Blog (2008-2018)

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Much respect to Benga for being open about how he makes his dubstep tunes. Some people are insecure about sharing their studio knowledge, but those that know know that its really not about process, technique or ‘secrets’ but as 77Klash says “Music is a combination of vibes and energy.” If you’re a producer quite a lot of this is stuff that you know, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, and if you’re young or aspiring you might get some real useful stuff from this. Big up to Future Music for filming this and putting it on Youtube. If you don’t know who Benga is he’s responsible for this past years HUGE dubstep anthem “Night” with Coki, also check for his album Diary of an Afro Warrior.

Part One

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_6RitUOONI[/youtube]

Part Two

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACSqPEYER_s&feature=related[/youtube]

Part Three

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuyIXZ4XthA&feature=related[/youtube]

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I’ve been getting more and more into the whole youtube thing lately and I’ve noticed a lot of people are using it as a jukebox or a place to quickly find songs. We like that, so we decided to stick the tracks from our new EP Dutty Remix Zero by me and Cauto up on there. Here they are complete with my own public-access-esque graphic accompaniment. Wondering why there’s this amazing low-fi yet consistent graphic design aesthetic through all the DA visual branding? It’s because instead of trying to press-gang any of our friends who are actual graphic designers into doing art for no money and put up with our vague and annoying feedback and everything thereby taking forever we just decided to do it all in-house, specifically, my house. Witness my simple yet devastatingly powerful deployment of the black box, stock type-face and gradient tool. Dun know the photoshop skillz. For your listening, embedding, re-blogging pleasure.

MATT SHADETEK SIDE:

GIRLFRIEND REMIX:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIxBoFg8zmI[/youtube]

CAN’T BREATHE REMIX:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asDfiV7IQbY[/youtube]

CAUTO SIDE:

OLD SCHOOL:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en5hO554GCk[/youtube]

BONA VIDA:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du5NAT3YpAE[/youtube]

Check the Dutty Artz Youtube Channel for more stuff you might have missed.

Buyable only on vinyl from fine independent retailers everywhere or wholesale through Cargo distribution.

UK: Juno, Boomkat, Norman.

US: Turntable Lab.

Japan: Cisco.

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Who says late-capitalism isn’t violent? Look what they’re doing to these women! Or at least their photos. When real just isn’t real enough, go on then, go on then draw for the Photoshop. Some of these are just snarky nerdery about clone tools and bad compositing but some are just… EEK. Like this one:

she's not smiling enough

How did that get past the many layers of corporate approval and get published into the world? The only conclusion I can draw is that these people are on drugs. This was another favorite of mine. Body issues anyone? Seriously, you just need to diet more, go to the gym instead of sleeping and get all of your internal organs removed by someone with a Wacom tablet.

she still looks fat

she still looks fat

And now that I think about it? What is she doing? Standing next to a couch tipped on its end? Sexxxxxxy. Many more at Photoshop Disasters.

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Matt Shadetek sez: Everyone welcome Mode Raw to the DA blog, he’s gonna be popping his head up and dropping some jewels on us, like this one below. Background: Besides doing almost all the graphic design for all the previous Shadetek records, mixtapes, etc, teaching me how to DJ, use photoshop and always, always telling me to my face he didn’t like a tune I’d made when he felt it was necessary D and I have been homies for literally about 20 years. We went to nursery school together! (this is not hyperbole, exaggeration or lying, but instead the literal gospel truth.) He continues to open my ears to the new lava with this crazy hot mixtape, don’t let his understated description fool you: this shit is nuts. For those with fragile psyche’s, be forewarned, this is un-remitting satanic gun-man darkness with Kartel, Aidonia and crew engaged in the never ending struggle to find new and more EVIL ways to sing about fucking and killing (“Rise di rifle like my penis”). Worth downloading in it’s entirety if only for the vicious Munga disses from Aidonia and Deva Bratt. Donia linked individually in the flash player below Deva’s “Pon The Nazzle” in the zip file disses Munga’s heavy use of vocal pitch correction software auto-tune saying “Dem rising to the top but fall so soon/… Cuz stage show no carry no auto-tune”. Mad.

