THE JAM @ CLUB GRAVITY, VILNIUS, LITHUANIA. SATURDAY 6TH MARCH

SOUNDCLOUD

I've got myself a page over at Soundcloud as a new permanent home for a lot of my audio. This is where I'll be posting the weekly Just Buggin' links as of next week.

To start with, it's currently housing the Quincy Jones and Jam & Lewis instalments of my Beatmasters mix series, and the recent 1990 hybrid mix, which are all available anew for download.

You'll find it here.

JUST BUGGIN. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 24/2/10

MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S FM107.9 (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 24TH FEBRUARY 2010
DJ MIXES SPECIAL


To listen again (ad-free!), just click on the following Download links:


PART 1:
DJ AI-VA (LATVIA) BUGGED OUT MIX

BIG L: MVP (SUMMER SMOOTH REMIX)
MASTA ACE: THE INC RIDE
WARREN G. & NATE DOGG: REGULATE
DIGABLE PLANETS: REBIRTH OF SLICK (COOL LIKE DAT)
JURASSIC 5: FREEDOM
THE ROOTS: WHAT THEY DO
OC: BORN TO LIVE
COMMON Featuring BILAL: THE LIGHT
2PAC Featuring ERIC WILLIAMS: DO FOR LOVE
LL COOL J: AROUND THE WAY GIRL
COMMON Featuring KANYE WEST: GO!
BLACKALICIOUS: MAKE YOU FEEL THAT WAY


PART 2:
DJ COSY O (SPAIN) COSY'S FLOW MIX


PART 3:
MARK DEVLIN LIVE AT URBAN, EDINBURGH, 2009


PART 4:
DJ GEESPOT (SOUTH AFRICA) 2010 JUST BUGGIN' MIX

ESTELLE: COME OVER
KRS ONE: MCS ACT LIKE THEY DONT KNOW
NOTORIOUS BIG: BIG POPPA
RAMPAGE: WE GETZ DOWN REMIX
DE LA SOUL Featuring REDMAN: OOH
KANYE WEST: FLASHING LIGHTS
DE LA SOUL Featuring CHAKA KHAN: IT AINT ALL GOOD
NAS: REPRESENT
RAEKWON FT GHOSTFACE & METHOD MAN: NEW WU
TALIB KWELI FT NEYO & JEAN GRAE: HOT THANG REMIX
SLUM VILLAGE: CLOSER
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST: FIND A WAY
THE ROOTS: DYNAMITE
PHARCYDE: DROP
DE LA SOUL: THRU YA CITY
Q-TIP: LETS RIDE

MD'S CLUB DATES, FEBRUARY/ MARCH/ APRIL '10

Saturday 20th February
THE VAULTS @
The Second Bridge, Bath
(10.45pm-3am)

Saturday 27th February
BRIDGE @
The Bridge, Oxford
(10.30pm-3am)

Thursday 4th March
THURSDAYS @
Izi, Witney
(9pm-2am)

Saturday 6th March
THE JAM @
Club Gravity, Vilnius, LITHUANIA

Saturday 13th March
BRIDGE @
The Bridge, Oxford
(10.30pm-3am)

Thursday 18th March
THURSDAYS @
Izi, Witney
(9pm-2am)

Saturday 20th March
SATURDAYS @
Mirage Club, Aylesbury
(10.30pm-3am)

Saturday 27th March
BRIDGE @
The Bridge, Oxford
(10.30pm-3am)

Thursday 1st April
THURSDAYS @
Izi, Witney
(9pm-2am)

GOOD FRIDAY
Friday 2nd April
SO SEDUCTIVE/
BLACK SHEEP MAG WALES LAUNCH PARTY @
The 411 Club, Cardiff, WALES

EASTER SATURDAY
Saturday 3rd April
SATURDAYS @
Mirage Club, Aylesbury
(10.30pm-3am)

EASTER MONDAY
Monday 5th April
URBAN ANTHEMS @
FM107.9, Oxford (www.fm1079.com)
(7-10pm)

Saturday 10th April
PORTRUSH OPEN SURF FESTIVAL
AFTER PARTY @
The Playhouse, Portrush, NORTHERN IRELAND

Saturday 18th April
TBC @
New York City, NEW YORK, USA

Saturday 24th April
BRIDGE @
The Bridge, Oxford
(10.30pm-3am)

Friday 30th April
FABULOUSO @
Mono, Belfast, NORTHERN IRELAND

JUST BUGGIN. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 17/2/10

MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S FM107.9 (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 17TH FEBRUARY 2010


To listen again (ad-free!), just click on the following Download links:

PART 1 (Includes Big Pun/ Big L/ J Dilla tributes):


PART 2 (Includes DJ Geespot mix):


