One of the most in demand DJs in the game, Jackmaster has spent 2014 working - HARD.

Recently completing his second Stateside tour in under 12 months, the Glasgow selector also spent summer working with Oneman on the acclaimed Can U Dance project.

With the year drawing to a close, Jackmaster has seen fit to unveil his Mastermix. A solid selection of house bangers, glistening techno cuts, 80s machine funk and the odd bit of cheese, it's a mix which owes its roots to Los Angeles and its completion to the DJ's home city of Glasgow.

Typically dextrous, Jackmaster has slowed his quick fire mixing just a tad, allowing the tracks greater space to breath, but the mix still picks up furious momentum as it flits between styles.

Check it out below.

Related: Essential Mixer - Jackmaster Interviewed

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

While far from a household name, EMA does occupy a potent place in pop culture.

Earlier this year, the singer decided tackle the way in which she interacts with her public persona, composing the song '3Jane' as a means to address these tech-led issues.

Penning a blog at the time, EMA said: "No one was really ever that mean to me on the internet. I never had that 'thing' that happens when you wake up one morning and somehow your life is ruined because a mortifying picture goes viral or a 'funny' tweet becomes horribly misread... But it did that to somebody. And now we all have this stupid crippling fear that someday it will happen to us. And the likelihood increases as you move from relative obscurity to becoming more broadly visible on the internet. There are more cameras on you, more chances to be quoted saying something stupid, and more people out there who relish seeing successful people disgraced and dethroned."

Now, EMA and director Y2K have joined forces to work on some accompanying visuals. Strange, brutal and yet oddly beautiful, '3Jane' is told through the human-android relationship.

Y2K explains: "Somewhere between the prediction of a fully realized human-android and the watchful eye of surveillance technology, lies a conception of the reality we intended to create in “3Jane”.” explains Y2K. “Depicted therein are the dichotomies between the persona of the artist and her branded image, the human and the automata, the watched and the watcher, the real versus the ideal, and the merger of these dualities. Presented is a dream-like narrative scenario that touches on the inevitable union of humanity and technology."

Watch it now.

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

Another day, another 10 amazing albums that make up part of Clash’s top 100 albums of our (10-year) lifetime. Which means: albums released since 2004, when Clash was founded.

Previous entries:

100-91
90-81

- - -

80
Jon Hopkins – ‘Immunity’
(2013, Domino)

It was meant to be a sit-down gig in the conservative interior of the Royal Festival Hall. But less than halfway through Jon Hopkins’ “recital” of ‘Immunity’ he’d transmogrified the aisles into a rave. In hindsight it was a poignant and inevitable stampede that led 2,500 people to vote with their feet in celebrating one of this century’s most lovingly handled dance albums. Veering from cinematic expansion to the drilled down to the minutiae of his unique percussion, ‘Immunity’ is a delicate techno journey traversed by a heroic and inquisitive narrative. Matthew Bennett

- - -

79
Lykke Li – ‘Wounded Rhymes’
(2011, LL)

For her second album, Swedish singer Lykke Li fled her homeland to write and record stateside, spending six months in LA’s Echo Park. The alien environment inevitably played its part in ‘Wounded Rhymes’ avoidance of simply offering the debut’s hits all over again. In her own words, this is a “darker, moodier” collection than its predecessor, suggesting its maker didn’t see as much of the sun as she might. Bigger and better than what came before it, but certainly bearing deeper bruises, this set established Li as a songwriter able to transform pointed anguish into potent art, flitting from almost flirtatious fare to deeply intimate affairs. Mike Diver

- - -

78
Fuck Buttons – ‘Tarot Sport’
(2009, ATP)

The bruises feel good. From the ascending squeal of their submissive machines on ‘Surf Solar’ to the shredded steel finale on ‘Flight Of The Feathered Serpent’ this second album from Fuck Buttons intrudes into our lives like a celestial boxing match. Evolving a noise aesthetic towards an acid house trajectory might sound great on paper – but the reality is even better. ‘Tarot Sport’ is a universe of galloping textures that were deemed evocative enough to make the playlist of London’s Olympic opening ceremony. As it concludes you might be left bleeding… but it’s a proud, slightly sexy injury you’ll be sporting. Matthew Bennett

- - -

77
Metronomy – ‘The English Riviera’
(2011, Because Music)

Joseph Mount’s Metronomy crew might have got their Clash cover debut on fourth album ‘Love Letters’, but it’s this third set that we most frequently return to – especially when the weather turns and we need a little aural sunshine (which, living in England, is pretty much all the time, then). A Mercury Prize nominee, ‘The English Riviera’ collects light but sturdy hooks and assembles a whole that flexes with palpable funk in places. Rhythms twist and dazzle, but at its heart this is a pop album through and through, designed for maximum pleasure: as singles like ‘The Look’ and the record-defining ‘The Bay’ showcase quite brilliantly. Mike Diver

- - -

76
tUnE-yArDs – ‘W H O K I L L’
(2011, 4AD)

An album where a minimal aesthetic meets a maximalist attitude, ‘W H O K I L L’ is Merril Garbus stamping her own unique identity on alternative music – a lo-fi pop princess in waiting who’d realise all of her potential with 2014’s ‘Nikki Nack’. But these 10 cuts comprise a brilliant blueprint from which everything else would stem for this uncompromising artist. There’s a little Beefheart at play, the suggestion of the ownership of some Slits records; but for the most part ‘W H O K I L L’ only ever unfolds as the work of Garbus, atonal and accessible at once. Mike Diver

