Download: GROOVEMENT // SpectroRective 2010 / 1JAN11
SpectoRective 2010 Groovement 128
Agent J and Groovement Cat, by DJ A UP GROOVEMENT SPECTRORECTIVE 2010 – 1JAN11
Rather than a top whatever of tunes of the year, we proudly present a collection of tracks from Groovement participants in 2010, complete with links. Happy new year.
Natural Self – Ice
Bjork – Hidden Place (Illum Sphere Remix)
Seeing Suge – Breaking (Lately)
Lorn – Soft Room
Break Next Beat – Autumn Skies
Lazer Sword – Web Swag
The Blessings – Keith Sweats
Krystal Klear – Greensilver
∇nknown ShΔpes – Shapes and Stars
Woli Wols – Disillusion
The Colonel – Don’t Make Me Wait
Plato – Ease The Word
IMAKEMADBEATS and MidaZ the BEAST – Flyers
Om Unit – Neptune
Mount Kimbie – Ode to Bear
Borland – Mystery X-Ray
Daedelus – You’ve Heard
Caroline et les Mocambos – Toujours Lui (demo)
Andreya Triana – Darker Than Blue
Fulgeance – Glamoure
Hidden Orchestra – Wandering
Stig of the Dump – Back
Skitz – Slaves
Nyquist – Even Got Me
xxxy – Just For Me
Numan – Volvic
The Broken Orchestra – Shibui
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1. Natural Self – Ice
A beat legend in Groovement’s eyes (we still savour some of his Breaking Bread vinyl in a special place), NATURAL SELF’s pounding breaks are deep and soulful. We were lucky enough to receive an exclusive mix from him for the site a few months back. ‘Ice’ is a track suitably named and made for the UK’s winter cold snap, melancholy and despondent. Download it for free at his Bandcamp.
Natural Self //Natural Self’s Groovement mixtape
2. Bjork – Hidden Place (Illum Sphere Remix)
No, Bjork hasn’t jumped on the show as yet, but Ryan Hunn aka ILLUM SPHERE just recently put her through the hoya grinder for this remix. Ryan and Jonny Dub run hoya:hoya, a club night which has had the foresight to book guests which the world and its mum now want in their own gaff. Tight links with Groovement have seen many guests come through solely because they played hoya the night before, so a massive thanks to the lads for that. Illum Sphere himself has seen releases on 3024, Fat City Recordings, Tectonic and now their own hoya:hoya record label and continues to be raved about as he ups sticks and throws down in clubs from Melbourne to Hamburg.
Illum Sphere, hiding //Illum Sphere on Groovement in July
3. Seeing Suge – Breaking (Lately)
Seeing Suge is a collaborative alias of Manchester-based producer STAR SLINGER (together with Blackbird Blackbird and Emay), who dropped an awesome MPD set for us in November, and conveniently lives down the road. Star Slinger’s the remix don to go, having recently refixed Broken Social Scene amongst others. February 2011 sees him tour the states with Anticon’s star pupil on the back of LP ‘Celurean’, BATHS.
//Star Slinger Groovement beat session
Star Slinger, portrait by Torje Thilesen 4. Lorn – Soft Room
Probably Groovement’s album of the year, ‘Nothing Else’ was released in June as the first album on the Brainfeeder imprint, newly distributed by Ninja Tune in the UK and Europe. Lorn’s layers are dark, no question, but the raw emotion that powers his work is consistent throughout each and every track. The melt-your-brain and all too brief Soft Room is a non-album track from the Ninja Tune XX celebrations.
Lorn falls over outside hoya:hoya. Photo by the amazing Shaun Bloodworth. //Groovement Lorn interview (text)
//Groovement Lorn interview 2 (audio)
Kuartz, pic by Shez420 5. Break Next Beat – Autumn Skies
Another Manchester beat head (does North Greater Manchester count?), BREAK NEXT BEAT is an alias of hip hop head KUARTZ, half of Big City Beats with NYQUIST (below), who produced one of 2009’s killer independent hip hop albums, ‘Aquarian Prophecies’. Being a rapper as well as a producer, BNB’s 2010 journeys are full of potential for vocal interpretation but stand mesmerisingly on their own too, most prominently in tracks like ‘Autumn Skies’ that layer up into blissful plateaus.
>soundcloud.com/break-next-beat
// Break Next Beat selection on the podcast
6. Lazer Sword – Web Swag
Lando Kal of LAZER SWORD was over in Manchester to play for This City Is Ours and they very kindly arranged for him to record a Groovement mixtape. Shucks! The self-titled album was lauded everywhere and sounds like it was sent from the future.
// Lando Kal of Lazer Sword’s Groovement mix
Lando Kal in Vienna. Photo: The Loud Minority via Patient307.com 7. The Blessings – Keith Sweats
THE BLESSINGS are LuckyMe label heads Dom Sum and Fine Art and Galaxy High was their first release, on Nod Navigators. Their Brainfeeder mix was one of my favourite listens of the year hands down.
> Blessings mix for Brainfeeder
// Dom Sum of the Blessings on Groovement
Look out for a Blessings x Groovement mix in 2011.
