QUANTIC Y SU CONJUNTO LOS MITICOS DEL RITMO : HIP HOP EN CUMBIA EP

Via Paris Dj's, I learned that this project will officially see the light of day around mid-june. Quantic is definetly one of the hardest working man in the business. Between his productions, his live projects and his dj sets, the man takes lessons of accordeon with Anibal Velazquez, prepares a trip in Haïti to record some rara bands and asks his friends to suggest him some melodic hip hop tracks to go further with this "Hip Hop en Cumbia" business.
You heard some of these tracks on Back to Niceness in the past weeks. You know I'm quite impatient on this one.

This highly anticipated release is limited to just 2000 copies Worldwide and is pressed on green flecked vinyl. All tracks are previously unreleased and exclusive to this 12. The A side features Quantic paying tribute Cumbia-style to some Hip Hop classics and the B side is a Serato tone control. The idea for this musical project started when Quantic recorded Cumbia de Dilla as a special one-off track, to play at DJ parties, particularly those in LA where Hip Hop and Cumbia have a special place in people's hearts. The queue of eager fans crowding round to ask about the track inspired and set this new project on the road. This EP features covers of KRS One, Dr Dre, Missy Elliot, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, and a an original track, Cuarta Con Cuarta.

Tracklisting :
A1. Step Into A World (Rapture's Delight)
A2. Nutin' But A G Thing (Dre In Cumbia)
A3. Cuarta Con Cuarta
A4. Miss Jackson (Interlude)
A5. Get Ur Freak On
A6. They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y )
A7. Rico Suave Bossa Nova (Cumbia De Dilla)
B1. Serato Tone Control

Press Release :
FOR FANS OF: J DILLA, DR DRE, KRS ONE

This highly anticipated release is limited to just 2000 copies Worldwide and is pressed on green flecked vinyl. All tracks are previously unreleased and exclusive to this 12.

The A side features Quantic paying tribute Cumbia-style to some Hip Hop classics and the B side is a Serato tone control.

The idea for this musical project started when Quantic recorded "Cumbia de Dilla" as a special one-off track, to play at DJ parties, particularly those in LA where Hip Hop and Cumbia have a special place in people's hearts. The queue of eager fans crowding round to ask about the track inspired and set this new project on the road.

Quantic has been learning accordion for three years or so in Colombia and Panama, including being taught by accordion master Anibal Velasquez in the Colombian coastal city of Barranquilla.

Cumbia, with roots in Colombia, has spread in popularity across Argentina, Peru, and into Mexico and the US, transforming as it travelled. There has been a resurgence of popularity for Cumbia amongst younger generations of DJs around the World, exploring the sound through electronic music. A new generation of Cumbiamberos (people who play Cumbia), and those experimenting with the sound, place it in a new arena with endless possibilities.

This EP features covers of the seminal KRS One track "Step Into A World", Dr Dre's "Nothing But A G Thing", Missy Elliot's "Get UR Freak On", Pete Rock & CL Smooth's "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)", "Cumbia de Dilla" and a an original track, "Cuarta Con Cuarta".

Quantic has previously sold in excess of 120,000 records, with support and acclaim from tastemakers and mainstream media the World over, from Gilles Peterson (Radio 1) through Mark Ronson and the Guardian.

The last Tru Thoughts/Serato collaboration (featuring Skream) created a storm and we expect this 12 to move even quicker!

LDBK COMPILATION

Laid-Back and I have been walking a similar path for the last 8 years or so ... I saw them grow bigger every year, I saw them improve their product and go from strictly "airwave radio" to strictly "web radio". The walk the walk and talk the talk. Therefore, I respect Julius and the Crew to the fullest. No bullshit; with them, reflection leads to action.
Now, they decide to go one step further and cook up a compilation. You may or may not know some of the artists featured on this project. But they all deserve your careful attention.

Here is the trailer and you can preview the tracks below. More info HERE.

Enjoy.

Introducing the LDBK compilation from Laid Back on Vimeo.

LDBK compilation by LaidBack

"START OF UR ENDING" PART 1

Via Put Me On It

MOBB DEEP "Start of Ur Ending" from Q-Butta on Vimeo.

As she suggests ...

Three suggestions for best viewing results -

1. Allow video to buffer, skip to 1:40 [thus avoiding waste of life watching pointless close ups of Mobb Deeps fish etc].
2. Watch fascinating Prodigy monologue, [remind self not to drive around with a gun in your car in order to avoid three years of incarceration].
3. Ensure you switch video off before 12:30 if you have epilepsy. Or functioning eyes.

33 MINUTES OF PLEASURE WITH DJ FORMAT (MIXTAPE)

As D Day is getting closer (only 9 more days of patience, folks), I asked Format to record a mix exclusively for your listening pleasure. Considering the amount of work the man has to do, he couldn't do it but sent this one instead. A "Special Latin" mix he recorded a while ago to promote his compilation for Fania Records. He told me this : "The mix starts off quite slow & mellow and gets faster. It's an ok mix but nothing special so i hope it's ok for promotion..I don't usually play so many Latin records,i prefer to mix things up and play Funk/Rock/Hip Hop/Latin etc all together to keep it interesting for everyone but i made this mix for a UK radio station when i was promoting my Fania DJ Series Vol.2 CD a while ago".

33 minutes of pleasure indeed ! And it is more than ok for promotion purposes ...

Enjoy.

