For B.

Glass marble magnets made with vintage fabric scraps. This set was made for a friend, who requested blue and yellow for her kitchen.

Photo left: Magnets on my Hand•Book journal.
Photo right: Magnets packaged in little tin

Pocket Landscape

I came across this journal this week and fell in love with it's green cover. It is made from the hand•book journal co. The size is wonderful 3.5" x 5.5" and it is filled with a nice heavyweight buff drawing paper. There is a nice little clear pocket in the back to hold things too.

Found an art store this week that stocks the Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils that I like. I didn't have a list of the colors I had at home, so made a color key and tossed it in the back.... just in case I wander over that way again!

IBM Watch : The making of a champion: Deep Blue

Interesting brief column on chess, Garry Kasparov, and IBM's Deep Blue computer.

IBM Watch : The making of a champion: Deep Blue: "The making of a champion: Deep Blue
IBM is a vast subject, and even an expert is bound to have a gap or two in his or her knowledge of the company. One of such gaps for me was in just how the so-called "Deep Blue" computer was programmed with the necessary expertise to beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov.

During a recent visit to IBM's Somers, New York, offices, I met with Bill Pulleyblank, vice-president of the center for business optimization for IBM Global Services. His job is to make connections between IBM Global Services and its clients, and IBM research.

Before he took his present position, Pulleyblank was the brains behind Deep Blue, if that's the right way of putting it. And to hear him talk about it is to understand that computers are the object of passion in their creators in much the way that sportscars are in theirs.

Pulleyblank recounted how Kasparov beat Deep Blue in their first match. The computers' designers took the lessons of the defeat back to their workshop and made some crucial tweaks."

Kitchen "Stuffing"

First and novice attempt at a group on Flickr called:

The International Championship League of Matchbox Stuffers.

40 items found loose in the kitchen and "stufffed" into a small matchbox.

List and photos of matchbox content here.

I love miniatures! This group looked like so much fun I had to give it a try!

Sprouts. & nbsp;Screen print on note card.

First attempt at screen printing with a paper stencil. & nbsp;The ink leaked a bit and left some bubbles, but the cards still turned out well. & nbsp;Note to self: & nbsp;If using a paper stencil on the screen, use a larger image. & nbsp;I haven't tried screen printing since high school and forgot how much fun it is! & nbsp;Just taking the new screen for a test drive. & nbsp;Can't wait to start again! & nbsp;

Space

Let's go skating..

Made this little stamp to mark in my journal when I go skating. My mom gave me this box of vintage fabric. I love to dig through the scraps and look at all the patterns and color combos. Fell in love with the orange and turquoise fabric!

Flown

My apologies for the lack of posts. & nbsp;It seems spring has come. & nbsp;The bees are calling.. & nbsp;If you'd like come on over and visit the suburban homestead at The Burbs and the Bees. & nbsp;That's where I'll be for a while. & nbsp;Thanks for stopping and hope to see you soon!

kind of a big deal

most amazing mix by Kingdom promoting his appearance at some club somewhere ;)

Kingdom FABRICLIVE / Fool's Gold Promo Mix by fabric

so good


1. Choice – Acid Eiffel
02. Cooly G – Weekend Fly
03. Roska – The Sheppard
04. Mosca – Square One (Kingdom Edit ft. Willie Carter)
05. Kingdom – Bust Broke
06. Shaun-D – Spanish Fly (Kingdom Remix)
07. Mike Q – I Am Legend
08. Kanji Kinetic – Thrill Seeker (Kingdom Remix)
09. Dj Toño – Nanue
10. Bok Bok – Citizens Dub ft. Bubbz
11. Untold – Don't Know. Don't Care.
12. Bionics vs. Slimzee – The Capsule
13. Kingdom – You
14. Kingdom – Mind Reader ft. Shyvonne (Todd Edwards Remix)
15. Kingdom – Mind Reader ft. Shyvonne (Todd Edwards Dub)

Baobinga

Baobinga's new material, both solo and alongside DJ ID, is bangin. It's got both the subtlety and dancefloor payload needed to withstand the current hybrid-bass climate. In fact Baobinga and ID's version of United Groove is my current choice to drop!

