88 Music Blog

OH How excited we are to present another installment of the Underground Knowledge Ninja Tune sesssions!

Last week’s podcasts were off the chain, and it took some digging but we got another couple whoppers from the Archives that should rival the past couple weeks’ NT sessions. For Week 3, we go more into some hip-hop and electro educational steez from some of Ninja Tune’s most prolific DJs. Peep the podcasts and see for yourself!

UK Ninja Tune – Week 3 – Part 1

Journeys By DJ: Coldcut – 70 Minutes Of Madness [1995]
Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop
Style: Dub, Techno, Jungle, Cut-up/DJ, Downtempo, Hip Hop

These are the journeys of Coldcut, scientist of sound, primordial dancefloor hooligans and intrepid explorers of the realms of the Deep Groove. Matt Black and Jonathan More’s epic ventures into turntable tricknology have spanned the many varied domains of dance, enticing generation after funky generation to do their own thing and get on the Left Foot. With the help of PC and Strictly Kev, Coldcut have prepared for you an exquisite 70 minute banquet for the taste-buds that live in your ears. This is not a mechanical mix of four-to-da-floor bland-bag house tracks-its style. It’s more inspired by classic mix records such as Double D and Steinski’s “Lessons (1-3)” and Grandmaster Flash’s “Adventures on the Wheels of Steel”, and derived from the mastermix tradition pioneered by DJ’s such as Shep Pettibone on New Yorks’ original Kiss FM. You are served a intensive mix of beatnological manipulation and melody, containing a selection of the many different terrains of todays’ musical Soundscape. Step out of the dark and into the Night with the inspirational Illuminati of Hedfunk, taking you where few turntable terrorists dare to tread.

1 Philorene – Bola (3:18)
2 The Truper – Street Beats Vol 2 (3:01)
3 Junior Reid – One Blood (2:24)
4 Newcleus – Jam On Revenge (The Wikki Wikki Song) (1:11)
5 2 Player – Extreme Possibilities (Wagon Christ Remix) (1:08)
6 Funki Porcini – King Ashabanapal (Dillinja Mix) (1:35)
7 Jedi Knights – Noddy Holder (2:53)
8 Plastikman – Fuk (1:08)
9 Coldcut – More Beats (1:16)
10 Bedouin Ascent – Manganese In Deep Violet (1:58)
11 Bob Holroyd – African Drug (3:13)
12 Air Liquide – Stratus Static (1:55)
13 Coldcut – Beats And Pieces (1:47)
14 Coldcut – That Greedy Beat (1:23)
15 Matt Black & The Coldcut Crew – The Music Maker (1:07)
16 Coldcut – Find A Way (Acapella) (1:18)
17 Mantronix – King Of The Beats (1:56)
18 Gescom – Mag (3:02)
19 Masters At Work – Justa “Lil” Dope (1:39)
20 Raphael Corderdos – Parp 1 / Rock Creak Parp (0:40)
21 Luke Slater’s 7th Plain – Grace (1:01)
22 Joanna Law – First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Acapella) (2:07)
23 Harold Budd – Balthus Bemused By Color (1:57)
24 Photek – Into The 90′s (1:59)
25 BDP – Bridge Is Over (2:49)
26 DJ Food – Dark Blood (MLO Nu Blud Mix) (0:20)
27 Jhelisa – Friendly Pressure (Acapella) (2:38)
28 Hookian Mindz – Freshmess (Bandulu Mix) (0:11)
29 Jello Biafra – Message From Our Sponsor (2:21)
30 Pressure Drop – Unify (1:57)
31 Love Lee – Again Son (2:17)
32 Red Snapper – Hot Flush (Sabres Of Paradise Remix) (4:05)
33 Ron Granier – Theme From Dr Who (1:26)
34 Moody Boys – Free (2:27)
35 DJ Food – The Dusk (5:19)

UK Ninja Tune – Week 3 – Part 2

Luke Vibert Mix = 1999-02-26 / Luke Vibert – Back To The Basics (X-072)
Broadcast 1999 on Der Vinylizer Radio (Germany)
Re-Broadcast on Ninja Tune’s Solid Steel Radio Show 2007

