Somewhere back in the mid-90′s a fresh faced Brazilian ex-pat living in the UK decided he was going to put down his harmonica, pick up a sampler, and name himself after a Stephen King novel. The resulting album, Cujo’s ‘Adventures In Foam’ (released on Ninebar records, later reissued on Ninja Tune) signaled Amon Tobin’s entry into the world of music. Well actually there’s a pre-Cujo project also, but everybody knows not to talk about it… but if you get Amon really drunk… actually no, even then he won’t play it for you.

Immediately upon hearing this record, the powers that be at Ninja Tune signed him up to record as Amon Tobin, and he quickly went to work on his debut ‘Bricolage’. If you’ll recall, these were the ‘trip-hop’ years for electronic music, where any clown with a sampler and a collection of Blue Note records could knock off some half-baked boutique hotel background music. But ‘Bricolage’ shone above all that. Although employing a marriage of jazz and beats, it stretched it further by bringing in elements of bossa-nova, batucada, and jungle, and combining it with a sense of song-writing that elevated it above the standards of that aforementioned scene. I mean hell, it has a song on it which was inspired by Amon taking a piss on his neighbors bike after some domestic living dispute (‘A Day In My arden’)…this was clearly no good vibes jazzy beats guy Ninja had signed.

Next up came ‘Permutation’. Although stylistically a logical follow up to ‘Bricolage’, it was also on this album where things starting taking a noticeable turn to a much darker output. In fact you can actually trace Amon’s career based on coffee shop & dinner party accessibility…and let’s just say that this record signaled the end of anyone being able to use Amon records as background music.

Call it end of millennium tension, but while the rest of us were out stockpiling food for the 2000 apocalypse, Amon was channeling all that into his third release ‘Supermodified’. Treating it like if this was the end of the human race as we knew it and computers would never work again (or god forbid, if we were to be ruled by apes), than damn if he wasn’t going make this banger before the lights went out. The record was an experiment in sound. Marking the point where Amon become more and more obsessed with unheard but felt bass frequencies, and where he allowed a few collaborators into the mix (mainly Chris Morris of Brass Eye & Blue Jam fame, and Montreal beatboxer Quadraceptor). The record where the bossa-nova/jazz Amon Tobin was for the most part laid to rest and the dark/electronic/soundtrack Amon Tobin came into form.

In 2002, Amon decided to relocate to Montreal. As Ninja Tune’s North American headquarters is based there he’d spent a lot of time soaking in the culture and summer sunshine of the city, never once thinking that he’d never actually visited during the winter… So somewhere around the time he felt the sensation of his nose hairs freezing for the first time, he settled into his new studio armed with a fresh set-up and an A La Carte Express menu by his side (Montreal’s bible of food for shut-ins) to put the finishing touches on ‘Out From Out Where’. This was the logical conclusion of what the previous records had hinted at. It was a cohesive and banging record, but one with no obvious reference points. It just sounded like Amon Tobin, and Amon (more so than a lot of artists) can actually say his sound is very much recognizable as his own. The accompanying tour for this album also resulted in Amon’s entry into the Solid Steel mix series, with a tough ass Final Scratch DJ set captured in Australia released in June 04.

In 2004 video game developers Ubisoft decided to approach Amon to compose all the music for the 3rd installment of their enormously popular Splinter Cell series. Seeing as he wasn’t able to get past the second level of Splinter Cell 1, he thought that making the soundtrack would clearly be an easier way to interact with this game. This was a chance for Amon to experiment with different ways of composing and to finally realize a teenage ambition (although the soundtrack in no way reflected his love for Galaga…even though that was a hot game). Also composing a proper soundtrack allowed him to be a little more progressively excessive, with the inclusion of extended string arrangements and over the top Hammond organ solos woven into his sounds. Like Italian prog sensation Goblin composing for a Bond film would be an apt comparison for this work. A love of soundtracks has always been a key influence in his work, and it clearly showed here. The game was released in March 05. An accompanying soundtrack on Ninja Tune was released soon after on CD/LP/ and 5.1 DVD-Audio. The surround element was pushed even further on the handful of live dates he did for this release. The thing about an Amon show is that you could always escape the immense volume by going to the back of the room… in surround there is no escape folks.

