Friday, May 28, 2010

Margins Music Live

last day rehearsal5

Dusk + Blackdown live tour Facebook page.

Locked in rehearsals for Margins Music Live is a funny blend of emotions: a mix of apprehension, excitement, tiredness, euphoria, stress and satisfaction. In this recent weather, it mostly smells like sweat. We've not had any blood or tears yet, despite Renu the drummer running Dusk over at 5mph, but I'm sure it’s only a matter of time.

Little wears me down more than dull repetitive rhythms of life, of the things imposed upon me that just have to be done, day in day out. So simply escaping those cycles alone has been a joy, utterly liberating. I didn't know Deptford before, though I knew the routes through South London to it as it's on the way to Transition in Forest Hill, but it's an amazing place in the epic sunshine, as it has been this week. Bowling past the African shops selling snails as big as a grapefruit or through the bustling second hand market full of clapped-out guitars, piles of shoes and busted stereos on a Wednesday, makes me think I couldn’t have found myself in a more suitable place to try and build a Margins Music Live project.

Day 1f

The Albany is an oasis and having been encamped there this week I'm staggered it's not talked about more. A live venue, arts center, children’s park, cinema, recording & rehearsing studio, great cafe and community hub rolled into one: it's amazing. Walk into the cafe on a Sunday and you're likely to stumble across guys playing African instruments, singing in French accompanied by vibes players. Taste the cooking and I'd strongly recommend the spicy chicken.

last day rehearsal26

Being locked away in this rare blessing of weather should have been cruel, instead it's been a week like no other, trying to re-imagine every bar from four or more years worth of music with percussionist Renu, two female vocalist Farrah and Japjit, a synth player Bobbie, a sound engineer Camillo and our VJ Jonathan Howells. Goodz we'll link with in due course, same for the special guest. Trying to make sure everyone knows what they're doing, and when and where at all times, finding the space between dusk + my studio album and "our" collective live project... well, I keep leaving the sessions feeling like I've had a light lobotomy. Tired but anxious/happy is a funny mix, but right now I'll take it.

The trick is to go from this...

last day rehearsal6

... to this.

last day rehearsal16

... via this.

IMG_0962

Bobbie is baffled by our made-up string parts, we find it funny when she imports them into proper stave-notation. As a rare funk 7” DJ, we can't help but get the James Brown/JB's sample "Bobbie, I don't know..." stuck in our heads every time she says “now, how does this bit go?” She must hate us hehe. Camillo uses the mixing desk like an instrument and knows how to mic up Renu's tabla's properly. When Renu gets deep into a rhythm she leans forward, eyes down and this lock of hair comes over her face as if to protect her groove from interferences. She says she prefers polyrhythm’s and isn’t so good at straight stuff. Vapjit's voice is inversely proportional to her height, Farrah's voice in twice as good as she realises. And what Jonathan's done to some grime MCs is gassed, literally, as in he's vaporised them, blown them through the digital air...

Knife & Gun Blackdown remix official tour video




MCs aren't gassed, they get vaporized... Exclusive unveiling of the Knife & Gun (Blackdown remix) video, made as part of 15 or so new visuals for the Margins Music Live tour by Jonathan Howells.

I'm currently dreaming in Ableton, a reverie of grids and boxes 6 wide and 150 deep. Working out what six other musicians should be doing at any one time is just the start. Pressing play on Cubase would have been so much easier, but it just wouldn’t have felt honest, nor would have outsourcing our beats or basslines. Which of the 6x150 lights should be flashing small green triangles right now? Now there's a question indeed.

Another is, will it all work? Truth is, I hope so but I don't know. It's been one of the hardest and challenging things I've ever done over a short period, but inspirational too. But I can honestly stand up and say in terms of sound, impact and bassweight, it sounds like Dusk and I, so that much is encouraging. We're certainly getting there but we just need to see if the sum is greater than the many parts. If you can come to some of the gigs, I guess you'll let us know. I’m not sure if we’ll ever be able to put something like this together ever again, so come see it while you can.


- Dusk + Blackdown live tour Facebook page.

