uk garage...

Yes, northern prejudice about garage is deeply ingrained in the rest, I have opened my mind but am waiting to hear some stuff. Howevere I fear 'being into' another form of music, I don't want another stack of discs to buy.

Tim can give us the cold and hard facts. I'm not a garage man myself although I love Stanton Warriors, yes they are my token two-step group ;) Anyway what ever happened to those fellows who did "Destiny"?

Ironically just as it seems to be on the wane in the UK, it's getting touted and picked up in the US (Justin Timberlake's recent comments).

1) Amira - My Desire (Dreem Teem Mix)

2) Richie Boy & DJ Klasse - Madness On The Street

3) Artful Dodger - Woman Trouble (Wideboys Mix)

4) Valerie M - Tinkles 2000 (Artful Dodger Mix)

5) David Howard - U & I

6) New Horizons - Find The Path

7) James Lavonz - Mash Up Da Venue

7) MJ Cole - Sincere (Y2K Dub)

8) Sunship - Try Me Out (Let Me Lick It)

9) Basement Jaxx - Jump & Shout (Stanton Warriors Mix)

10) Dem 2 - Destiny (Original and New Horizons Mix)

11) MJ Cole - Crazy Love

12) Doolally - Straight From The Heart (Original and Bump & Flex Hardstep Dub)

13) Zed Bias - Neighbourhood

14) Richie Dan - Call It Fate (Underground Mix)

15) Artful Dodger - Re-Rewind The Crowd Say Bo Selecta

16) Victor Romeo - Love Will Find A Way (Artful Dodger Mix)

17) Matt Darey's Mash Up - Beautiful (Dubaholics Dub Mix)

18) All Saints - Black Coffee (Wideboys Expresso Mix)

19) So Solid Crew - Oh No (original and Oxide mix)

20) Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers (Sunship Mix)

I did a list of honorable mentions, but it blew out to 50 records. If anyone wants to get it, send me a message.

Wookie is great when he's on form, but he's often praised for those aspects which are least endearing - the soulful section of "Battle" for example does nothing for me. I much prefer his "Down On Me" style tunes, though "What's Going On?" was excellent fun.

Dem 2 (the guys who did "Destiny") did a couple of tunes and remixes in '99, but since then the only thing I know of that they've done is a remix of Divine Styler's "Directrix", which was excellent - straddling the 2-step/electro borderline perfectly.

1) Smokin' Beats - Dreams

2) New Horizons - It's My House (Bashment Mix)

3) The Wideboys - Stand & Deliver

4) Double 99 - Rip Groove

5) Boris Dlugosch Presents Boom - Hold Your Head Up High (Julian Jonah's Bad Boy Mix)

6) Hakan Lidbo - Walk Away (Todd's Walked This Way Vocal Mix)

Patrick: the best intro comp I can think of is the first Artful Dodger compilation on Ministry of Sound (Rewind - the sound of UK Garage, i think it's called), which gathers together some excellent tracks from the crossover period (late '99, early 2000) with some old classic tracks and quite a bit of 4/4. Once you've digested that I also recommend the Ministry of Sound Ayia Napa compilation mixed by Shanks & Bigfoot, the first Sound of the Pirates comp (the second is a bit disappointing IMHO) and the Artful Dodger mix cd done for Public Demand (Re-Rewind... Back By Public Demand - there's a double disc version and a single disc version, and the latter is the better value for money I say).

