Ape Street Art - Smug's Word

'Evolution becomes Revolution.'

The Channel

http://www.youtube.com/thehailcaesar

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Looking into the Sky - The Drop

THE DROP

  'Looking to the sky'

The Drop - 'Looking to the sky' has been re-released, this is due to us changing distributors, but fear not, all you lovelies who tried to buy this the last couple of months - NOW YOU CAN!! So make sure you grab a copy! Summer reggae vibes with this one. Produced by John Hendicott (Tru-Thoughts)

'Takeover'

The Drop are Half way through the summer tour, and things are hotting up! Summer so far = banging. Also last few weeks have seen takeover played on Radio 1, NME Radio, Kiss FM, The Selector Radio Show, Radio 2 and SGP FM Radio!! The Drop fully on the airwaves! Be sure to check out David Rodigans shows coming up on Radio 2. Massive thanks to Rodigan and all involved. He smashed it at SGP if anyone was lucky enough to catch him play out!! Other tracks on this release include DUBMATIX (roaring lion mix) & HEMPOLICS (dub)

Fri, Aug 12 - 2:00 pm Boomtown Fair (Lion's Den Stage) Matterly Bowl, Winchester, Hampshire
Fri, Aug 19 - Green Man Festival (Chai Wallahs) Brecon Beacons, WALES
Sun, Aug 21 - One Love Festival (Soul Rebel Stage) Hainault, London
Sat, Aug 27 - Aeon Festival Shobrooke Park, Devon
 
Fri, Sep 9 - Jamm, Brixton, London Toots and the Maytals official after-show party w/ Dub Pistols
 
Sat, Sep 17 - The William Twigg Bracknell, Berkshire
Sat, Oct 8 - Cardiff Arts Institute Cardiff, Wales

GET THE ALBUM AND INFORMATION HERE

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SoulBrew Karaoke August Bank Holiday Special

SoulBrew Karaoke
August Bank Holiday special

With Jazzie B (Soul II Soul) & BBE Records

8pm till 2am
Friday 26th August 2011
& the last Friday of every month

Queen of Hoxton
1-5 Curtain Road
London EC2A 3JX

£5 entry all night

Room 1: SoulBrew Karaoke
Our incredible 5-piece band & YOU performing Soul & Disco Classics from our list of 80+ songs followed by special DJ set from Jazzie B.

Room 2- BBE Records
BBE’s Head honcho Pete Adrakwah flys in from his adopted home in Berlin for this special set alongside label mates Chris Read & Kyri R2.

We’ve all done it. Stood in front of the mirror, hairbrush in hand, tennis racket across our chest dreaming of being on stage with a band behind, a crowd in front, lights in our eyes and & a mic in our hand. Now we give you the chance to make the dream a reality.

In the last two years SoulBrew Karaoke has established itself as the most entertaining night out in the capital ensuring it is always packed to the rafters. We have hand picked a great selection of 100 Soul, Disco & R&B songs - from Stevie Wonder to Beyonce – for you to chose from.

The SoulBrew Karaoke band is a dream team of musicians who have played with everyone from Amy Winehouse and Bonobo to Odyssey & Alice Russell but this time it's YOU up on stage with the expert backing of this phenomenal five piece funk band.
Now that the Queen of Hoxton roof terrace is also open there is even more reason to make this your destination for that big Friday night knees up!

After you have sung your lungs out you can get down to the exciting sounds of the Soul II Soul legend that is Jazzie B. With a OBE, a couple of Grammies and a whole stack of great tunes you are gonna be in great hands!

Meanwhile on the ground floor room 1 is hosted by the incomparable BBE Records. Headed up by the label’s owner, CEO and good friend of SoulBrew’s Pete Adarkwah you will be blessed to a blend of souldrenched dance music from Jazz to Disco & Hip-Hop to House as he joins Chris Read & Kyri R2 on the decks.

For bookings & table reservations please contact bookings@soulbrewkaraoke.com
Promo Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UpPqfYrHDQ
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24921573468&ref=ts
Weblink: www.soulbrewkaraoke.com

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Street Art Saved My Life - 39 New York Stories (exhibition)

A cool line-up of artists are due to make an appearance in the flesh or byway of the canvas which in some cases also carries an artists flesh...Enough of that and here's some of this...LSD Magazine has interviewed a few of the featured artists in past issues so check them out for further insight into the minds of the people painting cityscape spaces.  

Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories
C.A.V.E. Gallery, 1108 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, California 90291

August 12 - September 4, 2011

Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories heralds the new highly individual character of stories being told on the streets of New York by brand new and established Street Artists from all over the world. Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo, founders of BrooklynStreetArt.com focus on this flashpoint in modern Street Art evolution by curating a strongly eclectic story-driven gallery show with 39 of the best storytellers hitting the streets of New York.

 Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories, the gallery show, accompanied by an LA street wall series by selected artists and a public panel lecture and discussion, intends to stake out the New Guard in street art while recognizing some powerful near-legendary forerunners.

The mainly New York lineup exhibits talent from other parts of the US and internationally (Australia, France, UK, Canada, Israel, Germany) and it is as steely, idiosyncratic and storied as the New York scene itself, including Anthony Lister, Adam Void, Broken Crow, C215, Cake, Chris Stain, Clown Soldier, Creepy, Dan Witz, El Sol 25, Ema, Faile, Futura, Gaia, Gilf!, Hargo, Hellbent, How & Nosm, Imminent Disaster, Indigo, Judith Supine, Kid Acne, Know Hope, Ludo, Mark Carvalho, Miss Bugs, Nick Walker, NohJColey, Over Under, Radical!, Rene Gagnon, Skewville, Specter, Sweet Toof, Swoon, Tip Toe, Troy Lovegates AKA Other, Various & Gould, and White Cocoa.

 The staunch individualists in Street Art Saved My Life : 39 New York Stories give voice to the evolution of the Graffiti, Mash-Up, and D.I.Y. movements that birthed them; creating an eccentric, highly individual, and raucous visual experience on the street. With widely varied backgrounds, techniques, and materials at play, "The Story" is the story. With truths as diverse and difficult as the city itself, each one of these artists is a part of a fierce, raw, new storytelling tradition that is evolving daily before our eyes.

 

Thinkspace Art Gallery www.thinkspacegallery.com
C.A.V.E. Gallery (location of the show) www.cavegallery.net

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Soma Records – 20 Years Triple CD Release

Soma Records – 20 Years [SOMA CD095]
Triple CD release
Release date: 19/09/2011

When Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle decided to name their fledgling imprint Soma Quality Recordings, they were being more uncannily prescient than anyone could have imagined during the heady, post-acid electronic eruption, whose volcanic ash continues to disrupt services and belch up astonishing new talent on a regular basis through to the present day. Through sheer natural instinct and passion, the word ’Quality’ has remained Soma‘s essential mantra, resulting in many of these names gravitating to the label over the last 20 years. 

Soma was born out of the insanely euphoric celebrations taking place at the DJ duo’s club held in Glasgow since a track by Phuture named them and their night Slam. Along with manager Dave Clarke and fellow founder Glenn Gibbons (both still at the helm), they had little idea that, out of the countless clubs and labels flourishing during that magical period, they would be the one still holding strong two decades later, Soma now acknowledged as the UK’s longest-running dance label and one of the most consistently-dazzling electronic imprints in the world. 

Relentlessly DJing at the world’s foremost cutting edge dance venues, Orde and Stuart have kept their fingers on electronic music’s rapidly-evolving pulse, experiencing on the front line what makes crowds scream, dance or cry, constantly pushing the boat out with their work as Slam, while carefully planning and introducing fresh new names to the mothership label. 

Above all, they have never forgotten that intoxicating magic, which spawns the strongest memories while changing outlooks, careers and even lives forever. So many of those cavorting on their Glasgow dance floors over the past two decades have gone off to start making their own music; a direct lineage from the punk movement which gripped the Slam boys earlier in life (and which they readily acknowledge with the occasional post-club Clash session), along with other key historic elements, from acid house to New York boogie to Detroit’s symphonies to Berlin minimal stalkers and beyond.

There have been epoch-making discoveries and landmarks, such as wide-eyed greenhorns Daft Punk, who released their first three EPs with the label before leaving to take over the world, intoxicating one-offs like Scott Grooves’ ‘Mothership Reconnection’ and fabled roster mainstays, which saw Lars Sandberg, aka Funk D’Void, score major success with ‘Diabla’ along with the ever-astonishing Silicone Soul scoring with ‘Right On‘. As an unashamed trainspotter, I have and have listed every vinyl release from SOMA001 (a shared 12-inch between Slam and Rejuvination) up until around SOMA250 and the digital revolution; too many to mention but many which will be represented, often re-upholstered, in the anniversary celebrations culminating in this marvellous collection. 