Lunice, Star Slinger, Eclair Fifi, Jonny Dub and the Blessings try to politely get away from Groovement. 8. Krystal Klear – Greensilver
From out of nowhere Krystal Klear emerged, like the lady from the boogie lake with a keyboard instead of a sword (erm, but a bloke), to take on all comers with the sheer feelgood audacity of his DJ sets (he became resident at hoya:hoya over summer) and production. ‘Greensilver’ is our personal favourite so far, and was the first release on the brand new Dub Organizer label run by Cooly G.
Krystal Klear killing it at hoya:hoya - photo hoyahoya.co.uk 9. ∇nknown ShΔpes – Shapes and Stars
Blue Daisy jumped on Groovement at the beginning of the year (shortly after he fell off the hoya stage), and what a lovely bloke he was too. These guys are his next project – he’s managing them and their tunes are ILL.
Jonny Dub, Blue Daisy and xxxy down at Unity Radio, former Groovement home 
Woli Wols and Mind On Fire 10. Woli Wols – Disillusion
WOLI WOLS is resident DJ for the Mind on Fire collective, who were blessed with a grant from Umbro Industries this year to kick off their own record label, a physical outlet for the immense amount of work they’ve put into pushing good leftfield music without compromise over the past few years. Their first vinyl release is a powerful collection of tracks in a beautifully screenprinted sleeve.
>Mind On Fire: Great Minds release
11. Danny Drive Thru – Psychadelia Smith
2010 was a shiny year for DANNY DRIVE THRU as word spread about his beatfinery. He received great props for Virtua Rap when it was included on Kutmah’s Stones Throw mixtape, and had Virtua Ante Up feature on Radiohead.com in Thom Yorke’s top 5. He’s recently remixed Fingathing’s Sneaky and has been busy working with London MC Chima Anya, plus has a plethora of remixes and original work up his t-shirt sleeves for 2011. Onwards/upwards.
// Danny Drive Thru visits Groovement
Danny Drive Thru at Soundwave, Croatia
In a bush: The Colonel 12. The Colonel – Don’t Make Me Wait
Straight outta Shefeeeeel the city of steel, the Colonel can be found wobbling the concrete with his subsonic baselines and catchy hats. He’s been out on vinyl this year with a remix for Freesytle’s Phuture Motion and continues to wreck the airwaves on Burngreave Community Radio of a Tuesday night in addition to making people’s faces go funny with various DJ gigs across the city.
Plato are more exciting than this, really! 13. Plato – Ease the Word
Spearheading their own little niche in the Manchester hip hop scene, PLATO is super-talented MPC head Pitch and In The Loop (live hip hop night) host Bedos – partly based on the strength of their first EP (of which this is the title track), the middle of the year saw them join illustrious multi-instrumentaled (?) band The Mouse Outfit.
IMAKEMADBEATS 14. IMAKEMADBEATS and MidaZ the BEAST – Flyers
IMAKEMADBEATS and Midaz the BEAST, aka BlakOut: these cats are doing it for independent hip hop over in Orlando, where they’re part of the Doxside Music Group. ‘Flyers’ laments lazy-ass promoters who can’t be arsed looking up the proper spelling of acts they’re putting on – a niche nark but a good one. It’s taken from the Nightlight EP, which is linked below. Like so much of their output, it’s free and made with passion.
> Download the Nightlight EP http://doxside.bandcamp.com/album/the-nightlight-ep
// Groovement MidaZ the Beast interview
15. Om Unit – Neptune
What a monster this one is – you’d expect Jim Coles aka Om Unit to be some sort of masked avenger type, but he is one of the warmest people in beats. ‘Neptune’ signifies his city-stomping bass led future spaceship funk, also exemplified brilliantly on EP ‘The Corridor’ from September this year.
Om Unit 16. Mount Kimbie – Ode to Bear
I didn’t know much about Mount Kimbie when Mind on Fire shuffled them through the door on a Groovement Sunday afternoon, and to be honest was more worried about keeping an eye on Borland and their stallionesque antics. The tunes they laid down were sublime, and but a few weeks later their LP ‘Crooks and Lovers’ was released to a world awaiting a warm post-dubstep comedown. Look how many top ten lists it’s made at the end of 2010 and you’ll realise you need to go and buy the album, now.
// Mount Kimbie guest on Groovement
Mount Kimbie, This City Is Ours and Mind On Fire 17. Borland – Mystery X-Ray
Here they are, stallionesque residents at This City Is Ours (which has played host to the likes of Ikonika, Slugabed and Lazer Sword in Manchester), they are creators of stoned soundscapes par excellence. Mystery X-Ray jollies along and can be downloaded as part of the EP Quantum Woman at their bandcamp
// Borland play hell on Groovement
Mind on Fire, This City Is Ours and Borland 18. Daedelus – You’ve Heard
Just the nicest man in the world. He’s toured the world non-stop as usual, making friends as he passes through like some sort of Miyazaki-esque spirit… this is from the All City LA EP series, number 6.
