REM’s show in Georgia recently saw drummer Bill Berry, who left the band in 1997, return to the line up, after Peter Buck’s side goup, The Minus 5, had played. The group played Country Feedback, though the track has no drums, so Berry picked up the bass for the track.
The performance in Athens maked the 26th anniversary of REM’s first ever show, which happened on the 5th of April 1980. There is no word yet on whether Berry is back for good or this was just a special appearance.
A man from Hartlepool was taken off a flight bound for London at the end of last month and questioned under the Terrorism Act thanks to his taste in music.
Harraj Mann played his own music over the taxi’s stereo on the way to the airport but the driver didn’t approve.
He played Procol Harum, Led Zep’s “Immigrant Song” and “London Calling” by the Clash, and this apparently made the driver suspicious, so much so that he called the police.
The Durham Police found that Mann wasn’t a security risk too late, as the plane had left by the time this decision had been made.
Neil Hannon’s Divine Comedy are set to follow up their 2004 album Absent Friends with a June 19th release entitled Victory For The Comic Muse. With a single expected to be out on the 12th of June.
The album, which was recorded in 2 weeks at the end of last year was entirely arranged and produced by Hannon, and includes long-time collaborators with the band. The frontman will be touring the UK and Ireland with an 8 piece band in May. The dates are:
May 17th – Cambridge Junction
May 18th – Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
May 19th – London St James Church
May 21st – Sheffield Leadmill
May 22nd – Manchester Academy 2
May 23rd – Glasgow QMU
May 24th – Dublin Vicar Street
Check out www.thedivinecomedy.com for details.
The legendary Bruce Springsteen is coming to the UK next month to play tracks him his forthcoming album “We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions” which will have him joined on stage by the Seeger Sessions Band, a 17 piece group.
The album is due to be released at the end of April and it is Springsteen’s reworking of 13 folks songs associated with Pete Seeger, and will also include a DVD.
The dates are:
May 5th – The Point Dublin
May 7th – MEN Arena Manchester
May 8th – Hammersmith Apollo London
www.brucespringsteen.net has all the details.
Fisrt things first, if you have not had a go on our Hip Hip Radio Show then click the image below as you could be listening to this as you read The Mix.
Also, look out for an exclusive podcast interview this month with Long Beach party trio Ugly Duckling.
It’s that time again, because there are so many singles and albums being released at the moment we thought we should blast out another episode of the Mix to keep you lot up to date with what’s hot and what’s not.
Myself, I’ve gone for the tunes that are a little harder to find. I thought I would outline some tunes that may have just passed you by if you weren’t looking in the right places. But yes, we do have some treats for you and im sure you’ll agree, there are some hidden gems out there.
Drop me a line if you know of some tunes that you think deserve a mention and we’ll make sure they stay in the Crossfire archives so people can find out more whenever they wish. Yep, it’s me Kris Drew going for it once more and letting you know what you’re missing. Get in!
Now this sweet little track comes to us from Whitey (matey on the rhymes) and Relik (the producer) on an album that is soon to hit the shelves of any decent, self respecting music establishment in your area.
Their recently completed album “Lost In Sentences” has brought us a track.
You can download this tune or just stream it from www.relikandwhitey.com just to give you a sneak preview of what’s to come.
I’ve picked out this album mainly because of one particular track. Well, actually it’s a track that’s in two separate parts on the album. “Guy inside the ghetto – part one and part two“. As some of you may know I’m well into my story telling tunes (a bit of thought never hurt anyone) and this tune is just that. As you might guess its about a guy inside a ghetto.
Good story this one, Matey starts off well, or at least looks as if he is. But issues in his head start the change the way he lives and things start to go wrong. Then things just go completely wrong. There are some damn good flows in these two tracks and some good use of description so you can picture the scene going on in your head. Proper visual shit.
This album has got a different sound to it to most conventional hip hop albums. It has a rugged, raw sound to it. No commercial shiznit on this album. It’s got fat beats that just make you feel dirty after hearing ’em and some top rhymes throughout. No high pitched woman singing the hook on fast forward, which im sure we’re all bored of by now.
Good album, Get it from www.wolftownrecordings.com
If you want to know more about this mail me at krisdrew2002@yahoo.co.uk I’ve got some extra info if you want it.
