If the festive period has left you feeling a bit worn out and in need of some serious relaxation then the mix below should be just the ticket - think of it as a belated Christmas gift. The mix was recorded by Bristol's inimitable Barry Steppa and is made up almost entirely of 70's roots reggae, although he has included a couple of tracks from the latest Dubkasm 12" as well. The records are played in the traditional style, with most of them being flipped over to air either the dub version or an alternate cut. It was a pleasure to sit down with Barry as he dug gem after gem out of his bag and I haven't been able to stop listening to the mix since. I really can't enthuse enough about this mix, so please take my advice and download it now, you won't regret it. Massive thanks to Mr Steppa for the music and the education, it's very much appreciated.

Download Here (Right Click 'Save As')

Tracklist:

1. Ijahman Levi - 'I'm A Levi'
2. The Jewels - 'Love And Livity'
3. 'Love And Livity' (Version)
4. Sylford Walker - 'Burn Babylon'
5. 'Burn Babylon' (Version)
6. Judy Mowatt - 'Black Woman'
7. Joy Tulloch - 'Black Beauty'
8. Cultural Roots - 'Drift Away From Evil'
9. The Revolutionaries - 'Drift Away' Dub Plate Mix
10. The Silvertones - 'Rejoice Jah Jah Children'
11. Jah Lion - 'Columbia Collie'
12. Twinkle Bros - 'Rasta P'on Top'
13. 'Rasta P'on Top' (Dub)
14. Desi Roots - 'Warning'
15. The Mighty Three - 'Rasta Business'
16. 'Rasta Dub Business'
17. Levi Roots - 'Respek/I-Spek'
18. Afrikan Simba - 'Touch I Heart'
19. I. Jahman - 'Jah Heavy Load'
20. Jahman's All-Stars - 'Straight To Blackwax Locks'

A bit late on this due to a break for the festive season, but for those of you who haven't seen this already, here's a video of Wiley on Westwood's 1Xtra show proving that he can still do grime better than almost anyone. Hopefully 2009 will see him doing more of this sort of thing and less of the electro crossover stuff that he and many other grime artists were pursuing last year. I couldn't resist the old bars in the post title cliche so apologies for that...

January sales / credit crunch / yada yada yada... Essentially we've just knocked over 20% off the price of all our Highrise branded t-shirts, meaning that they can now be snapped up for only £15 each. If you've been thinking of grabbing one then now's the time!

Check them out here...

Above are a few examples of the work of the mysterious Deadly Doppelganger. He was kind enough to do some T-Shirt designs for us earlier in the year, including the Babylon image pictured above. You may well have already seen some of his distinctive characters adorning an array of flyers, blogs and websites. His doodles have also recently been blessing the pages of the fantastic Woofah magazine.

One of Gutterbreakz's shady associates (don't hold that against him), he is also a fully fledged member of the Dadblogging crew. His blog, which can be found at http://deadlydoppelgangers.blogspot.com, is definitely worth checking out, especially if you have more than a passing interest in Doctor Who. Those of you whose dreams lack the presence of Daleks and Cybermen will still find plenty of topics to engage with however, all of which are written about with a much greater flair and intellect than you will find on the pages of this blog.

He sent me this bit of text to help advertise his services, although it does sound as if he's just lifted it from the back of a grotty magazine...

"Dadblogger, Doodlebugger, Co-conspirator in Bleepfiend, Used and abused by Woofah magazine. Will draw Cybermen for free, maybe other stuff too.....give me a shout….."

As expected, Wedge's Christmas party last night was absolutely brilliant; in fact I'd go as far as to say it was the best house party I've ever been to on a Tuesday! The list of DJs was seemingly endless and the music was top notch all night. More than anything though it was just nice to be able to catch up with everyone at once and enjoy an evening of festive merry making.