Live debut is 5the June - London The Albany ft Durrty Goodz + special guest + DJs LHF and James Blake, then on to Brighton, Manchester, Reading and Kendal with DJs including Starkey, Grievous Angel, LHF, United Vibes, Kowton, Scratcha DVA. More info on the Facebook page.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Rinse May

Rinse FM

Me & Dusk were on Rinse.fm last thurs, special guests in the studio: LHF.

DOWNLOAD the podcast here.


Space Dimension Controller "The Love Quadrant" (Kinnego)
KidKut "Lilt" (unreleased)
Zander Hardy "Attack" (Deep Tecknologi Recordings)
Hot City "Another Girl" (unreleased)
Don Morris "In Da Groove" (Deep Teknologi)
Seiji "Yesman VIP" (unreleased)
Luke Envoy "m.u.g.e.n (Wonder backward 128 mix) (unreleased)
Sines "Z Riddim" (unreleased)
K.O.P. "Yardeval Riddim" (unreleased)
KidKut "I Love 04" (unreleased)
Marcus Price & Carli "Var E Näääken (Girl U.N.I.T. Remix)" (MBKW)
Arms and Suites "925" (unreleased)
Unknown Soulja "Killing Kong" (unreleased)
XXXY "I Can't Stop" (unreleased)
Slackk ft Badness & Shizzle "Broken Wings" (unreleased)

***LHF in the studio: exclusive mix***

Amen Ra "All That I Feel"
Low Density Matter "Blue Steel"
Double Helix "Touch The Feeling"
Octaviour "Protect and Serve"
No Fixed Abode "Capoeira"
Double Helix "Voyages"
Double Helix "Chamber of Light"
Amen Ra "The Law of 3"
Amen Ra "LHF Skit 3"
Double Helix "The Heist"
Amen Ra feat Double Helix "Broken Glass"
Double Helix "Supreme Architecture"
No Fixed Abode "Sunset" (Mumbai Slum Edition)
Double Helix vs Solar Man "Mambo"
Amen Ra feat No Fixed Abode "Dog Star"

***end mix***

Crazy Bald Heads "First Born (Four Tet Remix)" (unreleased)
Artek "Deep Boy" (unreleased)
Kuoyah "AngelsDub (Geoimix)" (unreleased Frjisco)
Maxwell D & Bean "Funky Eskimo Mix" (unreleased)
DJ Original Face "Brother" (unreleased)
Peverlist "Roll With The Punches (James Blake Remix)" (unreleased)
Oriol - Memories (Shortstuff Refix)
Slackk "SE Thing" (unreleased)
Mr Mitch "Fright Night (Moony Remix)" (unreleased)
Warrior One Feat. Serocee, Lady Chann, J2K & Rubi Dan "Bad Like Jimmy Cliff V.I.P." (unreleased)
Baobinga feat. Rubi Dan "Raggapihop" (unreleased)
Jai Paul "BTSTU" (unreleased)

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Live tour: Facebook group



Dusk + Blackdown live tour Facebook page.

Keysound DJs announced too: LHF, United Vibez (Amen Ra + Vibzin), LV, Kowton, Grievous Angel, Scratcha DVA and James Blake.

UPDATE: Starkey now confirmed too!!!

Brighton and London live date may or may not feature a special guest...

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

LV "38" EP

Keysound 017 LV EP

Out now on 12".

Out now on digital too.

Me & Dusk in Fact mag.

Interview in 412 mag reveals the hidden influence of Now10 on "Margins Music".

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Pitchfork May: SBTRKT

Pitchfork

This month's Pitchfork column featuring SBTRKT.

SBTRKT interview...

Blackdown: I first clocked your music about 18 months to two years ago. For someone we’d never come across, your music seemed really finished: had you started producing then? You seemed to be far further down the production curve than most people we first encounter.

SBTRKT: I’ve been creating music for about 10 years and spend most of my spare time in front of Logic messing with tunes. Ever since listening to Masters At Work mid 90s house, drum & bass from the Reinforced/ Metalheadz era through to 2-step I wanted to make tunes, & started messing with those sounds. My early stuff was more of an imitation of other artists rather than my own direction. Over time I learnt how to record and arrange any of the ideas I had in my head from the beats to bigger strings.

