Jamie XX vs Gil Scott Heron

There isn't a lot that needs to be said about this track. It is just fantastic. The break at 2:00 is the moment where I realised that I had to order the album there and then. Jamie XX has already proven himself to be a great producer with his work with his own band, and with this passion project he is more and more proving that he is the brains behind the whole operation.

Organik: In the Mix

Tonight we will be giving you a fresh mix from one of the finest new DJs in Liverpool, Organik. Through running his superb club night Takeover, he has had support slots for Phaeleh, Submerse and loads others. This mix is an excellent exponent for his DJ sets, with an eclectic choice of tracks involved and some great mixing thrown in for good measure.

Take some time and have a listen, and find Organik at his Soundcloud



L15 Future Tense mix 04 by organik

Tracklist

Grown Ups - Donga & Blake (Well Rounded Records)
How U Like Dat - EL-B Vs. Laze (Night Audio)
Ur All - Modepth (dub)
Evelyn - Fantastic Mr Fox (Black Acre)
Boomslang - Lv & Okmalumkoolkat (Hyperdub)
Cervantis Riddim - C.R.S.T. (dub)
Crystalised - The XX (Dark Sky remix) (Young Turks)
Long Weekend - Fused Forces (L2S Recordings)
Bust Broke – Kingdom (Night Slugs)
Good Love –C.R.S.T. (No hats no hoods)
Finally – ital Tek (dub)
Spending All My Time – Kovu (dub)
Touched – Price (L2S Recordings)
Reasons – Dark Knight (Urban Riddims)
Chaka Mad – Gon (Infrasonics)
Never Know – Primary 1 (Submerse Remix) (dub)
Earthquake – Littleboots (Brown Noise Bootleg) (dub)

Mount Kimbie: An Interview

This is a first for Abandon Silence, our first ever outside contributed article. Whilst I struggle with balancing final year of University, plus the rigours of a club night, I have decided to welcome a few extra writers on board to keep the blog going. Our first contributor is Adam Armitage, whose mix was featured in a previous post. At the Abandon Silence gig with Mount Kimbie, Adam was lucky enough to catch a few words with the guys, and here is his article and interview from that night. I hope you enjoy it and welcome Adam into the Abandon Silence family...

Last week I had the pleasure of watching Mount Kimbie perform live for the first time in my hometown, the grim n gritty, northern city of Liverpool. I hadn't expected that i would be able to get close to them prior to the show, but as I stood eagerly waiting for the support acts to finish over a pint and some conversation in the smoking area of The Shipping Forecast. In the corner of my eye, i spotted Kai talking to a fan and i became aware of the chance to conduct an impromptu pre-show interview, right then.

Dashing around to find writing material, I hastily penned some questions that had already dawned on my mind about Mount Kimbie.

So, conducted in the drafty storage room on the top floor of the club, (props to Abandon silence for the set-up), I held down my first interview.

Both Dom and Kai are seriously easy-going, friendly to talk to and very humble about their work despite such attention they have received over the last months. We began the interview and they were more than happy to talk and discuss the questions with me, but also with one another, bouncing questions back and forth between themselves that made them appear to be very passionate about what they do and interested in engaging with their fan base.

Abandon Silence (AS) 'I believe this is your first Liverpool show, have either of you been here before and how are you feeling about the show tonight?'

Mount Kimbie (MK) Kai answers on behalf of Dom, 'He's been here before for when he was younger with his mates I think, but I've not ever been here myself but I'm quite excited for tonight, the crowds are always different wherever you go in the UK', Dom responds, 'Yeah, I've not seen the place much though, it was winter time and really cold but strangely, still all the girls were wearing little clothing'. I laughed and told them that’s just how the girls are round here whatever the weather.

AS 'So, how is the tour going so far, this is your first organized tour right? Has it been a great experience?'

MK Kai answers, 'So far, the tour has been really successful, we've been doing a lot of shows around Europe and were quite surprised how popular they've been. We did a month long tour in the US and that was well received, a lot of the fans were grateful and always thanked us at shows, just in recognition of the distance we had travelled to play for them'. I then ask,

AS 'How do the shows across the water compare to playing here in the UK?'

