Dilated Choonz

Paul B - 'Blues'

T Pot — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:28:00 +0000

Just found Paul B on Soundcloud. I suggest checking out his stuff.

Loving the really deep & minimal style of this track. Instant hit for me as soon as I heard it – didn’t realise its 3 years old !

Sounds great on the car sub :)

Paul B – Blues by paulbmusic

Happy Birthday Mr Bowie

Hal Berstram — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:12:00 +0000

David Bowie – John I’m Only Dancing (Again) 1975

Sorry for prolonged absence from this blog… I’ve returned to mark the occasion of David Bowie’s 65th birthday with a little tune from 1975, which (I think) was an outtake from the sessions for Young Americans. It’s essentially a funk remake of the 1972 single “John I’m Only Dancing”, and the basic musical structure was used with different lyrics and an additional main two-chord theme as “Stay” on Bowie’s 1976 Station To Station LP.

“John I’m Only Dancing (Again) 1975” was issued as a single in 1979 (in 7” and 12” versions – the version uploaded here is the 7 inch mix, largely because I didn’t have any mp3 copy of the 12 inch mix to hand, and my old 12 inch single of it is in storage at the moment). The 12” version was also an extra track on the early 90s CD reissues of Bowie’s back catalogue on Rykodisc (sadly the newer EMI reissues don’t have any extra tracks on them). I own it on an early 80s compilation called (strangely enough) “Rare Bowie” from which I might post another oddity soon…) Anyway I am to be more active here this year, so see yon soon.

note: the mp3 file begins with about 5 seconds of silence due to poor editing by me. Sorry.

David Bowie's website ::
Buy the track :: on the "Best of Bowie 1974-79" compilation

File Download (3:29 min / 5 MB)

Nexus 21 - Real Love(Obsession) [1990]

T Pot — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:35:00 +0000

Just digging through my old CDs. Found this old one from Network Records 1990. ‘Real Love’ by Nexus 21.

Quite a nice old skool cut. Nice strings.

File Download (5:31 min / 13 MB)

6 Hour SEBA mix !!! Merry X-mas

T Pot — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:08:00 +0000

As the title suggests. A downloadable mix full of tunes by one of my fav all time dnb producers here !

Mav @ Scientific Radio – Show 023, 024 & 025 – Through The Eyes Of.. Seba (Full 6 hour mix) by Mav

Wicked man in Madenabena!

The Double K — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:12:00 +0000

DJ Dextrous & Rude Boy Keith – Wicked

Here’s one from the golden age of Jungle, 1994 to be precise. It comes from an EP called “The Kings of the Jungle Part One” on Suburban Base, but at the time I had this track on a mixtape bought from a man with a suitcase full of tapes outside Brixon tube station with nothing written on it except “Noodles – Razor Jungle Dub”.

The tune kicks off with the familiar “Ring the Alarm” reggae bassline and horns combined here with absoulutely tearing distorted and chopped breakbeats. The reggae then gives way to some absolutely devastating pure dark jungle bass with snippets of various vocal samples. The relentless beats carry on, there are a couple of great breakdowns and some spacey off-key synths add to the ruffness. Eventually the Ring The Alarm b-line and horns return as the tune draws to a close.

Pure ruffness – razor jungle dub indeed.

File Download (5:24 min / 8 MB)

Completely awesome

The Mighty Alboy — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:20:00 +0000

Tune Yards – “Lions”

Am at a bit of a loss selecting the genre categories on this one, so I’ve just gone for “completely awesome”.

The Tune Yards- Merrill Garbus.

Kind of hard to describe, so you’ll just have to listen to it. Drums, bass, vocals- she has the most incredibly dynamic range, a voice of amazing subtlety and power- and of course, ukelele’s.

Not usual fare for DC but I stumbled across this on the weekend, and I’ve been listening to everything i can get my hands on all week, and it’s been a brilliant melange of lo fi pop, hip hop, indie, funk, african (and usually I instinctively mislike anything that could be described as “fusion”). Guess you’d have to say challenging too, cos it’s pretty in your face, a lot of it.

This is from the first album Bird Brains, released in 2008 originally recorded on cassette via a dicatphone (seriously), but then remastered still lo fi via a single mike and using top quality open source recording software Audacity when Tune Yards signed to 4AD- good to see they still have their ears out for great new music (even in DC’s appear to be 3 years out of date). New album who kill came out in April and is equally awesome.

So I thought it was all rather nicely produced in a garagey studio, in a lo-fi sounding kind of way, but there’s no chance it could be done live, with all the overdubbing and complicated progness of some of the tracks.

But lord was I wrong about that…

Just looked up some of the tracks on YouTube, and it’s live- the overdubbing and looping is all done ingeniously live, and the performance is draw-dropping. Just being able to sing and play the drums at the same time (see J Live below) is amazing, but- and it’s not so surprising, as she was formerly and may well still be a puppeteer- Merrill Garbus is something else.

[And that’s not to mention the bass player (Jermaine- sorry, Nate Brenner- also amazing)]

Check the performances below.

Seriously.

A puppeteer pulling strings of a different kind out there.

