What are people's favourite dancehall rhythms of the year or so...

sen on is a great track - and it is "sen on", not "send". the original 7 was misprinted, as very often happens. still, it makes sense either way. i also really like tanya stephens on that rhythm - can't remember exactly what the track's called - ready fi me, or something similar?
loving the french vanilla right now, too. greensleeves will be putting the album out and it looks like it'll be pretty strong but for now i only have tanya, ward 21 and alozade.
anyway, i only dropped in here to refer to something cybele (one of the few people here who has anything useful to say about this music) said on this thread and am leaving again.
however i have to add, fassy, that i'm not even using these boards any more and will have no impact on your life whatsoever (unless you buy any of the newspapers i write for), so would you please keep your sarcastic, effete, unpleasant and, i'll say it again, creepy comments about me to yourself.
i don't know what the hell your obsession with me is, but get over it. for the record, i don't have much of one with you. in fact, when you're not right under my nose, i really couldn't care less about you - get it?
*sigh* i just wish this worked the other way round.
anyway, you're still not man enough to say anything to my face, so just shut it, okay?
if you do suddenly find a spine, you can mail me at the address below and we can sort this out. i don't like antipathy and confrontation, even with people i have no respect for. it's a waste of my time, so i'd rather resolve whatever the issue is. again, i don't have one with you if you just pack this shit in.

For the first time in a while I listened to a good long stretch of Bobby/Jabba/MassiveB on H97 last night. Was anyone listening?

I heard some interesting tracks:

Vybz K riding the updated "I'm Still In Love" riddim.
I think it was Elephant Man on a remix of the Usher track "yeah" (speeded up about 4-5 bpms).
And also a remix of YingYang's "salt shaker", but I couldn't recognize the dj's.

Anyone seen these tracks released anywhere? I was wondering if the reggae scene is becoming more like hip hop with white label "exclusives" (dubplates not withstanding) circulating among dj's, and offered in limited quantitys at certain record stores.

I know the remix for "get low" was official and all, but was just wondering about the others. Who knows, maybe they were just mixing acappella versions over the instrumentals?

check Robbo's Monday show archive of this week for some great post-Mad Instruments Soca-ragga riddims - + rave bass flava in effect!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/1xtra_aod.shtml?dancehall_mon

from Vybz "Call Mi Fi Dweet" onwards

and I swear when I tuned in live I heard a snatch of "this one goes out to the ILM massive" or did I? haven't got back to that point later in the show yet

oh, fuck it i'll dive in again. the usher refix is not elephant man, it's baby cham. sadly, to the best of my knowledge, it isn't even being released. i do have it and it's pretty wicked, but it's not sped up, to my ear. the beats are just a lot spikier and compacted - there's more going on in each bar and the great bass drop on the offbeat works brilliantly with lil jon's massive synth walls. i've been playing it non-stop, although baby cham's toasts actually sound quite sluggish and lazy and his presence mainly consists of that daft "wah-waaaah!" phrasing of his. and you're spot-on paul, that show was great. really enjoyable and made being chained to the word processor writing the TOK piece pretty bearable.

Nina Sky's "Move Your Body" (on Coolie Dance) is great - I never thought that riddim could sound so *eerie* as it does here!

Stelfox I *still* have to finish making you a cd! I officially suxor.

tim i just got the french vanilla rhythm album, try limewire for a couple of tracks on this rhythm you'll like it

isnt french vanilla a bit... gay?

bun effete effete man

fassy, as ever your wit and mental acuity dazzles me. all this attention really flatters me. obviously, i do understand that you'd know much better than me what words mean (i'm only a professional writer, after all), but does "effete" mean gay to you? if so, i suggest you buy yourself a dictionary.
anyway tosspot derailments aside, french vanilla is a good rhythm if you like acoustic guitars, bubbling bong noises and all sorts of backwards bits, etc. the beat kicks, too. saying it's gay is a bit daft - the more flamboyant dancehall gets, the better it is for my money.

