Guido's debut album is out on Punch Drunk - in a word, it's wicked

Classic tunes like Orchestral Lab and Cat in the Window work really well with the rest of the material. But stand out for me has to be this piece of sleazy sax work over spaceage synths and a grimey subbass.



Download: Guido - Mad Sax

Cop his album Anidea here at Boomkat

I recently stumbled over this magical song from Hickup, released on the Dirtybird label. It has all the essence of a killer Detroit house song with its snippets of cow bells, bird sounds and varied drum pattern.

For most university students, right about now is exam time. Two to three weeks of stress, anxiety and tension as exams roll in and students realise how little work they have done! Normally I like to work in silence with no distractions in the background, yet recently I have found a little gem in the form of Damien Marley. Already big on the reggae scene, (as a multi award winning grammy star) my knowledge of one of the Marley sons was previously limited. What caught my attention was his upcoming collaboration album with Nas, 'Distant Relatives'. The hype in America for this record is huge and it lives up to its expectations. Two of the biggest stars in their respected fields coming together should be nothing short of great. The album flows beautifully with tracks 'As I Enter' and 'Nah Mean' standing out alongside my personal favourite 'Africa Must Wake Up'. Buy it now from Amazon.

Easy. Got some new french hotsauce for you, from the RER boys Mustard Pimp.

The way I'm describing this one is electromeetssupernintendomeetsthrashmetal.

So basically, it's retroelectrocore. You can quote me on that

Kylesa - Scapegoat (Mustard Pimp Remix) by mustard pimp

Download in the player

The sun is shining. Jeuce apparently knew this was gonna happen cause they've just (I'm talking 53 mins ago) sent us this hot potato.

Summer sunset vibes with this one.

Logistics - Kaleidoscope (Jeuce Rework) by Jeuce

Download in the player, middle button on the right

Blogging cannot describe how psyched for Rusko's debut album 'OMG' I am. The guy has the golden touch. Word is it's hitting streets early May on Mad Decent.

Get this while it's hot - Sub Focus gives a hip hop lean to this future anthem. Summery chords into a grimey rinse. Think TC remix of Rihianna and you get the idea. Don't worry DnB DJs, it's at 170.

Rusko - Hold On (Sub Focus Remix)

Check Rusko on Myspace and show him some love

This one is definitely a banger. Massive jump up track from about a year ago which I've only just discovered.

It makes sense of course. Wobbled-up ravey fidget house in a banging, no-nonsense Shoreditch club. Free entry? We got it covered, get there before 11 and you got yourselves 5 hours for 0 pounds.

Just some of the guys representing on the decks are
Melechtric - check their 4th Mix for DRM RLL PLS HERE
Angrychaps - some dubstep flavour from the FiDGET head honcho
ANGRYCHAPS NASTY DUBSTEP VOL 1 PROMO MIX by ANGRYCHAPS

Trouble & Squeak - your very own True Mess Head writer spins the wheels of steel
DJ Mixes by Trouble and Squeak

Free mixes galore!

Some fidget for you. It's so wobbly it's gotta be the devils work.

30 minutes of wib, wub, wob. Perfect pre-club music.

Promo for FiDGET / Pure Fidget Funk Mix by Trouble and Squeak

After that shameless self-promotion, here's Herve's essential re-work of the ubiquitous Fake Blood anthem. Forget the remixes:

Fake Blood - Mars (Herve Re-Fix) (320)

Check the artists here:
Fake Blood @ Here
Herve @ Here
Trouble & Squeak @ Here

This one is short but it's an absolute beautyy!! I've listened to it about 20 times since I got hold of it.

West Country massive! After the snow mayhem in January, Rusko has been re-booked to demolish the White Rabbit in Plymouth. For a solid £7, this is a must! The man bangs every time.

Rusko's Minimix for Annie Mac on R1 (320)

His Prodigy remix will take you on a sub-bass work out. Get schooled.

The Prodigy - Take Me To The Hospital (Rusko Remix) (Link removed at request)

Event here: Rusko @ Unleashed

See you at the front!

To make a White Russian you need to add Kahlua. These guys have a different ingredient. Their infectious beats that they lay down on their remixes. Not much is known about them but what they do, they do well! Their latest offering of Rihanna's rudeboy combines a 2 step electro beat with her salacious vocals. Its not just Rihanna that they have remixed but Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane. I'm on the lookout for more of these guys in 2010.

