Unemployment, total (% of total labor force)

Data from World Bank

dm stiths songs have a fascinating, intangible, inexplicable charm like no others:

music of the year

flying lotus - cosmogramma
joker/terror danjah - gully goon estate
big boi - sir lucious left foot the son of chico dusty
lorn - nothing else
guido - anidea
drake - fireworks (deadboy slo mo house edit)
pariah - detroit falls/orpheus
mono/poly - paramatma
curren$y - pilot talk
ikonika - contact, love, want, have
blue daisy vs TOKiMONSTA
wavves - king of the beach
american men - ccccccccooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllll world
deerhunter - halcyon digest
girl talk - all day.
blue daisy + anneka - raindrops

el-p - weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixxx3
freddie gibbs - national anthem
gonjasufi - sheep
rustie - sunburst
illum sphere - titan
das racist - sit down, man
v/a - shangaan electro: new wave dance music from south africa
becoming real is the most exciting new producer i've heard this year.

some sweet cassie remixes, for free:

http://www.localactionrecords.co.uk/

wake up in the pm, compose a beat.

did this beat this afternoon:

Stranger by ovaratchay
generally everything i make sounds weird as hell, this is my attempt at something listenable/normal.

late to the party, all the drinks been drunk.

das racist are dope. i know i'm late to this one. some of their more well known/comedic shit is weak, see:


but Sit Down, Man has been on constant rotation on my system for the last week. for some reason i get the feeling i got when i first heard DOOM. these guys are coming at rap from a previously unknown angle, their ethnicity and background obviously is key to this, they're college kids. i'd rather hear them rap about what they know forever (like getting lost in a pizza hut/taco bell combo) than hear another lil wayne or eminem album or any of the miriad of rappers who regurgitate the same old shit ever again. don't worry, i'm not trying to be controversial.
they reference shit that resonates, like the streets masterpiece original pirate material, they condense their empirical and online experiences into weird flows and rhymes that make you say 'wha?'. anyone that references crass, sage francis, j dilla and sister sledge on the same mixtape gets the seal of approval from me.
enjoy:

take care of yourselves.

so good, they named it twice.

my favourite club night in the world has started its own record label. the first release (HOYA001) features 3 tracks from three resident djs at the club night. illum sphere, manchester's finest, delivers a kind of fucked up beat driven track, both complex and dance floor ruining at the same time. recent manchester inmigrant and general all round shiny house-based produce Lone drops another headfuck of a dancefloor smash 'Let The Music Play' with samples sure to send even the most straight edge kids west. To round it up Krystal Klear drops a delicious slice of future disco, definitely one for the ladies.
you can pick it up here from probably the best independent record store in the country here. of and here's the art:

two word review? 'a treat'.

Down for the dibs and gazelles and suede pumas

I don't normally post here about club nights on here but felt like i'd make an exception for this as it looks like an extra special duo of nights.
Vice and Puma have hooked up to bring you, the people, two extra special nights bringing fun and games in Manchester and London.
you can find all the details here: http://viceland.com/afterhours/events_london.php

i dun did a remix if egyptian hip hop, i hope you like it.

Rad Pitt (Ovaratchay Reconstruction) by ovaratchay

everything is too obvious.

the vivian girls are going to split up soon

shhhhhhhhh

the xsex

the xx have 'done an mgmt'. doing mgmt involves having a few good songs that are overplayed by almost everyone to the extent where they are no longer enjoyable and then producing a lack lustre album. kinda feel sorry for them, but i can no longer enjoy their music. give it a year or two till the buzz has died down and they might be fun again.

it's been a while (again). here's a remix i did of my friends awesome musical project ursine vulpine: http://rapidshare.com/files/372233537/raijin_4.rar
you can here the original along with plenty of other of his tunes here: http://www.myspace.com/ursinevulpine

D/R/U/G/S

are the next big thing.

spotifucked.

i would make you all a spotify playlist but my internet connection is too slow for spotify to work so just listen to these in order:

THERE IS A COLDEST DAY IN EVERY YEAR.

it's been a while....

haven't posted for ages, been dead busy with uni/making music/helping people out. anyway keep yr selves occupied with this beauty:

http://hoya-hoya.blogspot.com/2010/03/do-not-fear.html

haven't got time to say much about it but what I will say is:

Illum Sphere

80 minutes

80's boogie.

