Inside Nokia Music

Christmas is a long and distant memory now, but the rebellious backlash towards The X Factor dominating the Christmas number 1 chart spot will live on in the hearts of those that got behind the campaign to take the power back.

After a month long public vote for support acts for the victory gig on 6th June, the line-up has finally been confirmed by Festival Republic… and takes those of us lucky enough to be drawn from the ticket lottery through a rather eclectic line-up… and here it is…

Gallows

Roots Manuva

Gogol Bordello

Rage Against The Machine

Oh, how sweet victory is!

Gallows, Roots Manuva, Gogol Bordello, and Rage Against The Machine are available to download from the Nokia Music Store or download them all for free if you have Comes With Music

Living in Bristol has undoubtedly shaped the types of  music that I listen to.  Drum and Bass is (or was before Dubstep came alone) the most popular underground music in the city.

Being just down the road from London, many of the capitals top DJ’s and producers frequently pop down to Bristol to play gigs.  Now more than ever as there’s an abundance of promoters in this small city trying to get the latest stars of the underground to play at their nights.

Me being one of those promoters in this saturated market I can only promote the music, DJs and producers I believe in.

One of those producers is Heist, a Drum and Bass producer from Braintree who started his production career started just over five years ago.  Since then Heist has seen his tunes shock the Drum and Bass world with many of the top DJs carrying his tunes in their boxes.

As well as signing his releases to a number of big D’n’B labels he has also worked with Goldie on his productions. Engineering the hugely well-received LP ‘Malice in Wonderland’ for the Metalheadz boss together with anthem ‘Is This Real’, the success of which has seen them return to the studio to work on follow-up LP ‘Memoires Of An Afterlife’.

As well as working with a biggest name in the scene Heist has also started his own labels, Sumo Beats and Calypso in order to accommodate the ever-increasing volume of solo work; future plans alongside producers like Lomax, Taxman, Original Sin and Die lurk in the pipeline together with releases on Propaganda and Frontline, keeping the vinyl-buying public on their toes with an impressively expansive repertoire of production credits.

His production styles are varied across the D’n’B spectrum.  As well the the jump up dancefloor tunes many know him for Heist can also lend his talents to more chilled and techy styles which you’ll see released on labels like Fabio’s Creative Source and Goldie’s Metalheadz.

If you happen to live in the great and musical city of Bristol you can catch Heist on Saturday 3^rd April at Basement 45.

JME’s back with a new single featuring his Boy Better Know brother Wiley. ‘Sidetracked‘ is a slow, deep, brooding synth led track with similary deep and brooding lyrics. You’ll find a more mature JME on this introspective track, getting some things off his chest and touching on some pretty personal topics. The chorus supplied by Wiley on (dubious)  ’Autotune’ duties echoes his verses, ‘Dont wanna be sidetracked, living my life on the edge’. There’s a shedding of skin going on here and I appreciate his honesty and approach – not every single has to be a dancefloor smasher. I’m looking forward to what else he’ll be bringing in the next year.

Got your attention? Well I have to appologise if you saw that title and got a little excited about a Breakage and Joker collabo track (I certainly  would) but alas, this aint that. What this is, is just a simple heads up of 2 remixes of some popular tracks that you may or may not be aware of that happen to be on our store. As you can expect from these Dubstep artists, these tracks are heavy! Enjoy!

Copy and paste these numbers into the title field of the search box at the top of your page to get the linky’s [Sorry, Internet Explorer only]

Sub Focus – Could this be real [Joker Remix] : OD2DI6920947-02

Sidney Samson Feat. Wizard Sleeve – Riverside (Lets Go!) [Breakage Remix] : OD2DI6893859-06

Here’s a taster of the original Sub Focus DnB track:

THE GIG

Late last year a friend of mine convinced me to see a band called Subsource. I was planning on staying in that night and catching up with some much needed sleep. But soon as she mentioned that they were a live dance band on a similar tip to The Prodigy and better than Pendulum, I quickly ditched any ideas of relaxation a got a Taxi down to the centre of Bristol.

