A quick blog update as Bandcamp are doing another ‘no fee’ day so I thought i’d push a few extra special tracks that in some cases aren’t available on the streaming platforms so don’t feature on my main Spotify & Apple playlists.

Every penny from Bandcamp purchases today (May 1st) goes to the artist but if you’re reading this after the 1st then buying on Bandcamp is still close to the gold standard in terms of creators getting paid so it’s never a bad time to buy on Bandcamp.

Of course the streaming sites pay absolute peanuts BUT if you want to hear new music please follow my playlists below, on your platform of choice. They’re updated weekly and if there’s any upcoming artists you think I should feature please let me know.

PLAYLISTS:

NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL: THE LATEST DANCEHALL, DUB, RAGGA, RAP, SOCA, HOUSE…

👂🔊 Spotify / Apple Music / Deezer / YouTube

WEEKLY DOSE: THE BEST NEW MUSIC…ANY GENRE

👂🔊 Spotify / Apple Music / Deezer / YouTube

TEN4SE7EN: 10 BEST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK

👂🔊 Spotify

Here are a few Bandcamp standouts that are more than worthy of a penny or two:

HEDLUV + PASSMAN

my beats are disgusting like tiramisu

Hedluv + Passman are not without rhymes but they are without reason. Rappers yet Cornish, ironic yet sincere, novel yet durable. A rare natural phenomenon that can only be known through the senses. Through the power of Casio keyboards and high intensity performances they have circumnavigated the globe twice and half, gaining high profile fans along the way, including Flight of the Conchords’ Rhys Darby. They may have come up in the halcyon days of MySpace, but they have never stopped. They’ve just been pacing themselves…

Casio King is a show of force. For two minutes straight, Hedluv is relentless as he serves a giddy array of rhymes about his Casio keyboard collection, referencing along the way his brother, his lost Casio watch, the doomed Nintendo Wii U and The Muppet Christmas Carol. The rhymes are tight and the beat is ‘disgusting’.

In Luv Interest, Hedluv blends fuzzy Casio keyboard warmth with Passman’s highlife style guitar playing and Binky’s lush vocal harmonies, and creates a colourful backdrop for his most romantic rap song to date.

LORD OF THE ISLES FEAT. ELLEN RENTON

Lord of the Isles and Scottish poet Ellen Renton join forces for a reflective record that touches on themes related to climate change, both in the present and future.
“Ellen’s poem ’Passing’ blew me away and I felt compelled to provide it with a musical accompaniment. I liked how Ellen’s vocal recording sounded lo-fi, so I created an environment around it to make it feel cinematic.”
‘Inheritance’ the closing track, picks up where ‘Passing’ leaves off, completing a journey it feels like many of us will experience.

BRENDAN EDER ENSEMBLE – #20 (APHEX TWIN COVER)

Aphex Twin inspired me to become a composer in my early teens and he has remained a core influence over the years. I’m so enthused to have taken his timeless ambient music to a purely acoustic-classical setting with my chamber ensemble. #20 is the 4th single from To Mix With Time.

THE ORIELLES – SPACE SAMBA (DISCO VOLADOR​)​ WRONGTOM’S RUPPELT RHUMBA

DJ Wrongtom works his usual dub magic on Halifax based, The Orielles, ‘Space Samba’ single. The original was a bit more disco but still with obvious dub influnces but Tom’s ‘Ruppelt Rumba Dub’ cranks up a mighty bassline and slowly floats in the finest elements of the original. Edward J. Ruppelt lead US Air Forces investigations into the existence of UFO’s in the early 1950’s and The Orielles single was apparently partly inspired by space travel.

Orielles on Space Rumba: ‘Inspired by space travel, the themes of Italian film composer Piero Umiliani, the world psychedelia of Khruangbin and Altin Gün, and the expansive festival sets of contemporaries Stereolab, Mogwai, and Four Tet’

SHUNAJI – DIRTY GIRLS

Shunaji is a producer, rapper and singer hailing from Rome and currently based in London. ‘Dirty Girls’ is an essential track, “loaded with words on everyday misogyny, the mass media delusion and perverse double standards on sexuality in our society”.⁠

ETUK UBONG

Hailed by none other than Seun Kuti as “one of the best things to come out of Lagos”, Nigerian trumpeter, composer and bandleader Etuk Ubong has developed an original style he calls “Earth Music”.

