Nebraska ? Ali Gibb kind of has a nice ring to it…
‘Ali Gibbs’ just sounds like my name to me; no problem with that, but just needed another name for that first 12″ that Russ Gabriel put out in 2000. Didn’t give it much thought, just plucked it out of thin air.

What is your approach when working on music ? you must have some kind of training ? i find it hard to believe that you just mess around till you got something that sounds like the future.
Haven’t had any formal training, just picked up bits off friends at school, messing about with guitars and so on.
From a tech perspective, working for years alongside my friend James Mason was how I got introduced to programming samplers and sequencers, etc. The main chunk of what I do is listening out for stuff to sample. I spent years being a real record nerd, hanging around in second-hand stores. My approach is the same as the way a hip hop producer would work, digging for samples and playing with them until it works.

You have kept a low profile for many years on the scene why is this ?
My low profile is due to the speed I work at – slow. Also, a few years back, I decided to take a break from it, had been doing too much and not enjoying it. It’s not a conscious decision to be mysterious, I just do it when I feel like it.

How did the Rush Hour hook up come about ?
Rush Hour distributed DownLow who released an LP and 12″ of mine. RH got in contact and asked if they could reissue the two earlier Nebraska 12s – the one Russ Gabriel released and one that Zaki Dee had promoed on his Butter label but never properly put out (due to the collapse of the distributor on week of release). Those did OK so we pulled together some newer stuff.

2000 – 2011 that is slow indeed.  How long did it take you to do the new bits for the album then?
The new parts of the album were worked up over a period of about a year, but some bits like ‘Characteristic’ have been around longer, but got finished in the same phase. I often leave tracks for a few months or a year or so.

When & for how long was it that you took the break?
I took a break for about a year in 2000 right after the Terrestrial Variations EP first came out. I sold all of my studio gear and moved house.

Have you been getting much attention now with your come back? ie. press coverage, gigs & such.
I get asked to do gigs quite often but have so far said no, partly because I don’t have a set worked out and partly because of not being too keen on being the centre of attention. I should do it though.

What are your hopes of achievement in the industry?
None really – not chasing sales, not trying to make a living out of it. It’s just good to get a response to what I do, especially if it’s from a dj or artist that I rate.

What do you do for a day job, if anything?
I’m a graphic designer. Lots of parallels between the hobby and the profession.

Have you got anything else coming up?
Haven’t worked on any new tunes since finishing the album, apart from a remix for Jimpster’s Freerange Label and a couple of re-edits. As Spike Milligan said, “I’ve planned nothing, so nothing can go wrong”.

Deep Absurdum Podcast 12: Nebraska by deepabsurdum

 
Tracklisting:

01. Joe Cool – Vince Guaraldi
02. Cripple Creek – Leo Kottke
03. Here It Comes (Remix) – Mc Serch
04. Sounds Of The Safari – Jungle Brothers
05. Days 2 Come – Jungle Brothers
06. Two Notches – Rhthym Warfare
07. No Way Back – Adonis
08. Solina – Jedi Knights
09. Close Your Eyes And Look Within – Donald Byrd
10. Heavy Duty Dub – Harry Mudie

Kresy recently blew us away with his monumental song Lords Of Percussion on Hivern Discs. Despite his youth as an artist he has somehow managed to produce one of the biggest songs of 2012 (in our opinion) & the podcast he has mixed up for us is also nothing short of stunning. If this is the way he begins one can only expect big things for this mysterious Spaniard.

Tracklist:

STL – In My Dreams (Intrusion Dub)
Savile – Woman & Man
Jamie Woon – Night Air
Andy Hart – Devoted
Aroy Dee – Evil
Bahling & Simpson – Play Games
Linkwood – Lost Experiment
Boddika – Spray (Drvg Cvltvre Dip)
Pional – Just Passing Through
Ali Renault – Files A Kungan
Dave Monolith – My Munk
Master C & J – Face It (Leftside Wobble Re-Edit)
Fort Romeau – Kingdomos
Kidnap Kid – Lazarus Taxon

Kresy recently blew us away with his monumental song Lords Of Percussion on Hivern Discs. Despite his youth as an artist he has somehow managed to produce one of the biggest songs of 2012 (in our opinion) & the podcast he has mixed up for us is also nothing short of stunning. If this is the way he begins one can only expect big things for this mysterious Spaniard.

Tracklist:

STL – In My Dreams (Intrusion Dub)
Savile – Woman & Man
Jamie Woon – Night Air
Andy Hart – Devoted
Aroy Dee – Evil
Bahling & Simpson – Play Games
Linkwood – Lost Experiment
Boddika – Spray (Drvg Cvltvre Dip)
Pional – Just Passing Through
Ali Renault – Files A Kungan
Dave Monolith – My Munk
Master C & J – Face It (Leftside Wobble Re-Edit)
Fort Romeau – Kingdomos
Kidnap Kid – Lazarus Taxon

It started with a conversation and a urge to bring people music being made outside of the normal Western club genres, of things like house, techno and dubstep. 2 years on and his vision is now been shared by many smiling dancers all over the world. With the inclusion of South African born Esa Mervin Granger the two have now taken their performance up a notch and their live show is in demand all over Europe. This weekend saw them host fabric’s room 3 alongside Huntley & Palmers to launch the album Future Rhythm Machine.

