Wonky, Fidgety, Funky Fox

Afrobeat, Dubstep and Dirty Electro Within

2009-07-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

Being largely unable to move has given me time to think, mainly about music.
Don't you love DJ' who whip out unexpected tracks? DJ's who aren't afraid to slide some Louis Armstrong into a hip hop set? DJ's with names like The Mother Fucking Gaslamp Killer?
I do.
This is why.

Didn't you love that? The diversity in that set genuinely makes my head happy. Playing the big bass dubstep of Skream from West Wickham then the sub-Saharan African beats of Fela Kuti shortly after.
GENIUS!

I also love dirty, dirty electro.
Literally so filthy it stains your ears.
Here are some examples:

Don't you feel durrrty?

Don't you love it?

Good Night and Good Luck

2009-07-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I'd like to express that this has not been a good night for me.
Namely because I spent it in hospital getting an X-Ray of my toe, only to find out I didn't have a splinter, I have half of a sewing needle stuck in there. Good old operation either tomorrow or sunday, brilliant.
At least I worked out how to add my account to this fine blog Chris has masterminded.
Sitting in a hospital waiting room with my ipod made me realise how much i love the gyspsy kings.
If ANYONE knows of any remixes of the gypsy kings I'd pay top dollar (in metaphysical money aka mind points).
I also got back in touch with one of my musical anthems, Girl Is On My Mind by The Black Keys:

NOW, back to the music this blog is all about.
I encourage all of you to check out http://sub.fm whenever you have time, this radio station has become a bit of a lover of mine, and I've heard you're all welcome, so get involved.

Update on previous post made - new meneo videos! See entry 27/05/09

2009-07-06T19:35:00.000-07:00

I cannot help but ♥ minimal techno

2009-07-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

Ahoy shipmates, all aboard, embark on a voyage of deep and dark sounds....

Among other things it is safe to say I ♥:

Anything wonky

Lasers

Deep bass

Dark rooms

Industrial looking clubs with exposed air vents

Flashing lights (preferably blue)

Neon/fluorescent colours

The cheer of a crowd

The feeling I get when I see the time is 5am on a backlit Casio watch

Guess thats why j'dore minimal techno. I discovered this love fairly recently and the more I look into it, the deeper my affection becomes.

There are an insane amount of tracks out there, so I intend to bring you my personal discoveries. They are not cutting edge releases, nor do I pretend to be an expert, but if I can provide a fraction of the amount of enjoyment I get, I will be happy.

I recently saw Stephan Bodzin at the Lighbox - amazing - go and see him live at all costs, even if it means flying to a location in mainland Europe. He may not be strictly minimal in all his productions but feels right to mention him here.

There is a great review here so I wont repeat this info (the blog the review is on is great, check it out)

Here is a video to show why the location that made is talent all the more magical

Check these sound capsules that will transport you to the greatest dimension of techno

Unexplainable genius

Bodzin is definitely a funky fox, but DEEP

Little taster of him live....bloody amazing:

He is so good people go CRAZY

Bodzin is known to team up with Oliver Huntermann and Marc Romboy and their collaborations are worth checking out.

Anyway shoot over to beatport or a similar site and start accumulating his releases!

More minimal treats:

Ricky Stone - This is Acid Mom (Richard Dinsdale remix)

Over and Out

Sunday Tunes

2009-06-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

Big thanks to the Funky Fox A for the Major Lazer heads up, loved that!

Here are a few tunes I came across on my sunday download session....

Firstly a bit of minimal (thanks to Alessandro for these two):

ANEY F BROKEN LAPTOP PRINTER - ORIGINAL MIX

Other Tunes:

Chemical Brothers - Do It Again - Disco Of Doom Remix

(Loving Kid Kaio at the moment! Especially work with Diplo and Laidback Luke)

The Other Fox

2009-06-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Good day, for the benefit of those that are reading, this is the other Funky Fox, that Ahimsan fellow, here to give you a piece of the madness that I call a mind.

Existing in that madness at the moment is a duo named Major Lazer, they comprise of Diplo & Switch, you may recognise their names as Switch runs the label "Dubsided" in the UK and actually collaborated with M.I.A. a lot on both Kala and Arula as well as working with Santogold more recently. Diplo himself ate from the proverbial "M.I.A. cake" in more ways than one, having once dated and worked with her.

Having proved their credentials on numerous occasions the DJ/Producers have decided to collaborate under the name Major Lazer to release a debut album "Gunz Don't Kill People, Lazers Do". The album itself reflects the globally influenced nature of the the duo, some tracks reflect the chilled Reggae of Jamaica where the album was recorded (like Cash Flow below)

Other songs however mix some reggae style and dancehall/house tempo to produce the big-bass, fidgety, wonky sounds we all love (Pon De Floor for example).

I think this video sums the ethos of Major Lazer up well, funky, wonky, but chilled out. We funky foxes both appreciate and respect this, their mixing skills in that video are also top class. I'm still yet to find out the name of the second brassy song but I'm onto that badboy and the first song is the earthy and aforementioned Pon De Floor.

I think it is fitting that I end by depicting the character of Major Lazer as described by his creators, the boys themselves. Major Lazer is a cartoon character who fought as a Jamaican Commando, losing his arm in a secret zombie war in 1984. He is known to fight vampires, mosters whilst partying hard at all times.
All I can say is, I am a fan.

