popround / free mixtape collective » dubstep

J Period Dancehall Soundclash Vol 2 Part 2 boyee

harry covert — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:52:33 +0000

Well, one day we’ll be back in the sizzling hot sun of summer – stoop parties, hoards at every ice cream parlor, hanging out in parks with boom boxes blaring a boisterous roughneck soundtrack. Well, here in SF we’re still not quite there yet, but let’s start getting in the mood.

I originally posted part 1 of this J Period Dancehall Soundclash mix last year, and due to demand am offering up part 2 here. There’s no let-up in intensity, and we find ourselves once more engulfed in a heady concoction of dancehall, reggaeton, ragga, hip-hop and a spattering of jump-up pop classics.

Here’s the track names:

Lil Jon Interlude
The Workout
Yeah Remix
Elephant Message Remix
Elephant Message
Galang Girl
Get Busy/Egyptian Interlude
Sweet To The Belly
Milkshake Remix
Jook Gal
Move Your Body
Pull Up
Tamale
Killing A Sound Boy
Sound Bwoie Buriell
Look Into My Eyes
Shake That Thing
Enemies Remix
Paid Not Played
Paid Not Played Exclusive
No No No
Oh Yeah
Bad Boys
Wine Up
Champion Lover
69
The Chronic
Like A Rock Remix
Neva Scared Remix
Neva Scared Remix
Outtro

Listen to part one of this mixtape

Rock and roll meets techno and dubstep on Jason Forrest mix

harry covert — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:21:03 +0000

We start in rock fringes with raw fuzzed out guitar chords leading to Nick Cave’s bastard punk croonings. Before we know it, we’re up to our ears in fringe dance, or as the man Forrest puts it:

“it’s like dubstep finally embraced it’s suburban IDM roots and the result is a freedom of sound that only happens really infrequently”

That man Forrest is an interesting being. According his Wikipedia entry (oh god, is any of it true?), he’s one and the same as Donna Summer and runs the Nightshifters label with DJ Jubilee.

Maybe I’m slow, but this mix was a real grower on me. Much of its charms were lost on my first breeze-through. I’m feeling it stronger now. It’s worth it just for the quite beautiful shake-down into Piotr Kurek’s ‘School Boy’ about 27 mins in.

Just in case you’re interested in any of these sharp tracks, there’s a detailed tracklisting here.

Strange love in Moscow

kiterae — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:16:38 +0000

Well, it all started with this remix of the MJ track ‘Stranger in Moscow’ which was unfamiliar to me as by the time History came out, I’d largely lost interest. Well, that track didn’t even make it onto this mix in the end. I ended venturing a little further leftfield into more tribal territory. Don’t despair, black heart day is only around the corner and I couldn’t resist the Sandcastles remix of that old Robin S Euro-thumper ‘Show me love’. Forgive me, all you purists out there.

For the trainspotter:

Mind Reader (L-Vis 1990 Remix) – Kingdom + Shyvonne
Burning Up – Skream
Trollsta (Egyptrixx Remix) – Dubbel Dutch
Timewarp Dub – Stagga
This Sound Is (Homework Sound Bootcut) – Kid Kaio & Lucky Charmes
Kill 100 (Carl Craig Remix) – X-Press 2
Lucy & Ercolino – So the Nothing Grows Stronger
T’a surdou Dakunt (Lorcan Mak remix) – Dakunt
Radio Slave – Orchestrating Maneuvers in the Dark (M.in & Patrick Lindsey Remix) – Radioslave Patrick Lindsey M.in
Flonko – Version 1 – Steve Angello, AN21
Summertime [Extended Vocal] – Jamie Jones
Grand Central, Part I (Deep Into The Bowel Of House) (MCDE Bassline Dub) – DJ Sprinkles
Love Dub – Cooly G
Sandcastles vs Show Me Love – BORN TO FUNK Edit
1992 – Original Mix – Mendo
Flutesnoot (Brodinski’s B-Live Mix) – Edu K
Erupting Light – Hildur Gudnadottir

Best of the blogs for 2009

kiterae — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:00:01 +0000

Here it is – getting on the 2009 teary nostalgia tip like a bunch of other Poprounders (thug wife, doc and yari, who covered the whole noughties).

Most of these tracks have been hacked off the blogs I monitor. Definitely veering on the side of taught electronic production, and me like all the other bloggers is a sucker for the crafty remix so there’s more than a few featured here.