The only shit thing about it is that it is from 9pm till 2am, which is not what I'm used to when going out in London, but hey at least I get to have some nice West country cider ;). Check out Jack Beats' essential mix which was made a couple of weeks ago, pretty good stuff!

House comes in 101 flavours. Here's some tasters for the weekend.

Fidget: Bill Eff
This guy is criminally unknown. He is everything that is right about fidget. Favourite track of the moment is his monster remix of The Funk Out. Piano build....

The Funk Out - Big Dick (Bill Eff's Big Bass Remix)

Disco: Russ Chimes
Summer-style selector Russ Chimes has synths thicker than butter and twists remix queen Ellie Goulding into his inimitable sound.

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed (Russ Chimes Remix)

Progressive: Wolfgang Gartner
He has talent. From what I've heard he's been in the game for years, but the relatively recent releases under his Wolfgang alias all have flawless production, dancefloor cred and killer hooks. A dabbler in all types of house but here's an epic slice of progressive for you.

Wolfgang Gartner & Francis Preve - Yin

Crack: Zinc
As a joke, Zinc's forray into house music got called 'crack' by Dynamite MC. It's deep and it's bassy. That's all you need to know. Here's the beat to Wile Out but minus Ms Dynamite (you can tell I'm not a huge fan...)

Zinc - Blunt Edge

Peace

A slice of nu-disco gypsy house for you. Yoland Be Cool and DCUP both on the Sweat It Out lay down this Riva Starr esque tune. Watch out for the horns!

The Sheffield end of True Mess Head has been quiet. That's no lie. However things are changing, turning a new leaf as some might say. More music and nights will be swinging this way in due course. Today was the first day of sunshine of 2010 (well in Sheffield) and it brings a heap load of tunes:

Easy!

Some new stuff to keep your iTunes library funky.

The USA. Loves hip hop. And as MSTRKRFT know, hip hop tunes equal massive electro bangers. Boston guys The Filth have bootlegged Ludacris for a peak time smash.

Ludacris - How Low (The Filth Remix)

Long time love affair (for me, anyway) Felix Cartal released his debut album this week, provocatively named 'Popular Music'. Firstly, go buy it. Second, here's a rework of The Grinch by Botvox. Techy, grimey, even a little bit progressive! Botvox keep Cartal's signature synth grinds though. Recommended.

Felix Cartal - The Grinch (Botvox Remix)

Moving towards a fidget-electro crossover sound, Dirty Disco Youth have come up with this rudeness - Brains...Off. Some nice piano breaks in it to keep it interesting. Shame it's only at 128..... it's worth it.

Dirty Disco Youth - Brains ... Off

Last up I wanna hype this track. DMC wizard Craze (yeah, THE Craze) is clearly a talented man. Him and protege Klever, apart from smashing up scratch battles and getting paid to play on Serato, both make some serious club tunes. This one takes us on a wobble fest. Loads of different drum breaks going on. Some dub flavours, some hip-hop style and a whole lot of fidgety bass. Real inventive, support this tune. I'll drop a Klever anthem on you next time.

Craze - Drop to the Flo

Keep it loud!

So here we see a return of tune of the week.

This Friday sees the launch of a brand spanking new night at PLUG nightclub. Covert Sound system is the night and its brings a whole new sound to the club. The club will be transformed into a huge UV warehouse with the type of music that TRUE MESS HEAD loves! Expect to hear the likes of : Fake Blood, Crookers, Bloody Beetroots, Hostage, Rusko, Capsa, Skream, Chase & Status, Danny Byrd, Count & Sinden, Mr Oizo, Jack Beats, Justice, Major Lazer, Prodigy and many more. It's going to be massive!

Just a quick one. If you're gonna be in London on February 20th, hit this.

http://wodnb.com/events/wodnb-sessions-london/

A tasty line up, sure. Plus, it's at the Den. But have a look at the MCs.

WARREN G! The hip hop legend is gonna be making an appearance spitting his G-funk style over drum and bass. Legendary.

This week I've got 4 tunes cos I know it's a bit late.

The 'noughties' (yeah, it's an awful name but nothing else really works....) saw the revival of drum and bass. Jungle was losing it's momentum at the end of the 20th century, vinyl sales were gradually dropping and rude boys everywhere were looking for something else to blast out of their tanked up fiestas.

