New Releases: Heroes Of The Galleon Trade / Ghost Note II (Golf Channel)

It’s always nice to get a package from Golf Channel in NYC and one just arrived with two new releases from Ghost Note II and Heroes Of The Galleon Trade, both with a focus on live instrumentation in the grooves. Rather than describe them which, as you can see, isn’t my strong point, here’s a couple of excerpts and look out for them in the shops early next year. It’s safe to say both are truly on point and show Golf Channel show no signs of letting up the quality control next year. And on that subject Happy New Year all. Here’s to a fine 2011 for everyone.


Ghost Note II: Kapwa (Excerpt)

Ghost Note II: Albularyo (Excerpt)

Heroes Of The Galleon Trade: Neptune’s Last Stand (Excerpt)

Heroes Of The Galleon Trade: Winter Island Romance (Excerpt)

[Apiento]

Mix/Interview: Gala Drop

One of our favourite records of the year was the Gala Drop 12″ on Golf Channel so we got in touch with Nelson Gomes (below) of Gala Drop to ask for a mix and also a few quick questions on the band and what it’s all about. The mix shows their eclectic tastes are and the interview hopefully explains more on the band and where they are going in 2011.

Picture by Marta Pina

Who is Gala Drop?

Me, Afonso, Guilherme and Tiago.

Where are you based?

Lisbon.

How did you guys meet?

We all met in different periods in time (between 2003-2005) at a place called ZDB where i used to be the music programmer.

What do you each bring to the party?

Electronics, guitar, percussion and drums.

How did the hook up with Golf Channel come about?

Tiago met Phil a few years ago in New York and gave him a copy of our first record at the time. Phil loved the record and suggest that would be great do something with us in the future.

Have you been to one of their parties in NYC yet? It’s on our list of things to do…

We played at the party in September. was pretty amazing. I was pretty impressed with the fact that the crowd instead of being facing the band, they were raving like crazy as they do in dance clubs.

What’s the long term goal for Gala Drop?

Do good music, record music, play a lot of shows and have fun.

We heard you play live? What does the show consist of?

Yes, we do. Imagine a rock band playing dance music.

What’s the scene like where you are?

Amazing. It’s happening a lot of great music in such a different scales of genres.

Your mix for us is pretty eclectic – how do your different tastes filter in to the music?

I wouldn’t say they got filtered, but that they help you clarifying you more in a way of what you wanna do and/or don’t. I think the music you love became to be part of what you are. The music we do is a reaction to who we are.

What was the scene you grew up on?

I grew in a small factory town called Barreiro in the other side of Lisbon. Was pretty raw there, but i can’t complain. At the time, was happening there a lot of different things: good dance music in the clubs, a few rock shows, good African clubs, good music in the bars, a lot of loud African music in the streets of my neighborhood….good times.

Finally, tell us what you are up to so people can get involved…

We are focused right now in doing new songs for the next record, the idea is be in the studio in February 2011 and we are working in a North European tour that will take place in April.

Cheers Nelson.

Welcome.

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[Apiento]

New Release: COS/MES ‘Naruto’

We like a bit of COS/MES on Test Pressing so we thought we’d give a quick mention to their new release coming early next year. ‘Naruto’ opens with a trademark chugging groove and is slowly added too with effects, swampy guitar and vocal segments, same as ever taking the listener on a slow mo trip. Here’s a little segment…

‘Naruto’ is out in January on King Kung Foo Records and is backed up by remixes from Ronny and Renzo with artwork by Mustone, JP.

[Apiento]

Radio: Jon Savage – Savage Music 018 / Sun Songs 2

Part two of Sun Songs and back after our Christmas break – here’s Savage Music…

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Tune in weekly to ByteFM for the Savage Music shows.

[Apiento]

Test Pressing 2010 Round Up

Time for our round up of the year and it looks like we have a clear winner in the singles category with Begin’s ‘Velocity’ with lots of love for Claremont and Golf Channel on the label front. It’s been a good year in our eyes for lovely down tempo music and here’s to 2011 and throwing more in the pot and seeing what comes out. Thanks to everyone who fed in on this one.

