sixto Rogriduez - sugarman
Hildegard Knef - Von Nun an Gings Bergab
Harold Alexander - mama soul
James Royal - House of Jack
Gaylads - Joy in the Morning
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrel - Aint No mountain high enough (Lords of All Riddim remix)
Los Chunguitos - dame veneno
Cut Chemist - Povo De Santo
Jorge ben - mas que nada
Hiroshi Fukumara - Hunt Up Wind
Gang do tagalera - rappers delight
Leon Haywood - Don't Push It Don't Force It
Afrique - House of the Rising Funk
Chamber Brothers - Time
3 Hur-el - doner dunya
Benali Selman ve arkadaslari - kasap havasi
Oh Ho - All Over
Locomotiv GT - Megvárlak Ma Délben
Mustafa Ozkent - Dolana
Herbie Mann - Dance of the Semites
Herbie Hancock - Wigge Waggle
Talking Heads - Burning Down The House
Lefty Frizell - If you got the money

Invasion Of The Mysteron Killer Sounds

2011-05-20T12:30:00.003+02:00

Wow, the mighty SoulJazz have pulled it off once again. I just love how the label is always on top of things, but go about their business with a different angle. With the current explosion of the genre most commonly known as "wotyoucallit?" (in which hiphop, reggae, dubstep, house, steeldrums, 90's dance and whatnot are beautifully amalgamated into something new) the label decided to release a compilation of their own. Not with the biggest, newest and illest tracks of the moment. Anyone with an internet connection and a guide to Soundcloud can do that. No, Souljazz started digging their crates and came up with a selection of tracks from producers from all over the world, who were far ahead of their time (Jamaican producer Dave Kelly of Madhouse was actually aeons ahead of his time) and who (might have) influenced the craftsmen of today. And by doing that, they actually did come up with the illest, baddest and dopest beats around. Which the label gratefully stacked onto a compilation with a million dollar name. Cop it, listen to it, use it, learn from it and start digging some more. Mix 'em with anything new and your set will never be same...

1.	Steely & Clevie — Street Sweeper	PLAY
2.	Redrose — Now Thing	PLAY
3.	Roots Manuva — Doogoo Dub	PLAY
4.	Dave Kelly — The Return	PLAY
5.	Harvel 'Gadaffi' Hart — Summer Bounce	PLAY
6.	Max Glaser — Flatlands Dub	PLAY
7.	Steven 'Lenky' Marsden — Diwali	PLAY
8.	Matt Shadetek — Yoga Rhythm	PLAY
9.	Stereotyp — Alleycat	PLAY
10.	Da Grynch and Tippa Irie — Agony	PLAY
11.	Fresh Ear Productions — Hummer	PLAY
12.	Diplo — Diplo Rhythm	PLAY
13.	Mark Pritchard — Bazooka Riddim	PLAY
14.	Marlon Williams — Pitbull	PLAY
15.	Redlight — MDMA	PLAY
16.	The Bug — Aktion	PLAY
17.	Fat Eyes — Clothes Pin	PLAY
18.	Steven Ventura — Throw Your Hands Up	PLAY
19.	Sly Dunbar and Christopher Birch — Corners Boy	PLAY
20.	David Jahson — King of Kings	PLAY
21.	Fat Eyes — Steel Plate	PLAY
22.	South Rakkas Crew — Red Alert	PLAY
23.	Parara and McCoy — Them Can't Hold Yuh Girl	PLAY
24.	King Tubby — Fat Thing	PLAY
25.	World Beat — Goldmine	PLAY
26.	Andre 'Suku' Gray — Sign	PLAY
27.	Henfield and Shadowman — Babatunde	PLAY
28.	Firehouse Crew — No False Hair	PLAY
29.	Computer Paul — World Talk	PLAY
30.	Fat Eyes — Overdose	PLAY
31.	Prince Jazzbo — Great Dub	PLAY
32.	Kickin' Productions — What You Gonna Do	PLAY
33.	Pliers — I'm Your Man Dub	PLAY
34.	Wiz Kidz Team — In My Heart Version	PLAY
35.	Jammys Jam2 James — Peenie Peenie	PLAY

Pre-order here: http://www.soundsoftheuniverse.com/releases/index.php?id=23718&ao=yes

Take a stroll in your mind .... Cold Sweat meets Anikulapo

2011-05-14T12:59:00.001+02:00

This mix is a live session showcasing the two dj's drawing from their own collection, answering each others records. Expect a mix between idm, world music, sitar beats, glitchhop, freejazz and everything in between. Take a stroll in your mind...

LISTEN HERE OR DOWNLOAD HERE

STRUT IS ON A ROLL

2011-03-15T09:01:00.003+01:00

Re-launching the mighty and influential Strut label back in 2008 might have been the best decision K7 ever made. Not only because the demise of the quality label was a terrible loss for the revive market, but also because the releases under the guidance of the new mothership are equally high quality compilations. In this day and age there seem to be more labels re-releasing afrobeat than there are tunes available, so it is quite refreshing to. Coming out soon on Strut:

Following his recent studio album ’Love And Death’, his first international release, Ghanaian highlife guitar legend Ebo Taylor gets a long overdue compilation of his seminal 1970s recordings.

‘Life Stories’ revisits the heyday of Taylor’s work, focusing on his solo albums and some of his lesser known side projects including the dynamite Apagya Show Band and short-lived Taylor-led combos Assase Ase, Super Sounds Namba and The Pelikans. The selection also touches on his writing and production work for C.K. Mann and a collaboration recording with fellow member of early ‘70s nightclub band Blue Monks, Pat Thomas. If anything, this makes my afrobeat heart tick again. A superb compilation.

Formed during the late’60s, Orchestre Poly-Rythmo soundtracked the years following Benin’s independence under Kerekou’s Leninist - Marxist regime, whipping up a groundbreaking fusion of traditional highlife, Afrobeat, soul, funk and the indigenous styles and voodoo-led traditions of their homeland. Their songs touched on all of their national languages – the mina French dialect, Fon and Yoruba – and confidently referenced a broad range of international music from James Brown to Johnny Halliday. As well as forging their own success, they were the first port of call to back many of West Africa’s greatest artists, from Gnonnas Pedro to Manu Dibango and Bembeya Jazz.

The band’s reputation began spreading to Western audiences in 2004 through a breathtaking Soundway compilation of archive classics and rarities followed by two sumptuous collections on Analog Africa. Around the same time, French radio producer Elodie Maillot (Radio France, Vibrations, Mondomix) began seeking out the original band members in Benin. After a memorable radio interview, the musicians asked her to achieve their dream - to play once in a lifetime outside of Africa.

Since then, the band has reformed, now a 10-piece featuring five original members from the very first ‘60s incarnation, two from the mid-‘70s line-up and three new members. They have played many high profile concerts, bringing the infectious Poly-Rythmo sonic melting pot to a whole new generation of fans.

Recorded in Paris and produced by Maillot, ‘Cotonou Club’ is the band’s first new album in over 20 years, a celebration of the Poly-Rythmo sound with new versions of the band’s classics and a host of new compositions. Guest appearances include African superstar Angelique Kidjo, who began her career in Poly-Rythmo’s backyard, new World Circuit signing Fatoumata Diawara and Paul Thomson and Nick McCarthy from indie favourites Franz Ferdinand.

I'm a huge fan of the band's early work, which indeed I discovered through aforementioned labels, and this album too makes for a fine listening experience. It's quality music as ever. That said: I kinda miss the humidity, rambling equipment and low cost recording atmosphere of the early days. Like reggae, afrobeat thrives on a certain sound which can only be caught on tape if the circumstances are right, so it seems. I'm not going to complain though. Although the sound and songs on this new album are too neat and clear for my taste, the story behind it is just too beautiful to dismiss this for a reason like that. Cotonou Club is a dream come true and well deserved break for the Orchestra. With many more to come, I hope. Go catch 'em on stage if they're anywhere near you.

And last, but definitely not least, Strut announces a new chapter in the Nigeria 70's series. It was the first release in this series that got me hooked on Nigerian afrobeat, so it is quite safe to say I'm more than looking forward to this new installment.

"Sweet Times: Afro Funk, Highlife & Juju from 1970s Lagos’ is again compiled by series curator Duncan Brooker and features extensive sleeve notes by John Collins, author of ‘West African Pop Roots’. As on the previous Nigeria 70 volumes, all of the featured selections are previously unissued outside of Nigeria. Tracks range from the dynamite big band workout of Alex Ringo’s Moneyman & The Super 5 International to the Congolese guitar-drenched ‘Henrietta’ by the late Ali Chukwumah, former member of Stephen Osita Osadebe’s Sound Makers. Darker psych grooves from Don Isaac Ezekiel sit alongside raw college funk from college band Tabanaku comprising students from the University Of Ife. Highlife legend Victor Olaiya unleashes a slow, languorous Afro jam lifted from a rare Polydor 45 and juju legend Ebenezer Obey cooks up a lilting, deeply beautiful mid-tempo groove from 1970 in a musical plea for peace.

Track List
1. MONEYMAN AND THE SUPER 5 INTERNATIONAL – LIFE
2. ALI CHUKWUMAH & HIS PEACE MAKERS INTERNATIONAL – HENRIETTA
3. BOLA JOHNSON & HIS EASY LIFE TOP BEATS – E MA S’EKA
4. DR VICTOR OLAIYA’S INTERNATIONAL ALL-STARS – KINRINGJINGBIN
5. ZEAL ONYIA & HIS MUSIC – IDEGBANI
6. ADMIRAL DELE ABIODUN & HIS TOP HITTERS INTERNATIONAL – IT’S TIME FOR JUJU MUSIC
7. EJI OYEWOLE – UNITY IN AFRICA
8. TUNDE MABADU – VIVA DISCO
9. SINA BAKARE – INU MIMO
10. SOKI OHALE’S UZZI – BISI’S BEAT
11. THE DON ISAAC EZEKIEL COMBINATION – IRE
12. ETUBOM REX WILLIAMS & HIS NIGERIAN ARTISTES – AMA MBRE EWA
13. CHIEF COMMANDER EBENEZER OBEY & HIS INTERNATIONAL BROTHERS – AJOYIO

SMARTIN'S SUNDAY SOUNDTRACK ONLY

2011-03-06T16:21:00.015+01:00

Just chillin'out this sunday in my soundtrack section ........... check it out down here (or download here)

Michel Legrand – Un Homme Est Mort (1972 UN HOMME EST MORT) Jean-Pierre Mirouze – Sexopolis (1968 LE MARRIAGE COLLECTIF) Serge Gainsbourg – Arabysance (1977 MADAME CLAUDE) Charanjit Singh – Pyar Chahiye Key Paisa (1978 CHHAILA BABU) Lalo Shifrin – Bamboo Birdcage (1973 ENTER THE DRAGON) Taj Mahal – David & Angela (1976 BROTHERS) John Barry – Them from Midnight Cowboy (1969 MIDNIGHT COWBOY) Ennio Morricone – My Name is Nobody (1973 MY NAME IS NOBODY) Angelo Badalamenti & David Lynch – Twin Peaks Theme Instrumental (1989 TWIN PEAKS) Rogier van Otterloo – Moord met Geduld (1973 TURKS FRUIT) Les Baxter – Chainfight (1969 HELL’S BELLS) Serge Gainsbourg & Michel Colombier – No No Yes Yes (1968 MISTER FREEDOM) George Garvarentz - Hashish Party (1970 UN BEAU MONSTRE) The Upstroke - In My El Camino (197x THE BEAVER HUNTER) Johnny Pate – Check In (1975 BUCKTOWN) Dennis Coffey & Luchi de Jesus – Main Theme version 2 (1974 BLACK BELT JONES) Isaac Hayes – Pursuit of the Pimp Mobile (1974 TRUCK TURNER) Booker T & The MGs – Run Tank Run (1968 UPTIGHT) Lyn Collins - Mama Feelgood (1973 BLACK CAESAR) James Brown & Fred Wesley – Transmograpfication (1970 SLAUGHTER’S BIG RIP-OFF) Johnny Jones & The Kings – Purple Haze (1968 SHAFTMAN) Micky & Silvia – Love is Strange (1957 DIRTY DANCING) Shelly Manne – Daktari (1967 DAKTARI) Outro 1976 WAN PIPEL

ANIKULAPO and PRESSURE BEAT

2011-02-16T12:21:00.002+01:00

Sorry for not posting more often. Guess this blog is as dead as can be.

Both me and Smartin have been busy lately. Smart with his great ongoing out-of-the-box mixes under the name Anikulapo : http://www.anikulapomix.blogspot.com/ and me with a new blog called Pressure Beat. If you're into reggae, and more specifically into Joe Gibbs' records, this is your website: http://pressurebeat.blogspot.com/

From the old to the new, everything will be covered. Twentynine 7 inches are now online, some 200 more to come. That explains the time pressure, innit?

Hope you enjoy the new websites.

LOCK IT DOWN volume 3

2010-11-30T21:54:00.006+01:00

Short story: In 2005 I made a mix called Lock it Down and distributed it among friends. Things got a bit out of hand and it became quite a succes. People I had never seen before in my life were discussing the mixes I made. Volume 2 was soon in demand and eventually it was released in 2007 through an internet label called TheNewWorck. They dubbed volume 2 as volume 1. Now, 41 months later (yeah, I know) here's volume 3. Or volume 2. Whichever you prefer. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. One drops, riddims, foundation, effects... It's all there. Let the music do the talking..

Tracklist:

LOCK IT DOWN

MAJOR RIDDIM
Professor - Fi R type
J. Boog - Let's do it again
Lutan Fyah - Come over
Tarrus Riley - Wildfire

DUBWIZE RIDDIM
Peetah Morgan - Warzone
Assasin - Priority
Busy Signal - Spliff tail

REBELLION RIDDIM
Johnny Clarke & Fantan Mojah - Rebel with a cause
Luciano & Mikey General - Hosanna
Chezidek & U-Roy - Teach dem

GANGSTA LIFE RIDDIM
Junior X - Gangsta life

PRISON BREAK RIDDIM
Luke Rich - Prison Break
Million Stylez - Born in the system
Natty King - Purge dem
Michael Rose - Fight I down

HIGH HORSE RIDDIM
Omari - Live up
Lutan Fyah - Love
Nazzle Man - Yu a mi woman
Fantan Mojah - Nuh easy
Dlp - High Horse

HOT MILK RIDDIM
Gappy Ranks - Put the stereo on

STALAG / STAGALAG RIDDIM
Demarco - Skull inna belly
Busy Signal - High Grade
G Whizz - Nuh wa si dem
Assasin - Bam bam

BLESSINGS RIDDIM
Etana - War
Lutan Fyah - Cherish the earth

EVERYDAY RIDDIM
Jah Knight - Keep blazin'
Million Stylez - Everyday
Ziggi - What you stand for

GOOD OVA EVIL RIDDIM
Jah Cure - Don't let them cry
Sizzla - Herb

FEW YEAR OLD RIDDIM
Natural Black - No set like rain
Mega Banton - Blaze
G Mafia - Wine up

ONENESS RIDDIM
Million Stylez - Oneness

JAH LIVE RIDDIM
Duane Stephenson - August town
First Born - Not afraid
Tarrus Riley - Love created I
Luciano - Jah live

Download is available at: http://thenewworck.com/genre/reggae/the-new-worck-355-of-cold-sweat

Tribute 2 Cliff Burton

2010-10-16T13:24:00.005+02:00

The last few weeks ANIKULAPO has been re-discovering his old metal collection; the classic speed and trash riffs haven't felt so good in a long time, makes me wanna get up and MOSH IT UP! On top of that, yesterday we watched the excellent documentary HEAVY METAL IN BAGHDAD, which I certainly can recommend. So fuck yeah, metal it is these days! Metallica, Suicidal, Sepultura, Anthrax, D.R.I. and Slayer, amongst others, will bring you one hour of good friendly violent fun. This is a tribute to one of metals biggest heroes CLIFF BURTON (1962-1986) R.I.P., and don't forget to raise your fist and bang your head against the wall!

New ragga dubstep track Bojcot Selectah (Utrecht, Netherlands): End up Dead

2010-10-13T18:38:00.004+02:00

BOJCOT SELECTAH-END UP DEAD by bojcot selectah

New ANIKULAPO mix: An Inconvenient Truth

2010-09-27T20:01:00.001+02:00

RETURN OF THE BOOGIE pt 2

2010-09-02T10:28:00.014+02:00

Early 2009 Lock it Down wrote a piece about the return of the boogie in the dubstep scene. Much has happened since then. Joker has become a major player in the scene, playing in front of large crowds and signing a publishing deal with Universal Records. His succes has caused a floodstream of boogie influenced dance music, most commonly know as 'Purple Wow" these days. The other artists we wrote about have taken things into a different direction...

2000F & J.Kamata were always ahead of their time. For one, Joker was greatly influenced by these two Danish producers (and played a key role in their Hyperdub release) as are a great many other people out there. Still, not much is heard from the dynamic duo themselves after their monsterhit "You don't know what love is." Granted: they've made a couple of remixes, which were really good, but didn't quite reach the great heights of their debut 12 inch. The wait for a new, original tune is long. But the future does look promising...

Earlier this year I visited 2000F and J.Kamata in their studio in Copenhagen where they played me some snippets of new material. All tracks were still work in progress, but from what I heard the lads are taking it even deeper into the jazz, boogie and funk registers. Their signature sound was still there, but the tracks sounded even more autonomic and different than anything else they ever made before. Quite an effort for a team who didn't regard musical boundaries as something to acknowledge to begin with. Perhaps the duo just needed a break from the dubstep scene to get back to their own?

Because, as much as they love bassheavy dancefloor music, they seem to draw more and more from their roots. When asked to make a mixtape for a Danish dance event called Raw, they came up with something that is nothing short of stunning: a 9,5 hour (!!) mixtape containing funk, soul, disco, jazz, dubstep, purple wow and everything in between. To listen to the whole thing is a bit of a stretch but worthwhile the effort. The mixes are so solid you sometimes can't tell one track from another and the tracklist is simply amazing : some evergreens, some underground goodies, some dubplates, some new, most old...

Now, take a day off, disconnect the phone, grab your (wo)man and take it from the lounge to the dancefloor. The return of the boogie is here!

