Audio
COKI -Officer -(DMZ)
KERO -T34G -(Neo Ouija)
LACKLUSTER -N -(New Speak)
ANTENNAE -Destroy This -(Botanica Del Jibaro)
STACS OF STAMINA feat MIKE LADD -Baghdad Boogie -(Werk)
AWOL ONE & DADDY KEV -Unlucky Number -(Alpha Pup)
EARTH VS AUTECHRE -Coda Maestro In F(Flat) Minor -(No Quarter)
GARLO -Danse Avec Le Vent -(CIP)
JASPER TX -Help Them Die -(Lampse)
ANDY STOTT -Ceramics -(Modern Love)
ANDERS ILAR -Rourei -(Narita)
PENDLE COVEN -Modern Mode -(Modern Love)
HEY-O-HANSEN -Moon (Thaddi's Jack is a Simple Fella Mix) -(Hey Rec)
DEAF CENTER -White Lake -(Type)
THE MATINEE ORCHESTRA -Hide and Seek ; The Matinee March -(Arable)
MIDAIRCONDO -Faces -(Type)
THE BOATS -Mum and Dad -(Moteer)
THE AMERICAN ANALOG SET -Cool Kids Keep -(Morr Music)
EDUARD ARTEMYEV -Music from Tarkovsky's Stalker and Solaris -(Toei Music)
DESMOND LESLIE -Destruction of The Flies -(Trunk)
PIERRE HENRY -Multiplicitie -(Phillips)
DICK RAAIJMAKERS -Mechanical Motions -(Donemus)
I was introduced to Vosges by my cousin Todd Mussman, a.k.a. Muss of Muss & Turner's, where I got four different bars of Vosges Chocolate and the Aztec Elixir Cocoa. This is amazing stuff!
I gave Steph the Aztec Elixir for her birthday. We drank a cup after her birthday dinner, handily whipped up with my molinillo — a hand-made Oaxacan wooden chocolate mixer that whips the chocolate into a froth. We were hooked by the deep chocolate flavors that coated our mouths at the first sip.
In Caesar's Palace Forum Shops there is a Vosges retail store where I picked up a box of the Collection Italiano. Clearly, I must be turning into a chocolate fanatic. You wouldn't catch me dead spending $37+ on a box of 9 truffles from Godiva, but I knew this would be worth the price. We each had a Rooster — Italian taleggio cheese, organic walnuts, Tahitian vanilla beans and bittersweet dark chocolate — this is the only chocolate truffle I have ever seen that comes with eating instructions! Steph and I sat in stunned silence after eating one of these apiece last night. Every day should be filled with that much bliss... and chocolate!
So now I have a new favorite chocolatier. Well, not really. If I want classic chocolates, Mary Chocolatier in Brussels is the place to go. Ordering online is a rip-off, since the $10 I spent on a pound of chocolate when I was in Brussels would cost over $100 delivered... perhaps for a special occassion that might be nice. However, if I want unique, modern chocolates, I'll head to Vosges every time. I won't turn away Godiva, but you won't catch me spending any money there in the future. And I still love a Snickers bar... but that's not going to fill my chocolate cravings.
I'm sitting at the airport in Vegas — the video poker machines are annoying as hell when you're tired and cranky — and tried to get information on my flight from a gate agent. After confirming the gate info I asked if the flight was on time. I was told "I'm too busy to answer that, go to your gate and ask an agent over there." At my gate the agents were trying to board another flight and they had a huge line. *sigh* Customer service at its finest.
This is another crappy airline to add to the list of airlines that I should avoid flying if at all possible.
I'm on my way to Las Vegas now and I have some updates for the previous post.
1) I'm not flying through Salt Lake City, I never was.
2) I accepted $400 in travel vouchers from America West to be bumped from my flight to Vegas via Phoenix.
3) I accepted a flight on Delta, leaving 30 minutes after my original flight. The flight is direct to Las Vegas, so I arrive 2 hours before I planned. w00t.
