bad day at the office..

Acting with James Franco ♥

Michelle Obama's dating advice

Watch CBS News Videos Online

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE !!

are you gonna bang doe...

This bloody tune.. they played it for like 30 mins! It was makin me laugh though. It was funny until we had to run for our lives. Other highlights include the ragga mc screamin along to Michael Jackson - BILLYYYYYYYY JEANNNN!!!!!! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

HOL' TIGHT THOSE WHO KNOW...

ROBOT WARS!! Got to be the title of my next tune.

I remembered it whilst writing a piece for SuperSuper.

Brb, gone running with James Franco

Does anyone actually put "It's Complicated" on Facebook ...and mean it?

I want to go to a rave like this

Florence and the Machine - 'Halo' Cover

Pardon?

Yes pal

Dammmnnnn SON!!! I just landed on this mix on the man like paul's NEXT LEVEL BLOG TING

Currently listening... best thing i've heard in a hot min... that aint my own tunes (no hype)

BOOMSTEP Mix by Ev-1

Big up to Paul for sifting through the shit and finding gems.. haha! ;)

David M parring the BBC !

Maybe they'll think twice before leading the news with a facebook story now...

Deep

Big up the Fruity Massive!

Hahaha.... hold tight Sam for findin this one.. hahaha!

Pretty much...

Britain in a jpeg

After three, shout "DESPAIR".


One, Two.........................

Subeena in SS17

Subeena – Chart Super Super – May/June ‘09

1. Dre Skull & Sizzla – Gone too far (Buraka Som Sistema remix) (Mixpak Records)

2. Stereotyp feat. Edu K – Jece Valadao (Rob B edit) (Man Recordings)

3. Egyptrixx – Just Say really (XI remix) (Forthcoming Idiot House recordings)

4. Zomby – Aquafresh (Hyperdub)

5. Falty DL – Metacognist (Ramp)

6. Untold – Anaconda (Hessle Audio)

7. Jamie Vex’d – In System Travel (Planet Mu)

8. Bracket – Bass kick (Coin op records)

9. Dre skull - I want you (Bok Bok remix) – (Forthcoming Mixpak Records)

10. Clark – Growls Garden (Warp)

EMMA: Yo Subeena! When did you start producing music?
SUBEENA: I first got into production when I was 18, but for the first two years I was just messing about and didn't really know what I was doing, technically speaking.

E: What kind of music has influenced you?
S: I think everything I've listened to since I was 6 or 7 influenced me really...I went through lots of phases and genres and bands of any type. But if we speak about electronic music then I'd definitely say some of the earlier Warp stuff was the first main influence.

E: What about dubstep wise?
S: When I was trying to produce "dubstep" I was listening to many other things. I like a lot of ambient...

E: Is that what you listen to?
S: Yeah, I've been listening to a lot of Tim Hecker and or stuff like Samoyed and Gramm lately. I also tend to go back and listen to music that influenced me in the past such as Modeselektor or some of those cheesy random bands I was mentioning about earlier.

E: So what kind of music do you play out?
S: If we speak in terms of what I play out though I love pretty much the opposite. I tend to like quite techy and very bassy tracks (pretty much what I've put in my SUPERSUPER Chart really!).

E: Tell us a bit about your record label! How did you start it?!
S: I have been co running Imminent Recordings together with Dot... We started it about 2 years ago since we were both producing and we found about it through a mutual friend.. We kind of decided to set up a label straight away and just did it. It's been a good experience and definitely learned a lot through it.

SS: Do you have any advice for aspiring producers?
SS: I don't know if I can give any concrete advice but all I can say is relevant is to try and keep original ideas. Of course get inspired and influenced by what you like but always keep your own personality in your music

Afternoon tea with High Rankin - full version

This features in the latest issue of Super Super; well, a shorter version does. Here is the full version for all you gypsies, tramps and thieves out there. Peace.

William Rankin, aka 'High Rankin' keeps it rude: Victorian style. Self described as Dj - Producer - Artist - Jungle Ponce - Gun For Hire - Media Darling - Stuntman - Monkey Trainer - Roving Hornsman - Bearded Lady, I think I've met my twin!

EMMA: I had a rather good time at Rusko the other day. Top bloke. What did you make of the evening?

WILLIAM: I had the time of my little life. People were jumping about like deranged rabbits, hungry for the bassline! And a man told me, 'you don't look much like a dubstep DJ for a dubstep dj' which was a bonus!!

