Photo by Paola Angelino.

First thing’s first, we love exciting artists. Born is exciting to us. Venturing into new, refreshing and explosive areas of hip hop & electronica from the flows to the instrumentals. When we listen to Born I Music, it’s as though Tupac Shakur has passed and been reborn as “The Born Identity.”

We’re not all that spiritual, but Born I Music inspires us to get our meditation on more and to truly “meet ourselves.” We think that if you took Shakur, Ghostface, Kanye, Kid Cudi & The Clipse, put them in a blender and applied some of what Born’s production team (Godfather Sage, Imani Beats, & several others) calls “Afro-Asian Electro-Hop”, you’ve gotten a taste of what this man is doing.

On the heels of his latest release “THE BORN IDENTITY MIXTAPE” which you can download free here. We sat down with Born to learn about the man behind the music, his dad’s cooking and how Born manages to create bass-heavy, spine-tingling songs that just make you want to max out your car system and bob your head. Get Familiar.

Born I Music: You rang? Yo. What’s poppin’ G?

Hipsterwave: Not too much. I’ve actually been listening to your new album for like the past few hours non-stop. We also tweeted about it.

Born I Music: [laughs] Cool. Okay, no doubt. You caught it to the end?

Hipsterwave: Yup. Yeah, man.

Born I Music: Oh, okay, nice.

Hipsterwave: Yeah man it’s good! Usually if an album isn’t good, it won’t get multiple listens.

Born I Music: Word.

Hipsterwave: But there are a lot of stand-out tracks or winners on the record. I think I can sort of tell who was producing what just from the sound… But hey, why don’t we start getting into the questions before you start answering them.

Born I Music: No doubt. Hey one thing before we get this started though, right now I am standing over a pot of boiling water and I’m about to cook. [laughs] It’s probably one of the funniest dishes in the world but when I was younger, I really thought my pops was sort of like a chef, like he’d be whippin’ up all sorts of meals and desserts and stuff like that. But man, he had this signature dish and it was macaroni and cheese with pieces of hot dog cut-up in it. Dude. That might sound questionable, but it’s heaven beyond heaven. He’d do that and he’d put some broccoli on the side, and it must just be a throwback to my youth, but every once in a while I just get a craving for macaroni and cheese with hotdog chopped-up on the inside, so I got a big ol’ smile on my face getting ready to jump into that as soon as we’re finished with this interview. But yeah… [laughs]

Hipsterwave: Oh okay. [laughs] Yeah that sounds interesting, I’ll have to try that.

Born I Music: Yeah man it’s a treat man I’m tellin’ you man. Trust me, it’s a real uh, blue collar delicacy.

Hipsterwave: Is there any kind of macaroni in particular or can you just…

Born I Music: Yo yeah, yeah. You gotta do the Kraft Deluxe, the joint that comes in the box with the cheese sauce. Yeah, like you can’t just do the Cheesy Mac or anything like that. It has to be the Kraft Deluxe that has actual cheese sauce and you just get some chicken hot dogs, or whatever your flavor is, and just chop that up and toss it in there…

Hipsterwave: So it’s not a powder, is it actual cheese?

Born I Music: Nah, Nah, it’s actual cheese, not the powder that you mix up. That shit is nasty to me man, but it’s the deluxe one, so it has the rich flavor. Velveeta type. You squirt it on, mix it. Chop up your hotdogs. Toss that in there. You are in heaven dude. I’m tellin’ you. [laughs]

Hipsterwave: [laughs] That’s what it do man. I’m gonna have to try that.

Born I Music:: Yeah man.

Photo by Jammie Patton.

Hipsterwave: Okay so the first question is what are you influences in music and how did you develop your flow style and method of delivery?

Born I Music: Okey dokey. Influences in music, I think this is like a standard answer—you have to say this—that like my parents are my influence as far as music is concerned. It’s really true, like my father is not an artist, but my father’s art was his love and appreciation for other artists, you feel me? If you made music, you would love to have my father as a fan because he really gets into the music. He gets into like the personality of the artist, you know. So I’d just be in the car and we’d be goin’ to like the pizza spot or just running an errand or whatever and he’d just give me like these crazy long history lessons about like how John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins were going neck-and-neck to see who was gonna be the greatest tenor saxophonist of the time. Also, you know how John Coltrane played in Miles Davis’ band and then branched out on his own and then Wayne Shorter came in and filled his shoes and – my dad was a big Coltrane fan, by the way, so I got like a huge Coltrane lesson. Like every day was a Coltrane lesson. My pops was also really into the great soul-singers- Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Aretha, James Brown – and then as we both got older, his musical taste just got more and more diverse, so like at any given time—you know my family is from Ghana—so at any time we’d have like Ghanaian highlife playing in the background or we’d be listening to like the local like public radio station that had all like the fresh jazz on there or it would just be something from my father’s like infinite jazz library. And you know then he started branching out into Brazilian music, which he got really into, like Astrud and Jao Gilberto and all that other type of stuff. Then, even Japanese cultural music, Shakuhachi flutes and all that. My house was always really, really diverse as far as the music was concerned. So, that’s like a ton of subconscious influences that you don’t really know you’re being influenced by it until you sit back later on in life and say “Okay, well this is how it all started happenin’.”

Hipsterwave: Yeah, right? Word…

Born I Music: From like a young age, yeah you know, you get older and you just start to reflect on it like “Okay, this is the type of person that I am, and this is why” but, my father, it’s not like he was a musician, but he was and is such an intensely devoted listener and appreciator of art and music that it was almost like growing up with someone that actually played music. Oh, and I definitely would be remiss if I didn’t mention my Frank Sinatra education, which I really appreciate to this day. I dunno what happened, when I turned 17, I just started looking through my dad’s collection and then he had this one record of Sinatra when he was on the Reprise label and pardon my language, but man I ate that fucking thing up. And man, just for like years I was just like deep, deep into Sinatra and like it didn’t help that my father painted the whole picture of what Sinatra was about and what he meant to the game. I think it was also because he saw that I was really deep into gangsta rap, so he’d be like “If you really wanna know what a thug is you need to research Frank Sinatra. [laughs] Frank Sinatra was the thug of all thugs. All these other dudes you see runnin’ around, they never thugged it out as hard as Frank Sinatra.” You know, my dad talked about Sinatra, like just as being an American icon, and also what he did for race relations, to make people bow down as far as Sammy Davis, Jr. was concerned. So yeah man, I just developed this crazy appreciation for multiple dimensions of music and then came rap and it was like Nas and Wu Tang and Biggie, Mobb Deep, Black Moon. And I’m not gonna front, shit, Snoop, Dre, Bone Thugs. All that had me goin’ just comin’ up, but my mind really just started to explode once I heard Illmatic and 36 Chambers, the Infamous, Doe or Die and Enter the Stage—that first Black Moon album—that’s when all my extracurricular activities started taking a backseat and I would just be coming home and listening to music, period. [laughs] But yeah, I know you asked about flow and delivery too so…

