cubikmusik

notes & neurons

simply amazing!

thanks to choice cuts for pointing me to this via twitter.

cubikmusik's charity release: update

back in January I announced that this year cubikmusik would be releasing a compilation of music to raise money for charity. today I am so very happy to give an update on this project that has received amazing support from so many people that I know or have been introduced to in recent weeks.

first off, the charity: we have decided to support just one charity (as opposed to multiple charities as originally considered) and this charity is Nordoff Robbins. much thanks to charlie dark for suggesting this absolutely worthy cause.   

a bit about Nordoff Robbins: Nordoff Robbins is the charity that specialises in transforming the lives of children and adults constrained by illness, disability, trauma or isolation, through the power of music.Clap your hands. Tap your feet. Sing out loud. Dance or stomp. Shout or cry. We all react to music in different ways. But we all react. Because music has a universal power to reach us, touch us and make us feel different.

secondly, the music: just a reminder that the compilation will have one common theme and that is for it to be suitable for babies/ kids as lullably or 'waking up' music. an alternative for 'baby mozart' type CDs with music created by contemporary artists. some of these artists will be known to cubimusik readers and others will not so I hope that this compilation will also help these artists reach a wider audience. 

at this stage can I just say that I have been overwhelmed by the responses of those that i got in touch with. amazingly grateful i am. i have been contacted by artists that haven't been featured on cubikmusik to offer songs, etc. (which I of course gladly accepted) and at this stage we have 16 artists that will contribute tracks to the compilation. i'm not going to release artist names yet but expect an update in about 2 weeks. i can assure you that you won't be disappointed and most likely excited to hear the outcome. 

thirdly: we are also exploring other ways to promote the release and to further support Nordoff Robbins so expect more updates in a few weeks. i'll leave one hint though and that's just to say that Orsii might be involved and if you know Orsii that can only mean good things....

i look forward to this latest avenue for cubikmusik, to working with the amazing people that are supporting it and also to hearing from you with your thoughts, ideas, etc. 

cheers

colin

behind closed doors

upcoming documentary that looks at just some of britain's beat making scientists. looks interesting as there is so much great beats coming outta there.

COMING SOON #BCD2 from Andy Brown on Vimeo.

20 winks

 

first off in this post a big shout out to gavin over at jus' like music on the launch of his new label of the same name. with this as his first release I am delighted to be able to write about BUG, a producer from London that Gavin is promoting and is getting great props from the likes of Eric Lau, Ty, Debruit and Ohmega Watts. 

"24 year-old Londoner, BUG, is a keyboard player, songwriter and producer. Under the moniker, BUG, he creates an experimental, instrumentally grounded style of music with a compositional approach. The BUG sound encompasses the finer elements of hip-hop and neo-soul, yet the real beauty is in the delivery. Think the smooth richness of the Dam-Funk vibe, the solid construction of a Dilla beat, the electronic wizardry of Flying Lotus and the soulful melodies ofLonnie Liston Smith's jazz."

I gotta say that ouf the two tunes i'll go for 20 Winks as the better one for its deeper beats and rich keys that a layered just so. decide for yourself but checking it out below and grab both tunes for free here. 

Very nice job on a debut release. Good things to come from this label.

Keep an eye our for the upcoming Oscillations compilation that Jus' Like Music and Apple Juice Break are working together to release next month.

nothing is original

got this from keep schtum today. great stuff courtesy of Jim Jarmusch. 

 

no contact

 

 

international man of mystery (otherwise known as clutchy hopkins) is back with some new music and so far i'm liking the sounds of it.

The Story Teller is out on April 13th on Ubiquity. 

at the end of the day i really don't give a shit about who this may be or if he is:

"Fact or fiction? Is Clutchy Hopkins an alias? Or is this the true name for a reclusive musical powerhouse? Are his recordings vintage, new, or a mix of both? Some may wonder about these things, along with why some dudes have a long pinky nails or whatever happened to myspace, others may ask if any of this really matters? While the mystery surrounding the artist is no longer news, the music only gets better, maturing like a fine wine."

Seriously. The music is ace. Lets just leave it at that.

Download No Contact...Contact

speaking of ubiquity, andrew meza who works for them has this excellent set-up over at bts radio so be sure to check it out. amazing mix from dego waiting for you.

rising sun

 

 
 

Hailing from Canada, signed to Strut Records, The Souljazz Orchestra have just released 'Rising Sun'. Full of raw grooves with Afro and Latin rhythms fused to create an astounding energy. If you've been watching and listening to all the buzz around fela's reissues on knitting factory records or the fela musical in NY then you'll be well into this release. 

You know i'm well into anything that gets a review starting like this:

"What I love is when an artist takes awhile to for their musical story to begin, long drawn out introductions lure me in, just like anticipation of a movie starting and the credits seem to last forever. It takes almost three minutes for the Souljazz Orchestrao to finally kick things in gear, and when it does, you wish life would sound this great 24 hours a day." via okayplayer

here's a video for Agbara off the album.

check out the tour dates and do try to support as "The Souljazz Orchestra will be donating a portion of the proceeds generated by the "Rising Sun" album release tour directly to families affected by the earthquake, as well as to NGOs working on the Haiti relief effort." 

also on Strut, check out the upcoming release 'Next Stop...Soweto'. I can't wait for that! 

simon says

it was with great sadness when I heard that simon goss, co-founder of the amazing label Wah Wah 45s, had passed just months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. by all accounts he was truly a gent in the world of music. when attending the Worldwide Awards in London a few weeks back I got to meet Scrimshire (featured here) who is a part of the Wah Wah 45s family and we talked a bit about Simon, his family and his absolute love of music. he will be missed by those that knew and loved him as well as those that got to hear and appreciate great music as a result of all that he did.

As a testament to all that Simon did you can check out the Simon Says event on March 25th in the Jazz Cafe in London where you can go to hear an absolute stunning lineup of artists and support The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Check out the facebook page for more details and please, if in London, go along and support the night to honor Simon, his family, friends and the music he wished to share.

guardian obituary. shook piece by dom servini.

Joe Pass - A Time For Us  by  thermm

fretless fader

i picked this up on twitter last night (can't remember who tweeted the link).  via ThrowingSnow and djdescry

pretty amazing stuff that will open new doors for dj's out there.

r.i.p

found out tonight that a friend of mine of way back was found dead this morning. we're not sure how yet. hadn't seen him in ages. great memories from years back when he was part of our posse that partied out in Dublin, dancing the nights away into the early mornings and growing up. 

sorry to see you go mate. 

Download WAP02 Can U Feel It