Footage dragged kicking and screaming out of the archives, as used during live shows 2007-2012, originally assembled by Butch Auntie, then topped, tailed and tidied in January 2017 by yer man Eric.

Alternate link if blocked: https://vimeo.com/200491182

Hello again – Following on from “Lucem Diem”, as promised here’s part two of this lil’ 160bpm diptych, although significantly longer than the first part, as it proved virtually impossible to edit down or leave things out – you know how it is…

So here is the night before the morning after: “Tenebris Noctis“, a 211 minute journey through 177+ quality tracks, some old, lots new, all good. Anyone that caught the last couple of years Glastonbury DJ sets will recognise quite a few choice moments contained within, for sure.

The file’s pretty big (1.4GB for Flac, 490MB for MP3), but a quick poll last week on Twitter indicated that you’re mostly cool with that – apologies if you find it problematic, sure you can find an app online to split it into chunks if you’re that way inclined…

Tracklist is below, so don’t scroll down unless you want spoilers (and on first listen you shouldn’t!)

So… let’s have it, yes?

Download from the above Soundcloud player in MP3 or direct here: MP3 or FLAC.

001 Crypticz – The Atmosphere (Intro)
002 Coco Bryce – Elektro Dynamikx (2014)
003 Tessela – Helter Skelter (2013)
004 Dead Letter Drop – Dead Letter Drop #2 (2007)
005 Nu-Tone – Lightning (Sideswipe VIP) (2015)
006 Addison Groove & Sam Binga – Rzor (DJ Friction Remix) (2013)
007 Moresounds – Altercations (2015)
008 Om Unit & Digital – Midnight Oil (2015)
009 David Heartbreak – Latch Key (2014)
010 DJ Luck & MC Neat – A Little Bit Of Luck (2002)
011 Juke FX – Mark A Juke (2012)
012 Sinistarr – Valhalla 90210 (Instrumental) (2014)
013 Highly Dubious – Get Girl (2014)
014 Dexta & Hyroglifics – Boxgroove (2014)
015 E-Z Rollers – Walk The Land (1998)
016 Paul Van Dyk – For An Angel (Gash & Simtek Remix) (2013)
017 Chemical Brothers – Car Chase (Arp Worship)
018 LFO – Freak (Benncart Getting Your Freak On Juke Edit) (2014)
019 Miko – Weekend Juke (2012)
020 Ils & Solo – In The Area (1995)
021 Fokus – Brave New World (Part 1) (1995)
022 CDBL – Pulse (2014)
023 DJ Ham – Higher (1994)
024 Mike G – Sprung Broke (2013)
025 Top Buzz – Living In Darkness (1992)
026 Lennie De Ice – We Ir E (Om Unit Edit) (2012)
027 Nonfuture – Embrace (Clock Intro VIP – Part 1) (2014)
028 Coco Bryce – Pacific (2014)
029 Lindsay Lowend – Mmmmm (Palmtop Tiger Remix) (2012)
030 Rushmore – 3000 (2013)
031 Ticklish – Miscommunication (2013)
032 Ticklish – Miscommunication (Slick Shoota Remix) (2013)
033 Chango & SysAb – Ilkilkilk (2015)
034 Roni Size & DJ Die – It’s A Jazz Thing (Phillip D Kick Edit) (2011)
035 Fokus – Watch Out (1994)
036 Roni Size & DJ Die – It’s A Jazz Thing (Ladies Mix) (1995)
037 Engineers Without Fears – Spiritual Aura (1994)
038 Aphrodite – Bomber (1995)
039 DJ FLP – Bounce Like (2016)
040 Jonny Megabyte – Homicide (2016)
041 Mutants – Obeah (2016)
