Sunday 30 May 2010

URBAN ANTHEMS WITH MARK DEVLIN, BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY ON FM107.9













On Bank Holiday Monday, 31st May, Mark Devlin returns with another instalment of Urban Anthems on FM107.9. It's three hours of classic old-school throwbacks, spanning hip hop, R&B, new jack swing, reggae, garage and jungle, plus, half an hour of end-of-night Quiet Storm-style slow jams!

Listen from anywhere, 7-10pm GMT, (8-11pm CET/ 2-5pm EST/ 11am-2pm PST) on http://www.fm1079.com

Friday 28 May 2010

JUST BUGGIN' DJ MIXES SPECIAL. LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 26/5/10

















MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S FM107.9 (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 26TH MAY 2010
DJ MIXES SPECIAL

PART 1:
DJ AI-VA (LATVIA) LIVE AT SOUL CITY, BERGEN, NORWAY, 2009


PART 2:
DJ SOULCHILD LIVE AT BAR ROUGE, BASEL, SWITZERLAND, 2008


PART 3:
MARK DEVLIN 1996 SOUL/ SWING/ HIP HOP REVIVAL MIX


PART 4: MARK DEVLIN 1995 SOUL/ SWING/ HIP HOP REVIVAL MIX

Sunday 23 May 2010

URBAN ANTHEMS WITH MARK DEVLIN, BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY ON FM107.9













On Bank Holiday Monday, 31st May, Mark Devlin returns with another instalment of Urban Anthems on FM107.9. It's three hours of classic old-school throwbacks, spanning hip hop, R&B, new jack swing, reggae, garage and jungle, plus, half an hour of end-of-night Quiet Storm-style slow jams!

Listen from anywhere, 7-10pm GMT, (8-11pm CET/ 2-5pm EST/ 11am-2pm PST) on http://www.fm1079.com

Saturday 22 May 2010

CHIMA ANYA JUST BUGGIN' RADIO FREESTYLE. MAY '10


UK rapper Chima Anya drops a live and exclusive freestyle on Just Buggin', FM107.9, Oxford. May 2010

Click here to listen. Pure lyrical skills!

Thursday 20 May 2010

SOUL TRAIN 12TH ANNIVERSARY @ RADOST FX, PRAGUE, SAT 5TH JUNE 2010

GALAXY 101 DJ LYNX CLASSIC MIXES, 1996 - LUCHINI/ INCREDIBLE HULK!


Classic DJ Lynx mix sequences from The Swing Shift, 1996. Spine-tingling back-in-the-day radio.

Click here to listen/ download.

MD'S CLUB DATES, MAY/ JUN/ JUL '10



















Friday 21st May
HOUSE PARTY @
Westow House, Crystal Palace, London
(9pm-2am)

Saturday 22nd May
SATURDAYS @
Mirage Club, Aylesbury
(10pm-3am)

Saturday 29th May
BRIDGE @
The Bridge, Oxford
(10.30pm-3am)

Sunday 30th May
PASSPORT TO PARADISE @
Kukui, Bournemouth
(10pm-4am)

BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY
Monday 31st May
URBAN ANTHEMS @
FM107.9, Oxford (www.fm1079.com)
(7-10pm)

Saturday 5th June
SOUL TRAIN 12TH BIRTHDAY PARTY @
Radost FX, Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC

Saturday 12th June
BRIDGE @
The Bridge, Oxford
(10.30pm-3am)

Friday 18th June
DISCO MASH @
The Second Bridge, Bath
(10.30pm-2.45am)

Saturday 19th June
FUNK @
The Apartment, Swindon

Saturday 26th June
BRIDGE @
The Bridge, Oxford
(10.30pm-3am)

Tuesday 6th July
SOUL CITY @
Simple, San Antonio, IBIZA

Wednesday 7th July
FIESTA @
Bikini, Barcelona, SPAIN

Saturday 10th July
THE VAULTS @
The Second Bridge, Bath
(10.30pm-3am)

