OK people…I’m back from a windswept and bracingly elemental new year in north Cornwall … Having had no signal down there… yessss, off the worldwide web….. I’m itching to do a few posts. First up, I’m cheekily reprinting Ross’ excellent round up for 2012 because it only goes out on an email (to nuff people!) and because it is a most excellent insight into the music released last year. Ross is a feisty, extremely perceptive south Londoner who embodies that “freedom principle” and swims daily in a sea of vinyl, cds, downloads. As an active A&R person as well as a club and radio DJ he leaves no stone unturned. Luckily for us you can download much of his selection via Mi-Soul.com… see below!
It seems like only the other week
I was contemplating writing one of these and got way laid by pre Christmas fun, work and shopping… I worked out what slows me down in life, and am glad for it, people… I have to say I have really enjoyed the last few weeks. After a year of battening down the hatches and working as, and when, you could people seemed to be very up for getting together and pausing for a minute away from the slog of it. I don’t normally think that way but it has been a funny old year and the break has been great, if only too short. Lots of good things have gone on this year but a general heaviness seems to lurk in the air. Still I suppose after surviving the Mayan calendars end we may breath a little easier… or not. We still have George Osbourne at the controls so I fear for the latter.
I won’t go over events of the year there is more than enough of that around at the moment and you have all the old missives to look at if you fancy that but a musical catch up at the end of year is always a good thing and here it is in classic Meltdown style (it’s long). Four hours of new musical deviations or some great re treads of styles that are now just classic. More often than not it is a fusing of the two. I think I would sum up the year with a word. Consolidation.
It’s always interesting going back over the year, as the list above suggests it did have a lot of great records but it started slow. I can remember scratching around at the start of the year thinking that there wasn’t that much. I suppose the lack of any coherent new forms of music may have abetted that. We saw the consolidation of all new forms of electronic emanating from the UK lumped together under the Bass music banner. A good catch all but it really saw many of those different forms homogenised, often under a housey groove. It was back in a slightly mutated form but it was how it got to be the sound of 2012 that was interesting.
A few years ago it seemed that Dubstep was the punk rock son of the black inspired dance music that had developed in the UK since the advent of Jungle. It was apparently the sound for a new generation of ravers. The sons and daughters of the UK’s second summer of love were dancing to a different beat. It had a new tempo, a new dance, a new drug. It was quite exciting even from my older perspective. What had cleared dance floors was now filling them as rapidly as it had emptied them. There was definitely a revolution happening. It had to come eventually and a new world order was sort of put in place.
Of course house music was installed around the world as the tempo of choice (it has been since pre disco really) but this was a serious challenge to it in its adopted home of the UK. The leaders of this new school, got sent out around the world to spread the word and it caught fire. It had the energy but in a different way and it worked. Of all places in the US. This was even more exciting. The US finally seemed to get it. Well they got it, ran with it and fused it with the already encroaching sound of dance music that they liked: from trance, to Switch’s stylings, to Swedish and French sounds and that had been grabbing hold all across the US away from its traditional homes of Black and Gay America.
Over the past few years this scene has grown into a huge business as this music has engrossed millions of young Americans and we have seen huge changes taking place at US festivals, gigs and even on US radio (a medium not known for changing styles unless there is serious advertising revenue coming through)… The internet was the obvious natural home for any rapidly spreading movement in this century and we here in the UK got to see first hand what was going on at US raves through You Tube and other postings. Almost as quickly as it spread there we got to see it. For many of us it wasn’t pretty. Sure the US ravers were having fun and the participants were getting paid but was it cool ? Was the music good ? I think the UK underground reacted to it. We got soulful this year.
Did you get in to dance music for money or for the elicit coolness of it (that includes the music) ? Exactly. What is good for mainstream American consumption often lacks what we here need or may be we just react to the mass appeal of it. I know I do
Of course that is only one facet of what we cover here at The Meltdown. What I am describing is a kind of mass consensus of the underground (is that possible ?) but I did think it interesting that this slightly soulful, funky, bass injected, house inspired underground was where we generally were at in 2012. I liked it. As the music above suggests there was lots of music that was very fresh and new but also lots that trod well worn ground with a slightly different skank.