Tracklist:

Guy Bonnet & Roland Romanelli - Amour, Emoi... Et Vous (feat. Heidi)
Art Of Noise - Moments In Love
Don Blackman - Since You Been Away So Long
Bernard Wright - Music Is The Key
Ronnie Laws - Tidal Wave
Bobbi Humphrey - San Franscisco Lights
Lonnie Liston Smith - Devika (Goddess)
Idris Muhammed - Loran's Dance
Joe Zawinul - In A Silent Way
Herbie Hancock - Butterfly
Herbie Hancock - Sun Touch
Eddie Henderson - Inside You
Idris Muhammed - Piece Of Mind
Earth, Wind & Fire - Brazilian Rhyme (Interlude) 1
Deodato - Love Island
Eddie Kendricks - Intimate Friends
Bootsy's Rubber Band - I'd Rather Be With You
Anita Baker - Sweet Love
The Isley Brothers - Between the Sheets
Kleer - Intimate Connection
Bernard Wright - Who Do You Love
J.P. Rodgers, Jr. - I Enjoy Making Love (Just Like You Do)
Luther Vandross - The Night I Fell In Love
Patrice Rushen - Remind Me
Zapp & Roger - Computer Love
The S.O.S. Band - High Hopes
Hall & Oates - I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)
Alfreda James & Billy Ray - Back To Love (Remix Club Version)
Yellow Magic Orchestra - Computer Game
Trouble Funk - Trouble Funk Express
Kraftwerk - Metall Auf Metall
Kraftwerk - Trans Europa Express
Cybotron - Clear
George Kranz - Din Daa Daa (Original US Mix)
Kraftwerk - Number
Kraftwerk - Computer World 2
Vangelis & The American Orchestra - Blade Runner Blues
Strafe - Set It Off (Instrumental)
MC Shan - A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Waste
Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock - It Takes Two
Big Daddy Kane - Raw
Connie - Funky Little Beat (Instrumental)
Twillight 22 - Electric Kingdom
Kraftwerk - Musique Non Stop
Paul Hardcastle - King Tut
Zapp II - Dance Floor
Fatback - Is This The Future?
Midnight Express - Danger Zone
D Train - Keep On (Dum Mix)
The Other People Place - It's Your Love
Transllusion - Do You Want To Get Down

Galaxy 2 Galaxy - Journey Of The Dragons
Posatronix - Danz'
UR - Twista (The Dance)
DBX - Squelch
Pepe Bradock - Deep Burnt
Anja Schneider & Sebo K - Rancho Relaxo (Original Mix)
Aril Brikha - A Groove La' Chord
Cube 40 - Bad Computa
Choice - Acid Eiffel (Live by Bugge Wesseltoft)
Digital Mystikz - Neverland
Ramadanman - Offal
Dubbel Dutch - Throwback
Raheem Devaughn - I Don't Care (Mischief Makers Remix)
Ted Esha - 83
Harry Craze - Wa6
Brian Eno - An Ending (Ascent)
Mr. Fingers - Can You Feel It
Bam Bam - Where's Your Child?
Plez - Can't Stop
Tyree - Acid Over
Mike Dunn presents The MD X-Press - God Made Me Phunky (Original Mix)
Tim Driver - Colorama
Paperclip People - Remake U No
Jonny L - This Time (Carl Craig Mix)
Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (Basement Boy 'Strip To The Bone' Mix)
River Ocean - Love & Happiness (Yemaya y Ochun) (Masters At Work Dub Beats) + Love & Happiness (Yemaya y Ochun) (Maw Remix Keyapella)
Peshay - Vocal Tune
Fusion Forum - Vintage Keys (The Art)
Bizzy B & Pugwash - Just A Little Crew
Immortal Minds - Cosmic Jungle Remix
Deep Blue - Helicopter
Goldie - Inner City Life
DJ Dextrous - Nice 'N' Slow + 313 Bass Mechanics - Pass Out (Acapella)
DJ Slugo - Bitch Give Me Some Pussy
Remote - The Swarm
Silicon - Electorn Push
DJ Zap - I Can Make U
JKamata - Ekstasi
Dave Clarke - Protective Custody
The Prodigy - Weather Experience
Vangelis & The American Orchestra - Blade Runner Main Title
Lil Jon & The East Side Boys feat. Gangsta Boo - Da Blow + Bo Hagon's Phone Call
2000F & JKamata - You Don't Know What Love Is (VIP)
2000F & JKamata - You Don't Know What Love Is (Sukh Knight Remix)
Skream - Filth (Silkie Remix)
Silkie - Step Aside
Skream - If You Know
Von D - Incognito
501 - Everything In Its Place
Phuturistix - Blind Faith
Quest - The Unknown
V.I.V.E.K - Barcelona
Improvistators Dub meets Iration Steppas - Wah Wah (12" Mix)
Digital Mystikz - Thief In The Night
Mala - Lean Forward
Synkro - Just Say
Von D - E Von
Silkie - Test
Kito feat. Reija Lee - LFO
Turboweekend - Something or Nothing (2000F & JKamata Remix VIP)
Low Pressure - Babylon Bigtime (2000F & JKamata Remix Instrumental)
Caspa feat. Uncle Sam - London City (2000F & JKamata Remix)
L-Wiz - Girl From Codein City
Mr. Dé - Superugly (Funk Piano Mix)
Drexciya - Andreaen Sand Dunes
Lilly Allen - Just Be Good To Me (Joker Remix Instrumental)
Sticky - Paccman
Mala - Left Leg Out
Erykah Badu - Next Lifetime
Frank McComb - Twenty Four
2000F & JKamata - Dukkehus
Joker & TC - It Ain't Got A Name
Aztec Mystic A.K.A. DJ Rolando - Jaguar (Original Mix)
The Deacon - Soulsaver
Moreso feat. Filthy Rich & Damon Trueitt - Take My Hand (Industry Standard Mix)
Millennium To Millennium - Timeline
Ramadanman - Mir
Beezy & Kromestar - Say Yes
Alicia Keys - Feeling U, Feeling Me (Mala Remix)
Alicia Keys - Feeling U, Feeling Me (Interlude)
Nabo - Helt
Roy Davis Jr. - Dance With Me
A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum (UK Radio Edit)
Carly Simon - Why
Madlib feat. M.E.D. - Please Set Me At Ease (Hip Hop Mix)
Sunshine Anderson - Heard It All Before
Dâm-Funk - 10 West
LL Cool J - I Need Love
Nabo - BS Disaster (Bless Edit)
Flying Lotus feat. Andreya Triana - Tea Leaf Dancers
Quest - Smooth Skin
Jill Scott - Slowly Surely (Theo Parrish Remix)
Faze-O - Riding High
Mazarati - Stroke
P-Funk Allstars - Hydraulic Pimp
The O'Jays - Put Our Heads Together
D Train - You're The One For Me
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam - Let The Beat Him 'Em (The Pop Radio Edit)
Main Source - Looking Out The Front Door
Larry Larr - Confused (The Soul Convention Remake)
Keith Sweat - Keep It Comin'
Earth, Wind & Fire - Brazilian Rhyme (Interlude) 2
Weather Report - River People
Carl Craig - At Les (live in Paris)
Timeline - A Moment
Timeline - Time Sensitive (Los Hermanos Remix)
Flora Purim - Transition/Conversation
Dâm-Funk - The Sky Is Ours
Azymuth - Dear Limmertz Prelude
Robert Glasper feat. Bilal - Chant
Mark Pritchard - ?
Kraftwerk - Spiegelsaal

Download:

https://www.yousendit.com/download/aHlReFlYT2JwTVd4dnc9PQ

mixtape mania

2010-08-28T20:20:00.007+02:00

Currently the Lock It Down Pose is enjoying some nice mixes made by friends from all over Europe. We love mixtapes and consider this a logical way of sharing our musical obsession. Enjoy!

First up is a Drum & Bass mix by DJ Salor Bassclap (Spain) called ACID GROOVE. He just moved from Brussels back to Cordoba and surely will rip up some dancefloors over there...

Next up is Jungle Moon (France), who morphs reggae into drum & bass, but always rootical. Born in the French mountains, he now resides in Utrecht. Check his SUMMER 2010 mix .......

And finally and fortunately ...... another mix by our very own Cold Sweat (Netherlands). We know he has got trailerloads of original Jamaican 7 inches you all have been dreaming of, so check his latest Joe Gibbs mix PRESSURE BEAT VOL 1, straight outta U-town.

LOVE AND DEATH

2010-08-18T11:30:00.008+02:00

Strut link up with one of the true greats of Ghanaian music, Ebo Taylor, for his first internationally released new studio album in over 20 years.

Following the wartime big band highlife pioneers like E.T. Mensah, Taylor became a major figure in Ghanaian highlife during the 1950s and ’60s as highlife exploded. Cutting his teeth with leading big bands like Stargazers and Broadway Dance Band, Ebo Taylor quickly rose through the ranks and became a prolific composer and frontman. Taylor moved to London in 1962 to study. “I had the Black Star Highlife Band sponsored by the Ghanaian High Commission, mainly comprising music students. We tried to incorporate jazz into highlife and progressed through talking and through jam sessions, trying to develop our skills and ideas.”

Back in Ghana, Taylor became an in-house arranger and producer for labels like Essiebons, working with other leading Ghanaian stars including C.K. Mann and Pat Thomas. “I was paid to write for them and we made some great records. People were trying new things – I always loved C.K. Mann’s Funky Highlife. It was fresh.“ Through the mid-‘70s and into the ‘80s, Taylor then recorded a number of solo projects, exploring unique fusions and borrowing elements from traditional Ghanaian sounds, Fela’s Afrobeat, jazz, soul and funk. Tracks like "Heaven" now stand as among the best Ghanaian Afrobeat of the era.

Interest in Ebo Taylor’s music has grown in recent years with a series of Ghanaian compilations on Soundway Records and Analog Africa and an unexpected sample as Usher lifted a riff from "Heaven" for his hit with Ludacris, "She Don’t Know." A new Ebo Taylor album was a natural progression. “For new album, I wanted to advance the cause of Afrobeat music. Fela started it and we shouldn’t just abandon it. We should push it so it is a standard form of music.“ The result is a firing new set backed by Dutch band Afrobeat Academy and involves members of German analog funk combo Poets Of Rhythm. Tracks include new versions of Taylor classics "Victory" and "Love And Death" and a selection of new compositions including "Kwame," celebrating Ghana’s late, lamented leader Kwame Nkrumah.

Ebo Taylor's Love And Death will be released in CD / 2LP / digital formats. He will be touring with Afrobeat Academy beginning in December 2010.

Tracklist
1. NGA NGA
2. AFRICAN WOMAN
3. LOVE AND DEATH
4. VICTORY (Instrumental)
5. MIZIN
6. KWAME (Instrumental)
7. ABOREKYAIR ABA
8. OBRA

For more info, check out:

http://www.ebotaylor-loveanddeath.com/
http://www.strut-records.com/

Charanjit Singh - Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat (India, 1982)

2010-05-26T14:16:00.012+02:00

The good folks of the Dutch Bombay Connection label already pleased my sitar-fetish with their lavishly packaged double compilations Bombay Connection and Bombshell Baby of Bombay, now the're back with a real surprise: Indian ragas played by early synthesizers, and I must admit this is some pretty crazy sound. This is what they say about their record: a 1982 released LP called TEN RAGAS TO A DISCO BEAT containing Kraftwerk-like acid house music, years before the genre was invented. Only a few hundred copies of the LP were ever pressed, and only a handful seem to have survived. Performed on the synths that would later define Acid House, the Roland TB-303 and TR-808, the album sounds light years ahead of its time with its repetitive beats and hypnotic electronic melodies. Its maker, Bollywood session musician Charanjit Singh, set out to translate ancient Indian classical Ragas to the modern synthesizer and in doing so seems to have invented House music along the way. Its restrained minimalism and lack of cheesiness makes it incredibly contemporary, sounding animated, fluid and unabashedly alive.

more info & soundsamples here:

Folk Sounds from the Dutch Deep South 1954-1987

2010-05-10T20:50:00.003+02:00

Gotta warn ya for this one: If you're not from the South of The Netherlands, it will be very unlikely that you can appreciate this mix. Even if you're from there...it still will be a challenge.....

This mix collects the folky sounds of Limburg, the deep South of the Netherlands, You’ll hear the strong connection between the local dialect and neighbouring Germany. Lots of german melodic influences also, apart from singer-songwriters, country and a cover of Van Morrison’s Gloria.This is the music my grandma liked to listen: songs about the the beauty of the area, the famous southern mines and yes, about grandma’s…

Barrelhouse Jazz Band – Limburgs Volkslied
Jo Erens – Limburg mien Lanjd
Sjef Diederen – De Oma
Harry Bordon – Marieke
Carboon – t Zwarte loak
Piet Geuskens – Ballade van Oma en Huzaren
Frits Rademacher – Het Huikske
Jo Erens – Vrijerslied
Sjef Diederen – D´r Dikke Hein
Carboon – D’r Berg
Janse Bagge Band – Proemevlaai
Pierre Cnoops – Huwelijksreis

Panda Dub - Protect the Dub

2010-04-07T13:19:00.003+02:00

Out of Lyon, France, come Panda Dub: heavily UK dub influenced grooves, now releasing his first single. Protect the Earth/Protect the dub is released on the Dubatriation label from Dijon (check out his Outernational roots & culture radio show called Ital Corner Radioshow on http://www.dijon.radio-campus.org/) featuring Paulette Wright on vocals.Released by Kingston Connection (uhurudisciple@yahoo.fr) on 7 inch vinyl, beginning of April 2010 and limited to 500 copies!

Got this one from our friend Dubfader, thanx, also for the party last weekend!

Malorix - Kabaddi Schwalbe

2010-04-07T12:31:00.006+02:00

Malorix - Kabaddi Schwalbe from IndiVisuals on Vimeo.

Based in Rotterdam, Malorix attacks the airwaves with breakbeats and bass music filled with samples from the most exotic places in the world. Kabaddi Schwalbe is the first single from the album Soundsystem Culture Clash, released on Redrum recordz. Check out his latest videoclip made by Maarten & Jet (Indivisuals/ Rebelup!). The album contains 10 bass-driven tracks spiced up with Rai, Bhangra, Balkan, Dutch politicians & others folk sounds. Perfect for people who love high energy breakbeats, probably to noisy for the rest of the human population. If you like it, be shure to listen to the track Belsalama on Malorix' Myspace, my personal favorite.....

Gonja Sufi - A Sufi and A Killer (Warp records, 2010)

2010-04-04T20:03:00.014+02:00

Lock it Down has been waiting for this album. Finally someone brewed an electronic psychedelic potion of of all those funky & freaky exotic records we love. Earlier, we already talked about the emergence of the LA scene around Flying Lotus & Gaslamp Killer and now the next chapter reveals itself: GonjaSufi’s album A Sufi And A Killer, produced by the Gaslampkiller, was released on Warp records last month (check them here on Youtube). Gonjasufi also provided vocals on the Flying Lotus track Testament (on the Los Angeles album), but his own release really did it for me. Captivating yet uneasy, freaky, funky, dark but spiritual. In touch with the past, but as uptodate as it gets. The Sound of Urgency. Once in a a while a record comes along which sums up the stuff you like, and combines it in a way you hadn’t heard before. A Sufi and A Killer is a record like that. Gonjasufi spits his distorted lyrics over beats filled with sound from records we love. The Turkish psychrock legend Erkin Koray is heard various times, his tune Yagmur is versioned into Kobwebz and Seni Her Gordugumde (aka I’nan Ki) into I’ve Given. Both Erkin Koray tracks are featured on his 1973 album on Istanbul records. As a great fan of Spanish seventies flamenco-hybrids I was thrilled to hear the voice of Las Grecas in the single Cowboys & Indians, sampling their 1974 tune Bella Kali (from their classic first album Gipsy Rock). L.A.'s Spirit gave their The Other Song (from Son of Spirit, 1976) for Gonja to recycle it to Dust. It seems he's putting a band together as we speak, can't wait to experience this in a live setting. Check out this little mix by Anikulapo, combining the Sufi songs with the originals.

Obviously, there tons more of samples, if anyone has any more suggestions, I’d love to hear it

And remember to buy this album!

Links:

gonjasufi: http://www.sufisays.com/
gaslamp killer: http://www.thegaslampkiller.com/
flying lotus: http://www.flying-lotus.com/
warp records: http://warp.net/

Radio Pirates Documentary

2010-03-29T20:26:00.001+02:00

A very entertaining short documentary about London's radio pirates. Cool footage on illegal radiostations (Rinse FM!), sending their tunes into the airwaves from the top of high buildings. Wonder if this is also done a lot in the Netherlands ...... thanx to Mr T for the linx!

Elephant Soundsystem Reggae Radioshows

2010-03-18T00:50:00.006+01:00

Why is it the Lock it Down Posse is so crazy about Reggae? Is it the versatility in tropical riddims, the do-it-yourself attitude, the incredible creativeness of sound manipulation inspite of financial limitations, is it the message of faith & love, carried within the music, which infacto makes it gospel or is it the voice of protest and resistance against whatever oppression. We love Jamaican music and it the impact of such a small island on the musical universe cannot be overstated. Infact, we love it so much we make radioshows about it. Every second wednesday we do a reggae radioshow for www.zionhighness.com, playing 2 hours, from ska to rocksteady to roots, to dancehall, digital, new roots and topped with a little bit of dubstep. Expect classics & rarities, lots of stuff you won't find on no re-issue compilations! We're not the greatest radio personalities or djs ever, but we love the music, which I think also reflects very strongly in the shows. Do It Yourself that is. Did I Mention we love Jamaican Music?

Go to the Elephant Soundsystem Radio Archive here

Lock it Down loves 45s!

2010-02-14T14:58:00.002+01:00

A very informative and entertaining clip explaining history and usage of 45s! Taken from a dvd by vinylfreaks DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist. And it's true...45 is THE coolest format around! Apart from the aesthetics of the format, just imagine the amount of cool grooves which are made by al those tiny labels with young & talented bands only releasing one 45 and no album. Not to mention that, in general the're cheap and easy to take along, even if you're backpacking.

COSMOGRAMMA

2010-02-09T10:15:00.008+01:00

One of my biggest musical revelations of the past decade was, without a doubt, hearing Flying Lotus' "Los Angeles" album (Warp Records/2008.) Being an avid fan of IDM, jazz and big bass music, all of which FlyLo smoothly combines into a unique blend of his own, this album seemed to be specially made for my ears. Although, at first, I didn't really get into it . It was only after seeing the man live on stage that his magic caught on and sure 'nuff I fell in love with his sound right there and then. Head over heels.

And I was not the only one because soon everyone was onto the man. Deservedly so, I might add, because this focus on the LA scene and its satelites brought us many great things. Through his music FlyLo tapped into a collective vein, serving a much needed freshness to a heavily segregated music scene and, in doing so, uniting different scenes which led to interesting new music and collabs. Artists from around the globe started working together; new artists arose on the scene, finally getting what they deserved after a long struggle of self chosen contrariness; scenes intertwined and exchanged ideas, opening up a whole new spectrum where there are no rules and, thank God almighty, no genre names (yet). Although most people still file it under dubstep, which couldn't be further away from the truth. The above goes for me too, on a personal level. I discovered many great tracks and albums since I was lured back into the idm/electronica scene by "Los Angeles." I had followed the scene for more than 10 years but left after every record started sounding alike. It seemed to me everything had been done, limits were reached, ideas were copied instead of progressed; yes, even the great Warp Records, always a label to look out for, faded a bit. Apparently all it needed was an injection of FlyLo to propell it into a new orbit. Ever since I heard interesting collabs of hiphop, jazz, psychedelica, reggae, dubstep, idm, house, uk funky and so on, and so on. Everything goes!

Flying Lotus is about to unleash his much anticipated third album, Cosmogramma, on may 3rd, but Warp decided to throw the fans some corn. They're giving away three tracks that won't appear on the album, but to call these a taster isn't doing them justice. All three of them are frigging great tunes and also a great example of what this piece is all about: they're fresh, and openminded. Oh, and yeah: they do promise a whole lot about the forthcoming album...

Go get them here!

2012 mixtape EPISODE II

2010-02-08T20:37:00.002+01:00

The saga continues........another sonic warning about 2012! Time is short, still lots of records to go and even more sounds to explore. Must make mixtapes. Be warned. Get informed here: http://www.anikulapomix.blogspot.com/

My New Reggae 45s Mix by smartin

2010-01-27T16:46:00.002+01:00

Today I got a bunch of new reggae 45s, from old ska to 80s digital to new roots. We love Jamaican Music!

