Spannered Radio podcast (all items)

DubConscious is the alter ego for Bristol-based DJ Merkazoid, a young selector currently pushing the laptop reggae sound in the southwest of England. A convert from hip hop to bone-rattling Bristol bass and future dub, Mr Merkazoid tells us he's been busily knocking out six-hour reggae, ska and dub sets about the city. Stuffed to the hilt with tracks from Spannered faves such as Disrupt and Mungo's Hi Fi, this selection is pretty damn smokin', we reckon. Irie!

 

Tracklisting:

Daddy Freddy — Herb FI Bun

Baroque Dub — Billie Jean version

Mungos Hi Fi — Old Time Dance

Mikey Murka & Disrupt — Secondhand Man

Matisyahu — Jerusalem

Ky Mani Marley — Warriors

Jim Screachy — Super Cool

Willie Williams — Run Dem a Run

Nephtali — Watch the Ride

Carl Meeks — Ganja Baby

Thievery Corporation — Richest Man in Babylon

Jahtari Riddim Force — Echantier

DJ Spooky — Mr Brown remix

Thievery Corporation — State of the Union

Mungos Hi Fi — Under Arrest

John Frum — May in Dub

Butch Cassidy Sound System — Butches Brew

Bo Marley — Robot Echoes

Disrupt — True Creators

Elisa Zaria — .........

Mungos Hifi — Dubplate fi Dem

Volfoniq / Disrupt / Bo Marley — L'Anchoiade

Disrupt — Chip on Fire

Disrupt — Kozure Okami

Disrupt — Samurai Showdown

Bluetech — Alchemie Dub

Mungo's Hi Fi — Belly Ska

Hickory Jack - Pirate Anthem

DJ Spooky — Revolution Disco Dub

Hot on the heels of his mix for Spannered from October last year, Tim Rayner, aka Dub Boy, graces the site's radio section once more, this time dropping a wide range of original and contemporary roots, dub & dancehall, from both Jamaica and Europe — with plenty of Bristolian goodness sprinkled throughout.

 

Tracklisting:

Beenie Man — Pardon (Taxi)

Lady Saw — Married Man (Taxi)

Mr Vegas — Lean Wid It(Taxi)

Sugar Minott — Tune In (Taxi)

Sugar Minott & Bounty Killer — Tune In (Taxi)

Taurus & Jimmy Riley — Pull Up Selector (Taxi)

Shabba Ranks — Respect (Shang)

Barrington Levy — Murderer (Jah Life)

Carlton Livingston — 100 lbs of Collie Weed (Jah Life)

RSD — Murderah (Unreleased)

Mungo's Hi Fi ft. Mikey Murka — Back on the Scene (Scotch Bonnet)

Mungo's Hi Fi ft. Soom T — Did you Know? (Scotch Bonnet)

Mungo's Hi Fi ft. Rock — Inna Dancehall (Scotch Bonnet)

Mungo's Hi Fi ft. Brother Culture — Ing (MJ Mix) (Scotch Bonnet)

Mungo's Hi Fi ft. Carl Meeks — Higher Level (Scotch Bonnet)

Mungo's Hi Fi ft. Top Cat — Herbalist (Scotch Bonnet)

Junior Delgado — One Blood (Fashion)

Junior Reid — One Blood (J.R. Productions)

Junior Delgado — Dub School (Fashion)

Junior Byles — Fade Away (Jama)

Disrupt — THC 1138 (Werk)

King Tubby — Fade Out (Firehouse)

Disrupt — Riddim Grid (Werk)

Mikey Dread — Saturday Night Style (Auralux)

RSD — Prophecy (Angels Egg)

Luciano — Just Hold On (Charlie's)

Chezidek — I Won't Change (Charlie's)

Fantan Mojah — Hold Dem Heads (Charlie's)

McPullish — Dub Change I (Charlie's)

McPullish — Aerophonic Dub (Charlie's)

Henry & Louis ft. Prince Green — Love Like (2 Kings)

System Error ft. Michael Rose — Time Bomb (Universal Egg)

VC — Gone (Dig Dis)

Rootz Underground — Victims of the System (Rootz Underground)

Dark Angel — Cool & Humble (Boka)

Mungo's Hi Fi — I Love Jah (Unreleased)

Etherealites — El Toro (Roots Garden)

Nick Fantastic — Kingdom Riddim (Massive B)

Collie Buddz — Let Me Know (Massive B)

Chezidek — Call Pon Dem (Massive B)

Richie Spice — Rooted & Grounded (Star Trail)

Richie Spice — The Plane Land (VP)

Richie Spice — Earth A Run Red (Henfield)

Taurus Riley — She Is Royal (Cannon)

Disrupt ft. Mikey Murka — Empress (Scotch Bonnet)

Henry & Louis meet Blue & Red ft. Willie Williams — Plastic World (BSI)

VC — Deeds Dub (Dig Dis)

Gussie P — Chill Out Dub (Sip A Cup)

Steretyp ft. Tikiman — Fling Style (G-Stone)

Smith & Mighty — Brain Scan (Angel's Egg)

B Negão & Seletores de Freqüência — V.V.