Friday 16th July
T.F.I.F @
The Living Room, Oxford
(10.30pm-2am)

Saturday 24th July
SATURDAYS @
Mirage, Aylesbury
(10pm-3am)

Saturday 31st July
BRIDGE @
The Bridge, Oxford
(10.30pm-3am)

JUST BUGGIN. LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 19/5/10

















MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S FM107.9 (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 19TH MAY 2010
DJ MIXES SPECIAL


PART 1:
DJ D (SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA) 2009 HIP HOP SLAMMERS MIX


PART 2:
DJ RAY WOODS (GLASGOW) 90s HIP HOP CLASSICS MIX


PART 3:
MARK DEVLIN LIVE AT DANCE SUMMIT, RIGA, LATVIA, APR 08


PART 4:
DJ JS-1 (CALIFORNIA, USA) LISTENING PLEASURES 90s RARITIES MIX

Thursday 13 May 2010

JUST BUGGIN. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 12/5/10

















MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S FM107.9 (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 12TH MAY 2010


This week's show was crazy off the hook, with live freestyles and chat with both Oxford MC Chima Anya, and Bristol's Termz and entourage. All the way live and spontaneous!

To listen again (ad-free!), just click on the following Download links
(To Download, just click on the arrow icon in the top bar of each track.)


PART 1  (Includes Chima Anya live interview and tracks.)


PART 2 (Includes Chima Anya live freestyle and Terminal/ Termz live interview and freestyle, with crew)



NATALIE WILLIAMS: KEEP ME HOLDING ON

THAD REID: OWWW

RAMPAGE & CRAIG MACK: YOU WON'T BE AROUND

HEATHER B: THE GAME DON'T STOP

LITTLE BROTHER Featuring KHRYSIS: GET ENOUGH PT 2

MF GRIMM: I AM KING

STREET BEAT OF THE WEEK:
J. COLE: WHO DAT

DIABOLIC Featuring CANIBUS: IN COMMON

GUEST ARTIST INTERVIEW: CHIMA ANYA

CHIMA ANYA Featuring JEHST: IT'S THE MANNER

CHIMA ANYA: DEATH

CHIMA ANYA: I LOVE RAP

CHIMA ANYA: CLOCKS

CHIMA ANYA: LIVE EXCLUSIVE FREESTYLE

GUEST ARTIST INTERVIEW: TERMZ

TERMZ: CRAZY

TERMZ & CREW: LIVE EXCLUSIVE FREESTYLE

DJ MIX: MARK DEVLIN 1995 SOUL/ SWING/ HIP HOP REVIVAL MIX

Tuesday 11 May 2010

GALAXY 101 SWING SHIFT NOTORIOUS B.I.G TRIBUTE, PLUS OTHER 90s AUDIO












































Here's a chance to listen back to the tribute show we did to Biggie on Galaxy 101's Swing Shift back in March 1997, straight after the news of his shooting had broken. Thanks to Dave Nicholls, a DJ from Lakota, Bristol back in the day, who requested this, prompting me to go into the archives to dig it out.

Swing Shift 14_3_97

While there, I also exhumed a Swing Shift show from 1996, the show's first year, which is representative of the truly great music that was getting put out in those times. Hell, even the ads were cool back then. Classic material for anyone that digs the soul, swing and hip-hop sounds of the 90s.

Swing Shift 13_9_96

Finally, two of my favourite moments from the entire history of the show - excerpts from a pair of classic mixes thrown down by 3PM Crew turntablist DJ Lynx, with MCs Kelz and Krissy Kriss on the mic. Spine-tingling, good-time radio. Download these and feel hose good times come rushing back!

DJ Lynx classic mixes 1996

Sunday 9 May 2010

MASTA ACE INTERVIEW SEQUENCE, WITH MUSIC


My Masta Ace interview feature from last week's 'Just Buggin' in full, complete with tracks. A potted history of a hip-hop legend.

Click here to download the sequence, (approx 20 minutes.)

