LIVE: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

James Brown was known as the hardest working man in show business, the Godfather of Soul, and generally one funky mutha - so the events of Friday 7th March 2008 in Brisbane, Australia would then surely have made him an immensely proud man. I’m talking about Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings playing live at The Tivoli in Brisbane.

I’m still pinching myself even now, well over a week after the amazing event.

Touring off the back of their latest release ‘100 Days, 100 Nights’ on the label Daptone Records, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings had arrived in Australia to play several gigs, including appearances at some local festivals. I had been anticipating this for over six months and then as if by magic, the date was upon us.

Brisbane can be a fickle town for live music. There is an obvious bias towards rock and dance music and you never can tell how many people might actually leave the house for certain gigs on certain nights. When Breakestra came to Brisbane, there were probably around 300 people at the modestly sized club The Colombian. Late last year around the same number had turned out for Ohmega Watts at The Step Inn. But exactly who in Brisbane was really a Sharon Jones fan? Prior to the gig I knew around half a dozen people that were fans, so you’d understand my curiosity with regards to how many people would actually go. A friend had told me that one ticket outlet had sold over 100 tickets on their own and we came to the conclusion that if 500 people turned up, that would be a good result for Brisbane.

Doors were due to open at 7:30pm and as I was driving I really wanted to get a parking space, so I was there right on the dot! Found a spot easily and navigated myself to the back of the queue waiting to get into the old theatre. At this point there was about 50 people in the queue, all of varying ages and backgrounds - this seemed encouraging enough. Once inside I marvelled at the historical venue. As previously mentioned, The Tivoli is an old theatre, but now a venue for live music. I gazed around my surroundings and couldn’t help but crack a wry smile. I knew this would be the perfect venue for such a gig: the raised stage, huge draping deep red curtains, large dance floor and a massive balcony.

I grabbed a shirt from the merch table and a drink from the bar. After mingling with a few familiar faces (Brisbane is a small town!) I realised that I still wasn’t sure who the support act was. There were rumours of a Beat Junkie, but what we got was something altogether ‘different’. The curtain raised and out walked a man wearing an Evil Kanevil style blue jump-suit and a flight helmet with something attached to the front of it near the mouth. It turned out to be a guy named Bob Log III and the item attached to the front of the helmet was a telephone handset!

Bob is an Arizona native and one funny bastard! The telephone handset is plugged into an amp and he uses it as a mic. He also has a steel guitar, a huge kick-drum, a hi-hat and an effects machine. Basically, Bob Log III is a one-man electro-blues thrash band! It was fucking loud. Once my brain had settled and learnt to accept what it was being exposed to, I started getting into it. The style of Bob’s vocals reminded me slightly of Kings Of Leon (who I love). But the country overtones and crazy lyrics, coupled with Bob’s charismatic persona, was an experience to behold.

Bob also relies heavily on audience interaction and, as I mentioned, he is one funny bastard. His songs all seemed to be about alcohol and women, but they were extremely tongue in cheek and the crowd absolutely loved him. He played for a good hour before finally taking a bow. In hindsight, despite how different Bob is to Sharon and the boys, I think such an up-tempo and raucous support act worked perfectly to hype the crowd for the main spectacle.

Around an hour later than advertised, the Dap-Kings made to the stage. I knew it would be something special from the outset. There is always the worry that hyping something in your mind so much before an event can make it a bit of a let down, but the next two hours of my life did nothing but exceed all expectations.

Binky Griptite announced the band and proceeded to play the part of master of ceremonies for the evening. The band started by playing some of their instrumental numbers, including ‘Mellowmatic Mood’. Then finally they invited Sharon Jones out onto the stage. Wow, what a reception she got - and I should mention at this point, as I turned around the place was absolutely packed. Easily 800+ in The Tivoli. Brisbane had done me proud.

Sharon jumped straight into it. She is a fiery live wire if ever I’ve seen one. A true entertainer. She oozes talent and class - she was clearly born to do this. So much energy, she didn’t stand still once all night. Like Bob, she loves to include her audience and immediately set about collaborating with us for her live rendition of ‘Nobody’s Baby’, enticing us to fill in the ‘ooo-ooh’s’. The crowd lapped it up - she had us wrapped around her little finger.

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - Nobody’s Baby
>> download track / YSI
>> buy 100 Days, 100 Nights @ Daptone Records
This download link will expire on 25th March.

I was only about 30 feet from Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, but they were so on key and so perfect, that I had to keep rubbing my eyes to make sure I wasn’t actually watching some sort of 3D movie. The Dap-Kings are immense. They had two sax players, a trumpet player, a drummer, a guy on the congas and three different guitarists. Not forgetting Sharon, what a voice - ridiculously strong. The live show sounded easily as tight as the studio recordings, it all just seemed to come so naturally.

They played a large selection of their back-catalogue, but Sharon added stages to the performance too. At one point she decided to tell the story of her ancestors. Stating that one side comes from West Africa, this culminated in her doing an African peace dance. Then the other set of ancestors were Native American and she did a Native American peace dance. The crowd went absolutely spastic. There is no way just anyone in their fifties can do what Sharon does, she is incredible.

The show also included two separate occasions where people were invited up on to the stage. Sharon invited a few guys on stage for a dance and then at the pivotal points in the accompanying song she nudged them towards the edge of the stage with a snappy “bye-bye!” Then it was the turn of the girls and around six were invited up. Each had a little go at doing their dance piece - it was very entertaining!

Around two hours after the start, the band wrapped things up, they thanked Brisbane for coming out and they all left the stage. The applause that came straight after was the loudest I’ve heard in a long time and seemed to last forever. After what was actually about two minutes, Binky Griptite came out and declared that they were informed this was meant to be an early show and they thought they just had to come out, play a few songs then go home and go to bed. He asked “oh you want more?!”. Yes, Brisbane did want more. So the band assembled once more and Binky invited Sharon to come back out.

What followed was a near on hour-long encore that focused around James Brown covers. I started this article by stating that the late great James Brown would be extremely proud of what occurred on the night of Friday 7th March 2008, and this was why. Now Sharon Jones is originally from the same town as James Brown (Augusta, Georgia), but I don’t think any of this can be attributed to there being something in the water in those parts, this is something different, something very special indeed. Sharon sang ‘It’s a Man’s World’ and I think the collective number of goose pimples in the audience probably reached well into the millions.

The show finally concluded and a sea of people was left in complete awe of what they had just witnessed. I’ll state it once more: I’m still pinching myself.

I bumped into a few mates after and they looked like Santa had brought them all of their wildest dreams, but with some added interest. Then out the corner of my eye I spotted Binky Griptite walking my way. I seized the opportunity, and whilst trying not to sound like a crazed teenage girl at a Backstreet Boys concert, I shook his hand and told him exactly what I thought of his band and what I had just seen. Binky is truly a gentleman, and a humble one at that. We spoke for a few minutes bout music, vinyl and the future - oh, of which he divulged that there will be more Binky Griptite podcasts, so look out for those. I told him that what I had just witnessed eclipsed the amazing Breakestra gig I had attended in November 2006. I could tell that these words were accepted as a big of a compliment as they were intended. Others were waiting to speak with him, so we shook hands again and I wished him a pleasant remainder of his stay in Australia.

What more can I say?! I suppose like I said in my Breakestra article after seeing their live show, I’d just advise each and every one of you to ensure that if you ever get the opportunity, you have to see Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings live. They blow their contemporaries out of the water. Even people that don’t listen to soul or funk have been hypnotised by the Daptone effect. Get involved!

Up-coming tour dates:

• UK & Ireland
  • Thursday April 10 - Button Factory - Dublin, Ireland
    -
    Friday April 11 - Mint Lounge - Manchester, England
    -
    Saturday April 12th - Concorde 2 - Brighton, England
    -
    Sunday April 13th - The Yardbird - Birmingham, England
    -
    Wednesday April 16, 7pm
    Thursday April 17, 7pm
    Friday April 18, 7pm - Jazz Cafe - London, UK
    -
    Saturday April 19 - The Sage Gateshead - Gateshead, England
• US
  • Friday April 25th - Coachella Music Festival
    -
    Saturday May 31st - Mountain Jam Festival
    -
    Friday June 6th - Toyota Park - Bridgeview, IL
    -
    Saturday June 14th - Bonnaroo Festival
    -
    Sunday July 20th - KCRW’s World Festival @ Hollywood Bowl

Useful links:

• Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings MySpace
• Daptone Records website

Kutiman

If you read my Best of 2007 post last week you would have noticed that I included Kutiman’s self titled album. His soulful afrobeat creations, with a hint of Tel Aviv goodness, had those in the know grooving to the funk since the first 12″ (“No Reason For You”) dropped on Melting Pot Music last March (or maybe even the 45 (“No Groove Where I Come From / Chaser”) on Afro Kats back in 2006!). The full album then dropped in October, but for my Stateside friends, you will see an American release 12th February, so definitely look out for that.