In this mix Binga lays out his vision for the perfect contemporary rave hybrid sound, bangers alongside the mash ! Lets go & gt;


BAOBINGA - Quick Lil Promo Mix October 09


1. Zero 7 - Medicine Man (Cooly G RMX) - Atlantic
2. Bubblez - Loser - Devotional Dubz
3. Baobinga - Ride It - Build DUB
4. MJ Cole ft Serocee - AO (Zed Bias RMX) - Prolific
5. TRG - Tribal Flex - DUB
6. Noob & amp; Brodinski - Peanuts Club (Bok Bok & amp; Greena RMX) - DUB
7. Baobinga ft Rubi Dan - Raggipahop - Monkey Steak DUB
8. DJ Sneak - Get Da Ho (DJ Mes RMX) - House Guest
9. Major Lazer - Pon De Floor - Mad Decent
10. Andrea Lai & amp; Madox - Smoke King (Baobinga RMX) - DUB
11. Redlight - Kid Soldier - DUB
12. Baobinga - Make It Drop - Trouble & amp; Bass DUB
13. Skepta - Sweet Mother - Boy Better Know
14. Jamson & amp; Viper - Urban Hero - Relentless
15. L-Vis 1990 - United Groove (Baobinga & amp; I.D RMX) - Mad Decent DUB
16. TRG - Strobe Lick - DUB
17. Killa P & amp; Rossi B - Police A Come - DUB
18. DJ Znobia - Me Batem (Baobinga & amp; I.D. RMX) - Enchufada
19. Dexplicit - Shut It Down - DXP
20. Taz Buckfaster - Half Man, Half Trout - Rwina DUB
21. Baobinga & amp; I.D. - Tongue Riddim - Build DUB
22. Wedge & amp; Shadz - Running Away (Guido RMX) - If Symptoms Persist DUB
23. Dorian Concept- Trilingual Dance Sexperience - Affine Records
24. Moving Fusion - Atlantis (Bad Company RMX) - Ram
25. Baobinga & amp; I.D. - Jah - DUB
26. The Dream - Hit It On The Road - Def Jam
27. Busy Signal - Up In Her Belly - VP Records

BRAIDEN - Journey Home

As well as close Night Slugs fam, Braiden is also one of our favourite London DJs.
For his contribution to our podcast series, Braiden has put together a specially themed mix that showcases some of his key influences - synth-heavy old-skool electro, boogie-funk and technicolor-saturated techno.
For many of the current crop of UK producers and DJs, Drexciya has been just as important as Tuff Jam, So Solid or DMZ - their music resonates with the vibes of Detroit as much as those of London. Braiden's mixtape is peppered with a few modern-day synth-n-bass bangers too, neatly setting up a nuum-friendly context for some of the older styles to be revisited.

A few words from the man himself:
"My approach to the mix was to put together a mixture of electro tracks, both old and more recent, along with some other favourite tracks which fit into this aesthetic.

I entitled it "journey home" based on the Drexciya track of the same name, but also because I have sentimental feelings towards this kind of synth-based electro as it was the first kind of dance music i got into when I was about 16. I have always found something very emotive in analog synth lines - maybe it was all the Commodore 64 games I played as a kid."


BRAIDEN - Journey Home Mix




Zackey Force Funk - The Split [2009]
Luke Eargoggle - The Swedish Code [2003]
The Other People Place - Let Me Be Me [2001]
Drexciya - 700 Million Light Years From Earth [2002]
Bangkok Impact - Junge Dame mit Freundliche Telefonstimme [Legowelt rmx] [2003]
Drexciya - Journey Home [1995]
Little Jinder - Youth Blood [Bok Bok remix] [2009]
Egyptian Lover - Freak A Holic [1986]
Underground Resistance - Electronic Warfare [1995]
Legowelt - Disco Bitch [1999]
Ikonika - Space Ugly [2010]
Anthony Rother - Luzifer [2006]
Bass Junkie VS The Dexorcist - Robot Movement [2006]
Nukubus - Second Moon [2003]
Rebound X - Rhythm & amp; Gash [2006]
Underground Resistance - Final Frontier [1991]

London Orient: Kode9 Sinogrime

"Canary Wharf is like our Statue of Liberty," Roll Deep producer Target once said. "It pushes me on. It's like all the money is there and it's an inspiration to get your own."