E: Haaaaaaahaaha! Big up for getting signed to Hervés label by the way. How did that come about?

W: I believe Radio One’s merchant of the bassline, Annie Mac was kind enough to pass a track called 'Bubble and Squeak' to Hervé and he popped it in his essential mix. I hit him up on myspaz and the rest is history.

E: What kind of music did you produce at the start and how has it changed?

W: I first started making drum and bass. Very bad drum and bass and not bad meaning good. It took a good 3 or 4 years to get anything half decent as coming from a small village where no one else made tunes, and at that time the internet was just for the rich and the lonely. It took time blindly fumbling about in programs until any good popped out!

E: How long does it take you to make a tune.. and if you get writers block.. how do you get over it?!

W: Generally not very long to get the basic bones down. Perhaps 3-4 hours max, then there is a whole load of tinkering, fiddling, tweaking, dilly dallying, jobbying and willy wobbling to get it to a finished state. Writers block does have a habit of striking at inopportune moments but I find a healthy dose of whiskey, Bovril and light hand relief generally stops it in its tracks.

E: Err, thanks for the tips! You are an honest, kindly man. So has Brighton influenced you, or do you take inspiration from those London types, with their balls all shiny?

W: I have never been a great fan of London. It's awfully big and people are ever so grumpy! Brighton has been a big inspiration for the very beginning. My pals and I would frequent a local jungle disco every weekend called 'Lunarcy' and I think if I hadn't, my sound would be very different. I would probably be in much better health but that is neither here nor there!

E: Were you involved in the May Day riots in Brighton?!

W: Sadly I was much too busy in the drawing room attending to a rather troublesome matter involving my man servant and a travelling beard salesman. I shan't go into details but I will say this; I will never purchase another Happy Shopper beard as long as there is air in my lungs.

E: What kind of raves do you play at & where has been your favourite place to play out?

W: All sorts. From the dingy jungle raves or Portsmouth and Hull to the upper class dubstep garden parties or Surrey and Kent.

E: Where has been your favourite place to play?

W: One of my faves has always been Braindrop in London. They know how to put on a good show and the crowd are very accepting of my somewhat, erratic stage antics.

E: When I make tunes I’m more influenced by abstract ideas like Queen Victoria's reign or 1960's sci fi films. What about you?

W: Many things inspire me to write music. Only the other day a saw a beggar set light to by a gang to chimney sweeps and as the smell reached wafted in through the scullery window I thought to myself; I shall make some garage later. And I bloody well did you know!

E: A few people be hating on Snoop Dogg hopping on that 'Eastern Jam' beat. What's your take on it?

W: I have nothing against Jam in any form. Be it a strawberry preserves from Henfield or a date jam from somewhere more eastily like Hastings or Oxted.

E: Which producers would you say are doing the most exciting stuff at the moment?

W: There is a charming young lad called 'Mumdance' who is turning out some lovelies at the mo. Also a strapping fellow who goes by the name of 'Temper D', he is making some corkers. And of course the ever radiant, king of the comb filter 'Gyto'.

E: Do you like all the tunes you make? I sometimes listen to one and think "Golly, what was I smoking?"

W: Unreservedly yes

E: So tell me; what are your favourite past times other than producing?

W: Boating along the Cambridge canals, taking fine whiskey and scorning the poor

E: You've done a few big remixes of great artists like Cypress Hill.. Have you got any more lined up?

W: I have recently polished off remixes for Hervé, Adam Freeland, Amon tobin and Kevin Rudolf. All very cracking chaps if I might say so.

E: And finally - Twitter. What's the big hype?! It’s better than Facebook though wouldn't you agree?

W: Its narcissism at it's best really. I could not condone it more. One day I plan to tweet proposal of marriage and hopefully my dying words as I lie on my deathbed in a pool of my own ego. Grand!

A brief history of dubstep

Gwarnnnnn Florence

Normally never get excited about female singers albums dropping but ... loved this girl's music every since my good friend Kate introduced me to it at uni .. not long to go now !! :D Also seriously considering ginger hair, getting bored of my natural brown..yawn.. although i notice stacey slater has gone bonkers on eastenders and dyed her hair bright orange... maybe it's a sign im losing it

when you type 'how do i dye my hair ginger?' in to google you get no useful results... they all say 'HOW DO I GET RID OF MY GINGER HAIR?' wasteeee!

