Toddla T (Fabric, 1965 Records, LDN) Toddla T is South Yorkshire’s new bad boy on the bashment block. The young inheritor of the bleepy baton from the likes of Warp, Swag’s Chris Duckenfield, Pipes, original forge master Winston Hazel, he’s the steel cherry riding a top a rich musical heritage for a city that’s always liked it RUFF…
Since our beams last crossed big things have been ‘appening for our boy T. His debut riddim ‘Do you know’ (on the 1965 imprint) caused a right froth in all quarters it dropped. Sucking on dancehall and Sheffield’s notorious bassline and seriously rude movements, it drew comparisons to London darlings Herve and Sinden and, like the lad himself, has been ubiquitous at the most scalding of dos ever since…
Tings are getting bigger and bouncier for our hero. His 40 track Ghettoblaster mixtape (hosted by motor mouth Mr Versatile) was hailed as the best mix of the year by FACT magazine (and massively downloaded) while his production fingers have been delving into the likes of indie peddler Jack Penate, guitaros Jackobinarina, and a sleezy collaboration with ex-Moloko hot pot, Roisin Murphy…
DJ sets have got bigger and better. Slots with Radioclit in Sheff, Modular’s party in London town, big riddims at the carnival with his man Versatile, joint throwing at the Electric Chair, Warp’s xmas batty up and of course Sheffield’s nomadic late night flagon of electronic bleepery, Kabal – at the minute Toddla is bulldozing every floor he gets his mitts on….
If that wasn’t enough ‘Do you Know’ is due to drop as a meaty 12 inch proper come January, this time featuring a jacking rehauls from Sinden and the Count of Monte Cristal and original Sheffield master, sonic scientist par excellence, Rob G. Expect a main room Fabric set at Sinden’s Get Familiar in January for a suitably celebratory hoe down…
2008 is shaping up to be the year Toddla T dons his big pants and does his dutty on the main stage. Do you know? If you don’t bounce on this now your ears’ll be kicking you in 6 months time that you weren‘t there from the start…
http://www.myspace.com/toddlat
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Smalltown DJs (Plant Records, CGY
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If your ears work, you can't not have fun at a Smalltown DJs gig.
That's a scientific fact. Look it up. The Canadian duo's uncanny
ability to make crowds feel like schoolkids at recess stems naturally
from their focus on maximizing fun for themselves.
'We're just out to consistently have the best time possible,' says
Pete Emes, who shares space behind the decks with partner Mike
Grimes. This fun maximization philosophy is the unifying force be-
hind the Smalltown's genre-warping club sets, which tend to cover
vast musical territory but never veer from the good times vibe.
In their focus on music as a means of letting loose and having fun,
Smalltown DJs are like the KISS of dance music. Actually, KISS are
too theatrical. They're more like AC/DC. Meets Raffi. At a water-
slide park. With a lot (a LOT) of beer.
The Smalltown story goes like this. Emes and Grimes met in the
late nineties and discovered a shared interest in funky breaks and
baggy pants. Emes at the time was moonlighting as a deejay
while working full-time as a geologist for an oil company. Grimes,
a former snowboarding prodigy (he's on the inside cover of the very first
Transworld Snowboard mag) was toiling in a skate/show shop.
Joined by a love of imposing their musical tastes on others, the two
started playing records out together.
Before long they had launched Hai Karate, a weekly Thursday
smash-up that's still going strong. Now in its tenth year, Hai Karate
is a free-for-all dance party that borrows a little from each of the scenes that shaped the
Smalltown sound - community hall punk rock, block party hip-hop
and early nineties rave.
The long-running night is now hosted at HiFi Club, the Calgary
nightspot that the Smalltowners opened with a partner in 2005.
The HiFi is but one part of the indie empire that Emes and Grimes
have built in their homeland. They also own a record label (Bigfoot),
a record store (Phonics) and a clothing store (Giant 45).
The way the deejay thing is going, it's hard to grasp how they
have time for anything else. Aside from weekly residencies at HiFi
and EyeCandy Soundlounge in Las Vegas, Smalltown DJs have
showcased at SXSW in Austin, toured Canada with Brooklyn's
The Rub, played Thievery Corporation's club in Mexico several
times, performed at a bunch of festivals including Lollapalooza and
Shambhala, and toured Europe on a swing that included a gig at
Fabric in London. That was just 2008.
Equally at home playing intimate private jams or massive festivals,
Smalltown DJs have have hosted and played alongside a huge
array of talent, including Afrika Bambaataa, Dj Assault, Jeru the
Damaja, Diplo, Tommie Sunshine, Spankrock, Chromeo, The Rub
DJs, A-Trak, XXXchange, Low Budget, James Lavelle, Z-Trip,
Fort Knox Five, and more.
On the production side, the duo has released several blends,
remixes and re-edits that have been getting play all over the world.
Recently they teamed up with Wax Romeo to create Smalltown
Romeo, a new production supergroup focused on making fun
dance music with a sense of humour. Not surprisingly, Smalltown
Romeo's production style resembles the squad's approach to
deejaying - polymorphous, party-focused and pretension-free.
Smalltown DJs' quest to maximize fun for themselves and
others is an ongoing saga. They continue to tour relentlessly. Look for them in your town soon.
http://www.myspace.com/smalltowndjs
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Wax Romeo (Plant Records, Homebreakin' Records, CGY)
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Wax Romeo is undoubtedly the world's greatest lover, but when he's done blowing kisses at the mirror, he can be found tinkering with party tunes in the studio, or playing at Hai Karate every Thursday with Calgary's finest, the Smalltown Djs. His father, a well-dressed thief known for carrying a cache of weapons inside a steel drum, taught Romeo about marauding and defrauding at a very early age. Since then, he's fleeced more fools than The North Face, stealing whatever he can, including the Golden Titty, which belonged to the dangerous Jamaican "Blouse an' Skirt Posse". When he's not writing self-congratulatory bio's, eating sheppard's pie, or lobbing empties, Wax Romeo defiles dance floors Calgary's Hifi Club and Marquee Room. Though he was hatched from a queer disco egg fertilized by the manic seed of a jheri-curled 80's R&B drummer, he pulls influence from the likes of the The Rub, and west coast party-chameleons, Vinyl Ritchie and the Smalltown Djs. If your party needs some step, Wax Romeo will get here fast, driving his empty brown limousine in the carpool lane. Expect a total shitmix of funk, rock, house, rap, disco, dancehall, and 80's, but watch your damn moneymaker, because Romeo roles dimes...
http://www.myspace.com/waxromeo
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Tickets at Giant 45 and at the door