//Daedelus and Jonny Dub on Groovement
Daedelus and Jonny Dub down at Groovement 19. Caroline et les Mocambos – Toujours Lui (Demo)
Right at the beginning of the year Manchester was blessed with soul sister Gizelle Smith playing with Hamburg’s Mighty Mocambos for one of Band on the Wall’s funk sessions. Mocambo is a funk label in its own right, definitely one of the main players on the scene, and the house band have recently branched out with a new vocalist and persona in the form of CAROLINE ET LES MOCAMBOS – here’s a demo version of their first tune, ‘Toujours Lui’. If you never grabbed Gizelle’s album when it was released, have a listen here, for some none-generic true funk.
// Gizelle and the Mocambos with a sublime selection for Groovement
Gizelle Smith and some Mighty Mocambos in March 20. Andreya Triana – Darker Than Blue
Andreya finally dropped her debut long playing record in 2010, together with remixes spreading the word from the likes of Flying Lotus (with whom she has made ‘Tea Leaf Dancers’) and Mount Kimbie. She continued to tour and sing all over through the rest of the year, and it was a real pleasure to sit down with her when she hit Matt and Phred’s in Manchester. A true jewel and warm stage presence.
// Groovement chats to Andreya Triana
Andreya Triana 21. Fulgeance – Glamoure
Let’s not even mention the video for this… just watch it. Fulgeance sent us over a fresh mix a couple of months back and it hasn’t left our earphones. This is the lead track from his latest EP on Parisian label Musique Large, also home to Debruit and Charles Trees amongst others.
Fulgeance by rwinter.net 22. Hidden Orchestra – Wandering
The Hidden Orchestra toured in support of their first album ‘Night Walks’ and landed in Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club in Manchester’s Northern Quarter – I’ve been there quite a few times this year and they’ve made some top quality bookings (not least in the lovely forms of Lizzy Parks and Andreya Triana) but the audience was completely mesmerised by the soundscapes and next level bizness of these guys and their invisible – or hidden, natch – orchestra.
Hidden Orchestra at Kelburn Garden Party 23. Stig of the Dump – Back
Stig’s been a fixture on the UK scene for time, mostly earning his wider rep through YouTube shenanigans, and finally released his debut long player ‘Mood Swings’ on the fiercely independent Lewis Recordings label. ‘Back’ is one of the more old school efforts on the album – read the interview below, it’s real.
// Stig of the Dump Groovement interview
Stig of the Dump at the Faversham, Leeds for New Bohemia 
Our Skitz interview for Bonafide mag 24. Skitz – Slaves
Groovement hooked up with UK hip hop producer Skitz for an interview with Bonafide magazine about his second album ‘Sticksman’, from which ‘Slaves’ comes from, with typical anti-bollocks sentiment.
Nyquist by Air Adam : http://photos.airadam.net 25. Nyquist – Even Got Me
NYQUIST (aka Two/One) threw this onto Soundcloud a few months into 2010 and it has not left my brain since. He continues to develop his sounds and make shithot beats, and is a damned gifted lyricist too.
26. xxxy – Just For Me
Manchester’s Rupert Taylor, aka xxxy (all lower case, blogs!), is on the up and up and seems to be popping up everywhere… This one’s from the Every Step Forward EP on Glasgow’s Fortified Audio, four tracks of techie brilliance.
Numan. Photo by ASHES57 27. Numan – Volvic
A look to early 2011, when we’ll be dropping an interview with this guy and a mix later in the year. He’s just released an album’s worth of his tunes for free download (use the Groovement search box) and shows a real scope in creative sound use and sci fi squelches.
28. The Broken Orchestra – Shibui
Pat D has long been doing his thing as a beatmaker and has branched into live recording with THE BROKEN ORCHESTRA. The beautiful first 45 was released on Pat D’s own A Bridge Too Far Recordings and there are a lot more to come.
// Groovement Broken Orchestra interview
The cover to the first 45 by the Broken Orchestra, art by Nolita That’s it for the compilation, really hope you enjoy and pass it on. Other Groovement shenanigans this year include… (click on each image for the relevant podcast)
Angie Stone interview 
Interview with Huey Morgan 
Groovement meets Jarvis 
...and Don Letts and Viv of the Slits! Punk royalty... 
Andrea Trout 
Blend Mishkin visits from Athens 
Debruit and Mooken visit 
Debruit!!! 
Riz MC, Yoshi and Agent J 
Rhythm Incursions' Laurent Fintoni, Om Unit, Krystal Klear and hoya:hoya visit 
Fingthing span exclusives in December 
Swing Ting! Shouts to Samrai and Platt 
Falty DL and co in March... 
Kutmah and James T Cotton aka Dabrye 
Norvun Devo in the hizousss! 
The world famous GROOVEMENT CAT. 
John Robb of GOLD BLADE and Miz Deshannon, who both came on the show in Jan 2010. Click for the GOLD BLADE cast, Miz's is below. 
MIz Deshannon' rock 'n' roll podcast 
Gumbo Yaya's show was IMMENSE. 
Plato, the Gifted Kidz and Big City Beats 
Neighbourhood bad boys 
Danny Drive Thru. Big City Beats and Plato - BAM! 
Shropshire in the house - it's Johnty Del Monte 
- Certainly not least … ECLAIR FIFI!