Incase you missed the track I posted on last week’s entry, here it is again…

Kutiman - Music Is Ruling My World
>> download track / YSI
>> pre-order Kutiman @ Amazon.com
This download link will expire on 2nd February.

Also, a new video has been made for that very track. Directed by Gotam Gendelman, it features both Kutiman and the vocalist Karolina. The video pays homage to Blaxploitation films, but in a Tel Aviv style - it’s very cool!

If you are in Israel then you should be aware of a very special gig coming up soon, because Kutiman, Karolina and Sabbo will premiere their new soundsystem show on 2nd February, as the opening show for Erykah Badu’s first concert in Tel Aviv!

Useful links:

• Kutiman MySpace page
• Melting Pot Music website
• Afro Kats website

Twelve of Twelve

So here is December - a symbolic month if nothing else. The last month of the year, an opportunity to look back on the last twelve months. I will write an obligatory “best of 2007″ style post, but most likely in January - before then I have a bit of catching up to do, or more specifically, I need to help you do some catching up! I’ve been so busy of late, but I have listened to so much good music, I just need to spit it all out over this here blog.

Before I get into listing talented artists and their respective wares, just wanted to give a shout-out to Ohmega Watts and DJ Manwell. I met those two the other week in Brisbane and they are two sound fellas. Spent a fair amount of time talking to Ohmega Watts before his performance. Couldn’t have met a more humble and approachable guy. I asked him if we were likely to see any more Lightheaded material any time soon and he told me that they owe Tres Records one more album… so it is coming… I just don’t know when! Anyway, he was in town to promote his new album Watts Happening and the live show was brilliant. Supported by the excellent DJ Manwell, Ohmega Watts performed a wide array of tracks from his new album as well as some older material too. The dude has great stage presence, and for someone who (and I quote) says he is “mainly a producer”, he certainly is a formidable emcee! Make sure you cop Watts Happening, out now on Ubiquity Records.

Radiohead and Prince have been giving their latest efforts away, but what about those poor souls still trying to actually sell their music? Well this is some of the stuff I’ve been digging of late…

Cookin’ On 3 Burners - Australian funk trio that includes Lanu of The Bamboos. A sort of ground down blend of organ driven funk with jazz stylings, this talented group have just released their debut LP on Freestyle Records, it is called Baked, Broiled & Fried. Check out their mean cover of Feel Good Inc. originally by Gorillaz.

Cookin’ On 3 Burners - Feel Good Inc.
>> download track / YSI
>> buy Baked, Broiled & Fried @ Amazon.com
This download link will expire on 17th December.

The Dynamics - Soulful dub act based in Paris, France. The Dynamics shot to the forefront of the DJ radar with their seven inch release of 7 Nation Army, obviously a cover. They then followed this up with a few other covers on seven inch vinyl, including a cracking one of Miss You by the Rolling Stones. Recently signed to the Groove Attack label, their debut album Version Excursions has literally just dropped. Here is that Stones cover…

The Dynamics - Miss You
>> download track / YSI
>> buy Version Excursions @ Amazon.com
This download link will expire on 17th December.

Little Dragon - Based in Sweden, you might recognise the vocalist from this ethereal act from her appearances with the Koop. Little Dragon’s downtempo jazzy slant on r’n'b is aurally soothing, whilst reassuringly refreshing. These guys have been around for a while but struck a cord with the recent seven inch double a-side release of Twice and Test, then subsequently their self-titled album on Peacefrog. Check the dreamy chasms of Twice…

Little Dragon - Twice
>> download track / YSI
>> buy Little Dragon @ Amazon.com
This download link will expire on 17th December.

The Sweet Vandals - A Spanish funk outfit, mixing elements of afro-beat and soul, signed to Unique Records. Their emphasis on creating a live, raw sound, fueled with powerful brass and mesmerizing keys will be sure to attract any funky mutha. Not forgetting, of course, the absolutely beautiful vocals of Mayka Edjo - she simply has a voice to die for. Listen for yourself…

The Sweet Vandals - Beautiful
>> download track / YSI
>> buy The Sweet Vandals @ Amazon.com
This download link will expire on 17th December.

Speeka - Hip-hop boys Rob Mac and Matt Smooth combine with instrumentalists and vocalists to create a loungey nu-jazz feel on Wah Wah 45s similar to lots yet also…nothing - a roundabout way of describing uniqueness I suppose! The point with Speeka is that their debut album, Bonfire, is packed with sounds edging on various genres, but each track is packaged up in quite a sincere way, the execution is remarkable…

Speeka - Rag Doll
>> download track / YSI
>> buy Bonfire@ Amazon.com
This download link will expire on 17th December.

Really just a small taster of some great records that have come out recently. Before I forget, if anyone has yet to check out the latest release by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings on Daptone Records, 100 Days, 100 Nights, then you want your head checking! Need I say more?

Coming up shortly will be a full review of the new Nostalgia 77 Octet LP Weapons of Jazz Destruction on Tru Thoughts, so look out for that. Also, I am well overdue releasing another JLM podcast. It currently stands at around 42 tracks long, so once I’ve whittled it all down to something a bit more appropriate, I’ll get it released!

Useful links:

• Cookin’ On 3 Burners MySpace
• The Dynamics MySpace
• Little Dragon MySpace
• The Sweet Vandals MySpace
• Speeka MySpace

Alice Russell - Live In Paris

I’ll cut to the chase, this DVD is an absolute must for all Alice Russell fans. Due for general release on 11th June, this 79 minute long presentation shows Alice and pals in all their musical glory. Recorded live in Paris last year it is set in a spacious, yet intimate, venue, jam packed with faithful fans from France (don’t try and say that a few times after some drinks!).

Alice is accompanied by a fantastic band that includes TM Juke, Michael Simmonds, Benjamin Jones and Daniel Swaine and launch straight into things with the mellow Soul Felt. Highlights include; Mean To Me with fantastic fiddle work by Michael Simmonds, a brilliant cover of Andre 3000’s Dracula’s Wedding, and of course the famous cover of Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. The full set list looks like this…

1. Soul Felt
2. What We Want
3. Humankind
4. Taking Hold
5. Mean To Me
6. To Know This
7. Something That’s Real
8. Search The Heaven’s
9. Munkaroo
10. High Up On The Hook
11. Dracula’s Wedding
12. Hurry On Now
13. Seven Nation Army
14. My Baby Just Cares For Me
15. Fly In The Hand

Alice Russell - Seven Nation Army (feat Nostalgia 77)
>> download track
>> buy Under The Munka Moon II @ EtchShop
This download link will expire on 28th May.

The production quality, on what is amazingly the first ever DVD from Tru Thoughts, is superb. All recorded with three cameras on the night, the final edit is simply sublime. There are no swanky DVD menus and extras, but there doesn’t need to be - a great example of WYSIWYG, the main event is all we need. The good news is that this wont be a one off, expect more DVD releases from Tru Thoughts. Rumour has it the next one will be a live recording of Spanky Wilson and The Quantic Soul Orchestra, so look out for that one later in the year!

Back on subject, Alice and co. clearly show what great entertainers they are on this DVD and give those that have never seen her live the opportunity to see what they are missing, and those that have seen her live a choice reminder of what they have seen previously. Only a few weeks till this one comes out officially, so make sure you remember to pick it up! You can get this directly from the EtchShop or at Amazon.

Useful links:

• Alice Russell MySpace
• Tru Thoughts website
• EtchShop
• Buy Live In Paris @ Amazon

Rawville

As promised, here’s a full review of the upcoming album from The Bamboos on Tru Thoughts: Rawville. The album will be available from all good retail stores on 7th May, just over a year after they released their debut album Step It Up. Rawville features twelve tracks that span a total of just over 48 minutes - each staying true to the Bamboos’ patented funk sound, but with a few twists this time round.

Things kick off with The Bamboos Theme, a four minute long, exhilarating entree to the proceedings. It’s high energy stuff, crammed with melody and fast paced beats. The culmination of different instrumentation, intertwined and fused within one-another, makes for quite an intro. Straight after comes the first guest appearance, Tru Thoughts queen-bee Alice Russell on Bring It Home. On this track we see the funk sounds of The Bamboos combine with the soulful tones of Alice Russell to create an extremely addictive and melodic track that wouldn’t be out of place somewhere in the back-catalogue of any famous old-time funk soul combination - alas with the unique, and very modern, grit of these highly talented individuals.

