Friday 26 October 2012

Skye on the Beats

I miss the days when my man SKYE was busy making beats on his SEQUENTIAL 440 drum machine. I've met many beatmakers in the flesh over the years but none have few if any have impressed me as much as SKYE.
He could churn out soulful beats all day in his SUITE EAST studio, and even finished recording an LP which never got to see the light of day. But where SKYE was the absolute master was when it came to drums. That dude had every conceivable drum break LP from every country you could care to mention. At Record Club it wasn't unusual for him to arrive clutching an armful of Hungarian rock breaks or a bag of Italian library LPs to die for. I'd like to give a big shout to SKYE ... and I've taken the liberty of uploading a couple of his beats for you to check out. Trust me, he won't mind.


SKYE - Hobo beat

SKYE - Imperial beat

Thursday 25 October 2012

Diggin' By Law

Remember back in the days when your Dad would take a day off work and hang a "gone fishing" sign on the garage door? Well ... now I'm the age he was back then, but it's a different sign which I'm hanging on MY door. I feel it's only fair to warn people that when I'm surrounded by records I completely lose track of what time it might be, hence my advice is not to hang around for me at my place but to come back later - much later. I won't be home anytime soon.

Going diggin' is my biggest vice, and has been since I was a teenager. So when I teamed up with GENSU DEAN and OXYGEN in 2010 on the 7" release "Gone Diggin'" in
2010 it felt really good to be involved in such an apt project for all of us. The track, I might add, still gets talked about amongst heads over two years later, so much so that SLICE-OF-SPICE RECORDS have re-released this crate diggers anthem on multiple vinyl formats with a GENSU DEAN remix and a DJ FORMAT remix with a beautiful picture cover designed by MR KRUM using DAN LOVE's amazing photography. If you missed the picture cover 7" the first time around then you would be outta your mind to miss this pressing! There are various choices of 10" and 5" vinyl and even a "Diggin' By Law" collectors bundle for those with an unhealthy vinyl obsession like myself. All records come with a promo 8x10 once again incorporating DAN LOVE's photography. Don't get caught sleeping on this impressive project - since the 7" release OXYGEN has become one of the hottest properties on the M I C. And don't forget where you heard his name first - DAILY DIGGERS y'all!

If you wanna grab yourself some limited OXYGEN vinyl then act with the quickness by clicking right HERE.




The Mighty Mo Rock

UK hip hop heads will know the name MO ROCK as one half of UK rap duo FRESH SKI & MO ROCK - a crew that set the standard for late 80s early 90s hip hop on these shores with classics such as "Talking Pays" and "The Day of Reckoning". If you wanna know more about the duo check out our INTERVIEW with them.

One thing that pleasantly surprised me on meeting MO ROCK was that he is still eager to make beats and I had to share this recent beat entitled "Pulpous Pot Dew #1" which he uploaded on his Youtube channel recently. This dude's history of sampling records and making beats is mad deep so don't be surprised if he drops more mighty MO ROCK beats in the future. Who knows? One day maybe we can convince him and FRESH SKI to get back in the studio one more time?

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Antimix

I've just compiled volume 9 of the ANTIMIX series over at ANTISOCIAL MUSIC so get yourself over there to check out my percussion-heavy selection of moody, sinister and cinematic vibes. Thanks to BALDY O'HARE for asking me to get involved in this dope series of ANTIMIXES - previous volumes have been compiled by FISH, SIGHER, KISTA, AVER and OMAS amongst others. I really enjoyed pulling out some records that I would not usually play out or use in a mix. I hope you enjoy the sounds as much as I did selecting 'em!







Get your hands on ANTIMIX 9 here.

