Janek Schaefer- Recital In The Old Library

Janek Schaefer has got a new mp3 only album called Recital In The Old Library. It's a 55 minute track recorded live in South Hill Park, Bracknell in January this year.

Another quality release, only 3.33 (I get it) from Janek's website, and a good taster of his stuff (some bits are familiar from his other releases).

If you like hearing sounds floating into and out of each other and crackly skipping records this is for you.

More MMMike

This is Neckthrust One, another of the great tapes Mixmaster Mike had out in the mid '90s.

Henjoy

As it's valentine's day why not wallow a bit with these crazy ironic mash-ups. Actually it's part one and two of the infamous Melancholy Flowers mixes.

If you don't have these, get them, enjoy them, cry just a little bit.

Aladdin's on a rampage

Here (right here) is one of my favouritist ever DMC sets, DJ Aladdin coming in second to Cutmaster Swift in 1989. He was part of Rhyme Syndicate members Low Profile (with WC) whose We're In This Together album is possibly my favourite album in the He's The Rapper, I'm the DJ style.

Keep it Peel

Outside of the big cities, John Peel was one of the only ways to hear hip hop in the mid-'80s (without joining loads of coat hangers together). I can remember hearing so many great tracks on there (MC Shan, Steady B, Tackhead, DJ Cheese and Word Of Mouth, Mantronx etc etc).

He also had some old-school UK hip hop acts on. Here's a selection-

Cookie Crew
3 Wise Men
Overlord X
MC Duke

Actually, some of these may be from Andy Kershaw's show.

We wear black wranglers

Public Enemy, the greatest hip hop act of all time? I think so. It's easy to say "blah blah blah" (try it) but that makes no sense. Here they are in all their glory (including Professor Griff going off on a completely mental one about tarring and feathering people that start fights at PE gigs...mmmmmm) in 1988 at the Birmingham Hummingbird.

Capital of hip hop apparently (or was that Peters borough?)

I flow with denial

Here's Eric B & Rakim live from 1987 at Hammersmith Odeon (same show as the LL one below).

Scratching to the beat in stereo

Check this out (ah yeah), the top four from the 1986 DMC finals. DJ Cheese (winner) with his all scratching set and the others with more of the old-fashioned disco mixes. I assume that Chad Jackson's ropey scratching is because he's using a grandfather clock or something. Of course he went on to better things (an appearance on the Wide Awake Club) while Cheese (as legend has it) had the honour of signing an autograph for John Peel.

Public Enemy- Beats and Places

There's a new PE album out, from what I've heard it sounds pretty good. Buy it here.

There's an extra CD with it with videos too and I'm not quite sure why I don't have this yet.

Crushing you like a jellybean

Here's LL Cool J at Hammersmith Odeon in 1987 (the same tour as PE and Eric B and Rakim, and the one that is on Nation of Millions). It's easy to forget what a great MC he was back then, after all the oiled up photo shots and smoothed-out hip hop lite, but he was so there.

Westwood introduces him (Dave Pearce won that particular toss of the coin and was immortalised on one of the all-time albums of all-time), lone man shouts "boo...wanker" when LL enters the stage, LL feels good about Canday and rocks the bells. Just listen.

The real nitty gritty

Here's a Mantronix gig from ninetyeightysometime, typical bootleg quality, but nice to have and to hold all the same. Take command here

B D P D P D P D P

Here's something you won't find anywhere else, Boogie Down Productions live at Essex University in 1990 on the Ghetto Music tour.

I recorded this myself, not the best sound quality but nice and loud. Not sure why it's so short, I do remember there was problems with the motherfucking soundman so they may have not actually played for that much longer.

If you really want world peace, click here

It's the mixmaster

Mixmaster Mike did a series of excellent mixes in the mid '90s. This is the first one I heard, The Unidentrified Essential. Typically random styles, there's even a huge chunk of a Rahzel/Roots/Wu-Tang freestyle from a Westwood show in the middle. Check the phone call with Grand Wizard Theodore at the end.

I think Rescue 916 is probably better but this is exceedingly good cake. Get it here

Check his site out here

There were men on the moon but they killed them

Here's a nice thing, an Earthling Radio 1 Evening Session.

