Chase & Status: Live

Sometimes life just works out perfectly.  On the drive home from work Friday night, Zane Lowe played the brand new Chase & Status single Lost and Not Found.  It just so happened that my eta on seeing Chase & Status at the O2 Academy in Oxford at that exact moment was five hours and thirty-two minutes.  Sonny Bill Williams couldn’t time a shoulder charge better than that.  Although the track itself didn’t pack the punch that SBW’s shoulder does, there was no doubt in my mind that the live show would.

Even though I am now approaching thirty, I still reckon I can rage with the best of them.  Having not been to an indoor electro gig in the UK yet this was my first chance to prove my worth.  Believe it or not I came off second best.  Was it that Oxford is home to huge number of pretentious, shirtless, student twats or is it that the UK rage is far more intense than the ones back home?  I am not sure.  With a bit of weight to throw around I am not scared to get the elbows and shoulders into it and make some room.  Yet you need some room even to start this trend and basically there was none.  I felt like a number eleven facing a fired up Mitchell Johnson aiming at the ribcage.  It didn’t help that my partner in crime was a five foot nothing female who was copping elbows to the melon left right and centre.  Knowing that you should never let the crowd dictate your musical experience we admitted defeat and retreated.  Thank fuck we did because god dam Chase & Status put on a show.

There is a reason why the venue was rammed to breaking point.  Chase & Status are the best in the business.  Even though the set list is now lost on my alcohol induced mind, there are moments which were simply awesome.  Flashing Light was massive.  I guess that is what you get when you add Sub Focus to an already gargantuan live sound.  The bass literally took over in Hocus Pocus dictating the movements of every sweat filled body in the place.  Then came the massive hits Let you go and Blind Faith which were blatantly awesome.  The live sound adds another level to these tracks you have heard hundreds of times before enticing you to rage that little bit harder.  If that was even possible!  The beauty of Chase & Status is that they have added so many more dimensions to their sound over the past couple of years while still maintaining their aggressive drum n bass roots.  I was secretly hoping to for them to play a bit more of album one, More Than A lot, especially Pieces, the ultimate break up song of all time but you can’t have it all.

Recapping the night whilst devouring fried chicken at 4am, the theme revolved around two things.  The awesomeness of Chase & Status and how they would have been just that little bit more awesome outdoors, say on the main stage at Reading Festival before Eminem?!  Um yes please.

Fresh beats for 4/20

The hip hop formula is pretty basic.  A mean beat plus a wicked rhyme and you are in the money.  Although notoriously hard to do, too often in today’s musically saturated world this formula is forgotten.  Luckily Pom & Beanie (via Invasion website, another little hobby of mine) have hit the jackpot.  Introducing #DBNR (Drugs, Beats N Rhymes), a collective spearheaded by trailblazers @rT (pronounced ‘Art’) and Phitted, two dudes who have got the above hip hop formula down pact.  We are lucky enough to bring you the world-wide premier of his debut album ‘High Thoughts, Low World’ dropping today of all days, April 20^th.  Coincidence?  I think not.  For all of you who like the occasional stroll in green pastures, roll up and turn your ears on.  Beanie is once again providing the goods.

Born in and proudly representing Willingboro New Jersey, Phitted is by no means new to the game.  Following up his 2012 mixtape ‘Free Thinkin’, he has worked with the likes of Mike Zombie and Cardiak (who produces for Rick Ross and 50 cent) and has opened for Big Sean and French Montana.  But forget the casual name dropping, Phitted’s fresh voice and sharp lyrical flow is bound to make waves in a genre that craves more real MC’s.