042 Bleep Bloop – Something Impossible (2014)
043 Keshob – Time I Am (2016)
044 Nonfuture – Embrace (Clock Intro VIP – Part 2) (2014)
045 Remarc – RIP (Remarc Remix) (1995)
046 Remarc – RIP (Phillip D Kick Edit) (2011)
047 Droppin Science – Firin’ Line (Origin Unknown Remix) (1995)
048 Fresh & Vegas – Heatwave (1998)
049 Outkast – Bombs Over Baghdad (Acapella) (2000)
050 Uncle 22 – Dust (1995)
051 DRS & Kenny Ken – Everyman (1994)
052 Queens Of The Stone Age – Feel Good Hit Of The Summer (2000)
053 Count Vanderhoff – Bruce’s Bridge (2016)
054 Royalston – Slimebanks (VIP) (2015)
055 Pev & Kowton – Vapours (2013)
056 Clap! Clap! – Please Mother Rain Wash Our Souls From Human Evil (2013)
057 Wuki – Di Air (2014)
058 Run The Jewels – Close Your Eyes And Count To Fuck (2014)
059 Atlas – Drifting Thru The Galaxy (1994)
060 MC Det – Stick Up (Elementz Of Noise Mix) (1995)
061 Rido – Back To The Future (2013)
062 Richie Brains – Voyage (2016)
063 Royalston – The Depths (2015)
064 Alix Perez, DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn – Make It Worth (2014)
065 Whitney Houston – MDB (Sideswipe Bootleg Edit) (2015)
066 Whitney Houston – Million Dollar Bill (Acapella) (2009)
067 DJ Card-One – Shiny Booty Calls (2014)
068 Hyper-On Experience – Disturbance (Tango Remix) (1993)
069 Deep Blue – Helicopter Tune (1993)
070 Addison Groove & Sam Binga – Rzor (2013)
071 Lastckall – Alevosia (2015?)
072 Intel Inside – Hey Baby (1995)
073 Doc Scott – VIP Drumz (Part 1) (1995)
074 Brock Out Crew – Hard Core Romance (1994)
075 Billy No Mates – Crowd Burst (2014)
076 Acen – Close Your Eyes (Optikonfusion) (1992)
077 Motherland – See No Hear No (1995)
078 DJ Rashad, DJ Spinn & Taso – Passin’ Me By VIP (2014)
079 Richie Brains – Heartbreaker (2016)
080 Machine Girl – Galatea (Nightwave Remix) (2015)
081 Cutty Ranks – Limb By Limb (Acapella) (1993)
082 Lone – Backtail Was Heavy (2016)
083 These New Puritans – Organ Eternal (2013)
084 Q Project – Champion Sound (Alliance Mix) (1993)
085 Q Project – Champion Sound (Phillip D Kick Edit) (2011)
086 Special Request – Broken Dreams (2103)
087 Tom & Jerry – Maximum Style (1994)
088 DJ Flow – Journey Into Sound (Part 1) (2014)
089 Hyper-On Experience – Lords Of The Null Lines (Foul Play Remix) (1994)
090 K-Aze – Warrior Groove (2014)
091 Shy FX – Bambaataa (1998)
092 Lone – Pineapple Crush (Sideswipe’s Footwork VIP) (2014)
093 DJ Madd – Untitled808 (2008)
094 Luke Vibert – Don’t Fuck Around (2015)
095 Bandeja Individual – Hot Dog Berenjena (2014)
096 Danny Byrd – Shock Out (2008)
097 Machinedrum – Eyesdontlie (2013)
098 DJ Rap – Spiritual Aura (Silent Code Remix) (2014)
099 CRZKNY – Kisses (2015)
100 MoonDoctoR & DJ Rashad – Can You Feel It (2014)
101 FootMerc & ZSonic – No Rush (DJ Chap Inna Year 4000 Remix) (2013)
102 Static – Siroc (2014)
103 Nonfuture – Gunshot Riddim (160 Intro VIP) (2013)
104 War Machine – Living Weapon (2014)
105 Photek – Ni Ten Ichi Ryu (1997)
106 Origin Unknown – Valley Of The Shadows (1993)
107 DJ Rashad – I Don’t Give A Fuck (2013)
