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July 20, 2015

Pixies Tracks Of The Week @BossmanBirdie @RudimentalUk @REAL_JSPADES @AbelMiller @TheBugzyMalone

Bossman Birdie ft. Meridian Dan & Skepta – Wristbands 

A couple members of the Bloodline crew, Bossman Birdie and Meridian Dan as well as Skepta from Boy Better Know come together for “Wristbands”. Growing up on Meridian Walk all together and being part of one crew previously, it’s no surprise to see these three working together. The track is about their status as artists, being able to access all areas and about respect and loyalty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj19tWJ20SY

Rudimental ft. Anne-Marie & Dizzee Rascal – Love Ain’t Just A Word

Rudimental have been giving festival-goers tasters of what to expect from their new forthcoming album We The Generation especially with this new track “Love Ain’t Just A Word”. It features the lovely vocals of Anne-Marie and a verse from grime legend Dizzee Rascal who talks about the love in music, people, our maker and more.

J Spades ft. Mostack , Swift, J Hus & Grizzy – Nobody 

When it comes to UK rap, J Spades is one of the hardest and respected straight out of Hackney. As an older sometimes you have to help the younger generation, and this is what he has done bringing together some of the hottest names that are coming up in the game right now; Mostack, Swift (Section Boyz), J Hus & Grizzy. This will be on his forthcoming release MMMP3.

Abel Miller ft J Spades – Angel Blues

UK R&B singer Abel Miller has already built a solid fanbase and reputation for himself even though he is still young in the game; he has been releasing strong material for a few years now. He premiered his brand new club single “Angel Blues” earlier this week for our enjoyment, showing off his vocal talents and bringing in J Spades for a feature. This is the second single to be heard off his forthcoming EP Patience.

Bugzy Malone – Hulk Smash 

Bugzy Malone has been smashing it recently, gaining more and more fans all over the country with his hard bars and real lyrics. The Mancunian rapper delivers again oh his “Hulk Smash” freestyle over a Z Dot production giving us his thoughts on the music scene, delivering the bars with such passion and fierceness. His Walk With Me EP is due out on July 24 and he has a headline show at Islington 02 this week too!

 

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July 19, 2015

Why You Should Be at Eastern Electrics 2015 [News]

Eastern Electrics may only be in its fourth year, but the festival has garnered a great following – with this year expanding to 8 stages, catering to varied electronic acts with a very appetising line-up. Taking place on August 1 at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, there are still a number of tickets left that are selling as we speak, so grab them whilst there is still time!

Let’s talk DJs now and who will be playing! The soundtrack to the main stage will see icon Jamie Jones deliver a closing set as the sun goes down. Techno staple Nick Curly from Germany and the man behind Fuse London, Enzo Siraguasa will also be present, along with king of techno house Matthias Tanzmann.

The Big Top stage will see DJ Skream’s brand Skreamizm host and bring some high class DJ’s with cutting edge sounds. Skream of course will be present bringing the beats and vibes along with Boddika, electronic act Midland, Detroits Floorplan, Richy Ahmed and Jasper James.

Black Butter Records a ground-breaking UK label will be taking to the Forest to bring the bass. They will bring UK garage legend DJ EZ who will be cutting up some classics, along with a host of the labels starts such as Mele,My Nu Leng, Woz, Wayward, Applebottom and Tazer. This stage will be definitely not be one to be missed for us as they always bring unique, fresh and exiting sounds.

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The Star Of EE Pub will bring some music legends to the stage such as garage star Matt Jam Lamont, as well as The Streets Mike Skinner who will show his skills as a DJ, and UK clubland’s Jon Carter. You will also be able to catch London party starters Michael Bibi, Two and Eight and Capulet along with EE’s protégé Jordan Mina.

Sankeys provide another killer stage for the Ibiza lovers with headliner vIVA chief and Steve Lawler and starring Outcross Records boss and Hot Creations family Miguel Campell along with some of the brightest underground gifted DJ’s from Hamburg’s Sidney Chales to Berlin’s Sante along with Jozef K and Manu Gonzalez.

