Lebz

Tuesday, 14 June 2011

After all these years...I think I've finally cracked it!

Legion. We Are Many. We Are One.

All shall become clear in the fullness of time.

Sunday, 17 April 2011

Yeah...so anyway, as I was saying...

Wow. Journey from hell.

OK so this trip has started really badly. I know this can be oft-used expression, but after a dodgy stomach, two missed trains, one missed flight and a very expensive new ticket, I feel that I'm entitled to use it. There are approximately 7 1/2 hours between my original flight and my new one, so I've decided to use this time wisely and create a new starting point for my blog, Lebzthedj.

My last post, back in January actually feels like a lifetime away, as opposed to the four month gap between the then and the now…so many things have changed. I'm now living next to work after moving from to save money, which led to a botched attempt to live with some members of my family in Harlesden (if you don't want to get bitten, don't live with snakes is all I can say about that) a brief stay in Green Lanes, (a most wonderful part of London) and a few days in Highbury (w'sup Dave!). I'm sure most people ain't heard of Harrow, but like I keep telling folks, this is MY city. I have lived, and been all over it. It ain't a thing.

The long and short of it is that I now live by myself. For the first time since '08, I don't have to listen to anyone telling me anything about anywhat. Thank the lord. I've lived in some beautiful places; I've lived in some places that I still have nightmares about but I wouldn't replace anything for the complete piece of mind that I have spent the last few months (and years) chasing and have now achieved.

Also, living so close to my place of employment has freed up about 2 hours of my day, everyday. For the first time since I left uni, I do not have to commute anywhere. I can see my office(s) from out of my window. The absence of a 'journey' to work has had an interesting side-effect. Commuting, now I realise has forced me to engage my brain properly long before I reached work in the past. Runnning for the train, reading timetables and figuring out alternative routes was always a hassle but it always left me switched-on. Without this, my brain lags behind the rest of me slightly...

I had this conversation with colleagues yesterday morning at about 9:10:

Girl 1: 'I've just come back from A&E, where was a patient was walking around naked'

Girl 2: 'Oh dear! Did you tell someone?'

Me: 'Boy or girl?'

Girl 1: 'Girl'

Me: 'Was she good looking ?'

Ouch. the final comment was not appreciated. Personally, as those of you who know me well will testify to, I don't care. I will literally say anything to anyone. I don't give a toss about discretion or social conventions, but I was at work. A comment that would have normally been filed away under 'Do NOT say' wriggled out of my mouth like a worm in a hot frying pan. I wish I worked with more dudes, amongst which a comment like that would have been at worst ignored and at best appreciated as quite funny.

'So what the UFCK has this all got to do with the blog?',

you may ask OK, OK, I'm building up to it. Towards the end of 2010, After I found the stats page and discovered how many people were actually reading this on a regular basis. It was then that I realised the blog would have to get so much better. Better writing, more pictures, just better all round. I didn't have the capacity to do that, which I found quite frustrating. I wanted it to have the cool, casual, conversational feel of The Hundreds, the leftfield appeal of Moovmnt, the fashion-forward savvy of HighSnobiety (which I was on first, by the way) and the attractive simplicity of The Sartorialist. Of course, I haven't been doing this for as long as some these cats, but at the end of the day, that should not be an excuse or a barrier to progress. Blogs are just collections of opinions, I just need to improve how I transmit mine (and the bloody speed at which I transmit them).

In fact, it's good the Sunsplash festival has come round now because it means I can do research without having to go too far! (Lucky boy). I'm totally looking to have my musical DNA rearranged over this whole week, meet some of my all-time heroes (although, all the important ones, Louie Vega, Gilles P, Norman Jay, Kon & Amir, I've already met) and generally just party for a week whilst listening to some proper music!

Anyway back to the trip. 3 hours 20 mins to go before we take off. Bitch. Funnily enough, my journeys to Antalya have never gone smoothly. There was the mad dash to Stansted Airport in '09, the epic six-hour journey from Antalya Airport to Hillside Su which involved more walking than I care to remember and asking directions from folks who didn't speak English in '10 and now this.