It's interesting how different the vibe of the night was compared to Mary Anne Hobbs' 'Bristol Rise Up' show earlier this month. The polished fade outs and indents of Radio 1 were missing for a start, replaced instead by drunken calls for rewinds and the occasional confused silence. Having a group of MCs on hand also added to the live party feel of the show and they did a great job of keeping things bubbling all night. A talented new MC by the name of Appleblim took to the mic towards the end of the night, dropping some serious bars on to a very surprised audience! Apparently last night's show broke the record for the highest number of listeners on Sub FM, so a fair few people must have been joining in the party from afar as well.

I did take my camera along with me, but due to large amounts of booze and conversation I succeeded in taking exactly zero photos. Wedge was wielding a camera for most of the night though, so I'm sure some snaps will surface soon. Big up to Wedge and the rest of the Redland Rd massive for hosting the evening's festivities and also to all the DJs and Mcs for providing such great music.

Here's a link to the audio (all 293 minutes of it), although I think a full tracklist could be a long time coming...

http://archive.subfm.com/Wedge-BristolXmasParty16Dec08SubFM.mp3

We're now stocking some nice t-shirts from San Francisco based funk / soul / beats specialists, Ubiquity Records. Not only are they very reasonably priced at £15 each but the hang tags also include a code which can be used to download 5 free tracks from Ubiquity's impressive back catalogue. They are currently available in sizes M, L and XL.

Whilst it is admittedly a bit short notice, I thought I'd post something up about a couple of nights that are happening in Bristol this Friday (12th Dec).

The first, Who Feels It Knows It, is a one off reggae night that we are involved with putting on. Featuring some of Bristol's finest selectors, the night is taking place at one of the city's newest and most exciting venues. Relatively unknown at the moment, Chesters is tucked away on Frogmore St, close to the Mandrake and Bristol Academy. Having been tastefully fitted out and decorated the club looks clean and smart but still manages to maintain the kind of dark, grimy atmosphere that is essential to any decent night out. Interior design aside though, it also has a seriously weighty sound system which is more than capable of filling the intimate venue with bass. The night should be the perfect warm up for Subloaded so pop in and join us for a few festive drinks.

Returning to its roots at the Black Swan (which most certainly has the grimy aesthetic mentioned earlier), Subloaded celebrates its tenth party in fine style. Featuring a strong Bristol contingent, a few London guests, and the Dissident rig in full effect, the night is guaranteed to go off. I can remember watching people struggling to catch their breath at the last Black Swan event, having had the air forced out of their lungs by the chest rattling bass. All the crew involved this time are set on trying to top that performance, so ear plugs will definitely be a necessity!

If last week's Radio 1 show left you craving more Bristolian bass weight then you're in luck as the onslaught is set to continue. DJ Wedge has taken it upon himself to assume the role of Father Christmas and will be playing host to a Christmas party / radio show of epic proportions. The evening's festivities will be broadcast live on Wedge's Sub FM show on the 16th of December from 8pm-12am GMT. The line up's not too bad for a house party...

DJs:

PINCH
APPLEBLIM
HEADHUNTER
JAKES aka PAPA 'ENCH
PEVERELIST
WEDGE
KOMONAZMUK
WHITEBOI
GATEKEEPER
ATKI 2
FORSAKEN
SUPERISK
WASCAL
GEMMY
THINKING

MCs:

MC SCARZ
MC SHADZ
MC GRILZA
MC KOAST

The Bristol Rise up show on Radio 1 (02/12/08) more than lived up to the hype that has been building around it, with all of the producers involved delivering fantastic individual sets. When combined, these sets showcased brilliantly the incredible variety of sounds and influences which lie at the heart of Bristol's music scene.

There were too many highlights to mention them all individually and it would be unfair to speak about some and not others, but as you would expect the levels were very high. Everyone packed in plenty of exclusive tracks and the bar was definitely raised more than a couple of notches over the course of the two hour show. Jakes also used the opportunity to declare war on the whole of London with his new track 'The Mysteronz', which has a vocal sample stating that "the next act of retaliation will be to destroy the city of London". You see what happens when you rouse a bunch of sleepy Bristolians!

