Just a little bit of a tune… shame they didn’t get Chris Rock to do his bit too.

James

Ok, Ok, so this FACT mix may have been around for a hot minute, but I don’t care. The internet moves so fast these days that people rarely give new music a chance to sink in before they’re onto the next thing.

I have been listening to this mix nigh on every day for the past two weeks and can say with confidence that it’s one of the best I’ve heard in recent times.

J Sweet & Alias are Grime veterans responsible for some of the most memorable Grime instrumentals ever made; tracks like ‘Kerb’ ‘Gutter’ and ‘Warrior’ have never failed to raise the blood pressure on DJ sets and could be seen as reference tones for some classic Grime moments.

Having kept a low profile in years gone by (as rap-influenced Grime took prominence), the shadowy pair have been the subject of renued interest as demand for new 8-bar Grime tunes continues to grow. This 8-bar movement, triggered by the deadpan productions of Spooky which decimated 2010 (Spartan, Top 3 Selected Remix), celebrates the simplistic, primal elements of Grime; switch-ups, sparse drums, claps, and bass. Lots and lots of bass.

The ‘MarxAlias E.P’ released on Logan Sama’s Earth 616 label, has helped bring J Sweet & Alias back to the producers’ fore. Tracks ‘Joker’ and ‘No Dream’ are my personal favourites from the package – their brash mixdowns and adrenaline-pumping drops sounding fresh yet classic at the same time. Perhaps a little repetitive for the casual listener, the ‘Marxalias E.P’ serves as a reminder of how forward thinking Grime was when it was first forged all those years ago.

Back to the FACT mix then, it’s comprised mostly of J Sweet & Alias tunes and hits you very, very hard. Thankfully little has changed in terms of their production methods and sounds, and so those trademark J Sweet & Alias industrial brasses, basslines and eerie vocal samples are all present and correct. Music genres are cyclical, and personally I’m glad that these two have ignored Grime’s internal pressures to ‘stay current.’

As J Sweet said on Twitter yesterday:

Download the mix here

J Sweet on Twitter
Alias on Twitter

Kristian

Here is what we came up with. Big up Dimples!

Kristian

Kristian

The mix is my vibe, the Brenmar aesthetic put into a mix. House, hip-hop, R&B, bass music, and regional club styles (Bmore, Jersey club, footwork) all on the same mix. A lot of new young US producers on this one and some of my current UK favs. I try to strike a balance between a certain level of accessibility and fun while still pushing new sounds and ideas. I love new music. Can’t forget about the girls either, it always comes back to them. Cause if they ain’t having fun…we ain’t having fun.

Brenmar, Gold Bricks FADER Mix by The FADER

1. Brenmar – Stash In The Dash Intro
2. Ashanti – Fancy (Brenmar Remix)
3. Timbaland – Give It To Me Instrumental
4. Boyz II Men – If I Had One (Brenmar Edit)
5. Dj Pierre and TT The Artist – U Don’t Bang Wit Me
6. Dubbel Dutch – Fem Pressure
7. Jim-E Stack – Lemme
8. Brenmar – If U Want Me
9. Richelle – I Think Before I Act
10. Boody B – Swift
11. R Kelly – Make It Rain Remix
12. Venice Calypso – Drifting
13. Champion – Lighter (VIP Mix)
14. Brenmar – Let’s Pretend
15. T. Williams – 30 Degree
16. Cedaa – Freon
17. Brenmar – So High
18. Dark Sky – High Rise
19. Destinys Child vs. Craig David – What’s My Name
20. Getem – Get It In
21. Dj YayYay – Micro-Chips Instrumental
22. Brenmar – Waiting On
23. Jim Jones – Getting To The Money
24. Kelly Rowland – Motivation Instrumental

via The Fader. Click the down arrow on the right of the Soundcloud bar for a free download link.

James

Flava D is one of my favourite Grime producers right now. Although she has been around for a little while, producing music for high-calibre MC’s such as Maxsta, Black the Ripper and Wiley, it’s her recent collaborative work with Dimples and Merky Ace that has really got me hooked:

A member of Wiley’s shadowy ‘Eskibeat Recordings’ camp, Flava D has maintained an equally dim profile despite her astonishingly high workrate. Her website is full to bursting with beats for sale and a quick glance at her Twitter feed suggests we can look forward to link-ups with Wiley, Frisco, Desperado and Kid Bookie in the near future.

Flava has a hard, fluid sound upon which MC’s feel right at home. At times its evocative of Wiley’s production, in particular his synth and percussion. However, she takes those eski-references – the one drops, the arching strings, the shuffling hats – and stretches them across varying tempos and textures. It is at once adrenaline-fuelled and intelligent.

DJ JJ has compiled an excellent mix of Flava D instrumentals, available for free download here. Although there are a couple of vocal cuts in there, it’s Flava D that commands the listeners’ attention throughout.

Check Flava’s Twitter here. Thanks to JJ and Flava D for the mix!

Kristian

Had this one for a while – I can see this tune getting rinsed this summer.

James

Great video from one of the best singers around at the moment. Check our look at Frank’s debut mixtape ‘Nostalgia, Ultra’ here.

James

Free mixtape by collegiate duo Naledge & Double-O, aka Kidz in the Hall that dropped last month. Streaming and download links after the jump….

When I first heard their ‘School Was My Hustle’ album I was quite taken aback – I wasn’t expecting to hear words like ‘castigating’ and ‘opulent’ in rap lyrics; such words are a reflection of the eloquence of the Kidz’ music. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s not a 12-track spelling bee; with production reminiscent of the golden era of Rawkus Records (interestingly, they were signed to Rawkus for this release when the label relaunched) and on-point lyrics, they are, well, just pretty dope.

Anyway, ‘Semester Abroad’ is their latest release. Beats are nice and summery, making full use of a number of dusty records samples and are accompanied by Naledge’s smooth, educated flows. Stream it below or hit the download.

When I first heard their ‘School Was My Hustle’ album I was quite taken aback – I wasn’t expecting to hear words like ‘castigating’ and ‘opulent’ in rap lyrics

SEMESTER ABROAD “INSPIRED BY THE BRAIN CANDY SERIES” by double_0

Download Kids in the Hall – ‘Semester Abroad’

James