Select Dubs 1: A dubstep mix by ill.selection

Download here: Selected Dubs 1: ill.selection



Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you All original tracks produced by myself (copyright 2008 ya sukaz!!). A 1 hour mix using Ableton Live. You can play or download the mix at the top of this page.

Some context about the tape... It pretty much sums up my first attempts at Dubstep and learning how to produce. My approach to production is to keep it 'human' by leaving some mistakes in the tracks and arrangements. I like to think of it as rooted in hip-hop as far as sounds, samples and arrangements versus straight metal/electronic timbres. So, it doesn't sound like most stuff you hear. To be honest, I really can't control that, cause when i try to emulate similar pads and basses, it never comes out right. I can't help but be myself.

If you want a tracked version instead of this full 56 minutes let me know.

I Need You Dub 0:00
Wanderer 2:21
Bounce Riddim 5:02
Old Love Dub 6:24
Dread Stomp 8:57
Now Hear This 11:45
Block Rocker 14:52
No Refix 17:16
3am Street Sweeper 21:02
Switch Up Dub 23:47
Love's Lament 27:26
Flutes and More 30:16
King's Entrance 33:23
Pastime Dub for Stevie 36:35
Drunken Interlude 38:52
No Wobble Dub 42:17
Sloth and Chunk 45:43
You Don't Love Me 48:17
Scorned Refix 51:53

Thank you all for downloading/listening and reading this. Please let me know what you think cause while this music is a function of personal expression, we are communal people and music is designed to communicate. I'd like to hear what you think...

peace

The Carter III

Well, this album has taken up soo much of my world (pop culture, hip hop, friends circles, Facebook, etc) that its impossible to ignore its relevance. This album will stay in the canons of hip hop as a vehicle for Lil' Wayne's ascension to the hip hop pantheon (he gets in but does he get the VIP treatment as Rakim, KRS, or Biggie... I don't think so). Its there cause it has number 1 hits all over it. And because there really isn't anything better in mainstream hip hop. So I raise my cup to you Lil Wayne!! Congratulations...

A wonderful assessment of this album can be found here... beautifully written.

Throwback Thursday.. "Today was a good day"

In light of some wonderful news this morning (thanks dear!!) and just the relief of my earlier events... today's throwback calls for something that has a personal flavor to it.



Besides, this track has one of the baddest grooves and does a wonderful job in taking the gangsta-rap aesthetic and flipping it on a positive take AND THEN flipping it back... Ice Cube ran things for a few minutes.

"to be continued"

Mixtapes and Crazy Weekends...

Well, I had plans, I had dreams... but keeping up a blog is a long process. So quick catch up... I had a crazy weekend... interesting how one or two things can throw a brother off.. but Its all about the pressing forward, yeah?

So, I decided to shift gears from producing as I finished my CD for RickyRicardo and I'm creatively spent. I need to recalibrate and shift focus. To the world of mixtapes..

Luckily there is A LOT of great music out now and I spent some time this weekend and during work downloading in mind of my new project. I remember back in the day, when tapes were king. My uncle sending my parents, sis, and me tapes of all the popular songs while we were in Germany... back in the 80's there were no populist internet things going on and American pop culture was hard to come by, so things had to be sent to us. Grandma used to send us movies she bootlegged, uncle used to send us mixtapes. So at an early age, we were gully like that.

I remember the fun I had when it came time to making my own mixtapes... there were so many a girl I used to make tapes for... in order to impress, swoon, and what not. I remember making jungle mixtapes for my friends. As I wasn't a DJ, I would take mixes from 'real' DJ's and put them together in such a way that it would flow. I remember looking for pauses, rewinds, a snare, to match the next track.. I was quite good and it held my crew up for a while. I sorta stopped as CD's came into play and my splicing skills didn't count anymore. Some of my friends recall some of the tapes I used to make, even today...

In light of my own personal experience, I went online to find a history lesson on the mixtape. Interestingly, I really didn't find one except from MTV. Obviously they focus more on the hip-hop mixtape, which is quite limiting as mixtapes ahve been around for a long time. But, regardless, it represents where my head and generational context is grounded...

So whats in store.. who knows!! Big ideas in my brain, so keep up with later posts, I plan to have them for your downloading pleasure.

What's in my box #5

Hip Hop:

The Cool Kids "Bake Sale EP"

Kidz in the Hall - "The In Crowd"
Wale - "The Mixtape About Nothing"

Dubstep/Grime:
Martyn
Zomby
Logan Sama - One Way Style

Rock/Pop
Santogold - "Santogold"
Cut Copy - "In Ghost Colours"
Portishead - "Third"

Throwback Thursday..

"Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson: Performed at Motown 25 on May 16, 1983



I don't remember if i saw this live or on a VHS my grandma ripped. But, i still remember when he busted that Moonwalk. Even as a kid, I thought this shit was special. Michael Jackson was BAAADD the coolest shit to ever drop on the world. He ran things at that moment and this was a chance to see the dude in organic form. It's great to witness someone at their absolute best...


This one is dedicated to Vilmzee... yeah!

Juice visits Dan Amitai, RickyRicardo, Whighzeguy @ Skewers: 6/4/08

Dubstep in DC is a far and few between affair. It hasn't sunk as deep, but then again, Dubstep is global and with Dubstep Forum, Buzzlife Forum, Expansion Radio, Barefiles, Blackdown, and Rinse FM... I ain't too worried. But I don't get a chance to hear Dubstep in sounds bigger than my headphones or my speakers at work... so I had to come through to get a better listen, and give love to those who have been giving my dubs love... Large up to the DJ's for supporting me and my music and having the positive vibes of creating an inclusive community... cause DnB can be an elite bitch!

"While this was my order number... It's also how Dubstep rolls bitches!"

Overall, the vibe was pretty damn good, where folks were actually doing the 'club is too tight' dance by the end of the show! Dan opened it up with the eccentric vibes, throwing in everything, playing around with sounds, and intro'ing RickyRicardo and Whighzeguy with some dubstep towards the end. BTW... Skewers got some good food my friend!! And, I got a chance to try out them 2 dollar beers and good eats. With the small venue (I'm thinking 25 or so could fit with room for sound and equipment) it had an intimate vibe where folks were able to mingle, bug out, and build vibes.

"Comrade in crime Mukisa and random cutie showing me how to do an old school dance to dubstep"

RickyRicardo threw down a refreshing set of 2step. Minus the cheese, 2Step really bumps. I'm no journalist, so I can't name drop what was played and what-have-you, but it was that classic swing beat with the basslines a bit darker than your MJ Cole bass. It brought so much energy and nostalgia, as I remember going to Buzz to see Zed Bias, MJ Cole, and Starscape for Hatcha and Emma Feline.. that shit was so refreshing and had that bump that DnB was starting to lose out by 2000. So, it was nice to hear them beats.

Top selecta DJ RickyRicardo droppin' dat 2k swing... enta selecta!!! [Above] Whighzeguy wit dem skankin vibes [below]

Finishing it off was Whighzeguy. After hearing his sets on Expansion Broadcast, which are (to me) on the more Distance metallic bass-sounds… he rolled out with more of the reggae/dancehall, DMZ, early Skream vibes that carry over to more ‘mainstream’ crowds. As most of us are fans of that anyway, I’m not complaining at all. It always gets crowds going, converts new folks, and gets energy going. Its like the ‘gateway’ vibes of dubstep… LOL!!

So nah, they didn't drop my tunes... but its all love regardless... RickyRicardo did play out "Block Rocker" and his fav of my current stash, "No Refix" on Podcast 83 no. 3 of Expansion Broadcast earlier last week... download it here. Or off the page here.

Tracklisting

Matty G - "Bitter Love" - Argon
Darqwan - "Rob 17" - Texture
D1 - "Instep" - Tempa
Digital Mystikz - "Misty Winter" - Soul Jazz
Silkie - "Illegal Immigrant" - Anti Social Entertainment
Rusko - "Lion's Paw" - Sub Soldiers
Ill Selection - "Block Rocker" - Dub
Skream - "Shake It" - Tempa
Roomate Moksha - "Half Computer" - Aleutian Audio
Cyrus - "Redrum" - Random Trio
Headhunter - "Locus Lotus" - Tempa
2562 - "Kameleon" - Tectonic
Digital Mystikz - "Conference" - Soul Jazz
Kromestar - "Focuz" - Dub Police
Harry Ransom - "Dusker" - Dub
Cotti Cluekid - "Flashback" - Not on Label
Ruf - "Want Some Crack?" - Kraken Recordings
Jakes - "3kout" - Hench Recordings
* Break *
Re:Jazz - "Donaueschingen (Swell Session Remake)" - INFRACom!
Skream - "Dubbers Anonymous" - Tempa
Omen - "Rise (N-type Remix)" - Terrain
Darqwan - "Ghost Not Memory" - Planet Mu
Distance - "Night Vision" - Planet Mu
Ill Selection - "No Refix" - Dub
Headhunter - "7th Curse" - Ascension
Kromestar - "Serial Killers" - Kromestar Recordings
Droid - "Dubby Rock" - Fantastic 3
DJG - "Shadow Skanking" - NarcoHz
Caspa - "4 The Kids" - Dub Police
Plastician - "Unhappy Shopper"
Digital Mystikz - "Pathways" - Big Apple
Scuba - "Sleepa" - Scuba
Ital Tek - "Deep Pools" - Square Recordings
Juju - "Red Up (Pinch Remix)" - NarcoHz
Conquest - "Mirage" - Anti Social Entertainment
Terror Danjah feat. Shola Ama - "With U" - Aftershock

KRS-ONE @ The Black Cat: 5/24/08

I have always joked with my friends that I need to see KRS before he croaks... and I think that I don't have to worry about that for a LONG time.

