Monday 30 March 2009

A Mix of What I'm Liking Right Now

Had a few problems with Blogger deleting posts randomly, so here's my first post again.  In order to stay under the radar, I'm trying something a bit different for mp3 and buying links: You'll have to paste the links into your browser, sorry for the inconvenience.

To kick off my first post for Squeaky Bleeps, I thought I’d say a bit about myself – I’m an 18 year old DJ and producer from London, I’ve been DJing for about 2 years, and producing for about 4.

 

My first two official releases are out in the next 6 months - a remix of Dance with me by La Toya Lynn coming out on Eurostars Music, and a remix of Amelia by Niyi.

 

Over the past two years I’ve played with acts like Foals, Tapedeck, Adventure Playground, Klaxons, Count & Sinden, Dizzee Rascal, Urban Nerds DJs, FLWNKZ, N-Type, Zombie Nation, Para One, Mujava, Little Boots, Niyi, Frankmusik, Partyshank, A1 Bassline, Chef, DJ CLipz, Warboy, Buster Bennett, K-Tron, Does It Offend You Yeah, T2, DJ Q, H Two O, Artful Dodger, DJ Luck & MC Neat, Platnum, Supra1, Shy FX, Tittsworth.

 

I’ve played at clubs like Matter, Punk, Sin, Neighbourhood, The Russian, Fridge, Ghetto, Aquarium, Old Blue Last, Gramaphone. Festivals like Glastonbury 2009, Underage Festival 2008. Nights like, Mist, This is Not London, Heart, Calling All Tribes, and a Universal Records night.

 

To get more information, see where I’m next playing, or hear more mixes or productions, head over to www.myspace.com/benwhitedj.

 

For my first post, I thought I’d put together a mix which shows what I’m listening to and loving at the moment – I’ve split it down into 6 different genres, which are the main ones I listen to, and will write about on here.  For each genre I put my 5 favorite songs at the moment from each genre in. 


Ben White Squeaky Bleeps Mix MP3

 

The first one genre is Disco. Disco saw a resurgence in 2008, with disco nights springing up all over the country, and labels like Italians Do It Better, DFA and Phantasy championing the new disco sound. Artists like Joakim, the Emperor Machine, Fan Death, Hercules and Love Affair, Riton, Aeroplane, In Flagranti and Juan Maclean were the most popular. In a horrible parody of nu rave, some took to calling this new trend nu disco… For an hour long guide to the new (note the spelling…) disco trend, Erol Alkan’s podcast Disco 3000, serves as a perfect introduction. 

 

I kicked off this bit of the mix with:

 

1.   I Feel Electric (Tiedye Remix) – Rubies feat Feist (Italians Do It Better)

 

This lovely italo disco track actually featured on the Disco 3000 podcast, and I was drawn to it pretty much immediately – it takes a while to get going, but those lovely guitar parts at the beginning keep you interested, and when Feist’s voice kicks in, it only gets better. 

 

http://www.mediafire.com/?ninnogftwb2

 

2.   Clown - Ssion (Sleazetone Records)

 

http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=77159

 

3.   The Plot (Discodeine Remix) – WhoMadeWho (Gomma Records)

 

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?f3wzhtmyzty

 

 

4.   Farewell To The Fairground (Rory Phillips Mix) - White Lies (Fiction)

 

This remix is pretty much an ideal marriage as far as I’m concerned – I’ve been a massive White Lies fan since the beginning, saw them at their first ever gig at Hoxton Bar and Grill last year. Here Rory Phillips, resident at Durr, and at the now defunct Trash night, brings the song to life – he keeps the bassline from the original song, but those disco drums give it a whole new energy.  As much as I hate to use the word groovy, this is definitely groovy.

 

http://www.mediafire.com/?ymjmy0ttmoa

 

 

5.   What Is Natural - Shadow Dancer (Boys Noize Records) 

 

This Mancunian duo’s debut album (Golden Traxe) just came out on BNR, having been handpicked by BN himself after they sent him a myspace message.  Golden Traxe has got to be one of my favourite electronic albums so far for 2009  - Shadow Dancer use a rich tapestry of samples to make absolutely killer tracks for the dancefloor – Poke and Soap were two massive songs last year, and the album shows Shadow Dancer have more than just floor killers to them – this song was given out as a preview, and absolutely rocks.  It combines a disco vibe, with a beat that will still kill.

