PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: DJ EASTWOOD - U AIN'T READY

I reviewed DJ Eastwood's 'U Ain't Ready' EP for Hyponik this week. The 2003 8-bar classic has been brought up to speed by No Hats No Hoods and remixed by Spooky and Hemlock's Untold  - it makes for essential listening.

Read the full review over at Hyponik here: http://hyponik.com/2013/04/dj-eastwood-u-aint-ready-no-hats-no-hoods/

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: BENIN CITY - MY LOVE

Benin City are a band who have more than caught the eye over the last 12 months, releasing two singles with much-lauded imprint Audio Doughnuts and supporting Dan Le Sac on a 6-date tour. Fronted by Joshua Idehen, who has also collaborated with Hyperdub lynchpins LV on the 'Routes' LP for Keysound back in 2011, Benin City marry Skinner-esque story-telling with electro-charged instrumentals, the majority of which lean more towards the sombre, the melancholy and the straight up engrossing. 

After featuring their last single 'Baby' on Uncle Albert last year, their latest effort, 'My Love', taken from the band's forthcoming debut album 'Fires in the Park' continues the good work, fusing Idehen's lyrical dexterity (the vocals are performed almost entirely in prose) with down-tempo rhythms carried by synths, horns and a glorious little brass melody - the visuals are fittingly dreamy too.

Whilst admittedly not everybody's proverbial cuppa tea, My Love forms another welcome urban tale from a band who are getting better and better at expressing themselves. Musically superb. 

Out now and available to download for free here: http://www.wearebenincity.com/

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: CHAMPION - HYRDA ISLAND / PRINCE JAMMY

I reviewed Champion's forthcoming 2-track white label for in-house label Formula Records over at Hyponik. 'Hyrda Island' / 'Prince Jammy' is out on 12'' vinyl only from April 27th. 

Read the review in full at Hyponik here: http://hyponik.com/2013/04/champion-prince-jammyhydra-island-formula/

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: WALTER EGO - BABY BENZ

Fresh from releasing vinyl-only EP 'Wavey' on Coyote last month, Walter Ego's latest work comes in the form of a glorious 3-track for Toddla T's 'Girls Music' stable.  What's so refreshing about Walter is that you never really know what to expect; where he took grime firmly into party territory with 'Wavey' and 'Military Mind', he brings funky rhythm groove firmly up to 2013 speed with 'Baby Benz'.

The title-track is meticulously put together as you'd expect, complete with a brooding intro that echo's Joy Orbison classic 'Hyph Myngo', before upping the gears and opting for reassuringly potent blasts of bass, all underpinned by an irrepressible swing that'd get even the most stubborn of floors dancing. Second track 'Augment' deals more in the carnival spirit, working tribal drums and layered sampling in diligent, party-ready harmony whilst 'UK' is even livelier; big bass lines and an unrelenting pulse carry this into Champion / Lil Silva territory. 

Party music with finely-tuned swagger. Excellent stuff.

Grab an exclusive first listen over at Hyponik, ahead of it's release on April 22nd: 

http://hyponik.com/2013/04/first-listen-walter-ego-baby-benz-ep/

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: SLACKK - APRIL MIX

I wrote a few words on Slackk's April Mix as part of a new weekly mix round-up feature over at Clash Music - it's a corker. Check the first installment of Jack Swift's 'History of House & Garage' series too - part 1 clocks in at just over 5 hours, chronicling the best cuts from 1991-2000.

Read in full here: http://www.clashmusic.com/features/the-weekly-mix-round-up-april-12th

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: PINCH & ROSKA - 'SHOULDA ROLLA' / 'ASBESTOS'

In my latest piece for Hyponik, I wrote a few words on Pinch & Roska's new collaborative EP for Tectonic. 'Shoulda Rolla / Asbestos' is out now.

Read the review in full at Hyponik here: http://hyponik.com/2013/04/pinch-roska-shoulda-rollaasbestos-tectonic/

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: LIFE AT 140 #8

In my latest 'Life at 140' column for Clash Music, I took a look back across the world of grime in March. From leaked albums, iconic reunions and two new club nights, it was a busy one as always - check the top 5 tracks of the month too.

Read in full over at Clash here: http://www.clashmusic.com/features/life-at-140-8

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: DULLAH BEATZ - DULLAH REFIX

At a time of fevered activity in and around the 140bpm mark and with producers churning out weird and wonderful new grime cuts at a considerable rate of knots, it's sometimes easy to forget the brutal effectiveness of the ancestral styles that made grime such an extraordinary sound in the first place. Dullah Beatz is probably the perfect example of this, a producer with a bullish outlook and barbarous sound that echos hit-makers of the past without borrowing too heavily. 

His new EP, simply entitled 'Dullah Refix', chronicles his take on 3 grime classics and also includes a rework of JME's latest single, 'If You Don't Know' to rampant effect. Whether it be the near minute and a half demonic orchestral intro to 'If You Don't Know' or the sheer aggression of 'Dullahclapz', a remix of Thunderclaps' 'Put 'Em In Their Place', Dullah Beatz is as no holds barred as they come. The best of all though rests in his remix of Ruff Sqwad's seminal riddim 'Pied Piper', a track you'd expect to only suffer through a remix lens; a touch brazen but unashamedly tough, the results are lethal. Thoroughly good grime music from a producer who has to be earmarked as one of the genre's best new talents.