Hipsterwave: Well, I know Dilla’s in there too for that…

Born I Music: That’s crazy right? Like it pains me to say that I was one of the people that appreciated J Dilla’s production without even knowing some of the stuff that he had produced, like the shit from Pharcyde, etc. I was also a pretty decent Tribe Called Quest fan, but my awakening into hip hop came slightly after the mega Tribe Called Quest era. And I came into hip hop really during the height of Biggie, Nas and Wu Tang era. But even those Tribe Called Quest hits that Dilla produced on, I really appreciated them, but I wasn’t checkin’ for the producer back then, you know what I’m sayin’? So it wasn’t until like Slum Village came out and Godfather Sage–my producer—was really tryin’ to put me on to him and then I started takin’ more notice to the production and then started taking more notice to the lyrics and you know listening to “Welcome To Detroit” and all that other stuff. So I don’t think that people give Dilla as much props as he deserves as far as his emceeing is concerned, because he was a fucking surgeon when it comes to the emceein’. So I would throw him in there too, almost as like a subconscious influence, definitely. I mean this dude said “Whole body blingin like 3-P-O, nigga” [laughs]. But as far as flow is concerned, one of the very first people I tried to pattern my flow after was Nas because to me he just connected the dots in a really, really crazy kind of way. As much as I respected Raekwon’s flow, I never really tried to duplicate that, but I definitely, definitely was a Ghostface fanatic as far as his whole approach on the mic. There’s this song on the first Cuban Linx called “Wisdom Body,” right, it’s like number 13 on the disc, it’s Ghostface’s solo song and the whole song is about him like approaching a female: that song right there? Gave me all my game right there. All the swagger I needed to pull any chick, came from “Wisdom Body.” [laughs] Number 13 on the first Rae album, but that, I mean it was something else that let me know that you have to have a certain kind of presence. You can’t just flow it out. You really have to create an atmosphere with your lyrics. The RZA was a big influence when I was a kid, just because he packs so many words and so many syllables in this real “I don’t really give a fuck how it lands on the beat” style, and, just being able to cram all those syllables into a short space was something that I was really into all the time also. So, I’m pretty sure that all those things come out in what I do.

Hipsterwave: Okay, alright. So I just heard that track “One In The Chamber”, and that killed me when I heard it, so I was wondering what the production process was for that one? And it sounds like Godfather Sage, but what was the process?

Born I Music: [chuckle] Okay, so I’m sitting at home and the way that this whole process has gone with recording my album, “Tomorrow is Today” alongside “The Born Identity Mixtape” has just been like, I’ll just go into the studio for like a week straight just record maybe four or five songs a night. Then I come home and share it with everybody who is in my immediate circle, get feedback, and then spend the next week going over the newest submission of beats. You know, during the time I’ve been in the studio recording, I’ve still been getting more beats from more producers. Then I’ll spend the next week out of the studio, just in my crib, or you know just sitting on the road just writing, and then I’ll go into the studio the following week and just knock all that stuff out. And so, with that track “One In the Chamber,” it wasn’t that much different, but to be honest that track was meant for like another artist Godfather Sage aka GFS produces for, and I was just on the road and he was just playing it for me over the phone—like yeah, yeah check this out—and I almost crash the car! I was like “Yo dude, I don’t care what’s going on with that right there. I don’t care who you had slated for that. Come on man. Fam first! Man, family first!”

Hipsterwave: Right. Family Comes First man.

Born I Music: Yeah man. I really give my producers a guilt-trip kind of, because I know they wanna work with other artists and I’m not trying to completely ransack all of their best tracks before they let other people hear them, but at the same time, of course I am [laughs]. I mean I’ve been doin’ this shit with them for like almost 10 years, you know what I’m sayin’? So, I got a real F-U attitude towards anybody else that’s not me when it comes to the best production I can get my hands on. So, basically after almost committing vehicular suicide/homicide after hearing that beat over the phone, and GFS’ tracks are such that you can—like I get a lot of beats from a lot of other producers—and I’ll play ‘em on my little laptop or whatever, and you know you can’t hear the bass on those little speakers really, but I can hear the bass from a Godfather Sage track through the telephone, through the weakest clock radio type speakers ever. So, that shit was boomin’ through the cell phone, and I was like, yeah okay—so—I really need to do this track. But, I had no idea how I was gonna come on it, what I was gonna do with it, et cetera. And like, now, I see how a lot of these dudes who claim they don’t write, you know what I’m sayin’ – I see how they process goes. Because eventually with a lot of the stuff I wrote on this album I’m like either driving or just on the road period and so I don’t have a means or even the time to actually write anything down, so I just start going through the song in my mind, and I’ll just come up with like the first couple lines or eight bars or whatever and then I’ll just come down and you know commit it to pen and paper later on. But, the first line came to me in just this really odd way for “One In the Chamber,” and then that first line, that “hallelujah,” and then the lines that followed-up right after that were so over the top, I was like “Naw, I can’t say that,” and then there was like another mini me on my shoulder like “Well, you know, why the hell can’t you say that?” And so, [laughs], that’s how that track started.

Hipsterwave: Whatever works, huh?

Born I Music: Yeah, yeah. And I think that’s pretty much what I think I’ve let guide my writing process on these projects. Because for me, it used to be really important to be that I’d get the recognition of lyrically destroying the track. You know what I’m sayin’?

Hipsterwave: Yeah.

Born I Music: And on the Born Identity Mixtape there’s still some of that going on [laughs], but what’s more important for me right now is to actually just make a good song, and so I’d rather just be like another instrument on the track—whether I’m like a melodic instrument or a percussive instrument, or somewhere in the middle of both—it’s more important for me that I just really create a good experience for the listener as opposed to me, you know, feeling like egotistically satisfied that I really murdered the track. You know what I’m sayin’, so if anybody wants to hear me like pack 800 words into eight bars [laughs], I got stuff like that—you know just send me an e-mail—and I can send you the old stuff. Go back an study the first Shambhala album “The Lotus Of…”. But, what’s important for me right now is creating an enjoyable musical experience for as many people as possible. So like, whatever just kind of erupts from my mind as a result of listening to the beat, I just kinda trust that and just go with it. I get to mumblin’ and hummin’ and the track writes itself [laughs].

Hipsterwave: Okay, so the next question is—I hear some influence from other cultures in your tracks—and I was wondering what your thoughts are on other cultures, and you already mentioned Ghana, but the whole question is how do other cultures play an influence in your everyday life?

Born I Music: Well, my mixtape is a bit more straightforward as far has hiphop/dubstep, etc. I just wanted to really demonstrate what I’m capable of lyrically. But you’ll really hear that musical diversity on the album. Like I mentioned my father would play a lot of music from a lot of different cultures and that was probably in the back of my mind influence. But my overall philosophy as an artist is to try to highlight and celebrate the differences amongst people and to then really expose the things that make us all the same at the end of the day. So, it’s like unity within diversity. So, on the one hand I like to try to pull music from a bunch of different cultures to celebrate the diversity of humans. Right, and then I put it all together to say “See, we all love to dance, we all love the drum and we all love a good melody. So there’s no reason why we should feel separate from one another. – We’re still the same family at the end of the day” You know what I’m sayin’? Now, my spiritual background is Buddhist and coming from an Asian spiritual background, that has just opened up my world to a lot of Asian music and the obviously my cultural background is African, and African-American, so that all opens up a big window of music influence and musical exposure. So, when I set-out to do this album, I wanted to do something that would be like Afro-Asian-Electro-Hop. You know because I love electronic music, I love music that comes from the east, I love African music, and hip-hop is basically the culmination of all African American music—you know over the centuries—so I kinda wanted to put all of those things together and make an experience out of it. So yeah, the music of other cultures really plays a big part in what I do. I don’t like the term “World Music.” I think that’s corny. I just feel like right now with the Internet and the world just getting smaller in general, the idea that you should sound like you come from certain coast or a certain region, all of that is about to be obsolete. Really, we should really start looking at it like all of these different cultures are brother and sister cultures, so there’s no reason why we can’t reach out and use those things like they’re our own.

