Attentive readers of this blog may have noticed that I like One-Handed Music a lot. Although this label and its artists are only starting, and have far from an extensive catalogue, I’ve bigged it all up here. Because they deliver fresh, quality beats that manage to stay away from the bleepy bandwagon full of J Dilla / Flying Lotus clones. Bullion and Paul White search their own path and it’s one that takes me to places I forgot (the dense Bomb Squad productions of the golden Public Enemy age I liked so much) and lets me see beautiful new sights.

So it’s a bit of a shame I didn’t mention they’ve released a new Paul White 7”. Not because I don’t like it but simply because I forgot. I received the promo a few weeks ago and wanted to wait until it was in the shops before putting it on this blog. But even buying it at Rush Hour didn’t make me realise that moment was due. Sometimes I’m a bit thick.  

Anyway, it’s still available and again it’s top notch. We’ve played it in our radio show and we will keep on doing if they keep making them this nice. Like I said it’s got a dark, dense Bomb Squad feel about it. Wouldn’t mind some more of that coming back. Very underrated producers.

Matthew Herbert is someone who should have sparked your interest by now if you are any bit into quality music, left of the centre but with Soul. You might have heard him as Herbert, with his big band or as a producer for Roisin Murphy to name the most obvious ones. But he’s much more than that. Digging deeper into that could fill an entire blog in itself so I’m not going to do it. Just going to point out you a few doors to his world.

As a producer, sampling wizard, label boss and so much more he’s somebody who pushes limits. He’s avant-garde, if you wish, but not in the artsy meaningless way. He’s an innovator. One of the kind that makes you wonder why you haven’t done the things he does yourself. One who opens doors and possibilities for you and others. A genius although that word is used so many times it doesn’t do him enough honour anymore. But Matthew Herbert is more than about making edgy but beautiful music. He’s an artist with a strong opinion. Something rare these days. Read about it on his site.

But the reason to serve you this on a Friday afternoon when you’re getting ready to start the weekend is “ The Story”. A new song by the Matthew Herbert Big Band currently being plugged by the better radio hosts worldwide. With Eska on vocals (everything she sings on is gold lately). Bloody good song, with a message and simply sounding brilliant. One of my favourite songs of the year. And there have been a few already to claim that title. This song announces his new album called ‘There’s Me And There’s You’ out at the end of October on K7! / Accidental. Check it out. And check out the album’s mini site with a free demo edit mp3 of “The Story”.

A selected Matthew Herbert discography:

Herbert – Bodily Functions (!K7)
Herbert – Around The House (Phonography / !K7)
Roisin Murphy – Ruby Blue (Echo)
Dani Siciliano – Likes … (!K7)
Doctor Rockit – Indoor Fireworks (Lifelike)
Matthew Herbert Big Band – Goodbye Swingtime (Accidental)

Some personal favourites:

Doctor Rockit – Café De Flor (Lifelike)
Herbert – The Audience (!K7)
Matthew Herbert Big Band feat. Eska – The Show (Accidental)
Cassio Ware – Fantasy / Herbert’s Reality Dub (Playhouse)
Moloko – Sing It Back / Herbert’s Tasteful (F-111)
Recloose – Can’t Take It / Herbert’s Some Dumb Dub (Planet E)

If you want to know more there’s always Discogs off course.

Dieter said something about it on our radio show; the Ancienne Belgique, Belgium’s premier live venue, has renewed its website. From a simple informative site to something very web 2.0. With blogs, a community, videos and everything. They got, for example, entire concerts online for you to watch. Check it out.

It might have caught your attention while listening to the promo mixtape "Funner Than Leather" for P.U.T.S. their upcoming FUN-DMC album, as it is one of the stand out tracks. And now you can get it for free. I’m talking about DJ Day’s remix of the "Step Bacc" track. So funky my fingers dance over my keyboard.

We’ve given you the chance to witness Mad Mats’ impressive skills behind the wheels of steel both in our radio show and at our party. But because we are such fans of the man we don’t like to miss an opportunity to convince the world he’s a great dj and seen that he has uploaded a new mix on the Raw Fusion website we like to post about him again. Check it out.

To keep going on the deep electronic vibe of last few posts. Another driving quality piece of stomping music is Arto Mwambé’s latest production called “Une Seule Nuit / Mix de Danse”  on Brontosaurus. Tasty, trancy old school House banger. Like most of his work. Love playing this in my sets. It’s deep, got Soul and it doesn’t scare Belgian clubbers, used to Techno and Electro, off the dance floor.  

It’s actually Belgium’s premier Hiphop dj Lefto who hooked me up with this man’s music a couple of releases ago. Been a fan ever since.

Mule Musiq is a label that should already have sparked your interest if your are into deep electronics or if you like all things Japanese. It is mainly centred around Kuniyuki who you might know from his work with Henrik Schwarz. Let me add that the Theo Parrish remix of his “All This Things” song is a must have if you are a fan of that deep Detroit sound. All this namedropping should be enough to situate it and get you interested. If not, this is probably not your type of music.