Thought of the Day

Encarta '96 EP on Myspace

yawn.....



i hate myspace but i guess it's useful...



yawn.....


www.myspace.com/encarta96

Hold tight for next issue of SuperSuper.. I've just written reviews for High Rankin, Roska, Raffertie, Joker & Fly Lo, Eminem, Dizzee Rascal, and erm... ME! lol @ that.. I might as well innit... why not... aint like noone can stop me... hold tight my EP soon come!

Hold tight for a lil Q&A with Subeena too... :-)

Oh and I also wrote a 'Roots of Dubstep' piece, it's pretty basic.... but hopefully offers some kids a bit of education. Will post them all up when it's on the shelves of W.H Smith.

It's been a pretty stressful week (not related to Super Super) but I'm soo glad of this bank holiday...

Hold TIGHT these jokers.. yes I watch Britain's Got Talent sometimes.. with a smoke & a brandy n coke.. thats a lie.. might watch it whilst eatin some vimto bon bons though still....

Hello.

Bit freaked out by my trusty stat counter to find out people actually read this stuff. Most people are landing on the Joker interview. Nobody googles 'victorian grime' or 'encarta concept album' - yet.

Haven't been able to write much lately because I've been boycotting technology. I'm only available via fax at the moment. I don't have a fax machine yet though, where would one purchase one? I'm also looking for the game 'Dream Phone' .. can you help? Call me 555-1957

Seeing as we're on the subject of the 1990's - here is a picture I made of me with the hairstyle of 1994. It's the ideal hair I think. (I made it at 'Yearbook Yourself' http://archive.collemcvoy.com/yearbookyourself/)

What I can tell you is that I have a bloody marvelous interview with High Rankin in the next issue of Super Super, he took time out of his busy schedule (he's a 1920's swimmer by trade) to offer some words (all spelt correctly) which meant my job is essentially done (or Microsoft Spell checker's job) is done.

I've been busy adding to my Encarta album... big up to Roska who rates the concept stil!
I happen to know Roska's next tune ft Jamie George - Love 2 Nite is gettin reviewed in the next issue too. Biggg release!

Go 1970 Yourself

...The 1970 version of me

Bank Holiday Tuneage

We played this on Saturday!

My concept album - 'Encarta '96' soon come.

Emma - Encarta '96 Intro

www.myspace.com/encarta96

Have a listen to what I'm working on at the moment, the introduction to the album.

(a work in progress)

I dont want to ruin your day, but I'd like to remind you of the glory days of Encarta. The good old fashioned honest days before the strife and woe of the internet: the days where if you wanted to go on a computer, it was wheeled in by the teacher. If you are too young to remember Encarta, you should slap your own hands against your face in despair, log on to facebook and cry. If you are too old, you were probably round the corner in a warehouse rave 'aving it large' whilst I was headbutting teachers in the playground.

A few weeks a go I was trotting along Tottenham Court Road like a pony in clogs, on my way to Foyles to pick up some Camus (true story)... I walked past a computer shop which had a copy of Encarta in the window. I nearly fell over my own hooves when I saw it. So many homeworks have been printed off Encarta, often pasted in to Microsoft Word in a different font to try and fool the clumsy ape of a teacher that they were my own verbatim, a 10 year old scally who knows everything - from the industrial revolution to the life cycle of the penguin.

Apart from this blog, I don't go on the internet. I've only just realised that an email won't arrive if you write it on the screen in crayon. So I've decided to use the ideological concept of Encarta as an impetus for my new album.

I'm going to think of all the names of the tracks before I write them and see what happens. Nothing worse than not knowing what you're trying to say. paul_s has already heard this in a mix. check pauls blog if you haven't. It's linked on the right. Join the campaign to help find Richard Alan a missing Brighton cat.. with an amazing name :(


Oh, and if you were wondering, I'm Fruity Loops all day, still.

Senior Street Style - SuperSuper Magazine Issue 16

FYI - New Cover of SuperSuper

*WARNING!* You might need to put on your own sunglasses for this! (2 pairs optional) ; )

Joker Interview

I interviewed Joker for SuperSuper magazine. Here is the transcript.

The picture is courtesy of the Super Super talented Zack (Shutter Collective) - his Flickr can be found here .

