Dub dot dash

2009-12-16T15:14:00.000+13:00

Conch Records best of 2009
Been busy working on my best of 09 list for my BaseFM radio show this Saturday, what a mission. Here's the best of 09 from the folks at Conch. (~~flogged~~ sampled the pic idea from them too, he he)

2009-12-16T14:44:00.001+13:00

Buju Banton arrested for attempting to buy 11 pounds of cocaine

The Joe My God blog notes that the recent arrest of Buju Banton has a number of reggae fans in Jamaica and the US claiming that his bust for attempting to buy eleven pounds of cocaine is payback from the gay community.
Miami Herald: "On Monday, in South Florida and Jamaica, callers burned up radio airwaves, calling the arrest a ``conspiracy'' to get him after his recent controversy that included protests by local gay-rights advocates over a Halloween concert in downtown Miami.
``They are convinced it's directly connected to the concert he had recently,'' said Winston Barnes, a Miramar city commissioner and host of a popular Jamaican talk show on WAVS (1170-AM). ``What they are saying is that he got off that time and they are fixing him now.''

Boom Bye Bye is viewed by gay-rights advocates as an anti-gay anthem because of its lyrics advocating shooting gays in the head and setting them on fire. It made and continues to make Buju Banton a target of protests by gays and lesbians who as recently as this month ratched up their protests against the artist after the Grammy announced his latest album, Rasta Got Soul, was nominated for Best Reggae Album."

Banton's possible sentence could be 20-30 years, or less if he cops a plea bargain.

2009-12-16T14:34:00.001+13:00

Vinyl will kill the iPod.
"New York retailer J&R Music claims record sales for the 21 different analog and digital turntable models that it carries. Rachelle Friedman, the co-owner of J&R, said the store is selling more vinyl and turntables than it has in at least a decade, fueled largely by growing demand from members of the iPod generation..." Source: Sales of turntables increase along with vinyl. Shame that Ms Friedman uses the term 'ramping up'... hate that....

Here's an idea - if the vinyl revival really is being driven by the iPod generation, then is it a reaction to crappy sound quality of mp3s? I still have problems buying anything off iTunes, simply because their bitrate is low, and sounds like it too. This is why people still buy CDs - so they can rip them to MP3s at a better bitrate than iTunes. That's one of the reasons I still buy CDs.

I guess there's the tangible element too - a record collection just looks better than an MP3 collection (which is like looking at a hard drive - thrilling). It's like watching people when I show them my new Dub Asylum vinyl single - their eyes light up. It's exciting - who ever got excited about an MP3? Really?

2009-12-16T10:30:00.000+13:00

Hiphop vs Drum n bass soundclash
"DJCXL represented Hip Hop in Base FM's Hip Hop vs Drum & Bass soundclash in early December '09 - this clip shows the journey from practicing the set (with MC Bling), to performing it live and performing it at a radio show two days later."
Much respect to CXL and MC Bling - mean, brothers, mean!

2009-12-16T10:27:00.000+13:00

Benji B top picks from 09.
Just heard the mighty Chip Matthews and Mister Dylan C talking on BaseFM Breakfast earlier about well-respected UK DJ Benji B, and his end of year faves list which features a couple of locals, Julien Dyne and Electric Wire Hustle, nice one! Check Benji B's Best of 2009 part 1 and part 2. Part 2 is still available online for another 5 days if you want to listen in.

Another list? Try this. The best films of 2009 that you might have missed. Boom.

2009-12-13T12:45:00.001+13:00

The release party for Ba Ba Boom
... is happening this Sunday December 13 from 5pm as part of the Conch Sunday Grill, at the Ponsonby Social Club (next to SPQR, opposite Conch). Dub Asylum VS Oogun DJ Battle, lotsa organic BBQ treats, and it's FREE entry! Copies of the single on sale too, check Mukuna for more details.

