January 5, 2012Rollo Jackson can do no wrong at present. After the success of Tape Crackers last year, he’s kicked it up a notch and returned with a recording of a show which united three generations of emcees on the same stage. Teaming up with famed London system, The Heatwave (more on them later) for the event and production of Showtime!, the…
December 18, 2011A conversation on South America the other night made me pull this out and be reminded of my love for it, and more importantly the impact this film had in opening my ears to Latin jazz in a new context (thanks Claude and Gio!). The below was originally done for Shook about two years ago, but having just revisited the…
December 6, 2011A month or so ago we unexpectedly closed off a night at Islington Metal Works which was damn inspiring for those that were there, and the London music scene in general. We’d heard Illum Sphere would be headlining but past tht were unaware of the goings on, and three parties later headed down to what turned out to be the…
November 19, 2011Boom! It’s been too long since Shook Mag brought us something heavy to get together at, but well worth the wait. Come next Wednesday (30th) they’re collaborating with our friends at Strut Records to bring an exclusive London screening of one of the greatest Latin music documentaries ever made. Full details below, don’t miss it. via Shook.fm Wednesday 30th November…
November 17, 2011Recently got a bit of a rinsing for championing this DVD, but having watched it again this morning it needs to be properly shouted. Visually there is only so much headbanging and synth tweaking from the legends that the standard fan can watch, but the fact is that the Octave One tracks are so incredibly heavy that it’s…
November 8, 2011Shouts to Timmy K for putting me on to this track and the three-piece that is Battlesnake – first time I’ve heard from them and hanging out for more. Although the term ‘free-rock’ seems like a tag to music I’d generally avoid, there’s possibly some Moritz von Oswald trio vibes happening here (and perhaps for geographical reasons reminded me of…
September 13, 2011Proper impressed by the level of quality in these mini docos that Resident Advisor have started throwing up, in co-operation with Bench. Three episodes deep, the ‘Real Scene’ series has thus far covered Bristol, Detroit and as of a few days ago Berlin. Considering these are done as promotional items and not definitive documentaries the standard is incredibly high, and…
August 22, 2011Originally airing around 1990 on Channel Four, A Short Film About Chilling… has been credited with introducing ‘The Balearic Scene’ to mainstream UK television audience. I’ve no real desire to go to Ibiza, and I was just starting school when this doco was shot, so while I’m not the best person to commentate on how it’s changed for better or…
August 7, 2011Our favorite scratch and battle master, DJ Dizar of Invincible Armour fame, has recently hooked up with Left Step Band, just in time to be doing the festival circuit with them this summer. As it happens the hip-hop / soul four piece band dropped a new single last month, which you can check out below. It’s the live show…
June 28, 2011Saw this mentioned in The Wire a couple of months ago, who also have a Soundcloud link (reposted below) to a Q&A with Rollo Jackson and Michael Finch. Just seen it go up for purchase on Boomkat, more soon to follow no doubt, looks like essential viewing. via Boomkat ‘Tape Crackers’ is a vital documentary focussed on one guy,…