Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Various - Christmas never felt so good! (2007)


01 - intro - heidi - introduction
02 - milly & silly - getting down for xmas
03 - alton ellis - christmas coming
04 - the soulful strings - santa claus is coming to town
05 - peggy lee - happy holiday
06 - otis redding - merry christmas baby
07 - sufjan stevens - that was the worst christmas ever
08 - jayram acharya - white christmas
09 - johnny clarke - i saw mommy kissing santa claus
10 - freddie mcgregor - irie christmas
11 - silvertones - christmas feelings (studio one 7inch)
12 - stevie wonder - what christmas means to me
13 - the soul saints orchestra - santa's got bag of soul
14 - ella fitzgerald - santa claus is coming to town
15 - henri rené & his orchestra feat. eartha kitt - santa baby
16 - cocoa tea - christmas is coming
17 - nigger kojak - christmas style
18 - king kooba - o christmas tree
19 - sufjan stevens - hey guys its christmas time
20 - john lennon - happy xmas (war is over)
21 - james brown - please come home for christmas
22 - jacob miller - wish you a merry christmas
23 - myster k and the fabulous - django bells
24 - miles davis - blue xmas (to whom it may concern)
25 - the soulful strings - dance of the sugarplum fairy
26 - vince guaraldi trio - christmas time is here (vocal)

Here is a Christmas compilation I made in 2007. A little more "Christmas" sounding or "traditional" than my 2011 compilation This ain't no white Christmas - but still very funky & groovy. Download link in comments. Enjoy!

DubMe

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Various - This ain't no white Christmas (2011)


01 - william bell - everyday will be like a holiday
02 - the diplomats of solid sound - let it snow
03 - clarence carter - back door santa
04 - lefties soul connection - back door santa
05 - lefties soul connection - back door santa (instrumental)
06 - detroit junior - christmas day
07 - swing republic - boogie woogie santa (ft patti page)
08 - mr president - its christmas time
09 - little john - give a little for christmas
10 - the iron phoenix - natty dread christmas (the thing 7inch)
11 - gary walker - santa's got a brand new bag
12 - james brown - merry christmas baby
13 - amos milburn ft. charles brown - christmas comes but once a year
14 - mighty sparrow - post card to sparrow
15 - bunny & skully - white christmas
16 - sugar minott - christmas time
17 - king kong - nice christmas (firehouse)
18 - scooby doo - christmas time (edit)
19 - binky griptite & sharon jones - aint no chimneys extended
20 - charles bradley - every day is a christmas (when i'm)
21 - owen gray - collins greetings
22 - silvertones - bling bling christmas
23 - james brown - merry christmas, i love you
24 - mighty botai - njoeng jari (surinam)
25 - kwadwo donkoh - soul of xmas
26 - outro - pizzicato five - merry christmas

This is my third Christmas compilation after 2007 and 2008. I actually thought that I would be running out of good Christmas Grooves - the ones we like so much: sweet & funky! But surprisingly I dug out another bunch of Christmas Scorchers. I am quite satisfied with this years compilation - lots of good songs, very uptempo, a little bit of everything. This year Santa (Satan?!) is definitely wearing his dancing boots! Actually two of my all-time favourite Reggae Christmas songs are on this compilation: „The Iron Phoenix - Natty Dread Christmas“ and „Scooby Doo - Christmas Time“. What a surprise when I heard these two songs for the first time – both of them „rare as a hen's tooth“ - and you don't find them on the usual Trojan Christmas Compilations. But what killer tunes! Luckily „The Iron Phoenix - Natty Dread Christmas“ recently got repressed as a nice quality 7inch on the UK Observer label. Couldn't find much info on the Scooby Doo song on the Internet – but would love to buy the original 12inch or 45 (I have it as an extended 6 minute something long mix. I am gonna share some of my older „Beatz & Carrots“ compilations here on the blog soon – you can find the extended version on one of the compilations). Another nice song – again a Reggae tune - is „Christmas Time“ - a dubby good Christmas greeting from the recently departed but NEVER forgotten Lincoln Barrington ‘Sugar’ Minott with an off-key children choir. Ride on Sugar and rest in peace in the knowledge that your sounds, lyrics & message will continue to spread around the world. A song I would have loved to include on this years compilation is Macka B's Christmas Cancelled. Love the lyrics – but find it musically rather boring. I don't know much about the music from Surinam – but the Christmas song „Njoeng Jari“ from Mighty Botai is just beautiful! Lovely Caribbean sunshine & easiness... Many thanks to my friend Ratje Toe for sharing this song with me! And last but not least: Jewel Lombardo - Christmas Melody. I want this Christmas song as a quality rip for Christmas. Of course the original 7inch would also do it. „Seems“ to be some killer and ultra rare Popcorn. Really like it... Could listen to that lo-fi youtube rip for hours. „Every Day is a Christmas“ - Daptone's latest holiday 45 is one of those songs that grows on me every time I listen to it. Pure Soul! Charles Bradley, backed by the ever-soulful Menahan Street Band invites you to have a good time: “We having a party. It’s Christmas Eve and everyone’s invited. Come on in and have a good time.” I couldn't have said it better! So I will leave you here - wishing a merry Christmas to all my readers, have a good time with family & friends – and don't forget to hit the download button...