I think this accounts for where I see where we are at on the verge of 2013. The re arrival of a more soulful kind of dance music seems to be a direct reaction to the boom in the US of the kind of music that moves thousands of people. It may be many things but rarely is it soulful. Could the excitement around new talent like Disclosure come at any time other than 2012 ? When all we heard about was the huge stage shows of numerous acts that were of a very instant gratification ? Sure they looked impressive and the US audiences were loving it but was it what the Uk underground was all about ? Its not exactly a dim light, a sound (system) and a basement is it ? I think that is at the key to any great party here and people looking for those parties were taken there by an, in part, UK reaction to that was going on in the US overground and the cold simple fact that everyone finds it easier to rock a dance floor with a 4×4 kick drum.
So on top of the US/global adoption/bastardistaion of dub step and the more ‘high energy’ end of club music. More and more of the DJ’s that started Dubstep seemed to tire of it and return to the music of their elders, albeit slightly rehashed and often improved – especially sonically. Look at the playlist of Rinse FM it is almost a house station now albeit with its own broad ranging and uniquely London spin on it. Though even there you do hear more and more house/garage classics from back in the day and less Grime and Dubstep shows. Though they are still there. For which I am thankful. Roska‘s Grimey experiments on Rinse’s Roska 2 EP were a couple of gems for me this year.
The London Underground is a fascinating thing. It’s why I am here. I love the morphs and changes that go on and approaching it with an open mind it always throw up some amazing music that touches on the constants of my own particular tastes – some soul/emotion and/or a groove and a funk. We definitely have a lot of groove about this year and also a lot of soul.
Having said all that we don’t actually play a lot of that new school soulful house/garage sound but it did seem to be the predominant sound. We could have played lots of Disclosure tracks, who were so impressive this year but settled for their remix of Jessie Ware which was almost like the warning call that they were coming. Definitely the remix of the year for me. It is exciting times as we now have very well made, structured, soulful music troubling the charts and that looks set to continue into next year. As Disclosure continue to solidify their very powerful reputation as producers and remixers. It is amazing that they construct records the way that they do and at such young years. They are definitely the most exciting producers in that area and deserve all the props that they are getting.
Julio Bashmore continued to release significant records ‘Au Seve’ being a huge release and his Bobby Womack Remix picked up where that left off. Dusky took that classic 90’s house baseline and showed what you could do with it and little else, coming from a minimal place it was interesting to see how these tracks work so well on such a wide variety of dancefloors. Again showing how such disparate dance floors were all uniting under a housey/garagey norm that was emerging this year. Hot Nature’s ‘Benediction’ was on so many dancefloors this year too. Even old timers like Ashley Beedle got back into their mid 90’s swing and found favour with the nu skool house heads of 2012. His Girls Music released ‘Yardism EP’ was a hit with many this year. R-A-G is a perfect example of that over the shoulder look to the raw, under produced sound that was again prevalent this year through tracks like ‘Black Rain’ which was just a classic modern interpretation of those old Trax records from Chicago back in the day. As with all genres this year the volume of reissues also gave these older styles and sounds a big push. Labels like Amsterdam’s Rush Hour took in detail looks at classic labels such as Mitchball and Nu Groove.
Zebra Katz
There was also the ‘correct’ sound of hip hop influenced house. Whilst the overground got more Guetta infected Hip Hop and RnB cuts at 120bpm plus – that music doesn’t seem to go away but it truly the enemy of all things decent. On its flip side were tracks like Zebra Katz’s ‘Ima Read’ a tune which built over 2012 in that classic way. I’m not saying it’s as big as Azealia Banks was last year but these tunes do take their time to permeate. Her mix tape, in lieu of her album (which should be with us very soon), ‘Fantasea’ was full of tracks picking up where ‘212’ left off. Mixing the Gay NY sound of the Sound Factory with a proper underground rap style and not forsaking every thing for a cheesy chorus. She seemed to have a serious contender with the arrival of Angel Haze but she was less house and more straight up but very good.