A Filial — Brilha o sol

Marcelo D2 — Sinistro

Rappin’ Hood — Rap o som feliz

Dom Negrone — O povo q vibra

Z’África Brasil — A cor que falta na bandeira brasileira

Sabotage — Cabeça de nego

Alvos da Lei (Feat. Tribunal Popular) — O assalto

Instituto — Dia de desfile

MV Bill — 9 da manhã

Parteum — O círculo

Xis — Sonho meu

Turbo Trio — Terremoto

DJ Beware & MC Gringo — Tamborzăo Con Scratchy

Curumin — Caixa Preta feat. BNegăo e Lucas Santtana

Bruno LT — Vamo Ver feat. Mario Z

Arcanjo Ras & Maloca Dub — Sol

MC Gringo — Arrastao (Euromix)

Maquinado — Năo Queira Se Aproximar

Chico Science & Naçăo Zumbi — Baiăo Ambiental [Instrumental]

Lucas Santtana — M'bala

A warm welcome to James Elphick, aka Mys-Elf, art director and organiser of London's heady Guerilla Zoo events, and sonic conjurer behind the sixth instalment of Spannered's Oddcast series.

 

Entitled A Room With a View, Oddcast #6 slides, drifts, hops and chops between sublime electronica, infectious folk-rock, Latin rhythms, crackly cinematic samples and queasy instrumental hip hop; we've had it on heavy rotation since he sent it in to us (we particularly recommend it for long train journeys across the UK, accompanied by a four pack of Guinness). If you're feeling the boy's style, we recommend you head on over to his MurdochSpace page and check out his tunes too.

 

Guerrilla Zoo is a London-based art/music/performance collective, featuring a slew of cool bands, live artists and performance acts from around the capital. For more info on forthcoming events and other mischief they're getting up to, check the site here.

 

Tracklisting (*** denotes unknown trackname):

Controller 7 — The World Outside My Door

Controller 7 — Test #4

The White Stripes — Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn

Amon Tobin — Horsefish

The Mars Volta — Con Safo

The Chamber Brothers — Love, Peace and Happiness

Centepede — Clover.Come Together

Con Julian y Sucombo — Enyere Kumbara

Palmelra - Tapa Jos

1, R, P, 3  — Tema de Soninha

Seguida Mam Bo — Rock

The Mars Volta — Day of the Baphomets ? (edit)

Omar Rodriguez Lopez — Deus Ex Machina

The Buena Vista Social Club / Vieha Trova Santiaguera — El Tren

Cunninlynguists — Where Will You Be

Emperor Penguin — Burnt Sienna and Avocado

Emperor Penguin — Mood Mound

Controller 7 — Follow The Light

Diplo — AEIOU (edit) ***

Oh No Stomp — That

Diplo & System D128 — Kill Yourself Mix (edit) ***

Amon tobin — Big Furry Head

NIN — Me I'm Not

Wagon Christ — Boney L

J Dilla — People

Matisyahu — Shalom-Saalam

Grizzly Bear — Easier

Sufjan Stevens — Kaskaskia River / Vivian

Ladytron — CMYK

Controller 7 — Imagination Cycle

Squarepusher — Radio 1 Breezeblock Session (edit) ***

Mars Volta — Asilos Magdalena

Bjork — Earth Intruders (Endtro edit) / Amon Tobin — Horsefish

Surjan Stevens — For The Window In Paradise

Electric Light Orchestra — Fire On High (reverse edit)

Manitoba — Crayon

Aphex Twin — Nannou

Felix La Band — track ? ***

Coco Rosie — Hairnet Paradise

Japanese musician Quarta330, promoter of Tokyo's Lo-Bit Playground party, twisted plenty of heads on the dubstep scene last year with his immense 8-bit refix of Kode9's towering 9 Samurai track. He recently performed at Tokyo's Back To Chill night alongside other Japanese artists such as Goth Trad and T2R, armed with nothing more than two Game Boys, an interface and some effects pedals. Hosted both here and on Laurent Fintoni's blog, the set has a few jumpy levels and even a little technical down-time midway through; but don't let that put you off — along with the essential styles currently blasting out of the Jahtari camp, this really is some of the heaviest, most off-the-hook 8-bit music out there at the moment.

No tracklisting.

 

^ More recordings from Back To Chill's end of year party can be found here.

