From all I have read on the web and in glossy magazines, few are able to decipher a complicated music subject and share it with the masses better than Martin Clark. Clark writes “The Month In:…” features for pitchf*#k, and I need to find out where else he gets published because I learn so much from each of his installments. I’ve mentioned his column before, usually in reference to grime, but I’ve never really drawn attention to the man and his writing abilities. I just wanted to point this out to you because I know some of you love to read and write about music yourselves. That, plus Clark’s gone and done it again – he’s written a fantastic article about what’s happening right now in dubstep and grime, how the music is beginning to draw from its rich cultural history, and how this will bode for the future. He weaves short stories together about the different musicians making moves right now, with commentary on the fresh and upcoming albums. He describes the hardships of urban youth in the UK and ties it into the music’s lineage, rooted in the UK Jamaican diaspora. ([More →])

Dizzee Rascal’s future is now unavoidably interlinked with Pete Doherty’s. What was Dizzee thinking? Well, I guess rascals don’t get much say in who they tour with. Now it all rides on whether Doherty can stay out of jail and off drugs long enough to complete a Baby Shambles tour. ([More →])

What What? Logan Sama has been hired by Kiss FM? Ok, so I’m behind the times, but what a loss for Rinse FM listeners! Well, Rinse can’t let that stand in the way of having a great time at the Rinse 01 Record Release party. It’s set for August 17th at The End and the party is a joint collab between Rinse and FWD>> to forward the release of Geeneus’ Rinse 01 compilation. ([More →])

Fans of extreme music, experimental electronica, ragga and grime – I have a fantastic treat for you! There is an excellent interview with The Bug over on the french DubStep website. Kevin Martin (The Bug) talks about everything – how he first got involved in music, his time spent working with Justin Broadrick (Napalm Death, Jesu) as Techno Animal, his brief stint with Warner Brothers, and a whole lot more that has led up to him being a brilliant pioneering musician that blends ragga, breakcore, dubstep, dancehall, electronica, and extreme noise into totally original music. ([More →])

Last week I mentioned that Ninja Tune and Big Dada would present an event curated by Mary Anne Hobbs in London on the 7th of July. I received more info about this event, so I want to share them with folks who will be in the London area that week.

Ms. Hobbs states that her desire for the lineup she has chosen is, “To bring together dark exotic underground textures of sound from the UK and internationally..”

You Don’t Know Lineup

Downstairs
Mary Anne 9:00 -10:30
dj’ing all the experimental sounds in her record crate
Ben Sharpa & Konfab 10:30-11:30
South Africa’s hottest hip hop duo. formerly known as SA’s best underground hip hop act, they’ll have to drop the underground tag now that they have received so much attention and radio play. They were recently added to the mega-huge Glastonbury music festival.
Oris Jay 11:30 -12:30
ever-extending the limits of grime and dark garage sounds
The Bug 12: 30 – 1:30
best live dancehall mashup madness you can get! if you don’t already know about The Bug, check out his music$pace page, and Ninja Tune which recently signed him onto the ninja squadron… On this particular evening, The Bug will be assisted by Ricky Ranking (Roots Manuva) and Ras B pon di mics.
Virus Syndicate 1:30 – 2:30
extra-London grime and dubstep, great stuff, original ragga influenced dubstep styley
Vex’d 2:30-4:00
Vex’d will be unveiling some new tracks from their upcoming album on Planet Mu.

Upstairs
DJ Red 6
The Sandals Of Justics

This event will be the last YDK at The Big Chill House in London. Ninja Tune/Big Dada/Counter Records will be busy with other projects over the summer months, and then will relaunch the monthly club night in October in a new venue.

LINKS

Ninja Tune
YDK music$pace
Mary Anne Hobbs on BBC Radio1

Glastonbury music festival descends upon the English countryside on Friday June 27th. The full lineup is absolutely insane, I can see how this is the biggest rock festival in the UK. Over 200 bands fill the lineup, and a press release states that over 177,000 people are expected to attend! Since I can’t possibly fit the full lineup here, I’ll give you one serious tease instead. In addition to the many stages already announced, I just discovered today that BBC Radio 1 has added their own stage to the festival. The additional lineup includes Tigerstyle, JME, and Ben Sharpa.

