31 December 2010

George FM Playlist 31st Dec NYE 2010 "Bev's Keys In The Pocket"













The final day of 2010 saw 90 covering for a man who needs no introduction: Bevan Keys. Here's what was played...

Savage - Swing! (edit)
Breakage with Roots Manuva - Run 'Em Out
Spektrum - Kinda New
Mayer Hawthorne - Green-Eyed Love (Classixx remix)
Florence & The Machine - You Got The Love (The XX remix)
Amy Winehouse - Rehab (Pharoahe Monch edit)
Syrup - Chocolate
Jamiroquai - Return Of The Space Cowboy
Gary Byrd & Stevie Wonder - The Crown
Don Ray - Got To Have Loving
The Bar-Kays - Loose Talk
JDeep - Tango Hustled
Stevie Wonder - Do I Do (U-Tern remix)
Herb Alpert - Rise (Gay Marvine edit)
Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (Relly Rell$ remix)
John Arnold with Paul Randolph - Rise Up
Waajeed - Funkin' For Jamaica
Ray Parker Jnr. - Ghostbusters (dub)
Aurra - Such A Feeling (LeBaron edit)
Imagination - Street Mix (Disconet edit)

Happy New Year to everyone with a set of ears. See you on the other side.

30 December 2010

George FM Playlist 30th Dec 2010 "Body Rockin' In The Pocket"










Big shoes, yo! Covering today for Phillippa. Here's what was played...

Wes Coats - Land Of Music
Elvis Seconde, Shaggy Sharoof, Jacques Palminger & Erobique - Dengue Fieber
Radio City with Bajka - The Hop
T-Connection - Funkannection
The Unabombers - Disco Symphony
Charles Earland - Comin' To You Live (edit)
Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Dance Across The Floor
Zapp - Itchin' For Your Twitchin'
The Ohio Players - Love Rollercoaster
Olympic Runners - Energy Beam
David Bendeth - Feel The Real
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators - Feeling Free (Aaron Jerome remix)
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Keep On Looking (Kenny Dope remix)
Dublex Inc. - N.H.L.
Kraak & Smaak with Ben Westbeech
Hot Chocolate - Heaven's In The Backseat Of My Cadillac (The Revenge remix)
Norma Jean Bell - I'm The Baddest Bitch In This Room (Moodymann edit)
!!! - AM/FM
El Guincho - FM Tan Sexy

22 December 2010

George FM Playlist 22nd Dec "Play It All Back In The Pocket"











I had the pleasure of filling in for Roger Perry on George FM today. Here's what was played...

RAMP - Everybody Loves The Sunshine
Bo Kirkland & Ruth Davis - We Got The Recipe
Gwen McCrae - Rocking Chair
Mark Capanni - I Believe In Miracles
Skipworth & Turner - Thinking About Your Love
Convertion - Let's Do It
Cameo - Keep It Hot
The Spinners - It's A Shame (B.Cause Boogie edit)
Gary Byrd & Stevie Wonder - The Crown (edit)
War - Galaxy (album)
Wes Coats - Land Of Music
Kokolo - Girls On Film
Snooky - Ease The Pain
Jermaine Jackson - Let's Get Serious
Imagination - Street Mix (Disconet edit)
Zapp - More Bounce To The Ounce

20 December 2010

Bumps













Bumps are the tunes I'm feeling at the moment. Here's one from the legendary Roger Troutman, former lead singer for the group Zapp & the man who made the Talk Box cool. Just click on the Bumps...

For Your Ears aka Random Review: Mavis Staples 'You Are Not Alone'



Mavis Staples embodies the term living legend.

The US-born vocalist is a Rock n' Roll Hall of Famer, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner & US National Heritage Fellowship Award winner. She has been named one of the Top 100 Greatest Women of Rock n' Roll (VH1) & one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time (Rolling Stone).

As such, she could be forgiven for resting on her not-inconsiderable laurels. However, her brand new album, 'You Are Not Alone', is one of the most exciting in a career that began more than 60yrs ago when she started singing with her ground-breaking family group, The Staple Singers.

Recorded with noted US alt-country band Wilco's frontman Jeff Tweedy in the producer's chair, 'You Are Not Alone' showcases the sound of a seasoned performer unafraid of pushing her boundaries. Atop sympathetic instrumentation equally capable of raw, ragged rhythm & blues as of deeply soulful gospel, Staples passionately delivers messages about the state of the world today - many of the songs the famed Roebuck "Pops" Staples led his gifted family through spoke of the same issues of poverty, jobs, welfare & how the love of God will help see us all through in the end. Not for nothing were they known as "Gods Greatest Hitmakers".

Staples covers songs written by blues & soul icons Allan Toussaint, Little Milton & the Reverand Gary Davis; by Randy Newman, John Fogerty & even a few composed by Staples' late father, "Pops" himself; but it's the incredible treatments of the traditional gospel songs 'Creep Along Moses' & 'Wonderful Saviour' - rich in history, passionately performed, immaculately arranged - that mark this as an essential for fans of real rhythm & blues, soul, country & gospel music.

George FM Playlist Sun 19th Dec

Syrup - Chocolate
War - Galaxy (album version)
Wes Coats - Land Of Music
T-Connection - Do What You Wanna Do
Gary Byrd & Stevie Wonder - The Crown (edit)
Basement Jaxx - Miracles Keep On Playin' (Red Alert remix)
Jermaine Jackson - Erucu (AC edit)
Louis La Roche with Ad-Apt - Missing You
Senor Coconut & His Orchestra - Sweet Dreams (Cha Cha Cha)
7Samurai with Angie Stone - Muzic
Rufus with Chaka Khan - Dance Wit Me
The Jackson 5 - Things I Do For You
Aretha Franklin - Everyday People (Everyday remix)
Ronnie Laws - Your Stuff
Kid Creole & His Orchestra - Stool Pigeon (edit)
Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces
Kleeer - Taste The Music (LeBaron edit)
The Limit - She's So Divine

Propers to the Hit It & Quit It crew for an outstanding End Of Year Revue on Friday evening, with 3 local crews - The Turnaround, The Dose & Recloose+Frank Booker - giving both internationals an armchair ride, allowing them to throw down a seriously deep & diverse set from Moodymann; and a floor-filling, party-rocking set from DJ Day.

Saturday evening saw the incredible Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings sell out the Powerstation & win over every single, sweat-soaked punter in the place, with a blend of razor sharp musicianship & a firebrand performance from Ms Jones herself. At 54yrs of age, she puts "performers" half her age to shame. Mesmerising.

Two more compelling reasons for supporting so-called "underground" music...

Oh, you need a third? OK, click on the link provided among the playlist above. The one which will hook you up with my man Scotty Coats & his bro Wes The Mes out of LA. Too lazy to scroll up again? Alright then... Check it. Wreck it. Play it. Say it!

17 December 2010

More 90 On Your Radio



I'm as pleased as punch to be let loose on the George FM airwaves for a whole bunch of weekday shows over the New Year break! Oh yes, that's right, there's gonna be a whole lotta 90 goin' on...

Check out the 10am-noon slot on Thu 30 & Fri 31 Dec, when I'll be prepping you for the big parties.

The first In The Pocket show for 2011 is going to be a cracker - a marathon 6hr session kicking off at 10am in the morning of Sun 2 Jan, with a champagne breakfast, methinks...

Listen up also during the first week of January, as I'll be hosting an extended selector show from 11am-2pm from Mon 3rd - Fri 7th, followed by another extended In The Pocket special on Sun 9th, from noon - 4pm...

I look forward to stuffing my selections into your willing earholes.

16 December 2010

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Walter Gibbons 'Jungle Music'













History is a funny thing.

Important periods of history are often condensed into bulletpoints or a handful of names designed to invoke an accepted wisdom.

A good example would be New York dance music legends like Frankie Knuckles, Larry Levan & David Mancuso, whose names invoke images of decadent mid-‘70s parties with heaving crowds of largely black gay men dancing with abandon to early disco & proto-house anthems.

However, the DJ those famous names above (& more) flocked to watch when they’d finished their own sets each night was a slightly built white guy by the name of Walter Gibbons.

One of the most important & yet unheralded DJs & remixers in dance music history, Gibbons was a pioneer of both reel to reel edits & the remix, while also inadvertantly acting as a tangible link between early hip hop & disco – he was extending the “break” of a record by playing two copies back-to-back seamlessly at a similar time Kool Herc began his famed block parties across town in the Bronx.

Jungle Music is an archive collection of essential & unreleased edits & remixes assembled from 1976-1986, a period which spans the release of the first ever 12” single – Gibbons’ remix of Double Exposure’s ‘10 Percent’ – to his “discovering” God & stepping back entirely from the groundbreaking, heavily percussive & often deeply trippy remixes which are found here.