So, I haven't even arrived in Vegas and I am already up $400! I'm pretty good at this gambling stuff. ;-) We'll see how I fare at the BlackJack table tonight. Hopefully I'll do as well as my coworker Amol, who put a coin in a slot machine and won $350. Lucky bastard is up $500 already — he spent the weekend in Vegas — and we don't leave until Thursday!
Audio
Link up with KFAI Minneapolis and St Paul. - Doctor Strangedub and DJ Swiss - Part 1
Prince Far I -Big fight (live in Munich 1983) -CDR
Prince Far I -Ejarsa-Gora -Tamoki Wambesi
Rebel MC with Prince Lincoln -Humanity -Congo Natty
Kode9 & Spaceape -Kingstown -Hyperdub
Bus with MC Soom-T -Half asleep -~scape
Damien "Jr Gong" Marley -Welcome to Jamrock -Tuff Gong International
Zagu Zarr -Welcome to England -GZ Vinyl
Prince Douglas -Mash down Babylon -Wackies
Glen Brown -No more slavery -Hot Pot
Boozoo Bajou with Tony Joe White -Keep going -!K7
Greg Isaacs/King Tubby -Cry Tuff dub -Trojan
Jackie Mittoo -Ayatollah -Basic Reply
Winston Edwards & Blackbeard -Downing Street Rock -Studio 16
The Gaylads -Mama look -Souldbeat
Deb Players -Lagos -Dseb
Ernest Wilson -Undying love -Soul Jazz
Jah Shaka/Icho Candy -Reveleation time dub -Jah Shaka Music
Justin Hinds & the Dominoes -Save a bread -Trojan
Justin Hinds & the Dominoes -The Higher the monkey climb -Trojan
Justin Hinds & the Dominoes -Mighty Redeemer -Trojan
New Age Steppers -Aggro dub version -Beatink
Greg Issacs -Rock On/Murder Observer Style -Auralux
Dennis Brown/King Tubby/The Observer -Dub root of David -Trojan
Barrington Levy -A ya we deh -Trojan
Admiral Bailey -No wey better than yard -Trojan t
Big Joe -Don’t try to use me -M Records
Family Man Barrett -Soul constitution -PK Records
Mossman & Bunny -One fine day -Dispensation
Sip A Cup Family -Bloodshot eyes dub -Dub Wax
I began to think about the places I have been around the US and the world. So here's a map of the places I have been to or been through (e.g. a layover in Timbuktu counts).
States in the U.S.A. (I may have been to Maine as a kid, I don't recall).
Next week I will add Utah and Nevada to the list. I'm passing through Salt Lake City on the way to Las Vegas for BlackHat 2005.
Countries
Not a terribly impressive list. It's hard to see the Carribean countries I have visited (U.S. Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico) and the European Countries (France, Belgium, Holland, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary). Clearly I need to travel more around the world, although I feel pretty worldly compared to most people I know... Looking at this reminds me how much I want to visit South America.
(Yes, I know the maps look squished. Blame www.world66.com, its their map.)
Diamondhead
Oahu, HawaiiI've been in Hawaii for the past 44 hours, give or take a few, and I'm waiting for my flight back to Atlanta. Oahu was beautiful! I stayed in Waikiki, but unfortunately this was a work trip so it left little time for sightseeing. Work was great, this is a fun place to do business and the people are so incredibly nice. I just wish I had more time to explore the island. In fact, I didn't even get to the beach, my bathing suit is still in my suitcase, as clean as when I left. This is as close as I got to the ocean in the past two days.
Unfortunately, its time to head back to Atlanta. Let's do the math:
47 hours in Hawaii.
24 hours travel time.
I will spend a little more than a third of this trip in the air or waiting in airports. Ugh! The life of a road warrior isn't all its cracked up to be sometimes.