fassy, as ever your wit and mental acuity dazzles me. all this attention really is more than i deserve. obviously, i do understand that you'd know much better than me what words mean (i'm only a professional writer, after all), but does "effete" mean gay to you? if so, i suggest you buy yourself a dictionary.
anyway tosspot derailments aside, french vanilla is a good rhythm if you like acoustic guitars, bubbling bong noises and all sorts of backwards bits, etc. the beat kicks, too. saying it's gay is a bit daft - the more flamboyant dancehall gets, the better it is for my money.

oh i havent actually heard it

in that case, i'm completely lost

daaaave did u get woebot to delete his comments box like u did your farewell thread? dont think i didnt see u not caring about me there! sigh. you are a very special chap.

i wanted that thread deleted because i didn't want it to become a mass diss of robin - i don't mind a good argument, but i do object to being associated with a really unpleasant, thuggish character assasination of someone who didn't even pitch up to defend himself (and why would the poor guy after 300+ posts tearing him to fucking pieces). regardless how much he pissed me off he didn't deserve that and i've told him as much in person.
as far as i was concerned, asking for it to be deleted was the decent thing to do.
as regards you, i really don't know what the hell i've done to spark your vindictive little campaign... as regards the comments on matt's site, yeah they were about you, but only because you've turned yourself into the poster boy for everything i find loathesome about this attenuated internet-based, greedily grabbing, p2p-fuelled way of consuming music.
bottom line, i don't like you but i'm quite happy to ignore you and get on with the business of talking about *music*... think about it, what's more interesting, dancehall or you? which do you think i'd rather talk about?

if you need a hint, my next series of articles will *NOT* be about bob zemko...

you will be writing no more pieces on bob? you have seemed quite engaged with the subject recently

not thru choice

as I recall, robin's character wasn't the only thing that people laid into.

anyway, back to dancehall one thing i was quite surprised to find out was that TOK are in fact extremely middle-calss boys who met at tow of kingston's poshest schools. i didn't expect this at all. further explains that uptown-downtown tension going on in dancehall now

well, julio we can't find out now and the only thing that matters is that i would very much like to clear any bad atmosphere and STOP all this tiresome fucking bitching

man i luv the way u painted me out to your, er mates: "imagine hating buying records! wot a wanker eh guys" u said (yeah dave yeah mate buying records is great waheyy, fancy another!), haha what do u think i do 4 fux sake, "oh dear another 9 7s on qv weaver to battle the shop guy for! sigh this terrible destiny of being forced to spend money!" dave like u know full well i purchase records, i dont even download anyway, but hey get this: IT DOESNT MATTER. i hate how everything's a realness issue with you, i'm just not at all interested in aaaah like constantly sententiously averring my identity by championing causes all the time, i like music... fuck it, i like people enough not to be intoxicated with myself all day... yeah maybe my, i dunno, pseudo-exoticism is just as deluded as yours but whatev.

god both of you grow the fuck up

i dont think either of it would be so bad if the pseudo-intellectual card wasn't drawn every other play

in laymans terms: don't try it

p.s. yo dave i got yr email, but since i'm not going to have a home for a few weeks, i won't be able to reply with any timeliness.

fassy, you know full well that i download stuff, too. there is a happy medium to be hit, like i tend to use it as a test-drive for things, to be honest. download it, if i like it, go to shop fully armed with knowledge of what i want and what i don,'t... no problem there. dowloading can be useful and it saves people getting rooked fucking stupid and buying stuff they don't want, but i do think loving music does mean that you should eventually put something into it, like a bit of cash, a bit of time, your body at adance etc... anyway, in summation, i am not against p2P wholesale, as i am sure you are not against buying music, really.
however, when you say things like "buying music hurts my heart, i do think" it's a bit fucking stupid. but us disagreeing isn't really the problem for me (if it was i'd spend my whole bloody life arguing with people and probably have no friends at all). the problem is that you can't say anything to me without it being really unpleasant, dismissive, sarcastic and completely personal. just feels weird: i don't bloody know you and you do not know me, so why the fuck are we fighting? if we met each other on a bus or in a pub we'd probably without knowing who each other was we'd probably end up having a really good conversation about all the stuff we have in common, for fuck's sake, so can we please try to be civil to each other? when you're not being a twat, i actually think you're pretty clued up.