Lloyd Clarke – Summertime (Hi Tone)
The Ethiopian – You a Pirate (Techniques)
Blacka & Sekle - Countryman (Techniques)
Little John – Say What You’re Saying (Midnight Rock)
Sugar Minott – Upon The Level (Midnight Rock)
Frankie Paul – Tidal Wave (Powerhouse)
Dennis Brown – The Exit (Jammys)
Little John – No Give Me No Bun (Jammys)
Penny Irie & Pinchers - Release (Jammys)
Half Pint – Romeo & Juliet (Scorpio)
Tony Tuff – Dancehall Style (Scorpio 1999)
Admiral Tibet - Informer (Techniques)
Daddy Screw – Love Yuh Till Me Fool (Digital B 1993)
Pinchers – Bandelero (Necessary Mayhem)
Anthony B – Territory (King of Kings)
Mykal Rose – Fight I Down (Bassrunner 2010)
Million Styles - Born in the System (Bassrunner 2010)
Konshens – Insanity (No Doubt 2005)

New Mixes by DJ Tommi

2010-01-27T11:11:00.003+01:00

Our local balkan/mestizo/latino hero DJ Tommi made two more mixtapes available for your listening pleasure. The first one is Balkan Beats Classix mixtape, containing lots of classic balkan party floorfillers like Shantel, Fanfare Ciocarlia and Amsterdam Klezmer Band. (tracklist here)

The second one is the Weird Latin & Carribean mixtape, including cuts of: major lazer, frikstailers, justice, jay-z, rye rye, defalla, busy signal, JUF, vampire weekend, schlachthofbronx, sabo, diplo, i.m.s., uzul y loads more! (no tracklist & download))

4 Hour Steve Barrow Interview on Big Mikey Dread show

2010-01-27T10:27:00.002+01:00

Steve Barrow has been pushing Jamaican music since 1962, check out this very interesting interview on the Big Mikey Dread radioblog. His writings and compilation work always have been an inspiration to us. Steve talks about his passion, the music business, the labels and the artists in his home, while he puts on 45s from his own collection. Check Part 1 here and Part 2 over here.

From Mikey's blog: Over the years Steve's interest in Jamaican music has developed from collecting through to writing for Black Echoes, running his own record stores, compiling records for Island, Trojan, and his own label Blood and Fire records. He co-wrote the Rough Guide To Reggae, a bible for all Jamaican music fans. Amongst his close friends are people like Bunny Lee, Dennis Alcapone, Glen Brown, Lopez Walker, U-Roy and Trinity. He's even recorded a toilet for Lee 'Scratch' Perry! He's currently writing sleeve notes for Soul Jazz records and an upcoming release of some Dancehall Reggae music, related to Beth Kingston's book 'Dancehall' that Soul Jazz brought out last year.

Big Up Big Mikey D. for making this show!

Reggae on the Uncarved Blog

2010-01-19T20:19:00.005+01:00

Our friend Mr T pointed me to the excellent Uncarved blog some years ago, and I've always had great pleasure and fun reading (lots of reggae!) John Eden's virtual infotainment. Last week, some interesting posts dropped: The 20 Best Reggae 45s of the Noughties Part 1 & Part 2 and the hilarious 10 Worst Things about Reggae in The Noughties. Check out the blog!

R.I.P. Vivian Jackson aka Yabby You

2010-01-18T20:44:00.002+01:00

Last tuesday, january 12, one of the most important artist in the history of reggae passed away. Vivian Jackson, better know as Yabby You, created some of the heaviest roots around, filled with spirituality, creating a massive following among reggae lovers. His masterpiece Conquering Lion (released in 1976 on the Prophet label) is a must-have, just like King Tubby's Prophecy of Dub and the Jesus Dread compilation on the Blood & Fire label. Big up Mr Jackson, may YOU rest in peace....................

Check the obituary on the exclaim website here.

the 2010 LOVE mix: Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T18:58:00.001+01:00

Looks like this year’s gonna be soulfull & funky! Sultry grooves and pleading voices, all inspired by that one thing which keeps this world going: LOVE. Kicking off with two funky tunes by the Black Moses, also Smooth Soul by Terry & Marvin, lots of Sister Funk and a couple of genuine southern soul ballads. Happy new year and may the LOVE be with you.

Isaac Hayes – Ike’s Mood
Isaac Hayes – Hung up on my baby
John Lucien – Do You Believe in Me
Terry Callier – I Just Cant help myself
Marvin Gaye – I want you
Sisters love – Gimme Your Love
Althea Spencer – Take Me Baby
Wendy Rene – After Laughter
Aretha Franklin – I never loved a man
Otis Redding – You Made a Man out of me
Mary Jane Hooper – I’m in a loving groove
Gloria Williams - Sister funk
Irma Thomas – Ruler of My Heart
Elsie Mae - Do you really wanna rescue me
Patti & Jo - You keep me hanging on
Fontella Bass – Hold on
Inell young – What do you see in her
Betty Barney – Momma Momma
Betty Davis – Anti lovesong
Barry White – Love theme
James & Bobby Purify – I’m Your Puppet

Classic Digital Reggae Mix: One Hour of Jammys 45s

2009-12-16T10:20:00.003+01:00

Strictly 45s in this live mix, including soundeffects. Lloyd James aka King Jammy, and formerly known as Prince Jammy, created trailerloads of classic digital reggae riddims (including Wayne Smith's Under mi Sleng Teng), check out his style, most stuff is 80s/90s, with some recent tunes in the last part of the mix.

Pass the Dubplate – Brian & Tony Gold
Bury You – Colin Roach & General Degree
Miss Goodie Goodie – Colin Roach & Galaxy
Miss Maddy Maddy – Major Mackarel
Mus Mus Tail – Frankie Paul
Up Park Camp – John Holt
Taller Than Kingkong – Eekamouse
Girls Go Home - Cocoa Tea
Love Affair – Conroy Smith
Rambo We Rambo – Superblack
I Am Back – Echo Minott
Water Pumping – Johnny Osbourne
Five Gun – Risto Benji
Mini Mini - Chaka Demus
Ballot Box – Josey Wales & Admiral Bailey
Punaaany - Admiral Bailey
King Fish – Risto Benji
Run for Cover – Elephantman & Robert Lee
Come Again – Cocoa Tea
Bam Bam - Tiger
Set Up yourself Right – Admiral Bailey
Devil Send You Come – Little Twitch
Isolate the Gun & Pray – Chuck Fender
Babylon Dead - Bushman
I Love King Selassie - Black Uhuru

Sizzla Unplugged on Youtube

2009-12-15T11:46:00.004+01:00

One of the most prolific artists in reggae must be Sizzla Kalonji. This Bobo Ashanti brought back the consciousness in the dancehall in the nineties and released a unending string hits, however, sometimes his wining & crying style is a little too much for me. But the man definitely is a real artist who can sing, the proof is down here: An unplugged session (seems to be in France) on Youtube, containing only Sizzla's voice and an acoustic guitar.
- Be Strong
- Woman I Need You
- You Touch Me Girl

New Spanish Reggae tunes by Zergiote (Barcelona)

2009-12-03T22:11:00.004+01:00

Zergiote, our friend from Barcelona, just released a his new album callad Inna Di Fight. Available for downloading here (choose descargar maqueta completa). And yeah, it's free! He's definitely one of my favourite Spanish singjays and brings us lots of roots, rubidub & love with backup vocals by Marziah. Big up Little Zergiote!

It's HipHop Reggae Mashup Time with Basstronix!

2009-12-01T14:23:00.004+01:00

Some while ago we posted a mashup mix by Basstronix (Sideburn crew, Utrecht) on this blog and now its time for some very own mashups, produced by the man Basstronix himself. First tune's a reggae riddim with hiphop vocals, the second hiphop with reggae vocals. Mash It Up!

Contrabanda Mix By DJ Tommi

2009-11-30T11:16:00.001+01:00

Our mate DJ Tommi just got back from Mexico and is pretty busy these days organizing the ContraBanda! festival on Tour! A travellling circus of balkan meets mestizo and everything in between. He kindly provided us with a mixtape, giving us a glance of the sound of Contrabanda. The festival is touring Holland as we speak, be sure to check it out if you're around! No tracklist.. but there's music from the headliners: RotFront, Zulu 9:30 & the band HOTEL.. further some Generation Bass related stuff (only playing in Paradiso). Check dates below or more info @ http://www.contrabandafestival.nl/

Nov 28 : Paradiso - Amsterdam NL
Nov 29 : Atak, Enschede NL
Dec 03 : Simplon, Groningen NL
Dec 04 : 013, Tilburg NL
Dec 05 : Tivoli de Helling, Utrecht NL
Dec 06 : Paard van Troje, Den Haag NL

HOLY MAMA WAILER!

2009-11-25T15:19:00.011+01:00

As some of you dear readers may know, I've worked in a record store for quite some time. It were good times. Not only did the job help me broaden my musical horizon, it also greatly expanded my record collection in a pace that would make many heart stutter. From jazz to funk and idm with a quick stop at indie and back on via a different route: there was always a new record to be found, something to be discovered or, in some cases, re-discovered. Being an avid record collector with a fling for everything vinyl, this meant I often had to dig deep and hard to find what I was looking for. I could have just bought the damn cd at the store I was working in, but, as stated above, I love vinyl and always have the odd feeling of not really owning a record if it's a cd (too small, too clinical) or download (likewise) .

Anyway, sometimes I was lucky, sometimes I was not. It's all part of the game and part of the charm of record hunting. Some records, however, are just so damn hard to find, it makes you wonder why you even bother hunting for them anymore.

After hearing a Lonnie Smith tune called "Move your hand," I was completely stunned, baffled and head over heels in love. A colleague (and now my co-writer on this blog) and I immediately began looking for information, which led us to find out the track was to be found on a record with the same title as the song. "Move your hand" was released on Blue Note in 1969 and was recorded live at "Club Harlem" Atlantic City. After ordering a cd version (released in 1996) I fell further in love with the album and my search began. Up to this day, I haven't find my copy yet.

After discovering this record, I have bought some other Lonnie Smith albums, which weren't bad at all. "Drives" (Blue Note, 1970) is a decent set, for instance. For the most part because it includes a wicked version of Blood, Sweat 'n the Tears' "Spinning Wheel." But in all honesty, it misses that certain vibe, that feel that comes along with "Move your hand." There are no rough edges and it lacks the grittiness I was looking for. The same goes for his work on the Groove Merchant label. It's damn good, but there's better stuff out there.

And then I stumbled upon "Mama Wailer". It was released on a label I had never heard of before (Kudu), the sleeve looked impressive and it was fairly cheap. Also, the fact that side 2 of the record was completely taken up by a cover (or should I say: interpretation?) of Sly and the Family Stone's "Stand" intrigued me. This could go either way, but once at home...the record completely blew me away. Blue Note's "Move your hand" had finally met its competitor.

"Stand" is without doubt the most important track on the record. It's a musical excursion par excellence, a trip that takes you allover the place. It's a jazz take on a great song at first, with great solos by Grover Washington among others, but soon after it becomes more. Way more! It's jazz, funk, blaxploitation, soundtrack music, hell, it's rock for all I care. The rattling bassline laid down by Ron Carter after the break is not only hypnotizing, stunning, vibrant, gritty, dirty and impressively tight considering the speed it's played at: it also provides the solid base of a souljazz jamsession that is simply stunning. And then some....This album is worth picking up for this track alone.

After hearing "Stand" you could easily forget there are 3 more songs on the other side of the record which are more than worth checking out. The A side starts with the impressive title track, in which vocals are used as an instrument, dropping in and out of the track. The vocals give the tune a bit of a Brazillian feel, but the restrained way of playing (no Hammond, but a clavinet for instance) contradicts heavily with that sentiment.

The other two songs are "Hola Muneca," a nice, laid back jazz track with a repetetive bassline you could easily lose yourself into; and the Carole King standard "I feel the earth move" which, although heard many times before in many different versions, does not fail to make an impression.

All in all I'm glad to be on a quest for "Move your hand" because if I wasn't looking for that record, I'm pretty sure I would have missed out on this beauty of a record. And that would have been a terrible shame...

If you don't own either of these records: go hunt. Who knows what you end up with...

Bass Breaks 2 mix by Basstronix

2009-11-22T14:29:00.003+01:00

It's mashup-time with the new mix of Basstronix from the mighty Sideburn Soundsytem. Reggae meets hiphop, jungle and bigggg bass. Massive thanx to Basstronix for making this one available, be sure to keep on eye on him, as some very own productions will follow in the near future.

FUNKY CHICKEN FOR CHRISTMAS

2009-11-20T13:01:00.003+01:00

Like most people, I kinda dread the Christmas holidays. Although it's nice to get together with the family for diner, two days often proofs to be too much. Singing christmas carrols by a fake tree, that's decorated with, err with what exactly? That's really not for me...Basically Christmas is just two days of hanging about, waiting for it to be over again. Indeed, that doesn't sound like a party at all. To make christmas a bit funkier and more alive this year, Strut has compiled a collection of holiday themed funk jams that will be sure to keep your spirits bright this season. Thank God for that. Merry Christmas, y'all!

Tracklist
1. J.D. McDonald – Boogaloo Santa Claus
2. Jimmy Reed - Christmas Present Blues
3. Electric Jungle - Funky Funky Christmas
4. Funk Machine - Soul Santa
5. Milly & Silly - Getting Down For Xmas
6. The Harlem Children's Chorus - Black Christmas
8. Isaac Clarke - Santa Claus Is Coming To town
9. Captain Elmo McKenzie & The Roosters - Home On Christmas Day
10. Soul Saints Orchestra - Santa's Got A Bag of Soul
11. Zebra - Christmas Morning
12. Harvey Averne Band - Let's Get It Together This Christmas
13. Jimmy Jules - The New Year
14. The Black On White Affair - Auld Lang Syne

For More Information, check out: http://www.inthechristmasgroove.com/

Support Your Local Independent Recordshop!

2009-11-01T17:17:00.004+01:00

This is some of the music you encounter in your local record shop (If you're living in Utrecht, The Netherlands, that is). Looking back on some of the albums released this year and mixed by Anikulapo. Enjoy!

Disrupt – Robot Echoes from Bo Marley vs Disrupt
Rifles – Science in Violence from The Great Escape
Malakai – Snowflake from Ugly Side of Love
Benjamin Herman – Chasing the Dragon from Blue Sky Blond
Most Unpleasant Men - Red Box from Nothing Moves Slower
Amanda Blank - A Love Song from I Love You
Tigerstyle – Maan Doabe Da from Mystics, Martyrs & Maharajas
De Staat - The Fantastic Journey of the Underground Man from Wait for Evolution
Bon Iver - Beach Baby from Blood Bank
Placebo - For What It's Worth from Battle for the Sun
Stuurbaard Bakkebaard - Simple Life from L´Amour
Lee Fields – Do You Love Me from My World
Dan Auerbach - The Prowl from Keep It Hid
Reverend & the Makers – The State of Things from State of Things
Arctic Monkeys – Secret Door from Humbug
Andrew Bird - Oh No from Noble Beast
Honoré Avolonto - Ya Mi Ton Gbo from Legends of Benin
Peter Fox – Haus Am See from Stadtaffe
The Whitest Boy Alive – Timebomb from Rules
Jack Peñate - Be the One from Everything Is New
Kyteman – Sorry from the Hermit Sessions
Kitty, Daisy & Lewis - Going Up the Country from Kitty, Daisy & Lewis

Emayo Cutz Blog & Label

2009-10-13T21:10:00.007+02:00

Some time ago we already told you about El Hijo La Cumbia, one of the coolest exponents of the Nueva Cumbia scene in Argentina. Together with 2 friends he'll be launching a new label called Emayo Cutz, releasing .... well .. yeah ... cumbia, of course mixed with electronics and other sounds. The first release is planned for the end of the year, but meanwhile you can keep up with their activities on their blog. Check it, cause there's also a remix from Sekreto and a mix by Zurita available for downloading! Go to the blog here. A Bailar!

Upcoming Soundway Releases: Ghana Special & Panama! 3

2009-10-13T01:24:00.005+02:00

The mighty Soundway label just released a nice collection of sounds from Guadelupe & Martinique called Tumbélé! “Biguine, afro & latin sounds from the French Caribbean, 1963-74”, check the Tumbelele mix by compiler Hugo Mendez here. The label's been pretty active lately (personally I can't wait to see the next epsisode in the Colombia! series, which they have been promising us for a while now) and November is gonna bring us some more exotic goodies (text from the soundway site):
Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds, Ghanaian Blues 1968 - 1981

Soundway Records step back into Africa with thirty-three original and previously un-reissued tracks from Ghana delivering a follow on of sorts from the hugely successful CD/LP Nigeria Special. Ghana Special comes as a double CD hardback case-bound book and 5LP vinyl box set. The CD features 44 pages of history, photographs and original record scans. Wow ..a 5lp box? This is serious. (release date november 16th)

Panama! 3: Calypso Panameno, Guajira Jazz & Cumbia Tropical on the Isthmus 1960-75

Volume 3 showcases more of the unique tropical music created in Panama in the fertile decades of the 1960s and ’70s. From bilingual calypsos to guajira jazz, from tropical guarachas to cumbia tamboreras, Panamanian musicians fearlessly combined and brilliantly executed styles that reflected their multicultural environment during a turbulent time in the young country’s history. This collection presents more of the golden age of Panamanian music and the music of the combos nacionales on rare recordings that have never been released outside the isthmus until now. (release date november 16th)

Tiki Masala Tribute: Indian Grooves mix

2009-10-11T23:12:00.004+02:00

This mix is a tribute to one of my favorite dishes in the whole wide world: Tiki Masala! If you don't know it already you should try it...meanwhile you can listen to this collection of eastern grooves, including big Indian artists like Ananda Shankar, Kalyanji Anandji and R.D. Burman, but also French genius Serge Gainsbourg and Ramsey Lewis with sitar. Most of the stuff is from late sixties till late seventies, with the exception of Anjali and the french guy called Paikan, who released a damn fine sitarfunk 12inch on Jazzman some time ago. If you dig this sound check out the Sitarbeat series, and the Bombay Connection compilations.

Kalyanji Anandji - Anjane mein
Sapan Jagmohan - Meri Aakhon Main
Ananda Shankar - Dancing Drums
Kalyanji Anandji - Theme From the Don
Paikan - Detective Pandit Rey
Ramsey Lewis - Jade East
Anandji – Pyar Zandagi
Sohail Rana - Soul Sitar
Biddu ft Manhar & Anand – Hum Tumhe Chate Hain
Dave Pike – Mathar
Serge Gainsbourg – Psychastenie
R.D. Burman – The Burning Train
Keith Kanga – Butterfly
Ananda Shankar – Streets of Calcutta
R.D. Burman - Kati Patang
Anjali – Stinging Sitars
Serge Gainsbourg – New Delire
Chitragupta – Hamara Adhikar

Ambient-mix: The Hum in your Room by PVC

2009-10-08T11:58:00.010+02:00

"The Hum in the Room" is the final part of the three-part mix dedicated to ... the hum in your room!

The buzz that you suddenly notice, that appears to have been there forever but unnoticed - until this moment. The sound that will be there forever from now. The hum that appears to come from the inside of your head, and that keeps changing when you turn your head or walk through the room. The noise that can irritate as well as fascinate.
Here at Lock it Down we are always interested in strange and new sounds, and thus we present to you this ambient collage, done by our friend Peter van Cooten, who has been working on ambient and experimental music for the NPS (Dutch National Broadcast) for years. Like myself, most of you probably will not be very familiar with with this style, and it takes a little while to get used to the sound. But once it captivates your mind, it will take you along on a mental trip, much like classical music or movie scores. Not a single beat is heard, but wicked things are definitely happening! Tracklist includes, among others, Ryoji Ikeda, Biosphere, Edgar Varese, Robert Henke, Kettel, Thomas Köner, Alan Howarth and the sound of a food mixer.

Listen to PVC's mix here.

MULATU ASTATKE RETROSPECTIVE

2009-10-07T14:35:00.003+02:00

On the heels of his extremely successful Inspiration Information collaboration with The Heliocentrics, Mulatu Astatke teams up with Strut once again for the first complete overview of his career, including many rare sides which have never before been compiled for world wide release.

