King Britt

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  • My Top 50

    25 Ağu 2008, 14:09 yazan larrence

    1. How did you get into 25?
    Ming + FS: someone left one of their promo cds in my car, and i listened to it all summer

    2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22?
    Wu-Tang Clan: I'm sure it was something from 36 Chambers

    3. What’s your favorite lyric by 33?
    Morcheeba: I'd like to meet a spaceman who's got it going on

    4. What is your favorite album by 49?
    Freakwater: Old Paint--it makes me think of home

    5. How many albums by 13 do you own?
    Talvin Singh: I have songs from several albums, and the only one I can think of right now is Anokha

    6. What is your favorite song by 50?
    Mike Relm: the remix of the NIghtmare before Christmas song

    7. Is there a song by 39 that makes you sad?
    Diana Ross: not really. I guess My World is Empty Without You with the Supremes is kind of sad.

    8. What is your favorite album by 15?
    Yoav: Charmed And Strange (it's the only one, I think)

    9. What is your favorite song by 5?
    OutKast: ÇalJazzy Belle from ATLiens will always have a special place in my heart.

    10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy?
    Thievery Corporation: they all make me feel kind of chill. I think the only reason they have such a high rank is because their music is kind of meh stuff that fades into the background but is still very nice, so I play them when I need to concentrate on something else.

    11. What is your favorite album by 40?
    T.I.: King

    12. What is your favorite song by 10?
    The Knife: It changes all the time, but right now ÇalMarble House is kinda doing it for me.

    13. What is a good memory you have involving 30?
    A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory was one of the first two CDs I ever bought (the other was Jodeci: Forever My Lady) and I listened to it over and over

    14. What is your favorite song by 38?
    Dem Franchize Boyz: ÇalRidin' Rims--it's funny I would never say they were one of my favorite artists, but I guess I listen to them a lot when I'm homesick.

    15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy?
    Tricky: Evolution Revolution Love makes me very happy

    16. How many times have you seen 29 live?
    Roots Manuva: never, that would be pretty sweet

    17. What is the first song you ever heard by 23?
    Nujabes: not sure. probably heard him first on a Five Deez or Shing02 track

    18. What is your favorite album by 11?
    LTJ Bukem: any of the Logical Progression or Progression Sessions albums are excellent

    19. Who is a favorite member of 1?
    DJ Krush: DJ Krush is DJ Krush

    20. Have you ever seen 14 live?
    DJ Premier: no

    21. What is a good memory involving 27?
    Three 6 Mafia: i listened to them a lot when I was working in a kitchen, not worrying about anything

    22. What is your favorite song by 16?
    Aphrodite: ÇalCalcutta

    23. What is the first song you ever heard by 47?
    Leftfield: ÇalSwords in the movie Go

    24. What is your favorite album by 18?
    Shy FX & T Power: Diary of a Digital Soundboy

    25. What is your favorite song by 21?
    Björk: ÇalArmy of Me

    26. What is the first song you ever heard by 26?
    Hooverphonic: Çal2Wicky

    27. What is your favorite album by 3?
    DJ Shadow: Entroducing, of course

    28. What is your favorite song by 2?
    Burial: I love every song by Burial, but I can listen to ÇalEtched Headplate on repeat--it's so beautiful.

    29. What was the first song you ever heard by 32?
    NPR: it's actually news radio, I listen to a lot of podcasts. The first thing i really remember hearing on NPR was Prairie Home Companion, though I've never been into it.

    30. What is your favorite song by 8?
    Massive Attack: This is so hard--I love so many. Unfinished symphony or ÇalOne Love or ÇalAngel or ÇalMan Next Door. The one with Sinéad O'Connor is amazing too.

    31. How many times have you seen 17 live?
    Esthero: never, and I probably won't because I heard she just sings her new music, which is kind of boring to me, and not her old music, which is amazingly beautiful and special.

    32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy?
    Mocean Worker: I wouldn't say it makes me happy, but Summertime/Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child is very nice.

    33. What is your favorite album by 12?
    Roni Size: New Forms

    34. What is the worst song by 45?
    RJD2: I don't think I've ever heard a bad RJD2 song

    35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34?
    DJ Kentaro: don't know. I heard him first when he was spinning in a club in my prefecture.

    36. What is your favorite album by 48?
    Röyksopp: Melody A.M.

    37. How many times have you seen 42 live?
    Ghostface: once--it was nuts.

    38. What is your favorite song by 36?
    Temple of Sound & Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali: they all kind of blend together, and I don't mean that in a bad way.

