KOTJ Radio | Episode 2: Sickboy

Our good Belgian friend Sickboy of the infamous Breakcore Gives Me Wood parties and Servants Of The Apocalyptic Goat Rave has kindly put together the weirdest mixtape we're likely to have for the series! And all this in time for his European tour with Captain Ahab and DJ Skull Vomit.

Having released music on Tigerbeat6, Peace Off, Mirex and Wood, Sickboy's productions bring heaviness and excitement to every single production. His distinctive style has been ripping pop culture for nearly 10 years now, using samples rhythmically as part of a greater whole - rather than simply referencing a point in time.

This mix would be a great starting point if you don't know Sickboy's music. Though it doesn't feature many of his own tunes, it includes everything from Bubba Sparxxx to Duran Duran Duran to Disturbed - showing off his ability to slide effortlessly between styles and BPMs.

You can download the full mix below or stream it from Mr. Desmet's Soundcloud page.

Kick Out The Jam Mixtape by Sickboy Milkplus

Tracklist:

01. Alan Sylvestri - Delta Force Main Theme
02. Ashanti ft. Paul Wall - Still On It
03. Bubba Sparxxx - They Luv That feat. Bun B
04. Ceelo - I'll be around
05. Ice Rink - Rico Dan
06. Lazerhawk - Overdrive
07. Iconz ft. Trick Daddy - We Thuggin'
08. Shingaya - Rat Monkey
09. Street War - Death Of A Champion
10. Disturbed - Get Down With The Sickness (Angie Remix)
11. Bruce Stallion - 2 Bad Pillz
12. Sickboy - Tweencore 2
13. Ladyscraper - The Lady Pops
14. Duran Duran Duran - Prime Cut
15. T.I. - What You Know
16. Drums Are For Parades - Dead Katz (Droon's Shot Mix)
17. Captain Ahab - Old Like You
18. Aleister X - Bangers And Beans (Sickboy Remix)
19. Slim Thug - 3 Kingz
20. Dethklok - Murdertrain A Comin'

Europe Tour Dates:

09.07 amsterdam @ occii
10.07 copenhagen @ loppen
13.07 lyon @ brk / la fee verte
14.07 paris @ le tunnel
15.07 dour @ dour festival
16.07 hengelo @ innocent
17.07 hamburg @ hafenklang
18.07 kutna hora @ creepy teepee fest
19.07 budapest @ a38 / boat terrace
20.07 zagreb @ mochvara
22.07 madrid @ kadiqclub
23.07 barcelos (near porto) @ milhoes de festa
26.07 barcelona @ el nui
27.07 marseille @ l'enthropy
28.07 landau @ fatal
29.07 linz @ quitch

myspace.com/milkplussickboy
twitter.com/sickboymilkplus

Download: KOTJ Radio Episode 2: Sickboy

New Kanji Kinetic EP on Senseless Records!

Heavy bass purveyor Kanji Kinetic has a new EP out today on Senseless Records, promising a higher tempo of 175 as opposed to the usual 130/140 BPM. The blurb on their Soundcloud page talks about looking back to the old days of rave and jungle, which is always promising.

What I like about Kanji Kinetic is the heaviness he manages to inject into slow club-oriented music, which is becoming an increasingly rare trait these days. It's being released as a split with the New Era EP released on Tigerbeat6 earlier this year but with two new tracks and two remixes from Kaiser and Cracks as well.

You can stream the whole EP on the Senseless Records Soundcloud page before you buy the bugger.

DJ Donna Summer - Raw EP

Just as 2006 belonged to electro, 2007 and 2008 to dubstep, and 2009 to bassline, so too will 2010 belong to UK Funky. So what better way to kick off the year in funky (even though it's March, for fuck's sake) than to review DJ Donna Summer's first release on Nightshifters in 2 years?

I wouldn't say I'm a convert yet, but the possibilities within the genre have been opened up to me. Tracks like 'Wood' remind me of the old glitchy records that tigerbeat6 used to put out back in the day. The percussion-oriented tracks seem to allow for more irregular time signatures, which is encouraging, but the RnB element that never seems to die still exists in funky. Which is gay.

You can always rely on Donna Summer to do something exciting with a genre or style of music. Hopefully, the jungle element will come to the fore and BPMs will go up again. He's bagged a good bunch of producers for remix duties as well: Noise Floor Crew and Hostage deliver as expected, and Bok Bok delivers what some are describing as his best tune yet, but Sonido Del Principe are the surprising little gem with a Cumbia-inspired take on Funky.

Stand out tracks: Raw, Wood, Fighter
Download: DJ Donna Summer - Fighter

Title: Raw (NS013)
Artist: DJ Donna Summer
Out now on Nightshifters

Grab it at: Beatport, iTunes, Juno Download

Randy Twigg - Undone

After spending 3, count them 3, hours downloading this LP, I couldn't help but feel that it better be good. And honestly, I wasn't expecting much.

I hadn't heard of Randy Twigg before but the accompanying blurb from tigerbeat6 told me that she comes from:

"Deep in the bowels of Europe, well past the architecture and schnitzel hauses, past the sweating line-ups roped away from already packed clubs, past the throbbing mass on the dance floor itself, deep in the hot flashes of stages across Europe and Canada, slamming her beats, strapped into her bass, playing every note like her last"

With that in mind, I slapped it on and was underwhelmed to begin with. At first listen this sounds a little too much like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, without much of a signature. Having said that, 'Done Up' is a great opener, with a real Kraut-rock influence and a touch of MC5 for good measure.

After the first track things get a little hazy and border on lazy until you get to 'Photograph' and the bluesy electro-rock really kicks in. Any worries I had about Ms. Twigg not being able to find the right balance between electroclash and garage rock completely dissipated.

The vocals throughout draw on elements of Kate Bush and early Siouxsie Sioux, but what I love most is how the contrasting layers and the soundscapes they use reminded me of Einstürzende Neubauten with just a hint of Nick Cave. Shitty derivative Radio 1 electro it ain't. Which is nice.

I couldn't tell you what the lyrics are about, and if I'm honest I'm not sure she could either, but it's really great music and makes a nice change from the whole "kooky female singer" schtick with the likes of La Roux, Little Boots, etc. It does teeter on the verges of really boring girl-shouting-over-electro a la Fannypack and Fagget Fairies, but it picks up by the fourth track and there's some really great remixes of from Kid606, GD Luxxe and Khan to boot.

Stand out tracks: Suitcase, Made Of Mouse, Bona Fide, Assassin
Download: Randy Twigg - 3 Parrots (Kid606 Remix)

Title: Undone (meow154)
Artist: Randy Twigg
Out now on Tigerbeat6