Sunday 27 February 2011

MD'S CLUB DATES, MARCH/ APRIL '11


















Saturday 5th March
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Friday 11th March
G2/ The Garage, Glasgow, SCOTLAND

Saturday 12th March
DEUCES @
Sportsters, Edinburgh, SCOTLAND

Sunday 13th March
SUNDAY SHAKEDOWN @
Espionage, Aberdeen, SCOTLAND

Thursday 17th March
ST. PATRICK'S NIGHT @
Cafe Ceol, Bangor, NORTHERN IRELAND

Saturday 19th March
Mirage, Aylesbury

Saturday 26th March
THE VAULTS @
The Second Bridge, Bath

Thursday 31st March
Pulkvedis, Riga, LATVIA

Friday 1st April
CONNECTIONS @
Club Illusion, Tartu, ESTONIA

Saturday 2nd April
Gravity, Vilnius, LITHUANIA

Thursday 7th April
BLOCK PARTY @
The Wheelhouse, Bowness On Windermere

Saturday 9th April
The Living Room, Oxford

Thursday 14th April
LIVE & LOUD SHOWCASE @
Port Mahon, Oxford

Friday 15th April
SOUNDSATIONAL @
The Cherrywood Lounge, Farnborough

Saturday 16th April
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

EASTER SATURDAY
Saturday 23rd April
The Living Room, Oxford

EASTER SUNDAY
Sunday 24th April
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Thursday 28th April
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Saturday 30th April
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

SOUL II SOUL FEATURING ROSE WINDROSS: FAIRPLAY


While 'Back To Life' and 'Keep On Moving' crossed over to the mainstream, this was always the favoured cut among connoisseurs on Soul II Soul's truly incredible debut album. The funky shapes being thrown by the shadowy figures in this video gave rise to some of the group's most iconic imagery. Rose Windross (Norris Da Boss's sister) is on fine vocal form here, and the track remains a big favourite of the soulful crowd to this day.

FAZE-O: RIDIN' HIGH


Many a hip-hop head will doubtless be familiar with the hazy, mesmeric groove of this soulful classic without necessarily knowing the name, as it's been heavily sampled, most notably by The Bushbabeez. More recently, it cropped up on the double compilation album marking 20+ years in the business of Fabio & Grooverider. It clearly made an impression on Groove in his pre-D&B funk/ rare groove days, and rightly so. A more exquisite laid-back vibe it's difficult to find.

Saturday 26 February 2011

MD ON DJ 279's SUNDAY NITE FLAVAS, CHOICE FM LONDON, 28/4/02

MD on DJ 279's Sunday Nite Flavas Choice FM, 28/4/02 by Mark Devlin
Just exhumed this from the archives - my appearance on DJ 279's Sunday Nite Flavas on Choice FM, London in 2002 where I pick my three all-time favourite hip-hop joints. Good memories.

MD SCOTLAND MINI-TOUR, MARCH '11


















Friday 11th March - G2/ The Garage, Glasgow, with DJ Ray Woods

Saturday 12th March - Deuces, Sportsters, Edinburgh, with DJ P45 and DJ Fabulous

Sunday 13th March - Sunday Shakedown, Espionage, Aberdeen, with The DJ Of Choice/ Paul Doherty

Wednesday 23 February 2011

GEORGE CARLIN; YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS


The other much-missed US comedian is George Carlin, here in absolute top form just months before his death, telling it like it is with regards to 'us' and 'them'. A true maverick who had life completely sussed out, and had the balls to say so. How few of his kind there are.

BILL HICKS; LIFE IS JUST A RIDE


I never used to understand this routine. Now, everything the late, great Bill Hicks said makes perfect sense to me. This man was a visionary and a genius. His passing was a tragic loss. Like he says, ever notice how the good guys die young and the scumbags just go on and on? I can listen to this routine time and time again. Absolutely spot on.

ROCHELLE: MY MAGIC MAN


Another fondly-remembered and much forgotten (if that's not too much of a paradox) 80s groover. Not much was heard of Rochelle afterwards, but this was very much of its time, 1985, when a distinctive brand of dance music was emanating out of the New York club scene. John 'Jellybean' Benitez, Regina and a young Madonna were also a part of it. Very impressed to find an official video for this on Youtube, as few of the offerings around at that time came with one. In the days when 12-inch mixes were so important, this came in a 'Magic Mix' and a 'Samurai Mix', which were fairly interchangeable. One for the connoisseurs.