‘High Thoughts, Low World’ is a chilled, professional record that highlights the lyrical and production skills of Phitted and the DBNR crew.  Conscious hip hop has been thrown around as a label for his music but that is derived more from his laid back flow rather than its subject matter.  Phitted steers clear of social issues; rather he intelligently takes you through pertinent issues in his life.  These revolve around music, creativity, realness and of course the big three outside of the Miami Heat, “pussy, money and weed”.  I can hear some of you sceptics whispering now.  Yes one dimensional MC’s can bottom out on the big three, not having the skill or intelligence to move beyond the obvious.  With Phitted you get the feeling early on that the music comes first, bullshit second.  It is a simple but rare characteristic in the hip hop world, and one that should mean more than a bullet wound or a pussy packed pool party.

Each track contributes to a really well balanced album with track one ‘More than an Intro’ being the first standout.  A simple funky beat and some witty rhymes like “Yea she’s your girl but my place where she sleepin, then she out the door by the evening, stackin up, macaroni pockets smile on my face cheesin” alluding to the rhyming quality to come.  The title track is also a cracker, followed by ‘JusChill’ which as the name suggests combines a fluid drum beat and gentle piano loop with some wickedly smooth lyrics by Phitted and De’Ko.  Finally the last three tracks on the album, especially ‘Murda’ manages to raise the tempo with a heavier beat and G’d up feel which emphasises the versatility of this stylish MC.  This ends what is a quality album that needs to be heard.

For all those looking for a fresh voice in hip hop, look no further.  Phitted is where it’s at.  Check out the link for the first listen, worldwide.  Happy 4/20 people.

http://www.invasionmag.com/2013/04/album-review-art-x-phitted-high-thoughts-low-world/

BEANIE

Good tune, old fiddle

I’m a bit of walker.  Not wanker, walker.  Getting out and about in the countryside, listening to some tunes on a nice day is pretty darn therapeutic if you ask me.  Today was just one of those days.  Crisp, cool and muddy as hell!   The half hour pre walk is spent deciding upon appropriate footwear (wellys or shoes?) and pondering what music will provide the soundtrack to this outdoor excursion.  Now of late I have been a little disappointed with the variety of my ipod.  I seem to be listening to the same cycle of dub, reggae, hip hop and electronica.  It’s a little like tuning into to Radio 1 or The Edge between 7am and 7pm.  Stock standard shit.  I needed a kick up the musical behind.  Who better to provide it than the essence of Ziggy Stardust?!  Bowies shock return to the music scene got me thinking.  I must have more options on this jam packed 32GB ipod.  Switch on Swindells, you’re better than this.  It hurts to admit that Bowie himself had been cut from the ipod to make way for some comparatively insignificant album which currently eludes me.  Rookie mistake.  Still, the inspiration was still fresh in my veins.  These are the results:

Gentlemanly Dubbed

“When I am grey and old, will I still be getting involved?  I hope sooooo”.  A line so apt and put so simply that it couldnt help but echo through my mind for days following a fluke encounter with Gentlemans Dub Club.  After a drought of live music caused in part by credit card debt, isloated geographical location and general laziness Pom and Beanie were resurrected by a night and a band that will never be forgotten.

Going into a gig with little to no knowledge of the act is always a little risky.  It can go two ways.  Either the act is a little disappointing and you spend your time semi listening whilst jealously watching the drunken students causing chaos even though they would have the same amount of fun at a Wiggles concert OR you forget about the drunken students, the pushy crowd and the mile long drink line and are enthralled by a band you had absolutely no expectation of.   Gentlemans Dub Club certainly were the latter.  Seeing the post on O2 Academy’s facebook page gave me four hours to decide.  Listen to ‘High Grade’ and the decision was made.

Being a Kiwi I fancy myself as a bit of a dub fan with some solid roots in the genre.  I didn’t think I would travel halfway around the world to the musical mecca that is the UK to have my first gig being a sound so familiar.  Dub to me is about grass, green, sunshine and the sway.  Oxford in November has none of the above!  Until these boys stroll on stage.  Their instrumental entrance, all in full suits is a little play on their name.  It was however about as gentlemanly as they get.  Their brand of dub is deep and heavy, blurring the lines between its newly formed brother with step for a surname.  When they add ska, reggae and hip hop into their immense live sound it is really something to behold.