1. Luke Vibert – “Splitting The Mind” (No Info)
2. I Gres – “Hot Dog” (Globevision)
3. Fat Boys – “Human Beat Box” (WEA)
4. Henry Mancini – “Slow Hot Wind” (RCA)
5. Gang Starr – “Just To Get A Rep (acapella)” (Chrysalis 1991)
6. Cameo – “Flirt” (Casablanca)
7. Cylob – “Rewind” (Rephlex)
8. Egyptian Lover – “Los Angeles” (Egyptian Empire)
9. Level 42 – “Starchild” (No Info)
10. Yello – “Bostich” (Vertigo)
11. Luke Vibert – “Not Yet Broken” (No Info)
12. Tyree – “Acid Over” (FFRR)
13. Suburban Knight – “The Worlds” (Transmat)
14. Bros – “I O U Nothing (acapella)” (CBS)
15. Meat Beat Manifesto – “I Am Electro (DHS Remix)” (Play It Again Sam)
16. Drexciya – “Bang Bang” (UR)
17. Ryuichi Sakamoto – “Participation Mystique” (Island)
18. Cylob – “Sex Machine” (Rephlex)
19. Kraftwerk – “Numbers” (EMI)
20. Peter Thomas – “Space Patrol” (Bavaria)
21. OC – “Times Up (acapella)” (Wild Pitch)
22. L-Fudge – “Show Me Gratitude (inst.)” (Rawkus)
23. Wagon Christ – “Breakage No. 2″ (Virgin)

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 Coldcut JDJ - 70 Minutes of Madness: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Luke Vibert - Back To The Basics (X-072): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts – Face A L’Est

Salaat Linguere, the piece to start this all off is a spiritual prayer for the journey ahead.  Just a voice is used to draw you in with wanting to know more.

More about this affair which would leave you knowing that you Can’t Cheat w/ Concrete.  Is it about a lovers tale of betrayal and the demise of what there once was or how dancing could be the answer?  In that case your feet with the concrete would be your lovers jealous seed.  It left me feeling intertwined and encased with emotion.

A wake up call to the rigors of a new day or thought process.  Domdom will have you marching to a different beat.  With it’s up and down drums and droning synths it will have you shaking down small city streets filled with markets and culture abound.  This is a good one to have them in that state of electronic hypnosis.

Here comes a jazzy soulful number that has me up out of my seat.  Les Gans is an uncontrollable dancer.  The brass instrument will melt the coldness of winter while the percussion instruments are like raked leaves.  You just have to run and kick through them.    It has a classic house lounge vibe that you would get from digging in your parents old record collection. 

Don’t let the little grain particles cover your senses on a sound dancing wind that consumes your every direction.  There is a huge beat that puts you in the direction you are headed.  The bass and percussion keep you up and going while the whirling synths twist and pull you to and from the southern kick.  Hartmattan has a playfulness about it that puts me at ease with any heavy burden.

Salaat Dakar, calling towers from the capital elude to the next part of this musical voyage.

With darker undertones, Yenon lends a software tickle to your eardrums.  A little more somber than the other tracks but still picks you up with the background middle eastern vibe.  What I like best is the chuggy bassline throughout the track.  It is unforgiving and coupled to the other sounds gives off a sinister vibe. 

So time on the dancefloor can lend its foot to the bouncing syncopation which is Ze Blob.  Probably the one that most will get down to these days.  This bubbling brew of circus dots will either pull you down further or take you to uncertain heights.  Know the answer yet??

They Only Come Out At Night is a gathering for everyone.  Its hand percussion really gets you going while filtered hi hats will have you buzzing.  It is a light hearted piece that   had me down in the depths of my own thoughts with its vocal meditation.  

Fat Cat is a mastery of sound placement with a throw back to the do wop music.  Soulful vocals drip with audio cuts and the combination is great. It lets me come down from the mix gently and I put it on repeat again.

Final Thoughts:  Overall I like the flow throughout the mix.  Everything is placed well to not disrupt the flow from one track to the next.  Also, I really like the different textures that are placed in and around the beats and percussion.  All in all it is not your typical selection of tracks and I think that is what struck me the most.  It is one that I’m sure you will play again and again and again……

[review by Jeffrey S./Stir Sound Recordings]

For more info on this album, with audio clips and option to purchase tracks – visit Boomkat.

For more info and to contact Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts, visit their myspace page.

DJ C continues to drop his mashed up mix of hip-hop, bashment, grime, bounce, jungle, rock, folk, bhangra, dubstep and just about everything else at parties, clubs, and events worldwide.