Saturday 8 May 2010

MARY J BLIGE: REMINISCE (1992)

Arguably the track that kick-started the whole 'hip-hop soul' movement, 'Reminisce' is revered by many MJB fans as her defining track. Overflowing with heartfelt powerhouse vocals, and with samples from Pete Rock & CL Smooth's 'T.R.O.Y' weaved into the beat, this is pure goosebumps business with a very apt title.
Sadly, the track on this video version isn't the one that appears on 'What's The 411' and is inferior as a result. But no matter. The flava's still there. Another pre gem from the golden years.

Thursday 6 May 2010

MD AT SOUL, GANDHARA, VALENCIA, SPAIN, THIS SATURDAY

JUST BUGGIN. PLAYLIST & LISTEN AGAIN LINKS FOR 5/5/10

















MARK DEVLIN
JUST BUGGIN’ ON OXFORD’S FM107.9 (WWW.FM1079.COM)
PLAYLIST FOR WEDNESDAY 5TH MAY 2010


To listen again (ad-free!), just click on the following Download links
(To Download, just click on the arrow icon in the top bar of each track.)


PART 1 


PART 2



HEATHER B: THE GAME DON'T STOP

LITTLE BROTHER Featuring KHRYSIS: GET ENOUGH PT 2

TY Featuring ERIK RICO: ME

KINETIK: I'M ILL

THAD REID: OWWW

E SMITTY Featuring AGALLAH: DREAMED

MURS & 9TH WONDER Featuring SUGA FREE: LET ME TALK

KOOLADE Featuring MAYLAY SPARKS: YOU & YOURS

OLD TO THE NEW:
RAMPAGE: WILD FOR THE NIGHT

RAMPAGE & CRAIG MACK: YOU WON'T BE AROUND

GUEST ARTIST INTERVIEW: MASTA ACE

MARLEY MARL Featuring MASTA ACE: THE SYMPHONY

MASTA ACE INC: THE B SIDE

MASTA ACE: LETTER TO THE BETTER

MASTA ACE & ED OG: WHY DOES IT MATTER

MASTA ACE Featuring KOOLADE: BEAUTIFUL

TY Featuring VULA MALINGA & TERRI WALKER: GET TO THE SKY

LONGSHOT, PHASHARA, QWAZAAR & SAVANT: SAY YOUR PRAYERS

KINETIK: WINDOW SEAT

GFRSH: AFAR

VERBAL KENT Featuring LANCE AMBU: EXAMPLES

CZARR: CONQUEROR

GUEST DJ MIX: THE UNTOUCHABLE DJ DRASTIC (NEW YORK CITY)

Tuesday 4 May 2010

MD'S CLUB DATES, MAY/ JUNE 10


















Saturday 8th May
SOUL @
Gandhara, Valencia, SPAIN

Friday 14th May
DISCO MASH @
The Second Bridge, Bath
(10.30pm-3am)

Friday 21st May
HOUSE PARTY @
Westow House, Crystal Palace, London

Saturday 22nd May
SATURDAYS @
Mirage Club, Aylesbury

Saturday 29th May
BRIDGE @
The Bridge, Oxford
(10.30pm-3am)

BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY
Monday 31st May
URBAN ANTHEMS @
FM107.9, Oxford (www.fm1079.com)
(7-10pm)

Saturday 5th June
SOUL TRAIN @
Radost FX, Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC

Saturday 12th June
BRIDGE @
The Bridge, Oxford
(10.30pm-3am)

Friday 18th June
DISCO MASH @
The Second Bridge, Bath
(10.30pm-3am)

Saturday 19th June
FUNK @
The Apartment, Swindon

Saturday 26th June
BRIDGE @
The Bridge, Oxford
(10.30pm-3am)

Sunday 2 May 2010

MD'S DIARY BLOG, APRIL 2010





























































































































































Although I used to make the voyage two, sometimes three times a week - every week - for over two years, it had been a long while since I'd thrown myself into the 240-mile round trip to Cardiff. On Good Friday, 2nd April, I managed to coax Parveen out of clubbing retirement to join me for my gig at The 411 Club, marking the Wales launch party for Black Sheep mag. The M4 was virtually deserted, and we arrived in the city having made excellent time.