But what a come back! Jungle may have been a dying idea but the niche genres it split in to as drum and bass have clearly kept it afloat. Jump up, liquid, neurofunk, darkstep, and deep/atmospheric (to name a few) all have loyal followers in terms of record labels, producers and fans.

Anyway, a new decade and a new year is upon us, so here are a cupla heads up shouts on what's lookin to be big this year.

The Brookes Brothers
They've already made their mark with arguably the biggest anthem of 2008; Tear You Down. Added to that a huge collab with Danny Byrd (Gold Rush), remixing the remix of the Chemical Brothers classic Star Guitar (reworked by Japanese electro-god Shinichi Osawa) and the mighty Dawn Treader ft Futurebound, Dan and Phil Brookes are firmly established players.

2010 Prediction: Crossover kings. Their forthcoming album will be released on BBK, who pushed the now (in)famous Pendulum to huge commercial success. Paperchase, the follow up collaboration with Danny Byrd has been repeatedly hailed in top 10 lists for months, and Fresh has been dropping hints in interviews about the impact he expects the record to make. As drum and bass is gaining more and more attention from clubbers, radio (Radio 1 has been pushing the sound massively, even in daytime playlisting - Chase & Status's Pieces was virtually on repeat in November) and the press, an easily accessible 'jump up' album should get the attention it expects to.

DJ Fresh
Following on with the BBK camp, Fresh's album apparently titled 'Kryptonite' is set to blow up alongside the Brookes. If we can take the samplers of the anthemic Hypercaine (which even got a video - surprising for a drum and bass release) and sub bass ridden Heavyweight, Fresh has grown up his sound since Escape from Planet Monday.
2010 Prediction: All killer, no filler. A more than solid drum and bass album with something for everything.

Camo and Krooked
Already favourites at True Mess Head, these boys are straight 0utta Austria. Grooverider, Zane Lowe and London Elektricity are all huge fans, and believe me, you should be too. Vampires VIP was featured on the Drum and Bass Arena Anthems 2009 compilation (well worth a look) and I defy you to not like it. It's seriously that good. Their strength is in their compatibility though - they have jump up tracks, rinseout tracks, liquidy anthems and still find time to work with labels like Viper, Renegade Hardware and Sudden Def. If you were at Hospitality at Matter a few weeks ago, you'll have heard their stuff; Skyline was euphoric. Buy their Edge of Mind EP.

2010 Prediction: Breakthrough. Although they're still not a household name, by the end of the year I'll guarantee they will be.

Sick Music 2
Hospital Records are currently riding high as a drum and bass flagship. Winning both Best Promoter and Best Club night for Hospitality, they have the artist roster and the know-how to put on the best nights in the country. Hospital Podcast is over 100 episodes old and is an essential look into the hottest dub plates incoming. And following the ridiculous success of Sick Music, the follow up seems inevitable. Apparently a Camo and Krooked track is already signed to it.

2010 Prediction: Compilation of the year. I can't see anything else coming close.

Eastern Bloc Drum and Bass
Whilst drum and bass has been a predominantly UK scene - nearly every major producer / DJ / MC / label operates from England, europe has been catching up. More importantly however, is the rise of dnb in the former Soviet Bloc. Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia to name a few all have thriving scenes. Just youtube 'drum and bass step' and you'll find hundreds of videos of breakbeat mad kids stepping all over eastern europe. B-Complex, responsible for the smash Beautiful Lies is Slovakian, Bop and Electrosoul System from Russia. Hospital themselves have so much faith in the scene there that they distributed The Future Sound of Russia with a full NHS release, instead of marginalising it with a Med School release to which it's sound might actually suit more.

2010 Prediction: Anything could go, but I have my money on a ton of new producers bringing fresh ideas to the table.

Here are a coupla downloads for reading alla that!

Numbers (Camo & Krooked Remix) - John B (320)
- everyone needs to know about this
Devil - D.C. Breaks (320)

First tune of the week of the year. This is a dubstep bomb released on the album The Best Of Stupid Fly Records Volume 1 which is amazing and can be purchased here.

Here's a quick slice of techno for you - a centrepiece to Brodinski's Suck My Deck mix.

Throbbing, driving and progressive. The attention to detail in this is unreal.

Rhythm Code - Scorpion (320)