Yep they’re back with another killer “Slow Broiled Ilk” is a heavy, dance floor rockin’ tune that makes you nod your head until you’ve neck ache. Hard hittin’ rhymes and a pretty catchy hook that links the verses seamlessly together make the tune an all round remarkable and notable one. Sweet as. As usual the b-sides to this release are also spot on; you always get your money’s worth with the Beggars.
Dented Records have themselves one of the best hip hop groups (for want of a better way to put it) in Britain. Immense quality comes from each track, they move with the times and display insane skills with each release. Catch up with them if you haven’t already. You can get this single from these two places, and here they are:
www.dentedrecords.com , www.cantaloupegroup.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?products_id=145
This single is from the recently released Baby J Presents…..F.T.P album. Which I have to say is full of treats for the people out there that like to hear decent collaborations with British artists. “Let Them Know” is one of those feel good, bouncy summer tracks. Ok it’s not summer yet but it’s still good to have blastin’ out of your car on a sunny day. There’s some good, in-depth production happening here!
This is a track about getting back into the hip hop game and realising or remembering how sweet this scene really is. This track gave me a good sense of thinking hard about what we do. After doing this kind of thing for years you can easily forget how good something is, but taking a step back and looking properly can really sort you out. There’s some proper head nodding when this track gets played out in our local bars. You’ll just love this track if you’re in a good mood.
You can get hold of this from www.suspect-packages.com and www.babyj.biz. Get with it crew, you’ll think this is a top tune.
This week’s sites and sounds:
www.mcteckno.com – MC Tempo
www.delarge.co.uk – Delarge
www.zebratraffic.co.uk – you should all know this one, if not, check it out
www.kboro.com – The home of Mark B
A touch of paint I saw somewhere near the Sonar festival last year:
Peace! Take it easy until next time…
Finally, spring is here! Alright, so that only means we’ve swapped freezing cold temperatures for rain, but that’s a step closer to sun and the summer right? No? Well then I guess I should stop talking about the weather and get on with my recommendations for this edition of The Mix.
Before the recommendations begin I just want to throw in a little link for everyone to follow which takes you to the new Asaviour video for “So Northern” which features Braintax on the chorus and a host of well known faces in the video. Asaviour’s album is out on Lowlife right now and if this song is anything to go by, it’s going to be an absolute banger. You can find the video here. Big ups to UKHH.com for putting it up.
The first album I’m gonna recommend this week is the debut album from Baltimore’s Spank Rock who have already started making waves through funky live shows and brilliant single Sweet Talk. This album beings as it means to go on with Backyard Betty, a track about an “ass-shaking competition champ”, which booms out a huge bass line and electro mayhem as MC Spank Rock’s high pitched vocals dissect the beat with a nice mixture of fun and filth.
Another single taken from the album was Rick Rubin which has another big bass line but this time brings rapid staccato drums which are layered with a brilliantly body rocking fuzz and some pure old school percussion sounds. XXXchange‘s beats and MC Spank Rock’s vocals once again mix in brilliantly.
But it is Sweet Talk that really takes over the album. From the opening “Tap that ass” repeating over until the short strums of a guitar filter in, you know you’re going to be dancing in no time. This song is as funky as James Brown’s unwashed thong and delivers just what the frontman promises when he says he’ll “fuck you up like a percocet”. This is a brilliant debut album and if you want to get down to pure funk and unadulterated filthy beats, then make sure you check this lot out.
www.bigdada.com / www.myspace.com/spankrock
Coldcut are back, and basically they return with a hell of an album. This is another one of those albums which has such a variation, that you could worry that it would end up just being too jumbled, but to their ultimate credit, they’ve managed to bring an album that is diverse but seamless. The ever listenable Roots Manuva turns up on True Skool which features hand claps, a taste of the East with tablas and Indian style singing in the backdrop collected together with a a bumping bassline.
Walk A Mile In My Shoes is on some Massive Attack style tip with a beautiful soundscape of strings and a majestically sweeping backdrop as Robert Owens’ smooth voice weaves in and out of the beat through the verse and floats over the chorus. This track is definitely one you need to listen to a few times just so you can pick out all the details and really get a feel for how brilliantly it has been constructed.