At the same time, I like the idea of being able to take really ancient deep-rooted sounds and then mixing them with some really futuristic shit and then just going for it. I’m all about putting opposites together and making something happen.

Hipsterwave: Alright, cool. So what do you think some of the rewards in music have been for you?

Born I Music: Being able to fly around the world just on the strength of my music is definitely a huge blessing and a wild head trip. When I was a part of Shambhala, we toured in Asia numerous times and it just an unbelievable experience. And money, who doesn’t love money? [laughs] Its a rough grind in this game but when the paper is good, the paper is great [laughs]. Making music that you know will stand the test of time is a big reward, developing a fan base, having people you don’t know come up to you and tell you that something you did changed their lives or helped them through a rough time, nothing beats that, man. Making “The Born Identity Mixtape” while making “Tomorrow is Today”, working with so many talented producers, engineers, tastemakers, friends – its all just beyond words…I can tell you being a musician, and as somebody who practices meditation, meditation is always about taking a good clean look at yourself over and over and over again until you can really see as clearly as possible. And, being a musician is a big part of that because it’s like one gigantic meditation. You’re always digging into yourself to see ‘what else is there’? ‘What else can I speak on’? ‘What other perspective can I introduce to the world’? What have I been through that I can share that would be of value to myself and others?’, et cetera. And so, just on a personal level, as somebody that believes in past lives and future lifetimes, and all that other stuff, hopefully I’ve been able to knock off a couple of future rebirths by just paying attention to myself as deeply as its required when you’re an artist [laughs].

Hipsterwave: Last question – whats coming up for you?

Born I Music: THE BORN IDENTITY MIXTAPE just dropped so everyone go to bornimusic.com and download that asap! The official single for my album is dropping early this summer. Its called “Conga Drum” its one of the most unique and catchy songs to drop in a long time so be sure to go to www.bornimusic.com for the track and the video! My new blog is up, everything from music to video to pics of fly girls, me, me with fly girls, etc is on there [laughs] so everyone go and check out bornimusic.com now! My album “Tomorrow is Today” will drop once I have the right situation so until then, I’mma keep dropping singles, videos and releasing collab projects with various producers. I’ve got a project called “Dolce & Beretta” with my producer Axiom coming up, a bass-heavy concept EP with GFS, an electro/dubstep thing with Aligning Minds and of course touring with The Hoodfellas and providing vocals. I’m gonna be busy man [laughs]

Download Born I Music’s “THE BORN IDENTITY MIXTAPE” here!

On the edge of our seats, once again, from a Family Comes First video. The first was the trailer, now the official video has kept us engaged and locked. Don’t know about y’all, but we love sitting during the suspenseful, quiet moments before the storm.

Without giving away too much, peep this hot new exclusive video from FCF.

Dope enough for you? Many other bangers are available on iTunes now in FCF’s latest album entitled “Entourage.”

FCF “ENTOURAGE”
Tracklisting For “Entourage” Album:

1. Hello (We’re Back)
2. Really Like That?
3. Be Easy
4. Patty Cake
5. Squeeze
6. Subway Cipher
7. You Know The Deal
8. Do It Better
9. Passports & Louie Bags Ft. Malcolm Young
10. Hold You Down
11. Keep It Bouncin’
12. Tippy Top
13. Love Thing

About FCF

Family Comes First; a new breed of Hip-Hop’s generation next. FCF is composed of two emcees directly influenced by the legends of Hip Hop and R&B. T-Rell, born in the Bronx, and La Kid, a New Jersey native, bring a polished and refreshing artistic smoothness to the rap game. FCF combines catchy hooks with a unique style of in & out rhyming. Not since power groups like Mobb Deep and the group formerly known as Smif & Wesson have we witnessed artists of this caliber.

Features collaborations with folk legend Donovan, David Bartholomé, Lisa Kekaula, Yael Naim, Lily Frost and cover art from famous French comic artists Dupuy & Berberian

Variety Lab
Team Up!
Release date: December 15, 2009
Peermusic / Digital Pressure
variety-lab.com
myspace.com/varietylab

How did this project come together?

“Soda Pop Confusion” (feat kidsaredead):

Download.

This is a diverse and super funky mix of tropicalia, electro, acid jazz and bubblegum pop with a surprise at every turn. From the vocodered disco-rock of Let’s Boogie to the sun-drenched acoustica of Mireia there isn’t a moment here that doesn’t ooze laid-back Mediterranean cool.

- Clash Magazine

Spanning multiple genres and featuring collaborations from some of the most inspiring artists in the world, Variety Lab’s sophomore album Team Up! is set up to be the most wonderful musical surprise of 2009. From the original blueprints through to the execution it’s a grand slam. Collaborations with folk legend Donovan, David Bartholomé, Lisa Kekaula, Yael Naim and Lily Frost creates a broad musical spectrum while French comic artists Dupuy & Berberian bring Variety Lab’s vision to life.

Variety Lab is the alias of one Thierry Bellia. His first CD – 2003’s Providence – gained notoriety for its lead single “London In The Rain,” which was, at the time, included in every single lounge compilation. As in the past Bellia, alone, put Team Up! together, but he did not forget to emphasize his friends’ assistance in the process. Let’s just name his henchmen from the French band Orwell (Jérôme Didelot and Alexandre Longo, aka Cascadeur and winner of the 2008 Inrockuptibles CQFD prize). Making use of his friends, instruments, machines and other weird objects (for instance the Optigan, a toy devised back in the 70’s), Thierry has worked non-stop on this project.

As for the biggest collaboration, after months of swapping tapes across the channel with Bellia, folk legend Donovan himself flew across to Paris to offer his voice and his experience to the spacious and bouncy opening track, “Is This The Last Time.” “I was delighted to be asked to join Variety Lab on their project. I flew into Paris to record. I helped to re-work the song and had great fun with the band. It’s a cool track and I am pleased to present this first single with Variety Lab. It’s a funny lyric and I brought out the humor with one of my quirky accents that I use when I take on the character in a song. It’s a perfect new pop record to dance and meet a new friend or lover,” Donovan says.