Single: Begin: Velocity (Begin)
Film: Of Gods And Men
Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Virgo: RU Hot Enough
Label: Claremont 56
Book: William Maxwell – The Chateau
DJ: Gareth Marshallsea
TV: Miranda

Singles: DJ Nature: Destiny Reprise & Joy Orbison: The Shrew
LP: Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM & Four Tet: There is Love In You
Film: Bird On A Wire
Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: About a dozen Joy Division live bootlegs
Label: R&S (James Blake, Space Dimension Controller) or Golf Channel (DJ Nature & Gala Drop)
Book: Martin Beck series – Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö
DJ: Jarvis Cocker on 6music
TV: New series of Futurama

Single: Falty DL: All In The Place (Discoko)
Album: Junip: Fields
Film: Toy Story 3
Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Mundo Muzique: Andromeda
Label: Claremont 56 (Again!)
Book: Michael Lewis: The Big Short
DJ: Martin Dutton
TV: Breaking Bad
Spotify Playlist: Not really been near it lately….

Single: Storm Queen: Look Right Through
Film: Ghostwriter – Roman Polanski or probably Downtown Calling if i already had the chance to see it…
Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Betty Wright: Got It Right (Moxie Edit)
Label: Golf Channel
Book: IQ84 – Haruki Murakami
DJ: Harvey

Single: Begin: Velocity / Optical Holiday
Best Film: Monsters
Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Alien Signal – Dawn of a new era
Label: Cordings
Book: Take Ivy
DJ: Phil Mison / Phil South
TV: The Trip

Single: Four Hands – Hizou
Film: Machete
Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Afterhours – Waterfalls
Label: (Sorry) Claremont 56
Book: Zola – Germinal
DJ: Idjut Boys, Kelvin Andrews & Phil Mison
TV: Breaking Bad

Favourite Release Of The Year So Far: It’s been a great year for music so not an easy choice. Misti and Veyland ‘Stars’ for proving that piano riffs and a sense of humour are still alive and well in house music. The blazing horns and nyabinghi of ‘Kumina Mento Rasta’ by Wareika Hill Sounds. And ‘Play Music Selecta’ by Kalbata and Mixmonster, featuring Jah Thomas, for its thundering bassline and showing the dubsteppers what dub really means.

Film: Four Lions. Chris Morris confirms his genius with a film that manages simultaneously to be hilarious, tragic and thought-provoking.

Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Ella and Louis Again – Verve Records 1957. I don’t know how this was recorded but it is by head and shoulders the best sounding record I own. It’s like having them singing in the corner of the room. Oscar Peterson on piano is a nice touch.

Label: Honest Jons

Book: ‘The Lunatic’ by Anthony Winkler, the very funny story of a rural Jamaican madman and his encounter with a solidly built German tourist.

DJ: Lil Louis at Corsica Studios blew me away. Amazing mix of jacking house and disco, climaxing with ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’ by the Supremes.

TV: The World Cup

Spotify Playlist: Spotify hasn’t reached Jamaica yet but having DJ Gabre Selassie online is all you need. Augustus Pablo’s bredrin keeps the Rockers flame alive http://www.ustream.tv/channel/rockers-sound-station

SINGLES
1. Begin: Velocity
2. Incarnations: Make You Mine
3. Storm Queen: Look Right Through
4. Broken Bells: The High Road
5. Holger Czukay: Persian Love
6. Midlake: Roscoe (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Re:animation)
7. Sam Sallon: You May Not Mean To Hurt Me (Leo Zero/Begin mixes)
8. Kurt Maloo/Sophie Zelmani: Afterglow/If I Could (Rune Lindbaek Mixes)
9. Mudd & Pollard: Vincent
10. Max Essa: Panorama Suite / Uptown Vibration
11. IFEEL STUDIO 001: Coptic Sun
12. Four Hands: Hizou
13. Locussoulus: Little Boots
14. Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Welcome To The Pleasuredome (Soul Mekanik remix)
15. Begin: Optical Holiday
16. Cantoma: Under The Stars / Gambarra (Ray Mang/Lexx Remixes)
17. Beach House: Zebra
18. Steve Mason: Am I Just A Man
19. Still Corners: Don’t Fall In Love
20. Pacific Horizons: Universal Horizons / The Amulet

LPS
1. Steve Mason: Boys Outside
2. Beach House: Teen Dream
3. Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM
4. Massive Attack: Heligoland
5. Cantoma: Out Of Town
6. Prince: 20Ten
7. Junip: Fields
8. Incarnations: With All Due Respect
9. Caribou: Swim
10. Smoke Fairies: Through Low Light And Trees

REISSUES/COMPS/EDITS
1. Various: Down To The Sea & Back Volume 1
2. Mark Cappani: I Believe In Miracles
3. Various: Pomegranates
4. Lou Bond: Lou Bond
5. KM Editions: Feelings Of Ecstacy
6. The KBE Edits: Hairy Bush EP

Film: A Single Man, A Prophet, The Kids Are Alright, Toy Story 3, Kick-Ass, Harry Brown, Gainsbourg.

