Compiled by Alex Stevenson (one third of London-based DJ/producers Patchwork Pirates and assistant to Gilles Peterson) and proudly featuring cover art by KARBORN, Brownswood electr*c celebrates the spirit of invention and commitment to experimentation intrinsic to the Worldwide underground in the face of the fusion and hybridity that characterizes contemporary sound system culture. The boundaries between so-called “hip-hopâ€, “houseâ€, “technoâ€, “dubstep†and “drum & bass†have never been so blurred, and it’s at these crossings, junctions and awkward intersections where the most inspiring and stirring sound clashes occur. These are the sounds that we commemorate on Brownswood electr*c – the music that occupies the grey areas… that lives in the spaces in between… that falls between the gaps.
When global bass music matriarch Mary Anne Hobbs recently told The Fader “Flying Lotus, for me, is like the Hendrix of his generation†it seemed more then an audacious opinion, and with the arrival of Cosmogramma, it’s revealed as a revelation. In the past couple of years, Flying Lotus has grown into the position of being far more than a producer, he has helped materialize a far-reaching strain of musical ideology that has encompassed not only a global family of like-minded artists, but also a nearly infinite palate of planetary (and interplanetary) sonics.
Looking back, his full-length Warp debut, Los Angeles appears to be much more of a mission statement than a simple introduction – laying the foundation for a field on which an entire generation of artists would soon be playing. While that album was an introspective, moody travelogue through the Californian metropolis, it certainly hinted at Flying Lotus’ inclination to expand his sound beyond terrestrial means. As you may deduce from the title of his latest opus, he’s done just that. Not only has an entirely new range of sounds been unlocked by our intrepid astral traveler, but every genre touchstone associated with his name has been merged into a self-described “space operaâ€.
Seamless in execution and too wide in scope to properly describe, it is the authentic embodiment of his unique musical heritage. The spirit of his famed aunt, Alice Coltrane permeates the record, notably in the powerful collaborations with relative Ravi Coltrane, bass virtuoso Thundercat and the brilliant harp prodigy, Rebekah Raff.
Certainly these are further reaches into a musical space that Flying Lotus had hitherto been exploring, however other collaborators such as Erykah Badu and Outkast string arranger Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and guest vocalists Thom Yorke and a returning Laura Darlington (featured on Los Angeles’ epic closing track ‘Inifinitum’) help deliver Cosmogramma to dizzying new heights. All this name-dropping, however, is not to detract
from the genius of the wizard-like figure behind it all. The most powerful aspect of FlyLo’s output has always been it’s ability to communicate his boundless love and enthusiasm for music in all it’s forms and that is what is boldly on display here.
People speak about ‘important’ albums all the time, but rarely is it so apparent that person behind them is following their own, chosen path – Flying Lotus is one of those precious few artists. When one is presented with an invitation for space travel, it’s not something to pass up.
Flying Lotus ‘Cosmogramma’WARP195 May 2010 Double Gatefold Vinyl / CD Tracklisting & Listening Clips:
UPDATE: This is now available - to buy please contact us at info@conch.co.nz
International release date: 21st June 2010, to pre-order please contact us at info@conch.co.nz
Kode9's grasp on the throat of bass music in 2010 is almost unparalleled. His trend setting record label, Hyperdub, is in its sixth year of viral contagion; he's become a published author on the theory of sound abuse and sonic frequencies being used as weaponry in his book 'Sonic Warfare' and his production work has mutated from an almost simplistic marriage of beats and sine waves into a fusion of dancefloor Ebonics and discordant synths.
Becoming a figurehead of UK dance music hasn't been a quick process, and Kode9's single-mindedness has contributed in some way to his notoriety, but it's simply his tireless work as a record label boss and A&R that has marked him out as one of the most powerful ears within the scene.
Probably best known to the wider global audience as the label that gave birth to two genre defining albums from Burial, Hyperdub has become one of the most reliably testing labels out there. Just as likely to release a glut of two and a half minute beat sketches from American beat maker Samiyam or Zomby as sprawling house opuses from Brixton bass bin temptress Cooly G, the label is at the forefront of innovation and it's something that he has infused into his volume of the DJ-KiCKS series.
"Very simply, [the mix is] just a snapshot of my DJ sets at the first half of 2010," he says calmly. "It's definitely not an exploration of my musical heritage, but it's not all new stuff. It probably signifies something about my relationship to dubstep that the mix only has a few dubstep tunes in it, and is instead a mix of UK funky, broken beat, dubstep, grime and some R&B. Unfortunately, I fear some listeners, because of my background, will think that all the tracks are just mutations of dubstep."