BBC Radio Stage Added To Glastonbury:

Friday 22 June

3:00 Jag (BBC Asian Network)
4:00 Tigerstyle (BBC Asian Network)
5:00 Riff Raff (BBC Radio 1)
6:05 Broke’N'£nglish (BBC 1Xtra)
7:10 Riz MC (BBC Asian Network)
8:15 JME (BBC 1Xtra)
9:20 Breaking The Illusion (BBC Radio Humberside)
10:25 Tor (BBC 1Xtra)

Saturday 23 June

3:00 Ben Sharpa (BBC Radio 1)
4:00 How’s My Pop (BBC Radio Lancashire)
5:00 New Cassettes (BBC Radio Northampton)
6:05 OK Tokyo (BBC Radio Berkshire)
7:10 The Ting Tings (BBC Radio Manchester)
8:15 Headliners (BBC Radio Sheffield)
9:20 The Neon Plastix (BBC Radio Sheffield)
10:25 The Ripps (BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire)

Sunday 24 June

3:00 Cate Le Bon (BBC Radio Wales)
4:00 Sam Isaac (BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester)
5:00 Eugene McGuinness (BBC Radio 1)
6:05 Rose Kemp (BBC Radio Bristol)
7:10 A Silent Film (BBC Radio Oxford)
8:15 Doll & the Kicks (BBC Southern Counties Radio)
9:20 Pint Shot Riot (BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire)
10:25 Radio Luxembourg (BBC Radio Cymru Wales)

More info on the BBC Radio Introducing Stage.

Glastonbury Partial Lineup:

Friday 22nd June 2007

Bjork
Arctic Monkeys
Spiritualized – Acoustic Mainline
Aliens
M.I.A.
Kasabian
The Fratellis
Bloc Party
Amy Winehouse
Gogol Bordello
Arcade Fire
Squarepusher
Rufus Wainwright
Super Furry Animals
Bright Eyes
Modest Mouse
Hot Chip
Maccabees
Mum Ra
Hold Steady
The New Pornographers
Tokyo Police Club
Neds Atomic Dustbin
Tarantism

Saturday 23rd June

Steven Marley with guest Damian Marley
Iration Steppas
Fat Freddy’s Drop
Daddy G
Mad Professor
Vexd
Scotch Egg Band (Drumize)
Shitmatt
Bong Ra
The Killers
The Kooks
Ganga Giri
Paul Weller
Paolo Nutini
Lily Allen
Dirty Pretty Things
The Pipettes
Iggy And The Stooges
Editors
Maximo Park
Gruff Rhys
Babyshambles
Klaxons
CSS
The Long Blondes
The Twang
Get Cape Wearcape Fly
Patrick Wolf
You Say Party We Say Die
Holy Fuck
Four Tet with Eat Your Own Ears DJs
!!!
Ozric Tentacles
Bonde Do Role

Sunday 24th June

The Who
Kaiser Chiefs
Coldcut
Manic Street Preachers
James Morrison
Marley Brothers Present The 30th Anniversary Of Exodus
The Chemical Brothers
Vitalic
Carl Cox
Pendulum Live
The View
The Go! Team
Pete Doherty
Mika
The Rakes
Get Cape Wear Cape Fly
Coldwar Kids
Mark Ronson
The Horrors
Noisettes
Aqualung
Eatstatic
Dub Pistols

For the entire lineup go to the Glastonbury site.
BBC also has a feature-packed page to keep you fully informed right up to the day of the fest itself.
Here is another article that discusses the details necessary to pull off an event of this size, like the £1mil “super fence” built last year to keep out fans who didn’t have tickets. Previous fences were not capable of keeping out thousands of fans who jumped in…

LINKS

JME on mice bass
Ben Sharpa on mice bass
BBC Radio Glastonbury page
Glastonbury Festival website

3 big parties with some very major players: Barcelona is already in party mode for this weekend’s SONAR Festival. Just about the time the post-festival fog clears, Wiley and Boy Better Know Crew will be throwing down at Wiley’s retirement party in London. Come July, The Bug and Vex’d come proper along with Virus Syndicate thanks to Big Dada, Ninja Tune and Mary Anne Hobbs.

