Hostage Essential Mix for Annie Mac + free new tune 'Skin Out'

Big news about the next couple of months at KOTJ: I'll be interviewing Starkey, DJ Donna Summer and Kid606; but sooner than that, the first volume of the Kick Out The Jam mix series will be hitting you square in the knackers in around a month's time with a contribution from none other than Donna Summer himself, Jason Forrest.

In the mean time, Hostage has recorded a session for Annie Mac's Essential Mix live at Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh. This is what the good chaps at Nightshifters had to say about things:

"Wow, 2010 looks to be an IN-SANE year for us here @ Nightshfters! There's a lot of awesome stuff happening for us (don't worry- we'll let you know when the time is right) but for now- what's that?- Hostage scores a live Essential Mix in Edinburgh with Annie Mac just last week! The crowd goes wild!! We ripped it from the BBC so you could have more than 7 days to check it out! haha!" - Jason Forrest

Right click + save as below to get his Essential mix and a brand-spanking new tune, 'Skin Out'. The tracklisting is in the folder with the rather snazzy artwork.

Download: Hostage - Skin Out :: Hostage - BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix

Debut Kingdom single out today!

Kingdom's long awaited debut single 'Mind Reader' has finally been released on Fool's Gold after months of teasing remixes. It features Shyvonne on vocals and has a banging b-side in the shape of 'You'.

Remixes come from Bok Bok, L-Vis 1990 and Todd Edwards. Head on over to Beatport, iTunes or Turntable Lab to buy the little rascal or a bird will lay eggs in your stomach.

Download: L-Vis 1990 - United Groove (Kingdom Remix)

3 free tunes from The Plastician

The Plastician's just uploaded 3 new-ish mp3s to his Soundcloud page for you to download all to yourself. The first's a remix of the worst thing to happen to dubstep, 'Snoop Dogg Millionaire', the second a remix of one of the two redeeming songs on Chew Lips' album 'Unicorn', 'Salt Air'. The final tune is a Plastician original, 'Working Title'.

His remix of 'Snoop Dogg Millionaire' is actually much better than the original but I still completely disagree with Snoop Dogg doing dubstep. The 'Salt Air' remix is of course brilliant, but it's 'Working Title' that stands out.

It's a grimey little number with cheeky little sirens dotted around and a darkness that harks back to old school drum & bass (not Old Skool) and German techno like The Panacea.

Most importantly, though he's looking for guest vocalists to upload their efforts to http://bln.kr/plasticianrmx. I suggest some soulful vocals...

Or ragga.

Starkey @ Deviate - 05/03/10

Starkey will be bringing some street bass justice to Newcastle at the beginning of March as part of the Deviate club nights at World Headquarters.

"Straight off a plane from the USA Starkey will be bringing his own unique STREET BASS sound to Deviate @ WHQ. A true legend in his own right, Starkey was the only USA artist to be featured on Mary Anne Hobb's now legendary Dubstep Wars radio show where he astounded everyone with his furious mix of all things bass."

Tickets are £7 advance or you can pay on the door if you're as disorganised as me. The Deviate nights always prove to be a lot of fun and there's always a really inclusive crowd there - although the handbags and high heels have started to creep in a little...

Four Tet - There Is Love In You

Four Tet's fifth album was always going to struggle to follow 2005's 'Everything Ecstatic'. In the end, it looks as though he's produced a surprisingly solid release. Whether it consistently meets those demands is not always so easy to argue.

Hebden first began his music-making journey in 1997 with the post-rock/electronica band Fridge. Around 2001 the group informally parted ways, allowing Adam Ilhan and Sam Jeffers to attend college while Hebden focused on his own solo material. With his fourth album, 'Everything Ecstatic', everything exploded for him as his music began appearing in adverts and even Quantum Of Solice - not that anyone actually saw that film.

And he has the Radiohead seal of approval, having remixed 'Scatterbrain' from 'Hail To The Thief' ad supporting them on their 2003 European tour. Since then, his collaboration with Burial opened dubstep fans up to the possibilities of life after bass, whilst earning him an infinite number of cool points.

Tracks like 'Love Cry' blend the percussion-based melodies of his earlier work with the dark, techy melodies of 'Everything Ecstatic' to create a truly introspective release that flirts with everything from folk to techno to italo without becoming derivative. What's impressive is this blending of sounds and styles never detract from his own signature glitchy sound. His music is so removed from what is going on in the mainstream that it retains relevance and uniqueness across the years.