SKY POLAROID Featuring MASSPIKE MILES: WHAT UP

CRITICAL MADNESS Featuring JOELL ORTIZ: TO THE TOP

LAWS: SHINING

CYPRESS HILL: IT AIN'T NOTHIN'

MEMPHIS BLEEK: STILL ILL

JADAKISS: SMOKING GUN

SUBSTANTIAL Featuring J SOUL: U WERE THERE

STREET BEAT OF THE WEEK:
FREEWAY & JAKE ONE: THROW YOUR HANDS UP

LL COOL J & OTHERS: WE ARE THE WORLD 2010 RAP SECTION

DECEASED RAPPERS ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE SECTION:

SLUM VILLAGE: FALL IN LOVE

SLUM VILLAGE: RAISE IT UP

BIG PUN & FAT JOE: TWINZ

BIG L: '98 FREESTYLE

BIG L Featuring BIG DADDY KANE: PLATINUM PLUS

STATIK SELEKTAH Featuring JFK: 100 PROOF (INTERLUDE SKIT)

STATIK SELEKTAH Featuring TERMANOLOGY: EIGHTY TWO

SELASI Featuring RAEKWON: KEEP ON

TY Featuring SARINA LEAH & SHAUN ESCOFREY: EMOTIONS

RIAN PETERS Featuring WILEY: GETAWAY

CORMEGA Featuring NAS & JOHN LEGEND: VICTORY

PHENE Featuring LAWS: FREEDOM AIN'T FREE

STATIK SELEKTAH Featuring CONSEQUENCE: LIFE IS SHORT

FREEWAY Featuring RAEKWON: ONE THING

GUEST DJ MIX:
DJ GEESPOT (SOUTH AFRICA)
ESTELLE: COME OVER
KRS ONE: MCS ACT LIKE THEY DONT KNOW
NOTORIOUS BIG: BIG POPPA
RAMPAGE: WE GETZ DOWN REMIX
DE LA SOUL Featuring REDMAN: OOH
KANYE WEST: FLASHING LIGHTS
DE LA SOUL Featuring CHAKA KHAN: IT AINT ALL GOOD
NAS: REPRESENT
RAEKWON FT GHOSTFACE & METHOD MAN: NEW WU
TALIB KWELI FT NEYO & JEAN GRAE: HOT THANG REMIX
SLUM VILLAGE: CLOSER
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST: FIND A WAY
THE ROOTS: DYNAMITE
PHARCYDE: DROP
DE LA SOUL: THRU YA CITY
Q-TIP: LETS RIDE

JUST BUGGIN. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 10/2/10

MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S FM107.9 (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 10TH FEBRUARY 2010


To listen again (ad-free!), just click on the following Download links:

PART 1:

PART 2:


FREEWAY Featuring RAEKWON: ONE THING

CYPRESS HILL: IT AIN'T NOTHIN'

MEMPHIS BLEEK: STILL ILL

CORMEGA Featuring NAS & JOHN LEGEND: VICTORY

SUBSTANTIAL Featuring J SOUL: U WERE THERE

STREET BEAT OF THE WEEK:
LAWS: SHINING

REFLECTION ETERNAL Featuring J COLE, JAY ELECTRONICA, MOS DEF: JUST BEGUN

STRONG ARM STEADY Featuring PHONTE: BEST OF TIMES

STATIK SELEKTAH Featuring JFK: 100 PROOF (INTERLUDE SKIT)

STATIK SELEKTAH Featuring REKS, KALI, TERMANLOGY & GOOD BROTHA: FAKE LOVE (YES MEN)

PHENE Featuring LAWS: FREEDOM AIN'T FREE

OLD TO THE NEW:
TY: THE TALE

TY Featuring SARINA LEAH & SHAUN ESCOFREY: EMOTIONS

MASTA ACE & EDO G Featuring DOITALL: HOLIDAY

COMMON: NEXT TIME

VALENTINES SLOW JAM SELECTION:

JODECI: FREAKIN' YOU

LIL JON Featuring USHER & LUDACRIS: LOVERS & FRIENDS

BRANDY Featuring MC LYTE: I WANNA BE DOWN

DRAKE Featuring NATSTAR: SCRIPTURES 2.0

STYLES P & DJ GREEN LANTERN: SHADOWS

JADAKISS: SMOKING GUN

STATIK SELEKTAH Featuring SKYZOO, RAPPER POOH, TORAE & LEE WILSON. GET OUT

NAS & DAMIAN MARLEY: STRONG WILL CONTINUE

GUEST DJ MIX:
DJ D (AUSTRALIA) 2009 HIP HOP MIX

MD'S TOUR DIARY. FINLAND, FEBRUARY '10

It's almost four years since I gave up using vinyl as a result of the digital revolution. I switched to CD, which is the method I still use in clubs. I get asked virtually every time I play why I haven't done as everybody else and gone to a laptop-based Serato system. Just for the record, whilst I certainly see the benefits of Serato, (mainly being able to conveniently carry a huge array of music for all occasions,) there are three aspects of using it that put me off.

