Monday 30 March 2015

De La Soul's New Album

 Now this is different. Very different.

De La Soul haven't had a studio album out in 11 years. They are in the process of putting their next one out and we, the fans, are being counted on to make this happen.

Are you aware of Kickstarter? It is a global crowdfunding platform and those "who back Kickstarter projects are offered tangible rewards and one of a kind experiences in exchange for their pledges".
In the case of the De La album these rewards can be anything from a $5 offering which gives you an email from the group extending their thanks right up to going into the studio, listening to the album and recording a skit to be included for a princely sum of $7500.

Not only that but this is where it gets even more interesting. Over the past three years the crew have been recording a host of talented musicians jamming in a studio and have amassed over 200+ hours of music. From this they intend to sample whatever they like and this will be the basis of their album.
It's genius. It means they are free to use whatever they like without being reprimanded - just like the days of 3 Feet High And Rising!


"Sampling is basically copying a piece of sound, from one recording, and reusing it to create a new recording. It is how De La has always made music. The sampler is our instrument, but people who copy, and in this case "sample," have also been considered thieves and unoriginal. So, unfortunately a huge part of our career has also been spent fighting off the “sample police.”
Enough of those battles! For the new album, we needed a completely new approach, something Hip-Hop hasn’t done before. So, here it is: For the first time, we're going to sample ourselves. 

Here’s the interesting part. We are now in the process of going back to that 200+ hours of music, listening, enjoying and discovering those special moments where, musically, something magical happens, where interesting sounds and layers were forgotten, where new sounds can be sampled, looped, chopped, filtered and arranged, freely, without the intrusive presence of publishing politics and the infamous “sample police.” What we've done is created our own crates of records; album upon albums to mine and sample from."





For full info and your chance to be part of the project visit this link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1519102394/de-la-souls-new-album

Friday 27 March 2015

ABU March 2015 Podcast - DOWNLOAD

Here's this month's ABU show.
I decided to try something different and uploaded it as a stream so you just have to press play and listen to it as is.




Also available as a download here:
http://www.solidfiles.com/d/9d2afa35b9/49_ABU_PodcastMarch_2015.mp3

I'm fricking spoiling ya!

Tracklist:

ABU #49 March 2015
The 'Check This Killer Podcast' Edition


01  Bernard Herrmann - I Work The Whole City (1976)
02  Main Source - Fakin The Funk (Remix) (1992)
03  Queen Latifah - Evil That Men Do (1989)
04  Hijack - Airwave Hijack (Part 1) (1991)
05  Coldcut - Theme  From Reportage (1989)
06  Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff (1987)
07  Junkyard Band - The Word (1986)
08  Trouble Funk - Pump Me Up (1980)
09  Kurtis Blow - Party Time (The Repo Edit) (1985)
10  LL Cool J - Rock The Bells (1985)
11  Tough Crowd - Manners (2015)
12  Eminem - My Name Is (1999)
13  Johnny Dynell - Jam Hot (1983)
14  BDP - Questions & Answers (Pal Joey Remix) (1992)
15  Motion Man - Mo Like Flows On (1993)
16  Special Ed - Come On Let's Move It (1990)

The Funk Trunk
17  Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - The Bottle
18  Marvin Gaye - 'T' Plays It Cool (Unedited Version) (1972)

19  Exactshit/Hexstatic - Wild Style

Groove Electro Chart March 1985 Top 10
20  Jazzy Jay - Def Jam (1985)
21  Unknown DJ - 808 Beats (Club) (1984)
22  Itchiban Scratch (Version 1) (1984)

23  Drake - Know Yourself (2015)
24  Chrome and Illinspired - All Days (2015)

Roots Of The Roots
25  Sparks - The Number One Song In Heaven (1979)

26  Harold Faltermeyer - Fletch Theme (1985)












Thursday 26 March 2015

ABU Record Label!

Well, not really.

You can now download the ABU albums from Bandcamp for free. This will also be where future albums will now appear.
It's clean (virus-free), professional-looking and all centralised which gets a big thumbs-up from me. The sound quality of the songs should also sound better, too.

Click here to view the page: https://ageingb-boysunite.bandcamp.com/

A big shout to RYAN over at Old To The New – Ryan Proctor’s Beats, Rhymes & Hip-Hop Nostalgia blog who mentioned the second album yesterday.

ABU Records....hmmm, does have a nice ring to it though.....


Here's ABU Volume 2:


And Volume 1:






Wednesday 25 March 2015

ABU Podcast #49 March 2015



This Thursday 9pm-11pm it's the ABU March Podcast.