Acts like Stubborn Heart gained attention by taking the more cerebral side of house and electronics that almost borders on Radiohead territory and putting some good songs on top of it. They made an album that looks set to have legs well into 2013. An interesting debut and ones to watch. One album that came late in the year but was an excellent addition to my collection was the Carl Craig inspired techno of Redshape. ‘Atlantic’, the album, was again reminiscent of early to mid 90’s music. This time reflecting the work of many of the 2nd Generation of Detroit producers with its eerie synths and odd tempo’s and rhythms… There seemed to be a lot of techno influenced music about this year. A lot of it from either post Dubstep producers – some of it good, most of it not really registering here (with me). And then there were the minimalist crew who on the whole left me cold – far too little melody or anything of any real substance, the closest I got to this sound was the Actress album which had some moments of sheer bliss. 
‘Ascending’ the track we start one hour of the show with here is one such moment. Taken from an album which I really liked but couldn’t quite see the level of hype that many put around it. A lot of people got excited about Jimmy Edgar and his album ‘Majenta’ – which did have some fine moments on it – ‘Touch Yr Body’ being one such electro moment. The 80’s feel was also present in lots of boogie inspired house cuts. One of my favourites was Juan Laya & Jorge Montell ‘It’s Got To Be Music’. Which could have been from the early 80’s and sounds all the better for it. Jesse Ware’s album had several nods to 80’s soul and that is one reason why I liked it so much. I think she will develop nicely and was a great uncovering for 2012. ‘Devotion’ is a good record only let down by the mix.
Frank Ocean – Feelin’ that Gong Fu vibe
Records that weren’t were Frank Ocean‘s much anticipated debut ‘Channel Orange’. Many people said they preferred last years mix tape (but then they always do) and though it may not have featured another Nova Cane, I thought the album was great. I love it when soul is moved forward and I think he genuinely has done that. He wrote songs in an interesting way and deviated from the norm with lyrics and production but always kept it soul, and to fine effect. It was many peoples album of the year. Tracks like ‘Pyramid’ and ‘Crack Rock’ are not your usual Neo Soul or RnB cuts and the hints that were made the previous year by him, and The Weeknd too, were pushed forward by this album. Miguel too, delivered a forward thinking album with the stand out being ‘Adorn’ a bass led groove that nags its way into your head and is a tune I will be playing for years to come. Jai Paul‘s ‘Jasmine’ was only a demo but extremely well executed and another hint at what’s to come, sometime… Though he did turn up on the Big Boi record.
On the tips for next year the, late arrival, soul of Typesun is well worth looking into. As is the excitement surrounding London Grammar who’s ‘Hey Now’ was posted on Soundcloud in mid December to an unsuspecting world that jumped on it. Keeping it soulful but moving ever forward was Damon Albarn and Richard Russells work with the legend that is Bobby Womack. I admired their ambition and many cuts were great but I think the album was only a part success. Still it was good to hear Bobby back and it was good to hear him against new productions/beats… some of the time. It is a modern production dilemma. You can either record these classic vocalists in a retro style (Rick Rubin, T Bone Burnett or Joe Henry style) or try and move it all forward which I think is a much bolder and harder task. If it were down to me I think I would have taken Bobby Womack down the route of 
Georgia Anne Muldrow‘s latest release ‘Seeds’ which was by far her best release to date. Part produced by her and Mad Lib, it had a cosmic soul feel reminiscent of the 70’s but with tough sampled beats and some of the best songs she has written. Definitely one of my albums of the year. I think it was a good year for soul all told.