Starting off in serene fashion with Nottingham producer Lone's upbeat exploration of steel drum snatches on 'Once In A While', Kode9 dives into the percussive textures of Dutch producer Aardvarck before steering the mix into a duo of his own productions: 'Blood Orange' and the specifically tailored exclusive single, 'You Don't Wash (dub) (DJ-KiCKS)'. Jumping off from this point into a journey through current UK funky, Kode9 aligns tracks from Hyperdub artists Cooly G and Ikonika with works by Ill Blu, Sticky, Grievous Angel, Mr Majika, Ikonika and Scratcha DVA, sampling the textures and suitably brutal drum patterns that regularly inject London's dancefloors with such a sustained level of energy.
"I find the whole mix pretty danceable in different ways. Some of the stuff is around 8 or 9 years old like the Aaardvark tune 'Revo' which Martyn introduced me to last year," he notes; "And in the early 2000s, I was a big fan of Nubian Mindz as well so it was great to dig up that remix of his for the mix as I feel rhythmically things have swung back round to some of that broken techno stuff, with all its scattered snares, bent synths and maximalist percussion. Also that Maddslinky tune 'Cargo' is an oldie, but I've basically been playing it in practically every set over the last couple of years. The first time I heard that tune played at FWD>> at Plastic People I remember it was like someone had suddenly let the sunshine into this dark basement..."
The tracklisting is mostly, but not all London-centric, featuring a selection of big booming riffs and asymmetic percussion possessed by a guttural sense of forcefulness. "Cooly G's 'Phat Si' really is one of those tracks for me; it's just a timeless, mean, deadly roller and is effortlessly a Hyperdub classic. Producers like Lone and Zomby definitely have a magic touch and Mala, for me is like a tropical island in an ocean of dubstep sewage."
On this mix Kode9 surfs through those artists and productions that sideswipe you in an unexpected moment of surrealist realisation. Whether it's being brought by a track bringing the sunshine carnival vibe to a Shoreditch basement or by the sheer level of production and temperament that a producer pours into each of their tracks. Veering from the taught and poignant snare snap of Morgan Zarate's 'M.A.B.' he flips from the troubled soul of Rozzi Daime's falsetto on 'Dirty Illusions' to the bruised rhythm of JDaVeY and on into the advanced rhythm science of Terror Danjah and Headhunter's breakout 808 anthem under his Addison Groove alias, 'Footcrab,' distilling some of the more powerful strains of modern UK dance music culminating in the big moody tombstone of The Bug & Flo Dan's 'Run'.
"I love the sour R&B tracks of Rozzie Dame and Jay Davey in the middle. If only more pop music sounded like that..." he notes tangentially. "The first and second halves [of the mix] are pretty typical of my sets over the last year. The little 'dream sequence' in the middle, I only get to do when the vibe feels right and people look capable of moving to more downbeat stuff instead of just standing around and nodding their heads."
"I started DJing around 19 years ago and I don't know... I just think that every few years I get a musical epiphany from an intense experience in a club or in something I hear that fills me with energy, information and inspiration to produce and DJ. After each one I spend the next few years trying to decipher what happened in that singular moment."
And sonically that's what Kode9's DJ-KiCKS does: attempt to decipher the tangled state of UK dance music in 2010.
Words: Oli Marlow
Kode9 DJ-Kicks tracklisting:1. Lone Once In A While2. Aardvarck Revo3. Kode9 Blood Orange4. Kode9  You Don’t Wash (dub) (DJ-Kicks exclusive)5. Cooly G Phat Si6. Ill Blu Bellion7. Ikonika Heston8. Scratcha DVA Jelly Roll9. Mr Mageeka Different Lekstrix10. Grievous Angel Move Down Low11. Sticky feat. Natalie Storm Look Pon Me12. Sticky Jumeirah Riddim Sequel13. Mujava Pleaze Mugwanti14. DVA Natty15. Aardvaarck Re Spoken (Nubian Mindz Released Mix)16. Morgan Zarate feat. Sarah Ann Webb M.A.B.17. Rozzi Daime Dirty Illusions18. Zomby Spiralz19. Kode9 It20. J*DaVeY Mr. Mister21. Digital Mystikz 2 Much Chat22. Terror Danjah Stiff23. Digital Mystikz Mountain Dread March24. Zomby Godzilla25. Digital Mystikz Mountain Dread March (Reprise)26. Addison Groove Footcrab27. Kode9 vs. LD Bad28. Maddslinky Cargo29. Ramadanman Work Them30. Terror Danjah Bruzin (VIP)31. The Bug Run (feat. Flo Dan)More Info:www.dj-kicks.comwww.kode9-djkicks.comDJ Mix:
Welcome to the LAGOS DISCO INFERNO, the first compilation of rare, Nigerian Disco to be released outside of Africa. Brought to you by ACADEMY LPs who also released the the Ofege and Mebusas albums.
