With this series we hope to increase appreciation for dancehall riddims and instrumentals as we feel that in dancehall the productions and producers don’t often get the props they deserve.
Once again we reach out to Manchester and Bacchanal Ronin provides us with a mix that darts around dancehall, soca and SA house. Sit back listen and bust a skank.
Spanning the full Oh Bacchanal! spectrum; bashment, R&B, hip hop, soca, afropop, afro house and tarraxinha; the point of the mix is how much fun it is to weld all these styles together. Overall, the mix feels tactile with an emphasis on melody. I favoured riddims with novel sounds and samples that make them seem complete and charaterful without a voice… although, feel free to add your own vocals if the urge takes you.
You won’t find the same old Fact Mag/Resident Advisor mixes in this list. To be honest it’s not really a list just a bunch of recommendations of some Mixes and Mixtapes that Hootie Who has been listening to over the past year.
Gucci Mane x Trap Back
When you think of hip hop in 2012 you may think of breakout star Mike Will Made It, the producer got so big that he produced the latest Rihanna single. Bearing in mind her Lp’s are constructed in some weird boot camp laboratory with the best of the best this has to be an honour. Anyway back to the tape Gucci Mane has never really struck on with me but i did run this tape back many man times. This didnt get as much love as it should have but collabs with Future, 2 Chainz (just before he became a tad oversaturated)and his protege Flocka. The highlight is Get It Back a collab with 2 Chainz and an amazing flip of the Tetris theme by Mike Will. (Shoutout CWD for putting me on to this, go cop his new tee as well)
Famous Eno x Mixpak FM
This to me was the most genius mix of the year, he had been talking about it for a while and he executed it perfectly. The mix is basically you listening to the radio that switches station and genres with really entertaining sound clips throughout. The genres span Disoc, Dancehall, House and many more. It isn’t skitzo it’s all measured and fit in perfectly with the single All Good FM (one of our fave videos of the year).
Jeremih x Late Nights
A lot of end of year lists will have Miguel in them, deservedly so. He kicked the year off with a series of free EP’s that helped build buzz into the latest LP (hold tight the shortened version of Adorn). Another person who i expect to make a big jump in 2013 is Jeremih, no longer template r and b singer for any Hip Hop artist looking to appeal to their female fan base. Jeremih’s mixtape showed that not only did he have a great ear for beats, repped Chicago a lot (this off cut of the mixtape is one of the songs of the year) and showed more diversity in subject matter. 773 produced by Mike Will Made It is 1b R and B song of the year. I have listened to this so much that i know all the ablibs (DJ Drama was on top of his game here), the skits and even the one part where a song is pulled back (for a Gucci Mane verse)
Glover Junior x Long Clothing Mix
We kicked of the year with a ballroom/Jersey club boom in this country sparked by the Zebra Katz song . Since then we have gone on to see more Jersey club producer get their deserved shine. That’s not to say that Glover Junior is Jersey but his style of mixing reminds me of that. This New Yorker is great and this mix was something that really got me throwing impromptu dance parties on buses. Don’t forget to check out his own stuff as well.
Trackstar The DJ x Out Of The Darkness
When on holiday you often take music with you that you normally don’t have a chance to fully digest. The thinking being that you can when you are away. This rarely works, in May i took a mixtape with me to New York that i had on repeat. Out of the Darkness is a mix comprised completely of Organized Noize songs. Usually when you hear that you are thinking great just the hits and it will send you back to a specific time that producer was really hot. This spans almost 17 years of the crews songs from TLC to Ludcaris to Society of Soul. It has it all, the fact that it is narrated by one of the best voices of all time Big Rube is a massive bonus.
This Saturday’s session is all about our residents so we decided to do a top 5 honouring the talented djs and producers in our camp. Catch residents Murlo, The Large, Why Delila, Illanja and HDD DJs Kazabon and Hootie Who playing the best in hip hop, dancehall and tropical this Saturday at Meter.
DJ Kent ft Malehloka – Fallin (Murlo Remix)
The latest offering from Murlo is this remix of South African house tune fallin, which features his unique signature sound. Murlo has come a long way from his 2010 mix for Palm Out Sounds and is definitely a producer to watch out for.
One of the joys of having a residents special is that we get to enjoy Illanja’s reggae set. Illanja’s record collection is not one to be sniffed at, and it is always a pleasure to hear what delights he has in store for us.
Tek Bax (The Large Refix)
The Large is one talented individual managing multiple projects from her excellent Shimmy Shimmy website, to her No Ice Cream Sound zine, designing a t-shirt line, hosting a radio show as part of Style & Swagger as well as djing and making refixes like Tek Bax (above).
Why Delila who also hosts the Style & Swagger show on NTS (alongside The Large & Kazabon) runs nights under the Physically Fit name and djs at various events around London in addition to being one of our residents.
Kazabon & Hootie Who – Gothic Aaliyah
Kazabon and Hootie Who are founders of the HDD club night and also dj and make refixes under the Hipsters Don’t Dance name, in addition to writing the blog and designing HDD tees.
The guys are back for their second instalment of their summertime mix series. I really don’t think i have to add anymore but i will, the way the guys manage to incorporate the samples without getting cheesy is great but the selection is even better.
PS We ( Kazabon and I) argue whether or not Summertime is played out. She says that it is, the fault she feels lays with music tv channels and lazy dj’s. I didn’t grow up with sky so i don’t share that view and (whisper it quietly) i love the remix even more. This non music tv channel childhood vs music channel growing up is intriguing and something we will be exploring in another post.
This month sees HDD welcome three new resident DJs to the team. For the past 6 months Booty Beast, Kazabon and Hootie Who have been holding it down playing the best in hip hop, dancehall and tropical and turning The Camp into a sweatbox. We decided to add 3 DJ’s who have played for us before and absolutely destroyed their sets.
The Large
First up is The Large. At the forefront of the dancehall scene in London, The Large runs the excellent Shimmy Shimmy website which is a must bookmark for anyone interested in dancehall and soca culture. Her excellent fanzine No Ice Cream Sound can be bought all over the world (New York, Japan and even Rough Trade stock it) and her Shabba inspired tee shirts have sold out (the new collection should be out soon.). On top of all that she is an excellent DJ who plays the freshest sounds coming out of the islands. You can also hear her on Reel Rebels Radio as part of Style and Swagger Crew.
Next up is Illanja founder of one of Dublin’s biggest nights A$$quake, and a DJ who has played at some of Ireland’s biggest festivals. The night was a mixture of bmore, ghettotech, fidget, funky and all manner of songs that make you want to dance. He has now migrated to England and immediately secured a residency in Canterbury. Professor Illanja (he really is one) can play anything from rocksteady to funky to broken beat, as a veteran dj he knows how to work the crowd.
We also welcome another member to our resident DJ team in Physically Fit’s Why Delila. As well as running Physically Fit she has also interviewed Mr Lexx for the Heatwave blog and No Ice Cream Sound as well as running her own blog. She plays a great mix of bashment tunes which will make you bend your knees and start to Whine or Willie Bounce or Beyonce Whine or whatever else takes your fancy.