Vibraphone and keyboard player, master arranger and bandleader, Mulatu Astatkeis one of the all time greats of Ethiopian music, and the creator of his own original music form, Ethio jazz. Through the acclaimed Ethiopiques album series and through featuring on the soundtrack to the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers, his music has belatedly reached a global audience and a new, younger generation of fans. Strut is now unleashing, for the first time anywhere, the definitive Mulatu career retrospective covering his landmark ‘60s and ‘70s recordings.

Mulatu is a true pioneer of African music. He was the first Ethiopian musician of his generation to travel extensively and to record abroad – he studied in the UK in Wales and at Trinity College Of Music in London, cutting his teeth on the buoyant London jazz scene of the early ‘60s. He became the first African student to attend Harvard and he lived and recorded in New York, developing a unique sound that fused Western jazz with traditional Ethiopian melodies. As Mulatu says, “it took a long time to get the balance, to let the colours and the feelings of the Ethiopian modes shine through.” Returning to "Swinging Addis" during the late ’60s, he became a pivotal figure, arranging for many of the country’s top vocalists and developing rich, dense textures in his own music during the final years of Selassie’s reign and the mid-‘70s rule of the Derg Communist military junta.

Tracing the progression of his Ethio jazz experiments with full access to all of the labels for whom he recorded, Mulatu Astatke: New York-Addis-London is the essential Mulatu. Covering his first recordings in the UK during 1965, his groundbreaking fusions for the small Worthy label in New York and his key ‘70s recordings back in Addis on Amha, Phillips and Axum, the album features comprehensive sleeve notes by Miles Cleret, boss of the excellent Soundway Records imprint, and rare, previously unseen photos from Mulatu’s personal archive.

Tracklist
1. ASIYO BELEMA (feat. Frank Holder)
2. MASCARAM SETABA (with Ethiopian Quintet)
3. I FARAM GAMI FARAM (with Ethiopian Quintet)
4. SOUL POWER (with Ethiopian Quintet)
5. GIRL FROM ADDIS ABABA (with Ethiopian Quintet)
6. SHAGU (Mulatu Astatke Quartet)
7. MULATU
8. DEWEL
9. NETSANET
10. YEKATIT
11. ENE ALANCHIE ALNOREM
12. YEGELLA TEZETA
13. YEKERMO SEW
14. TEZETA
15. EMNETE
16. YEKITIR TEZETA
17. LANCHI BIYE with Tilahoun Gessesse
18. FIKRATCHIN with Menelik Wossenatchew
19. EBO LALA with Seifu Yohannes
20. WUBIT with Muluken Melesse
21. KASALEFKUT HULU with Tilahoun Gessesse

The Gaslamp Killer - My Troubled Mind 10 inch

2009-10-07T12:27:00.011+02:00

If you're into freaky music and dj-ing you should have heard by now of the motherfuckin' Gaslampkiller. Coming out of LA, with lively djsets (check out the Sonar!), mixing up beats and dubstep with rock, funk, hiphop & psychedelica. He's been releasing some of his work on the net; It's a Rocky Road part 1 & 2, We Make it Good 05, Hell And The Lake Of Fire Are Waiting For You. and Mary Ann Hobbs BBC mix , and also did a splendid mix cd for the Finder's Keepers label, blending sounds from the label's first 20 releases. Oh, and he also loves his breaks.This august he released his first own production on a 10 inch: My Troubled Mind contains seven sketches of sound and gives a nice look into the man's troubled mind and his unashamed blending of musical styles. Check samples here.

If you're in the Netherlands, you are very lucky! Gaslampkiller is gonna play the Doornroosje venue (Nijmegen) on okt 31, together with Nosaj Thing. See ya there!

Funky Soul 45s Only mix

2009-10-04T20:19:00.008+02:00

This sunday, recovering from last night, I was browsing through my funk45 section and got inspired. And in case you were wondering...yes, these are all re-issues. Check the mix here....

Ernie & The Topnotes – Dap Walk (Fordom)
Soul Vibrations – The Dump (Vibrant)
Charles Spurling – Let Me Be a Steppin’ Soul (King)
Tony Alvon & The Belairs - Sexy Coffeepot (Atlantic)
Fire – Soul On Ice (Funk 45)
The Swinging Seven – Football (King)
Muco – Organize (Kaydee)
The Stovall Sisters – Hang on In There (Reprise)
Dawn and Sunset – Move in the Room (Luv N Haight)
The Chefs – Mr Machine (Funk 45)
The Gaturs – Cold Bear (Atco)
The Presidents – Which Way (Deluxe)
Charles Wright – You Gotta Know What you are doing (Warner)
The Third Guitar – Baby Don’t Cry (Funk 45)
L.A. Carnival – Color (Stones Throw)
The Diplomatics – Humbug (Lamp)
The Highlighters – Funky 16 Corners (Jazzman)
The Second Amendment Band – Backtalk (Funk 45)
Wayne Cochran - Chopper 70 (King)
Billy Ball & The Upsetters - Popcorn 69 (Apollo)
Ricky Calloway – Call It Right (Kaydee)
Latin Breed – Hard to Handle (Funk 45)
Robert Moore – Old Grandma (Deluxe)
The Blenders – Nothin But a Party (Tramp)
Inner Souls - Just Take your time (Funk 45)
Bad Medicine – Trespasser part 1 (Enyx)

Anikulapo 2012 mixtape

2009-10-01T11:54:00.011+02:00

Brothers & Sisters! The year 2012 is approaching rapidly and only little time is left for our human race. In the last years on earth as we know it, Anikulapo will gather as much sounds, in as much styles possible and serve them to you in groovy, chaotic, cinematic and no-holds-barred soundsystem mixtapes.

Click here if you understand..........

Classic Cumbia release: A Orillas Del Magdalena, Discos Fuentes 1955-1975

2009-09-25T23:50:00.008+02:00

Cumbia is growing stronger! Nevermind the hippest producers from Argentina, this is the classic cumbia sound of Colombia, presented to you by the Domino Sound label/shop out of New Orleans. Call and response wailing, percussionists that play a measure then disappear, backwards accordions and a persistent, loping bassline comprise some of the elements that make up the Cumbia. Born on the banks of the Magdalena River in coastal Colombia, this infectious music represents a marriage of African, Spanish, and Indigenous influences. Antonio Fuentes began recording Colombia's music in 1934, founding his country's first record label, Discos Fuentes. Crazy stuff, I absolutely love it. Listen to samples @ Juno.

Tracklisting: Los Corraleros de Majagual - Cumbia Campesina, Los Guacharacos - Baila Rosita, Conjunto Tipico Vallenato - Cumbia Cienaguera, Nafer Duran Y Su Conjunto - A Orillas del Magdalena, Banda Y Coros Campesinos de Repelon - Macondo, Esperma Y Ron - Los Guacharacos, Combo Los Galleros - Soledad, Andres Landero Y Su Conjunto - Cumbia en La India, Los Cumbiameros de Pacheco - Santo Domingo, Eliseo Herrera Y Su Conjunto - El Mangle, Los Gavilanes de la Costa - Los Gavilanes, Carlos Roman Y Su Conjunto - Cumbia Negra.

New Daptone Afrobeat release: Pax Nicholas And The Nettey Family - Na Teef Know De Road of Teef (1973)

2009-09-25T09:41:00.005+02:00

These are mighty times for lovers of funky Africa, as Daptone just released a lost afrobeat album by Fela Kuti's conga player and background singer. While playing and recording for Fela’s Africa 70 (he appeared on all of Fela’s releases between 1971 and 1978), Mr. Nicholas Addo-Nettey also always had his own thing going on the side. He released two solo LPs for the Tabansi Label with the Martin Brothers Band from Portharcort, Nigeria: Mind Your Own Business in 1971 and Na Teef Know The Road of Teef in 1973. The latter, made with Africa 70 musicians and singers, is heavy Afro-funk, recorded in Ginger Baker’s highly equipped Lagos studio, where many of Fela’s albums were recorded, as well. Obviously, Fela was not amused at all about these kinds of things, even less when he heard how strong the Na Teef… album was. Reportedly, he said, “Don’t you ever, EVER play it again!” And so it was. Despite being a killer record, Na Teef… remained undercover for more than 30 years. If you dig Fela, you are bound to love this stuff. This text & more info can be found @ the Daptone site.

Diggin' the Dusty Bins of Valencia & Barcelona Sep 2009

2009-09-23T23:48:00.006+02:00

Been having a fabulous time last two weeks in Valencia (thanx to Anna & Salva) and Barcelona. If you're around Valencia, be shure to check out the Oldies record shop. Lots of vinyl in all genres and very friendly staff with loads of musical knowledge. The store even made a few compilations for the Vampisoul Label. And yes, the mix again contains lots of Spanish oldies & rumbas, but also soul, sixties, afrobeat & funk, cumbia, samba, reggae and dub, finishing off with a nice raggajungle track....enjoy!

Manolo Escobar – Y Viva Espana (Belter 1973)
Conchita Velasquez - Una Chica Yeye (Belter 1965)
Robert Knight - Everlasting Love (Monument 1969)
Chacho – Cuidao (Odeon EMI 1970)
Los Corraleros de Mahajual – La Trombona (Discos Fuentes)
Maligna Five - Marie Thereze (Barclay 1976)
Superblack - Rambo we Rambo (Jammys 1986)
Little John - Over Me (Black Solidarity)
Los Chunguitos - Dame Veneno (Regal EMI 1975)
Dolores Vargas – Jamalacha (Belter 1970)
Argentina Coral - Ramona (Belter 1965)
Merry Clayton - Southern Man (Ode 1971)
Fela Kuti - Coffin for Head of State (Kalakuta 1979)
Antonio Carlos e Jocafi - Toro de Lagrimas (RCA 1973)
Alain Delon – Laetitia (HMV EMI 1967)
Tere de Oro - La Mosca (Marter 1972)
El Gitano Portugues - Lloro (Discophon 1972)
Los Amaya – Que Mala Suerte La Mia (Odeon EMI)
The Beltones – No More Heartaches (Trojan)
Tyrone Davis – Is it Something you Got (Brunswick 1975)
Los Chunguitos – Me La Lleve A La Era (Regal EMI 1975)
Dolores Vargas - Maria Lisi (Belter 1973)
James & Bobby Purify - Shake a Tail Feather (Stateside 1969)
Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 – Ye-me-le (A&M 1970)
Basque Dub Foundation – Slaving (Brixton 2005)
Terry Ganzie – Outlaw rmx (Chopstick)

Sublime Mix by Rewind Selector

2009-08-22T15:31:00.009+02:00

Got this one from our friend and Sublime-fan Krust of the Fuck Television community. Sublime started out as a punk band in Long Beach, California in 1988, later mixing in lots of reggae and other stuff. Sadly lead singer Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose in 1996, the bandmates continuing as Long Beach Dub Allstars. Reggae purist will dislike these guys from California, who mix a lot of punk, soul and hiphop in their white reggae grooves, but you gotta admit they know their foundation! The mix includes Supercat, Fishbone, Minor Threat, Public Enemy, and one of my personal favorites Half Pint. Not yet convinced? Check the tracklist of the mix Rewind Selector made: Sublime tunes mixed with their originals, some pretty known, other totally rare.
Download is splitted in 5 parts, check it here...

UK Soundsystem photos on Flickr

2009-08-22T13:22:00.005+02:00

Mr T encountered some nice pics and flyers from the UK Soundsystem scene on the Uncarved blog. Especially the ones of the eigthies (like this one featured here of Fat Man sound from Tottenham, Philip Lane Tottenham, 1984) are wonderfull. Check the link to Reggae Music Store's photostream on Flickr here.

Global Cimax Mix by DJ Tommi

2009-08-21T09:22:00.004+02:00

This weekend Dj Tommi will rock the Lowlands Festival 2009 (Netherlands) with his Global Climax party (check the Lima tent). However, you can also stay at home and get down to his Global Climax online mix: Worldmusic with a punkrockattitude and danceable as HELL!! Anything from Mexico to India and everything in between : Gypsy, Kumbia, Banghra all mixed UP!! Enjoy down here...

Cool Reggae & Dub 1975-1985

2009-08-12T23:08:00.008+02:00

This morning, for some reason, I decided to go early to the local market. There's a very friendly guy selling records and to my suprise he had a whole bunch of interesting stuff today. Normally you would't find any Joe Gibbs maxis for 1 euro but today I got lucky and managed to get two! And lots more reggae maxis from 1975-1985: sweet voices, cool dubs and splendid dj versions. I made a little mix of some of the newly acquired grooves, but beware, these are the extended versions!

Israel Vibration – The Same Song (Harvest 1978) produced by Tommy Cowan
Dennis Brown & Trinity – Let Me Love You/Uptown Girl (Joe Gibbs 1980) produced by Linval Thompson
Horace Andy & Tappa Zukie – Natty Dread a Weh She Want (Stars) produced by Tappa Zukie
Revolutionairies – Headache (Island 1978) Produced by Channel One
Gregory Isaacs & Ranking Barnabas – How Can I Change my Mind (GGs 1980) produced by Alvin Ranglin
Sugar Minott & Captain Sinbad – Hard Time Pressure (Sufferers Heights) produced by Sugar Minott
Junior Byles – Fade Away version (Joe Frasier) produced by Lloyd Campbell
Upsetters – Grumblin Dub (Island 1976) produced by Lee Perry
Gregory Isaacs – Wailing Rudy (African Museum) produced by Gregory Isaacs
Revolutionairies – Cardiac Arrest (Ballistic 1978) produced by JJ Hookim
Paragons, Ruddy Thomas & Trinity - Windy Day (Errol T 1979) produced by Joe Gibbs & Errol T
Yami Bolo – When a Mans in Love (Techniques) produced by Winston Riley
Freddie McGregor & Dennis Brown – Raggamuffin (Greensleeves 1985) produced by Gussie Clarke

Rumble in the Jungle: Soul Power documentary

2009-08-10T19:42:00.010+02:00

One of my all-time favourite documentaries is When We Were Kings (1996), co-created by Leon Gast, telling the story about the The Rumble in The Jungle, the epic 1974 meeting between George Foreman and Muhammed Ali in the Central African country of Congo (formerly known as Zaire). Even if you don't like boxing, surely you will appreciate Ali's charisma. And not the mention the music festival, which accompagnied the boxing event. A small part of this legendary festival (coproduced by Hugh Masekela) is already featured in When We Were Kings. However, Leon Gast recently released his new pic, called Soul Power, this time focussing solely on the musical events during Rumble In The Jungle. Appearing artist include James Brown, BB King, Celia Cruz and the Fania All-stars, Bill Withers, The Spinners, Sister Sledge and African superstars Miriam Makeba, Manu Dibango, Franco and Tabu Ley Rochereau. An amazing line up, and amazing footage of an event in which afro-american performers returned to the motherland, and celebrating it with their gift for music. If you enjoyed Woodstock and Wattstax you gotta dig this! Be sure to check out the trailer of Soul Power. Earlier, Leon Gast already created three terrific pieces of musical cinema: Our Latin Thing, Salsa the Movie and Celia Cruz and the Fania All-Stars in Africa (all re-issued on dvd by Vampisoul, but sadly already out of print).

Betty Davis lost album: Is It Love Or Desire?

2009-08-03T22:20:00.010+02:00

Recently the Light in the Attic label re-issued the first two Betty Davis albums Betty Davis (1973) and They Say I'm Different (1974), which feature some of the nastiest Hendrix-Sly Stone girlpower funk around. The third and equally funky album Nasty Girl is also about to be re-released, but to my suprise there also seems to exist a fourth album, called Is It Love Or Desire. Never released and never bootlegged! I've heard some of the recordings she did at the end of the seventies (released as Hanging out in Hollywood or Crashin from Passion), but didn't like it too much. However, Is This Love Or Desire stems from 1976, and was recorded right after Nasty Girl (Island, 1975) in a remote studio in Louisiana. Due to creative differences the Island label decided not to release the album, and the material stay on the shelves till now. Personally I really like all three albums, so I'm really looking forward to this release, which is said to be her most expressive. Both Nasty Gal and Is It Love Or Desire are scheduled for October 6th.

For more info check out The Stranger here.

New Reggae Releases on Pressure Sounds

2009-07-18T16:41:00.015+02:00

The mighty Pressure Sounds label strikes again with two upcoming reggae releases:

First up is Delroy Wilson's album Dub Plate Style (release date 8th August 2009), a collection of Delroy Wilson tunes from 1978 produced by Bunny Lee, but remixed by King Jammy at King Tubby's. Most of the songs you might have heard, but according to the people at Pressure Sounds, these Jammy mixes really make the difference...and I quote: A little rawer.... A little sparser....alittle heavier....and much, much deeper…
That does sound promising! For more info check here and here.

The next release is planned for Sept 19th, and is called Sound System International by King Tubby & The Dynamites. Early King Tubby dubs from tunes by The Dynamites, as produced by Clancy Eccles. Well, since I love the great King Tubby, I'm sure we'll not be disappointed by this set. For more info check here.

New reggae release: Queen Ifrica - Welcome To Montego Bay (VP)

2009-07-18T16:33:00.002+02:00

One of the top conscious female reggae stars of the moment, Queen Ifrica has released her second album (on cd and vinyl, although with a different tracklist) last month on VP records. Last years debut, called Fyah Mumma was already a strong album, including the big hit Below the Waist, and this new recording brings us more massive cultural reggae tunes. Born Ventrice Morgan (Daughter to Jamaican Legend Derrick Morgan), began her career in 1995 after shining at a local talent contest in her hometown of Montego Bay, Jamaica. This led to major stage performances in her country including the esteemed Reggae Sumfest as well as a union with Tony Rebel's Flames Crew in 1998. The new album, Welcome to Montego Bay features 13 songs (14 on vinyl), mixing spiritual anthems, lover's rock tunes and social commentaries. Including her hit tune about child molestation Daddy (produced by Kemar McGregor). Althoughy my lock it down-buddy CS really dislikes this new album, the tunes Don't Sign (Moviestar riddim, produced by Donovan Germain) and Keep it to Yourself (Secrets riddim, produced by Donovan Bennet) work pretty ok for me.......(But yeh..it doesn't get as good as on Fyah Mumma....)

Check her Myspace here for soundsamples.
Tracklist
01. T.T.P.N.C (cd only)
02. Montego Bay
03. Coconut Shell
04. Lioness On The Rise
05. Yad To The East
06. Far Away
07. Don't Sign
08. Daddy
09. Keep It To Yourself
10. Calling Africa
11. In My Dreams
12. Streets Are Bloody13. Daddy (Spanish Version) (CD only)14. Fyah Red ft Gentleman (LP only)15. Vibes ft Shaggy (LP only)16. Child Slavery (LP only)

SACRILEGE?

2009-07-14T23:58:00.010+02:00

You know the feeling when a plan, that looked so great and absolutely invincible on paper, is finally unleashed and set in motion only to come back as a huge disappointment and completely different than what was expected? Ofcourse you do, and so do I, but the other day I sadly experienced this emotion in the quickest way ever.

While checking a list of up and coming tunes, my eye immediately focussed on the name Nneka. Not only because it was a bit strange to see this Lock it Down and personal fave "new queen of soul" appear on a list of dubstep releases, also because the name was linked to Chase & Status, who, apart from also charting our fave list for many reasons, apparently have remixed her epic "Heartbeat" tune. Quite an exciting combination!

Or is it?
On paper the link-up seems like a match made in heaven. Nneka is doing very well on the soul 'n 'pop circuit and is succesfully touring the continent, spreading her positive message through songs that emerge from her ever growing songwriting talent. Chase & Status recently succesfully reinvented themselves by drifting away from their crushing raggajungle anthems, releasing hit after hit (with influences taken from both dubstep as well as rock and everything in between) and firmly establishing themselves as a "hype to watch and be cool with."