108 Digital & Spirit – Heaven (2015)
109 Glacci – Ice Rave (2016)
110 Corporal F – Prophecy (2014)
111 Fidser – B.U.K. (2014)
112 DJ Fokus – Brave New World (Part 2) (2014)
113 J-Kenzo – Alright (2016)
114 La Funk Mob – Ravers Suck Our Sound (Carl Craig Remix) (1994)
115 DJ Taktix – Hornz For 94 (Phillip D Kick Edit) (2011)
116 RL Grime – Core (2014)
117 David Starfire – Cobra (Sub Swara Remix) (2010)
118 Lloyd Banks – Beamer, Benz Or Bentley (Skeet Skeet Edit) (2010)
119 Thing – Antique (2014)
120 Deco – Polymorphism (2013)
121 Biome – Cromos (2014)
122 Slick Shoota – Keep Bussin’ (2014)
123 Slick Shoota – Keep Bussin’ (Om Unit Remix) (2014)
124 Symbiotic Sounds – Higher (2014)
125 TNGHT – Gooooo (True Key BTLG Edit) (2013)
126 DJ Spinn, DJ Rashad & DJ Manny – Horn Chemist (2012)
127 Baauer – Harlem Shake (2012)
128 DJ Flow – Journey Into Sound (Part 2) (2014)
129 Lung – To Infinty And Be Gone (2016)
130 Moniker – Iktomi (Subp Yao Remix) (2016)
131 Hyper-On Experience – Lords Of The Null Lines (1994)
132 DJ Paypal – I’m Ready (2015)
133 Stray – Ginseng Smash (2013)
134 Digital & Spirit – Phantom Force (T-Power Codeine Remix) (2011)
135 Acen – Trip II The Moon (1992)
136 Doctor Jeep – Badman (2013)
137 Double 99 – RIP Groove (DJ Ransome & SynthForce Bootleg) (2015)
138 20syl – Game, Set & Match (2013)
139 Djemba Djemba – Yah Pop Pop Pop (2013)
140 Omni Trio – Renegade Snares (Foul Play VIP Remix) (1995)
141 Omni Trio – Renegade Snares (Foul Play Remix) (1993)
142 Omni Trio – Renegade Snares (Phillip D Kick Edit) (2011)
143 DJ Earl, DJ Rashad & Taye – Bumbaklot (2013)
144 Special Request – Ride VIP (2013)
145 Special Request – Ride (2013)
146 Fracture – Black Pearl (2016)
147 Roni Size Reprazent – Brown Paper Bag (Sideswipe Edit) (2013)
148 Om Unit & Moresounds – Nuff Music (2014)
149 Outkast – Spottieottiedopaliscious (HugLife Remix) (2012)
150 Alladin – Mashed (VIP) (1995)
151 Firefox & 4-Tree – Warning (1994)
152 Tessela – Hackney Parrot (2013)
153 Dub Warriors – Rocking Out To The Nation (1994)
154 Slick Shoota – Hardcore Junglist (2015)
155 Doc Scott – VIP Drumz (Part 2) (1994)
156 Richie Brains – Buss It (2016)
157 Leviticus – Burial (1994)
158 DJ Rap – Spiritual Aura (Basher Remix) (2014)
159 Paladion – NGC 3982 (2014)
160 Sully – Crystal Cuts (2015)
161 Pulse & Tango – Let The Hustlers Play (1995)
162 Special Request – Lockjaw (2013)
163 DJ Red – The Visit (1996)
164 Siege – Deep (Part 1) (1994)
165 DJ Rashad – Let It Go (2013)
166 Machinedrum – Le Ol’ Skool (2015)
167 Djemba Djemba – Oh OK Yeah That’s Cool (2013)
168 Badman – War in ’94 (1994)
169 Taso – SaxXx (2013)
170 Shy FX – Raver (Breakage’s Pattern Moschino Remix) (2011)
171 Shy FX & UK Apachi – Original Trappah (DJ Cable Remix) (2014)
172 Shy FX & UK Apachi – Original Nuttah (Drum Mix) (1994)
173 Africa Hitech – Out In The Streets (VIP) (2011)
174 Sound Of The Future – The Lighter (1995)
175 Fugees – Ready Or Not (Zinc 1996 Mix)
176 The Trip – The ‘erb (Special Toke Remix) (1994)
177 Morecambe & Wise – Bring Me Sunshine (1969)

