Sunday 29 January 2012

Rama OOOD - Wobble Chops


Hey Peachi ear! Just a quicky to hook you guys up to this lovely squelch-fest of a mix from Rama OOOD. Or as his mum knows him "Ramsay Melhuish" - who claims to be part of the UK psychadelic trance furniture as an original member of the trance production team of OOOD that's been going since 1994 issit! Well we don't really do psy-trance on this blog so I'll take his word for it, and probably the closest we get is Hedflux style psy-tech-funk, which has a few psy-tranc'esque licks to it - but non of that torturously dull 4/4 drum beat bass. Basslines can be fun and varied guys!! Anyway check out this free download from Rama OOOD as its just a lovely mellow voyage through a pulsating and flowing world of sqishy wibbly bass that'll wobble your chops off if you don't watch out.... apparently!



I actually found it hanging out next to Mouldy Soul on a soundcloud search for more hypersquelch and I can see why! If you haven't listened to Mouldy Soul and you like this kinda stuff then check out their new EP Hypersquelch - I particularly like Yippee Cheese Face - great name, great track! Bought it and gonna keep it... so ner!

...and hasn't Rama OOOD got MASSIVE feet ;-) Enjoy! squelch squelch squelch

TRACK LISTING - (Genre: Psychedelic WonkStomp)

Beardyman – Kitchen Diaries
Ray Charles – Good Thyme (Opiuo mix)
Galactic Booty Activation – Ninjas brothas motha
Opiuo – Creamy Taco
Bondi Junkie – GooseBumps
Galactic Booty Activation – Lightning and Rain
Opiuo – Forensic Lick
Mr Bill – Chubby Bubby
Govinda – Universal On Switch
Slack Baba – Perverting Mankind
The Mollusk – Coloured PencilsOpiouo – Moose tooth
Opiuo – Slip (Vent mix)
Galactic Booty Activation – Precious cargo
Opiuo – Bogan Protein
Galactic Booty Activation – Structural Liberation
Ill Esha & Dewey B – H.A.A.R.P
Spoonbill – Hejow
Mr Bill – Perfectly Peppered

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Morbidly Obese Midget's Heroes of 2011

Better late than never...
Ghetto Funk
My year began with a Jpod mixtape discovered via the Ghetto Funk blog. They've been consistently the best blog for free tunes, mixtapes and top dollar releases, but when your rooster includes Featurecast, Fort Knox Five, Basement Freaks, J-Pod, Stickybuds, Funkanomics, Pimpsoul and Nick Thayer to name just a few, then you can't really go wrong can you? Check out the VIP membership option for 2012
  Icons Vol 2 - The Ghetto Funk Remixes by Ghetto Funk

Simplify Recordings
My favourite glitch hop label of the year with consistently strong releases and a roster that covers DCarls, ill-esha, Knight Riderz, Stephan Jacobs, Minnesota, Love an Light, K Theory, +verb, Freddy Todd and Sugarpill. Nuff said.

Simplify Mix Sessions 7 by Simplify Recordings

ill.gates
For playing more sets at Burning Man than almost all the other DJs put together. Well, not quite, but it was a stupid number. I heard 30. He's also always got time for other musicians and fans, running workshops all over the world and online. Oh.... and he's released another dope album full of collaborations.

  ill.Gates & Mimosa - Never Alone [Free DL at illgates.com] by ill.Gates
  ill.Gates, Opiuo & Vent - TriLLogy [The Ill.Methodology] by ill.Gates
  Ill Gates - Under Mi Wildflower - Free DL by ill.Gates


Parker
Another Ghetto Funk affiliate and he of 'Where's my Monkey' notoriety. Parker opened and closed 2011 with top notch mixtapes and has upheld a track record of solid releases throughout, both as one part of the Beekeepers and with his own remixes. I love his variety, samples and ability to move between styles - glitch hop, ghetto funk, d'n'b, dubsstep, electro swing. Plus he's a lovely guy and played a banging set for the handful people that were there to see him in Guildford earlier in the year!