Unfortunately, as you might have expected from the introduction, the final result "isn't all that." No, let's be honest: it's horrible. And no one is to blame, really, because a tune like "Heartbeat" really can't be remixed without damaging it. It's one of those rare tunes that is complete. It's a finished product, just the way it is. Any alteration means damage. Sure, it doesn't help much that Chase 'n Status decided to give the tune a "rock feel" that completely robs the tune of its swing , funk and air. Topping it of are the corny synth parts and the screaming guitarsolo's that intersperse with Nneka's singing which are simply devastating to what was left of the tune. That said, I must say I do like Chase 'n' Status idea behind it. I'm always pro "thinking outside of the box" and that is exactly what Chase 'n Status did with this remix: they took a different approach. Come to think of it, that is what I always liked about them, really: you never know what to expect from these chaps. And let's face it, how can a collab by two faves ever turn out out any good? It seems impossible. Moreover, both parties can prove me wrong whenever they want to, since the song is doing its rounds succesfully on the dubplate circuit and is rapidly becoming a fave among both the bigger dj's as well as the ever growing horde of dubstep fans.

So was this remix really such a bad idea? No, it wasn't. I personally don't like the result and would rather listen to the original at any time and at any dance, but the tune does spin its rounds and gathers both Nneka and Chase 'n Status some more interest from both camps, which is always a good thing. Musically speaking, however, I'd have to say it wasn't worth the effort. I wonder if a remix done by Joker, 2000f or L.D would have made a better match. I think it would have...

Smartin’s Dubstep Anthem mix july 2009

2009-07-12T23:38:00.012+02:00

Somewhat hesitant, I present you a little dubstep mix I made last night with the stuff I got on vinyl. Of course, I’m certainly no expert, most records I got from my good friend Cold Sweat (Dub Infusions/Planet KL), and his skill & knowledge on the subject surpasses me easily. However, that (and my limited mixing abilities) shouldn’t stop me making a mix of music I like. So here it is, old tunes to most of you hipsters in the scene, but still sounding nice……...the classics never go out of style….….that’s what they say….

Caspa - Cockney Violin (Dub Police)
Caspa - Ohh R Ya (Dub Police)
Skream - Trapped in a Dark Bubble (Tectonic)
TC – Where’s My Money/Caspa Remix (D-Style)
Silkie – Cyber Dub (Disfigured Dubs)
Silkie – I Sed (Deep Medi)
Uncle Sam – Round The World Girls/Tes La Rok Mix (Souljazz)
Conquest – Forever (Dub Police)
Martyn – Broken ( Souljazz)
Tes La Rok – Livin Fire (Dub Police)
Darqwan – Maximum Respect (Planet Mu)
Unitz – The Drop (Dub Police)
Rusko - Jehova (Dub Police)
Sub Scape – Bad Man (Dub Police)
The Others – Africa (Dub Police)
Caspa – Jeffrey and Bungle (Dub Police)
The Others – Hear This Style (Boka)
Digital Mysticz – Thief in da Night (Souljazz)

Tropical Latin Soundway Mix by Beto

2009-07-11T12:11:00.006+02:00

Soundway has been one of our favourite labels, always uncovering hidden gems in dusty and hot places. The Colombia and Panama 1 & 2 compilations were done by Roberto Gyemant, and rank among my favourite re-issues of the last years. Roberto, or Beto, also made a nice little 40 min. mix of his stuff, now available for listening on the Soundway website. Includes tunes from the former mentioned collections, as well as other South American rarities.

Check the tropical sounds here.

New Vampisoul releases: Sensacional Soul Vol 2 and La Nueva Banda De Santisteban

2009-07-10T23:06:00.009+02:00

Various - Sensacional Soul Vol 2
32 groovy Spanish soul & funk stompers from 1965-1972! Soul turned Spanish pop into the fuel that ignited the dance floors and parties of Spain. Spanish soul became hugely popular, and during the second half of the 60s was the dominant music genre in a country still under Franco’s dictatorship. Apart from artists that imitated the purest sounds from the US, others took risks and tried subgenres such as progressive R&B, freakbeat soul, sunshine soul or psych-pop with soulish influences. This new volume offers a fantastic selection of all of them, including tracks by hit acts such as Los Bravos, Los Pekenikes, Manolo y Ramón (aka Dúo Dinámico) and obscure bands such as Jae’s Soul and Conjunto Brillant’s.
Tracklist: Hey, Hey Bunny (Los Gatos Negros), Sintonía En Soul (Jae's Soul), Bugulú (Los Albas), Las Bellas Ilusiones (Conjunto Brillant's), Abandonado (Karlo Y Su Conjunto), Tú Lo Tienes, Mi Amor (Los Go-Go), Soul 2 (Chus Martínez), Higher & Higher (Ossie Lane),Rudy’s In Love (Los Bravos), Perdóname (Las 4 Monedas), El Saltamontes (Los Roberts), La Vida Es Un Juego De Azar (Gino), Limón Y Sal (La Nueva Banda De Santisteban), Donkey (Henry C Martin), Stone Free (Los Brisks), Camino Cortado (Los Roller), El Sol Es Una Droga (Los Kifers), Lo Que Puede Ocurrir Con El Café (Henry), No, No, No (Los Pops), La Máquina Infernal (Lone Star), I Don’t Know What To Do (Conexión), I’m Walkin´ High (Evolution), Para Siempre (Wagon), Polución (Los Pekenikes), (Los Ros), Lágrimas, Sonrisas (Manolo Y Ramón), Darkness (Joe Cogra Group), Pilé Beat (Ritmo Pilé), Boom Boom (Peter Soto), East Side Story (Los Talismanes), El Fuego (Los 5 Diablos), Es Mejor Dejarlo Como Está (Alex Y Los Findes).

La Nueva Banda De Santisteban - Sabor a Fresa
Reissue of this 1971 classic. An exotic cocktail of jazz, Brazilian music, flamenco influences and spaghetti-western soundtracks. Born in Madrid in 1943, raised on copla and popular Spanish song genres, with a solid classic formation, initiated in jazz and in love with Brazilian music, Alfonso Santisteban is, among many things, different. He was a session musician and composer for hire from the early 60s for stars of flamenco pop, author of countless soundtracks, many of them patchy, some remarkable. Santisteban also wrote innumerable melodies for an incipient TVE (Spain’s public TV broadcaster) hungry for a liberal modernity. He decided to pay this pleasant toll in order to gain moments of total creative freedom. The Sabor a Fresa album (Belter, 1971) is re-released by Vampisoul under its original title for the first time, with the addition of an extra track from an ultra-rare 45 of the Enseñar a un Sinvergüenza soundtrack.
Tracklist: Sabor A Fresa, Brincadeira, Zorongo, Persecución, The Suitcase, Manías De María, No Te Acuerdas De Mí, Tierra Mojada, Un Día De Lluvia, Nuestro Ayer, Vuelve A Tu Ciudad, Limón Y Sal, Soledad (Bonus track not on original LP).

Text ripped from the Vampisoul website...check it here for more info.

DJ Cliffy - Black Rio 2 Promo Mix

2009-07-10T10:50:00.007+02:00

Summer is finally upon us! And while the BBQ fumes from the holiday weekend may be dying down, one can never have enough tunes to serve as the soundtrack for outdoor summer fun. With Black Rio 2, DJ Cliffy digs deep into his crates of samba, soul, funk and more to bring you a selection of overlooked Brazilian jams that will be sure conjure images of a tropical setting no matter where you are. For a taste of the flavor, check out this half hour mix featuring tracks from the compilation. To top it off you can also head over to http://www.blackrio-2.com/ to download the track "Our Sound" by Guimaraes E O Grupo Som Sagrado. Black Rio 2 is out now on Strut.

Tracklist

Sonia Santos – Poema Ritmico Do Malandro
Emilio Santiago – Bananeira
Pete Dunaway – Supermarket
Os Diagonais – Nao Vou Chorar
Avan Samba – Ibere
Zeca Do Trombone E Roberta Sax – Coluna Do Meio
Balanca Pova – Novo Dia
Renata Lu – Faz Tanta Tempo
Bebeto – Princesa Negra De Angola
Cry Babies – It’s My Thing
Guimaraes E O Grupo Som Sagrado – Our Sound

Download here or here

Soulfull Folk: Terry Callier on Cadet 1972-1973

2009-07-09T12:07:00.023+02:00

Chicago-born Terry Callier (may 24th, 1945) was a childhood friend of Curtis Mayfield and recorded his first album in 1963. However, this debut for the Prestige label, The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier, was not released untill 1968 because supposedly the producer (including the master tapes) disappeared for a few years, staying in an Indian Yaki reservation. At the beginning of the seventies, Callier signed with Cadet (a sublabel of the Chess powerhouse) and released three stunning albums which mixed soul, folk and jazz with Chess producer Charles Stepney's tastefull orchestration. Stephey already produced the experimental sound of The Rotary Connection and would later have massive succes with Earth, Wind and Fire. Guitar hero Phil Upchurch plays on all three Callier recordings and the overal sound of the albums is deeply melancolic but sweetly transcendental. This is not music you listen while doing something else, for the poetic truth and beauty of this work reveals itself only to the attentive listeners. Imagine Marvin Gaye meeting up with Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley and there you go........

Terry Callier's first album for Cadet, Occasional Rain was released in 1972. All originals, including the classic Ordinary Joe. Backing vocals by Minnie Ripperton.

Tracklist: Segue #1 - Go Ahead On, Ordinary Joe, Golden Circle, Segue #5 - Go Head On, Trance on Sedgewick Street, Do You Finally Need a Friend , Segue #4 - Go Head On, Sweet Edie-D, Occasional Rain, Segue #2 - Go Head On, Blues for Marcus, Lean on Me, Last Segue - Go Head On

Terry's second album, What Colour is Love, was released on Cadet in 1972. Again all original songs, including You're Goin' Miss Your Candyman, as sampled by Urban Species in Listen. Also one of my all-time favourite album covers ever.

Tracklist: Dancing Girl, What Color Is Love, You Goin' Miss Your Candyman, Just As Long As We're In Love, Ho Tsing Mee (A Song Of The Sun), I'd Rather Be With You, You Don't Care.

Terry Callier's final and most soulfull 1973 album for Cadet, called I Just Can't Help Myself. Sounding like a stripped-down Marvin Gaye, including a splendid version of Duke Ellington's Satin Doll and the John Coltrane tribute Can't Catch The Trane (together with Alley-Wind Song already recorded in 1969).

Tracklist: (I Just Can't Help Myself) I Don't Want Nobody Else, Brown-Eyed-Lady, Gotta Get Closer To You, Satin Doll, Until Tomorrow, Alley-Wind Song, Can't Catch The Trane, Bowlin' Green.

Terry Callier continued to record and release records till 1982, when he took over resposibility of raising his 12 year old daughter and started working as a computer programmer at Chicago University. Musically dormant during most of the eighties, he was rediscovered in the nineties and started releasing albums again. His latest effort, Hidden Conversations, was just released on the Mr Bongo label.

Joe Gibbs Early Dub Classic: Dub Serial 1973

2009-06-17T14:59:00.016+02:00

Greensleeves is re-releasing the first and long lost dub set by one of our alltime favourite producers Joe Gibbs. Originally issued circa 1973 alongside other classic early dub sets including Lee Perry’s Black Board Jungle and Rhythm Shower, Herman Chin-Loy's Aquarius Dub, Randy's Java Dub (mixed by Errol Thompson), Prince Buster’s The Message Dubwise and others. Virtually unheard since that time, it’s a dubhead’s dream come true, with early raw drum and bass cuts to Gibbs’s cut to Satta Massagana, Love Me Girl, Money In My Pocket and the killer cut to He Prayed used by Big Youth for his Foreman Vs Frasier. Spare on the effects, just a bit of echo and reverb and a couple of vicious tape rewinds. If you dig Joe's African Dub chapters, you'll need this album too. Dub Serial can also be found on cd in the boxset Evolution Of Dub Vol.1, also on Greensleeves.

Side One:
1. Satta Amassa Gana Version
2. More Dub Version
3. More Dub Version Two
4. Love Me Girl Version
5. Turn Back The Hands Of Time Version
6. Money In My Pocket Version
Side Two:
1. Rainy Night In Georgia Version
2. God Bless The Children Version
3. Love Ja Ja Children Version
4. Without Love Version
5. Be The One Version
6. He Prayed Version

Sitarfunk from France: Paikan on Jazzman

2009-06-17T10:07:00.004+02:00

Lock it Down has always been a big fan of Sitarfunk, especially if it has the seventies sound to it. Ananda Shankar (nephew to the famous Ravi Shankar) made some incredible recordings in this genre, but nowadays the genre is kept alive from outta France (which isn't that weird, since Serge Gainsbourg already was experimenting with this sound at the end of the sixties). A debut release from a new French talent with an ear for Indian soundtracks and funky grooves. But there’s no wishy washy Bollywood nonsense here, this is the real deal - three slamming pieces of hardcore sitar funk! Toulouse-based sitar maestro Païkan has been on a musical journey ever since he entered the conservatory at the precocious age of 5 to study violin, singing and music theory. Since the end of his formal studies, his experiments and collaborations have touched pretty much every far-reaching corner of the popular music underground. More recently Païkan began to lend his mastery of the Sitar to more a acoustic-led funk and jazz sound, which is where we find him here on his debut release. As you know, our area of speciality is in finding and reissuing the lost and forgotten treasures of yesteryear, so it takes something pretty unique to pique our attentions away from that mission. Put simply: any new material has to stand up to and not feel out of place with the quality of those cherished original, vintage recordings. It should also stand alone as a piece of forward thinking music, not be mere retro-tribute fodder. Those are our guidelines, and we definitely believe that Païkan's three track 12" ticks all those boxes - and then some! Païkan's sound could be described as a four-way meeting of the minds between Shankar, Schifrin, Kuti and Hendrix. Take a listen to the lead track Dancefloor Fight and see for yourself. With the slinky, heavy bottomed Detective Pandit Rey and the sneakily laid back Afro frenzy of Afro On The Rocks making up the rest of the E.P. this is the best Sitarfunk we've heard in a long time..

A1 Dancefloor Fight
B1 Detective Pandit Rey
B2 Afro on the Rocks

Go here for soundsamples~......

New Daptone release: The Budos Band EP

2009-06-17T09:42:00.012+02:00

Here at Lock It Down we love the Daptone label and are anxious to get their next release: From the vaults of Daptone Records, comes a collection of 6 unreleased tracks from the infamous Budos Band. Recorded after the Budos Band I sessions but before those for the second album, this EP is a fascinating glimpse into the group's evolution as musicians and recording artists. Listeners may be familiar with two songs previously released and universally recognized as “Budos classics.” The Proposition, a hit single released on 7-inch by Daptone Records, incorporates the style now known worldwide as Budos swing responsible for drawing so many a listener onto the sweaty dancefloor. Mas O Menos, included on the band's smash hit album The Budos Band II, exemplifies the group's feel for soul with its infectious bass, tightly intertwined guitar and organand soaring horns. Smoke Gets In, created on the anniversary of the six hundred sixty-sixth rotation of the Budonian lunar calendar, finds the band returning to its dusty roots. It is bothsonically and literally other-worldly. The psycho-tropic venom found on the Budos Band II may have originated in this very session. Is this actually happening or areyour ears melting? Named for the goddess said to have bestowed powers upon the knights of old Budonia, Ephra incorporates rollicking guitars, juxtaposed with haunting hornsand pervasive highlife rhythms. The existence of such complexity within a seemingly simple tune is the truest metaphor for the Budonian knight himself. Nobody's Bulletproof references the ever-evolving relationship of the Budos Band with their ancestors and predecessors. The stabbing horns and break-neck percussivepace hearken back to the band's Afrobeat roots. The near-militaristic cadence is a constant reminder that no one is safe from the scorpion's sting. As the greaterwarrior has said, “The sword cometh and hath not yet purged the depths of thine soul.”The Budos Band EP is a must have for Budos and Daptone fans alike. It stands as a vital account of the band's movement between musical styles and records a singular moment in the group's existence. It will indeed stand the test of time and remain a bedrock of Budos lore. If you're in the Netherlands don't forget to check them out live at the Supernatural Funky Festival 2009, on june 27th.

UPDATE: oh shit the entire Budos Band european tour is CANCELLED!

click on tracks for samples!
1. Hidden Hand
2. Mas O Menos
3. The Proposition
4. Ephra
5. Nobody's Bulletproof
6. Smoke Gets In...

New Pressure Sounds release: Treasure Isle's Pleasure Dub 1974

2009-06-17T09:29:00.014+02:00

The folks at Pressure Sounds drop another dub bomb, check out this classic set! Duke Reid died from cancer in 1974 and his nephew, Errol Brown, who had been a junior engineer at Treasure Isle and who would go on to become one of the key engineers at Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Studio, took over the studio controls. He mixed three dub albums at Treasure Isle that dressed down and dubbed up some of the best of the Bond Street catalogue. Snatches of the original vocals were woven in and out of mixes that sound as fresh and as vital today as they did when they were first released both in their original sixties incarnations and their seventies counteractions. Treasure Dub Volume One and Treasure Dub Volume Two have been available in various incarnations ever since. However, Pleasure Dub, the best of the set featuring Errol Brown's cuts to rock steady classics such as The Right Track by Phyllis Dillon, The Tide Is High and Riding On A High & Windy Way from The Paragons and Things You Say You Love by The Jamaicans has never been re-pressed since its initial release. In addition to the incredible music, re-mastered to the usual exacting standards, Pressure Sounds have retained the original artwork for the front cover and added an array of fabulous Treasure Isle photographs and graphics assembled alongside detailed sleeve notes that place the music in its proper context. This exciting release, takes you straight to the real roots of the music back to Bond Street and those very first versions.

1.Tracking Dub
2.Love Dub
3.Dub With Strings
4.Lift Off
5.Ride De Dub
6.Rema Skank
7.Bond Street Rock
8.Many Questions
9.The Attorney
10.Silver Hour
11.Twilight Rock
12.Dreads Leaving Babylon
13.Side Walk Doctor CD only
14.I Shave The Barber CD only
15.Barbering CD only
16.Seven Eleven (7-11) CD only
17.I See Your Face Version CD only
18.Scrubit (featuring Lizzy) CD only

Thursday june 18: El Hijo de la Cumbia @ OT301 Amsterdam

2009-06-16T12:40:00.006+02:00

Thursday june 18 there will be a special MAXIMA cumbia night at the OT301, oye que super!!! with very special guest straight outta Argentina: El Hijo de la Cumbia (son of the cumbia). Just 24 years of age, this talented producer comes to Amsterdam for the first time ever!

El Hijo de la Cumbia aka Emilliano Gomez hails from the San Martin area of Buenos Aires and started his musical career in 1996. From that moment on, he took part in several Argentine Cumbia music bands. In 2000, he started listening to other musical genres originating in ghettos from all across the world, such as Reggae, Dancehall, Hip Hop, Jazz, Dub, etc. Very much influenced by Colombian Cumbia music, he then decided to experiment by mixing Colombian rhythms with African ones and new styles. Known as a Sonidero producer for Mexican and American bands, he has worked in the most important Mexican and US music scenes. There, he made his remixes which were quite peculiar back in the day, with a clear inclination towards dub. Also playing is DJ Saxixa (Paises Bajos, Worm), fresh from the porteno city of Rotterdam and the creative force behind WORM. He will spice up the night with his special record collection from allover South America. Expect old & new cumbia’s from Paraguay, Argentinia, Colombia, Peru and beyond…. and of course our usual hosts the Rebel Up! DJ’s (FR/BE), during the night our faithfull global duo crew will add greasy and spicy sounds for a mishmash of cumbia and dubby latino spheres.
Starts early at 21:00 and will go on till 1am, perhaps a bit longer if you can keep the heat up! El Hijo is expected to play around 23:30…OT301, Overtoom 301 (tram 1, stop at JP Heijestraat)doors open; 21:00fee; 6 euro

Barcelona Calling: Rumba Catalan by Que Pum Que Pam

2009-06-13T14:15:00.017+02:00

It's no secret that Barcelona, an incredible meltingpot of different musical styles, is one of my favourite places in the whole wide world. However, the original sound of Barcelona is their Rumba Catalan, invented by the gypsies in the sixties, and made famous by Peret (or lesser known gods such as El Gitano Portugués) in the seventies. While most bands from Barca mix up all kinds of sounds into a mestizo cocktail (inspired by godfather Manu and his Mano Negra), there are some bands still playing the original pure Catalan Rumba. And the here featured Que Pum Que Pam is one of them....