Best Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Dust Springfield: Nothing Has Been Proved, Larry Heard: Sceneries Not Songs, Orange: Le Couleur, Depeche Mode: Enjoy The Silence (Hands & Feet Mix), Charles B: Lack Of Love

Label: Claremont 56/Leng stormed it again this year … good efforts also from Finders Keepers, International Feel, Is It Balearic?

Book: Bill Bryson: A Short History Of Nearly Everything / Notes From A Small Island, Ian Flemming: Goldfinger / You Only Live Twice, Tim Lawrence: Hold Onto Your Dreams, Peter Mayne: A Year In Marrakesh, Ian MacDonald: Revolution in The Head, Stephen Fry: Moab Is My Washpot (again), Julian Cope: Head On (again)

DJ: Graeme Fisher at The Acid Tree, Lexx at Space (Folk Ibiza), Idjut Boys at Cutloose, Prins Thomas at The Cultural Vibez Weekender, Mike Bee at Plunge.

TV: The Trip, Mad Men, Sherlock, The Art Of Germany, Qi, The New Doctor Who was better than I expected as well.

Spotify Playlist: Jolyon, Aficionado

Singles: James Blake: CMYK (but hype now but got played to death), Games ‘Strawberry Skies’, Begin: Velocity & COS/MES: Natural Lifespan
LP: Oneohtrix Point Never: Returnal
Film: Pan’s Labyrinth (only three years late)
Rediscovery In Your Record Collection: Barry Reynolds: Till The Doctor Gets Back
Label: Golf Channel / Claremont & Leng (both on fire this year)
Book: Roger Deakin: Waterlog
DJ: Phil Mison
TV: The Apprentice

Release: This has been much more difficult than I was expecting. Looking back at the new music I bought this year, right now I can`t see much that I couldn’t be persuaded to part with. If you were to come round to mine I would most likely be excitedly playing you the antiques I have found. Though I did finally manage to “get” The XX (a year later), I haven’t felt very inspired by new music this year. As a consequence I have been feeling very old. I`m sure this wasn’t because there wasn’t a lot of interesting and groundbreaking new music released this year (that`s Tim`s job anyhow) but it does have something to do with me being 200 km from the nearest record shop and getting totally fucked off with buying stuff on-line (fucking 90 second clips, limited fucking runs of everything, and the incredible amount of warped fucking records (1/3?) that have turned up in the post this year). To the sane among you it will be clear that a format change is called for but unfortunately I think I love vinyl more than I love (recorded) music. This morning if you were to ask me I`d say Pacific Horizon’s Universal Horizons.

Film: I haven’t been to the cinema once this year and have only rented one DVD. The Wrestler. While the story could only be a cliché, Rourke`s performance has – maybe unfortunately – stayed with me. This film and McCarthy’s The Road appear to be my current totems. What do you do when doing the best that you can just isn’t good enough anymore? I have had to ban myself from playing the Springsteen theme song, since it puts me on a terminal downer. Such is its resonance.

Rediscovery: Got to be Chairmen Of The Board’s The Skin I’m In. Weatherall’s Screamadelica show was a much needed wake up call. Where’s the soul gone? A mention in dispatches goes to Kokomo’s Use Your Imagination which has been played to a good response several times this year (thanks Tim).

Label: For new music, Hippos In Tanks continue to pique my interest (though I don`t often indulge) and I am still a sucker for the Echospace/Echochord sound. All the House I`ve bought seems to be on Clone or Rush Hour (or sub-labels thereof). There was the Cantoma CD (does the Four Hands count?) on Claremont56, The Struggle on IFeel, but maybe, just maybe RVNG for the Arp/Anthony Moore LP and CFCF`s The River.

For re-issues, Dug-Out have been pretty much essential and Light In The Attic have made available some truly great leftfield “soul” obscurities. Bureau B for all the Roedelius, and Minimal Wave definitely deserve a mention (particularly for the Ruins).

Book: Erik Davis’ Techgnosis. I have believed for a long-time that the future of the “human race” lies with machines and maybe the net (yep, I once smoked a lot of weed). With a little imagination a “virtual facebook” might allow us to teleport, time travel, leave the Earth and maybe achieve immortality. Here to go. But for a luddite like me the world wide web just seems to be one massive shop front. I am currently off-line learning acoustic guitar and campfire songs.

DJ: This was easy. Max Essa – bar or club always gives 100%, is never obvious, & always always rocks it – I think some people might be surprised – really pleased that all his hard work this year seems to be paying off for him and his family. Also sports an admirable, seemingly endless, line in smart knitwear.

