Here he is then – LongDistanceDan – popping up out of the ether (as he is wont to do every now and then) with his psychedelic take on instrumental hip-hop and latest release the Adventure Games EP. A six-tracker, and never less than atmospheric, it runs from the chilled to the lively and beat-heavy. The cinematic Road To Winter is perhaps the most mellow affair on the EP
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Monthly Archives: April 2023
LONGDISTANCEDAN: Adventure Games
SMOOVE/ DJP: Wack 20 – I Like It / Vapours (Vinyl 7″)
Due next week is this 45 double-header of hip-hop booty, Wack 20 the latest in an occasional series of cheeky business from the man they call Berry Geordie – well, the monkey does anyway. And who should be partnering him on this release but that DJ with the most distinctive glasses – a.k.a DJP. And it seems the latter has got the vapours. Must be the effort of splicing legends Biz Markie
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THE IRONSIDES: The Web
Like cinematic soul? ‘Course you do and so you’ll love the new Ironsides single, ‘The Web’ with its beautifully arranged nod to the grandiose and sweeping film scores of the sixties. The bedrock of this one is a funky rhythm (and yes there is an actual short drum break solo) but what will really catch and hold you about The Web is its rich orchestration – all epic strings and, later in the
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THE MOUSE OUTFIT feat. ONEONLY: Sunrise (Vinyl 7″)
Looks like a first for Mouse Outfit then what with them having a 45 out courtesy of Little Beat More Records – oh and it’s called Sunrise. Sunrise!? Chance would be a fine thing! Maybe they’re not chatting about the weather though, “I can make the sunrise/ If you want it I can really make the sunshine baby.” Er – go on then – haven’t seen the sun around here for months. Less of the ‘baby’ though. “Keep
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BACAO RHYTHM & STEEL BAND: Hotline Bling b/w Murkit Gem (Vinyl 7″)
Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band vastly improve Drake’s much-parodied 2016 mega-hit Hotline Bling on their new 45 by replacing a) Drake’s original topline with melodic 55 gallon drums and b) the original’s programmed drums with something a whole lot more organic. Yep, that’s right Drake, not just your girl but your whole song getting nasty for someone else. And although long
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RAYE COLE: I’m A Lady (Vinyl 7″)
Raye Cole returns to Original Gravity for stripped back funk strut I’m A Lady, on which sparse rhythm guitar and drums provide the backdrop for her to deliver something that with a more contemporary production style might have turned up on an early Kelis album. Alternatively, it’s quite easy to imagine a more blues-fuzz version of this as a Black Keys song – although admittedly with
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CANTRIPS: For Private Use Only (Vinyl 7″)
Rating: 
Some heavy new psych-funk coming out of Oz on For Private Use Only by Cantrips – a crew composed of band leader Patrick Ryan and like-minded members of both Karate Boogaloo and Surprise Chef. Unusually the name of the single isn’t the name of either of the tracks contained thereon for these are A-side The Prayer and B-side The Big Break. Both cuts were apparently
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BNC: The Bonnie & Clyde Syndrome LP
Never let it be said that rapper BNC a.k.a Bruises N Cuts isn’t versatile. He’s done hip-hop, he’s done reggae and on The Bonnie & Clyde Syndrome he turns his hand to that very ’00s-style soundclash of hip-hop and neo-soul. Seven of ten tracks find the Santo Domingo-born MC paired with the cream of Athenian female singers in an exploration of the love and heartbreak that
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ROUGHNECK JIHAD & DJ PNUTZ: Fresh Becomes Her
Continuing their highly successful partnership, Roughneck Jihad and DJ Pnutz follow-up their 2020 LP collaboration , General Jihad & Prime Minister Pnutz, with new nine-track LP Fresh Becomes Her, ably assisted on six tracks with cuts from Waxsmith and on a seventh by Steven Flex. All of which means you can expect late nineties-style underground hip-hop featuring Jihad’s
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THE NICEGUYS feat. BOBBY SAINT: Power
Rating: Man, seems like it’s been raining forever but maybe The Niceguys will call up the sun with joyously energetic new upbeat cut Power featuring Bobby Saint. The beat has every bit the pneumatic drum bedrock you’d expect and this is laced with squelchy wah-wah guitar that occasional jangles loose into a solo while Saint commits Prince-like vocals to the mic. As if that
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