This was a wise choice as I wasn’t disappointed. They were a high energy group of lads with some amazing and varied songs. A good mix of genres from Breakbeat, Hip Hop, Dubstep, Punk and DnB kept the mood fresh throughout their performance.

THE BAND
The Band consists of lead singer and Double Bass player – Stuart Henshall, Vocalist – Mutanda Kimba, Borg Ng on keys and percussion, Paul Frazer on guitar and keys and Neil Shervell on Drums. They all come from very different backgrounds both musically and geographically, which is probably why they have a sound which is a hybrid of all the bass heavy electronic music we all know and love.

THE IDES
Their new single The Ides out on Doomsday recordings on Feb 22nd February is
a good In-sight to how this band operates.

The glitchy, distorted, electronic noises at the start are reminiscent to the Prodigy’s more recent material. After a short intro it kicks into a rock style chorus, backed by a big breakbeat and more of those glichy noises.
The structure of this song has been designed for the dance-floor, as the songs edges out of the breakdown it changes to a Dubstep rhythm with a chorus wobble bassline. This all supported by soaring, lush pads and arpeggiated synths, both of which have warm analogue tones of 80’s synthesis.
The Ides, when you listen closely has a complex depth that shows off the skills of all the musicians involved. But it’s still a catchy dance-floor track that will wake you out of any tired state. It worked for me.

Here’s the video for their last single The Reason available now on the Nokia Music Store

Here’s the Nokia/OVI Music Store link to my new playlist featuring my favourite bass heavy and head nod beats of 2009. Perfect for the walk to work, the gym or your usuall weekly drive by.

Click on the image to get your download on! [Internet Explorer only]

Here’s a nice little remix from Bristol based new-comer Julio Bashmore which appears on the latest release from Buraka Som Sistema. Giving the original his mellow (UK) Funky House treatment of skippy beats and big bongo style 808’s on the b-line. The young Julio is getting a bit of attention on the underground blog scene with some nice releases and a few mixes here and there. I expect to see his name crop up alot on remix duties this year. The original’s not too shabby either!

Copy and paste this number into the title field of the Nokia/Ovi Music Store search box at the top of the page and press return to be taken directly to the product: OD2DI6858071-03

Part 2 of my years biggest tunes. Check it!

MF Doom – Born Like this : Doom didnt dissapoint with his first release since MM Food. Absolutely sick MC.

Chef Raekwon – Only built for Cuban Links II : What?! Hip Hop album of the decade. Listening to each track is like watching 3 great films at once – Rich imagery and incredible beats. Rae you did it again!

Hard House Banton – Sirens : For me, the biggest UK Funky track, technically from 08 but blew up in 09.

Giant – Drumstick : Fantastic dubstep skanker from this Russian trio. I rinsed this one!

Tempa T – Next Hype : This track was huge, mosh pits and multiple rewinds. Hilarious video too – Temmmmmmpz!

Wow what a year for music – nuff big tune a gwan!

Here’s my top ten of the year in no particular order:

Shystie – Pull It (remix) : UK Funky really found its legs this year, this remix by Ill Blu got all dancefloors jumping!

Joker – Digidesign : This track is me all over – love it. Joker has blown up this year, 2010 is gonna be even better for the Bristol bad boy.

Hyetal – Gold or Soul : I love this track. Hypnotizing and atmospheric, it conjures visions of Crocket driving around Miami at night with some serious sh*t on his mind.

Breakage – Together : An absolute banger, when this b-line drops it heads down skanking and bass faces all over the shop!

Donaeo – Party Hard : Another UK Funky classic. ‘Donaaaaaaeo, Donaeeeeeeo’!

Really feeling this track: Angie Got Stoned – it’s the B-side to Emalkay’s current Radio 1 bashed track When I Look At You. This one’s a deep but bubbly stepper with some lovely soulful vocal samples. Enjoy.