MK Dom added, 'I don't think it was something we really expected, but the US was very accommodating, the live shows in the UK are getting better every time, the audiences are always a lot steadier here than overseas and it's good because it can be a difficult scene to break here, as so many decent artists are getting known at the moment.'

AS 'I've read an interview where you mention that some of the acoustics were recorded in a tunnel in Brighton where the natural reverb was really heavy, I had my assumptions that it would be the grotty underpass along the beachfront, is that right?'

MK At this point there is a slight pause, I get some rather bewildering looks from the two of them, they stare at each other and try to fathom an answer, I knew it was a stupid question to ask but Dom responds,

'You know, actually it was an underpass in my hometown Saltdean that gives off this really eerie impression, The both of us and James Blake were drinking one night and were singing when we ended up walking down there and were amused with the sound and then we came back a few weeks later with guitars and took down some recordings that really worked, so we used them'.

AS 'Do you have any favorite producers coming out of the UK scene at the moment, any particular DJs perhaps?'

MK Both Dom and Kai appear to be very selective of who they choose to name drop and I'm certain they must share very similar tastes as they both agree and mention almost simultaneously that they don't currently listen to much dubstep or dance music, but they do like Deadboy, which reminded Kai of something he had forgot to do earlier, and so he rushes off to get Deadboy on the guestlist for their show as apparently he was also in town. When Kai returns, Dom mentions,

'We've both been really keen on 'Wu Lyf' at the moment, a group from Manchester that are producing really good music, we are also into some bands from Australia', Kai Nods and adds, 'We're always updated on whatever James (Blake) is doing as well, we caught up with him at his show in Poland recently, he was mixing with vinyl as opposed to his live performance shows.'

AS 'I've heard a lot about the differences between James Blakes live shows and his DJ sets, many people I've spoke to say his live performances are much more interesting'.

MK Dom answers, 'I suppose James is a lot more technically able with using software like Ableton, obviously his shows are a lot tighter when he performs this way but his DJ sets are also getting a lot cleaner'.

'James Blakes output is multi-faceted, producing music under a different moniker as well as having a background in more traditional musical approaches, maybe it is what makes his performances different each time?'

Both Dom and Kai agree to this point, Dom adds 'James is also a very emotional musician, if he's not feeling up for a live show, he won't play it, he does what he feels like and if he's happy or sad, it comes out in his choice of performance'.

AS 'You both seem very close with James Blake personally, at once he featured in your live performances, is their ever going to be a return to this, are there any collaborations in stall for the future?'

MK Kai makes a point of saying that, 'Time constraints mean it's very difficult to work together at current times, we're no longer being able to pass music back and forth to work on ideas together, and as well James is very busy with his own music and touring, especially with the promo for his new album'. Dom adds, 'It's possible in the future we may do the live thing again, there's nothing planned so far for producing a track together though, but it will definitely happen'.

AS 'So, what's next for Mount Kimbie, what can we expect in the coming months?'

MK Dom says, 'Were having a few weeks off over the new year period but then we're back touring again up until end of February and then we will start to question what's next. So far though, we haven't got plans to be releasing anything over the next few months'.

I can tell Kai is itching to get back in the club, or at least to get a drink at this point and as he fiddles around with his phone, I manage to ask one last question.

AS 'What advice do you both have for new producers or DJs trying to break into the UK bass scene currently, how did it happen for you?'

MK Kai was very certain on his answer to this question and suggested that, 'If your consciously trying to 'break into' any scene, your probably going about it the wrong way, always do your thing, keep making music and performing for people, give it time and if your getting the elements right, people will take notice, but don't push it', Dom nods, and it's clear that there is a very clear unity in mind and ideas between them both.

Maybes - Mount Kimbie by funktional

The Future

As we near the conclusion of what has been an unforgettable year, Abandon Silence now looks to 2011 and the musical delights waiting in store for us all.

Firstly, I have two artists that have been included on the pretty awesome Night Slugs label compilation being released on the 29th November. Jacques Greene and Optimum are two artists that I have found incredibly tricky to track down, though I have just been listening to these two tracks from each producer religiously for the last few days.

