WOEBOT

Low Definition Ruff Squad.

See what you think of this radio show which I got off Silver Dollar. Hit the WOEBOT icon above. It's a RealAudio stream, so you'll need RealPlayer. Give me a call and come round to the house, or just drop by. We'll go round to your place and I'll download the Real software and install it for you. Seriously it's no problem whatsoever.

Woebot on the Kosmische Show.

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology I'm able to offer up the last Woebot/Kosmische/Resonance FM show to the denizens on the intranet who missed it first time round. Again a RealAudio stream, to my mind a fantastic alternative to the mp3 download:

1) You can scrub along the timeline from track to track.
2) At an hour and three quarters long an mp3 would be ginormous!
3) Relax in the knowledge that you're not contributing to the rot of mp3 filesharing...

Proving Woebot isn't you're average gig, you'll be tickled to know that I approached the record companies of the two commercially unreleased tracks I played. I wasn't about to offer them up here without permission you see, cos I'm not a twat, simple innit. I was fully expecting a rebuttal from both parties concerned so imagine my sheer delight when Big Dada gave me clearance to host the Infinite Lifez tune!!! I was stunned not least cos it's certainly going to be one of the biggest, most insane, notorious tracks of the year. In fact I'd go as far as saying..........it's sick! Special thanks to Etienne at Big Dada for this. Really you HAVE to hear it!

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0.00.00 Kosmische Show Intro
0.00.51 Infinte Lifez: Adventures of the Lactating Man (Bush Meat CD)
0.05.14 David Banner: Cadillacs on 22s (Mississippi The Album CD)
0.10.47 Meat Puppets: Seal Whales (Up on the Sun LP)
0.13.05 Francois Rabbath: Les Gorgones (Basse en Fugue LP)
0.17.20 Michael Rother: Silberstreif (Fernwarme LP)
0.22.00 Ryuichi Sakamoto: Das Neue Japanische Elektronishe Volkslied* (Thousand Knives of Ryuichi Sakamoto LP)
0.25.39 Terrah Danjah: Juggling* (After Shock EP)
0.27.32 Casino-vs-Japan: Summer Clip (Whole Numbers Play The Basics CD)
0.35.32 Francois de Roubaix: La Fete de deux Avions (Les Plus Belles Musiques de Francois Roubaix Vol.3 LP)
0.41.03 The Tornadoes: Do Your Thing Part Two (Pantomime 7")
0.45.04 Punjabi MC: Challa (Punjabi MC The Album LP)
0.51.40 RZA: Ghost Dog Interlude (Ghost Dog Soundtrack Jap Import CD)
0.53.09 Lizard: Sa Ka Na (Tokyo Mobile Music LP)
0.58.22 Roberto De Simone: Canto di Camorra (Library 7")
1.03.29 Nini Raviolette: Suis-je Normale? (Eponymous EP)
1.08.49 Outputmessage: Bernard's Song (Idol Tryouts LP)
1.14.11 Mathew Johnson: Typerope (Eponymous 12")
1.18.41 Revolution: Cina (Unreleased Import Reissue CD)
1.22.55 Ethiopian 7" Damaged Label
1.27.32 Dr. Zeus: Ah Ni Kuria (Unda Da Influence CD)
1.31.39 Lil' Flip: Da Roof (Eponymous 12")
1.34.28 The Black Dog: Shadehead (Peel Sessions EP)
1.40.45 Francois de Roubiaux: Pat-Benj (Les Plus Belles Musiques de Francois Roubaix Vol.3 LP)
1.43.55 Kosmische Show Outro

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*replace excised track.

Thanks to Sacha for coming down and chipping in with some tunes, thanks to Dwayne our engineer (and man behind the Eggzup label) and natch to all the heads at Kosmische. Big it up. Enjoy.

Slinky Garage Edit.

00.00 Y-Tribe: Enough is Enough
05.49 Operator & Baffled Featuring Colour Girl: Things Are Never (Steve Gurley Mix)
10.19 Large Joints: Thinkin' (Leg Up Dub)
14.16 Steven Emmanuel Presents Colours: Hold On (SE22 Mix)
17.23 Unknown: Almost (Smoothed Up Dub)

All recorded at +4 on a Technics for that authentic pitch.