BBC Radio 1 At SONAR Festival

The big one is of course, the SONAR Festival this weekend. So many great bands are going to be showcased and mingling in the leisurely Barcelona sun, including, but not limited to the Beastie Boys, Devo, Sunn O))), Wolf Eyes, Modeselektor, Richie Hawtin, FM3 and on and on and on…. For complete details refer to the Sonar Festival Lineup posting on HT and the SONAR website.

As promised, Mary Anne Hobbs has curated a showcase for BBC Radio 1 at the SONAR Festival:

RADIO1 UK DUBSTEP SHOWCASE

SONAR Festival, Barcelona, Spain

June 15th, SonarLab stage 12-3am

Skream
Oris Jay
Kode 9 and The Spaceape
Mary Anne Hobbs

Oooh ooh oooooh, I am SO jealous! I want to go melt away in the Barcelona sunshine with the sounds of Skream and Kode 9 and The Spaceape washing over me!

Instead, I laid in bed last night, listening to the sounds of Kode 9′s wonderful mix for the SONAR Festival that they are featuring on their website. It’s a stream, so you can’t keep it, but while you are there, you can find many other audio streams from featured artists.

SONAR’s website also featured a great article about Dubstep music, with Mary Anne Hobbs and Oris Jay. If you are curious to see what it’s all about, that’s one place to start.

Wiley’s Retirement Party

Or rather, Wiley’s record release party for Playtime Is Over in London:

WILEY Live (Playtime Is Over Album Launch Party)

@ Cargo, Rivington St, London – Thursday 21st June
10 Quid advance
Wiley, Live
Boy Better Know Crew (including JME, Skepta)
Loefah
Illa Man

My two favorite quotes thus far about the new album are:

“Snare-ripped tsunamis through to solipsistic mediations on lost friendships, all battered into shape though Wiley’s soopa-tight vocal style. Immense.” -Clash

“Playtime is Over is so important, not just to him, but to the future legacy of grime, and what it might mean in 10 years time.. Brilliantly grime, fuelled with anthems and sing-alongs and deserves to go down as his greatest work to date.” -Independent Music Magazine

BOH! Big UP the WILEY! Big Up the Boy Better Know Crew! Big UP the SPIRAL!

Finally (for today anyway), in July:

Ninja Tune And Big Dada Night: Curated by Mary Anne Hobbs

Saturday July 7th @ The Big Chill House.. Kings X.. London

The Bug + Ricky Ranking + MCs
Vex’d
Oris Jay
Ben Sharpa & Konfab from Capetown
Virus Syndicate
Mary Anne Hobbs

9-4am… £5… Funktion One soundsystem & heated roof terrace :)

For anyone who is a regular listener of Mary Anne Hobbs’ show on BBC Radio 1, you are already familiar with Ben Sharpa and Konfab, and recognize what a treat it is for them to be visiting the UK for this show. If you don’t know who they are, be sure to check out both of their music$paces. These boys are HOT! and spit fire into the microphone! Capetown was lucky enough to become the new stomping ground for D Planet who has a studio there, and records music, like what you hear these boys chatting over. Fine, deep, dubsteppy stuff. Check out D Planet’s music$pace as well…

LINKS

Ben Sharpa
Konfab
D Planet’s music$pace

Brrrup! Another sizzling Wiley video! Feel the beat drop in “Mistakes.” This tune is heartfelt and dare I say with conscious lyrics. Reminds me just a likkle bit of Dizzee’s “Brand New Day” from Boy In Da Corner, when he was still under Eski-boy’s wing.

“Mistakes” video in high quality mov format

Wiley also released Tshirts today with his name sprayed in white across the chest. They would sure look hot on some fellas. Get one from the Ninja Tune Shop. And, yes, Wiley is even playing the Dour Festival in Belgium on July 13th. I still need a ticket to that if anyone has an extra! (I also need a plane ticket if anybody has a wad of bills they want to donate! Just email me.)