    39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28?
    Timbaland: I think I Can't Stand The Rain--Missy Elliott version, obv

    40. What is your favorite album by 7?
    M.I.A.: Arular

    41. Is there a song by 31 that makes you happy?
    Sublime: I always have to sing along to ÇalWhat I Got

    42. What is your favorite album by 41?
    King Britt: King Britt Presents Scuba: Hidden Treasures or Late Night with King Britt

    43. What is your favorite song by 24?
    DJ Marky: ÇalBarcelona

    44. What is a good memory you have involving 46?
    Moughqual: Going to the show--intense. I highly recommend.

    45. What is your favorite song by 35?
    Diamond D: I don't know what it is about ÇalWhen It Pours It Rains, but it is some of the sexiest flow I've ever heard

    46. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy?
    Gang Starr: ÇalJust to Get a Rep reminds me of someone.

    47. What is your favorite album by 4?
    Big Bud: Infinity + Infinity

    48. Who is a favorite member of 37?
    Pendulum: Truthfully, I don't know the difference between them

    49. What is the first song you ever heard by 43?
    Atmosphere: i heard him first at a concert a while back, so I'm not sure

    50. What is your favorite song by 20?
    Money Mark: ÇalCry
  • Hydrogen Economy Playlist 2008.06.20

    21 Haz 2008, 05:08 yazan mkb218

    hydrogen economy plays every other friday on wzbc 90.3 FM in boston and www.wzbc.org

    Jack Dangers "Polarissima Borealis" from "Music for Planetarium" on Brainwashed Handmade
    The Black Dog "Digital Poacher" from "Radio Scarecrow" on Dust Science
    Joi "Asian Vibes" from "Joi" on Real World
    Myroslav Bytz "Amfuem" from "Amfuem" on Chi Recordings
    Kirk Degiorgio "I Do Not Exist (B12 Remix)" from "I Do Not Exist" on B12
    John Foxx "Kurfurstendamm" from "Tiny Colour Movies" on Metamatic
    Sebbo "Watamu Beach (Mortiz Von Oswald Rework)" from "Watamu Beach" on Desolat
    Autechre "Paralel Suns" from "Quaristice" on Warp
    Steve Reich "My name is Daniel Pearl (I'm a Jewish American from Encino California)" from "Daniel. Variations" on Nonesuch
    Audio Gourmet "Procrastinations" from "Rusted Dreams EP" on Webbed Hand
    Tang "Horizons" from "Machine Oriented" on Emphasis
    Swayzak "Ikea" from "Make Up Your Mind" on !K7
    MRI "Autopilot" from "Dauerlaufer" on Force Tracks
    Model 500 "Infoworld" from "Ocean to Ocean" on transmat
    Tortured Soul "Special Lady" from "In Transit Advance EP"
    Klein & M.B.O. "Dirty" from "Full 12" Mixes & Re-Edits Volume 5" on Music Box
    Paul Kalkbrenner "Press On (Joris Voorn Remix)" from "Reworks Vol 1" on BPitch Control
    James Priestley & Dan Berkson "Chariots" from "Chariots" on Simple
    Annette "Dream 17 (Mayday Mix)" from "Remixes 01" on Not on Label
    Quadrant "Hyperprism" from "Infinition" on Basic Channel
    Thomas Dolby "One of our Submarines" from "she blinded me with science" on Venice In Peril
    Ian O'Brien "Theme from Apollo" from "A History of Things to Come" on Peacefrog
    Deadbeat "Random Brown" from "Random Brown" on Cynosure
    LANSLEY & BROCKSIEPER "Popa Wheelie" from "Cunning Stunts EP" on Sub Static
    Alexkid "King Britt's Scuba Mix" from "Strawberry Lane Remixes" on F Communication
    Dan Curtin "Shining in Dub" from "Shining" on Dust Science
  • Can you hear this streamable music? You may suffer from Theriolalia!

    19 Eki 2006, 03:19 yazan talking_animal

    Let me present Theriolalia, the Internet’s most debilitating musical syndrome. Are you yapping like a fox, roaring like a moose, barking like a kittycat? Listen to these ten streamable artists for temporary relief.