On three other tracks, “We Should Be Dancing” (the video has now been viewed over 125,000 time on YouTube), “Mireia” and the very rocky “Not Enough,” it is David Bartholomé, the lead-singer with the excellent Belgian band Sharko, who grabs the mike. And then the fantastic and frantic Bellrays’ vocalist, Lisa Kekaula, with her husky and roaring voice who sings on “Let’s Boogie,” a groovy and vocodered track that oozes sheer rock and soul energy from Detroit. The youngster Vincent Mougel from Kidsaredead comes in next to blow some sugary foam on the sweet candy that is “Soda Pop Confusion,” while Thierry’s fellow Nancy-born Mona Soyoc naturally joins the project as a next-door neighbor, and adds some sensuality to the very eighties “Money,” a cover version of the track by late 70s-early 80s English band The Flying Lizards, who had themselves borrowed it from the soul crooner Barrett Strong. Next, Canadian songstress Lily Frost croons over the lush, crackly ballad “This Parade” before 2008 pop sensation Yael Naim closes the album with her version of “Love Is A Bird;” originally a Variety Lab demo that has gradually evolved, first in the expert hands of Cascadeur, then by David Bartholomé on a Sharko album. “Love Is A Bird”, a simple, and beautiful idea, that leads us strolling from one end of Team up! to the other, filled with a feeling that can be summed up as the more, the stronger, the prettier and the merrier.

Team up! is more than a mere album – Much more. It is like awaking from a soft dream.

Variety Lab
“Team Up!”

Tracklisting

01 – “Is This The Last Time?” (feat. Donovan)
02 – “Money (That’s what I Want)” (feat. Mona Soyoc)
03 – “Which way to go (Reprisa)”
04 – “We Should Be Dancing” (feat. David Bartholome)
05 – “Soda Pop Confusion” (feat. Kidsaredead)
06 – “This Parade” (feat. Lily Frost)
07 – “Hola Mireia”
08 – “Which Way To Go”
09 – “Mireia” (feat. David Bartholome)
10 – “Let’s Boogie” (feat. Lisa Kekaula)
11 – “Not Enough” (feat. David Bartholome)
12 – “Love Is A Bird” (feat. Yael Naim)

Last Wednesday Jimmy Edgar dropped his record, Funktion EP (available here for full preview and purchase in both digital and vinyl) on the new label co-run by Richie Hawtin’s M-nus corporation, ITEMS&THINGS. Edgar’s style on this release is fashionable with nice vocals from Edgar (as usual), while also being reminiscent of the classic rave scene, with an interesting modern twist. For any longtime electronic music scene fans, the second track of four, “Young Thing,” is a must with its acidic/tb303 feel.

One of our favorite things about the exquisite production of Jimmy Edgar is the fact that his melodies and rhythm are so uniquely his. Love his musical ability and hearing how he combines a banging, electronic dance floor sound with catchy, very human feeling synth jams. We’ve seen many changes from Edgar as he has developed as an artist, but one thing is for certain: he is unstoppable with whatever instrument he touches.

Jimmy’s favorite DJ from Detroit, Magda, lets this one go on her label (with partners RunStopRestore) and will sure be one of the sweat sexed designs of ’09 to hit & bloody the dancefloor. “Funktion of your Love” features two remixes, one by Seth Troxler and a rare acid washed Plus Device affiliated B-side called “Young Thing”. The main track is instrumental and although the vox didnt make the cut, we will be releasing that version for free shortly after it comes out.

“Funktion of your Love” has gone through a plethora of generations including a cover by New Look (Adam Pavao & Sara Ruba). Its origins lie in a vocal pop track by Jimmy which is featured on the creatively delayed ‘Deeper’ LP which is still in production and looking to see the light of day this Autumn 2009.

Jimmy Edgar once again embarks on a late September 09 European tour. Contact littlebig Agency to book DJ Jimmy Edgar or his new EUROvision Live performance as we are looking for more cities to infiltrate. Some cities include Riga, Berlin, London, Hamburg, Vilnius and more.

If you want Jimmy, contact a promoter to contact his people.

Big Dada are enormously proud, pleased and cat-that-got-the-cream-faced to announce that last night Speech Debelle won the 2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize for Album of the Year for her record “Speech Therapy”. With stiff competition from the likes of Florence + The Machine, Friendly Fires and Bat For Lashes, Speech’s confidence never wavered and she came through with the kind of aplomb which made it seem like she’d been walking red carpets for years. We, meanwhile, jumped on the tables, spilt drinks and partied with little thought for the feelings of the great and the grey of the UK music industry gathered around us. So today, nursing gigantic hangovers, we raise a glass of alkaseltzer to the Mercury Prize organisers, the panel of judges, all our supporters out there and most of all the Speech herself! Salut!

The Summer has been a non-starter here in Scotland. It hit me pretty hard the other day when my vitamin D deficient face looked out the window for another overcast day in the lab. But it’s kinda beautiful in its own way and it adds extra meaning to songs that can normally coast over you. Me & Fine Art made three tapes this month – one for Dazed, one for Nalden and this one here was just sorta labour of love with some really weird shit ( verging from new Hudson Mo to modern classical, fusion, 90s rnb & soul ) to bring some balance and new meaning to a Summer of dreich ( Scottish for shitty weather ).

oh hell no – no track listing this time.

Download.

LA-based, Samuel Stewart, is the son of Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, and at the young age of 21 has already been working diligently developing his musical career.

Stewart produced his brother’s record, The Giving Tree by Django James and The Midnight Squires. Sam’s first EP, The Beginner is forthcoming, set for release in mid-October.

Here’s the first track and title track from the record:

Download.

Check out more from Samuel Stewart, including tour dates, here:
myspace.com/samuelstewartmusic

Message from KT himself:

Whatupdoe? First off, I must say THANK YOU for supporting me and my music!!
As a result of your support, I want to share some upcoming music from my 2nd album entitled “Nowalataz”.

Also due to the success of my first album, “The Golden Hour”, I will be releasing “The Golden Hour 2XLP” on (LIMITED EDITION GOLD VINYL w/ Full Cover Artwork) coming end of September. I will also be on tour with Mayer Hawthorne/Buff1/Houseshoes begining September 5. A physical release of the “Nowalataz” Digital/CD is in the works.

PLEASE feel free to share it, play it, blog about it, with anyone you would like to :)
God is Good!!

Like the man KT himself says, feel free to download some of the music from the Nowalataz LP here.

Available now via A-Side Worldwide and iTunes:

Buff1 “There’s Only One”

Now On “Tomorrow Already”

14KT “The Golden Hour Soundtrack”

Coming in 2009:
~Mayer Hawthorne – A Strange Arrangement Debut [Stones Throw] // Release Date 9.9.09
~Now On’s “The Break Up” EP
~Debut Album from Crown Royale (Buff1+DJ Rhettmatic)
~New music from 14KT, AML, the launch of www.asideworldwide.com and much more…

Check out the official Solilla site here.

Also, check out the No More Heroes record by clicking on the image above or here:

We only just recently discovered the Solillaquists of Sound and their music is a good discovery for sure. Can’t help being reminded of The Roots when listening to this record, although the instrumentals are more like what you’d hear on Rising Down than earlier records like Things Fall Apart. So, if you like The Roots then you should definitely check out Solillaquists of Sound. The production, vocals and flows are really impressive on No More Heroes, and our favorite track is “Bulletproof,” but the album is solid overall. “Fittin’ In,” is another joint that grabs us with its punchy basses and acoustic guitar, you get something catchy and unique.

The instrumentals throughout No More Heroes are really skillful and beautiful that we’d enjoy just relaxing to the instrumentals alone, but the whole package is really a gem for hip hop. Check them out on iTunes and see for yourselves.