Que Pum Que Pam is a six-piece rumba band, already playing together for several years, consists of: Alex Gallego “El capullo de Gramanet", Eduardo “Sepia del Besós”, Letizia Di Liberto “La calamara”, Julia Fritz, Xabier “el patriarca” Monreal and La Rubia Montoya. Last year they released their Garrulator: Vamonos Platanos, an ep with six groovy oldskool rumbas.

Tracklist:
1. - R.A.P.
2. - Maria
3. - Arrinconamela
4. - Brigante
5. - El Arte Del Pobre
6. - La Rumba de todas Partes

Que Pum kindly donated the track Arrinconamela to Lock It Down. Click down here te check it

They also made a videoclip of their El Arte Del Pobre tune, check it on Youtube here.

more info @
http://quepumquepam.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/rumbaquepumquepam

Cumbia mix by DJ Tommi

2009-06-13T01:49:00.020+02:00

Local hero DJ Tommi is famous for his Balkan Beatz parties all over the Netherlands, but he's also knee deep into mestizo and cumbia. Cumbia was invented in coastal Colombia, nowadays it is mixed with all kinds of other styles from other countries, creating dancefloor-proof riddims. Listen to Tommi's cumbiamix and find out yourself why cumbia's gonna be hot this summer! Also includes my personal fav El Hijo de La Cumbia, watch out for this sound! Big Up to Tommi for sharing this mix with us!

01. Los Mirlos – Cumbia de los Pajaritos
02. Calle13 – Cumbia de los Abburdidos
03. Don Omar – Cae la Noche (Kassanova Rmx)
04. El Hijo de la Cumbia – Para Bailar (Alika Rmx)
05. Salsa Celtica – Cumbia Celtica
06. Grupo Fantasma – Borracho
07. Bomba Estereo – Fuego
08. Mala Vita – DF
09. Severina – Ljute Cigare
10. Rodolfo y sy Tipica – La Colegia
11. Celso Pina – Cumbia Poder
12. Conjunto Tipico Contreras – Cumbia Sampoesana
13. RossyWar – TechnoCumbia del Oeste
14. El Gran Silenco – CumbiaMuffin’

Enjoy & Dance: Reggae Mixtape LuisMy Selekta outta Ceuta (Africa/Spain)

2009-06-07T23:04:00.003+02:00

Our friend LuisMy Selekta aka Lone Warrior from Afrikan Town Sound outta Ceuta (see here for pics of their Utrecht gig some time ago) made a nice mix of new roots & dancehall. Click here to download! For more info contact luismibong@hotmail.com.

Tracklist:

01. Luciano - What are we gonna do?
02. Michael Rose - Time Bomb
03. Alborosie - Sound killa
04. Everton Blender - Emergency love
05. Jah Mason - Shed no tears
06. Collie Buddz - Tomorrow is another day (RMX)
07. Lt. Stitchie - Real life story (RMX)
08. Naptali, Luton Fyah & Arafat - More love
09. Ginjah - Love music
10. Geoffrey Star & Wildlife - Free up your mind
11. Million Stylez & ill Inspecta - Revolution music
12. Nitty Gritty - Ready done
13. Yami Bolo - Ethiopian children
14. Top Cat - Girl of my dreams
15. Burro Banton - No problem
16. Burro Banton - Sort out yourself
17. Capleton - Get the hell out
18. Million Stylez - I-grade
19. Ward21 - Walla walla
20. Dr. Evil - Huslin
21. Collie Buddz - Rise it
22. Elephant Man - Bare as she dare
23. Mr. Pepper - She keep on
24. Tami Chynn - Rudeboy
25. Sean Paul - Pick it up and drop it
26. Gentleman - Jah guide the city (RMX)
27. Alborosie - Police (RMX)

Version Station Reggae Mix by BEN

2009-06-07T19:00:00.007+02:00

Our friend BEN from France made a nice oldskool reggae mix for us, called VERSION STATION, 37 minutes filled with dj versions of popular reggae classics. So wake the town and tell the people to click down here....................

U Roy - Chalice in the Pale
Lizzy - The Right Song
Charlie Ace - Shock & Shake
Dave Barker - Wet version
Big Youth - Moving Version
U Roy - Festival Wise
Dr Alimentado - Chant to Jah
Junior Byles - Beat Down Babylon
Winston Williams - Dj's Choice
Nicky & Cat Campbell - Hammering Version
Dennis Alcapone - Musical Liquidator
Philip Samuels - Hot Stick Version
I Roy - Thinking Cap
Charlie Chaplin - Chalice

Panama! 2 – Latin Sounds, Cumbia Tropical & Calypso Funk on the Isthmus 1967-77

2009-05-30T15:06:00.012+02:00

The people from Soundway are finally back! As expected with another high quality compilation: Volume 2 showcases more of the unique tropical music created in Panama in the fertile decades of the 1960s and ’70s. The thin, tropical bridge that connects North and South America, Panama is home to three million culturally diverse people, and its’ music is a soulful blend of Latin American, Caribbean, European and Indigenous forms. From Calypso Funk to Típico Soul, from hard Descargas to rustic Cumbia-related styles, Panamanian musicians fearlessly combined and brilliantly executed styles that reflected their multi-cultural environment during a turbulent time in the young country’s history. This collection presents more of the golden age of Panamanian music and the music of the Combos Nacionales on rare recordings that have never been released outside the Isthmus until now. See here for their first Panama comp. Check also the Soundway blog here. For soundsamples go here.
On Vinyl & CD, Release date: 01 June 2009
Track list:
La Murga De Panama – Papi Brandao y Su Conjunto Aires Tablenos
Tamborito Swing – Los Silvertones
Flora – Maximo Rodriguez y Sus Estrellas Panameñas
Decidete Mi Amor – Papi Brandao y Sus Ejecutivos
Te Toca Tocar La Tumba – Skorpio
Descarga Superior – Los Superiores
No Llores Porque Me Voy – Idamerica Ruiz con Osvaldo Ayala
Mi Bella Panama – Los Revolucionarios (Soul Revolution)
Dreams (edit) – The Duncan Brothers
Ain’t No Sunshine – The Soul Fantastics
Ese Muerto No Lo Cargo Yo – The Exciters
La Confianza – Meñique El Panameño con Bush y Los Magnificos
Borombon – Camilo Azuquita
Jazzy – Los Papacitos
La Escoba – Alfredo y Su Salsa Montañera
Juck Juck Pt.1 – Sir Jablonsky
Love Letters – Lord Cobra y Los Hnos. Duncan
Ceferino En Salsa – Ceferino Nieto
Si La Vez – Ormelis Cortez con Su Conjunto Viva Guararé
Piculina – Chilo Pitty

Funky Brazil on Strut records: Black Rio 2

2009-05-30T13:31:00.007+02:00

Back in 2002, Strut released ‘Black Rio’ compiled by London DJ Cliffy, a snapshot of the ‘70s Black Rio soul and funk movement in Brazil. In March, Strut release the second volume inthe series, delving deeper into the vaults to sample some of the lesser known gems emerging from the Carnival capital during the era.Whilst Tropicalia had given Brazil’s musicians and songwriters a powerful political voice during the ‘60s, the Black Rio movement had to battle the odds – black soul was perceived as not being authentically Brazilian and the country was under the rule of General Emilio Garrastazu Medici’s oppressive dictatorship which effectively suffocated cultural expression between 1969 and 1974. Still, the movement took hold as disenchanted black Brazilian youth mirrored the struggles of their contemporaries in the US with their own potent brew of samba, soul and funk. Black Rio parties attracted thousands, bands including Banda Black Rio and Uniao Black were created from the scene and music figureheads like Jorge Ben began exploring more dense, Afro directions on albums including ‘Africa Brasil’. While Black Rio Vol. 1 brought together pioneers of the movement like Tim Maia and Gerson King Combo, Volume 2 digs deeper still, exploring more of the key artists and many of the short-lived bands and smaller labels of the time. Highlights include the dynamite funk / samba jam ‘Faz Tanta Tempo’ by Renata Lu, a great funky cover of Gilberto Gil’s ‘Bananeira’ by Emilio Santiago and a rare slice of breezy soul, ‘Supermarket’, by Pete Dunaway aka Paulistano, one of a group of artists giving themselves a Western-sounding name at the time.The album is compiled and annotated again by leading Brazilian music DJ Cliffy, the man behind London club night Batmacumba. the longest running Brazilian club night in England, now enjoying a bi-monthly residency at London’s Notting Hill Arts Club.
Release date on cd, lp and download: june 22nd. For more info check: http://www.blackrio-2.com/

ORIS JAY :: THRILLAZ NO FILLAZ vol 1

2009-05-22T07:47:00.007+02:00

One of the godfathers of the currently blooming dubstep scene just released a new mix which he dubbed "Thrillaz...No Fillaz." Is Oris Jay boasting? No he isn't, believe me: the title is just right...

ORIS JAY :: THRILLAZ NO FILLAZ vol 1

1. DQ1 - 4Real
2. LD & Benga - Yes Yes
3. Mala - Eyez
4. Skream - Metal Mouth More Bass
5. DJ Kutz & Benga - I’ll Kut Ya
6. Joker - Do It!
7. Walsh & N Type - Fuze
8. Benga & Walsh - Addicts
9. Caspa - Riot Powder
10. Benga - Crackstep
11. Distance & Cyrus - Violate
12. Amit - White Trash (Darqwan Mix)
13. Benga - Buzzin
14. Dead Prez - Hip Hop (Instrumental)
15. Tes La Rok Ft: Uncle Sam - Round The Way Girls
16. Sukh Knight - Choli
17. Chase & Status - Eastern Jam VIP
18. Benga - Why Is Everything In Mono
19. Suspicious Stench - Masterblaster VIP
20. Proxy - Raven
21. 30Hz - Rise Up (DJ Pinch Remix)
22. Caspa - Low Blow
23. DJ Pinch - Jelly Bean

> Download here <

http://www.orisjay.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/orisjay
http://www.myspace.com/darqwan

DIGGIN' THE DUSTY BINS OF BARCELONA april 2009

2009-05-05T17:29:00.016+02:00

Just got back from Barceloka and made a messep up mix from the stuff I found in my favourite recordshops. Be sure to visit Discos Edison (on Riera Baixa), lots of old and interesting vinyl at good prices, Rumba legend Chacho tends to drop by in the shop and they even smoke ganja behind the counter during opening hours. I love this store. Just next to it is Wha Wha, the most overpriced place I know of, but the reason you'll have drop in is their re-issue of Rabbit Rumba, an incredible hard-to-find funky organ rumba record (check the Caramelos track). For all things reggae, check Hot Shots, near the Post Office. Obviously the mix contains lots of old spanish sounds: Rumba from Barcelona (including a rare instrumental track by Peret), crazy Spanish cover versions (including my most hated Beatles'song Yellow Submarine) and Flamenco mixed with pop, rock and jazz. A little bit of Dutch jazzploitation (Jerry van Rooyen), contemporary but authentic-sounding skinhead reggae from Barcelona (Flight 404), some funky Atlantic Soul by Arthur Conley and Wilson Pickett, also salsa from New York (Celia Cruz) and Barcelona (Orquestra Platéria), samba and classic Jobim & Gilberto bossanova. Brazilian skafunk from Funk Como Le Gusta and ending with some contemporary roots reggae from Jamaica and Italy, and even some Jungle on the Chopstick label. We don't stick to one style.....Hope You Like it!
check it here:

Alfredo Domenech – Good Vibrations (LaVoz De Su Amo 1967)
Marjua Garrido – Guantanamera (Movieplay 197?)
Los Amaya – Caramelos (EMI 196?)
Rabbit Rumba – Caramelos (? 1972)
Jerry Van Rooyen – Pin Stripes and Machineguns (? 196?)
Flight 404 – Turbulence (Liquidator 2008)
Roberto Torres - Caballo Viejo (Guajiro 1981)
Peret – Caliente (Ariola 1975)
Flamenco – Corcho con Corcho (Ariola 1972)
Las Grecas - Te Estoy Amando Locamente (CBS 1973)
Dolores Vargas – La Hawaiana (Belter 1972)
Arthur Conley – Funky Street (Atlantic 1968)
Wilson Pickett – A Man And a Half (Atlantic 1968)
Peret – Chavi (Ariola 1972)
Amina – Diki Diki (Hispavox 1979)
Amina – Submarino Amarillo (Hispavox 1967)
Los Macarenos – Anabella (Movieplay 1974)
Ricao – Angelitos Negros (Kalipso 1990)
Orquestra Platéria -Pedro Navaja (Ariola 1980)
Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco – Cucala (Vaya 1975)
Zeca Pagodinho – S.P.C. (? 1982)
João Gilberto & Tom Jobim – Corcovado (EMI Odeon 1960)
Funk Como Le Gusta – Zambação (ST2 2001)
Ethiopians – The Whip (Luv Messenger 2009)
Admiral Tibet – Never Stop Trying (Luv Messenger 2009)
Junior Kelly – Same Ways (Soul Vybz 2006)
Killacat – Bun Dem (Macro Beats 2008)
Jah Mason – Soundboy Gone Jungle Remix (Chopstick 2008)

Afrofunk Junks Beware: Essential Releases Coming Up!

2009-05-05T13:40:00.023+02:00

Recentley Academy Annex already treated us with the re-issue of the Nigerian highschool band Ofege, now 2 other afrofunk gems are coming up mid-late june.
SJOB Movement - A Move In The Right Direction
Extreme Afro-Funk-Rock rarity. Aside from a few scattered blog entries, we’ve never seen this one given the attention it deserves. One track from their second LP was included on Soundway’s Nigeria Disco Funk Special .
Mebusas Volume 1 - Blood Brothers
Yet another Nigerian rarity, this Mebusas LP gets its first ever reissue. Best known for their cut “Son of Mr Bulldog” which was made available on the Soundway's Afro Baby comp.

The Analog Africa label already provided us with several beautifull releases, their latest compilation African Scream Contest really hit the funky spot. The upcoming fifth collection focuses on Benin.
Various - Legends of Benin
Legens of Benin contains super rare and highly danceble masterpieces recorded between 1969 and 1981 by four legendary composers from Benin, Antoine Dougbe, El Rego, Honore Avolonto and Gnonnas Pedro, each one of them with their own distinct sound. The compilation comes with a 40 page full colour booklet with ultra rare pictures and biographies. Compiled by Samy Ben Redjeb, and of course all tracks fully licensed, release May 15th!
tracklist:
1. Dadje Von O Von Non - Gnonnas Pedro LISTEN HERE
2. Feeling You Got - El Rego et Ses Commandos LISTEN HERE
3. Honton Soukpo Gnon - Antoine Dougbé LISTEN HERE
4. E Nan Mian Nuku - El Rego et Ses Commandos LISTEN HERE
5. Tin Lin Non - H. Avolonto & Orchestre Poly-Rythmo LISTEN HERE
6. Okpo Videa Bassouo - Gnonnas Pedro et Ses Panchos LISTEN HERE
7. Ya Mi Ton Gbo - A. Dougbe & Orch. Poly-Rythmo LISTEN HERE
8. Nou Akuenon Hwlin Me Sin Koussio - Antoine Dougbé LISTEN HERE
9. Djobime - El Rego et Ses Commandos LISTEN HERE
10. Na Mi Do Gbé Hué Nu - Honoré Avolonto LISTEN HERE
11. Vimado Wingnan - El Rego et Ses Commandos LISTEN HERE
12. Dou Dagbé Wé - Honoré Avolonto & Black Santiago LISTEN HERE
13. Kovito Gbe De Towe - Antoine Dougbé LISTEN HERE
14. La Musica en Verité - Gnonnas Pedro LISTEN HERE

Psychedelic Funky Afro-Rock from Nigeria: Ofege - Try and Love (1973)

2009-04-04T22:43:00.012+02:00

Ofege's debut album from 1973 is now re-issued on cd & vinyl by Academy Annex, so go out and get your copy of this psychedelic afro-rock fest! You might have heard them already on Soundway's Nigeria Rock Special (with the tune Adieu from their second album), Nigeria's most famous student band in the first half of the seventies recorded two wonderfull albums, which both sold pretty well. Ofege (local slang for describing an act of defiance) recorded their debut when they were still in high school (aged 15-17) and the 5-piece band consisted of Melvin Ukachi (vocals), Paul Alade (bass & vocals), Felix Inneh (Guitar & vocals), Mlke Meme (drums & vocals) and Dapo Olumide (keyboard). The guitar tracks were dubbed in the studio by Berkley Jones, guitar player for psych afro-rock legend Blo (check out the Afrostrut release Blo: Phases 1972-1982) and production was done by Odion Iruoje. Sweet harmonies are combined with psychedelic guitars and afrobeat drumming, with Melvin Ukachi being the principle songwriter. I must admit that at first I didn't like the vocals too much, but after a few more spins, the record started to show his strength. And by now, the lamenting and youthfull voice of Melvin tends to hypnotize me. After Try and Love, the somewhat more polished sounding Last of Origins (synth was added in London) was released in 1975. Two more albums were recorded in the latter half of the seventies: Higher Plane Breeze (1977) and How Do You Feel (1978). Check their myspace for soundsamples.

Tracklist: Nobody Falls, Whizzy Llabo, Gbe mi Lo, Try and Love, It's Not Easy, Ofege, You Say No, Lead Me On.

P.S.
The Academy Annex label (based in a Brooklyn recordshop) is gonna release 2 more Nigerian gems this spring: SJOB Movements with A Move In The Right Direction and The Mebusas' Blood Brothers.

Rumba Catalan: El Gitano Portugués on Discophon 1970-1973

2009-03-22T19:11:00.010+01:00

Born Joaquín Caldera Cardoso, El Gitano Portugués is one of my personal favorite Catalan rumberos. Between 1970 and 1973 he released 8 singles and one full album (El Gitano Portugués 1972) on the spanish Discophon label. He might not be as famous as The King of Catalan Rumba, Peret, but certainly doesn't lack the quality. Especially the two songs featured here never stop to amaze the listener and always shake up the dancefloors. Similar to El Noi (one of my other unjustly unknown favorites), El Gitano Portugués loves to add latin percussion (plus piano and brass) to his Rumba-Flamenco strumming, and combined with his raw pleading vocals (and therefore reminiscent of the gritty southern soul voices), will touch your heart and move your body. Flamenco purists will hate it, but you just cannot deny the funk in it. In short, it just gives you another reason to love Barcelona. Check out the tunes below and listen where Manu Chao got his inspiration!
El Gitano Portugués

Side A: Procura (Joaquín Caldera)
Side B: Odio (Deths-Ruiz Padilla)
Label: Discophon (1970)

sample: Procura

El Gitano Portugués

Side A: Que No, Que No (J. Garcia Moreno-Carlos Caballero)
Side B: Solo (J. Garcia Moreno-M.A. Espionosa-Ruiz de Padilla)
Label: Discophon (1972)

sample: Que No, Que No

other singles:
El Gitano Portugués - Fui a Bahia/Los Limones (Discophon 1970)
El Gitano Portugués - Rebola Bola/O Belen du pai (Discophon)
El Gitano Portugués - Es de Portugal/Dalila (Discophon 1971)
El Gitano Portugués - Chando Mio/Lloro (Discophon 1972)
El Gitano Portugués - Buenas Noches/Pena Pena (Discophon 1973)
El Gitano Portugués - Caray, Caray/Ya Hay Amor (Discophon 1973)

CREAM OF THE CROP

2009-03-04T11:30:00.008+01:00

The days that reggae was solely a Jamaican thing are long gone, and regarding the new releases from the little island, I must say that it is most fortunate that they are. Making my way through yet another pile of "new releases" I find myself dissapointed more often than I used to be. If a tune isn't molested by those hideous "Cher" vocoders, chances are you'll be listening to yet another update of a 90's ragga riddim, a dragging lovesong or, the newest trend, an acoustic version. Obviously there's nothing wrong with the latter, they're often beautiful songs, but I'm not too sure people would like to see me play one of these in a dance. In a few years time though, I'm sure, Jamaican produced reggae will be back at the top of the game. Like economics, reggae has its high- and low points.