Hip Hop it went through an interesting phase with Trap being the word on everybody’s lips. Lots of 808’s, 909’s and not a lot else. There were lots of quirky tunes but not many that blew me away. I think I miss the lyrics with something to say. The beats though were quality and the world caught up. They provided a blue print for a modern take on Trip Hop (in the 90’s producers copied the NY sounds of Premier and Pete Rock, now they ape the sounds of the South) with lots of UK and European producers making instrumentals that occasionally ended up with US MC’s on them. Stand up Hudson Mohawke and Darq E Freaker for at least two great cuts this year in ‘Higher Ground’ and ‘Blueberry (Pills N’ Cocaine)’ it’ll be interesting to see where the pair of them are in a years time with Hud Mo already making beats for Kanye.
Jamie XX was also busy stateside, and did some good cuts – I did like his Alicia Keys track but the new XX album was a classic second album – more of the same. It was good but didn’t blow me away as the first one did. May be they will have a new trick next time around. They are still set for bigger things and I do like them. I didn’t hear much from many other UK producers in that area. Switch left Major Lazer but they delivered a great cut/pre amble to their second album due this year with the free download featuring Amber from The Dirty Projectors ‘Get Free’. 
In the US Baauer took that trap vibe and turned (it into ‘Trap Step’ ?? good eh ?) the heat up to 11. His EP on Mad Decent was a killer with some huge tracks on it none less than ‘Harlem Shake’ and he is now signed to Glasgow’s Lucky Me the original home to Hudson Mohawke.
As much as there was the hypeness around the Southern United States Hip Hop sounds’ mutations the influence of those classic old NY mid 90’s sounds still lives large, sampling hasn’t gone away. Geoff Barrow teamed up with a host of MC’s and fellow beatmakers to form the Quakers, a collective who’s huge sampling library delivered some interesting but straight up cuts. Then there was another album from Nas. It was such a relief to hear his dulcet tones over some classic NYC music and ‘The Don’ was one of those bloc rocking beats that are timeless. It was also good to hear the new school of MC’s not just using 808’s and that crunked southern sound. 
Kendrick Lamar‘s record dabbled in both sides of this coin and to fine effect on his album ‘Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City’ which was arguably Hip Hop album of the year. He was slack, he was conscious, the beats were rough and some were smoove. It didn’t rewrite any rules but was just a solid record with good stories. it was also nice to hear my radio co host Andrew Hale be sampled by Joey Bada$$. One of the up and coming MC’s in line for ASAP Rocky’s glories. The track we play ‘Fromdatomb$’ samples Andrew’s music for the computer game ‘LA Noire’ again in that 90’s style. It is reminiscent of London’s Piff Gang. Or may be it is the other way around but it’s good to know that the blunted beat is a live and strong. Especially if you are Andrew Hale !
I have to say that the music which has excited me the most this year is Drum n Bass. It’s been an interesting year for a genre which has scaled pop heights of late but in terms of hypeness and quality may appear to have stagnated but as ever is a strong hold if you are a fan. It never goes away DnB, it’s like Heavy Metal. It has legions of devoted fans around the world who love the energy and dance ability of it. The fusions within DnB were what excited me and it seemed like there were a few elements which when melded were explosive. The tracks we play on the show are good illustrations.
Manchester’s finest: Dub Phizix
The sound of Manchester was still a major pull for me. Dubphizix and his MC’s DRS, Fox, Strategy and Skittles were a dynamic combination. The old Broken English crew were all individually doing it but put them on stage together and they were dynamite. One night at Fabric was enough for me. If they can get it together there is a great album in those guys. DRS’s album highlighted how good they can be together but Dubphizix’s release on Critical ‘Never Been’ was the the epitome of bashment meets DnB. A rough groove and a hooky chorus won over so many dance floors… As did Need For Mirrors ‘Don’t Fight The Feeling’ again featuring DRS but in a different style again. Then there was D Bridges minimalist reworking of James Brown ‘Funky Drummer’ which sounded great on a system and had a nod to the old school. Just a simple filtered groove but such a good one. It also sounded good on 331/3 like all good DnB records do !! The fusion of Chicago’s footwork/Juke styles with DnB was a highlight for me. It seems like we are only at the tip of this iceberg but it is a good fusion. They go so well together especially when the music goes back a bit further to Jungle. Fracture under his Night & Day guise did this to fine effect with his Exit release ‘Get Busy’ which was a track full of energy. There were lots of other less legitimate fusions lurking about on line from the likes of Philip D Kick and more and more producers seem to be dabbling in these areas. I am looking forward to this area growing next year.