B: You DJ in a mask and you’ve seemingly come out of nowhere to remix number 1 records. Perhaps unsurprisingly I’ve heard lots of cheeky rumours about you, that you’re really well connected in the music business for a “new” producer, that you’re friends with Gilles Peterson, you know Sinden and Switch … hahaha. How do you plead?!

S: Lol. Not guilty! It’s true, no-one knew who I was when I sent tracks out as SBTRKT... I’m pretty anti 'well-connected' artists. The only reason people heard my tracks is because DJs like yourself and Mary Anne Hobbs/Sinden/Benji B started playing them first and then it caught on to DJs like Annie Mac, Skream, Zinc...

Twitter has been great at hitting people up - I just write tracks and let them out there through my email. Or I just chuck my new tracks up on Soundcloud for people to hear. Chances are they won’t come out for ages because I’m crap at hooking finished tracks up with labels!

I used go to plastic a lot ‘bout 5 years ago where I became friends with Sinden. We lost touch for a bit. And then he started supporting my sound without knowing he already knew me - he booked me as SBTRKT to play at his fabric night last year. Only on the night, after months, he found out it was me...

Remixing Tinie Tempah is just luck of the draw. I turned it down at first but then it came back on my iTunes and decided I would give it a go... didn’t realise the original was set to no.1!

I’m now getting a load of crazy remix requests prob on the back of that. J.L.S for example?! I love remixing but it’s got to be a decent track!

B: When you first started sending us beats , they had a percussive, 2step influence that pre-dated the “future garage” movement. How did you find yourself going down this path and why did you choose it…

S: I’ve always been big into 2step since its early days. When you are first buying music you try and find a sound that you call your own. And that was UK garage for me. Used to spend a lot of time & money as a kid down in Release the Groove & Uptown records basements. Jay Da Flex [Ghost] used to be my main source of knowledge in R.T.G. its kinda strange hearing the name being used now as when I first started playing around with sequencers I sent out CD demos to my mates named 'future garage'!

I was really into the Seiji/ Bugz world. That was my journey from 2-step thru broken beat to basically where Appleblim, Kode 9, Burial came around. Playing & making music which fused all the similar strands of electronic music I’m into.

Garage has also always been my link to London. So the image it creates in my head drifting over the pirate station airwaves back in the day is inseparable. It’s that thing people say like 'unless you been to Detroit you won’t really understand the music' or similarly to Berlin. London has always been my city so that swing element has always been in my music - however far removed from the original 2-step sound it is.

B: You’ve also been known to play live sets in clubs using Ableton. How did that come about and how is it better/worse than traditional DJing?

S: I used to play strictly vinyl sets but I lost the enjoyment of playing in a traditional way. Could never really settle on one - vinyl ,CDs, digital?!

Ableton definitely works for me. I can splice between loops and cue points in tracks & full songs. Guess you have to use your method and run with it. Cooly G is great with CDrs. Gaslamp Killer flips the way to use Serato and Derrick May I admire for his turntable mixing skills!

I’ve rarely seen anyone playing laptop sets I’m impressed with. Generally its either head in the screen or too much -too loud/ too many overdubs/ timestretch to oblivion! The laptop set is byword for shit these days/ I want to change that image!

B: As I mentioned above, you often DJ or play live in a mask: what role does it play and how is it important to your performance?

S: live performance and music in general these days seems to be about the celebrity of it. something I'm not into. the music i make is slightly unexpected and the mask is part of that idea. I'm really into old cultures and new, also my background has roots globally. its inspired the way i conceptually write music, and in the end its just the visual identity of that. Everyone knows what SBTRKT looks like and that's enough, I just want people to focus on the music, not on where I grew up or what I ate for lunch!

The mask itself is created by Hidden Place they are working on a lot of the visual stuff - more to come on that front for live shows later in the year...

B: Can you tell people about the releases you’ve had on different labels and what they were like…

S: Well, to this point there’s only been a few releases. I’ve had two vinyl releases out on Brainmath Recordings & one on Young Turks. All the tracks on these were the ones which got a lot of attention before the summer last year. The first tracks people heard really. 2020 on the Brainmath EP and “Soundboy Shift” on Young Turks both got some really good feedback.