After his foray into the video game world Amon stepped back and took a hard look at what the next record would be comprised off. Having made several albums from reconstructed vinyl sources it was time to look at what else could be pulled apart and reassembled. The focus now has shifted from the source material altogether and placed squarely on the manipulation of sound regardless of it’s origin. Armed with a sound engineer (Vid Cousins) and a collection of microphones he set out to find source material in pretty much everyplace possible. Robotics, animals, insects, musicians, utensils, motorbikes, and about a thousand other things that made interesting noises were all mic’ed and fashioned into the tracks that make up his new album ‘Foley Room’. It should be noted that although the process was quite experimental that the record isn’t an exercise in avant-garde music. Rather the end result is still pure Amon Tobin but pushed miles forward in sonics and melody due to the depth of source material. Also Amon isn’t claiming to have invented the wheel here but rather is paying a certain hommage to a long history of musique-concrete composition, at the same time satisfying his love for pushing the envelope of his output and knowledge of the recording process. The process itself is documented on a short film/documentary that was included with the CD & LP release of this record in March 2007.

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Amon tobin At the end of the day

Amon Tobin – The Taxidermist

Amon Tobin “El Cargo”

Formerly known as The Sound of Bailey, ‘The Title Sequence’ is the music of David Bailey and Nick Crofts. Friends since childhood, the duo have always made music together and after various collaborations and solo projects come together to bring you The Title Sequence. With tracks already played on radio by Steve Lamacq, Huw Stephens and Chris Coco, they hope to release a record in the near future. Check out the live reel-to-reel show at venues around London.

Not much to say on The Title Sequence but excellent music.

give a listen.

Having imprinted his name in the mind of the reggae fans across Canada & Europe with one of his first-ever releases back in 2004, the Toronto-born producer is now firmly established as one of Canada’s premiere reggae/dub artists and with two chart-topping releases behind and the new “Renegade Rocker” just coming out, the future looks brighter than ever.

Music runs deep within the veins as does the various musical styles Dubmatix drops – from pure, old-school King Tubby dub to the freshest electro/steppers dub to classic conscious roots to Drum’n'Bass and more. Growing up Dubmatix was surrounded by instruments and recording equipment which provided hours of experimentation and recording from an early age. Having learned drums, bass, guitar and piano as a youth helped push the boundaries of musical taste and production later in life. Over the past years he’s been in various reggae & acid jazz groups jumping from drums to bass and back in 2002/2003 firmly planted the seeds of what became the first Dubmatix release “Champion Sound Clash” which garnered rave reviews across the globe and landed a European licensing deal. Since then “Atomic Subsonic” was dropped in 2006 and “Renegade Rocker” in 2008 with various remixes, production and digital releases in between. Working with local artists such as Treson, Kulcha Ites, Raffa & Howie Smart to legendary heavy weights Sugar Minott, Michael Rose, Alton Ellis, Wayne Smith and more – Dubmatix brings a vibe that is hard to lock down but always provides solid grounding in bass-heavy grooves.

Dubmatix Videos:

Dubmatix @ Diversity Festival 2008- Willi Williams

The Post War Years are an up and coming band from Royal Leamington Spa, who (according to their Myspace page) are Latin/Hard House/Jazz but they have an Alternative/Indie edge about them too.

Post War Years consist of Si Critten, Henry Riggs, Tom and Fred. They are all very nice chaps and in some cases close personal friends. They all enjoy a variety of musical styles and it shows, because they have a diverse range of songs evincing Prince to Battles as influences, unified thematically by all being jaw-droppingly great.

Three-quarters of them currently reside in London where they are slowly and systematically going about destroying the music industry. They have recently supported Lethal Bizzle, MGMT, and Does It Offend You, Yeah? among others.

They played what many fans would describe as their finest gig at wonderful Leamington-based club night La Supercool Discotheque, where huge sub bass made the floor shake and a legion of fans chanted their choruses back at them.

In short, they are amazing.

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Post War Years Videos:

Post War Years – The Black Morning

Post War Years – Whole World On Its Head

Post War Years – Formula Spectacular

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“It never fails to amaze me how swiftly a moment of fortune can so easily become a noose round the neck. Especially in the oh so fickle world of the music biz.”

In the case of Bonobo the moment, or perhaps the year, of fortune came when he released his debut album ‘Animal Magic’, at the precise time that ‘chill’ was the buzz word on everyone’s lips. Never mind the fact that, even on the evidence of those first efforts, he was a truly gifted producer, you can’t beat the power of the buzz. As is the way of these things, the buzz became the murmur, and soon became the background hum, as endless chillout comps, ads, and media campaigns swamped the shore of our consciousness.

