uncarved.org blog

Anyone who salivated over my review of Naphta’s album here and in Woofah issue 2 but hasn’t picked it up yet can now purchase it digitally - direct from the label!

And now for the science bit:

“The MP3s are DRM free 320s with full printable artwork (including the CD surface). Click on the image above to get it.”

I’m looking forward to this but I’m hoping the documentary includes a lot more disjointed and weird stuff than the trailer and isn’t a load of talking heads going on about how great Mark is. There would be some irony in having a conventional documentary which adhered to professional broadcast and narrative standards about Mark Stewart…

Simon Reynolds on dubstep’s disconnection from danger.

Plus - his Grime Primer for The Wire now online!

Hold tight for a big post from me later today, with audio.

History is made at night: House Music/Gender/Sexuality

Paul Meme has set up an incomprehensible new website to promote his forthcoming vinyl release.

Bo!

I am somewhat less than wild about the aesthetics - but the tunes are wicked.

At least he’s stopped calling himself a soundsystem now, tho eh?

Most of last week was spent putting Woofahs in envelopes, getting it into shops and telling people about how great it is. Which was and is, a good laff. Here’s a quick run down of some other stuff tho:

Paul Meme has an album coming out! And some other stuff I don’t know if I can tell you about yet! He’s been played by Mary Anne Hobbs on Radio one and Blackdown and Dusk on Rinse FM. It’s all sounding very good indeed.

Paul is interviewed about the project in Tom Lea’s new column in Fact Magazine, which includes a free downloadable grime mix from DJ Magic of Dirty Canvas fame.

Melissa Bradshaw now has a blog called Decks and the City, which you should all check, not least so you can see the context to the phrase “I was totally even more bewildered than Coki with the tits girl.”

Heatwave’s outstanding An England Story set has been getting some great reviews including a full pager in the Guardian guide at the weekend. They have a 12″ out on Soul Jazz also and more to follow. Their Roots Reality and Culture mix for Blogariddims has stopped me going postal in the post office on more than one occasion. This is just some of the news posted on their blog, which you need to check out on the regular.

Other stuff I’ve been checking includes:

Trim - Soulfood 3 mixtape
Riko - The Truth mixtape
David Rodigan presents Real Authentic Reggae Music comp (BBE)
Eek A Mouse - Most Wanted (Greensleeves)
Triston Palmer - Joker Smoker (Greensleeves)
Zareb - The Cake Must Slice (Greensleeves)
v/a - This is Lovers Rock (Greensleeves)

all of which comes highly recommended. Oh and some material for a blogariddims mix me and Paul are working on.

I’m sure I’ve missed a load of stuff out, it’s hectic times.

Owen kindly pointed out that Mark Stewart has reviewed the latest Portishead album for Spex magazine.

Whilst checking that out, I find he has a new album coming out in a few months, called EDIT, on Crippled Dick Hot Wax.

Also a documentary:

From April 2008, the documentary ON/OFF: Mark Stewart - from the Pop Group to the Maffia by Tøni Schifer will be gracing selected cinemas and film festivals. The film retraces the singer’s steps and paths from the early days of The Pop Group right up to the present. Schifer, who followed Mark around for a full two years, has crafted a detailed, often intimate portrait of the artist, supplemented by interviews with a. o. Mark Stewart himself, Adrian Sherwood, Daniel Miller (Mute), Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Doug Wimbish, Skip McDonald, Keith LeBlanc, Douglas Hart (The Jesus & Mary Chain), Fritz Catlin (23 Skidoo), Jon Spencer, Gareth Sager (The Pop Group, Rip Rig and Panic) and many others, plus live recordings and music clips. The DVD will be released by Monitorpop in May / June.

In similar news, this entry on KYPP has lead Al at Greengalloway to take an interest in Mark’s work and my piece about him.

So, thank you Owen.

Dubversion ups the “10 records” ante with some scans, recollections and mp3s!

2008, woah.

I’m really glad January is over - I kicked off the year by smashing up my Dad’s car and that set the tone, really.

But everything on the horizon suggests that BIG THINGS are going to happen this year:

• Woofah 2 is almost ready to go the printers.
• Woofah 3 is getting filled up pretty damn quick.
• Paul Meme’s Grievous Angel project got played by Blackdown on Rinse FM, and has an album coming out soon.
• Heatwave’s England Story mix is getting released on Soul Jazz as a double CD and two chunks of double vinyl. And so is their single with Warrior Queen
• Kevin Martin should be releasing not one, but two albums this year - one as The Bug, and one as King Midas Sound.
• Benga and Coki’s Night video features a mentalist squid, rekindling the colossal squid furore of yesteryear.
• That’s just the stuff I can tell you about right now.