The Count & Sinden
The Count & Sinden
Kid Cudi
Kid Cudi
Crookers
Kid Sister
Kid Sister
A-Trak
Kid Sister
Kid Sister
For the latest edition of our FG Q&A series, we had a quick chat with UK beat chameleon DJ Zinc about his excellent new Crack House EP, keeping up with musical trends, studio secrets, and more. Bo bo bo!
Read the complete interview after the jump, download the free Crack House sampler mix and be sure to cop the whole thing on Beatport. Stay tuned for more exclusive back-n-forth with interesting folks and creative types very soon.
10 tracks is hefty for an EP - is there a thread that ties all these tunes together for you to release them all at once, rather than split into different singles?
I was planning to do an album but when I got near finishing it, it didn’t really have an “album” vibe. I’d have released them as singles, but I wanted to have a quite strong package to introduce the new stuff I’m doin.
Were these tracks recorded in a quick burst of creativity, or over an extended period of time?
Over about a year, maybe a bit more. I work really, really slow.
What’s a typical day in the studio like for you?
Probably get there about 2-3pm, work till 4-5 am with a break for food or to hang out with my kid for a bit. Tempa records and Rinse FM are based in the same office as me, so theres always something goin on.
How does the UK music scene (past and present) inform the kinds of music that you make?
I guess being exposed to music - mainly pirate radio - all my life means I’ve got loads of random influences, from Indian music to African, Jamaican etc.
There are some very interesting collaborations on the record - can you take us through the making of a tune like “Jekyll N Hyde” from beat idea, to recording Angela’s vocal, to the finished track?
I’ve worked with Angie before, so when she was in the UK working on another project, I asked her to pop into the studio and lay down a few vocals - I had a rough beat up and she just freestyled, she’s really easy to work with, she can do all kinds of voices, from opera shit to kids (she did the kids vocals on that Nas tune, the “I know I can…” bit). I only took some of the parts that she sang. Most of what I used was her doing a ruff, but I liked that you cant really hear what she’s saying. I stripped the track down to just beats and then wrote the bass melody.
You revisit “138 Trek” on the EP as a housier “128 Trek” - planning any other dips back into the catalog for crack house versions? “SUPER Super Sharp Shooter”?
There is a Jack Beats mix of “Super Sharp Shooter,” but I dunno if it’ll see the light of day… I’m defo gonna have a play with a few old beats I did, why not!
How do you approach your DJ sets these days? Is it a challenge balancing “your” tracks that people expect (especially with such an extensive / varied discography) with brand new tunes you want to play out?
I just play what I’m feelin, I think it frustrates people a bit cos I don’t play that many of my old tunes, but I’ve gotta be excited by what I play.
What’s your take on the current emphasis placed on brand new and “unreleased” cuts amongst certain blogs, DJs, etc - do you feel like records are getting hyped up and burnt out before they really have a chance to live as a “real” release?
How long have you got! Music in general seems more throwaway now than ever, cos its so easy to make tunes. When I started, nearly every tune that was released was made in a pro or semi pro studio by a half decent engineer, so even if a song was crap it was quite well made. When I used to play DnB I realized that we left tracks on dubplate for far too long, but the scene I’m in now seems to have gone a bit too far the other way. I dunno. It’ll find its feet!
Any new favorites - musical or otherwise - you’d like to highlight or encourage people to check out?
Lots of the stuff going on around Rinse FM is really interesting, from Roska, Geeneus, Skream, loads of the DJs. Also some of the more underground heads like the Clairvoyants, Circle.
What rap records are you feeling these days?
Does grime count as rap? If so Wiley is the guvnor!
After this Crack House EP, what else can Zinc fans stay on the lookout for?
More of the same. I cant get enough of this sound. More colabs!
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Jokers Of The Scene’s “Bright Black Magick” Tour with Acid Girls finishes up real big in LA a week from tonight at Discotheque. Don’t miss out! Full details at the Discotheque site, advance tix here. Meanwhile tonight they are in SF for Popscene, and hit Chicago on the 10th. JOTS ARE LOOSE!
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Making up for last week’s quickie Minaj-arie with standout joints from YG, Gucci Mane, Brisco with Lil Wayne & Birdman, Fly Gypsy and Cormega.