Monday 22 October 2012

Beat Diggin' - the DVD

The critically acclaimed documentary film about beat diggin’ and Hip-hop production is now available on DVD for the first time. Filmed in NYC in 1997 and directed by JESPER JENSEN it shows some of Hip-Hop’s top producers hard at work looking for samples, making tracks in the studio and talking shop. The DVD featurines D.I.T.C.’s DIAMOND, SHOW & BUCKWILD, DA BEATMINERZ, GODFATHER DON amongst others and spotlights beatmaking culture of the 90s. Included on the DVD are both the original version (1998, 22 minutes) and the re-edit (2003, 34 minutes) alongside bonus documentaries BEATS RHYMES & VIDEOTAPE (filmed between 1994 and 2001, & shows interviews and live footage of some of your favourite artists, both in America and Europe including GANG STARR, MASTA ACE, BOOT CAMP CLIK, THE PHARCYDE, ARTIFACTS and radio legends STRETCH & BOBBITO) and WHO's NEXT (A 2003 look at some of New York's up and coming artists including RISE, JUGGAKNOTS, J-LIVE, GE-OLOGY, J-ZONE etc). All available on one DVD through CRATE ESCAPE RECORDS. Peep the trailer....

New York Kings

NEW YORK KINGS is an exhibition of work created by some of the most infamous NY graffiti writers. It kicks off in London on Thursday 1st November 2012 and will be held at PURE EVIL GALLERY in Leonard Street EC2. Featuring work by legends like BLADE, COPE2, BOM5, STAY HIGH 149, FUZZ ONE, RD 149, JEZ, SEN2 and INDIE 184.

Over thirty years ago, the mean streets and projects of PHILLY, DETROIT and NEW YORK CITY began to blossom bright with spray-painted tales and tags of inner-city kids armed with spraycans. The best amongst them became known as graffiti kings, and as such they had earned the right to use the crown either above or incorporated into their tags. Many of these Kings are still with us and fortunately still painting today. NEW YORK KINGS exhibition aims to bring together some of this graffiti royalty to show off their work and help tell their tales. But to those writers who are no longer with us especially STAY HIGH 149, IZ THE WIZ, DONDI and KASE2, may they all rest in eternal peace surrounded by clouds and embellished with cracks, shines and shadows!


Sunday 21 October 2012

Puma Suedes

Look fresh this Autumn with the new range of PUMA Suedes. But you gotta keep that suede fresh YO!


Goose Weather

As the days get shorter and Autumn approaches I know it's soon time to get down with the Goosedown. RED, JAY, RUN and DMC all agree.






Competition Winner

Congratulations to BOBBY GRANITE who won the pair of Park Jam slipmats in our recent competition. Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter with their guesses of the records shown in the slipmat image. The correct answers were....

CAPTAIN SKY LP

HERMAN KELLY (Pic Cover) 12"

BABY HUEY LP

THIN LIZZY LP

JOHN DAVIS & THE MONSTER ORCHESTRA 12"

You did extremely well if you named all five, but it was MR GRANITE's name who came out of the hat first. If you wish to purchase a pair of the these high quality slipmats are still available over at LEACYBROTHERS website. Here's MR GRANITE's winning slipmats in situ.....






Saturday 20 October 2012

Straight Letters

SERVAL's "STRAIGHT LETTERS" exhibition started yesterday at the Stoffwechsel Gallery in Mannheim Germany. This king of the can from Switzerland has been crafting letter forms since 1992 and has an impressive resume of pieces, burners, productions and designs to his name. A full time b-boy and hip hop follower, SERVAL has painted all across Europe and also spent 5 years living and writing in Philadelphia where he was heavily influenced by the New York and Philly style masters. He has even exhibited in Sydney Australia.

This exhibition will run until the 1st of December 2012. Shouts to all 7$ crew!






Thursday 11 October 2012

Jazzy Jay and His Records

Pioneer deejay JAZZY JAY is a legend of the record collecting game. He is a legend in Hip Hop - what he don't know about records probably ain't worth knowing. When I met him a few years back he told me he has almost 400,000 records. Yeah you read that right. Whatever the amount, there ain't nothing JAZZY JAY can say that's gonna make me NOT respect him to the fullest. He was an innovator along with BAM, HERC, FLASH, THEODORE and all them other New York deejays that laid the foundation. The deejay was and always will be the backbone of Hip Hop. Remember that.

The Seventh Letter

At the recent BET awards RAKIM was honoured for his contribution to Hip Hop - here's what the G O D had to say in return.

Monday 8 October 2012

Diggers With Gratitude

The DIGGERS WITH GRATITUDE crew have just unveiled their new poster project, this time featuring OLD SCHOOL RAP vinyl from 1979-1983. Whether you use it as a hit list of must-have records for your collection, or purely a piece of eye candy on the wall ... it's up to you. All I know is that the previous two posters sold out like hot cakes and the records on there became every diggers delight. More details HERE. Sleep not - scoop quick!


