uncarved.org blog

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/dec/31/grime-2009-dizzee-rascal-tynchy-stryder

Five No 1 singles, record label feeding frenzies, influencing the US charts – no one imagined grime would get this big. Dan Hancox explains how Dizzee Rascal and Tynchy Stryder set the world alight.

Nice overview from Dan with some great links at the end that show grime’s real talent away from the Top 40. And some good jabs at the Met also.

I have no idea if I am the first person to comment on this or not, but Dizzee’s new album (almost) shares a title with an ancestor of his – Smiley Culture, one of the most commercially successful UK MCs of the eighties.

Shall I bore you with the parallels and divergences? Yes, I think I shall.

Smiley sprang to fame on Saxon soundsystem alongside Papa Levi, Asher Senator, Tippa Irie et al. Levi was the first to sign to a major, but Smiley’s anthemic “Cockney Translation” and “Police Officer” had significant chart success on proper London reggae label Fashion. He was snapped up by Polydor and released the above album in 1986 featuring unconvincing “pop” versions of some of his tunes alongside new material, did the rounds and then vanished. Last thing I heard he was running a PR agency or something. (If you are reading this Smiley – get in touch. Your story needs to be told properly!)

Dizzee on the other hand sprang to fame as part of grime crew Roll Deep, alongside Wiley, Flowdan, Trim et al. His first solo release “I Luv You” was I think out on a self released white label before he was signed to XL. He went on to win The Mercury Award in 2003 for his debut album “Boy In Da Corner” (which still sounds great today). Dizzee then set up his own label, Dirtee Stank and had some passable pop hits.

What does this tell us? Perhaps that during the last 23 years the music industry has found better ways of sustaining MC acts commercially? Or maybe that grime’s business model and materialism was more robust than the uncompromising world of reggae soundsystem in the eighties?

Hollow Earth: Terror Danjah: Gremlinz (The Instrumentals 2003-2009).

Matt on point as usual.

Characteristically on point article by Dan on the grime godfather’s top ten selected.

FACT magazine: music & art news, upfront videos, free downloads, classic vinyl, competitions, gigs, clubs, festivals & exhibitions – The Essential…Wiley.

Butterz.co.uk – Is BACK!: 6 Months in Grime.

Blackdown: LDN011 Grievous Angel. (check this link for audio and full details)

Two big tunes from my man Paul Meme coming out on Blackdown’s seminal Keysound label.

Side A is a remix of Naphta’s Soundclash from the wicked “Long Time Burning” album.

Flip is more abstract wonky business.

Promo sounds fat as you like. Check.

Clean living in difficult circumstances.

See also this great new blog by a sarf London voodoo practitioner, who has some interesting things to say about Paul’s Devotional Dubz label.

Voodoo and Santeria aren’t discussed that much in my end of the afro-futurist neighbourhood, I guess because they are not exactly de rigeur for black Muslims or Rastafarians. Certainly the Obeah man (or sorceror) comes in for some proper stick in reggae.

So equally interesting to get the above t-shirt from grime crew Roll Deep as one of my birthday presents recently…

I’m far too rationalist these days to believe in this stuff, or even to believe that believing in it would serve any useful function for me personally. But it is undoubtedly an interesting social phenomenon (his says in his dusty library, peering over some specs like Professor Yaffle). Certainly afro-centric magick has a history of spooking the fuck out of colonial types and so can be seen as a slightly bizarre part of the resistance against slavery.

Plus Lady Erzulie Freda Dahomey sounds pretty awesome and you can’t argue with a guy who follows up his erudite musings with this:

I’ve been a bit at odds with the dubstep scene myself ever since I encountered difficulty getting into FWD cos I was wearing a pale grey suit with an early 60s cut, which was at odds with their unofficial dress code of scruffy bastard in a washed out grey hoodie. Fortunately, retro tailoring won out over shit Gap t-shirts and combats, as it always will, and they let me in anyway.

The other night was a blast. I was gutted about missing the film (and the ensuing Q+A), but managed to hook up with Mr Grievous Angel (whose new funky tune is imminent) and Mr STN and posse for the party at the Rhythm Factory.

I have to say I was in two minds about coming out on a Tuesday night to an event which hadn’t exactly been promoted to the fullest. But it was worth it.

Adrian Sherwood manned the decks first, using some serrato or laptop or new fangled tricknology. Also some bashy syndrum stuff which then looped into the mix. Nice selection including Shaggy’s “Stricly Rub a Dub” and a mash up of Max Romeo’s Chase the Devil instrumental with the vocals from the Beatles’ “Day In The Life”. Also some mad jungle mash ups including The Congo’s “Congoman”. He did great considering the place was half full and nobody was really ‘aving it. A work night, we all agreed “the main worry’s job security“… Sherwood feeds some Mark Stewart vocals into the mix. Except it then emerges that it’s the man himself on the mic, hidden away at the side of the stage.

Kevin Martin takes to the stage and ramps up the volume and intensity, tweaking the controls so he can mess with our heads. It’s been too long and the arrival of both Flowdan and Ricky Ranking heralds yet another leap in levels. Mark Stewart also MCs over some Bug beats. The audience responds in kind, the gaps near the stage fill up, bizarrely a load more girls seem to appear from nowhere. We all ended up staying much longer than we’d intended. Things like that interfere with my work life balance. Heh.

More Simon Reynolds than you can shake a stick at special:

1) Video podcast of ‘ardkore continuum presentation in Liverpool.

2) Simon on musique concrete and post punk on Johnny Mugwump’s Resonance FM show.

3) Online versions of his six articles for The Wire from ‘ardkore to grime.

Public enemy no 696
Are the police using their ‘risk-assessment’ form 696 to close down grime and garage clubs?

Dan Hancox in the Guardian today, updating his piece in Woofah issue 2.

Too much happening with Grime this year for me to provide anything like a proper roundup.

I can’t even say with any honesty that I’ve had a chance to properly check out everything I’ve bought or downloaded. Which is good – an embarrassment of riches instead of slim pickings.

One of my resolutions for 2009 is to try and listen to stuff deeper, rather than amass a bigger and bigger backlog.

Mixtapes

All of these are fully endorsed on the basis of great “killer to filler” ratio:

1) Nasty Jack – Shotta Music

2) Trim – Soulfood 3

3) Wiley – Grimewave

4) Jammer – Are You Dumb 3

5) Dot Rotten – Young Dot RIP

6) Tinchy Stryder – Cloud 9 EP

7) Jammer – Are You Dumb 4

Lots of stuff bubbling under, but the seven above are the ones I keep coming back to again and again. Feel free to kick of a row about my choices and omissions in the comments boxes.

Vinyl

Honorary mention to Logan Sama’s Earth 616 label for keeping grime vinyl alive, but the crown this year goes to one label in my humble opinion:

Silverlink feat Jammer and Badness – The Message is Love (No Hats No Hoods 12″)

Rude Kid – Are You Ready? (No Hats No Hoods 12″)

Ruff Sqwad – RSMD (No Hats No Hoods 12″)

Downloads

Just proper mixes and releases here, there are untold radio shows and other bits to get drowned in:

John Eden + Grievous Angel – Grime in the Dancehall (Blogariddims)

Boy Better Know – Microphone Champion vol 1

Logan Sama – One Away Style

Wiley vol 1 (grimetapes)

D Double E (grimetapes)

igrime vol1 – Logan Sama and Durrty Goodz (Aza T)