To launch the mix in RealPlayer, click on the Woebot graphic at the head of the main page. Download RealPlayer Basic here.

Downloads Removed.

Hope you enjoyed them while they were up.

Now That's What I Call Sun Ra.

Just put together a Sun Ra compilation for lovely Hannah which has involved ripping a load of stuff from vinyl. She's been bugging me for this since last June, I'm not ALWAYS super-reliable! Hannah's getting married to her girlfriend at a special ceremony in Iceland soon. She asked me along as a mate, and also to do the DJ thing, but I had to let her down (family/cost). And yes, like you dear reader, all my friends are super-groovy...

Here's what I put on her CDs:

Bassism (from The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra)
Satellites are Spinning (from Solar Myth Approach Volume One)
Love in Outer Space (from Out There a Minute)*
Adventure Equation (from Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy)
Nuclear War (from Eponymous 12")
Sleeping Beauty (converted from mp3)**
Strange Celestial Road (from Eponymous LP)
Interplanetary Music (from Interstellar Low Ways)
Twin Stars of Thence (from Languidity)
Walking on the Moon (from My Brother the Wind II CD)***
The Golden Lady (from The Nubians of Plutonia)
Worlds Approaching (from Strange Strings)
Friendly Galaxy II (from Nuits de la Fondation Maeght Volume II)****

* This is better than the version on The Night of the Purple Moon.
** "Honest like Dave Stelfox!"
*** I have My Brother the Wind I on vinyl, but it's nowhere near as good.
**** Again, Volume One is the clinker.

The only thing is.....now I don't have a functioning email address for her.

Burning Decks 23.

Here's the tracklisting for my set last night. With any luck Resonance will be able to supply an mp3 again. Sorry if you missed it, I didn't engage in the mass email promotion I did last time.

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1. Wizzbit feat. MC Riko: Popadomz
2. Nebula II: Peacemaker
3. Mescalinum United: We Have Arrived
4. Millsart: Step to Enchantment (Stringent)
5. DJ Hype: Weird Energy
6. Acro: Superpod
7. The House Crew: Maniac (The Final Conflict)
8. DJs Unite: Bass Penetrates
9. Noise Factory: My Mind
10. Basic Channel: BC03 (With Bloggers Shout-Outs)
11. Durrty Doogz: Hold Me Down
12. Just-Ice: Cold Gettin' Dumb
13. Rampage: Wild For Da Night
14. The Wiz: The Wiz is a Genius
15. Divine Styler: Make it Plain
16. Mike Ladd: Airwave Hysteria
17. Footsie and D. Double. E: War Wid
18. Juvenile: U Understand
19. The Horrorist: One Night in NYC
20. Andy C: Mind Rise
21. Doc Scott: Drumz
22. DJ SS & EQ: In Your Eyes
23. The Mover: Over Land and Sea

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Once again special "tanks" to Jim Backhouse and the engineer Jim. It was well doomy!

Brick Door Mix.

OK enough thrashing around in the dark! (ahem) Time to produce something I actually have a bit of knowledge about and affinity with. 90% of these tunes I picked up back in 1993 and 1994. Same method as usual, if I liked 'em I bought 'em. I've avoided well-known tracks like Marvellous Caine's "The Hitman", Dead Dred's "Dread Bass", Roni Size's "Warning", Goldie's "Jah" and his remixes of Shabba and Cutty which would have slipped in here a treat, but are just too familiar. The brief was "Ragga-Jungle" though many of these owe as much to Reggae and are frequently more "evolved" and riddimic than your average Jump-Up tracks.

If I say so myself it's an absolutely towering muthafu**a of a mix, straight-ahead *NO EDITS*, thoroughly enjoyed putting this together.

00:00 Foul Play: Murder Most Foul (Moving Shadow)
Intro a bit mashed up. I'm not even sure if this is the correct name of the track. It's off a blacked-out Moving Shadow Dubplate. That bass leaps out in your face, much more rubbery production than most Ragga Jungle. What's there to say? it's effing magic! (Mix a teensy bit wonky here, hang in there!)

