blogariddims

We are proud to present BLOGARIDDIMS EPISODE 29: "69 ALLSTARS" compiled by Lower End Spasm fam and mixed by DJ Bok Bok


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"The classic iconic image of grime is probably Crazy Titch and Dizzee Rascal as callow young road MCs, squaring up to each other in a pirate radio box-room on top of a high-rise block of flats. But the story of grime runs deeper than that, and it's hidden from view. Before the ego of MCs took over, and they were still answerable to the beat, radio was all about rollage - a steady, nervous momentum; a silhouetted impression of garage; a momentum we've tried to respect by matching grime's frenetic energy - that's why you've got 69 tracks in 60 minutes. This mix is largely instrumental – not because we want to devoice a voice-heavy genre, but because grime works so well as club music.

People say that the word 'underground' has no meaning, or that it's more of a shtick than a reality. They're often right, but not here. Some of these tracks are recognised classics, but most seem doomed to remain in obscurity. Tracks like the insane, taut Ruff Sqwad anthem R U Double F – one of the few vocal tracks we've included – which is a 64kbps straight-off-Limewire, never-released work of genius. It's an mp3 dubplate, and the grooves have been battered into submission by repeated compression (we've included many low-bitrate tracks in this mix, because for us fucked-up sounding mp3s were a massive part of listening to music from this era).
Some of Grime's similarities to punk are debatable, but this one isn't one of them: both genres boast a semi-lost treasure trove of incredible TRANSIENCE, one-of-a-kind tracks by young producers, many of whom only made records for six months of their lives before slipping away from music, back into everyday London life. Grime's valuable currency nowadays is without a doubt the mixtape - not radio or vinyl - meaning that some of these tracks - both the 12" vinyl pressings and the mystery untraceable mp3s - have never been and will never get played out or vocalled.

Yet they still exist. And unlike established disciplines like House, these beats dare to challenge the dancefloor with pauses, gaps and other idiosyncrasies that don't rely on the escapist hypnotic effects of a continuous matrix of 4x4 kicks. This freewheeling creativity is the product of music creators with no-one to answer to. Instead, early grime production is a playful world of modular blocks, genomes and sound-types ready to be chopped up and boosted by the power of the Refix. Refixes of refixes form family trees (eg Bongo Eyes), injecting new power into familiar modules, producing tracks that are ever more surprising - one subtle change in formation can be devastating. These trax tap into a rawer, more natural energy that demands a stark physical reaction.

Of primary importance is effectiveness as dancefloor weapon.
Except that's contradicted entirely by the bizzare slow-motion cartoon-caper Eski of Danny Weed et al, the all-out minimal brutalism of Wiley's Ice Rink and Hindzy D's beats and the rhythmic zero-gravity of drumless bass mixes (Scare Dem's refix of Mondie's Straight)

But then grime's proven to be a contradictory genre.

Finally, a note on the use of the term 'Allstars'. It's difficult to say where the format first came from but Statik's Allstar Riddims collected 32 bars from classic and lesser-known instrumentals together and arranged them modularly into banging exhibition riddims that functioned as great 'tours de force' of the genre, showcasing and showing off: "THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO", like mini-DJ mixes.
This is our somewhat bitter-sweet reflection on the genre that's probably closest to our hearts than any other music in the world - 69 known and unknown classics - and with it we say: THIS IS WHAT GRIME CAN STILL DO



tracklist:

01 * DND - got myself together
02 * MUSICAL MOBB - pulse x
03 * YOUNGSTAR - dungeon
04 * DJ ODDZ & EASTWOOD - champion remix
05 * DJ ODDZ & EASTWOOD - champion remix of the remix
06 * EASTWOOD - elastik
07 * AGENT X - killahertz [ALIAS remix]
06 * OUTLAW BREAKS - dutty
07 * STARFOX - jumanji
08 * DJ ODDZ & EASTWOOD - toothache
09 * DIZZEE RASCAL - wheel
10 * BLACK OPS - black ops history megamix
11 * BIGSHOT - stomp VIP
12 * GEENEUS - thunder
13 * MR FIDGET - fidget's bounce
14 * WIZZBIT - jamnite
15 * 2ND II NONE - signal
16 * DJ MONDIE - straight [SCARE DEM remix ft VICIOUS]
17 * HINDZY D - soundwave
18 * WILEY - ice rink [RUFF SQWAD remix]
19 * WILEY - ice rink 3
20 * DANNY WEED - rate race
21 * WILEY - pingu
22 * WILEY - igloo
23 * MARK ONE - bring the law
24 * J-SWEET - on my knees remix
25 * DIZZEE RASCAL - hoe [MAK 10 remix]
26 * BIG E-D - gunshot rhythm
27 * DJ ODDZ - nightmare VIP
28 * DEXPLICIT - forward riddim
29 * DEXPLICIT - backwards riddim
30 * BOSSMAN - eyes on u 2
31 * BOSSMAN - bongo eyes
32 * BOSSMAN - bongo eyes remix
33 * BOSSMAN - bongo eyes VIP
34 * DAVINCHE - bump dis
35 * JAMMER - destruction VIP
36 * RUFF SQWAD - r u double f
37 * RUFF SQWAD - pied piper 2
38 * ELLIS - war riddim
39 * TERROR DANJAH - piano madness
40 * BIG E-D - backlash
41 * SKEPTA - pied piper remix
42 * WILEY - colder remix
43 * WILEY - colder
44 * WILEY - outburst
45 * WILEY - sidewinder
46 * WILEY - firefly
47 * SKEPTA - the end
48 * RIPPERMAN - rubble [DOK remix]
49 * TERROR DANJAH - freak show VIP
50 * YOUNG DOT - bazooka
51 * YOUNG DOT - bazooka remix
52 * YOUNG DOT - bazooka remix?
53 * YOUNG DOT - bazooka 2
54 * DAVINCHE - megadrive
55 * STATIK - charge remix
56 * RUFF SQWAD - anna
57 * VIRGO - down
58 * LOW DEEP - so right now
57 * WAIFER - grime remix
58 * SPOOKY - nightcrawler
59 * SKEPTA - duppy
60 * J-SWEET - kerb
61 * RUFF SQWAD - xtra remix
62 * WILEY - north london
63 * TERROR DANJAH - zumpi hunter
64 * WIZBIT - jamhot [DAVINCHE remix]
65 * SPOOKY - plastic gype refix 06
66 * WILEY - shower youth dub
67 * WILEY - crash bandicoot
68 * SKEPTA - stageshow riddim
69 * YOUNG DOT - er yeah