Back to the full-fat 2 hours.

Get the live stream at: http://discoscratch.co.uk/radio/
Get in the chatroom at: http://chatwing.com/discoscratch

DJ Shan Frenzie's Zulu Beat Throw Down Mix


First of all, just have a look at this cover.
Without even hearing the audio you just KNOW that this is going to be good.

A special mix from Australia courtesy of DJ SHAN FRENZIE produced to coincide with the recent DJ Shadow/Cut Chemist Renegades Of Funk tour in which Bambaataa's original records (yes, his own personal records) were used.

Get on this and give your ears a treat.




Source:
http://groovetherapy.com.au/podcast/dj-shan-frenzie-the-zulu-beat



Monday 23 March 2015

Ultimate Breaks & Beats: An Oral History.


This is an interesting read about the history of the legendary Ultimate Breaks & Beats series of albums with input from Lou Flores, Lenny 'Breakbeat Lenny' Roberts, Large Professor and others.
Complete with the story behind the iconic cover art as well as a rundown of the top 10 Most-Sampled breaks in history.
Not to be missed!

https://medium.com/cuepoint/ultimate-breaks-beats-an-oral-history-74937f932026

Tuesday 17 March 2015

No Half Steppin' - March 2015


It's almost time for this month's No Half Steppin' jam in the official home of hip hop in Norwich - The Rumsey Wells pub.
I'm spinning alongside DJ Just-1 and Chrome on the wheels of steel this coming Saturday (21st March). Ill Bill on the mic (or headphones if he's forgotten his mic) keeping things flowing.
Expect cracking hip hop, fine funk and of course, some eclectric electro.

Free entry as always. Door open at 8pm.
Actually they're open pretty much all day but there won't be any turntables with that hippity-hoppity stuff until later.

Splendid and tremendous.
See you there.

General Reepazoid.

Record Review: Tough Crowd - Manners (SWREC002)


Style Warrior is back again and leaving the shirts on the shelf for a moment while the spotlight shines on their second vinyl release.
Taking a brave departure from the current sea of UK hip hop singles which continue to make up this welcome Golden Age that we are blissfully experiencing, Style Warrior present us with a different sound.
Ardent 'Britcore' enthusiasts may be left in a confused daze while critics of 'live hip hop' will be up in arms. Both camps however should leave their cranky-pants at the door and slip into a velour lounge suit instead because easy-listening is the dominant sound found on Tough Crowd's debut wax offering.

Consisting of artists playing real instruments, the TC lineup is; Luke Wynter twinkling keyboards, Colin Sutton pounding double bass, Andy Illingworth twanging his guitar, Ben Wilson pounding skins and David Hogan providing saxophone.
Completing the band are the two MCs, Exp & JND who effortlessly sail over the tight groove in crisp, clear Leeds vocals.

This is certainly a different sound to what I have been used to hearing and melds two genres that I personally am rather fond of; jazz-funk and hip hop. Imagine if Bob James had employed the services of a couple of linguistically-bountiful street kids from the Bronx during one of his seminal 1970s albums then you'd be in the right area.

Previous parpage

Martin has long been a huge fan of the laid-back, funky, Rhodes, jazzy groove as listeners to his occasional audio mixes for Disco Scratch Radio or Very Good Plus will attest to. This is then a natural progression in the musical game plan of Style Warrior which is renowned for it's clever leftfield subtlety. The whole package is one of remarkable coolness especially the sleeve design - which continues the same uniformity of SWREC001 - which conveys the title track in an understated blue hue, rigid record cover and full colour production. As before an inlay sheet is included with the single that features doodles, drafts and sketches along with a backstory of the record's release. A nice touch.

As you might now expect, the songs are equally as understated and relaxed which might fill the heart of the more short-sighted listener with unease as this is not your usual hip hop fare.
The title track ("Manners") could almost be the Style Warrior theme. The subject matter is so quintessentially British which is actually the core of SW; UK and proud with quaint quirkiness.
Not wishing to exclude international listeners, the topic of bad manners is universal, however the examples spoken in the track are wholly from a British angle - from someone bumping into you on the street ("pavement etiquette") and you apologising to them or remaining quiet when witnessing someone cutting in line. My favourite is JND's story of booking a train ticket to find someone already in his seat refusing to move and then when "grassing" to the conductor then proceeds to feel self-conscious from the glares of his fellow commuters ("embarrassed by the situation I can feel their eyes scold") as if it's his own fault for not complying to the norm.
It's all delightfully relatable stuff spoken over a smooth backing (somehow reminiscent of Eminem's My Name Is, I thought) which allows the vocals be heard clearly and concisely.