And now, Mode Raw:

Portmore Empire – Gaza Thugs

I found this comp while listening to tunes on Kartel’s myspace. I had never heard of Junior Snypa but he is doing it with this tape, which is more reminiscent of a canal st mixtape or street album than a straight-forward juggling session. Rather than lining up large blocks of big riddims, voiced by everyone in the scene, the selection is built around a handful of vocalists over mostly B-side productions. Kartel, Aidonia, Black Rhino and Deva Brat do the business over a gang of lo-fi, grimey riddims on the slower end of the spectrum, turning out the kind of auto-tune gun ballads that have been raining down on the world from stephen big ship’s lab for the last year or so. Recommended.

VA__portmore-empire__gaza-thugs.zip

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Summer in Nueva York is gettin all kindsa caliente. Dutty Artz next dance is at Glasslands in Billyburg….. JUNE 6. If you still cant get your head around what this New York Tropical thing sounds like here’s a link to my set on WFMU’s Nickel and Dime Radio show with Mr Poquito Cambio himself….$mall Change

Radio set tracklist below for the watchers. – gex

Geko Jones live on the air session WFMU 4/29/08

Brooklyn Cumbia – Uproot Andy (unreleased)(BK)
Mateina – Frikstailers vs Lean Like a Cholo – Kilo(gexondex)(Cordoba,Cali,Rajistan)
Brooklyn Anthem-Ghis Poirier rmx -Team Shadetek (BLN, BK, T.O.) (Unreleased)
So Pa dodo- Dj 2Pekes (Angola)
El Ejen- Maki Afri-k (FRANCE??)
Almighty Father- Warrior Queen (UK)
Party in the Park (Marcus Visionary, TORONTO) (unreleased)
Boi de Cara Breta – Stereotyp ft Fefe (VIENNA, BRAZIL)
GRRR-Homeboy Sandman (dubplate) (QBoro-BK)
Grizzly- Bass Nacho (dubplate) (JA,MIA,BK)
Stamp Ya feet – Filewile Baby Chann (SWZ/UK)
Up There- Al Haca Stereotyp Daddy Freddy (Vienna)
Me mobile- Sinden and Jesse (UK)
Kunuaka- Makossa & Megablast (Vienna)
Pon Time- Stereotyp & Jahdan Blakkamoore (Vienna/Brooklyn)
Warlord’s Daughter (Max Ulis)- Lexie Lee (Vancouver/JA)
How I Ride- Baby Cham (JA)
1er Gaou -Magic System (Ivory Coast)
Merengue Mix- DJ Prako (Suriname/Netherlands)
No te Me despues mas- Tatico (Domincan Republic)
Eres Para Mi (Sonido Nacional rmx)- Julieta Venegas (MX/COLOMBIA)
Cumbia de Obama – Fosforo (Cali)
El Trompo- Electro 7 (Cuba)
He got the sound (zuzuku rmx) – Candice Cannabis
Doctors Orders (Fuego Mix)- Gregory Issacs/Funkworthy FM (dublate)
She Told Me -Noble Society- (Brooklyn)
Antillas- El Guincho (Canary Islands)

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is FINALLY in the UK shops! we had ALL MANNER of production delays on this one, but now that Dutty Artz has turned on, we can safely say that we’re gonna keep sprinting for a long time to come.

you can cop the 12″ at Boomkat and many other fine shoppes

here’s the Boomkat review: “Two of our favourite rhythm and bass scholars Matt Shadetek and DJ/Rupture join forces to present their new imprint Dutty Artz, dedicated to dubstep/grime tempo bangers with a four track disc rammed full of primed dancefloor winners. Matt Shadetek brings up the A-side with ‘Can’t breathe remix’, taking advantage of his outsider position within the scene to draw a number of significantly heavy strands of plasticky synth ridden grime styles with R’n’B styled vox and a killer conga pattern reminding us of Skepta’s crazy ‘stageshow riddim’. The real shocker on this side is the insanely effective ‘Girlfriend rmx’, obviously inspired by the ghetto house styles currently ruling sections of African dancefloors at the moment and spilling into Grime and Funky London styles, Matt kills it with a charging batty wriggler riddim with heavily autotuned vox and stupid fresh bass for a cut that is guaranteed to liven up any floor.