2009-12-12T18:07:00.000+13:00

Ring the alarm playlist, BaseFM, dec12
Cooking on three burners - Cars
Axel Kryger - Echale semilla
Revolutionaries - Kunta Kinte - Dj Kentaro remix
Barrington Levy - Dont fuss nor fight
Beat pharmacy - Wata (deep dub)
J Period and K'Naan - My country/small axe - Messengers remix
Betty Davis - If I'm in luck I just might get picked up
Based on Kyoto - Flying pan
Salmonella dub - Bungle fun feat Mighty Asterix
Horace Andy and Ashley Beedle - Rasta don't - Toddla T remix
Wayne McGhie - Fire (She need water)
Lee Scratch Perry - International broadcaster
Nitin Sawhney - Dead man - Fink dub
DJ Center feat Samia Farah -Tout passe
Ragga twins - 18" speaker
Chuck and Dobby - Oh Fanny
Stranger Cole - Rough and tough
Skatalites - Addis Abba (playing live at Womad, New Plymouth, March 2010)
Reggie Stepper -Drum pan sound
Sly n Robbie - Ballistic squeeze
International observer - Miss hit (playing live Friday 18th Dec w/ Pitch Black, Tapes, at Galatos)
Sade -Soldier of love
Acusmatic group - The fixer - Solo moderna remix
Afrikan simba - Protect I version
Hopeton Lindo - Rude boy
Dub Asylum - Ba Ba Boom (7")

2009-12-11T09:22:00.001+13:00

Ba Ba Boom on the grill...

The release party for Ba Ba Boom is happening this Sunday December 13 from 5pm as part of the Conch Sunday Grill, at the Ponsonby Social Club. Dub Asylum VS Oogun DJ Battle, lotsa organic BBQ treats, and it's FREE! Copies of the single on sale too, check Mukuna for more details.

2009-12-10T09:15:00.000+13:00

New from J Period
Last I heard from this cat was his wicked mixtape series with K'Naan, reworking Bob Dylan, Fela, and Bob Marley. This time, he's working with former Nigerian singer Nneka...

J.Period & Nneka Present The Madness (Onye-Ala)... New Nneka Exclusives & J.Period Remixes ft. Jay Electronica, Talib Kweli, Damien Marley and others - Dropping 15 December, available online at www.jperiod.com/nneka. The bonus dubplates from J Period sound like they'll be pretty cool too.

“What struck me most about Nneka’s music is that her story is so present in every song,” says J.Period, “The spirit and struggle of her roots in Africa, a sense of responsibility inherited from Fela, conflict and perspective gained living abroad in Germany. Her music is a contagious combination of genres and styles that just pulled me in right away. Artists who refuse to be confined to one genre are often considered crazy. Artists who follow their conscience are considered crazy. This is that brand of crazy: The Madness (Onye-Ala).”

Download the 1st single "Changes" (J.Period Remix) ft. M-1 & General Steele Here:
http://www.jperiod.com/upload/nneka/jperiod-nneka-changes-final320.zip

Full Tracklisting:
1. Can You Hear? (Intro)
2. Let the Madness Begin (J.Period Exclusive)
3. Wake Up World (Interlude)
4. Wake Up Africa (J.Period Remix)
5. The Uncomfortable Truth
6. Untainted Love feat. Damian Marley (Interlude)
7. Spread Love (Brooklyn to Zion) (J.Period Remix)
8. Human Rights (Interlude)
9. Changes (J.Period Remix) feat. M-1 & General Steele
10. Conscious Lyrics (Interlude)
11. Gypsy/Infamous (J.Period Exclusive)
12. Hip Hop Comes From Africa (Interlude)
13. Walking (J.Period Remix) feat. Jay Electronica
14. Home (Interlude)
15. Show Love (J.Period Remix) f. Rakaa (Dilated Peoples) & Aceyalone
16. For the Good of Humanity (Interlude)
17. God of Mercy (J.Period Remix) f. Zumbi (Zion I)
18. Suffri (Nigerian in Berlin Remix) feat. Fela Kuti
19. Perseverance is Character (Interlude)
20. Strength/Kangpe (J.Period Dubplate) f. Big Boi (Outkast)
21. Heartbeat (J.Period Remix) feat. Talib Kweli
22. In the Heart of Man (J.Period Exclusive)
23. Symptoms of My Madness (Outtro)

[ Bonus Mix: J.Period Dubplates ]
24. Mind vs. Heart (J.Period Dubplate) f. 2Pac
25. Changes 2 (J.Period Dubplate) feat. Lauryn Hill & John Forte
26. Walking 2 (J.Period Dubplate) feat. Nas

2009-12-09T09:28:00.001+13:00

Dub Asylum single is rolling, rolling, rolling...
My new single Ba Ba Boom shows up on DJ Sirvere's blog, and also pops up on reggae site Niceup, cheers folks.