 

http://www.noiseporn.com/audio/Shadow%20Dancer%20-%20What%20Is%20Natural.mp3

 

 

Next up I put in some Ghettotech/Bmore/Hip Hop. This whole style of American music kills it for me – the sample breaks from old funk songs, the funny vocal samples from kids cartoons in bmore.  The lewd lyrics in ghettotech combined with the no nonsense hip hop horns and chunky beats make for a simple but effective mixture.  That’s the beauty with ghettotech and bmore – the music is so simple, which is what makes it so good.

 

6.   Click Clack – Bobby LaBeat (Gold Whistle)

 

http://palmsout.net/music/joee/CobraKrames-GunsUpAnthem.mp3

 

7.   The Chase – DJ Rob 3 (Ol’ Head Records)

 

This track, that featured on the latest Brick Bandits EP (a crew made up of a whole load of American Bmore heavy hitters – Sega, Rob 3, Tameil, Tim Dolla) makes killer use of a sample from Outlander – The Vamp, one of my favourite songs from that old school era of hardcore classics – that combination of the distinctive rising piano riff, and "3-2-1 zero" sample does it for me every time.  Rob 3 keeps those two going, and adds rave stabs, old school breaks, sirens and a basic drum pattern, just making it more simple and even more of a banger.

 

http://discodust.com/files/DJ%20Rob%203%20-%20The%20Chase.mp3

 

8.   Paris (Aeroplane Remix Urchins Bmore Edit) – Friendly Fires (White Label) 

 

Urchins take one of the nicest remixes of this year, speed it up, and add a distinctive clattering bmore break to it, keeping the distinctive Au Revoir Simone vocals and 80’s pop synths that made the Aeroplane mix so popular, and just making it a bit more dancefloor friendly.

 

9.   Wassup Wassup (DJ Sega Remix) – Diplo feat Rye Rye (Mad Decent) 

 

 

http://maddecent.com/blog/

 

10.  Sound of The Police – Cobra Krames (Cobra Kai)

 

http://www.turntablelab.com/digital/423/1738/58718.html

 

Back in September last year, thanks to Marcus Nasty and Mak10’s mix for Rinse FM, I was introduced to UK Funky House. “UK funky is a style of modern electronic dance music related to UK garage that is influenced by latin music. It mixes traditional UKG beats, bass loops and synths with latin percussion and contemporary R&B-style vocals.” This new movement was based on a combination of many genres – grime, funky, tribal house, bassline, garage. The primary exponents of funky are Geneeus, Mak 10, Supa D, Crazy Cousins and Marcus Nasty. Listening to funky prompted me to dig out some of my old bassline records, and I’ve definitely got back into that recently as well, especially that Delinquent mix from 2007.

 

11.  Gabryelle (D-Malice Refix) DJ Technic (Defected Records)

 

http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=151209

 

12.  Inflation - Crazy Cousinz   (Crazy Cousinz Records)

 

This is the flip to the very popular Funky Anthem came out earlier in 2009. The xylophone arpeggios and bongos absolutely kill.  Its easy to see why CC are becoming so popular – between this and Do You Mind, arguably the biggest Funky hit so far, they can’t seem to put a foot wrong.

 

http://www.htfr.com/more-info/MR290014

 

13.  United Groove – L-Vis 1990 (White Label)

 

Some of you may know this track from L-Vis’ recent Dubplates mix, which showcased   L-Vis’s newest material including his soon to be released “Unified Groove” which is to drop on a yet undisclosed label – the rolling, staggering drum beat and a mesmerising wobbly bassline make this 2am banger a sure fire hit.

 

http://maddecent.com/blog/2009/02/28/weekend-exclusive-l-vis-1990-dubplates-mix-09/

 

14.  Rhubarb & Disgusted - Nay Nay & Wittyboy (White Label)

 

 

15.  2 Bad – Kode 9 vs. LD (Hyperdub)

 

 

https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/145217/bad_2_bad

 

Whether its fidget house, jacking house, electro house or just plain house, I’ve always been a massive house fan, and producers like Hostage and A1 Bassline who bring elements of garage, bassline and breaks into house are becoming fast favourites of mine.