1. Deepdown - Phuturistix (Locked On) 2. Dooms Night (Timo Maas Remix) - Azzido Da Bass (Club Tools) 3. Shots - DJ Hype (Naughty) 4. 138 Trek - DJ Zinc (True Playaz) 5. We Come 1 (Wookie Dub) - Faithless (Cheeky) 6. Raise it Up (The Wiseguys Full Vocal Mix) - Kitachi (Dope On Plastic!) 7. Dilema - So Solid Crew featuring Romeo & Face (So Solid) 8. Got Your Money (DJ Dee Kline and Ed209 Vocal Mix) - Ol' Dirty Bastard 9. featuring Kelis (Elektra) 10. Sincere (MJ's Dubb 2000) - MJ Cole featuring Nova Caspar & Jay Dee (Talkin Loud) 11. Gabriel (Large Joints Remix) - Roy Davis Jr & Peven Everett (Locked On) 12. Searcher - Tim Wright (Novamute) 13. True VIP! - Youngstar (New Deal) 14. Pure Pleasure Seeker (Pizzicato Mix) - Moloko (Echo) 15. (Slip + Slide) Suicide (Trick Or Treat Darkside Vocal) – Kosheen (Moksha) 16. Has it Come to This? (Jameson Remix) - The Streets (Locked On) 17. Boom Selection - Genius (Kronik) 18. Directrix (Dem 2 Vocal Mix) - Divine Styler (MoWax) 19. Joy - Mark Ryder Project 4 featuring Special MC (Strictly Underground) 20. Attitude - MJ Cole (Talkin Loud) 21. You Can't Stop Me (Stephen Emanuel Remix) - Basement Jaxx (Locked On) 22. Hide U (Young Offendaz Remix) - Kosheen (Moksha) 23. Climax (Sti.cky Remix) - Slumvillage (Wordplay) 24. Check This Bass (Instrumental) - Mark 'Ruff' Ryder & Mikey James (Strictly Underground) 25. Saved My Life (James Lavonz Remix) - Todd Edwards (Locked On) 26. The International - Sovereign & Jack Jones (KMP) 27. Mash Up da Venue (Original Vocal Mix) - Lavonz featuring She & Mr. D (Locked On) 28. No More Rain (Wookie Dub) - Angie Stone (Arista) 29. Back Up Back Up Back Up (DJ Zinc Remix) - Wookie (S2S) 30. Sambucca (Heavy Dub) - The Wideboys featuring Denis G (Locked On)

And let me affirm that "Dynamite (Dancehall Queen)" is also brilliant. Not sure if it was Beenie Man originally, but he did at least do a version of it a couple of years ago - a sort of reggae-house affair that's not nearly as good as the new version or what he himself is doing now.

I was out dancing at a garage night just then, and was reminded just how thoroughly Sticky's "Boo" rocks my world. So fun to dance maniacally to - tonight was the third time I've had a dj personally seek me out and check that I wasn't on hard drugs, and each time they never accept that I'm totally clean.

But help me people with a track ID - brief snatch of a female vocal saying "Get me off", main tune a sleazy staccato saxaphone melody before snapping in with a "Stand & Deliver" style high-register xylobass-line. Excellent stuff, and I need to know what it is *now*.

theres a stack of stuff ive got to listen to at uptownrecords.co.uk but i cant find a cafe with real audio out in this dump!

sorry if its really old, that shop is my only link to whats happening NOW or whatever.

The problem with UKG I do have, especially in the light of yet another London clubnight shooting, is trying to balance up the giggly danceability of much of the music (even now, what's weird is how a fresh 2-step rhythm can turn the most overplayed-to-infinity track, from Jackson 5 to contemporary R&B, back into a mindmelt with such inspiring ease) with the fact that I don't think I'll ever be able to - or want to - associate myself with the cultural side of UKG, which sounds everso patronising I know, but shucks.

Anyhow, it raises quite an interesting issue in terms of loving the music but rejecting the culture, or vice versa, and how that generally zig-zags its way through pop-culture. I think.

Of course it seems particularly strange with UKG because of the feminine/good times vibe in the music (although that has receded severely in the last year or so) but really the music is more a continuation of those previous sounds than a terribly radical break from them.

It loses some of the edge, some of the atmosphere and tension, in the latter, but by the same token, you can get off on the tunes more if you're not always looking over your shoulder.

Sidepoint. Something that's worrying me about UKG right now: the Lionel Richie infatuation. There's at least three refits of his 80s horribilus doing the rounds right now.

got some remake of 'knightrider'....pretty crap actually. well, not bad but not as good as it should have been. why have all the bootlegs of potentially good material been disappointing (biggest disappointment: LFO tune that i heard a while back)?

How will you know it's them playing? Dark, electro-inspired tunes, drawing on bleep-and-bass, darkcore rave and the darker end of post-Timbaland hip hop ("Oh No" sampled Missy's "Smooth Chick" and I think Oxide just officially remixed "One Minute Man"). One important thing to note is that unlike the "breakbeat garage" it's usually coupled with, So Solid Crew and groups like them (Heartless Crew, Genius Kru, Pay As U Go Kartel) tend to maintain 2-step's programmed beats, preserving that R&B-flavoured hyper-syncopation that's always made 2-step distnctive. What's brilliant however is that instead of the usual slinky flow, the 2-step beats here sound jerky, . The first time I heard "Oh No" I was put in mind of the rigid spasms of an animated corpse. The root of their sound can be traced back to tracks like Wookie's "Down On Me", which I think Oxide has said was a big influence. Tellingly, a lot of them say their favourite film is The Matrix.

