juicy

Loved this pop-core tune back in the day ('92)

That's the juiciest mix but this one has its a-peel 

Still, pipped to the post by the original mix. 

Skin Up had another entertaining cheesy-quaver moment

Is that the voice of Neil the Hippie in there? 

Ha, something I only just noticed - Skin Up, aka Jason Laurence Cohen, went on to the Big Beat artist Laidback, who recorded for a label I was fond of for a moment - Bolshi

However I don't remember being that struck by the Laidback tunes - the outfits I liked most were Rasmus and Beachcomas

The latter did this fruit 'n veg themed oddity -  possibly Gardeners Question Time sourced samples that go "peaches, shaped like doughnuts... split and juicy",  "strawberries", "nuts.... and medleys"

Love it to the marrow. (Boom boom)

A Mekons sample too wouldyabelieve

One of my absolute favorites out of that late '90s harvest, the ripening bounty before all went to shit in the early 2000s

That's my video by the way, illustrated with idyllic images of the Chilterns (watch out for my mum) and Oxfordshire and Maryon Park, South London -  the bulk of the pix first aired in this elegiac post

UKG Cosmology

 

exhibition rationale:

MATERIAL ARCHIVE: UKG COSMOLOGY

MON 11 MAR – FRI 2 AUG 2024

An exploration of personal and collective histories from the UK garage rave scene of the early 2000’s, from Angel Zinovieff. 

This Material Archive brings together a collection of works made between 2014 and 2023. Reflecting on sonic, choreographic and social histories of the UK garage rave scene, it maps themes such as joy in collective movement, transcendence, madness, the power of the imagination and the division of time. Weaving both deeply personal and collective experiences, the work encompasses archival materials, video work, music and text. 

More information

"the less funky the better"

Belleville One defines hardcore - in this Rapido special report on UK teknorave -  as the absenting of funk and soul - "the less funky the better"

While also expressing anxieties about this tendency:

 "I hope it's reached its limits now - if it goes any further it might as well be rock and roll" - Kevin Saunderson

Still, KS was shrewd enough - mersh-cenary enough - to go along it, while the going and the getting was good 

Paring back the funk and the soul

Even slingin' a break underneath a Mentasm lick 

What did Juan & Derrick have to say about these tunes, I wonder? 

Let alone Eddie "True People" Flashin' Fowlkes 

I mean, they are great tunes but they are utterly generic -  wholly submerged in the Belgium-meets-Essex sound of that season

The auteur signature completely dissolves, as far as I can hear

Getting Grooverider in to remix 'Up Tempo'

The original 'Straight Outta Hell' feels a bit more distinctive - more psychedelically disoriented 

But here's a thumping jungle remix

And here's another thumping jungle remix

Crikey, this is some cover

Bonus Britcore flashbacks

Bradistan Sound

 

Sort of, kind of, "up yours Farage". 

Multicultural Britain, albeit at a somewhat coarse-vernacular, levelled-down level:

"yeah, Chicken Dhansak 

my wife will empty my ball sack"

Those lyrics in full: 

[Verse 1 - Shotta Shah]

I'm the party starter, paratha

Mixed starter, keema masala

Check what now? Meat bhuna

To the toilet, comes out straight through ya

Yeah, chicken dhansak

My wife will empty my ballsack

Me and the boys shot crack

Pull out my AK; tak-tak

Pakora, samosa, sheesh kebab, poppadom, pickle tray

Get out my way before I begin to spray

With the MAC-10 at the News At Ten

Lyrical G, Gareth Kelly

Two piece chicken and chips for 99p inside the party

[Verse 2 - Shotta Shah]

It's me; Shotta Shah Khan

Hold tight yes with the garlic naan

Smack Princess Pukka with the back of my palm

Sniff ten lines, that shit's haraam

Uncle will flip but I'll tell him keep calm

It's me and my boy Ali

Coming down Leeds Road at ninety

In my Chacha's Ferrari

I'm a taxi driver

Drive you to my yard for a fiver

Get a sucky off a prozzy for a bottle of cider

Up on the mic ah!

I said I took this bird to the Shimla Spice

Curry and rice on a Friday night

I got a vindaloo and it made me poo

Now I'm at Frame 2 with the Leeds road crew

See rap shows near Hollywood

Get tickets as low as $112

[Verse 3 - Halal Ham]

Stepped in the party, pass me the shisha

Drove to Bradford in my two-litre

Saw a peng ting, I'll go chat to her

Not going to Begum though like Shamima

I moved to this Auntie, Aunti went hanji

Then she went to go make me some handi

It's Shotta Shah and Kutta Khan and we go hard in Bradistan

A couple of apnas, a couple of goras

A couple of tings for a couple of pakoras

Uss bar kidda sohniye

And she's gonna take me home with her

Kasmeh bro it was mental

Spend my Eid monies on a rental

I was like "Boss who wants a Lambo?"

Popping bottles; Rubicon Mango

Shotta Shah is from Bad Boy Chiller Crew  and here's another BBCC track that references Chicken Dhansak 

What led me back to these was a more recent "Bradford Sound" track by MC Chippy

A real "Danelaw" look to most of the people in this video  - red hair, pale skin, narrow eyes

A Scandi-ness that recalls Die Antwoord, the whitest people who ever rapped - until BBCC + crews 

(although donkists the Blackout Crew were pretty pasty) 

This Chippy fella looks like a mash-up of Catweazle and Jimmy Savile 

Looking at these vids (and there's so many of them) I sometimes can't help picturing a post-apocalyptic tribe out of some Russell Hoban scenario....  mutant survivors who've reconstructed "civilization" using a handful of cultural fragments - in this case, a So Solid Crew DVD, a No Limit CD, singles by T2  and DJ Q... a Niche mix-tape pack ...  over the centuries the repeated gestures and references devolved into rote ritual, emptied of meaning, original referents long lost.... 

Hey look - an Irish branch of this bassline/rap fusion