 

16.  Murder Rocket – Hostage (White Label)

 

Spot the unusual sample… Hostage pulls another banger out of the bag, putting a breaksy beat behind Bowie, creating an absolute floor killer.

 

http://www.zshare.net/audio/57087867cfb650ab/

 

17.  The Deep End (Bart Bmore Remix) – Curses!  (Institubes)

 

The Holy Ghost version has been more popular, but the Bart Bmore remix brings the bass, and Nancy Whang’s vocals plus  a good helping of wonky bass make this one a must listen.

 

http://www.junodownload.com/products/1395585-02.htm

 

 

18.  We Getting Crunk (A1 Bassline Remix) – Heavyfeet

 

 

http://www.mediafire.com/?4gxjgicgqod

 

 

 

19.  Up Middle Finger (Supra1 Remix) - Blackfinger  (Trouble & Bass)

 

 

http://www.mediafire.com/?xmmn5g4kkzd

 

 

 

 

20.  Eurovision - Zombie Disco Squad (Institubes)

 

http://www.amazon.com/Esperanto-Eurovision-EP/dp/B001U2B4RA/ref=sr_f3_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1237396806&sr=103-1

 

Another sound I really got into last year was a more techey/minimal one - with DJs like Brodinski and Erol Alkan introducing me to this, and producers like Popof, Noob and Style of Eye really doing it for me.

 

21.  Una Pena – Stimming (Diynamic)

 

 

http://www.djdownload.com/mp3-detail/Stimming/Una+Pena/DIYNAMIC/480593

 

22.  Starship (Darling Farah Remix) – Robot Koch (Idiot House Records)

 

This talented techno/minimal producer from the United Arab Emirates (who knew techno had spread to UEA??) gives insanely unique German Hip-Hop/Dubstep/Electro(?) producer Robot Koch’s tune a minimal 4x4 work out.

 

www.myspace.com/ddarlingfarah  

 

23.  Clown – Style of Eye (Pickadoll Records)

 

If Jewish people made techno, it would sound something like this – lovely bleepy synth lines that sound like Fiddler on the Roof via Detroit, with a rolling beat.

 

http://djmannes.com/Penned/MP3/Mark/soeclown.mp3

 

24.  Highly Explicit (Brodinski Remix) – Mixhell (Boys Noize Records)

 

http://www.mediafire.com/?elj20mqtnvm

 

25.  Oblivion (Noob Remix) - Brodinski

 

http://www.zshare.net/audio/54708577ad2c5e4e/

 

 

 

 

Dubstep, which was once largely a united front, seems now to have split into many different groups and styles. Skream, Benga, Coki and Caspa’s wobbly ‘thugstep’, a more techey sound – with producers like Shackleton, Appleblim and the whole Skull Disco crowd making dubstep with a more minimaley/techey feel. Another new direction for dubstep was labeled by many critics as ‘wonky’. Made up of producers like Ikonika, Zombie, Joker, Rustie, Starkey, and championed by Kode 9’s Hyperdub label, some of the most exciting dubstep releases of 2008 came from this group – Zombie’s 'Strange Fruit', Joker’s 'Gully Brook Lane', Ikonika’s 'Please'.

 

26.  Girder – Appleblim (Skull Disco)

 

http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=37242

 

27.  You Don’t Know What Love Is – 200F & J Kamata (Hyperdub)

 

This soulful slice of dubstep came out in March 2009 on the flip side to the new Zomby 12” – which was a pretty much instant purchase for me, on the strength of Zomby’s past stuff.  Suprisingly enough, I’ve ended up playing this more than the flip side (Digidesign).  Its that mix of the dubstep beats, those square wave synths and that heavily vocoded voice – it sounds something like how I imagine Prince doing dubstep would. 