The release party for Ba Ba Boom is happening this Sunday from 5pm as part of the Conch Sunday Grill, at the Ponsonby Social Club. Dub Asylum VS Oogun DJ Battle, lotsa organic BBQ treats, and it's FREE! Copies of the single on sale too, check Mukuna for more details.

2009-12-09T07:42:00.000+13:00

Technics 1200, 1210 not headed for the dump just yet
Slashgear reports that Technics has issued a statement saying they have “no current plans” to discontinue the iconic turntables, following earlier reports sourced from Panasonic NZ/Australia that they were discontinuing the turntables in March 2010.
"As a major global business, Panasonic keeps all of its operations under constant review. However, there are no current plans to discontinue the Technics brand and the production of Technics turntables".
(Spotted via Wax Fm's Twitter)

2009-12-08T21:27:00.000+13:00

1980-89 VS 2000-09 - which decade produced the best music?
The usual bunch of end of year music lists are starting to rear their ugly heads right about now, and to top it all off, we get end of the decade lists like this one, from the NME. I own one record on this list. Probably not the target audience, then! Then there's the top 500 songs/albums of the past decade, via Pitchfork...

I got to thinking, how does this past decade compare with, say, the 1980s? There's a major thread of thinking about music that suggests that the 80s was a dire, tacky time for music - think Dire Straits or Wham, to name but two offenders. I find that line of thinking completely unfathomable, when I recall all the incredible music I discovered in that era, from rap, reggae dancehall, to post-punk and more...

So lets try this list, Top100 albums of the 80s. Let the fun begin.

And for some light relief, The Worst Album Covers of 2009.

2009-12-08T20:48:00.000+13:00

Look! It's the vinyl revival ! (Story #279)
"Vinyl Records and Turntables Are Gaining Sales" NYT. It's been a while since the media trotted out this one, good to see it still has legs... speaking of which, go buy my single! It's awesome.

RIP Eldred Stebbing

2009-12-07T14:48:00.002+13:00

A hugely important figure in Nz music, kickstarting careers of Howard Morrison Quartet, Ray Columbus, Th Dudes and many more. Passed away yesterday afternoon. Much love to his family and studio crew. More to follow

ADDED: Funeral Service is 12.30pm, Friday 11th December, All Saints Church, Ponsonby.
More on Eldred Stebbing from NZHerald, Amplifier and The Corner.

2009-12-05T16:26:00.000+13:00

Ring The Alarm playlist, BaseFM, Dec5
20th century steel band - Papa was a rolling stone
Redds and the boys - Put your right hand in the air, put your left hand down in your underwear
DJ Day - Lucien
Dabyre - Won
Prince Fari - Hello love brother
Conroy Smith - Original sound
Dawn Penn - No no no
Ticklah - Answer me
Tommy McCook - Beirut
Havana boys - Paul's dub
Manasseh and Johnny Osbourne - Rise up
Donae'o - Riot music
Cooly G - Love dub
Kion and Murda feat Junior Murvin - No 1 sound
Salmonella dub - rhythm and pattern
Courtney Melody - Bad boy
PD Syndicate - Ruff like me
Paul Murphy - Soul call
Sharon Jones and the Dapkings - Giving up
Dusty - Voodoo -Romanowski remix
Fink -Sort of a revolution - SIdeshow dub
Boozoo bajou - Sign - DSL remix
J Rawls and Liquid crystal project -Tribute to T.R.O.Y.
Lightning head - Preguntas por que
Mayer Hawthorne - The ills
Kid Creole and the coconuts -Mister Softee
The Emotions - Blind alley
Candi Staton - Do your duty - Pepe Bradock remix