DubMe

(This compilation fits perfectly on one CD - just click "NO PAUSE BETWEEN TRACKS" when you are going to burn it - and the CD will be exactly 79:56 long... I will try to upload my Christmas compilations from 2007 and 2008 during the next few days – so stay tuned!)

Giving proper credits... The cover/picture I shared with this compilation is from Mr. Dolemite Rudy Ray Moore. It's from his 1971 Christmas album "This ain't no white Christmas!" (which also helped me to find a not too merry sounding title for this years Christmas compilation). One great, very typical Rudy Ray Moore line from this album is: "You know, if the pilgrims, when they landed on Plymouth Rock, would have shot a wildcat instead of a turkey, baby, we would be eatin' pussy on Thanksgiving." Has nothing to do with Christmas - but that's Rudy Ray Moore! Any excuse to make a sexual remark is good enough...

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

~ a month in tunes 23.0 (2011 shai'li) ~


Its December 2011 – and here is another ~ a month in tunes 23.0 (2011 shai'li) ~ selection by fellow blogger and music lover shai'li. At the beginning of every new month he shares some of his latest musical discoveries with us - exiting music from all four corners of the earth. Some of these sweet grooves you can also find on his blog Duendiness. Beside having an ear for good music – he also seems to have a good eye and open mind to take some beautiful pictures – have a look at the photography he shares on his blog. I just „stole“ one of his pictures for this post. 
 
There are 41 songs in this months selection. This time I included a tracklist – so you can have a rough idea about the manifold selection of music - as well as a little anticipation for some of the songs included in this download. A few songs I really like: Bill Withers - Lovely Day (Copycat's Slight Re-Edit) – beautiful song! Sweet & Soulful. Here given a little edit treatment – basically making it more dj friendly – by the man DJ Copycat. He shares some amazing edits & remixes on his soundcloud page. But you gotta be quick to grab one of them. Usually the 100 free downloads are gonne within a day! 'Kids' is another song which was a nice surprise. A laid-back bluegrass/string band version of MGMT's 'Kids' by Dr Fox's Old Timey String Band from Ireland. This is what shai'li himself says about the song „don't laugh...i love this (bless me I'm just getting old,give me a break!)“ - well – maybe I am also getting old - but maybe so far we have been able to stay open-minded, freeing ourselves from musical genres and definitions. HIT ME WITH MUSIC! Poncho Warwick's „Tainted Jazz“ is another song I dig. I haven't done any googling on this song yet – but everything with „Tainted“ in the song title must be good – or? „Screamin' Jay Hawkins – I Put A Spell on You (Jeremy Sole's Zombie Stomp Remix)“ is a song I have been listening to for a while. But I think this remix deserves to be mentioned more then just one time. Jeremy Sole, along Quantic or Mister Scruff is one of my favourite DJ's out there – and also some of his remixes are amazing and beautiful. Muddy Waters - Worried Mind (Jeremy Sole Remix) is one of my favourite remixes by him – but unfortunately this song isn't available anywhere. Another great song is his remix of Tom Waits - Step Right Up. I like what Jeremy Sole said about remixing songs in a discussion on his soundcloud page:Just like an original song is, a remix is a work of art. Art is always best understood in context, BUT can be just as fun (and fulfilling) when taken out of context too. (...) I personally love the challenge of not only re-working songs that I can easily improve on, but taking songs that I already think are perfect, and carefully enhancing certain elements for maximum effect on modern day sound systems. When the sub speakers are independent from the tweeters. Adding low tones and cleaner highs can literally re-introduce a song to a whole new generation. THAT is something too important to me to remain a purist about the original sound quality.“ - Nicely said! More on shai'li's latest selection - its nice to see shai'li sharing some strong Reggae sounds with the classic song „Bredda Gravalicious“ by the Wailing Souls. I actually have been trying to compile some of my Wailing Souls favourites for a while – hopefully I will share it here soon. This blog needs more good Reggae. Talking about Reggae – Daydrum „Window Seat“ was a real surprise to me! Nice little blend ina Reggae Style – Erykah Badu riding the mighty Real Rock riddim – and its the original riddim as it got laid down in Jamaica's Studio One by the Sound Dimension - one of the most popular, most versioned, and most familiar reggae riddims ever! Staying in a Reggae Style - „Panta Move (instrumental)“ is another nice track. Its from the remix album „Dub Kweli“, produced by Max Tannone, featuring the lyrics of Talib Kweli and the music of dub reggae. You can download the whole album for free here. „Panta Move“ uses the riddim from Lee "Scratch" Perry's "Black Panta" (which can be found on „Upsetters 14 Dub Blackboard Jungle“). Another Reggae and Lee "Scratch" Perry track included in this months selection is „Lee Scratch Perry & Amp Ari Up Meet Subatomic Sound - Hello, Hell is Very Low (7mix)“ - let me quote what Supatomic Sound say about this song on their soundcloud page: „The “Hello, Hell Is Very Low” vinyl 45 features a dub and vocal take of a rootical dubstep reflip of the rare and classic “Underground Roots” riddim, known to have been used by Studio One’s Sir Coxsone Dodd’s sound system to lay waste in Jamaican sound clashes (typically played back to back with the only known vocal version, a closely guarded special rumored to have been done for Coxsone by Junior Byles). On this 45, Subatomic Sound System dubs the riddim up proper with maximum respect to the tradition of the masters, Lee Perry & King Tubby, while also turning out the low end, delivering drums and bass big and bad enough knock out even a modern day dubstep club crowd.“ This song was also the first collaboration between Lee “Scratch” Perry and Ari Up, front woman of English punk band the Slits. Sadly Up died „after serious illness“ October this year. May she R.I.P. - I liked some of her Slits songs which were produced and mixed by Dennis Bovell. One favourite of mine is their take on I heard it through the Grapevine – which has some thundering bass and percussive spaciousness. Three more nice songs worth mentioning: „Gimmy Flamante - Time (Duendiness Friendly Refix Edit) - - - a nice laid back dubby hippy hop sounding tune that has a bit of a far-eastern feeling. „JJ – Still“ – I know that riddim from somewhere – who can give me a hint? And last, but not least the nice scorching soul burner „Nick Waterhouse - I can only give you Everything“. Download link is in the comments selection – check the tracklist below - and enjoy the music:

azealia banks - 212
bill withers - lovely day (copycat's slight re-edit)
daft punk - something about us (cherokee remix)
daydrum - window seat (real rock)
dj yogstar - 2000 got to be black (ft. fela kuti & roy ayres)
dj yogstar - california soul (ft. marlena shaw)
dorothy back - miracle man
dub kweli - panta move (instrumental)
frootful - slowtime (loa remix)
generationals - when they fight, they fight
ghostfunk - make it n.y.
inell young - what do you see in her
jimmy flamante - time (edit)
jj - still
kids by mgmt bluegrass cover by dr fox's old timey string band
kuhn - quiet nights (original mix)
kuhn - slime beach
lee scratch perry & amp ari up meet subatomic sound - hello, hell is very low (7mix)
locksmith - devil's lasso (prod. by ski beatz)
logic - all i do (instrumental)
logic - all i do
nick waterhouse - i can only give you everything
peter, bjorn and john - dig a little deeper
poncho warwick - tainted jazz (original mix)
preacherz - bad characterz (home session, oct. 2011)
rebecca fergusson - nothing's real but love (acoustic version)
rye rye ft m.i.a. - sunshine
sbtrkt - wildfire (remix ft. drake & little dragon)
sibylle baier - tonight
solomon burke - im going back to my roots
solomon burke - i'm going back to my roots
screamin' jay hawkins - i put a spell on you (jeremy sole's zombie stomp remix)
suff daddy - kicks
suff daddy - on & on & on
suff daddy - splim
suff daddy - the big hit
the belle brigade - losers
the physics - the recipe (ft. craig g)
theophilus london - girls girls
twin sister - all around and away we go
wailing souls - bredda gravalicious

Peace; DubMe

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Beatz & Carrots #2 (November 2011)

 
01 - intro - musicians auditioning outside jack ruby's studio
02 - rodney p - live up ft. the people's army & mighty moe
03 - timothy wisdom - check the living dub
04 - guts - brand new revolution
05 - captain planet - fumando
06 - fort knox five - it's your voodoo working (dc's finest remint)
07 - mop mop - ash (curv re-edit)
08 - the emotions - as long as i've got you (demo)
09 - gramatik - break loose
10 - randa and the soul kingdom - the things (album version)
11 - shocking blue - beggin
12 - maxey & fred spider - batuque
13 - kormac - rainstorm
14 - guts - come closer
15 - tape five - tequila (gardener of delight extended mix)
16 - rick ross - hustlin (prince of ballard remix)
17 - mop mop - mr. know it all (solo moderna mr mention mix)
18 - the royal jazz trio - grand battement walks