02: 46 Underground Software: Total Niceness (Reinforced)
I reckon this tidy crew are underrated auteurs. The acid on this will drive the nuts round at Rephlex mad. (Hi Marcus!)

04:32 Exude: Common Sensi (Boogie Times)
Boogie Times the ruffer less self-conciously "classy" snotty sibling of Suburban Base. Named after the shop Boogie Times in Romford which was Sub Base's home. I like to think of these as records they thought could shift units.

07:09 CMC: Bad Girl (Ibiza)
Ibiza records! What a daft name! Hardly balearic is it!

10:34 Roni Size: Det-strumental (V)
Slipping into Jungle proper with this one. Off "The Size of things to come EP" This was once impossible to find. I think V have reissued it. Interesting the way that the "Jazz-Funk" piano is hypercellerated into some trilling helicule.

13:43 Tom & Jerry: Follow Da Massive (Shell)
Absolutely tearin' tune with a typically knicker-wetting sample from The Cutter. Those skidding cymbals! That cavernous Bass! Of course this is the Reinforced crew in Urban guise.

16:04 Pure: Anything Test (Suburban Base)
A lost classic to my mind. Swift and Zinc deliver monstrous amen.

19:19 Tek 9: The Tek 9 Reinterpretation of Code 071's 'A London Sumtin' 1991 Some Original Urban Jungle Music. (Reinforced)
That's what it says on the label of this Tek 9 doublepack. A feeling that they're trying to claw back some of the cred they were due when Jungle suddenly blew up on the Black/Urban scene in 1994. Though rather flying-in-the-wind of Jump-up's reduced artistic ambitions (let's face it!); sporting an insanely convolouted, infolding, galloping, whirring, clockwork riddim. Yet still it rolls as Tim was recently discussing.

21:47 D'Cruze: Want You Now (DJ SS & EQ Remix) (Suburban Base)
A step back in time to this thrilling bit of Ardkore, possibly the most famous track here, owing in part to it's inclusion on the second Joint LP in which Moving Shadow and Sub Base when head-to-head. The original is pants incidentally.

23:58 Underground Software: Music Maker Possee (Reinforced)
Included here for it's gourgeous textureology. It's not a choon per se (like the other selections). What's enticing is it's liquid drums, somehow urgent, dread, martial, spilling and aqueous at once.

21:49 A Guy Called Gerald: Anything V.2.1 (Juice Box)
Something satisfyingly nasty and low-slung about this. Gerald packing the canvas with details, less rollidge here with the track twisting to and fro.

31:25 Smokey Joe: Shining Remix (Labello Blanco)
Surprising for it's 4D production, almost Deep Dish does Jungle, but look at the label! It's Labello Blanco, spelling R.E.A.L. innit!

35:17 Prizna: No Man No Bad Feat Junior Demus Grooverider Remix (KUS)
A likkle track off the Prizna LP I always liked.

38:10 More Rockers: In The Beginning (More Rockers)
Don't be put off by the Smith & Mighty connection, this is a one-off epic riddim.

41:18 DJ Solo & DJ Rossie: Sure Shot (FX)
Somewhere on the Hollow Earth site too. Kodwo Eshun hipped me to this in his column in The Wire. He was "on" all of this at the time.

46:27 L Double: The Rider (Flex)
Jump-Up Prog innit.

51:03 Rhytm For Reasons DJ SS Remixes: The Smokers Rhythm (Formation)
Always wanted MORE DJ SS stuff attractive for it's no-nonsense approach (sorta like Boogie Times in this way), though found often it didn't live up to expectations. This a lot of fun, and what a dreamy intro.

54:27 A Guy Called Gerald: Finley's Rainbow (Juice Box)
Impossible to find again. The 4Hero remix everywhere but vastely inferior. Forget the Finlay Quaye debacle after and concentrate on the loveliness of it. Made a neat match with Maxinquaye at the time.

Woebot on Resonance Download.

Download the Woebot/Kosmische/Resonance Show. It's a disgracefully large 80MB, so I'm afraid I'd advise all dial-up crew to skip this one. Tracklisting here.

Grime Scene.

Constituting my fave tracks this year, ripped vinyl-to-digital in the small hours. Bad year for Garage? You're 'avin a larf guv!