Other stages include The Switchyard where global underground goddess TINI will be bringing some special DJ’s such as Detroits Godfather of house Delano Smith, techno maverick Jichael Mackson and more. XOYO & Sink The Pink present Gloria’s Cabert with DJ’s Mag’s breakthrough producer of 2013 Citizenn bringing the beats, The 2 Bears, Horse Meets Disco and more.

The VIP area will hear a hip hop set from Miguel Campell, Kuible will be playing disco classics, EE regular Matt Tolfrey will go back to back with Geddes and many more will be bringing the vibes all day.

FULL LINE UP

Eastern Electrics Main Stage

Jamie Jones / Joris Voorn / Cassy /Matthias Tanzmann / Guti (Live)/ Nick Curly / Enzo Siragusa

Skreamizm hosts the Big Top

Skream / Boddika / Midland / Robert Hood presents Floorplan / Richy Ahmed /Jasper James

tINI and The Gang in the Switchyard

tINI / Bella Sarris / Delano Smith / Jichael Mackson (Live) / Seb Zito & Rossko / Die Holländer

Sankeys

Steve Lawler / Miguel Campbell / Sidney Charles / Santé / Jozef K / Manu Gonzalez

Black Butter Records in The Forest

DJ EZ / Melé / My Nu Leng / Applebottom / Woz / Wayward / Tazer

XOYO & Sink The Pink present Gloria’s

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (DJ Set) / Citizenn / Crazy P (DJ Set) / Lil Louis / Severino / The 2 Bears (DJ Set) / Joshua James

Star of EE Pub

Matt Jam Lamont / Mike Skinner / Jon Carter / Waifs & Strays / Jaymo & Andy George / Ryan O Gorman / Michael Bibi / Two and Eight / Capulet / Jordan Mina

VIP

Kubicle (Disco) / Miguel Campbell (hip hop set) / Mat Tolfrey & Geddes b2b / Remi Mazet / Robert Outch / Andrew Baxter / Johnny Hunter

Early birds are now SOLD OUT | £55.00 tickets final phase tickets available here

 

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July 16, 2015

Electric Daisy Carnival 2015 [Review] (@edc_uk)

Over 35,000 people headed to the Bowl,  a large space that allowed festival goers to explore free at the Milton Keynes setting. As we entered, the looming Kinetic CATHEDRAL stage, that was shipped-in from America was set at 90 foot tall and 240 foot wide with blazing flames, waterfalls set on the stage, and the symbolic owls with their glaring eyes that moved every so often watching over the ravers.

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EDC isn’t just about the music, it’s literally a playground of fun with carnival rides  art installations which mold glass, fire, metal and lights into interactive displays with performers such as dancers, stilters, aerialists, circus performers and more.

Arriving at 3pm we managed to reach the circuitGROUNDS hosted by Bassrush to firstly catch half of Mistajam’s set where he played old skool classics and some cheese, warming everyone up for the drum & bass sets to come. Shy FX then came on to bring the classics such as “Feelings”, “Shake Your Body” and more with host Stamina. Drum & Bass duo Sigma then touched the stage playing hits such as “Nobody To Love”.

We headed to the main KineticCATHEDRAL stage to catch Dutch electronic dance act Sick Individuals who have had No.1 singles worldwide who played a pretty astonishing set living up to their credentials as rising stars. Rushing back to the circuitGROUNDS stage to catch one of my favourite DJ’s Friction. He smashed his set playing tracks such as ‘Kingpin’ which features P Money & Scrufizzer.

Welsh DJ High Contrast was up next on the same stage who is part of the Hospital Records family and produced one of my ultimate favourite tracks ‘”If We Ever”  which he played half way through the set made the crowd stay still hyped after Friction and smashed track after track. I left after that track to catch a bit of Steve Aoki from North America at the main stage who mellowed the tone after the D&B playing his famous house tracks.