Finally, Island Earth is another example of the variety on the album. A deep thumping bassline bumps underneath Mpho Skeef’s vocals which show how a lovely voice needn’t be wasted on tuneless RnB as a piano chimes in and the Coldcut boys cut and paste a late night warehouse dance vibe into the mix. On top of all this, the packaging the CD comes in is absolutely wicked, and you should get the CD for that, even before being blown away by the music.
www.coldcut.net / www.ninjatune.net
Washington producer and DJ Sharkey brings about a good album with this release which boasts a plethora of big name guest spots and it is the second track on the album which features the first of these as Cannibal Ox appear on Fuzz. Never has there been a more apt title for a song as the fuzzy sound dribbles in before unleashing a beast of a beat which provides Vast Aire’s mouth-half-full delivery with a banging backdrop to rap over.
Jean Grae’s guest spot on the album comes in the form of Summer In The City [Lovin’ It] which is a homage to New York over the bounciest of beats. The horns and ska-style sampled drums compliment Grae’s rapping, which seems as fun loving as the title would suggest. Skank, bop or headnod, it doesn’t matter, this track makes you move and that’s why it’s absolutely top notch.
A Typical Day In Sunny Washington, DC is the third track which really grabbed my attention as the understated washboard scratch percussion is accompanied by happy brass melodies and booty shaking beat for The Graykid to sing about sitting in the hotspot and making me wish I wasn’t looking out of the window at another dreary grey afternoon.
www.babygrande.com / www.myspace.com/sharkey
Seattle’s Common Market are MC Ra Scion and producer/DJ Sabzi, who is also the beatmaker for feel good hip hop group Blue Scholars. He doesn’t let up from the happy sounding music on this project either and that’s the main reason why this album is well worth picking up.
From the very first track, Re Fresh, the horns and vocal choir sample filter in and Ra Scion’s high pitched voice brings a flawless old school style sound helps the track set the scene for the rest of the album. Immediately bringing a smile to your face, this song not only delivers brilliant music but heartfelt and thought provoking lyrics, it’s no wonder KRS-1 has taken time out to big up this group.
G?Dang Diggy brings in that ol’ dusty sounding snare with more horns and more vocal backup and arguably the catchiest chorus on the entire album [which is no mean feat, believe me]. The line “some of you emcees would make better actors” sums up the mainstream rap game in one simple sentence and it’s this ability to get a message across in such a fluent yet easy way that makes Scion’s wordplay stand out.
My Pathology is the track I’ve bumped the most on this album though, because I just can’t get enough of the bluesy guitar riff that opens the track and then strums its way throughout the entire song, as the chilled snare snaps mark out the time for Scion’s verbals. I’m really impressed that even when Scion has something really close to his heart to say, he does it in a way that never even borders on angry or rough and that compliments the beats really well. A great album this one.
www.myspace.com/commonmarket / www.rascion.com/commonmarket
A nice jazzy number this one with the vocal talents of Sara J from Dr Rubberfunk which is the first single of his upcoming second album. The producer, who has done a bunch of remixes for the likes of Skalpel and the Stereo MCs brings in the kick and the snare with funky results as the 70s style guitar floats around, as if Huggy Bear was about to come in a knock heads.
Some nice remixes of the track on the single too, with the Beat-A-Pella version heightening the drums and doing away with the guitar and the melody from the original. The beatbox backdrop which drops in every now and then over the ride cymbals is certainly a nice touch and delivers an equal, if not better, result than the 12″ version.
So finally for the music this time round we have an Argentine, a Frenchman and a native of Switzerland on the beats. Now, this might not strictly speaking be hip hop, but as soon as I heard it I loved it and vowed to put it in the Mix to share with you guys. It has a very South American flavour to it in terms of vocals and the melody but it’s the beat that undercuts it that gives it that fully rounded feel.
Pianos and strings work together brilliantly over the sublime vocals of Cristina Vilallonga and bring about the typical feel of the old tango songs from Argentina, but also introduce a further modern element and really give you the urge to get up and dance around your room.
www.xlrecordings.com / www.gotanproject.com
Instead of having a photo or graf this week, I’m going to big up the talents of Mike Kjolhaug, a wicked artist who is influenced by underground hip hop artists such as Slug and Eyedea. His pretty unique flavour of art brings little demons, angels, goblins and all sorts to the forefront with wicked colour and mischievous mannerisms.
To the left you can see a little sample of his work, a piece of work I’m particularly fond of and you can check out the rest of his stuff over at his website, which is: http://www.threepointfive.30art.com with the online store to buy stuff found at http://www.cafepress.com/threepointfive which includes a run of clothing featuring his designs also, something you all need to check out. Inventive and fun, this guy is doing it fresher than most. Wicked stuff.