2009-12-03T07:26:00.001+13:00

The Ba Ba-ing of the Boom by Senor Stinky Jim
Big thanks to Stinky Jim for giving the Oogun remix of Ba Ba Boom a spin on his mighty radio show Stinky Grooves. And for showing us some blog love here, at Stink Inc. Jim, a tip of the hat in your direction, fine sir.
"Of articular and particular note this evening was Oogun giving Dub Asylum a right smack-up remix for the debut 7" on Loopy Fruit Records. Props are properly dispensed to Messrs Mclenners and Oogoid for their work on this, it's a scorcher ... I've got absolutely no truck with music being bigged and upped on purely geographical stakes, but this would be getting a run or three on SG wherever it came from, top notch!."

Release date for the single is Monday December 7, in selected record stores and can be ordered via Amplifier too. Conch Records on Ponsonby Rd will have some exclusive pre-release copies instore on Friday Dec 4.

2009-12-02T22:49:00.001+13:00

Bruce is great - if you don't agree with that, you're a pretentious martian from Venus
That's a quote from a splendid letter from the late Joe Strummer, written "in response to a query sent to him by the documentary producer Mark Hagen, who wanted his opinion on Springsteen for a documentary that would ultimately air as 1998's Bruce Springsteen: A Secret History"Spotted via Daily Swarm on Twitter, at Village Voice.

2009-12-01T08:36:00.001+13:00

More steel drums!
Hat tip to Recloose for this, he alerted me to a post on his blog here.

"As promised, I had to post a little something about my new friend Marron of 'Based On Kyoto'/'Dub Dub on Seng' who I had the pleasure of jamming with Thursday night at the Japonica record store. I've been a fan ever since my man Kazuo passed me his release on my trip to Kyoto last year, especially because its pretty rare to hear steel drums rocked on contemporary dancefloor joints. Needless to say 'Calypso On-Seng' and 'Flying Pan' have both been on steady rotation...

So, to my utter *#@* amazement, I find out at soundcheck that Marron is ACTUALLY playing a guitar on these tracks, not steel drums. He started to tell me how he does it, a combination of a pitch shifter and a few other pedals, but I stopped him short of sharing his secret. Lets just chalk that shit up to magic, shall we?"

Now go and have a listen to the audio at Hit it and quit it.

2009-11-30T21:15:00.000+13:00

Junior Murvin, live on Jools Holland, dropping Police and Thieves
Killer, just killer. Check that voice. From 2004. Hat tip to Diff Kitchen.

2009-11-30T09:30:00.000+13:00

Ba Ba Boom - Oogun's remix
Sneak preview below, Oogun's mad afrobeat dubstep remix, love it! Single out on Dec 7th. Release party details soon! Youtube link

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2009-11-29T16:26:00.002+13:00

A post about vinyl
Yeah, I know, all my posts here seem to be about vinyl. But I picked up a few records at Conch yesterday, and they're totally awesome.

This is a 12" by Redds and the Boys - Put Your Right Hand In The Air, Put Your Left Hand Down In Your Underwear , backed with Rare Essence - Shoo-Be-Do-Wop. The cover art is by legendary designer Neville Brody, who was responsible for the look of The Face magazine back in the 80s. It came out in the UK back in 1983, and was part of the Go-go scene busting out of Washington DC at that time. There's even a movie that tried to cash in on Go-go's success, one of the many acting 'highlights' from Art Garfunkel.

20th century steel band's take on Papa was a rolling stone, is from their 1976 debut album Warm Heart Cold Steel. Isn't that a great name for an album? Also featured on that album are the heavily sampled tune Heaven and Hell Is On Earth.

I've been after this album for about a million years, after hearing it at a mate's place - he owns a copy with the former owner's name written on it - Barry Linton (one for all you NZ comic fans). Finallly the good folk at Mr Bongo are reissuing the album - I picked up a 12" with several tunes of it, and it's wicked. Their version of Shaft is fantastic.

Mr Bongo report that 30 years after the original release "Michael Oliviere and Godfran Moore – original 20CSB members and the previous bands writers, composers and arrangers have reformed the group with a new line-up and are re-releasing their seminal album on Mr Bongo Records."