There's also a video to go alongside the show which includes some funny, if slightly random interviews with the public.

The show can be streamed using the BBC iPlayer for the next seven days.

Tracklist:

Hyetal - 'We Should Light A Fire' (Dubplate)

Pinch mix
Moving Ninja & Pinch 'False Flag' (Dubplate)
Pinch 'Attack Of The Giant Robot Spiders' (Dubplate)
Pinch 'Motion Sickness' (Tempa)
Pinch 'Teleportation' (Edit) (Dubplate)
Pinch & Pavel Ambiont 'Poison-Remedy' (Dubplate)

Joker mix
Rsd ‘Trample’ (Joker Mix) (Dub)
Joker ‘Untitled.Rsn’ (Dub)
Joker ‘Digidesign’ (Dub)
Joker ‘There She Go's’ (Dub)
Joker ‘Do It!!!’ (Dub)
Joker & Ginz ‘Purple City’ (Dub) Pimp Style

Gatekeeper mix
Gatekeeper - 'Slow Motion Dub'
Gatekeeper - 'Event Horizon'
Gatekeeper - 'Ignite Feat. Grilza & Dread Mc'
Gatekeeper - 'Which Way'

Komonazmuk mix
‘Music for Mary Anne’ [Exclusive tracks written especially for the show]

Jakes mix
Jakes - 'Part Of Me Part Of You' (Hench Dub)
Jakes - 'Forgotten'  (Hench Dub)
Jakes - 'Justice'  (Hench Dub)
Jakes - 'Paper V.I.P'  (Hench Dub)
Jakes - 'The Mysteronz'  (Hench Dub)

Appleblim Mix
Hector - 'Tension' Al Tourettes & Appleblim Remix (Forthcoming On Phonica Records)
Appleblim & Le Ruffiant - 'Ravenous' (Unreleased)
Sideshow Ft. Tikiman - 'If Alone' Komonazmuk & Appleblim Remix (Forthcoming On Aus Music)

Headhunter Mix
Brendon Moller & The Spaceape - 'Strangers' Headhunter Remix (Deep Space Media)
Aligning Minds - 'Way Back When'
Headhunter & Djunya - 'El Presidente'
F - 'Night Drive'
Headhunter - 'In Motion' (Tempa)

Gemmy mix
Gemmy – ‘Kodama’ (Dub)
Gemmy – ‘Johnny 5’ (Dub)
Gemmy – ‘Temptations’ (Dub)
Gemmy – ‘Shanti Riddim’ (Dub)
Gemmy – ‘Rusty Tin’ (Dub)
Gemmy – ‘Wata Dwn’ Sound (Dub)

Peverelist mix
Hyetal - 'Pixel Rainbow Sequence' (Peverelist Mix)
Peverelist - 'Bluez'
Peverelist - 'Clunk Click Every Trip'

RSD mix
Henry & Louis – ‘Rise Up’ RSD Mix (Edit) (Forthcoming On 2 Kings)
RSD Feat. G.Rina – ‘You To Know’ Versatile Mix (Dubplate)
RSD – ‘Good Energy’ (Dubplate)
RSD – ‘Naked Mariocart’ (Dubplate)

Wedge mix
Wedge And Aesoteric – ‘If Symptoms Persist’
Wedge – ‘Bequest’
Wedge And Rasha Shaheen – ‘Backward Puzzle’
Wedge And Aesoteric – ‘Detachment From Reality’

Forsaken Mix
Forsaken Feat. Ben Blackmore - 'Sagrada'
Forsaken Feat. Ben Blackmore - 'Cross The Border'
Forsaken Feat. Ben Blackmore - 'Evening Star'
Forsaken Feat. Ben Blackmore - 'Learn The Hard Way'

Flying Lotus graced the Radio 1 decks on saturday for the latest Essential Mix.