These excitingly raw & uninhibited tracks - many of which push the 10min mark - may not be to everyone’s slick, modern dance music tastes, but as an historical document ‘Jungle Music’ is nothing short of essential.


Radio Ponsonby Record Review with 90 every Wenerei around 8.30am on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show. Tune in! 107.7FM

13 December 2010

George FM Playlist Sun 12th Dec 2010

? - Mysteries Of The World
? - I Thought It Was You
Disconet - A Taste Of Honey/Boogie Oogie Oogie
Azymuth - Dear Limmertz
Aurra - Such A Feeling (LeBaron edit)
Pleasure - Joyous
Harold Jackson & The Jackson Brothers - Freedom Riders
Big Mama Thornton - They Call Me Big Mama
Teddy (Mr Bear) Macrae & His Orchestra - Hi Fi Baby
Tammi Terrell - All I Do Is Think About You
Ned Doherty - Give It Up For Love*
The Reverend Al Green - I Got What You Need*
The Spinners - It's A Shame
Fat Larry's Band - Act Just Like You Know
Yarbrough & Peoples - Don't Stop The Music (Professor La Croix edit)
Skipworth & Turner - Thinking About Your Love*
Michael Caprini - I Believe In Miracles*
Don Ray - Got To Have Loving
Louis La Roche with Ad-Apt - Missing You
Crown Heights Affair - Dreamin' A Dream (Frico edit)
Lois Johnson - Be Mine (Coppa edit)*
Love Bizarre - I Want You For Myself*

It was a great pleasure to be joined in the George FM studio by my good mate Jay "Fat Albert" Jeffrey, who spun all of the tunes with an * next to their names above. Nice one, squire! Thanks for your ears, everyone...

09 December 2010

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Recloose 'Early Works'



We don't know how lucky we are, I reckon.

There are a myriad of reasons we should be thankful to live in NZ. The one relevant to this music review is that Detroit, Michigan-born producer & DJ Recloose aka Matthew Chicoine also lives in NZ.

Perhaps, though, we don't fully appreciate the regard with which Recloose is held outside of NZ.

This is a man whose recorded output began on Carl Craig's ground breaking techno label Planet E alongside the likes of legends Kevin Saunderson, Moodymann & Kenny Larkin. Much of the label's output twisted techno into exciting new territories, blending elements of many different genres into the kind of futuristic funk for which Planet E is now famous.

Recloose Early Works is a collection of just that: six tracks released on Planet E, one on Omoa Music (as Dapp) & seven never before available, all dating from the late '90s & early '00s. Assembled by Holland's esteemed Rush Hour label, the compilation showcases Recloose's burgeoning abilities to blend funk, soul, jazz & even downbeat into a brew which still saw 4/4 as its main ingredient.

Highlights of Early Works include the opening one-two punch of Get There Tonight & Soul Clap 2000, as well as Insomnia In Dub. All three are from the critically acclaimed Spelunking EP from 1999, which arguably "broke" Recloose internationally. The sexy sounding Absence Of One (which out-Kruder & Dorfmeister's the famed Austrians with one spliff tied behind its back) & the unreleased Maui's Lament & Land Of The Lost Dance are also standouts to these ears.

Many of the tracks here have that special Detroit sumthin' sumthin' that is not so obvious in much of Recloose's NZ-based output; and while I highly rate both Hiatus On The Horizon & Perfect Timing, Early Works serves as an excellent primer to his musical beginnings & also stands as testament to why he is still described by those in the know as The Don.


Check out the Radio Ponsonby Record Review with 90 every Wenerei morning on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show around 8.30am. 107.7FM on your dial, or click here!

06 December 2010

George FM Playlist 5th Dec 2010

Little Ike with Jimmy Beck & His Orchestra - She Can Rock
Philly Armada Orchestra - For The Love Of Money
Imagination - Just An Illusion
Imagination - Street Mix (Disconet rework)
Gary Byrd & Stevie Wonder - The Crown (rework)
Suff Daddy & Charles Earland - Come & 2U Live
Grand Pianoramax with Spleen & Celena Glenn - The Hook (DJ Spinna remix)
Tama Waipara - Where I Go (MdCL remix)
Electric Wire Hustle - Perception
Ladi 6 - Dark Brown
Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing (Simon's Dark Keys remix)
Aloe Blacc v Mary J. Blige - I Can Love A Dollar (DJ Theory Flip)
Aloe Blacc - I Need A Dollar (DJ Theory Get The Money remix)
Prince Fatty - Insane In The Brain
Jermaine Jackson - Let's Get Serious
George Benson - Love X Love (Koko Southport edit)
Jeffrey Osbourne - Stay With Me Tonight
The Gap Band - Beep-A-Freak
Jewel - Paradise (extended)
Norma Jean Bell - I'm The Baddest Bitch In This Room (Louie Vega Soulful mix)
Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner (E's E remix)

Celebrating the good ol' fashioned crate digging experience this week, having had the opportunity to spend a couple of days searching through vinyl at both Conch & Real Groovy.

Both offer world class record shopping experiences, in my opinion: the selection of 2nd hand music at Groovy is huge, and worthy of a few hours investment; while having Cian personally select a stack to sift through with the headphones on is the epitome of the phrase "enjoyable & educational".

It's all well & good to pillage blogs for mp3 downloads - after all, it's really about the music, not the platform - but there's something truly therapeutic about searching for, buying, playing & listening to vinyl records; some connection that heals the soul in a way the digital search & consumption of music just can't quite manage.

UPDATE: having said all of the above, check out the Never Enough Rhodes blog (where I picked up the tasty Marvin mix played on the show above!). Propers, squire!

03 December 2010

The Radio Ponsonby Record Review: TITO PUENTE - El Rey













An easy review for me this week, with this 2CD "best of" compilation from El Rey himself, Tito Puente, landing on my stereo last week & seldom leaving it since.
The good folks at Fania Records have put together a stellar collection from the King Of Mambo, which includes more than 40 tracks featuring Puente in full flight, alongside guests & collaborators such as Santos Colon, Rudy Calzado, Bobby Escoto, Celia Cruz, Frankie Figueroa & more.
From the recognisable (Oye Como Va, La Guarachera, Hit The Bongo) to the lesser known (Loco Bossa Nova, Wata Wasuri, Tokyo de Noche); from high-energy, fiery Latin percussion-led monsters to more subtle, intricately rhythmic tracks; from the beard-stroker-pleasers to the dancefloor fillers; El Rey is an outstanding collection of tracks that paints a thrilling picture of one of the most important & influential percussionists to have graced the earth.
The Radio Ponsonby Record Review with 90 is brought to you by The Longroom at 114 Ponsonby Rd. Check it out every Wednesday around 8.30am on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show on Radio Ponsonby 107.7FM.

02 December 2010

George FM Playlist 28th Nov 2010

Aloe Blacc - Bailar (Scene 1)
Aloe Blacc - Patria Mia
Massak - B.L.A.
Santana - Wham!
Quantic Soul Orchestra with Noelle Scaggs - Lead Us To The End
JuJu Orchestra with Terry Callier - What Is Hip? (Mo Horizons Latinstyle)
Big Bang with Rasiyah - To The Full Every Minute (Yam Who? remix)
Roots Manuva - Witness Heads (Nostalgia 77 edit)
Nate with Medusa & Raashan - Rock On
Me&You - Love In Be Must We
Al Green - I Can't Get Next To You
Havana - Shine
Sa-Ra Creative Partners - Rosebuds
James Pants - Crystal Lite
Herbie Hancock - Stars In Your Eyes
Sweet Pea Atkinson - Dance Or Die
L.T.D. - It's Time To Be Real
Speedometer - Work It Out (Beatfanatic remix)
Attaca Pesante with Shea Soul - Make It Funky For Me (Rusko remix)
Hydroponic Sound System - Young Ladies In The House
Moka Only - Lowdown Suite
Marvin v WJK - Musik

Waajeed
flipping Marvin into some seriously D-influenced hip hop soul groove. I ain't bragging (much!) but am stoked to have the limited ish red vinyl pressing...

