Playing at Glastonbury this weekend

First up tonight it's our monthly bashment in London and then tomorrow I'm heading off to Glastonbury festival to play at the Stonebridge Bar alongside the likes of Toddla T, Breakin Bread, Radioclit and Bass Clef. Should be big - and hopefully not too muddy...

Apparently Wiley will be joining Hot Chip on stage on Saturday night to perform with them on their cover version of his hit single Wearing My Rolex, which is bound to be entertaining.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Friday 27 June 2008 | 1 comment

Video: Mr Vegas - Daggering

Traditional meets contemporary as Mr Vegas and his teams of dancers take on a hype kumina/pocomania rhythm track in a bashment fashion. Perfect for some sunshine summer festival action.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Monday 23 June 2008 | Add a comment

New Heatwave remix of Caspa Codina out now

Our latest remix is a bashment reworking of UK electro-soul singer Caspa Codina's latest single Used To Go Dancing, featuring guest verses from Rubi Dan. It's already been played on BBC6 Music and is in the DMC urban top ten.

The 12" vinyl, featuring more remixes from Flash Atkins and Suicidedogz, hit the shops this week: buy it from HMV. You can also get the digital mp3/wav release from Juno, Amazon or 7 Digital.

But for lovers of freeness, we've made our remix available as a high quality mp3 download:

MP3: Caspa Codina & Rubi Dan - Used To Go Dancing (The Heatwave Remix)

Here's the video of the original Caspa Codina tune:

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Friday 20 June 2008 | Add a comment

Shaggy feat Trix & Flix - Feel The Rush

I meant to post this on the opening day of the European football championships but anyway, the first round concludes today so now seems as good a time as ever. It's an uptempo soca track by Shaggy alongside the official tournament mascots, Trix and Flix:

MP3: Shaggy feat Trix & Flix - Feel The Rush

Quite why the tournament organisers chose a Jamaican/American dancehall artist to record the official song for a European event in Austria in Switzerland is initially unclear. But it turns out there's a tenuous connection in the form of Swiss-Iranian producer Samim whose massive hit Heater is sampled here - Samim has remixed this track as well.

In fact, when you follow the global trail of samples, remixes and versions that Feel The Rush leaves in its wake, it may be a canny move by UEFA to give the song (and the tournament) as broad an appeal as possible. So we end up with a Caribbean version by a mainstream American star of a Berlin-based producer's smash club hit which sampled a South American folk song and was remixed by a San Francisco house/techno DJ.

It's also interesting how in the video (around 2m45s), the riff sampled from the Colombian classic La Cumbia Cienaguera is mimicked on an accordion by a man wearing traditional Alpine garb:

Not knowing what Swiss/Austrian folk music sounds like, I'm not sure if this highlights the musical connections between two geographically distant cultures or is merely an example of lazily lumping together interchangeable exotic sounds under a 'world music'-type umbrella. This easy transference of apparent origin from continent to continent reminded me of the Japanese/Indian and Latino/Arabic questions raised by the Pearl Haaba and Middle East riddims.

Buy Feel The Rush (including remixes): digital release or 12" vinyl.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Wednesday 18 June 2008 | 3 comments

The Heatwave Chart - June 2008

Elephant Man's massive gospel ragga collaboration with dancehall veteran Lieutenant Stitchie (pictured) is our biggest tune this month. Close behind is a wicked foundation dancehall posse cut produced by Curtis Lynch, with YT on the hook and five other MCs providing verses.

Plus Mavado's latest epic, our new remix for Caspa Codina, Rubi Dan's bassline bashment, funky (house) from Crazy Cousinz, a wicked R'n'B/dancehall blend from Smutlee and more.

1. Elephant Man & Lieutenant Stitchie - What A Mighty God - listen
2. YT, Million Stylez, Mr Williamz, Blackout JA, Iverse & Jah Knight - Champion Sound
3. Caspa Codina & Rubi Dan - Used To Go Dancing (The Heatwave Remix) - listen
4. Mavado - Overcome (Brighter Day)
5. Sean Paul - Don't Tease Me (Workout Riddim) - listen
6. Chris Brown & T-Pain - Kiss Again (Smutlee Blend)
7. Rubi Dan & DJ Q - Walk & Wine (The Heatwave Refix) - listen/download
8. Crazy Cousinz - Bongo Jam
9. Mr Vegas - Must Come A Road
10. Lil Wayne & Kanye West - Lollipop (Remix) - listen

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Tuesday 17 June 2008 | Add a comment

Etana - The Wrong Address

Brand new video from up-and-coming Jamaican reggae/soul singer Etana, who's got a voice to die for.

Her album, The Strong One, is out soon and she's touring the UK for the next couple of weeks, taking in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin among others.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Tuesday 17 June 2008 | 1 comment

Tribute To Tubby T

A couple of weeks ago, I saw that Silver Star's latest podcast featured the talented MC and singer Tubby T. Initially I thought he'd recovered from the major stroke he suffered in 2004 and was making his eagerly awaited return to music. But on seeing his name I'd jumped to the wrong conclusion: sadly, Tubby had died a few days earlier and the show was dedicated to his memory.

With x-amount of wicked Tubby T tunes and memories of his life and musical career, the Silver Star tribute podcast is essential listening: download the mp3 from their website. More tributes: Rozan, Hattie Collins and Facebook.