4 tracks- Ananda's Theme, Nefisa, Infinite M and Planet Of The Apes

Right here

Move With The Quickness

From 1991-ish, a 4-track scratch-fest, me and Dom from the Nextmen

Quickness

It was 20 years ago today (nearly)

Scary to think it's 20 years this year since Scott La Rock died. I found this on a tape, "Dangerous" Dave Pearce reporting the shooting.

Science yourself up

More shoebox fresh mixes

This ones from 1994, multitracked on a Tascam 4 track, I could scratch better in those days. I used to sell this through Dave the Ruf's mail order, and it's the riches from this that let me continue living in the way I've become accustomed. L.A.R.G.E.

Something Like This Vol.2 side 2

Notorious B.I.G- Juicy (remix)
Da Bush Babies- We Run Tings
Common Sense- I Used To Love H.E.R
Fugees- Nappy Heads (remix)
Masters at Work- Get Up (remix)
Black Moon- Buck 'Em Down (remix)
Bizmarkie- Nobody Beats The Biz
Jeru- You Can't Stop The Prophet (remix)
Uptown- Dope On Plastic
Ini Kamoze- Here Comes The Prophet
Frankie Pacemaker- Move To This
Shadz Of Lingo- Mad Flavas (remix)
UMCs- Set It Straight
Fuschnickens- Breakdown (remix)
Keith Murray- Dip Dip Di
Lady of Rage- Afro Puffs
Kirk- Uptown Style
Crooklyn Dodgers- Crooklyn
KRS One- Hip Hop Vs Rap
Keith Murray- How's That
Jeru- Perverted Monks In The House
Gang Starr- The ? Remains
Common Sense- Communism
Screechy Dan- Boomin' In Ya Jeep

Stonecrop Garage Session vol.1

A "live" mix, probably similar to what I've played at Wax On in Colchester.

Here

Mathew Jonson- The Girl From LBC
Aoki Takamasa- See That Girl
Grim Dubs- Grim Dubs 4
Brimstone 127- Espionage
Boards Of Canada- Nlogax
Ini Kamoze- Here Comes The Hotstepper
Marley marl- He Cuts So Fresh
DJ Food- Turtle Soup (Wagon Christ mix)
Eric B & Rakim- I Know You Got Soul
October- Ya Know
Syclops- The Fly
Phon.o- 313 Dumpsta Railin’
DJ Food- Your Mother
Jonny Miller- Rise
Horsepower Productions- Marseilles Connection
Ardisson- Stop!
N- Type- The Ring
Diamond Ice- KRTS

Straight out of the shoebox

Freshly ripped from cassette, here's a mix I did in 1996, trip hop galore


Side A

Earthling- 1st Transmission (remix)
Mr Scruff- Tubby's Mechanical Friend
Small World- Shuttle 358
DJ Krush- Duality (part 1)
Fugees- Fu-Gee-La (remix)
Herbaliser- A Mother
David Holmes- Gone (remix)
2 Players- Extreme Possibilities (remix)
Spacer- Sad Eyes
Nutsek- Graffiti
Spaceways- Japanese Flute (remix)
Moloko- Fun For Me (remix)

Side B

Luke Vibert- Get Your Head Down
Mighty Bop- Obscure
Propellerheads- Go Faster
Red- Squealer
Sie & N:M Ratio- Deep Blue
Rockmaster Scott- The Roof Is On Fire
Luke Vibert- A Polished Solid
Howie B- Hed West
Information Society- Running
Jenny Devivo- Love Is All I Live For
Obo- Q
Karma- The Best Is Yet To Come

Pass me the Riz there

Have a butchers glisten at this DJ Riz mix from '95-'96ish.

It's a classic multitracked mix, loads of well known hip hop, Chris Isaak and some swingbeat. Go inside, you'll love it.

little small mixes

tiny little things they are

A Tribe Called Quest

Boogie Down Productions/KRS One

De La Soul

Rakim

Ultramagnetic MCs/Kool Keith

Schoolly D

Mantronix

Steady B

Gang Starr

JU Ice

Speaking of the Juice Crew (if you know me it's either that or Quadrophenia) here's a couple of mp3s, one of the Kane (Asiatic, Nobody's Equal) and Biz (the emmas the emmas the ay ar kay aye ee) at Brixton Academy in 1988. This was taken from a Westwood show.

Bit of a hole in the Biz one but hey, it's free

The links effect

All the links to mixes and tracks should be working again