Wow. Double Wow. Ok so I'm on the plane now, after having had to throw some of my personal items IN THE FUCKING BIN due to my baggage being too heavy. Every time I've flown to Antalya, my baggage has been under limit. so this year I threw in a few more items (first time I'm taking a bird there, must have some stuff to wear out and about!). My suitcase cam in at a whopping 27 kilos! A bunch of white Hanes vests will need to be replaced when I get home. Was it a mistake to bring so much vinyl? And why are the majority of DJs no longer using vinyl? Maybe it's because vinyl weighs a fucking ton. In my defence however, I don't compromise this shit for anyone. People have paid good money for this festival and, as the one of the DJs who has started off the festival for the last three years, I intend to put on a show! Will have to remember to pay for extra baggage allowance in future….

Finally! That magic happened. I smiled for the first time today.(Song: 'Ladies First' by Kaidi Tatham) Now it feels like I'm going on holiday. This particular song always makes me think of flying. Slept for most of the flight and are about to touch down, kinda 9pmish …landed and was called almost immediately by MIssV who thought I had been bagged by the rozzers for having trees in my baggage. She should know that I'm Qualified for these types of missions.

Total time from plane to hotel room, 45mins. A record. Knowing the terrain from my previous trips has certainly helped this stage of the journey.

Sunday.

A fun-filled day. Spent most of it on the beach chilling with MissV. During the evening, I played in the hotel lobby, a huge imposing space with six of the largest glitter balls I have ever seen in my life. I was once told that the one in Koko was the biggest in Europe…not sure that's true anymore.

Quick shower and a bite to eat before my set for the Sunsplash Warm-Up Session.

It went well, no mess ups, all love, I also had a few DJs in the crowd checking out my set…got respect for my selections, all good (' the fuck 'you expect? I'm Qualified!). Unfortunately, I couldn't record my set, but have replayed a small portion of it at home and you can download it here.

Monday.

Where the real business started. Two very different sets in one day. I was totally focused on doing a good job here. Last year, I was the first DJ to play on the beach. It was a mess. I couldn't find the two tracks I wanted to start with and the third track I played skipped viciously. It completely threw me and I was annoyed to say the least.

So this year, I needed to press reset. Since the last Sunplash, I have actually 'programmed' a couple of my gigs, planning them tune by tune, with varying levels of success but this time, I was taking no chances. I started a week or two ago, selecting tunes, putting together an order. I had my laptop open with the tracks and spun them off CDs and vinyl. Easy. You can check out the fruits of my labour here.

Tell you what. Download onto your thingumajig, listen to it during YOUR holiday this summer and let me know what you think. Personally. I'm pleased with it. I managed to touch bases with Roy Ayers, Marta Acuna, Basement Jaxx, Erkah Badu, ODB, Dom Kennedy, Emiliano Santiago, Marcos Valle, Koop, and more. Ooh, forgot to mention that I was preceded by a lovely Turkish chap by the name of Ahmet Gunes who is one the pioneers of the Turkish leftfield/jazzy/eclectic scene. Check out his radio show here.

Preparing to take over from Ahmet Gunes.

I then chilled out to the sounds of my home team, DJ Soulprovyder and The Emperor, aka Mr. Cengiz Ulusahin. I have to say we opened the festival very well, gave people a good indication of things to come.

My home-team. Lebz, Cengiz and DJ Soulprovyder.

Monday evening. After a quick dinner, I rushed down to the beach for my set at the Beach Party. After the obligatory first night glitches, we got on and got folks grooving.

Go on son, hurt 'em!

moving onto Siyah for Benji B's set. Simply put, the guy is brilliant. Seamlessly moving through a so many styles, he is a top, top DJ and if you haven't heard his shoe on Radio 1 or seen him play live, fix that.

Tuesday.

I've just spent the last few minutes listening back to the mix I did on the beach yesterday. I have to say that I'm very pleased with it. It's the first time that I have had access to a recording of one of my sets, it's nice to be able listen back and give myself a through critique. The first portion of the afternoon beach session was controlled by two Russian boys, Ilya Rassakov and Dimitry Studinsky from Headz FM (Moscow). Two very talented boys, who have their own radio show and club night over in Moscow. From what I hear, they're pretty much running the scene over there. Shout out to Dimar, Dimitry's son.

The second DJ was an utterly beautiful man from Kazakhstan called Rustam Ospanov. You know, it's funny, people will always say "Oh, I met this really cool DJ the other day' and whatnot, well I'm glad to say that Rusty and his gorgeous wife Alma are actually the real deal. A beautiful couple from the inside out. We began chatting after my set on Monday, but watching him do his thing on Tuesday afternoon was impressive to say the least…I hope to work with him again real soon.