Last week I featured the first 7″ release from this album Get In The Scene feat. Ohmega Watts and that track is actually number three on Rawville. Like I said in that feature, this track is an upbeat affair, with a fantastic blend of funky guitar, brass and wood along with the smooth and dynamic flow of Ohmega Watts. The track has a very laid back air about it, but manages to maintain the upbeat groove, perfect summer time track really. The next track is one of the main reasons I purchased The Witch by The Broken Keys on 12″, it’s the Bamboos’ very own remix! Those that know the original track will know what to expect, but for those that don’t… The Witch is a heavy track with a killer bassline and The Bamboos have worked their magic with an all instrumental version with that distinctive Bamboos funk sound.

My Baby’s Cheating (I Sure Got The Feeling) feat. Fallon Williams sees the third use of a guest vocalist on the album thus far. Fallon lends his gravelly, yet deeply soulful, voice to a track that rides along the crest of a Hammond organ wave whilst carving it up around the sharp brass stabs. I can just tell that performed live this would really get a party started - I defy you to sit still whilst this one is playing! Now switching slightly further into the soul realm we have I Don’t Wanna Stop feat. Kylie Auldist - think roughly along the lines of the latest Amy Winehouse material, but perhaps in a more optimistic vein. This reeks of 60s soul, laced with brass and keys, chirpy melodies and genuinely authentic and silky vocals from Kylie Auldist. This will appeal to anyone from casual pop-picker right up to dedicated soul enthusiast - very accessible stuff indeed.

Still on the soul tip Head In The Clouds feat. Tyra Hammond sees the variation in sounds visit heavier beats and slightly darker melodies. This track in particular really expresses how The Bamboos are moving with their sound, the subtle blend of styles and sounds - in particular the heavy beat matched with the soulful vocal, where the track breaks down and builds again. Like the last track it is accessible to anyone, but if you are wanting to look deeper, there definitely are details there to be found. It’s these intricacies that fascinate me most, how upon first impressions things can seem simple enough, but if the right efforts are applied, then so much more can be discovered. Listen for yourself…

The Bamboos - Head In The Clouds feat. Tyra Hammond
>> download track
>> buy album @ EtchShop
This download link will expire on 8th April.

Happy is a track that has been previously released on 7″, it’s dark, it’s instrumental, and it’s bloody infectious! A steady funk beat starts, joined by a tentative bass and some cool keys, slowly building and teasing. It’s quite tense in an upbeat kind of way, then half way in *boom* the brass crashes the party… but it’s still building, it eventuates into an organ crescendo of blaxploitation proportions, then back into that steady chorus before a crazy percussion breakdown. Huge replayablity factor with this one and sure to get a funk crowd moving - class. Then we are graced with the second appearance of Ohmega Watts on Rockin’ It. Essentially it is Ohmega, a steady beat, groovy bass and some brass stabs - but melodically speaking this is fresh, like something Ugly Duckling might look to achieve if they played with a live funk band.

Pussy Footin’ was on the same 7″ as Happy and is another instrumental track oozing with class. Along similar lines as Happy, Pussy Footin’ is not as dark, but as equally focused on the progressive nature of building melodies. Stacked chock full of groove, armed with crazy keys, deep bass and an atmosphere that was resurrected from somewhere in the 70s. The penultimate track on the album is actually the title track: Rawville. It’s an instrumental track that beautifully marries the organ and the brass, with percussion and bass playing their parts as groomsmen and bridesmaids respectively. The enter a cameo from guitar and you’re left with what would appear to be the soundtrack to a million different funky situations. The final track is Tongan Steel, which funnily enough does have some pretty mean drumming going on. This is as groovy and catchy as can be expected, The Bamboos excel in this area, it’s no secret. Tongan Steel proves to be a good outro piece, with its consistent melody and tight instrumentation - just another example of what sharp talents these fellas are.

Rawville says a few different things to me, I’ll condense and conclude these thoughts thus; I’m satisfied, personally, that the guys are progressing their sound by furthering themselves with how they create their music. This is evident via the collaborations seen on this album and the sounds presented. The Bamboos have proved that they can indeed create funky tracks that are also soulful and match their skills wisely with vocalists, and also an emcee in the shape of Ohmega Watts. Albeit too easy to type cast a funk outfit and pressure them into experimenting, I feel that they’ve pushed the boundaries without losing touch with their roots. They’re as funky as ever and it was good to hear as many instrumental tracks as tracks featuring vocalists. This album will definitely help to attract new fans, but I’m sure will also please the already existing fanbase.

EDIT: Forgot to mention some live dates for The Bamboos as they are on tour very soon…

* Fri 04 May ‘07 Derry
* Wed 09 May ‘07 Dundee
* Fri 11 May ‘07 Plymouth
* Sat 12 May ‘07 Newquay
* Tue 15 May ‘07 London
* Wed 16 May ‘07 Birmingham
* Thu 17 May ‘07 Southampton
* Thu 24 May ‘07 Berlin
* Sat 26 May ‘07 Kortrijk

For more details check out the gigs page on the Tru Thoughts website: http://www.tru-thoughts.co.uk/gigs

Usfeful links:

• The Bamboos website
• The Bamboos MySpace page
• Download - The Bamboos - Head In The Clouds feat. Tyra Hammond
• Tru Thoughts website
• EtchShop

Breakestra @ The Columbian, Brisbane

First off, sorry (sincerely) for the lack of action lately, I think I’m slowly getting into the swing of things with this new job and managing my “me-time” - plus I was reading issue #10 of the incredible Wax Poetics magazine on the train home today, and it really inspired me to get writing again. I don’t want to be rigid and make promises I wont keep, so for now let’s throw out the window all talk of doing certain things on certain days - I’ll just write about what I want and when I can - if that encompasses other peoples’ desires, then great, that is what this blog was always meant to be about. So, as the title suggests, Breakestra played at The Columbian in Brisbane, it was last Wednesday night and I was lucky enough to be there.

Bout a month or so ago I read that Breakestra were coming to Australia. If you are familiar with Breakestra then you’ll know that it didn’t take me more than a millisecond to confirm I would do everything I could to see them. If you aren’t familiar with Breakestra and you like your music with a heavy dose of funk… then consider this your official instruction to check them out with immediate effect. Breakestra are a ten-piece band fronted by a chap named Miles Tackett - they are often labelled an hip-hop orchestra/funk band/soul group, take your pick but I’m sure you get the idea. They’ve been around since 1996 and hale from Los Angeles, California. For the most part of their existence they were a live covers band, reproducing funk and hip-hop classics with style and grace. However, just last year they released their first LP containing entirely original material; Hit The Floor, on Ubiquity Records. The album is unreal, a fusion of ye olde influences and fresh execution. From start to finish it contains what I can only describe as a funky excursion into an orchestrated world lacking in pretension and generously overstocked in the department of exquisite instrumentation. These words not to be taken lightly must surely explain why Breakestra coming to town is nothing but a good thing.

The day of the gig arrived and I had to figure out a way that four of us were going to get back from the city (an hour away from ‘home’) at two in the morning. In the end the best I could do is book a taxi costing $60AUD… “hmmm, more than worth it for Breakestra”, I thought. My companions and I arrived fashionably late by train, catching the last15 minutes of the support act; Neighbourhood Groove Collective, who were from what I heard very good. For the next half hour or so British funk DJ Russ Dewbury kept us all happy on the decks, playing everything from Tru Thoughts‘ finest, right back to the rarer stuff - it was the funky warm up we all wanted. The moment arrived and Breakestra made it to the stage; bassist, lead guitarist, Korg player, saxophonist, trumpet player, bongo hitter, drummer, and soul singer Choklate. In honesty, the next two hours are a blissful blur. I remember being uniquely amazed at individual times with each member of the band - one moment it was Marshall Thompson on the keys, then the next it was James “The Penguin” King on the sax, each taking their turn to amaze the hell out of me. Lead man Miles Tackett is stellar in his role of singer/bass player/bass guitarist and was backed up beautifully by the immensely talented Choklate. One highlight for me was when the band played their album track Family Rap, which usually features Chali 2na, Soup, and Double K, naturally those three fellas weren’t there, so Choklate actually rapped all three parts herself - she did the track proud, really good stuff.

Breakestra - Family Rap (Feat. Chali 2na, Soup And Double K)
>> download track
>> buy album @ Amazon US / Amazon UK
This download link will expire on 4th December.