    Ranked in order of popularity on last.fm.
    1. Brazilian Girls (15,994 listeners). Enough with the “no Brazilians, one girl” crap. What matters is their new album feeds you the same kinds of beats, but grungier than the last record. Yum, and Sabine Sciubba keeps bleating in ten different languages. Don’t wait till she breaks out in Bamanakan or Dutch to buy a record of theirs; the 21st century Nana Mouskouri is singing now in a venue near you.
    2. Lyrics Born (12,110 listeners). From the Bay Area, Lyrics Born is some kind of drug for me. His Later That Day, from 2004, just changed my views on rap (not really, but it’s a nice thing to say). Big props to the nice lady at Music Emporium 286 Flatbush Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11217 718-638-0550, for turning me onto LB. The proof is in the pudding: I can’t make a mix tape sound good without having a LB jam on it.
    3. Johnny Winter (9,710 listeners). My guitar teacher hipped me to Second Winter way back in the vinyl age; it was one of those original three-sided records. I had never heard anything as good in its vein of funked-up electric blues, and thanks to digital remastering and last.fm, you may never either.
    4. Ben Webster (5,330 listeners). There is something so gorgeous about the way he plays tenor saxophone. I love me my Joe Lovano and David Murray, but it’s hard to beat those recorded sides with Ben Webster for sheer beauty of sound. Dive in yourself; I’m a big fan of That’s All.
    5. King Britt (4,114 listeners). Another great reco from Music Emporium. The album Adventures in Lo-Fi is one of those amazing secret hiphop treasures; I listen to it and wonder still, how come this isn’t being blasted from the rooftops?
    6. Susanna and the Magical Orchestra (4,010 listeners). Thank you, superhelga, for sharing the S&MO goodness with me this summer, right before the duo’s new album came out. The new record, Melody Mountain, is in the same vein as List of Lights and Buoys, maybe not as good, but it’s so worth it for the quiet, quiet cover versions that compose the entire album. "It’s A Long Way To The Top," anyone? Fellow theriolalia sufferer Cloudtrapeze and I are waiting for her to cover ÇalI Will SurviveQuoth cloudtrapeze: Slow it right down, get rid of most of the chords and change the remaining ones to minor, and there you go.
      I can even hear it in my head - well, I would be able to if I wasn't blasting Cocteau Twins.
    7. DJ Logic (2,505 listeners). This guy made a record back in 2003, The Anomaly that I picked up at J&R the other day. I had one song from it in MP3 format downloaded from some long-forgotten server, ÇalMichelle, which I liked, and when I saw the friendly orange slipcover, I decided to buy my own copy of the CD. Of course, it would turn out to be completely off the hook, a Vernon Reid collaboration, with tons of other special guests Miri Ben-Ari, anyone?, and in its own way, a completely idiosyncratic take on where hiphop is and is going. We will be listening to this record for years to come, I promise you.
    8. Erroll Garner (2,372 listeners). One of the great jazz pianists, and the composer of “Misty,” one of the last jazz standards written. Garner sadly doesn’t get the appreciation he deserves today; as WKCR’s Phil Schaap said the other day, it’s astonishing that someone who 50 years ago was recognized as one of the leading lights of the music is today barely known. He’s streamable on last, luckily, so he makes my list and should make yours.
    9. Konk (1,332 listeners). I will confess, this is more of that post-punk that makes my heart sing, but in this case, it’s heavily leavened with helpings of disco and funk; I would have to go back to the informative booklet that comes with the greatest-hits CD for sure, but I would have to wager that the Konk players were all in regular dance orchestras playing on disco sides or in uptown salsa orchestras as well as cranking the hell out of their amplifiers and making this beautiful, motivating record. I first heard ÇalLove Attack on WNYU’s late-night dance-music show in 1987 and went down to Vinylmania to buy my own copy on 12-inch vinyl. Imagine my delight to find the record newly remastered on CD two years ago, and try to comprehend my happiness at finding it streamable so I can recommend it to you through last.
    10. Mala Rodríguez (793 listeners under her streamable name; a couple hundred more without the accent mark). I first heard Mala R. on the PA in the Concerto record store in Amsterdam; she was appearing in Holland a week after my departure. I liked ÇalTengo Un Trato enough to buy it then and there. When I got back to my island chain, I found that Alevosía was available in this country. I wasn’t impressed until I heard the title cut, which could have knocked me over with a feather; lightly sung Spanish vocals, a claves rhythm, loping bass, and a windy, patient guitar solo. It was the last thing I expected on an Iberian hiphop record and has turned me (again) into a big fan of Mala.
    Honorable mention:
    • Bush Tetras (2,551 listeners). More of that lovely, lovely post-punk sound that I so love. I bought the compilation disc a couple of weeks ago and would have ranked it on the big list above except that there’s only one streamable track available, from another compilation, the monstrously good You Can’t Be Funky.
    • Marlui Miranda (129 listeners). Marlui made an ambitious and beautiful record with a choir of indigenous folks from Brazil. They sing and chant and the music (it’s a mass), just gets wilder and more elaborate: it’s absolutely riveting. Look for it at your local library: for some reason, audiovisual librarians go rightfully gaga for records like this one. Is it because it’s “world music”?
    • Hamid Drake - Joe McPhee (16 listeners). This is one in a series of poorly labeled last.fm streamable albums. I heard a daylong interview program with Joe last Sunday on WKCR; based on that and the little I’ve heard from him I have absolutely no qualms about recommending this title to you and your friends and anyone who’s read this far already. Classic out jazz music by two masters, Hamid Drake and Joe McPhee.
  • Code Name Bacalau mix