- - -

75
Arctic Monkeys – ‘AM’
(2013, Domino)

Five albums in for the Monkeys, and things took a turn for the sinister – ‘AM’ is built upon portentous beats that are dark and intimidating, yet wickedly thrilling. The danger level is emphasised by frontman Alex Turner’s caustic lyricism, sharp in detail, focus and imagery. As a whole, ‘AM’ is an invigorating experience, continuing the band’s playful diversion from the Mojave-darkness of ‘Humbug’ that ‘Suck It And See’ heralded. Simon Harper

- - -

74
Goat – ‘World Music’
(2012, Rocket Recordings)

The on-going psychedelic resurgence has led to a particular sound, one dominated by certain effects, certain tropes. Goat, though, remain utterly untamed: debut album ‘World Music’ matched intense African rhythms to wild acid-rock guitar lines and vocals that veered between monastic drones and tribal chants. An unforgettable experience, of all the bands spewed forth by the current wave of lysergic activity, Goat are the only ones who might truly break on through to the other side. Robin Murray

- - -

73
The Libertines – ‘The Libertines’
(2004, Rough Trade)

A somewhat more fractured and grizzly album than their debut, ‘The Libertines’ perfectly reflected the chaos surrounding the group’s imminent and acrimonious disintegration. It was the last exhilarating rush of a very British phenomenon, which offered the decade a glimpse of utopia in Pete and Carl’s fabled Arcadia, but was ultimately consumed by the pair’s corporeal struggles. But oh, how brilliantly they burned – raw, relentless and full of punk spirit, this is a lasting testament to a once devoted friendship, and the last great flash of a youth movement in British indie.

- - -

72
Shabazz Palaces – ‘Black Up’
(2011, Sub Pop)

Experimental hip-hop with enough bump to keep the less-attentive heads occupied, ‘Black Up’ proved – if any evidence was even necessary – that rap circles are where the greatest invention in modern music is to be found. Track titles could be a mouthful, but the hypnotic wordplay and dream-state beat-scapes of ex-Digable Planets man Ishmael Butler and Tendai Maraire were intoxicating enough to leave the broader details on the album sleeve, the listener transported to a higher plane of appreciation for music that seems way too cosmic to call Earth home. Mike Diver

- - -

71
My Morning Jacket – ‘Z’
(2005, ATO)

Despite the success of and acclaim for 2003’s ‘It Still Moves’ – a dense album of rich, psychedelic southern jams and country roots – MMJ’s maestro, Jim James, exploited the enlistment of new members Carl Broemel and Bo Koster (on guitars and keyboards, respectively) to shake up the band’s formula. The result was a playful and progressive collection of succinct songs that flirted with electronics (and even reggae) and dripped with colour, setting the rejuvenated rockers on a course of rediscovery that continues to thrill today. Simon Harper

- - -

Our countdown continues later this week. Find previous entries here. 

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

With events in New York and London under their belts, the DRILL team has proved to be adept at finding public arenas for avant-garde art.

Deciding to see out the year with a fresh festival, DRILL has its sights set on Brighton. Not only that, but continually inventive punk legends Wire have agreed to come on board as co-curators.

Running December 4th-7th at venues around the south coast city, DRILL: BRIGHTON is the perfect way to chase away those winter blues.

Including sets from (deep breath) Wire, Swans, Young Fathers, Savages, British Sea Power, Gold Panda, These New Puritans and many, many more, this is pretty much indispensable.

Clash asked four acts from the bill - step forward Wire, The Wytches, Samaris and Lonelady - to name potential highlights.

- - -

Wire's Colin Newman chooses...

Ulrich Schnauss - 'On My Own'
From his 2003 album 'A Strangely Isolated Place', it is a track which is both ground-breaking for its time and gorgeous in its intricately crafted structure. Anyone wanting to know more about Ulrich should definitely start here!

TOY - 'Left Myself Behind'
The B-side of their first single, it's got that motorik [feel] but in addition the end section, where the guitars build and build but in a completely non-obvious way, is a total joy.

Lonelady - 'Marble'
From her 2010 debut album 'Nerve Up', a minimalist groove with her very distinctive guitar playing style wrapped around a rather beautiful song.

- - -

Dan Rumsey from The Wytches chooses...

Black Honey - 'Sleep Forever'
People should go and watch Black Honey. They are fairly new but live they really bring it with skilful songwriting and pop melodies. I think they have about four songs out already online, 'Sleep Forever' being the first they put out earlier this year.

Gianni Honey from The Wytches chooses...

Traams - 'Head Roll'
In my opinion one of the most underrated British bands around. Me and Leigh, their bassist, got hammered at a festival in York once. They played great and we sucked, as I couldn't negotiate the slanted stage.

- - -

Jófríður Ákadóttir (Samaris, singer) chooses...

These New Puritans - 'Fragment Two'
I'm curious about these because of their use of classical instruments.

Three Trapped Tigers - 'Cramm'
I really like Three Trapped Tigers, mainly because of their energy on stage.

Courtney Barnett - 'Avant Gardener'
I chose this one because of our friend Alicia who lives in Sydney - we listened to Courtney on the Australian radio on our way to the beach last January.

- - -

Lonelady chooses...