I guess musically they are all quite different. I’ve never really stuck to a tempo or template sound. So it’s harder for people to pinpoint my style. I just write tracks I feel fit my mood.

There’s also been the EP I co-produced with Sinden last November. We decided to hook up and experiment, see what would come out. Really happy with what we made. Def sounds like a blurring of two worlds. Learnt a lot about what works in clubs by hearing what else he’s producing and playing out. Reckon I’ve shown him a few studio tricks of mine too! We’re working on a follow up for later in the year. Future releases are “Break Off,” a collab EP with Sampha which is on Ramp, and then a couple of bits on Tempa & some other labels that people will find out about soon.

Additionally working on a 2nd EP for Young Turks which should be out in July and to follow up with an album, which I’ve spent most of this year working towards. Trying to hold down these tracks until its all done, as things end up on YouTube within an hour or being on radio these days , then people won’t appreciate it when its actually released & fully mastered & packaged...

B: You’ve had some pretty high profile remixes of late: Basement Jaxx ft Kelis & Chipmunk, Gorillaz and most recently Tinie Tempah’s number 1. How did they come about and how did you approach each of them?

S: Yeh, some of them are big artists I always wanted to remix , other remixes I really enjoyed making were for Fantastic Mr Fox, These New Puritans, Cessa & Modeselektor too. Jaxx came about through the label, same as Tinie Tempah. I’d been sending tracks to Modeselektor for a few months when they asked if I’d like to remix them. An offer I couldn’t refuse! Massive massive fan of theirs. I like the challenge of reworking someone else’s track. Responses to remixes I’ve done have been really positive. Gorillaz aint gonna happen though for No. of reasons. That A&R video that did the rounds sums that up. Haha

B: You’ve recently played on Rinse and at FWD>>, what were those experiences like?

S: It’s a seminal night to play at. So- pretty big shoes to fill...
Was pondering whether I should Ableton to play at Plastic as it’s just not the done thing in that club! But Plastic has always been about forward thinking music from whatever era & of course the atmosphere & sonics. So the medium for me doesn’t matter.

Rinse was mad. Really enjoyed that session. Nice to be able to stretch out over 2 hours. Showcased a few other tunes I wouldn’t normally drop in club sets. Something I’ve tuned into over the past few years listening to the Dusk& Blackdown show, Skreams Stella session, Zincs & Roska etc.

B: What do you make of music right now? Do you find it inspiring, and if so, what is inspiring you? What other producers or scenes – if any – do you feel inspired by or musical kinship with?

S:It depends on my mood. Producers who sounds I’m feeling like Roska, Ramadanman, Untold, Faulty DL, James Blake, Mount Kimbie, Lil Silva, Dubbel Dutch, Blue Daisy, Zomby and of course the mighty Zinc and MJ Cole. And then in a slightly different musical plain I really like the music of Santigold, Metronomy, M.I.A, Little Dragon, The XX, Animal Collective: the songs, attitude & energy of all this stuff appeals to me.

Sometimes I go on a digging mission and find some inspiring West African stuff or early techno, or a danceable jazz record. It’s too easy to follow trends and make tracks which just fit with everything else people are playing. It’s not really your own musical vision or path anymore. That’s my main thing is to write tracks I want to create and listen to, not just because it ticks certain neat current comparison boxes: “tropical yep, funky yep, 8 bit yep, vocal stabs yep, Detroit yep.”

I’m pretty impatient in listening too. I hate badly arranged tracks, there’s gotta be a beginning, middle and end.

B: The music industry and the scenes that interact with it have changed massively in the last 5 years or so: how do you see those changes and how have they affected you

S: I think the change from the days of vinyl stores, distributors and label being the focal point of a scene. To now nights, radio and internet sharing is a massive leap. Lot of new producers are pretty comfortable with the new regime! But noticed a lot of more established producers can’t deal with the uncertainties. When I first made tracks there seemed like a huge barrier between knowing someone to get your played, to now where you can upload it and people can respond to it immediately , and all by completely bypassing the 'who you know school. The music fans speak for you! I don’t have a problem with the way things are now. It seems there’s more empowerment as an artist than before. I always worked from a distance too so it works well for me.