In 2003 he began the Mashit record label with a 12-inch featuring one of his rough-and-rugged-ragga tracks along-side an Aaron Spectre remix. It sold out within weeks of it’s release. The next 5 Mashit 12-inches also featured DJ C material, and they’ve been killing dance-floors and airwaves throughout the universe. Legendary BBC Radio One host John Peel (R.I.P.) chose Mashit as a “label of the month” in October 2004. The records have also been receiving airplay on other BBC shows, in addition to shows on London’s Resonance FM, and Ninja Tune’s syndicated Solid Steel show.

He’s been on his grind producing beats and remixes for other labels as well. His mix of the M.I.A. tune U.R.A.Q.T., was released on her Galang ’05 single by XL Recordings, and his mixes of the tune Gone A Jail, by reggae legend Gregory Isaacs, were recently released on Kid 606’s Tigerbeat6 sub-label Shockout.

His last release for Death$ucker (DSR15) was a solid 3 track EP of what can only be discribed as “Boston-bounce”, a style pioneered by DJ C himself. This latest 12-inch features some tracks from the vault and a few new joints.

On the A side we have “Who Wah Seek Yo”; the infamous, until now unreleased bluegrass-core (!) tune, with it’s killer banjo licks. Following that is LXC’s remix of the same tune, taking crystal clean drum & bass and giving the hillbilly treatment.

“Gi Mi Di Break” is a short track which would work quite well as a DJ tool. “It Gets Worse” is a bass-heavy downtempo number, dipping into the murky dubstep genre, and features the world-renowned thereminist Pamelia Kurstin. There are so many influences injected into this record it’s quite breathtaking, but the real killer is the bass heavy dancefloor killer ‘Come Back Version’; another track from the DJ C vaults, this time cutting up jungle beats with large doses of reggae and dancehall thrown in for good measure.

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 DJ C - Come Back Version [clip]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 DJ C - Gi Mi Di Break [clip]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Support your man DJ C and buy Sonic Weapons EP or the full length (Vinyl/CD/MP3s) directly here @ MASHIT!

this Saturday. With a bang!

You all ready for the final installment of the big 2 double o 7 of X and PULSE? We certainly are.

What: X and PULSE

Where: Bebar – 1318 9th St., NW

When: Sat., Dec. 15th

6pm-10 (X)

10 – 3am (PULSE)

Cost:

X – $8 ($5 if you incorporate this month’s theme – PEACE)

PULSE – $5 (Free if you e-mail names and corresponding e-mail addresses to: info@eightyeightdc.com by 10pm 12/14)

Deets –

Above is last month’s winning design by Liz Rudner, for successfully incorporating: Quark, Mosaic and Concrete. Liz won a fresh HP printer. Congrats Liz and thanks HP!

This month’s talent is once again, exceptional. Everyone will be performing LIVE. Bring your cameras, bring your money, bring some PEACE

PERFORMANCE: Live, tribal fusion belly dance from Belladonna : http://xindc.tv/artist.jsp?id=belladonna

DESIGN: Live graphic design competition with: Collel, Red Sonia and Daniel B.

Here’s a sample of Collel’s work:

CURATOR and guest juror: Lisa Marie Thalhammer

This month, the winning designer will also receive a limited edition ‘X’ t-shirt, hand silk screened by Marc Everett:

PROJECTIONS: We’re featuring our stellar photogs this month Eric P and Graham M. –

MUSIC: Live PA and collaborative, improv performances by:

DJ Slouch (NYC): www.djslouch.net

The Sync Tank (NYC): www.myspace.com/thesynctank

Aligning Minds (DC/Bmore): http://xindc.tv/artist.jsp?id=aligningMinds

FASHION: De Nada You may remember Virginia from our FIRST party. Well, she’ll be bringing back her bags, ts, scarves etc. Just in time for the holidaze.

And on that note, bring $25 for an official ‘X’ T-shirt. There is a limited supply of these bad boys, both mens and ladies cuts. And, per our steeze…they are socially and environmentally friendly. Design by none other than Graham J.:

Creatives! Keep your eyes out for folks from Conversant Creative. X is partnering with them on creating, in essence, an agency that will utilize artistic talent associated with ‘X’. Seek them out to find out more about the opportunity.

What better way to end 2007 that with this month’s theme is PEACE:

PULSE

Starting at 10pm, the room opens up…the lights go down and the beats get thick, dirty and teched out. Wear your dancing shoes and loose clothes as we welcome SIMON and Kate Simko into the PULSE family. Come Saturday night to find out why Kate’s one of the best and brightest techno DJs and producers to come out of Chicago for a while. She’ll be treating us to a Live PA and DJ set, over an extended 3 hrs !!!