Wire - 'I Should Have Known Better'
Wire always delight me; there's something about their musical personality, both collectively and as individuals that totally sparks my antennae. They have a kind of portfolio of musical languages; economical, inventive, playful, abrasive, melodic, atonal, the list goes on... They explore so much territory while always sounding like Wire. They operate between poles of high art and pop catchiness - and it's just perfect to my ears.

Graham Lewis (under the name 'Gilbert and Lewis') - 'Ends With The Sea'
I know there's a whole back catalogue of weird and wonderful Graham Lewis releases out there I've yet to get around to hearing. Esoteric, experimental, 'difficult', absurd? Great, bring it on.

These New Puritans - 'We Want War'
Having played (all too few) shows with TNP I am a big fan of 'Hidden'. I liked seeing a band unafraid of presenting something ambitious and serious. I am interested to see how they continue to absorb and wrangle with contemporary classical influences and 'pop' song forms.

- - -

DRILL: BRIGHTON runs between December 4th-7th - TICKET LINK

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

A reclusive duo, the mystery that surrounds jj seems to amplify the potency of their music.

Returning with fourth album 'V' earlier this year, the Swedish pairing truly seemed to out-do themselves.

Melody lines were sharpened, lyrical flair was broadened and the production took on a chrome-plated sheen.

Ending the year with a flourish, jj have lined up some extremely rare European shows. Alongside this, the duo have decided to unveil an additional remix.

A highlight of their recent full length, 'Dean & Me' is soft, supple, future R&B. Henning Fürst seems to wring out the darkness inherent in the pair's music, adding layers of electronics in the process.

Check it out now.

jj have confirmed the following shows:

December
3 Brighton Unitarian Church
4 Bristol Start The Bus
5 Manchester Soup Kitchen
6 Dublin Opium Rooms
7 Leeds Brudenell Social Club
9 London Oslo

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

In a way, IYDES sound intimately reflects his surroundings.

Based in London, there is more than a taste of grime in his work, a de-constructed glimpse of the scene's hyper-active futurism.

Alongside this, though, is the paranoia of early dubstep, and a focus on straightahead techno, filtering in from the clubs and pleasuredomes of Berlin.

New EP 'Interiors' drops via GETME on December 15th, with sample cut 'Maalen' already online.

All spine-crunching percussive breaks, sharp edges and technicolour tones, there's an incredible intensity to the way IYDES approaches production.

Check it out now.

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

D Double E is about to offer his perspective on the work-life balance, but the indie-rock band in the next room evidently has other plans. Unbeknownst to the east London MC – clad in black from his Newham Generals woolly hat to a pair of scuffed Nikes – and his publicist sat opposite, half six has been earmarked for sound check. As a result, his near nasal drawl has been smothered by the pulsation of kicking drum rolls and a bass guitar that shudder the foundations of a bar-cum-gig venue on Islington’s Pentonville Road.

“In the olden days, we used to MC just for the sake of MCing,” he says, pitching his voice higher to be heard over the rock. “We didn’t think we were going to make it, we just used to love it.”

“When you do it because you’re thinking of the money, then you won’t be doing it forever,” he continues. “This, it’s not an investment you can just jump into and get your money from – you’ve got to live in this thing here.”

Music is something that D Double E – real name Darren Dixon – has been living since he was 16. Similar to many grime veterans, his love for the genre emerged out of jungle fever in the late mid- to late-’90s, and he flirted heavily with drum ‘n’ bass after stumbling across General Levy’s ‘Incredible’. 

The broad use of samplers, drum machines and MCs ultimately set jungle apart from the other prevailing forms of electro music, while the obscure breaks and the wide inclusion of reggae samples cast it apart from hip-hop. Jungle inadvertently inspired a new generation who directly witnessed the rise of British electronic music, but couldn’t quite escape the glamor of 1990s rap.

- - -

Back then it was very raw, and a lot of people in the early days took a lot of risks…

- - -

“Those older jungle MCs were the first ones that gave us the tempo; it gave us the inspiration to rhyme fast. You know what I mean? The jungle scene was strong back then – I just think that they weren’t ready for no youngers to be coming in the game, so we started building up a little generation of younger jungle MCs on our little radio stations.”

Opposite a friend’s flat stood a crumbling tower block earmarked for demolition – and that was where Darren first experienced the subterranean world of pirate radio. Established in one of the hundreds of empty flats was an improvised radio station, housing no more than a mixer and an accompanying DJ.

“We went up the stairs and I’m just hearing jungle beating,” Darren says, though he did not pluck up the courage to hop on an instrumental on his first visit. “Then we turned up again two days later, went in there, they let me spit and that was that.”

The station was one of countless illicit broadcasting studios that sprouted in response to jungle’s tumble from mainstream radio playlists – this was after the sound had peaked in the mid-1990s with the likes of Goldie and Rebel MC. Pirate radio’s DIY fundamentals and the palpable lack of a broadcasting licence led to stations maintaining a deliberately portable set up.

“Stations were moving mad quick, so that one was only there for a little while and then it just disappeared,” he remembers. “Back then it was very raw, and a lot of people in the early days took a lot of risks.”

The eventual evolution of Rinse and Deja Vu FM would prove key for a new breed of MCs itching to break away from the garage scene – “Even if we might have been using the same tempo, it was not the same structure,” Darren clarifies. But this new scene lacked the basic supporting infrastructure to mould a credible culture. This problem dissolved with the eventual arrival of DJs in step with the darker direction of the young MCs, who proceeded to establish connections with early grime producers.

