The Limp Twins

Picture By Larry Clark from Skaters

The Limp Twins are Will Holland and Russ Porter. Hailing from the West Midlands, UK they became unhappy with the state of local dance floors. Over a banana milk shake they decided the only way to get people dancing again was to delve into the stacks of dusty records that filled their bedrooms and start preaching the word. And the word was groove.

Dishing up portions of deep fried funk and soul-side samba kept them busy for a while, but soon the urge to play their own dusty records became too strong. As Will was already enjoying success recording as Quantic, it seemed logical to commit the Limp Twins sound to vinyl. This came to fruition in the shape of “Living Well” a seven-inch released by London’s premiere funk and hip-hop collective Breakin' Bread. It set the agenda for the Limp Twins sound: Proper songs with verse and chorus, shaky vocals and insightful lyrics and rugged production that grabs you by the ears and drags you onto the dance floor.

Now residing in Brighton, The Limp Twins continue to spread the groove presenting the Unfold Show on Juice FM, playing to ecstatic crowds at phonic:hoop and releasing their own brand of fuzzy soul on Tru Thoughts. Their dj style comprises of finely blending a genre busting set of soul, funk, jazz, hiphop, and ska with a sprinkle of 4x4 action; this pair can always be relied upon to elevate a night with pure class.

The upbeat feel and lo-fi groove of previous singles "Living Well" (Winner of Blues & Soul Single Of The Issue and also used for a Vodaphone advertising campaign) and "Movin Closer To The Sofa" can be heard throughout the songs on this album, with Porter's well crafted lyrics giving each one character and identity. From the anthemia of opening song "Tales From Beyond The Groove" to the low-slung funk of "Another Day In The Life Of Mr Jones" the album brims with a quirky swing; scratchy guitars and organs stutter over rolling bass and dusty drums. "The Limping Song" and "Sunday Driver" wander at a folk like pace, whilst "If It Ain't Broke……Break It" and forthcoming single "Elemental" bustle with beats and funk fuelled energy. "Bitter & Twistered" closes the album with a lonesome lullaby; voice, guitar and double bass swaggering around together at the end of the night.

The Limp Twins - Another Day in the Life Of Mr. Jones
The Limp Twins - Tales From Beyond The Groove
The Limp Twins - Moving Closer to the Sofa
The Limp Twins - Living Well
The Limp Twins - Get It Back
The Limp Twins - Bitter and Twisted
The Limp Twins - If It Aint Broke... Break It
The Limp Twins - Dub That Sank My Sub
The Limp Twins - The Limping Song
The Limp Twins - Sunday Driver

Bonobo

Bonobo aka Simon Green became interested in music as a teenager, copying the music from television adverts and programmes. While at art college in Brighton, Sussex, Green began to construct some of the music that would form Bonobo's initial output (he took his recording moniker from the name of an obscure chimpanzee). He became friends with Rob Luis, the man behind the UK breakbeat label Tru Thoughts. His initial release on the label appeared on their compilation, When Shapes Join Together, and was followed by the notably well-received "Terrapin". This sitar led track was something of a breakthrough for Green, and received a remix from acclaimed DJ/producer, Mr. Scruff. Bonobo's debut, Animal Magic, also appeared on Tru Thoughts and was a great critical success, with the UK's The Observer newspaper commenting, "anyone in search of the ultimate summer chill-out album should buy this debut".

An acclaimed maker of "intricate, subtle mood music" according Ninja Tune he is not comfortable with the term chill-out, and his work is perhaps best described as a blend of low-key hip-hop beats, percussion, soundtrack elements, and beguiling melody. Animal Magic attracted the attention of numerous labels, including XL Recordings and Mute Records but eventually Green signed to Ninja Tune with the blessing of Tru Thoughts, who released One-Offs, Remixes And B-Sides in 2002, collating exactly that. Green toured the USA in 2002 and performed as a DJ at various clubs and festivals. Dial M For Monkey appeared in June 2003 to rightly deserved praise. Lush, melodic and inventive, the album demonstrated Green's considerable talent, constructed and played as it was entirely by the DJ.

Sweetness is an aptly named bootleg released in 2002 not directly related Bonobo. It was however their inspiration for One Offs... Remixes & B-Sides. The Kota rework is on the Ninja re-release of Animal Magic and is also released on 7" with a cover of QSO's Super 8 on the flip.

Bonobo
bonobo - terrapin (sonorous mix)
bonobo - super 8
bonobo - dismantling frank
bonobo - kota (bonobo rework)
bushy - never (bonobo mix)
bonobo - scuba
bonobo - dinausours (jon kennedy mix)
bonobo - the sicilian
pilote - the turtle (bonobo mix)
bonobo - the shark
bonobo - the plug (quantic mix)
bonobo - terrapin (mr scruff mix)
bonobo - scuba (amon tobin remix)
bonobo - tell me how you feel (bonobo mix)
bonobo - terrapin sonorous mix

Mixes to get high to

A Journey Into Fresh Diggin is a meandering, free-flowing reconceptualization of some of Madlib’s nicer joints tossed in among some random (but really great) soul-type tunes. All hot, though, trust me.

