Category Archives: album

Ragel Against The Machine

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I was so pleased with myself when I came up with that headline that I had to use it here. Jon Ragel, AKA BoyEatsDrumMachine has been doing pure mad mashups with Talking Heads Vs. Michael Jackson and The Cure…except these mashups are LIVE and feature Gang of Four’s Dave Allen on bass (ver’ nice) and Benjy Rickard on guitar and synth. The mashups have Ragel on vox and vinyl…tasty.

I tend to latch on to little things in the mix, and Dave Allen’s bass punctuations in the Psycho Killer riffs are sharp. It’s stuff like that that keeps the mix interesting. Also nice–Benji Rickard’s great minimalist one-note guitar lines. Jon Ragel keeps it real by not trying to hit those Psycho Killer high “aiieee aiiieee aiieeee aieeee” notes–wise move, my man. Not even DB hisself could hit ’em consistently.

The first one of these live mashups was fun–I listened and thought, “hell yeah!” but the new one, Billie Jean/Psycho Killer is nothing short of brilliant. The Billie Jean bass riff is massive in the right hands, and it is definitely in the right hands here. This is sweet stuff and it is FREE. And how about that image? The Billie Jean Byrne graphic is just sick, wrong and I wish it were poster size.

Pampelmoose blogged it here and Jon Ragel also has it as a freebie at his BEDM official site. Don’t forget to check out the other sonic treats at BEDM as there’s much to feast on. The P-Moose site also has a healthy stack of mp3 goodies.

The Breed: Retro Goodness From Down Under

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I knew nothing about this fun outfit from Australia before I stumbled across them on YouTube while searching for groovy sounds and bowl haircuts. And now “The Clothes She Wears” by The Breed is stuck in my head on endless repeat. At least til the caffeine wears off. This is good stuff! The Breed hail from Tasmania, playing Brit Invasion/Mersey Sound style with some punk-pop thrown in for good measure. They are featured on a variety of comps including the vinyl Trans-Pacific Pop Conspiracy EP on Smashed Records, which you can also check out via KlickTrack

. Here’s a sampling of The Breed. Cheers, lads!


King Britt Interview

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I’m not a huge Digable Planets fan, but when I interviewed King Britt for Gearwire.com back in 2006, he was great to talk to. Full of stories, advice for new DJs and a lively personality all round. I’d check him spinning anytime. My favorite part of the discussion is when Britt laments the fact that the joy of searching for those obscure tracks is gone with the advent of instant download gratification. Too true, KB, too true! Seeking and finding are half the fun of vinyl. Downloading, not so much.

King Britt is naturally a source of interest for budding DJs all over the globe, so I thought I drop Part One and Part Two of my chat with KB, and throw in a little YouTube love with the man besides. I didn’t have anything to do with the clip below, it wash shot at the Novara Jazz Fest in Italy earlier in ’08.


Thunderball: Elevated States/Get Up With The Down 12-Inch

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Thunderball’s 12-inch single featuring the Nicola Conte remix of Elevated States features a massive sax jazz group that wouldn’t feel out of place on an extended megamix of the Blow Up soundtrack, Coltrane, mix-n-match Blue Note artists and the occasional John Zorn freakout tossed in just to make sure you’re paying attention. Elevated States is top notch. Smooth as polished mahogany.

This 12-inch shifts into 3rd gear on the B-side with the Ursula 1000 remix of Get Up With The Get Down. This one’s squarely in Paisley Park territory with the synth squiggles, which isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, the “get down” chanting is more reminiscent of Sheila E with every new listen. Don’t let that scare you, now, son.

I was braced for the instrumental mix to leave me high and dry, but those horns are pretty tasty. A nice party piece to play mashup with if you’re behind the decks…get a groove on with this vs. Chris Joss and see where it goes. I’ll be playing with that one myself. Thunderball’s got a winner here, don’t pass this by. Have a listen to all three tracks at ESL. Snag the 12-inch after it snags you.