- - -

‘Lovely Jubbly’

- - -

“The DJs were mad important because they were playing what we wanted,” Darren says. “Before we had problems with DJs not giving us the space to do our thing, it was always the case that they needed to have their vocal bits.

“Then they would need a gap for the woman’s singing, and after all of that there might be a bit for me to come in. You had tracks like ‘Buddha Finger’ and some other garage-y tunes that were hard, but it was still difficult for us to spit bars.

“But now these DJs, they were designed for us and we were designed for them; they were like us. When they’re searching for beats, they just wanted something that they could hear our voice on. Over the years we just got better and better at getting that track to hear our voice.”

Before connecting with Ghetts, Stormin and Kano in super crew N.A.S.T.Y., Darren was afforded his first extended stay on pirate radio with grime crew 187, alongside Jammer, Ebony J, Hyper MC and Leon B.

“I got introduced to Jammer by Jamakabi; after that we used to meet all the time and tape sets and that in his yard, because he was the one with decks.

“Ebony J kind of had the game on lock, he was on Y2K and at that time we weren’t on radio so he used to hook us up and we got a little run on a station called Flava FM.”

- - -

We need to get all of these [foreign producers] over and show them love, because at the end of the day it’s the start of an expansion…

- - -

Eventually the crew fell away with Hyper and Jammer joining D Double E in N.A.S.T.Y., and it was during this phase that Darren began cultivating his trademark flow: an discernible signature at a time when possessing a distinct style was levelled with the quality of the music itself. He describes it as “getting in the beat”, and was a technique he first framed when the echoes of a young Dizzee Rascal ruptured his speakers during a Slimzee set.

“The way he was riding the beat, it just fitted,” he recalls. “Before that I used to spray my bars a bit like an animal, it wasn’t synching. But after that I can get in the beat and do the bar. I don’t just go crazy and stuff like before.”

As for 2015, D Double E is thinking further afield than East London. “Now the scene has Japanese producers and guys in all of these far corners,” he says. “This is what we need, and they need us too. We need to get all of these people over and show them love, because at the end of the day it’s the start of an expansion.”

- - -

Words: Aniefiok Ekpoudom

Order D Double E’s new single ‘Lovely Jubbly’ here. Find him online here. 

More grime on Clash

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

Armed with no small measure of sharp riffs and choruses to die for, Circa Waves have caused no small amount of fuss this year.

The Liverpool group focus on the underground, the grassroots, with heavy touring building a sizeable fanbase who swoon at their indie songcraft.

New single 'Fossils' drops on January 19th, with the Merseyside band also piecing together their biggest UK tour to date. Taking place in April, the shows open in Newcastle on April 8th before hitting Glasgow, Sheffield, Liverpool, Nottingham and more.

Circa Waves are due to play London venue Shepherd's Bush Empire on November 17th, before ending in Manchester on November 18th.

Tickets go on sale at 9am this Friday (November 28th).

Circa Waves are set to play the following shows:

April
8 Newcastle Riverside
9 Glasgow Garage
10 Sheffield Leadmill
11 Liverpool Academy
13 Nottingham Rescue Rooms
14 Birmingham Library at the Institute
16 Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
17 London Shepherd's Bush Empire
18 Manchester Ritz

Related: Next Wave - Circa Waves

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

Her second long-play set after an independently issued debut of 2008, ‘Sound Of A Woman’ is going to throw a fair few fans attracted to its Canadian maker courtesy of her breakthrough hit ‘Hideaway’ and its similarly energetic follow-up singles, ‘Giant In My Heart’ and ‘No Enemiesz’.

Those songs are here, sure enough – although the album’s opening version of ‘Hideaway’ feels somehow muted without its breathless video (watch it below), with which Kiesza stamped her dance credentials all over 2014’s pop scene. But what accompanies them is a varied mix, surprisingly mostly helmed by a single producer, Rami Samir Afuni (perhaps taking a leaf out of Lorde’s book, there), which encompasses deep-grooved R&B on ‘Losin’ My Mind’, disco-diva balladry on ‘The Love’ and a piano torch song with closer ‘Cut Me Loose’.

At times the schmaltz is definitely laid on a little too thick, but on cuts like the seductive midnight thump of ‘So Deep’ and the Joey Bada$$-featuring ‘Bad Thing’, Kiesza stretches her creative muscles without compromising the integrity of the overall experience. Which, for the most part, is a highly enjoyable pop album that steps up to the challenge of rivalling the likes of Beyoncé and Lady Gaga and, while it can’t out-swagger the former’s eponymous set, it certainly backflips across the confused concoction of ‘ARTPOP’.

The ‘Hideaway’ lovers mightn’t get their kicks from everything contained on ‘Sound Of A Woman’, and it’ll definitely prove a little too keen on mid-1990s house beats for younger ears, but it’s a sure-footed statement of intent from a top newcomer amongst 2014’s pop crowd who, on this evidence, is going to contend for further number ones in the coming years. As the sound of Kiesza, she can consider this a job pretty splendidly done.

7/10

Words: Mike Diver

- - -

- - -

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

With a background in punk, Twiceyoung are perhaps unexpected candidates to form a synth pop trio.

Yet the three piece conjure genuinely beautiful sounds, with a directness no doubt inherited from their punk days.