Well hello there, good to see you. Yes it has been a while, hasn’t it? hope you’re all doing well. Apologies for the radio silence but after an extended real-life break, much needed and much enjoyed, we’re happy to announce that we’re back in the musical realms, first with a few new Hectic City mixtapes, and then, if all goes according to plan, a new album.

So… kicking things off is Hectic City 16 – Lucem Diem. The first part of a diptych locked around the 160/80 BPM axis, taking in beats from footwork/juke, jungle/dnb, hip-hop, trap and a whole host of related microgenres. Since moving to Amsterdam I’ve been indulging deeply in the fringes of the city’s club scene, avoiding the all-encompassing house / techno-oriented mainstream to find the weirder beats and tempos that lurk in the shadows, so these two mixes are very much influenced by the sounds found there, along with some excellent continually-developing global online scenes and historical genres that cover similar ground.

This part, as befits the title, is more of a “all back to mine” sun-coming-up kind of mix, a blend of cross-tempo beats with a few appropriate old-school classics scattered here and there. The second part will reflect the deep dark night before the morning after and all that that entails… Hope you enjoy, and please share if you do!

Download from the above Soundcloud player in MP3 or direct here: MP3 or FLAC

01 Pilooski ft Jarvis Cocker – Completely Sun
02 Foreign Hits – Emley Moor Transmitting Station
03 Sigue Sigue Sputnik – Atari Baby
04 Somejerk – Molly
05 Dawn Day Night – Higher Plane
06 G Jones – Wormhole
07 Taso x Poppa Doses x Nawte Kong – Intellitrap
08 Boards Of Canada – Roygbiv
09 Om Unit x Danny Scrilla – Gentrification
10 PFM – One & Only
11 Penthouse Penthouse – In The Penthouse
12 Grifta – Adrift
13 Compro – Schala’s Theme (Instrumental)
14 George Pallikaris – In Search Of
15 Jazz Vibes – Sax
16 Monolithium – Sleeping Beauty
17 Crix – A Motive
18 dBridge – Module Eight
19 Gang Colours – I Don’t Want You Calling
20 Om Unit – Wagonist Riddim
21 The Black Dog – Tahr
22 Calibre – Steptoe
23 Akin & 3rdeye – Koroko
24 David Axelrod – Human Abstract (Om Unit Remix)
25 Druid Cloak – Ebon Guardia
26 Frederic Robinson – His Inner Strength
27 James Blake – CMYK (BSN Posse Bootleg)
28 Addison Groove & Sam Binga – 11th
29 El Buho – Twentywell
30 Kromestar – 6th September 2012
31 Mala Rodriguez – Galaxias Carcanas
32 Pinch – Qawwali
33 Peshay – Flute Tune
34 Lydia Ainsworth – White Shadows
35 Mux Mool – Weederlude
36 6blocc – Holdin’ Back (Taso VIP)
37 David Heartbreak – Bombay
38 Monolithium – Bounce For Life (Ryan Hemsworth Remix)
39 Foodman – Crow & Sparrow
40 Keeno – Nocturne

Till next time…

…that a small number of you received this email:

(Click image for larger)

Download links here if you need them, now available in Flac too if you want an upgrade!

Well, apart from that email, and a post on the old “Get Your Bootleg On” forum (RIP), which gathered like-minded audio-slicing miscreants, that was it, as far as publicity goes.

In the next 12 months it gathered nigh-on a million downloads and a crapton of on- and off-line recommendations, collapsing my own website in a couple of days (I remember sitting there with my flatmates (hey Dillon & Kev!) watching the bandwidth charges accelerate by the minute before fiscal reality got the better of my ego and I pulled the plug), then being mirrored and promoted by such fine folks as Andy “Waxy” Baio and Jason “Boogah” Cosper (vintage interview on that link from two weeks after release).