 

http://www.7digital.com/artists/joker-2000f-j-kamata/digidesign-you-dont-know-what-love-is/

 

28.  Spliff Dub (Rustie Remix) – Zomby (Hyperdub)

 

http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=74398

 

29.  Sunday – Widdler (White Label)

 

http://www.zshare.net/audio/54103949f11f10c1/

 

30.  If You Can’t Beat Em – Reso (Civil Music)

 

This has pretty much ruled the beatport dubstep charts since it came out – and with reason, its properly heavy, just how banging dubstep should be. 

 

http://civilmusic.com/buy/if-ya-cant-beat-em/


Word.

Sunday 29 March 2009

Sunday Morning Hangover

If your feeling as rough as me this morning, then you probably don't want to listen to the latest bangers, but something a little different.  So, to kick off a regular feature for the blog, here's a few more chilled out songs - in the style of that post club second hour of the Fake Blood Essential Mix, or Erol Alkan's Bugged In mix.  Every sunday we'll be posting a few songs  that are completely different to everything else on the blog, ideally suited to a nice Sunday at home.

First up is a bit of an unlikely choice - Aphex Twin is definitely not my first thought when I'm looking for something a bit more mellow to listen to, but '4' is definitely not standard Aphex fare.  When it came out in 1996, it became one of those songs that everyone recognised - it seemed to be the soundtrack to every single advert that was trying to be uplifting.  A quick google search shows that it was the backing for a US government anti-drug advertisement spot, as well as an advertisement in the United States for the Special Olympics... There's a reason the advertising community picked up on this song: its one of the most beautiful electronic songs every made (if you ask me...).  That mix of violins and that classic glitchy drum beat make it truly beautiful.  I'm not sure I hate all my family enough to put them through having such a depressing and uplifting song played at my funeral, but apart from that this is one of my top picks for song to be played at my funeral.


The next song is one of those ones you just find on your computer one day when you leave your itunes library on shuffle, and never have any memory of how or when you obtained it (other notable ones I've discovered include - Rolf Harris' pastiche of Tie Your Mother Down, Tie Yer Kangeroo Down Sport,  collection of prank calls from someone called Kerpal to an Arnold Schwarzenegger soundalike, and a Bill Clinton soundalike's own take on Chumbawamba's Tubthumping: Tubthumping, Whip It Out.  The joys of itunes shuffle.  BTW get in touch for links to any of these, they're all top class. honest.)  I don't really know anything about the band who sung this, or the song itself, but all I know is it's lovely:


Another artist who might seem like a bit of an unlikely choice - Flying Lotus.  Flying Lotus' brand of experimental hip hop is largely the last thing I'd want to listen to on a Sunday morning, especially with a headache like this.  But this one song has Laura Darlington on vocals (No idea who she is, but her voice is nice.  Nuff said. Get in touch if you know who she is).  The vocals and instrumentation are both fairly sparse, but it works all the better for it.  This song was the closing track to FL's latest album Los Angeles (highly recommended if you haven't heard it yet), and the breathy whispers fit perfectly over the electronic piano loops.  Again, just like 4, this song manages to be both delicately haunting and eerily alienating while strangely uplifting at the same time.


The next track is a bit more upbeat than everything else I've posted today, but seeing as we're finally getting some nice weather, a bit of a summery tune never goes amiss.  The cheery vocal refrain fits perfectly with this track, and its definitely going to get rinsed by me come real summertime.  if you liked this then get over to JK's myspace, he's nothing to do with Jamiroquai, and his music is a lot better.


Another unlikely sounding pick from me (I think the reason so many of these are that is because it's the songs that don't sound anything like what you were expecting, and stick in your head for exactly that reason.)  The second dubstep remix of the Black Ghosts (Skream and Plastician's Remix of  Some Way Through This for your information), Skull Disco's Appleblim and Komonazmuk takes Simon Lord's vocals and gives them a deep, dark dubby backing, transforming the track into a beautiful, moody take on the Black Ghost's Full Moon.


Last one from me today is by New York band The Walkmen.  One of my favourite songs by the Walkmen has always been this one - it's tinkling pianos and faraway drums create this kind of delicately drunken waltz feel, and Hamilton Leithauser's  broken crooning fits perfectly.

Saturday 28 March 2009

Jack Ya Body

While the other three dudes are 'hard at work' on their intro mixes, hehe, I love you really lads... I thought it would be a good idea to just crack on with the blog and present you with our first artist feature on R!M!E.