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Only a few acts left and I headed back to CircuitGROUNDS to watch Sub Focus and then back to the main stage to watch Tiesto who mixed up his set with an Ashanti beat and played Drake’s ‘Crew Love’ in between dance classics. The setting on the kinceticCATHEDRAL while he was playing was magical, as the lazer show kicked off through the hour set in the sky and the whole stage was lit up as people swarmed to the main arena. The lights were captivating and everyone was up dancing watching the fireworks which went off all throughout the set.

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July 13, 2015

Pixies Tracks Of The Week @MerkyACE @Izziegibbs @Rejjiesnow @Novelist @Meridian_Dan

Merky Ace – Cuss Match

A new one from the Dirtee Stank camp comes “Cuss Match” from South London spitter Merky Ace. Ahead of his Peak Levels EP which drops on July 17, he brings the war on a devilish beat produced by one half of Newham Generals, Footsie. The video was directed by Dizzee Rascal himself and also sees him make a cameo appearance, along with Footsie in the ghostly and eerie setting.

Izzie Gibbs – Swear Down

Izzie Gibbs is gearing up to release his EP Justsu and shows us what’s to come with his first track to be heard from it “Swear Down”. He takes it back to the old school Grime days with the beat, and proves why he is one to watch with his sharp and clever wordplay and lively delivery.

Rejjie Snow – All Around The World

Rejjie Snow is known for his unique take on hip-hop and has been rising steadily since the release of his debut EP Rejovich. His new track “All Around The World” sees Johnny Deep’s 16-year old daughter Lily-Rose play a smitten fan who Rejjie picks out from the crowd. Production comes from Chance The Rapper affiliate Cam O’bi along with a poignant melody.

Novelist – War

Novelist is one of grime’s most powerful, up and coming MCs and has been working non-stop. He uses the Jon E Cash classic riddim “War” to deliver 3 and half minutes of intense and menacing bars. He definitely doesn’t hold back on the snarling instrumental where he is cheeky and threatening all at the same time.

Meridian Dan – In The Street 

Bloodline member Meridian Dan drops a brand new, bass heavy track ‘In The Street’ which premiered on BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra.

 

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July 6, 2015

Pixies Tracks Of The Week @CokesM3 @IvyLab_ @FekyOfficial @YoungsTeflon

Coco – Target Practice

Renowned Sheffield Grime artist Coco drops a fresh, new track “Target Practice” with production from another Sheffield native and legendary BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra DJ Toddla T. Coco really shines on this track as he goes in hard with his bars with straight fire and no hooks over a dark, sub heavy instrumental. Watch out for him as he has started to become on tastemakers radars and is one to watch.

Ivy lab – Focus

Ahead of their Fabric appearance, Ivy Lab drop “Focus” as a free download. The London trio of prolific D&B producers give us a treat with this track for a dancefloor filler, velvet roller that has both harsh and smooth elements too it. It has an emotive depth to it too. If you like what you hear make sure you head down to catch them in EC1.

Fekky ft Skepta – Way Too Much

It’s been around a year since Fekky and Skepta linked up for a collaboration for a remix. Now they join forces again for Fekky’s brand new single “Way Too Much” where Boy Better Know’s Skepta provides the hook and a verse over the minimal production, allowing the lyrics to take center stage. This is UK music at it’s best, with road rap and Grime joining for a banging track. Fekky’s album El Clasico will be dropping soon too.

 

Youngs Teflon – Run DMC

South London MC Youngs Teflon returns with “Run DMC” bringing the Summer vibes with his video. The instrumental has a melancholic, ethereal feel with Tefs dropping some truthful, hard-hitting bars.

 

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June 29, 2015

Pixies Tracks Of The Week @SectionBoyz @LayZ_Music @AR15UK @NeroUK @KingPMoney

Naughty Boy ft. Section Boyz – 140 Man At Ya Door

Section Boyz profile has been rising fast this year, so it was no surprise that prolific producer Naughty Boy, best known for his tracks with Emeli Sande, has got them in the studio for them to work their magic on one of his beats. “140 Man At Ya Door” shows off Section’s unique flows on this gritty production.