Another piece of music from this label (well actually the Mule Electronic subsidiary) that you need is the Ame remix of Koss’ “Earth”. Ame, another name that’s got quality deepness written all over it and Koss being one of Kuniyuki’s aliases. It’s got that instantly recognisable driving bass and endless building up to a climax Ame is known for combined with the freaky noises typical for Kuniyuki. This is bound to become a classic. Love the way the Germans manage to have a sound of their own without repeating themselves. Quality release.

Be sure to dig up the other releases on this label or by Kuniyuki. Guaranteed niceness. Check the links for sounds.

Don’t know much about this guy apart that he’s from Berlin and releases banging House / Techno records. Last night his “Live goes on” was one of the top records on our dance floor.  Lovely looped Disco samples with a stomping beat underneath clearly influenced by the Detroit and Chicago pioneers but with a definite Berlin touch. If looped Disco makes you panic a little, popping up memories of French blokes filtering the hell out of everything, than we can set you at ease. This is proper and exciting rawness made with love for the originals and the sweaty dancers.

He releases music both under the monikers Soundhack and Soundstream. The latter being a bit more Disco than the other. Not that difficult to find by the way.

Todd Terje & Prins Thomas. When they wander off too far into Disco-nerd territories they lose me a bit. But on the other hand, sometimes they strike all the right chords. Like with their genius take on Cloud One’s “Don’t let this rainbow pass me by”. In my book anything by Patrick Adams is classic and should be handled with great precaution when reworking it. But with “Reinbagen” the duo from Norway did a wonderful job. Kept the keys (melodica) off centre and gave it a melancholic twist. Absolutely stunning version. You can find it on the “Computer incarnations for world peace volume II” on Sonar Kollektiv. That label is on fire, by the way. Although the rest of the compilation kinda gets lost in the territories I described before. This track’s on a seperate 12” so you don’t have to buy the entire album if it’s not your cup of tea.

Slept on this one a bit. Been following Foreign Exchange since their first releases. Like it but I’m never blown away by their music. So downloaded this one a bit out of habbit and didn’t really give it a proper listen. Until a day or two ago. On the bus to the radio studio. Since then I’m hooked. "Daykeeper" is a winner. Reminds me a bit of Radiohead. But with more Soul. With Muhsinah as guest. Looks like she can’t do a thing wrong. Will give the album a decent check when it comes out.

Get "Daykeeper" for free here. Nicely designed site by the way.

I’m moody the first hour after I wake up. Very moody. Tried to work on it but had to accept it as a fact of life. Most people who know me know this. Every now and then somebody thinks to be funny waking me up suddenly. Usually the do this only once in their life. Mainly because it always nearly ends shortly after that. I’m that bad tempered when I’m not fully awake.  

Anyway, I think I’ve found a sort of cure for it. Been getting up early this week for work. Which means I’m extra moody. But I’ve also uploaded the new Jazzanova single on my iPod and playing that completely brightens me up. Never had that this intensely with a song. It makes me smile. It makes me wish I had somebody to share it with. Making me a bit sad that way too but I don’t mind. It gets me through the day with the iPod always within reach for emergencies.

This to say that “Let me show ya” is of the highest quality. Just like you expect from a group like Jazzanova. It’s very orchestrated Soul with Paul Randolph - bass player / singer you might know from his work with Moodymann and Amp Fiddler or his own releases on Still Music - on vocal duties. There’s a Henrik Schwarz remix on the 12” too which I haven’t bothered to listen to yet. Can’t get past the original.

If the rest of their album will be as good we’re up for a stone cold classic.

In a world that would baffle me a lot less than this one does, one with less stupidity and more common sense, in that world DJ Nuts would be a superstar. This Brazilian DJ is relatively well-known among the in crowd of crate diggers and connoisseurs of the finer dj’s worldwide but outside of that small circle you’ll only see puzzled faces when mentioning his name. A shame. Mainly because today dj’s are more renowned by their productions instead of their skills behind decks before a crowd.

But it’s never too late to try and model the world a bit more like you want it to be. As a first action towards that I’ll hook you up with a great source of mixtapes by dj Nuts. If you like Brazilian music, funk, incredible mixing skills and mixes that ooze pure fun than this is a must check. And spread the word.

More on the German / Köln tip. Through DJ EFF one of our mixes ended up on Soulsender radio. Disco Dalglish’s 80’s R ’N B Mix will be “aired” this Friday from 21h on. Ideal to get you in the mood for the Go Bang! party that night. Check it out here.

Big up to Falk and the people at Soulsender.

I’ve seen some crazy MPC action by Jeremy Ellis / Ayro but this beats it all (pun not intended). Discovered it through the great DJ Day blog. They invented the words “Mad skills” for things like this.

People Under The Stairs are about to drop a new album called FUN DMC. Always something to look out for. One of the most underrated Hiphop acts I think. Love Thes One’s beats. Always so funky. Double K always comes hard. Together you got one of tightest teams you could wish for.