The tunes occasionally feature intermittent female vocals (So Solid Crew's "Oh No") or samples (Oxide & Neutrino's "No Good 4 Me", which is basically a remake of The Prodigy's "No Good (Start The Dance)" - and that era of The Prodigy is a pretty good reference point actually) but ultimately the action is centered around the MCs. On their last single "21 Seconds" (not as initially stunning as "Oh No" but a compulsively listenable grower, with a gorgeously programmed rhythm) each of the many MCs has 21 seconds to rap. As I think Greg pointed out, the constraints of such a format make for a hilariously unbalanced song.

Tunes to search out? For So Solid Crew, try "Oh No", "21 Seconds", "Woah", "Why", "Dilemma" and "They Don't Know" - a fantastic track with vocals from Lady Dynamite. For Oxide & Neutrino try "No Good 4 Me" and "Up Middle Finger", plus I've heard their album Execute is very good.

Ha yes well it was the same here at the time. It's only now when I've already got them all that you can pick heaps of them up for next to nothing.

Sticky ft Ms Dynamite 'Booo!'
Lamb 'Gabriel (MJ Cole mix)'
DJ Zinc 'Go DJ'
MJ Cole ft Elephant Man 'Zoom Zoom'

i'd been listening to sticky. and that donao "bounce" track. and i found myself in a cheapy shop, and i vaguely remembered the words "apia napa" from mr finney ... and ...

"But help me people with a track ID - brief snatch of a female vocal saying "Get me off", main tune a sleazy staccato saxaphone melody before snapping in with a "Stand & Deliver" style high-register xylobass-line. Excellent stuff, and I need to know what it is *now*."

This turned out to be D'N'D's "Pick It Up (Dub)" which is a fab tune. I wish there were still UK Garage nights in Melbourne!!!

and Cooper Bethea plays a guest UKG spot at Wild FleX on January 22nd !

Lonyo
Valerie M
Kristine Blond
Sticky

Is it the best pop music ever?

I find myself listening to the True Steppers singles a lot. I've said it before, but I thought "Out of Your Mind" was a kind of apotheosis of pop music.

I'm working on a 'portable' best of UK Garage.

1. Tina Moore - "Never Gonna Let You Go (Kelly G Bump-N-Go vocal mix)"
2. TJR ft. Xavier - "Just Gets Better (TJR dub radio edit)"
3. Kristine Blond - "Loveshy (Tuff Jam classic vocal)"
4. Nu Birth - "Anytime (dub mix)"
5. Artful Dodger ft. Craig David - "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)(radio edit)"
6. 702 - "U Don't Know (Marvel & Eli's vocal mix)"
7. B-15 Project - "Girls Like Us (Original mix)"
8. Monie Love - "Slice of Da Pie (El-B Mix)"
9. Sweet Female Attitude - "Flowers (Sunship mix)"
10. ATFC ft. OnePhatDeeva - "Bad Habit (Stanton Warriors vocal mix)"
11. Gabrielle - "Sunshine (Wookie main mix)"
12. MJ Cole - "Crazy Love (main mix)"
13. True Steppers and Dane Bowers ft. Victoria Beckham - "Out of Your Mind (radio edit)"
14. Mis-Teeq - "One Night Stand (Sunship remix)"
15. Craig David - "Fill Me In (album version)"
16. Angie Stone - "No More Rain (In This Cloud)(Wookie main mix)"
17. Ja Rule ft. Ashanti - "Down 4 U (DnD mix)"

(80:43 could substitute the radio edit of "Loveshy" to get it under 80 mins)

Have you heard a comp called Crews Control? That might be the missing link for you, but perhaps you want something even earlier.

I found the Truesteppers album for 99p last month! It's really good though not as amazing as the Artful Dodger one.

A second volume would have to incorporate Shola Ama's "Imagine", Wookie's "The Battle", and that amazing Club Asylum remix of K-Ci & Jojo's "Tell Me It's Real".

LONG LIVE DA GARAGE

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

revive!

N-Dubz vs N.A.A.

that whole NAA vs ndubz thing is so painfully pointless it makes me emit a small tear inside.

was it a real beef? i'm amused by the track (and N-Dubz generally, in a good way). when are Wiley and Lethal doing a track together?

i dont know if it was a real beef but apparently l mans NAA crew werent impressed that n dubz were called what they are cos it sounds like his crew, ie n DOUBLE a. which seems understandable if a bit pointless. saying NAA isnt the same as n DUBZ is it? more silly beef if you ask me. i dont know about wiley and lethal doing a song together but they did a song on the first more fire album...

You know what shit bangs?

That shit bangs.

FRIIIIIIIIIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY

Did you mean: old skool uk garage