YG “Toot It And Boot It” [mp3]
YG “Drunk And High” [mp3]
I first heard YG’s stuff on Jerkin With JHawk and zips of jerk tunes Mr Ducker and folks would send me. His mumbly, bedhead delivery is exactly what you’d expect from a teen solidly raised in this Gucci Mane-ozoic era, but he favors beats that blend cheap jerk 808s with dusty samples - an odd combination, but a winning one. (Sidebar: “Drunk And High” is produced by SF’s Skin and Bones, one half of whom also is in Caligula with longtime FG homie Vin Sol. More from them soon…)
Gucci Mane “No No No” [mp3]
Speaking of Radric… man, I haven’t even cracked his most recent mixtape trilogy, I JUST made it through the Burrprint. This one was tacked near the end but is a keeper. “Your jeweler is a loser.” More synth cowbell please.
Brisco f. Lil Wayne & Birdman “Thinking To Myself” [mp3]
Wasn’t ready to hit No Ceilings this week either. But this will more than do. Feels like playing Mario 2 high as giraffe ass.
Fly Gypsy “2 Step” [mp3]
This shit is jolly!
Cormega “Rapture” [mp3]
Welcome to New Yoooooorrrrkkkkk… these streets will make you feel braaaaand neeewwwww…
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The Suzan will be playing live at Tribeca Grand this Saturday - it’s a free show with our bud Mattie Safer DJing, RSVP here to check it out and see what the CMJ fuss was all about!
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You can grab the FG North American release of the Count And Sinden’s club epic “Mega” over at Beatport, featuring exclusive new remixes from Jokers Of The Scene and Harvard Bass. But we also saved a freebie treat for the interwebs in the form of this jump-up jungle remix by Camo UFOs (aka Thee Mike B and Nate Day) that’s a reeewind in more ways than one. Download it now at RCRD LBL.
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Check out Nicky Digital’s site for pics from our most excellent halloween bash with Trouble & Bass this past weekend - there’s XXXChange the bride, Kingdom the monk, Nick Catchdubs insane in the membrane, and three very special little piggies. More shots over at Driven By Boredom.
Shout to Good Peoples for throwing it with us and Mishka for printing up a most excellent collab tee draw-ed by Dust La Rock! You can grab the remaining shirts at the Mishka store in BK or on their website but act fast!
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Check out Trackademicks guesting in this new vid from his Bay brethren Amp Live. In other Honor Roll news, Spank Pops’ Beautiful Noise EP just dropped this week (preview it over at 2dopeboyz) and Mike Baker’s Now Or Never EP got some props from OkayPlayer.
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BK record spinner (and FG co-founder) Nick Catchdubs has been in the lab working on a gang of new musical projects, two of which are out for public consumption this week. First up is a collab with Proper Villains remixing the Cataracs’ “Club Love,” which premiered today on RCRD LBL.
Nick’s mix of dancehall detonator “Click Mi Finger” dropped Tuesday as part of a brand new Erup remix EP featuring Porier, Grahamzilla and Lunice (word to being the only non-Canadian remixer, USA! USA! USA!) that you can stream over at The Fader and purchase on iTunes and wherever else fine digital music is sold. More goodies out shortly…
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A-Trak! Jokers Of The Scene! Congorock! Greenmoney! And more, all going down at the end of the month. We’re coming for your hard liquor and elegant desserts, details to follow…
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We threw two parties in NYC to celebrate the label’s 2nd anniversary during this past CMJ fest - if you missed em, you missed out! Fortunately, we scoured the interweb to collect all the photo galleries, etc (hit us up if you have any more).
Check out Karmaloop’s great recap of Night #1 at 88 Palace above, which featured sets by Kingdom, Donnis (joined onstage by fellow ATLien Pill), Treasure Fingers, Sammy Bananas (who even rocked some Telephoned tracks with partner Maggie Horn), Trackademicks and the Honor Roll crew, and - a first for FG! - live band performances by Vega and The Suzan. Hi-Fi Cartel, Metromix, and The Culture Of Me got some pics, Billboard spoke to A-Trak for a video interview, and Beatcakes had a nice little blog post highlighting The Suzan (”probably one of the best shows I have seen in my life”).
For Night #2 we went with an all-DJ lineup at N8 in Brooklyn, featuring Jokers Of The Scene, LA Riots, Nacho Lovers and extended fam Udachi + Jubilee (Jamie from the xx was slated to play as well, but his band’s set ran late - we’ll get him in the mix soon enough!). You can check pics over at Driven By Boredom. Special thanks to Chicago’s own Thunder Horse for providing live projections / bugged visuals for both nights of festivities! See you for the 3-year bash soon…
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