Looking forward to this one.. Down at the shore in Leith, the Loft is above the Granary – we’ll be setting it off around 9pm on Sunday 3rd June with some tunes and cocktails. It’s a tough life!
Supporting The LaFontaines at Electric Circus 25th May
We’re off back to the Electric Circus on Friday the 25th May to support The LaFontaines – a really cool band from Glasgow… If you were at the EP launch you’ll know that Electric Circus is an awesome venue – they’ve got a great approach to the way they put on a show, great venue and great staff – it’s an all-round pleasure to play and/or just hang out there! Anyway, you can get tickets in advance here…
If you haven’t heard The LaFontaines before, go and check out their stuff on soundcloud, or listen to the track below – they’re pretty cool!
(ps. If you haven’t got our EP yet, just you head on over to iTunes, and we’ll just pretend like this conversation never happened, alright?!)
If you like Hasta Bañana…
Now, I’m not shy about it, I like a pretty fruity coffee – I’m not averse to a coconut mocha for example. So when I was in the airport the other day hunting around for a suitable coffee/sugar fix at the ungodly time it was, I was pretty disappointed to find no coconut syrup – it turned out that banana was the next best option. ‘I’ll have a banana mocha then please’. What followed was nothing short of a eureka moment. I had stumbled upon the nectar of the Gods. Was there anything that could make this a better drink? Hmmm… Patron XO Cafe! And so it was conceived. I flew out to Austria to meet the Syndicate Clothing crew, and my good friend Shandy, manager at Edinburgh’s Candy Bar and told him what I was thinking. It didn’t take long to be pretty confident that we were onto something, and when we got back (and after extensive testing), the Hasta Bañana was born. Given the ingredients and its origin, the name was a bit of a no brainer – but don’t forget the squiggle (ñ)! I’ve included the recipe/preparation below if you fancy making it yourself, but I’d save yourselves the bother and head to the Candy Bar where you will find it on the summer cocktail list and it will be expertly prepared for you! Enjoy it – I know you will!
Preparing the Hasta Bañana…
37.5ml Patron XO Cafe
12.5ml Creme de Banana
50ml Milk
Shake the Patron XO and the banana liqueur together. Shake the milk hard, separately. Double strain the Patron mixture into a cocktail coupe glass, then layer the milk on top. Garnish with a fresh banana wheel and a sprig of mint and dust with coca powder.
Free Street Journo Interview
Johnny Drama and I were out in Austria recently with Syndicate Clothing for the British University Snowsports event, BUSC. We caught up with the guys from Free Street Journo out there for a little interview. There’s a fair bit of background noise, so you’ll have to listen closely!
The Jazz Bar – Saturday 3rd March
We’re back at The Jazz Bar on Saturday the 3rd March for Late’n'live. Doors are from 11.30pm, price on the door will be £5/3. Anyone who’s been down to one of our gigs here before should know that it always goes off in The Jazz Bar, and if you don’t know – now ya know! We’ll see you there!
The Showtime EP Launch
Thank you so much to everyone who came down to the launch of our Showtime EP at Electric Circus in Edinburgh last night – we hope you all had as good a time as we did! Much love to JP, Joe Seal, Emma, Tallah and all at Electric Circus who did so much to make the night run so smoothly, and of course to Taco & The Sharpies for their great support set. Most of all, thanks to you all for your continued support, it really does mean an awful lot to us, thank you!
Finally, if you didn’t manage to pick up a copy of the EP on CD, you can download it from iTunes here. And if you missed out on a tee, you can get one from our good friends at Syndicate Clothing.
I Don’t Like Hip Hop Tees
Check out the brand new tees we got from our pals at Syndicate Clothing, fresh out the box! To celebrate their arrival, we’ve going to give one away… All you need to do is to get your tickets for the EP Launch, take a photo of them and post it on our Facebook wall. Next Sunday, we’ll pick one person’s photo at random and they’ll win a tee!