  Parker - From Behind The Bookcase...Mix (2011) by Parker*
  Parker - The Monkey Butler Did It...Mix (2011) by Parker*


Bassnectar
Because I'm sick of everyone crediting Skrillex for creating the dubstep scene in the US. Bassnectar has done more than anybody to promote bass music stateside and he deserves all the props he can get. Plus his first UK shows for 7 years at Fabric and Secret Garden Partys were off the scale! I wasn't the biggest fan of Divergent Spectrum, but this free remix EP is badass

  Divergent Spectrum Remixes [FREE DOWNLOAD] by Bassnectar 
 
Spinforth
In the last few years Soundcloud has become the de facto tool for marketing and discovering new music to audiophiles. One half on Hong Kong Ping Pong, DJ Spinforth deserves a knighthood for his weekly Soundcloud Scour at Ghetto Funk, which he's been persistently updating since the start of the year, each edition complete with a hilarous comedy photo. Sir Spinforth we salute you!

  Spinforth's "Durty Disco 1st Birthday Set" 30 09 11 by Spinforth

Too good to be free: Archnemisis, Nastynasty & Thriftworks

I'm not sure what's sparked it, but in the last year so there have been a slew of seriously good albums and EPs offered for free download via Bandcamp. Here's three recent releases from the US that are too good to be free...

First up Archnemesis, who share a label (1320 Records) with Nalepa, Prefuse 73, Virual Boy, Knowa Knowone and Eskmo. They're a new discovery for me, thanks to the brilliant Sample this Music blog. Reminiscent of Pretty Lights,who gives his music away for free too, it sounds like they've done a lot of organic sampling to get that really listenable, feel good, 'real music' vibe. People's Radio is music that's worth paying for, but you can download it for free here.
  Archnemesis - Peoples Radio by PlayThisSongLoud.com  


Nastynasty has a well established habit of giving away his best tunes for nothing. The Memorabilia EP is a good taster of the range of his sounds, from floaty subs to bubbling bass and off kilter funk, often lifted with deliciously soulful vocals.


I first came across Thriftworks on An-ten-nae's Acid Crunk vol.3, but this whole free album, the seond he's given away, is very much more on the downtempo side of the whomp fence. Lovingly produced, delicate and painfully beautiful, it's got an atmospheric desert-city-under-the-stars feel to it. Magical.

Friday 20 January 2012

Mary Tale - Empress Relentless (Mary Melt) Mix


Hi all, Peachi ahoy after a long absence - forgive me. I guess I just haven't been listening to much new music recently apart from chasing up Morbjits MM updates. He's gona all glitch hop though, so I think its time to get back to some heavy tech funk breaks and who better to kick things of with than a favourite of the MM blog Mary Tale (artist formerly known as Mary Miss Fairy and treasured Ra-family member). Tis another belter from her with the kind of epic build-ups and drops remiscent of her legendary Paris Burners - Moulan Rouge set, [made it into Morbjits top three for 2011] - that set nearly took the roof off and fried a few onion garlands and burnt the bagettes!! [to be slightly racialistical - forgive me Monsieur Polo OohlaRa]

Before reveiwing Mary Tale's new mix, just a heads up to some SOPA and PIPA goings-on in the USA, to do with piracy and copyright infringment and freedom of the internet, that might seriously affect the whole internet by closing down sites like this. And I don't mean just this blog, but the host company for this site and any other media sharing sites, like: youtube, wikipedia and wordpress. To find out why check out this TED video that explains how they may become liable for user copyright infringments and managing that may become prohibitive. Then get informed and then get active, If you're from the US then get intouch with your government representative, if your not an Amerkan (mmmgay) then hassle your Amerkan friends to do so. It seems this bill wont pass, but a similar one may do soon, so stay informed and get active where necessary. Cheers!