A young Simon Green (for it is he who is the monkey king) refused to be dragged down by the lazy journalistic prose that labeled him ‘chillout’ and ‘downtempo’. Far from it. He upped the stakes, and indeed, even stuck his neck out, moving from his original label Tru Thoughts to Ninja Tune, and set about taking things to the next level.

Cos it’s all about the levels with Bonobo. Not in a techy, studio kinda way, but in the levels of involvement with his music. On the surface there are the organic, pastoral atmospheres, the catchy melodies, the elements that caught people from his first album. You can engage with a Bonobo tune in that way if you wish, and will be well rewarded for it. But it’s the deeper, slightly hidden levels that you should investigate, for they bring the greatest prize. It’s these elements that he explored on ‘Dial M For Monkey’, as a greater focus on live instruments, the intricacies of rhythm, the darker shades of the soul, and almost a sleight of hand, that meant that you could be in one mood one minute, and the next you would somewhere different.

‘Dial M For Monkey’ showed the set of brass balls that Bonobo (like his namesake) had, and these would be tested again as he set about building his live band. He duly found the right musicians, self financing rehearsals, and fine tuning a live show that brought out the elements of his music that had hitherto gone largely unnoticed, as the band swung and rocked their way through shows at Glastonbury, The Big Chill, Jazz Cafe, and internationally exotic settings from Italy to Russia.

He set about building his DJ style in the same way, refusing to conform to the preconceived ideas of a laid back style, and aiming headlong for the dancefloor, with a heavy mixture of hip hop, weighty jazz, broken beats, Latin, funk, and soul, with the occasional cheeky bit of psyche rock and drum and bass thrown in. Just to keep you on yer toes right? Now a DJ of international repute, Bonobo has played all over the world, including playing to huge audiences in the USA and Canada with Amon Tobin, a progress culminating in Ninja Tune asking him to put together a Solid Steel mix album. Bugger the lounge, lets dance.

Now, with the expectations duly dispatched with the good hiding they deserve, the field is wide open for Bonobo to push himself even further, and we await the next album, due late 2005 / early 2006, with our minds well and truly opened to the possibilities.

“Lots of live shit”, says Bonobo.”Strings, horns, drums and vocals. More energy and a bigger, heavier sound”.

Come on then son.

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Bonobo – Flutter

Bonobo – The Plug

Bonobo – Kota

Two Fingers

The result is a project unlike anything that any of the three main players has ever made before. It is a unique, utterly uncompromising, brutal and beautiful record that could only have grown out of the UK and the internationalism of those involved. Due for release in March 2009, the LP “Two Fingers” is set to be one of the records of the year.own: icy, transcendent, brilliant.

check them out

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Two Fingers Videos:

Two Fingers featuring Sway (“Straw Men”) vocal session

Two Fingers featuring Sway – What You Know

Mr. Oizo (pronounced Monsieur Wah-zoh, deformation of the French word “oiseau”, bird) is the French music producer Quentin Dupieux.

In 1997, Laurent Garnier of F. Com bought a car from Mr Oizo’s father. Garnier then found out about Dupieux’s talents and let him direct the music video for his song “Flashback”. Later Dupieux was signed by F. Com Records where he released his first EP fittingly titled, “#1″. Dupieux is most known for his electrotrack ‘Flat Beat’, which became a hit throughout Europe in 1999 and was featured in a series for Levi’sjeans TV commercials. Dupieux also directed the ad, which featured a yellow puppet named “flat eric” nodding his head to the sound of the track while riding in a pickup truck. After “Flat Beat”, Oizo released his first album in 1999, Analog Worms Attack, featuring a single of the same name. In 2005, Oizo released his second album entitled Moustache (Half a Scissor). In 2006 and 2007, Oizo produced remixes for Kavinsky, Jamelia, Cassius, Scissor Sisters and, most recently, Calvin Harris. Dupieux’s first feature film, Steak, was released in France on June 20th 2007.

Mr. Oizo’s first EP released on Ed Banger Records, is called Transsexual. The EP features a re-working of the 1970′s Disco track “Do It At The Disco”. The track appeared on Oizo’s Myspace page in 2006 under the title Patrick122.

On October 16, 2008, a video appeared on Oizo’s Myspace page, a promo for his upcoming album, Lambs Anger. The First Single off the Record was “Positif”, which was released 3 days after Lambs Anger.

check him out:

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mr oizo Videos:

Mr. Oizo Flat Beat

Mr Oizo – Positif [Lambs Anger]

-Uffie (born Anna-Catherine Hartley in Miami, USA), is an American musician.