The flip is Forget Yesterday which speaks on the terrible ills of a media-centric society as well as leaving time-wasting individuals behind who shouldn't even feature on your radar. The inclusion of printed lyrics on the rear sleeve enables you (or me at least because I'm a very visual guy) to read along even without the song and realise how complex and real the words are. JND's verse is magnificent and beautifully illustrative; "I see you laughing at my vision, fool / though the place I'm tryna get to is a mission, where there isn't you / I wouldn't even let you visit either / think I'm playing games you'd better stick to FIFA / cos I'm in a different league to anyone".

As I mentioned before there is a Northern style displayed here which doesn't curtail it's localness for a US - or even countrywide - audience and proudly displays it's colloquialisms ("escapism in bags int summat I've craved"). This is home-grown hip hop with knobs on.

It is by no fluke that this second release on Style Warrior is very much reminiscent of the early 90s Acid Jazz scene being that honcho Martin is a big fan of this genre. It is certainly a departure from the usual sound you'd expect to hear but I would encourage you to add this positive, delicately-woven 45rpm to your collection because you will be richly rewarded by the sound of this late night hype upon repeated listens.


Small and beautifully-formed
Sadly stocks are limited to just 250 copies so speed is what you need. Click on the link below to order.

And how about this....all orders of the new 7" come with free downloads of the 2 tracks, plus instrumentals, remixes and bonus beats... That's 9 tracks in total.

And.....if that isn't enough then the first 100 Tough Crowd orders will be entered into a prize draw to win a Test Pressing PLUS the last SWREC001 MC Alikazam Test Pressing PLUS the hand written lyrics as seen on the reverse of the SWREC001 sleeve!

Click here to purchase your copy of the 7" vinyl


Style Warrior Website
http://stylewarrior.co.uk/

Join the Style Warrior Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/163171577066424

Previous MC Alikazam record review on ABU
http://repo136.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/record-review-1-mc-alikazam-you-bite.html




How To Get a Hip Hop Loving Dad to Dance



I was recently asked by Dan from the Don't Believe The Hype blog if I would like to write a short piece about what older hip hop-loving dads dance to.

Check out my ten choices and see if they seem relatable to you.

Read it here:
http://www.dontbelievethehype.biz/2015/03/how-to-get-a-dad-to-dance/


Sunday 8 March 2015

Jorun Bombay Presents Funkbox Reload - March 2015 Edition




Check this.......

Currently tearing up some niche corners of the internetz is this fantastic latest offering of supa-producer Jorun Bombay's Funkbox Reload.
This edition is of particular interest to all you ABU-ers as the music in this one focuses on the years 1983 to 1985.
With Jorun on the mic himself talking occasionally over the beats is his right-hand man Flexxman who helps to hype up the set. And anyone who knows Jorun will be happy to hear that his own spin on the tracks is in evidence with extended versions and great edits all in the mix.

Clocking in at just 60 minutes this will help you drift away into beatbox heaven. 



"All the way live from Voyager 1 in deep interstellar space - DJ Jorun Bombay & Co-Host Flexxman bring you the best of 80's hip hop mixed and cut up the way it was done back in the days.
This is NOT a "mixtape" - THIS IS A RADIO PODCAST SHOW. Turn it up loud while you're cruising in your Volkswagen Rabbit with the fuzzy dice hanging off your mirror."

Tracklist :

Boogie Boys - You Ain't Fresh
LL Cool J - Dangerous
Fat Boys - Fat Boys Scratch
Hassan & 7-11 - Cold Rock Stuff
Run-DMC - Rock Box
Lovebug Starski - Live At The Fever
Natasha King - AM FM
Captain Rock - The Pure
Captain Rock - Cosmic Blast
Mantronix - Jammin' to the Groove
Mantronix - Needle to the groove (Jorun Bombay's Vocal Dropout edit)
B Boys - Girls Pt 1
B Boys - Girls Pt 2
T La Rock & Jazzy Jay - It's Yours (Jorun Bombay's "Daisy Lady" edit)
Lil Jazzy Jay & Cool Supreme B-Boys Style
Pretty Ricky & Boo Ski - It's Mine (Instrumental)
Run-DMC - Daryll & Joe
Dimples D - Sucker DJ's (Jorun Bombay Remix)


Direct link: https://soundcloud.com/jorunbombay/jorun-bombay-presents-funkbox-reload-march-2015-edition-co-hosted-by-flexxman

Saturday 7 March 2015

The Holy Grail Of Wild Style

I recently had a message from a good friend in the ABU crew - Dayle Dickson, who represents the Boogie Down Under chapter - telling me he had something in his possession that was so mind-blowing, it was almost beyond comprehension.
Being that I am an avid fan of the film Wild Style this was something that immediately made me sit up and take notice.
What follows is Dayle's story.
Open this link up in another tab, press play and then read on.....