Since launching in 2004, Combat Recordings hasn't so much carved a niche in London’s bass music scene as hacked a gaping hole in it with a heffing great katana. Oscillating between brooding breakbeats, brutalist electro and rough-edged 2-step/dubstep flavours, label releases have been dropping thick and fast from respected bass technicians such as Ardisson, Blackmass Plastics, Point B, Scanone and, most recently, the mighty Scorn.

 

Featuring highlights from the Combat back catalogue alongside unreleased goodies (such as Threnody's dubplate-only remix of Unnatural Causes by Paradox — a track you'll never hear again in any other form), this mix was recorded late last year by label boss Stormfield. A shortened version of the mix recently featured on Rob Booth's excellent Electronic Explorations podcast series; the show has served up a ton of great guest mixes from the likes of Surgeon, Milanese and Neil Landstrumm — if you've not caught the series so far, head over there and get up to speed.

 

Tracklisting:

Stormfield — Intro (Sewer Scene)

Komonazmuk & White Boi — Apocalypse

Cursor Miner — Carnivore (Milanese remix)

Stormfield — Interlude (Gutter Ambush)

Stormfield — Inner Silence, Outer Violence

Stormfield — Haiku (Blackmass VIP)

Scanone — Atlas

Dolphin — Mimulus

Scanone — Static Shock

Scanone — Mr Tant (Point B remix)

Blackmass Plastics — Bigabunda

Scanone — 7th Bullet (Ardisson VIP)

Cursor Miner — Adroit Manglebot

Blackmass Plastics — Torture Sequence

Scorn — Gravel Bed

Cursor Miner — Grindloop

Paradox — Unnatural Causes (Threnody remix)

Blackmass Plastics — DXG

Cursor Miner — Grimewatch

Komonazmuk & White Boi — Search 4 Truth

Scorn — Super Mantis

Stormfield — Liquid Metal Being

^ Super Mantis Part 1 by Scorn is out now on Combat Recordings

Jamaican producers may be pressing less and less vinyl but the island still churned out around two thousand 7" singles last year and these are our favourite rowdy ones. In the words of a Heatwave regular who got a sneak preview of the mix:

"Who am I? The dancehall king"

A look back at 2007 enables you to go from the filthy, nasty but undeniably inspirational sex talk of Beenie Man, Chamelion and 'Sweet' C to the sparse vocal angriness of that old Elephant bloke and then surrender to the leg-lifting power of the Matterhorn man. And you're just getting started.

"Everybody start tek way yourself. Follow the riddim and tek way yourself"

What jumps out when you listen to these tracks all together is the control each artist commands. You feel at their mercy, and they're merciless. Whether it's the riddims coming in that you know you know - but you don't know you know until you hear the drop, and then you're shaking your shit so hard you're not sure what you know any more - or the fierceness of the lyrics that are flying at you like you're in a video game and you can't move quick enough so you just start letting them hit you. Just. Let. Go.

"Have you heard about that little boy in Jamaica?"

Militaristic beats dropping left, right and centre make you feel like you're a kind of bashment brigadier going over the top of the trench. It's weird when you've hated so much of what Shaggy has put out in the past to hear him rip the arsehole out of the Heathen riddim. I thought there were no lyrics that could excuse Angel.

"Return of the Indian. Truths and rights weh we come to tell the nation"

Like most years, 2007 leaves you with the perplexing problem of Sean Paul. It basically comes down to the fact that your legs and hips and arse have more respect for his voice than your brain. It's a bit like when Elephant Man provides the sting in the tail of the whole mix with Three Step on the Madness riddim. You'd like to sit down and have a rest, drink a cup of tea or maybe work on your New Year's resolutions, but it all just has you reaching for the rewind button yet again.

Tracklisting:

Beenie Man — Mi Nuh See It (Voiceful — Black Jack riddim)

Chamelion — She Nah Answa (Voiceful — Black Jack riddim)

Sweet C — Hard Cock (Studio 2000 — Bug Out riddim)

Elephant Man — Stamina (Studio 2000 — Bug Out riddim)

Vybz Kartel — Translator (Black Pearl — Pearl Haaba riddim)

Bounty Killer — Mi Own Boss (Black Pearl — Pearl Haaba riddim)

Danny English — The Way You Move (Kirkledove — Dutch Pat riddim)

Mr Vegas — Tek Way U Self (Kirkledove — Dutch Pat riddim)

Macka Diamond — Hoolla Hoop (Hands & Heart — Bellevue riddim)

Elephant Man — Tic Toc (Hands & Heart — Bellevue riddim)

Dragz & Jus Bus — Rum Ram Riddim (Greensleeves/Just Kauz)

QQ — Tek It To Dem (Greensleeves/Just Kauz — Rum Ram riddim)

Tony Matterhorn — Start The Party (Don Corleon)

Elephant Man — Booty Clap (Black Chiney — Drumline riddim)

Monster Twins — Dem A Super Freak (B-Rich — Touch This riddim)