Africa has been a much plundered area of late. Again this year has seen the continued reissuing of lost gems of varying quality and inclinations. Labels like Soundway, Strut and Analog Africa reissued some quality old music and shone the light on parts of the world and artists that we might otherwise be oblivious too. Andrew loves a bit of Africa and his pick was the Cameroonian Francis Bebey‘s compilation African Electronic Music 1975-82 where he explores, surprisingly enough, electronic music fused with traditional songs and rhythms. It has some excellent and very quirky cuts from a little known African pioneer. Who’d have thunk it !! Whilst we are on the weirder, wonderful side of things and talking of fusing electronic instrumentation with more traditional forms. We land squarely at the feet of my compilation of the year Personal Space:Electronic Soul 1974-84. It follows a very similar time frame and is basically a collection of very rare and privately pressed recordings which, possibly quite badly, infuse some lo rent soul with some odd electronic quirks. It reminds me a bit of Arthur Russell’s proto disco fusions, in so much as, they kind of work but don’t fully, and didn’t, hence their lack of success and obscurity. Years later they sound quirky and cute. It is a very interesting compilation which if you stick with it benefits you loads. I fell in love with it in the spring and am still playing it now. You need to listen to it at least once.
Back to Africa there were lots of people experimenting with new forms of African music from LV and Debruit here to the second album from Portugal’s Buraka Som Sistema which had some very heavy club tunes which were so percussive you could get away with them on almost any dance floor. Daphni (also known as Caribou) became a UK name to reckon with in the afro inspired fusions though still never bettering his debut ‘Cos Ber Zam Nenoya’ – a reedit from an Analog Africa compilation. His name spread this year with a series of 12″s on his new Jialong label. All these were rounded up for an album which gave a new lease of life to these previous vinyl only cuts. I think I played ‘Cos Ber Zam Nenoya’ on last years best of but I have played it all year and it is the best track off his album. The influence of the compilations and re issues from the above mentioned labels is best seen with not only their spreading of these obscure sounds and artists but their influence on new music. The debut album from Sweden’s Goat has it writ large right across it.
Goat – World Music LP
The album ‘World Music’ is a truly great piece of fusion. The sound is that of a tripped out, psychedelic rock band fused with afro rhythms and inflections to great effect. I can remember putting it on at the counter at Rough Trade and being completely blown away by the sound and feel of the record. It didn’t sound like it was from now, or Sweden ! There have been a few other interesting/good stoner rock records around this year, as every year, but White Manna and Moon Duo shone for me. This is by far the best and they are a band that I really want to see live.
Leaning towards Africa, and with Tony Allen (Fela’s drummer) on drums its possibly difficult to to anything but that. Was the new album project from Damon Albarn: Rocket Juice & The Moon. I never got around to getting the album, which apparently was another winner but the 10′ single featuring Erykah Badu was ace, a slow shuffling Afro beat groove, Erykah doing her thing and being dubbed out in a style that I don’t think you would get on her own records. It had to be played. Talking of Erykah it was another high light of the year seeing her live at Hammersmith Apollo. She really is one of those artist that I can’t get enough of.