Right before the story begins here’s a little history on how i became a Wild Style collector.
I have always loved the movie, music and that cover artwork since the mid to late 80’s when getting into the hip hop scene.
I think it is that iconic artwork by Zephyr, Revolt and Sharp on the cover that really got me hooked though. It is so recognisable any where you seen it.
I’ve had my original copy of the soundtrack vinyl since back then but only recently in the last few years have I seriously started collecting bits & pieces.
I have been very lucky to find some of the things I have that include a sealed copy of the U.S cassette, a lot of Japanese items including original flyers, VHS tapes and a Japan VHD disc, a Japan promo copy of the Wild Style Theme Rap and another super rare Japan item being the 1983 Wild Style tour cassette and 70-page cut & paste insert booklet that was available when the movie was toured there.



But nothing was going to prepare me for this find.
Here’s how it all went down….

So its Thursday night after dinner, not much on TV and I'm sitting on the couch with my laptop surfing the web when I decide to check my usual saved Want list of items.
One of those items being the Animal Records Wild Style soundtrack test pressing.
I was searching on Discogs and I hadn’t checked for a few days so I was stunned to see one available when I looked.
I had only seen one other available on Ebay about a year ago and it sold for $220 I think it was.
The Discogs one listed said it came from an ex-Def Jam/Tommy Boy record executive’s collection.
As per-usual I was skint till payday and couldn’t just buy it there and then.
Even though it was roughly half the price of the one I’d seen sell on Ebay I wanted to see pictures of it before I dropped the $$ down.
I emailed the seller asking if I could see some photos to which I got a reply almost immediately saying "Yeah man, I’ll do it tomorrow as we are an actual record store in New York and its busy now".
I went to bed that night thinking its bound to be sold by time I get up in the morning but to my amazement it was still there the next morning when I checked before I went off to work.
Later in the day I get the email from them saying “Here you go, brother” with the two photos pictured below.


As you can see in the pictures above the vinyl had that aged look to it and in pen it had written on the sleeve Animal Records Test Pressing APE 6005ST which is correct for the soundtrack vinyl.
I immediately got hyped and thought to myself, "I have to get this!".
As I still didn’t have the money yet I started to weigh up options so I decided to sell a couple of things I had that I knew I could get some fast cash for to some good friends I know that wanted these things I had.
So the first deal was done and I had half the money I needed.
I messaged the seller back and he agreed to take it off Discogs and we would work it out over Paypal.

YES!!
I had it and I was happy as Larry.

Now I know a couple of hip hop test press collectors and I messaged one asking about any markings that differed from the normal soundtrack pressing from the test pressing as I told him I’d just bought this one and sent him the two photos I had gotten from the seller.
His immediate reply was that the record in the photos has 7 tracks on the A-side where as the soundtrack LP only has 6 tracks on the A-side.
At first i thought I’d been duped, but he then followed up with…
"I think you may have just bought a copy of the Wild Style Instrumental Breakbeats Test Pressing"
I was stunned!
I replied, "you mean the one from the movie that the DJ’s got?", as in the 100 Charlie Ahearn and Fab 5 Freddy pressed up according to the Kenny Dope book I had recently gotten.
To which he said yes and asked "where is this?".
I said "I think I’ll keep that to myself, no offence".
He laughed.

So by now my head was just going a million miles an hour on getting the rest of the money to pay for the record and getting it sent as quick as possible to me before someone in this record store figured out what it really was.
So another deal was done and I had more than enough to cover it which I did post haste.
The next day I got the tracking number and the wait was on.

So finally after the longest 2 weeks of my life it seemed it finally arrived at my house while I was at work.
Fortunately my partner was home and I asked her to open it and tell me what was in the run-out grooves as I knew if it didn’t have the APE 6005ST then it was definitely something different to the soundtrack vinyl that the record store thought they had sold me.
My partner told me all it has is 719A on the A-side and 719B on the B-side and that's it.