The evening beach session was hosted by Rainer Truby of Truby Trio/Root Down fame (Pictured here with Gilles Peterson). Rainer was another DJ who played here last year but I must say that he stepped his game up tenfold from last year. He has added some much edgier stuff to his armoury, including the absolutely MASSIVE 'Fallin' by Ben Westbeech (Deetron Mix)… I'm undecided, but that could be the dancefloor smash of the whole festival. A brilliant set by him, no doubt.

The club session…'Big Daddy' Phil Asher. One of my all-time favourite DJs, and from my neck of the woods too. I have been lucky enough to know him since my uni days and he has been a constant source of inspiration, information (see what I did there?) and of course, a source for great music, both as a DJ and as producer. Lots of drinking, lots of dancing. Perfect. This years' Sunsplash is kicking off in a fine style. Really enjoyed hearing him take it back.

Wednesday.

Was starting to feel it this morning for sure. That's one of the things they never tell you about Sunsplash. There is no let up. Ever. Beach sessions from 12pm - 7pm, dinner at 7pm, evening sessions from 8pm till midnight. Sessions @ Siyah from 12:30 till 4am…ish. It is an exhausting schedule. But there's no rest for the wicked, so on we go with day three. The Mysterious Ahu kicked things off on the beach with her trademark, deep boss nova grooves, and was followed by Lefto.

Although he's well known for his radio show, the man is a very, VERY serious proposition behind the decks. Unfortunately, he only got to play for about 30 mins before it started raining :o(

Then came the evening session. Kon & Amir. They absolutely KILLED it! I've seen them do great sets before but I suspect they were rather impressed, and as a result inspired by the surroundings on the Turkish Riviera. Amongst the highlights were Amir playing an original signed 7" copy of 'Los Chocolate Conquistador' by Johnny Hammond, and Kon absolutely killing it by scratching up 'Good Times' by Chic and then mixing in 'Love Thang' by First Source…. Check the pics on my FB here. There is also a small vidclip of Kon doing his thing, but the sound quality is poor so turn it down dagnabbit!

Amir, doing his thwing, and doin' it well.

Kon getting ready to smash the set.

Lefto, Rustam, Gilles and Rainer.

Norman Jay MBE, Serkan (Sunplash Big Cheese), The Brother Kon Fucious

Now, earlier in the day after coming back from the beach, I received a letter under my door informing us that due to bereavement, Theo Parrish had to cancel his trip to Sunsplash. Very sad news and I would like to take this opportunity to send my condolences to the Parrish family. Next year homie.

However, as a replacement, we were given a bit of a treat. Kon and Amir Vs Gilles Peterson and Rainer Truby down in Siyah. (Song of the night: Rolling In The Deep (The XX Mix) by Adele)…wow. I have to say, it's rare that you'd get this kind of line-up anywhere else. If you're looking for a music festival next year, I cannot recommend Sunsplash Antalya enough.

Me & Derrick McKenzie from Jamiroquai. Top, TOP geezer.

Not quite sure when I left the club, it was a massive night, not helped by the fact that 15-20 of my best mates, my mrs, my sister and her boyfriend were ALL in the club…a proper sesh was had by all.

Bwoy, this post has gotten LONG! more when I get the rest of the pics! More to come soon.

Monday, 10 January 2011

New Year, New Vibes.

Morning all, a belated HNY to you and yours wherever you may be. I'm sure that the 3 or 4 readers that follow this (poorly updated) blog will be interested to know that I haven't fallen off the edge of the Earth and am in fact still here shooting my mouth off!

Main reasons for the absence of posts? A new relationship. The absence of a functioning digicam. A general feeling that gigs towards the end of last year were getting a bit samey-samey. It's hard to stay inspired at times, but the search for the Good Groove Theory continues.

However, this does not mean that I ain't been working. The gigs, the mixtapes, it's a constant process. I'm hoping 2011 will be a big year in that respect. I've recently been booked to play the Sunsplash Antalya festival for a third time in a row. The line up has been greatly expanded this year, featuring some real legends of the DJ game (anyone for Theo Parrish? Louie Vega? The Mad Professor? Or how about Kon & Amir?). I will definitely compose a more thorough description of the festival at a later date, but for now, you'll just have to check the website here. That, combined with some potential spots around Europe, and this year may just turn out to be the best one yet as far overseas gigs is concerned.