B: What are your next big musical challenges or projects?

S: Have a couple of projects on the go. First up on being the support artist with a band called Holy Fuck on their UK tour in May. It’s different to the way I’ve been doing performances so far, but don’t see why tracks have to confined to being played in a club.

Finishing a record is a big thing for me. Gives me an opportunity to show what kind of artist I am without it being just a single track heard in different places. Working on live performances for the end of the year but I’ll give more info on that when it’s clearer...


For more info: http://www.myspace.com/subtractone

Saturday, May 08, 2010

LAX to ATX...

LA

Just got back from Dusk and my two date tour of the US for Scion. To fight off the jetlag for a few more hours, here's some ramblings. Big up Danny and Adam for bringing us over.

Greenland

First off, whoever named it Greenland was having a laugh. I've flown over it before but never been struck just what amazing skiing it would make. You could climb one of those peaks and ski all the way out to sea!

It should be said it's mental that the same flight then goes over stuff like this:

Colorado?

And yo, all my US agricultural mandem, what the hell is the deal with your vast circular fields?

Also I should add that looking down on the clouds while listening to LHF Infiltration mixes is intense. But oddly the tune of the trip for me was this...



... which got looped and looped on this Kowton podcast (also featuring WBeeza and Moodyman gems). Why can't I find "The Love Quadrant" on vinyl anywhere? Found this on vinyl thanks to the comments box, wahey! Bigup Mr Space Dimension for getting in touch too.

West Hollywood

So yeah, LA... or to be more precise, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood.

This was kind of nuts...

Dusk + Blackdown at The Roxy, Sunset Boulevard

So was the backstage "green room". This shot is Dusk in the mirror next to the photo of Bob Marley standing in this very room...

Dusk in the Green Room, the Roxy, next to a photo of Bob in said room...

As the signed photos of Bob, Dolly Parton, Skid Row and 45,853.2 other bands suggested, we were in rock territory. The gig looked a bit like this...

Dusk @ The Roxy, LA

I'm pretty much zero compromise, so we did 'us': started with a beatless new Farrah tune, played 30 mins of UK funky, then 50 mins of dubstep and grime before ending with Origin Unknown's "Valley of the Shadows (31 Seconds)". And honestly? I think they were there for Nero's stadium rock. Trim, Tempa T and Goodz tracks got air. Any track that took longer than 1min to mix out of got air. Even 31 Seconds got blank looks: only Joker v Terror worked. They wanted a show not a set: we could have probably done with an MC. But that's cool: we did us and learned a thing or two about what LA crowds want.

juakali jokes

After the gig, Juakali was a really welcome face. It was so good to reconnect with dubstep, or in this case Dub War, family. Sadly it was too late to head over to Low End Theory: next time.

We did however, completely by accident, stumble upon this place:

The Record Collector, LA

So you think you have a few records? This guy has 500,000. Half. A. Million. I bought some Arabic music and hoped the US border guards wouldn't take it funny.

Soon it was time to head for Texas...

Austin, Texas

"Keep Austin Weird" say all the t-shirts. Keep it wonderful I say. Green and leafy from above, creative and funky from the ground. Mmm to BBQ and warm nights. Ohmydayz to the guys from the US 3rd Armoured Cavalry turning up at our hotel in Stetsons, spurs and green uniforms for some kind of function. (I didn't take any photos, sorry, they have tanks... lots of tanks).

Beauty Bar, Austin

The gig itself was total bliss: beginning with a half empty dancefloor, people seemed to join and really listen and respond to what we were playing, like our new 130bpm stuff or "deFocused." They were so responsive we began to dig out all kinds of dubs. Vibzin's "Hot 4 U" got reloaded seconds after it began giving me goosebumps. The set ended in jungle: Omni Trio, Shy FX and Adam F "Metropolis" amongst others.

Beauty Bar, Austin

Chatting to VVV and his lot afterwards, me supping what is called a 'shot' of tequilla in the US but we'd call 'half a pint', Dusk pondered if it was his favourite set of ours ever?

Beauty Bar, Austin

Austin, we salute you. Give us a shout if you ever need us back. Then it was time to roll home...

LDN bound