Audio
Keith Leblanc -Tack Unit -Collision
Bong-Ra -Jah Kingdom -Super Track
Mark Stewart -Puppet master -Soul Jazz Records
Let’s get moving -Banana Klan -
Border Crossing -Dance for your life -Sound Recording
Ernest Ranglin -Joss song -Palm Pictures
Kokanko Sata -Djodjon -Honest Jons
Studio Pankow -Jessner Strasse -City Centre Records
Kammerflimmer Kollektief -Equilibrium -Staubgold
Lawrence English -Oceanic drift -Cajid Media
Tinariwen -Imidiwaren -Wayward
Lobi Traore -Baba kansay kagni -Honest Jons Records
Little Freddie King -Chicken Dance (remix) -Fat Possum
Rev. J.M. Gates -Hell bound express train -Columbia/Legacy
Mississippi Sheiks -Still I’m travelling on -Columbia/Legacy
Freeform -Blue tooth blues -Inflatabl Labl
Arve Henriksen -Opening image -Rune
John Cale -Suicide theme -Syntax
Gaby Lita Bembo and Orchestre Stukas de Zaire -Idee kono -Retro Afric
Amerie -Touch (instrumental) -Columbia
Vex’d -Gunman -Planet Mu ziq
Tom and Jerry -Who kan draw -PK
Dj Probe & Sylo -Ghetto dub -Infrared
Audio
Ken Booth-Peace Time-Auralux
Knomeni Skank-The Iranian Students-Auralux
Marlena Shaw-Liberation Conversation-Mojo
Faith Evans-Mesmerized-EMI
Faze Action feat Seke Manyika-Kariba 2005-Copyright Records
L.T.D-Love to the World-A&M Records
Fantasitc Johnny C-Waitin’ for the rain-Jamie / Guyden
Dena Deally-1608-Counterflow
Nas-Virgo-Sony
Freedom-Get Up and Dance-Malaco
Velvet Hammer-Party Down-ZR Records
Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson-Just Before Sundown-TVT Records
Luther Vandross-Are you using me?-EMI
Captain Sky-Moonchild-AVI Records
Jeanne Tracy-Feel Like Dancing-ZR Records
Cheri Dennis-I Luv You-NS
Ron Henderson and Choice of Colour-Love is Gone-Soul Junction
Bobby Valetine-Come Touch Me-Def Jam
Raw DMX-Do It to the Funk-TIRK
Anthony Hamilton-Clearly-Rhino
Funkadelic-March to the Witch’s Castle-Kent
Miles & Uncle DeanYesterday was Miles' biggest adventure yet, his bris! (Ouch!) Both sets of grandparents, his great-grandparents, Uncle Dean, Aunt Stephanie and friends were there to celebrate this day.
Miles & Aunt Stephanie
Miles & Great-Grandma
Miles
Miles & Mom
Miles, Mom & Dad
Great-Grandpa
Audio
Mark Stewart and Mafia-Learning to cope with Cowardice-Beatnik
As Mercenarias-Panico-Soul Jazz
Ari Up-Me Dun-Collison
Ana da Silva-Friend-Chicks on Speed
Okapi-Chetamomil(la)-Inflatable
Hassle Hound-Lucky Bugs win prizes-Staubgold
I.S.A.N.-Dinner at sea-Wiretapper
Little Axe-Let me ride-On U Sound
Entrance -Tex’s blues-Sketchbook
Heartless Bastards-Onions-Fat Possum
Prefuse 73/ The Books-Pagina Dos-Warp
The Paris Smith Quintet-Pentatonia-Soul Jazz
Alice Coltrane-Jagadishwar-Impulse
Sonny and Lind Sharrock-End of the rainbow-Water Water
Konono No. 1-Masikulu-Crammed Disc
Yuppie Flu-Our Nature-Rec
Micah. P. Hanson-The Leading Guy-Sketchbook
Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell-Whatever you want-Yep Roc
Rory McLeod-A Cut In Pay-Talk
Club Country-The Salt Islands-Broken Horse
James Yorkston and the Athletes-Surf Song-Domino
Jegsy Dodd and the original sinners-Giro Day-
The Little Flames-Put Your Duke’s Up John-Deltasonic
Macolm Middleton-Break My Heart-Rkyomusic
Vincent Black Lighting-Lay Your Rug-Eli Records
Bish Bash Bosh-Track 6-
I can't believe it took me two months to get through this, but the travelogue is complete. Here are the postings from each day in chronological order.