When we arrived at 1am room 3 was already full with Sophie warming up the crowd playing everything from bass to house to techno, while Esa fine-tuned the bongos and effects machines, gearing up the crowd for the Future Rhythm Machine launch.

Their live setup is fully analog and consists of:

Akai MPC500
Allen & Heath Zed 14 Mixer
Korg – Electribe
Quad EFX and Monotron
Roland TR505
Casio SH-1 Keyboard
Bongos & other live percussion

The crowd is in a frenzy the moment they kick off with their deep afro rhythms & we have never witnessed a room 3 crowd so engaged in an artist. When the intro to ‘Oh My Days’ starts someone on the dancefloor yells to sit down and a ‘DC10 sit down/jump up when song kicks in’ somehow happens. We watched a video of this happen at Movement when Soul Clap instructed people to get low and laughed at the ridiculousness of it but when you’re there & watching how the crowd instigates this to a quality sound served up by a fellow South African you can’t help but gleam with pride.

Below are videos of the night, the first song is a new one called ‘I Want To Blow Your Mind’ that will be included in the forthcoming album and the second song is the hit ‘Oh My Days’.

Apologies, we’ve been asked by fabric to remove these videos – not sure why

If you can’t make it to the Tief night, or just want to get in the mood for your evening out, what better way to do it!!! – Here is the link to the Tief party – http://www.facebook.com/events/299037720143362/

STREAM THE SET LIVE: http://www.deepabsurdum.com/basic-tv/

For those that haven’t read his heartfelt resignation letter to the public, he states he will have to get rid of the loft due to financial constraints.

We have included descriptions of Danny’s very private happy space in his own words.

“Welcome to the headquarters of DTour Inc., Be Yourself Int. and Stay Tuned Productions. We have been here since 2001 & I am finally sharing my very private happy space with all of my friends, peers, mentors, colleagues, and fans as well.”

“This is my favorite shot as the lens captured 3 of the 4 stacks. I decided to paint them white and it gave an entirely new energy to the room. It’s all about energy!

Although I do still have all six stacks from the original Shelter, Vinyl, Body & Soul system, I only have four on because 6 would BE way too much! :-0

I can almost hear the Perfect Thunder of The Bass just by looking at this photo! It truly sounds phenomenal. Imagine me preparing my sets here …. and how spoiled I must BE? :-/ ji ji”

“The Disco Ball went up Five Years after me being up here. It was a present to me from Kevin McHugh! The lights on top of the record shelves are now mounted into the ceiling.

I sit in that chair under the ball facing the windows and I always wonder if this ball will one day fall right on my head and do me in for good ?? :-0 And what would the newspaper headlines say? LOL”

“records records records and about 20,000 records . . . . . . . . There will never BE enough time to listen to them all . . . .”

“Yes, an original Scully Lathe/Acetate/Dub Plate machine. It weighs almost 1000 pounds and it was nearly impossible to get it delivered up here because we have no elevator. Imagine 4 delivery men screaming their way up the stairs for almost 2 hours! 1 – 2 – 3 AHHHHhhHH!!!!! LOL
Did I forget to mention the fantastic Paradise Garage Neon Sign – designed by PONS! ”

“This side rack has DJ mixers that I’ve collected since the 70′s including an original silver face 1975 Bozak. There is also a Power Mixer, Sound Workshop, Vestax, Rane, Pioneer 800, Pioneer 1000, a custom mixer designed by Marshak Audio which blends UREI & BOZAK all sitting in there like a Museum. THE MAIN MIXER ON SYSTEM OUTSIDE IS A UREI – Naturally!

Top left is the original Bozak! 1975! I was 14 years old! (( ouch ))”

“This record explosion is from a couple of years ago. This went on to become the Pro-Tools studio but ultimately became our main office where Bossman Kevin now sits with our chief assistant & dear friend: Alex Perez. All those records are up on IKEA Shelves in a closet.”

“This is my office (and our lounge) that is adjoined with Kevin & Alex’s office, and the other side is the big main boom boom room! And now you all know where all my coins went !!! I’z got good ta$te yo! LOL”

“This is Burchan’s Paradise! We give him water and feed him twice daily with 3 bathroom breaks only! I call him THE BURPORT MASTER!! But we have other secret sources too! ;-x

I love these chairs. They are very JFK Biz Class lounge, Circa 1967! Behind the orange wall (to the right) is the recording studio.”

“This is where we made Futurism, Space Dance and loads of Edits & Mashups with lots more to come.