Of course it helps also having memories of Slam bringing the Arches to its delirious knees in the mid-90s with ‘Positive Education’, or the day I heard The Black Dog had started cocking its leg against the label’s fence, but Soma now stands as both electronic institution and unquenchable spirit, well-entitled to enjoy the biggest party yet as it hits its 20th year. That Slam and their mighty label now stand tall in the same hall of fame as their original inspirations speaks for itself. That they are still firing on all cylinders is even better. As I said recently while reviewing volume five of the highly successful Soma Coma series (I’ve written about Soma more than any other label in the last 35 years); even when trawling the past, this towering label can’t help thinking about the future. Kris Needs, May 2011

Disc 1 – Soma Classics

Compiling a Classics CD that covers 20 years of releases (310 singles and 90+ albums) is not an easy task. There are the obvious tracks that had to be included in such a compilation, like Slam’s Positive Education, Silicone Soul’s Right On, Right On and Funk D’Void’s Diabla. There are others like Daft Punk’s remix of Scott Grooves and Slam’s first ever track on Soma Records, Eterna, which quite literally took the dance music world by storm. Eterna was ultimately the track that started Soma Quality Recordings. This was in 1991; the year after remixing the Edinburgh band Botany 5 on Virgin Records, and the year before collaborating with The Orb on the Close Encounters track (taken from their debut album, U.F. Orb). These are quite simply the foundations of both Slam and Soma.

Then there are tracks like Sharkimaxx’s (aka Felix Da Housecat) Clashback and Percy X’s X-Traks, which still fuel dancefloors around the world in exactly the same manner as when they were first released (both, some 16 years ago). Joris Voorn’s Mix of Samuel L Session is (quite rightly) one of the biggest tracks on Soma Records in the last 10 years, so it would have been foolish not to include on our classics compilation. We also had to include the flip of that. The tracks that were never about selling by the million; they were about a time, a place and a state of mind. The Black Dog’s Cost II (originally on the GPR imprint in ‘93, but signed to Soma in the late ‘00s) was the sound of a time, just like the Desert Storm release, which was first heard in a railway tunnel in Glasgow at one of their many Desert Storm Sound System parties of the early ‘90s.

Finally there are tracks that are classics by proxy. At the tail end of 2010 we trailed boxes of DATs, pictures and god-only-knows what else to find artefacts of Soma’s early days. Imagine our surprise when we discovered a tape simply entitled ‘Daft Drive’. We hooked up the DAT machine and inserted the tape with the delicacy of a surgeon, pressing play and praying that for one, the tape contained what we hoped, and two, that it didn’t chew it like a dog on a bone. In amongst the hiss and crackle, the most monstrous 909 kick drum thudded. Daft Punk’s Drive track had been rediscovered. Playing through was 11 minutes of Live Daft Punk; freaky vocals, pounding Roland drums & synths and that archetypal DP compression. After standing in silence, witnessing this moment, the track faded off and we heard the sound of the French spoken word that the recording had been made over; the remnants of their parents audio collection. This tape was given to Dave, Glenn, Stuart and Orde (the directors of Soma) on a trip to Paris in 1994, where they were

Disc 2 – Slam DJ Mix

 Slam are, of course, the corner stone of Soma Records. Here since day one and until day zero. Their countless releases over the years not only include their Slam productions, but also their work as Pressure Funk, G7, Freelance Science and Counter Plan, plus many collaborations and co-productions. It can be said they are not just corner-stones of Soma Recordings, but also of UK Techno in all its glory. Today in this collection of CDs though, Slam look forward to the future, as they have persisted in doing throughout their 20+ year career. Orde and Stuart have gone through all the remixes, revisions and reconstructions of past Soma gems that we have worked on throughout the last 12 months, and moulded a DJ mix of where Slam stand in a current climate. One that shows depth, groove and jack in a 65 minute show-down. Having run their various club nights for these 20 years, they have played at all points of the night; from doors opening to doors closing; warm-up to peak time. This mix encapsulates this perfectly.