Based in Nashville, their sound - pastoral production, sighing vocals and graceful beats - lends itself to comparisons with The Postal Service.

There's slightly more meat on the bone here, though, with Twiceyoung capable of pulling the heartstrings and making your feet move.

New cut 'Night Drive' is deeply atmospheric, all fallow curves, graceful surges, topped off with a chorus built for arenas.

Check it out now.

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

Glasgow techno giants Slam space you out with cyclic, pulsing audio-therapy on a conventionally played routine.

Alright, damn it, it’s a journey, whose dreaminess, approaching a widescreen level of inter-planetary eyeballing, could come from any lava lamp salesman.

Being all about the chase, the mix was always going to gently lift you onto the dancefloor – gradually giving you back your senses one by one as the mothership docks – as a precursor to producer pair Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle going hammer and tongs. It’s just a matter of when.

So it’s to Slam’s credit, three-quarters through, they revert to a womb-like suspension – before their diligent tech-house floors it and seizes control. Going by the book pays off.

7/10

Words: Matt Oliver

- - -

- - -

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

What does the colour green make you think of? Vast forests? Grassy meadows? A political party being weirdly ignored by the mainsteam news media? According to Belgium’s Eskimo Recordings, it's all about painfully tasteful nu-disco and indie dance.

As themes go it’s fairly arbitrary, but that's fine as it's just a hook to hang off 12 tracks from the venerable dance label. Knight One’s ‘Shimmer’ kicks things off and sounds not unlike a Jolly Music track that’s somehow escaped from 2002, all jarring cuts, synth bass and chopped vocals.

UK producer Horixon’s collaboration with Jacques Teal is a low-key indie electronic gem, Teal’s vocals cruising over a minimal synth line and lazy beat. Later, ‘Me To You’ by Trulz and Robin (audio, below) brings an element of menace that’s a welcome counterpoint to the generally genial tone of the album, while Kraak And Smaak ape Zombie Zombie on ‘Ghostnote’.

The niceness of it all is occasionally a bit of a problem, and some of the tracks here slip into ignorable Ikea disco mode. NTEIBINT’s ‘Baby’ is immaculately produced, but goes nowhere very interesting and takes six minutes to do so. For the most part though, this is an appropriately verdant collection.

7/10

Words: Will Salmon

- - -

- - -

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

Hugely popular in the late 90s, Creed sold a none-too-shabby 30 million records before splitting in 2004.

Reforming in 2009 as a primarily live entity, the group still enjoy a large and - if we're honest - fairly inexplicable fanbase.

A few days ago, though, frontman Scott Stapp posted a video message online claiming that he is broke and homeless.

The bizarre missive makes several allegations of fraud, and lashes out at American authorities. Scott Stapp started auditing his accounts eight weeks ago "and all hell began to break loose".

"During the course of that audit, a lot of things were uncovered," he said. "A lot of money was stolen from me, or royalties not paid, and that's when all hell began to break loose."

Filmed in a Holiday Inn, Scott Stapp had seemingly spent the previous few weeks living in a truck. "I'm under some kind of pretty vicious attack. There are people who have taken advantage and stolen money from me, and they're trying to discredit me, slander me," he said. "Someone had used my information and changed my online passwords to my bank accounts and transferred all the money out my bank accounts so I had nothing."

Finishing, the singer vowed to fight these unfortunate events. "I don't understand how that's fair in America. My civil rights have been violated," he said. "I'm gonna expose and I'm gonna fight every single individual that is responsible for this. Right now I'm looking for an honest, good attorney that's ready to fight and take it all the way to the top."

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

Swapping Edinburgh for Melbourne, Jonny Faith could be accused of chasing better weather.

However eternal sunshine isn't all that brought the producer to Australia. Continually in search of the next beat, the artist swiftly found himself at the centre of the city's creative scene.

A newly signed member of the Tru Thoughts family, his sound - buoyant yet adventurous, subtle yet not without directness - sits neatly within the label's over-arching ethos.

Inspired this, Jonny Faith has sculpted a brand new mix which focusses entirely on Tru Thoughts material. Opening with his own 'Lost Earth', there's a loose theme of hip hop running through the mix - at times dancefloor ready, at others for the heads, it's a diverse array of sounds. Bonobo, Quantic and more all make appearances, while Jonny Faith also throws in a mighty mash up features TM Juke, Nostalgia 77, Aloe Blacc, Magic Drum Orchestra and Dizz 1.

Continually working on new material, Jonny Faith's new single 'Zheng' b/w 'Slumber' is due to be released on December 1st.

A selection of Tru Thoughts goodies will be on sale this Saturday (November 29th) at the Independent Label Market. Clash will be there, co-hosting the stall - come along, it'll be fun!

Get stuck in below.