Thanks Jackson for the design! www.myspace.com/jxnblck

In order to get yourself ready for Sat night’s music listen to Kate’s recent mix: http://www.katesimko.com/kate_simko-DJset_philly_7.14.07.mp3

And to hear a bit from SIMON: http://djsimon.us/reduxdec07.mp3

On top of all this, Kevorkian will be providing serious Eye Candy.

 

 Kate Simko - DJ Set - Philly: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Simon - Redux / Dec 2007: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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$3 Peronis and $3 Mixed, SILK Vodka drinks.

PLEASE pass this note onto friends that you think would like what we have to offer. Finally, if you’re celebrating a birthday or other special occasion with a bunch of guests, let me know so we can try to make the night extra special.

Thanks for pushing things forward with us in 2007 everyone! Here’s to more momentum in 2008!

See you Saturday

For Week 2 of Ninja Tune appreciation month @ Underground Knowledge, we glued together 2 of the best mixes ever. CD 1 & CD 2 of DJ Krush vs. Coldcut’s ‘Cold Krush Cuts’. Get blasted off your favorite poison, sit back and let the Cold Krush Cuts take control of your speakers and your soul…

Tracklisting:

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 Cold Krush Cuts - Part 1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Cold Krush Cuts - Part 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Potted history
The label was started in London in 1990, by the DJ duo Coldcut who helped pioneer what became known as trip-hop. Primarily, the Ninja Tune imprint was a way to release music of a more underground nature, free from the restraints of major labels. The first releases by DJ Food soon gained the label a reputation for releasing funky, eclectic stuff. Over recent years, the label’s roster has expanded to include artists like The Cinematic Orchestra, Roots Manuva and Mr Scruff.

What’s so special?
“Ninja Tune is simply a massive collective of passionate music listeners and collectors just putting out what they think sounds good. There is no huge calculated commercial agenda outside of our need/want to put out good records.”

Who’s on it?
9 Lazy 9, Amon Tobin, Chris Bowden, Coldcut, DJ Food, DJ Vadim, Fink, Funki Porcini, Hexstatic, Homelife, Kid Koala, Mr Scruff, The Cinematic Orchestra, The Herbaliser.

Mr Scruff on Ninja
On why he signed for Ninja: “I don’t consider myself doing any particular kind of music… I think at the moment that Ninja is one of the strongest labels ever because of the amount of talent, and that it’s not any kind of music in particular – it’s just very, very high quality.”

On Ninja’s artists:
“People who have their own sound. It’s musical leaders rather than followers. And that’s why the roster is so strong, because there’s no chaff in there, it’s just people who do what they do really well and nobody’s doing anything quite the same.”

The first half of UK’s Ninja Tune week 1 series is an exclusive mix put together by 88′s own PMX DJs, featuring material from one of Ninja Tune’s finest acts; DJ Food.

PMX DJs – Ninja Tune/DJ Food mix

1. DJ Food – Strange Taste (1:34)
2. DJ Food – Taste Strange (1:15)
3. DJ Food – Spiral [Dub] (5:25)
4. DJ Food – Freedom [Fila Brizillia Mix] (7:16)
5. DJ Food – Sexy Bits [Autechre AE9V Mix] (7:25)
6. DJ Food – Mella [Herbaliser Drive Faster Mix) (4:51)
7. DJ Food - Half Step [Doctor Rockit Mix] (5:11)
8. DJ Food – Turtle Soup [Wagon Christ Mix] (7:55)
9. DJ Food – Spiral [Tongue & Groove Mix] (8:02)
10. DJ Food – Dark Lady [Skint Mix] (7:02)
11. DJ Food – Consciousness [Cosmic Consciousness] (5:52)
12. DJ Food – Dark River [The Angel Mix] (4:07)

The second half of Week 1′s show consists of a couple other rare Ninja Tune mixes. Coldcut’s ‘The Night Before/The Morning After’ mix and Coldcut live on BBC’s Annie on One radio show from 2000.