Some of my old school gear. So much of it is “plug ins” these days AND YES, That is the original Artwork from above the entrance of 6 Hubert Street. Awwww …. :-/”

“This Space Ship Custom DJ booth is now in storage! No one wants to buy it LOL”

The Legendary Roofus! LOL Roofus was named Roofus by Hitch-hiking to Vinyl on a few occasions on top of the H2 Hummer! Tourist would even stop to take pics! LOL”

The pennywhistle, that simplest of instruments, produces a distinct warm and vibrant sound and, when relentlessly underpinned by an upbeat skifflish guitar, will forever identified with the Golden Age of South African township music. Providing an engrossing echo of a different time, Township Jive takes a snapshot of the spirit of Sophiatown, Mamelodi (which takes its name from ‘Ma Melody’) and the proto-funk rhythms which will forever be associated with a time when cars wore white sidewalls, men wore brogues and women were called cherries. This is the time of the film ‘African Jim’ (otherwise known as ‘Jim Comes To Joburg’) and the louche jazz scene which made the many names that feature on this compilation, among them Miriam Makeba, Spokes Mashiyane and Lulu Sibeko. Resuscitated by the blog Soul Safari and distributed by Rush Hour Distribution, these gems produce a direct line to jazz-hands-in-the-air moments of naked enjoyment. This is the jive that set the night alight, before the raw dawn on Sharpeville cast a pale light that threw dark shadows.

Featuring a strong showing from the stand-out stars of the kwela scene during its seminal years of 1940 to 1960, there’s an innocence and enthusiasm in the music on this compilation which belies its age: this is pre-Sharpeville material, from an era before forced removals, when smoking was de rigueur, 78s played on platters and bobbysox graced every well-turned ankle if a girl wanted to stand any chance of being feted by a beau. It’s raw, it’s funky, it’s highly infectious and it’s entirely impossible to ignore as a sample of a more beautiful space in time. Selected from the International Library of African Music in Grahamstown, this is as authentic a sample as you can get, with all the tracks having been remastered. If there was ever a definitive sampler of this genre, this is it. Hats off to the Soul Safari blog for playing their part in putting the spotlight on these gems!

More info:  Soul Safari

Words by Travis Lyle

The EP is basically the same track re-interpreted several different ways by Mario himself as well as 2012 upstarts The Mekanism. We start off with Space Disco fuelled original, with its ominous Movie Thriller Lead line and peculiar yet superbly catchy Male Choir vocal sample/Synth. The smooth sultry male vocals are courtesy of Minalga (of whom I could not find much info). A great almost Slomo Jam that could work both as a peak time floor filler and an early evening warm up.

Next up is Marios Dubbed out reworking which as the version title suggest is dubbed out. Great old skool House chords and a high pitched lead line give it that elusive “Vintage” feel. Marios ReDub gives the original version the more up to date House sound with longer more open bass lines, bigger build up/break downs and generally a more dance floor friendly approach.

The Mekanism remix takes us on a Progressive Deep Disco journey through vocal refrain and skippy percussion with a nice string lead sitting deep underneath the mix.

I loved every mix in this EP which is rare these days often being quite illusive with remixes almost being added as “Fillers”.

Words By Terrence Pearce

Sultry and seductive are fairly obvious adjectives one could use to describe Kraviz. Her vocal stylings give an undeniably sensual, intoxicating air to her music. To her credit however, she does not lean too heavily on these attributes, instead delivering a profoundly deep and esoteric collection of songs that balances her ability to create a heady atmosphere using a veritable bare-bones approach, while also reflecting on love, lust, loss and everything in between. These philosophies permeate the various facets of the album, be it the booming 808-hustle of Ghetto Kraviz, the sweeping, emotive ambience of 4 Ben or the loungey groove of Choices, which conjures images of a lazy afternoon in a smoky Moscow cafe, at the crossroads of a torrid love affair. It should come as no surprise that Nina’s love for all things vintage and analogue runs deep, yet she manages to inject a freshness into the sound pallette that never sounds contrived or “old-school”, but rather refreshed by her own charm and expression. Even the opening strains of Turn on The Radio contain all the ingredients of yet another slo-mo re-edit style workout, replete with lethargic drums and chopped up vocal snippets. Yet the unsettling time signature and off-kilter vocals elevate it from nothing more than a languid loop to the type of cut that garners repeat listening, if only to be seduced by it all over again.

Current fads in dance music have been discussed ad nauseum, and threaten to trivialise the hard work and effort that artists put into staking their claim in an increasingly competitive and saturated dance music world. What Kraviz has succeeded in here is creating a body of work that entices the casual listener with its beguiling grace and beauty while still providing chin-strokers and music nerds with something to sink their teeth into. With an album as rich, charismatic and lovingly crafted as this, Nina Kraviz stands head and shoulders above the competition and remains resolutely at the cutting edge.

Words by Robin Would