Leaving Home
First Day in Prague
Prague and Terezin
Prague and Plzen
Plzen
Krakow, Wieliczka Salt Mine
Auschwitz and Birkenau
Wawel Castle and Zakopane
Zakopane, Crossing Into Slovakia and Levoca
Levoca, Spissky Podhradie and Kosice
Eger, Hungary
Eger to Budapest
Budapest, Day 2
Budapest, Final Day in Europe
ARI UP
DREAD MORE DAN DEAD
COLLISION CD/LP
Maybe the time is just right for the I-riginal punky reggae party scenester Ari Up, these days a.k.a. Madusa of Stone Love Sound and previously Arianne daughter of Nora Forster and step daughter to the late Johnny Rotten, foundation Slit and New Age Stepper. Her history weighs heavier than her locks and for those who may have written her off as ‘fashion dread’ she’s back to dash dem ‘way with a beats unaccredited bashment set and more attitude than she started out with. Her chat is now pure patois from her long time spent in Kingston, where she became a cable TV star, and her wail is as outrageously off-key as it ever was. The album is a non-stop fusion of dancehall and dub steppers mixing reality and pure fun with righteous outrage and a few cuts begging for the special dubplate treatment, particularly ‘Me Dun’ replicated acapella style to invite remix and clash contest.
WINSTON EDWARDS & BLACKBEARD
DUB CONFERENCE: WINSTON EDWARDS & BLACKBEARD AT 10 DOWNING STREET
STUDIO 16 LP
Produced by Winston Edwards in the UK back in the late seventies with Matumbi in disguise as the Wellpack Band with the clear signature mix of Dennis ‘Blackbeard’ Bovell this becomes a must for anyone who found his Pressure Sounds’ ‘Decibel’ album a revelation. Dennis just can’t help letting his musical attributes get in the way of the dub fireworks that were a fixture of the time, but with most of the original rhythms lost in time and space the titles alone stand to convince – ‘Who Made The Prime Ministers Honour List Of 1975’, ‘Whitehall Scandal’ and ‘Shake Buckingham Palace Down’. Also around, on the same label and not to be missed are ‘King Tubby Meets The Upsetter At The Grass Roots Of Dub’ with some crunching early mixes by the Dubmeister recorded at the Black Ark and ‘Surrounded By The Dreads At The National Arena’ celebrating the occasion when Tubbs played a massive twelve hour session at Kingston’s National Arena in support of Bob Marley & The Wailers. Making an unmissable set of vinyl that’s not been around for a long time.
PRINCE FAR I
MEGABIT 25 1922-DUB
TAMOKI-WAMBESI-DOVE CD
The temptation to put Far I’s name on an album prompts a cut and paste job from Roy (The Royals) Cousins back catalogue, but in the hands of Sir Freddie Viadukt aka the (albeit late) Minister of Noise the result becomes almost tasteful. On the perimeters of Warrington lies NAFFI HQ where original tapes from Randys, Tubbys and the Black Ark have been manipulated into their current state, and on the whole a fairly reverential piece of work with Far I voice samples worked into the mix a la Sherwood with Dub Syndicate. But the game is really up on the pseudo (?) Amharic-titled ‘Ejarsa-Gora’ where the ‘marvel of miracles’ sample appears in the mix on top of Vivian Jackson’s ‘Yabby You’ rhythm and traces of Gregorian chant. All traceable back to the Minister’s classic ‘Voodoo Soul’ period where he bravely introduced Far I to Alice Coltrane. With the divine vocals of Roy Cousins, plus contributions from Knowledge, Charlie Chaplin and the Minister’s ex-Mrs Brenda Ray this works out as a recommendation rather than a warning.