Well, that’s it for me for this time round, I’m going to carry on bumping hip hop, annoying the neighbours with the noise levels and generally being nuisance to anyone who doesn’t like hip hop. As ever, if you have anything to send me I’d be delighted to get it and if you have comments on what I’ve written then please do get in touch.
Until next time, get those heads nodding.
Peace,
Spring is in the air, new skate parks are being built and we have many vehicles to choose from. Hmmn, smells like a road trip.
Now these road trips are always fun due to the people on them and of course the places to shred and knowing the South Coast has had not one but 2 pours of fresh crete laid on it’s mud over the last month or 2, we decided to hit the M3 from London and make a day of it.
Bournemouth has had Slade’s Farm to skate in the past. It has a concrete snake run and can be fun, but it is now 2006 and this area needed some fresh curves to keep up with the times.
Our first stop was Verwood Bowl that you can find in Potterne Park (from London take the the M3, then the M27, then the A31.
This park was built by Gravity Parks and has a total length of 16 metres with a width of 11 metres and although it’s tight, it was the most fun to skate as soon as we got there. Marc Churchill, Vans shoe rider and one of Gravity Parks main crete grafters met us up there with all the locals who ripped that place apart on it’s opening ceremony.
Those worthy of a mention are Greg Nowik, a Crossfire Xmas Jam regular and arguably Southampton’s highest frequent flyer. Greg looked in good shape and although this was the first bowl he had skated properly, he annihilated it with massive lien airs, crail slides, backside airs and his bolt standard double kick flip fakies.
Globe Shoes rider Ged Curran ripped this little bowl all afternoon with long ass 50-50’s down the escalator and trademark blunt fakies, blunt flips to fakie, frontside blunts in the deeper end (5ft) by the dozen. Then Marc himself knew every line in that place due to his hands getting dirty in the build so all eyes were on him as he swung in corner smiths, fat fs ollies over the 25 degree hip and fakie crooks in the same area. His local buddy Ross has a mean hardflip nosestall on him to, check the pic of the Dekline rider in the white top and pink laces below.
But you don’t take to the road with the Death Squad and not see some action, and it was not long before Horsey managed to beanplant fakie this bowl with ease whilst Mark Nicolson (with freshly cut hair making him more of an Axl Rose lookalike) tried his best to fingerflip the hip, but mainly gave this bowl a damn good fucking rinsing it deserved.
With Martin Herrick in cruise control a la Jeff Grosso, Steak with his wonderful stalefishes and Boots with his tech skills, it was a day to remember for all the right reasons. This Verwood Bowl set up will expand with another bowl and a street course next to it over the summer, so expect more about this little retreat soon as the concrete was smooth, fast and the surroundings were fresh.
So fresh in fact that even the future Extreme Channel presenter (can’t wait to send fan mail into that!) Dan Cates was in a good mood after all of that stuff going down, so with hip hop on the stereo to replace Pig Destroyer, we headed back onto the A31 towards Bournemouth, then took a left off to Christchurch and it’s the 3rd exit off called Kings Park and head for the football ground signs.
Kings Park in Bournemouth is only 20 mins drive away from Verwood meaning you would be stupid not to run a day trip to both this summer if you are from outta town. This only opened on March 18th and with it’s much bigger size and weight, it made for a killer session before the sun went down.
This park was built by Bendcrete and has a small street area with ledges, rails and tight banks, a reservoir with a funbox in the middle which leads into a fun-as-fuck 4ft mini ramp channel that leads right into an 8ft bowl with a vert extension.
The Bendcrete crew are the same people that built our local bowl at Meanwhile Gardens but this new one in Dorset is much bigger than the latter and although it is fun to skate, it still comes with a slightly sketchy finish on the platforms and the coping is not set into the concrete as perfectly as it could have been. ie they have stuff to learn from people like Dreamland and considering we have skated lots of their parks, they are by far still the best concrete skateparks we have come up against.
But saying that, the overall park is fun with great lines once you remove the chav kids with snotty green noses and heroin addictions at 12, but what do you expect being built near what looked like a Leisure Centre or Football Ground? This has its advantages though as you are less likely to be mugged here than in the middle of an estate where most skate parks are being dumped thesedays! The overall feel of the park is fantastic and the session ripped open leaving local kids stoked! This is the sort of park that needs a credible annual event.
