The latest News From Neptune #9
THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS HAVE SEEN PRODUCERS ROUND THE WORLD BLURRING THE LINES BETWEEN HIP HOP, JAZZ, HOUSE AND BEATS (WHATEVER THAT MEANS) AND FLINGING OUT JOYOUS, MIND-BENDING NEW MUSIC LIKE GODS CHUCKING STARS ACROSS THE SKY. THIS COLUMN TRAWLS THE INTERNET TO TRY AND MAKE SENSE OF IT ALL. HERE IS THE LATEST NEWS FROM NEPTUNE.
Bushido – Grandmaster Cash
More fire from the Glasgow/ London based Astral Black. As with most of the stuff in this column I’m reluctant to tie Bushido down with anything so dull as a genre title – in keeping with the general vibe of the current crop of Glaswegian bass maniacs he appears to be far more concerned with whether his tunes are hectic bangers than whether they fit into a dullard’s categorising. Stand out Just Us has got some pitched up Bashment vocals, trappy breakdowns and sugar rush Jersey club drums. Most jersey tracks are done and dusted in 2 minutes or less – Just Us is the Bohemian Rhapsody of club music, clocking in at an epic 6 and a half minutes. Elsewhere, lead track Palm Trees imagines UK funky at a twerkers convention, whilst the oriental pleasure of Cherry Blossoms resurrects Sino-grime and squeezes it into the trap house. It’s all banging tbh, just flippin buy it.
Rammriddlz – Manana
So Canadian rapper/toaster Rammriddlz is coming to London at the end of June. He’s booked to play the relatively tiny Oslo in Hackney, and considering his breakthrough track Sweeterman has clocked up a mind boggling 2 million plays on Soundcloud, it’s fair to assume that the rave will be a roadblock. If you want to know what all the fuss is about, his latest is as good a place to start as any, it’s got all the Ramriddlz ingredients; ultra-sweet melodies, heavily autotuned vocals, a nod to dancehall aesthetics, and slick production – this time courtesy of Dubbel Dutch, who’s work with MixPak has indicated a fine grasp of how to slay a bashment dance. Like Drake, I appreciate this is the kind of thing people love or hate – personally I could listen to this sort of jam all day in the summer time. There’s tickets n info for the Oslo show over here – http://www.oslohackney.com/events/live-ramriddlz/ – probably best not to sleep on it if you want to go.
Fit of Body – Winter B Sides
It’s always a good day when Ryan Parks drops a new release. This 7 tracker from the Atlanta based record boss continues to mine that little known intersection between Jermaine Dupri and Arthur Russell. To be fair, you’d be increasingly hard pressed to catch the Jermaine Dupri in there, but Ryan insists he’s an influence, and who am I to argue? All 7 tracks are an analogue haze, vocals shimmering like a mirage of an oasis seen from afar. For a collection titled after the coldest season of the year, the EP seems truly suited for the sunshine. As we’ve most Foit of Body stuff, there’s an unfinished demo like quality to the recordings, but that’s the vibe and I wouldn’t change it for a moment.
Shiftee ft TT the Artist – Dope Girl Fresh (Foxtrott remix)
It’s just bizarre that there are still debates raging about women in dance music. I can’t even be bothered to point out why the many men who seem intent on stopping half the world’s population from getting a space at the table are fucking idiots, so instead I’m just gonna post something that explicitly advocates for women as producers – this latest remix package on the Hot Mom USA comes with 6 remixes turned in by an all-female cast. Would it even be noted upon if it was an all male cast? Almost definitely not, so I guess there’s still a long way to go. Anyways, the mix from Foxtrott is (ahem) dope, a strange piece of bass heavy hip hop that manages to throwback to the golden age and have kicks heavy enough to bang a modern rig. Other notable mixes come from Flava D and Uniiqu3, but for me Foxtrott takes the honours. A quick look at her soundcloud reveals she’s also got a sick beat tape available to cop for free, go grab it from here.
Ekeno – Ojuelegba Remix
Finally, I’ll kick myself if I don’t give this props, even if it has been out for a while now. How hard is it to remix Wizkid’s Ojuelegba and not sound pointless? To be honest, until I heard Ekeno o nthe beat I thought it was impossible. Somehow this London/ Nigerian kid has smashed the riddim, offering a take on the party classic that complements Wizkid’s original and brings something new to the table. His vocal has a near breaking quality and – shock of shocks – sounds like he may be singing with the bare minimum of autotune. If you want to hear more, check out his free mixtape available over on Mixtape Madness
