Sunday, February 28, 2010

Defao - Amour Scolaire soukous


I haven't put up an african tape for a while so here is another one I bought in Tanzania last year.  You can find more of them here.

I don't know really anything about Defao but you can read about him here.  Unfortunately this tape is not great quality but it's still rare and it sounds very raw and nice having been converted by my new RME Fireface analog to digital hardware.  It's another example of Congolese soukous music and features the following tracks:

Amour Scolaire
Santu Maria

Delly Pangola
Chakito Bakou

Side 1

Side 2

Monday, February 22, 2010

Dj Chip Dilla - Carbootie - ghetto house from 1997


Sorry I have not posted for a few weeks. I was in transition on my hardware and also travelling.  But the tapes will sound MUCH better now cause I'm working with this fantastic analog to digital unit - RME Fireface 800.

Anyway, this is another of those tapes from Chris Low I've written about previously.  This came out in 1997, about the same time as Daft Punk's first album, and it's mixed VERY well, with lots of DIY vocal improv.  It's a lot like this live radio show from 1999 I previously posted by Spin Doctor Kim James.  Once again, lovely little misogynistic lyrics ranging from the track "Let Dem Hoes Fight . . . " (side 1) to "If you Ride in my Truck, B*tch You Gonna F*ck" (side 2 - 12:40) to "The Girl, The Girl, The Girl is on fire - We Don't Need No Water Let The F*cking Girl Burn!" (side 2 - 9:50) (a play, of course on the 1985 track Roof is on Fire by Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three). 

This tape is slicker and has more of a house sound like the Daft Punk and DJ Sneak stuff from around that time (96-98) - whereas the Spin Doctor Kim James track is more pure booty and hip hop.  I've extracted a few tracks that are mashups of sorts with known house/disco house loops of that time.  One in particular is Ghost Town DJs "My Boo" mashed with Rollin' and Scratchin' by Daft Punk.  Trivia point for you - DJ Sneak did a collab with our own current london darling dj Princess Julia.

Side 1

Side 2

Snippet from side 1 (Ghost Town DJs "My Boo" mashed with Rollin' and Scratchin' by Daft Punk)

Snippet from Side 2

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Gum Takes Tooth


















I went to a gallery's anniversary party at MKII in Clapton last weekend and ended up moshing to this band - Gum Takes Tooth.  I don't write about many new bands but these guys are AWESOME and tight.  Again, two drummers (like Maria & the Mirrors) and some guy on synths.  One of the drummers is from Agaskadoo Teliverek which has that amazing Gay Hussar track.  All local folks.  Anyway, live gig is way better even than the tracks.  But here are a few.

Bottom line. If you can make 30 somethings mosh in a gallery . . . you got something going on.

Gum Takes Tooth - Strychnine Motive

Gum Takes Tooth - Tannkjøtt

In terms of great pop writing I haven't come across anything in London recently that I like as much as French Horn Rebellion which is out of the US.  Ok, maybe there's some really big well  known stuff but PR has sent me these tracks and they're not even showing in Hype machine yet.  Soooo good.  Make sure to look for the Twelves remix of Beaches and Friends (classic classic clasic chic style US disco) and also their remix of Tiger City - Ancient Lover - all on HYPEM.com.

I've given you a track here which is more mellow but very clever.

The Quatrain - French Horn Rebellion