The Christmas Get Down...

It's coming up to that time of the year again when we all celebrate and remember the life of one of the greatest human beings to ever walk the face of planet earth. That's right party people, December 25th is the date that marks the passing of a true great - the Godfather of Soul, Mr James Brown.

It goes without saying he was one of the most influential musicians of our time and has left us with an immense catalogue of both solo material and production work for countless other artists' records. I own a LOT of J.B. related vinyl yet there is a whole heap more that I still need! The man was prolific as hell and definitely lived up to the title 'Hardest Working Man In Show Business'.

On Saturday the 18th of December, alongside the rest of the Vinyl Veterans and Positivity crews, I will be playing a set of James Brown influenced Hip-Hop down at The Black Lion in Brighton. Golden Era material that lifted more than a fair chunk of funk from the Minister of the Super, Super Heavy stuff. What better way to warm you up and ignite some Christmas spirit?

Kicking off at 9pm and running through til 3am (FREE ENTRY), DJ's Mac McRaw, Rob Life, Matt The Hat, Bobby Boucher, Foly, Southpaw, Tipster, OMC, Extract, Scratchy Muffin and myself will be playing nothing but J.B. related material all night long. That's basically a 100% guarantee for having a good time!

I'm gonna try and get a J.B. mix uploaded on here sometime before Christmas, for now though, to wet your appetites, here's a few cut-n-paste classics I've recorded and converted this morning. All of these records are easily obtainable online and since it's the 'season for giving' I've included links to available copies for sale on Discogs (click the track titles below) . Enjoy!


R.I.P. James Brown (May 5, 1933 – December 25, 2006). Thanks for the music!




Salaam Remi "J.B.'s 40th Anniversary Mix"
(1997, U.S. Promo 12")






DJ Format "Stealin' James (Parts I & II)"
(2007, Limited Edition, U.K. 12")








Norman Cook & Steetsahead "Payback - Final Mixdown"
(1988, Urban, U.K. 12")






Coldcut "The Payback Mix"
(1988, Urban, U.K. 12")






Froggy & Simon Harris "Froggy Mix (Sides 1 & 2)"
(1985, Boiling Point, U.K. 12")

Vintage...

Just a quick post until I have time to write something a little more substantial.

As well as working my b*llocks off during the tiresome hours of 8-5, I've been hard at it organising the Vintage at Goodwood Pre-Festival Party. For those of you unfamiliar with the forthcoming event (13th-15th of August), take the time out to have a good look around the website - here.

Festivals in the past have never really offered enough for me to warrant the ticket prices. Standing round in a field full of people I'd rather not be with, paying extortionate prices for cr*p food and probably only seeing one or two artists I'm actually interested in, isn't really my idea of fun. 'Vintage at Goodwood' is something a bit different though. Confirmed acts playing over the weekend include Cymande, Leroy Hutson, Jean Jacque Perrey, Earth Wind & Fire, Martha and The Vandellas, Joe Bataan, Ann Sexton, The Pretty Things and Tony Hatch, amongst a long list of impressive others. The line up of DJs is pretty amazing too - Keb Darge, Jazzie B, Jonny Trunk, Norman Jay, John Stapleton... to name just a few. Like I said, check the website. I can't really do it justice here.

Below is a 'Leisure Dome' style playlist I put together, as well as the artwork for the back of the Pre-Festival Party flyer. I'll be DJing on the night alongside Mex (Black Grass), Wayne Hemingway and his son Jack. If you're local, come along - should be a great night...


1. Valiant Orchestra "Call It What You Like".
2. Ian Carr's Nucleus "Roots".
3. Northern Dance Orchestra "Mas-Que-Nada".
4. Trax Four "Comin' Home Baby".
5. Adam Best "Wall Of Sound".
6. George Shearing "The World Is A Ghetto".
7. Elaine Delmar "Sneakin' Up On You".





(click to enlarge)


And for all you other collector nerds out there, here's a little snap shot of some of my favourite 'Vintage-ness', including some recent pick ups - The Sharp GF 525 Boombox, the 'Record Selector' and a small batch of 'Disco 45' mags. I know. I'm a geek.


(click to enlarge)

Summer BBQ All-dayer - Audio (Brighton)

Super busy at the moment but plenty of posts in the pipeline...stay tuned.