George FM Playlist 7th Nov 2010

Wild Bill Ricketts - Coconut Tree [WBR]
Groove Armada - Purple Haze [Zomba]
Louie Vega - Jungle Fever [Ubiquity]
Up Hygh with Tony Clifton - Higher [Jugglin']
Tweet with Missy E. - Oops (Oh My) [Sony]
Ladi 6 - Bang Bang [Question]
The Politik with Blu - Moonlight [Antipodean]
Moka Only - Lowdown Suite [Battleaxe]
Apani B - Abracadabra [Q-Boro]
People Under The Stairs - Tuxedo Rap [Tres]
Gotan Project - Arrabal (Haaksman & Haaksman remix feat. Ras Donovan) [Ya Basta!]
Common with Jill Scott - I Am Soul (Tangoterje edit) [Supreme]
Amp Fiddler - Too High (Wonderland remix) [White Label]
Slynk - Gotta Shine [Good Groove]
Aiff - Afro Riddim (Aiff remix feat. Crucial T) [Unique]
Quantic with Tempo - Sabor (12" mix) [Tru Thoughts]
J-Roc - Funkanomical Boom [Good Groove]
Bebel Gilberto - Aganju (Spiritual South Sub Rub vocal mix) [Ziriguiboom]
Robert Strauss with Leroy Burgess - Hot Like An Oven [Robert Strauss]
Coke Escovedo - I Wouldn't Change A Thing [White Label]
Huba - Man Brings The Bread [Texicalli/Jupiter]

One of my "secret weapons" when DJing is pretty much anything by the Finnish group Huba (keys/vocalist Tuomo's solo album is also well worth checking out).

So, check them out here & here. Your ears will thank you profusely...

01 December 2010

J Dilla Goodness

Seems I've managed to "misplace" a few weeks worth of playlists, so please accept this token gesture of some J Dilla goodness as an apology, of sorts.

Cian from Conch gave me the heads up on the latest Strange Games comp which features the Sylvia Robinson track Sweet Stuff, which Dilla sampled for that killer b-line in his track Crushin' (alongside Bonita Applebaum...). Classic.

The official J Dilla site
J Dilla Crushin' vs Sylvia Robinson Sweet Stuff

24 October 2010

George FM Playlist 24th October 2010

Even though I was only way from the airwaves for a week, I missed it like crazy. Does that mean love the limelight? I reckon I simply enjoy sharing my Sundays with you, good listener.

And what a Sunday it has been! The long Labour Weekend here in NZ has been kind to us. We've had gorgeous sunshine here in the AK, and my veges have been responding exceptionally. Fret not, I shall keep you posted with all my exciting gardening news...

Being a long weekend, I (mistakenly, as it turns out) didn't play any ads during the show today, so it's a little longer than the usual. Huzzah!

Freddie Cruger with Desmond Foster | Something Good (12") [Raw Fusion]
Jaylib | The Red (inst.) (12") [Stones Throw]
Amp Fiddler | I Believe In You (Jaylib remix) (12") [Genuine]
Collen & Webb | Golden (Tighten Jill Up) (12") [GAMM]
Eddie Harris with Carole Kaye | Bold & Black (remix) (12") [Up Above]
Lumidee | Uh Oh (Bollywood remix) (12") [Mister Tibbs]
Oscar Sharp with Melo | Runaway (LP Inside Scandinavia) [Raw Fusion]
Macadamia Cuts | Little Space Odyssey (12") [White]
Andy Gibb | Shadow Dancing (7") [Interfusion]
Jermaine Jackson | Little Girl Don't You Worry (7") [Motown]
Speak Low | Thriller (7") [Marula Soulfood]
The Lions | Think (About It) (12") [Ubiquity]
Butch Cassidy Sound System | Cissy Strut (12") [Fenetik]
Patchworks & Mr Day | Brothers On The Slide (7") [Favourite]
Marvin Gaye | What's Goin' On? (Truth & Rights remix) (7") [Al Fingers]
Nostalgia 77 with Alice Russell | Seven Nation Army (12") [Tru Thoughts]
Son Of Dave | Low Rider (7") [Kartel]
This Kid Named Miles | Ring Of Fire (7") [Alatac]
Sugar Pie Desanto | Git Back (7") [Luv n' Haight]
L.A. Carnival | Blind Man (7") [Now Again]
The Bamboos | Tighten Up (7") [Kay-Dee]
The Bamboos with Megan Washington | King Of The Rodeo (7") [Tru Thoughts]
Sunlightsquare Latin Combo | I Believe In Miracles (7") [Sunlightsquare]
Aiff | Akwaaba (7") [Unique]
Quantic & His Combo Barbaro | Linda Morena (7") [Tru Thoughts]
Linda Lyndell | What A Man (LP Soul Sides) [Zealous]
Lowrell | Overdose Of Love (7") [AVI]
Syl Johnson | Goodie Goodie Good Times (7") [EPI]
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings | How Long Do I Have To Wait For You? (7") [Daptone]
Beat Assailant | Hard Twelve (LP Good Times 5) [Resist]

23 October 2010

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Belleruche '270 Stories'













BELLERUCHE
270 Stories
[Tru Thoughts]

"Beautiful Beehive". That's the literal French translation of the word "Belleruche".

It's also a pretty apt description of the left-of-centre blend of scratchy hip hop beats, bluesy guitar licks & soulful, honeycomb vocals found on London, UK trio Belleruche's new album, 270 Stories.

While their critically acclaimed debut album Turntable Soul Music (2007) & its equally well received follow up The Express (2008) both sound "...like Sarah Vaughan, Django Reinhardt & Cut Chemist stuck in a lift with Russian beer & a sampler..." (as their very well-written press release/bio so snazzily & succinctly states it); the "difficult" 3rd album sees the group's sound changing, at times quite considerably.

Belleruche have genuinely hit their stride with 270 Stories, tying together all that is so appealingly fresh & distinctive about their sound. It is a far more layered & textured listen than either of their previous albums, while also being tougher, more aggressive & certainly more introspective. The beats from turntablist DJ Modest are harder-edged, with a nod to darker contemporary influences; while guitarist Ricky Fabulous (a relation of Mike from The Black Seeds perhaps...!?) also adds bass guitar to many of the tracks here, creating an exciting dynamic interplay between guitar & bass.

Singer Kathrin deBoer has already marked herself as a serious talent to seriously watch, appearing on (seriously good!) albums from DJ Vadim, Bonobo & Aaron Jerome. With 270 Stories she lives up to the hype: while others still rely on vocal preening & strutting with little of real substance to back it up, deBoer kicks it right in the guts, Trev; looping her voice, tweaking it with guitar effects pedals & layering harmonies atop one another, adding depth to an already rather thick, yet sophisticated, musical stew.

To be perfectly frank - and if you can't be frank when writing your own blog, please tell me when you can - it does take a couple of listens to really "get" 270 Stories. I admit I didn't warm to it immediately. Start with Clockwatching, or maybe even with one of their other records altogether. That'll help to illustrate m point: that this album is the sound of a band pushing forward, ignoring the supposed limitations of a vocals-guitar-turntable trio & letting their ideas roam free.


In A Nutshell: tough hip hop-styled beats, deep bluesy guitar licks & honeycomb vocals reward repeat listens
Nyntee's Rating: SEVEN beautiful beehives out of TEN

Listen to Sweetpants & 90 "talking about music" every Wenerei morning at 8.30am on Radio Ponsonby 107.7FM. Big thanks to Longroom.

Hit It & Quit It "Fright Night" Halloween Special




















That's right ghouls and girls... Hit It & Quit It in association with Sick Disco are proud to present "Fright Night": A Halloween Throwdown! Prepare yourself for a night of dancefloor mayhem and boo-bonic funk of monster mash proportions...

Fright Night will be helmed by the ever dependable Counts of the bounce - Recloose and Frank Booker, along with dastardly duo Uncle (Fester) Barnie & Shock-lectah Sam and the party rocking mad scientist Jellphonic!

Your (Un)Trusted Friends Sweetpants & 90 will be hosting the backroom...

Dark disco and haunted house all night long!!!
All DJs will be wearing costumes - and we've PRIZES for the best costumes we see!!!

Sat 30 Oct
Cassette #9
$10 on the door
Undead from 10pm

13 October 2010

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Coming Home - Boozoo Bajou













COMING HOME
Boozoo Bajou
[Stereo Deluxe]

"Chillout" pretty much became a dirty word in compilation CDs for me early in the '00s, after a steady flow of Cafe del Buddha Bar collections dumbed the genre down to elevator muzak.

Thankfully there were still a few plump, peachy downtempo delights ripe for the picking, if the listener cared to reach a little higher - step up the likes of Austrian duo Kruder & Dorfmeister, UK-born Spanish-resident George Evelyn aka Nightmares On Wax & the German production duo known as Boozoo Bajou.

Much like the aforementioned elusive Austrians across the border, Nurembergers Florian Syberth & Peter Heider, aka Boozoo Bajou, have hardly been prolific, with three artist albums in the past10yrs - Satta (2001), Dust My Broom (2005) & Grains (2009), yet theirs is a signature sound instantly recognisable by it's smooth, buttery instrumentation & deep, dubby tempos.

Joe Dukie from the uber-languid Fat Freddy' Drop sings what is probably Boozoo Bajou's best-known song here in NZ - and it's called Take It Slow. Furter proof required...?

