Spoek Mathambo is part of a new wave of South African artists pushing the tropical bass/ghettotech sound or as he calls it ‘township tech.’ I’m not one for labeling everything to death but I think the township tech tag works nicely. Give it a listen and you’ll see what I mean.
Moving on from Cape Town to Soweto, and the sound of Shangaan Electro. Rickety, 180-bpm marimba dancing music with hauntingly beautiful singing over the top. The videos are a must watch. While I’m not suggesting this is ‘the next big thing’, it is another example that SA artists are pushing boundaries and experimenting with new sounds. If you like the sound of Shagaan, Honest Jon’s have put together a double LP/digital release of new wave South African music. Check it out here.
Then just to bring things full circle to Ouzo’s JUKE post yesterday here is DJ Tuco’s refix of Afrikaan rap crew, Die Antwoord’s tune Beat Boy.
This is by far the most abstract piece of music or bizarre musical movement I have come across in a while. DJ NATEhas just signed for Planet Mu and is the pioneer of a sound called Footwork. Footwork is a sub genre of a larger genre called Juke. I am guessing that this stuff is going to be all over the place pretty soon and if the kids can grasp the dance expect a ‘Footwork’ dance phenomenon, ala Breakdance the movie, in 3D! I know/knew very little about this until Matt sent me a couple of videos of these guys doing their thing. I have literally no words to describe this stuff, I definitely know I’m not that into the music but have a look at Lil’ Chris getting busy…
Also, the legendary Mike Paradinas has put together a little Juke mix for everyone to get familiar with the sound, check it out:
I wasn’t at Sonar this weekend, but I’ve been hearing a lot of good reports about this year’s festival. I’ve heard a few people mention Girl Unit‘s track ‘Wut’ as one of those memorable, multi-rewindable tracks that stuck out from the crowd. Night Slugs have to release this track, it’d be wrong for them not to, but they’re pretty tight lipped on when it’s going to be. For now just listen to the track on youtube. Over and over and over…
If you came to GET SOME on Saturday, thanks you. if not, here’s what you missed… A massive thank you to Greymatter, R1 Ryders, Pariah, G-Double and the Essex boys for making the night what it was, BIG!
The last of our featured artists, Greymatter, has kindly offered up one the tracks from his album, Raw Root, as a free 32o digital download here and here only! He is also giving away 50 copies of his album, Mind Over Matter, to the first 50 people through the door on Saturday night, what a guy… We interviewed Greymatter earlier this year, check that out here: http://getsomeuk.com/?p=577.
Remixes for The XX and Ellie Goulding have been followed up with a solid debut release on legendary dance music label R&S. Fresh from recording his debut mix for Mary Anne Hobbs’ experimental show on Radio 1 we caught up with Pariah for a quick interview. This kid is on a tear right now, make sure you catch him at GET SOME on June 19 and big up MAH for the shout out!
Who are you and what do you do?
My name’s Arthur, I’m 22 and I produce music under the name Pariah.
Where are you from and where are you now?
I’m originally from Scotland but I moved down to London about 4 years ago.
When did you first get involved with music and what were you doing?
I guess I’ve always been involved with music from a very young age but I started producing about a year and a half ago. I’d messed about on Logic before when I was about 16 or 17 but I never really learnt how to do anything.
First record you bought? Last record you bought?
I know that the first tape I was given was either a Gloria Estefan or Michael Jackson album and that was when I was about 7 or 8. God knows what the first record I bought was. The last one I bought was the new Oneohtrix Point Never album, “Returnal”. Its amazing!
What is your most memorable moment in music?
Mixing for Mary Anne Hobbs’ show.
Where/Who do you get you inspiration from?
Burial, Brian Eno, Boards of Canada, Move D, early Aphex Twin, Garage, Jungle.
What’s next for you/your label?
My next release is a 2×12″ on R&S which is called “Safehouses EP”. Hopefully gonna get the masters finished in the next week or so.
If your career in music never was, what would you be doing now?
Well, I’m still at uni at the moment so I guess I’d probably just be doing that…. not hugely exciting haha.
Who should we be watching in 2010?
There’s so much good stuff around at the moment. Hessle and Hemlock are killing it at the moment. R&S has some truly amazing music coming in the next few months too.
And finally, please complete the following sentence…
‘I’M ON A UK FUNKY TING’… So, Kode 9 has dropped, or is dropping something new, and it is NOT what I was expecting. This track popped up on my Soundcloud Dashboard, uploaded by K7 Records, and I really don’t know what I think. It’s sort of ok, sort of standard, sort of not. Is this the future for Kode 9 or a one off? Only time will tell… It is labelled as ‘UK Funky, Tropical, Dubstep’, yet another Sub Genre to contend with (haha), and is definitely moving away from the dark Burial sounds that this man pioneered. Have a listen.
In the run up to June 19, we are pleased to bring you the first mix and interview of our featured artists, R1 Ryders.
Who are you and what do you do?
K: Im Karnak..
S: Im Skeelo, and we are R1 Ryders..
K: We make Funkitek!
Where are you from and where are you now?
We are from London, UK and right now in the lab working on new material.
When did you first get involved with music and what were you doing?
S: I first got pulled into music by a family friend who needed help to set up speaker stacks at a carnival in Dominica.
K: I first fully got involved with music after making the transition from being a bedroom dj to getting my first booking at an under 18’s event. I was 15 and I haven’t looked back since.
First record you bought? Last record you bought?
K: The first record I bought was Chronic 2, a one away jungle tune that I think was an early Krust production. I haven’t bought records in a while as we either make our music or get it sent to us.
S: The first record I bough was an old school Buju Banton record and the last record I bought was our Burnout EP.
What is your most memorable moment in music?
S: Finishing the Full Throttle EP was a milestone for us in my eyes..
K: Being named by Fact Magazine in its top producers to watch for 2010 was kinda cool. All the hard work is paying off.
Where/Who do you get your inspiration from?
S: My mother is a great inspiration to me..
K: The way the underground music scene in London has progressed is a big inspiration to me. The way in which it keeps mutating and evolving into something new is a beautiful thing and it inspires me to do the same, to contribute to this melting pot of wonderful ideas. I feel truly blessed to be a part of this movement.
What’s next for you/your label?
K: We have Full Throttle EP (the London anthem Hydraulic features on our guest mix) landing soon as well as a single we are working on with Carly Bond called “Ain’t Wastin No Time”.
S: We also have some music we have worked on with UK Funky Veteran MC Dogtaniaun coming soon as well as collaborations with Night Slug’s Mosca and Deep Medi’s Quest.
If your career in music never was, what would you be doing now?
S: I’d be playing Football.
K: Most definitely a professional artist of some sort, or an architect. I’m not too sure but I know I was meant to do this.
Who should we be watching in 2010?
R1 Ryders, Carly Bond, Ikonika, Dogtaniaun, Mosca and Quest.
And finally, please complete the following sentence…
GET SOME… is the only place to be on the 19th.. BE THERE!
Check out the exclusive R1 Ryders mix for GET SOME below, featuring unreleased material from their forthcoming EP!