Free Fridays @ Cargo - Great Music

2009-06-27T14:20:00.001-07:00

Ok, the last two blog posts were really for me to get a feel of this thing, while trying to think of interesting and exciting content.

Firstly - Funky Foxes?

This name came from a crazy night out with my life long friend (kind of) Ahimsan, we are the original funky foxes and share musical ideas and experiences.

Wonky and fidgety? thats just how we like our beats to taste and the way our nights out could be described.

Now down to the music....

Last night this Ahimsan fellow invites me 2 Cargo (Shoreditch - club), its free fridays and I'm broke so I game, my total spend was £6, which sounds good, but believe me this was more value for money than Asda price.

(flyer)

I was jealous of not being at glaso but these feelings soon shifted by the musical delights. I was later told Time Out said "forget glastonbury - go to Cargo!" on their website.

I went along to sample a few tasty beats - ended up tucking in to a four course meal of hyperbass, nintendo gameboy, electronic hypnotics and male nudity!

After the DJ's warmed the crowd up the duo CLP hit the stage, these guys got up there with two macbook pros and various hardware (which didn't include any type of decks) then proceeded to fabricate electronica/minimal/housey/dubstep and bass heavy tunes (even throwing a bit of hip-hop in there). This live mash-up was a pleasure to watch but even more pleasurable to listen to, and the crowd where hype! They worked simultaneously but without even a glance at each other, bringing the tempo up and down, taking the bass away, dropping it back in and spouting and endless array of electronic sounds. Just what we like to hear, lovely!

CLP (sorry for poor quality, blame the iPhone)

This video gives you an idea of their creative abilities - they do this sort of stuff LIVE building the track from the ground up.

Check these guys out, not just their releases but see them live!

Then the DJs are back on for a while - playing great tunes (but they save all their best stuff for later...)

I did not see the energetic performance of Meneo coming at all. This was their debut performance in the UK. These two crazy young chaps from Barcelona came out, one topless with yellow linen trousers, the other sporting a fluorescent ensemble. The topless Spaniard was clutching an original Nintendo GameBoy, and the other some other handheld contraption. The game boy is skillfully used to create techno/electro crazy sounds! They have the distinct characteristics of the theme tunes to the original games. The other hand-held device is used to project 8 bit images, making the experience a stimulation of all senses, immediately captivating the audience, who cheered and screamed throughout.

Crazy genius with GameBoy

Security got involved when the topless half of the duo let his manhood slip out from his baggy trousers. This was met with laughter and cheering - the dull security booed. The act continued and such crazy antics were welcomed and encouraged by all. The crowd couldn't get enough of the energy of these two - jumping around, singing/rapping along with their Spanish slur.

Hype!

I have never (and probably will never again) witnessed anything like this. It was genius.

The highlight was when it was announced "lets give them a classic" whereby, with the GameBoy (I emphasise this!), the track "Better off Alone" (Alice Deejay) was dropped, starting with the catchy loop and then hitting the crowd with banging bassline!!! I was LOVING it! Everyone knew the track and went loopy.

I cannot stress enough the energy of the act, it was unreal and they keep the crowd dancing with smiles on their faces when they stood humping the speakers! The whole thing culminated in a final FULL striptease, which saw them quickly forced off stage, much to the crowds annoyance!

Check out their tracks, but you cannot enjoy them half as much if you don't see them live - so if you get a chance, do it! Such a fresh, original and energetic act.

This Video gives you a feel of what they are about. Also in the description it explains a bit more about how they create their unique sound. They are weird and it is quite hard hitting, but give it a chance.

UPDATE (07/06/09)

New videos found!

CRAZY! We love it

After this mind-blowing experience the DJs Bok Bok and L-vis 1990 (click here for their shared myspace page) spun back-to-back hard hitting tunes, keeping to a carnival like theme to work with the intense summer heat. The basslines were deep and they looked like they were enjoying it as much as the crowd. Check these guys out, they finished a great (and insanely cheap) night out a right treat.

Here is a track that I spotted a while ago and Bok Bok & L-vis 1990 slung it into the mix

DJ Mujava - Township Funk

Peace, more to follow

2009-06-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

As my other half spends her weekend with the mud and music at glasto I have been limited to the BBC coverage on 6music and BBC.

I have instructed her to watch skream and benga, deamau5, breadyman (who was great apparently), friendly fires and many others! Upon her return I shall try and give some info on highlights.

From what I have seen, White Lies were really good, friendly fires were killing it - especially with the dancing, and lily allen was boring as per usual - YAWN

Friendly fires 'jump in the pool' has inspired some great remixes, here are two I have found and loved (thanks to other bloggers for this)

Thin White Duke Mix

Wild Geese Remix

Thats about it, appreciate the content isn't all that inspiring but limited time is to blame. I have no internet where I am living - confined to coffee shops with Wi-Fi!

Stuff on Stephan Bodzin and Techscovery coming soon...

2009-06-25T03:30:00.000-07:00

I am here!

2009-06-25T03:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to all, I am extremely new to all this so progress may be slow and erratic, but hey, it adds to it.

My blog will be all about the music! Focus will remain generally to electronic music; techno, house, minimal, electro, electronica etc but it will not be limited to this! Any thing I'm loving and feel like its worth sharing will appear...

So, bear with me but I think this could be the start of something beautiful...