Their acclaimed Juke Joint compilations have only enhanced their reputation as dons of downbeat, with immaculately eclectic programming a notable feature. This is something sadly lacking in many compilations nowadays, regardless of genre, so it's a great pleasure to wrap my listening gear around the new Coming Home compilation CD, selected & mixed by BoozBaj themselves.

As the opening minutes of Linkwood Family's gorgeous Miles Away (nicely ref. Mr Davis) slid from my stereo speakers, that familiar lush, laidback BoozBaj vibe washed over me - but then the hi hats start, the keys kick in, the beat drops & it becomes clear that here at least, Boozoo Bajou are dancing to the beat of a different drummer. They've lifted the tempo, considerably in places, while retaining those deep space echoes & distinctly dubby details, and as such, the compilation seems as suitably styled for late night dancefoor shuffling as it is for lounging sipping cocktails.

There are three excellent Boozoo Bajou tracks here - including the dancehall smash Killer, featuring the legendary Top Cat on vocals - alongside a compelling lineup featuring Soulphiction, Henrik Schwarz, Motor City Drum Ensemble & Move D, among others.

These ears particularly enjoy the Elvis P-meets-Farda P vocals laid down by Ski over an insistent shuffle & big ol' bendy bassline courtesy of Tontelas. Icasoul also makes an appearance with the semi-instrumental banger Givin' It Up. (I mention this mostly as the version of this track with the full vocal from Capitol A is a stone cold killer well worth the search, trust me.)

Standouts aside, it's the measured way Boozoo Bajou have woven these tracks into a stunning tailormade musical fabric that makes this particular "chillout" compilation stand out on the hanger.


In A Nutshell: Boozoo Bajou do uptempo dancefloor shuffling mix & it's as good as their slow stuff!
Nyntee's Rating: EIGHT smudged mirrors out of TEN

Check out the Radio Ponsonby Record Review with 90, on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show every Wednesday around 8.30am, on 107.7FM. Big thanks to the Longroom!

11 October 2010

George FM Playlist 10th October 2010

J Dilla | Crushin' [Stones Throw]
Nostalgia 77 Trio | My Name Is... [Tru Thoughts]
DJ Rootz | Rocking Rock [Wellred Records]
Max Romeo | War Inna Babylon [Charmax]
Bob Marley & The Wailers | Buffalo Soldier (dub) [Tuff Gong]
Timothy McNealy | Sagitarius Black [Now Again]
Restless Soul with Zanzibar | Everytime [Raw Fusion]
The Isley Brothers | Love The One You're With [T-Neck]
Belleruche | Drum At Dusk [Rebtuz]
Sunshine Anderson | Heard It All Before (QSO version) [Rebtuz]
Quantic Soul Orchestra | San Sebastian Strut [Tru Thoughts]
The Tornadoes | Huihui [From The Crates]
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings | Keep On Looking (Kenny Dope remix) [Soulplex]
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators | Feeling Free (Aaron Jerome remix) [ATC]
Otis Clay | The Only Way Is Up [Echo]
Harvey Mason | Groovin' You [Arista]
Prince | Party Up (Gay Marvine edit) [Gay Marvine]
7 Samurai | Muzic [GAMM]
Don Ray | Got To Have Loving [Malligator]
Chocolate | Syrup [Compost]

06 October 2010

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Chromeo 'Business Casual'













CHROMEO
Business Casual
[Universal]

The world is a serious place. Just like the world, music can be a serious place, too. Some musicians who seem to be trying to have fun even manage to take that a little too seriously. Hair metal, anyone...?

Nobody could accuse Montreal duo Chromeo of taking themselves too seriously.

Nor of playing hair metal, as these guys peddle a brand of shiny, party-starting plastic-funk & electro-pop that's been tearing up indie dancefloors worldwide since their debut album She's In Control - or more correctly, the huge single Needy Girl - through their "mainstream breakthrough" follow up Fancy Footwork.

Now some 6yrs since that debut album & with some seriously fun globe-trotting (Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Fujirock, Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonnaroo, etc.) under their designer belts, P-Thugg & Dave 1, aka Chromeo, return with an album that shows the pair are far more than a loving (& rockin') homage/tribute/rip-off of Hall & Oates, Klymaxx, Zapp & Sylvester.

Business Casual still has moments that deeply pierce the dancefloor jugular, but many of the songs here have been carefully stripped back, allowing the pair's growing songwriting abilities room to breathe. Sure, there's plenty of dazzling fretwork from guitarist Dave 1 (French Literature PhD & brother of DJ wunderkind A-Trak) & P-Thugg's talkbox is still prominent, but somehow the cheese gets soaked up amongst the songwriting: the lyrics here are simple, efficient & clean, much like the music itself.

Perhaps Chromeo have chosen to slow down a little with Business Casual. That's not to say they won't be flashing their fancy footwork all over the floor this NYE at Rhythm & Vines, as they undoubtedly will; but these ears will be listening long after they've left our shores.

Scratch the surface of Business Casual & you'll expose bodywork with a little more substance than first appearances would suggest. A grow-er AND a show-er.


In A Nutshell: seriously fun plastic-funk-pop with more than a side of sophisticated songwriting
Nyntee's Rating: SEVEN & A HALF leggy mannequins out of TEN

Watch Chromeo performing live on Letterman here...

Check out the Radio Ponsonby Record Review with 90, on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show every Wednesday around 8.25am, on 107.7FM. Thanks to the Longroom!

04 October 2010

George FM Playlist 3rd October 2010

Felt like a proper Spring day today, as the sun had been shining since Friday afternoon & all was good with the world.

Propers to everyone tending their own patch of earth & growing whatever's clever in their garden! We've been enjoying brocolli, cabbage, spinach, lettuce & a bunch of herbs out of ours - and I'm only weeks away from beetroot & carrots! But I digress...

Stonephace | Wedgehead Gets Lucky [Tru Thoughts]
House Shoes | The Makings [Do-Over]
Dam-Funk | Burgundy City [Stones Throw]
Fat Freddy's Drop | Cays Crays (Blood & Fire vs Deep Sounds remix) [The Drop]
King Kapisi | Reverse Resistance [Urale/FMR]
Tha Feelstyle | Break It To Pieces [Can't Stop/FMR]
Flash Harry | Alright [Capital]
Salmonella Dub | Slide [Salmonella Dub/Virgin]
Carl Douglas | Kung Fu Fighting (Karl Moestl remix) [Select Cuts]
The Black Seeds | Rotten Apples (Lowman's Block Rockin' Bass remix) [White]
Sola Rosa with Iva Lamkum | Turn Around (TM Juke remix) [Way Up/Rosa Recordings]
Prince | 1999 (Pepe '99 edit) [Mashed Up Funk]
K.W. Griff | Respect (Mooqee & Russ Cuban edit) [Bomb Strikes]
Afrodisiac Soundsystem | Italo Nitro [Afrodisiac]
Me&You | Sneaker Thief [Tru Thoughts]
Michael Jackson | Billie Jean (Jackson Torpedo edit) [Mashed Up Funk]
Louis La Roche with Ad-Apt | Missing You [ ? ]
Zeb | Revolutionary Dreams [Wonderwheel]
Sandboy | Lua Nua (Smiles Ahead Three Trees remix) [Hinterland]
Up Hygh | Compatible (PTH Projects remix) [Tru Thoughts]
Quantic | Only A Little While Here [Tru Thoughts]
Prince Fatty | Insane In The Brain [ ? ]

Check one of my favourite labels out right here:
Tru Thoughts website

01 October 2010

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Aloe Blacc 'Good Things'













ALOE BLACC
Good Things
[Stones Throw]

There's this style of music which has been around for a minute or two, but which is currently being referred to as "throwback", "vintage", "retro", or some other dismissive term loosely, lazily applied by someone who really should - but probably doesn't - know better.

The intention is to belittle the target because it's not "moving music forward". Hello? Is dubstep really some amazing evolutionary advance...?

Don't get me wrong, I ilke a jolly good sub-bass wobble as much as the next degenerate, but I'm pretty sure I'm not just being old-fashioned when I opine that two of the most basic human musical needs in song are "good rhythm" & "catchy melody". If you can combine the two, in any genre of music, I'll wager you're onto a winner.

Ladies & Gentlemen, I give you Good Things, the 2nd album from Californian native, Aloe Blacc, which has both of those aforementioned qualities in spades - and just so happens to sound as though it could've been recorded in some smoky lil, late-at-night backstreet studio during the early '70s.

Vintage? 2010. Region? Straight West Coastin', USA. On the palate? A big soul & a whole lotta heart...