Chelonis R Jones – Rehabilitation (Excerpt)
Kleerup – Until We Bleed (With Lykke Li)
Can you feel it – Barack Obama mix
Vancouver – Felix Cartal
I Remember (Caspa Remix) – Deadmau5
Mr Oizo – Gay Dentists
M.I.A. – Death to the throne
WTF (DJ Wool remix) – Tittsworth
Bot (Original Mix) – Deadmau5
Black Music (One Kitten vs Chris T-T Remix) – Chris T-T
Jack got Macked – Julio Bashmore
Tanya Stephens – “It’s a Pity” (Lulu Rouge Bootleg)
Bigmouth Strikes Again (David Starfire remix) – The Smiths

If you’re interested in more like this, check out this listing of mp3 downloads from time to time.

What’s in store for 2010? Looks like dubstep is fragmenting yet still enjoying a share of the hype/limelight. Personally, can’t wait to get to SXSW in Austin!

Long faded shine of summer

kiterae — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:15:47 +0000

So, this mix started some months back under the glow of an Indian summer. Finally it sees the light of day – just in time for what these Americans call The Holidays.

I’ve been digging back into the past with wisps of drum and bass and old skool trance (303 workouts), mixed up with some new found numbers culled from the wonderful blogosphere. Enjoy…

Tracklisting

Kadebostan – Spirit Soldiers
Sweet Surrender (Roni Size Mix V2) – Sarah McLachlan
Warhead – DJ Krust
Life In Minds – Life On Mars
Kings Of Spain – Agent Purple
When I Grow Up (Bassnectar Remix) – Fever Ray
Sisters, I Don’t Know What This World Is Coming To – Terre Thaemlitz
Psylodub – Transequence
Katouka – Tony Hunt
Reptil – Synesthasia
Vancouver – Felix Cartal
Cicada (Pedro De La Faydro Birth Mix) – Justin Martin
Fucking Boyfriend [Peaches Remix] – The Bird And The Bee
Tira’s boot – DJ Tira
Bot (Original Mix) – Deadmau5
Tom’s Diner (Bingo Players Bootleg) – Suzanne Vega
Wighnomy Bros. – Lampatee (Nick Curly Remix)
IC19 (Deathface Remix) – Buraka Som Sistema
Water From A Vine Leaf – William Orbit

Deep tribal house from L-Vis 1990

harry covert — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:35:25 +0000

Well, this was the mi-summer mix from L-Vis 1990. But hang on – I’m in San Francisco. We’re actually half way through the second summer of the year. San Franciscans are treated to dense fog May through August so the halcyon days come in Spring and Autumn.

Blah, blah, blah. Back to the mix. This time L-Vis 1990 delivers a serious slow burner. The languid dubby bass meanders across clattering high-hats and strict tribal toms, treading on the toes of both dubstep and broken beat. A perfect soundtrack to watch wisps of fog melt into a welcome Indian summer.

Thanks to Curb Crawlers for the mix and tracklistings.

Matty from Glock’N'Spiel – fast and loose with minimal

harry covert — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:57:45 +0000

Thanks to Tim from theargus.co.uk for pointing me in the direction of this mix from Brighton’s own Matty, a graphic designer who doubles up as a house DJ involved with the free underground movement that is Glock’N'Spiel.

This is a tight little mix that really get’s going about 15 minutes in. A jacking undercurrent keeps the thin minimal infrastructure lifted. I’d be interested to know what the tinkling little number is about 30 mins in but couldn’t dig up a tracklisting for this one.

There’s a bit more info here, but I’m afraid that’s all I’ve got for the time being.

Better days ahead

kiterae — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:30:09 +0000

So said Jimi Polo all the way back in 1989 over the top of one of dance music’s most memorable piano riffs. But then house music in those days was all about gay black kids coming up with funky piano snippets on their Utopian search. Oh, how far we’ve come.

So, here it is, my latest mixtape, after much procrastinating (in part brought on by an interest in listening to the mixtapes of others over on the Harry Covert channel. As always, there are a smattering of offerings lifted from other music blogs, but I’ve also been dipping back into past tracks – some from Beatport, others from Netlabels.

