the godlike genius of Todd Edwards

oh, I'll find something! ;-)

it's his way, you see.

so i dug out the akufen record and it's really good! i was too quick to dismiss it.

Akufen album is good if you listen a track at a time, I think. It could have been sequenced much better - the first three tracks and the last track stick out like sore thumbs as it is.

I sorta agree with Ben - I luv Todd Edwards but mostly for reasons quite different to what appeals to me re UK Garage. Although his remix of Hakan Lidbo's "Walk Away" sounds amazing in the middle of Pure Garage III.

He also sounds amaing in the middle of Pure Garage V

Am I the only person in the world to whom the sequence from "Deck The House" to "Late Night Munchies" is the best part of "My Way"? Everyone goes on about "Skidoos" all the time, and I agree that it's such a great track, but... To me it's kinda like saying that the ballads (good though they are) are the best bits of "The Writing's On The Wall".

Anyway - Matos, great article! But why the Akufen bitching (other than him receiving accolades that Todd should've got)? In your blog entry you rightfully claim that the big difference is that Todd is about melody/harmony/texture while Akufen is about rhythm... and then you write:
"Akufen's message boils down to "look how weird and cool the radio blips I picked up are," "
But ain't that kinda missing the point? Surely, Akufen message rather boils down to: "look how FUNKILY I've arranged these weird and cool radio blips"? His stuff is deliciously sharp and TIGHT, basically,
the most wonderful brain aerobics, calling your synapses to get on
down and boogie.

"Full On Vol.2" is great, but it suffers a bit from bad sequencing, making it even more hermetic and uninviting for the uninitiated - I prefer post-"Saved My Life" Todd to the old school Todd, but tracks like "Radio Thing" and "Push The Love" did stir up the flow of "Full On Vol.1" in a good way, and their ilk is sorely missed here.

The mega-wonderful 1xtra mix I pimped in the post way above is still something I think all Todd-heads should check out, and if you want more Todd R&B jams, click 'ere:
http://www.johnclew.fsnet.co.uk/cheekyrnb.ram

obviously everyone else thinks "Deck the House" --> "Late Night Munchies" is the reason to own the album; that's what's great about it. I mentioned "Skidoos" because it's salient to the point I was trying to make, not because it's the best song. And who's bitching about Akufen? I like him, but to pretend like he discovered the wheel that Edwards has been rolling for a decade is silly. Balance must be struck etc. And certainly how funkily those blips are arranged is the point--I already said that in the article.

Actually, having already written it up in print, I must say I disagree with you re: the sequencing of Full On 2--I think it's much better done than the first one, the first couple tracks are kinda blah but then each track keeps upping the ante; my two favorites are the last two tracks, always a good sign. Also, to me his absolute peak is the Mantra "Away" remix, which is '97 I believe--his remixes are at least as good as his originals, probably a bit better. It's gravy gravy gravy as far as I'm concerned, but as my man Andy pointed out last night, he does seem to be getting a bit more M.O.R. as far as his source material and effect both.

Also, that thing you linked way upthread (haven't checked out yr new link, will try to later) sounded good, but basically like Todd-of-old with clankier beats--not that big a difference, really.

Er, a bit of a misunderstanding there: the "1xtra mix" I was talking about is not the R&B remix of "Saved My Life" you're referring to (which I agree is not all that, though it may well point to a welcome future expansion of Todd's musical map), but rather this:
http://www.theoneuk.co.uk/210303/stream/TODD_EDWARDS_1XTRA_2.ram

It's a half hour mix that's got half the tracks off "Full On Vol.2" put together in a way that beats the album's sequencing as far as I'm concerned, with a few oldies thrown in (in this context "The Praise" sounds soooo much better than ever)... it just goes up and up, culminating in the indescribably gorgeous remix of Space Cowboy's "Crazy Talk" - one of his best in ages. Unfortunately still unreleased, and no-one knows when it will hit the streets.

That Mantra remix - fuck yes, what a jaw-droppingly awesome tune. I agree that his remixes are often beter than his originals (and considering the business practices of i! Records, I'm not holding my breath for a best-of remix comp in foreseeable future, sigh). Tim's right about the Hakan Libdo dub too, and I'll also add to the list his (along w/ Sunshine Bros) remix of Somore's "Refuse" that hardly anyone ever mentions, but is truly heavenly.

Oh, and the thing about "Skidoos" - I hadn't written that with you in mind MM, but rather most folks I know who've heard Akufen, and consider it the album's absolute peak. I seem to recall lotsa ILM people claiming the same too.

I'm assuming everyone's heard Akufen's "Little Hop of Horror" from Electric Ladyland: Clickhop Vers 1? I never listened to My Way much, but I go back to this track all the time. The guitar lick and synth make it a pretty enough song, but his sampling seems much more inspired and relevant to the track. "Skidoos" seems like a typical micro-house track with a few 'Akufen-ish' noises thrown in.

the non-My Way tracks I've heard are uniformly superb, and are almost all within the sample-flurry vein.

project for the future (i.e. when/if I get a better PC w/d/l and burnign capabilities): make that T.E. remixes comp myself.

In case people still read this thread, Space Cowboy - Crazy Talk (Todd Edwards mixes) should be out in October/November 2003. And look out at the moment for 2003 mixes of various tracks in Todd's discography, like Groovin Disco Affair - You Don't Want To Lose It, and Never Far From You, some interesting stuff to come from Mr Edwards.

space cowboy may be too jesus even for me

'you know the truth is Jesus' ;)

New single out called "Who You Are" is excellent as usual and includes a slight variation on his usual beat!

it's on this weeks 1xtra chart show: http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/garage/chart.shtml

(along with a bunch of other amazing stuff)

Apparently there was also a "Crazy In Love" remix last year!

