Jaguar Skills - Toolroom Knights DJ Mix album

Honing his craft and love of music for the last 15 years, the rise of Jaguar Skills as the greatest Mash-Up DJ on the planet has been well documented.

With a weekly slot on the Trevor Nelson Show, alongside regular performances on BBC Radio 1’s ‘In New DJs We Trust’, the word of this groundbreaking DJ has spread globally.

Becoming a regular fixture at ‘Toolroom Knights’, Jaguar Skills lightning speed mixing has captivated crowds and won over an army of dedicated followers.

Capturing the flavour of these sets, the mysterious masked ninja; Jaguar Skills paints a musical picture that has equal amount narrative as it does musical diversity.

Delivering an aural assault of every tempo and style; from House to Drum & Bass, Dub Step to Hip Hop, and everything in-between, the latest Toolroom Knights Mixed by Jaguar Skills takes you on a foray through all colours of the musical spectrum.

For the first time, Jaguar Skills delivers 2 exclusive tracks alongside production partner DJ@War, showcasing his versatility as both DJ & producer.

The electro fuelled melody of ‘Potential Super Violence’ and the bass heavy onslaught that is ‘9 Levels Of Power’ are two additional highlights to the album, as are Jag’s mixes of ‘Gabriel’ and ‘Blitz’ which gives a new spin on recent Toolroom smash ‘Sinnerman’ by Sean Miller & Daniel Dubb.

Intricately dissecting and reconstructing tracks to make new musical compositions, this is Jaguar Skills at his best and in true ninja style, Jag crafts a mix that packs a powerful punch and keeps you locked in from start to finish with tricks, snappy turntablism, sample drops and re-edits that will keep you listening again and again!

For more information visit www.jaguarskills.com.

The Big Chill presents The History Of Hip-Hop

The Big Chill presents The History Of Hip-Hop featuring:

A surprise special guest -  Ninja Tune “legend”
DJ MK
DJ BLAKEY
Alexander Nut
Disorda
Breakin’ Bread
Chris Read

+ Breakdancing from Born To Rock

Saturday 26th February 2011
8.30PM – 4AM
@ The Big Chill House, 257-259 Pentonville Road, London N1
(Kings Cross Tube)

The Big Chill Presents returns for its first event of 2011 launching a brand new monthly residency from our favorite on-demand radio platform Mixcloud who kick things off with a very special Big Chill Presents event titled History Of Hip-Hop. Headed up by a very special guest DJ from Ninja Tune, Mixcloud have assembled a task-force of killer DJs to deliver past, present and future sets from one of the most important musical genres of the 20th Century!

We can’t give too much away about our very special headliner due to his impending album release but this Latin Grammy Award-nominee, sometime radio presenter who spends his time between Berlin and New York, all we can say is it’s going to be very, very big.

The rest of the event sees an assembly of formidable talent dropping sets from their favourite era of Hip Hop headed up by DJ MK (Kiss FM) who drops into deliver a 90’s Golden Era set, UK DMC winner (2004) and Fabric Resident DJ Blakey who drops ‘00’s Club Bangers, Rinse FM’s Alexander Nut who represents the Nuskool with a Future Of Hip Hop set. Keeping the pressure up Suspect Package’s CEO Disorda, one of the most important supporters of the scene who will lay down a full history of UK Hip Hop set from South London collective Breakin’ Bread deliver a 70’s B-Boy Breaks set and finally Chris Read (Substance) wraps things up with an 80’s Electro Funk set, add to this live break dancing from award-winning crew Born To Rock and we’re set for a night of pure Hip-Hop gold.

Since launching just over a year ago, Mixcloud have been excited and honored by how many incredible, talented DJs have got involved on the site – contributing a wide array of high quality and creative content. Digging through the site, they constantly come across Cloudcasts that are crafted with love and affection – DJs digging for interesting, obscure tracks and stringing them together in ever more interesting ways.

This led to the inspiration for their new monthly residency and we’re excited to have them kicking things off at Big Chill House! Expect some great talent from the site as well as a community of listeners and fans to connect in the real world – bringing the magic of Mixcloud to life!

For more information visit www.bigchill.net/house.

Ensuring it is an unforgettable night, fans can expect a live performance from the infamous all American hip-hop band featuring Pharrell Williams, N*E*R*D.  Joining them will be BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, having presided over the best of British nightlife and been the driving force behind the project in Great Britain, Zane will be taking to the decks for an exclusive Miami inspired DJ set alongside cut and paste supremo Jaguar Skills.