Tracklisting:
1. Jonny Faith - 'Lost Earth' 
2. Lost Midas - 'Love Undone' (feat. Taylor O'Donnell)
3. TM Juke x Nostalgia 77 x Aloe Blacc x Magic Drum Orchestra x Dizz 1 - 'Drop It Everyday'
4. Bonobo / Head Games feat. Audris - Lost Midas (Acapella)
5. Jonny Faith - 'Slumber'
6. Hidden Orchestra - 'Spoken (Submerse Remix)'
7. Lanu - 'Conversations'
8. Lost Midas x Dizz 1 x Warrior Queen - 'Real Bad Games'
9. Ty x Wrongtom x Deemas J - 'Let’s Move'
10. Benji Boko - 'A Big Star From Nuffink (Skit)'
11. Benji Boko x Anchorsong - 'Charments'
12. Wherka - 'Tempo Tempo'
13. Hidden Orchestra - 'Flight (Mungo's Hi Fi Remix)'
14. Hidden Orchestra - 'Flight'
15. The Amalgamation Of Soundz - 'Sharm/Nickels And Dimes'
16. Saravah Soul - 'Mestico (Debruit Remix)'
17. Nirobi & Barakas - 'Bungee Jump Against Racism (Diesler Mix)'
18. Quantic - 'Not So Blue'

- - -

Jonny Faith is set to release new single 'Zheng' / 'Slumber' on December 1st.

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

Launched by Get Into This blog editor Peter Guy, the GIT Award has known for casting on Merseyside's ever-bustling music scene.

Returning in 2015, the GIT Award has announced the judges for the latest round up of new music. Lending an ear to the panel this time round, label types such as Heavenly Recordings'Jeff Barrett, Bella Union founder Simon Raymonde and Rich Walker of 4AD will help sift through the entries.

Alongside this, the press world is represented by theQuietus founder John Doran, legendary scribe Simon Price, Chris Torpey, editor of Liverpool's Bido Lito!, Jarri Van der Haugen of Disco Naïveté and Clash's very own Robin Murray (hello!).

Other esteemed members of the panel include Liverpool Music Week's Mike Deane, Xfm's Mike Walsh, Shell Zenner of North West Amazing Radio, EVOL (Liverpool club night) founder Steve Miller, Yaw Owusu, curator of the Liverpool International Music Festival and - naturally - the award's founder, Peter Guy.

Fancy getting your music heard? Bands, artists, producers, soundsmiths and other such creative types can enter by sending four tracks to gitaward@getintothis.co.uk.

The full press note is supplied with an inspiring piece from Simon Raymonde, championing Liverpool music. Here's part of the final segment: "it is no exaggeration to say, without wishing to put the curse of 'scene' upon it, the most consistently exciting bands right now ARE from Liverpool. That is an irrefutable fact."

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

A living legend in American underground rock, Les Claypool has helped lead Primus astray for three decades.

Venturing from funk-rock to avant climes, serious songwriting to outright whimsy, the group was last spotted reimagining the soundtrack to – of all things – 1971’s Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (hear ‘Pure Imagination’ below). Currently plotting a no doubt hugely imaginative live show to expand on this, the genial musician – and seriously, check out these bass skills – welcomes the challenge of Foundations with open arms.

“I’m scanning my brain,” he says, “because usually I totally choke when people ask me these questions, but we’ll see how the synapses are firing today!”

- - -

The Beatles – ‘Abbey Road’ (1969)

When I was a kid my parents weren’t very musical – I come from a long line of auto-mechanics and one of the very few albums that my parents had was ‘Abbey Road’. So I would sit there and listen to it over and over and over, until it became quite the staple for me. It’s a pretty amazing hunk of music, especially the arrangements of all the tunes on the second half, and the way they all come together for one big climax.

I mean, I’ve read so much about them. The Beatles were heroes of mine – and George Martin, and Geoff Emerick, they were just huge, huge heroes for me, so I’ve absorbed a lot of the lore, the written word about them. It’s interesting, because as an album that I was introduced to at an early age, it’s one of their darker records – it’s obviously written during a time when they were going through a lot of turmoil, and it’s their last real record together. From what I understood, a lot of the medley stuff at the end was because of the discord between them all. Sometimes that tension, to me, brings about some pretty amazing art.

- - -

Tom Waits – ‘Rain Dogs’ (1985)

Well, let’s think about it here for a second. I mean, I would say Tom Waits’ ‘Rain Dogs’ was a huge eye opener for me. I had experienced Tom years prior with some of his early stuff – ‘Step Right Up’ was a great tune, that stuck to me. A buddy of mine – Joe Gore, actually – I used to roadie for him, and he was playing ‘Rain Dogs’ in his car one day. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is unbelievable!’

I mean, ‘Rain Dogs’ is sort of the beginning of that new, the second phase of Tom Waits, so to speak. Where it does become more of a performance, it’s more textural, there are so many different timbres, squeaks and squonks, warts and blisters and stuff on this music. It’s very theatrical. So to me, it was very compelling.

- - -

Yes – ‘Fragile’ (1971)

Two down! Holy mackerel. Well, I’m going to go with a record that I’ve purchased many times. It is a record from my youth, which would be Yes’ ‘Fragile’. That’s just one of those records which got me fired up as a bass player because Chris Squire always had the most amazing tone. Then these arrangements were very orchestral, almost like classical. Like, little droplets of elements of classics. His bass tones just blew my mind. It still blows my mind. I still don’t know how in the hell he does it.

I saw them in the 1980s. I would have loved to have seen them in the ’70s but I was a poor son of an auto-mechanic and didn’t get to go to too many concerts. I would have loved to have seen ‘em when Bill Bruford was playing with them. In their art rock glory days! That would have been pretty sweet.

