Marsh on the Marshes: The Badical's Hi-Tec Hip-Hop

The first time I saw The Badical they were blowing up a jungle dome in the desert with their twisted science, a potent concoction of multi-flavoured bass music.

Last time I saw Andrew Marsh he was clinging onto the back of a bass buggy mobile soundsystem on Hackney Marshes, a mutant Mothercare vehicle for outdoor-types being put to good use to protect a darling pair of speakers, busy blasting beats into the assembled ranks of BBQ eating warehouse-dwellers. From what I remember, swigging cider as the sun set over the East Coast railway, his set scoped classic hip hop to 90s cheese filtered through various prisms of flitched out hip-hop, IDM and dubstep. There was also lots of other stuff so pleasantly unexpected that I can't remember it.

When I asked Andrew for some compressed BBQ Marsh-hop he pointed me towards the full set of The Badical mixtapes, from which the hi tek hip hop number most closely resembles what I was trying to recapture. It sweeps from J Dilla and Foreign Beggars through RJD2, The Knife and Four Tet to The Glitch Mob, Mochipet and Modeselektor. Badassical innit.

DOWNLOAD The Badical's Hi-Tec Hip Hop Mix (Right Click Save As)


madvillian - all caps
flylo - grapesicles (samiyam remix)
unknown white label
J Dilla - workinonit
MED - Cant Hold On
Foreing beggars - Glacial (ft syntax)
D...iplo - Big Lost
Clark - Herr Bar
Osland and erro - Everything in its right place
Soldier Girl RJD2 remix
Fourtet - Smile around the face
The Knife - We share our mothers health
LOTP - The bears are coming
Kis sister - unknown
Try Again - Simian mix
sentinal - Eliot Lip
Monday - Glitch mod edit
mochipet - Turbo Thizz penetration
Busy P - c-est chollet (or something)
Krazy Baldhead - revolution
Modeselektor - Edgar w/ the first rebirth double drop
All is full of love - plaid remix
TTC - Antenne 2
HudMo - Overnight

In other news, Andrew has designed The Synflower - a multi-player musical instrument for one to eight people - and an Aerodynamic Umbrella. Nice one!

Music for post-traumatic stress decompression on a summer evening

You know how sometimes you just get bored of everything you have on your MP3 player? You've heard it all before. It all sounds the same. Why the hell have you been bothering with all this shit?! Why don't I just listen to pop music or the radio? Or maybe you have more than 8GB capacity...

I've been having this kinda existential crisis with my whole life lately. Thankfully though, after another day of suffocating in my mentally over stimulating and anxiety inducing work, I left the office to the sounds of four mixes I've recently downloaded and went to sit by the river, where I achieved a more zen-like state of glitchitation. Just what the perspective-adjusting mind doctor ordered. Enjoy.

AfroMonk runs a wicked blog right here. He's just got back from Lightning in a Bottle. Git. This is a damn tasty lovestep mixtape he's done for http://brasky.org.
  Afro Monk Presents: Left Behind - (http://www.brasky.org) by AfroMonk
Featuring music by: Gladkill, +verb, Manni Dee, Guttstar, Nico Luminous, Thriftworks, Elfkowitz, Mimi Page, Omega, Jobot, NastyNasty, Tokimonsta, B. Bravo, Epcot, The Human Experience, Chris B, & Ghetto Sexuual

kLL sMTH from Smoulder, Bollorado makes some proper synapse tweaking insertdescriptivenamehere-step tunes like Smoothstep and a journey through time and bass. This is a live set from the Ghost Ranch wherever the fuck that is
  Live at the Ghost Ranch pt. 2 (all original set) by kLL sMTH
TRACKLIST
1. Smoothstep vs. Cassie
2. Funky Crunk
3. Slamborghini
4. Gnaardvark vs. Stilettos - crime mob
5. Subsonic (kLL SMTH Remix) - Excision
6. Babylon (kLL SMTH Remix) - NiT GriT
7. Bustle Hustla
8. Rump Shakin
9. Nurrbody into Body Movement - Conquest