Trilingual Dance Sexperience

i've found the party flat in my halls. it's genius.
a couple guys off my course live there, as I type most of them haven't been to sleep for two nights, they make their money trading drugs and generally party all the time.
They still do all uni work and turn up to more lecture than me and have brilliant taste in TV and music. It kinda reminds me of a friends house towards the end of last summer - always welcome, always a good time to be had and always someone interesting there to talk to. It's awesome although i'm glad I don't live there, nowhere near hardcore enough. anyway here's some vids.
Nice track, ace vid. Dorian Concept's Trilingual Dance Sexperience:

this is one of my favourite songs of all time. it's close to perfect. The National - Secret Meeting:

i absolutely hate it when news reports describe '6 Britons missing after earthquake' etc. I don't care what country the people happened to be born it, it doesn't matter. It gives the impression that these British people are somehow more important than any of the other people who suffered in the earthquake, are they?

in other news:

I don't give a shit about 6 music, it was mainly playing lame indie shit anyway. NME Radio is way better My Bloody Valentine album tracks on national radio? yes please!

I do give a shit about Plastic People, i've never been there but i've seen so many line up for that place that have me in awe, hope to go there one day.

where the party at?

had a sweet weekend in the middle of no where/North Yorkshire being countryside with some bro's. going from Manchester where I have to travel for a maximum of 15 minutes to be anywhere I want to having to walk for miles to get to the nearest shop was very refreshing, as was being without the internet.

anyway, here's some mixes i've made for some friends for their birthdays, none of them are perfect but they're all pretty nice.

Mark's mix

This one goes from electronic stuff to more traditional indie rock.

Reuben's Mix

This one goes in the opposite direction.

Hank's Mix

Mainly Brainfeeder Nosaj Thing, Flying Lotus type stuff.

Tracklists are included in the .zip files.

FUC251

someone set up a blog slating all 'mad'chester revival called FUC251 (a parody of Peter Hook & co.'s new club named - FAC251) and was essentially calling the shots on why people should let that period of history die instead of creating endless amounts of embarrassing imitations of it. For some reason it's now been taken down :(
This is sad because it was such an honest piece of work, how can Manchester create fresh and new music if it's too busy picking over the corpse of its heyday. Egyptian Hip Hop are doing pretty well for themselves but it's hard to see them doing something that really moves me.
However there is this man:

Illum Sphere.

He's giving away an offcut from his forthcoming album on his (amazing) club night's blog HERE.
or if you're lazy here's the mp3: AGENT WHITE.

when it hits, you feel no pain.

i've been listening to so little guitar music recently, music that i've spent the majority of my life listening to. I now tend to listen to a lot of rap, glitch-hop and hipstep.
i'm really not sure why, sure i've gotten a bit bored of certain genres - sonically and socially. but I know that almost every genre has some genius to it or someone making genius music within it's confines (or more often outside of its constrictions).
I think it's mainly because i've been feeling depressed recently (boo fucking hoo) for no reason especially and music built from samples and raps often has a much more positive, less self pitying viewpoint which is refreshing, not to say i've recently turned over a rock and found something completely new that i'm just getting into... i've been listening to this kind of stuff for as long as I can remember, i just do it more now.
I've been listening to a lot of mixes too, here are the best:
GUIDO
RAS G
LONE
ILLUM SPHERE

also i love how easy it is to remind myself i'm living a lifestyle I would have dreamed about less than a year ago.

a really really dark blog post

dont know if i can be arsed to write/post it.

'it's very easy to say he's in a better place... but I personally just wanna be selfish enough to say I wish he was still here'

J DILLA
an inspiration, a genius and fast becoming a legend.

we are the swarm

one of the reasons Wu-Tang (and the Killer Bees) are one of (if not THE) best rap collective of all time is the fact whilst the always seem to be pushing boundaries and trying new sounds, they always keep the style that makes them so great in the first place. Not a lot of bands can progress in this way, I mean look at The Horrors: to have any kind of critical or commercial success on their second album they had to change their sound completely... nice.

latest disgrace

sorry, but i feel if i don't mention Illum Sphere soon i'll have missed the bus. i've been going to his club nights and watching him for over 3 months now. essentially the best thing coming out of manchester that i can remember (sorry i choose to erase all man/madchester revival from my memory) a bright hope, the future.
if this guy isn't for real i don't know what is, he also runs the best club night in manchester
not to be confused with the most fun ... juicy.

'i am the third revelation, i told you i would eat you'

the best acting i think i've ever seen, makes everything else look kinda wooden.

greenwood's score is obviously painfully expressive too.

the best show i saw in 2009

it's very hard to choose and i probably haven't got it right however, The Antlers at The Deaf Institute was pure killer. It reminded me of the first time I was lucky enough to see Bon Iver in 2008, a moment was created and unstoppable emotion was unleashed through the sound system. a heart breaking moment.

party and bullshit.

