GOOD BYE, TOASTYBOY

You will be missed

While Dubstep seems to be on the up and up in terms of event attendance or releases, quite a few producers lately have either jumped ship – there is more money to be made in funky apparently – or left the dance music continuum altogether.

Toastyboy recently ” left dubstep ” and this unexpected move has shocked quite a few members of the dubstep community, me included.

The reasons behind his departure are – so far – unknown, but one thing is certain : he will be missed, for he provided us all with an oasis of freshness and purity in a world filled with sub-par, generic wobble ” smashers ” which have to be heard on a big rig to have any kind of aesthetic merit.

Toastyboy is a man who took composition and research very seriously… Our ears, filled with mid-range cack, ridiculous breakdowns, generic dancehall, reggae or hip-hop vocals slapped on unimaginative structures and overcompressed, poorly tuned drums, long for the kind of pieces that an artist such as Toastyboy was able to deliver.

Here is his farewell message :

” Hello peeps

It may or may not have escaped your attention that i haven’t made any new music/updated my page in a long long time.

well its probably no big shock that i’m winding down the toasty stuff.. the sort of music i want to make these days doesnt even remotely fit in with the whole toasty thing, so i thought it was time to draw this page to a close..

i dont want to make a song and dance about it, just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who supported me by listening to my stuff, or by messaging me on the myspace or by….. buying my music!

big big big big shout out to all the punters, djs and labels that supported me over the last few years!

peace and loveism

damo toasty”

The end of an era.

INTOCCABILE RELEASES — SPRING 2009

A few Grime bits of mine were released some time ago.

In order :

1. Coming of Age EP – released on Fyutchaflex recs

2. My contribution to Rare Grooves 2 – released on Zardonic’s label

3. Wachenröder – released on Fyutchaflex recs.

More releases planned for this summer as well, on a few different labels. Mr. Richard Lock – a prodigy – from Nu-Urban design and Devolutiondesigns is working on the sleeve of one of those releases – should be big. And a 12” in July…

Working with very tight deadlines so it’s not easy.

More release news soon.

3 GRIME RELEASES YOU CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT !!!

1. REVOLVER- GRIME’S SON

Uptown Records

OT’s Store

Rythm Division

2. SKEPTA- MICROPHONE CHAMPION

UK RECORD SHOP

3. WILEY – RACE AGAINST TIME

AVALANCHE MUSIC HUT

UPTOWN RECORDS

UK RECORD SHOP

PLAY.COM

BOOMKAT

I SINCERELY HOPE YOU COPPED THIS

The phrase “highly anticipated new album” takes on a whole new meaning with Newham Generals debut album ‘Generally Speaking’ released through Dizzee Rascal’s Dirtee stank label.

Rumours and circumspection have been rife for nearly some half decade now about a full and proper release from Dizzee’s right-hand crew comprising of producer Cage and MCs D Double E and Footsie, so we’re finally very glad to say it’s here, and it’s a proper killer!

While we’re sure some hardcore Grime heads will have some form of gripe with it, for the rest of us it’s a shockingly hard and heavy dose of raw E7 grime, pulling no punches and lunging forward with their trademark hardcore lyrics and tuffer-than-the-rest production.

The Prodigy inflected single ‘Head Get Mangled’ excepted, this is a strong, uncompromising and focussed set with the potential to turn a whole generation of kids onto the good side of grime, from the industrial tainted ‘Supadupe (Ooah Ooah)’ to the Dizzee and G-Man guesting ‘Violence’, via the ridiculously murky ‘Heard You Been Smokin’ with screwy crack-bong sounds and the old skool hardcore tribute ‘Mind Is A Gun’ the crew truly prove their form here. The production duties are commendably handled by Footsie & Cage and set head and shoulders above your average grime mixtape.

In our opinion this is the album that Grime should have delivered years ago to inspire a generation of youngers to increase their production values and understand what a good album should sound like.

Unfortunately it’s taken until now but that’s absolutely no reason not to enjoy it!

Recommended!!!

Source : http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=169846

GRIME SHOCKER : BADNESS LEAVES GRIME SCENE BEHIND

Shocking !!!

Badness’ decision to leave Grime behind came as a shock to the whole Grime community.

Here is the interview, for your reading pleasure.

Source : http://www.grimeforum.com/?p=99

” Rumours circulated around the Grime Forum and on roads that Badness, arguably the MC from outside of London to have made one of the biggest impacts in the scene, had decided to leave grime behind. While negative press on grime isn’t something I often like to promote, I wanted to catch up with Badness to determine why he had made this decision and what it meant for the future.

Yo Badness, the rumours that are floating about on road and on net that you’ve quit the grime scene, can you confirm this?

Yes, I can. Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaavvvvvaaaaaaa!!!

What was the final straw that led you to quitting the scene?

The final straw was the sidewinder event in Bristol, it’s all starting to get stupid and past negative. I came into the scene again to up lift the youth’s not to bring them down because I saw that they needed guidance- not violence.

Does quitting the scene mean that you won’t be touching grime music at all, or will you still be collaborating with grime artists for their projects?

I will 100% not be collaborating with any more grime artists. What is done is done. 99% of them dont have any thing positive to say. We need more tracks like Inna Da Ghetto and that’s like trying to find a needle in a hay stack.

It’s said that you turned up to Rinse FM so much that you must have lived there or owned a place next door! Haha, it’s not true is it?