[Apiento]

Happy Christmas From Test Pressing

You might have noticed that we are slowing down for Christmas. It’s been a great year again, and thanks to all those who have contributed to Test Pressing – the DJs (you now who you are but especially Moon, Phil Mison, Balearic Mike, Lexx, Mudd and Phil South), the writers (Dr Rob , Andy in Jamaica and Tim H get a special mention) and everyone who has taken the time to support the site. We’ll be doing a round-up soon of the year but enjoy the break and be merry.

[Apiento]

Just Because 018: Merry Christmas From Vybz Kartel

Time to get into the Christmas spirit. Watch the video here. I like his Clarks…

Thanks to James McLintock for digging that one out…

[Apiento]

Party: NYEve SLEAZE

Here’s the flyer for the Lasermagnetic & Voices New Years Eve party. Looks like a hot one with Disconet remixer Bobby Viteritti and Test Pressing favourite Mark Seven. If disco is your thing this will be the place to be in London. Click here for tickets.

[Apiento]

Radio: Jon Savage – Savage Music 017 / Sun Songs 1

From moon songs to sun songs – here’s Mr Savage…

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Tune in weekly to ByteFM for the Savage Music shows.

[Apiento]

i-D: The Art Of Chill

Basically this is a guide to how to get stoned with your mates and this all sounds rather ridiculous now but has anyone got any of the DIY tapes they mention from a Monday night? They sound kind of good.

[Apiento]

Interview: DJ Harvey

Our friends in Australia, The Blackmail, got in touch to see if we wanted to run an interview that they had just done with Harvey for their site. We of course said yes. To be honest I don’t quite understand the cult that is developing around the man but you have to say he’s got it right – the parties, the space in Hawaii and living the happy life. On top of that he seems totally genuine and speaks total sense. So over to Mr Michael Kucyk of The Blackmail and on with the program…

Text: Michael Kucyk Images: Harvey Bassett

Spanning many scenes and sounds, Harvey Bassett has been unconsciously carving his global cult notoriety for almost 25 years. As a DJ, Harvey is like no other. His infectiously positive personality seeps into his eclectic sets that aren’t limited to meaningless genrefication and often journey for six hours. Harvey will play whatever he feels, how he feels, and will never spin a lyric out of context. Inspired by his encounters with Larry Levan, he started the lewd label Black Cock with fellow Englishman Gerry Rooney and released legendary reel-to-reel edits which became heavily sought after and widely bootlegged. With a long list of credits as remixer, producer and session player, he has been involved in recording outfits Map Of Africa and Food of the Gods, as well as his recent solo project Locussolus. After overstaying his Visa, Harvey has spent the last 10 years bouncing between Honolulu, Los Angeles and New York. A newly acquired green card finally allows him to visit Australia for the first time.

Michael Kucyk: Are you enjoying the freedom of having a green card?

Harvey Bassett: Yes I am, this year I took a tour of Japan and Europe, which was fun. It was nice to get out and about. I don’t want to spend the next 20 years on the road. It’s nice to be in one place for a couple of months so I’ve been enjoying Venice since I got back.

MK: With such a large gap between visits to Europe, the UK and Japan, have you noticed a dramatic change in any club cultures?

HB: Not dramatically, no. I mean there might be a whole new generation of kids that have come through in that ten years but there was definitely a percentage of the old school represented too. It was good.

MK: Are there any new countries that you’ve toured recently with scenes that have excited you?

HB: Nothing so far. It seems like the scene is small. The venues are maybe only up to 1000 people but globally it seems to be pretty healthy with all the digi-communication and all the rest. People tend to know what’s happening.

MK: You’re involved in thirtyninehotel, a club in Honolulu. How’s that going? Does it have a community following?

HB: Pretty good, chugging along out there. I actually haven’t been out there for ages because I’ve been touring. There are definitely people there but I don’t know if they’re thirtyninehotel people. We’re open five nights a week and stuff goes on there. It could be anything from a seminar of lawyers or earth mothers to a wedding or a jazz band, reggae band, rave party. On the weekend it tends to be R’n’B based music on Fridays and dance music on Saturdays. There are regulars that come out for those nights.

MK: Has this international travel encouraged you to start digging again?

HB: When I was away in Europe I got into it but I think that was more to do with the guys I was hanging with. They’d be like “Harvey there’s a warehouse two miles from here with five million records,” and I’d be like “Let’s go then!”. I don’t purposely go out searching for them anymore but if stuff comes by way or if someone has a bright idea then I’ll go off and dig for some tunes.