Neneh Cherry & Nat Guystafson of The Thing
Another woman that I always want to hear more from who returned this year was Neneh Cherry. I am not sure where she has been but I was more than chuffed to hear her come back and in the style that she did. Hooking up with Swedish out jazzers The Thing she made an album which took a diverse array of covers and pushed them through a classic jazz interpretation. Keeping the themes but stretching them out and taking them somewhere else, so that they are their own tracks. The band were tight and Neneh has a unique characterful voice that I have been missing. It was a great return and Suicide’s ‘Dream Baby Dream’ was one of many tracks that worked so well
On the reggae side of things there were a few bits that shone through for me but my take is very superficial. I am still looking for those classic JA injections of craziness. Again there were lots of re issues. The Trojan compilation ‘Black Ark’ of classic Lee Perry 12’s from the late 70’s and early 80’s was a joy for me the full versions with Perry at his most creative within confines of the legendary Black Ark. There were lots of new rootsy releases about on 7″ and 12″ but there was a dearth of quality ragga and rhythms.
Busy Signal
Three that did stand out were Leftside‘s ‘Johnny Bravo’, Damian Marley‘s ‘Set Up Shop’ and Potential Kid‘s ‘Yah So Nice’… I do try and unearth these tracks but I am always open to leads from others. So please drop me a line if you think there is anything that I should be hearing and playing. Album wise I was still loving Busy Signal‘s album but that came out late in 2011.
Dr John & bredren from Treme Band
Another album that blew me away was the return of Dr John. He has made a few records over the past 20 years but they have been interesting because they were him and not really because of the content but this record was different. Produced by Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys, it took Dr John back to his classic Atlantic Records period where the Voodoo was strong and the groove was lo slung, off key and funky. I do love the Black Keys anyway but this hook up was one of the best things they have done. The record is retro but so good. The grit they have in their own records is more than evident on this and it is what someone like Dr John needs in his records. Thankfully he got it on ‘Locked Down’. Definitely one of my albums of the year and a highly recommended purchase.
Other tracks that deserve mentioning in 2012 are Andrew Ashong’s debut on Sound Signature. It was a unique piece of soulful music. Super funky, kind of house but really more of a slow chugging groove that just built around his song in a nagging jazzy way. It is a classic in the making. If you don’t know it. Have a listen. You won’t regret it.
half Moon Run
Two other tracks played on the shows and I am done. Both with nods to a period and place that I have a very soft spot for. It’s the harmonies, the melancholy and the emotion of classic Laurel Canyon releases by the likes of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young that I hear echoed in Damien Jurado‘s album and the debut from Canada’s Half Moon Run. Both albums blew me away but the youth, live performances and quality of the music by Half Moon Run really stole the show for me in 2012. I saw them plenty of times in 2012, as I tried to find a way to work with them, and every time they got better and the crowd got bigger. Definitely the new act of the year for me, and the album was probably my album of the year too. You need to know about them. They fuse elements of modern production ala Radiohead with those classic elements from the early 70’s and glorious harmonies. Its soul but of a slightly fairer hue. Essential listening for me in 2012.
So there you go I have a list as long as my arm of things that I wanted to play and talk about but above are my tunes of the year the ones that resonated the most with me.
If you like what you have heard/read don’t forget you can join me and Andrew Hale every Sunday night between the hours of 9pm and 11pm GMT on mi-soul.com or you could drop me a line on ross.allen@me.com and I’ll add you to the mail out list and you’ll get this mail out sent to you every week, and you won’t miss a minute…
So thanks to everyone who has sent me music, sold me music, tipped me off about stuff. It’s all much appreciated and thanks to you lot for reading,listening and getting in touch on such a regular basis. I am glad you are liking it.
