Tuesday 16 June 2009

SANTIGOLD

Santigold is apparently working with Pharrell Williams on her new album, along with UK garage king Switch. Let's hope she doesn't forget to invite Freq Nasty, who helped produce the heavily rotated 'Creator' single from her first LP, back for a second dose.

Santigold: Creator


New Zealand-born, South London-based producer Freq Nasty has been making great records mashing up house, electro, hip-hop, dubstep and breakbeat, for over a decade now, yet despite hooking up with key labels like Skint and Botchit & Scarper, household name status still eludes him. Witness the great groove framework he conjurs up for female US rapper Phoebe One here...

Freq Nasty: Boomin Back Atcha


Meanwhile, Santigold has cited two big influences on her new material, Otis Redding and Egyptian Lover. The first name you know, but for those unfamiliar with the second, here's the rapper and electro wizard's big 1984 hit. Can't wait to hear it.

Egyptian Lover: Egypt, Egypt

DEREK JARMAN'S LOST SMITHS VIDEO

It's common knowledge that director Derek Jarman was commissioned to make promos for the generally video-phobic Smiths. The shorts he made for 'Panic', 'Ask' and 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out' have been widely circulated, but I wasn't aware of this fourth film, for 'I Won't Share You.'

It's got a very similar style to the others, with blurry figures looming in and out of range, petals falling in strobe light and so on, but given the vastly underrated nature of the song (the last track on the last Smiths LP 'Strangeways Here We Come') I thought it deserved dusting off.

The Smiths: I Won't Share You

Thursday 4 June 2009

JUICE ALEEM

Juice Aleem, formerly of Big Dada-signed hip-hop collective New Flesh, is dropping his first solo album via the Ninja Tune offshoot on July 20... It's called 'JeruSalaam Come'. Yes, that really is how it's spelt.

Just one advantage of owning the biggest hip-hop label in Britain is that you can grab the talent you've signed for your own tunes. - see this: Ninja/Dada bosses Coldcut playing live with Juice Aleem on the microphone last year...