Crunkwave.

Absolutely *KILLER* article by The Tufluvver. The story of DJ Screw, a story I haven't even heard whisper of before. You can almost hear the rigid dogma of dance creaking at the sheer two hundred-pound weight of it. Slow music? Prescription Codeine? A slumberous overweight genius clutching a revolver selling C90s through a crack in a wall? Driving your custom lowrider in graceful arcs? It sounds like a fairy tale. Follow Mickey's links to the Screw Records Website where you can get summa dat stretched-out crunk.

The Crunkwave is upon us. Check Wiley underlining the Grime/Crunk connection. Reynolds wondering aloud whether to research the cough mixture/crunk interface (dark voices issueing from whence?) "Go on Simon! Go On! Catch a heavy cold in the name of avant-lumpen idolatry!" Even Jess, Robin and little me with our Lil Jon the East Side Boyz record, waving it like a talisman. Yes my children, the crunk is upon us.

Consequently it seems a a pity that I know absolutely zilch about Sudden Hip-Hop. Here (groan) is a list I used myself a year or so ago from The Ego Trip Book of Rap Lists, compiled by: "New Orleans Natives and longtime DJs Craig B and KLC, two members of the five man hit-squad known as Beats By The Pound - No Limits Records' tireless in-house production staff." A self-proclaimed History of Bounce Music by folk who outta kno'.

Part II: More Bounce to the ounce New Orleans Style.*

1. We Destroy: Ninja Crew
2. Buck Jump Time: Gregory D
3. Get it Girl: Warren Mayes
4. Where They At?: DJ Jimmy
5. Where they at?: MC T.T. Tucker & DJ Irv
6. I Don't Give a Damn About Your Boyfriend: Tim Smooth
7. Marrero: MC Thick
8. Nasty Bitch: Bust Down
9. Pass the Snake: 3-9 Possee
10. Bounce Baby Bounce: Everlasting Hitman
11. Get the Gat: Lil' Elt
12. It's all about Yo' Lips: Poppa Doc
13. Sista Sista: Silky Slim
14. Goin' Off: Black Menace
15. Gotta be Real: Pimp Daddy
16. It Aint Where Ya From- Joe Blakk
17. Not Yo Trick Daddy: Daddy Yo
18. The Payback: Mia X
19. Where's Dat Nigga: Females in Charge
20. Slide Giddy Up: Full Pack

Re-published here with nary a wink in thanks.

I've found a few of these, but not nearly enough. Set your slsk on dem. The best thing I harvested from this list is "Where They At?" by DJ Jimmy which might feature in my tightly stuffed top ten tracks of all time. Desert Island Discs, picture me banging my head against a coconut to this; shaking my ass "like a saltshaker" as I spear crabs with bamboo. It's the collision of differing timbral envelopes that totally sells me on it, the cheap ruff low-slung drums rubbed up against the nightripping-hoods-in-an-echo-chamber backdrop spliced into a swirling ethereal Black-Ark/Dr.John soft clipped sample. And the language (blushes) well it's not exactly the Queen's English as I was taught it. That DJ Jimmy needs to wash his mouth out with soap and water! Disgraceful!

*Incidentally Part I is entitled: "The Pre-Bounce Hip Hop Classics."

Woebot on Resonance.

Joachim Witt- Tri Tra Trullala.
Linda Lamb- Hotroom.
Les Vampyrettes- Biomutanten.
Carmen- Schlaraffenland.
Memphis Bleek- Is That Your Chick.
Peter Gordon- Star Jaws.
RE- Underground Goodie from A Change of Season EP.
Gal Costa- Baby.
Ramsey Lewis- Cry Baby Cry.
Wings- Band On The Run/Jet.
Novois Baianos- Preta Pretinha.
Steely & Cleevie- 10% version.
Ja Rule- 6ft Underground.
Wladimir M- Evil.
Cypher- Frozen Boom Erection.
Cornell Campbell- King In My Empire.
Scientist- Bad Days Dubwise.
Lee Dorsey- On Your Way Down.
The Rest: Raga.
John Cale/Terry Riley- The Soul of Patrick Lee.
The Plastic People- Toxika.
Areski/Bridget Fontaine- Le 6 Septembre.
Linda Perhacs- Who Really Cares.