The two hours Breakestra played were non-stop, seriously not one stoppage in play, and they contained a mixture of improvised covers and their own material - often teasing with a cheeky bar or two of a crowd pleasing funk and/or hip-hop classic - these guys really knew how to play the crowd and their immense collective talent evidently did all the proverbial talking for them. One major thing I noticed was that the atmosphere inside The Columbian was so cool, everyone was relaxed and just concentrating hard on what was unravelling before their very eyes - so much so that people were hardly talking to each other. It felt like a two hour long funkadelic trance that you never wanted to end. When they finally wrapped it up, sweat soaked, they walked off stage and through the crowd to a multitude of appreciative back-slaps… then the claps started for an encore, getting louder and louder as each second passed. Within a few minutes our wish was their command and back up they went. It sincerely felt like those last few tracks were a thank-you from them to us for being such an appreciative crowd, but in all honesty it genuinely felt like we were still immensely indebted to them on that front. The Columbian proved to be a worthy venue, intricately laid out to keep it all feeling small and intimate (in a non-romantic way!), it would be interesting to know what Breakestra themselves thought of the gig, but all I know is that a couple of hundred people left that place feeling a thousand times happier than when they went in, big smiles all around - if you ever get the chance to see Breakestra play live… just do it, you’ll always regret the things you didn’t do, more than you’ll ever regret the things you did do.

Useful links:

• Breakestra MySpace page
• Breakestra @ Ubiquity Records
• Breakestra website
• Download - Breakestra - Family Rap
• Buy Hit The Floor @ Amazon US / Amazon UK

DMC World DJ Champs

This doesn’t exactly get much press here in Australia, but excuses aside, I forgot bout the DMC World DJ Finals that happened in September… doh. Anyway, I wont bore you with the extensive details - if you have no idea what I am talking about then check out this entry I wrote a while back, should explain all.

Anyway, I’ll cut to the chase; Netik from France won the solo event, he is the World Champ. The Battle For World Supremacy was won by Japan’s DJ Coma and the Team Championships were won by C2C from France. So a good show from the French and not a Brit or Yank to be found anywhere! The official videos from the sets are now up on YouTube for all to see, so check out Netik’s winning set…

Pretty crazy stuff and that’s all now for another year. One of my fav sets from the World Finals is still Australian Dexta (former member of The Avalanches) doing his thing at the Millennium Dome back in 2000. He lost out to DJ Craze (winning for his 3rd and final time) and quite rightly, but Dexta’s set was so fresh and creative, using mad samples from allsorts of old records - don’t think he even used any hip-hop records. Anyway, check it out…

Dexta - 2000 World DMC Set
>> download track
>> buy DMC vids @ dmcworld.com
This download link will expire on 31st October.

I’ve had to use YouSendIt to upload the track, for some reason File Lodge have suspended my account, I’ve sent an email asking why. If anyone knows of a decent file host that gives direct URL links to mp3s, let me know, thanks!

Useful links:

• DMC World Championships website
• Video @ YouTube - Netik winning set
• DMC World store
• Download - Dexta - 2000 World DMC Set

Parklife 06 - Brisbane

This past Saturday I went to the one day Parklife music festival in Brisbane. Essentially it was a dance festival, but they had some pretty diverse offerings, from hip-hop to breaks to dub to rock, a good selection indeed. I’d been looking forward to this for a long time, mainly for three main acts - these were; Cut Chemist, Coldcut, and Mixmaster Mike. It wasn’t actually until I got to the festival that I realised not everyone was looking forward to the same stuff as me. Let me be frank for a moment… I’ve never seen so many metrosexual breaks fan posers in one place. Horses for courses and all that, I’ve got nothing against these fellas, but wearing luminous sweat bands (usually bright pink) round their heads and ski goggles, all whilst flexing their ever-so-ripped muscles wasn’t quite what I imagined the average Cut Chemist or Mixmaster Mike fan to look like… but there was a reason for that.

At times we’re all a bit guilty of being a tad naive, but it would seem although the majority of Australia worships rock music, there’s also a very big crowd of housey breaks fans, and they dress funny. I’ll get to the point; whilst I was creaming myself at the prospect of seeing the three previously mentioned acts, it seems a lot of people were actually there for Stanton Warriors and some other people I’m not familiar with. Don’t get me wrong, the crowds for Cut Chemist, MMM, and Coldcut were freakin’ huge, but I just wasn’t aware that even more had other priorities, as can be witnessed by reading other reviews of this event. I read one brief report where Cut Chemist and Coldcut weren’t even mentioned! Still, deep breaths, horses for courses.

Being the pedantic geek I can often be, I had planned in advance and made a rough (by rough I mean definite) plan of who I wanted to see at Parklife and how long I could see them for. I even printed it… then promptly forgot it. Anyway, it was wishful bloody thinking, best laid plans and all that. When we first got in I had used my previous MySpace scouting to figure that Shredlock was our best bet for first act to catch, well that went out the window, it was breaks type stuff from memory and we soon figured that this DJ called Cutloose was much better. He was really into it! Playing mainly hip-hop, but then also found time for some rockier stuff like RATM. Straight after Cutloose was the Aussie hip-hop group The Winnie Coopers and they put on a really good show. I didn’t think too much of their album, and apparently neither do they. It was widely regarded that they are much better live than in the studio. They commanded the crowd well and the use of a drummer and bass player really helped create the atmosphere for their hip-hop set.

Oh, somehow in all the chaos we actually caught a couple of tracks by My Ninja Lover, between Cutloose and The Winnie Coopers. My Ninja Lover was like live dnb/breaks and they seemed to do a pretty good job of getting the crowd going - alas time was of the essence. Surprise of the day came in the form of Mattafix. Before we entered the festival we actually saw Marlon of Mattafix near a kebab shop. My comment of “isn’t that the bloke from Mattafix?” was followed by my Brother’s ingenious shout of “Big City Life!”. What did my Brother think would happen? Was Marlon meant to come running back to ask if we could all be best friends? Funnily enough that didn’t happen. The reason for the surprise of the day then; I’m sure you all got bored as quickly as I did with that overplayed track Big City Life, but man these fellas put on a good live show. Had a full band, plus Marlon is a demon on the steel drums! Might even be worth revisiting their latest album.

The moment I had been waiting a couple of months for, Cut fucking Chemist. Don’t ask me how, but we got right to the front, I swear I was the closest person in the crowd to Cut Chemist. I had also been speculating for a while if he would bring anyone with him, I concluded that it couldn’t be anyone too big or it would have got leaked, so I suggested maybe Hymnal… I was bang on the money. Hymnal is the fella that features on the track Altitude, he actually personally left a message on this very blog a couple of months back. When we saw Hymnal we started shouting his name at him - honestly it was like he’d just won the lottery, he looked so pleased that we knew who he was. He seemed like a thoroughly decent bloke though, so happy and up for fun. He played the crowd so well, and Cut Chemist? Well Mr. McFadden made my year. He played stuff from the new album, stuff of old, and also did some amazing tricks on the turntables, including a finale that involved live sampling of members of the audience, that he then went back to cut up with. If you ever get a chance to see Cut Chemist live, you have to go see him, the dude is a perfectionist and put on the best show of the day.

Jem - They (Cut Chemist Vocal Mix)
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 16th October.

Salmonella Dub were on after Cut Chemist and they started off by playing the Mario tune, which was pretty cool. Then one guy took to the mic with a sea-shell and did a solo on that for a while. They had some good brass guys too, but I wasn’t really that into it and went to discover what else was going on. We chose this time to rest up and grab some food, which for your information was good stuff and well priced. Whilst we sat on the grass the sounds of Stanton Warriors and Dirty South could be heard coming from different directions. There were actually three separate stages at Parklife, as well as a few bars, two smoking areas, two first aid areas, some merchandise stands, a cloak room, and about 50 toilets. The area was laid out pretty well considering it was totally makeshift, but it was a right hassle getting through the Stanton Warriors’ crowd to reach other sections!