With thoughtfully arranged & exceptionally executed musicianship courtesy of Truth & Soul Records' main men Jeff Silverman & Leon Michels; and Aloe's captivating voice delivering deep lyricism advocating positive social change, while never shying from the reality of America right now; Good Things has all the hallmarks of a lasting classic like What's Going On, or Innervisions.

I'm going to mention names like Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Sharon Jones & Lee Fields, just to give you a peg to hang your jacket on while you're shaking your backyard on the dancefloor to the sleeper hit of the summer, I Need A Dollar.

Never mind which vintage Aloe Blacc occupies. Some Good Things are timeless. Here's one.

In A Nutshell: imagine Bill, Curtis & Marvin making moves with Gnarls Barkley
Nyntee's Rating: NINE smooth operators out of TEN

Check out the Radio Ponsonby Record Review with 90, on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show every Wednesday around 8.25am, on 107.7FM. Thanks to the Longroom!

30 September 2010

George FM Playlist 26th September 2010

Bob Marley v Marvin Gaye | Healing In Vain
The Foreign Exchange | Maybe She'll Dream Of Me
Hammy's Theme
Gorillza | Clint Eastwood
Rodney P | Fading
Kylie Auldist | In A Week, In A Day (Ashley Beedle's Streetsoul edit)
TM Juke with Alice Russell | Playground Games (Diesler remix)
Prince Fatty | Insane In The Brain
Jimi Tenor & Tony Allen | Against The Wall
Fela Kuti | Egbe Mi O (Frank Booker Afro Disco Beat edit)
DJ 45-O | Swing It Brother
Crimson & Boogie
Happy Touch | Lost Dub Version
Orgone | It's Time Tonight
Spektrum | Kinda New
Maddslinky with Omar | Special (MJ Cole's Back to the Future mix)
Louis La Roche with Ad-Apt | Missing You
Dalvanius & The Patea Maori Club | Poi E (Beatworms remix)
Cantaloopz
The Temptations v Groove Armada | Papa... In Chicago (Sugamoto edit)
Little Dragon | Test
Stephanie Mackay | Jackson Avenue

19 September 2010

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Horse Meat Disco II













Various Artists
HORSE MEAT DISCO II
[Strut]

This is the second killer collection of underground disco, Italo cuts & proper disco rarities that have been dug up & lovingly (lustingly...?) delivered by a quartet of British DJs with a clubnight known as Horse Meat Disco.

These are tried & tested cuts - Horse Meat Disco residents James Hillard, Jim Stanton, Severino & Luke Howard aka Filthy Luke have given these sticky sweet selections the sweaty dancefloor treatment, from their clubnight in Vauxhall, London, to dancefloors worldwide - including residencies in London, Lisbon, Berlin & Istabul.

The clubnights are notoriously inclusive, with homos, heteros & every sexual shade in between shaking what their Mommas gave 'em right alongside one another. Horse Meat Disco II captures the essenceof the clubnight, with an essential selection of New York classics alongside a host of lesser known underground disco gems - getting repeat plays on the stereo at Casa del Nyntee are the tracks You Can Get Over by Stephanie Mills, I'm Not In Love (Girl You're In Love) by Freda Paynes sister Scherrie &the Italo oddity Touch Me Now by Bravo - each seemingly more fruity than the next.

A pleasure? Undoubtedly. A guilty pleasure? If you're comfortable in your own skin, this really is just a whole bunch of smiley-faced fun. Slip this on your stereo, strip down to your smalls & get amongst!

In A Nutshell: as fruity as your Nana's Christmas punch with a kick like a rogue bull elephant
Nyntee's Rating: SEVEN & A HALF studded leather chaps out of TEN

Check out the Radio Ponsonby Record Review with Nyntee, on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show on Radio Ponsonby every Wednesday around 8.25am. Tune in! 107.7FM in Auckland & streaming live.

13 September 2010

George FM Playlist 12th Sept. 2010

Milez Benjamin | Hold Your Head High
Tony Cook with Dam-Funk | What's On Your Mind?
Chicago v Chemical Bothers | Saturday Salmon (Team9 edit)
Tricky | Murder Weapon
MGMT | Kids
Weekend Inc. | Take It Easy (Breakdown Dub)
Louis La Roche with Ad-Apt | Missing You
Louis La Roche with Ad-Apt | Missing You (GoGo Bizkitt remix)
Crazy P Presents The Syndromes | The Hit
Flying Lotus | Do The Astral Plane
The Temptations v Groove Armada | Papa In Chicago (Sugamoto edit)
Smashing Pumpkins | 1979
Greyboy with Bart Davenport | To Know You Is To Love You (Red Astaire remix)
Nancy Wilson | Sunshine
Steve Miller Band | Fly Like An Eagle (Team9 edit)
Junk Funk with Wray | Just Like Me (Temple Of Boom remix)
The Black Seeds| Rotten Apples (Lowman's Block Rockin' Bass remix)
Lily Allen | Smile
Tama Waipara | Where I Go (MdCL remix)
TY | Music 2 Fly 2
Boozoo Bajou | Sign (DSL remix)
Stephanie Mackay | Jackson Avenue
Bah Samba | It Tastes Good (DJ Spinna remix)
J-Davey | Dirty Love

06 September 2010

George FM Playlist 5th Sept 2010

Cee-Lo Green | Grown Roads (Nirobi edit)
Dee Edwards | Why Can't There Be Love? (Pilooski edit)
RJD2 | Here's What's Left (inst.)
DJ Mitsu The Beats with Dwele | Right Here
The Roots with Joanna Newsom | Right On
Bebel Gilberto | Baby (Yam Who? rework)
Rhythm & Sound with Cornell Campbell | King In My Empire (Burial remix)
Milez Benjamin | Chop That Wood
Platinum Pied Pipers with Tiombe Lockhart | I Got You
Cornish Waters with Duchess | Walking
7 Samurai | Marlies & Marcus
Sa-Ra Creative Partners | The Bone Song
Betty Lavette | Let Me Down Easy
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings | Genuine
The Blackbyrds | The Runaway
Herbie Hancock | Palm Grease
Madcliff | You Can Make The Change
Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers | Chitterlings Con Carne
Sound Experience | Boogie Woogie
Idris Muhammed | Crab Apple
Charles Wright & The 103rd Street Band | What Can You Bring Me?
Mighty Generation | The MG Beat
David Bendeth | Feel The Real
Yesterday's New Quintet | Superstition
Eric Lau with Tawiah | I Don't Do It To
Simbad with Steelo | Soul Fever

02 September 2010

George FM Playlist 29th August 2010

A very special "DOUBLE EPISODE" this week - with the assistance of Jay "Fat Albert" Jeffrey!

Human Race | Human Race
El Michels Affair | Detroit Twice
Sugar Pie Desanto | Git Back
The Temptations | Masterpiece
The Diversions | But Is It Funky?
Syl Johnson | Goodie Goodie Good Times
The Undisputed Truth | California Soul
Esther Phillips | Use Me
Leroy & The Drivers | The Sad Chicken
Santana | Wham!
Hector Rivera | I Want A Chance For Romance
Ray Christoph's New Sound | Wordless Blues
The Jazz Invaders | Bonga Bonga Jazz (Aiff remix)
Fabulous Souls | Take Me
*Rhythm Heritage | Theme From Rocky
*Donald Byrd | Think Twice
*The Undisputed Truth | Sandman
High Inergy | You Can't Turn Me Off (In The Middle Of Turning Me On)
Soft Touch | Plenty Action
The Brothers Johnson | Strawberry Letter 23
*Ann Sexton | You're Losing Me
Bill Hawks | Oh Baby (I Believe I'm Losing You)
*Tuomo | Don't Take It So Hard
Stevie Wonder | Keep On Runnin'
Huba | Mary
*Mondo Grosso | Voice Of The Moon
*Soul | Memphess
*Malik | Malik
Kashmere Stage Band | I Wish (Pt. 1) (Tee's Freeze)
Spanky Wilson | Sunshine Of Your Love
The Isley Bros. | Live It Up (Pt. 1)
*The Fatback Band | The Booty
*Breakwater | Say You Love Me
*Fat Larry's Band | Sparkle
100 Proof Aged In Soul | 90 Day Freeze
The Soul Seven | Southside Funk (Pt. 1)
Stevie Wonder | We Can Work It Out
*American Gypsy | Inside Out
*Wisdom | I'm So In Love With You
*The Supremes | Come Into My Life
LEWIS McCALLUM INTERVIEW
Lewis McCallum | Fly OrDie
Tommy James | Draggin' The Line
Joe Cocker | Look What You've Done
Open Sky Unit | Sunshine Star
*Cold Blood | Love To You
*Pete Rock | Reminisce Over You
*FBI | Keep On Runnin'

All selections marked with * courtesy of Jay Jeffrey

24 August 2010

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Keb Darge & Paul Weller Present Lost & Found: Real Rn'B & Soul













Keb Darge & Paul Weller Present
LOST & FOUND: Real Rn'B & Soul
[BBE]

This is a genuine treasure trove of a compilation, a joyous celebration of "dance" music put together by two of the most famously grumpy old men in UK music: Scottish DJ, label owner & "Deep Funk" aficionado Keb Darge; & the legendary English songwriter & musician Paul Weller.