I think I'll let the tracklisting speak for itself...

1. Alice Coltrane - Galaxy In Turiya
2. Charlie Hayden and Egberto Gisomonti and Gonjasufi - Testament
3. Flying Lotus - Massage Situation (Stripped)
4. Dimlite - Sun Sized Twinkles
5. Flying Lotus feat Dolly - Robertaflack
6. Flying Lotus - Robertaflack (Mike Slott Reflunk)
7. Ahu - I Know All The Bitches (Bullion mix)
8. Heralds Of Change - Amuse
9. Carlos Y Gaby - Happy Summer Solstice
10. Pudge - Yung Infamous
11. Dorothy Ashby - Myself When Young
12. Nosaj Thing - Bach
13. LL - Turf Day
14. Flying Lotus - Infinitum (Dimlite mix)
15. Clark - Springtime Epigram
16. Burial - Shutta
17. Blank Blue - Blank Blue (Flying Lotus mix)
18. Daedelus - Im String Struck
19. MHE - ?
20. Daedelus and Madvillain - Experience/Accordion (Flying Lotus live mix)
21. Hudson Mohawke - Zoo0000oom
22. Rustie - Black Block (remix)
23. Teebs and Jackhigh - Idea 1 (Clutch)
24. Matthewdavid - Tallahassee Tapes
25. Martyn and Flying Lotus - Vancouver/Pet Monster Shotglass
26. Fulgeance - Chico (Dorian Concept mix)
27. Joker - Solid State
28. Rusko - Moanerz
29. Daddy Kev - Invite8
30. Ras G - Star Messenger
31. Madlib - Unreleased Gem
32. SAMIYAM - Cheesecake Backslap
33. Knowledge - Dawn
34. Flyamsam - Princess Toadstool
35. Sa-Ra - Hollywood
36. Muhsinah and Flying Lotus - With Me/Melt
37. Flying Lotus - Dissecto
38. Flying Lotus - Breathe
39. Mike Slott - Home
40. Flying Lotus - Sangria Spin Cycles (ambient mix)
41. Danny Breaks - Cosmic Dust
42. Flying Lotus - Beginners Falafel (Free The Robots mix)
43. SAMIYAM - Falafel Cannon
44. Flying Lotus - Beginners Falafel
45. Slum Village - Players (instrumental mix)
46. Flying Lotus - Cackle
47. Flying Lotus - Raise It Up
48. Osborne - Definition Of A Breakdown
49. Baron Zen - Burn Rubber (Dam-Funk mix)
50. Mono/Poly - Needsdeodorantbitch
51. Chocolate Star and Nelly Furtado - Stay With Me/Promiscuous
52. Gonjasufi - Suzie Q
53. Kiing Midas - Lost (Flying Lotus live mix)
54. Rusko and Flying Lotus - Terminal3 / Tea Leaf (Dancers live mix)
55. Daedelus - Hours Minutes Seconds (beat invitational version)
56. Kode9 and Flying Lotus - Kryon
57. Zomby - Spliff Dub (Rustie mix)
58. Busta Rhymes - What Up
59. SAMIYAM - Crystal Lake
60. Weather Report - River People
61. SAMIYAM - Flintstone Car
62. Flying Lotus - Backpack Caviar
63. Radiohead - Reckoner (Flying Lotus mix)
64. Bjork - All Is Full Of Love
65. Broadcast - Winter Now
66. Portishead - Elysium
67. Linda Perhacks - Hey Now Who Really Cares
68. Flying Lotus - Infinitum (Exile mix)
69. Flying Lotus - Live Set Practice Run

The mix can be downloaded from here or streamed for the next seven days using the BBC iPlayer.

Happy listening!  