It's the beginning of a new month – that means it is time for another „beatz & carrots“ selection of my monthly favourites & songs on heavy rotation. I hope you all enjoyed last months selection – because I did :) This month was a good month. A lot of great tunes kept coming my way – I could easily compile another „beatz & carrots“ selection – all killers – no fillers! Maybe you can convince me to share a „beatz & carrots“ Christmas Special?! Anyway - here is the new selection – full of good grooves, funky breaks, dubby dancehall, global uptempo sounds. Some tracks worth mentioning... A pleasant surprise was finding the Shocking Blue version of „Beggin'“. Never heard that one before – but what a monster track that is! Rick Ross - „Hustlin' (Prince of Ballard Remix)“ is another nice track with a bouncing Latin feeling. Check out Prince of Ballard and his nice blog Armed Snobbery. Prince of Ballard did a brilliant mix for Le Mellotron a while ago – well worth checking! Another great song which I finally found a decent rip of is The Emotions 1972 song „As long as I've got You (Demo)“ which strangely never saw a release by Stax Records – and only got released in 2004 on the album „Songs of Innocence & Experience“ in the UK. Many of you might recognize that opening piano melody - which also was also used for Wu-Tang Clan's big 1993 hit "C.R.E.A.M.". Actually the original of both these two songs is the Charmels „As long as I've got you“ - which was released in 1967. I personally prefer the Emotions version of this song over the original by the Charmels: „The Emotions seems to perfectly grasp what made The Charmels' recording so special, and its members amp up those qualities: the heft of the rhythm section, the delicacy of the vocals. They turn what was originally a vaguely melancholy torch song into a more powerful, driving affirmation of love and passion“ (Oliver Wang). I am ending this months „beatz & carrots“ selection with „Grand Battement Walks“ by The Royal Jazz Trio – a kickin' Jazz song I can't find any info on. I found it on Masterpiece Created by Gilles Peterson. Well - this song indeed is a true masterpiece! Ok - checkout the tracklist, hit the download button, play it loud, enjoy, dance, make some crazy moves...

Peace; DubMe

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Various - Where the Palm Trees Shake at Night (2011)

 
01 - intro - andre tanker - our music
02 - wganda kenya - el evangelio (calypso)
03 - les vikings de la guadeloupe - do do l' enfant do
04 - tabou combo - alle lave
05 - barel coppet - vini vini missie
06 - daniel forestal - les coupeurs de canne
07 - duke - freedom in africa
08 - st. maarten's the rolling tones - it's a feeling
09 - ti celeste - misye dowle a yo la
10 - les vikings guadeloupe - ti tong ti tong
11 - la perfecta - toutt moune boule
12 - les rapaces - mpuli man muni
13 - henri salvador - j'aime tes genoux
14 - les difficiles de petion-ville - tue lamp
15 - dolor et ses etoiles - bourrique la
16 - super combo - cozando y bailando (merengue)
17 - les aiglons - ce rat la
18 - wganda kenya – yoro

This compilation, which I made some time ago, is mainly about the sounds from the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique and Haiti. The release of „Tumbélé! Biguine, afro & latin sounds from the French Caribbean, 1963-74“ in 2009 on Soundway Records opened up a totally new musical world to me. Before that I basically didn't know about the beautiful and manifold sounds of the French Caribbean. So after listening many times to the mighty „Tumbele“ album - compiled by no one else then Hugo Mendez, I wanted more of these oh so sweet sounds. So I started listening to any album from the Caribbean, from Martinique, Haiti, Guadeloupe I could find. I must have listened to a hundred something albums. Most of the albums and compilations I listened to didn't come anywhere close to the music shared on the „Tumbele“ compilation. But I found a few songs which have the right mixture of sweet grooves, deep funkiness, tropical sunshine and rhythms to make my grandma dance. Listen yourself!

Peace; DubMe

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Various - Calypso Party! (2011)


01 - cyril diaz & his orchestra - voodoo
02 - cyril diaz & his orchestra - taboo
03 - the gaylads - africa
04 - ella fitzgerald - stone cold dead in the market
05 - ella fitzgerald & louis jordan - stone cold dead in the market (ticklah remix)
06 - blind blake - de pig an' goat
07 - derrick harriott - monkey ska
08 - andrews sisters with vic schoen & his orchestra - rum and coca cola (1945)
09 - caresser - edward the 8th
10 - roaring lion - carnival long ago
11 - cyril diaz & his orchestra - chive soup merengue
12 - the talbot brothers - atomic nightmare
13 - the duke of iron - loving woman is a waste of time
14 - lord jellicoe - big bamboo
15 - louis jordan - run joe
16 - g-swing - run joe
17 - me and you - last night (last heads)
18 - lord cobra & pana afro sounds - rocombey
19 - orchestral overture - me ting is mine
20 - derrick harriott - john tom
21 - colin kelly - the snorkel song
22 - wilmoth houdini - uncle jo' gimme mo'!
23 - don cunningham - angelina
24 - rupert clemendore and band - mambo chop suey
25 - trinidad steel band - l'homme a la grosse tete