Here’s to more music and mutations in 2013
Cheers
Ross
THE WILDSTYLE ROSS ALLEN & ANDREW HALE BEST OF 2012 PART1 MI-SOUL.COM SUNDAY 23rd Dec 2012 9-11PM
LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE SHOW
http://www.yousendit.com/download/UW14eVdsSWhrUm1VQU1UQw
LINK TO STREAM THE SHOW
HOUR 1
Spontaneous Overthrow – All About Money – Chocolate Industries CD (from the album Personal Space)
Neneh Cherry & The Thing – Dream Baby Dream – Smalltown Supersound CD (from the album The Cherry Thing)
Jai Paul -Jasmine (demo) – XL 12″
Typesun – The PL – download
Frank Ocean – Crack Rock – Def Jam CD (from the album Channel Orange)
Nas – The Don – Def Jam CD (from the album Life Is Good)
Azealia Banks – Este Noche – Free Mix Tape (from the album Fantasea)
Bauuer – Harlem Shake – Mad Decent EP (from the EP The Jeffrees Part 3)
Quakers feat Guilty Simpson & Phat Kat – Tribal Drums – Stones Throw CD
Red Shape – Atlantic – Word & Sound CD (from the album Square)
Grimes – Oblivion – 4AD (from the album Visions)
Daphni Cos Ber Zam Nenoya – Jialong LP (from the album Jialong)
Goat – Disco Fever – Rocket Recordings (from the album World Music)
Francis Bebey – Coffee Cola Song – Born Bad CD (from the album African Electronic Music 1975-1982)
HOUR 2
Damien Jurado – Moraquipa – Secretly Canadian CD (from the album Maraqopa)
Half Moon Run – Full Circle – Indica CD (from the album Dark Eyes)
Alice Russell & The Quantic Soul Orchestra – Travelling Song
Johnny Mathis – I Love My Lady (Ashley Beedle Re edit) – CDR
Jimmy Edgar – Touch Your Body Time – Hot Flush CD (from the album Majenta)
The Invisble – Wings (Floating Points Remix) – Ninja 12″
Miguel – Adorn – RCA CD (from the album Kaliedoscopic Dreams)
Joey Bada$$ – Fromdatomb$ – Mixtape (from the album 1999)
Damien Marley – Set Up Shop – Tuff Gong 7″
D-Bridge – Cornered – Metalheadz 12″
Dubphizix feat Fox – Never Been – Critical 12″
THE WILDSTYLE ROSS ALLEN & ANDREW HALE BEST OF 2012 PART 2 MI-SOUL.COM SUNDAY 30th Dec 2012 9-11PM
LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE SHOW
http://www.yousendit.com/download/UW15Q3Qrdzh0Ni9MYnNUQw
LINK TO STREAM THE SHOW
HOUR 1
Bobby Womack – Whatever Happened To The Times ? – XL LP (from the album Bravest Man In The Universe)
Dr John – Locked Down – Nonesuch LP (from the album Locked Down)
Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid – Aftremath/Interscope CD (from the album Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City)
Childish Gambino – LES – Glassnote CD (from the album CAMP)
Jesse Ware – No To Love – Island CD (from the album Devotion)
Juan Laya & Jorge Montell – It’s Got To Be Music – Imagenes Recordings 10″
Andrew Ashong – Flowers – Sound Signature 12″
Major Lazer feat Amber Dirty Projectors – Get Free – Mad Decent download
Rocket Juice & The Moonfeat Erykah Badu – Nothing Spoil – Honest Jons 10″
Buraka Som Sistema – Tira O Pe – Enchufada CD (from the album Komba)
Roska – You Dun Know – Rinse EP (from the album Rinse presents Roska 2)
Ashley Beedle – Only You – Girls Music EP (from the EP Yardism)
HOUR 2
Actress – Ascending – Honest Jons LP (from the album RIP)
R-A-G – Black Rain – Delsin Records 12″
Dusky – Flo Jam – Dogmatik Records 12″
Julio Bashmore – Au Seve – Boardwalk doanload
Zebra Katz – Ima Need – Mad Decent/Jefrees download
Fracture – Get Busy – Exit 12″
Need For Mirrors feat DRS – Don’t Fight The Feeling – Metalheadz 12″
Darq E Freaker & Danny Brown – Blueberry (Pills n Cocaine) – Southern Hospitality download
Leftside – Johnny Bravo – Keep Left download
Hudson Mohawke & Lunice aka TNGHT – Higher Ground – Warp EP
Debruit – Ata (LV Remix) – Civil Music download
Ariel Pinks Haunted Graffiti & Dam Funk – Baby – 4AD 12″
Georgia Anne Muldrow – Kali Yuga -Someothaship Connect (from the album Seeds)
Stubborn Heart – Need Someone – One Little Indian (from the album Stubborn Heart)
Jesse Ware – Running (Disclosure Remix) – PMR/Island12″
Well that didn’t take long ! (but this will I’m afraid)
x
She like other Fifth Monarchists had embraced Oliver Cromwell as God’s chosen tool to restore King Jesus’ kingdom but in the wake the Barebone’s Parliament disillusionment set in. It was in this political atmosphere that Trapnel made her most famous prophecy, The Cry of a Stone.