Now onto the main event. Mary Tale's 'Empress Relentless Mix' is a corker, check it out:

Empress Relentless Mix by MaryMissFairy

I particularly like the first third as there as some really good build up tracks that drop into some massive drops. Mary has a great ear for tracks that do this and this makes listening to her set really high energy because you're on a roller coaster ride the whole way through. Although it seems to go a bit happy hardcore at around 13mins for a bit, it bounces back with some real brain melters in the mid section too. Very hard to describe the high energy tracks in there, but the best compliment I can give Mary's mixes is that I save them for special occassions and I have to be full on to listen to them. Not for the faint of heart and beware yee who wander across the mix half arsed, cause you will be dominated by the fembots of hard bass!! Which reminds me that I loved the tagline that comes with this mix:
"Like being beaten up by dominatrix robots whilst watching cute as a button anime characters Carlton dance for you...essentially"
- obvious innit, once you've listened to it!! I wasn't so sure about the drum and bass dessert at the end from about 47mins onwards but it wasn't too bad and you know, by now, she can do what she wants as you kneel before the Temple of the Empress Relentless taking it like the bass slut you are.... ehem... cough cough... OK, maybe that's just me then! ;-)


So Mary didn't make it freely donwloadeable on Soundcloud, sort of by mistake, but she said its OK for you to get your versions of the full mix via this blog. So here's the link and ENJOY!

Thanks for a great set MMF-Ra. Looking forward to hearing you live again sometime x

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Morbdily Obese Midget's top 10 releases of 2011


Zen Death Squad - Cyber Dojo Lazer Training (Made in Glitch)
While Tipper's mid-tempo wobble has dominated the glitch hop charts at Addictech this year, the best UK Glitch Hop release for me has been ZDS's Cyber Dojo Lazer Training. Here's a trio of UK producers who took the US by storm with their live show on their autumn tour. They've been locked away writing over Christmas so I'm expecting big things for 2012.
    Cyber Dojo Lazer Training EP by Zen Death Squad

Koan Sound - Funk Blaster EP (OWSLA)
These Bristolians have been releasing bass for a while now, but their debut on Skrillex's label took me completely by surprise when I heard Funk Blaster on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show. The Max Out EP was good, but this sounded like nothing else on the radio... until Doctor P and Flux Pavilion release Superbad! There seems to be quite a trend for this kind of funked-up not-dubstep at the moment for which I'm wholly in favour. Check out Must Be The Feeling on Nero's album, DCarls All In (see below) plus Bobby Tank's Vanquish EP for more in this direction. They even make Skrillex sound better: Skrillex – Kill Everybody (KOAN Sound Remix) (right click save as to DL).

  Funk Blaster by KOAN Sound
  Kito & Reija Lee-This City (Asa & KOAN Sound Remix) by Mad Decent





DCarls - All In (Simplify Recordings)
DCarls has release a string of shit hot EPs on Simplify and a recent banger Jump featuring UK rapper Maksim through Play Me. It's All in that gets my vote for all it's pure funked out glory though, incredible
  All In (OUT NOW on Simplify Recordings) by DCarls

DJ Deekline & Ed Solo - King Of The Bongo / 
Stickybuds - Guaranteed (Hot Cakes)
I think this just about qualifies as 2011. Deekline & Ed Solo's Hot Cakes series has been a non-stop hit factory of classic d'n'b / breaks remixes for the last few years and I've been giving this double A side with Stickybuds heavy rotation all year. D'n'B versions of Aloe Blacc's Need a Dollar and Adle's Rolling in the Deep also worth checking out.

  Deekline + Ed Solo Present ~ Stickybuds - Guaranteed (Jungle Cakes 007) by Stickybuds~
 
Yet Again - Jpod the Beatchef (Swing Set Sounds)
I seem to remember this coming out in 2010, but since I Need a Dollar didn't get a UK release until 2011 and I've been playing it every chance I get, I'm including it here. This is Jpod at his bouncy, soulful remixing best. Later in the year the EMS EP with the Root Sellers on vocals was brilliant laid back mid tempo glitch hop and he's just released his first debut album Halfsteppin through his own Swing Set Sounds label. In a much apprecited gesture, you can buy FLAC, wav and MP3 all for one price directly from the label. You can also get instrument tools to cook up your own sounds on Ableton. Brilliant.
  yet again by JPOD the beat chef


ill-esha - Reverie (Muti Music)
ill-esha makes lush music and Reverie is such a beautiful laid-back bass album. I usually reach for it after a party, but it's also perfect in headphones on a nice day. Has had one of the longest rotations on my mp3 player this year.
  The Golden Mean (MUTI 090: REVERIE) by ill-esha
  Brandy & Monica - Boy is Mine (ill-esha remix) by ill-esha