    27 Ağu 2006, 03:05 yazan talking_animal

    This is my August 2006 mixtape effort; I gave copies out at the recent CDmom-club meeting and I haven't heard anything bad about it so far, so I guess it's a success. This is my final attempt for the time being to try to string tracks together in some kind of order as if I was a radio DJ again.

    The problem with this approach is that there's no real theme and the selection seems kind of random to anybody who doesn't have the same exact record collection as I do. If it works, the mix just goes from one slamming track to another and the momentum keeps building. If it doesn't work, people wander off into corners wondering, "What is this crap?"

    It's called "Code Name Bacalau" because I sent a preview copy to my mixtape guru, mjcrbt, along with another one called "Code Name Jamon," and asked her advice on which one to distribute at the club. She picked Bacalau and I think I agree, but when I tried to come up with a more thematic name I was stumped. So Code Name Bacalau it has remained.

    In order to provide some context, I've made a set of liner notes for you all so you can know what you're listening to; if you like the sounds then by all means post in the journal comments and I can help shine a little more light on the artists or the tracks.

    Download here


    1. ÇalTo Hell With Poverty, 4:57, 1980. One of those seminal postpunk tracks that it's always good to open a mixtape with. Gets the party started, you know?
    2. ÇalWild About You Baby, 3:39, 1971. This guy I learned about in high school from my guitar teacher. He made the Alligator label the best blues label in the 1980s. Another great party track.
    3. ÇalDa Butt, 6:21, 1988. And to complete the 80s party vibe, 1988's classic from Washington, DC's Go-Go scene and the film School Daze.
    4. Dirty Little Secrets, 3:40, 1994. Somebody sent me this and I really like it. I know nothing at all about My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult.
    5. ÇalCademar, 0:45, 1990. This one I stuck in here as a kind of transition. More on Tom Zé below.
    6. The Mask feat. Ghostface, 2:34, 2005. Just an all-purpose battle-rap off one of last year's most notable hiphop albums. On the CD mix I made I excised the skit part at the end because it's not so funny after the 100th listen.
    7. ÇalYaba Funk, 5:42, 1996. Captain Yaba was this Ghanaian guitarist who sadly passed away at a young age. He plays a two-string guitar, which makes that thump-thump sound, but what I really like about this track are the rest of the instruments, which are straight out of the JBs or Bootsy's Rubber Band. It takes guts to play your homemade instrument on top of some stone grooves the one on this cut and the rest on this disc. I found this CD in Amsterdam after having been alerted to Captain Yaba through the Benn Loxo du Taccu blog www.bennloxo.com.
    8. ÇalBanda Yango, 6:30, 1996. Tshala Muana, one of Congo's soukous queens. This is a totally smoking track that I got on a TM compilation called Mutuashi. In that inimitable soukous way, the production keeps getting more and more elaborate, as shouted choruses give way to bouncing guitar riffs and Jamaican-style toasting on the verses.
    9. Déboukéyi, 4:26, 2004. Couper-Décaler! I wanted to put my absolute favorite c-d track here, Festiboulance, but since I try not to repeat myself (that one's on the January eclectic mixtape CD), I picked this one from the same compilation, called Prodada Compil Vol. 1. I should go down to Samassa Records one day soon and see if there's a Prodada volume 2 out yet. Couper-décaler, for you who don't know yet, is a dance-music style coming out of Ivory Coast that features this kind of galloping rhythm. It's 100% addictive.
    10. Крошка Моя, 2:18, 2005. Another one that showed up in my collection, from the BEREP group mailing list, I believe. This is loud and thunderous Russian dance-punk music and has the same energy as the previous tune. In Roman letters, the song is called "Kroshka Moya."
    11. 72 Heaven 2:16. And again from the BEREP group mailing list. I guess these guys tour around Europe or something. I really know nothing about them.
    12. First Killing, 2:12. This is the last of the BEREP group mailing list mini-set. I remember that this one comes from my buddy uporo; I think it's off of a soundtrack to some movie. In the mix, it's moving away from the dance-mania groove.