Back with a fresh compilation out of my musical treasure box: „Calypso Party!“. Since I started buying records when I was 12 years old I have always listened to Calypso a bit – but never really went crazy about it. Always found most songs to be too much on the vocal side – while usually when I listen to music I rather go for a good groove, riddim, beat, melody... I have had a folder of some 200-300 random Calypso songs which I have been collecting over the years hiding on my laptop – so this week I finally sat down and gave them all a good listen – and here are 25 favourites – some well-known ones – and maybe some lesser known ones as well. And beware – there are a few scorchers in there which could set your local tropical dance on fire! Starting this compilation with „Voodoo“ by the one and only Cyril Diaz hailing from Trinidad. Terrific 50ies upbeat Calypso song with some killer saxophone, horns and drums – and some wailing exotic vocals. To be found on a another niceee reissue by the mighty Soundway label. The second song again is from Cyril Diaz. His very own reworking of the traditional Cuban standard "Taboo" - the prototype for the third song: „Africa“ by the Gaylads. Studio One Classic from Jamaica. Now I am skipping a few songs on the tracklist. Not that they are not good – but I am in the mood for some more uptempo Calypso sounds to keep me on my dancing feet – and here the right medicine is:Roaring Lion - Carnival Long Ago" – which you are lucky to find, without having to pay crazy bankster dollars on eBay, on the not so new anymore „Sofrito: Tropical Discotheque“ compilation – which was selected by our ever favourite Sofrito Crew and released on Strut Records last year. Like I said above – when it comes to Calypso – be prepared for some hilarious lyrics – either some social commentary or much more often just some silly and playful lyrics revolving around saucy or bawdy topics – which would put Mister Yellowman to shame. So the classic and endlessly covered song „Big Bamboo“ - this time in a version by Lord Jellicoe. Listen to it yourself – I don't want to spoil your surprise! Another Calypso song from the „lyrical side“ is the relentless „Atomic Nightmare“ by the Talbot Brothers which was inspired by the prospect of atomic war in the 1950ies. Now lets leave the lyrics aside and go back to some deep dancefloor madness: „Me Ting Is Mine“ by the Orchestral Overture, a hypnotical Calypso scorcher with some serious horns! I first heard this song on the Calypso vs Cumbias Mix by Frankie Francis. Took me quite awhile to track this beautiful gem down with my limited digital diggin' abilities in China. Towards the end of this compilation I am trying to slow things down a little bit – its time for some good Caribbean Rum at the bar. Perfect to play the song "Mambo Chop Suey" from Rupert Clemendore's album "Le Jazz Trinidad". An album that the liner notes refer to as "sophisticated jazz with a pixie beat". The music is somewhere between the sounds of Moondog and Sun Ra – music that is often very rhythmic at its core, but with an earthy sort of orientation that's quite unique. The song "Mambo Chop Suey" has a far eastern theme – let me just quote the liner notes from the original album cover: "What Rupert does with his voice in "Mambo Chop Suey" (...) must remain completely unclassified. Over a steel spring mambo rhythm he cavorts through some unlikely story dealing with an Oriental girl arguing with her Chinese father about marrying a Creole gentleman of doubtful antecedents. Rupert takes all the parts." After this song I am finally finishing "Calypso Party!" with the very very beautiful song "L'homme a la grosse tete" by the Trinidad Steel Band from their 1975 album "Magia Caribe". A steel band song that surprisingly has no steel drums in it – but some meditative drumming and a guitar gently playing along. This again is a song I heard on another tropical Sofrito mix: New Miles Cleret tropical DJ mix. Thanks to Indi-k (SoWhat Sessions) for making me happy and sharing this beautiful gem with me! Enjoy this compilation – and leave a little comment – it means the world to me ;-)

Peace; DubMe

Monday, November 14, 2011

Various - The Best Dub Album In The World" (a-side Mixtapes - 1998)


01 - prince fari - give love
02 - prince hammer - king selassie in dub
03 - joe gibbs & the professionals - international treaty
04 - bobby kalphat & phil pratt all stars - the war is on
05 - the overnight players - shaka the great
06 - peter chemist - red stripe dub
07 - augustus "gussie" clarke - loving pauper
08 - dub specialist - message from a dub
09 - harry mudie meets king tubby's - roman dub
10 - scientist - third generation scientist
11 - prince jammy - throne of blood
12 - scientist - invaders

...Here I share a real goodie! A long-lost Mixtape which I compiled and recorded from my record collection some 13 years ago. I never made a b-side for this Mixtape - the a-side is so tight, musically and tunewise - so after some unsuccessful attempts of creating a b-side, I just left it like this. Just before I made this mixtape I for the first time saw the album „Introducing Scientist - The best Dub Album In The World (JB Music – 1980) at a friends place. I was a huge Scientist fan back then – and the cover just blew me away – seeing some pictures of Scientist outside the Studio with other musicians. That album is still on my wishlist – Scientist's debut album. And that is also where I got the inspiration for the very modest title of this mixtape.