In 2006, she debuted with the singles Pop the Glock and Ready to Uff, released on French electro label Ed Banger Records, after getting a limited promo release on Arcade Mode in January. Both singles contained elements of electronic dance music and rap. Uffie’s singles have been produced by French electro artists Feadz and Mr. Oizo as well as a remix by label-mate SebastiAn. Her music was first made available to the public in late 2005 on her MySpace page.

check her out:

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Uffie Videos:

Uffie interview

The following year they started a band and simply called it Peter, Bjorn and John – not due to lack of better names – but because it felt right. Band names are often ridiculous – so why not just go for your own name? First they thought that they would recruit a bass player but after the well known saying “3 is a crowd” thus more than enough – the keyboard player Björn began playing bass. Live the band have learned to use the little format to its advantage and in the studio well let’s just say they have been known to do overdubs…!

Initially all the press they got had to do with Björn’s production CV and the members different guest appearances on other more well known bands and artists records. But soon that would change.

In 2002 the home recorded self titled debut album was released and received comments from the press regarding “superior sound beds” and “upcoming classics” while songs like “Matchmaker” and “People They Know” became favourites with the indie pop crowd. Rough Trade in London even penned “nothing else sounds as good in Swedish pop right now” and were probably not completely mistaken.

2004 saw the follow up with the more complete, mature and darker “Falling Out”. “It beats me everytime” became a Swedish radio hit and the album was released Stateside the following year to press acclaim. Allmusic.com gave the album 4,5 stars and wrote: “very close to the best indie rock — no, just plain music — being made in 2005. More punk than the Concretes, less frantic than Shout Out Louds, as catchy as the most tuneful of the UK post-post-post-punk merchants. Falling Out firmly established Peter, Bjorn and John as a group to watch out for. Strike that. They are a band that has arrived in all senses of the word”.

Now in 2006 PBJ embark on the second phase of their careers. The new album “Writer’s Block” (recorded in Björn’s studio in Hornstull,Stockholm) is the first to showcase all three members as songwriters and taking on lead vocalist duties and sees the band take on a new musical direction.

check them out:

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Peter Bjorn and John Videos:

Peter, Bjorn & John – Young Folks

Peter Bjorn and John “Nothing To Worry About”

Peter Bjorn and John “Lay It Down”

Born in Nigeria, Nneka relocated some 10,000 miles to Hamburg, Germany, at the age of nineteen to pursue a career in singing along side a degree in Anthropology. Having landed in the German port, the singer hooked up with DJ and Hip-Hop beatmaker DJ Farhot and ever since, their strong musical relationship has been the backbone of Nneka’s success. Her influences reflect her younger days in Nigeria as well as her time in the Western world. The distance she has travels shines through in her voice as does her diverse musical influences. She cites famous compatriot Fela Kuti and legend Bob Marley as well as contemporary rappers Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Mobb Deep and Lauryn Hill as key influences in her pursuit of musical recognition.

After finishing her debut EP “The Uncomfortable Truth” she toured Europe, commencing a long live schedule, performing to up to 6000 people at her later gigs, this young talent supported the likes of Femi Kuti, Seeed, Sean Paul and Gnarls Barkley. Performing all over Europe, from her adopted hometown of Hamburg to Holloway Prison in London.

Nneka’s album “Victim Of Truth” was released in September 2006 to rave reviews from the music press. The songs on the album provide a range of sounds from deep soulful ballads like ‘Confession’ to funky Hip-Hop tracks like ‘Stand Strong’ to ‘Changes’, which is a modern reinvention of the 90s UK soul sound.

Despite her Nigerian background, Nneka’s sound is strongly connected with her European journey.

“The way they dress, the way they carry themselves, their religion. So many things that are important to me are not important to them. For two years I was overwhelmed.”

This difference in ethical outlook comes to the fore in her music, with her social responsibility to her homeland of Nigeria laying heavy on her mind.

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“I get inspired when I take a severe look at the things going on in our world today; especially in my country. How people live, suffer and endure pain, politics and religion, when I see all that man has evoked and created out of self-centeredness and devotion to material things”.

Nneka’s voice strikes an eerie balance between rage and pain which mirror’s the abrasion of two continents, Europe and Africa, within Nneka’s life so far. Nneka reiterates her humility in the face of her musical talents.

“I do not see myself as a performer but as somebody who shares her heartfelt feelings with others. I have fortunately, by the grace of God, the opportunity to sing my message to you on stage.”

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Nneka Videos:

NNEKA – Africans

Nneka – Heartbeat

Nneka live bei NEUE HELDEN im “Studio Eins”

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