Bio:

At their core, heroes are trailblazers, engulfed by a spirit that is unafraid to break outside the constraints of conformity to innovate and improve the space in which they exist. And their path is a rocky one – some of the greatest minds of our time have been plagued by the pioneer’s curse. All too often, the rest of the world greets these ahead-of-their-time individuals with a blind eye (or even worse, hostility). Unfortunately, tangible genius is rarely recognized until it is no longer with us.

With the release of their sophomore album No More Heroes (the second in a trilogy of conceptually-linked records for Anti-), Orlando-based hip hop quartet Solillaquists of Sound have accomplished the rare feat of creating a body of work that’s as palatable to the public as it is groundbreaking, imaginative, and rewarding to listeners looking for something more in the soundtrack to their lives.

Since the release of their 2006 Anti- debut As If We Existed Solillaquists of Sound have toured the country several times over, establishing themselves as a must-see live act. Having shared the stage with the likes of Sage Francis, Michael Franti & Spearhead, KRS-One, Bad Brains, Ozomatli, El-P, and Lyrics Born, the group has developed a rabid, grassroots following of listeners inspired by their outside-the-box musical aesthetic. And while much of that acclaim was rooted in the holistic vibrancy of their debut, No More Heroes is a stark departure from what some may expect from the group.

Driven by a more aggressive, in-your-face sound, No More Heroes is an engaging reflection of the times in which we live, powered by the visceral, predominantly synth-heavy beats of DiViNCi and the urgent vocals of Swamburger, Alexandrah, and Tonya Combs. Shedding the more outwardly cerebral approach of their previous effort, here the Solillaquists present a fundamental return to basics, a purified approach to their musicianship that’s still as engaging as it is well labored. The kid gloves are off; primal, energetic, and as passionate as ever, these songs represent a group at the apex of their collective virtuosity.

That virtuosity makes for a bedazzling display throughout the album. With a musical canvas fusing elements of hip hop, dubstep, prog-rock, afrobeat, folk music, and epic movie scores, the sound of No More Heroes is a blistering collage that never loses its identity, maintaining an underlying unified sound. Swamburger’s malleable raps and Alexandrah’s beautifully layered vocal harmonies find able company in this aural playground with components such as live horns, talk box-addled MPC sounds, strings, sinuous synths, spastic drums, and more.

But dig beneath the surface of the sleek and cold-veined sounds of DiViNCi’s production, and it isn’t difficult to grasp the Trojan Horse method that the group appropriated for No More Heroes. As pieces of a grander concept-driven album (in a time when such an ambitious effort is an all-too-rare entity), these songs all revolve around the theme of the hero; whether it’s lamenting the absence of the great heroes of our past (“Harriet Tubman,” “The Roots of Kinte,” and the Martin Luther King, Jr.-inspired “Bulletproof”) or renouncing the idea of a society being so dependent on heroes altogether (“Marvel,” “Heroes”), each track promotes a message of self-empowerment – a call of action to be your own hero.

A fitting sentiment coming from a collective who’s never shied away from giving back to the community. Case in point – J Dilla tribute “Death of the Muse,” featuring J-Live, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, and Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey (mother of the deceased influential producer) was made available for download in late 2008, with 100 percent of the proceeds going directly to Ms. Yancey, who’s been afflicted with both medical and financial turmoil in the wake of her son’s passing; Okayplayer.com featured the effort as one of their top news stories, and LA Weekly called the track “the most awesome song in the history of awesomedom.” Additionally, p”lans are underway to launch the Solilla Center 4 Creative Kids, a non-profit school designed to empower our youth with the knowledge of all things good for mind, body, and spirit.

The role of the pioneer may have a history of getting lost in the sands of time, overlooked by contemporaries only to be unearthed years later and recognized for contribution to the craft – but the Solillaquists of Sound stand a good chance of breaking that cycle. While the world at large waits for a caped figure to swoop down and right the wrongs of our society, Solilla is here to spread the message loud and clear that in the times in which we live, there can be No More Heroes.

Dip trip flip fantasia.

US3 has come a long way since releasing their track “Cantaloop,” back in 1993 (which was a good year, by the way). For the past handful of years now, the platinum-selling US3 has been releasing edgy tracks with a lot of underground talent, including an artist we’ve know through a good friend since 2006, Akil Dasan.

US3 keeps their sound fresh by working with such great indie talent. We respect artists like US3 for working with people like Akil and we love the jazz influence in their work, because this brings jazz to more audiences, which is one of the many perks of fusing hip hop with jazz. At the end of the day, it’s just about good music, and that’s what you get with US3.

These days, US3 is working with indie MCs like Sene, and Brook Yung.
“Life Love Music feat. Brook Yung:”

Check out the rest of stop. think. run. in the iTunes store.

Press Release:
June 5, 2009–London, UK–The seventh album from producer Geoff Wilkinson’s hip-hop-jazz crew Us3 sees the introduction of 2 new young MCs hot off the streets of New York. Underground hip-hop fans will already know the name of 23 year-old Sene, and spoken word aficionados will certainly be aware of 20 year-old Brook Yung. “These are the youngest vocalists I’ve featured since the guys on “Hand on the Torch” says Geoff, “and it’s definitely given the album more of a hip-hop bite”.

From the gritty opener Gotta Get Out Of Here to the bossa nova club track She’s With Me, the album touches on tales of urban paranoia and desperation, to the pursuit of true romance. Although Us3 are known for having a diverse range of influences, the most surprising tracks are those that feature a more stripped down production approach. You Already Know is completely made of vocal samples, and Turn It Up utilizes only drums and synthesized bleeps (jazz crunk?).

The hard electronics of The Future Ain’t What It Once Was & moody piano-led Got To Make A Livin’ resonate with the current economic crisis, and Brook Yung’s gorgeous tale of attraction in The Love Of My Life is perfectly complimented by the lush piano & shuffling drums. A strong latin influence is prevalent in both the vibes led party track Can I Get It?, and the seductive sleazy horns of I Let ‘Em Know, while the unusual time signature of Who Got Next? has Sene effortlessly wrapping his twisting lyrical wordplay around a funky 4/4/3/4 groove.

Collaborators from the jazz side include the familiar notable faces of Ed Jones (sax), Bryan Corbett (trumpet), Chris Storr (trumpet), and John Crawford (piano), while top turntablist DJ First Rate scratches up a storm. Everyone will relate to something here.

Geoff sums up the album title: “In life sometimes you need to stop and think about what you are doing and what you really want to do. And when you’ve identified what that is, run towards it”.

In 2008 Sene released an album entitled “Elevator Music”, a collection of previously released 12”s, and this year will see the release of his much anticipated collaboration with hot LA rapper/producer Blu, “A Day Late And A Dollar Short”.

Brook Yung is already a rising star on the US spoken word circuit. Last year he won 1st place in LA’s Adult Poetry Slam and 1st place in the NYC Urban Word Youth Slam. He is currently a member of NYC’s Urban Word Team, and performed alongside Wyclef at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

The 8-piece Us3 live band will be supporting the album release with a 21 date European club tour in April, with appearances at festivals throughout summer.