I've got my hands on another mixtape: it's from Juicy, a classic hip-hop night that runs on a semi-regular basis in Manchester. Juicy for me is a haven from all the shit indie-discos that seem to be so successful, which seem to be more about showing off yr new topshop dress and getting some cock than the music and/or having fun. That said, it's not the people running the indie hipster-fests who are at fault, just the people that populate them.
Whereas Juicy is always full of people having a good time and appreciating some of the best rap tracks of all time whilst they're at it.
Essentially it's just full of classic tracks from the 80's, 90's and the 00's. If a rap track was big and good, it's probably on here either mashed up or retaining its original glory:

JUICY MIXTAPE

juicy's website

'when the police bring me in, i'll tell them this is why we need secrets'

yesterday I finished watching what I believe is the best TV Show of all time, The Wire. Enough has been written about the show but what I will say is it creates a world in a way like no other show can or will.
Now I just don't know what to do with myself?

'...i'll make you a mixtape'

here's two mix tapes my friends have made for me:

Haydock Presents: Violent/Soulful/Fresh Beats Vol. 1

for fans of FlyLo, HudMo and tracks that make you go 'oh...'.

Featuring the above plus: Teebs, Kola Triange, King Cannibal + more.

Also George's blog can be found HERE.

Chill the Fuck Out Wave

by Sam Jarvis. for fans off Slayer, Napalm Death and Enya.

Featuring: Neon Indian, Washed Out, Toro Y Moi and more.

both are very slick.

enjoiiiii.

bloggers heads up!

cap'n jazz are playing Chicago tonite

differentiation ruling the nation

i think it'd be accurate to say that not enough people give this album the credit it deserves:

although 'The Warning' is quite obviously Hot Chip's masterpiece it's a shame people forget about it's predecessor. It's all killer with no filler, every track is either heart breaking or 'booty shaking', Alexis and Joe's vocals are subtle and soulful even on the clearly tongue in cheek 'Playboy'. It's also influenced my taste in music so much, which is only evident to me looking back now. This record does everything a great record should, plain and simple.

there are brighter sides to life and i should know because i've seen them, but not often.

RIP

do you desk?

someone recommend me a nice desktop, my old one got replaced inexplicably by this last night:

someone save me from waking up to this every fucking morning and wanting to die.

ambulance 1

just survived 24 hrs without the internet working on my laptop and eating semi-cooking chicken. and you know what? i think i'm a better person for it!
jokes aside, i've finally stopped only listening to The Smiths and rap, only just though.
went on a post-loan/january sales shopping spree on Tuesday, pretty happy with what I got:
Mirror Noir - Arcade Fire
An Evening with Saddle Creek
Lords of Dogtown
Inside the Smiths.
Barr - Summary.

Inside the smiths has to be the worst music documentary i've seen, think the budget was about £5, half the interviews consist of an interviewer and camera man walking round Reading Festival with the aim of bumping into relevant bands and asking them about The Smiths, they find The Kaiser Cheifs + Preston from The Ordinary Boys, needless to say I was dissapointed.
All in all though, my total came to £30 which is niiiiice.

concious rap has failed us.

this has been getting a lot of my time recently:

obviously it's very good but as pitchfork said, it's kind of statement on the state of modern hip hop but Adult Swim (an offshoot of Cartoon Network) is now one of the more trustworthy names in the genre. Imagine Metalocalypse was one of the strongest releases in metal?
Anyway ATL RMX is a very good idea, gathering some of the finest 'underground' producers and artists *puke* to remix some questionable mainstream rap hits. Certain remixes you could put money on being good before so much as hearing the intro - Hudson Mohawke, Memory Tapes, Mad Decent (in the form of DJA). Others swing either side of mediocre. Flying Lotus - one of my favourite producers delivers a sub-standard remix of the brilliant Gucci Mane. Whereas another favourite of mine HEALTH deliver an absolutely killer remix via Good Night. The final Drums of Death remix puts it all to sleep, say what you will about DoD, I couldn't imagine a better way to close the album.
Anyway, it's free to download (legal an' that) HERE.

i hate people who take ages to text back, yet always take forever to text other people back. does this mean i hate myself?


of course not.
what a 15 yr old post which is funnily how old I was when I last owned a phone this basic:

this student loan can't come soon enough!

welcome to the nothern quarter

it's lovely being back, so much more convenient for everything, feel much happier now. However i'm already starting to miss people from home, i guess that is life i'm doomed to forever miss people. Ah well it makes you appreciate your time with them more!

apologies

i forgot to mention how awesome morrrisey is in that video. brilliant:

well done

my home town; Hereford. In one night you've reminded me of most of the reason i wanted to leave.

this is my favourite song at the moment, enfuckingjoy.

last day

last day at home, coincidentally got my last.fm working again. genius, can't wait to leave only wish i didn't have to go to uni when i got back. gonna miss some people, but then there's not a moment in my life where i miss someone so nothings new there. just maxing to 'Chill the Fuck Out Wave' a mix a friend made for me. it's great, i'm currently uploading it for everyone to listen to.
neon indian:

the dreams in which i'm dying are the best i've ever had.

being home makes me a very deppressing person, this song sums up vrythng: