Scorcher and Wiley have had their problems in the past, but all that can be forgotten about with this huge track Terms of Agreement.
Wiley's been a busy man lately, collaborating with MJ Cole recently, and now this track has emerged today. His new material is looking very promising. Terms of Agreement has a catchy hook, jumpy backing track and will surely storm the charts upon its release which is yet to be confirmed.
All the way from Russia, Masta Mic has come out with a Halloween beatbox. Apart from the pumpkin, there isn't a lot of Halloween action going on to be honest, but it was entertaining nonetheless.
He uses his mouth, a keyboard, and a loop machine to recreate One (Know Your Name) from Swedish House Mafia, Pianjoo by Eric Prydz, and We No Speak Americano from Yolanda Be Cool.
I like the improvised feel that looping always gives, and he made the video interesting using his sense of humour. Eastern Europe has really been intriguing me lately, there are a lot of videos coming from Russia that are right up my street. Parkour, beatbox, dubstep - they've got it all going on and I love it.
I'm a massive fan of SKisM, and you will have seen a few of his tunes right here on this blog. I love the remix of Foreign Beggars Get A Bit More, as well as the Back Off that featured on Plastician's LA Mixtape.
So what now for SKisM, time to bring out an EP isn't it?
Yes. Down With The Kids is out 8th November on We Will Never Say Die Records, and SKisM samples his own voice, which works surprisingly well!
You can preview the tracks from the EP here - it includes remixes from Funtcase and Matta. Matta remixes my Back Off which I mentioned earlier and samples Jonah Hill playing Seth in Superbad (in case you were wondering).
You can also get a free download of Power which is featured on the EP here.
Off the back of his Australia and New Zealand tour, he's made a short documentary showing his rise in the dubstep scene, the problems he's faced, and how he makes his productions.
I think you'll agree there's a good sense of humour with this video, the North Korean march is hilarious!
Now to really show your love for SKisM, there's a package available on the release of the EP. In this package you get the EP across all formats (digital, CD, vinyl) as well as extended documentary footage and a SKisM t-shirt, bargain!
There's also a free download available for everyone - Never Say Day Vol.7 - Mixed by SKisM. This features unreleased tracks from Bare Noize, Skrillex, Noisia, Flux Pavillion and Foreign Beggars - All of which I am a big fan of! This mix is available on Mediafire.
This track comes from LA producer Bare and features a vocal from MC Messinian. I was a bit reserved when I saw the producer was from LA, as the vast majority of dubstep I've listened to and like has been produced right here in the UK.
Plastician went out to LA last year to promote dubstep to the hip-hop community, and came out with a really good mixtape. I thought it was great that dubstep was spreading over there, becoming popular with some of my favourite rappers.
Now, I think this track from Bare is a decent effort, although it does succumb to the "noise competition" that I've mentioned in previous posts. This is where the producer just throws too many obscure sounds into the song so it just sounds like noise. Some people love this and will proceed to comment with "this tune is dirtier than...".
For me, I like the song to flow better, have some rhythm generally. Having said that, I think Bare has some great potential, and I think it's great that people from the USA are giving dubstep a really good go. Listen to the track, and judge for yourself.
Very sad news today, as Technics announce they are to cease the production of turntables. On the face of it, this sounds awful for turntablists, but there is a silver lining.
I have a pair of Technics 1210 MKII turntables, and they are built so well. I honestly believe that when I die, they will be in as good condition as they are now, and I even bought them second hand!
There are enough Technics turntables in circulation for you to find some if you ever feel you want them. DJing is an evolving art, a lot of people upgrade to digital, so there is always someone selling a pair of Technics. This brings me to my next point.
Will Technics Turntables become collectors items?
Maybe. I think the units that were actually used in competitions will be worth something. I also think that the general price of a second hand Technics turntable will rise as they will be harder to come by.
Why has Technics made this decision?
It was always going to happen. Vinyl is dying out, unfortunately. So many DJ's are upgrading to digital, and there just isn't the market there used to be for traditional turntables. This is a business decision for Panasonic, and I can hardly blame them to be honest.
How Long will it take for vinyl to follow?
Not soon - I hope! I live for vinyl, I think it give a much warmer sound, and I enjoy using it to mix. The difference with vinyl is that there is still a large market for it. I find it very easy to walk into BM Soho and spend £100+ on vinyl. The key thing here is that although Technics have ceased production of turntables, there are still a lot of them being used. This, coupled with the fact that there are other brands producing turntables, means that vinyl will live on for a while yet.
Now, as a tribute to Technics, let's see the turntables in action. This video is Plus One (from the Scratch Perverts) with his routine, that won him the 2001 DMC World Title.
You may remember, at the beginning of last month, I blogged the new single from Gorillaz, Doncamatic.
Well, Joker has come out with a relaxing dubstep mix, using the lyrics from Daley, who features on the original track. This is a typical Joker remix in my opinion and very easy on the ears. I like the way that Joker is doing his own thing, and not making it a noise competition like other dubstep producers out there.
The single is out November 22nd on Parlophone records.