 Disc 3 – Silicone Soul DJ Mix

The legendary production and DJ duo of Graeme Reedie and Craig Morrison (aka Silicone Soul) have been at home on Soma since their first release 13 years ago. Before the guys signed to Soma, being native Glaswegians, they religiously attended the legendary Slam nights at both the Arches and the Sub Club in the early ‘90s. When this all started Graeme and Craig did the PR for the club events, getting to know Dave Clarke, the event promoter. Becoming closer over time, Dave offered them their first ever Arches DJ on their respective birthdays. Quite a present had you ever attend these nights. They soon started their own label, Depth Charge, where they released their first two singles, pressing and distributing their own vinyl. Quickly they were signed to Soma with heir The Strip EP. The rest as they say, is history. Their DJ mix is a representation of the tracks they saw from the dancefloor, be it the first record they bought; Otaku’s (Ralph Lawson, Fraser Brydson & Carl Finlow) Percussion Obsession, or DJ Q’s masterful mix of Counter Plan’s 90 Degrees. Peppered through their mix are snippets and a capellas like the beautiful keys of Daedalus or the vocals from Inspiration and Light, Tonight, and U Dig. You’ll also see Mark Henning’s Last Night, a personal favourite of the boys from the last few years of Soma stock.

SOMA RECORDS
www.somarecords.com    www.soma20.tv

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Meeting of Styles - October 8th - Hornsey Road

'GREAT STREET SHOW NOT TO MISSED'

Meeting of Styles - October 8th - Hornsey Road
(behind Holloway Road Station) 12 'til 12

Endoftheline presents the London Meeting of Styles - the UK's premier showcase of spraycan art. Featuring over 60 of Europe's best graffiti writers and artists, this independent event provides a unique platform for expression, raising awareness and demonstrating the incredible talent of this generation of contemporary artists.

Aerosol art, by it's very nature, doesn't live comfortably in gallery spaces or alongside corporate sponsorship, as such Meeting of Styles is curated by and for the artists. A free event, it's not run for profit and relies on no sponsors. This independence means the artists involved aren't beholden to anyone's agendas or subject to any form of censorship.

Now in it's fourth year, Meeting of Styles is family friendly and full of good vibes. Aside from the chance to see a veritable army of talented artists painting live, there'll be a cinema with a Reeps1 Beatbox installation, competitions, licensed bars, and cult carnivores - Meateasy providing the BBQ. DJs and MCs keep things rocking outside in the daytime whilst the likes of Lazy Habits, DJ Mylon, Rolls Royce, Trol23, and DJ Format on the ones and twos and Phi Life Cypher finish off the day inside. It's set to be an unmissable day out; a block party celebrating graffiti culture in a safe and inclusive enviroment.

Face Book Event - http://on.fb.me/rbldCq
Photos From 2010 Event - http://bit.ly/rgLJT2
Home - www.meetingofstyles.co.uk

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Soulful Gallery Collective Turning Japanese

Urban artist collective Soulful Gallery has been commissioned by brand experience company N2O to supply the backdrop for Japan’s prime brew, Kirin Ichiban’s pop-up Yatai restaurant in the Dray Walk Gallery, Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London. This will be in-situ from 3rd - 8th August. Soulful Gallery artists Koze, Squirl, Matt Latchford and Dan Wilson brought their unique urban art styles into full effect to create a downtown Tokyo street scene for the event. The result is a series of Japanese inspired street art walls – complete with hand painted brickwork, graffiti, peeling posters and fantastical traditional and kawaii characters.

Soulful founder and veteran graffiti artist Koze says, “We had serious fun painting the pieces at the studio, mixing up our unique styles to create an edgy but realistic street vibe that we felt wouldn’t look out of place in Tokyo whilst at the same time keeping real to our own work. We often work on a large scale but at 22m long and 2.5m high this is our largest piece to date. It took a lot of planning to get every detail right including the brick work, however people’s response has been fantastic.”

The bespoke Japanese street art walls created uniquely for this exciting pop up Yatai experience are being auctioned to raise money for the Japan Society Tohuku Earthquake Relief Fund. For the opportunity to own a piece of this unique work, just go www.n2o.co.uk/kirin-street-art - you can bid until 23:00 BST Monday 8th August 2011.

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