- - -

Jimi Hendrix – ‘Band Of Gypsys’ (1970)

So, as a kid I didn’t have any money to buy records, so my record collection was puny compared to all my friends’. But I joined the RCA Record Club where you get 10 records for a penny – or whatever it was – and then you spend the next five years of your life trying to pay bills when they send you records that you didn’t ask for and all that shit. So one of the records I got, I wanted some Hendrix because actually Kirk Hammett – from Metallica, we went to high school together – he had played me some Jimi Hendrix and I was like, ‘Woah who’s this?’ I’m hearing ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ and thinking it was the greatest thing in the world.

I joined the RCA Record Club and that was the only record that was available – even though I wanted to hear ‘Purple Haze’ that was the only record that was available so I got ‘Band Of Gypsies’. I adore it! Still, to this day, I adore that record. People talk about the Mitch Mitchell era of Jimi but for me, I felt like he was really about to go down some cool roads with Buddy Miles and Billy Cox. I think that record was just a glimpse of what could have been the future of Hendrix.

- - -

Pink Floyd – ‘Animals’ (1977)

‘Animals’ was a huge thing for me. A similar thing, when I was a kid I didn’t have any records, but I remember when ‘Animals’ came out I was pretty young, and a buddy of mine, he and his older brother had this record and we were sitting there looking at it, looking at the album cover with the power plant and the pig floating over it. Just the imagery of it was amazing, and then this older brother’s friend was telling me about how he was in London and he took acid and he could visualise the pigs melting across the sky, and it just scared the shit out of me! Just the whole lore of this thing.

I turned my son onto all that stuff, too – he’s a huge Floyd fan. He’s 18 now, but a handful of years ago he got to meet Roger – well, we all got to meet Roger Waters, and to me, he’s the Beethoven of our generation. He’s that guy. It was a pretty amazing thing. My heroes are guys like Kafka, Kubrick, and these visualists. We’re not a singles band. I’m not a singles guy, so I always approach the albums as a film – it’s all scenes from a film. So, for me, I taught my son: I said, ‘OK when you listen to ‘The Wall’ you don’t just listen to one or two songs, you’ve got to set some time aside and listen to it from start to finish.’ It’s like watching Dr. Strangelove – you don’t just watch one or two scenes, you watch the whole thing.

- - -

As told to Robin Murray

Les Claypool’s ‘Foor Foot Shack’, with Duo de Twang, and Primus’ ‘…And The Chocolate Factory’ are out now. Find Les online here. 

More Foundations features

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

Part of the WEDIDIT Collective, RL Grime views creativity as extending far beyond music.

The narrative surrounding new album 'Void' encompasses both artwork and videos, extending the producer's universe into new realms.

Completing this arc, the clip for 'Valhalla' is a fantastic climax. A mysterious video rooted in science fiction, it features the Void Team during an attack on an otherworldly energy source.

Directed by David Rudnick and Daniel Swan, it is both inspired by and expands upon the hyper-futurism of RL Grime's production.

Check it out now.

'Void' is out now.

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

A new project, Ghost Writerz - Harry 'Sleepy Time Ghost' Metcalfe and Jason 'Jimmy Screech' Bradshaw - already have a lifetime of music behind them.

Rolling with the Unit 137 collective, the duo learned their trade the right way; absorbing music at every turn, the pair swapped soulful vocals with a hip hop beat, reggae production with a jungle tip.

Deciding to go it alone, Ghost Writerz was born. A handful of cuts have emerged thus far, with Tru Thoughts swooping in to sign the pair.

New single 'Back It Up' drops on December 8th, lighting a fire to keep winter's cold away. The beat is sparse, intense and almost tribal, with the two MCs swapping lines over the crisp production.

Clash is able to premiere the video for 'Back It Up' - check it out below, then read a quickfire Q&A with Ghost Writerz after the jump.

What was your first experience with sound system culture?
Yow, we been living this man! As a youth growing up in London, Jimmy has been around the culture since a baby, and his Dad has an incredible vinyl collection, so it runs deep. Sleepy really started to absorb it when coming to London to study, from the West Country. As a duo, we were actually brought together by the Unit 137 sound system, and the studio that was built around it.

How did your involvement with Unit 137 shape your outlook?
137 is at the core of our existence. It is home to our band of brothers, musically. It’s where we jam, and hear all the latest sounds from the producers in the camp, like Hylu and Ed West. It’s where we hear all these different types of thesis, from our learned colleagues hahah! And where we put together our supernatural synthesis! It’s where we study this ting! Done know!

To what extent do you believe yours is a particularly British outlook? And how do we define such an outlook?
Well, we see this is a very special country, for all its faults. Empire has seen a thousand sons return to a step-motherland, looking for their lost riches. And then we learn the people living here are just as pissed off by those running the show. So we take all this dissonance, and all this wonderful variety of culture, and we turn that into meditation, entertainment and, sometimes, joy. Our sound wouldn’t carry JA, USA, UK influence unless it was born here. It’s a continuation of the struggle.

Who do you regard as peers?
The scene is so healthy right now, it’s mad to see so many friends and others we respect getting so much shine. Stylo G, Aries & Gold Dubs, our Unit 137 fam Hylu & Jago, Ed West, Lionpulse Sound out of Bristol, RTKal from Brum, Pete Cannon from Manny. Rodney P & Skitz. Shout out people like Foreign Beggars too, and the Mouse Outfit. Toddla T and the big dutty stinking Serocee have really got our back. Shout out 1Take Entertainment, G.O.L.D.