DOWNLOAD

There are more mixes to be listened to HERE

ADVENTURES IN NIAMEY (DAY 5 AND BACK IN BRUSSELS)

Armand The Tailor, Bruno Dj Cool Coulibaly (Burkina Faso), Big Ismael The Fixer, Dj Rim K (Senegal)

So, there it is. Everything has to come to an end. This trip obviously had to come to an end. So I'm back in Brussels after a messy journey where my bag got lost between Casablanca, Niamey and Brussels. And I got stuck in Paris for a night due to the curfew in Ouagadougou (but that's another story). Alister G and Jean-Luc, the guys from Togo, had to leave on monday morning. And hit a 24h bustrip to Lome. In total, they were something like 50 hours on the bus. All this for a show that lasted approximately 14 minutes and 47 seconds. Frustrating !
Monday, we had a very nice day of shopping, the crate digging session didn't happen because I forgot my portable turntable. I planned to go back to the spot the next day then realized there would not be a next day because I had to come back home. So, Nicole organised a big meal. Karim brought his decks and we gave a worshop for 5 very enthusiastic kids. To see them with stars in their eyes was the reward for the rest.

Jean-Luc, Rim K, Philippe, Jean-Marc, Nicole, Alister G, Bruno Dj Cool

So, there you go ... Good times ! Hope we all see each other again next year. Until then, whatever you do, do it good !

Les Roniers by night



Shout out and massive thanks for the wonderful times in general to : Nicole, Jean-Marc, Philippe, Ismael The Fixer, Bruno, Karim, Alister, Jean-Luc, Hotel Les Roniers, Docteur Plume, Jacques Le Rebelle, Cyriac, les kids (Lucas, Tayane, Lanna, Mathilde, Kylian, Nazim, Kali, Kezia), the mangos, the Flag beer, the marvelous sun, the laterite, the Niger River. Hope to find you all in shape, laughs and smiles somewhere next year.

ADVENTURES IN NIAMEY (DAYS 3 & 4 )

So ... Where to start ? First, of all, let me introduce to you my excellent friend the mango tree ... Spent this afternoon in his company and under his shadow. Here, you might, like me, redefine the term "heat". So, the mango tree was more than welcome. Nicole and her friends (festival crew, families, kids) invited us to their refuge on weekends. We had a barbecue along the Niger River (20km away from Niamey), we swam less then 100 meters from Hippos (kinda scary actually).

The festival was a mess. So, no spins, no workshops. But very nice encounters. That's the most important ! We got to play approximately 20 minutes per head, thanks to DJ Rim K from Dakar who brought turnatbles. Not cd ! Turntables ! In Africa. Where, except for Dakar (where people still play and by wax). So, as the guys had cd's, they couldn't compete. And anyway, there were not enough conpetitors. 5 out of eight never showed up. Bummer ! Dj Cool from Burkina Faso did his thing after a 5 minutes explanation about Serato. And smashed it.

Boubey on the mangotree.

Yesterday night, after the mess, we went out in a club right along the River. Beautiful place. Like Waow ! Horrible soundsystem. We heard lots of coupé-decallé, international hits like Stromae or Black Eyed Peas, and even Gabber Techno. Some girls were stunningly gorgeous. But a gorgeous bounty hunter is still is a bounty hunter. So, take some distance ! As I said, "Flag" is an old friend of mine. We had to celebrate our second meeting.

Tomorrow, I'm playing my "Voodoo Kwak" in the dustbins in Niamey. Crate digging !

Shout out to Big Ismael, the perfect fixer.

ADVENTURES IN NIAMEY (DAY 1)

So, here am I. At Casablanca Airport, waiting for my correspondance to Niamey, drinking mint tea and watching the Clasico Barça - Real Madrid.

It all started the sunday before last when I got that phonecall from Niamey : "We're happy to invite you to come here and give workshops to 12 West African Dj's". I laughed at first. And I'm pretty sure that, out of 12, at least 8 are technically better than I am. But anyway, I never refused such an experience. I love sharing my knowledge. I love meeting new faces. I love discovering music I don't know. And most of all, I love West Africa. Here is an offer I couldn't refuse !

After all the hustle related to travelling (Visa, Vaccines, etc), I'm now hitting the road leading to one of the hottest places in Africa, at the crossroads of the Sahara Desert and the entrance to Central Africa. I was told the temperatures are above the 50° Celsius. Which is verified. 47 degrees yesterday and in the shadow. The body needs liquid. May it be beer or water. The local beer is quite good. There are 2 brands that I tried. Niger Beer and Flag (an old friend of mine from my days in Burkina Faso).

What never fail to amaze me in these countries in the colour of the soil. A plain beautiful "ocre" colour. The streets are very crowded. Niamey has 1.2 million inhabitants. More than 90% of them are muslim, the rest shares between animists and christians.

I met one of the dj's yesterday, called Bruno Coulibaly and hailing from Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso. Seems like a nice guy. This morning, we were on national television, promoting the Festival accompagnied by Nicole, our hostess. The rest of the guys should be arriving today. Coming from all over the region : Benin, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and Mali. the aim of my presence here is to be jury for a DMC style competition in between those cats.

We sleep in a beautiful hotel called Les Roniers (named after the huge trees shown in the next picture).

My room is a bungalow, not far from the River Niger; the pool is surrounded by magnificent trees and a beautiful garden.

Allow me to go and try it out.

More to come.

Peace.