JUNIOR DAN
JUNIOR DAN
HONEST JON’S RECORDS CD
A collection of the three ten inch vinyl pieces that have emerged on the London imprint over the past year gathering some of the finest sides of Junior Dan aka Sydney Gussine aka Left Hand Bassie, previously best known for his work with Augustus Pablo and Burning Spear but probably now famous as a collaborator of Blur’s Damon Albarn, investor in Honest Jon’s Records. Reminiscent of Scratch's 'Disco Devil' discomix, 'Look Out for the Devil' is the key track and was actually recorded down at the Black Ark by a grouping known as the Solid Foundation along with Studio One legend Pablove Black on keyboards, plus a sprinkling of assorted JA talent including Benbow, Sowell and Scully. All seven tunes here are excellent examples late seventies deeply atmospheric roots each coming replete with their accompanying dub.
DAMIAN MARLEY, STEPHEN MARLEY, METHOD MAN & REDMAN
WELCOME TO JAMROCK / LYRICAL.44
TUFF GONG INTERNATIONAL 12" VINYL
The last time one of Jah Bob’s many offspring produced a tune as culturally meaningful as this was Ziggy’s ‘Black My Story (Not History)’ from many moons ago, but this one packs a lot more power dealing in the now rather than the past. "People a dead at random ……….di youths a get blind by stardom" ain’t too far away from many ‘development locations’ in the grip of the dollar. In clean, dirty and instrumental versions this monster roots tune is remixed from his latest ‘all-star’ album ‘Halfway Tree’ that comes on Ghetto Youths International via Motown (!). As JA painfully evolves through Jamdown into Jamrock then Jamdung maybe the Junior Gong, Bob’s youngest and progeny of Miss World Cindy Breakspeare, has finally entered the real world at last. A little like Lisa Marie Presley making a tune as great as any of her Pa’s pre-US army sides, and as unlikely. The flip reverts to a gun digirap revealing boys’ fear of limp dick.
JACKIE MITTOO
AYATOLLAH / MASH DOWN BABYLON
BASIC REPLAY 12" VINYL
A similar vintage to the Willie Williams and Cousin Marshall tune "Rocking Universally" that appeared on the same revive imprint last year, this one is another Jackie Mittoo production that’s difficult to place between JA, NYC and Toronto. The sound is so dense that we should finger Wackie’s studio as its source. Despite its early eighties vintage the feel harks back to a deeper vein of roots but with the addition of strangely dislocated female chorus, oooohing and aaaahing like they’d wandered into the studio looking for a Bert Kaempfert session – just goes to make the thing all the more perversely appealing. With Jackie’s mighty organ churning intro over the driving steppers’ rhythm laying the ground for countless UK nu dub tracks, the generic redemption lyrics are made redundant.
ADRIAN SHERWOOD
ON-U SOUND CRASH : SLASH AND MIX
ON-U SOUND / BEAT RECORDS CD
The core of the On U Sound history and reputation distilled into an album lasting just less than an hour with thirty one tracks mixed, cut-up and manipulated in an On U Sound System DJ style, for the Japanese market initially and strangely, as the East is far more familiar with this music just as they are with rockabilly, ska, 50’s r’n’b and a slew of other musics that receive scant cultural recognition in the land of their origin. So some of this turns out to be genuinely ahead of its time as in the dubbed brass band on the Maffia’ ‘Jerusalem’ and any of the African Head Charge tunes and the rest anchored back in eighties sonics and sensibilities, Gary Clail still embarrassingly arch and ‘Stadium Rock’ epitomising the decline of Tack>>Head. As a curio this will provide some much-needed fun for hardcore On U fans or act as an intro for the unsuspecting novitiate.
PHILLIP SMART PRODUCTIONS / VARIOUS ARTISTS
FIVE BOROUGH FIRE - DIGITAL DANCEHALL NYC STYLE
STREET PLATINUM AND GOLD CD/2xLP
This does for New York City what the Honest Jons release profiling Unity Sounds, ‘Watch How The People Dancing - 1986 1989’, did for London. A two album collection of essential Phillip Smart productions that runs from the 80s through the 90s and uncovering another lost but essential chapter in the real history of dance music, after all Kool Herc couldn’t occupy every street corner and gym in the city. Along with Jammy, Scientist and many more contenders Smart came up through the Tubby school of sonic adventure as an assistant engineer before moving to NYC to originate HC & F studios now one of the longest running and most important reggae studios in the United States. Whilst Tubby’s crew were generating riddims like ‘Tempo’ to follow the might ‘Sleng Teng’, Philip Smart echoed the changes in Brooklyn moving dancehall into the digital age with killa soundbwoy business like Sammy Levi’s "Come Offa The Road" and Scion Success’ "The Trainer".