We then caught a couple of songs by Freeform Five which sounded pretty cool, live dnb and breaks with a female vocalist. But I was under immense pressure to go elsewhere. I was duped into seeing Butterfingers under the guise that we’d get a good position for Mixmaster Mike (who was due on the same stage straight afterwards). I think I like two Butterfingers songs, the rest is crap. It’s just like frat-boy jock rock. A lot of the crowd were beered up meat heads pogoing along to tracks about fucking your mates mum and getting drunk. Must remember… horses for courses. But, indeed the pay-off was a good position for Mixmaster Mike. The crowd was really rammed by this point. So out he comes and starts doing his thing, but hang on a second… what’s going on? Oh some rude bastards are trying to push their way to the front, oh and some more… and more and more. I swear some of these fuckers had no grasp on physics. Listen up pricks… if I am jammed between four other people and there is no where else to go, why are you still pushing me?! Sadly, this hampered my experience of MMM quite a bit. But he was average anyway, and I hate to say this. I’ve been to the DMC’s plenty of times, I know the tricks. All he did was drop everyone’s favourite party breaks for an hour, but then in honesty… what more was he supposed to do? He’s a DJ. I just felt Cut Chemist and Hymnal put on a much better all-round show. Plus there was Coldcut…

Coldcut were the last act of the day, that is unless you decided it would be a better idea to see Krafty Kuts on one of the other stages. Anyway, we each had brains in our heads, so we chose Coldcut, obviously. God knows how, but we actually managed to get right to the front for this one as well, what a result! Jonathan and Matt were up there, along with their two VJs and also Juice Aleem from UK hip-hop crew New Flesh. Coldcut played stuff from their latest album as well as some of their classics… “the lunatics are taking over the asylum!” …the visuals were spectacular and the crowd went spastic when a puppet of John Howard (Australian Prime Minister) came up on the screen. Seriously amazing show they put on, sounds cheesy but I felt totally privileged to be there experiencing it. They were also the only act to come back on after they’d finished for an encore - what a show.

Coldcut - More Beats & Pieces
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 16th October.

It was a long old day, but worth every penny. Not only did I get to see all the acts I wanted to see, I got to the front of them all. I was surprised by Mattafix, underwhelmed by Mixmaster Mike, but absolutely amazed by Cut Chemist and Coldcut, the two best acts at the festival by miles and miles. With my word as my bond, let me tell you to never let an opportunity to see Cut Chemist or Coldcut live pass you by. Oh and for the first time ever, someone actually commented on my MF DOOM t-shirt, was starting to think I was the only fan in Australia! Be great to hear from you if you went along, and also if you spotted loads of those FIZIKZ stickers all over the place, that might just have had something to do with me too!

Useful links:

• Parklife Brisbane line-up
• Download - Jem - They (Cut Chemist Vocal Mix)
• Download - Coldcut - More Beats & Pieces

Urban Bourbon Party Time!

As I mentioned briefly last Friday, I went to the Brisbane launch of McKenna Bourbon on Thursday night. For any readers familiar with Brisbane, the party was held in the Valley. As a blogger based in South East Queensland I was invited along to see what all the fuss was about, and this opportunity was orchestrated by the wonderful Paul Francis at Zealot.

I dragged my Brother along for the ride and when we got there we were met by what seemed like hundreds of ladies all dressed in the same black uniform, greeting us and handing out drink. Was a bit intimidating walking down that red carpet as the momentary centre of attention! In the middle of the room they had a circular bar serving the McKenna double distilled 6% bottles of bourbon and cola, and in the centre of that bar area a Japanese ice sculptor named Kenji was hacking away at blocks of ice, which ended up as an impressive logo and bottle of Bourbon.

So there we were drinking away at this bourbon and cola mix, which surprisingly was very smooth and went down very easily - often I’ve found these pre-mixed alcoholic cola drinks to be sickly and far too fizzy, but this stuff was honestly good - then all of a sudden Nova (the radio station) approach myself and my Brother and they want us to say a few words bout the drink! God knows if they used our voice recordings on the radio show the next day, but our English accents would’ve stood out quite a bit.

Then we met up with the aforementioned Paul from Zealot and also another Australian blogger Ian Farmer of Frontiering. Two top blokes, I must say, and were very gracious in introducing us to others at the party, including the very passionate Lion Nathan (company that owns McKenna Bourbon) employee Vimpi Juneja. Vimpi is a man that knows what he wants and makes sure we’re all enjoying it! He was mainly responsible for the actual party, and he did a splendid job. Edit: Just for clarification, although Vimpi is an employee of Lion Nathan, it was actually Samantha Angus (also of Lion Nathan) that organised the fantastic party.

So, as well as Kenji the ice sculptor, they also had local graff artist Kasino at the do. He was up on some scaffholding spray painting an image of a woman’s head and face, and as ever his work was fantastic - such attention to detail. Kasino was doing his thing just off to one side of the dancefloor, where local DJ Cat Kid was on the wheels of steel. Apparently she’s only been DJing for a couple of years, but certainly knew what she was doing. The music was fantastic, proper party breaks, total mixture of genres, but all stuff selected to get people moving on the dancefloor. Later on the very popular Australian DJ Paul Mac took his turn on the decks, and even had some backing singers to perform on some tracks. By this time I was far too busy upstairs drinking the straight bourbon to pay much attention to Paul Mac, but by the sounds of things he was totally rocking the joint.

I didn’t get a chance to speak to Cat Kid or Paul Mac, which was a shame, but I spent a good 20 drunken minutes chatting away to Kenji the ice sculptor. Such an interesting character, he’s been all over the world sculpting ice, including two times at the Winter Olympics. God knows how you discover you are good at sculpting things out of ice, but Kenji certainly is.

All in all a very enjoyable evening. The drink was good, the company was good, and the artists were good. But remember folks; drink responsibly!

As a side note, I picked up my ticket today for Parklife, a one day festival at Brisbane’s South Bank at the end of September. Cant wait to see Mix Master Mike, Coldcut, and Cut Chemist!

Mixmaster Mike - Surprize Packidge (Automator Remix)
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 21st August.

Useful links:

• McKenna Bourbon
• Kenji the ice sculptor
• Kasino the graff artist
• Paul Mac MySpace page
  
• Parklife festival
• Download - Mixmaster Mike - Surprize Packidge (Automator Remix)

When Alcohol Strikes!

Thursday didn’t really get a blog entry, well…this is it, I guess.  The reason for the apparent absence is that I was invited to the launch party for McKenna Bourbon in Brisbane last night.  Was a fantastic party, and the drink was pretty damn good too!  I might try and do a proper write-up of the party on Saturday, for now I think I should rest my fragile frame.  This song is very fitting for my current state…

Sigur Ros - O Fridur
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 17th August.

Track of the week tomorrow.

Useful links:

• Download - Sigur Ros - O Fridur

Splendour In The Grass ‘06

Today I’ve got another guest article to share with you all. It’s a write-up from this year’s Splendour In The Grass festival that went down a couple of weekends ago at Byron Bay. I wont babble on any longer as this is a pretty damn long write-up…

The Splendid Adventure - by Waz

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure, and I suppose the luck, of attending Splendour In The Grass 2006. I say ‘luck’ due to the fact that this year’s tickets sold out in a matter of days, with camping tickets selling out in just a couple of hours. Actually, in hindsight, I was lucky…very, very lucky in-fact. Due to there being extensive scalping of tickets in previous years, the organisers decided to employ a new ticketing system. Therefore the only place where you could purchase a ticket was the official Splendour website, and it was recorded that they had received over 2,800,000 hits for just a 17,500 capacity event! God bless being pro-active every now and then.

Before I get stuck into details and reviews of acts I managed to catch, I’ll give a brief overview of the festival. Situated in the sunny seaside town of Byron Bay Australia, (Northern NSW), Splendour In The Grass is one of the most prestigious music festivals on the Australian calendar. The previous figures speak for themselves. Quite a few of the Aussie festivals are “one day’ers”, like the infamous “Big Day Out” that’s toured all round Australia every summer, and also festivals such as ‘Parklife’, which is still yet to come this year. But anyway, back to Splendour. Splendour is what I see as being a ‘proper’ music festival. People travelling from all across the land to spend a weekend indulging themselves in decent live music, camping, drinking, smoking, and ultimately soaking up the true atmosphere of a music festival. Splendour is no doubt the epitome of this. Now for those of you who are not familiar with Splendour’s location; Byron Bay is renowned for being quite a chilled out and easygoing place, known for being pretty damn relaxed when it comes to the consumption and intoxication of illicit substances.