MK: Did you have much luck at the warehouse?

HB: That particular spot was in Switzerland. Usually at a place with that many records it takes a whole day just to understand what’s going on in the room. It’s like “OK I’m getting a vibration from this area.” I found one or two records but I actually gave them to the guys I was digging with. Knowledge swapping.

MK: Can you recall your strangest digging experience?

HB: I remember once being in a warehouse somewhere in New York and we had a packed lunch and got locked in for a couple days with mountains high. We uncovered a full working record player so we got to listen to the tracks right there. I’ve had various rooms ankle deep in water with rats and the records are covered in dog shit from the guard dogs at the storage units. Some awful, stinking, brutal stuff. There’s also AIDS hospices where you get gay guys who have been disinherited by their families and all their loved ones have died so all their possessions end up in a warehouse. You go down there and pick up some disco records. That’s maybe morbid instead of strange but at least they go to a good home.

MK: Have there been opportunities for you to tour Australia in the past?

HB: Loads of people have said it but nobody ever made the call or took the kangaroo by the horns. I’ve always been down. I’ve even got some distant relatives and a few good old buddies out there. But this is the first time it’s actually come together and its perfect timing in many ways. It’s a good time of year and it seems like the scene is healthy.

MK: I hear that you’re an avid surfer. Are you looking forward to hitting some waves out here?

HB: Yeah man! As long as it’s not too strenuous! I might drag out a long board. I just bought a new wetsuit and I’m considering bringing it along so I don’t have to borrow someone else’s stinky beaten up wetsuit.

MK: You should watch some cult Australian surf movies like Crystal Voyager or Morning of the Earth. Both have classic psychedelic soundtracks.

HB: I’ve seen both of those. I’m big up on the surf movies.

MK: Earlier in the year I saw you play at Cielo in New York’s Meatpacking District and you opened with a medley of Justin Vandervolgen’s edits. Is he one of a few producer-DJ-edit makers that inspire you?

HB: Yeah I think he’s really good, he’s a friend. Actually I think that was the first three songs off his Golf Channel mix. I was like “that’s fucking great, I’m going to play it!”. So that fantastic mixing wasn’t me. It was Justin making it super smooth although I was adjusting it as it was playing. There’s a thing called Hot Q on the CD player which you can edit on the fly so that’s handy.

Loads of people inspire me. So many European cats making new records and edits and obviously Rub N Tug with Eric Duncan and his C.O.M.B.i stuff. On my European tour I played alongside 20 of the most happening DJs on my scene and everyone gave me a CD with 30 edits on it. And I was like “Whoa!”. Just mind-boggling amounts of rare cosmology. There’s some sublime and some ridiculous, you just have to check them all out.

MK: You’re bringing DJ Garth with you on this forthcoming Australian tour. Do the two of you share a similar spiritual vision?

HB: Spiritual vision (laughs)! There’s not a spiritual bone in my body mate. Me and Garth go back a long way. We’ve been friends for 20 years. He’s a gentleman and a scholar and a real good time DJ. I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather be on the road with for a few weeks. He’s definitely part of and a purveyor of the style of DJing, if there is one, that came out of our scene in the late ’80s and early ’90s. He’s a great DJ and has a great bedside manner as I would say.

MK: How did you two meet?

HB: I don’t really remember. Probably at the Zap club or a TONKA party in Brighton many years ago.

MK: What about Gerry Rooney? How was Black Cock a collaborative effort?

HB: He would often come up with the tracks that we would edit. He’s been a collector, dealer and DJ for many years and has access to unbelievably incredibly great music. We would have some fun cutting up and editing those tracks and putting them out. Although we haven’t done anything together; although we did do a remix kinda but even that wasn’t really together. It was sort of a Black Cock record but he remixed; it was kinda official but he was in London and I was in LA and we basically did a mix each. Gerry was definitely instrumental in the Black Cock thing, for sure.

MK: He seems pretty illusive. What does he do now?

HB: He’s still DJing and dealing records. I’m not sure if he has a website that you can buy records from him or if it’s by secret phone appointment only. I know he DJs out on the scene in London and gets around the world.

MK: The names Black Cock and Map of Africa are pretty potent with a sense of perverse attraction. Were you channeling some raw sexual energy when creating the music?