To announce their next release they give away this mixtape. Love the oldskool vibe of it. 

And while we’re at it. Can’t believe I forgot to put this under your attention. Moovmnt.com. If you like ‘Deviation Style’ Hiphop and Soul this is the source for new stuff.

But mind. This should only be the first step to actually buying the music you like.

More dope free music here. To prepare you for the PPP gig in Ghent, their upcoming album and more. For those who missed Wajeed’s hint on Deviation.

Black Milk certainly is one of my favourite producers of the moment. This Detroit based beat maker is mostly known for his work with Slum Village, Elzhi, Phat Kat and other Motown based Mc’s. He delivered some proper solo work too. What I like so much about his music is that it’s banging like Hiphop should be, it’s got tons of Soul and it’s raw. He’s the link between Dilla en Theo Parrish for me. Not that he made any House tunes as far as I know. Just feels that way.

In attendance of his Tronic album he drops some free beats for us all. Some cheeky chopping of a well-known artist’s music. Really love track 7. The closest he’s been to House music. Check it out here, here or here.

Blaze’s Kevin Hedge isn’t somebody to limit himself to making music only. He’s a DJ, label owner, party organiser and much more. You’ll hear about it in the interview we did with them. But as we take our time to bring you the result of our chat with Blaze in the best possible way, you’ll have to wait a little while for that. But it will be worth the wait.

In the meantime you can keep yourself more than busy with this. One of Kevin Hedge’s projects is the 2MyBeat.com site. This aims to promote Soulful music in all its forms (or Global Soul as he calls it). You’ll find on the site mixes, downloads, videos, links and more. A nice way to discover tons of information and music. With the possibility to buy what you like through Traxsource.

Check it out.

We gave this one away in our radio show last week and you should feel very sorry if you missed it. Well, if you like some proper Boogie / Soul that is. Mad Mats to bring an extra copy for us and it’s been playing since. 

Kinda reminds me of the early Jamiroquai at times or Brand New Heavies at their best. It’s Soul with Pop sensibilities but that isn’t a bad thing (hey, if all Pop was this good I my life as a DJ would be so much simpler). It’s feel good music but straight from the heart. You feel this is the result of lots of love and not a marketing plan. A good dose of this through your headphones in the morning and you smile your way through the day. "Let The Love" and "Incredible" are my personal favourites for now. "Can’t Get Enough" was it last week (it’s on the first single already available in the shops). 

And there’s a damn good Mark Rapson remix on the way too. Mats played it in our show.

Our friends from the Laid Back crew have given their site and logo a facelift. Not only graphically but content-wise too. No more free mixes for download. If you want music check their online radio station (where we got our own GO BANG! program, don’t forget) or their FM Brussel radio show (now on Wednesdays, same hours as us, instead of Fridays). They got things sorted on the administrative front too (something we’re working on too). And on top of that they’re giving away Infinitskills Nine compilation away for free in digital form. Still, you need that on vinyl. I know there are still a few copies for sale at Lost In Music Records. Buy it.

Check it all out here.

Now all we need is another Belgikolor party.

Big up to the Made In Japan boys we had in the studio last episode of our radio show. Don of the underground Soul Benij B has played their track in his show. Nice one. But for once we were first. Rarely happens, playing tracks before Benji plays them.

Our dear friend Alex from On-Point put online the interview he did with Mad Mats, our guest on Saturday, a couple of years ago. This time not in video form but text only. Read and learn a bit about the Swedish DJ / label boss who’s playing at Spectakulo this weekend.

Thanks for the extra promo and info. Mats will be in our studio to record next Tuesday’s radio show. For more tunes and facts.

De Hop, our favourite Belgian radio program (except our own off course, haha) started its 9th season on Studio Brussel yesterday. Big up to Lefto and GUS. To make it even more exciting Lefto plays one of our edits in the beginning of the show. Nice one. Thoroughly appreciated. And success with the new season and the plans for it.

Read all about it, in Dutch but with play list, here.

Because there’s more to current Soul than Erykah Badu here’s some dope new Soul releases.

Bennson – Whatever It Is
Haven’t heard the entire album yet but like the originals that are on the 2 EP’s already out. Released on our next guest’s label. Mad Mats’ Raw Fusion that is. Some proper boogie. And I like Boogie. Really love the “can’t get enough” cut.

Vula – If You Want It EP
With vocal duties for Basement Jaxx and Ty on her curriculum maybe already in your collection. “Turn the clock back” and Benji B favourite “Crash da party” are the ones that do it for me. Nice singing, dope instrumentals.

Ron Trent Presents JMB – Body Rock / What Is Love
House legend going Soul / Hiphop. And what else can you expect than utter brilliance. With Phenom and Yaw on vocals. Check out that last one’s solo work too. Genius. On the always banging Jazzy Sport label.

Jimmy Abney – Return To Forever
For the “Come On Go With Me” alone this is worth buying. But the rest of the release is strong too. As you might expect from Osunlade’s Yoruba label.