How did the tie up with Tru Thoughts’ new off shoot Sharp And Ready come about?
That’s something we played a role in really. Our management is with Lionbeat, and JC had been pushing to get us a deal. Now, we’d been making music for over a year by that point, we had over 30 tracks in the bag! No lie! So, that was a lot for Tru Thoughts to get excited by, and it played an important part in bringing about this bigger situation. So we happy to be recognised by a platform just for Sound System Music! It’s a very natural fit for us.

Jimmy – you’ve worked with Roots Manuva, what did this experience teach you?
Yeah, Roots is like a godfather in this game. Sleepy would say the same, in terms of his being a major influence on our team. My touring with Roots means I’ve seen where this music can take you, if it’s handled a certain way. There ain’t no hurry up and go round ting in this game for us. We’re making real music, with a message, with heartfelt sentiments, with soul. It takes time for that to bed in, and so you have to be a campaigner. We know we have to be here for the distance! GWz All The Way! Or bust!

To what extent are you influenced by your surroundings? Is this a London sound, for example?
Yeah, it is a London sound. But then Sleepy is from Kernow! Kernow Mafia! Na Mess! I guess, working with people like RTKAL, Serocee from Brum, Pete Cannon from Manny it’s clearly an urban connection. We think that’s where the styles start to coalesce. So this is a UK sound man… predominantly London… but UK by definition.

‘Back It Up’ – this feels like a mission statement, what made you lead with this track?
Hahahhaha! For the girls! Honestly? We were having some fun with this track man, and it was a stand out for the first single. We’ve got music with a message to come, for sure. Tracks like ‘Survive’ and ‘Rose’ tell a bit more of a story from us. ‘Back It Up’ is just about the beautiful girls in the dance, having fun.

The remixes are particularly broad, is it important to you not to get tied down to one sound?
YES! Our music is Sound System Music, so you can always expect the full gamut of Reggae, Hip Hop, Jungle and other elements in between those as we move. We are gonna put a lot of energy in making our release packages diverse. Something might have been out for a year, and we’ll come with a remix. Our music is not disposable! It’s here for the ages.

RTKAL is on one remix, are you fans of his work?
BIG fans. This guy is the future.

Any surprises coming up for your debut album?
Wait! Wait and see… But, in short, YES!

What can we expect from the Ghost Writerz live show?
Wait for 2015… It really is a case of GWz All The Way. We are not here to mess about: We’re here to spread knowledge, positivity and joy through Sound System Music.

(unless stated all answers by Sleepy Time Ghost)

- - -

'Back It Up' will be released through Tru Thoughts' new Sharp And Ready imprint on December 8th.

Clash x Tru Thoughts x Erased Tapes will be co-hosting a stall at this weekend's Independent Label Market. Ghost Writerz will be there, too, with Sleepy Time Ghost aiding Unit 137 as they provide some smooth sounds for Spitalfields Market - it all kicks off at 11am on Saturday (November 29th).

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

Ryan Hemsworth is your best friend that you'll (probably) never meet. The Halifax #sadboy’s iPhone must have a battery on the verge of collapse, with red notifications poking up at him rudely around the clock. With friendly fans on his social networks tweeting him Jigglypuff and puppy pics, he’s never alone – except for, y’know, actual, human interaction.

The video for ‘One For Me’, his collaboration with Tinashe, saw the producer living out a comfortable yet lonely life of room service and mini shampoo and soap sets – with only a MacBook to talk to. And this album continues on the theme of solace: “To a hotel room where you’re a million miles away,” sing the lyrics on ‘Snow In Newark’ (video below); “I want to be surrounded by you,” goes the chorus on ‘Surrounded’.

It’s a sad record, but one that envelops you in a warm hug, wipes your eyes and plays with your hair. On opener ‘Hurt Me’, synthesised plinks burst like tears, zapped by little video game lasers. ‘Walk Me Home’ has the kind of grandiose timpani hits that you might hear in the Royal Albert Hall, but these ones are built up to via whispers of jungle breaks. These sorts of juxtapositions are characteristic of an artist addicted to sampling and SoundCloud discovery. Sonically, nothing is off limits.

Some critics have slotted Ryan neatly (and incorrectly) into the trap (even EDM) folder, but this LP outlines his versatility – none of the tracks could be deemed as such. There are more breakbeats than triplet hi-hats and snares – in fact, there’s virtually none. The GTW pops up with some languorous rap on ‘By Myself’, but it’s a track whose unhinged harshness could have been helmed by Evian Christ. 

On glancing at the album title, you might expect that this is Hemsworth gone solo. But in fact he brings Dawn Golden, Alex G, Lontalius and little cloud along for the ride – up-and-coming artists that he’s giving a platform to, á la his Secret Songs project on SoundCloud. Though he might be alone when he’s on tour, or while creating music, he’ll always have a host of admirers (in us, at least).

8/10

Words: Felicity Martin

- - -

- - -

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android

A London four piece, Flyte entered 2014 as virtual unknowns.

Almost 12 months on, the group have a record deal - Turned Out Nice / Island Records - and sit at the centre of no small measure of hype.

New single 'Light Me Up' drops on December 2nd, with the track already receiving plaudits from fans.

Now Flyte have posted the flip, 'False Alarm', online. Triumphant, energetic indie pop with just a hint of electronics, 'False Alarm' is a live staple.

Laid down at the band's East London studio, you can tune in below:

Grab 'Light Me Up' b/w 'False Alarm' from December 2nd.

Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android