R!M!E has been causing a stir lately on the blogs after his remix of Fake Blood' s 'Mars' was somehow snapped up by the man himself and used in his Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1. He also churned out a great re-work of Altern8's Frequency last year. However, its his recent original work that I'm most interested in.
His newest track 'Shakedown' was recently let loose on Noiseporn, and Jack Ya Body was let loose last week by TheLaptopLads, yet I believe we're the first blog to release his Dub version of the track.

The man himsefl was kind enough to send over his work and a short bio to us...

Based in Sydney I’ve been into music in one form or another for as long as I can remember. Initially taking an interest in new wave and indie and artists such as lcd soundsystem, soulwax and joy division, I soon bridged the gap into electronic music. I started learning music theory and playing guitar and bass well over 5 years ago and started producing seriously a few years ago. I draw influence from genres including house/hip hop/baltimore and electro. I also draw influence from artists such as Detboi, Herve, Diplo, Jack Beats, Trouble and Bass Crew and Rico Tubbs, among others. I love to get behind the decks, although have limited myself in playing out and have been trying to establish myself as a producer before anything. I've also remixed Fake Blood's 'Mars'
, which originally I only made as a bootleg that I never thought would leave my hard drive or be heard again... until the other week.

Fake Blood - Mars (R!M!E Remix) (ZShare)







Also make sure the check the man out over @ his Myspace, which also has links to some exclusive mixes by the man, and a new remix just up!

Thursday 26 March 2009

Intro Mix Glitch

Hey, I'm Lee Smart, I'm 19, a second year Journalism student at UCA in Farnham, Surrey and I grew up in Dartford, Kent. I've only been DJing for about the last 6 months, so I'm clearly no where near on par with Ben. I DJ at my student union and I'm currently working on my first mixtape to send around to a few clubs so I'm hoping for a big summer, which should be up on this blog within the next few weeks! I've once written a blog before (I'm Not A Critic), but due to my ever changing taste in music I lost interest in that venture and I was also briefly a writer at the eclectic review site SonicDice.

I think over the past 19 years my tastes have taken on a huge roller-coaster journey that I would consider, one for the better. I grew up listening to the majority of 60-90s mainstream music, but it wasn't until 1997 that I fell in love Breakbeat and in particular Big-Beat scene. I'm an avid follower of The Crystal Method and The Chemical Brothers, as well as everything that came with the Big-Beat scene, from its 'superstar DJs' in Fatboy Slim, to its underground bands and duos in Fluke and The Propellerheads.
Nu Skool Breaks is a genre I will always have a very soft spot for. As far as I'm concerned, no one comes close to producing such a squelching, toxin-induced mind fuck up banger like Far Too Loud. In my opinion they are simply God; along with artists like Plump DJs, Elite Force, PMT, NAPT, The Rogue Element, Evil Nine and Krafty Kuts.

I've always been quite a big house-head, with Sasha, Carl Cox, John Digweed and most recently Deadmau5 and Swen Weber being my all time favourites.
Electro takes up a huge part of my tastes, of course there's the Justice and Simian Mobile Disco's that are close to me, but it's the more experimental outfits like The Subs and Boys Noize that really pack the punch with me.
In the past year though it's been the 'Fidget' scene that's really caught my ear; wonk, b-more, ghetto-bass, whatever you wish to call it; it's something about way the music takes the best out of everything. Breaks, UK Garage, Electro, Rave, it's like a huge sweltering pot of bass and beats locked inside the juiciest chocolate chip cookies, and I munch and munch all day long!


My mix, like Ben's is split up into 5 genres, highlighting songs that I feel deserve that special praise and will always hold the top spot in my life.

Grab it Here

Let me know if the link has died and you do really want the mix:
goonerfan4eva@hotmail.com (I'll get it over to you asap!)

First up is Big-Beat, one of the only genre's out there that for me is truly unique to it's own scene and place in time.

1. The Chemical Brothers - Leave Alone
Now I could have chosen any of the billions of great songs these two dudes have churned out, but after six studio albums and fourteen years of gigging, I don't think either Tom or Ed could have foreseen how perfectly this track opens their discography. For me, I don't think there is another artist on the planet that could have made this song.