Simplify have simply put out some of the best glitch-hop and bass music of the last year from Stephan Jacobs, Love and Light, Chris B, Ben Samples, Elfkowitz and Blunt Instrument. Like a glitch-hop finger buffet, this mixtape by Aaron Simpson has it all and more. Fuck. Yeah.
  Simplify Mix Sessions 7 by Simplify Recordings 
TRACKLIST
01 Nero – Me & You (Danger Remix) (MTA)
02 Opiuo – Patchouli Dump Truck (Addictech)
03 Love & Light – The Light We Bring (Simplify)
04 Samples – Montauk Point (Made In Glitch)
05 Knight Riderz – Light It Up (Made In Glitch)
06 DCarls – All In (Simplify)
07 Blunt Instrument – Simmer Gently (Simplify)
08 Digital Rust – Loophole (Addictech)
09 Love & Light – Slap and Tickle (Simplify)
10 Freddy Todd – Skattabrain (Simplify
11 Kraddy – Let Go (Instrumental) (Minotaur)
12 Gramatik – The Uprising (Cold Busted)
13 DCarls – Flavorhythm (Simplify)
14 Gramatik – Who Got Juice (Cold Busted)
15 Who Cares – These Three Words (ill-esha Remix) (Simplify)
16 Pretty Lights – Hot Like Sauce (Rustified Remix) (Pretty Lights)
17 Freddy Todd featuring Unc – Homefaced (Simplify)
18 Hirshee & Tonye Aganaba – So Good (Big Fish)
19 Stephan Jacobs – In The Vortex (Simplify)

When you need to chill-the-fuck-out after that one, try Guido's latest 29 minute mixtape, which sends me floating out into a sea of twostep Light Emitting Diode twilight. It's even got some conscious grime vocals set to such beautiful minimal bassline production that it almost sounds like he's not angry. Lush.
  29 min mix 2011 - GUIDO by guido productions
TRACKLIST
Class act
Quick idea
Africa
The PL Remix Type & J B Love (Remix)
Lunar Eclipse
Micro X (Forthcoming State Of Joy)
Most wanted
Ballin' feat Baobinga (Forthcoming BUILD)
What I'm here for feat Scarz
Dust Off
Same Road feat Shadz

DJ Parker: The Monkey Butler Did it Again

In summer 2009 someone lost a monkey en route to Bristol zoo, and Parker became a cult hero for fusing dubstep and electro swing....

  Parker- Where's My Monkey? by DJ Parker 


Come 2011 and Parker's worked out the answer to the question we've all been asking, whilst putting together the best mixtape of the year to date. He draws on his own extensive arsenal of refixes hold things together while a good choice of MC tracks keeps the pace over the bouncing beats . The mix is peppered with some proper comedy samples too, including my fave eve dubstep quote from this video.

The scope is epic, with hiphop, glitch hop, funk, breaks, rock, dubstep and d'n'b overlaid and mashed up together throughout. Snatches of familiar tunes creep in for a few bars at a time before morphing straight into the next thing. If he used records (rather than control vinyl) he'd be tossing discs over his shoulder like Jeff Mills.

...and for the swing fans? How about Missy Eliot mashed up with Glen Miller?
  The Monkey Butler Did It Mix by DJ Parker

Tracklist:
The Monkey Butler- A Reminder
Parker- The Self Indulgent Intro
The Monkey Butler- Lays It Down
Parker- Hear Ya Say- Bombstrikes
Aretha Franklin- Rock Steady (Parker Remix)- Ghetto Funk
Vibes Squad- Aristocratic Static- Vibe Squad
Parker v P Zilla- Golden Sounds ft Conrad Watts (Acapella)- Goodgroove
Ashanti- Only You (Parker Re-fix)
George Benson- Give Me The Night (Parker Re-jig)
BBC Radio 4- Carolyn Quinn on PM
Kidda- Doo Whot ft Blak Twang (Acapella)- Skint
Ludacris- Stand Up (Parker Re-flip)
Opuio- Tender Wrinkle- Addictech
The Reckless Moment- Columbia
Cymande- Dove- Janus
B.I.G.- Can I Get Witcha- Bad Boy
Mr Scruff- Zen- Ninja
Eddie Bo & The Soul Finders- We're Doing It (The Thang Part 2)- Bo-Sound
Porn Theatre Ushers- Me & Him (Parker Re-hash)
Foreign Beggars- Shake It- Dented
The Monkey Butler- What A Treat
The Mohawks- Studio 69- KPM
The Doors- Soul Kitchen- Elektra
Missy Elliot- Pass That Dutch- Elektra
Parker v Fake Blood- Mars Needs Parker
Eric B & Rakim- Juice (Know The Ledge) (Parker Re-fiddle)
The Beekeepers- Queen Bee ft Mystro- Jalapeno
DJ Hero- Sub Sonic- Velcro City
Max Sedgley- Sound Boy ft Tor (Parker Remix)- Jalapeno
Max Sedgley- Sound Boy ft Tor (Acapella)- Jalapeno
Mumford & Sons- Lion Man (Parker- Re-do)
Muse- Knights of Cydonia (Parker's Fight The Bankers! Remix)
Joker & Ginz- Re-Up- Kapsize
BBC Radio 1- Mary Anne Hobs on Bristol Rise Up!
Parker- Say Goodnight ft Conrad Watts (Acapella)- Rocstar
Art Of Noise- Moments In Love (Parker Re-dub)
Parker v Black Sabbath- Iron Mandem
BBC Radio 1- Mary Anne Hobs on Bristol Rise Up!
Gramatik- Liquified- Cold Busted
Criminal Minds- Baptized By Dub- White House
Musical Youth- Pass The Dutchie- MCA
MC Duke- I'm Riffin (Acapella)- Music Of Life
Turntable Dubbers- I Say Yeah- Nice Up
The Cure- Love Cats- Sire
The Who- Baby Don't You Do It- Track
Sigma- Baltimore- Breakbeat Kaos
Rasco- Hip Hop Essentials (Acapella)- Pockets Linted Entertainment
Total Science- Redlines- Critical
Bcee & S.P.Y.- Is Anybody Out There- Spearhead
DJ C- Let It Billie- Scandal Bag
Stew Pot's- Pop Party- Warwick
DJ Shadow- Trench Battle Beat- Universal
Glenn Miller- Little Brown Jug- His Master's Voice
Missy Elliot- Get Your Freak On (Acapella)- Elektra
Dr Meaker- Double Bass- Flightcase
Dr Meaker- Double Bass (Acapella)- Flightcase
Neil Diamond- Cherry Cherry- Metronome
DJ Marky & XRS- LK- V Recordings
Chris Morris & Armando Innucci- On The Hour Series One Episode 3- Warp Records
Parker- Bogus Hocus Pocus
Eddie Hinton Interview
Led Zeppelin- Whole Lotta Love- Atlantic
Klute- Glue Sniffer (Keaton Remix)- Commercial Suicide
Charlie Whitehead- Let's Do It Again Parts 3 & 4- Ace
The Monkey Butler- One More
S.P.Y.- By Your Side- Spearhead
The Princess Bride- 20th Century Fox