Jacques Greene's track here is The Look. The track is similar to the work of Lone (below) in it's uplifting and inaudible yet prominent vocal tracks. This tune could quite easily blow up on the back of the hype that this artist will gain from the compilation, we will have to wait and see...

LM007 - JACQUES GREENE - THE LOOK by Jacques Greene

The second artist to be included from the Night Slugs camp is Optimum. When I said that I have found it hard to track people down, I really do mean that this guy is hard. With such a generic name, it's pretty hard to just google 'optimum' and hope for the best (and yes I did try different connotations of the search, with no luck.)

Their track here is Watchmaker, very nostalgically embedded from Myspace (the best I could do, apologies.) This track is more like the works of other Night Slugs artists Girl Unit.The track at hand, Watchmaker is futuristic, glitchy, hip hoppy greatness. It's in the same bracket as artists like Flylo, who are just so god damn hard to put into a genre. Anywho, here is said fantastic track, enjoy...

Find more artists like Optimum at Myspace Music

Our next artist/s are sharing a joint award as it's a bit unfair to give whole awards to mates - I don't want to appear biast! The artists in question are Mele and Koreless. Both are local to me, and are both ridiculously sound. Both of them have performed at Abandon Silence shows, and both are set to take major leaps forward in 2011. Mele has had a hugely productive 2010, working his way into the upper echelons of the Grizzly imprint, being tutored by the label's head honcho Sinden has surely helped as well. With the release of a new EP in January on said label, Mele will really begin to turn heads, and we can't wait to be able to give a nice big cocky, "I told you so!" His personal style of productions fit in superbly with the UK's current trending towards funky and grime, and I believe he will be very successful.

Melé - Digits by Melé

Koreless, aka Lewis Roberts, is a welshman based in Scotland. I got to know Koreless through a mutual friend and I was instantly hooked his productions. He is currently working with Pictures Music, a fantastic new label owned by the also sound Alex Clapworthy, which is another label that you should keep your eyes on. For now, enjoy the fantastic Up Down Up Down and just let his music wash over you...

Up Down Up Down by Koreless

Now for another North West based artist - unlike the previous two artists, Lone is not an acquaintance, so I can unrecroachably say that this guy is just fantastic. I discovered Lone by wandering through into the back room of the Warehouse Project to have a breather from DMZ's obliteration of the main room. The track to stream here is called Outlander, and is a great exponent for the other productions that I have been lucky to get my ears on - in particular, look out for Raptured. The calypso Summer vibes are the perfect pick-me-up for this time of year, please check him out...

Lone - outlander by Lone

The final artist that I am going to be discussing as a potential future star is Krystal Klear. Having recently had his first release, on Manchester based Hoya Hoya Recordings, Krystal Klear is set for a major year. He uses chopped hip hop styles and the same feel good vibes portrayed by Lone to harness his own sound. Here we have his track Let's Go Dreaming, enjoy...

Lets Go Dreaming by KrystalKlear

Just to say, it is still November, so I am sure that I will do another feature in the style of this in January, though for now I am confident in all of my choices and I cannot wait to see each of them flourish and grow in stature as the weeks and months go by.

Abandon Silence 04

As we enter a new month, a draft of work has been lifted onto me. I find myself stuck in dissertation hell, as well as organising next year's Abandon Silence line ups. We have successfully confirmed January and February's line ups, and you will be the first to know who we have in store.

Next month we turn our attention to Abandon Silence 04, featuring Breakage, Mele, Horza and Rich Furness.

This night promises to be the biggest Abandon Silence yet, I cannot wait to host the digital soundboy himself, as well as one of the countries most prodigious producers.

As well as the DJs, we have a fantastic artwork campaign. This is by far the most ambitious promo that we have ever used. Designer Ben Thapa has yet again excelled himself, and as I am sure you can see, his designs are unreal.

To play us out, here are a few select cuts from this month's guests...

CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR TICKETS TO ABANDON SILENCE O4

Breakage - Vial feat. Burial by spex

Prayin' (Breakage Remix) - Plan B by DanDubaholic001


Flexi - Melé by Melé