er, I don't know what the hell is going on here, but.........thanks for the tip Dave. where, may i ask - if it's not in violation of some secret of the trade - did you pick that Usher/Baby Cham up?

it was sent to me by one of the guys who commissioned the mix - unfortunately via mp3, so i don't even have the vinyl!

hot97 is playing it, you've got the mp3, and it's not being released? that's sooooooo not fair!! but, kudos to you for getting the goods.

btw, now that "i'm still in love" is such a big hit, have there been any versions coming out that have caught your ear? one more great dj cut would be excellent. i love the history of this riddim: alton ellis>trinity>althia&donna>seanpaul&sasha>??who's next??

it's one of those things you shouldn't really share, otherwise i'd happily email it to you, but if you dig around on soulseek or something, then you'll quite likely find it...

shouldn't share because they *may* release it...

i dunno about i'm still in love, but that whole steely & cleevie album of joe gibbs stuff is great (old to the new) - has made me very happy for a couple of years now... there's a beautiful version of i'm not ashamed by culture on it

no problems.....if it's on slsk though, they BETTER release it soon....actually, why wouldn't they release it?

Given that: #1 song/reggae is hot/baby cham up&coming

a'fraid da lawman hassle perhaps.

i always resisted buying that album even though i'm a fan of S&C and Joe Gibbs. i dunno, it just didn't make sense or didn't add up or something. maybe, i'll break down next time i see it.

it is a proper commissioned mix but i think there was a glitch of some sort and the label backed out of releasing it. it's weird and i really don't know the whole story but i can find out if you're interested. the more i think about it the more intrigued i am now, too, to be honest. i think the s&c album makes sense bearing in mind the studio 1 thing they did a few years back; just another great producer being revisited. trust me it's a nice record. the duets are probably the best part of it and there's quite a bit of gyal action, which i'm a total sucker for...

OOOH, do find out!

Repeating my blog post to say: Vybz's "Tek Buddy Gal Part II"!!! And Tundra riddim!!!

tek buddy 2= tunda clap btw

i love kid kurupt on the tunda klap and ce'cile, too. which reminds me, if anyone's interested, i have a mix going up on hyperdub.com over the next few days. it's really just an experiment with decks and a new bit of software but sounds alright i suppose. the tracks are left to play long and i've tried to get a few different styles in there, from Chrissy D's soft, pretty stuff to Bounty Killer being all loud and shouty, as he's wont to be - oh, and there are some explosions, gunshots, elephant noises and famous figures of bum literature, too!

Charles Bukowsi - Flyleaf
Time Travel Rhythm
Bling Dawg - Head Up High/Chrissy D - Share My Dreams
French Vanilla Rhythm
Alozade - Eyes On Me/Tanya Stephens - Ready Fi Me
Dreamweaver Rhythm
Bling Dawg - Propaganda/Vybz Kartel - Visa
Marmalade Rhythm
Bounty Killer - Hey Yallow/Tanya Stephens - Pop It Off
Hindu Storm Rhythm
Vybz Kartel - Fashion
Tunda Klap Rhythm
Kid Kurupt - Combining/Ce'Cile - It's On Tonight
Trifecta Rhythm
Tanto Metro & Devonte - Mi Want It/Ward 21 - 24-7/Lady Saw - Pretty Pussy
Mad Instruments Rhythm
Vybz Kartel - Real Badman/Zumjay - A Wi Gal Dem/TOK - Hotta Fire

yeah, i heard the usher/babyC track again and they shouted out that it was a Triple Crown remix. And i rec'd from slsk.

again, Big Up for the tip!!

hearing it again there are some extra on-the-beat kick drums - like diwali - that make the song sound faster.

ah well, you found that all out for yourself and i remain blameless!