2. The Crystal Method - Busy Child
To me, this song is, well quite possibly one of my favourite tunes of all time, which at 00:21 contains possibly the greatest synth loop every conceived by man. People often say, what the fuck has Sweden done for the world... I'd say, well they gave us the Nord synthesizer.


3. The Prodigy - Breathe
As far as I'm concerned, The Prodigy sit head and heels above everyone in a completely separate league of their own. Speaking as a young-ling I can't imagine what is must of been like to have witnessed one of their very first live shows. The pure originality of their work stands a lone and will influence bands and DJs alike for years to come. Breathe has always been my favourite track of their's. It manages to fine balance everything about the 90s big-beat and late 80s rave scenes that has helped shape the new breed of rave music being released today.


4. Fatboy Slim - Right Here, Right Now
I never had the privilege of witnessing one of his sets during the late nighties or the honour of being part of the crowd at his mammoth Beach Boutique II, but I do know that this song will stand the test of time as an epic masterpiece.


5. The Propellerheads Feat. Shirley Bassy - History Repeating
I don't really have much to say about this song, just that it's one of the funkiest tunes you'll ever hear, and Shirley speaks the undeniable truth.


Next up House and five tracks that I fell sums up everything about almost all the sub-genres of House that is important: the feeling.

1. John Acquaviva - First Stroke (Swen Weber Remix)
There is nothing I like more in House music than a slamming kick drum and a ridiculous bassline! In my view there should be a new law passed that makes it illegal for people to play this tune below 100dB!

2. Cubetronix - Wrap My World
Sometimes I can't resist a little bit of hypnotic house. I first heard this track last year, and its constantly in my sets, purely for the fact that people will be going "what the fuck is this", but still dancing along and smiling. House after all is all about the feeling.

3. Fatboy Slim & Funkagenda - What The Fuck
I have absolutely nothing whatsoever to say on this issue, other than... ABSOLUTE TUNE!

4. Chris Lake - Only One
Just a purely amazing tune. What Chris Lake , Steve Duda and deadmau5 have done to House music in the past three years will only be fully appreciated at the end of the next decade. They've truly shaped an iconic House sound.

5. deadmau5 - Not Exactly
Listening to this song always leaves me pushing the play button again, its the second build in the middle of the track that is simply stunning. I can only imagine what the atmosphere will be like when he drops this at the Space opening party in May, just hope I'm there to witness it.


Thirdly we move onto a more Electro feel, that basically does boil down to being House, but then as we all know, putting Tiga in the same set as say Fedde Le Grand, isn't exactly the cleverest thing you can do.

1. deadmau5 vs. Jelo - The Reward Is Cheese
What started off as a project release between the two producers quickly turned into one of the biggest underground tracks of 2008, which was included in Simian Mobile Disco's Fabriclive album and used in sets by virtually every sane DJ in the scene.
This tune optimises where Tech-House and Funk can collide to create an absolute banger!

2. Riton - Hammer of Thor
One of the most unique DJs out there in my opinion. Very few DJs these days have their very own sound, style and identity going for them these days. Riton has all three in abundance, and with his album release last summer saw his shoot to superstar stutus. He's playing Fabric's main room on April 3rd, supporting the legendary Chemical Brothers, don't miss that one!

3. Simian Mobile Disco - I Believe
Hustler and It's The Beat have always been the hits, but its this track from their 2007 album 'Attack Sustain Decay Release' that I love the most. Just the simplest of things, like closing your eyes to this track, takes on you a journey more powerful than many 'trance' tunes put out these days.

4.

5. Boys Noize - The Battery
I find nothing more arousing in electro than a beat like this. The quality of this track cannot be underestimated and the subtleness of the second build and drop is just pure genius.

Now onto Techno, and to be honest, my knowledge of the history of Techno and where the current scene is at is somewhat limited, so I won't go into detail about each track, but here are a few of my current favourites

1. Spektre - Hover

2. Dataworx - Control

3. Lützenkirchen - Monster In My House

4. DJ Rolando - Knights of the Jaguar
This is one track that I do know something about... a timeless, epic, classsssic!

5. Dusty Kid - The Cat


Fidget/Wonk/Nu House/B-more/Ghetto-Bass (Whatever you want to bloody call it)

1. AC Slater - Party Like Us/Udachi Remix
I had to include the original and the remix of this tune, they are both crunkin' good shit.