HB: To a certain extent. Obviously it’s all about sex – the potency of the Black Cock, the double entendre and the tongue in cheek font. And the same with Map of Africa. Just to have fun with word play, and also secret meanings that aren’t that secret. It’s a joke but it’s kinda cool at the same time. To me so much of music is sort of a version of fourplay, especially on the dancefloor. You’re sizing each other up and it’s a version of sexual play in many ways – the way you move and express yourself, shake out or dance with someone. I like names. I often like inventing names and concepts. Obviously Black Cock and Map of Africa are prime examples of the sort of fun we like to have.

MK: Food of the Gods doesn’t feel as erotic.

HB: That’s because I didn’t make it up (laughs)!

MK: Are these just recording projects?

HB: We’ve never performed live as such. It would be nice to be able to put a live unit together and play out but me and Thomas [Bullock] basically never have the time. He’s in New York and I’m in LA, and when I’m in New York, he’s in Europe. To get a tight act together it really takes a couple of months of living together and working together every day for a few months. A couple of years later we’re deep into other projects and our solo projects so I don’t know if Map of Africa will ever play live.

MK: What can you tell me about the Rwandan Ice Cream Project?

HB: Basically these drummer girls came over to New York from Rwanda. They were holocaust survivors and had come over to learn to make ice cream so that they could take the knowledge back to Rwanda and get some parlors going to make a living. It turned out that they were members of this all woman drumming ensemble so we put them in the studio and recorded a couple of hours of songs and chants. It will be released and all the profits will go towards a Rwandan good cause.

MK: Have these girls since returned home?

HB: Yes. Hopefully they’re ice cream millionaires by now.

MK: What does a regular day for Harvey consist of?

HB: Wake up, have a cup of tea, let the fog of the night before clear, decide if I have anything to do, go to the studio, jump in the ocean. You could say I’m awfully romantic and that I get on my motorcycle, drive up to the surf and have a macrobiotic sandwich on the way. It swings between that and peeling the kebab that I slept on the night before off the side of my face. Finishing off the can of hot special brew that I left on the windowsill. Straggling down a very oily 50/50 spliff before staggering out into blinding daylight. In the last couple of months I’ve been pretty healthy and productive. I’m all about good food. A friend of mine catches a lot of fish in the ocean right in front of the house and brings back lobsters and flounders. I would imagine Australian’s are quite used to that behaviour but it’s pretty exotic for an Englishman to actually be able to cook local fish caught a hundred yards away.

MK: Are you eating some quality tacos?

HB: Yes. Without question, the best Mexican food in the world outside of Mexico is in Los Angeles. There are some phenomenal tacos of every variety. I like to eat the ones from the traditional Hispanic taco trucks that feed the workers. You can get three carnitas tacos, a seafood tostada and a Mexican coco cola for five bucks and you’re stuffed and ready to go back to cleaning toilets. Happy and full.

MK: What do you think you’d be doing if you didn’t get into DJing and producing?

HB: Absolutely any kind of mundane brainless job like greeting people at the supermarket. A job that wouldn’t take up any of my brain so that my brain could be left to meditate. I once worked in a factory where the speed of the machines was such that you couldn’t day dream, or you’d loose a finger or two in the blades. I actually learnt to slow the entire productivity of the factory down by turning a particular knob. It was just slow enough so that everybody in the factory could daydream and everyone was happy and could get the job done. But this is where the party’s at and I don’t want other people spoiling party time.

::

As we said at the top this article first appeared on the ace The Blackmail site. Follow them for more. Thank you kindly to Michael Kucyk.

[Apiento]

Mix: Andy Blake – Nuclear Ritual

Andy Blake’s back with some more balearic nu-beat hip hop business. This one hits a groove and stays in it with a lot of it sounding like that early early druggy hip hop (think ‘Beat Bop’). Good sound. As you may know Mr Blake is resident DJ alongside Joe ‘the Body Hammer’ Hart at World Unknown in London’s Brixton. It’s a great party and the next one is happening on the 17th of this month. Click here for more information and mixes in a similar vein.

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[Apiento]

The Reading List: Widow Basquiat & The Autobiography Of Quincy Jones

‘Widow Basquiat’ by Jennifer Clement is one of those books that once you pick it up you don’t want to put it down. Written in conjunction with Basquiat’s muse Suzanne Mallouk it’s a sometimes distressing read into life and love with the artist. It doesn’t hold back about their various drug addictions as well as opening the door on the 80s New York scene – the galleries and the parties. The author attempts, and manages, to open the door on Basquiat’s paintings, giving a clear understanding of their meanings. I am not really one for books on art but if they were all like this one I’d be an expert.