NUFF GREETINGS… it’s true, the end of 2012 is virtually upon us and we pick up where Jody Gillett left off. This time round it’s jazz warrior, vibes and marimba master, Orphy Robinson, who reflects on the events and artefacts that made his life in battered and bruised Con-Dem Britain (and beyond) bearable or, as we’ve said, even thrilling…
Ava Leigh… Strong new artist and voice on the scene. Her recorded material is a cross between lovers rock and cool jazz standards. Classy, tight, crisp production style from Jonathon Shorten and Neville Malcolm. Live… the band is hard core. Off the chain. Watch this one blow up in 2013. 
Kenny Garrett – Seeds From The Underground Cd
MUSICIANS I AM GOING TO MISS…
A wonderful singer doing beautiful things with a repertoire built up over years of song collecting with Gypsy and Traveller communities across the UK. What Sam Lee brings with the new arrangements on his debut album (the Mercury nominated Ground Of Its Own) is a very young band which makes the whole project feel exciting and on the move. I’ve seen them three times – first at the 2009 launch of Will Hodgkinson’s great book A Ballad Of Britain, then at an intimate happening at the Bedford pub and most recently at Womex where he wowed a global music industry crowd. Every time he was barefoot, charismatic and funny. And the songs? Ancient, unusual melodies and all heart. (check out Goodbye My Darling and The Tan Yard Side.)
I came across this recently, thanks to persistent insomnia episodes. It’s a 3 hour phone-in show on the New Jersey community station, presented by Tom Scharpling, a grumpy humanist and comedy writer with a deep knowledge of daytime US TV (Storage Wars, anyone?) and American rock lore. He responds to genuinely random callers from all over the country (plus occasional set-ups with collaborator Jon Wurster) like they’re hecklers, variously interesting fellow-citizens or just triggers for rants. Good if you’re into US popular culture (aka what’s happening in Huntsville, Alabama of a Tuesday night) or harsh hang-up-the-phone etiquette. It’s rambling, funny freeform radio with strangely touching moments, punctuated by silences and the sound of Tom clicking his pen.
Sweet, moving film with jeopardy, love and courage at its core. It was also a pretty revealing portrait of a family and a lesson in how so-called campaign films can be effective in multiple ways – raising money for Mencap and making you feel gooey about heavy metal. Mission to Lars was made by a brother and sister with Tom Spicer, their elder brother who has Fragile X Syndrome and who’s obsessed with meeting Metallica’s drummer Lars Ulrich. It’s a window on autism, family dynamics and film-making. It’s also a road movie, which is always good.
Thanks to the film release this year, Sixto Rodriguez had his two early 1970s albums re-issued (and this time he’ll see the royalties). Back then they bombed in the US, but boomed in South Africa and Australia, unbeknowst to him, who worked on construction sites for decades while raising his three daughters. The magic in Malik Bendjelloul’s documentary (Searching For Sugar Man) is Rodriguez himself. What an inspiring guy. I went to see him at Royal Festival Hall in November. His backing band were okay…where were the strings though? But the man wrote some great songs. And he got up there and sang them in a 70s bubble, it was unexpectedly moving. The place was packed with fans, and he came across exactly as you’d wish – humble and real. At “a solid 70” he is almost blind, but his voice was all there. And the albums too. Respect, Rodriguez.
CONCERT: The awesome summer solstice happening…
ancienttofuture.com 