The range of vocalist Jonathan Scratchley is the key to the success of Gentlemans Dub Club.  He has a voice that can sing sweet and soft one minute then morph into a wicked rasta influenced MC in the next.  Check out the new single Emergency for a perfect example.

Another highlight is the brass.  Shit I love brass.  Matt Roberts on trumpet especially has both a bangin’ solo and an energy that sums up the whole band.  These lads love what they do.  There is something so uplifting seeing that as part of an audience.  Seeing them jumping up and down without a worry in the world is all you need to do the same.  With the EP ‘Open Your Eyes’ due out on March 26th 2013 there is bit of a wait to get a taste.  A better option is to get to a date on their national tour ending Dec 13th in London.  Wrap up warm to get there but be prepared to strip the layers off when they start.  You will be jumping.

BEANIE

Electro City!

A couple of fresh music reviews for the electro fans out there…..

DJ Hazard – FABRICLIVE 65

It has been a wee while since I braved the elements and got amongst the so called jump up style of drum n bass.  Having spent many a sweat filled evening head to the ground, boxing the air, casually raging to it’s fierce flow, a chance to review the latest Fabriclive mixed by none other than DJ Hazard was, if nothing else a chance to reminisce.  There I was thinking I had grown out of it.  The jump it would seem, does not grow old! 

Stop, Rewind, Play: A Week with the Cassette

After four months of blissful unemployment my first day involved the loan of Pom’s mums ancient but always reliable Peugeot.  It came complete with numerous teddy bears, one tuneable radio station and wait for it, a cassette player .  Usually radio is enough for me, especially the new found BBC’s Radio6.  This station fills the void left by the absence of my beloved Radio Active, and does so without ad’s.  Awesome.  Unfortunately I learnt that the one station picked up by this primitive wagon wasn’t Radio6 but Radio2.  My ipod and headphones would have been utilised in a second if English country roads weren’t as treacherous as straying off the path in Mirkwood (yes sir’ee it is nigh on middle earth time again!).  Still no ad’s, and the musical snippets I had heard of the station escaping from the kitchen when Lu’s parents control the dial weren’t too bad.  So with an open mind I embarked on my debut 45 minute Witney to Bicester commute.  5 minutes into it I was silently seething.  After 10 I was hurling abuse at the radio and come 15 I had pulled over, turned it off in disgust and was rummaging through the cassette collection.  Chris Evans, the morning DJ is the most annoying human I have ever encountered.  I mean, who are the hell are you to constantly ambush a song halfway through and say how great you think it is?  I would like to make my own mind up thank you Chris.  Shut the fuck up!  There is nothing worse than a radio DJ that prefers his own voice to the music he plays.  Still quoting the late, great Albus Dumbledore “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light”.  Happiness in this instance didn’t come in the form of houseleves, Hagrid  or Hermione but in cassettes.

On first inspection the collection seemed to be rather limited.  First choice was The Eagles Hotel California album for obvious sing-a-long reasons.  And with backup tracks like ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ my smile swiftly returned.  The Police followed, with crackers like ‘Roxanne’, ‘Next to You’ and ‘Can’t Stand Losing You’ off their 1978 Outlandos d’Amour album.  By the time I finished listening and re-listening to these two cassettes it was Wednesday afternoon.  A crucial choice lay before me.  Dolly Parton, Chicago or Bread.  To be honest, by name, I had no idea who Chicago were so they took a back seat.  Not surprisingly Bread won out, purely due to the their name being one of my most favourite things on the planet.  It was unfortunate to find that they didn’t quite meet my expectations.  I think their pussy, soft-rock style would have been better suited to a bread derivative name like croissant.