Love and Light - Crunk Junkee (Simplify Recordings)
2011's been an epic year for this duo from Reno, Nevada, with two EPs on Simplify followed by an awesome collaboration with Stephan Jacobs and their first album in the autumn. Their set that I caught on the Temple of Boom at Burning Man was amazing.
  The Light We Bring by Love and Light


Benny Benassi - Cinema (Stephan Jacobs remix)
After the promise of 2010, 2011 has been an amazing year for Stephan Jacobs with the Mad Era and In the Vortex EPs plus brilliant collaborations with NiT GRiT, Ben Samples, Love and Light and +Verb. The set I caught at Burning Man for Dub Scouts completely absorbed me. Check out his recent memekast for a taste of how good he is. This Benny Benassi gets my Jacobs tune of the year award though, with Pizza Party's Don't Stop (below) a close second.
  Benny Benassi - Cinema (Stephan Jacobs Remix) by Stephan Jacobs
    Stephan Jacobs & NiT GriT (Pizza Party) - Supreme by Stephan Jacobs

Guttstar - Double Helix and Catch a Drift EPs (Bandcamp)
Has released two lush, melodic lovestep EPs this year Double Helix and Catch a Drift. Grab 'em both at his Bandcamp
  Sync by Guttstar
  Decompress (Free EP - Double Healix - tinyurl.com/644t5v9) by Guttstar


Rizzle Kicks - Down with the Trumpets (Island)
As the soundtrack to my summer, and with a nostalgia that makes me remember summers at school 10 years ago, this is my pop pick of the year. Always gets people dancing and smiling!
  Down With The Trumpets by Rizzle Kicks



Scubaroots - Babylon Pharmacy (Inflatable Records)
Ok, this was a 2010 release, so a bit of a cheeky bonus, but it's been another soundtrack to this year. Soulful reggae, ska and hip hop combined in a feel good album by a band who are even better live! The other 2010 discovery for me this year was Lotek's International Rudeboy. Like Roots Manuva in dub, but more variety.
  05 Dr Love by Scubaroots
  06 Welcome To Paridise by Scubaroots

Thursday 5 January 2012

Morbidly Obese Midget's top 3 DJ sets of 2011

Your Niece / Bassnectar, The Collysilium, Secret Garden Party, UK
The Collysilium and the Bearded Kitten scaled up big time at this year's Secret Garden Party. The hay bale amphitheatre was about twice as big as last year. During the day it played host to mud wrestling and all manner of silliness, then at night it turned into the best dancefloor on site. Headlining the Saturday night was none other than US bass music pioneer Bassnectar himself, his first UK festival appearance in 5 years. On just before him was Your Niece, who's been pioneering West Coast crunk on these shores since before everyone else cottoned on, up for his biggest support set to date. He certainly didn't disappoint. Together they delivered well over two hours off unadulterated bass pleasure while the Collysilium went completely nuts. Amazing.

marymissfairy at Winter Wonderland, Paris, 19 March 2011
We took Mary to Paris as a last minute stand in and the French burner community had no idea what hit them. By far the best set of the night. She never disappoints.
  One night in paris by MaryMissFairy


Lee Burridge, Dawn at the Robot Heart, Black Rock City, USA, 3 September
I could have chosen Mim0Sa's set at Fractal Nation, Stephan Jacobs at Dub Scouts, or any number of afternoons dancing at Distrikt. Purely because it was one of those beautiful moments where so much comes together, though, my favourite set at Burning Man 2011 has to be Lee Burridge on the Robot Heart at dawn on Saturday morning. Beautiful, minimal blissed out, groovy music in a truly amazing place with truly wonderful people.