"pffft... that's what I think of the term 'Wonky'"

- JOKER is fast becoming one of the most distinctive and creative producers of our generation. Adopted by the ever-expanding Dubstep scene, this Bristol Boy Wonder never ceases to amaze with his forward thinking purple grooves! I caught up with him to talk nu school synths, the colour purple and erm... breadcrumbs

At just 20 years old, Joker has already achieved some of the ultimate accolades of the electronic music world: he has the firm backing of big playas like Kode9 and Plastician, a constant stream of overseas bookings, his own Kapsize Recordings label, a Hyperdub release and a back catalogue of quality releases guaranteed to overshadow anything else in the dance. He also has a really cute lil’ bro’ and a Mum who has, until recently, been going to his gigs: for which he has earned my ultimate respect. Labelled ‘wonky’ by some eager journos: there is nothing ‘wonky’ about the way these beats are thought out. They make complete sense- and there is no time like the purple!

EMMA: Joker!! The first music I bought was a Jason Donavon tape when I was four. What about you?

JOKER: That’s kind of hard to remember. I know that when I was growing up I was listening to a lot of jungle, a lot of R&B, soul and funk. My Mum played a lot of soul. That’s how you get to like it; it’s what you’re born around innit.

E: What program did you start producing on?

J: Well I started off with Fruity Loops but I don’t use that anymore. I use mostly Reason and Logic with hardware; I use a lot of hardware in my tunes.

E: Like 80’s synths and stuff?

J: No, more like Nu School stuff.

E: I’ve heard that Bristol has got quite a close-knit community of producers; do you get together and bounce creativity off each other?

J: Not really. What impression do you have; that it’s like a big family and we all meet up and stuff?

E: Well yes

J: Nah, it’s not really like that. I mean we’re not all best friends but there are a few people I hook up with, like Gemmy, Pinch, Ginz and Guido.

E: Do you think the fact that you don’t live in London has helped your career?

J: Yeah, definitely. It’s more open here; you’re open to do what you want to do. When I named my tune Holly Brook Park it was after a place where I live, but that was a pretty random decision. But all the hype around my tunes started when Plasticman was playing them, and I released a tune on his label, and Pinch’s label.

E: You’re new stuff has a purple theme doesn’t it? Tell me a bit about that!

J: Well when I make a tune, I see it as a colour. And lately I’ve been making purple tunes.

E: How would I make a pink tune then please?

J: Hmmm… I don’t know... but every tune has a colour.

E: So what colour would…say.. Skream’s ‘Midnight Request Line’ be?

J: I would kind of get a blue from that tune. Sometimes I get mixed up with the colour of the artwork, do you know what I mean? That can alter your opinion. But yeah, those arpeggio bits are definitely blue.

E: I noticed on your Myspace page that you’re rockin’ a purple sweater… I like the way you’ve co-ordinated to match your beats. Do you just wear purple?

J: No, actually, that’s the only purple top I own. But my bedroom is purple. What colour is your bedroom?

E: Oh actually yeah it’s lilac, purple too! My Mum thought I should have it painted a cooling colour to calm me down. Ermm moving on …

E: Have you ever thought of making computer game music?

J: Yeah I have, but I should have made it years ago. It’s completely different now.

E: What game would you like to make tunes for?

J: If I was going to do it I’d do it for Streets of Rage, or Shinobi.

E: I’d like to make a tune for GTA.

J: Yeah but that’s just got real tunes, like radio stations playing; it’s not the same as how they used to be.

E: True. But anyway, the dubstep crowd totally vibe off your style… but am I right in saying that you don’t class your tunes as dubstep?

J: Well if I was going to be specific I’d say they’re somewhere in between dubstep and grime. I make most of my tunes at dubstep tempo. But I have a lot of other projects on the go which are either a lot faster or slower.

E: Is that for your own interest or will we get to hear them?

J: I might release some of them, we’ll see what happens.

E: Speaking of genres, what do you think of the term Wonky?

J: Can you write this down please: PFFFFFT. That’s what I think of the term Wonky.

E: I listen to your tunes mostly at home & I like how some of them are really dramatic, like ‘Stuck in the System’, and really melodic like ‘Do it,’ plus they really stand out in the club too. Have you learnt any musical instruments?

J: Nah, I just fuck around on the keyboard. But I’m going to start piano lessons because I want to understand how stuff works. I also want to learn guitar but that seems long.

E: I suppose it depends on what song you’re learning, some of them only have two or three chords..

J: Yeah,

E: Is that picture of the lil’ boy sitting in front of your keyboard on your Myspace page your brother?

J: Yep, that’s him. We’ve just been at the park actually, I took my bike.

E: He’s so cute … does he help you make tunes?