Fans will also be able to sample an authentic taste of Miami as they enjoy delicious Smirnoff Miami Mule cocktails by the virtual interactive pool and kick back and relax at the luxury lounge bar.  If Nikki beach is more your style, head to the main room to experience the sand between your toes complete with palm trees overhead before embracing Little Havana notorious for Latino dancers and carnival entertainment.

To be there and celebrate the outcome of the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project as two very different cultures collide to create something extraordinary, partygoers should visit Facebook.com/SmirnoffGB to win tickets.

In turn, Miami will receive the best of Britain’s homegrown nightlife, as voted for by the public and curator Zane Lowe.  A community of more than 279,000 people across the country were involved and  more than 6,520 people suggested what best characterises nightlife in Great Britain – from fashion trends and musical styles to locally inspired cocktails – via Facebook. Once all of the suggestions were in, Zane Lowe selected the ones that best represented the nation’s vibrant and varied nightlife. These ingredients will now be packed into a crate for Miami to experience when the world swaps nights in the epic finale on 27th November.

It can now be revealed that Miami can look forward to experiencing a myraid of quintessentially British nightlife experiences, with an unexpected twist. Incorporating the nation’s unique festival vibe and a series of typical traditions including fish and chips, kebabs and black cabs the night will give partygoers a bona fide insight into British nightlife culture.

Zane Lowe comments:

“I’m incredibly excited to see the best of British nightlife come to life for the people of Miami to enjoy. After weeks of voting and some extraordinary suggestions on what makes our nightlife truly unique, the event on November 27th promises to be a one-of-a-kind experience. Miami, I hope you are ready!”

To further involve the global community around the Nightlife Exchange Project, the Smirnoff Co. has created a new collaborative music platform Beat of the World, launching soon – it will allow people from around the world to get involved and help create an exclusive track that will be played at the finale events.

The track will represent the diverse cultures of the 14 countries taking part in the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project and exchanging the best of their nightlife on 27th November 2010. The pairings for the 12 other countries taking part have been revealed as follows:

Australia – SYDNEY & Brazil – SÃO PAULO
Argentina – BUENOS AIRES & Ireland – DUBLIN
Canada – TORONTO & India – BANGALORE
Germany – BERLIN & South Africa – CAPE TOWN
Lebanon – BEIRUT & Thailand – BANGKOK
Poland – WARSAW & Venezuela – CARACAS

Bonn Lewis pseudonym of Ben Wilson DJ/Producer from Bradford, has released a track called Brit Latin that crosses genres and provides the listener with some quality Electro, House, Filth, Dubstep and Maximal sounds . Bonn Lewis prides himself on not putting all of his musical eggs into one basket and his first ever live performance gained him residency at all Rusty Hat promoted events in the UK.

The Brit Latin Original Mix consists of a deep electro bassline, uplifting chorus and features two MC’s from the Yorkshire based hip hop band Freyed Knot and its released under Rocstar Recordings.The vocals sit with a very nice electronic Vocoder to give them a more electro edge.Ben explained “The Brit Latin Dub Remix replaces the MCs raps with effected vocal hits and textures”.Having listened to the EP over on  Soundcloud, I found the track extremly original in its production and the deep bass and vocals create an atmosphere you would expect from the Wild West.

I adored the Brit Latin Dub Remix and confess the Dub to be my favourite Remix. Its electro dub beatz dictated some seriously funky shoulder moves on my part, quite uncontrollable at times, which in my opinion denotes a quality Dub track!

The DivKid Remix is full of cut up basslines, chords and effects and in my opinion is exceptional in its complexity and technical detail;  it had me mesmerised throughout waiting to hear which effect would appear next. I am a sucker for special effects on a track, it makes the track more appealing to the ear and invokes some serious moves on the dance floor.

The Pitch Twit Remix is a very dark and dirty Dubstep and with its robotic vocals creates an interesting journey and may even encourage the listener  to sit back, close their eyes and take a journey into outer space and may the force be with them if they do.

Buy it here http://beatport.com/s/r1afyt

You can hear more Bonn Lewis tracks by visiting his Soundcloud.

http://soundcloud.com/bonn-lewis

I Am One Project

London based act I Am One Project release their debut single ‘Night Time Calling – Rebel Sonix Remix’. The track will be officially release through Awal distribution on 31st May on iTunes and all other major online stores.

I Am One Project are a new and exciting talent mixing influences from Hip Hop, Grime, Folk and Soul to create a fresh new sound. The band consists of Oli Rose, a young gifted singer songwriter and Jamie Wallace an exhilarating underground MC.

I Am One Project are now touring the London circuit with a full band bringing their sound to a whole new level. They have been performing to sold out venues such as Camden Barfly, Cafe 1001 and Ronnie Scott’s. They have also supported the likes of Tinie Tempah and Bashy.

The track was remixed by London based producer Rebel Sonix who has worked with an array of top artists including: Coldplay – Kylie – Barbara Tucker – C and C music Factory’s Zelma Davis.

The tracks release also includes I Am One Project’s first music video which was directed by Phil G, an up and coming motion graphics artist and film maker who has worked on brands such as MTV, Nike and Xbox.

I Am One Project are set to have a fantastic year with the release of their debut EP this summer featuring tracks  such as ‘I Am Blessed’ and ‘Sunday Morning.’

For more information visit www.myspace.com/iamoneproject

Shifted + Dubpack + Football + DJs

SHIFTED + DUBPACK
SATURDAY 12th JUNE 2010
@ BRIXTON JAMM
261 Brixton Road
London
SW9 6LH

So the World Cup is upon us, but let’s not forget that the summer party season is getting well and truly underway. On June 12th Shifted and Dubpack are throwing a party to kick off England’s campaign and the summer in style, with an eclectic line up of DJs playing music across the board after the big game has been shown on an equally big screen.

The focus of this night is squarely on having fun, with a retro tuck shop, barbeque, Slush Puppies (alcoholic or non!) and an exhibition of live graffiti painting to keep you fed, watered and entertained.

That’s not to mention the artists on the night…

Shifted and Dubpack have pulled together a mighty impressive selection of DJs, who will be serving up a veritable smorgasbord of music and who may not necessarily be playing what you would expect. You can catch the likes of CHEFAL and TUBBY playing Jungle, WALSH (alongside a special guest on the night) playing some classic UK Garage and turntable behemoths ROSSI B & LUCA playing – well – a bit of everything.

There will also be plenty of Dubstep, Reggae, House, Hip-Hop, Hardcore and even Disco to keep you interested throughout the night. A perfect way to celebrate England’s win and if you get there in time to catch the game, it’s just £5!

This all takes place at the Brixton Jamm, 261 Brixton Road, SW9 on 12th June.

LINE UP:

ROSSI B & LUCA / CHEFAL / COTTI / WALSH B2B SPECIAL GUEST/ TUBBY / UNDERGROUND ICE / RUCKSPIN / DUBALTY / BEAT ME UP / SHINOBI / DRU / RAGGS / FRISKIE / SLUGZ & BOYSON / G MONEY / ANDY P / SYNAMATIX

Hosted by: CRAZY D / TRUEZ / IRAH / TESTA

Prepare yourself for an unforgettable night…

…Shift Happens!

TICKET INFO
Tickets £5 until 10pm, £8 thereafter

House music and disco creates a fuzzy feeling of happiness.  It’s kind of its point.  But to lift it, particularly to lift it to something post 2000 takes more than wizardry with the new software platforms that adorn most DJ booths.

You need soul to be injected into the fray, an understanding of how to take a lilting rolling beat and infect the dance floor with passion.   Sweatshop displayed both an understanding of this and also showed if one DJ gets it, and the other you are playing with doesn’t have quite the same instinctive understanding that the music can fall a bit flat.

6th Borough Project is formed with Graeme Clark known as ‘The Revenge’ and his partner Craig Smith.  The Sweatshop event marked their debut party of their decks and effects set that is taking them across the world.  Now to get one thing straight right away it was a very fun night.  The guys played some brilliant old funk with old school Hip Hop.  They got everyone grinning and dancing by mixing up the genres merging Latin percussion with House, Underground Resistance with Disco and the formula worked.  Mostly.

But, there was a stark contrast between Clark’s performance on the decks with his partner Smith’s.  It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what it was, I suppose it might be an unlearnt understanding of how to manipulate the music to make it something more than just familiar, but to make it new and fresh sounding.  I loved hearing Moodymann ‘Shades of Jae’ dropped by Clark, but it lacked the resonance and power of Clark’s tune selection and DJing skills.

