Clicks, Whistles and Radio Rips 1 (Fact Magazine, 2/08)

Tom’s from East London and Raven’s from Baltimore. We love grime, hip-hop, Bmore club, dubstep, DIY punk and everything in between. Clicks, Whistles and Radio Rips is where we barrage you with the audio and video that we’ve been obsessed with over the last month, and sometimes we’ll even write stuff about it.

Every month we’ll bring you shitloads of downloadable music, interviews, top tens, profiles of labels, distros and record stores, and fingers crossed, exclusive mixes from our favourite DJs. This month Sheffield bleep-cum-dancehall-cum-everything mastermind Toddla T (who’s recently been working with Roots Manuva) had the honours, and sorted us out with a mix him and DJ Pipes did for their club night Kabal’s New Years bash.

Alright, it’s not one hundred percent exclusive, but it’s the first time it’s been online and you’ll have only heard it if you grabbed one at Kabal on the 31st, so get downloading it here or here. Or alternatively, come down to FACT & ATP’s We Were There rave at the Amersham Arms this Friday where Toddla’s playing and nab some copies off Tom, so long as Easyjet don’t intervene in his journey…

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Apart from the white label single ‘I’m From a Place’, the world didn’t hear much from Ruff Sqwad as a collective last year. But they’re still the best crew going (check their Pyro Radio sets from 2007), and Slix is one of their biggest assets.

On the first Guns and Roses mixtape, Ruff Sqwad to me at least were all about the production; the MCing complimented it but never seemed like the focus. But between then and Guns and Roses Vol 2 the Sqwad became a lyrical force: everyone knew about Tinchy, but Fuda Guy had become a one-man hype machine, and Slix and Shifty Rydoz emerged as top boy lyricists. Slix also showed off his production talents with the weightless ‘No Base’, and his ability to make a cohesive solo record on Down Volume 1.

The five tracks on Slix’s myspace are some of his best tunes yet, and he took the time to give FACT a track by track run-down of the new material:

Slix on Baby: The track called ‘Baby’ is produced by Maniac; it’s an old beat from about two years ago and I only remembered it the other month so I decided to do it. I vocalled it and it came out alright; I got the girl to do the talking on it – it was an idea I had about lost situations.

Slix on Deserted: ‘Deserted’ is an old track by a singer, I can’t remember the name [Everything But The Girl]. I used to love it when I was young, and I wanted to do a version of it; it’s half true, about a situation I’ve been in, and it’s half fictional. She’s talking about the desert missing the rain, but I put in my own perspective.

Was it a conscious thing that the tracks are about girls, or did that just happen?

Nah, that just happened you know! A lot of people said that to me, and I can’t explain it, but most of the tunes that I connect with are about girls anyway. I don’t know why that happens; I mean if I want to do it I just do it. I’ve done millions of beats that are not about girls, it’s just the good ones happened to be those ones.

Slix on Stand The Rain: That’s another beat; it’s produced by K-Hatz, he’s an up-and-coming producer. I don’t know him personally; my cousin Tenfoe had the beat, he was just going to do it by himself but he came to my house and played the beat to me and I asked him if I could go on it, and he said yeah.

Slix – She’s Like

Slix on She’s Like: ‘She’s Like’ is a beat produced by Rapid, it’s really old. I was round his house with him going through some old beats – he didn’t actually like the beat; he didn’t even finish producing it, I just heard it as a loop. I asked him to do the beat and he said yeah. It’s actually a Dirty Dancing sample; I didn’t know that at the time because I don’t really watch films. I put it up on the page and it got a mad response; it was one of the first beats I put on my myspace…

Are they all going to be on Down Volume 2?

‘She’s Like’ will be on Down Volume 2, ‘Baby’ will, ‘Stand the Rain’… ‘Deserted’ is not going to be on there. I’ll probably put that on Volume 3 ‘cause that’s the latest one I’ve done.

How far done is Volume 2?

It’s actually done. It would’ve been out last summer; the summer that just went, but I had to go through a lot of technical problems to get a barcode done. They’ve got these rules and regulations now; before it was just a case of putting a barcode on it but now it’s all legal stuff so I’ve had to wait. I’m actually in the process of getting it done now; I’ll have the CDs in the next month, but in terms of me dropping it I’m gonna wait a bit, because I’m gonna let a video slip before it actually comes out…

What’s the video gonna be of?

I’ve done a video of ‘She’s Like’; that’s gonna go on youtube. I’m gonna circulate that on the net. And the next one will be a tune off my mixtape; no one’s heard it yet.

What’s happening with Ruff Sqwad right now?

We’ve got a tune circulating on a lot of radio, called ‘Ruff Sqwad Man Dem’ produced by Dirty Danger. We’ve shot a video for it that should be out in the next two or three months, it’s in the process of getting finished and getting it on TV straight away. All of us are doing our own solo projects: Tinchy’s got a mixtape coming out called Cloud Nine and his album’s out, I want to get my new mixtape out by March, Down Volume 2. Dirty’s doing a CD; I’m not sure when that’s going to be out. Same with Fuda Guy and Rapid, everyone’s working on projects…

Are there any vinyl releases scheduled?

The next vinyl release should be ‘Ruff Sqwad Man Dem’, but we haven’t got a date for that yet. We’re actually working on an album; that’s the main project that we’re all working together on. We’ve got the beats there, we just need to find the right concepts for the right beats, and get the right vocals. It’s getting wrapped up day to day.