2009-11-28T15:25:00.002+13:00

Technics to stop production of turntables?
Late last week I heard reports that Technics was stopping production of turntables, including their classic staple, the Technics 1200 and the 1210. This turntable is the global standard for DJs - walk into a club anywhere in the world, and you'll find 1200's in the DJ booth. It has even been recognised as an official design classic.

Pocket Lint report that "We’ve seen a couple of reports on message boards that seem to indicate that the iconic Technics SL-1200 and SL-1210s may be about to be discontinued. If true, it would be a surprise, as both models represent iconic turntables and are widely considered the industry standard in nightclubs.

"The rumours appear to originate from a New Zealand DJ shop called DMC World, which says on its product page: “Panasonic (the manufacturer of Technics) have announced that production of the world famous Technics SL-1200 and SL-1210 DJ turntables will stop at the end of February 2010.

"The turntables have been around for more than 35 years, and are featured in the London museum of Science and Technology as an important step in how music has been played and presented over the last century. Their popularity has ensued due to their tank-like construction, high torque and effective insulation from acoustic feedback....

".. an Australian dance music website, inthemix.com.au, has a quote from a Panasonic spokesman - Ian North - who says: "It is a sad day today but due to low sales globally in analogue turntables a decision to stop production has been made on Technics Turntables. For Australia this means we will receive our last shipment in March".

DMC originally posted this: "We have just heard the sad new from Panasonic (the manufacturer of Technics) that production of the world famous Technics SL-1200 and SL-1210 DJ turntables will stop at the end of February 2010. This marks the end of an era - Technics have been the industry standard for over 35 years with this turntable and the SL-1200 is synonymous with the DJ culture. It has been released and re-released over 9 times with different models and numerous other manufacturers have tried to compete with this deck, but above all, the Technics SL-1200 & Technics SL-1210 are the undisputed number one deck in the world."

It has been reposted to numerous message boards around the globe, but I have heard that DMC was asked to take it down from their website by Technics, as Panasonic NZ had been a bit premature with the announcement.

ADDED Dec9: Slashgear reports that Technics has issued a statement saying they have “no current plans” to discontinue the iconic turntables.

2009-11-28T14:57:00.002+13:00

Ring The Alarm playlist, BaseFM, Nov 28
Overproof sound system - Kingstep Unitone hifi remix
Jo Jo Bennett - Canteloupe rock
Dennis Bovell - None jah jah children (melodica version)
Rhythm and sound - What a mistry
Dubblestandart -Terrarists and inhalers (Keith Le Blanc remix)
General Levy - The wig
Jackie Mittoo - Stereo freeze
Ernest Ranglin - King Tubby meets rockers uptown
Prof Oz - Waves and skank - Grant Phabao remix
Groove Armada - Tuning in
LV - Turn away
Dub Asylum - Bo ba boom orig/Oogun remix WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVE
Jahdan Blakkamore - Earthshaking
Lightning head - Area boy
Kokolo - Magnificent seven
Lee Fields - Money i$ king
Willie Bobo - Roots
Menahan st band - Esma
Fulgence - Tribute to Masekela
Horace Andy and Ashley Beedle - Watch we
DJ Vadim - Hidden treasure
Zed Bias - Jigga up (ring the alarm)
Julien Dyne - Falling down
Pimps of joytime - PJT's high steppin

2009-11-27T07:37:00.000+13:00

King Midas Sound mix
Grab it from Fact Magazine here. King Midas Sound is the latest project from Kevin Martin aka The Bug, and the tunes I've heard from them so far are wicked, kinda bleak dub with a lovers rock vibe on the vocals. Check out Cool Out, for example.

"This FACT mix reads like a list of influences on their twilight Lovers Rock sound, featuring sweet reggae in Tanya Stephens and Gregory Isaacs, dusty shoegaze in My Bloody Valentine and A.R. Kane and modern favourites Burial and Little Dragon, plus tracks from Sade, Larry Heard and Scritti Politti, and material from King Midas' forthcoming debut album, Waiting For You on Hyperdub", out the end of this month.

2009-11-24T22:08:00.003+13:00

Ah, lovely vinyl
Got my test pressing back today for my Dub Asylum 7"single, it looks like this....