As soon as I walked over the threshold of 411, I realised it had formerly been Libertys, which was a legendary soul spot in the 90s, and was the very first club I played in Cardiff in 1997 alongside local hero Tyler and DJ/ manager Marcus. After that, it became Cardiff's Po Na Na. It's now operated by veteran DJ/ promoter Mo Moniz and a business partner, who have turned it into a classy, bling spot, with a meaningful music policy. I'd last seen Mo at Soul City in Ibiza, where he was working for the whole Summer season. This year, he told me, the responsibilities of the club are going to limit that possibility.

The vibe, crowd and decor were all excellent as I launched into a three-hour set consisting of what's best described as every shade and style of black music, without a crap kiddie pop hit in sight. It was a great night in the style of how things used to be in the late 90s/ early 00s heyday of Cardiff nightlife, and one I'll definitely look forward to getting back to. There's an assortment of pics from the night here Danced-out, Parveen rested while I took on the battering journey home, and we eventually arrived home at 6am.

With a night off on Easter Sunday, I headed into Oxford to hang out at a couple of events. First off was Blend at Kukui, where DJs Spex, Ritchie Paul and Archie Bizzle put in a nice selection of new and old school R&B. On the door, promoter Tony 'Naked' Nanton was bemoaning the fact that all his posters for the night had been ripped down by a rival promoter, which served as a useful reminder as to exactly why I no longer have any desire to promote events myself. Afterwards, I headed to The Regal for a 90s House night, featuring grizzled veterans Graeme Park, Jon Pleased Wimmin, Brandon Block and Boy George. George was playing as I arrived, (there's a video clip of his set here The night was full of bald/ grey middle-aged ravers, which actually made me feel quite youthful.

Easter Monday 7-10pm saw me slip into musical utopia on the radio as I dropped a new instalment of Urban Anthems on FM1079. Tearing through revivals, the show featured everything from quiet storm-style slow jams and bugged out hip hop, through to jungle, D&B and an extended sequence of soulful US house. Honestly, you'd have to be pretty damn fussy not to find something in the selection to your liking. The complete playlist is right here, and you can listen back to the whole show via these links:

Part 1:
http://soundcloud.com/mark-devlin/urban-anthems-5-4-10-p1

Part 2:
http://soundcloud.com/mark-devlin/urban-anthems-5-4-10-p2

Part 3:
http://soundcloud.com/mark-devlin/urban-anthems-5-4-10-p3

Having visited Scotland and Wales with the Black Sheep Mag brand, the next destination for a launch party was Northern Ireland on Saturday 10th. The event was on the back of the after-party for the Open surf festival in the North Coast town of Portrush. The day before, promoter/ DJ Needle Knievel advised that, sadly, the festival had to be cancelled owing to some glorious weather causing the ordinarily choppy sea to be as still as glass. The party, however, was still going ahead.

Headlining was DJ Woody Madera from Burnley, Lancs, a skilled turntablist who's recently taken to incorporating visuals into his show by manipulating Quicktime movies via his Serato laptop set-up. We linked up for a meal at The Playhouse and traded stories from the field before the evening got underway. On stage with Woody were Portrush's own Team Fresh, kinda half DJ crew, half live band. My set was in the venue's Suckerfish Bar, where I was happy to be able to drop a far-reaching, digging-deep set without any undue interference. Afterwards, I headed into the bakehouse of a main room to catch Woody's set, which was certainly impressive. There's a brief Youtube clip of what went on here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aghdLxtdRAE

Needle Knievel's mum runs a B&B, which had us sorted for accommodation. Our civilised afternoon flight times allowed Woody and myself to enjoy a good breakfast before the drive back to Belfast City airport amidst more glorious sunshine.