And then a whole bunch more folks. And more. And so on until I found myself sat at a front table at the 2005 Webby Awards receiving the award for “Artist Of The Year”. Great fun, (hey, I got to shout “motherfucker” in front of Al Gore *teenage giggle*) but boy, did I feel out of place. With the benefit of hindsight, maybe the Webbys organisers expected the old-school media to be shocked that someone like myself was being publicly honoured for illegally slicing, dicing and re-purposing existing culture?… might generate a bit of shock publicity? but nah… nobody seemed that bothered, thank zod. We’d already moved on. As we do.

(Gorgeous, huh? Click for larger. Text of shirt: “Your failed business model is not my problem” – Truer today than ever.)

So… 10 years ago. Seems like centuries. How fast we move… Back then? No Facebook. No Twitter. No YouTube. Some blogs. Some forums. That was about it. Life moves pretty fast, huh?

Downloading a whole album for free? How quaint? Was still quite a novelty then. With the deepest of ironies, as this anniversary rolls around, a free album by one of the biggest bands of all-time has been distributed to allegedly five billion people. A lot of whom don’t seem too happy about it.

But… plus ça change. Free music is everywhere now, and you can’t move for it. Everywhere you go people are desperately trying to ram it down your throat. So much so that even the hugest bands have to do it to get heard. You can’t move for the stuff. Awful.

Well, Boo hoo you.

Because today, here, right now, as far as music goes, things are awesome.

Yes, despite the daily hoo-hah of the “new” music industry, of iTunes, Spotify and Pandora, of mega-corps taking advantage of their huge content distribution systems (that you have all signed up for) and automatically generated playlists (that may well favour heavy advertisers, haha), today there is a humongous global musical underground at your fingertips that ten years ago had no chance whatsoever of reaching you. And you probably will really love some of it. It may well even change your life.

The power of a simple tune is greater than ever. But now, more than ever it needs to be discovered. In the same way as folks spent infinite amounts of time digging through piles of dusty records to rescue and repurpose the drum breaks and riffs that now underpin some of your favourite tunes, you, as a listener, have to dig the crates!

This is (still) a really good thing.

Same as it ever was.

So, please, please, dull down the adverts pummelling you from all sides, the clickbait loud-hailers bombarding you from above, push all that stuff into the bin where it belongs, fire up your inquisitive natures, and keep them well stoked. Dig deep, deeper, deepest and often, and you WILL be rewarded. Not just with fine sounds, but with new friends, amazing performances, wonderful communities and an unshakeable knowledge that just by your very participation (and occasional purchase or show attendance, hemhem), you are sustaining and developing a cultural eco-system. One of millions.

(And if you’re think “ahh, I can’t be bothered to do that, clicking through links (ugh), following blogs (zzz), Hey oldster, I don’t have to look for stuff any more, that’s so 20th century”, then fine – enjoy the nutritionless crap you get served up.)

Because it’s true.

And it grows.

“Increment by Increment”.

That’s what we’re rather good at, as a species, on the whole.

We create.

And share.

And grow.

So from me, thank you for downloading, listening, coming to our shows, dancing like a loon, saying hi!, buying me a beer, putting up with me on verbal overdrive, but most of all for being my friends. Even if you’ve never met me, you now know what I’m like, which is an amazing thing.

You’ve blown my mind sky high, restored and energised my faith in music as a culturally-changing force, and I love you for it.

So here’s to the next ten years. I hope this, too, feels like ancient history when I read it back then.

(PS And before you comment, Yes there will be more Kleptones. We’re taking a breather, but it’s evolving. We’re not done yet. Life is a long song, yes?)

xoxoxo

Eric K

Okaydoke, I’m coming back from a forced couple-of-months hiatus, mainly due to having to find somewhere new to live and make a Kleptones base, which took rather longer than expected – Space, as you may well imagine, is at a premium in this overcrowded city, which has led to some very over-the-top rents (32% rise in three years apparently) and some rather minuscule dwellings – Being rather a tall chap with a bit of baggage, living hand-to-mouth, it’s not the most ideal of situations. Sorted now though, thank f–k, and it was just in time for us to kick off the new venue for Kleptonite on 10th November!