Absolutely no idea where the lyrics or the melodies come from, but sure it’s all way deep. And it’s Jazz, man…it really is!

File Download (5:00 min / 11 MB)

Really creepy electro

The Mighty Alboy — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:37:00 +0000

Instra:mental – “Voyeur”

Been out a while but only just crossed my ears- and shortly after my turntables. This is an understated, sinister, belter of a tune.

The duo behind it- Alex Green and Damon Kirkham- have been producing quality electronic music for a good long while now, and have a bunch of strings to their musical bows, releasing electro, acid, dnb and non-classifiable things that get filed under “post dubstep” (whatever that is) going by a variety of pseudonyms and project names, including Boddika (Al Green), Jon Convex (D Kirkham).

It’s all well worth checking out, but this tune stands out cos it’s so thoroughly moody and not a little creepy.

File Download (5:15 min / 6 MB)

Samooo - Wreckd

Big J — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Bassline.

ahem…
How is everyone?
I’ve been buried knee deep in fatherhood and work.

Glad to report Hurricane Irene wasn’t angry with us here in Brooklyn.

Remix by Samooo on G.A.M.M. an extremely reliable label…

G.A.M.M Myspace ::
Turntable Lab MP3 store :: Buy pretty much anything by G.A.M.M Enterprises

File Download (6:02 min / 14 MB)

Curious Hardcore

The Double K — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:54:00 +0000

Haute Control – Dream Series

A couple of tracks here from the rare-as-rocking-horse “Future Stylin’ E.P.” from 1993 (only 24 people have a copy on Discogs, 113 want it, including me, and Hard To Find Records haven’t had a copy in since 2001).

Dream Series is an odd track, it’s hardcore but not quite as we know it… The combination of crisp breakbeats and heavy bass with really quirky samples and synths reminds me very much of the Wagon Christ sound. I have no idea who Haute Control are (this rare 12” is their only release), but the production quality on the EP is really very high throughout and I’d be surprised if this is the only release from whoever made it. You never know, it might even be one of Luke Vibert’s many pseudonyms.

File Download (4:31 min / 10 MB)

The Sound Of The Future in 1993

The Double K — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:53:00 +0000

Haute Control – Future Stylin’

Future Stylin’ (as you might guess) is the opening track from the “Future Stylin’ E.P.” and is much more straight up hardcore than Dream Series, probably picked for the A-side as it would more instantly appeal to DJs. The opening bars of mellow piano soon give in to the high-pitched synth hook and a wicked breakbeat that varies beautifully throughout the track.

The super-crisp and intricately crafted beats mark this out as a cut above a lot of the generic hardcore that came out around the time. Quality.

File Download (6:42 min / 15 MB)

Chicken-eaters...

The Mighty Alboy — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:43:00 +0000

Some comedy gold for Monday- Vic and Bob back to doing what they do best: tw*tting around in wigs, trying to make each other laugh.

For those of you who like this sort of thing, there was an Alan Partridge series on “Afternoon Delights” before this.

Thank you very much

I Was Trapped In The Darkness For A Long Time...

The Double K — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:14:00 +0000

Bam Bam – Then There Was Light!

A quick heads-up about this new track from (acid) house legend Chris Westbrook AKA Bam Bam – grab the download from Soundcloud ASAP as it’s only free for 2 weeks then it goes for sale online.

It’s a top tune, a massive summertime house banger with some fat warm bass, monster acid squidge (something that’s far too rare these days) and vocals that I can’t help thinking are a cheeky nod to Lil’ Louis’ classic Blackout.

Bam Bam is responsible for some all-time classic tracks including “Give It To Me” and the mildly terrifying “Where’s Your Child”. In addition his Westbrook Records label brought us Mike Dunn’s Magic Feet and Armando’s Land Of Confusion, arguably two of the best and most influential acid tracks of all time.

To be honest I’m not really up to speed with his more recent work but going on the quality of this track I’m off now to correct this.

So grab this while you can, or if you’re already too late for the download have a listen here and then go find somewhere to buy it!

———UPDATE 14th JULY———
Chris has upped some of the tracks I mentioned to Soundcloud – go check them out!
Bam Bam – Give It To Me
Bam Bam – Where’s Your Child
Armando – Land Of Confusion

Then there was light ! “BAMBAM” New Release DJ demo download by Westbrook Records

Best of Westbrook Classics :: Catch up on your history a bit if you don't know it already!
Westbrook Records on Soundcloud :: Check out some of Bam Bam's new stuff here.

I-I-I-I-I-I-I'm Back!

The Double K — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:26:00 +0000

Chubb Rock with Howie Tee – Ya Bad Chubbs (Crib Mix)

It’s been a while I know, but enjoying this with the sunshine blazing I felt compelled to share it with any of our dear readers who still pass by occasionally just to check if we’ve shut down altogether yet.

It’s a jam from back in 1989, a pretty straightforward rip of Raze’s unmistakable Break 4 Love beat (at least I think that’s where it originated…) with some great funky synth, a liberal smattering of handclaps and a bit of rapping. Nothing big or clever, but it’s great fun, catchy and just what the kids wanted to hear out raving in the fields during the “second summer of love”.