To his fans, Cole Dennis is a heavyweight contender with a devastating right hook. To a city being held hostage to chaos and terror, Dennis has a grit and charisma that make him the shining hope for justice–until he is arrested for a brutal murder. Framed for a crime he did not commit, he finds himself captive in a foreboding high-tech superprison whose masters secretly conspire to turn inmates into tomorrow’s most terrifying bioweapons–with Cole Dennis as the intended prize specimen. But Dennis is nobody’s lab rat. Reborn as a towering engine of destruction, Dennis will prepare for the fight of his life. He will rename himself Ghostface Killah. And his cry of righteous rage will echo beyond the cold steel walls of Cell Block Z.

So we love art and we love music, but it was only within the past couple years we noticed that musicians, specifically hip hop MCs, are beginning to star in their own graphic novels. Good hip hop MCs have already created vivid images of themselves with their lyrics, music, videos, photos and so on. Now, these MCs that we’ve known and loved for years are exploding onto pages, or even LCD displays in digital form. Method Man was the first of the Wu-Tang Clan to release a graphic novel for Hachette Book Group, followed by members GZA and now the great Ghostface Killah.

When given the opportunity for an interview with Chris Walker, the illustrator behind Ghostface’s new graphic novel Cell Block Z, we couldn’t resist. Walker’s work has appeared in the pages of such substantial comics as Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman when he worked for Marvel, and he is currently producing and developing animated projects for Humouring the Fates animation studios, and creating communication solutions for companies through 5Rings Design.

Interview:

How did you get into comic books and graphic novels when you were younger?

Chris Walker: Well, I was always into comics. Some of my first drawings as a kid, where you can tell what they are, are of Batman and Robin. I’ve always liked cartoons and comics so it was just one of those things.

Hipsterwave: Just made sense, huh?

Chris Walker: Yeah. I would save my money and buy comics at the drug store, and when I got older, I would go to the comic shop we had downtown.

Hipsterwave: They had a bigger/better selection, I’m guessing?

Chris Walker: :D Just a little. That’s when you get serious. At first it’s like Spider-Man is cool. Then you want to know what happened in the story and somehow you find out, “At the comic book store, they have all the back issues with all the story lines you’ve ever wanted to know!!” LOL! I’ve seen it happen old and young: like someone who has been away from comics for years discovers the comic book store and they are hooked at least for 2-3 years from that point.

Hipsterwave: Right.

Chris Walker: It’s like finding a new show and getting the box sets of the first three seasons.

Hipsterwave: Interesting. So the next question, How did you get your start in illustrating, although that’s not all that you do currently?

Chris Walker: Professionally, I started in high school, doing T-Shirt designs and I worked in college at a T-Shirt shop. After college I picked up freelance gigs by submitting my portfolio to various companies. It’s really about making the best portfolio you can and sending it out.

Hipsterwave: And then eventually one of those companies picked you up and you were working for them?

Chris Walker: Kind of. As a free lance illustrator, it’s more about keeping new projects coming in to your desk, so it’s not like finding a job with a company, unless you work in-house for like a card company or gaming company. It also depends on the type of illustrator you are. If you are an editorial illustrator, you are probably working hard to keep editors calling about new work.

Hipsterwave: Okay, the next question. How do you think your background influenced your work on Cell Block Z?

Chris Walker: I really wanted to have it reflect in the work. I’ve worked in a lot of industries: music, advertising, comics, animation. I went to school for painting and am a huge fan of anime and Manga, so there are bits and pieces of all that stuff. I’m also into street art and graffiti, so I let all those things come out in the work.

Hipsterwave: Lots of cool ideas tied together.

Chris Walker: Definitely. I brought in Rob Haynes: a friend of mine who works in comics. Rob is really great at story telling. He did the layouts for the book, which allowed me to think about the creative and art direction: thinking about the marks I wanted to make, the textures I wanted to use, the feeling I wanted the pages to have when you flipped through the book. Plus, I knew Rob’s layouts would make sure there was always a good story underneath the style.

Hipsterwave: So you were trying to bring it to life for the reader, in a way?

Chris Walker: Totally. I wanted to really bring to life Ghostface’s rawness. He’s a really talented MC and his work is very intense and immediate.

Hipsterwave: Agreed.

Chris Walker: I wanted the pages to reflect that.

Hipsterwave: What was some of the creative process for you in illustrating Cell Block Z?

Chris Walker: I submitted ideas about the look and feel of the book, as well as the character designs to the creative team so Ghost could approve them. After that, I got the script from the writers, Shauna Garr and Marlon Chapman. Rob did breakdowns and layouts of the script. From there, working in Photoshop, I would go in and interrupt the layouts, think about the style I wanted, and start applying really heavy lines and inks to give it a hard drawn feel. I really thought about old 70′s comics and about Japanese calligraphy. Other times, I thought about raw ink lines and graffiti. After I had the line art like I wanted I went back in and applied tones to the pages to get the light and darkness. On top of that I built the modeling and lighting on the figures.

Hipsterwave: All still in Photoshop?

Chris Walker: Yeah. It’s a very robust program. You can really make it look like things are hand drawn when they are not. I applied a lot of the stuff I learned in school about mixed media approaches to drawing. So, then I went back in and added textures to the figures and would apply a painting style to the backgrounds, maybe put another texture on top, and then you throw in some lighting effects.

Hipsterwave: So there were endless possibilities?

Chris Walker: Haha. Sounds complicated, but most artists do this kind of stuff. If it’s a fully rendered piece, it might be done by hand, paint brush or air brush, but the process is very similar. You just keep building it up until you have what you want and you can stop anywhere in the process, if you get the look you want. So, sometimes you stop at the line stage, and maybe put just a little bit of tones in.

Hipsterwave: Is that difficult to know — when to stop?

Chris Walker: It can be. It’s all for effect. So for a comic artist, it’s all about the story. How does the style and look affect the story? Is it over-emphasizing a character too much? Is it slowing down your eye? Speeding it up? All those things enhance the story for the reader.

Hipsterwave: Interesting.

Chris Walker: Comics are very cool. They seem very straight-forward, but there’s science behind them, just as much as there is an art.

Hipsterwave: What was your involvement with Ghostface, Marlon Chapman and Shauna Garr and how did it influence your art?

Chris Walker: They were the writing team, so they worked together to develop the story.

It was up to me to bring it to life and try to give it a feeling that was as unique as Ghostface himself. So it was really in the early stages: turning in designs, turning in style guides to show the approach I wanted to use. They were very cool about everything. They gave me a lot of room to bring my artistic expression to the table and interpret their words and ideas. I really wanted to give the book a street art edge: make it feel like what is out there in the culture right now, while thinking about everything from graphic tees, to websites, to the influence of Manga. I think a lot about youth culture.

Hipsterwave: Yeah, I like the influences you’re talking about as well.

Chris Walker: Right. I also wanted it to fit into that conversation, while still feeling classic at the same time. So it was a lot of fun. Not often you get the opportunity to do something like at that at this level with someone as big as Ghostface.

Hipsterwave: Yeah, he’s everywhere.

Chris Walker: He is Ghostface. :P

Hipsterwave: What’s your favorite graphic novel?

Chris Walker: Wow. Hard question, can we say first one to pop into my head?

Hipsterwave: Sure.

Chris Walker: Dark Knight. Awesome book. I have other favorites but it always pops in even though it wasn’t a graphic novel. LOL!