(Pics appropriated from Instamatic and DJ Payroll, sure they won’t mind!)

As I mentioned before, The Britannia in Hackney (map) seemed to be an ideal venue, and so it proved, with valiant back up from the Butch Auntie visual massive, and Instamatic producing a storming and very well received debut AV set, it all went rather well. Not the hugest of sound-systems, but good enough for now – If the crowd grows, we’ll be able to afford a better PA! And we’re going to continue, second Saturday of each month – The next one will be on Saturday 8th December (special guest to be announced soon!), so if you’re in the vicinity, come down, and if you think you’d like to play a set, especially if you’re video-centric, get in touch!

While we’re on the gig front, after many attempts, I’m going to be DJing at Pretty Vacant in Dusseldorf on Saturday 1st December. Those of you will remember the last time I attempted this I ended up snowed in, so we’ll be pulling out some major weather spells to ensure it doesn’t happen this time!

Finally, now all the home-moving shizzle is out of my bizzle, we can get back onto the regularly-posting-tunes-and-mixes train, so here’s a couple of classic 70s rockers given a rather dubby makeover. Hope you like, and see you soon!

(Soundcloud links below – open the post in a new window if they don’t show up in your blog reader!)

So… back to modern times, sort of. Here’s a tune I debuted at Bootie SF the other week, which screamed Bootie as soon as I put it together, and worked a treat I must say. So much so, that I’ve passed the download over to them as an exclusive, so if you want a copy, you’ll have to head over to the Bootie site. It’s worth it though, there’s a fine clutch of tracks there to be had for free!

What’s more, I’ll be playing at the next Bootie London alongside New York’s finest DJ Lobsterdust, and local heroes Instamatic and Payroll in support. Like last time, it’s at Electrowerkz, running later this time till 4am, so if you’re about, you really should come down! Full details at the Bootie London site!

More plans are afot for future London and elsewhere shows, and we’re starting to investigate Kickstarter ideas to see how we can make more shows happen – if you want us in your area, wherever that may be, and/or you think you can help us with some ground level wisdom from your own town or city, please drop me an email, it would be amazing to make it happen, and it’s a lot easier than you might think!

Well it certainly feels like it. So much has happened in the last couple of weeks, and there’s more on the way as always! I’m going to split everything I want to say into two posts, the “then” and the “now/future”, to make it a little easier to digest / skim, but first off, I must extend hugest of thanks to both Bootie SF and the team behind XOXOfest for being so many flavours of awesome and making my US trip such a joy.



I’ve always maintained that the San Francisco Bootie crowd are probably the most open-minded bootleg crowd in the whole world, and again they did not disappoint, lapping up everything that I threw, including the debut of a clutch of new tunes. A mighty fine time was had by all, big hello back to everyone that came up and said hi, and thanks to the cheerfully tolerant DNA Lounge crew and A+D as always for being excellent hosts. Again, soon, I hope!



From the rolling fog of San Francisco thence up the coast to Oregon, to find Portland gently fanning itself in what I was told was rather unseasonable, humidity-free, mid-late 20s heat (celsius, I am a euro ;). A glorious and welcoming start to what was, well, a glorious and welcoming long weekend.

A working start for me, though as I immediately zoomed up to Holocene to provide a five and a half hour DJ set as backing for the festival opening party. Not that I was complaining, it was a great relaxed opportunity to play right across the board, drink good beer and meet some folks, including a long-overdue first hello with co-organizer Andy Baio, a fan since early K-days, and whose mirroring of “Hip-Hopera” back in 2004 when my site went down led to a considerable amount of legal hi-jinks.