Mary Anne Hobbs was in town last Friday, filming footage to go alongside the Bristol Rise Up show which will be broadcast on Radio 1 on December 2nd. The interviews with the artists were all filmed at Rooted, which led to an interesting, if slightly manic afternoon's work. Here are a few snaps of the event (unfortunately I didn't manage to get decent shots of everyone). Above: Gemmy blesses mic

Komonazmuk

Even though the focus of the afternoon was firmly on Dubstep, the copy of 'Terminator' on the wall still attracted attention...

Joker's much loved bike ended up inside the shop with him.

Peverelist and Mary Anne Hobbs.

We've been making these 'Bristol Sound' t-shirts for a number of years now and have just got a new batch done in time for Christmas. Until now they have only been sold locally within Bristol but I thought I'd put them up on the site to see if there was any interest from further afield. These were where it all started for us... humble beginnings and all that!

We've managed to get our hands on some of the last remaining Skull Disco hoodies. With the label now winding down it's unlikely that anymore are going to be made, so be sure to grab one quickly if you want one. Their arrival has fitted in nicely with the release of Skull Disco's new 2CD compilation, 'Soundboy's Gravestone Gets Desecrated By Vandals'. The first CD collects together all of the vinyl releases since the label's previous compact outing, 'Soundboy Punishments', whilst the second sees Shackleton, Appleblim and Peverelist's tracks being taken apart and reconstructed by the likes of T++, Pole, Bass Clef, Geiom and Brendon Moeller. The release of a 2x12" made up of these remixes is also imminent, pressed nice and anonymously onto marbled vinyl.

The new CD on the other hand maintains the label's distinctive aesthetic, which is provided as ever by the brilliant Zeke Clough. We hosted a Skull Disco night in Bristol last year and were lucky enough to have Zeke design us a special one off poster for the event (picture below). He has now got his own website set up and it is well worth checking out for more examples of his fascinating work. The address is: www.zekeclough.com/

I have posted this video before but I thought it would be fitting to add it in here as well. The video shows Shackleton DJing (pre laptop era) at a special in-store show at Rooted Records prior to another one of our Highroad events.

Finally, congratulations to Shackleton and Appleblim for 10 fantastic releases which have seen them go from super fans to world renowned artists. It couldn't have happened to a nicer pair of blokes.

Another mix this week, this time from up and coming DJ / producer Rekordah. Originally from Bristol but now residing in London, Rekordah is a purveyor of all things wonky (there's that word again). I recently caught him playing alongside Rustie, Hudson Mohawke, Joker and Jackmaster at UFO v Tape and was really impressed by his set. His mixes combine everything from challenging, off kilter hip hop and dubstep to straight(ish) boom-bapping crunk. He is now promoting his own club night, 'Pollen', which last night played host to man of the moment Mike Slott and next month sees Nottingham based Lone headlining.

His own productions are also going from strength to strength and he has recently been collaborating with Baron Zen for their forthcoming album on Stones Throw. He has been kind enough to do an exclusive mix for us which contains tracks from both himself and a carefully selected bunch of others. Big thanks going out to him for the music.

In his own words:

I'd describe the sound (or scene) as the culmination of multiple pockets of innovation (mostly in LA, Detroit, Glasgow, Sweden, Paris, London etc) finally blowing up and recognising each other, collaborating and drawing inspiration from each other. As a result the worldwide movement of experimental hip-hop is really gathering pace. I also believe that the death of J Dilla really helped a lot of people to discover the vibe of the music and want to sit up and do something. That's what it is as far as i'm concerned, it's hip-hop, hip-hop that has moved (to a degree) away from the culture of the MC and is focusing more on what can be done with the music.

Download the mix here (Right Click Save As).

Tracklisting:

Rekordah - Cherry Coke
JTodd - Luxxxurious
Lone - Interview At Honolulu
Rekordah - Candy Flossin'
Paris Houston - Make It Bounce 4 Ya (FineArt RMX)
Rekordah - Butternut
Rekordah - HypnoRock
Take - Make Believe
Robot Koch Vs. Cerebral Vortex - Madness
Clause Four - Brown Leaves
Rekordah - Green Check