Hip Hop A-Z: T is for Taskforce, Talib Kweli & Tupac
If you think you know UK Hip Hop, and don’t know Taskforce – you have some serious homework to do. New Mic Disorder was a seminal album for UK heads, but Taskforce had much more, putting out a bunch of EPs and singles that made a massive impact on hip hop over here, and particularly on me. Cosmic Gypsies (above) with Jehst was a perfect storm, Jehst is spectacular on the unassuming beat, and both Chester P and Farma G are superlative too. Chester is a heavy lyricist, I almost want to read as much as listen – so next time you’re stuck for something to listen to, go and find Taskforce’s back catalogue, and start from the beginning.
Talib Kweli is named checked by every rapper worth his salt, and rightly so. His flow is unreal, truly unlike any other, and when it comes to lyrical content, no one can even come close when it comes to the profoundly philosophical and political. The early Rawkus days were the best in my opinion; with guest verses on some great tracks (‘What If?’ but L-Fudge on Soundbombing l, my standout), the sublime Black Star album with Mos Def, the first Reflection Eternal album, and a host of singles too. There’s a lot of Kweli to listen to if you’re new to him, but the track above is perfect to whet the appetite, and far from being the peak of what he’s about.
Tupac was an intensely complex character and I’ve always been a big fan. Undoubtedly there are times when that can drag you in to defending some pretty strange things, but on the whole it’s worth it with Tupac… From the fierce politics of 2pacalypse Now, to the commerciality of All Eyez On Me there is always something that captures the imagination with ‘pac, and something that redeems him every time you may think you’re done. We all exist in contradictions, Tupac more so than many, and he articulated it so well – even in what seems like a throw away lyrics there could be something worth keeping. There are many moments that the only person I want to listen to is Tupac…
More Ts: Timbuktu, Tommy Evans, Ty.
The Showtime EP
It’s been a little while in the making, but we’ve finally finished our first EP. The Showtime EP features five tracks; Showtime, No Good (featuring Dan Gillan), This Music, Get Em Up and I Don’t Like Hip Hop.
We’re really stoked with the way the EP has turned out. The record is really upbeat – we tried to capture the essence of the way we approach performing, and put across a little of the vibe and energy you get from us on stage, so the title track says it all – it’s showtime!
The special artwork for the EP has been done by our good friend and incredibly talented artist, Dylan Lisle – that’s oil on canvas right there… Those are some mad skills!
Showtime will be officially launched at Electric Circus on February 4, where we’ll take to the stage along with some very special guests. Tickets are £5 in advance from Ticket Web & Ripping Records. Tickets on the door £7. Check out details on the facebook event page here.
The EP will be available for digital download from February 4, but you can preview it here!
Showtime by The Ordinary Allstars
No Good by The Ordinary Allstars
This Music by The Ordinary Allstars
Get Em Up by The Ordinary Allstars
I Don’t Like Hip Hop by The Ordinary Allstars
Hip Hop A-Z: S is for Snoop Dogg & Souls Of Mischief
When Snoop Dogg dropped Doggystyle it immediately became one of Hip Hop’s seminal albums. He may not have showered himself in glory since, what with some ropey reality TV shows and dubious colabs (although there are still some banging tracks in amongst them), but Doggystyle remains! Track after track of instant classics, there aren’t many Hip Hop albums that captured the imaginations of so many. I never cease to be amazed at those, hip hoppers or otherwise, that know every word of every song and all the skits too. What do you want to be when you grow up?
With ’93 ’til Infinity, Souls Of Mischief are the owners of one of Hip Hop’s greatest tracks – there is rarely a moment, good or bad, that this track doesn’t seem to be the right one for. It may be hard with such a special song to go further into their catalogue, but if you do you’ll be well rewarded with west coast flavour.
There are plenty more Ss to be checking out… Just to start (in alphabetical order): Sadat X, Sage Francis, Saian Supa Crew, Scarface,Scroobius Pip, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Shabazz The Disciple, Shurik’n, Skinnyman, Skitz, Special Ed, Sugarhill Gang, Sweatshop Union,Swollen Members.
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