I Remember (Caspa Remix) – Deadmau5
Dreamy ethereal house gets a dubstep retrofit courtesy of Caspa

The LSD User – Stagga
Deeeeep bass workout

Pon Da Floor (Vinnie, Donnie & Sjakie remake) – Major Lazer
Mindless football chanting from Diplo and Switch under the Major Lazer guise

Acid Machine – Mike Mind
All these years have passed and I’m still a sucker for acid squelching and burps

Sweeter Than (Original Mix) – Audiofly
Audiofly tech workout with a liberal dose of funk

Better Days – Jimi Polo
“There’s gonna be…”. Here’s hoping it all worked out well for Jimi Polo in the end

Jack got Macked – Julio Bashmore
What a beauty. laidback groove overlaid with delicate piano riff and that falsetto ‘jack’ statement

Aundy – Claude VonStroke
Claude Von Stroke continues on that blissful vibe

All Of My Heart – ABC
dug up some old vinyl i’d burnt and lo and behold I’m singing in the shower

Say U Will (Cajual Records) (Original Mix) – Cajmere, Dajae
serious slab of trademark chicago house

Foonky – René Breitbarth
another fine riff. credit the electric guitar this time round

Egypt Egypt – Egyptian Lover
i’m afraid this takes me back to breakdancing round my bedroom to the bemusement of my poor ailing mum

Let It Roll – Doug Lazy
there will forever be a place in my heart for hip house. and doug lazy was one of the finest purveyors. “i’m like the porche and not the yugo” – a piece of motor history right there

Dusty Dream (Dub) – Snowcone
italo house rip-off (although fair do’s, wasn’t most italo house ripped off?)

A Volta (feat. Sizzla, Amanda Blank & Lovefoxxx) (Database remix) – N.A.S.A
A maximal workout that keeps references to the original to a minimum

Bless You (Trentemøller Remix) – Lulu Rouge
A perfect pairing in the world of deeeep house music

Gazebo (Joe and Will Ask? rmx) – Fairmont
Masterful 4×4 glitch updated

The Messiah – Le Castle Vania + Computer Club
Screaming for attention

Bigmouth Strikes Again (David Starfire remix) – The Smiths
I’ve been dying to get this into a mix for a while now

Drop the Lime picks up the bass

harry covert — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:55:01 +0000

Brooklyn’s Drop the Lime is a busy bee. Aside from performing on Institubes as Curses!, he’s remixed everyone from Armand Van Helden to Rex the Dog.

Prior to ingesting this mix for the wonderful XLR8R mag, I’d have labelled DTL as a fine purveyor of seriiious basslines. Now, for the first 15 mins or so of this mix, all the activity happens in the higher spectrum: tension comes from shuffling hisses (a nod to early Sheffield rave?) and the snap of snares on speed. More than enough to keep you enthralled before that signature bass drops like an Amazonian storm.

The warbling basslines bleed out of twisted funk from Boabinga, Mujava (that track), DTL himself and Little Jinder, amongst others. Definitely high octane, but for me the interest comes in the juxtaposition with a deeper house (eg. Acid Jacks) – an unlikely yet heavily rewarding partnership.

Tracklisting and more information on XLR8R

Toddla T’s rambunctious debut mix on BBC Radio 1

harry covert — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:49:04 +0000

The UK’s BBC Radio 1 has been supporting and promoting emerging dance music since the early days of rave (when the public-funded organ attracted some ire for forging links with a ‘drug-addled’ sub culture). Back in the day, I had no way of getting out into the fields where the raves where happening, so I was glued.

That is rapidly approaching 20 years ago (which you could equate to a couple of centuries-worth in the wildly accelerated popular music world), but the spirit continues with the ‘In DJ’s Trust Series’: a rotating roster of fresh UK DJ talent. A couple of weeks ago Toddla T stepped up to the mic. The result? I was transported back to that time where youngsters with regional accents launched a tirade on the airwaves, driven by the power of the music that was unfolding beneath them. And again, now that I’m a continent away, this week I found myself glued once more.

Albeit Toddla T brings a level of professionalism (lyricism) that I don’t recall being there back in the day. There’s an interview about 30 mins in to to this mix in which a wonderfully sweet-toned rapper asks a series of increasingly bizzare questions of the Toddla.

And in his presentation of the music, Toddla T is strident in his appreciation of that rapidly evolving bass movement with rich ancestry in drum and bass, dancehall and rave.

Staccato gibberish and discombobulated chants sit atop chattering high-ends and distorting warbling bass drops in and out on a whim (latest cuts from Major Lazer, Wideboys, MJ Cole). There’s techno, 2-step garage, grime, dubstep, ragga for those in search of diversity. Talking of diversity, Toddla also features a selection of his influences: Bassment Jaxx, Roy Davis Jr, Fugees, Carly Simon and ABC.

Any overarching theme? As the BBC website puts it,

“His influences include that “clangy Sheffield electronic sound” first heard from Cabaret Voltaire, with local speed garage variant, bassline and early Warp Records’ bleep techno.”

Look out for monthly mixes from this new-breed basshead.

Listen to the debut from Toddla T

More on Toddla T