Saturday 6 October 2012

Just Messin' With Beats

It's been a long time since I've messed with a few beats. Whether due to lack of inspiration, or lack of free time, it's no excuse. So today I pulled out some records and got busy with the outboard gear. No fancy PC software involved just a quick beat on loop with some dialogue to pep it up. I feel my beat mojo returning, slowly and surely.

Kid Dyno - "Hard Times" draft beat




Friday 5 October 2012

Infamous Sweetback

Those good dudes at INFAMOUS SWEETBACK are back again with more Brighton beat bonanzas planned in the run up to Christmas. Guests at this monthly event include my fellow VINYL VETERAN member MR KRUM (design maestro and one half of COLD ROCK STUFF), SECOND HAND DAN (funk connoisseur and selector supreme) and DJ MEX (BLACK GRASS Brighton legend). Check out the flyer below for relevant dates, and get yourself down to Brighton on the South Coast for a superior night out (or maybe a crazy weekend away). Resident deck technician MATT THE HATT will be running thangs as usual in his own inimitable style (what's up MATT!).




Thursday 4 October 2012

The Bronx Boys Rocking Crew

THE BRONX BOYS ROCKING CREW (TBB) are holding their 2012 reunion this weekend 7th October in the BRONX at BETANCES COMMUNITY CENTRE. On the wheels of steel will be DANNY DAN THE BEAT MANN, DJ ROCKIN ROB, CHUCK CITY, TRS, SOLO 138, DJ WILDSTYLE, and how could I possibly forget our boys representing the UK DJs SKAMROK and JAM-FU. I'd like to wish everyone a rocking time at the REUNION especially JAM-FU for his first set out in the BX. Good luck fellas ... drop some jewels on 'em. Shouts to the whole TBB.


Wednesday 3 October 2012

Five On The Black Hand Side

As most of you reading this already know, I'm a fiend for 45s. The first records I ever bought with my own money were 45rpm 7" singles from Woolworths back in the days when they only cost 99p each. I must have been about 7 or 8 years old at the time. I don't know why, but as a kid growing up I always assumed that big records (LPs) were for big people (i.e. adults) and the smaller records were designed for smaller people (i.e. children). Don't ask me why I thought that, because I couldn't honestly tell you. But what I can say is that my fascination with little records has never waned and I have constantly purchased, begged and borrowed 45s ever since that time. So of course when the current DJ trend for "everything on 45" exploded, suffice to say I already had piles of heavy ammunition stockpiled in the DAILY DIGGERS HQ.

Hold up though - I ain't dissing those who now favour the 45 when playing in the clubs, putting out their mixes and recording radio shows - quite the contrary. I give props to everyone who is down with the current 45 movement. However there are plenty of us out there who have ALWAYS been making people say "WTF" when we drop a certain little record or two. In this world there are trendsetters and trend followers, but I'm neither of these two. But what I do find fairly regularly in my life, is that subjects which I'm very passionate about often live (for many years) beneath the radar ... until eventually everyone else catches on. The difference is, I will keep doing what I've always been doing, and when these people are bored of the current trend and move on to do something else .... I'll STILL be here doing what I'm always doing.

Good looking out to SKEME RICHARDS (ROCK STEADY CREW) and the HOT PEAS & BUTTA crew for recognising the fact that I've never been a slouch when it comes to my 45rpm business. SKEME asked me to be a part of his "Five On The Black Hand Side" series of deejays showing love for their most-played sureshot 45s. You can see the KID DYNO selection over at HOT PEAS & BUTTA now, alongside 45 selections from DJ PRESTIGE (FLEA MARKET FUNK), SUPREME LA ROCK, AKALEPSE, and NITEKRAWLER and SKEME himself. Damn .... I'm in good company!

Rock the Diskotek

Man of the moment JORUN BOMBAY has part 2 of his "Rock The Diskotek" series almost ready to drop on us. If you didn't catch the first installment then you were missing out on some incredible shit in my opinion. What JORUN did was to re-create some of the most revered old school tapes and give them a new lease of life by re-creating the musical score as it would have been, and bringing some hi-fidelity to some low quality recordings. But not only that, he gices it his trademark JORUN twist - just when you think you've heard it all, Mr BOMBAY hits you with another sureshot. Somebody say "Ho-oh". Say "Ho Ho". Now screammm!