London


Shanghai

Sinogrime is a sub-genre that barely ever existed, a momentary glitch in the supposedly predictable sonic geography of London dance music. Around 2002-3, with garage crumbling and the cement still drying on grime as a genre, a few producers in E3 suddenly lurched further east than they ever had before.

This is the sound of Shanghai towerblocks and the millennial promise of a new superpower, refracted through the scuffed windows of Crossways Estate in Bow. From the outset grime's sonic palette defined it as the most futurist of genres - a steel sword cutting cleanly through UK hip-hop's wooden edifice - but it rarely sounded as futurist as this.

I went to interview Kode9 for The Guardian recently (link here), and among other things we got talking about sinogrime… Here's what he said:

I've always been fascinated by these little squiggly synths, whether it's been in jazz funk, or gangsta rap, or 80s synth pop… and also grime. That's what I love most about grime actually, that kind of hyper-coloured sound. I was never so into the aggression of grime – I liked it in the MCs and the music, but it was actually how fucking beautiful melodically Target, Wiley, Terror Danjah, Ruff Sqwad and Jammer were – the Chinese style instrumentals.

I did this mix a few years ago that was just Jammer and Wiley and Target - of just half an hour of these Chinese-style plinky-plonk sounds… it was a bit sloppy, but it is fucking amazing music. Those guys were just on taking an aspect of hip-hop and blending it with really quite jarring, brash melodies.

For the first time, here is that mix:

Kode9 – Sinogrime Minimix

No tracklist I'm afraid – "all the tracks are Jammer/Wiley/Wookie/Wonder/Geeneus, but there were no track names on the Jammer whites". We'll stick it on the Lower End Spasm podcast too when Bok Bok gets back from the Night Slugs tour of last century's superpower.

***************************

Further listening/further reading:

Sharky Major – Diss Ain't A Game (sendspace/youtube)

My favourite sinogrime track ever: a superb beat by Jammer, with the riff nicked from an obscure old-school Jet Li film - I know this from watching (whatever it was called) at 3am once.. I pretty much leapt out my chair when the credits rolled and this oh-so-familiar melody started playing. Sharky Major's crushingly poignant - and ironic - lyric, reflecting on the tension between headstrong ambition and harsh reality in the wild east, is one of the most memorable in grime:

I feel like I aint as good as people say I am
I know I can spit ten times better than I've ever done
Watch me rise with the morning sun

***********

Wiley – Shanghai (sendspace/youtube)

I masochistically agreed to select and write about the ten Essential Wiley tracks for FACT recently. This extraordinary beat was without doubt the missing number 11, very hard to leave out.

***********

Blackdown on China's near(er) east, with some wonderful Soho pics, as well as commentary from Steve Barker.

***********

A post on Dissensus discussing various sinogrime vinyl, some released, some just dubs, from Simon78. Wait... Dizzee had an instrumental called 'Chinky Ting'?? If anyone can sort me out with an mp3 of Jammer and Mr Wong's 'Chinkrasta' I'd be very grateful for that, too.

***********

PS - I've been writing some less-musically-specific things on my personal blog recently (on mobile phones and treble cultcha, here), so keep that RSS-ed.

4 classic Geeneus riddims

This ain't Sinogrime, but it comes from the same place. Rinse FM have just quietly given away four fantastic Geeneus/Wizzbit instrumentals from grime's golden era - lost treasures unearthed from the irresistible late-garage/early-grime bleed period. Gee and Wizzbit are the same person of course - I never was clear what the pseudonym was about, since the sound is interchangable. The tracks are:

Geeneus - Raggo
Geeneus - Poltergeist Remix
Geeneus - Midnite Remix
Wizzbit - Aquarius Remix

Download the pack here. (or here)

It's exactly the unimpeachable DJ-led rollage we brought you in Alex's brilliant '69 Allstars' mix-slash-history lesson a couple of years ago. Midnite Remix in particular is devastating - rarely has a grime producer been able to make a synth STAB so aggressively, while still having the drums push you to move so hard at the same time. It helps, of course, that we're getting these tunes in high quality for the first time.