 

Lay Z ft JME & Frisco – That’s What I’m On

North London MC and Boy Better Know affiliate Lay Z delivers a new tracks with an old school Grime feel. Joined by two members of BBK Frisco and JME on a Teddy Music production, the three MC’s all bring their own distinctive lyrical qualities, bars and content, with a memorable, catchy hook. This will easily be a future grime classic.

AR15 Presents Wretch 32, Devlin, Rebecca Garton & Swiss – Helpless

AR15 drop the 3rd track off their exciting forthcoming mixtape AR15 Presents Concrete Jungle. This one features rappers Wretch 32, Devlin, and Swiss from So Solid with solid, sweet vocals from Rebecca Garton with the track based on them describing their tough road to success and how it wasn’t easy for them to get to where they are now.

 

Nero – Two Minds

Nero continue to show us their diversity with this brand new track, the fourth cut to be heard from their forthcoming album Between II Worlds where they explore the house territory. The vocals from Alana are beautiful and are really powerful on this track, sitting nicely with the piano hook, thunderous bass and coarse synths. The album is out on August 28 so if you like what your hearing stay tuned for that.

P Money – Roll Up ft Saf One, Deadly & Blacks

Ahead of his mixtape release Money Over Everyone 2 which is a sequel to the first groundbreaking one, where afterwards he became one of the most sought after MC’s, P Money drops a fresh new video “Roll Up”. This brings two of the UK’s strongest Grime crews together OGz with P Money and Blacks and StayFresh’s Saf One and Deadly. Footsie takes care of the production on this intense Grime track, where all the MC’s bring their strongest bars.‘Money Over Everyone 2′ is out now on iTunes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAI94SzvWow

 

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June 16, 2015

Flesh & Buns [Food Review] @FleshandBuns

Heading out on Saturday night for a friends birthday, we decided to hit Flesh & Buns where my friend had been before, but was new to me. It’s a Japanese restaurant by company Bone Daddies who have a few other restaurants dotted around London.

Entering the restaurant off a road in Covent Garden, we walked down the stairs into a dimly lit, but colourful environment with people chatting away giving it a fun vibe of an Izakaya pub. There was either a long-stripped table down the middle for people to sit, or booths where you share with other people as well if there’s not many of you, which helps conserve space. We were offered a booth in the corner as it wasn’t busy, being just before 6pm, where a couple only joined the booth later sitting on the other side so it didn’t disturb us.

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This is East Asian food with a rock & roll edge, with the main focus on the hirata buns and the flesh or the meat you choose to be served with them. It’s a Taiwanese street food dish with an American twist where the floury, rice dough is folded and steamed, creating a pocket to add the ‘flesh’. I decided to pick the flat iron steak as my flesh, it was served with BBQ sauce and red onion pickle. The steak meat was tender and had a nice flamed grilled taste which complemented the pickle well. My fried went for the crispy duck leg, which the waiter asked if he you would like it shredded off the bone which was a nice touch.

For the starters we had soft-shell crab which came as a portion of 3  small crabs which we dug into straight away. It was served with a jalapeno mayo and the crab itself had a light tempura batter and was so delicious, just enough saltiness and crispiness on the outside, with the meat inside being tender. We also ordered Korean fried wings which came in a spicy, sour, sesame sauce. The wings came as a portion of 4 and were decent sized for wings and had a lovely crispness to them, although the sauce was nice enough, I couldn’t help feeling like something was missing from it.

Bowlful of glistening Korean chicken wings at Flesh & Buns

The drinks menu was wide and varied with a list for wines, sake, cocktails, soft drinks, beers and spirits to match everyones’s taste. The cocktails did look divine, but we opted for prosecco to go with our dishes. All in all it was a great experience, the atmosphere was lively and the food was great. I’d recommended going with friends.