J: He just jumps up and down singing my tunes.

E: How do you know when you’ve finished a tune?

J: Well how do you know when you’ve finished a tune?

E: I don’t know. When I started making Victorian Grime I just ended them with gunshots, I don’t know what I do now... I don’t finish them or fade it out!

J: You’ve just got to make a decision. I guess you can always change it; you can go back and completely re-do sections. But it’s just about knowing when not to. It’s good that you’re making tunes though.

E: How did you set up your own label (Kapsize Recordings) and why did you decide to do it? (The first release sold out in 2 days!!)

J: It’s better for me if I have something of my own that I can build on. It adds more weight, and it’s better for my name.

E: Do you prefer working on your own or collaborating with other artists?

J: It depends. Working with someone else is obviously harder because most of the time they’re coming at it from a completely different angle.

E: What happens if you don’t like what they’ve done to the tune?

J: That’s a hard question. If I’m not feeling it, I’ll probably just leave them to finish it.

E: How did the Rustie collab come about?

J: Myspace. It was weird because Rustie sent me a message on Myspace, and then I went in to Rooted Records in Bristol and got given a Rustie tune to listen to, and I was like... I swear this guy sent me a message. So I emailed him back. We wrote Play Doe by sending the Reason file back and forth on AIM.

E: You’ve been quite busy playing out haven’t you?

J: Yeah. DMZ was sick. But I’ve just got back from Copenhagen and that beats everything so far. It was amazing.

E: I heard your Mum goes to your gigs…that’s pretty dope

J: Not anymore. She doesn’t listen. She goes crazy, and it’s embarrassing.

E: Does your Mum ever tell you to turn your tunes off?

J: Yeah of course.

E: What else do you like to do apart from producing and riding your bike?

J: Watching films, playing with my brother. Cooking. I do a lot of cooking but I can’t tell you my speciality because you’ve got to come round and try it. Do you know how to make breadcrumbs?

E: Like when you grate dry bread?
J: Does it have to be dry?

E: Errr, I think so. You can put it in the toaster, or actually no, put it in the oven to dry it out.
J: Oh yeah that’s a good idea.

www.myspace.com/thejokerproductions Forthcoming Kapsize releases 003: Joker- Do it and Psychedelic Runway 004: Joker and Ginz - Purple City and Re-Up.

Kode9 of Narnia

SS16 soon come. Hold Tight.

Here is a sneak peak at my little Starkey review - I always cringe a bit at reviews because I just think - if I like it - I will buy it and listen to it - I'm not really bothered what people write about it. But I guess it's all part of the game... still

Starkey – Gutter Music Remixes (Keysound Recordings) 30th March

Philly born and raised street bass producer Starkey finally releases the much anticipated re-smacks of one of our favourite tracks off Ephemeral Exhibits. Starkey’s American take on Grime can only be described as sick to the power rad: listening to the V.I.P version takes you on an E-numbers odyssey induced by sippin’ on Kool-Aid whilst munchin’ on Jolly Ranchers, Tootsie Rolls and a hand full of jelly beans. Sweet! ED

Zomby at Prada Fall 2009/2010

Music taken from Zomby EP (Hyperdub)

The Golden Age of British Cinema?

Us Brits have got a lot to answer for. No other country revels in its own misery quite as well. There's nothing quite like finding out that the price of a Kinder Egg has gone up 3p, especially if you don't eat them. I always think it could be worse. For example, it would be worse if I was writing this from a trench.

Butttt... look on the bright side.. our creative output is grand. (Note: I'm bringing back the word 'grand' ... and also 'HOOORAY'!)

I first heard about the film 'Bronson' whilst flicking through The Sundance Festival programme at the BBC a couple of months ago. The Festival took place in Park City, Utah earlier on this year, and played host to a number of British triumphs such as 'An Education' - the story of a West London girl growing up in the pre-drug days of the 1960s, whilst dealing with the complex issue of social class.

I haven't seen 'Bronson' yet but the sound track looks amazing; there are some pleasantly surprising choices such as this addition from Glass Candy (with beautifully shot video) juxtaposed with the likes of Verdi and Puccini. I'm looking forward to seeing how it works on screen.

Also lookin' forward to Armando Iannucci's 'In the Loop' which Alastair Campbell is reviewing for the BBC's Culture Show on 24th March. It will be interesting to know how it compares to the 'real thing' (as close as you can get to 'real' through spin...)

"You better not tag me on facebook you tit"