On this subject, beyond Grimetapes I feel there's a fairly urgent need for a salvage operation to rescue, archive and release more of these 2002/3 instrumentals. I've heard some terrible, heartbreaking things recently about crashed hard-drives belonging to Ruff Sqwad producers – if some of these unreleased classics really are lost to the ages, it would represent grime's elemental transience being brought to its natural conclusion… some of those dubs might NEVER see the light of day.

JAM CITY Fact mix

Kiran Fact wants Jam City all to himself here.

JAM CITY - Fact Mix 93

1. B.Calloway - Swimming

2. L-Vis1990 - United Groove (kingdom remix)

3. DJ Gazzeto - Gazzeto Eskhaleni Zone 1

4. Bookworms - African Rhythm

5. DJ Gukwa - Terminator Returns (Jam City whirlpool edit)

6. Jam City - What I Think About You dub

7. Gremino - Shining

8. Jam City - Runnin Yr Mouth9. DJ Quest - Devils Bay

10. Endgames - Ecstacy (Jam City Refix)

11. Respite - Hundreds and Millions (Jam City edit feat. Natasha)

12. Jam City - Underpass Limiter

13. Surface - Falling in Love (Jam City Edit)

NIGHT SLUGS Dubplates 2009

NIGHT SLUGS Dubplates 2009 mix

01 - BOK BOK - Ripe Banana [Dress 2 Sweat]
02 - Buraka Som SIstema - Generale (L-VIS 1990 remix) [Fabric]
03 - Royal T - Beat Fighter (BOK BOK remix) [No Hats No Hoods]
04 - Hardhead - Toothbrush Country (L-VIS 1990 edit)
05 - BOK BOK - Citizens Of The City Dub
06 - L-VIS 1990 - Zahonda [Sound Pelegrino]
07 - Little Jinder - Youth Blood (BOK BOK remix) [Trouble & amp; Bass]
08 - L-VIS 1990 - Compass [Sound Pelegrino]
09 - Untold - Stop What You're Doing (BOK BOK edit)
10 - BOK BOK & amp; L-VIS 1990 - Wake Up Early [White]
11 - L-VIS 1990 - Hide [Dress 2 Sweat]
12 - Riton & amp; Primary 1 - Who's There (L-VIS 1990 remix) [Phantasy]
13 - Egyptrixx- Just Say Really (BOK BOK remix) [Idiot House]
14 - Kingdom ft Shyvonne - Mind Reader (L-VIS 1990 remix) [Fools Gold]
15 - L-VIS 1990 - Changes
16 - Secret Agent Gel - Crew (BOK BOK dub) [Bass Tourist]
17 - Gucci Vump - Sha, Shtil! (L-VIS 1990 remix) [Sound Pelegrino]

JAM CITY in the mix for Lower End Spasm

I post this mix with great pride!
Jam City's aesthetic is completely unique and so on point. He takes a stripped-down but psyehcedlic path through house, grime and juke, via synth-drone, afro-electro and warm vintage boogie-funk.

You won't have heard many of the tracks in this 30 minute epic before.

Listen out especially for Jam City's own productions and edits scattered throughout.

JAM CITY - mix for LOWER END SPASM



intro/keith sweat
quentin harris (viggs afrodesian mix)
dj sdoko - world on fire
jam city - funked out
dj sdoko - wesjomza feat mthoko
temza m'remb'l - eclipse
jam city - clocktower
dj twitty - sweet dance
jam city - in the park
kingdom - joshua juke
dj deeon - let me bang (jam city refix)
jam city - szabo
jam city - island
dam-funk - searchin' for funks future (jam city edit)