Hipsterwave: What about Dark Knight did you like so much?

Chris Walker: It was DC Prestige format that came out in issues. LOL! Well, Frank Miller really took it there. He was just balls to walls. The art, the story, everything: it was an amazing ride.

Hipsterwave: What interests you in the graphic novel world?

Chris Walker: The ability to tell stories the way the artists want to tell them. It’s the equivalent of an Auteur film, but many times graphic novels are like this really insanely long work of art. You really get a peek into the artist’s mind. Graphic novels and comics in general, that’s one of the few places where the story is often exactly what the creator wanted to tell. Creature Tech, by Doug TenNapel. I really like that book too. Amazing and lots of fun.

Hipsterwave: What drew you to the Cell Block Z project? What’s your take on it?

Chris Walker: Well, you don’t say no to a Wu-Tang project. LOL!

Hipsterwave: LOL.

Chris Walker: Especially when you grew up listening to their music and being a big hip hop fan. So for me it was something I always wanted to do. Make an interesting comic and narrative project with an MC I really liked.

Hipsterwave: Yeah.

Chris Walker: I think it’s a fun project.

Hipsterwave: It’s a really creative idea to begin with.

Chris Walker: It’s big. It’s fun. It’s over-the-top, but there are some great character moments. I think the story really pulls you in as you start reading and has a classic feel to it, like an old school fight movie or the old school Marvel comics: Iron Fist and Luke Cage kind of stuff.

Hipsterwave: Gives it its own unique flavor, eh?

Chris Walker: Totally.

Hipsterwave: What do you feel about the mainstreaming of comic books, like in Hollywood, on TV, etc. and how it relates to this project?

Chris Walker: I think it’s great. Comics are an American treasure. I think it’s cool that people outside of comics are starting to see the merits of the art form and are getting a chance to interact with some really great characters and stories. Iron Man the movie was fantastic and I think the next round of superheroes movies will only get better. I’m sure that helped to open the doors for projects like this and the great thing about comics is that while Marvel and DC are getting a lot of attention right now, it also helps the indie guys get attention as well. So, all the creators out there doing their indie projects are also getting a little extra light on their work since popular culture is becoming more and more into comics. While they may not get a movie deal or even want a movie deal, they will probably get new readers and new fans.

Hipsterwave: So that probably encourages more people in general to get more into their work with comics and to stick with it?

Chris Walker: Exactly.

Hipsterwave: Yeah, that’s rewarding to have.

Chris Walker: I think it’s a win-win for everyone. I heard they have comics on the iPhone now. How cool is that if you are an indie creator? Now people can buy your comic on their phones.

Hipsterwave: Yeah and also just being able to have a comic right there in your pocket. Although, I know some fans prefer having larger pages and such.

Chris Walker: I do, but it’s cool. You’re on the train, or have some time to kill, you whip out your iPod or iPhone and you read a comic. That’s cool. I’m an artist, so I love seeing the art, but it’s great for audiences.

Hipsterwave: Right. Plus the fact that you can download new comics from anywhere you get a cell signal, even comics released that same day!

Chris Walker: Yup. It will be interesting to see how the art form evolves to meet technology.

Hipsterwave: Agreed.

Do you have any plans to work on similar projects in the future or are you open to that?

Chris Walker: I’m definitely open. I really like guys like Kid Cudi, Mickey Factz, Theophilus London: they are very art driven.

Hipsterwave: Yeah, I know what you mean.

Chris Walker: Kanye and Pharell are as well. You could come up with some really wild stuff with them, probably super abstract.

Hipsterwave: Yeah, I’ve heard some say that their album covers can be heavily into art, among other aspects of their artist image.

Chris Walker: Yup. So for a visual artist like myself it’s really exciting to hear musicians and performers being into art at that level.

Hipsterwave: Right, something different compared to what we’re accustomed to getting with music.

Chris Walker: Totally. I think collaboration is the key to any artistic venture when you have several creative people at the table: something that is music and visuals all together. I’m also a big fan of Justice, Daft Punk, and Phoenix. They are killing it right now. I was a DNB head a long time ago, same with Trip Hop and Acid Jazz.

Hipsterwave: Right and if the music is telling a story, the art can bring life to a side of the story you wouldn’t have seen.

Chris Walker: Exactly. It’s like Jazz and Abstract art in the 50′s: they were fueling each other. I think where we are right now in music and pop culture, it’s almost at the same level.

Hipsterwave: Interesting.

Chris Walker: We just have to keep pushing as creators and fans demand it more.

Hipsterwave: Then the whole experience will be better.

Chris Walker: Yup. People love art. It gives our lives meaning. It gives us context for the randomness of life.

Hipsterwave: I agree. Well, I think that sounds like a pretty good place to stop, do you?

Chris Walker: Sure do. By the way, check out Blade of the Immortal. Amazing!!!!!

Hipsterwave: Will do.

Chris Walker: Cool. Well, back to work for me…

Check out more of Chris Walker’s work at chriswalkerart.com

Go here, or click on the image above, for more information on Cell Block Z.

Punchlyne & Fokis proudly present…
a first “look” at their new EP:
The Appetizer

“We Came to Rock”

Produced by Teddy Roxpin

Punchlyne and Fokis are “bringin’ it back to that old, feel good music.”

August 18, 2009:
The Appetizer

Coming Soon:
The Reset Button

Contact Get Right: E-mail / 267-312-6697

Big Dada are pleased to announce the nomination of Speech Debelle’s debut album, “Speech Therapy,” for the 2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize. She is joined on the list by the likes of Kasabian, The Horrors, Florence & The Machine, Friendly Fires, La Roux, Bat For Lashes and Glasvegas.

On hearing the news the 26 year-old South Londoner was in her usual forthright mood: “I feel like this is well deserved and I feel an album like this should get the recognition it has, and other albums like this should, too. Let’s open some doors!”

This is the third Mercury nomination for Big Dada in the last seven years, following on from Roots Manuva (for “Run Come Save Me” in 2002) and Ty (for “Upwards” in 2004). This time we’re hoping to win!

if you haven’t had the pleasure of listening to this amazing album, see below for album streamer and the video for “the key.”

Bio:

There’s a reason that Speech Debelle’s debut album is called “Speech Therapy” and that’s because she speaks straight from the heart, with complete intimacy, as if only addressing one person. As if she expects the record never to be heard.

Perhaps in some way, that’s not an unreasonable assumption. The 25 year old South Londoner has been through the mill both before and since she started working on this set of recordings. The oldest song on here is called “Finish This Album”. It was the tune she first played when she visited Big Dada almost five years ago. Its theme is that she has to hold it together, look after herself and try to get the record done, as if the act of finishing will somehow liberate her from the problems in her life. It’s both intimate and epic, moving back and forth between the personal and political, the mundane and the spiritual. It’s a journey acoss London and a journey across her life thus far. Speech is both young and old beyond her years. At the age of twenty five her fragile voice can make her sound like a teenager, but she’s packed in enough experience to last most people forever.

But now, finally, everything has come together and the record is here. “Speech Therapy” is a statement of intent. Speech doesn’t need to shout to make that clear. This is a record which sounds like no hip hop record has sounded before. Its sonic palette is informed by the intimacy of her thought and the fragility of her voice. She always knew what she was trying to do but it took her time to find the tools to make what she heard in her head.