Compiled by Frank Gossner of Voodoofunk.com, this record contains 12 tracks that represent the sound of Lagos in the late 1970s. Digipack!
Dean Disi (Music Journalist and formerly Director of Lagos based label TYC Records) wrote the liner notes for this album:
"It was the era of sheer ecstasy. The music not only represents the vibrancy of youthful expressionism of the time but is also deeply rooted in African rhythm though not traditional in phraseology... This collection of songs marks the development of Nigerian urban pop culture... There was diametric difference in the music of the discos and the music play by the groups. Disco music as played by the DJs was essentially western. The fans could connect with this easily. It was hip, urban and stimulating. The young Nigerian groups were hooked on it and tried to play it but with a distinctive African stamp of their own."
Some of the artists on this record were stars of their times while others remained in obscurity.
TIROGO and BLO had originally started out in the early 1970s as guitar based Rock groups. The debut albums of both bands are holy grails of the international Psych Rock collector scene. Like many other bands, they eventually ventured into Funk and Disco because the demand of the club scene and retail market. This also explains how the Nigerian brand of Disco has so much more energy, a more urgent and sometimes rebellious feel and a rougher sound than the slick and overproduced sounds of the Western world.
Geraldo Pino was a key figure in the Nigerian music scene. Originally from Sierra Leone, he had spent time in Ghana during the late 1960s and came to Lagos in the early 1970s with a unique brand of Funky African Soul that immediately set the city on fire. Even Fela Kuti credits Geraldo Pino for having been a major influence for himself as well as for the entire scene. Geraldo Pino is featured here with his 1978 dance-floor bomb "African Hustle".
Christy Essien was a Nigerian superstar who put out a string of successful records all through the 1970s. Others, for example Nana Love despite their best efforts never even reached any local fame. After listening to this record though, you will agree with us that all of these artists rightfully deserve our attention for elevating the Disco genre to new spiritual and musical heights.
And here is what makes Nigerian Disco so special:
Lagos by the 1970s was a huge metropolitan city. Due to the oil boom, there was money to be made with music and nightlife and big international record labels like EMI, Decca and Philips had set up their recording studios that for a big part got equipped with vintage hardware handed down from their European franchises. So as the sound of the late 70s and early 80s in Europe and in the US got more and more modern and from todays point of view just plain shitty, overloaded with ugly sounding Roland keyboards, the sound of Lagos was dominated by powerful horn sections, heavy drums and percussion instruments. There's plenty of early Moog synthesizers but no synth-generated strings or fake horns.
EMI's house producer Emmanuel Odenusi had worked with Fela for many years, defining the sound of Afrobeat. Kayode Salami who produced another couple of tracks on this album also was responsible for the incredible sound of the famous debut LP by Psych-Rock group Ofege.
Lagos, a uniquely vibrant, gritty, energetic and sometimes quite dangerous tropical metropolis has always been much more than just a city. A state of mind where third world poverty met the oil boom, where African traditions clashed with Western decadence.
After four split 7"'s released last year we present the full Producer 2 album. This album is the follow up to volume 1 in Fat City's Producer series which Boomkat have hailed as "impeccably curated". Once again we feature the most exciting elements from the increasingly blurrred boundaries of electronica, dub and hiphop. Producer 2 includes tracks from old heads such as Dabrye, Carlos Nino, Harmonic 313, Martyn, Daedelus & dBridge next to rising stars of the burgeoning west coast beat scene in Devonwho, Mr Dibiase, Low limit and Mono/poly. The UK is represented through Illum Sphere, Mike Slott & Tandy Love together with fresh talent to look out for in Darkhouse Family & Danny Drive Thru. The album is a rewarding journey through psychadelic electro, nu-era hiphop, post dilla slump-funk, slo-mo d'n'b & sleazin' electro-soul.
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