For a quick overview of Basquiat’s life I’d suggest listening to the Radio 4 show – Decoding Basquiat which we’ve ripped below. The show was produced by Somethin’ Else (fine work chaps) who have a history in clubs so if anyone is reading this from there and wants us to pull it down get in touch.

In Decoding Basquiat, the poet Benjamin Zephaniah travels to New York to speak with Suzanne Mallouk (who chooses Riding With Death from 1988 (above) as her favourite painting), gallerists, musicians and graffiti writers who knew the artist. One of the most interesting parts is when Mallouk works through the various stages of the artists career in tangent with his drug habits. I’ve listened to the show twice and could happily listen to it again.

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Next up is Quincy Jones and ‘Q – The Autobiography of Q’. If you’re a musician, or anyone that needs a kick in life, this is a good one to read as the mans work rate is ridiculous and pretty inspiring. He doesn’t seem to be put off by anything, loves a challenge and by 25 was already one of the greatest arrangers in the world.

From there it’s living a life of jazz, soundtracks and producing the best selling album ever recorded in Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. To give you some idea of the magnitude of his life’s work the awards and honors list last 18 pages. The BBC come through again in support as there are two shows currently on the BBC iPlayer from BBC 4 covering firstly 1933-1974, the jazz years to his soundtrack work, then 1975 – 2008, covering the years with Michael Jackson and his Qwest record label. There is some great footage of Jones in the studio and includes interviews with all key players. Buy the book, watch the shows.

Both ‘Q’ and ‘Widow Basquiat’ are available on Amazon.

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New Faith Fanzine – Coming Soon…

New Faith coming soon with a big Harvey feature – which I know will please the heads no end…

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Radio: Jon Savage – Savage Music 016 / Moon Songs 3

Sunday means Jon Savage and here’s this weeks show, the third and final part of the Moon Songs trilogy. From Nick Drake, to Bowie, Can and Byrne and Eno…

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Tune in weekly to ByteFM for the Savage Music shows.

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i-D: Club Listings (October 1988)

This is a good read. Lots of scenes crossing over with each other and everyone seems to be figuring out what the fuck just went on. Photo by Dave Swindells.

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New Release: Korallreven ‘Honey Mine (Inc. D.Lissvik Remix)’ (Acephale Records)

Ah and back to something new… Quick excerpt from the new Koralleven ‘Honey Mine’ below for you. It’s more dub in feel with a balearic edge and sounding all the better for it. Vocals are courtesy of Victoria Bergsman from Taken By Trees and previously The Concretes with the stripped mix courtesy of Studio’s Dan Lissivk. All sounds a bit sad and mournful but that’s no bad thing in these winter months. Limited to 500 so get on it soon if you like it. Great name for a record label.

Korallreven ‘Honey Mine’

Korallreven ‘Honey Mine (D.Lissvik Remix)’

Thanks to Emma Warren (check her show live on NME radio on Friday nights).

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Sound On Sound: Hugo Nicolson On Recording Primal Scream’s ‘Screamadelica’

In all of this talk surrounding ‘Screamadelica’ it would be easy to forget the pivotal role (happy) Hugo Nicolson played in those recordings. Our Tim H found this piece from Sound On Sound in November 2000 with Nicolson discussing how they did it. Sounds like limited equipment and big ideas. Time to bring back the desks and raw fx.

Some of Nicolson’s best-known work is that which he did with Andy Weatherall on one of the most influential albums of the ’90s — Primal Scream’s Screamadelica — and it was in landing the job of working with the famous DJ that Hugo’s experience working at The Townhouse really paid off. “While I was still at The Townhouse, I managed to get onto a session as tape-op for Adrian Sherwood, and he really opened my eyes to a much more intuitive approach to recording — I’d never seen anyone quite so aggressive with the mixing desk. He followed none of the established rules of the time, yet he got really great, interesting mixes quickly. It was really inspiring to watch and it prompted me to start working that way myself, doing everything how I felt it, allowing myself to tear the whole track apart and to be brutal with the equipment if necessary. Just after that, my management arranged for me to work with Andy Weatherall at Battery Studios — he’d just done Primal Scream’s ‘Loaded’ and some Saint Etienne stuff. It so happened that he really liked Adrian Sherwood, and because I’d started doing things in a similar way we never really looked back!

“At the time Andy was just a DJ who had amazing taste in records and a massive record collection — he wasn’t really that interested in having to deal with the operation of the studio and the gear from day to day. Therefore, I did all the engineering and programming for the tracks we co-produced: ‘Don’t Fight It Feel It’, ‘Inner Flight’, ‘Come Together’, ‘I’m Comin’ Down’, ‘Higher Than The Sun’ and ‘Shine Like Stars’. It was great, but really stressful — I was thrown in at the deep end.