My copy of the first "Tek Buddy Gal" claims to be on Thunda Clap - presumably this is Tunda Clap? it's vaguely post-20 Cent with strings 'n' things.

"Tek Buddy Gal II" starts with an accordian intro and then is completely minimal drums stuff a la "Never Leave You" or Coolie Dance.

II is on a different rhythm to the original tek buddy gal, i don't know what it is as i've only heard it once and don't own it...
and Tunda Klap/Tunda Clap/Thunda Clap is obviously the same rhythm! it's just that there's very rarely a consensus on how these things are spelt, with even the version on a 45 not being definitive because they can be spelt differently from single to single. i tend to not stick with a name until there's a greensleeves/vp rhythm album out, then whatever they spell it as becomes the standard, or if this aint the case go with the majority. anyway, this is really bloody boring and nerdy... don't stress it tim, it's hardly important when jamaicans can't even make up their minds how tanya steph/vens is spelt! talking of which, she's wicked on the chrome/krome/crome(!) rhythm, versioning the melody of crystal waters' gypsy woman... also, cheers for mentioning nina sky tim, i'd not heard this until the weekend, it's GREAT... weird, ghostly and fab...

lordy "tek buddy gal II" is tops. that ce'cile track dave listed on tunda klap is also great

it's probably one of the strongest records i've heard by ce'cile in long time. she sounds so much more convincing when she's melodic, to this ear at least, unlike tanya who can do both amazingly well. btw, i met cybele last night!

not that it matters, as dave says, but for the rekkid:

http://www.greensleeves.net/pics/grelcd748.jpg http://www.vprecords.com/catalog_images/vp2249.jpg

does anyone know who does the graphic design for the gsleeves riddim albums? they are easily my faves of the last couple years.

I don't usually stress it Dave - I was just trying to work out the confusion over the two versions of "Tek Buddy Gal". I half-suspected the second version was misnamed because I can't even find a tentative connection between the two in Vybz' performance.

I finally found full versions of both Vybz's "Picture Me & You" and "Real Badman Never Afraid", both of which are tops. It's always great to hear two performances over the same riddim by the same DJ which manage to sound so different. Vybz has that host of voices to draw upon of course, but Blackout is a riddim where you can really hear the post-diwali attention to differentiated melodic nuances paying off massively.

I *am* getting a bit overloaded on Vybz though - he's all I can ever manage to find!

Dave: when you play "Propaganda" do you loop the intro over and over like Robbo Ranx does? I *so* would if I was playing it even though it would be blatantly derivative - Bling Dawg sounds so fucking cool!

rah soz i never knew there were 2 tek buddies! but there it is on slsk. see if ragga's getting more like rap at all its in how records and radio are getting totally bypassed by mixtapes now

well maybe not totally with radio but at any rate the purchasing chain is 1000 x more cryptic and fucked than it was last year. they say its cos everyone got signed and its all majorlabel presha holding it back like sean paul 'feel alright' 4 instance, but i dunno

I guess by the time Sean Paul's next album finally drops it'll be too late for "Close To Me" or "Head Fi Toe", which is a shame cos they could totally be pop crossovers, esp. the former.

The issue of what ends up on albums and what doesn't is interesting/intriguing. I don't know how it works. I really like Sizzla's Rise To The Occassion but if I had to make an album based on all the recent Sizzla material that I've heard I'd only include maybe four cuts from it (where the fuck was "Love & Affection"?). Mind you Greensleeves seem to be turning into Don Corleon in-house job when it comes to artist albums so I guess it's not such a mystery.

french vanilla is my fave at the moment. it's good and scattered but the basic rhythm is pronounced enough that it holds together very well. the acoustic guitar hints at something like a flamenco-dancehall meld; it doesn't really go in that direction but someone hearing this rhythm might be tempted to haul off and try that. all the effects and tiny bits feel neptunes-y but they're sanded down to miniscule snippets apart from one keyboard bit. other than the guitar it all sounds pleasingly artificial, like the guts of a laptop opened up to daylight.