RIP Dress 2 Sweat / Numbers power moves

OK I admit I'm biased. But ever since their first release of booty, bmore and club bass edits, Dress 2 Sweat has been one of my favourite labels. Earlier this month myself and L-Vis had the pleasure of dropping the final ever Dress 2 Sweat release in the form of the Night Slugs EP.
D2S isn't over however - it's across-the-board party aesthetic will last on as they amalgamate with sister labels Stuff Records and Wireblock to form Numbers Records, a move that will see them basically taking over Glasgow/ the world. All is explained at www.nmbrs.net

Our aforementioned 12" comes with a CD mixed by Jackmaster that showcased the label's 12-strong catalog, showcasing the label's early roots in bmore and booty edits, thru to hybrid ghetto house, bassline and finally our own material, whatever genre that is.
To celebrate the release, the end of an era and the start of a new one, here's the mix for free download, for anyone haven't reached the vinyl!


JACKMASTER – 60 Minutes of Dress 2 Sweat

Rod Lee – Let Me See What You Workin' With Rustie Remix (DTS008)
Kazey + Bulldog – Ballin' (DTS010)
Rod Lee – Oh Yeah (DTS011)
Kazey + Bulldog – Big Truck (DTS004)
Kazey + Bulldog – Big Truck Pt. II (DTS010)
DJ Tameil – I Get Money (DTS003)
L-vis 1990 – Playing With Knives (We almost released this)
Kazey + Bulldog – Sweet Harmony (DTS004)
Bok Bok – Ripe Banana (DTS012)
L-vis 1990 – Hide (DTS012)
Dikulous – You Know What To Doo (DTS001)
Kazey + Bulldog – Snap Yo Balti (DTS004)
DJ Tameil – Back That Thang Up (DTS003)
Kazey + Bulldog – Fo Da Real G's DTS010)
Tactic – Can't Juke Without Me (DTS-XXX)
Rod Lee – Understand (DTS002)
MOVES!!! – Promise (We almost released this)
Bok Bok – NNTF (DTS012)
Piddy Py – Prickly Rose (DTS007)
Piddy Py – Giggle Riddim (DTS007)
MOVES!!! – All Skate VIP w/ DZ Remix (Original mix appears on DTS009)
Rustie – Throw Some D's (DTS001)
DJ Deeon – Like We Do (DTS006)
DJ Deeon – The Chase (Demo)
Pistol Pete – Knuck If You Buck (DTS001)
Rustie – Lean Wit It (DTS001)
DJ Deeon – Put It In Yo Mouth (DTS006)

win a dubplate of Girl Unit's IRL!

This coming monday sees the release of Girl Unit's incredible "IRL" EP featuring the title track that is driving London crazy. With heavy support form top-ranking DJs and intense anticipation from everyone else, it's safe to say we're excited about this record.

So much so that we've decided to give away the dubplate you can see being cut in the above video to one lucky Night Slugs/ Girl Unit fan. This is a one-off accetate dubplate of "IRL" with another track from the forthcoming EP called "Shade On" on the flip. It was lovingly cut at Music House in London a few days ago specially to give away to one of you. Two runners up will also get test presses of the IRL 12" we'll be putting out.

Just answer the following question:

What does GIRL UNIT stand for?

Answers to nightslugs [at] gmail [dot] com

The winners will be picked at random from the correct entries.

And remember - for the London crew, we're celebrating the release of "IRL" this thursday at East Village at Night Slugs # 12 featuring Ikonika, R1 Ryders, myself and L-Vis 1990 and of course Girl Unit at the controls!

Slackk - Eski House Mix

When house started building a home in the UK underground around 2007, there was a lot of excitement about the new lease of life it might bring to grime production, which had become rhythmically weary, reduced to a less expressive, less experimental formula by its own failure to hold sway on London dancefloors. No grime raves meant no reason to make dancefloor-shocks; producers either gave up altogether or resorted to unimaginative retreads and 'bait hip-hop' (those words were inseparable on RWD/Grimeforum for about two years). 2007/8 presented great opportunities for grime's first generation to bring their avant-garde motifs and dynamism to house and funky - and back to the clubs ('building a funky igloo at FWD' in 2009). But the UK funky scene - Marcus Nasty in particular - have been vehement that they don't want grime kids scuffing their shiny shoes, pulling a hood down over its clean new haircut. They've won, sadly. Grimey house production and MCs jumping on funky riddims has been a glaring, unfulfilled promise of the last few years.