The Shadow joint, Funky Skunk, is an hour long hip-hop mix, showcasing the finest tracks from over the last few decades. The majority of the set focuses on the early stages of the genre, with Shadow selecting the best in 80's hip hop and early electro - where tracks were made the good old fashioned way; a tight loop of beats, sampled breaks, primitive scratching and an MC. A far away place from the overproduced and overpaid stars of of today's stale hip hop / R&B.

A Journey Into Fresh Diggin' – Quazimoto Meets Himself

Dj Shadow - Funky Skunk Mix

Louis Logic

It is rumored that he was born trapped inside a beer bottle at an exclusive clinic, the lovechild of a pickled 70's starlet knocked up by a rock star passing through town. Some people say his stomach is coated in stainless steel, and his liver, made of barroom dartboard cork. Still, the most mysterious of his attributes is his uncanny ability to pen an endless number of odes to both alcohol, and the wanton lifestyle that so often accompanies its usage. They call him the Dragon, and the menacing shriek of his song can be heard throughout the expanse of this earthly world.

Louis Logic - Logistics 101

Louis Logic - Happy Hour (Brews Brothers)

Louis Logic - Logic and Reason (ft. R-Son)

Louis Logic - Factotum

Louis Logic - Over the Cuckoos Nest (produced by rude 1)

Louis Logic - Starlings Darling (produced by j.j. Brown)

Louis Logic And J.J. Brown - A Perfect Circle Introducing Marisa Croce

Louis Logic - Gentleman and a Scholar

Sublime

The albums are a roller coaster ride of emotion and bass. Some songs are so chilled out that even you're mom would like them (Waiting for my Ruca, KRS-One), some are the faster ska with killer lyrics (Date Rape, Ebin, What Happened), while still most of them are the Sublime reggae grooves that Bob Marley himself would enjoy (Badfish,Let's Go Get Stoned).

The lyrics convey what Sublime was all about. Parties, drugs, and music. Some of you may think a song should be deeper than that, but it was the life they lived, and many of us can completely relate. Bradley Nowell's voice is truly great, possessing the ability to softly sing, belt out powerful tones, or let loose and scream. All the baselines are funky and infectious, and the drum beats complete the groove with great rhythm and perfect fills and cymbal use. Sublime has always been more than just the three main members, with lots of songs featuring turntables, extra percussion, horns, and even guest vocals from the likes of Gwen Stefani.

Sublime deserved all the popularity they received. No one has ever made ska/reggae this catchy and appealing before, and probably never will again. Can you think of another band that had the balls to cover Bad Religion, Decendents, and Grateful Dead on the same album! It is truly a shame that heroin would eventually win the battle over Bradley, but it was bound to happen. Long Beach Dub All-Stars continue to bring the Sublime-style ska to the world, but without Bradley, there is an obvious void. Still his posthumous career carries on and have recenly dropped Evrything under the Sun. As you would expect it is a huge 3 CD + DVD set with tones of unreleased and live tracks, its totally rad.

Sublime


Sublime - Doin Time
(Dj Spooky Mix)
Sublime - Scarlet Begonias
(live on KUCI)
Sublime - KRS One
Sublime - Shame on dem Game feat. hr (live)
Sublime - Smoke Two Joints
(live in studio)
Sublime - Perfect World (live)
Sublime - Ebin (O G Demo)

Tame One

Few people have represented the elements of hip-hop as well as Tame One. Known for both his vocal presence on the mic and his trademark graffiti, Tame One brings a classical element of style and grace to the rap music scene, and the hip-hop culture in general, that few artists can rival.

Tame-One first attacked the hip-hop scene as one-half of the Newark NJ group The Artifacts. The song 'Wrong Side Of The Tracks' gave respect to graffiti artists, the art form, and the hip-hop culture. After a luke-warm response to the follow-up album ("That's Them") and internal conflicts, Artifacts (Tame-One and El Da Sensai) went their separate ways. Tame's most recent solo effort is 'Spazmatic'. With crazy beats and original lyrics, Spazmatic is another classic from Tame One.






www.tame-one.com

Freestyle @ Philaflava Radio Show

Artifacts - Lower Da Boom

Tame One - Blackout Status

Tame One - Concerto

Tame One - Da Muzik

Ill Funky Shit

Wow.. my 1st post. I have been wanting to make a hip hop blog for a long time, and ive finally got of my ass and made it. There are gonna be some weighty tunes up in this biatch.

The photo is of the late Harold Hunter, who i know from the Larry Clark film Kids. One of my all time favorite films.

I'm going to start as i mean to go on and post some fucking dope beats...

Benz or Beamer deals with people killing over such things as cars, shoes, or jewelry.

Rhombus are a diverse and colorful crew, based in Wellington - New Zealand, combining soulful vocals and conscious lyrical MC's, brilliantly mixed with high-tech worldclass production flavours of hiphop soul dubreggae/housejazzbreaks and drops of world music influences.


Outkast Rhombus

Outkast - Benz or Beamer

Rhombus - Spaceman