First, as someone that's had countless headphones and microphones nicked, I'm concerned about the security of leaving a Macbook unattended in a DJ booth. Maybe that's down to some of the spots I find myself playing in, but I wouldn't feel comfortable even nipping to the loo and leaving it in certain places. Secondly, the danger of some drunken twat spilling a drink on my laptop fills me with dread. And thirdly, I've played many events where there have been two or three DJs on the bill, with each one having to wire and unwire their assorted Serato cables, often leading to interruptions, distortions, wrong leads being pulled out, etc. Far better to just roll up to a booth, slide a disk into the CDJ, and you're off. I'm extremely disciplined with burning new CDs weekly, and I carry an extensive selection of tunes in my wallet wherever I go. You can do anything on a CDJ1000 that you used to on a turntable. It works for me. That's how I feel about it.

Anyway, all that rambling was intended as a precursor to my first overseas gig of '10, which was at the underground bar venue We Got Beef in Helsinki, Finland on Friday 5th Feb. It's a curious choice of venue name, particularly for a vegetarian, but We Got Lentils would have been even more ridiculous. In preliminary chats with promoter resident DJ Svengali it emerged that the venue doesn't house CD players, so we opted to bill my set as an old-school vinyl revival one. It called for military precision in my tune selection in order to avoid my hand baggage becoming too heavy to carry, a problem I frequently used to face.

The weather forecasts had Helsinki down as being minus 5c, which was positively tropical compared to the minus 25c of a couple of weeks earlier. Touching down at 8.30pm I was met by my old DJ mate Drew Myrie, who I used to spin with at Legends in Northampton back in the day. Drew moved to Helsinki to be with girlfriend Mia a couple of years ago, and has adjusted to Finnish life nicely - speaks the language, Winter tyres on the cars, etc. He also has a sauna in his apartment, and that's where we headed straight away for a beer and a chat.

Saunas are a big part of Finnish social life, and are often taken in conjunction with a dip in a frozen lake to balance the blood flow. I was very happy to avoid that part ... although we did sit out on the frozen balcony for a short while afterwards.

We got to Beef around midnight, and I span a set consisting of hip hop and reggae revivals, in the end using every piece of vinyl I had. It brought back lots of memories - particularly the playing of reggae 7"s from Jamaica with the middles cut out. The bar fills out late and was buzzing by the end of my set, but we couldn't hang around for long. Drew and Mia were leaving for a holiday in Lapland at 8.30 in the morning - a snow-laden ten-hour drive - and they dropped me at the airport on the way out for my return flight.

After a chance to catch up on sleep at home, it was off to spin at The Bridge in Oxford, just as rammed as the previous week, as this particular spot always is.

JUST BUGGIN. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 3/2/10

MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S FM107.9 (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 3RD FEBRUARY 2010


To listen again (ad-free!), just click on the following Download links:

PART 1:


PART 2:


MEMPHIS BLEEK: STILL ILL

MASTA ACE & EDO G: WHY DOES IT MATTER

SUBSTANTIAL Featuring J SOUL: U WERE THERE

CARLITTA DURAND: SUPER NOVA

COMMON: NEXT TIME

SAIGON: EXHIBIT SAI

STREET BEAT OF THE WEEK:
FREEWAY Featuring RAEKWON: ONE THING

DRAKE Featuring NATSTAR: SCRIPTURES 2.0

JADAKISS: THINGS I'VE BEEN THROUGH

REFLECTION ETERNAL Featuring J COLE, JAY ELECTRONICA, MOS DEF: JUST BEGUN

OLD TO THE NEW:
CYPRESS HILL: HITS FROM THE BONG

CYPRESS HILL: IT AIN'T NOTHIN'

GUEST ARTIST INTERVIEW: BASHY

BASHY: BLACK BOYS

BASHY: WHEN THE SKY FALLS

CHIMA ANYA: I LOVE RAP

T.O.K: CHAMPION

CE'CILE: KINDA LOVING

BUJU BANTON: BE ON YOUR WAY

STATIK SELEKTAH Featuring SKYZOO, RAPPER POOH, TORAE & LEE WILSON. GET OUT

NAS & DAMIAN MARLEY: STRONG WILL CONTINUE

STYLES P & DJ GREEN LANTERN: SHADOWS

STRONG ARM STEADY Featuring PHONTE: BEST OF TIMES

GUEST DJ MIX:
DJ JS-1 90s 'LISTENING PLEASURE' HIP HOP RARITIES MIX:

1 – CRAIG G – RIP YA TO SHREDS INTRO

2 – LORD FINESSE -

3 – EPMD – BIG PAYBACK

4 – RAKIM – RATED R

5 – GANGSTARR – HERE IS THE PROOF

6 – PERCEE P , AG, & LORD FINESSE – YES U MAY

7 – JS1 SRATCH INTERLUDE

8 – MAIN SOURCE – LARGE PROFESSOR

9 – MASTA ACE – EYES ON THE PRIZE

10 – ORGANIZED KONFUSION -

THE GEE BEES AT WE GOT BEEF, HELSINKI, FINLAND. FRIDAY 5th FEBRUARY

MD'S DIARY, JANUARY 2010

A DJ's diary in any given January is never going to be the most comprehensive document ... at least not in the case of humble dudes like me who can't afford to jet to sunnier climes like the superstars do.

The most notable thing to report for the first half of the month was the weather. We awoke to find ourselves snowed in on Wednesday 7th as the South was hit by more snow in one overnight than I can ever remember. This resulted in me missing a radio show for the first time ever due to weather. It was impossible to make it as far as the car. Instead, the station re-ran one of my DJ Mixes specials from the previous month, and I only realised afterwards that it included Dr. Rubberfunk's Christmas rarities mix, resulting in the bizarre situation of a bunch of Christmas songs going out on the radio in early January.

This was to have been my second retrospective on the big 'Just Buggin' tunes of '09. By the time I got in the following week this idea had to be abandoned as there was far too much 2010 tuneage to be unleashed. I've been hugely impressed with the new underground hip hop I've heard this month, proving that, beneath all the surface dross, there is still classic material being made. You've just got to know where to look for it. (Respect to Andrew Kay for all the hot links.)

I managed to create new mix during the quiet spell. This marked the 20th anniversary of the dawning of 1990, in my view, a fascinating year for music that straddled the soul, funk, reggae, house and dance divides. The full track listing and the download link are here:

It felt both nostalgic and alien to be mixing off vinyl again to create it.

I chatted with UK grime/ hip hop MC Bashy for Black Sheep Mag the following week. The full phone chat is here:

The last weekend of the month couldn't come quick enough. Being the time when people have finally had a salary payment for the first time since Christmas, The Bridge in Oxford was predictably rammed on Saturday 30th. A few hours later I set off for Scotland, destination Aberdeen for that night's official Scottish Launch Party for Black Sheep Magazine (http://www.blacksheepmag.com)

Because the date was agreed fairly late in the day, flight options were expensive. Instead, I reverted to insane mode and opted to drive. This resulted in 17 hours at the wheel over two days and 1,030 miles on the clock. Pretty hardcore. Though I resigned myself to the knowledge that to American motorists, these kind of statistics are standard. And I felt better after learning that my mate Drew Myrie who has relocated to Finland was planning to drive ten hours from Helsinki to Lapland the following weekend.

I set off armed with sandwiches, Red Bull, and a huge stack of CD promos and mixes to be listened to, allowing the drive to have some productive value. I'd made Edinburgh in seven hours, crossing the Forth Road Bridge for the first time since the toll was abolished. (Severn Bridge, take note.)

90 minutes later I rolled up at my hotel in Dundee, which was an ideal stopping off point, and also part of the way home. After a recovery nap, I continued on up the A90 to Aberdeen.

I'd checked the weather forecasts avidly during the week, and no snow had been predicted for any part of Eastern Scotland. A call to the gig promoter MC, however, revealed that there had in fact been a fresh fall of snow in Aberdeen, and I hit it about 30 miles outside the city.

Arriving at the front door of Korova, I immediately realised I'd played there a few years earlier under its previous guise of Opium. Our party was in a newly re-opened basement section. Things got off to slow start, and there were concerns that the snow would keep people in. Venues always have spies that go out to check on rival clubs in town, and the Korova spy reported that other spots only had 20 or so people in. Our event was called Midnight Express, and appropriately, there was a late rush of clubbers who arrived in time to make the last 90 minutes of my set very lively and enjoyable. There's a cool set of pictures now posted here:

Aberdeen venues now have a strict 2am curfew imposed on Sundays and midweek, and the finish felt unnaturally early. But shouts to MC and Kojo for a great night.

The following day's drive home was made all the more gruelling by a fatal accident at Scotch Corner, which had me trapped on the A1 for over an hour. The day did have the benefit of allowing me to absorb about 15 full albums en route, however, practically devising the week's radio playlist in the process.

... and that was January. Thank God.