Also on the Big Dada horizon, they have a 10th Anniversary album coming out called Big Dada Best Bits. It’s scheduled for release in September and I will have more details on that over the summer. In the meantime, check out Big Dada’s download page. There are even some FREE mp3s on there. For you.

WILEY LINKS

Eski Space
Wicked likkle Wiley player that you can embed on your blog/myspace/MOG/ what have you. Plays Wiley videos and songs!
Big Dada website
Download Playtime Is Over From BLEEP.com

Roll Deep Plays Live, DJ Set of Klaxons vs CSS, eLPATE + Prancehall, Team Pegah Mix
15th June Brighton

Click the image to go to the website where you can get all the details, plus enter to win a pair of free tix….

MORE FIRE!!! Boh! This mix is hot! MORE FIRE, MORE BASS is by one of my favOrite producers, Matt Shadetek. I actually heard part of this mix when it originally aired on Mary Anne Hobbs’ show on BBC Radio 1 on March 16th. I was packing my bags to go snowboarding while the sounds coming out of my speakers were inspiring feelings of sailing down slopes of deep powder. Coz that’s what this mix is like, it’s deep and sludgey, with clean sweeps that sail over the heavy basslines. This mix clocks in at a mere 30 minutes of sonic rapture but contains a lot of original music by Shadetek and NYC neighbors 77Klash and Jah Dan. Don’t worry, I’m not teasing you with fond memories. Matt launched the mp3 on his blog today, where you can download it for yourself. I can even vouch for it being a pretty quick download, despite how clean it sounds. These boys know their bitrate technology and it was originally intended for radio play and streaming anyhow.

TRACKLIST

01. Can’t Breathe – Tanya Stephens (Matt Shadetek Remix) [Unreleased)
02. Untitled - Matt Shadetek (Unreleased)
03. Bumbaclat Badman - Chronik feat. Skepta, Wiley & Esco (Slew Dem Records)
04. Skynet Riddim - Matt Shadetek (Sound-Ink)
05. Walk It Out Remix - DJ Unk feat. Andre 3000 & Jim Jones (Koch Records)
06. Do It - Jon E Cash (Black Ops)
07. Go Home - Timeblind (Unreleased)
08. Gigantic Wings - Drop The Lime (Unreleased)
09. Vans - The Pack (Jive)
10. Reign Riddim - Matt Shadetek (Sound-Ink)
11. Reign - Team Shadetek feat. Skepta (Sound-Ink)
12. Gave You All My Dub - Matt Shadetek feat. Jahdan (Unreleased)
13. Separating - Team Shadetek feat. Jammer (Sound-Ink)
14. Cassava Riddim - Matt Shadetek (Unreleased)
15. She Told Me - Noble Society feat. 77Klash
16. Untitled - Timeblind (Unreleased)
17. Japan - Plastician (Terrorhythm)
18. Try Harder - Drop The Lime (Broklyn Beats)
19. Daylight - Team Shadetek (Sound-Ink)

Yep, all that in a seamless 30 minute mix (no breaks in between trax). Head over to Glaciers of Shade, the home of Team Shadetek.

If you like what you hear, please buy the latest release from Shadetek/77Klash/JahDan - the excellent Brooklyn Anthem featuring Courtney Melody from his classic "Bad Boy" hit. Released by Sound Ink and available on BLEEP. Team Shadetek also have a release on WARP Records called Burnerism among others.

Brooklyn Anthem:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/X1BzRw5Vnv0]

For more information about this song and its artists, please click over to Dangerous Bad Boy.

Links

Boomkat
ShockOut
BLEEP
discogs

Lots of Eski-boy goodies today! First of all, check the video for “50/50″ off the upcoming Playtime Is Over album:

50/50 Vid

Oh its just so UK dance! I love it!

The album gets dropped worldwide on June 4th, but you can get the (320kbps) mp3s of “50/50″ and “Bow E3″ from BLEEP right now. You will however have to wait to attend the album release party with Boy Better Know crew (JME, Skepta), Loefah and Illa Man all supporting the Grandfather of Grime! That will be at Cargo in London on a Thursday – June 21st. Thursday has always been my favorite day of the week. Nothing but good things happen on Thursdays. Wiley will be performing live, and for only 10 Quid you can’t afford to miss it!