Whenever I listen to this mixtape again, it gives me deep pleasure and a good meditation - Jamaican Dub at its best - spiritually, riddimwise, mixing, melodies and and and... just like the title of the album says: "The Best Dub Album In The World". After I had lost the tape for many years, I recently sat down, tried to remember all the tunes and get the tracklisting right. And it was easy. Once I got the first song - all the other songs just naturally followed. So here it is - the "The Best Dub Album In The World" ina mp3 style. Enjoy it!

DubMe

Thursday, November 10, 2011

~ a month in tunes 22.0 (2011 shai'li) ~



This time fellow music enthusiast and digger shai'li - check out his nice blog Duendiness - shares some recent finds,  digged out treasures and other sweet songs with us:  "A Month In Tunes 22.0 (2011 shai'li)" pt. 1 and pt. 2. I have had the pleasure to enjoy his monthly selections of favourites for the last few years - always looking forward to the beginning of the new month - and another bag of quality music: new and old, rare and not so rare... some good Reggae/Dub... A sweet likkle over-looked soul gem - side by side with some modern day quality hiphop grooves & funkiness - as well as some leftfield disco or soulful edits - and so much more. As always - versatility is the name of the game! This months compilation is full of good songs - October 2011 was a good month. Among the songs that really captured me from the first moment of listening are these goodies: "Us Warren & The Genghis Pea - Hard Headed Woman" - - -  killer drum and bass heavy funk track!!! Don't know from when this track is - I would guess probably from the very late 60ies?! This track has a monster beat courtesy of the drummer hitting the hell out of the snare - very "drum & bassy"! Would go down well with some minimalistic/ambient drum & bass tracks by Roni Size. And the lyrics by Us Warren are also not to be missed - especially when his woman wants to teach him how to drive a car when she doesn't have a license or even knows how to ride a bike:

"You wanna give me driving lessons
Teach me how to drive my car
You ain't never had a driving licence
Can't even ride a bike"

Another highlight are the two edits "Speaking of Happiness + And I love you" by Suonho which are just about to hit your local record stores - here is what the man Suonho has to say about these two tracks: "Two wonderful voices singing about love and happiness... that's what life's all about. isn't? With the meaning of making these rare soul cuts available for those soulful clubbier occasions, i've built a whole new rhythm section, processed with echo-chambers and made a new structure, basically... result is something warm for the cold season, enjoyable in and out the floor. It goes straight to my deepest arsenal." If I Had The Drugs I'd Take Em by Turner Cody is another track that I fell in love with from the moment the first warm grooves came out of my speakers. Then shai'li surprised me with the quality Dub song "Lamb's Bread Herb" by Tommy Mccook & The Aggrovators from the 1977 album "Disco Rockers". Next song. If you have also enjoyed the Jazz song "1960 What?" by Gregory Porter - then the "Opolopo Kick & Bass Rerub" which gives this powerful song a kick and bass treatment for some clubbier Jazz Dancing - is definitely something for you. Download the zipped file and find out for yourself! And lets hope there will be another great "month in tunes" selection from shai'li next month...

DubMe

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Various - Palmwine Grooves & Disco (2011)



CD 1

01 - benis cletin - jungle music (sofrito edit)
02 - quim manuel o esperito santo - eme lelu
03 - buari - advice from father
04 - kaleta & akoya afrobeat - the spirit of fela is alive & well! (guynamukat remix)
05 - manu dibango - wakafrica (danimalswainger edit)
06 - risco connection - ain't no stopping us now (version)
07 - guynamukat - music, music, only music (afro boogie edit)
08 - unknown - ay cosita linda
09 - orlando julius - disco-hi-life
10 - prince nico mbarga & rocafil jazz - cool money
11 - d. o. misiani and shirati luo voice jazz - amuka salama
12 - mandingo - dewgal (panama cardoon cut n paste edit)
13 - eddie hooper - pass it on