“We treated all the tracks we did as remixes. We had been given multitrack tapes with takes and overdubs which Primal Scream had done — all of them had melodies and at least a few chords, together with all sorts of other little sounds. Some of the tracks had complete band takes, though not done against any sort of click so the timing often needed tightening up. If you’re going to add much in the way of sequenced parts to a track, then you really need your rhythm parts to be spot-on. It’s all right in a sequenced track if a loop pushes and pulls against the beat over a one- or two-bar period, because people can learn the feel of that and can therefore play along just fine, but if you have live drums changing their relationship with the beat over longer periods it doesn’t tend to work. If you don’t need to use sequencing, because everyone’s playing along live, then you can get away with much more rhythmic variation and it’s best just to let the band get on with it. However, on Screamadelica the timing of the live takes had to be tweaked to match the sequenced stuff — one notable example was ‘Come Together’, though Andy and I were fortunate enough to receive the tapes from someone else who’d done it for us.

“We started each remix by picking just those bits of the multitrack takes which we thought had attitude and would be good for the tune, and loading them into the samplers we had at the time: mainly Akai S1000s and S1100s. In addition to this, we just messed around with random stuff I’d sampled against the track — for example, on ‘Come Together’ there’s a reversed cartoon skidding noise right at the beginning! It was just a case of throwing things in one at a time and working with them if they looked promising.

“We did everything with samplers and sequencers — systems like Pro Tools were in their early days back then and their sound was pretty nasty, so we never really considered anything like that to be an option. In fact, I can remember thinking at the time that ‘This hard disk recording thing is never going to take off,’ but I suppose I’ve been well and truly proved wrong now!

“I’d seen what gear I needed to do remix work from all the sessions I’d attended where they had used programmers: I usually hired a Korg M1 as a master keyboard (or a Prophet VS, if I was lucky), a couple of samplers, and an Atari 1040 with Emagic’s Notator. Other than that, I just used the gear already in the studio — all the usual suspects along with an SSL out of preference. However, while I knew what I needed, I still wasn’t really a programmer myself when I first started with Andy. It was all I could manage to get everything sequenced up in Notator and running in sync with SMPTE so that I could do arrangements using the SSL’s automation. Fortunately, it worked really well like that and it had a really good feel.”

The remix mentality which Andy and Hugo applied to their work meant that the tracks often changed dramatically as they went through different interpretations on their way to the final cut. “We did two different mixes of ‘Don’t Fight It, Feel It’, for example. The first was done over a day and a half and, though it was sounding all right, Andy said we ought to just try another one anyway in a few extra hours we had available. I gated the drums and keyed them off a cowbell which I programmed to do a rhythm I’d heard on a Jungle Brothers record. Then I grabbed a bit of bass fill from halfway through the song, turned it backwards and used that as the bass. I put Duffy’s piano all over the top, gated all the other parts to play with the same rhythm as the drums, and finally added in Denise Johnson’s vocal. We did it really quickly, but that was the one that everyone liked best, so it ended up on the album.

“And there were a number of accidental things that we ended up using, too: for example, on ‘Don’t Fight It, Feel It’, the drums almost seem like they come in late at first — that was just a bad edit originally, but we realised it worked, so we kept it the way it was. Another one was when the Atari crashed halfway through doing ‘Come Together’ and we lost a bunch of work, so I had to quickly play everything back in again. I’m not really a keyboard player — I have to almost guess the notes when I play — and, as a result, even though I reproduced most of the track fine, the bass lines of the two halves of the song ended up being slightly different. It didn’t matter, because it still makes you want to jump up and down and yet adds a little variety.”

Nicolson’s ability to reinvent himself was particularly useful following an extended absence from record production. “After Screamadelica, I went on tour with Primal Scream, dealing with their MIDI rig on stage. After that I decided I wanted a break from the industry, and I ended up leaving the music business for about five years. When I got back into the industry, I was able to find work engineering with Youth (see box), doing Embrace, Shack and some of the Seahorses stuff, and have since gained a reputation as a recording and mixing engineer, rather than as a remixer.”

The whole article is available to read here on the Sound On Sound website. Thanks to Tim H.

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Just Because 017: Herbie Hancock

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Party: A Night With Andrew Weatherall

All a bit Weatherall-centric round here recently but anyway, I think this one is getting near to selling out so if you are interested click through to the Ransome Note and get involved…

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