I suppose the next task will be to run down some of the 'Big-In-Me-Box' tunes from 2010. I felt that 2010 was an excellent year for music. Alot of underground scenes raised their heads above the parapet whether old scenes picking new fans or new scenes noisily announcing their existence(s). It's funny, so much happened! The Celine Fashion Show, The Netherlands reaching the WC Final (Hup Holland!), Getting utterly lost in Turkey, The odd gig/night out clubbing, last year was pretty mental at times

Here's some of my favourite tracks of 2010 (in no particular order!):

1) Electric Love: Vikter Duplaix

A huge return to form for one of my favourite singers of the modern era. 2010 was a big year for Vik, seeing as he also came second in the Master Of The Mix TV show. This will have broadened his appeal massively and I'm looking forward to hearing more of that sexy future-soul he seems to have put a trademark on. For more Duplaixities (see what I did there?), click here.

2) Gonorrhea: Lil Wayne

One for my spaced out thugs. Lil' Wayne is one of those artists who over the years has forced me to grudgingly admit his talent and productivity. The boy can rap (check the lyrics 'I'll let ma goons rush ya/like it's Moscow'). Seriously. It's not a sound that's for everyone, but for those who like it, this kid a poster boy. This release became all the more impressive due to the fact that good ol' Weezy F. was incarcerated when it came out!

3) Work Them: Ramadanman

An absolute dancefloor smasher. Straight up, no-frills, bass drums and a sample that let's you know w'sup through out the entire song. WORK THEM!

4) Rainstars (lebzthedj Re-Edit): Sampha

Of course, this tune had to get a mention! The mighty Sampha, hailing from deepest darkest

South London is quite simply one of the biggest UK talents to emerge on the alternative/

leftfield/eclectic scene for a long time (The above picture is of him playing at The Boiler Room).

With a bit of luck (and alot of support from you lot!), he's gonna be huge (remember where you

heard it first!)

5) Arabic Emotions: The London Snokelling Team (see write up here)

6) Racketeer, Duologue

OK, so my mate Mels' little brother is in this band. So what, they're great! A very edgy and slightly unnerving sound, another group set for big things. 'Racketeer' is an amazing mix of indie vocals and dubstep? Yeah, well the description sounded weird to me as well when I first heard it. For more info on them, click here.

7) Night Air (Ramadanman Refix): Jamie Woon

A big tune that sneaked in right at the end, bought it in late November. Haunting. Yet one more punt for 2011? I think so.

8) Exhibit C: Jay Electronica

Here to save us all! Totally reaffirmed my love for Hip-Hop in an age where it seems to be going to the wall in terms of cultural influence. I'm sure Cengiz remembers us hearing this in a club and me whipping off my Tee to wave it in the air like a flag! (Oh dear...)

9) Samba Skindim: Gerardo Frisina

Funnily Enough, I'd say that this year I've probably bought the least amount of jazz ever. There's been too much other stuff. Check this one out though, beautiful Bossa style out of Italy.

10) Must See: Kyle Hall

Detroit's latest famous son with a chilled out slice of 'technouse'? Either way, it got rinsed!

11) Grandma's Rocking Chair (Kenny Dope Mix), Kenny Dope

'Nuff said.

12) Ion Bru, Akira Kiteshi

I was introduced to the music of Akira Kiteshi by a young Scottish chap called Fergus who was the sound engineer at a gig I was DJing at near Edinburgh back in July. He gave me the inside track 'cause you see Akira Kiteshi ain't really Japanese. I'm not sure if he's even been there! The kid is actually from Glasgow (Numbers Collective) and uses this moniker to cover his tracks...there's been alot of DJ's and producers hiding behind something recently...SBTRKT, Deadmau5, MF Doom...maybe I'm missing something.

13) It's That Bass: Machinedrum

NY's abstract beatmaker in chief came through strong again with the 'Many Faces' EP...looking forward to the next LP.

14) As We: Black Spade

Don't know much about this dude, except he's a great MC. My pal HenrySoundSpecies put me on to him, so maybe I'll be able to give you more info at a later date.