While my joke refers to the urge for the hottest/newest track/vibe/style in Hip-Hop, the relative age difference of KRS with the current crop of popular rappers and MC's... in many respects KRS is timeless. As a street-wise, criminally-minded turned conscious MC, he is well embedded in pillars of Hip-Hop that are relevant today. As a part of the old/new school transition, he carries with him the ability to rock crowds and re-create that block-party/crowd participation aesthetic so heavily missed in your era of big arena/MTV rappers today. And after seeing it first-hand, the guy speaks in freestyle. That depth of experience has given him the divine talent of pretty much being able to carry an entire conversation with you in rhyme. While he may not be able to drop complicated intricate MF DOOM rhyme-patterns when he raps about Barak Obama, he is able to do it for the long-run with no need for pad or paper. Its spontaneous, natural, and communicates. That is truly what MCs are supposed to be... I thought it was all hyperbole, but this motherfucker IS hip hop.

To me, KRS-ONE is like the Chuck Brown, James Brown, of Hip Hop... they created followers and are able to keep older aspects of their respective genres relevant and danceable.

Speaking of rapping about Barak, here is a video from the show... LISTEN to this...

Proud Pic #1

Title: "Proud of mi gente" taken May 5, 2008 @ the Washington Monument.

So, I'm trying out this new feature where I go through my old pics and post one that I feel like sharing. This one is cool cause, first of all, it was a "Cinco de Mayo" celebration with live music at the mall, featuring the headliners... Oro Solido. LOL... only in the U.S. can you have a Mexican-American holiday celebrated in Truco-owned DC, featuring a Dominican Merengue band from New York... hell yeah, thats what Latinidad is all about son!!!!!

This image brings me a lot of pride and sadness. I was emotionally shook to see so many of my people in DC, where we serve as the cogs and gears that run this city... the cleanliness of your buildings, the construction of your offices, the growth of small businesses, are all done by the sweat, sacrifice, and struggle of our people. So, to see us come out here and have some fun, much deserved.

It also brought to light how culturally lonely I am. I work in a predominantly white, highly educated, office that works for 'diversity'. I went to a predominantly white college for my education, and my mom sacrificed her time to take my sis and me to a predominately white high school, cause that was our ticket to a college education.

As immigrants, we come with the idea of establishing ourselves to not worry about the day-to-day struggles as much as before, we prepare our children with immigrant/working-class/Latino values of hard work, community, determination, and ultimately social mobility. These value sets, created in the world of the marginalized and oppressed, project us to the middle-class, higher educated (which is a misnomer cause my education was just as good as theirs), at the sacrifice of leaving our enclaves, our cultural spaces, and physically... from one another. I'm at my PWIs because my mother/grandparents asked me to, not because whites are better, but because thats where that stability is at. And here I am, doing what i think is best for my community, but I'm physically drawn away from it. This is a second immigrant experience within the initial one of my parents leaving their whole lives to come here, very lonely.

So, after thinking about it, I think its about time for me to come home...

US accused of holding terror suspects on prison ships

This is absolutely disgusting... but then again, I'm pretty much duped like everyone else to believe what the U.S. does is 'better' than the rest, when in fact, the U.S. is just as violent, corrupt, and cruel as anyone else (under the guise of being right). I know that folks that actually do the imprisoning are socialized to do so in a way that they can sleep at night. But what I find sickening is that folks who weren't trained command others to do this, they STILL can sleep at night.

Yet we are passive about this.... no one protests anymore unless its 'cool'

Bo Diddley Passes Away...

Rock and Roll pioneer Bo Diddley passed away on June 2, 2008. For my own musical tastes... I'm just as a much a fan of music as generators of subcultural (and later cultural) manifestations and products. Bo Diddley represented to me one of the many long-lasting prototypes of Rock and Roll. His style and presentation set a standard for eccentrics and cool folks for years to come. Musically, I appreciated his use of 'weird' sounds/tuning and strong use of rhythm. But how am i any different from about anyone else who has written about him?

All I know is that he rocked, and did for music and culture things that not many of use can fathom... that is power, that is strength... musically speaking, I don't want to be the guy in the front of the line, but that interesting guy sippin a drink and chatting in my own little conversation with just a couple of folks towards the back of the room. Bo wasn't the top three listed as originators of Rock and Roll (that would be Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Chuck Berry), but his influence seems as strong, or even stronger, than any of them... just check out his dress and his use of noise below... he set it up for Elvis Costello, Can, Sonic Youth, and so forth... R.I.P. Bo!!