Monday 1 October 2012

Danny Spice

Here's a name you're gonna hear a lot in the next few months. DANNY SPICE is a UK producer, deejay and emcee who likes his beats dusty and prefers to keep it true school. Recently he dropped a 45rpm 7" single on KING OF THE BEATS label featuring the JUICE CREW member and freestyler extraordinaire CRAIG G. DANNY, a self confessed vinyl junkie, first dropped vinyl back in 2004 with his "Home Truths" EP. Since then he has worked with LEWIS PARKER, another pedigree producer from the UK, and dropped two notable singles on CARRY ON GOING RECORDS.
"A King Amongst Thieves" is his new full length vinyl project due to drop in October and features a host of names including OXYGEN, KOOL SPHERE from VERBAL THREAT, SIMPLE ONE from Germany and MR THING performing some off-the-chart scratches! Also included on the 12" single is the CRAIG G tracks from the KOTB 7" release. It's more a meeting of similar minds rather than a solo effort, and in our interview below DANNY tells of how this project was born and also reveals his influences behind his love for making Hip Hop beats the right way.
And while you're reading, DANNY has even pulled out a bonus beat from the SPICE rack to keep your earholes buzzing during the interview. Enjoy.

DANNY SPICE INTERVIEW OCT 2012

DANNY SPICE - "Dutch Master" beat

KID DYNO: What's your name, where ya from and who you be?
DANNY SPICE: DANNY SPICE from in and around Hertfordshire UK, the dusty fingered beat digging loner former stoner in the house. T total and high on lost gems!

KID DYNO: What was your introduction to hip hop?
DANNY SPICE: Back around 89/90 sort of time - the (Flavor Flav) clocks, VW signs and trainers with no laces ... that's what got me. I was hooked on beats and rhymes from the very first time I heard them, and also graff, DJing, breaking, bad language and hood movies. First introduction to a break was probably TOM TOM TOM CLUB "...what you gonna do when you get out of jail.." and so forth. The main thing that got me was the records, the vinyl, the scratching, the beats and the digging. I was always in the record shop from a very young age and still am to this day.

KID DYNO: The new EP is called "King Amongst Thieves". How did you arrive at the title?
DANNY SPICE: Yeah I wanna clear that up so people don't think its an arrogant thing. It started when I won KING OF THE BEATS - shouts to Pritt Kalsi aka KEY FIGURES!!! I wanted to do an album with the records I won in the battle but then I wasn't really feeling the records I obtained so kept the theme rolling but just used stuff from my own collection. The album is completely made from samples, the only thing that wasn't lifted off of old dusty records was the artists recorded on them! I didn't play one single bass note so its all about jacking beats which is my style anyway. I've never used a sound module ever in my life and have no plans to either. Its a homage to vinyl culture and my favourite stores really, they played a huge part in this release by supplying me the records!!!

KID DYNO: How did you choose the artists to work with on this project?
DANNY SPICE: I just hit up artists I'm a fan of rather than artists who I thought would sell! A lot of artists hit me up and just wanted to work with me too from the beat CDs I had been passing about. I recorded so many joints with people for this project that people will think I'm crazy for not including, but I was dealing with quality over quantity that's why I cut it to an EP over an album in the end. I think it works though its a nice 25 minute listen

KID DYNO: On your first 12" you were taking charge of the mic, but now you take care of vocals and production - how did that change come about or have you always made beats?
DANNY SPICE: I was a DJ way before I was an EMCEE. I wanted to be the guy in the back cutting up doubles that was my dream, but.... my first turntables were a shit pair of belt drive SOUNDLAB DLP1600s or something like that ... and I wore them out cutting doubles and they died. I had no dough for more so I started rhyming because I had no choice (I was hooked) so I had to do something then ... and it (the rhyming) just took over for a long time. I am not going to lie for a minute, for a good good while I was chasing fame (being young) looking for loose women and shit ... I never compromised what sound I liked, but I kinda got lost in it all. But now I'm doing what I want to do. The beats is what I want to do. I don't have any desire to pursue a career as a rapper anymore. I'm not hanging up the mic though, maybe in the future I will drop something. I got a Lewis Parker beat I'm sitting on I might record and release a 7" with it ... who knows? But right now it's the pads I'm dealing with.