Yes it is true Rinse FM is my house and what!? But I’ve just bought myself a bigger apartment I had too many unwanted visitors trespassing! Dun know. Big up all the Rinse FM family- Geeneus Rat Saira. Sir Spyro Scratcha. O…………K!!

What’s next for Badness then? Lava Eruption is out on the 16/3/09 nationwide, what can your fans expect from this album?

Yeah it’s not an album its a gyalbum full of nuff La…….Va unity. We make the people come together and have a good time but too many people in grime are bad mind. They dont like to see the yout’s buss.

Any final comments?

Look out for Bannana Clip single getting let off very soon on Tru Tiger Recording’s produced by Suge Knight. “

LOGAN SAMA INTERVIEW : REGARDING GRIME

This month I’m talking about what makes grime… grimy? It’s a difficult question. Grime is predominantly influenced by garage, jungle, hip hop and dancehall; a pretty conflicting group of sounds. It’s hard to pin down what makes a grime record. Sub bass? Well Ice Rink is definitely a grime record and that had no bass at all. Is it synths and electronic sounds that sound gritty and unmixed? Producers like Low Deep have developed a polished sound, while still ensuring the name “Grime” is attached to the main body of their work. What else?

You’d say the tempo, right? Well, that’s wrong. A lot of production on Wiley and Dizzee’s first albums range from bpms of 90 to 160. While most of the beats played in sets are around 138, when you get into albums and mixtapes, MCs venture into other tempos.

A lot of MCs are releasing mixtapes now. Artist-driven projects which are designed to not only show off lyrical talents but also versatility. The phrase “Tempo Specialist” was coined by The Movement, and a lot of MCs are keen to show they can handle different tempos. Indeed I feel that unless you can change the speed of your lyrics’ delivery, it is very difficult to address certain emotions. But what we are finding is MCs are looking to hip hop for beats to soundtrack their stories. A lot of fans are disappointed by this. They feel if an artist makes his name in grime, they don’t want to hear them on the latest Dipset instrumental. Would they feel different if they were using beats made by grime producers made at a slower tempo? Would they still even consider it grime?

I’ve spoken to different producers and MCs, and found varying opinions. DaVinChe told me that when he tried making a slower tempo beat, a lot of MCs told him it was hip hop. Bashy told me he finds it hard to get beats from producers that accurately soundtrack his words. Similarly, a lot of grime MCs are turning to hip hop to showcase their versatility. But would there be as many hip hop freestyles from MCs if there were more beats available that push the boundaries?

Personally, this raises an interesting quandary. As a DJ in grime you are assessed mainly on your ability to beat-mix and cut and chop between beats in a set. How would you accommodate different tempo tracks in a live set? Would I be able to play different tempo instrumentals for MCs to spit on live? Should I even?

I am all up for artists experimenting. And while grime stays an artist-centric scene, then they will always want to try out different tempos. By doing so, are they leaving grime? Do we want to see artists leave the scene because their artistic expression is being shunned? To me, grime is a culture and an ethos, and not something that can be summed up by a set-list of rules.

As long as artists retain the attitude, vernacular, style, and slang they learned picking up the mic on pirate radio spitting to grime, they are still grime to me. And while mic men such as Goodz, Bashy and more blur the line between what is grime and what is hip hop, they should remember why Dizzee is still considered an ambassador of this scene; retain that about you which is unique from established hip hop. That which made people care about you in the first place.

And producers, try experimenting more with the artists. But would it still be grime? I guess that is up to you, the listener to decide.

Check Logan’s Kiss show, Mon, 11pm-01.00am featuring the best in grime. MySpace.com/djlogansama

Source : http://www.grimeforum.com/?p=344

A DOSE OF GRIME A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY

As an avid fan of Grime, I’ve always got my ear to the ground or my hand on the mouse when it comes to discovering new and different stuff that improves the scene. One of the highlights of 09 for me has been the emergence of GrimeDaily.com . I caught up with the grimedaily owners to discuss the site.

Who are the people behind GrimeDaily.com?

GrimeDaily.com was created by a group of people with a great interest in U.K music. The team comprises of photographers, web designers, camera men, non-stop youtube users who find the latest grime videos for us, and 2 presenters who work behind and in front of the camera, who are known as the pyjama boys.

Grime Daily has been a massive new internet phenomenon for grime, what inspired you start it up?

Grime Daily was inspired by the web phenomenon http://www.worldstarhiphop.com a similar website which is based on American music, culture, sports and fashion. We basically created a similar site to represent these things but to appeal to all things U.K.

What are the aims and objectives for the site and is there anything new coming shortly?

The aim of the site is to create one place where you can watch everything U.K music related without having the stress of looking for the latest videos on youtube. We have something new coming up EVERYDAY!! So check us out!! Also look forward to the upcoming collabo with grimeforum.com

What other videos and interviews have you got lined up in the near future for fans to watch?

We have a bag of videos under our belt, I don’t wanna disclose them all just yet though, you’ll just have to check them out. The support from the artists has been extremely good so we would like to thank them especially. Look out for a whole load of good stuff in the near future!!

Any shouts?

Shout out to the incredible support from all the people that use the site on a daily basis, it goes to show that we are doing something useful and we appreciate it. Shout out to us aswell because it ain’t easy! Keep locked for more stuff in the future!

Source : Grimeforum.com ( http://www.grimeforum.com/?p=449 )
Visit the Grime daily website : http://www.Grimedaily.com