Friday dawned and my final day of cassette commutting.  After Pom’s enthusiastic but screech filled recommendation, Chicago were slipped in and rewound to the start of side one.  Holy moly.  Is there any love ballad more EPIC than Chicago’s ‘It’s hard to say I’m sorry’?

Just try to listen to it and not screech your heart out.  During writing this blog I have a replayed the song 4 times on Spotify, just by the click of a button rather than the stop, rewind, wait 30 seconds, play again, not the right place, 10 more seconds, yes.  This was definitely the find of the week.  Having now bought a car with an ipod connection, the cassettes will take their rightful place in the back of the glovebox.  Yet I have a renewed faith that if I become podless, there is another option rather than listening to twats on the radio.

BEANIE

For the technologically illiterate…

Technology has never really been my thing.  When the dvd player isn’t working my usual tactic is to try and outlast my companions by pretending not to give a shit.  This works maybe %50 of the time as unfortunately I have some beautifully lazy friends.  If I am beaten in this immense battle of uselessness then my problem solving technique lacks sense, structure and usually a positive outcome.  Unfortunately this trait of being technologically illiterate is one that does not bode well in 2012 when music is supposedly your thing.  With all the pods, pads, phones, apps, spotifys and soundclouds out there one needs to keep up with the times or risk playing more catchup footy than the woeful Warriors.  There is nothing to do but embrace the change, get amongst the new technology and thrive.  Much like going bald.  Don’t muck about with million dollar hair growth treatments.  Grow a beard, shave the head and pretend to be a baller.  Problem solved.

Over the past few days I have stumbled across a couple of instances highlighting the changing world of online music.  The first is the news about Lady Gaga’s new album “Artpop”.  Although I couldn’t care less about the music, the fact that the album is going to be released in app form is going to be, well, I don’t actually know how I feel about it.  The point is that it is happening and no doubt it will be sickeningly popular.  

This week I’ve been mostly listening to…

Alex Clare’s Too Close. I can’t get enough of this song at the moment which is also the soundtrack for the new Internet Explorer 9 ad on TV. Every time I hear it I get an excited buzz in my stomach, like I’m off to a live gig somewhere and I just want to dance my socks off!

Having heard a little bit of dubstep previously, I sometimes found myself getting a bit bored. So I like the fact the dubstep in this track only really features in the chorus. It does still have the big bass line drop you look for in all dubstep beats to get your body moving and Clare’s gravelly voice sets off some good vibrations.

Check it out:

You can find out more about London born and bred Clare (as I have done) on his website here – the bonus is he sounds like a pretty cool dude too.

POM

Home Brew….best NZ Hip Hop yet?

Following on from the mention of @Peace in the Travelling Sounds blog, just a quick heads up on Tom Scott’s other crew, Home Brew’s new self titled album.  I know it dropped a few months back, but hey I have been travelling and am playing catch up!  My original thought that Home Brew wouldn’t travel well due to it’s uniquely Kiwi sound has been dashed.   For those of you who haven’t heard of them or are as slack as me, check out the below clip filmed live at York Street recording Studios in Auckland.  NZ Hip Hop to be proud of….BRO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gjE6BulVMpE

BEANIE

Travelling Sounds

We did think about keeping up the blog.  I promise we did.  In reality though, we both found travelling too awesome to dare I say it, waste time on a computer.  Those people that can keep up a travel blog, I salute you.   We spent too much time eating.

With this in mind, Pom and Beanie have some catching up to do.  Starting now. Travelling around South East Asia on a budget ensures that one will have to endure a number of uncomfortable journeys.  30 hour bus rides are not pleasant at the best of times. Add in a Vietnamese border crossing, a broken toilet, no air conditioning and a shoe nazi bus driver and the trip becomes utter torture.  Easing the pain could only come in three forms.  Valium, snacks and music.  Embarking on a journey such as this, a fully charged ipod is as important as Kevin Pieterson is to Kevin Pieterson.  Crucial.  I spent the majority of the bus, train and boat journeys with my headphones on.  Whether I was reading, staring out the window or in a valium induced coma, sounds got me through.