Special thanks to the totally ace Jim Backhouse at Kosmische.

I gave so many shout-outs I'm hoarse! With any luck I'll be able to offer this up as an mp3 within the week. Thanks to everyone who tuned in.

Easy All Over.

Spent ages tracking down a record by the band Novos Baianos. The reason for searching so hard? It was one of Kodwo Eshun's hot-tips, described by him as "the Brazilian Little Feat". When nudged he also revealed: "I was in Sao Paulo last year and I heard some of their albums- kind of choppy and twisty but not too fussy- they were the big post Tropicalia early-to-mid 70s group from Bahia-lived in a big commune, their guitarist was a real icon." The LP doesn't disappoint drawing a line between the quietly-disturbed introversion of Bossa Nova (Tom Jobim style) and seventies melodic AM fodder. The second track is quite stunning.

I was excited by the idea of Brazilian Soft-Rock. In fact Ethno-Soft-Rock is mightily seductive proposition, you have all the splendour of easy listening and a twist of distantiation. In fact was it Joseph Lanza who pointed out that the easy-listening stations have in reality the broadest, most all-encompassing playlists? Doesn't matter where or when it comes from so long as it's mellifluous and e-e-e-e-easy. Give me Heart FM above Resonance FM anyday.....(seriously)

Another reason I was delighted to find the Novos Baianos LP (and it might not be their finest!) is that I've had this conceptual twinning in mind with it and the pre-YMO Harry Hosono. I've had a bee in my bonnet about making a Ethno-Easy come laid-back 70s rock CD for a while now. Look at these covers:

What STUNNING artwork! I've been trying to get hold of Paraiso, the third of this series for too long now. The best place to get hold his stuff is Far Side Music. Paul Fisher there is really helpful, and actually (gulp) he has a show on Resonance FM. The Hosono CDs are good for about 2 tracks each, but WHAT TRACKS! And to finish where I started off (kissing arse), here's one of Kodwo's own Hosono recommendations: "Have you heard that album World Country Standard-I think its called-an amazing mysterious album which is all imaginary Western theme-banjo filtered thru koto-Far East exoticisation of the frontier?" Maybe that's where my mystery track is from?

Surgeon at Werk.

Just about to recommend this hot mix, but it seems the site is down. Hang in there!

Wanty wanty no getty. Getty getty no wanty.

Bootlegging seemed to die like the dinosaurs. Overnight. Mysteriously. Seemed like all the love on the net landed on Dizzy Rascal's lap. Of course The Junior Boys have squabbled for our affections too.

I thought bootlegs were ace. My fave being Soulwax's "Dreadlock Child", Freelance Hellraisers "Nelly-vs-Grange Hill" and (natch) Richard X's "Being Scrubbed." Often the best thing about them was the first two seconds. That delirious moment of confusion, misrecognition and fascination.

Then yesterday I heard Blu Cantrell's "Breathe" rubbed up against some Channel One or Joe Gibbs dub. You can tell it's by one of those studios cos of the clarity of the mix. The track actually works right the way through. Me and the dread at the counter were bowled over.

Comedy Rastas.

A while ago I mentioned Chris Morris's hilarious Chariot recordings gay rasta record. It’s not really available any more so I’ve ripped one of the best tracks as an mp3 for your pleasure. Will Morris bring legal action against TWANBOC?

A few older folks remembered the template for this natty send-up, Keith Allen's Sex Boots and Dread, which comes courtesy of my friend Advertising Copywriter from the Earful Crew. It’s an obscene scat over a peak period Joe Gibbs rhythm, which I think Tappa Zukie uses on the lovely "Pick Up the Rockers". There can’t be many copies of this 12” around.

The story goes that for the record’s release in 1980 Allen (a slightly vicious British comedian, like Morris) installed a rented caravan on the All Saints Road. Hidden inside he addressed the assembled media in a Gregory Isaacs styled accent over a loud hailer.

Clearly this stuff sails very closely to the wind, and I’d like to assure gay readers of TWANBOC that, while I don’t believe these records to be homophobic , I would be upset if they caused any offence.