Where To Find

41 Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LX     020 7632 9500     http://www.bonedaddies.com/flesh-and-buns

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June 15, 2015

Pixies Tracks Of The Week @TheBugzyMalone @Skepta @Fluxpavilion @Gfrsh @HarryShotta

Bugzy Malone – Watch Your Mouth

Manchester grime MC Bugzy Malone has been putting in the work with his presence and buzz being more prominent as of late, especially with his lyrical beef with Chip helping to excel his popularity. He dropped the first visual “Watch Your Mouth”, produced by Rude Kid, shot in his hometown from his forthcoming EP Walk With Me out July 26. The video depicts the grittiness of the track where he is giving a warning to people to watch themselves. Could it be a pre war track warming up for Lord of The Mics 7?

Skepta – Lukey World

Last week the death of Lukey Maxwell who was fatally stabbed, hit a lot of North London Grime MC’s in a bad way inlcuding Chip, Paper Pabs and more. His close friend Skepta paid homage and respect by recording a track”Lukey World” dedicated to him. Skepta honours him by reflecting to the world on his friend’s strength, kindness and music he was due to release.

Flux Pavilion – Who Wants To Rock ft. Riff Raff

Flux Pavilion the label co boss of Circus Records performed live at EDC New York, showcasing his new track “Who Want To Rock” ft legendary Riff Raff who gives the track a trap element with his insane, mic wrecking lyrics. Although the beat keeps a more electronic UK feel. It’s safe to assume that this track will be on Flux’s forthcoming album, and if this track is anything to go by, we can expect big things.

G Frsh ft Stormzy & Tinie Tempah – Sometimes

G Frsh drops the visuals for the very powerful “Sometimes”. The Berlin shot track is filled with emotion and self-confession, showing us a softer side to the three rappers and giving us a closer look into their minds. We hear G Frsh, Tinie Tempah and Stormzy trade bars regarding feelings after a relationship break down.

Harry Shotta – Animal

Charlie Sloth took to the radio to premiere D&B/Jungle MC Harry Shotta’s brilliant new track “Animal”. It has now been reported that it has now broken the World Record for the most words in a track, previously held by Eminem on “Rap God”. The lyrical beasts fast-paced flow went over the previous record by over 200 words. The track has blown up and is currently in the top 10 UK hip hop charts. Watch the visuals below.

 

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June 9, 2015

Born & Bred Festival 2015 [Review] @bornandbredLDN

Born & Bred Festival set in Haggerston Park, East London was the first festival to take place by promoters Found who already host a variety of other festivals across London. This one was one made for me and bass lovers, as it specialised in Grime, Drum & Bass, Dub, Jungle, Garage and more with a plethora of artists with a distinction in each of those genres.

The four stages were prominent when we walked in, The Main Stage with headliners from different musical backgrounds, Just Jam (the Grime one), Swamp 81 (a music label set up by Loefah) and Wavey Garmz (a lot of Garage). Starting at 11am, I missed The Square, Grime’s favourite upcoming crew from Lewisham. Unfortunately this was a bit too early for me as I arrived at 2.30pm.

I headed straight for a drink as the sun was beating down on Saturday and needed to quench my thirst! Checking the line up on my phone whilst by the main stage I heard the sounds of The Heatwave for a bit who gave an Carival-esque set with Bashment & Dancehall blaring from the speakers and a host to who was getting the crowd hyped.

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[Photo Credit: Marc Sethi]

Wavy Garmz was where I went to hear some old skool riddims from the likes of Oxide & Neutrino from So Solid crew, who really took me back in time with their 2 step tunes and a crowd sing-a-long to their crew anthem from So Solid.

I headed to Just Jam to catch the mighty Sir Spyro on the decks drop some classic bangers, with ad lib Grime legend Flirta. The crowd was so hyped when he touched the mic. We headed back afterwards to watch one of Grime’s favourite and famous duos, Newham Generals who graced us with new tunes from their EP ‘N To The Gs’ such as ‘Levels’ and old school classics such as ‘Hard’ and ‘Streetfighter’. It was good to see people so enthusiastic about watching Grime veterans like these on stage!