I remember speaking to Roll Deep's manager - who also managed Tubby T - to book Riko for Heatwave vs Mas Fuego back in 2005, and asking him about the possibility of getting Tubby to perform at the night when he was well again. At the time it was hoped that he'd be OK and would begin recording and performing again in the near future.

Unfortunately it wasn't to be and now, outweighing the disappointment of losing one of the most promising and talented English urban artists comes the sadness of a young life being cut short before its time.

Tubby T's hits included Tales Of Da Hood with garage super producer Sticky, Big & Bashy with UK hip hop veteran Fallacy, I Like It on Commander B's grime classic Pum Pum riddim and Ready She Ready for dancehall/reggae producer Seanie B.

The way his bashment vocals were so in demand and successful within these apparently distinct 'genres' of UK urban music makes Tubby's career a great example of the way that Jamaican influences run through so much black music in Britain.

In fact we featured Tubby's Ready She Ready - voiced on the Spanish Fly riddim alongside Jamaican artists like Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel and Sizzla - on An England Story, our compilation showcasing dancehall-influenced English MCs:

MP3: Tubby T - Ready She Ready

Last week, London dancehall crew Suncycle recorded this moving tribute to their friend and colleague:

MP3: Suncycle - Tribute To Tubby T

Like Silver Star and Tubby T, Suncycle hail from North West London and grew up with Tubby musically as well as locally, excelling like him in dancehall-inflected UK garage and straight-up bashment. I like the way their tribute describes Tubby both as a superb artist, successful entertainer and an inspiring individual. As Lady Chann puts it:

You used to greet me with your hugs and kiss
And all of this will be truly missed
A perfect gentleman and optimist
Cah nuff stage show you know you surely ripped it

Top entertainer inna di business
And nobody can't step inna your shoes quick
Cah you a UK legend
Bare positivity a weh you deh pon

Rest in peace, Tubby T.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Saturday 14 June 2008 | 1 comment

Guestlist for Bar Rumba this Saturday

This Saturday we're playing again at the UK's #1 booty bouncing event at Bar Rumba alongside DJ Deekline, Beni G and J33. We've got a few places on the reduced-price guestlist available - just email info@theheatwave.co.uk to get on the list.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Friday 06 June 2008 | 1 comment

We need Barack, we need Barack

So it seems that Barack has finally beaten Hillary to secure the Democratic nomination in the US presidential race. I never really made an informed decision on the Obama vs Clinton issue, but certainly when it comes to the fight with Republican John McCain, there's no doubt about who I'd prefer to win. As Mavado puts it in the inspired re-rub of his own hit tune On The Rock, "we need Barack, we need Barack":

MP3: Mavado - We Need Barack (via Wayne&Wax)

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Thursday 05 June 2008 | 1 comment

Sizzla - I’m Gonna Give You Love

I started out writing this post planning to rave about this new Sizzla tune, but then got a bit distracted by what I think of Sizzla's artistic method, his unpredictable genius and the similarites he shares with grime godfather Wiley. But anyway, the tune first:

MP3: Sizzla - I'm Gonna Give You Love aka Request My Love (Black Blood Riddim)

This is one of those Sizzla songs that makes you forgive him for his numerous mediocre or even appalling releases. I've long been a fan of Sizzla's incredibly prolific, scattergun approach: I'm willing to wade through the crap as long as he continues to produce moments of genius like this. Or, in recent years alone, material like the Rise To The Occasion and Soul Deep albums plus singles like Live and Do Right, Chant Dem Down and Too Much Gang War.

It struck me that the approach of London grime producer, MC and entrepreneur Wiley to making music is not dissimilar. Both artists somehow manage to produce more albums or mixtapes than you think would be humanly possible, the contents of which are admittedly not always of the highest standard. But both occasionally produce these moments of genius, and when a tune's big, it's really really big.

From a commercial standpoint, it seems obvious that it should make sense to exercise more quality control. But it's kind of compelling when musicians lay out their creative process for all to see and allow listeners to hear the extremes of what they produce. When Sizzla's strained falsetto becomes a thing of beauty, as it does on the intro to I'm Gonna Give You Love, it's perhaps more satisfying if you've previously heard him ruin several perfectly good rhythm tracks with that same screech.

Both Wiley and Sizzla are also unwilling to sign away their considerable creativity to any one label, preferring to license individual projects to whoever seems most appropriate. I like the recognition implicit in this move that their urge to make music is too strong to be contained by the traditional music industry model of promoting one album at a time and staying out of the studio between projects. I also like the way that the big deals which turn out to disappoint (Sizzla and Damon Dash or any number of Wiley projects) soon become just more studio time in a long line of creative and productive sessions.

Anyway, ramble over and back to more specifics: the Black Blood riddim, produced by Mark from UK Cup Clash champions Bass Odyssey. At 147bpm it's right at the faster end of dancehall's recent exploration of tempos around 130/140bpm, and brings out the best of the MCs that ride it in terms of oral dexterity and clarity of diction. It's been interesting to see Jamaican producers working at these speeds, though I'm not always a fan of the rhythm tracks that seem to get stuck in something of an undanceable, half-time sludge.

Black Blood avoids this trap, marrying a dark, grimy undertow with a super hype garagey beat propelled by rattling background percussion, hypnotic synths and exuberant handclaps. There's other good cuts on the riddim from Charly Black, Dada and T.O.K. among others, though nothing I've heard so far has reached the bar set by Sizzla.

Posted by Gabriel Heatwave | Thursday 22 May 2008 | 3 comments