Check Parker's Soundcloud for more free refixes and mash-ups!

Ninja Tune XX: XLR8R Podcasts from Coldcut, DJ Food, DK and Toddla T

For one reason or another I've missed most of the Ninja Tune XX anniversary celebrations this autumn / weekend, but for those of us that did these two XLR8R podcasts are a pretty good way to celebrate.

 
The first, mixed and compiled by label founder Coldcut and stalwarts DJ Food and MK, is an epic combo of original Ninja classics from Scruff, Food, Hextatic, Amon Tobin, Kid Koala and more recent highpoints from Diplo, Shuttle, Andreya Triana, Daedalus, Toddla T. With plenty of sick remixes from both fresh UK newbloods - Warrior One, Benga, Rustie - and US future hoppers - Gaslamp Killer and Flying Lotus - it shows just how much the label has influenced and kept up with the progress of beats over the decade since their last milestone.

XLR8R Podcast 170: DJ Food & DK vs. Coldcut (click through for DL and tracklist)

The second is one of the best mixtapes I've downloaded this year from 2010 Ninja Tune signing Toddla T, who landed a massive three album deal with them earlier this year. The mix is so varied you never have time to pin it down - full of dancehall fire, but packed with both evocative old rave skool samples and future beats. Reminiscent of NY label Nightshifters (AC Slater, Hostage, Proper Villans) at their best, with flavours of Diplo, Zinc's Crack House, Buraka and Zomby, it's right on the money and shows how Ninja Tune remain so even after 20 years. I can see myself buying a lot of these tunes...

XLR8R Podcast 168: Toddla T (click through for DL and tracklist)

If you like what you hear Ninja Tune have got two double compilations out to celebrate their anniversary, which include many of the cuts from that first mixtape. Going by the Zen Cuts X CDs which still sound as fresh 10 years on, they're going to be well worth the effort. I've certainly got 'em both on my Xmas list.

XLR8R Podcast No113: Nosaj Thing

One of my favoruite podcasts from the end of last year, courtesy of the ever brilliant XLR8R magazine. 2009 was a very good year for Nosaj Thing. A regular at LA's Low End Theory, he's part of the same glitchy, jazzy future hop stable as Flying Lotus and Gas Lamp Killer. For me he also seems to be travelling down some similar sonic paths to Joker in the UK, picking up on more of a wonky dubstep vibe with a lot of his own tunes. This is his City Guide to LA.

Subscribe to Podcast
Download MP3

01 Teebs "My Whole World" (Brainfeeder)
02 Flying Lotus "Unreleased"
03 Free The Robots "La Lune" (Alpha Pup)
04 Tokimonsta "Doing It My Way"
05 Exile "Summer Sun (Take Remix)" (Plug Research)
06 The Gaslamp Killer "Anything Worse" (Brainfeeder)
07 Ras G "Disco 4000"
08 Daedelus "LA Nocturn" (Friends of Friends)
09 Samiyam "My Buddy"
10 Kab & Tully "Unreleased" (My Hollow Drum)
11 Teebs "Unreleased"
12 Nosaj Thing "Us" (Alpha Pup)
13 Flying Lotus "Camel (Nosaj Thing Remix)" (Warp)
14 Nosaj Thing "Ice Cube Remix"

Ninja Tune: Shuttle - Tunnel

Listening to the Joe Ransom show on Kiss Fm the other night and he dropped an epic tune by a new Massachusets producer called Shuttle.

