My New Reggae 45s Mix by smartin

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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)

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!

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

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!

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

"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

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