Weaving together a unique combination of not only afrobeat, highlife and jazz, but also the ritualistic drumming of Ekombi, the result is urgent and highly energetic, yet spiritual; his compositions reflecting his heritage and life philosophy of goodwill, peace and love for humanity.

Born in the Akwa Ibom State in southern Nigeria, but raised in Lagos, Ubong picked up the trumpet at the age of 14 and never looked back. He went on to study at the Peter King College of Music, Muson School of Music and the University of Cape Town, and aged just 16 was recruited to join the band of the late-great highlife musician Victor Olaiya, through whose ranks also passed two legends, a young Fela Kuti and the sadly just passed, Tony Allen before they invented afrobeat.

THE CRAVATS – I STAND BEFORE YOU

We recorded every rehearsal at the DadaCravatsLaboratory back in the day (79-83) and amassed nearly 450 cassette tapes.

They have sat in boxes in Shend’s vault for decades until our great chum Dale Jowett digitised them for us.

Amongst the endless hours of recordings are many gems that have never seen the light of day. In fact only 5 people have ever heard them and it seemed a good time to select a few belters and let you hear them.

‘I Stand Before You’ is one standout track… possibly from a demo session commissioned by Pete Stennett at Small Wonder Records, sometime after the first album, and recorded in The Cravats rehearsal room with an 8-track mobile studio. The lyrics were written by the late Dave Bennett.

NAT BIRCHALL MEETS AL BREADWINNER – HORNSMAN ROCK

10 track LP featuring Dub mixes of rhythms by Nat Birchall and Al Breadwinner. Mixed by Al Breadwinner old-school style.

COGLI P AND FULL VIBES – KING RISING

Two Riddims and Two Dubs from the south of France, featuring the great Full Vibes playing Sax and Flute
Avalaible on free download until May 11

REGGAE ROAST – DO IT AGAIN (FEAT. HORSEMAN and NATTY CAMPBELL)

Ahead of the release of their eagerly awaited debut album ‘Turn Up The Heat’, Reggae Roast have teamed up with two of the reggae and dancehall scenes most prolific standout stars to drop new single ‘Do It Again’, set for release on April 17th via Trojan Reloaded.

Featuring the legendary producer and MC Horseman whose credits include working with the industry’s biggest players such as Max Romeo, Little Roy and Prince Fatty Soundsystem. ‘Do It Again’ also features Natty Campbell, one of the UK’s most sought after new gen MC stars who brings a powerful sounding wave of modern grit to the track fresh from featuring on the latest Chase & Status album ‘Return 2 Jungle’.

As an award winning soundsystem collective Reggae Roast stands firmly in delivering fresh and innovative sounds to the reggae scene, their forthcoming debut ‘Turn Up The Heat’ due for release on May 22nd is equally playing a pioneering role in keeping the spirit and history of the music alive. ‘Do It Again’ exemplifies the skill and musical craftsmanship displayed by the duo in successfully fusing the new and old as the track samples the Trojan hit, ‘Longshot Kick de Bucket’ by The Pioneers.

Opening with the famous brass intro, which then develops into the well-known melody, the addition of the two MC’s each from different eras of reggae breathes new life to one of the biggest classics in the Trojan catalogue.

Sarathy Korwar – Birthright (The Diabolical Liberties remix)

KARATE BOOGALOO – SLAPPY

SEVDALIZA – LAMP LADY

MYKKI BLANCO – You Will Find It feat. Devendra Banhart

“So happy to be getting to share this one with you all right now! This song is a collaboration with one of my real true heroes, Devendra Banhart, and he’s not just a ‘feature’ on this song, he is in the blood of the song, he’s a part of the composition. This track was produced by FaltyDL, and it comes off of my new album, which is now finally complete (!!) but won’t be coming out in full until next year. “You Will Find It” is a meditation and it felt really necessary to get this one out right now to offer something tranquil and sanguine to counter all of our current anxieties.” –Mykki Blanco

WETLAVABOII – $EXY

JOEY LABEIJA – UNAVAILABLE