Coldcut – The Night Before/The Morning After

1. DJ Food – Dark Blood
2. Coldcut – Eine Kleine Hed Musick
3. Up, Bustle & Out – Lazy Days
4. 9 Lazy 9 – Electric Lazyland
5. Coldcut – Living Beats
6. DJ Food – Consciousness
7. 9 Lazy 9 – Turn Me Loose
8. Up, Bustle & Out – Nightwalk
9. DJ Food – Klutes Groove
10. DJ Toolz – Rusty Goes GaGa
11. Funki Porcini – It’s A Long Road

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 PMX DJs - DJ Food/Ninja Tune mix: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Coldcut - The Night Before/The Morning After: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Coldcut - Annie on One 2000-09-24: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

out now – exclusively on beatport :

thoughtless 002:
noah pred – ‘the tender trap’
with remix by karri o

Noah Pred –
Producing dance music and performing live for over eight years, Noah Pred emerged from Vancouver’s underground as a sought-after techno DJ with a sophisticated sound and unique style. Devoted to authentic and soulful strains of techno in all its permutations, Noah’s sound continues to evolve while remaining firmly driven by the dance-floor.

In his thoughtless 002 release Noah Pred uses a touch of classic synth sounds, steady reverb, micro grooves, and simply moogy melodies to move us into a new wave of electronic fine dining. Each track is something of own, however, each carries the genetics of both owner and influence.

Lets enjoy À la carte:

Milk thistle –
“Milk Thistle” buds with funky garden variety beats and gentile pads that are the perfect cure for a Mediterranean hangover. A low non-aggressive kick drum set atop a half muted and slightly vintage bass serves as the primary medicinal agent. If your body doesn’t respond right away its because the most crucial portion doesn’t begin until halfway when a soft pulse modulating moog unilead dances its way into your liver. Now its time for a Mimosa.

Don’t waste the taste –
Unfortunately, the taste gets wasted when you dine on melodic electro funk at dinner because drinking is all but required. “Don’t waste the taste” serves as a warning to those who listen with actions. The groove of the track doesn’t rip my soul apart, but jazz combined with acid like jousts simply destroys good judgement. This is dinner table music at an extreme. Do you dance or do you take another bite? I guess that depends on self control.

Head Games -
After dinner most people sit down and enjoy a nice relaxing bit of creative deprogramming. Instead of the BBC and an interesting episode of Doctor Who why not just hit the club. When “Head Games” comes on imagine a british sci-fi program as emotional as a Foreigner concert with a 909 replacing Dennis Elliott. It doesn’t grab you, but twisted sounds and jerking melodies don’t let you get to far from the couch, or um, dance floor.

Too numb to come –
Sometimes we are indecisive, so we ask our mothers for permission. Sometimes we just stay home and then decide to go out at the last minute. Sometimes we sit in the corner and watch others move about, but every now and the we shake a fist to the beat. If your looking for a soundtrack to compliment your indecisiveness look no further than “Too numb to come.” I’ve never been a fan of fuzzy synth guitars, however they make perfect sense when watching black rooms of bobbing heads. Do hipsters understand anything beyond the kick and clap? Only time and farty synth can make up your mind.

Predict my heart -
Sometime I can predict my heart rate moving up or down when melodic stabs and computer glitch gets upset by a straight forward bubble bass and 909 kick. However, “Predict my heart” doesn’t lend the pleasure of such predictability. Instead we ride on a withdrawn roller-coaster of dark harmony and sudden break down. Its a constantly predictably sound-scape with chaotic arrangement cluing the listener right in time for the track to stop.

Predict my heart – remix by Karri O
Sometimes an original take is not enough. On this release an Erie sounding remix with an epic and classic feel bounces in from Karri O. The blurps and bleeps give even less to the evolution of predicability and so what we have is a grimy kick, more chaos, and a distant melody. Some of the sounds get in the way of what should be more simple, however, nothing is better than a confused dance floor right before the drop.

The tender trap –
If you find yourself living the idyllic life of a bachelor there’s always a bouncy house beat there to run amuck. However, its all a setup. “The Tender Trap” catches you off balance with Cheeky synth lines and shifting sound diversions and before you know it your being played with video game like motions. Lfo pinball sounds wrap mid range harmonics around your waist and the fm has a firm grip on your manhood. In the end you drop to one knee and all the rest fades out.

- measax

For more info on this release and others from the Thoughtless label, check out their sites:

http://thoughtlessmusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/thoughtlessdigital

For more info on Noah Pred, check out his sites:

http://www.myspace.com/metapath

For exclusive audio/mixes, check Noah’s main site: http://noahpred.com/audio.htm