Cauto keep up the pressure built on the A-side with an mean update of Shy FX’s classic ‘Original nuttah’ augmenting the original vocals and licks with a dubstep/breakstep riddim and freshened bass rubs that will be demanding a lot of attention very soon. ‘Bona vida’ leaves us on cool dubbers tips, structuring a forward thinking dub riddim in the finest Disrupt style, before adding some angular breaks to wipe any dancefloor dilettantes, rough styyyyles. This is definitely an imprint to be keeping a close eye on in the future, and a definite must buy for any fans of Werk, Hyperdub, Hot Flush, Heatwave, or any of Ruptures legendary mixtapes. Well recommended!!”

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I recently came across a slew of grime mixtapes/street albums, or should we call them road albums? In less than two weeks, I had about a dozen new mixtapes in my HD, not having enough time or attention to really listen to all the materials—ranging from artists such as Ghetto, Riko, Ears, Killa P, Jammer, Kano, Trim, and the not so grime, but definitely grimey garage crew Road Side Gees.

Jammer – Intro (to Are You Dumb, Vol. 3)

Produced by Rude Kid

Pre-album fire from a grime luminary. I feel funny about calling Jammer grime, now – especially after he states in that intro, “I make music, F grime / I make music, F crime / I’m not a lame, man, F a nine…”?

$$$

Ghetto – Mountain

Produced by Lewi White & Smasher

This one is off Ghetto’s new mixtape Freedom of Speech. Ghetto goes hard. Looking forward to his album.

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heavy stones still skim. uk hip hop 1998-present. occasionally condensed / unobtrusively mixed. non-exhaustive. mostly from SE LDN. hold tight Penge.

a brief uk hiphop mix 31 mins

Blak Twang – 19 Long Time (blue print)
MC D – Priceless (produced by Deckwrecka) (ronin)
Skeme & Seanie T – Survival (produced by Keith Lawrence) (beat oven)
New Flesh – 186000 Miles (Skitz Remix) (big dada)
Extremists – No Tears (produced by Skitz) (titan sounds)
Genesis Elijah feat. Klashnekoff – Jah Bless (produced by Non Slick) (dominant 3rd/country boy)
Seanie T – Muzik Ed Special (produced by Keith Lawrence) (muzik ed)
Roots Manuva f/ Fallacy, Rodney P, Blackitude, Big P & Skeme – Witness the Swords (produced by Lord Gosh) (big dada)

—-

sketchy victorian dinosaurs, crystal palace park

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Seeing as there’s been such a good run of either important biz promotional or thoughtful, conversation provoking posts on here I thought I’d just throw this in the mix and bring the level of discourse down a little. It’s a cat biting a theremin, making funny sounds.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ONJfp95yoE[/youtube]

Shameless reblog from prancehall.com

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It’s early and I’m still groggy but the internet is awake and buzzing. Go Round Payola, the ‘single’ from the EP, produced by me, (do EPs have singles? our’s does) is up on the DA Myspace, The Fader’s blog and JD’s myspace. Listen, skank out in your yard in your underwear, add it to your profile, tell your girl, whatever. Already I’m getting requests for the instro from people to do more versions so there’ll probably be another vocal or two before this is all done. However, remember when I said ” We’re calling it New York Tropical, before someone comes up with an even stupider name.”? Well, whoever’s blogging over at the Fader is trying to call it Trancehall. Yikes! Ouch! My dignity! They’re lumping us in with Ricky Blaze, which is great, I love Cut Dem Off but Trancehall? No. TROPICAL. Still, big up to them for the promo love. Also I stole their blog pic. I think it’s from when Jah D went to Africa with DJ Child last year.