Herrick was first to handplant the vert extension, Horsey bonelessed into the main bowl form the extension! Fuck yeah! Camo Pete, Steak and I found that the faster you go around this place, the more fun it is once you remove the kids in the way on roller skates! Zorlac decided that his trademark feeble grind had to be left on the big bowl before we split and as that was going down, Steak was warming up the vert extension with a nose pick for Styley’s photographic desires. The departure of Rayman, Punk Darryl and the Gormster left a hole for people to view the skills of new Death recruit – Boots, to destroy the overly steep handrail with a kickflip front boardslide and Horsey got the last bit of action before the sun went down with a kickflip over the fucking lot, stairs and all.
So all in all, Bournemouth rocks, so stop reading this, turn off your computer and go skating you fat bastard!
Leave comments about this feature here.
Hammersmith Apollo
30/03/06
Lager without alcohol, guitars without strings, Lizzy without Lynott, whats the point? It’s like listening to music with the bass and treble turned down, not just something missing, something very very important missing. Phil Lynott was, and still is, such a crucial part of modern rock music that the thought of a Lizzy without him is just, well, plain unthinkable!
I was lucky enough to see Thin Lizzy fronted by the great Lynott on 2 occasions, once at Hammersmith Odeon as the Apollo was once called, and to say tonight’s performance was missing something is a understatement to say the least. Ok we still have the songs, played by Scott Gorham and Jon Sykes, two ex-members of Thin Lizzy and two who have probably only ever played them in their car on the way to rehearsals, and at times once the sound had settled down, during the instrumental breaks, if you closed your eyes it was as if you were back at the old Odeon itself. But I don’t wanna go to a gig and close my eyes and pretend!
OK, it was all done for a good cause to commemorate 20 years since Lynotts passing, and judging by the crowd reaction they may well be back for more before the end of the year. The set was tight and they played all the songs you wanted to hear all in the right order with a nicely placed drum solo half way through for a quick pee break and another trip to the bar.
Lynott always had a twinkle in his eye, he was the heart and soul of Thin Lizzy, he lived and breathed is role on and off stage, a larger than life character born to front a band, his smooth enigmatic delivery, knack of a great tune and provocative lyric writing earned him legions of fans in Europe, America and beyond. He is still greatly missed 20 years on. I’ve no doubt if he were alive today Lizzy would be playing Wembley Arena and not the Apollo.
To be honest I just couldn’t get my head round this well intention tribute to a man who practically invented the twin guitar break and changed rock for the better. If you really want to close you eyes and relive the glories of old, go see Limehouse Lizzy, their best tribute act; if you can’t see them, go see Thin Lizzy, they’re the next best thing!
Nelson Bibb
If you are a fan of bands like Aiden, 18 Visions, Avenged Sevenfold, Atreyu, Lost Prophets (puke), Soulfly, Caliban, The Used, Papa Roach and Walls of Jericho , you may want to check out Sam Scott Hunters’ tattoo feature on his photography site today and see where all the worlds’ ink is ending up in the underground…
Click here for more.
Magic Board Games presents The annual Natural Born Skaters competitions so if you are feeling like you need to be a master in front of your mates, then hop along to these events up North. The final will be held at Rampcity in Blackpool on the 20th May.
Qualifiers for this event are to be held at the following skateparks:
Bones, Stockport – 8th April
The Works, Leeds – 22nd April
Bones, Bolton – 23rd April
Final – Rampcity, Blackpool – 20th May
For more details go to http://www.naturalbornskaters.co.uk/
Bad Religion are one of the most influential punk rock bands out there, even though they did have a whacky moment where they thought they were gonna try and be a prog band on album 2!
You will find out more about that in this months None More Punk Show once it goes live this week. Other than that blip, have had shed loads of great moments that have been captured on this DVD so Vans decided to run a premiere at the Vans Shop in Soho’s Carnaby Street and throw in loads of beer for the crack.
Peeps turned up, beer was drunk and evidence was filmed for your enjoyment.
Bad Religion’s new DVD is out this Spring called Live at the Palladium through Epitaph Records. This DVD will be fully reviewed on here this week for your mince pies to have a look at. Vans also have a shoe out with Bad Religion (as if you have not noticed!), they kick ass, go check them out here with the full story.