Weller is an acclaimed rock star & soul music collector whose contribution to music is well documented - The Jam, Style Council & a successful solo career - while Darge is the man who coined the term "Deep Funk" & the co-founder (alongside fellow funk record collector Mark Cotgrove aka Snowboy) of that now globally recognised musical scene. He co-owns the Kay-Dee label with US producer, DJ & collector Kenny Dope (of Masters At Work); works as producer with one of the leading lights of the live band funk scene, The New Mastersounds; & is a former Tae Kwon Do World Champion.

For many years now Darge has been putting his name to exceptional compilations of heavyweight funk music, many of them for the UK label BBE, such as 'Funk Spectrum' & 'Keb Darge's Deep Funk'. His new 'Lost & Found' series, also on BBE, apparently sets out to expose lesser known or forgotten lights of soul music from the '50s & '60s.

Many of Darge's (deeeeep!) selections are definitely forgotten lights - but just as many of Weller's are not: Tammi Terrell, Margie Joseph, The Dells, Bobby Bland, Albert King, Jimmy Witherspoon & Slim Harpo are all still fairly well known, I would've thought. There can be no doubt though, that each & every selection is an out & out gem, entirely worthy of inclusion here.

The soul of the '50s & '60s is pure & honest, reaching parts that a lot of modern music simply can't. The lyrics are direct, the music similarly so - these songs hit you in the gut. These songs are for the heads AND for the feets! These songs take me straight back to the dancefloor at Keb Darge's Legendary Deep Funk night at the infamous Madame JoJo's in London's Soho...

"I look into the sea of smiling faces on the dance floor every Saturday night at Madame JoJo's, & get a feeling that somehow this music as saved these people from a false & dreary nightlife." Keb Darge

IN A NUTSHELL: a joyous treasure trove of old school dance music compiled by two deeply (old)-schooled selectors
NYNTEE'S RATING: nine dusty old funk 45s out of ten

Check out the Radio Ponsonby Record Review with Nyntee, on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show on Radio Ponsonby, every Wednesday around 8.25am. Tune in! 107.7FM in Auckland & streaming live.

16 August 2010

George FM Playlist 15th August 2010

Maddslinky with Omar | Special
Maddslinky | Lost On Tenori Street
Daft Punk | Da Funk (re-edit)
Bulletproof with Tiki Taane | Soundtrack To Forever
Cream | I Feel Free
The Black Seeds | Make A Move (Downtown Brown remix feat. Mighty Asterix)
The Funkees | Slipping Into Darkness
Shuggie Otis | Sparkle City
Kologbo with The Deacon | Freedom Back
Kokolo | Girls On Film
Sola Rosa with Bajka | Humanised (moO (ISTANBUL Guitar Check) remix)
? | The Beat Goes On (re-edit)
!!! | AM/FM
Chic | I Want Your Love (Todd Terje edit)
Groove Armada vs The Temptations | Papa In Chicago (Sugamotor edit)
Michael Jackson | Rockin' Robin (Grant Phabao remix)
Mayer Hawthorne | Maybe So, Maybe No (reggae remix)
Kinny | Forgetting To Remember (Grant Phabao remix)
Sola Rosa with Iva Lamkum | Turnaround (TM Juke remix)
Yarbrough & Peoples | Don't Stop The Music (Professor La Criox re-edit)
Snooky | Ease The Pain
Tony Cook with Dam-Funk | What's On Your Mind (Nick M. remix)
Ron Richardson | Ooh Wee Babe

12 August 2010

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Sola Rosa - Get It Together (The Remixes)










Sola Rosa
Get It Together - The Remixes
[Way Up/Rosa Recordings]

Over the last decade Andrew Spraggon has taken Sola Rosa from one-man bedroom recording nom-de-plume to fully-fledged, all-guns-blazing live band lineup, delivering a clutch of excellent studio albums along the way.

None are finer than last year's Get It Together: a body blow of significant proportions & a vastly under-rated album. Get It Together is all killer & no filler, boasting one of the biggest local tunes of the year (nay, decade!?) in Turnaround (featuring the bluesy, soulful vocals of Iva Lamkum), lovingly enshrined in the warmest, fattest production this side of the Black Stump.

So, I must admit it was with some trepidation I cracked the seal on Spraggon's latest venture, Get It Together - The Remixes.

Remix collections are notoriously hit & miss affairs, with some veering into the outer limits of what's enjoyably listenable simply for the sake of having the latest, coolest DJs involved; while others are blanded out beyond muzak in a half-hearted effort to please most-of-the-people-most-of-the-time.

This isn't like either of those. At all.

Sure, there's a host of globally recognised names involved: DJ Vadim, The Nextmen, Biggabush, TM Juke, Beatfanatic, Yes King, J-Star; alongside the lesser known likes of Thomas Blondet, Moo, Mr Boinkin & our own/adopted Jason Eli - but this is top drawer gear, mate! Each of the producers involved bring something fresh to the tunes they've tweaked, without losing the heavy-lidded, borderline Tex-Mex flavours Sola Rosa so consistently cook up.

The vocalists from the original Get It Together album all line up here again (longtime collaborator Spikey Tee, German songstress Bajka, US emcee Serocee & Wellington's waaay-more-than-promising Iva Lamkum), while the CD closes with a genuine highlight & new take on the instrumental track Del Ray, featuring a seamlessly flowing rap delivered in his native tongue, by the Chilean rapper Four-D, who sent his "mash-up" version to Spraggon over the internet, completely out of the blue!

Put simply: these remixes could play alongside most of Sola Rosa's back catalogue without sounding out of place at all. Being that Spraggon took the best part of a year sifting through remixes to select & program this collection we shouldn't be at all surprised. After all, the man's inescapable attention to detail as seen us all rewarded with a fine swag of musical riches for more than 10 years.

Here's to another ten - Viva la Sola Rosa!

NYNTEE'S RATING: seven & a half Cuba Libre's out of then
IN A NUTSHELL: Sola Rosa slide in sideways with a selection of top drawer. heavy-lidded remix treats

Check out the Radio Ponsonby Record Review with Nyntee, on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show on Radio Ponsonby, every Wednesday around 8.25am. Tune in! 107.7FM in Auckland & streaming live.

09 August 2010

Black Is Back!










Just as it says on the tin: Black Is Back!

Join Nyntee & his new family at Sugar Bar THIS Friday night - BLACK FRIDAY! - for an evening of funk, soul, disco boogie & rare groove, spun with love & happiness by yours truly, in the lush, sexy surrounds of Sugar Bar - surely Newmarket's best-kept secret...

From 8.30pm 'til just after midnight & no cover charge! Seeya there...

02 August 2010

George FM Playlist 1st August 2010

Leon Ware | California
Leroy Hutson | Cool Out
Aloe Blacc | Billie Jean (live)
The Roots with Monsters Of Folk | Dear God 2.0
Seu Jorge & Almaz | Cirandar
Mayer Hawthorne | Maybe So, Maybe No (reggae version)
Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno | Portada Del Mar
Saravah Soul | Mussum
Jimi Tenor & Kabu Kabu | I Wanna Hook Up With You
Vampire Weekend | Cousins
Funeral Party | NYC Moves To The Sound Of LA
Hudson Mohawke | FUSE
Groove Armada | Purple Haze
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti | Round & Round
Woolfy | Odyssey
Quantic Soul Orchestra with Alice Russell | Take Your Time, Change Your Mind (Faze Action remix)
Waajeed | Kilode
Gilles Peterson's Havana Cultura Band | Roforofo Fight (Louie Vega remix)
Quantic & His Combo Barbaro | The Dreaming Mind (Pt. 1)
Jackie Wilson | Higher & Higher
The Black Seeds | Make A Move (Downtown Brown remix feat. Mighty Asterix & MC Switch)
Dil Jackson | Make Me Feel (MCA version)
Starkey with Anneka | Stars
Dam-Funk | Burgundy City
Breakage with Roots Manuva | Run 'Em Out

29 July 2010

George FM Playlist 25th July 2010

Gotan Project Meets Chet Baker | Round About Midnight
TM Juke with Alice Russell & Jim Oxborough | Knee Deep
Chungking | Making Music (4Hero remix)
Groove Armada | Purple Haze
Kinny & Horne | Us On Fire
Dublex Inc. with Sandhy Son Doro | Shine (The Dynamics remix)
Exotic Pets | Bush Skank
Manu Dibango | Wakafrika
Red Or Dread | Private Life
The Heritage Orchestra | Skybreaks (Jazzanova remix)
Reel People | Can't Stop
? | Cantaloopz
Philly Blunt | Loves California
Alice Russell | All Over Now
Recloose with Justin Chapman & Genevieve Marentette | Red Road
Teddy Rok 7 with Okou | Feel
Lewis McCallum | Tales Of Mingus
Project Sandro | Blazer
Dam-Funk with Steve Arrington | For My Homies

21 July 2010

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno 'Dog With A Rope'











Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno
Dog With A Rope
[Tru Thoughts]

I don't know about you, but I reckon it's getting colder as the NZ winter really begins to slide her icy fingers under our collective rump.

