Hot Buttered Soul RIP

Isaac Hayes died yesterday from unknown causes at the age of 65. Read more about his life's work here.

I only really cottoned on to his work around a year ago but no matter what record I pick up by him, it's full of heart and soul. The Chocolate Chip LP remains my favourite so far but Isaac's legacy goes beyond his music in many ways.

Slinkachu

Slinkachu's exhibition Ground Zero kicks off on the 28th August at Cosh Gallery on Berwick Street (just off oxford street). It's invite only, but all you have to do is e-mail Cosh. Details here

Vibrant Thing

The photo above was taken from Nicky Peart's portfolio which is evolving nicely at the moment and has plenty of warm pieces to offer. You'll be able to see more of her work on the üdio walls later this year.

If there are any aspiring artists out there we would really like to see your work and potentially offer you similar opportunities. Word.

CLASSIC BOOM BAP

Every month I'm gonna post up some classic ish that will get your head bumping, nar mean? This month it was a tough call. Elevators by Outkast came at the top of my list although I can't post up the video for some reason (you can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tptPj6K_jJQ&feature=related). Second place goes to the epic opus that is The Blast, produced by Hi-Tek and words from Talib Kweli. Speakers up now..

The Pirate's Dilemma

Matt Mason is a smartypants. His blog is constantly questioning and exploring contemporary conundrums and technological advancements. Who would have thought that the new Batman movie questions a fundamental economic principle? Who knew that media pirates have rescued dying industries time and time again? It's all on his blog and in his book which he's made available for free from here.. kind soul. If you want to know about how David Mancuso got his party ideas from his pre-school and how Madonna committed a faux pas and got cyber-slapped by hackers all over the world, you should definitely give this book a go. Happy reading.

La Haine

Thought I may as well back up that comment about La Haine by searching out one of my favourite clips from the film. Hubert, the guys who's cutting up the resin, really reminds me of a good friend of mine. But then so does Lenny Henry. Anyway I digress.. the Isaac Hayes cut at the start is called "That Loving Feeling" and is one of my favourite tracks by the big man.. but most people remember this scene for Cut Killer's special moment and not without good reason. Enjoy.

JR

I imagine JR will soon be tagged as the French Banksy if he hasn't been already. His work is mainly photo-based but he goes around sticking his pieces up on walls all over the world. Tempting as it is to come up with a real arty description of his work, I'm going to play it safe and just say that I really like the simple, nitty-gritty nature of his content. Check out more of his stuff here.. in particular check out his photo's of Paris (go to Themes on his website). His black and white stuff reminds me loads of Michel Kassovitz's movie La Haine (1995), which is something else you would do well to check out if you don't know it already.

a+

Gig : Hypnotic Brass Ensemble at The Albany 18/07/08

Last week I won tickets to go and hear HBE at the Albany courtesy of Destinationout.com (tidy club listings website). The Albany is a weird venue. Looks like the inside of a circus tent and the crowd was the most diverse I've ever seen at a funk gig anyway: old couples, young kids, divas, dreads, homies, homos and one geezer who bumped and grinded his way to the stage in an attempt to get the seated crowd dancing - which he did.

HBE have indie spirit in abundance, and considering the size of their collective they are doing really well to tour without the support of a record label. Check out their Myspace and pick up their live CD if you can.. Not much else to say except that they were exceptionally tight on-stage, skillfully navigated their way from afrobeat thumpers to astrofunk excursions and provided a great show at the same time.

Hypnotic we salute you.

Cool Outrageous Lovers Of Uniquely Raw Style

Sa-Ra on the beat!

Alice

Essential 7" for a lovely day like today. Listen to the samples here

brief ramble

It was a not so impressionable young boy who returned home from big lights of the bright city for this summer. A portfolio filled with nonsense and various creative activity banged against his supple calfs as he trudged through the front door of the pleasant suburban threshold which he once called home. Slowly it came back to him, the smell of cow, of unwashed cow and human living side by side. The people are shorter in my home town than in the city, less beef more leaf i expect. I was worn, dissilusioned and dirty. The city has probed me this year, its thick concrete has entered me and i am changed. More sceptical, weary of the fickle, the cool and the beautiful. 

  

Shocking Confession

Our Jim has been learning some next-level stuff at Art College this year. This is actually a "future self-portrait", says Jim.. "I keep thinking that one day like I'm just gonna end up a mess after listenin' to this italo disco muzik right, and just lie around for hours on end with me disco panties on - thinking: I could have made something of my life. If only I'd got off ma disco booty and posted some blogs on that eckshelent udio blog thing. Oh dear.."

