Air Freshener by Tom and Jerry, otherwise known as 4 Hero, is probably my favorite Jungle record that I own. I remember embarrassing myself whilst dancing around Honest Jon’s in Portobello Road when the guy behind the counter played it for me. I have it as a 2005 re-issue put out by PK Records but it was originally released in 1994 as part of the Still Lets Me Down 12”, released on Tom and Jerry. The opening of the track samples Initmate Friends by Eddie Kendricks.

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Tom and Jerry – Air Freshener

Aloe Blacc always seemed to be one of the most underrated singers/mcs in the business, until this came along. Now he’s topping charts in different countries and selling out big spaces, which is brilliant. I’m glad he’s finally received the respect he deserved, and didn’t get lost in the underground. This gem was passed on by the lovely guys at Stones Throw, definitely a masterpiece in itself but cool to see Mr Blacc trying his hand at it.  Find out more here.

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Three men, two tracks and four counts of unexpected and unforgiving bass. Dark Sky are a production trio from London that just keep churning out some extremely varied and inspiring tunes. Do yourself a favour and cop the Frames EP and check out Pictures Music, this label is seriously one to watch!

That girl in the car looks well chuffed!

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[See post to listen to audio]

DJ Hype, like Dillinja and all the big Jump-up DJs, has been around for decades. Hype’s Jungle often consists of very melodic bass lines. In the case of this track, We Must Unite, the bass line spans a fair few octaves which I think is pretty cool. I’m stealing the idea for my tunes.

I have We Must Unite as part of a 12” compilation album called Still Smokin which was put out in 1996 on G-Line Records. It features tracks from Hype’s Ganja Records label and, fellow True Playaz man, Pascal’s Frontline Records.

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DJ Hype – We Must Unite

Taken from the new Kode 9 12″ ‘You Don’t Wash‘, the Actress remix is a lonely world of endless Nintendo levels, possibly Super Mario, but with more of an undercurrent of ether misuse; never sure of your goal but safe in the knowledge that you can carry on faultlessly until the song comes to an end.

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Check out my latest RA chart, here. As usual, its in some particular order.

Currently the featured mix on the excellent Percussion Lab website is this latest mix offering from Roughquest. Here’s what Percussion Lab had to say: “His “Beats & Treats” mix revolves around dirty fat beats that have inspired him throughout his career. Mashups galore featuring samples from Cannibal Ox, Souls of Mischief, Jaylib, Company Flow and Beck…”

Above cover artwork is also by Roughquest, photography by Therese Flanagan.

Cinematic Orchestra – Channel 1 Suite [Ninja Tunes]
Flying Lotus – RobertaFlack (feat. Dolly) [Warp Records]
Roughquest – Take It Easy [Dub]
Lynx & Kemo – One Love [Soul:R Recordings]
Altair & Es.tereo – Void [Dub]
Vishnu – Mindtalking [Dub]
A Tribe Called Quest – Youthful Expression [Jive]
onesmallthought – Jealous [Dub]
Yoru – Breath Out… [Rudimentary Records]
Muted – Robin [Manifesto Music]
Roughquest – Lazy Sunday [Rudimentary Records]
Dr Octagon – Blue Flowers [Mo' Wax]

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Download: Roughquest Beats & Treats Mixtape

Paper Penguin Island, Secret Garden Party, 2010. Big up all the crew that came down for my set!

Oh, psychedelic disco, how spacey art thou. Really love the vocal samples and the (usually hackneyed) use of bird calls suit the atmosphere that the french man conjures up perfectly. The synths that sneak up around the 7 minute mark are both haunting end epic, and really round off a beautiful track. One question, where’s the opium at?

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Off the new Swamp 81 twelve. Calvary snares open proceedings to this neo-juke banger. Sounds very similar to his last effort “Glut” on Hemlock, especially when the bleep-drips commence. But that’s not such a bad thing.

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Dillinja has more aliases than any other producer I know. The track Gangsta sees him under the name of Trinity and was the third release put out by the Philly Blunt label in 1995. I got this track as a Promo in an odd record shop in Leith, Edinburgh when I was up there last summer for the Festival. It makes extensive use of a Terror Fabulous song by the same name.

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Trinity – Gangsta (O J Mix)

Got this track as part of a compilation called Nu Skool Flava (what an awful name for an album) that was put out by Sound of the Underground Records (S.O.U.R.) in 1996. It is a remix by L Double of Elizabeth Troy’s single-a-long Jungle anthem, Let Me Be. I love the second drop at 3.42′.

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Elizabeth Troy – Let Me Be (L Double Remix)

I had a really enjoyable, long weekend in Holland.

Some really nice illustrations from Blanca Gómez I came across while perusing Grain Edit. I really like the fonts, the London one is used on our transport, the New York one is used for The New Yorker magazine, but I don’t know what the Paris typeface is referencing. I wish she had done some more!

Out now on Rudimentary Records is ‘Play’, the hypnotic Sub Bass and Down-Tempo/Dubstep debut from Oxford-based producer Roughquest. A solid 4 track EP and highly recommend purchase. Available from Boomkat and Juno.

Symmetry (ft. Asher Dust)
Dirty Liquid
Alone In The Jungle
Lazy Sunday

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[See post to listen to audio]

For more Roughquest, checkout his Bare Ingredients mix we posted on the blog in May. You can also check the EP medley on his Soundcloud.