Kiprich & Leftside — The Tribute (Young Legends — Drop Draws riddim)

Leftside & Esco — Clothes Off (Young Legends — Drop Draws riddim)

Tony Matterhorn — Cockey Partner (Stainless)

Tony Matterhorn — Sidung Pon It (Seanizzle Records — Reverse riddim)

Beenie Man — Reverse Di Ting (Seanizzle Records — Reverse riddim)

Assassin — Boring Gal (Birchill — Stage Time riddim)

T.O.K. — Masculine Gender (Birchill — Stage Time riddim)

Tony Kelly & Christopher Birch — Heathen Riddim (Big Yard)

Shelly Thunder — The Gospel (Big Yard — Heathen riddim)

Shaggy — Heathen (Big Yard — Heathen riddim)

Ninjaman — The Pastor (Big Yard — Heathen riddim)

Mr Vegas & Overmars — Raging Bull (Greensleeves)

Natasha aka Natasja & Enur — Calabria 2007 (Ministry of Sound)

Cecile — Tell Me What Yuh Like (Jah Snowcone — Cheerful riddim)

General Degree — Elegant (Jah Snowcone — Cheerful riddim)

Busy Signal — Saviour Divine (40/40 — Swazzi riddim)

Beenie Man — Stamp Di Yard (40/40 — Swazzi riddim)

Erup — Fire Blazer (Hyperactive Entertainment — Super Natural riddim)

T.O.K. & Supa Hype — Tek It Off (Hyperactive Entertainment — Super Natural riddim)

Jam II — Jook A Gal Riddim (Jam II)

Wayne Marshall — Long Story (Jam II — Jook A Gal riddim)

Elephant Man — Jook A Girl (Jam II — Jook A Gal riddim)

Beenie Man — The Crime (Black Shadow — Bad Dog riddim)

Mad Cobra — AA (Black Shadow — Bad Dog riddim)

Wayne Wonder — Nine (Big Ship — Breaking News riddim)

Junior Cat — Sessions Affi Ram (Big Ship — Breaking News riddim)

Christopher Birch — Madness Riddim (Birchill)

Sean Paul — Pick It Up And Drop It (Birchill — Madness riddim)

Tami Chynn — Rude Boy (Birchill — Madness riddim)

Elephant Man — Three Step (Birchill — Madness riddim)

Adverse Camber’s El Kano returns to Spannered with a malevolent mix up of metal, hardcore, grunge, distortion, throaty bellowing, deranged jabbering, hissing, clunking, and messy digital contortions — with a heap of megalomaniacal ranting from Superman's archfoe thrown in for good measure.

 

Brace yourself for an aural fisting!

 

Tracklisting:

Tracks and extracts — speech by General Zod

Khlyst — IV

Knut — Karn Boys (Oren Ambarchi / Robin Fox / Antony Pateras Remix)

Ministry — TV II

Converge — Heartless

Dillinger Escape Plan — When Acting As A Wave

Eustachian — Teleporting Salesman

Pig Destroyer — Lesser Animal

Meshuggah — Exquisite Machinery of Torture

Khanate — Torching Korovie

Ennio Morricone — L’Uccello Con Le Piume Di Cristallo (Titoli)

Shellac — The Crow

Boris — Six, Three Times

Drumcorps — Terrible Things

Leviathan — What Fresh Hell

Abelcain — Bitter Moon Blossom

Nile — Khetti Satha Shemsu

Gyorgy Ligeti — Requiem for Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Two Mixed Choirs and Orchestra

Khanate — Skin Coat

Old Man Gloom — Poisoner

Queens Of The Stone Age — You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar...

Phantomsmasher — Scrolling Sideways

Uniform — No Measurements Are Necessary

Fantomas Melvins Big Band — White Men Are The Vermin Of The Earth

Leviathan — Mouth Orifice Bizarre

Melt Banana — Chain Keeper

Wolf Eyes — Noise, Not Music

Agoraphobic Nosebleed — Plotkin Phantomsmasher Remix

Drumcorps — Time

Last year we asked Rory Lemon, aka Randomoidz, if he'd be kind enough to put his boundless knowledge of ska music to good use and knock up a contribution to Spannered's Oddcast series. Not only did jump at the chance, but he opted for a two-pronged attack. Now we're pleased to unleash the first instalment: a properly spannered romp through choice cuts from his personal, erm, skarchive.

 

Rory did compile a tracklisting, but sadly it was scrawled on a piece of paper that was lost in the aftermath of a camembert fondue party. Hopefully he'll get a chance to write it all out again for us at some point (no mean feat, given the mix contains roughly a hundred tracks), but seeing as the sequel is almost upon us, we thought we'd best get part one out the door without further delay.

 

Expect appearances from the Skatalites, The Slackers, The Specials, Prince Buster, Hepcat, and even Rolf Harris. Keep it locked for part two!