Although lucky to have a weekend ticket in hand, didn’t manage to pick up a camping ticket. So right up till the last week or so, me and the people I was going with (mate from work and a few of his mates), had nowhere to crash after the music and festivities had ceased for the night. Luckily, (yup even more luck… seems like much is needed for a successful festival), someone knew a someone from uni, whose parents friends, or some shit, lived not too far away from the festival in Byron. So in short; we got to set up camp in their back garden for the weekend. Right in the middle of the Byron countryside. The only way of actually getting to the festival from this house was about a mile walk through the Byron countryside. When we awoke on the second day, we found our path over the fields to be swarmed by a massive herd of cows. So after necking a few drinks and stocking up on a bit of the old “Dutch-courage”, we decided to just “fuck it”, and walk straight through them. It was either that, or adding an extra hour, on top of an already 1-hour walk. As we are getting closer I’m thinking “shit, these cows are huge… they eat punks like me for breakfast!” We’re currently being sized up by a male bull with horns the size of my penis. Yes, very large indeed, and from behind us sprints the residential dog of this person’s house we’re staying at. The dog then proceeds to round up the herd into two sections, creating a perfect pathway for us to walk right down the middle of! Man, it was marvellous.

Once on the road, we still had a fair few km’s ahead of us, so we thought we’d give the thumb a go and try’n hitchhike the rest of the way. Low and behold, not even 5 minutes after attempting to catch a ride, a big 4×4 pulls over and picks us up. Once again luck played a major part in its success, but no doubt, the coolness of people in Byron, did as well. There was a balance however in this equilibrium of luck and bad luck. As soon as we were dropped off outside the festival entrance, one of us realizes he has lost his ticket somewhere along the way, between the house and the half-a-mile worth of fields, swamps, ravines and barbed wire fences we had just missioned across. Luck feels a bit harsh about how much of a wanker, “bad-luck” had just been. Therefore it decides to make up for this and so a taxi pulls up out of nowhere seconds later. Me and my mate from work decide to enter the festival, whilst the others go back and look for the lost ticket. Once again, Luck and coolness prevail, and they manage to hitchhike a lift back to Splendour. However the ticket is not found. Finally after a bit of ingenious wristband swapping, we are all in, and just in time to catch the first performance. And what a performance it was; Mos Def.

I hadn’t heard too much of Mos Def’s stuff before I went to Splendour, a few tunes here and there, but I knew it couldn’t miss it. By the time we had waded through the packed crowd and got into a half-decent spot, Mos was about one tune into his set, and it was sounding wicked. The two DJ’s accompanying Mos, which I can’t seem to find out who they were, proceeded to drop classic break after classic break, of original classics that have been sampled within hip hop. Taking Kanye’s “Jesus Walks” and “Gold Digger” back to their soulful true forms, and giving due credit to the innovative tunes that still have a strong influence today. The performance had a continuing flow with Mos going between these classic breaks, building things up in his reggae style skits, emphasized by the heavy echo on the mic, and dropping his own classics such as “Hip Hop” and “Miss Fat Booty”. Which I have to say after listening to at home, are not done justice what so ever until you hear them on a decent sound system and PA in a club or festival context. His performance was tight in every aspect, went beyond my expectations and I’m sure many other peoples’. Had the whole crowd movin’ and boppin’ their heads through out. And yes, shit! I almost forgot, he opened the performance with none other than the infamous “Chappelle Freestyle”. Beginning on a good one, likewise he finished on a good one too. The chilled out reggae style vocals accompanied by the chilled out funky beats of “Umi Said”.

Mos Def - Miss Fat Booty
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 12th August.

Next up it was a battle between The Avalanches DJ set, and TV on the Radio. We ended up going with TV on the Radio. And what a damn good choice it was. Now, I knew of TV on the Radio, but was hardly familiar with albums and such. I had heard a few really catchy, indie type tunes of theirs played on Triple J over the year, but that was about it. I must say it was an excellent live performance. They went between indie sounding rock tunes that seemed to build up superbly, and hang on in suspense while the guitarists strummed away and the lead singer laid down some amazing vocals. Topped off by a wicked baseline throughout. Was definitely a sight to behold. Something that really stuck in my mind, was the track they finished up with. Being a bit of a beat-boxer myself, I really appreciated it when one of them started to lay down a nice hip hop style and tempo’d beat, then with the rest of the band building upon it and creating a nice down tempo’d number to finish on.

Not to long after the epic act of TV on the Radio, we headed over to the “mix up tent”, to catch the American hip-hop duo Atmosphere. When the line up was first publicized, this was no doubt an act we all wanted to catch. I have always dug Atmosphere’s sound, from when I first heard them on a mix-tape, with the funny yet, well produced tune; ‘Shoes’. Slug’s ability to communicate a detailed and vivid story within his lyrics and at the same time maintain a nice flow throughout - was a style I appreciated straight way. Along with the production of wicked beats by Ant off course, Atmosphere has always been a decent and genuine hip-hop act. We were very much looking forward to hearing them live. However from what I saw, which in fairness wasn’t the whole set, I wasn’t that all impressed with their performance. Just didn’t seem to be anything special. Maybe it was the sheer contrast of just how good the TV on the Radio performance was that I had just witnessed. I’m not sure. However it is only my opinion, and there was a lot of hardcore fans up front that were enjoying it a lot.

So it was long after the sun had gone down, no rain thank god (or luck), and the night time festival experience had begun. For me, festivals undergo quite a significant change between day and night. Everything seems to get a bit faster, more hectic, more of an atmosphere. Probably due to the fact that by now, levels of drugs and alcohol in the majority of people are at a high. But there was us. Not enough alcohol in us and therefore not enough energy. We had been there all day already, and decided to perch ourselves down by a tent thing, and rest up a bit for the main event. The one and only DJ Shadow.

Shadow was getting near, and in order for us to get an alright position, we needed to get headed over to where he was playing, a little earlier. Before I knew it, the immortal piano sample of “Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt”, begins to fill my ears. What a tune to start on. He’s a couple of Entroducing ‘classics’ into the set and I am loving it. Absolutely loving it. To hear these tunes live…on a decent sound system and speakers…being played by Shadow himself… I was in complete awe of it. To hear these masterful tunes being masterfully performed and mixed into each other by the master himself was wicked. But hold on… shit… can it be true?!… was that sudden stop in music on purpose? Right before what sounded like “Walkie Talkie” was about to be dropped? No way! It’s a fucking technical fault! Of all the moments for his to happen. So Shadow gets on the mic, and says the immortal words, “I knew summit was gonna go wrong”. He walks about the stage a little bit, looking a bit anxious, and then goes on to say, “so you wanna hear me beatbox?” Everyone goes mental, thinking we’re gonna hear Shadow of all people beatbox… but he doesn’t. I remember thinking, “what a fucking tease.” Ten, fifteen minutes pass, and after some guy runs about on stage for a while, Shadow gets back on the mic, and reassures us that the show is back on the road and he’s gonna make up for the hiccup by extending the set by 20 minutes or so. Sweet.

To pick things back up, he drops an absolute classic, definitely one of my all time favourite tunes; ‘Changeling’. As soon as I heard the ultra-chilled, and ultra-soulful sample, I was in pure heaven. After a few more classics, he then went into his new stuff. Which I have to say, did seem to once again, ‘kill’ the flow of the set. Not being a fan of “The Outsider” for obvious reasons, not worth getting into the ins and outs right now. Artists like, Chris James and Lateef actually joined Shadow on stage to perform their recent collaborations. Wasn’t too impressed at all. However it was live, and a well produced tune, no matter what genre, can have the ability to sound half-decent. And for David Banners “Seein’ Thangs”, this was no exception. Shadow once again picked things back up, by playing, “The Number Song”, and of course his live version of “Organ Donor”, where he teases the crowd for about half a century, playing a few keys, walking away from the mpc, and then finally dropping it. Although it wasn’t his brilliant “In Tune and On Time” set, it was after all… Shadow. And I know many people have lost a certain level of faith and respect for the direction he’s now heading in - and I know I have. However I can’t deny the sheer musical genius that the bloke has already produced.

Day two. Get to the event about mid-afternoon, just in time to catch the recently very popular, Jewish reggae artist, Matisyahu. True to his live release “Live At Stubbs”, he and his band were amazingly tight, performing an outstanding reggae set which was perfect for a relaxed afternoon. Complete with his awesome beatboxing, and of course “King Without A Crown”, (which they played twice, opening and finishing with it. Which was sweet, cos we missed the very beginning), it was another excellent live performance to catch. Even if the best spot we could get to wasn’t actually in the tent. The next artist we managed to catch a snippet of, was Jose Gonzalez. Being one of the headliners at the festival, it was suiting that they put him in the largest tent. But even so, it was absolutely packed. I had only heard a few tunes here and there of his before Splendour, but the one I managed to catch, which he ended on, was one of his legendary covers; “Tear Drop”, by Massive Attack. At first I didn’t even realise it was, until one of the guys I was with, pointed it out. For just one man and his acoustic guitar, that song had so much power to it. And although it was nothing like the original, he managed to reinvent it, and make something just as powerful.