Griminal on F Radio 5

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A way to avoid barcode legislation (as well as beef with bootleggers) is to put your mixtape out for free, and that’s become a real trend over the last couple of months in grime. Double S, Lee Brasco, Badness, Brutal and Griminal have all put out promotional mixes on their myspaces, and P Money has uploaded the Coins 2 Notes CD that he sold last year in Lewisham.

It’s a smart way of getting hype without having to bother about getting your CD stocked in shops, and it means less music exclusive to UK Record Shop: I’ve never had a problem with their service, but their monopoly over most grime mixtapes isn’t going to cater to people like myspace can.

OGz, Chipmunk, Griminal and Little NASTY on Kiss

Griminal and P Money’s mixtapes are the most exciting propositions; they were two of the three MCs who emerged as real top boys last year (the other being Chipmunk), and they feature pirate radio staples ‘What Did He Say’ and ‘It’s Alot’. Griminal’s also contains rips of him and Little N.A.S.T.Y’s bars from F Radio 5, which is one of the best grime sets of all time. I really like Brutal’s School Days Volume 1 too; ‘A Girl Tune’ is a bittersweet take on a sweet boy tune, and it really works. ‘You used to sound sweet like vocals, but now you’re a bassline. It’s like there’s no playtime’.

Another way to promote your music: upload a million videos on youtube, which is what Mellanin from OGz has been doing. Since Essentials split (there’s an interview with MC Nu Era which gives his account of what happened, which isn’t that exciting but interesting if you were a fan), OGz have been the most recognisable group in South London. I don’t rate Blacks or Pro that much, but P Money slaughters the second clip. Click here for more footage.

OGz, Skepta and Neckle Camp at Blacks’ Birthday Bash

More free grime audio: Trim clashed Killa P and Flowdan on Rinse (Download here), Plastician uploaded a mix and reckoned it felt like putting his kid up for auction on ebay (Download here), DJ Sketch’E had a wicked old school grime session on Manic FM (Download here), Devlin’s put his new EP on his Myspace, and the aforementioned best grime set in ages, F Radio 5.

The Death Set – Negative Thinking

Closing things for the month are videos from recent signings to Ninja Tune’s Counter imprint The Death Set (who we interviewed and profiled for FACT here), and Mad Decent producer Blaqstarr featuring teen queen MC Rye Rye. Fun facts: the Death Set video features a few shots of pint-sized guitarist Johnny Siera singing in an alley next to the imperiled CopyCat warehouse. Fans of The Wire might recognise this spot as several scenes were filmed in the area for both this season and last. Unfortunately, word is that the CopyCat, a warehouse where a number of artists have lived for the past couple decades and former site of the Wham City show space, might be sold to developers planning to price out the inhabitants.

Blaqstarr feat. Rye Rye – Shake it to the Ground

The Blaqstarr video kicks off with Rye Rye dancing in front of fountains in downtown Baltimore’s touristy Inner Harbour neighbourhood. Later there’s a shot of a man standing in front of a wall painting just down the street from another artists’ warehouse space which houses Floristree (where Wildfire Wildfire host many of their shows). During the block party dance scene, that just might be old school Bmore Club producer Scotty B making an appearance. And those kids on dirt bikes and four-wheelers doing wheelies? It’s an phenomenon known as ‘12 o’clock’ here. Type that into Youtube for a wealth of ridic vids.

Mixtape Reviews

DJ Balagan: Funny Accent (Modular Moods, Balagan Myspace)

Maybe it’s a backlash against hokey Americana and wartime xenophobia, but lately curiosity about the rest of the world’s musical doings has been mounting in the States. Think recent releases from Madlib and his lil’ bro Oh No, and the popularity of leftfield-recording labels like Sublime Frequencies. If Funny Accent is any indication, DJ Balagan has been clued into the international goldmine of sound longer than most. Late last year, the emerging Baltimore-based DJ quietly dropped this omnivorous mix on Modular Moods. Bouyed along by a near demented glee, Funny Accent is chockablock with buttery disco, old school hip hop, electro oddities, and funky permutations from the world over.

The strength here is the smoothness; from the soulful, slow burning “Miss World Needs Love” to the straight-up mania of “From Baltimore to Bogota and Back,” which sounds as dizzying as it’s name suggests, there’s nary a ruptured moment in all of Funny Accent’s frenzied continent-hopping. Word is, Balagan is currently finishing up a new full-length along with a music video directed by SystemD-128, the guy behind Blaqstarr’s “Shake It To The Ground” video. In the meantime, download his Soul Sanctions mix.

Adam Gonzo: Hands Up, Turns Down (Adam Gonzo Myspace)

Adam Gonzo is another young Baltimore upstart, associated with DJ Balagan. He’s just dropped the B-Town big uppin’ mix Hands Up, Turns Down; twelve minutes of off-kilter booty bumping emblematic of the anything goes, paid-in-booze DJ nights popular in Baltimore. In a total zeitgeist WTF?! move, the mix features a bonkers mash of Bmore Club, The Police’s ‘Roxanne’, and spazzpunks The Death Set pulled off so well that there’s nothing left to say. You just gotta hear it: Download it here. You can also download his Dance Party for Dummies Volume 2 mix here.

Next month we’ll have a mix from Dirty Canvas resident DJ Magic, interviews with dubstep producer and Woofah co-editor Grevious Angel and Jason Urick of WZT Hearts, plus Baltimore noise scene documenter N.O. Smith and a million other bits of music we love. ‘Til then!

UK stuff: Tom Lea
Baltimore stuff: Raven Baker