Luckily though, the reggae virus has spread steadily and globally and I'm happy to say that the Netherlands, in which I reside, has got a vast amount of high quality artists on its soil who produce more than decent tunes. The most famous is ofcourse Ziggi, who had his big breakthrough last year when he was signed to VP/Greensleeves and hasn't stopped charting international hits ever since. Others that had sizeable hits are Irieginal Abraham (who's seminal "Ganja Gun" was the only serious contender to Alborosie's version on the riddim based on Zap Pow's "Last War") and Beef, who are still going strong as Holland's biggest "middle of the road" reggaeband, reaching new audiences with their sound and opening doors for many new artists.

A REGGAE BOMB, a monthly party hosted by Skank Around Sound, have compiled a beautiful mix to present the finest in Dutch reggae, and it is a job well done. As well as presenting the bigger names and hits, dj Dab dug deep and found some promising talent lurking in the background as well. Dj Ivoryman blended them all together in an uplifting mix.

Here's the CREAM OF THE DUTCH CROP:

1. Beef / Kenny B : On my own
2. Ziggi : Need to tell you this
3. Kalibwoy : World war
4. Fullanny : Why
5. Dredda Youthz : Uma no crey
6. Mizmay : No vacancy
7. Maikal X : The best in you
8. Mischu Laikah : I wish
9. Joggo : She wants to dance
10. Strawl : In this time
11. Fullanny : Garden of eden
12. Black Prophet : Mama africa
13. Smiley / Junior Kelly : Dem a wonder
14. Maikal X : Nothing less
15. VC - Babylon soldier
16. E-Man : Angel eyes
17. Lady K-Wida : So much trouble
18. Mizmay : Wrong world
19. Dredda Youthz : Widjigidjing
20. Brother Marcus : Conquering lion
21. Smiley : Rush
22. Ziggi : Blaze it
23. Irieginal Abraham : Ganja gun
24. Barka Moeri : Mash dem down
25. Ziggi : Fade away
26. Ivoryman : Dangerous
27. Irieginal Abraham / Kirk Davis : Live it up
28. Joggo : Beware
29. Benaissa : Coconut water
30. Black Marshall : Mr. Politician
31. Barka Moeri : Faya fe Rome
32. Beef : Straight through the roof
33. Kenny B. : Baby true
34. Kalibwoy : Dem nah change
35. Benaissa : Believe
36. Black Prophet : Doubting me
37. Brother Marcus : Who is to blame

Download the mix here

Hope you enjoy it!

Psychedelic Funky Folk: Sixto Rodriguez on Sussex 1971-1972

2009-02-24T18:09:00.014+01:00

Sixto Diaz Rodriguez was born in 1942 to Mexican immigrant parents in Detroit, Michigan. He was discovered by Dennis Coffey and his production partner Mike Theodore while singing in a Detroit club facing the wall. Impressed by his sound, they took Sixto to Sussex boss Clarance Avant, who signed him immediately. He released two albums on Sussex: His debut, Cold Fact, is a hidden gem, containing psychedelic protest song, not unlike Dylan’s, but edgier and funkier. The famous Sugarman can be found on this album. The second Sussex releases is called Coming from Reality, recorded in London and not as captivating as Cold Fact.

Sixto Rodriguez – Cold Fact (Sussex 1971)
Tracklist: Sugar Man, Only Good For Conversation, Crucify Your Mind, This Is Not A Song, It's an Outburst:Or, The Establishment Blues, Hate Street Dialogue, Forget It, Inner City Blues, I Wonder, Like Janis, Gommorah (A Nursery Rhyme), Rich Folks Hoax, Jane S. Piddy.
The funky psychedelic folk masterpiece Cold Fact was recorded in the fall of 1969 with Dennis Coffey on Guitar, Mike Theodore on keyboards and Funk Brothers, bassist Bob Babbit and drummer Andrew Smith, as rhythm section. It also contains the killertune Sugarman, where Coffey and Theodore experiment freely with backward tape delay, creating a psychedelic landscape for Sixto's songs. Unfortunately, at the time of release the records didn't sell, but over the years it grew into a rare classic. Lovingly re-issued in 2008 by Light in the Attic.

Sixto Rodriguez – Coming From Reality (Sussex 1972)
Tracklist: Climb Up On My Music, A Most Disgusting Song, I Think Of You, Heikki's Suburbia Bus Tour, Silver Words, Sandrevan Lullaby - Lifestyles, To Whom It May Concern, It Started Out So Nice, Halfway Up The Stairs, Cause.
Although his first album did't sell very well, a second Sussex album, Coming from Reality, was released in the fall of 1971. This time recorded in London with British producers Steve Rowland and Chris Spedding replacing the Sussex crew. Which resulted in an album way more folkier, more poppy and unfortunately less funky due to the abscence of the Coffey-Theodore duo and the Funk Brothers rhythm section. Including Halfway Up The Stairs, the first song Rodriguez ever wrote. The album will be reissued in may 2009 by Light in the Attic, and also includes three previously unreleased bonus tracks recorded in Detroit in 1972 with Theodore & Coffey, representing the last thing the trio ever did together.

For more info on Sixto check http://www.sugarman.org/
For more info on the Sussex label check: http://www.sussexlabel.blogspot.com/

FORWARD THE SOUND

2009-01-25T23:53:00.026+01:00

The sampler, one of the most revolutionary instruments since the invention of the electric guitar, was not only a key player in the evolution of hiphop and dance, it also spawned a whole new way of listening to records. I'm always interested in, or rather, intrigued by interviews with producers who unravel their "sacred" records when they talk about sampling (Wax Poetics makes for good reading on this topic), especially when those records turn out to be some sort of freejazz gems that are impossible to listen to (for me) due to the sheer noise and seemingly random rhythm patterns that features them. I'm intrigued because people actually buy these kind of records and listen to every nano-second of it not so much because they like the music, but because they are in search for that one little sound or break that hasn't been sampled yet. And although not all songs that have been sampled are worthwhile listening to, it's always fun to trace a sample because you never know what you might find. And that is the true art of sampling: it became a two-way street with producers on the lookout going one way and sample tracers going the other.

I'm not a hardcore sample chaser, really. Every now and then, when I listen to a record, some familiar sound may pop up that grabs my attention. If that occurs, I'll begin my search for the original, which basically involves me frantically scanning hundreds of 7"s and records because "I'm sure I've heard that sample before, but I just can't figure out what it is." Here are some of my recent findings. Who knows, maybe there's a gem in there you've never heard before?

Zomby - Spliff dub samples Billy Boyo - One spliff a day
Billy Boyo was one of the many teenage stars the Jamaican music industry has spawned. With some tunes released on the Greensleeves label his future was looking bright for a moment but unfortunately for Billy his (international) career never really took off. Billy died of a brain tumor in the year 2000, after which some more of his musical legacy was unearthed. The album "The very best of me" (released on the Jah Guidance label ) included his biggest hit up to to date "One spliff a day" which, although being an avid reggae collector, I only discovered after hearing the epical Zomby track: "Spliff Dub."

Burial - Broken Home samples Sizzla - Just one of those days
Dubstep superstar Burial has been making quite a name for himself with two albums full of beautiful tracks in which the human voice are key elements. The human voice keeps the cold, computerized tracks from freezing below the subzero level and gives a tune an often well deserved amount of emotion. In "Broken Home" Burial utilizes two tiny snippets of Sizzla's hit tune "Just One of those days" (aka "Dry Cry"), providing the tune its wings to fly with. In terms of approach the two tunes are quite the opposite of eachother, which makes it even more interesting to link them.

12th Planet - Control samples Mikey Dread - Saturday Night Style & Gregory Isaacs Allstars - Crops
12th Planet's banger Control uses two reggae tunes to provide the song with its seductive hooks. The "Control" bit is taken from the song "Saturday Night Style," the first tune of the most sampled reggae album ever: "African Anthem Dubwise" by Mikey Dread. This album was a showcase of his legendary radio show, in which Mikey never talked but used self produced "jingles" instead. These jingles ("you make me feel so goooood;" "Brand new, good for you!;" "Brothers and sisters goodnight, I hope you're feeling allright;" "Is that a turntable? Well get on it, it's your turn;" "You're disckjockey? huhuhuh, what's that?" and loads more) are still being used on a regular basis.

The keyboard part of "Control" is taken from a song called "Crops" (or "Crofs" as it is often credited), which is the dub version of Gregory Isaac's "Word of the farmer" from the Cool Ruler album.

ConQuest - Forever samples Barrington Levy - Here I come
This one took me ages to find. Forever by ConQuest, one of the most beautiful dubstep tunes ever, clearly leans heavilly on a Barrington Levy sample, an artist that has been a prolific "sample victim" from day one. But unlike all the other jungle, drum 'n' bass and dubstep tracks out there, using mainly Barrington Levy tracks like "Here I come", "Under mi sensi" and "Murderer," the vocal part in "Forever" didn't ring a bell, and yet, sounded strangely familiar Even hardcore Barrington fans, struggling with the same dilemma, couldn't identify it for me. In the end, though, I found the tune on the net. If you listen to the sample, you'll hear some heavy hissing which, I figured, may very well stem from an audience. After checking the net for Barrington live performances I found out "Forever" does sample the song "Here I come," but a live version of it, and instead of using the chorus, Conquest uses a part in which Barrington Levy rides the riddim in a brilliant freestyle, boasting about his woman: "She give me love."

The Qemists - Dem Na Like Me sample Morgan Heritage - Uncomfortable
"Stop that train, I wanna get on, my baby she is leaving me noooooow.." It was a rocksteady hit for Keith & Tex in 1967, was an international smash in 1982 when Clint Eastwood & General Saint launched their remake of it, and it was again heavily in rotation in 2004 when the Big Yard label released a stunning one-drop version of it: Stop that train is one of those riddims that never seem to fail.

The 2004 edition of the riddim enjoyed its biggest succes with a Morgan Heritage cut, called "Uncomfortable" (aka "Hail up the lion") which is exactly the version that can be heard in the Qemists (featuring Wiley on vocals) hit "Dem na like me" which is hitting it big right now. You can hear the guitar part quite well, but listen carefully and you'll also hear the "ow!" part with which Morgan Heritage start off their tune.

Probably more to come in the future!

RETURN OF OF THE BOOGIE

2009-01-13T21:29:00.029+01:00

Last year I wrote about famous dubstep producer Skream hitting it hard and surprising the hell out of his listeners, when he decided to play a disco and boogie set on one of his Rinse FM Stella radio sessions. At the time it seemed like he was the odd one out, a lonely soul with a taste for late 70's/early 80's disco 'n boogie, but the last couple of months the disco sound is resurfacing more and more often. Either in its original form, most notably sported by Danish producer and dj 2000f, or in an updated style: a synth laden kind of dubstep that's been getting a whole lot of support in the scene lately.

Bristol based youngster Joker is one of the key players in the latter category. His sound is created by a whole heap of fat, blazing synthesizers that are literally on, and over the top of everything. What his sound may lack in thick, heavy (wobbling) bass, is more than made up for by such outgoing and, dare I say it, corny melodies and arrangements that truly haven't been heard in this extravagant form since the day the boogie was still legal on the dancefloor. Like disco, the new disco influenced sound proved often to be too extravert for many hardcore dancefloor lovers, but it's also gaining the dubstep scene a bunch of new fans who seem to be taken in by the melody, the more uplifting sound (whereas older dubstep is raw, dark and a bit evil) and the openess of the songs as a whole. A Joker song like "Snake eater" could very well pass as a disco-hit remix: It screams, sighs and invites; it's just over the edge but not too far and it's incredibly sticky. Once heard, it'll remain in your heart and your mind for days on end. Again, like disco, that can both be as annoying as much as it's fun. And that makes it a proper hit.

Taking things even further is Copenhagen based 2000f. Like Joker, this versatile producer is utilizing the heavy synthesizer sound as well, although he tends to mix it down a bit further. 2000f is somewhat of a pioneer in the dubstep scene, he was one of the first outside the UK to pick up on the new sound from south-London, but none could have guessed he would be as far ahead of the times as he recently turned out to be. His epic "You don't know what love is" tune (co-written an co-produced by JkaMata) is due to come out on the Hyperdub label, is setting the world on fire as a dubplate, is eagerly awaited by many, many fans and....is two years old already. With the resurfacing of the synthesizer sound in the dancehalls, the tune, available as dubplate only to a small group of lucky ones, proved to be some kind of missing link and was finally understood for what it really is: ultra funky, proto-dubstep disco. Call it whatever you want, the tune is so good it comes as a surprise to me that no one, not even outside the dubstep scene, was interested in it at the time of birth. Guess it's aquired taste and it needs some maturing? Funilly enough, for all it's popularity and long stretch, the tune now seems to be guarded to the extremes because it is nowhere to be found on the net, accept in a few mixes here and there. Watch out for the proper release and make sure you listen to it by then.

To complement the "new wave of funk," and perhaps encouraged by Skream's Stella disco session, 2000f has unleashed a series of oldie-disco mixes that are a must have for anyone who's into disco, funk, house, proper mixing and good music in general. Three mixes have surfaced so far, but more will undoubtly follow. And if that is the case, I'm praying 2000f includes Donna McGhee's "Do as I do" somewhere. All 10 sighing, whispering, moaning and excellent minutes of it...

Untill then we'll make do with volumes one, two and three of 2000f's excellent Fyraftensboogie series. Download them here:

Part One
Finis Henderson - Skip To My Lou
Jackie McClean - Doctor Jackyll and Mister Funk
Grey and Hanks - You Fooled Me
Patrice Rushen - Number One
Slave - Stellar Fungk
Central Line - You Know You Can Do It
Tom Browne - Funkin' For Jamaica
Don Blackman - Never Miss A Thing
Trouble Funk - Good To Go (instrumental)
Rick James - You Turn Me On
Precinct - Shining Star
Odyssey - Inside Out
Mystic Merlin - Just Can't Give You Up
Syreeta - Can't Shake Your Love
Funkadelic - (Not Just) Knee Deep
Fat Larry's Band - Act Like You Know
D-Train - Keep On
Shirley Lites - Heat You Up (Melt You Down)
Yvonne Gage - Doin' It In A Haunted House

Part Two
Light Of The World - London Town
AM-FM - You Are The One (Instrumental)
AM-FM - You Are The One
Junior - Mama Used To Say (American Remix)
World Premiere - Share The Night (Club Mix)
Edwin Birdsong - Son Of A Rapper Dapper Snapper (Dub Mix)
The Dazz Band - Single Girls (B-Beats)
Ex Tras - Haven't Been Funked Enough (Ex Tras Special Version)
Savana - I Can't Turn Away
Conversion - I Can't Stop Dancin' (Dance Version)
Ohio Players - Fast Track
Inner Life - Let's Change It Up (Extended Version)
Brooklyn Express - (Spank) Sixtynine
Al Hudson & The Soul Partners - Spread Love
Johnny Hammond - Los Conquistadores Chocolatés
Al Johnson - I Got My Second Wind
George McCrae - I Get Lifted

Part Three
Kool & The Gang - Summer Madness (live at the Rainbow Theatre in London, England)
Don Blackman - Holding You, Loving You
Eddie Kendricks - Intimate Friends
Con Funk Shun - How Long
Aleem feat. Leroy Burgess - Think
RAH Band - Cloud Across The Moon
S.O.S. Band - Just Be Good To Me
Kinkina - Jungle Fever
S.O.S. Band - High Hopes
T-Connection - Saturday Night
Kongas - Anikana-O
Jeanette 'Lady' Day - Come Let Me Love You (Instrumental)
Trouble Funk - Trouble Funk Express
B B & Q - Riccochet (Club Mix)

Groovy Movie Mix 1966-1976

2009-01-02T22:50:00.018+01:00

Happy New Year everybody! The first new mix of the new year features groovy soundtracks from 1966 till 1976, all recorded straight from crackling black wax. Blaxploitation mixed with raunchy European stuff, some of the movies you undoubtedly already know, check out 70 minutes of their sounds below. Including rare movie samples!

Once Upon A Time In The West - Man with the Harmonica - Ennio Morricone (RCA 1969)
The Spook Who Sat By The Door - Revolution - Herbie Hancock (UAR 1973)
Black Belt Jones - Main Theme - Dennis Coffey & Luchi de Jesus (WH 1974)
Truck Turner - Main Theme - Isaac Hayes (Stax 1974)
Shaft in Africa – Theme - Johnny Pate (ABC 1973)
They Call Me Mr Tibbs – Call Me Mr Tibbs - Quincy Jones (UA 1970)
Gordon’s War - Hot Wheels (The Chase) – Badder Than Evil (Buddha 1973)
Slaughter’s Big Rip Off – Slaughter Theme – James Brown (Polydor 1973)
La Horse – Serge Gainsbourg - La Horse (??? 1969)
The Godfather – Theme - Nino Rota (Paramount 1972)
Un Homme et Un Femme – Theme - Francis Lai (UA 1966)
Trouble Man – Main Theme – Marvin Gaye (Motown 1972)
Coffy – Coffy is the Colour - Roy Ayers (Polydor 1973)
Foxy Brown – Theme of Foxy Brown – Willie Hutch (Motown 1974)
Sandokan - Instrumental Theme – Guido & Maurizio de Angelis (RCA 1976)
Daktari – Theme – Shelly Manne (Atlantic 1967)
Uptight – Children, Don’t Get Weary - Judy Clay (Stax 1969)
Turks Fruit – Dat Rooie Mistige Beest - Rogier van Otterloo (CBS 1974)
Emmanuelle – Emmanuelle Song – Pierre Bachelet (Warner 1974)
Superfly - Gimme Your Love – Curtis Mayfield (Curtom 1972)
The Mack – Brother’s Gonna Work It Out - Willie Hutch (Motown 1973)
Shaft - End Theme – Isaac Hayes (Stax 1972)

Essential Pressure Sounds Release for DubHeads : Jimmy Radway’s 1975 Dub I

2008-12-18T10:35:00.011+01:00

According to our Rough Guide To Reggae, Jimmy Radway's Dub I is one of the heaviest dub albums ever released. And, as usual, the're right. Former painter and political gunman Ivan Jimmy “One Foot” Radway (born Kingston, 1947) recorded a bunch of wicked tunes in the early seventies for his Capricorn and Fe Me Time labels. He gets his first hit with Errol Dunkley’s Black Cinderella in 1972, written by Radway himself. He returns to the charts in 1973 with Leroy Smart’s Mother Liza, and releases several other tunes with deejays I Roy, Big Youth and Scotty. By 1975, he also did an entire dub album, filled with the tough riddims of his earlier tunes, all mixed in a day by mixing desk wizard Errol T at Joe Gibbs. A the time only 300 copies were pressed (the Micron label had folded), making it a sought-after item on the collecter’s market. Adding to the mystery, the album carries many different names such as Dub I, Micron Dub, Hug a Dub, Dubwise Shower and Fe Mi dub. Now, this mythical dub album gets a proper re-release in his original sleeve by Pressure Sounds, who again deserve praise for their work in uncovering Jamaican gems. No tricks here, the horns with lots of echo, the basslines with lots of crunch, heavy and grim dub, reflecting the dark and violent circumstances of Kingston’s ghettos at the time. Dub versions to afore mentioned Black Cinderella (and its deejay and melodica cuts from Big Youth, I Roy and Augustus Pablo) and Mother Liza, plus dubs of Scotty Bells’ Black Am I, Leroy Smart’s Happiness Is My Desire and Desmond Young’s (later known as Desi Roots) awesome original cut Warning, toasted by Big Youth as Wolf In Sheep’s Clothin. Radway also recut Glen Brown’s Slaving as Wicked Have To Feel It. Musicians include Jamaica’s finest session players: Carlton and Aston Barret, Alva Lewis, Tyrone Downie, Bobby Ellis, Vincent Gordon, Dirty Harry, Tommy McCook and the mighty Cedric “Im” Brooks. His vocal work of the early seventies can be found on the Keep the Pressure Down compilation on Prestige records, recorded at Randys and Dynamics 1972-1976. After the Dub I album, Radway decided to quit the music business and retired to the countryside. By 1996 he was down on his luck living in Ocho Rios, unable to afford a mobile phone. Hopefully this beautifull re-issue will get him some more of the attention and financial reward he deserves.

