This is my biggest tune right now.

Hitting that beautiful sweet spot between 80’s analog funk, early electro and UK hiphop, Reflections On Creation & Bass‘ new track has caused ructions everytime we’ve played it. Whereas other Quaid productions have sometimes found their natural home in the headphones rather than the dancefloor, with this project Quaid’s deep detroit influences have a natural counter with MC Ster’s wickedly off balance flow.

It’s the sort of music that seems instantly timeless and that the UK used to be able to make with ease (but we’ve somehow forgotten). It takes something we recognise and twists it into something new and does so without losing the dancefloor.

There’s an LP due early next year, till then, as exclusive as it gets.

Reflections On Creation & Bass- Got to Go

Don’t sleep.

So wednesday’s Prince gig was great.

It was so good being with so many people that I didn’t know but with whom I had all these shared memories and, as much as you don’t want it just to be about nostalgia, it’s the past that draws you and the the past that will always be Prince’s worst enemy. I guess it’s a good problem to have, a peerless back catalogue, the greatest live act around for the best part of a decade, how do you compete with that ?

Well you don’t really and that’s just gonna have to be fine.

When I was growing up Prince was barely even human. He was this other being, someone to whom the normal rules didn’t apply- the man who feel to earth. He didn’t do interviews, he put freaky record out after freaky record all sounding like nothing you’d ever heard, all drawn from a magical place, Paisley Park, that no-one else could go, like sly stone and willy wonka had some secret love child.

And maybe sly stone is a good a reference point as any, there is something unforgiving about music-the nowness of things seem so massively important.

So he played some hits, he did his thing in a way that, even now, no-one else could dream. It helped us remember all the good times (and bad) to which his songs have provided the soundtrack and, more importantly, it was obvious to us all that he is entirely human, (the guitar solos whilst performing spilts/ the crazy dance moves are long gone) and, strangely, that was a relief. That I could let go of this semi-religious awe and enjoy him for what he is-a supremely talented individual.

Prince-Climax (Ulysses82 redub)

despite reaching epic guardian reader dinner party soundtrack proportions i still love jose gonzalez. his soft swedishness and understanding of the subtle formula of a truly pleasing cover version being two things which keep me going back to him like an old flame you’re fond of and who’s arms you can’t shake.

having surfaced earlier this year to re-release the beautiful if ubiquitous ‘veneer’, and later on zero7’s most recent long-play outing he’s back with a new album ‘in our nature’ in september.

since it looks like the weather’ll hold and doubtless getting your hands on a disposable barbeque in central london will be more of a logistal challenge than dancing in the aisles at a prince gig, here’s a new track from jose gonzales for your weekend. best enjoyed with a nice chilled glass of rosé and some gourmet picnic fare…

jose gonzalez - down the line  removed at record company’s request

It’s had a holding page for a good 3/4 months but hl sister site basilika is back with brand new design and fresh purpose. The music will be good as ever but with greater emphasis on original productions and edits. To celebrate it’s return, basilika is hosting a special inaugural Prince-athon; an outlet perhaps for the excitement of the front row/first night/aftershow tickets I am currently staring at (more of that tomorrow).

In the meantime take a gander at the bounty of minneapolis based goodness that will be sneaking out over the course of the week and if your going to any of the gigs this month have a great time.

(I know I will)

Prince-Feel U Up(unreleased version-Ulysses 82 edit)

bluenote sleeves at vintage vanguard

So teacakes has been busy again.

He’s got a whole stack of new edits that are either 90% there or so freshly baked they’re still warm.

I’ve been too busy with other things to get much time ‘on the tweak’, but if anything is going to get me spending my oh-so-precious free time hunched over my macbook it’s remembering how good it feels seeing your own version of track destroy a dancefloor.

Something this piece will be doing a lot over coming months.

Daft Punk-Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger(teacakes edit)

photo by ception

East London head, Disco Jesus is back with the latest of his seasonal mixtapes.

‘Summer Dawn’ takes it back to the more eclectic vibe of the original selections, drawing deeply from the hinterland between disco, early house and eighties electro-funk. It’s a great selection and perhaps more importantly, one that could only have come from the hands (and decks) of Disco Jesus.

It’s up later this week on the ubiquitous firemusic, but seeing as your friends and all, here’s an advance listen.

disco jesus-summer dawn

Saturday night was my brother’s shindig at the cosmo bar in clerkenwell. The bar was a little on the shabby side but had a killer soundsystem (complete with wonderful Rane rotary mixer).It was a strictly third floor selection which was great for me and jimmy (probably not great so for everyone else).

It’s become a bit of a thing to spend sometime ‘in the studio’ for our closest and so my saturday afternoon was spent looping and tweaking for the big night.

No time for anything to clever-it was all about getting a track together that was heavy on nostalgia, but not too inclusive.

The result….

well listen for yourself.

jaksoul-hiphop jim kelly

photo via gu

Never been a particular fan of camping, so missing Glastonbury this weekend doesn’t feel like any kind of loss, especially when you see pics like this-maybe next year? (or not)-could go into a big rant about how lame and tweely guardian reader-y it has all become, but I think it will probably come across as sour grapes (and quite frankly, it probably is).

Instead I have a super-hl-exclusive from the wonderful, The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain who have a new album out soon (which is lovely) and are led (in part) by a good friend of ours Kitty Lux (who is also lovely).

The album, Precious Little, continues their winning formula of mixing clever re-interpretations of well known songs with a few of their own, equally fantastic, original tracks.

Here is their version Joni Mitchell’s (He Played Real Good) For Free.

Have a great weekend.

Everyone seems to be freaking out about about the new London 2012 logo. (The Guardian’s got a typical emotive article here) If the length of the comments section is any sort of guide, it seems we’ve become a nation of design-savvy branding experts, provoked into extreme reaction (signing ‘online petitions’ and the like)

Well they (you) are all wrong.

Call me contrary, and this is pretty much the dictionary definition of the word, but the more people slag it off the more I like it. You could bring the subject up with almost anyone in London today and would get a response-that’s brand identity baby. It’s radical and edgy (within the context of olympic design) and says to me London is confident enough not to have to conform to any traditional staid olympic stereotypes but rather it will take the event and reform it in it’s own image (which is what culturally London has always done).

And it doesn’t care what you think-that’s what makes it great.

If it did it would be the blandest thing in the world (like the last four have been)-it would be the boring, sterile result of dick-blunting focus groups and would a) be saying nothing and b) have no-one talking about it (cause they wouldn’t care).

So well done to all concerned for having a pair.

And don’t be troubled by people who take part in online petitions-they are weak.

ps talking of people singlemindedly doing their own thing.

new from quaid (and part of the forthcoming scifi soul project) check out andromeda love

hard left and heavy.

So it was quite a heavy weekend (one way or another) and it took a massive cocktail of stimulants (caffeine/sugar/exercise*) to get my brain out of it’s semi-catatonic state this morning.

A couple of obvious life lessons became more and more apparent as the day progressed-

1-’have a good time all the time’ isn’t a motto that pays long term dividends

2-you can never get ‘too much’ sleep

If I’d had the full ‘hard 8′ hours last night I would be writing anincredibly well crafted post which would somehow incorporate peak oil, tuscan sausage, the increase in under-16 smokers, 70’s brasilian cinema into somekind of wonderfully telling meta-narrative.

As it is all I can think about is how comfy that dog looks.

pic from Halophoto on flickr

And how great this tune is.

Night People(brubekk edit)

(nighty night)

*!!!