If you want more Wiley, you can get your fix with the Independent Music Magazine today, he’s the adorable cover boy, same with RWD Mag, The Wire, Echoes. Next week he graces the cover of Plan B and One Week To Live. Big Smoke covers him at the end of the month. Whoo boy, good thing his face is so pleasant to look at. That’s a lot of music magazine covers to be staring out from!

Independent said this about the upcoming album:

“Playtime is Over is so important, not just to him, but to the future legacy of grime, and what it might mean in 10 years time.. Brilliantly grime, fuelled with anthems and sing-alongs and deserves to go down as his greatest work to date.”

Playtime Is Over is released on June 4th by Big Dada. You can listen to the single “Bow E3″ on their homepage.

TRACKLIST FOR Playtime Is Over

01 50/50
02 Bow E3
03 Slippin’
04 Flyboy
05 Baby Girl
06 Gangsters
07 Stars
08 Letter 2 Dizzee
09 My Mistakes
10 No Qualms
11 Johnny Was a Bad Boy
12 Nothing About Me
13 Come Lay With Me
14 Getalong Gang
15 Eski-Boy
16 Playtime’s Over

Don’t think for a New York minute that this album is going to be released in digital format only. No, these are vinyl traditionalists. You can purchase the 2x LP, the black CD, or the mp3 bundle. Your choice. It’s here on the Big Dada page for Playtime Is Over along with a great bio.

He also had a short performance on Channel 4, which you can watch here.

LINKS

Wiley’s Space Listen & Learn
BLEEP – Listen/Buy
Boomkat – Listen/Buy
BBC Review – Listen to ram
Wiki

Thanks James, Big Dada for the scoop! I haven’t been this excited about a new album in so long!!

In other grime news, Dizzee Rascal‘s new single, “Sirens” hit stores this week. BLEEP has “Sirens” as well as Dizzee’s collab with Arctic Monkeys, “Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend”. You can listen to them on BLEEP and/or order individual tracks in mp3 format. “Sirens” is from Dizzee’s upcoming album (available in the US as digital only, but available on vinyl and CD in UK and Europe) Maths + English and “Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend” is from the recently released Arctic Monkeys album Favourite Worst Nightmare which is available on CD, vinyl, and download.

Boh! This track is wiiiIIIIIiiicked! wot? spittin over a super mario riddim?!
if ya want gameboy grime – visit lower end spasm! and check that lee brasco choon….

Today Bleep.com released 2 singles off of Wiley’s upcoming album on Big Dada, Playtime’s Over. You can purchase for download a 320 kbps mp3 of “50/50″ and “Bow E3″. You can also just listen to them over at Bleep.com.

Both tracks are pretty dope, but that “Bow E3” is just blazing! i have a fat subwoofer in my stereo set up, and this song just works it! love the bass in all of Wiley’s productions. i’m still really looking forward to the full album. i was very happy with Roll Deep’s recent album, super jazzed, energetic old school grime. i was not at all pleased with Dizzy’s latest, thought it was boring at best. it totally lacks inspiration, energy, any of things that use to make Dizzy great. or does is just lack Wiley? maybe that’s it, Dizzy’s nothing without his mentor. well, no matter, coz Wiley’s going to blow all of it out of Bow anyway when his full album drops. it’s tight, it’s fat, it’s deep, it’s everything you want and hope for from grime. As only the eski-boy can provide.

Grime, meet Indie Rock. Pop, meet Grime. And so on. New albums on the horizon that are blending, mashing, and redefining musical genres.

There is a great article on the genre crossing between grime music and indie rock in The Independent today. I find it interesting that, for me anyway, it has raised more questions than answers about music today.

It lists a few examples, such as Statik remixing the Bloc Party and The Rakes last year, putting a grime sound to each. It was Statik that coined the term “grindie” for such combinations. He also made a few mashups, placing grime mc’s over Ladyfuzz and Larrikin Love with Pete Doherty in the mix. ([More →])