Come on Jim. You have our support. Make something of your life.

x

Pandayoghurt

He's completed work for Amon Tobin, TM Juke, Cinematic Orchestra as well as other stuff that you can see on his homepage here

"You Guys Are Gonna Like This One"

Silent Distance

The recent post about Clara Hill's new single on the Wuzz blog reminded me that I have a little thing for her voice.. granted it's one of the most hit and miss voices ever, but she unmistakably nails it in Silent Distance.. don't you think?

By Your Side

I'm not sure how but I've just watched every second of that video and now I'm truly bamboozled. Is this guy a genius or just a bona fide plum? Anyway listen to the shmoozik.. Coco Rosie are making lovely sounds right now, check out their most recent ltd edition 7" here

Just attempted to watch it again.

Plum.

Üdio's Out for Summer

Image courtesy of Debbie Scanlan (Rogue Photography)

By midnight it was looking like the Shoreditch summer lull was definitely going to take its toll on our normally healthy turnout, however several dance-happy revellers came out of the woodwork to help us finish our fourth and final party for the summer in style. Following on from Nick V's disco-strut workout, Kato began the closing set of the night with the excellent Alphabet Aerobics by Blackalicious before launching into two hours of bugged out technotronica, with closure arriving in the form of Crosstown Traffic by good old Jimi!

We're chuffed to have raised £140 for the National Deaf Children Society and MIND, and we're definitely considering keeping the fundraising going in the future. In fact several potential changes are already at the forefront of our minds - there are some excellent ideas being thrown out there which will hopefully become more and more visible as we progress through the year. Suffice to say we already have some impressive malarkey planned for our next affair in October/November.

On the music front, we're pleased to announce that The 39 Steps project is now complete and the album release is imminent. Check the website here for samples and also more info on the release date. Also, Nick V has been kind enough to come up with a disco-heavy contribution for our podcast series which can be found on our podcast page here. Enjoy!

Keep checking back for more news and mixes as well as other important titbits.

Word.

Update for Friday's Session

Photo courtesy of Rogue Photography

Set Times:

Jonny5 9.30 - 10.30
Earfworm Jim 10.30 - 11.30
Desi Punk Contingent 11.30 - 1.00
Nick V 1.00 - 2.30
Kato 2.30 - 4.00

If you haven't done so already, get your names over to guestlist@udio.co.uk for fast and easy entry.

Hope to see you down there!

The Natural Yoghurt Band - Away With Melancholy LP

Huzzah, muthafudgers! A funk band emerge from the leftfield with an album composed of contemporary psych-rock infused hip hop for different purposes, be it dance-floor decimation or summertime laziness.

Listen to samples here

"I'm Supertramp"

A slight departure from normal posts on this blog, granted, but I saw this film and couldn't resist sharing it with you. It came through my letterbox a few weeks ago courtesy of lovefilm and since watching it I've tried to post it back to them a couple of times, however it still resides on my desk waiting to be watched again (and again..). I'm a stickler for films that you need to psych yourself up for and Into the Wild doesn't disappoint in this respect. Here's a quote that will hopefully raise a few eyebrows:

Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return, 'cause "the West is the best." And now after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. Ten days and nights of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him to the Great White North. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild. - Alexander Supertramp May 1992

Invest.

Fieron's Funky Cold Manuva

Fieron drops his long-awaited contribution to the üdio podcast series and gives us an introspective 1 hour glance at his record collection. Featuring tracks from Lou Reed, The Beat and the Archie Bronson Outfit, as well as the moorish tones of Fieron's own voice, we hope you enjoy this session of diverse sounds. You can listen to it using the podcast player above or go here and subscribe via iTunes etc

Use the 4th Muhhfugga's

Hope you all dig Earthworm Jim's latest effort above. As you can see the line up is confirmed: Kato promises to bring his bag of psychrockboogiefunk bombs and Nick V will be airing some of his finest records too, with full support from the üdio residents. We will be contributing some of the takings on the night toward towards MIND (mental health awareness charity) as well as the National Deaf Children Association.. so dig deep people and come and join us for a boogie.

The Rip

Radiohead cover Portishead's forthcoming single 'The Rip' here. Lovely.

UB40

Definitely laying my street-cred on the line here.. These boys were one of the few fruitful things to have come out of my hometown Birmingham, and listening back to 'Don't Break My Heart' now I still think it's a great sounding record. Give it a chance!

Rogue Photography

Our friends Debbie Scanlan and Ben Cole have set up an events photography agency. We have a lot of faith in their ability, especially after their shots at our opening party back in January, so we've decided to invite them back for July's üdio. The above picture is just an example of their work - even fieron's looking pretty smart eh? Go check out the Rogue Photography facebook group to see more of their endeavors. Debbie (pictured below) is looking to get more work for Rogue so if you know anyone who needs quality photos taking, be sure to get in touch with her (she's the admin on their facebook group).

Va Va Voom to Paris

Our resident monk of funk, Jamie Fieron, has been invited to the super soave Bar Baxo in Paris on June 6th where he will be laying down 4 hours worth of his finest musical nuggets and spreading the good word of Üdio.