    13. ÇalResurrection Blues (Tutu), 6:11, 1998. From Cassandra Wilson's beautiful album of Miles Davis covers, Traveling Miles. I love this record, and I love her smoky, earthy voice. At this point in the mix the idea is to put down roots; this is great music to listen to in one place.
    14. ÇalNegra Presuntuosa, 4:16, 2000. Susana Baca I found on one of several compilations. This one, from Rough Guide to Afro-Peru, has quite a nice gentle groove.
    15. ÇalNine Out of Ten, 4:57, 19??. From Transa, one of the discs he recorded while he was in exile in the UK. He sings in English in that beautiful tenor voice of his here.
    16. ÇalMeus filhos, meu tesouro, 3:53, 1976. A groovy Brazilian track by one of my groove favorites, Jorge Ben. This one comes from the seminal Africa Brasil disc, on which every cut is perfect.
    17. Jimi Renda-Se, 3:04, 2001. Would you believe I didn't know about Tom Zé until mjcrbt sent me a compilation of his best tunes. Then I went out and got everything of his I could lay my hands on, of course. The man is an absolute genius of composition and orchestration; what I love is how he knows the rhythms backwards and forwards so that everything in the song has some relation to the beat.
    18. ÇalSerenade, 3:43, 2006. Thank you, blissin, for passing this one on to me. Midaircondo are a Swedish girl trio that make electronic music, this one on my CD mix is a remix by Pavan which, like most remixes, focuses the ear on certain discrete elements, little hooks of sound, which are barely there in the original arrangement.
    19. Che Sara Sara (feat. Miss Saigon), 3:08, 2002. Miss Saigon is reportedly Vietnamese, and she raps in French. I figured out that it was French from listening; the Vietnamese part I learned by reading the liner notes. King Britt was a member of Digable Planets and then went off on his own; the disc that this is pulled from, Adventures in Lo-Fi, is pretty much bulletproof, and as far as I can tell, completely slept-on. Thank you to the smart lady who runs that record shop on Flatbush Avenue and Prospect Street.
    20. ÇalQuelque part on m'attend, 3:31, 2004. The best track from the Home album. Although the lyrics seem to be stunningly idiotic ("somebody's waiting for me / maybe on a park bench" is the line with the least semantic content); Chiara (the daughter of Catherine Deneuve) has one nice-sounding voice, and this song has all the Biolay production flourishes: little dabs of electronica and a kind of echoey blanket drawn over everything. It fits in with Miss Saigon's effort in the previous track and doesn't leave that heavy, gluey feeling in your mouth like some tracks might.
  • Review: Rewind! 4

    23 Kas 2005, 18:14 yazan Fidgital

    Though this is the fourth incarnation of Ubiquity's Rewind!, it's my introduction to the series. Bearing a subtitle of "Original classics, revisited, rerecorded, rewound", along with quotes from King Britt, Roni Size and Bugz in the Attic about how great the collection is, I had high hopes.

    Originals from artists as diverse as The White Stripes, Cameo and Woody Guthrie are covered by a great roster of contemporary funk and neo-soul artists. The A&R work on this collection (courtesy of Andrew Jarvis at Ubiquity) is top-notch. The quality is strong and consistent.

    High points in an album full of high points includesRebirth funking up The Ryeders' Evil Vibrations. Platinum Pied Pipers turn in an inspired and bizarre vododed neo-soul slow jam on Burt Bacharach's Çalthe look of love. John Beltran teams up with The Detroit Latin All-Stars for a fantastic latin percussion take on Vente Conmigo, originally by Fania All Stars.

    Of special mention are the terrific liner notes by Andrew Jarvis. He takes the time to tell us something about the artists involved, as well as the original tracks and their adventures through sampling or personal stories. This is the kind of thing that I wish pop and electronica would take more of from jazz records, which often boast far more engaging liner notes than any other genre.

    So, if you like funk or soul, either in their classic form, or in their newest future-gazing incarnations, you're really going to enjoy this record. Four stars.