For most of Friday I was in a rather stressed state of mind, preparing for my first-ever solo AV Kleptones performance that night, and generally looking down my own body for more digits to cross. Yes! Previous AV shows, as you know, have been ably assisted by Butch Auntie, but budgetary restraints had always stopped us from taking this show any further than Europe. As XOXO was going to be rather special, and also I was a little unsure as to whether the crowd would be in a dancing mood or not, I thought the time was right to take the plunge and do it all myself. And I did… just. Needless to say, sharing the load onstage is a great thing, and not to be underestimated!

That said, I was delighted with how it went down. and doubly delighted to see many, many dancing people (including the aforementioned Mr.Baio ;). Thanks to you all and the ace crew at Holocene for making that a fun one, and also hail-fellow-well-met to both Julia Nunes and MC Frontalot and their respective musicians, who both played great sets before me, and did wonders in reducing my own pre-set nerves. A top night, if a little scary. Apologies to everyone that got the full blast of my adrenaline-fuelled relief afterwards – I was buzzing quite a bit, as you may have noticed…

Saturday morning found me with my responsibilities discharged (HT ‘The Young Ones’ ;), allowing me time to soak up the festival and conference itself.

Much has been already written online by finer hands than my own (see Wired, The Verge and Boing Boing), so all I need to add is that it was an absolute joy for myself to be part of the friendly tornado of ideas and wisdom that constituted XOXO.


As has been pointed out elsewhere, some in attendance were not what one would call “natural mixers”, but the collective down-to-earth mindset (established and encouraged in no small part by co-founders Andy McMillan & Andy Baio), the beautiful urban setting and the balmy weather (and of course, the fine Portland food and drink) encouraged everyone to dump their excess mental baggage and egos at the entrance and use the weekend as the creative playground it was intended to be. Big talk, you may say, but for once, it all fucking worked, and it was glorious. Coders, designers, makers, artists, musicians (hi!), organizers, do-ers, thinkers-one-and-all stepped into the ring simultaneously yet gave each other sufficient space. Yes, that is possible, and it was truly impressive.

A high standard of presentations and speeches (including a highly polarizing keynote from Dan Harman) provided plenty of kick-off brainwaves to keep the conversations buzzing throughout the day, and some great after-parties (and other concurrent local events – was surprised to end up at a Fade To Mind show on the Saturday night!) allowed folks to kick back and continue their conversations at a more leisurely pace. Everyone I met, without exception, was a true star in their own field, and many, many new friendships and creative partnerships will, I’m sure, be formed in the festival’s wake. Job well done, everyone!

I did feel rather sad to be returning, but fortified by the wave of energy described above, it doesn’t feel so bad to be home.

Onwards and upwards, as always…

Decided to have a crack at the new Major Lazer single, even though I think the original takes some beating… Tried a few styles but this knocked everything else out of the water by a country mile.

So here you go… hope you enjoy!

A couple of things to announce and a couple of new tunes for you! We’re going off on a little September sojourn… First stop will be Bootie SF on Saturday 8th September, with hosts A+D in town, Smash-Up Derby live, and the finest mashup crowd on the planet!

Following that it’s up to XOXO in Portland on Thursday 13th September (you need to be registered with XOXO to get into the Portland show, and it’s completely sold-out, but we’ll be around all weekend, so keep watching the Twitter feed, PDX-ers, you never know what might happen!)

And a couple of new tracks! Up top, “Love In The City” takes some Putney boys off to meet a Canadian Godfather uptown, or possibly round a campfire, and down below “Short And Round” gets rather silly and offensive indeed…

Hope to see you soon!

Just a quickie – A lot of people, myself included, have commented on the similarities between Blur’s “Under The Westway” and Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade Of Pale”, but until I tinkered, I hadn’t realised *exactly* how close they were – same tempo, same key (C major, I think)… although Blur cut the last bar of each verse three measures short to achieve a rolling, overlapping effect.

Didn’t need to do more than a minute for you to get the idea…

I do like “Westway” a lot, and, well, “Whiter Shade” was heavily influenced by Bach, so as usual, round and round the riffs we go…