So when an album billed as "Tropical Horns on Reggae Rhythms" arrives for release, I find myself fighting thoughts of jealousy. When said album turns out to be the new Quantic full-length, from his Flowering Inferno project, well that, my dear reader, is another matter entirely.

Let's get the disclaimer out of the way up front: British-born, Colombia-resident Quantic aka Will Holland, is one of this music fan's favourite independent artists, with a vast back catalogue of excellent releases as Quantic, Quantic Soul Orchestra, Quantic & His Combo Barbaro & The Limp Twins; & projects with Alice Russell & Spanky Wilson.

Flowering Inferno is the freshest of Holland's many musical guises, which, all up, have seen the uber-prolific young prodcer, musician & DJ release 14 full-length albums in 10yrs, each of them on the little-label-that-could, Brighton's famed Tru Thoughts.

Dog With A Rope is his 2nd album as Flowering Inferno & it sees him embrace even more fully the ties between Jamaican music's reggae rhythms & Afro-Latin's many dance styles.

Recorded at his own Sonida Del Valle Studios in Cali, COlombia (where Holland has been resident since 2007), the album is inspired by soundsystem culture & is a seamless blend of rocksteady, reggae & dub with Colombian cumba & Cuban rumba, delivered by a well-schooled cast of musicians.

Holland has gathered an ensemble of horn players from Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico & Panama to ply alongside Jamaican-born drummer Conrad Kelly (UB40, Steel Pulse), Peruvian pianist Alfredo Linares (who has appeared on Holland's last 3 albums), Colombian percussionist Wilson Viveros & Holland himself, of course. The featured vocalists are Nidia Gongora, who you may remember from the ubiquitous Quantic & His Combo Barbaro single Un Canto A Mi Tierra; & Markittis Micolta, a vocalist who began his career in the '60s with the Colombian band Peregoyo y su Combo Vacana, one of the first groups to combine Descarga & Cuban sounds ith Colombian folklore.

Dog With A Rope stands in contrast to - and as an ideal companion piece for - Quantic & His Combo Barbaro's critically acclaimed 2009 album Tradition In Transition, which saw Holland explore the Latin styles of cumbia, son, salsa & mambo; and Flowering Inferno's debut album, Death Of The Revolution, upon which Holland delved more deeply into the roots of reggae.

On Dog With A Rope we hear more fully formed "songs" & more vocals than on the Death Of The Revolution, yet Holland keeps each track short & sweet; with the ideas plentiful, the sweet funk bountiful & the freshness palpable. Heavy, heavy bass, tropical reggae & genuine Latin rhythms make for the sunniest listen of our winter months & also one of Holland's finest albums to date.

The initial Tru Thoughts vinyl release of Dog With A Rope includes the album on LP plus a 7" vinyl single & the full album on CD!

In A Nutshell: top shelf tropical reggae with plenty of heavy bass
Nyntee's Rating: NINE Mojitos out of TEN

Check out the Radio Ponsonby Record Review with Nyntee, on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show on Radio Ponsonby, every Wednesday around 8.25am. Tune in! 107.7FM.

19 July 2010

Light Fantastic at Sugar Bar THIS Friday!













I'm really looking forward to spinning some disco boogie, rare groove & all 'round cosmic tunes THIS Friday 23rd July at Sugar Bar for a brand new evening of quality music in quality surrounds, this month titled Light Fantastic.

From 8pm 'til late & for just $15 on the door, you'll experience the lush surrounds of the wonderful Sugar Bar & their excellent staff, drinks specials all night & a sweet selection of tasty disco boogie business!

As the promoter so aptly puts it: Come Lose Yourself With Friends 30+

George FM Playlist 18th July 2010

Maddslinky with Omar | Special
Weekend Inc. | Take It Easy (Breakdown Dub)
Rhythm Skaters | Ready For Skating (Frico edit)
Crown Heights Affair | Dreamin' A Dream (Frico edit)
Teddy Pendergrass | The More I Get (The More I Want) (Frico edit)
Joe Quartermain | So Much Trouble In My Mind (South City Allstars edit)
Chic | Soup For One (Frico edit)
Smoove & Turrell | You Don't Know
Night Dubber | Loose Boogie (King Onkyo edit)
From Russia With Love | Love In The City (Vladimir The Russian edit)
Jan Leslie Holmes | I'm Your Superman (DJ Spinna remix)
M.I.A. | XXXO
M.I.A. | Born Free
The Roots with Joanna Newsom | Right On
Maddslinky with Tawiah | Further Away
Electric Wire Hustle | Gimme That Kinda
Style Council | Long Hot Summer
Seu Jorge & Almaz | Everybody Loves The Sunshine
Curtis Mayfield | Keep On Pushing (South City Allstars edit)

15 July 2010

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti












Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

Before Today

[4AD]


I never thought I’d be reviewing something positively whilst comparing it to Hall & Oates, Steely Dan & the Beach Boys.


Not that there’s anything particularly wrong with any of those well-respected & frankly mega-huge acts, you understand, but… well, none would exactly make it to my ‘All Time Favourites’ list.


However, the wee L.A. native Ariel Pink & his merry men, Haunted Graffiti, may well have edged into that list of favourites – by melding messy guitars, layered synths & keening vocal melodies with half-remembered hooks from those aforementioned ‘80s uber-stars – with their new album, Before Today.


The 2004 re-release of Ariel Pink’s Doldrums album (the first album from a non-Animal Collective member on that band’s own Paw Tracks label) brought his distinctly lo-fi styled, bedroom-produced, noise-pop sound to greater public attention.


Before Today is also a re-release of sorts, in a way, with a handful of these songs available previously in differing versions. It's their first album for the famed 4AD label (home to The National, TV On The Radio, Pixies) & no expense has been spared with the recording, with these full-bodied studio version more fully-realised, better produced & ultimately far more engaging than any previously available.


Yes, it is smooth & sometimes even a little cheesy in places, but it’s also pretty rugged in others, as if Phil Spector produced half of the album & Iggy Pop or Syd Barrett the other half. Having said that, after ten plus years & more than a dozen albums, Ariel Pink seems to have reigned in his noisiest elements & successfully harnessed his most melodic, resulting in what is easily his most accessible work.


In A Nutshell: jam-packed with outsider A.M. gold nuggets

Nyntee's Rating: EIGHT yachts out of TEN


Check out the Radio Ponsonby Record Review with Nyntee on Murry Sweetpant's Breakfast Show on Radio Ponsonby, every Wednesday around 8.25am. Tune in! 107.7FM

12 July 2010

George FM Playlist 11th July 2010

Flying Lotus | Do The Astral Plane
The Clonious with Muhsinah | One At A Time
Chaka Khan | Chaka Kon (Kon's re-edit)
Mr Chop with C.L. Smooth | T.R.O.Y.
Stevie Wonder | All Day Sucka
The Spinners | It's A Shame (Frico edit)
Afro-Cuban Band | Something's Got To Give (Frico edit)
Jimmy Smith & Etta James | I Just Want To Make Love To You (unreleased mix)
Kendra Lou & The Miracles | Everyday
Son Of Dave | Low Rider
Vampire Weekend | Cousins
The Naked & Famous | Young Blood
J-Roc | Funkanomical Boom
Manhead | Birth School Work Death
Nightlife Unlimited | Peaches & Prunes (J-Rocc edit)
Natural Self | Fire The Body (Les Noirs remix)
Yarbrough & Peoples | Don't Stop The Music (Professor LeCroix re-edit)
Foreign Exchange | Sincere
Dam-Funk with MC Eiht | Hood Pass Intact (12" version)
George Baker Selection | Little Green Bag
Cardell Funk Machine | Shoot Your Shot
Jermaine Jackson | Little Girl Don't You Worry
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti | Round & Round

