To Love

TightFace has been at it again. Does this mean there is a release on One Handed Music in the pipeline? I certainly hope so. If you are curious to hear more from this elusive gentleman, or are a fan of listening to some of the most imaginative hip hop production of recent years then head right this way. After that, you could check out Ahu’s mix of unreleased Paul White beats here. Be sure to stay tuned to One Handed proprietor Alex Chase via his Twitter and SoundCloud for the heads up on new TightFace business, and sleep soundly in the knowledge that High-Rise will cover it. Thanks to TOM YUM for the link.

Sneakerpedia

Having spent the day alternately subjecting the office to a 90s R&B apocalypse and pestering the dude behind the Sneakerpedia Twitter account, I am pleased to say that I have been allowed to give their new site a once over. Sneakerpedia looks set to be the most comprehensive database of footwear on the face of the planet, powered by the good folks over at Footlocker. Videos shot in a warehouse are often subject to disturbing conclusions, but rest assured that this one will leave you better informed as to the mechanics of this exciting new project and blissfully free from acute mental breakdown (probably).

While the video does a great job of promoting the social facilities of the site, it is a little light on probably the most exciting aspect of the project. Sneakerpedia represents a great opportunity to access a wealth of obsessively detailed, internationally crowdsourced information on items that we come into contact with on a daily basis. Eager to know how an Air Max 90 fits in comparison to a Dunk? Roughly half a size smaller as it happens, but Sneakerpedia should end up being a one stop shop for sizing, fit and quality. There is no word on a live date just yet as Sneakerpedians are busy fine tuning the site and building up a healthy stock of shoes to kick off proceedings. Follow Sneakerpedia to stay up to date with the latest developments and check out the beta build of site here if you are lucky enough to have a code. Thanks to Tomski over at Mainly Shoes for the initial heads up.

Stealing Words Volume One

My man Ruff Snippits has been at it again. This time, he’s stolen a bunch of words from right out the mouths of some of the most talented MCs and vocalists borne to this planet and layered them carefully over his own productions. But this sort of thing doesn’t always work. With classic tunes like Erykah Badu’s On and On, or Game Over by Dabrye, Jay Dee and Phat Kat, a remix can leave you yearning for that familiar beat. A whole album of this can leave you ready to pull off your fingernails one by one. No such problems here though, as Ruff Snippits is part of that upper percentile of unsigned producers who approach this sort of thing with a little more imagination than most. High-Rise staff have yet to settle on a favourite, but feel the flip of MF Doom’s Favourite Ladies is pretty special. Click on the link below to download the whole album.

Ruff Snippits – Stealing Words Volume One

There are some exciting noises drifting across the rooftops of Brighton from the Snippits penthouse lab at the moment, so be sure to stay tuned to High-Rise for the latest on his new projects. If you are hungry for more music from Ruff Snippits now then head over to his Myspace.

Olly Moss

Yet more Star Wars related produce that has made High-Rise staff go weak at the knees and start sweating like overenthusiastic window cleaners. All three of Olly Moss’ incredible re-imaginings of the original Star Wars Trilogy posters would adorn the walls of High-Rise HQ were it not for the fact that they sold out long ago, probably before Christmas. I don’t really want to say too much more about them because taking in the individual details of each one is probably the most satisfying bit. When you are finished, I strongly suggest you head over to ollymoss.com to see more of his brilliant work. You can also check out his blog at moss.fm and follow @ollymoss to make sure you don’t miss out again.

Headnod & Ruff Snippits

Two decks good, three decks better. Headnod and Ruff Snippits have put together just over an hours worth of hip hop, funk and soul, all refracted through the mystical prism of triple turntables. This is strictly unplanned, all the way live, unrehearsed, all vinyl business that features the likes of Dilla, Danny Breaks and MF Doom with a little Nate Dogg thrown in for good measure. The mixing style is enthusiastic (it was recorded in a bar), so the whole thing is laced cuts, sample drops and acapellas. Stream or download the mix below.

You can find Headnod over on his SoundCloud and hear more music from Ruff Snippits on his Myspace page. They also play regularly at various venues across Brighton – Ruff Snippits has a twice monthly set at the 3&10, Headnod holds down the Gladstone every Thursday, and both can be found playing records for The Doctor’s Orders at Above Audio on Wednesdays. All events are free entry and details can be found in the Brighton Source listings each month.

Reebok x Kasina Pump AXT ‘Kasina Giants’

High-Rise is beginning to look a little one-sided as far as sneakers are concerned, but then Reebok are throwing out quality collaborations faster than I can encourage words to escape from the tips of my decrepit fingers. In order to celebrate their 15 year anniversary, Kasina, a Korean ‘Premium Shopping Mall’, have stepped up to the plate with the Kasina Giants pack. This includes their take on the seldom seen Pump AXT, seen here covered in bright blue buttery suede with a crisp white sole, emblazoned with Kasina Giants logos.

