Various Artists
Heartbeats
Available from here.
The tragic situation in Japan needs no introduction. However, the on-going problems and recovery process are among many ideas that may not have fully sunk into your minds and so the urgency of our action to help those in need cannot be stressed or emphasised enough. Any perspective needed is right there in front of us: we have it pretty easy in this country and I’m sure many of us will settle for a few days of sunshine amidst moderate grey skies every year in exchange for not constantly being under mortal threat from the planet we live on. Every little act really does help, so it’s reassuring to see so many musicians thoughtfully utilising their positions to raise awareness and support the recovery process.
One of our favourite producers, Submerse, has teamed up with Andy Bee and Toby ‘Price’ Godwin and spearheaded a music project with the sole purpose of raising money for Japan. It’s a great simple idea that’s already gained wide support from producers and musicians across the world and is very worthy of your attention, not just for the cause it represents, but for the staggering amount of goodness packaged inside.
The first compilation (unmixed) has been hand-picked from an enormous range of submissions by Submerse and co. and is due to feature cuts from Phaeleh, Dj Madd, RSD, Donga & Blake, Submerse, Price, Resketch, Whistla, Rrritalin, Duncan Powell, Sclist, Sentinels , VVV, Klaxons (a previously unheard official remix from Steve Aoki!), Indigo, Blnd!, Valta & Minikin, Sines , Opti, Von D, Littlefoot AND more. This is no slapdash compilation of b-sides. This is the real deal, for a very real cause. For just a fiver you’re getting 20 fresh cuts of delicious tuna and 100% of that fiver will go straight to the Red Cross in support of Japan’s recovery from the tsunami disaster that occurred last week.
Have a listen to the official Soundcloud set below which features some very notable selections (some of which have long been overdue a release…) including VVV’s deep, deep, deeeeeeeep and cavernous, Burial-like ‘No Longer’ and an extra special cut from Submerse himself. ‘I’d Rather Have You’ is an emotional, string-driven future garage gem that blissfully wanders through similar territories occupied by some of his biggest tunes (‘Hold It Down’, ‘OVA’ – both hugely recommended of course) and is guaranteed to sit well amongst the rest of the tunes from a stellar range of artists who are all at the top of their game. Show your support for this one.
Joe Moynihan.
A veteran of UK Garage, accomplished producer and DJ, Whistla is the main man behind the much acclaimed L2S Recordings and proactively runs SubFM also. On the station he plays sets that many of the writers at Crossfire frequently lock into while also producing bangers like last year’s ‘Etymology Of Maureen EP’ and 2009’s Klaxon-recommended ‘420 Lockdown’. 2010 proved to be almost unnervingly exciting for dance music and few have enjoyed the well-deserved success as much as L2S, who, under Whistla’s direction, have turned their backs against the jump-up mutations evident in mainstream dubstep and have pioneered the rise of UK Garage, 2-Step and more. Future Garage, Future Bass, whatever you want to call it… this movement is undeniably forward thinking and most definitely the future UK sound.
This year we introduced a bi-monthly feature that’s as difficult to understand as it is to do… the ‘Free Downloads‘. Every couple of weeks we send our ears on a mission around the internet looking for the best new (or old) music that’s being given away for free, then round up the best ten for you to come along and take as many of them as you see fit. All for free. Simple, huh?
It must be the holiday spirit or something, but artists, bands and producers have been even more generous than usual and our inboxes have been overflowing with all sorts of tuneage in a variety of tempos and styles. Here are our ten picks from yet another two weeks of quality music.