KID DYNO: How important is digging for beats for you? And how you would describe your resulting sound?
DANNY SPICE: Digging is the main art behind what I do! For me that is the first stage of production, without it there is no beat. My sound is the sound of busted crackling old fucked up records with some fat drums to give it the head nod. Take away the records I have nothing.

KID DYNO: MR THING features on "Inner City Kings". Has he always been someone you have wanted to work with and how did you hook that up?
DANNY SPICE: MR THING is the best turntablist and club DJ this country has ever produced, end of! I don't care what anyone says he is the master of both!!! He talks with his hands and he kills it on records as well. How many sick Hip Hop records have him on the cuts? I always wanted a record with THING talking with his hands on it. He is a cool dude too - I sent him the music, he said yes, and got it done with no ego, no large bullshit, just nice. PROPS TO MR THING

KID DYNO: I've seen the great footage of you live on stage with DJ DEMAN confidently manning the wheels of steel - can we expect more dope live appearances like this?
DANNY SPICE: Me and D had a ball doing those shows but also went through a lot of stress with bullshit promoters and club owners too. In all honesty the best live shows I ever did was with D but in the end it was too time consuming and real life took over. Bills had to be paid and I just couldn't justify to my family going out and doing the shows anymore. It's not about the money as I love Hip Hop but also its not about mugging yourself either. I wanna get out on the road again and I'm going to try see if I can get an agent and make it happen properly, but I wont be on the mic I will be doing DJ sets if it happens? Going back to my roots to what I originally set out to do.

KID DYNO: Working with Lewis Parker must have been fun, those tracks were crazy dope and I'm constantly recommending that single to my colleagues. Please break down that project for me?
DANNY SPICE: Those 2 tracks came about pre Myspace days. It just took a minute for me to get 'em out as the record shop I worked at around the time funded those joints and was suppose to put them out but didn't for what ever reason. I basically got sent a promo CD of his "put a beat 2 a rhyme" project he was working on and there was a phone number on the CD I was like "fuck it ... I'm going to phone it try get hold of this dude!" I was a huge fan of his whole career from when he was with BITE IT. I didn't even know he was doing stuff with GHOSTFACE at this point? Anyway to cut a long story short, he was in UK for a week or something. He already lived in the States then and by pure luck we spoke on the phone and hooked it up. I was already working on music with RICHY PITCH from SCRATCH / 7EVEN HEADS around the time, so I recorded them at RICHY's studio and then Lewis came by when we done the mix downs and done the do when he was back for a week. It wasn't straight forward and there was a few problems along the way if I'm honest. I do wish things went down a little different but I'm proud to know I have done a record with LEWIS. He is one of my fave producers of all time and definitely somewhere in my top ten

KID DYNO: What's next on the menu?
DANNY SPICE: Me and KOOL SPHERE from VERBAL THREAT who features on my new record have spoke about doing a full length project together, so I wanna try make that happen. I'm hoping to make "The King Amongst Thieves" a trilogy also and drop another 2 parts. Really I wanna concentrate on the label and putting out other dope artists I think the next release won't actually be a DANNY SPICE record - I will be putting out someone else's music. I'm already speaking to them about it so watch this space keep and checking in with www.carryongoing.com for what's going to be happening.

KID DYNO: Any shouts you wanna give Danny?
DANNY SPICE: Thank you to DAILY DIGGERS for interviewing me and supporting my record. I'm a fan of the blog so I'm honoured to be part of it! Hands down I approached these guys to be featured on here cause I feel what they do! So thanks for making that happen! As for any other shouts ... grab yourself a copy of my record and read the shouts on the cover cuz that's who I wanna give props to! And keep it www.carryongoing.com
Peace
DANNY SPICE signing out.

KID DYNO: Thanks to you DANNY for taking time out to do this interview, and for sampling my favourite DE WOLFE joint on your forthcoming "A King Amongst Thieves" EP.