I’ve made a whole new “Hip-House” category to file it under, can’t think why we didn’t have it before…

While I’m here I’d like to say congratulations to DJ KL (who’s about the only person likely to come round here these days) on the birth of Rosie yesterday – congratulations! If you start her on Hip-House young enough she will grow to love it, I’m sure.

File Download (5:37 min / 13 MB)

something specials

The Mighty Alboy — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:06:00 +0000

Suspicious Stench – “Ghost Town”

V quick post while I have 5 mins

Came across this the other day and it’s been straining the speakers in me car ever since- a dubstep rework of Ghost Town by the Specials.

The nice fellas from Suspicious Stench have also kindly made available a free album (linked below) with further fatness:

“as even arseholes like us can be nice, we think everyone should follow this trend, so therefore by downoading this album you are legally obliging to do one random act of kindness for someone today.”

Bless.

File Download (4:30 min / 6 MB)

New Order anticipate the Vickers Commission by 30 years

Hal Berstram — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 09:54:00 +0000

New Order – ICB

Apologies for such a long time since my previous posting… only just getting back into some semblance of normal work/life balance after working flat out for about 6 months.

It was this week’s publication of the interim report from the Independent Commission on Banking, chaired by Sir John Vickers, that spurred me into posting action after a long layoff. I realised that the acronym for the commission, “ICB”, was the same as a song off New Order’s first album Movement. I have posted before from Movement, which is a much underrated album, and insofar as I can understand the lyrics (which are mixed low) they don’t seem to have much to do with banking, but here it is nonetheless.

For many of us, New Order’s 1984 single “Thieves Like Us” is perhaps a more appropriate ode to the commercial banking sector… but that is perhaps more an argument for a political blog.

If they ain’t got ya one way, they’ve got ya the other.

Buy New Order's "Movement" :: brilliantly reissued on double CD (from the Rough Trade shop)
ICB interim report :: featuring a foreword by Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook (if only!)

File Download (4:33 min / 6 MB)

2-Step to heaven

The Mighty Alboy — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 12:06:00 +0000

M-Dubs ft Richie Dan – “Over Here (Sugar Shack Break Funk Mix)”

Classic bit of UK Garage here from producer and occasional Radio 1 DJ Albert Doku, aka Ras Kwame, aka M Dubs.

Big tune in ‘98, still sounding good today and still putting out fresh releases

Been putting a spring in my step for the new season, so thought I’d share …

File Download (5:49 min / 8 MB)

2:30 Minutes

T Pot — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 15:26:00 +0000

Populous – Bottom 01

Here is a nice ambient slice from ‘Populous’. The LP is called ‘Quipo’ from 2002. I love this tune despite it being so short….nice dope beat, guitars, glitches & I read somewhere that the other sample is a clarinet….anyway sounds nice to my ears. Production is crisp.

If you are going to purchase one of his records, I would probably get ‘Queue for Love’ (2005) as overall its a better LP than ‘Quipo’

His later LP ‘Drawn in Basic’ is slightly different in style and more song based – also interesting in my opinion.

Buy ‘Queue For Love’ from Amazon

nice one. T-pot

File Download (2:30 min / 4 MB)

A Lil' More Dance Mania

The Double K — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 10:31:00 +0000

Lil’ Louis – The Original Video Clash

How to describe this early (1988) release on Dance Mania? A few things spring to mind:

Raw as fuck
Completely insane
Way ahead of it’s time

Is it house? Is it techno? Or is it actually just some fucked up bleeping and crashing shit?

Somehow the bangs crashes and bleeps, although pretty jarring on first listen, hang together and become catchy. To my ear the massive kicks and abrasive bleeps here make it a very early precursor to the “ghetto house” sound that developed later, albeit without the sleazy lyrics.

Lil Louis on Red Bull Radio :: The man himself discusses his life & music while playing some of his records.

File Download (5:02 min / 7 MB)

Dance Mania (2)

The Mighty Alboy — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 22:56:00 +0000

jammin gerald – “pump that shit up”

Next up, Jammin the House Gerald!

And oh boy, what an exciting track :)

Gerald’s still rockin it:

gerald at discogs ::
this release ::

File Download (4:13 min / 6 MB)

Dance Mania (1)

The Mighty Alboy — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 22:47:00 +0000

dj milton – “late nite creep”

A brace of beauties for Saturday night, from Chicago’s prolific Dance Mania label.

The label started out in the mid eighties and pioneered early chicago house and acid house sounds, and in the early nineties went on to become the primo producer of the ghetto house sound, featuring all the key players like DJ Deeon Slugo and DJ Funk (who went on to buy the label in 2005). Pretty much all the best harder-edged artists from Chicago have had releases on Dance Mania.

These tracks are from two of the unsung heroes of the early nineties scene.

This one from Milton Jones- aka DJ Milton- is a personal favourite, featuring the steadfast hard edge, heavy swung drum sounds, 4 to the floor kick, cheeky b-line and (in this case, moderate) sleaziness.

Nice little bit of documentary here:

dance mania on discogs ::
Milton Jones on discogs ::

File Download (4:32 min / 7 MB)