Speech was at Big Dada one day when she was introduced to Wayne Lotek. As well as his own Lotek Hi-Fi project, Wayne has produced for Roots Manuva since “Brand New Second Hand”. Now he was living with a girl out in Melbourne and over for a month or so to visit his family. The two of them hit it off and decided to put down a track. The result was “Searching.” Acoustic guitar played by Wayne’s brother, the brushed drums syncopating her flow, it created the perfect atmosphere for Speech’s reflections on hostel life and the hustles involved in getting by.

It was pretty clear what had to be done. In November 2007, Speech flew out to Australia and there, with a bunch of live musicians Wayne knew locally, plus the additional producer Plutonic Lab (responsible for the clarinet-fanfares of single “The Key” as well as the widescreen drama of “Better Days”) laid down most of what would become “Speech Therapy”. She used the opportunity to pour out all kinds of emotions, to dwell on bad memories and fears, as well as funny incidents and sharp observations. “Daddy’s Little Girl” is a scathing attack on an absent father held together by organ and dub bass. “Working Weak” is a funny tale of office life in London. “Bad Boy” looks unflinchingly but also non-judgmentally at the attitudes and outlooks of the yout’s Speech grew up knowing. “Wheels In Motion” takes a sociologist’s eye to life in London and beyond. “Buddy Love” is a funny, bouncing look at what happens when you start shagging your mate. The combination of microscopic detail with Big Picture pronouncement, dryly funny jokes with real soul-searching, is what makes Speech’s worldview so compelling.

On returning to London, while Lotek worked on editing down and mixing the sessions, Speech continued to make connections. Roots Manuva agreed to write and sing a beautifully melancholy chorus for “Wheels In Motion”. Micachu came through and matched him on “Better Days”. Mike Lindsay fromTunng heard some of the demos for the tracks and wanted to get involved. Over a number of sessions he and Speech came up with the sunny avant-pop of “Spinnin’” and the airy wistfulness of “Live & Learn”. Her old friend and sometime guitarist in her band, Dread Keys, fashioned an acoustic slow burner which was perfect for the break-up lyrics of “Go Then, Bye,” where Speech, like the greatest of soul divas, blazes half hurt and half defiant: “So take your X-Box and go ‘long”.

But it’s the very last track of the record, the title track as it happens, which perhaps sums up what Speech is all about better than anything else she has written, sums up why the reaction to her music has been so strong, so heartfelt: “I’ve made some mistakes in this life I’m not proud of, see?/ But I hope that doesn’t mean now I’m trying it will be harder for me/ I’ve been hurt and it’s not an excuse but it’s a reason/ It’s like some things happen in life for a lifetime or a season/ And I’m just now learning how this world really works/ It’s a law that says you get back what you put forth.” Speech Debelle is putting forth everything – her thoughts, beliefs, mistakes, love, anguish, humour. Now she’s just waiting to get it back.

Scruffy has put up a 15 minute megamix to give to fans in celebration of 10 year re-issue of Keep it Unreal.

And to keep up the celebratory spirit, Mr. Scruff is running a photo competition to win a gold disc on his site here.

Have a look and please ask your friends, family etc. to get involved! Just upload a photo of someone/something “keeping it unreal” and Scruff will select the best one to win the gold disc!

Mr Scruff’s music can be found in the new Rolando 2 game for the iPhone. The first installment was considered by many to be the best iPhone game of 2008, so the second is bound to be a hit!

Spanning the high seas on the way to the tropical island of Fontanis, ‘Rolando 2′ takes players to a beachside retreat set to the tune of Mr. Scruff, who appears in the game as a Rolando! At Mr. Scruff’s music shack, gamers can groove to Scruff classics ‘Blackpool Roll’, ‘Spandex Man’, ‘Fix That Speaker’ and ‘Sweetsmoke’ and buy tracks directly from iTunes.

Rolando 2 at Ngmoco
Rolando 2 at IGN

‘Rolando 2′ is available for both the iPhone and iPod Touch from:
Apple App Store USA
Apple App Store UK
Ngmoco

Joe Corrales, Jr. aka Yppah (pronounced “Yippah”) is back. The young Mexican-American from Texas debuted on Ninja Tune in 2006 with his album, “You Are Beautiful At all Times,” and now releases his sophomore effort, “They Know What Ghost Know.”

Fashioning a rockier sound than last time out, the album draws on a cultural heritage that took in My Bloody Valentine alongside hip hop and which is heavily influenced by various forms of electronic music, psychedelic soul and rock.

Opening track “Son Saves The Rest” is wall-of-noise guitar pummeller. “Gumball Machine Weekend” sounds like southern-fried Go! Team with more soul. “Playing With Fireworks” somehow reminds you of the way you felt stuck between childhood and the adult world, not a million miles from instrumental tracks from the Phantom Band. “Shutter Speed” is nostalgia psyched into a memorable tune. Title track “They Know What Ghost Know” is West Coast rock reimagined as trance-rite, a spooky, echo-heavy drum-roll-filled set of repetitions and overlaps that builds into a tune which DJ Shadow in his heyday might have dreamed of making. “Sun Flower Sun Kissed” takes the doomy grey skies of MBV and gives them a Texan make-over. “Bobbie Joe Wilson” channels the Dust Brothers and proves Yppah hasn’t lost his love of hip hop. Corrales build moods through a combination of melody, rhythm and sonics and if those moods are mainly melancholy, they’re also ecstatic.

After a series of shows last year from SXSW to Japan, there’s a real feeling that Joe Corrales is ready to step up into the big league. The album has that feel to it – that it has been made under huge skies, that it’s possible to make music which is epic and intimate all at once. It’s beguiling and beautiful and makes you a little giddy, too. Find out what Ghost know.

Breaktheory: One member of the Dominion duo is known for writing catchy basslines, as well as sound design, and mixing/mastering capabilities. It was his involvement that made the use of Machine Head Studios in Los Angeles possible for both the early and final stages of the compilation’s production. You’d be hard-pressed to find sound processing and manipulation or samples quite like Breaktheory’s with any other artist. BKY drops it like it’s hot, exploring new, creative areas in sound. Currently, Breaktheory is working on a dark ambient record that’s atonal, esoteric and of course: beatless. Watch for the forthcoming release.

Clay Nyse: The other mind behind Dominion. Recognized for his excellent beat programming in the tracks, Nyse’s beats are water tight and will leave you nodding to the precision. Clay Nyse has good taste in drum and bass–classic and new–which surely affects the flavor of any track or beat pattern he writes. Clay Nyse also happens to be a professional graphic designer, designing the fliers in his spare time for lots of big name shows on the East Coast. If you’re active in the East Coast rave scene, you’ve probably seen Nyse’s artwork.

Godfather Sage: The man himself. If you know GFS’ sound, you’ll hear it in everything he has touched in the compilation. With such an eclectic taste in different styles and genres, and countless hours spent in the studio, Godfather Sage has really nailed a sound that is truly his and his alone. Soulful, jazzy, international vibes: say hello to drum and bass and hip hop. Give him any sound and a studio and Godfather Sage will own it before the day is done.