Listen to it here:
Shuttle - Rotten Guts Featuring Cadence Weapon (Link to Hype Machine)

This bodes well for his first EP "Tunnel" coming out on Ninja Tune on 16 March. I haven't bought anything on Ninja Tune for a while but after browsing through their beatport catalogue that's all going to change and "Tunnel" may by the release that swings it.

You can get an idea of Shuttle's full hip-hop and dubstep laced sound by listening to this mixtape:

Shuttle - the vostock 1 mixtape (z-share link)

Bassnectar: Bass heavy, omni-tempo maximism

Perhaps the most established US West Coast bass head has yet to grace these pages... but it's time to drop some Bassnectar, with this wicked mix from the Jay Cunning show on Kiss FM. He mashes up dubstep, breaks, jungle, psydub, hip-hop and dancehall to create something truly flavoursome. I've been meaning to post this for ages but Bassnectar himsef has beaten me to it and posted it as a podcast on his own website! Make sure you check out his podcast page for more free remixes and more podcasts...

Bassnectar @ Kiss 100FM Breakbeat Show w Jay Cunning - 10.2.09 (Direct link - right click, save as)

1. Flagrantly Long & Indulgent Live-Mash Intro
2. Bassnectar - Supastylin [SuperCharged]
3. Bassnectar - Art Of Revolution (instrumental) [Amorphous Music]
4. Bassnectar - Kingston Town [bootleg]
5. Product 01- Ready 2 Rage (Bassnectar & Jantsen Remix) [Amorphous]
6. Sleaze Beatz [Amorphous Music]
7. Bassnectar - Heads Up (California Style) [Amorphous Music]
8. Me & You - Last Night (Bassnectar Remix) [Tru Throughts]
9. Noisia & Mayhem - Exodus (Bassnectarz live re-edit)
10. American Beauty Live Amorphous Mash Segue
11. Mr No Hands - Button Down (Groove Diggers VS Bassnectar RMX)
12. Si Begg - Can't Take it (Bassnectar Loves Si Begg Remix)
13. Frank Sin Atcha - Black Magic
14. Bassment Jaxx Speaker Junk Remix Beat Moment
15. Bassnectar - Beasties, Solid Groove & Sinden Masher
16. You've Gotta Fight For Your Rights.

I'm loving the 'Last Night' remix! Thanks to Sugarpill and Breakzlinkz for the headz up...

Glitch Mob: Crush Mode mixtape

Another West Coast update:

I've been going round in circles trying to find a full mixtape from the Glitch Mob (made up of edIT, Boreta, Kraddy and Ooah), only to find it on full view on their own website all along. What a muppet...

Download: The Glitch Mob - Crush Mode (right click and Save File As)

Download: The Glitch Mob - Crush Mode Wallpapers by EPROM

You can find some fresh Boreta tracks on his myspace and Ooah's Twitter stream tells me he's been in the studio the last few days. Looking forward to seeing what comes out...

Glitch Mob dropping bass bombs on the streets on of San Fransisco

XLR8R TV Episode 83: Glitch Mob Street Warfare from XLR8RTV on Vimeo.

I've been going on about glitch-hop to everyone I speak to lately. The artist collective Glitch Mob are IT... and Ooah is one of my absolute favourite producers at the moment. Check out the Glitch Mob website for more info and free mp3's including this one:

Ooah - Heat up the Night (direct link)

They've also recently remixed Evil 9...

Crunk Pioneers: Lazer Sword

Can't remember who pointed me in their direction, but I'm just enjoying a one hour exclusive podcast mix by Lazer Sword for XLR8R magazine:

Future Blappin' - Lazer Sword - Jan 2009

More bass heavy hip-hop tinged sounds from San Francisco. Described as "digital crunk pioneers" they blend hip-hop, future-bass and electro. It took me a few tracks to get into the mix but now I'm there I'm digging it. They're currently on an EU tour:

20 Feb 2009 THUGS AND HUGS LONDON
21 Feb 2009 Nottingham
28 Feb 2009 APPLETREE NIGHTS @ BITTERZOET Amsterdam
28 Feb 2009 DUM DUM @ TIVOLI Utrecht, Utrecht
21 Mar 2009 LANDO KAL LIVE... VENLO, NETHERLANDS