VARIOUS ARTISTS
THE BUNNY LEE ROCK STEADY YEARS
MOLL-SELEKTA CD/2xLP
Coming rapidly after the excellent Pressure Sounds rocksteady set ‘Safe Travel’ is another exemplary representation of this short-lived genre that ended the ska era and prefaced the eventual domination of reggae, this set concentrates more on some of the more well-known hits of the era. Rocksteady allowed the influence of US soul and r’n’b to become dominant in the vocal stylings of the time as is evidenced by the increased number of cover versions, but more dramatic was the change in the sound that introduced the insistent drum and melodic bass as pre-eminent in the mix. This set brings together some of Bunny Lee’s greatest productions, the series of hits that gave him his nickname of ‘Striker’, delivered by the finest vocalists of the time including Slim Smith, Pat Kelly – the Sam Cooke of Jamaica, Ken Parker and Alton Ellis. For many soul fans these side may merely represent a form of second-class sub-genre of the real thing, but for the real fans of Jamaican music this period it’s almost as though the sonic holy grail lays within tracks such as these.
VARIOUS
RELAXIN’ WITH LOVERS VOLUME 4
SONY MUSIC ASSOCIATED RECORDS CD
When in Beijing people are likely to visit the Great Wall or the Forbidden City. Me, I visit the Grand World Second-Hand Electronics Market and visit the many CD stalls there picking up fantastic bargains of Japanese cut-outs such as this Lovers Rock volume from 2003 featuring the work of Clem Bushay. The series is still in print as far as I can discern with other material from DEB, Studio 16, Trojan and homegrown Japan. I already confessed to an irrational obsession with Lovers Rock but anyone taking the trouble to search this one out will come under its spell too, primarily for the presence of a version of the old doo-wop chestnut ‘Silhouettes’ here sung by Janet ‘Silly Games’ Kay, however the song is followed by a monster version also featuring DJ Prince Jazzbo and Rico on trombone – truly the epitome of out of ‘strength comes sweetness’. Also irresistible is Louisa ‘Caught You in a Lie’ Marks’ cover of the Jones’ Girls’ ultra-prosaic ‘Mum and Dad’, which runs along the lines ‘… how can I tell my Mum and Dad, I’ve been bad ….’ – you know the story, all against music that like vintage bottled Ladbroke Grove.
VARIOUS
SHAKE THE NATIONS - A NEW BREED OF DUB IV
DUBHEAD CD
This one snuck through in 2004 mysteriously evading this column’s attention, a dub of many nations sampler in the style that DubHead has applied mainly to the UK in the past. Twilight Circus’ Ryan Moore, a Canadian ex-pat in Holland dedicated to Jamaican music, kicks off with his latest incarnation as the Dub Project and the sound of ‘Impact’ expands into a more elastic, abstract framework contrasting with his recently established nu-roots style as displayed on the churning closer, returning as Twilight with Big Youth for ‘Dub is What We Need’. In between these the international highlights are Japan’s ‘Trial Production’ who may have a mundane name but come with a clearly well-developed bag of influences as their ‘Roots Exotica’ attests and from France Brain Damage with Black Sifichi may be in the area of Ry Cooder’s ‘Paris, Texas’ with their opening sample there again Cooder wasn’t bashful about trampling Blind Willie Johnson’s path but ‘Circle Dub’ emerges into a more of a space cowboy epic. Sir Larsie I are from Germany, AB-10 Norway, Sism-X France and Infantry Rockers and Sound Imperium both from the USA. Other high quality sides are lifted from recent releases by UK nu roots stalwarts Vibronics, Nucleus Roots, Iration Steppers and Jah Warrior.