VA - Benji B Presents A Space Odyssey

A wicked limited edition compilation Benji B put together last year for Triple 5 Soul. It still sounds great and you can tell a lot of time & thought went into it. Check Benji's show every Friday on 1Xtra for more quality sounds. I've also been meaning to get down to one of his Deviation nights this year which I've heard have been great also. The guy is a legend and looking at his career so far, it's amazing he's packed so much in so young...I'm quite envious, ha. A quality compilation.

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After a bit of thought and discussion I have decided to start posting slightly older/exclusive compilations and LP's from now on. Stuff that is maybe a little less known or people might have missed the first time around. I will continue to recommend new LP's but will only post maybe one or two tracks from them as taster. I could go on for ages about various issues regarding the music industry (downloading/piracy/subscription services etc.) currently but I won't bore you and in the end, everyone has there own personal opinion anyway. I can only respect the views of the artists/labels and completely understand their viewpoints. Hopefully you will still enjoy the stuff I continue to post. Keep checking for updates.

VA - Sci-Fi-Lo-Fi Compiled By Andrew Weatherall

Something slightly different to the usual stuff I've been posting on here recently. Mixed entirely on vinyl, legendary DJ/Producer/Remixer Andrew Weatherall has produced one of the best compilations of 2007 and one that took me completely by surprise. The mix is basically a musical journey through genres such as northwest grease, punk and rock n roll to sixties psychadelica, post-punk and hard rock. Weatherall has looked back to classics from the 50’s and 60’s and has mixed these with more obscure numbers from the same generation such as the opening track, ‘Rock n Roll Radio’ from Joe Boot and The Fabulous Winds. Progressing through the decades, there are some esoteric classics and exclusives from T Rex, Primal Scream and The Fall as the mix kicks up a more punky attitude. Admittedly I was not that familiar with a lot of the stuff on this comp before I listened to it but it has definitely opened my ears up to a whole new world of music which can be only be a good thing. Your highly unlikely to come across another CD like this all year and I throughly recommended you try to purchase it if you like what you hear.

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Theo Parrish - Sound Sculptures Vol 1

Along with the Burial LP, this is definitely my other most listened to LP of the year. Inspirations such as Chicago & Detroit electronic music, soul music etc are clearly recognisable, but the way it's worked and moulded into his own Theo sound/style is what really impresses. You'll find tracks like 'Second Changes' or the amazing 'They Say' (both featuring vocals from Monicablaire) or 'Soul Control', that have echoes of work once released under 'The Rotating Assembly'. Furthermore there's the hardhitting 'Synthetic Flaem' very much on a minimal chicago tip, tracks like 'Galactic Traffic' & 'Friskie Biscuits' that have the signature offbeat programming and 'The Rink' which just screams Detroit Soul. Deep, soulful music which I can't recommend highly enough. A Simply Good Music Classic.

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Panacea - The Scenic Route

A quality, v warm sounding, soulful hip-hop LP from the duo of rapper Raw Poetic and producer K-Murdock known together as Panacea. Nothing very new or different in the sound/production here but the LP just works really well as a whole and it's one I have found myself coming back to quite a bit. You can hear the obvious Native Tongues influences but they successfully add their own quirky twist. They personally remind me most of Blackalicious. Two quotes I quite like which describe them are " A Tribe called Quest meets Final Fantasy" and "Stax on Syzurp". If you like your soulful 'Roots-esque' hip hop, you will enjoy this LP.

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Abd Al Malik - Gibraltar

Firstly apologies for the lack of posts and file server problems I've been having recently. If you'd like anything in particular re-upped, please leave a comment and I shall see what I can do. Back to the music, this is an LP from 2006 but which I've only recently discovered and been listening to a lot. I had never heard of the French rapper Abd Al Malik before but on the basis of this LP, I will definitely be doing some more digging on him. The LP is a very original mixture of hip-hop, jazz, slam poetry and French philosophy which is reminiscent of some of MC Solaar's best works. The LP also won a 'Victoire de la Musique' award in France which I'm led to believe is similar to the Mercury Music Prize we have over here. A really solid LP that I was very pleasantly surprised by and highly recommend to everyone.

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