Listen To: Black Rights Version (sample)

Listen to: Wicked Have To Feel It (sample)

Tracklist:
1. Black Rights Version
2. Cinderella Version
3. Micron Way Version
4. Hell & Sorrow Version
5. Awn Yah! Version

6. Mother Liza Version
7. Back To Africa Version
8. She’s Mine Version
9. Wicked Have To Feel It Version
10. Black I Am Version

JARRING EFFECTS GOES CHRISTMAS

2008-12-09T16:16:00.005+01:00

French label Jarring Effects, are Santa Clausing once again: they're giving away a free cd stacked with 18 Jarring Effects goodies. Well worth checking out for anyone into bassheavy, experimental dance music!

Tracklist:

1) Bassnectar - Heads Up
2) Caterva- Monkey
3) Filastine - Hungry Ghosts
4) Ghislain Poirier - Diaspora
5) Debmaster - The Last Robot
6) Zol - Syphilisupastar (Borgias edit)
7) Tony Oheix - Galaxy on the table
8) Dub Gabriel ft No Surrender - Rundown
9) Ben Sharpa - B to the E
0) Oddatee - Not even one
1) France Loisir - Le Peuple est une fiction
2) Trash von Traxx - Zona Zero
3) Stormfield - Inner silence outer violence
4) Opti & Ohmwerk - Hammering
5) m3t4 & Myrkur - Wobble diktat
6) Von Magnet - Mostar Angels
7) Professor Psygrooves - 24/7
8) Josef Bilek Experience - New Genesis

Go deh and support: http://www.jarringeffects.net/jfxbits3

Mitty Collier - Shades Of A Genius (Chess LP 1965)

2008-12-01T00:25:00.022+01:00

Although I love their cocktails, Milano is actually way to much fashion for me. Lots of posh shops that is, however, there's also Via Padova. A street with lots of people hanging around and police patrolling heavily. And it is here where I found Dischi Metropolis, an old basement filled with second hand vinyl, also equiped with very helpfull personell. Browsing through the bins I encountered Mitty Collier's 1965 album Shades of a Genius on Chess Records for 7 euros. Earlier this year I already noticed the Ace/Kent compilation Shades of Mitty Collier (focusing on her 15 singles for Chess), and was impressed with the powerfull soul-gospel voice of Mitty. Chicago’s Chess label hosted a whole bunch of great female soul voices, eg Etta James, Fontella Bass, Jackie Ross and Sugarpie de Santo. Somewhat more obscure is the here featured Mitty Collier, best known for her hit I Had a Talk With My Man Last Night, released in 1964 on Chess. Mitty was born in 1941 in Birmingham, Alabama, sung in church and toured with gospel groups The Hayes Ensemble and the Loyd Reese Singers. In order to earn some money for her college education, Mitty started singing r&b in the local clubs. In 1959, she won Al Benson’s Talent Contest and a year later, she got signed by Ralp Bass for Chess records at age 20. She stayed with Chess for eight years, releasing 15 singles and the here featured album, 1965’s Shades Of A Genius, a set comprising songs originated by or associated with Ray Charles (three songs are written by him). The album includes her first 1961 single Gotta Get Away From It All, arranged and produced, by Riley Hampton and Roquel “Billy” Davis and the 1964 classic I Had a Talk With My Man Last Night, a gospel song written by James Cleveland (and produced by Billy Davis), substituting the word “God” for “Man”. No Faith, No Love was another 1965 minor hit inspired by James Cleveland’s No Cross No Crown. Shades of a Genius provides us with excellent mid sixties soul, with a deep gospel undercurrent. Most tunes are slow, but things also get funky with Willie Dixon’s My Babe. As usual, the Chess production created tastefull brass sections and bluesy guitar licks. The woman on the album cover is not Mittie Collier, and although it was a withdrawn album cover, it managed to be pressed and released in Italia. Her highest charting single was released a year after the album, Sharing You, also covered by Dusty Springfield, Inez Foxx, Shirley Brown and Marva Wright. Her Chess swansong, released in 1968, was a new version of Gotta Get Away From It All, recorded at Fame Studios in Alabama with producer Rick Hall. Mitty left Chess after releasing Everybody Makes A Mistake Sometimes, a song recorded at Muscle Shoals. She then recorded five singles for William Bell's Peachtree label, in 1969, releasing True Love Never Comes Easy and You Hurt So Good. In 1972, Mitty departed secular music and began singing gospel music, releasing veral albums : The Warning, featuring I Had A Talk With God Last Night (1972), Hold The Light (1977) and I Am Love (1987). She is now the pastor of the More Like Christ Christian Fellowship Ministries, Chicago.

Listen To: I Had A Talk with My Man Last Night

Listen To: My Babe

Tracklist:
1. Come Back Baby
2. I Had A Talk With My Man Last Night
3. Would You Have Listened
4. I Gotta Get Away From It All
5. My Babe
6. Halleluja (I Love Him So)

7. Drown In My Own Tears
8. No Faith, No Love
9. Together
10.Let Them Talk
11.Little Miss Loneliness
12.Ain't That Love

Mittie Collier with the Bar-keys on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPcKJSw92a0 (introduction by Otis Redding)

DIGGIN' THE DUSTY BINS OF ITALIA Nov 2008

2008-11-23T19:37:00.026+01:00

Just got back from bella Italia and made a quick mix from the stuff I encountered in the dusty record bins of Milano (If you're around, be sure to visit Dischi Metropolis), Genova and Roma. A wild bunch of sixties girls, deep soul, dirty funk, surf, cumbia, rumba, salsa, samba, bossanova and Italian classics. Have fun...

Rita - LOVE ! (Barclay 197?)
Rita Pavone –Datemi Un Martello (If I had a Hammer) (RCA 196?)
Caterina Caselli – Tutto Nero (Paint it, Black) ( CGD 196?)
Françoise Hardy – Quelli Della Mia Eta(Tous Les Garçons)(Vogue 1962)
Oscar Toney, Jr. – A Love That Never Grows Old (Bell 196?)
Rita Pavone – Scrivi (RCA 196?)
Mina – TaRaTaTa (Rifi 1966)
Patty Pravo - La Bambola (Arc 196?)
Rodolfo Y Su Típica - La Colegiala (RCA 1983)
Latin Brothers - Las Calenas Son Como Las Flores (Discos Fuentes 197?)
Manolo Escobar - El Porompompero (Belter 1960)
Rita Pavone - La Sai Troppo Lunga (RCA 196?)
Mina - Cartoline (Rifi 1967)
Caterina Caselli - Nessuno Mi Puo' Guidicare (CGD 1966)
Rita Pavone - Gira, Gira (“I'll be there”) (RCA 196?)
Willy Mitchell - 30 – 60 – 90 (Hi 197?)
Syl Johnson - Take Me To The River (Hi 1975)
Mitty Collier - My Babe (Chess 196?)
Mina – Le Mille Bolle Blu (Italdisc 1961)
Marcos Valle – Os Grilos (EMI 197?)
Jorge Ben – Ay, Ay, Caramba (Philips 1964)
Clarence Carter – Making Love (Atlantic 196?)
Brunetta – Dove Vai? (Summer Wine) (Rifi 1967)
The Champs – Twenty Thousand Leagues (London 196?)
Celia Cruz – Guantanamera (Tico 196?)
Los Corraleros de Majagual – La Burrita (Discos Fuentes 197?)
Rita Pavone – Cuore (RCA 1963)

Annie Philippe - J'ai Tant De Peine (Barclay 7inch 1965)

2008-11-01T19:42:00.020+01:00

This last year I really learned to appreciate French music, and in particular, the works of Serge Gainsbourg. Which inevitably lead to the discovery of the French yeye girls of the sixties. So fate smiled upon me when encountering the here featured Annie Philippe 45 in the bins of our favourite local recordshop Da Capo. Never as big as Gainsbourg-Girl France Gall, with whom she was often compared, Annie Philippe recorded a bunch of really groovy tunes in the sixties, combining angelical French Yeye with American Girl Group and British Sixties garage sounds. From Phil Spector arrangements with a cute-girl style delivery to French pop ballad orchestration with fuzzy guitars, including handclaps. Annie was getting noticed by the time of her 1965 third EP, that included tunes like J’ai Tant de Peine, Trois Petites Tambours, Lui and Le Souffleur De Verre. Covering a broad diversity of styles, however not always with satisfying results, some recordings being too cheesy, even for me. For more of her work, check out her 2Cd compilation L’Integrale Sixties on Magic Records. Listen to J'ai Tant De Peine below:

Born on 17 december 1946, in the Ménilmontant district of Paris, and already taking dance classes when young, she became a DJ, aged 17, at the Twenty One Club, located at the Rue Balzac near the Champs Élysées, and it was here where she met Paul Mariat. Mariat had already worked with Charles Aznavour and would later enjoy huge success with L’Amour Est Blue, launching the career of the Greek-German Vicky Leandros. After auditioning for Mariat, performing songs by Leny Escudero, Marie Laforêt and France Gall, he got Annie her first recording contract on the Riviera label, a sublabel of Barclay, and she released her first EP in 1964 (produced by Paul Mariat and Yzi Spighel, owner of the Twenty One club), including Vous Pouvez Me Dire (in the UK performed by Lulu as He Don’t want your Love Anymore), Une Rose (Presley’s Love Me Tender), Qu’il Le Dise and Je Chante et Je Danse. Unfortunately, she failed to make any impact initially. Her Second EP contained tunes like J’ai Raté Mon Bac, the France Gall-sounding Tout finit à Saint-Tropez, C’est Loin Domani (from the movie Le Rolls Royce Jaune) and a super-cute French version of the Supremes classic Baby Love. Annie was getting noticed by the time of her 1965 third EP, that included tunes like J’ai Tant de Peine (written by Guy Marchand), Trois Petites Tambours (Private John Q by Roger Miller), Lui and Le Souffleur De Verre. The follow up EP contained the handclapping garage stormer On M’a Toujours Dit, Tu Ne Comprends Rien Aux Filles, Quand L’Amour Est A Deux Pas and her biggest hit Ticket De Quai, a sweet ballad which charted in March 1966. After changing to the Philips label, she recorded the dramatic Pour Qui, pour Quoi, Tchakaboum and Cause Donc Toujours, while returning to the charts with the laidback Mes Amis, Mes Copains. Next was the fuzzy Swinging London–like (and one of my personal favourites) C’est La Mode in late 1966 (The EP also included the loungy Ca Fait Pleurer, Soeur Angelique and Le Temps de Poupees) and Le Mannequin in early 1967 (also including tunes like Pas De Taxi, Sensational Jeffrey and Tu Peux Partir Où Tu Voudras, a French version of Mama Cass’s Go Where You Wanna Go. Following her success she recorded an complete album in 1967, containing her hit C’est La Mode, a different version of Pas de Taxi and 2 unreleased songs (Bon Vieux Carillon and Ma Liberté). Now working with Christian Gaubert, the follow up EP, Lettre Pour Annie, also included Coeur Brisé, Coeur En Tête, De Ce Cote De La Riviere and the excellent Pour La Gloire. Next, she recorded the title track for the movie La Blonde de Pekin and the orchestral Les Enfants de Finland, which turned out to be her last chart entry. After her last Philips 1968 EP Une Petite Croix, including Laisse-nous Tranquilles, Bonjour, Bonsoir Et Au Revoir and Le Flingue (written by Frédéric Botton), failed to make an impression, she started working with Claude François on his Flèche label in 1968, releasing tunes like Le Même Amour (again written by Guy Marchand), Croix De Bois, Croix De Fer, Oiseaux de Novembre and Boeing Jet Et Caravelle. Her second Flèche EP included Je Découvre Tout and Laissez Votre Chapeau Monsieur Lee (Move in A Little Closer Baby by Mama Cass). However, sales were disappointing, and she continued to release some work in the seventies but her glory days had passed.

PS
Watch Annie's Le Jouet Extraordinaire on Youtube, I know this tune sucks, but just check the magician in the studio.

90 Minutes of Global Chicano Rock 1970-1978

2008-10-21T23:33:00.024+02:00

If you don’t like screaming guitars and lots of percussion, don’t go any further. Latin Soul, Jazz , Rock & Funk, a deft balance between percussive rhythms, instrumental passages and emotional (and romantic) singing in both Spanish and English. Carlos Santana has risen to superstardom with these ingredients. However, there are much more bands, who in the wake of the Chicano Power movement of the late sixties got inspired and started to playing this music. Obviously all over U.S.A. and Latin America, but also as far as the Netherlands (check out the Massada track).

Anikulapo - Global Chicano Rock 1970-1978 by Anikulapo on Mixcloud

download here
http://www.mediafire.com/?r4868579sx938yc

The Boogaloo Combo – Nappy Head (Epic 1972)
Eddie Benitez - Hey Girl (Vaya 1976)
El Chicano - Ron Con Con (Shadybrook 1976)
Toro – Ramona (Coco 1975)
Santana – Oye Como Va (Colombia 1970)
Seguida – Mambo Rock (Fania 1974)
Chango - Mira Pa’ca (ABC 1975)
Coke Escovedo – Te Amo Mas (Sound Triangle 1975)
Azteca – Azteca (Colombia 1972)
Sapo – Can’t Make It (Bell 1974)
Katunga - Bailando Despacito (RCA 1973)
Bwana – Motemba (Caytronics 1972)
Tierra – La Feria (20th Century 1974)
Antiques - Chauca (Sound Triangle? 1973)
Cesar 830 – Azucar (Flying Dutchman 1975)
Massada – Nena (Kendari 1978)
Malo – Oye Mamita (Warner Bros 1972)
Flash & The Dynamics – Electric Latin Soul (Tico 1971?)
Macondo – Cayuco (Atlantic 1972)
Black Sugar – Viajecito (Sono Radio 1970)
Harvey Averne - Cucara Macara (Heavy Duty 1971)

Starting off easy with The Boogaloo Combo from Brazil, doing War´s Nappy Head. Their 1972 album Con Muito Ritmo also features a killer version of James Brown’s Hot Pants Road. Guitarist Eddie Benitez was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Europe, and at the age of 10 his family moved to New York City. Eddie started his musical career back in 1976 when he was signed to Fania/CBS Records at the age of 14. His first release NightLife soared the Latin and jazz charts and he became a West Coast Hero of Latin Rock. Hey Girl was produced by Fania ‘s Louie Ramirez. El Chicano was one of the biggest names on the scene, only second to Santana. This tune is from their later period on an independent label, their albums from the early seventies are also very enjoyable. New York based Toro is next with Ramona, produced by Harvey Averne, who returns with his own band later in the mix. Released in 1972 on Harvey’s Coco label. The Master himself Santana kicks in next with a cover of Tito Puente’s Oye Como Va. Always difficult to chose from such a vast volume of groovy recordings he made in the sixties and seventies. Seguida were a 20 piece latin orchestra from New York, that stood out at the time for combining sythesizers and electric guitars alongside the traditional percussion and brass. Mambo Rock is a serious dancefloor mover, produced by Fania’s Larry Harlow. One of the few latin rock acts on the Fania label, which normally was dominated by salsa. From U.S. East Coast comes the six-piece band Chango. The God Chango is the representative of unbridled sexuality, and here they deliver Mira Pa’Ca in rather West Coast way. After Azteca disbanded, Thomas “Coke” Escovedo toured with Stevie Wonder and signed to Mercury for his formal solo debut: Coke appealed to Latin, jazz and soul listeners. However, with disappointing sales, Escovedo rejoined Santana in the late 70s and played with Herbie Hancock during his disco-funk phase. The earlier mentioned Azteca, was a large Latin Rock band (up to 25 people!), based in San Francisco and including former Santana percussionists such as the brothers Pete & Coke Escovedo (Sheila E. also belongs to the Escovedo family) and Victor Pantoja. The group also included the horn section of Tower of Power and Neil Schon (of Journey) on guitar. They released only two albums in the early seventies on Colombia before disbanding. Also from San Franciso, Sapo, with Richard Bean on vocals, they enjoyed some chart success with Can’t Make It. Katunga hail from Argentina, but recorded most of their tunes in Peru. Balando Despacio, recorded in 1973, is a fine example of South American fusion of funk and rock. Also from the South American continent are Bwana, a mysterious six piece outfit from Colombia with an insane psychedelic Latin Afro-Funk-Rock sound; heavy keyboard grooves, moaning guitars, tribal vocals and conga madness throughout the album. Just as the song featured here, Motemba, the album is filled with long break-filled tracks. Back to the Sunshine State, there The Antiques from Miami, recording for the Sound Triangle label the edgy latin rocker Chauca. Tierra were one of a number of bands formed out of the growing Chicano movement in California. The group featured mainly a Latin-Rock sound, but funk is added in the stormer La Feria. Bolivian pianist-bandleader Cesar Ascarrunz and his group recorded the terrific Cesar 830 album for the Flying Dutchman label. With help of legendary jazz producer Teo Macero (who also did Miles Davis' Bitches Brew and Dave Brubeck's Take Five), he created an exceptional blend of Latino jazz rock fusion. Coming far from the typical Chicano environment, Massada, are an Indo-Dutch band (who sing in English and Spanish!) with a heavy Latin Fusion sound. The tune Nena is from their first and best album Astaganaga, released in 1978 on Kendari. Malo will always be known as the band of Carlos Santana’s brother Jorge, however, in the early seventies they released a series of quality albums, almost sounding fresher than Santana at that time. Oye mamita comes from their second album, simply called Dos, released in 1972. Back in the Big Apple, Flash and the Dynamics, (aka The Sons of El Barrio) combine latin funk & soul and boogaloo with tripped out psychedelic guitars. Electric Latin Soul is food for the brain, please listen to it. Macondo, from Southern California, took their name came from the novel 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Sergio Mendes discovered and produced their 1972 album. The featured tune, Cayuco, again is a Tito Puente composition and you can hear again Victor Pantoja, former member of Santana and Azteca playing congas. Black Sugar is a funky 9-piece Latin-rock band from Peru, released two albums (both with the famous Coco Lagos on percussion). Influences from groups like Tower of Power, Blood Sweat & Tears and Chicago mixed with latin funk flavor, here performing the epic Viajecito. And finally, 70’s latin funkrock frenzy from NY latin mastermind Harvey Averne. Cucara Macara holds lots of percussion, electric guitars and soulfull vocals, resulting in the tasty Nuyorican sound, arranged by Marty Sheller. That´s all folks……. Hasta la proxima.