Going deeper for this episode, fasten your seat belts folks!
Ancronix - Dark Thoughts
Released in 2002, this rare and forgotten gem came out of the Netherlands and was well ahead of it's time. I love the percussive swing to the drums, they sound live. The bassline is so old skool, i love it.
DJ Hazard - Talk Like a Girl
Ever since Hazards beginnings, i've been a fan and must of danced my sweaty tits off to every one of his tracks, and he has a pretty big back catalogue! Hazard is a Birmingham producer, who has been signed to the legendary True Playaz label owned by DJ Hype for good while now. I remember when i was at music college in digbeth, Birmingham and me and my mate would always see hazard going into to the music store round the corner, he had a lovely classic mk2 3 series bmw. Then a few years later i met him briefly at a therapy sessions rave in the famous flex club in Austria. That place was mental. Hazard is a seriously good drum and bass producer and DJ.
Caution! if you have a heart condition, please refrain from listening to this banger.
Rufus Thomas - The Memphis Train
The Americans here will recognize this classic stax number, by Rufus Thomas. A cult Memphis track i listen to when i need a pick me up, and boy does this track get me back in the flow. Rufus Thomas was a master of all sounds, whether it be rhythm and blues, soul, funk or the blues and of course all the music we have now stems from these sounds in one form or another, i'm sure. This song was also featured in the 1989 film by Jim Jarmusch called Mystery Train. If you haven't seen that movie, go watch it, you'll not be disappointed. Jarmusch is a master of film and capturing a certain era, scene, sound and just a moment in time where creative genius is at it's height.
Love this line - "when you see me falling down on my knees, i'm getting ready to crawl"
Prince Buster - One Step Beyond
The first record i ever listened to, the first vinyl i ever played, the first song i ever danced to. That is the 1964 Prince Buster original. You'll hear the great cover by Madness at the end too.
Terrorize - It's just a Feeling (1992)
If you're a producer and have ever used samples, i'm pretty confident you've used the main hook sample in this classic rave track. Not the hoover sample but the main synth stab sound, get that sound on a midi keyboard and any pattern you come up with will sound euphoric. So much fun! and many other famous house songs were created with that one sound. As an example, check the Cortina track further down, a hard house track that also utilizes both the main stab sample and the legendary hoover rave sample.
Mark Morrison - Return of The Mack
Way back in 1996 a fella called Mark Morrison stepped out of prison and took up the mic once again. Then again, and again. But this tune is ingrained in my psyche forever, it reminds so much of growing up in Coventry, and the good times, sometimes i wish i could of stayed in my home city throughout my childhood. The football, the weekly gosford park serious matches with the big boys, my close mates. And even though the twins were just too powerful for me and messed me up at the wrong time, i appreciate the lessons they bought me later in life, but boy were they hard work.
Let's continue with the stuff i could handle, the first kiss with my girlfriend, the first fumble after downing my first bottle of wine, the skiving school to go and buy records and get away from the brick shithouses, the standing up to physically abusive teachers, looking after my suicidal old man in the madhouse at 11-12 years old, and getting him out. I was also a notorious arsonist locally, though i always made sure there were no people or animals, i had trouble for sure, but i am proud that i was able to outrun the police every time and not once get caught. I have not lit a fire since. All of this occurred before puberty. Believe it or not, i remained a virgin until my late twenties.
After leaving my home city, i gave up, started to repress everything and consequently lost the plot at a very young age. In Coventry, i was alive and fearless. Something i am only now recapturing or learning from my younger self. Anyway, I somehow managed to keep a hold of my return of the mack tape to this day, but it doesn't have the lovely piano intro. I'm a true Coventry boy at heart, poets corner kid.
Paul Weller & Amy Winehouse - Don't Go To Strangers
A track i can't imagine anyone would dislike. Two of my favorite musicians come together for a duet. Timeless music. The truth about Amy was the paparazzi and press fucked her up, and of course they printed daily about drink and drugs, but the truth is the british media sent her to her death, but, because many brits believe and are heavily influenced by the british press, they too turned on Amy, i remember it well. Everyone took the piss out of her, many people believed what they were told and followed the crowd in tearing her down. I knew all along that the fame was the worst thing for her, she was a vulnerable soul and i knew she would burn out mentally because of all the pressure and fame. She wanted out of it all in truth, but i suspect once you're in you ain't getting out so easily. Amy Winehouse was a true soul, and a musical talent with an incredible gift. Not forgetting Jools Holland and the hootenanny's, amazing musicians!
Cortina - Music Is Moving (BK & dBm Amber Mix)
Do you like hard house? i do. I think this track by Cortina is the biggest hard house track ever made. It was produced in 2000 i think, and with the decent refresh and remaster, it still sounds up to date. Another timeless dance tune with some of the best sampling and use of rave hooks i've ever heard. The memories man. They say nostalgia is bad, but i disagree. The past is part of the present, and it can teach you things and sometimes inspire when contemplating in hindsight.
Optiv & BTK - Inception (Gydra Remix)
This was the best track i heard in 2016, 3 years later and it's still one of the best i've heard. Amongst all the many digital producers out there, Gydra stands out, at least in my opinion anyway.
Another track your nan will love. Dnb will be my pacemaker when i'm 80. None of this artificial prince schillip prolonging life nonsense. When it's time, it's time. But until then.
Dawn Wall - Nomads
I meant to feature this track in this episode, but i somehow missed it. So here it is. No-one really knows who Dawn Wall is, or even whether this producer is a man or a woman, from what i hear at least. But whoever it is, they make some great drum & bass.
Dawn Wall:
Facebook → www.facebook.com/dawnwalldnb/
SoundCloud →
Integral Records:
Facebook → www.facebook.com/IntegralRecords/
SoundCloud →
Lily Allen - Our Time
Of course no innersound episode would be complete without the obligatory and fundamental placement of a Lily Allen track, i always go for her soulful ones, unless she goes a bit frisky and decides to do a dnb track of course. I always look forward to the day she pulls away from the world a bit, away from social media, and just makes music like this and "family man". But, i'll always be a quiet fan.
Ken Boothe - Set Me Free
Ready for some reggae? there is none better than Ken Boothe to end this episode. Ken is a legend who's had many crossover hits with his distinctive vibrato vocal skills. I just like the soul he emits. Ken had big hits with "everything i own" and "crying over you" those were the two great tracks i always remember, along with "set me free". Ken Boothe is still going strong!
Hope you enjoyed this episode. Goodnight! <3
Jon.