The crowd however, seemed really into it and perhaps my opinion feelings on the night were more pronounced because I was critiquing it.  I really do believe that the partnership will go from strength to strength throughout their tour together.  They played music to make you smile and hanker for the good old House days.

To quote the Eddie Amador track ‘House Music’ that they played… ‘Not everybody understands house music, it’s a spiritual thing, a body thing, a soul thing.’  And it turns out, after attending the Sweatshop night that is absolutely true.

In the US, the record drops on September 11, exactly 8 years to the day since the release of the first Blueprint album and also marks the anniversary of the New York September 11 bombings.

“The trilogy has come full circle”, says Jay Z.  “Blueprint encompasses the essence of those that influenced me.  It pays homage to the soul music our parents played, musically the album recognises that there is a generation of us that are influencing the next wave of artists. The album lays the groundwork for what can happen next”.

The buzz track - D.O.A (Death Of Auto-Tune), which questions the use of the voice correction tool ever-popular in Hip-Hop today, was released digitally on August 17.  The 1970’s-esque video that accompanies it, features a cameo from fellow Brooklyn-ite Harvey Keitel and is inspired in part by the film, Zabriskie Point, directed by Michelangelo.

Watch the Jay Z video for D.O.A

Jay Z will be performing in the UK alongside Coldplay in September, the dates are below:

UK TOUR DATES

September 12     Manchester L.C.C. Club (w/ Coldplay)

September 16     Glasgow Hampden Park (w/ Coldplay)

September 19     London Wembley Stadium (w/ Coldplay

Choong Family - Baptism of Fire

Choong Family – Baptism of Fire – album review

Featuring great urban hip hop soundtracks for young dissoultioned British youth like Spray, Skank Music, and the title track Baptism Of Fire.

In a similar fashion to NWA in 1980’s Los Angeles, this is a social commentary with combining lyrical poignancy and swagger with gritty beats and melody.

Choong Family are a UK rap collective consisting of Afix (rapper), Scandal (singer/rapper) and Nutz P (rapper).  Collectively the group create a blend of hip hop, as well rap/R&B tracks like Solitude and Lies.  Reliving true events and ‘telling it as it is’ gives Choong Family a hardcore hard-hitting, youthful angst that gives their songs a cutting edge that escapes many of their UK peers.

I’m not sure I know the difference between an album and a ‘pre-album’ but this is the latter; a 17 track taster before the “official” debut Phoenix Rising album due for release in the Autumn.  But one thing is for sure, the Choong Family have arrived.

Choong Family – Baptism of Fire Tracklist:

1. Baptism Of Fire
2. Adrenalin Feat. Pyro
3. Lies
4. Spray Feat. Pyro
5. Role Wit Heat
6. Solitude Feat. Mike GLC
7. Goodbye Gin Feat. Hannah
8. Skank Music Feat Truth & Pyro
9. Big City Niggaz
10. Family Tree Feat Truth & Pyro
11. San Andreas
12. Take A Look
13. It’s Nothing
14. Silverspoon Feat. Unorthodox
15. Translating My Hardship
16. Paraphernalia Feat Truth & Elizabeth Williams
17. Adrenaline Remix Feat. Coldboy, Wretch 32, Scorcher, Pyro, Ghetto, Silva, No Lay, Y Don, G-Kid, Devlin

Baptism of Fire by Choong Family is released on 25th May through Gridlockaz from all major download sites.

For more information visit www.myspace.com/choongfam and www.choongfam.com

Choong Family new album Baptism Of Fire

Choong Family make a return to the UK Hip Hop music scene with a pre-album called Baptism Of Fire released in May 2009 by Gridlockaz.

Baptism Of Fire is set to provide a welcome reprieve for UK Hip Hop in the presence of the seemingly untempered dominance of Grime.

Tagged as a pre-album, Baptism Of Fire, will help bring the ChoongFamily back into the spotlight whilst they continue to record their forthcoming album, Phoenix Rising.

Choong Family are a collective of professional artists consisting of Afix (rapper), Scandal (singer/rapper) and Nutz P (rapper).

The resonance this group creates fits into all aspects of the new wave of Hip Hop and R&B.

Choong Family are evolving into one of the foremost forces in the UK urban scene. This makes the group even more formidable as they really know each other and their respective talents.

For more information visit www.myspace.com/choongfam