From the 2002/3 era Geeneus stands alone in having taken the simple, all-powerful synth stabs of early grime and moved them into a house template. At least one of Oddz or Eastwood (featured on the mix below) is now a devout Muslim with no interest in music; I forget which one. The Eski Kid himself is still groping for that number 1 slot any way he can - and the greatly-anticipated Wiley Eskimo Instrumentals CD was deleted before it was even released.

But there are newer names fusing the two styles. Grievous Angel has moved in this area with his fantastic 'Ice Rink' funky refix, Spooky continues to mix up grime and funky to great effect, and of course our Bok Bok and Jam City wear their grime influences high up their sleeves. Tommo's shows on Live FM are well worth listening to: check this fairground madness - a tune of Tommo's own called 'Gutter Walk' apparently (warning: may contain traces of Discarda).

All this is a long-winded way of saying that the man you want on this is Slackk: semi-professional scouser, www.grimetapes.com supremo, south-east London's biggest Mr Wong fan, Junior Spesh blogger and increasingly hyped producer (watch out for the brilliant 'Fire Flies' getting a release soon). The rhythms are loose and compulsively danceable, and the sound palette is grimey enough to demand a revival of the shower face. Whatever happened to the shower face? It's about fucking time it came back, anyway.

GIRL UNIT MIX 2010

GIRL UNIT's already anthemic track "I R L" will be dropping on Night Slugs at the end of April.

His new promo mix is as epic in scope as his influences, and pretty much presents in an hour everything that makes Night Slugs tick: vibes from London via Chicago, Detroit, The Hague, Soweto, into outer space.

The juke segment at the end of the mix is particularly on point - There's been a wave of interest in the Chicago ghetto style out here recently, much of it fuelled by Addison Groove's incredible track "Footcrab". Where AG perfectly captures the half-time(implied)double-time vibe of 160bmp juke at a London-friendly tempo, Girl Unit's "IRL" draws inspiration from the downright unstable-sounding Footwork subgenre, with pitched 808 toms, tumbling triplets and percussive irregularities. ]
However as much as the juke influence is key to the track, IRL's signature neon beams of sawtooth FM synth along with its gaseous atmospherics position it in an entirely new place outside of the sonic geographics of both London and Chicago.

GIRL UNIT mix 2010 www.mediafire.com/?yhydtnjjyo2


1. GIRL UNIT - Temple Keys
2. Hardrive ft. Lynae - Never Forget When You Touch Me (Dubbel Dutch edit)
3. DJ Sdunkero - Choosing Love
4. Ikonika - Dckhdbtch
5. NGUZUNGUZU - Got U
6. Sekta ft. Spoek Mathambo - Peter Pan (Dubbel Dutch remix inst.)
7. Roulet - Kitamanda (GIRL UNIT remix)
8. Rishi Romero - African Forest
9. Marcus Price - Var E Naaken (Bok Bok remix)
10. Jay R. Revlon - The Godzilla Ha
11. Jam City - A/Arpjam
12. DJ Assault - Vandalism
13. K.G. - 808
14. GIRL UNIT - IRL
15. Jagged Edge ft. Trina & amp; Gucci Mane - Tip Of My Tongue (Inst.)
16. GIRL UNIT - WUT
17. Terror Danjah ft. Swindle - Kiss Chase (Inst.)
18. Justin Timberlake - My Love (Inst.)
19. Asia Cruise - Boyfriend
20. Mike V. - Feelings
21. Leatherface - Requiem
22. DJ Solo - Juk3-tron
23. DJ Nehpets - GJM Trax 2
24. J.O.H - Goom
25. Kingdom - RedBaron Juke
26. Aaron-Carl - For The Money
27. DJ Spinn - Breezy
28. DJ Assault - Sometimes (Inst.)
29. Mister Ries - Sugar (Kill Frenzy remix)
30. DJ Rashad ft. DJ Gant-Man - U See Dem Hoes '09
31. DJ Deeon - I Hope Its U (Juke Mix)