Last up was Gerling. Another band I wasn’t truly into, hearing a few tunes once again on the J’s, but one I was willing to catch. This time it was a lot easier to wade our way fairly close to the front. Quite a weird set it ended up being. At first they started with distinct rocky/indie sounding tunes, but then managed to genre-blend into definite dance tunes. And I have to say they pulled it off perfectly. Their energy and sheer stage presence was noticeable, and made it something you could really get into. Went beyond any expectations I had prior to seeing them. Definitely worth seeing live if you have the chance.

In between all of the mayhem, I did also manage to catch a few things worth mentioning. Something, which ended up being a highlight, we came across when having a bit of a chill in between the main events. I remember hearing the unmistakable sounds of “Super Modified”, which in my eyes, is the best of the Amon Tobin albums. So we headed over to where it was coming from, and found the small “local stage”, where a chick draped merely in a white sheet, was performing expressive style dances to “Super Modified”, whilst a man in the background painted her movements with luminous paint on a massive canvas that covered the length of the stage. Oh yeah, and a neon light was shining down on the stage whilst this was happening, giving the already trippy performance, an extra dose of trip. We sat for quite a while on seats made of hay. It was a nice, relaxed, intimate change from the hectic-ness of the big performances. And to hear such a sweet album on decent speakers was quite superb.

Splendour ‘06 was no doubt money well spent, and if the line up is anything like it was this year, I’m definitely looking forward to going next year. Splendour is certainly a typical festival, where if rain is likely, which most the time it is, the entire site by the end of the first day, gets reduced to a giant bowl of mud. That has the maddest consistency. It’s like a superglue/mud-like substance. However, with enough intoxicants in your system, this wont be a problem. Unlike Big Day Out, it is quite a cramped festival, with not much open space to move about in, so when the rain and the mud come out to play, it can get a bit dingy. But fuck it; it’s a music festival. All in all, a splendid weekend indeed.

-

A big read there from Waz, but definitely worth reading. If you’re ever anywhere near the east coast of Australia during a July, make sure you check out Splendour In The Grass! If anyone else wants to share a write-up from a recent festival, just give me a shout.

Useful links:

• Splendour In The Grass website
• Download - Mos Def - Miss Fat Booty

Interview with Chris Chinchilla

Interview time! This one is with ex Art Brut guitarist/songwriter Chris Chinchilla. As ever, being in Australia (where?!) time difference is a shitter, so Chris was good enough to stay up till the unsociable hours to speak with me. But what was said? Read on…

Gav: Good evening, Chris, and thanks for staying up late to speak with me. Shall we start the usual way, you explaining to the readers exactly who you are and what you do?

Chris Chinchilla: Right… I am Chris Chinchilla, most will probably know me as ex Art Brut guitarist/songwriter, but some may also know me as an old fanzine writer. Right now I’m a DJ, Radio show host and now, slowly a new solo artist. But I’m taking some time off from the other stuff to concentrate on music.

G: So where did it all begin for you in the wonderful world of music?

CC: Hmm, well, my dad is a musician of sorts, he tried to teach me guitar when I was younger, but I wasn’t interested, then I realised I could impress girls, so started to teach myself, that was at about 15/16. I got into music through my dad too; he brought home a copy of TOTP from the 80’s with Madness on it, got into music through 2-Tone and New Wave stuff, then Blur and onwards.

G: Influences galore! What about Art Brut, how did they come to be?

CC: Well… I met Eddie at a party, he joked about forming bands, but I took him seriously. Freddie I lived with at the time, and he knew Ian from School days, then we met Mike randomly through someone else who’d met him on a bus. It was all because I’d been dumped by a girl really, that I got into a band, which is strange because it’s happened to me again recently (being dumped) so expect great things again soon.

G: Ha ha, the tragic magic; being dumped. So, you’re embarking on a solo career now, what will you take with you from the Art Brut days, explain your sound?

CC: I will take lessons learned, about all sorts of things; performance, the industry, what to do, what not to do - but also the thrill and buzz of performance.

The new sound? Well, I wrote quite a few Art Brut songs, if you take the darker more discordant ones (usually one of mine, Formed a Band is a perfect example) strip down to a three piece, put me on vocals (kind of Paul Weller meets Billy Brag, or so I like to think) and add a little bit of acquired knowledge about song-writing and what works… That’s a rough idea. My musical influences are not always the best indication of my sound, they more influence me to do things.

G: Yes, many artists these days seem to be that way with their influences. How are things progressing with the solo stuff?

CC: Yes, I think that things are quite often like that. Press seem to assume that artists are directly influenced by people they sound like.

Anyway, yes solo stuff it’s going well, coming together now; new tracks, just had a photo shoot, getting good reactions to music. I’m excited by it, which is most important.

G: Definitely, I think people sometimes underestimate how important your own interest in your ventures is. If you’re not enjoying it, get out. All sounds good though, Chris. Do you think we’ll see an EP or LP any time soon?

CC: Hmm, that’s not up to me. I have no money to do it myself. Currently talking to labels, the materials there - but I hope so.

G: So for now you’re just soldiering on waiting for the right opportunities to present themselves? Are you playing live at all at the moment?

CC: Yes, yes to all of those. Got a couple more gigs to play then taking a break to concentrate on getting signed and press and stuff. Gigs have been going very well.

G: Excellent, glad to hear it. Now for the fantasy question… If you could be in a band with any musicians of your choice, who would they be and why?

CC: Ooh, never really thought about that before. Thing is, most musicians I respect I would probably hate being in a band with, because we’re too similar! But anyway, ok; Horace Gentleman (The Specials) on bass, whoever the drummer in RATM was, Johnny Greenwood on lead guitar, maybe, I dunno, that was off the cuff and unplanned, and would probably sound like a real bloody mess!

G: Still, would be something to be on stage with that lot! You’ve already explained that you don’t necessarily sound anything like your influences, but who would you say (if anyone) you do sound like?

CC: Some have said my guitar style is similar to Graham Coxon, but I wish in a 1000 years I was as good as him. The new band is a little bit Jam, a little bit Dead Kennedy’s and a little bit PiL… sort of. It’s so hard to say. My guitar style is messy, I don’t fret properly. When we were recording the Art Brut album the producer had loads of problems because I left loads of weird harmonics over everything, but some say that’s my style!

G: Nothing wrong with being unique! So how are things split between your new solo venture and the new band? Are you stuck in a bit of a tug of war, or is it all crystal clear?

CC: I only ever do solo stuff when the band can’t do it really, or when it’s far away and we’re not paid enough to take the band, that’s about all there is to it. I’d rather do it with the band, though sometimes it’s quite cool flying around Europe on your own with a guitar! The other guys understand, it’s all ok.

G: You jet-setter you! As things stand then; you’ve got your solo career just starting, you also play with a new band, and you’re looking for a label, and dependant on that we may or may not see an EP or LP released some time soon. Sounds like it is all happening for you, what tips can you give to any artists looking to start out in the industry?

CC: Hmm, there are no magic tips I can offer, the single biggest bit of advice I can offer is just to get out there and keep at it, that’s all you can ever do really.

G: Well apart from getting dumped! I’ll put that in big bold letters; Chris Chinchilla says get dumped for success! Well, you’ve been great to interview, Chris, but before we wrap this up, are there any shout-outs you’d like to make or messages to give?

CC: Not sure if that’s a piece of advice, but it does get you focused! I’d just like to say hello to the rest of the band, and mention some bands I recommend at the moment; Blah Blah Blah, Humazi, Scully. Enjoy, I’m going to bed!

My thanks go out once more to Chris for giving up valuable sleeping time to speak with me, I appreciate it. Chris also shot me over an mp3 by his band, Macaca Mulatta, so definitely make sure you check it out here…

Macaca Mulatta - Dancing on a week night
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 25th July.

If you like what you hear, make sure you check out Chris Chinchilla and Macaca Mulatta even further - Chris has a website, and a MySpace page, and Macaca Mulatta also have a website and MySpace page, show some love! The band are playing some live dates soon as well, these are through July and August at the following locations; Portsmouth, Southampton, London, Liverpool, Munich, Hagen, and then London again. Full details of dates and venues are on the website.

Useful links:

• Chris Chinchilla website
• Chris Chinchilla MySpace
• Macaca Mulatta website
• Macaca Mulatta MySpace
• Download - Macaca Mulatta - Dancing on a week night

Interview with Rusty Sheriff

Today I bring you an interview with Rusty Sheriff. He’s a pal of mine that just so happens to make fantastic music. He combines turntablism, samplism, and dirty-breakalism… ok, you probably were thinking I made the second word up, but now you definitely know I made the third one up! But, enough of my nonsense, I’ll let you read the transcript from the interview…

Gav: Good day to you kind sir and thank you for taking the time out to do this interview. Do you want to start by just explaining who you are and what you do?