Unfortunately, Hebden only touches on the brilliance that went before, struggling to balance technical prowess with palatable melodies. Some tracks like 'Plastic People' manage it perfectly, but others get swallowed up by the skippy, glitches he puts in for almost no reason at all. Despite that, however, it is still a solid album and much better than 'Dialogue'. If you're expecting an improvement on 'Everything Ecstatic', then keep looking. Otherwise, tuck in and try to listen to this on its own merits, rather than in relation to its predecessor.

Stand out tracks: Love Cry, Plastic People, This Unfolds
Download: Four Tet - Love Cry (Joy Orbison Remix)

Title: There Is Love In You (wig254)
Artist: Four Tet
Out now on Domino

Second Starkey single from 'Ear Drums & Black Holes'

If there's one artist who continues to surprise me and exceed my expectations it's Starkey. His new single 'Stars' (out March 8th on Planet Mu), featuring Anneka on vocals is taken from the forthcoming album 'Ear Drums & Black Holes' (out April 19th) and builds on the brilliance of his debut.

The title track 'Stars' is a very laidback, almost housey affair with an ethereal tint. Slugabed's remix, however, really adds something the original lacks, bringing out the bassy noisiness and launching it in to more club-friendly territory. Clearly, Kieran "Four Tet" Hebden is an influence on Geissinger as the fluttering synths and gentle melodies mark a more introverted departure from the snare-heavy grime of olde.

That's not to say Starkey has abandoned heavy bass music, the b-side 'Starting Gates' sees him create what can only be described as "drillstep". The grimey, arpeggiated synths made famous on his first LP risk getting lost in the rest of the layers at times but this arguably only adds to the bass-heavy thump of it.

This is a date you should really mark in your diary because it might just be better than 'Ephemeral Exhibits'. And with any luck it'll mark the demise of that godawful subgenre "ravestep".

While you wait, tuck into this preview he posted on his Soundcloud page:

Chew Lips - Unicorn

After hearing The Plastician's remix of 'Salt Air' I couldn't help but eagerly anticipate Chew Lips' debut album, 'Unicorn'. However, the rest of the LP and the synth-by-numbers approach to production felt like a La Roux b-sides collection.

Featuring vocals that are somewhere between Florence & The Machine and Karen O, the album fails to make any sort of significant impact. The production is another gripe of mine: ripping off everyone from Devo to the Eurythmics and The Legendary Pink Dots, this album would have sounded dated and unoriginal 30 years ago, let alone now.


And that's precisely the problem with this current wave of quirky female singers all trying to exist in the realms of Annie Lennox and Kate Bush: they have none of the flair or originality. In fact, it's becoming increasingly apparent that La Roux, Little Boots, Goldielocks and anyone else of their ilk, are singing pretty good songs but with lazy production because they know that it doesn't really matter, as long as they get an "edgy" or "trendy" producer like Skream or The Plastician to add credibility with a remix that becomes way more popular than the original. Is that good? Is it good that the person who wrote the song couldn't even record the best version? No. No, it is not.

Having said that, their upcoming single 'Solo' (out on Kitsuné very soon) and their debut, 'Salt Air' do offer something in the way of promise (What better than a ballad about drink-driving to get the party started?!), but even then Tigs can't break out of Karen O-lite. And I know, I know they're deliberately trying to sound unoriginal so their sound doesn't date - hang on, how is that better? "Well, we knew it was a waste of time trying to produce anything original so we just smashed a Florence CD into the head of our keyboard player until his ears bled, flicked the Casio to stale and kicked back and watched Hollyoaks." Great. That doesn't make me depressed at all.

Ultimately, underneath all the knowing, ironic references and kitsch eighties productions they're no different to Girls Aloud - formulaic, saccharine, derivative and completely uninteresting. And would you look at them? That's what Andy Warhol would have looked like had he been a T4 presenter.

New DJ Hidden record!

DJ Hidden
'The Words Below - Limited Edition Vinyl Series Vol. 3'
Ad Noiseam [adn124]
12" / digital

First of all, I'm genuinely excited about this: a new release by DJ Hidden on Ad Noiseam. Continuing his 'Words Below' series, DJ Hidden has dropped the third and final edition of the series with his partner in crime from The Outside Agency, Eye-D, featuring two remixes of tracks from his album of the same name.