Keep your eyes peeled for Fieron's new podcast which employs a new and more personal style; should be available for download in the coming week. If you haven't already had a listen to our podcasts all you have to do is follow the link below:

www.udio.podomatic.com

ÜDIO - July 4th 2008

Our fourth and final party before the summer break will see the return of Kato who destroyed the Gramaphone club back in February with a bugged out mix featuring everything from Michael Jackson to Audion. We've also booked Nick V, one of the pillars of Parisian clubland who has his fingers in too many funky pies to mention. Suffice to say if there's a good party going on in the French capital Nick will be involved. I saw him play one of the sets of his life alongside co-resident Laurent Garnier at the revered Ballroom party and he dropped The Fly by Syclops (http://www.last.fm/music/Syclops/_/The+Fly), which was totally against the grain on the night but still rocked the place silly.

More info to come very soon, including news on new podcasts by both Nick V and Kato respectively.

Word.

Zatoichi vs Madlib the Beat Konducta

Not for the squeamish..

April Party and Future Movements

Despite a couple of fleeting technical difficulties, our third party was pretty fun and we received lots of good feedback so well done to everyone involved and thanks to all those who made it down. Earfworm Jim rounded up the night nicely and followed on impressively from the Desi Punk Contingent who played everything from balearic disco treats to breakbeat monsters with a cheeky chemical brothers mix of Kylie thrown in for good measure. Big thanks to New Bohemia for looking after the upstairs bar. Sativo from homegrown hip hop outfit ASM particularly impressed and will hopefully be guesting downstairs in the club sometime soon.

Just so you all know.. our next party at the Gramaphone club will be taking place on Friday 4th July - we are already expecting a solid turnout for this one so keep an eye on guestlist details to ensure easy entry. There are also plans for Üdio to host a daytime garden party somewhere in London so keep checking back for more details on that one.

word to bigbird

üdio 3

The third instalment of üdio is now less than a week away and we hope you’re as excited as we are! Here’s the lowdown on what to expect next Saturday:

For the first time, we’re hosting both floors of the Gramaphone, with an awesome soundtrack over both floors. DJing alongside residents Earfworm Jim and the Desi Punk Contingent, we welcome back Danny “the Djembe Destroyer” who will be warming us up earlier on and providing the rhythmic djembe action later on. We also have Noah from New Bohemia playing downstairs with the rest of the New Bohemia crew rocking out the upstairs bar. Another first for üdio is a live set downstairs. We have the privilege of previewing Soundspecies’ new album downstairs, which is a great listen and certainly worth checking out (http://www.myspace.com/soundspeciesUK).

All in all it’s gearing up to be our best party yet, so get your glad rags on, bring your friends and prepare for the aural assault üdio style.

Cheers

Team üdio

Podcast Series

We're happy to announce that our podcast series is finally available for download via iTunes. All you have to do is follow the appropriate link on our podcast website:

http://udio.podomatic.com/

There's a brand new mix available courtesy of our lad Earfworm Jim (pictured above). We have plans to host mixes by several accomplished jockeys of the disc from all over the shop so make sure you subscribe to the service to get the most out of it. Word.

________

Earfworm Jim - Keys to Zeal

1. Harvey Mason - Space Cadets
2. Lewis Taylor - Lovelight
3. Vansbro Boogie - Unknown
4. Sweet - Funk It Up
5. Beyonds the Wizard's Sleeve - Words
6. Cromagnum - Unknown
7. Johnny Horns - Paint it Black
8. The Sweeney - Soundtrack from The Sweeney
9. Quantum Jump - Lone Ranger
10. Hugh Massarella - North Side
11. Donc Boys - Cypestre
12. Senor Coconut - Behind The Mask (Ricardo Villalobos remix)

The 39 Steps

"The 39 Steps are here to introduce you to what they call ‘Dark Soul’. Leeds-based producer Kato and veteran singer Laura Fowles have spent the last year and a half creating a place where jazz, hip hop, psychedelia and filmscores collide. Built to a blueprint of bottom-heavy beats and spine-tingling vocals, their debut album Coming Clean is currently being finished and aims to showcase their manifesto of thoughtful and emotive music. Despite a low-key arrival onto the electronic music scene with no live output as yet, their studio project has been steadily acquiring interest on digital domains such as MySpace, where enthusiasts from all over the world variously described their music as ‘awesome’, ‘melancholic’ and ‘beautiful’. Buoyed by this response, the duo have written an entire album of songs and have recorded a video (not yet screened….!) to promote the album. Coming Clean is shaping up to be a personal, thought provoking and nocturnal album."

excerpt taken from www.the39stepsmusic.co.uk/

Don't let your eyes or ears stray too far away from these guys. You only have to take a brief look at their myspace to see just how much praise they have already garnered. We have every faith that the album is going to be an excellent listen and would like to wish Laura and Kato all the best for the future.