CD 2

01 - teaspoon & the waves - oh yeh soweto
02 - la tromba - calaba calabao
03 - shina williams & his african percussionists - agboju logun
04 - victor uwaifo - ohue (frankie francis & simbad edit)
05 - black soul - mangous ye
06 - richard ace - supernatural thing
07 - mixed grill - a brand new wayo
08 - steel an skin - reggae is here once again
09 - k. frimpong & his cubanos fiestas - kyenkyen bi adi mawu
10 - king errison - caribbean congo (pat les stache re-edit)
11 - teaspoon ndelu - sputla
12 - ray stephen oche - odeiyolaoo (pat les stache re-edit)
13 - eddie hooper - tomorrow's sun

Palmwine Grooves & Disco

This basically was going to be a compilation sharing various African disco-influenced songs and some more recent afro disco boogie edit niceness. Sweet deep music that has been sleeping on my hard-drive for ages. I was mostly going to build this compilation around songs like Guynamukat's „Music, Music, Only Music (Afro Boogie Edit)“ or some Afro Disco funkiness like Buari's „Advice From Father“ (which got sampled by Groove Armada for their song „Dr Eiff“ - but better try the 1979 version Shake by the Bombers, a kinda leftfield Disco song with some sweet strings – definitely funky stuff!) - but ended up adding songs in a similar vein from places like Guyana, Colombia or Jamaica to spice up this selection of music. Basically every song is a favourite on its own to me – some highlights are „Pass It On“ by Guyanese singer Eddie Hooper - which has been re-released as a 12inch by the mighty Soundway Records label: „Recorded in 1980, Hooper delivers some of the most life-affirming and spaced out disco soul you’re likely ever hear integrating Rhodes keys, orchestrations, the odd early keyboard synth and vocals that permeate the tracks and aptly spell out how to ‘set your spirit free’.“ Another big big big favourite is the funky 1976 afro-disco classic „Disco Hi-Life“ by Orlando Julius – can a song get any sweeter, groovier, smoother & uplifting than this? Just need to hear the first few seconds of this song and the „Blade Runner“ like grey Winter Sky in China's 10 Million people metropolis Chengdu suddenly seems to brighten up. This song has been re-released on Hot Casa Records some time ago – with a bit shorter 2009 edited version on the b-side. The nice thing about the edit is that Orlando Julius actually introduces the song himself adding a small message of "Enjoy yourself and be happy!". You can get the edit here. Another sweet song fitting right into this selection is „Risco Connection - Ain't No Stopping Us Now“ - which are some late night clubby soul grooves with a bit of Caribbean flavoring. I did some googling – and it seems they were actually a Jamaican band put together by Joe Isaacs (an original member of Jamaica's Studio One group „The Soul Vendors“) in the late 1970s - which specialized in remakes of the hits of the day, with nice and dubby rhythms at the bottom, and some sweet moogy touches on the top! Another Risco Connection favourite of mine is their remake of Billy Stewart's "Sitting in the Park." Other songs that deserve to be mentioned are „Mandingo - Dewgal (Panama Cardoon Cut n' Paste Edit)“ - another fresh edit by super-talented Panama Cardoon. D.O. Misiani and Shirati Luo Voice Jazz - Amuka Salama – a sweet uplifting Kenyan Benga song that needs a Sofrito edit. Just listen to that „break“ at 3:20 – boom! And last but not least the Danimalswainger edit of Manu Dibango's 'Wakafrica' - Ok! Now lets go and hit the download button. And don't forget to play it load!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Beatz & Carrots (October 2011)

                                                                                          (Original Cover Artwork taken from the great album "EL GRAN DUELO" by Akshin Alizadeh)

Here is my first compilation – "Beatz & Carrots“ from October 2011. Check the tracklist:

01 - raphael gualazzi - reality and fantasy (gilles peterson remix)
02 - rude hi-fi - cybercuba
03 - agape ft nadia harris - she really likes it
04 - quantic y su conjunto los mitcos del ritmo - nuthin' but a 'g' thing (dre en cumbia)
05 - turntables dubbers - get lively now (dreadsquad rmx)
06 - charlie winston - in your hands
07 - the breakbeat junkie vs djp - got what it takes (kurtis blow - the breaks)
08 - donny hathaway - the ghetto (suonho reloved)
09 - sam & dave - soul man (dj twister edit)
10 - maylee todd & circle research - hooked
11 - afrobuddha meets kakatsitsi drummers - obame (radio mix)
12 - petrona martinez - aroro (nate mars remix)
13 - quantic - cumbia clash
14 - faraon bantu soundsystem - macaco mata el toro (batata remix ft novalima)
15 - jmmy 'bo' horne - spank (reremaster)
16 - sun sect ft pam - shes hot
17 - red astaire - follow me
18 - slim gaillard - fuck off