Spencer if you make a CD-R of Todd MP3s (tracks and remixes both, unmixed versions plz thx) I will pay you $100. No lie.

(OK, maybe not $100. but I will pay you.)

what Matos said, Spencer - it's been killer trying to find TE stuff in NZ.

a couple weeks ago i discovered that the 'crazy in love' remix existed, but couldn't find it on slsk. then i realized that it no doubt sounded exactly like i imagined it did, and stopped wanting to hear it.

Just received New Trend Sounds 2004 from Amazon.co.uk. It has 7 unreleased tracks. Not much to say - it's Todd Edwards doing his usual thing, but despite their similarities, every one of his productions is like a small glimpse of heaven. It makes me wish Kevin Shields would have just plugged away doing variations on Loveless.

"Through the Pain" is amazing!

I like how his sample snippets also contain the vinyl crackle which also cuts in and out.

Here's a question - what do the original artists think about Todd's lyrical re-spiritualizing? Do people just accept that it's what does, or have people not taken kindly to it?

`that it's what ***he***does`

Gah.

I doubt it's an issue. I mean, Phoenix for instance, probably knew beforehand what they were getting into and probably just admire how he works God into the track.

I have to hand it to Todd - the phonemes he's able to create via editing alone are jaw-dropping, that Phoenix remix being a great example.

I don't think there's any other artist who makes me consider "God" more than Todd Edwards.

I'm an atheist, but if they played Todd in the house of God, I'd be down every Sunday.

Here's a snippet of the track I mentioned upthread: "Through the Pain".

Woah, that's pretty nice. It's sort of what I expected but...slightly different!

Yes! There's a... variation. I really hope he collaborates more.

I'm downloading Full On right now (finally) and I'm pretty excited. Listening to Tales From the Underground in anticipation

according to Todd-Edwards.net , "Todd has been selected the winner of the 13th Annual Billboard Songwriter Award in the category of Dance. His song "Far Away", taken from his forthcoming 2006 album "The Journey", was chosen from thousands of entries."

ooh, a NEW ALBUM. great!!! no word on the release date yet, but the Godd himself says it's gonna be vocal-heavy. not sure about the "definite departure" bit, but I don't mind - after all these years I'm STILL not tired even slightly tired of his shtick (and I'm glad that many 4x4 UKG producers have picked up on his vocal science recently). on his Myspace page you can hear last year's "Like a Fire" and the aforementioned "Far Away", which is wonderful as usual.

oops there's one "tired" too many in that post. never mind, come anticipate "The Journey" with me!

I have had "Like A Fire" on repeat for months.

Haven't heard these new tracks. Will have to track them down.

Damn, "Far Away" is fantastic! Yay new album!

"Like a Fire" is GLORIOUS. Thank you!

nice to see all the "Like a Fire" love! here's something else you peeps might be interested in:

Sugar Beetz - In Your Eyes

4x4 UK garage Todd hommage from '04... though "hommage" is an understatement for such a straigh-up style-jack. anyway, it's completely awesome!

Hadn't heard these, Mind Taker - thank you!

don't want to derail this thread, but if anyone wants to hear more of recent non-grime 4x4 UKG, there are some mixes on Duncan Powell's site . if you can handle realplayer media, get the may 04 set - it's start-to-finish brilliance. (and the oldskool garage mix is all wicked vintage abstract speed garage beatz). then there's the mix from this Russian guy (right click on the diskette image): the sequence from Justice League's "Say to Myself" to Todd's "Heaven" is rrrrrushy, and I defy anyone to hear Mask's "Hottie" without a big grin on their face! finally, here you can find a 4x4 mix by Karl "Tuff Enuff" Brown from 2005, heavy on cut-up vox, 107 minutes of bumpy fun.

If that's a derail, then let's have more! Heard this guy? (Click on "media"...)

That would be this link:

http://sixspeed.net/main.html

Duh.

yeah I heard of him, I posted that link on your "new speed garage" thread. :)

you can find lots more UKG mixes and radio shows on this forum .

Eep. How soon we forget!

's all good.

I've dusted the cobwebs off my decks and done a new Todd Edwards mix which you're more than welcome to download.

http://www.uploading.com/?get=2OZZD2LQ

Tracklisting:
----------------
The Factory - Do What You Feel (Edwards "Feel You Do Dub")
MJ Cole - Crazy Love (Todd Edwards Underground Main Mix)
Todd Edwards - Restless Soul (Main Mix)
Todd Edwards - Odyssey
Todd Edwards - Forgiven
Todd Edwards - No Scrubs (Main Version)
Zoot Woman - Taken It All (Todd Edwards Soul Line Remix)
Damon Trueitt - Run It By Me (Todd Edwards Main Version)
Todd Edwards - Move To Tears
Todd Edwards - Mystery (Original Vocal Version)
Todd Edwards - Like A Fire (Main Mix)
Todd Edwards - Hold On To Me (Main Mix)
JD Braithwaite - Love Me Tonight (Todd Edwards N.Y. Dub)
Sound Of One - As I Am (Todd Edwards N.Y. Dub)
Todd Edwards & Tuff Jam - Wanting Jesus
Urbanomix - Gonna Be Your No.1 (Todd & Jam Classic Vocal Mix)
Todd Edwards - Winter Behavior
Todd Edwards - Heaven (2005 Main Mix)
Todd Edwards - Saved My Life
Todd Edwards - Face My Heaven

66 minutes 53 seconds
30th July 2006

Bye for now!

John

love the 2006 Urbanomix feat Lauryn Hill track you've listed (first Todd I've rushed to buy in a while).
also reminded me I never picked up that The Factory classic (there were 2 twelves right?)
~ wonder what else fell off old wants lists?