New Bohemia London Launch - Sat 29th March - Cargo

Not content with being the number 1 institution for all things funky up in sunny Leeds, New Bohemia are set to put their stamp on our first city on March 29th at Cargo. We wish them all the best and are looking forward to having Noah and co. involved with Üdio in the future. New Bohemia will be hosting the upstairs area at our next party which takes place on April 26th. Hold tight for more info..

2dio

Massive thanks to everyone who came down and helped us shake the foundations of the Gramaphone club. Here's how the night unfolded..

Danny the Djembe Destroyer got everyone's heads nodding for his 2 hour special.. Earfworm had the beard strokers trying to sneak a peak at his records.. between 12:30 and 2am, Kato's critical beatdown blew everyone away as he hopped from psych rock funk bombs to acid house anarchy. The Desi Punk Contingent somehow followed on and kept people dancing right up until the club closed at 4. Plenty of lovely feedback and plenty of smiling faces.. perfect. One lonesome punter was so impressed that he sat down, put his hands in his pants and had himself a game of pocket billiards.

This went down a treat:


St Germain - Rose Rouge

Stay tuned for the third installment..

Kato

For the second episode of üdio we have invited DJ Kato to come and play us some of his favourite records. He has been rocking floors in Leeds for a while now, holding down residencies at legendary clubnight Funksoulnation at the HiFi Club and also Funkywormhole at the Mint Club. Recently, Kato's music production has flourished and his efforts have culminated in the almost finished studio project known as The 39 Steps, which he likes to describe as "dark soul". We think that it's sounding pretty good so far and that anyone who is into downtempo, hip hop, jazz, soul or whatever should check it out. DJing is still an important facet of his passion for music and he recently supported German production supergroup Jazzanova, so we warmly welcome Kato down to the Gramaphone Glub on Feb 29th. Godnose what he has got up his sleeves for us but expect to hear a wide variety of sounds ranging from heavy funk through to classic hip hop, funked up house, broken beats and beyond..

The 39 Steps:
www.myspace.com/the39stepsmusic

Have a listen to some of Kato's own beats here:
www.myspace.com/chairmankato

Üdio Number 2io

Like what we did with the title there?

Hope you guys dig the flyer above. It was designed by our resident fartist, Earfworm Jim, who you'll find unleashing his own take on the üdio sound between 11 and half 12 on the 29th Feb @ Gramaphone.

Also just wanted to mention that it might be an idea to e-mail udioinfo@googlemail.com for guestlist and concessions. If you send us 7 names, one person will get in for free and the rest just pay student prices (4 squid!).

x

Danny The Djembe Destroyer

Those who were lucky enough to make it down to our opening party may have noticed a certain bongo enthusiast giving the DJ’s records a live accompaniment for hours on end. It just so happens that Danny is an accomplished DJ himself having been a resident at the memorable Funkywormhole clubnight in Leeds and also the outright winner of The Telegraph’s regional DJ competition. Danny’s hands were pretty much bleeding after their relentless beatdown on his own Djembe drum so we thought we would do him a favour and this time ask him to come and build the night up with a special 2 hour set of both past and contemporary inspirations that will go from one end to the other of his musical spectrum. With a keen interest in photography and a discerning ear for beats, we hope that Danny will remain an integral part of Üdio’s evolution.

You can see some of Danny’s influences as well as photography here:
www.myspace.com/daniel_wood_london

VIDEO

Titbits

A small dose of the badstuff..

1. A Mountain Of One - Collected Works CD
Listen to Freefall.. beautiful, really well written song that I don't think I could ever get tired of.
www.myspace.com/amountainofone

2. Lykke Li - Little Bit
This lovely lady (in the picture above) sang on 'young folks'.. really looking forward to her solo material. Think she has a 10" out right now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUC0ezAlHwE

3. Little Dragon - Twice
Can't get over this song, great video too. Thanks to future guest dj Kato for putting me on to this one.
Watch out for when the tears start to flow..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yedD4JsZyT0

4. Spitalfields Market in Shoreditch on a Sunday morning..
I think they call places like this "wallet bleeders"

5. My new Numark portable turntable!! Time to get my dig on, innit









6. This little stomper came out in 1999 but I've only just seen the video. Homophobes avert your eyes now.
The Jag by Micronauts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yedD4JsZyT0

That will do.

cheers, Ricky x

Opening Night Delirium

On January 11th we had our opening party and by all accounts it was a hit with all the happy faces who came down. We had a few teething issues with the venue but only because there was such a great turnout. Thanks to everyone who made it such a good night. You can see pics here:

www.myspace.com/hittheudio
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6448969135

Hold tight for details on the next one

üdio out