Prior to 14th April 2010, no-one would ever have believed that a volcanic eruption in Iceland could cause unprecedented chaos to international air travel, grounding flights and costing airlines as much as £10 million a day. As we all know, however, it happened, and one of the thousands of casualties was my British Airways flight to New York, scheduled for Saturday 17th. I'd been due to do a radio mix spot with The Untouchable DJ Drastic on a college station in Brooklyn, along with a couple of hip-hop interviews. By the previous night, it became obvious that I wasn't going anywhere, and I re-booked my flights to travel in September. I consoled myself with the thought that things could have been worse, my sympathies going out to the many thousands of unfortunate travellers stranded at great cost in either the UK or elsewhere.

The amount of casualties the hip-hop world has suffered over the past 15 years or so defies belief. It's a mortality rate that's unequalled in any other genre - even the wild world of rock. Since starting my Just Buggin' radio show, it's felt like I've been presenting a tribute every other month, and it's generally some of the most creative and influential figures on the scene that are involved. On Wednesday 21st, I found myself devoting my entire show to the the wildly differing musical legacies of Guru, and Malcolm McLaren.

Guru's track record speaks for itself, and the glowing tributes that dominated the internet are testament to what a uniquely special and talented guy he was. I met him in 1999 in Fat Beats Records in Amsterdam. He was in there shopping for vinyl. Celebrities respond differently to public approaches, and hard-edged New York rappers often don't take kindly to it. But Guru was the perfect gentleman, only too happy to chat. Downstairs from the shop was a basement studio where the Fat Beats guys used to broadcast a weekly radio show, and Guru agreed to record an interview right there and then. He was in town to promote Gang Starr's Full Clip: A Decade Of Gang Starr. I'd been fortunate enough to secure an early copy of the Full Clip 12", and remember playing it at a Queens Day party only for all the other DJs to rush up and ask, 'WHERE did you get THAT?!', such was Gang Starr's heat at that time.

I also had a lot of respect for McLaren. Fashion-conscious and subversive from his days managing the Sex Pistols, he could always be counted on to be an agent provocateur, so it was little surprise when he became captivated by New York hip-hop culture in the early 80s, resulting in his 'Duck Rock' album. Deeply eccentric, he was never anything short of fascinating.

The show featured the Throwback At Noon Hot 97 mix by DJ Mister Cee which was broadcast the day after Guru's death, followed by DJ Premier's tribute mix to McLaren. You can Listen back via the links below.

Part 1 (Guru tribute):

Part 2 (Malcolm McLaren tribute):

UK hip hop producer Stealf was my live guest on the following week's show. As well as UK rappers like Dap-C, his beats have been graced by the likes of Game, Jim Jones and Lil Wayne. Listen back links to the show are here. The same evening I also chatted to original veteran Masta Ace on the phone about his many years in the game, his recent collaborative album with Edo G, and how he considers himself to have developed and matured since first emerging as a hungry young spitter. Links to that audio right here:

PART 1 

PART 2

After the show, I headed down to The Cellar, where Kid Fury was hosting a special Guru tribute edition of his regular Wordplay night. It was an open-mic freestyle session over nothing but classic Gang Starr beats. The results were strong. There's a couple of brief Youtube vids of what went down right here:

and here:

Finally, the month ended, with a return to Northern Ireland, flying from Birmingham to avoid the gridlocked bank holiday London airport routes. Fabulouso at Mono in Belfast, hosted by DJs Brown Suga and Ghost, is always a good one, and Friday 30th was as bouncing as ever. On the way to the club, Brown Suga pointed out a couple of historic buildings close to the riverside that were noticeably starting to lean, Pisa-like, due to subsidence of the ground. One was a prominent clock tower. It wasn't looking good.

With my usual good fortune, my room at the Ramada Encore was next door to the noisiest bastards in the building. It was clear that a 4am initial attempt to politely ask them to keep it down was going to be fruitless when one of the cocks involved answered the door in his girlfriend's nightdress. Oh dear. So the hotel duty manager was brought in to do his thing.

... and that was April.