There a quite a few upbeat/uptempo songs in this „beatz & carrots“ selection – probably because I have selected them from a more dj/dancefloor orientated angle this time. Most songs either seem to be disco/boogie/edit/soulful grooves/breakbeats or cumbia/latin/world sounds. Two fresh cumbia songs by „Mister“ Quantic my ever favourite dj/producer/musician: „Cumbia Clash“ by Quantic sounds like a dubby Cumbia Mash-Up like probably King Jammy would have mixed it ina de 80ies Digital Reggae Style – KILLER STUFF. Wait for the nasty bass to come in! „Cybercuba“ by Rude Hi-Fi is another beautiful Cumbia gem I only discovered on Soundcloud a week ago. Check out Rude Hi-Fi's Soundcloud page – the man is sharing/producing some serious music! Another Soundcloud find was „Agape ft Nadia Harris - She really likes it“ - let me quote the track description from Soundcloud: „Funk, soul, ska, drum and bass and Brazilian come together in this sultry hot little number to create a mood that is fun and up-tempo.“ Yes! And a voice that sounds like Sister Nancy's little sister! Nate Mars remix of „Petrona Martinez - Aroro“ was another big big monthly favourite. The bass and those powerful voice of Petrona Martinez is just killin' me! Mars places Martinez's vocals in the middle of spacey synths, tropical percussion sounds with a rolling bassline that comes and goes. Interesting information on the side - Petrona Martinez from Colombia didn't really start her music career until 2002 at the age of 63 (she made her money collecting sand for brick making prior to then), but continues to sing and perform now moving into her seventies. Well - I hope you enjoy some of these songs as much as I do... If you do, please leave a comment - its always rewarding to hear what fellow music lovers and addicts say - especially if you live in China - a blank spot on the world-map of music...

PS: Usually when I make these "compilations" of favourite songs - I try to put them in a certain order so there is a certain flow, mixing the songs without actually mixing them (so that you still have the unmixed song to make your own mixes/compilations ;-). This compilation fits perfectly on one CD – just click "NO PAUSE BETWEEN TRACKS" - and the CD will be exactly 79:40 long – so burn it & share some good vibes with friends & family...

Peace; Dubme

Monday, October 31, 2011

Dear friends, blog readers, listeners, leechers, music lovers, fellow addicts...

A simple introduction, a few words and thoughts on this first blog of mine. I have never written any blog before – but during the last few years I have been a follower of a lot of other blogs – mostly music blogs (see „favourite blogs“). Leeching lots of great groovy sexy exciting fresh old new music, hardly ever leaving a comment but always enjoy reading the comments of other visitors, finding links to albums I never have heard nor dreamed about, looking for artists, albums or other recommendations shared within the comments, deepening my musical knowledge by reading the information shared with the music, some information which has been painstakingly researched and accumulated by the writer of that blog – information which otherwise probably wouldn't be available at all – throwing some light on obscure, faraway, long forgotten music. At this point my thanks to all those crazy music lovers & enthusiasts out there!

So now I want to add my own little blog to the thousands of other music blogs out there. Why? Sharing my love & addiction for music, for everything out there that has a little groove, a bit of drum and bass, some riddim, some melody, some soul...?! I am also hoping to get some good comments once in a while, sharing some musical wizdom or even music – teaching me and maybe the other readers of this blog about more great forgotten dusted music or not so dusted music that is out there. And also because I think music ought to be shared. Listening to the same music together with other people is just a different experience. Often so much more powerful, wonderful, enjoyable...


Maybe I still ought to say how I will post, how often, what most post will be like and and and. Most of my blog posts will be about music. Usually I will share a compilation of some self-selected music and write down a bit of information on the music, share some personal thoughts, what I like about the music or certain songs or artists. I will mostly share private or personal compilations of music. There are already thousands of other blogs sharing various albums by different artists, label compilations and and and. And in this digital age there is actually too much music out there ever to be listened to. I am listening to music for hours everyday – but most surely I have only listened to 10% (probably less) of the music I have on my hard drives. And every very day I am basically being drowned in new music. So I enjoy it very much if other blogs, friends, people I know on soulseek share some more personal music, share some personal favourites or homemade compilations. That's were I find so much new interesting music I otherwise might not come across. On a monthly basis I will be trying to share a compilation of music which has been on heavy rotation on my hi-fi system during that last month, some brand new tunes, some music I have only just discovered, but also some songs I have kinda „re-discovered“, songs I haven't been listening to in years and which I suddenly find so fresh and exciting. It will be a colourful, eclectic mix of different styles I call „beatz & carrots“. Beside that I want to share some „themed“ compilations on a weekly basis... a compilation of favourite calypso songs, a compilations of deep jams & slow burners, a compilation of some instrumental favourites from Jamaica's famous Studio One and so many more... And hopefully one day some of the readers of this blog, friends, musicians, djs... might wanna share their own little homemade compilations on this blog. „Each one teach one“ - as the Jamaican saying goes (Reggae is my musical foundation). So now – lets go and share some nice music ;-)