2. The Streets - Lets Push Things Forward (Hostage Remix)
I'm a big fan of Hostage's work. Lately he's knocked out some real bangers including 'Bring The Music', 'Shake It' and 'Murder Rocket', but this remix from last year is the pick of the bunch for me.

3. Jack Beats - Get Down
This tune features on Herve's new 2CD compilation mixtape, Ghetto Bass and in my opinion is one of the best new examples out there at the moment of a dub-fidget cross over.

4. Lee Mortimer Feat. MC Flipside - That Thing
Mortimer is definitely one of my favourites this year.

5. Fake Blood - Blood Splashing (Fake Blood Theme)
I've always been more of a fan of this than Mars. I think many people in the 'fidget' scene underestimated a year ago how good and original Theo's sound really was. I can't stop listening to that first build... jealous much!


Finishing off a mix that for me was hugely fun to make is a return to some broken beats, and in particular Nu Skool & Electro Breaks.
I have to say that Breakbeat is a genre that over the past three years has grown on me immensely. Ever since Crystal Method released their Community Service II mixtape, I've been hooked on producers like Elite Force, Hyper and Dylan Rhymes. It's the pure energy of the songs that when combined with the Fabric sound system, make it the ultimate music in my view.

1. Plump DJs - Beat Myself Up (Plump DJs Night Remix)
The newest release from one of the daddy's of breaks. My favourite song from their most recent album, given a tinge of acid-funkin', bangin' tune!

2. Far Too Loud - Play It Loud (Original Mix)
For anyone who hasn't heard of FTL, please slap your self now, in fact you might need to slap yourself when you hear the vocals come in on this track. It is absolutely unreal how good this track is, I can't recommend these guys to you enough!

3. PMT - Gyromancer (Elite Force Remix)
One of the first Nu Skool Breaks tunes that really got me going, amazing bassline!

4. Hyper - Come With Me

5. Dylan Rhymes - Breathe (Midfield General Re-Edit)
TUNE!

Tracks of thought...

Dylan Rhymes - Naked & Ashamed/The Crystal Method - Keep Hope Alive
A return to Big-Beat for the close and two tracks that over the years I've grown to love possibly more than any other tunes in existence. Pure memories of being young and innocent and playing Fifa 98/99 to the absolute death! INDOOR FOOTBALL FTW!

Apologies for some of the shocking mixing at some points... university work really is getting on top of me, and this was thrown together with no preperation! EEEEEK!

Monday 23 March 2009

What we are all about...

Squeaky Bleeps is a brand new music blog written by a small clan of DJs from the UK. We're hugely passionate about the music we like, and we want to write about it.

It seems that in the past couple of years, more and more blogs have sprout up since the rise of blogs such as 'Palms Out', and are just out there to spread free MP3s to everyone. Regardless of whether they have permission to do so or not, some choose to not even review the music before they release it, which is rapidly creating a blogosphere of music, without taste and without the boundaries of reason. Fortunately there are those great blogs out there (e.g. Data Sapiens, TechFunkManifesto, Noiseporn) who give a good crack at everything, and rightly deserve the respect they have. Here at Squeaky Bleeps we will try and offer you a place to catch the latest underground music, but also to hear about why its causing such a stir. We'll be uploading guest mixes from ourselves and hopefully from fellow DJs alike, talking about the hottest new releases and tracks from up and coming artists and producers, and try to create a unique new perspective on the music you want to listen to. Our main aim through this blog is to help other blogs and artists to push for a more professional and coherent relationship with the music industry.

If we have in some way helped out an artist by featuring their material that has in turn helped them go on to become signed by a major or indie label then we could consider our job accomplished.

We will be going live from April 1st, with a series of posts to wet your appetite's. In the meantime, over the next couple of days you'll be seeing a few posts from all the writers here at Squeaky Bleeps, including a little bit about what they will be bringing you and an exclusive short mix of tracks that sums up their taste in music.