Push | Move

Having passed out whilst writing this post last night, yesterdays Sunday beats have become the soundtrack to your Monday lunchtime. It might be late, but at least now you can terrorise fellow employees by turning these beats up to the red and waiting for them to take that first tentative bite of sausage roll before hitting play. This weekend saw The Doctor’s Orders Brighton host their annual J Dilla tribute event to a capacity crowd at Jam. Once again, The Doctor’s came through with the winning combination of a wide selection of talent, a party atmosphere and some great performances – Ruff Snippits deserves a special shout for his one tune a minute Dilla samples set. Given the occasion, it would seem fitting to post up a couple of the heaviest hitters from the night (any excuse really), so first up we have Push from M.E.D’s 2005 album, Push Comes to Shove. One of the main reasons I enjoy Dilla tribute nights is to hear these tunes played very loud through a substantial sound system. Do what you can with the 2 watt jobs on your laptop.

And to keep things moving in a similarly rowdy fashion, we have Move by Oh No. Here, Dilla samples Mike Hankinson’s take on the Bach classic, Fugue in D Minor, to spectacular effect. One of the ultimate hip hop screwface beats.

There were a bunch of flyers for the next Doctor’s Orders event floating around Jam on the night. They had been keeping quiet about this one…

If J-Live’s last Brighton appearance is anything to go by then this gig should be pretty spectacular. The gig was delayed by a crucial football match and when he came on at Komedia, it was to no more than 40 to 50 people huddled around the stage. Not to be detered, J-Live proceeded to produce one of the best live performances I have ever seen, juggling and MCing simultaneously. Click here for more details and to buy tickets, and follow The Doctor’s Orders on Twitter for the latest. And just in case anyone has forgotten how long J-Live has been in the business of producing classic hip hop music – DJ Spinna’s ’96 Dome Cracker remix of Braggin’ Writes.

Tha Grimm Teachaz

Tha Grimm Teachaz could well grab the 2011 High-Rise LP of the Year Award with There’s a Situation on the Homefront, but then they do have the unfair advantage of having produced it back in 1993. What you have in front of you is a slice of raw and inventive hip hop music, produced by DJ Koufie and featuring the lyrical talents of PMDF (Prince Midnight Dark Force) and KDz (Kenny Dennis aka Tha Killa Deacon). The beats are extraordinary, fuzzy, rafter shaking affairs. It’s a real shame that DJ Koufie seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet, if he was producing this kind of stuff back in ’93 then who knows what he is/would be up to now. If anyone knows his virtual whereabouts then drop a comment below. In any case, props must be bestowed on Tanya Dennis for digging out the old video for I Getz, directed by Tre Weasele and featuring a guest appearance from none other than Son Doobie of Funkdoobiest.

PMDF and KDz are now known individually as Hi-Fidel and Serengeti, producing music collectively as Friday Night. There’s a Situation on the Homefront was actually put out last year, but only for a brief time as a free download available when pre-ordering the Friday Night LP. Luckily, Anticon records got hold of it and the album should see an official release later on this February. Until then, head over to Breakfast Records and follow @thefridaynight for more info, and check out the Friday Night bandcamp to preview the whole album. Until then, have a listen to Grimm Savyas and Melissa below.

J Dilla Birthday Special

Since J Dilla’s tragic death in 2006, February 7th has regularly seen a global outpouring of mixes, live performances, club nights, radio shows, and artwork dedicated to the great hip hop producer and his music on his birthday. This year is no exception, with a whole host of interesting bits and pieces popping up across the internet. High-Rise is here to bring you a selection of the finest new Dilla tributes along with a classic mix from Benji B & Ge-ology. To kicks things off, the image below is the winning entry into So Far To Go, an art contest run by the J Dilla Foundation, and the work of the talented Joe Buck. High-Rise regulars might recognise his work from the cover art of Brooklyn Flower by Damu the Fudgemunk; check that out here if you haven’t already, and go to Joe Buck’s website for more of his work.

Next up is J Dilla: Still Shining, a documentary produced back in 2006 and released today to commemorate the life and work of James Yancey following his tragic and untimely death. There is some fantastic archive footage of Dilla DJing at shows and working in the lab along with testimonies from hip hop titans including Pete Rock, Common and Q-Tip. Video credits go to B.Kyle, check out his website for more details on the project.

Still Shining also happens to be one of my favourite Dilla beats…

Benji B and Ge-ology’s J Dilla Rarities mix is a compendium of some of the finest unreleased

Kalifornia

After picking a fight with the weekend and losing horribly, High-Rise is staying dusty and low key with a remix of Kalifornia by Canadian MC, Saukrates. The original samples D’Angelo, but the remix exchanges these  smooth RnB stylings for something a little more melancholy – it seems to put a new spin on the lyrics, the whole thing becomes more fragile and introspective. If anything, the poor quality of the recording adds to the effect.