In commemoration of these monotonous hours I will attempt to put together a few albums which assisted the only three tasks able to be undertaken whilst travelling. Note, eating was undertaken during any and all of the below:
a) Sleeping
b) Reading
c) Staring out the window

Sleeping:

Norah Jones:  Come Away With Me

I am positive I am not alone in saying that there is something about this woman’s voice that makes the head droop and the drool start to flow.  I don’t even think I have heard anything past the 5th song on the album.  If Norah somehow gets around to reading this, please don’t take it as a criticism.  Your voice is so beautifully calming, your piano playing so delicately mellow that I just can’t help but drift away into a soulful slumber.  I happen to think you are a bit of a babe too.

Fat Freddys Drop: Based on a True Story

Good ol Fat Freddy’s may not be everyones cup of english breakfast but as an avid fan I think if you don’t like them, you just don’t understand them.  They shouldn’t be playing during a new years eve countdown at coromandel gold.  But at dusk, chilling on the grass with a beer and some space to get up and boogie when the 5 minute song build-up erupts, you just can’t beat them.  The vocals of Joe Dukie are straight up sublime.  That man could sing me to sleep any night of the week.  I can vouch for a number of female friends however who wouldn’t be doing too much sleeping if they got him that close to their bedrooms.

Reading:

Nightmares on Wax: Carboot Soul

I first heard Nightmares on Wax at one of those epically cool Melbourne house parties I occasionally had the honour of attending.  Those warehouse turned apartments with people sporting cool haircuts, cool clothes and giving off that vibe of being just generally way cooler than me.  The wicked thing about Melbourne is that when it comes down to it everyone wants the same thing, a good time.  So in we strutted with a 4 litre cask of Stanley and the rest is history, be it a very hazy one.  Anyway, luckily for me these cats had a sweet taste in music. This album is a perfect background sound.  Whether it be on while chilling out having a few drinks or battling through Tess of the D’urbervillles on a slowboat down the Mekong river, there seems to be a perfect level of sound to block out any unnecessary noise but never enough to take control and overpower your concentration.  You may even be assumed to be cool if you have it in your collection.  Dream result.

Staring out the window:

Cornerstone Roots: Soul Revolution

Potentially the rediscovery of the trip.  This album will make you smile no matter what the situation.  After paying off the third lot of Vietnamese Soldiers we crossed at the border, in the 21st hour of our trip, in a cramped, sweaty, dirty sleeper bus, having no more goodies to consume, I was spotted laying back, eyes closed, smiling and quietly nodding my head to the funk filled reggae beat of Cornerstone Roots. It was as if I had already made it to a beachside hammock and ordered a Chang.  These kiwi reggae legends appear to have made this album especially to soundtrack the lifestyle on one of the southern Thai islands.  Even if you’re not there, you can feel what it would be like if you were.

@Peace: @Peace

Maybe it was because I was a little homesick or maybe I just thrived on the quality kiwi sounds that these guys produce because this album got played more than a Friends episode in Vang Vieng.  The chilled beats and wickedly relatable rhymes straight out of South Auckland gave me a taste of Aotearoa no matter how far away I felt at the time. How can a kiwi not relate to rhyme like this? “Bro pass a lighter. It’s a twist top, piss stop at the fish and chip shop, grab a couple snapper and a crab stick, eat it in the car park, grab an ice cream and we gap it”. The localised flow of Tom Scott and Lui Tuiasau almost became a representation of the Asian hustle and bustle with both parties humbly stating, this is how we do it back home.

 

This concludes my summary of more than 2 months of ipod action. Once again Pom and Beanie apologise for the lack of content over this period. Rest assured that both our travel experiences and the new homeland (Straight outa Compton slash Witney, Oxforshire!) will ensure that we will be blogging up a storm from now on.