Rusty Sheriff: Hello and thank you for having me on board. I’m Rusty Sheriff, a full time sonic terrorist, part-time teacher. I make music in my sound room in Portsmouth, UK and trying to play it out live as often as logistically possible!

G: I know all about your “sonic terrorism”, but can you just describe your sound for the benefit of the readers and perhaps where your influences come from?

RS: The sound is really an odd mixture of influences from my record collection. It is breaks heavy, and in that respect I suppose I’m a breaks purist. But in addition it’s mainly instrumental, taking most of my sounds from samples stolen from forgotten charity shop records. My main influences range from DJ Shadow and RJD2 at one end of the spectrum through to Techno Animal, Melvins and Dalek.

G: That’s broad indeed, but where did it all start for the Sheriff? What got you into this game?

RS: The ‘Rusty Sheriff’ alias came from my previous band, which I started in Nottingham (at uni) with a close friend Dusty Bible. Designer Babies (www.designerbabies.net) were an important avant weird project that shaped the experimental side of the Sheriff output. I left uni, and returned to my home town of Portsmouth leaving the band behind to carry on (now in its 3rd incarnation!). So that’s where the name came from, the need to carry on was purely driven from the desire to play my music live. I kept the alias, and switched my tact from avant garde freeform rock to turntablist hip-hop, something I’d been into throughout my time in the ‘Babies. Before that though it took time to write some ‘Rusty’ material.

G: What can you tell me about your production methods and your home setup?

RS: The ‘Saloon’ (hehehe…) is very lofi really, it has a PC, a self built surface with a turntable, scratch mixer, studio mixer, outboard effects - compressors, reverbs, sampler, plenty of children’s toys and some strange contraptions that I’ve built and boxed up, which will eventually work in a track somewhere! I use two programs on the PC to do most of the work; namely Acid 5 and CoolEditPro. These I use to sequence sounds and to edit them. Despite trying allsorts of pro software, these allow me to be the most creative due to the ease of use.

G: Well fair play to you for prioritising creativity over process. How do you transfer the studio experience to a live show experience? How does it differ?

RS: Well it’s tricky to separate the final track from the live experience, and maintain an element of ‘liveness’. I tend to take the original track, break it down (no pun intended!) to the basic individual recorded tracks, and try to work out which sections I can manipulate live. Often this is the scratching because it’s more visual. I then tend to master a ‘live’ version of the song which will then fit into the set somewhere. Sometimes I’ll re-structure the track and maybe play the theremin or ’scratch’ some sampler noises in too. It’s funny though, because most think I’m just DJing, and playing other peoples tunes! I suppose it’s down to them to take notice though!

G: Ha ha, I’d probably get frustrated and continually grab the mic to say things like “you do realise I’m creating this and not DJing, right?!” - It sounds pretty impressive though. So do you prefer to be out there playing live to being in the studio recording, or do you just view them as two separate parts of one larger thing?

RS: Yeah, for sure! They both make up a larger picture. It would be far too easy to make the tunes indoors, put them on the web, pull the usual hopeful label demo send off, but that doesn’t really satisfy me fully. Doing it live takes a fair bit of balls, because the laptop doesn’t always work and it’s so easy for a stylus to fall off the record! I like the risk, and I really love the reactions, good or bad - I love both!!! I’d like the tracks to be listened to in earphones, or at home, but doing it live is really an extension of it.

G: Ah, a natural showman and performer eh?! Should get you on Pop Idol, see what Simon Cowell thinks! Well, the whole live Rusty Sheriff experience really does sound intriguing to say the least, but going back to your studio work, where are you with that now? What have you done and what are you doing?

RS: Hahaha! Yeah, Simon Cowell would love me! Hahaha! Simon: “So, Rusty let’s hear you sing…” hehehe… Pop Idol aside, I’m working on a couple of slightly different projects at the moment. On one hand I’m trying to remix as many artists as I can, and conversely ‘trying’ to get other producers to remix my material, in order to compile a collection of “Rusty Sheriff and Friends” recordings. As well as that I’m also writing tracks with a mind to the live show. I said earlier that people don’t always get the live show, so I’m trying to get some more vocals on the tracks, pulling in some guest emcees, poets, singers and wordsmiths to record and then reproduce the output live. “Black & White” with Deadfoot is the first from that series.

G: Good stuff, sounds like you are a busy man! So, thinking along the lines of what you do physically and the sounds you produce, what other artists out there do you admire that you see doing perhaps slightly similar stuff?

RS: I’m really into Dalek at the moment, those guys are on Mike Patton’s ‘Ipecac’ label, doing nasty hip-hop with cuts and rhymes - I’d love to try and somehow achieve similar results. They’re kicking out some seriously original shit, yet keeping to the hip-hop blueprint. Also I really enjoy Bonobo at the minute, he stands out from the rest of the Ninja Tune unit, mainly through his song writing, but I love the ‘raw’ production methods which is nice to see. Again; creativity instead of over-production.

G: Yup, those are some seriously creative fellas you’ve mentioned right there. So basically, from the information you’ve told me; you’re an artist and performer that regards expressing creativity as the utmost of importance - well, the world can never have enough of people like that, so I’d say you’re definitely on the right track! What would you truly like to achieve as an artist and performer?

RS: That’s a tricky one! I’m not really sure in honesty. I’d like to attain some sort of artistic satisfaction with my output, mainly through evolving the sound - trying to keep it fresh, and using different sound sources. I’d love to perform on a festival stage, to a ‘larger’ audience, maybe use visuals and emcees. This is really a utopian view of it, as to be honest my feet are VERY stable and on the ground! I recently saw Shadow live, and it gave me some nice ideas about presenting live, electronic music, to the masses! Production wise, I’d like to carry on the learning process that is recording sound - it never really ends! Maybe one day I’ll be happy with something I’ve written!

G: Onward and upwards as they say! What (if any) are your biggest frustrations with the whole scene? Naturally for a lot of lesser known artists the obvious problem is just getting recognition and actually signed, but do you find many other elements slow your process?

RS: Obviously, being able to do this as a day job would be fantastic - a dream come true. But in these days of labels becoming over-saturated with artists looking for a deal or a break, it’s becoming more and more difficult to get signed. I used to work for a heavy metal record label, and I saw how they disregarded demos sent in. That really was a heart breaker, as you could see how much effort those cats had put into their demos. In that respect, there’s no winning, so we’ve all just gotta plug on and hope that maybe one day someone might consider paying us for doing this! Labels aren’t the only stumbling block though, I find peoples perceptions more difficult. I’ve mentioned the problems playing live, in that people expect a DJ to start spinning tunes and then end up with a full on noise set. Hahaha! Fuck em’ I say! Nah, seriously, it’s frustrating, but I’d like to see it as a challenge. If they don’t get it well, hey, that’s their loss. It’s my own fault too, I tend not to play at ‘clubs’, I’d rather play with bands at live venues, so it’s not like I’ve got grounds to complain!!!

G: I tend to agree, their loss. You sound like you’ve got your head screwed on and you just gotta keep on doing what you do. So, you’ve got a couple of projects in the works, what about future live performances? Are they adhoc, or do you have some sort of residency somewhere?

RS: With my approach to live shows they tend to be adhoc. Usually I get a show every month or so in the Portsmouth area, but I’m running out of venues to destroy! Hahaha! In fairness, I find that promoters find it difficult to find artists to pair me up with on any given bill. Safe to say I end up playing at eclectic nights!

G: I see! Well if the organisers of Glastonbury, Coachella, or any other large festivals ask me any time soon for recommendations on who should play at their gigs… I might just mention your name! I’m loving the stuff on your MySpace page, people should def check all that out, plus I’m looking forward to hearing more from these new projects, so keep us all informed! Before we wrap this up are there any shout-outs you want to make or messages to give the readers?

RS: Shout outs eh? Haha! Ok, well I should probably thank a few peeps that have shown their support over the years/months… Firstly my lawyer/part time housemate John for always giving me honest feedback minus the bullshit as well as numerous lifts! My missus for always pretending to enjoy the live sets! Dusty and Kate from the Designer Babies, the FIZIKZ crew; yourself included! aha, weeks and all the guys I miss so! And me mam and dad for never quite understanding what I do, but always being supportive! Thanks to you all!

G: Awww, very touching messages there from the Sheriff. Just