I still had no idea if it was the real deal but I did know I could write to Charlie Chase who I was friends with on Facebook and ask him as I had heard he still has his copies and ask him what his had in the run-out grooves.
But before i got home home from work to do so my partner sends me a link to this blog below.

http://officialperiodic.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/wild-style-completionisms.html?m=1

She had done a simple Google search of "Wild Style Test Pressing 719".
Whoa! I had never seen this blog before but was so glad when I did as it was a wealth of knowledge and confirmed for me that I did in fact have the real deal.

So, after the longest afternoon I got home and finally held this grail in my hands.
The vinyl is pretty much near mint condition as it comes from a collection and I don’t think has been played at all really.
I cleaned it as it has 30 years of dust on it and gave it one spin both sides and now it will just sit on the shelf with my other stuff.
One day I intend to frame it.



I did write back to the seller asking who’s collection it came from once I had it.
They replied and told me but I will keep that to myself.
All I will say he was quite important in the music video side of the hip hop scene.

So there you have it.
It's the one record that in my opinion is the epitome of my Wild Style collection and my entire collection as a whole.
There are still many Wild Style pieces out there that I know of that I still want but nothing I think will top this.

One thing I’d like to end this story on is that I strongly believe in karma when collecting.
Lately I have helped out a few people in getting pieces for their collections and I like to think that this record came to me as a result of that.
Also thank you to anyone that has helped me with getting things for any of my collections (you all know who you are).

Lastly thanks to Repo for letting me share this story on here. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did telling it.

Peace.

A huge thank you to Dayle for sharing this amazing story with us here at ABU. I'm sure anyone reading will agree that this is such a significant piece of hip hop history. Next time you watch the movie have a closer look at the Dixie scene. Is that Dayle's copy spinning on the turntable?!



See also:

http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/magazine/wild-style-breaks-feature





Wild Style Upcoming Promo


While I'm preparing Dayle's post here is a promo on what to expect.

Friday 6 March 2015

Coming soon.....



The find of the century?

All to be revealed exclusively on the Ageing B-Boys Unite! blog soon.

Thursday 5 March 2015

ABU Volume 2 - Eclectic Boogaloo


Hey party people.....

The ABU Album Volume II is now ready to download, for free.

A massive thanks to everyone who had any sort of hand in it. The ABU group on Facebook is currently lit up with pleasantries and accolades about it so grab your copy now.

http://www.solidfiles.com/d/33f69fe305/ABU_Album_2_Eclectic_Boogaloo.zip


Here's the tracklisting........

1 - Rock Steady Crew Side

01 ABU Intro
02 pomDeter - Eddie Cheeba skit
03 RJ Scratch & Bulli Space - Mantronix MegaMix
04 B.H.O.S.E. - Axel F DefMix
05 Banzai - Hip Hop Facts 1
06 Mr Mark Collins - Getting Old
07 Stubble - All I Know
08 pomDeter - The New Blow Your Caravan Egyptian Style
09 Banzai - Full Clippers
10 Bulli Space - ElectroZinc (Journey Into Bulli Space)
11 Ric Flair - It's Going Down
12 Repo136 - 'Alright...Fresh!' (A Beat St Viciousmix)
13 Banzai - Robbo's Correspondence
14 K-Sly - Excretions
15 Deathhop - Idiot at Work
16 Chrome - Johnny The Fox Cuts It Up
17 Ramses - Custom House Wharf
18 pomDeter - ABU Break 'n' Bells
19 Rj Scratch & Bulli Space Are Only Happy When It Rains



2 - New York City Breakers Side

01 Banzai - Introduction To Side Two
02 Juice MCs - Look What I See
03 RJ Scratch and Myk Apache Throwdown - Just Kut pt1
04 pomDeter - Drums Of Jericho
05 Banzai - Hip Hop Facts 2
06 Rob Jammin & Raychelle - ABU Is Back!
07 pomDeter - Bombin'
08 Vinnie Vagabond- Respect The Elements
09 DJ Demented Man - Lights In The Sky
10 Bomb Da System - Put The Ghosts To Rest
11 Banzai - Banzai And Robbo Come Again
12 Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud - I Gotta Good Thing (SteveB's Guided Minds Remix)
13 Woo MC's - 4 Bad Brothers
14 pomDeter feat Nick Crumplebang - Crumpl Hip Hopapotamus
15 Skyborg - Request Line
16 Waxer - Wu Flowers
17 Ramses - Missing Tiger
18 Apache Throwdown - West Coast Cuttin'
19 Banzai - One Will Get Theirs
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