His first album, 2007's 'The Later After' was hailed as a masterpiece by critics and fans alike. His sophomore effort would therefore have to be something pretty damned sexual. Fortunately, he hasn't disappointed and continues to fire out some of the darkest, most thoughtful beats and breaks this side of Starkville.

Like Starkey, this album is more than just a collection of songs - the tracks run together with an indeterminate flow that demonstrates a surprising flare for storytelling that is so very lost in today's music. This remix series features great reinterpretations but it's the originals that really shine. There's also a slight feeling that these remixes seem somewhat disjointed from their original setting - like watching Empire Strikes Back on its own. There still worth a listen, it's just that you're left expecting something when it finishes.

These tracks are exclusive to this 12" so grab the crap out of it while you can! Failing that, a digital version is available at Ad Noiseam for a tiny wee amount that you'll barely notice. At the time of writing there were no tracks available for posting, but here's a couple of samples to whet your collective appetite:

Download:
DJ Hidden - The Narrators (Eye-D Remix) [Clip]
DJ Hidden - The Devil's Instant (DJ Hidden Remix) [Clip]

New AC Slater mix for Annie Nightingale's Radio 1 Show

AC Slater has recorded a mixtape for Annie Nightingale's Radio 1 show. The mix contains mainly new tracks and remixes by Mr. Slater as well as a couple of old favourites from the Trouble & Bass crew. Judging by the tracklisting and the amount of new stuff, at the very least we can expect a new Trouble & Bass compilation in the near future.

The mix also features a couple of new faces in the form of P-Money and Ladybox, who I'm sure will be bringing out their own releases very soon. I'm a little late of the mark with this one so you won't be able to stream it from BBC iPlayer anymore, but below is the download link for the mp3.

Tracklist:
1. Udachi - "P-Funk Skank" [Party Like Us Records]
2. AC Slater - "Take You" feat Ninjasonik [Trouble & Bass]
3. Tonka - "Jack Track" (Black Noise VIP) [Southern Fried]
4. Kill the Noise - "Jokes on You" [Slow Roast]
5. Acid Girls - "Numbers Song" (Jokers of the Scene Remix) [iheartcomix]
6. Drop the Lime - "Thwomp Stomp" [Trouble & Bass]
7. Ladybox - "Hit My Ride" (AC Slater Remix) [Party Like Us Records]
8. Heavyfeet - "I Spy" (AC Slater Remix) [Stamp! Music]
9. AC Slater - "Calm Down Part 2" [Trouble & Bass]
10. P-Money - "Left the Room"
11. DJ Zinc - "Killa Sound" feat No Lay (Skream Remix) [Bingo]
12. AC Slater & Mumdance feat Badness & 77Klash - "Transatlantic Riddim" [Trouble & Bass]
13. Drop the Lime - "Set Me Free" (AC Slater Remix) [Trouble & Bass]
14. MJ Cole - "Sincere" (Mumdance & High Rankin Remix)
15. Starkey - "OK Luv" feat Badness [Planet Mu]
16. Jinder - "Youth Blood" (12th Planet Remix) [Trouble & Bass]

Download: AC Slater - Annie Nightingale Mix (08/01/10)

New Raffertie 12" on Planet Mu

Raffertie will be releasing a new 12" January 18th on Planet Mu. The single will be a two track jobby comprising the tracks '7th Dimension' and 'String Theory'. As much as I love Raffertie I was pretty surprised to see it released on Planet Mu. I know they try to be as diverse as possible but I never thought I'd see a bassline/midget house release on there.
Anyway, that aside, it turns out the release is more promising than I've made it sound: 'String Theory' will appeal to those fond of Warp and Planet Mu releases, with lots of techy synths and bleeps hither and thither. It's probably not what you'd describe as club fodder, but '7th Dimension' certainly makes up for that and it still makes for a fun listen.
And for anyone who suspected Raffertie had taken wobbly basslines to the Nth degree, then listen to this and reconsider. I was starting to worry about the path his music was taking, but this release marks (hopefully) the beginning of releases with a bit more experimentation and variation to them - a welcome advancement in the world of bassline.
So to tide you over until this release comes out, here's a track he released on Planet Mu a couple of months ago on 'The Mu School' compilation, available on Boomkat:

Download: Raffertie - Wobble Horror!