04 July 2010

George FM Playlist 4th July

Gene Rivers & LP | Voice Inside Me
James Pants | Driftwood
J Dilla | Safety Dance
Mayer Hawthorne | Just Ain't Gonna Work Out (El Camino remix)
MED with Talib Kweli & Madlib | Classic
House Shoes | Newports
Shawn Lee | Fade Up
Josh Rouse | Wonderful
Seu Jorge & Almaz | Everybody Loves The Sunshine
The Beatles | Because (edit)
Rick James | Getting It On (In The Sunshine)
Grandmaster Flash | The Message (Ed Smith remix)
Jimmy Cliff | You Can Get It If You Really Want
? | And The Beat Goes On
50 Cent | Window Shopper (edit)
Quantic with Alice Russell | Sound Of Everything (Senorlobo & Watch TV remix)
Checker Kabb | By My Side
Midnight Express Show Band | Breeze Up
Dam-Funk | LAtrifying
Exquisite Taste | It's You That's Happening
Shalamar | Take That To The Bank
D-Train | Music (Tony Humphries remix)
Evelyn "Champagne" King v Kid Cudi | Shame At Night
Orgone | It's Time Tonight
Florence & The Machine | You Got The Love (The xx remix)

28 June 2010

George FM Playlist 27th June

Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno | Echate Pa'lla
Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno | Te Pico El Yaibi (Version)
Recloose with Joe Dukie | Deeper Waters (Yes King remix)
Seu Jorge & Almaz | Cirandar
Ed Motta | A Charada
Yo La Tengo | Here To Fall (Pete Rock remix)
Alfonzo Hunter | Weekend Thang
Gregory Isaacs | Night Nurse
Willie Hutch | Woman (Bazi's Beats mix)
Althea & Donna | Uptown Top Ranking
Dub Asylum | Ba Ba Boom!
The Dynamics | Move On Up
Raphael Saadiq | It's A Shame
Nicole Willis | Feeling Free (Natural Self remix)
Kruder & Dorfmeister v Grandmaster Flash | The High Noon Message
Karlmarx Project | Mists
Stevie v Empire Of The Sun | Jammin' On A Dream (Leo Zero edit)
America | Horse With No Name (Todd Terje edit)
Orgone | It's Time Tonight (Curly Locks Dub mix)
Roy Ayers | Holiday (Kenny Dope Main Pass)
Nuyorican Soul | I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun (4Hero remix)

14 June 2010

George FM Playlist 13th June 2010

Herbie Hancock | Tell Everybody
Don Ray | Got To Have Loving
Gay Marvine | Rise Above
Jamiroquai | Virtual Insanity (HT Funk edit)
Space Funk Project | Disco 2000 Selector
Willie Hutch | Chase (edit)
Tony Cook with Dam-Funk | What's On Your Mind
Aurra | Nasty Disposition
Twilight | Dance With Me
Demis Roussos | L.O.V.E. Got A Hold On Me
Dam-Funk | Burn Straight Thru U
Joy Denalane with Lupe Fiasco | Change
Aloe Blacc | I Need A Dollar
Jack Mayforth | Disco People (E's E edit)
Freshro | I Turn My Camera On
Suzanne Vega | Tom's Dinner (MonkOne edit)
9th Wonder | E's E Sunset Park re-edit
Manzell | Midnight Theme (Dopebrother remix)
Stephanie McKay | Jackson Avenue
Diana Ross | Brown Baby (Onur Engin edit)
Rusko with Gucci Maine | Got Da Groove
Dam-Funk with Mark de Clive-Lowe | Candy Apple
Aurra | Checking You Out
Seu Jorge & Almaz | Everybody Loves The Sunshine
Loop Professor v Gilberto Gil | Stop & Gil
Mandrake Som 79 | Soul Samba
Joao Donato | O Morro Nao Tem Vez (Onur Engin edit)
E's E | Man With The Horn
? | Tango Hustled (JDeep edit)
Common | I Want U! (Illmind remix)
Roy Hargreaves | Universe
Allen Hoist | Inner City Blues (4Hero VIP remix)

Long Lounge at Longroom




















As the Auckland weather begins to turn, the hottest spot on the Ponsonby Strip just made it a whole lot easier to squeeze every last drop out of your weekend! Join yer Bro 90 as I spin my usual musical melange - with an emphasis on the "lounge" - inviting you to slide deeper into the couches in front of the roaring logfires...

Sundays 5-8pm, Long Lounge at Longroom, 114 Ponsonby Rd.
www.longroom.co.nz

George FM Playlist 6th June 2010

The Gotan Project | La Del Ruso (Calexico Version)
Red Astaire | Follow Me (QSO Version feat. Alice Russell)

Dawn Penn | You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)

Beat Assailant | Hard Twelve
Uknown | Qualified In Keef (J Deep Edit)

Alice Russell with TM Juke | Hurry On Now (J Todd remix)

Joao Donato | O Morro Nao Tem Vez (Onur Engin edit)

Unknown | Tango Hustled (J Deep Edit)

Leo Zero | Jammin' On A Dream
Killer Funk Disco Allstars | Look! A Van Gogh! (Good Groovin' Edit)

William DeVaughan | Be Thankful For What You've Got (Onur Engin edit)

Etienne De Crecy | Super Disco

Joe Bataan | The Bottle (re-edit)

LCD Soundsystem | Drunk Girls (Holy Ghost! Remix)
Orgone | It's Time Tonight

Al Green | Love & Happiness (Mr President & Mr Day Version)

Betty Padgett | Sugar Daddy

Aurra | Checking You Out
Change | You Are My Melody
Aurra | Baby Love
Bernard Wright | Haboglabotribin

Trusted Friends at Longroom




















Just as it says on the tin: your Trusted Friends from the wireless spinning a sweet selection of midweek music at the hottest spot on the Ponsonby Strip. Cold drinks, hot food & tasty tunes, with plenty of room to stretch out on the couches, in front of the fires, in the courtyard...

Every Wednesday night from 7pm til 1am, at Longroom, 114 Ponsonby Rd.
www.longroom.co.nz

04 June 2010

George FM Playlist 30th May

Choi | The Way We Are [Equatorial]
Lanu | Dis-Information [Tru Thoughts]
Crazy P Present The Syndromes | The Hit [Kolour]
Dublex Inc. | Repercusion [Pulver]
Zapp | More Bounce To The Ounce [Warner]
Afro Soundsystem | #1 [Afro Soundsystem]
Quantic | Don't Joke With A Hungry Man (Rebtuz remix) [Rebtuz]
Red Astaire | Tito [GAMM]
Palov & Mishkin | Muchachos [Rebtuz]
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators | Feeling Free (Natural Self remix) [ATC]
Amp Fiddler| Faith [Genuine]
The Managers | Up In Arms [Hoi]
Live Interview with The Managers
The Managers | Terror Firma [Hoi]
Flowering Inferno | Portada Del Mar [Tru Thoughts]
Radio City with Bajka | The Hop [HVW8]
Me&You | Brown Paper Bag [Tru Thoughts]
Dublex Inc. with Sandhy Son Doro | Shine (The Dynamics remix) [Infracom]
PPP with Karma | On A Cloud [Ubiquity]
Kanye West | Diamonds (J Todd remix) [Platinum Soul]
Big Bang with Rasiyah | To The Full Every Minute (Yam Who? remix) [Arision]
Waajeed | Funkin' For Jamaica [Jazzy Sport]
Recloose | Red Road [Fingertips]
Choklate | Bigger Than You [Kajmere]

23 May 2010

George FM Playlist 23rd May 2010

MonkOne | Tom's Dinner
Timeless Orchestra | Fantastic (Georgia Anne Muldrow remix)
Recloose with Joe Dukie | Deeper Waters (Yes King remix)
Homebrew | Benefit
Heritage Orchestra | Spottieottiedopealicious
Boozoo Bajou | Sign (DSL remix)
House Shoes | Newports
Musiq Soulchild with Estelle | Everyday People
Common | I Want U (Illmind remix)
DJ Vadim with Zion | Got To Rock
Michael Jackson | Black Or White (Taggy Matcher edit)
Cornerstone Roots | Forward Movement
Little Dragon | Blinking Pigs
? | Mr Dizzy Scruff
Dan Le Roc vs Scroobius Pip | Thou Shalt Always Kill (Raiders Of The Lost Ark remix)
A-Trak | Trizzy Turnt Up
Franz Ferdinand | Take Me Out
Bulletroof with Tiki Taane | Soundtrack To Forever
Datarock | The Pretender (Holy Ghost remix)
The Wiseguys | Ooh La La
Sepalot with Ladi 6 | You Got It (AC Slater remix)
Only Child with Veba | Addicted (Llorca remix)
Mr Day | Small Fry (remix)
Quantic with Alice Russell | The Sound Of Everything (Senorlobo & Watch TV remix)
Florence & The Machine | You've Got The Love (The xx remix)