I can’t forget watching Joker on the main stage who brought life to open air field at only 3.30pm in the afternoon, and then took it down to some tracks off his newly released album. He certainly had the audience going for one of my favourite sets of the day, Digital Mystikz (Mala & Coki) who had everyone in awe of their dub classic tracks and literally had everyone raving and pulling up tracks such as ‘Earth A Run Red’.

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[Photo Credit: Marc Sethi]

I caught a bit of Loefah’s set over at the Swamp 81 tent which was fully fledged with tunes full of synths and bass. I then headed back to catch a set I was really looking forward to, and that was Zinc’s Jungle set on the main stage where he played his classic track ‘Super Sharp Shooter’ and Chase & Status & Jenna G’s ‘In Love’. I didn’t leave as he played banger after banger and as Wiley was late had to extend his set (I wasn’t complaining).

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Wiley turned up to his headline, 1 hour set practically 45 mins late, with B&B announcing he was on his way, but really not many people believing and leaving the main stage area as Zinc had left and they had really messed with the atmosphere by playing commercial hip hop. Once on stage he performed ‘Chasing The Art’, ‘On A Level’ ‘Step 1 Freestyle’ and ended on ‘Heatwave’. I was pretty disappointed that he didn’t pull out more classics as this wasn’t really a commercial kind of festival, he could of left them for Wireless or whatever. The sound system shut off at 9 on the dot and the crowd were not happy with Wiley who later tweeted it was not his fault though “Yesterday I was actually on time . But my manager and Dj messed up this one . #Simples . I can take blame for a rusty start tho.”

All in all for the first festival of Born & Bred, it went really well with no trouble that I witnessed and was full of harmony. It’s tapped into a market that wasn’t delivering us the bass culture we needed all in one. Well done to Found, we salute you.

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June 8, 2015

Pixies Tracks Of The Week @Sneakbo @theupbeats @Skepta @Meridian_Dan @WileyUpdates

Sneakbo & Kranium – Lifestyle Remix

South London rapper Sneakbo dropped his mixtape Jetski Wave 2 in February, which is one of the hottest of the year thus far and hosted by DJ Whoo Kid. This week we got the official video to the “Lifestyle remix” track off it which is my personal favourite off the tape where he talks about his life, his journey and his hopes, dream and ambitions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2NBEUg2XKs

Caribou – Back Home (The Upbeats Bootleg) (feat Voices)

New Zealand producer duo The Upbeats have taken Caribou’s rather relaxed tune “Back Home” and given it a sumptuous drum & bass remix with synths plus vocals from Voices, whilst still leaving the original coatings remaining the same. The build up to the drop is delightful, elevating to a sub bass that gradually comes in. The producers have also added an extra treat; the track is available for a free download by clicking here 

Skepta – Shutdown (Idris Elba Remix)

You will recognise the name Idris Elba more from the acting world more than music, from an array of hit TV drama’s including The Wire and Luther along with films such as Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom and more being nominated for Grammy Awards too. He is a DJ though, under the moniker DJ Big Driis and has released tracks and has production credits to his name, so it’s no surprise really when he was asked to hook up with Skepta for a remix of Shutdown. Listen below and appreciate his bars as he goes in hard.

Meridian Dan – The Bits

Meridian Dan from one of Grime’s most well known crews, Bloodline has dropped a single titled “The Bits”. He signed to label PMR after a successful 2014 which included his single “German Whip” reaching the top 20 single charts. “The Bits” is produced by Tow Inch Punch and we can expect it to be on his forthcoming debut album ‘I Am London due later in the year.

Wiley – Wickedest MC Alive

As Wiley launches a new label Chasing The Art, he celebrates this by promising to drop a track per week for eight weeks which will be a project  titled #8. Kicking this off he started with “Wickedest MC Alive” which is self-produced and premiered by Annie Mac on the radio. Released on Sunday 7 June, with the follow up single “25 MC’s” dropping the following Sunday on “June 14th. This track resonates with his early 2000 material giving it a nostalgic feel.

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