JOYCE SIMS: ALL AND ALL


A memory of this absolute belter that will always stay with me is dropping it at my one and only Southport Weekender set, about 6.30 in the morning as the sun was coming up. It revived a tired, flagging dancefloor beautifully. Merging the electro hip-hop style with 80s groove soulful vocals, and produced by Kurtis Mantronik, this remains an energy-fuelled floor filler to this day. Shame there was no official video, hence this rather boring shot of a record label. But boy, what a tune.

Sunday 20 February 2011

BLUNTED TO REALITY














The light bulb's on and something's starting to happen
It's tough to comprehend when your belief system shatters
The world's not like we thought it was. Reality's not what it seems
What we've been conditioned to perceive. It's like a dream
But the world is waking up. People are actually starting to notice
And understand that everyone alive's a part of this whole process
Politicians don't run the world, bankers do
The situation's obvious but we never think it through
The BBC, CNN all the daily papers
Just propaganda tools for the real decision-makers
The presidents, prime ministers and chancellors are puppets
And Obama's no different, people. Some say the biggest muppet
They keep up the illusion that we're free and play their role
Spouting what they're told to say as the teleprompter rolls
The New World Order tiptoes on, bankers enslave and rape us
But it's Jordan's tits and Rooney 's fee that makes the front page of the papers

(Ever noticed how everything about society is structured in favour of the corporations, and never the individual? People say 'that's just the way it is.' But when 99 per cent of the human race are being controlled and enslaved by the one per cent, it's time for that 99 per cent to change 'the way it is'. Tax. Just think about that. We all meekly pay it because 'thats just the way it is.' But tax is nothing short of legalised robbery. How the hell did we ever fall for that?)

The biggest scam inflicted on humanity is money
It rules our lives, but it doesn't even exist. It's kinda funny
You'd have to laugh, it's kinda tragic. Figures appear on a screen by magic
And your bank gives you a loan. As you become another drone
But there's no money in their coffers, so it's illusory what they offer
Imaginary credit. Nice work if you can get it
And so the debt goes down the line, with more and more applied
And when the rent gets late, because of what the banks create
They just create more credit. And the public never get it
You're not supposed to win. You're only supposed to lose
And doze and snooze. And doze and snooze

(If all the money lining the pockets of the soulless devils pulling the strings of this world stage day in day out were re-distributed fairly throughout the world, and if governments issued money directly rather than being slaves to these same cartels of private bankers masquerading behind the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, poverty, starvation and squalour could be completely eradicated
Still, don't worry about it. The X Factor's on and, OMG, what is Cheryl wearing??!)

The elephant's in the room and it's shocking what your mind edits
What's been right in front of our eyes our whole lives, but we still don't get it
It's not like the subtle reminders aren't everywhere you look
You got to hand it to the masons, man, they've got their game on lock
Why the depictions of the occult aimed at kids in films from Disney?
Why's a Babylonian goddess featured on the Statue of "Liberty"?
Far too many all-seeing-eyes in the videos of Rihanna
Jay's a puppet too, an Illuminati tool like Lady GaGa
When rastas talk of Babylon, you've got to question what they mean
Because it's more significant than a locked-down mind can glean
The land between two rivers is what we call Iraq today
And it's from here that the plan for world control began to play
But the evidence and artifacts are being destroyed forever
While the cover story tells you that it's all a War on Terror
The Church of Babylon upped its roots and set up shop in Rome
Renamed itself the Catholic Church and drove its doctrines home
Christianity and Islam followed, manipulated mentalities
To keep the masses frightened, meek and blunted to reality
The most effective way to control the masses? Feed them fear of Hell
And that we're all just sheep. And edit whatever else you tell
But if the truth's too inconvenient and guys like me are nutters
Hey, just keep the blinkers on and batten down the shutters

(Does anyone ever stop for a second to question the insanity of war? Let's break it down - you don't agree with me and I don't agree with you, so let's kill each other. That'll make everything OK again! The wholesale slaughter of human life - whether in the armed forces or not - is tolerated on a daily basis because 'war is peace.' Funny thing though. Notice how it's never the sons of presidents and government ministers who go out to get their limbs blown off on the frontline. Wonder why?)

OK, children Gather round and get your bedtime story
With Saddam Hussein as the big bad wolf while the US basks in glory
Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, Henri Paul was drunk
September 11th was planned from a cave and McVeigh was just some punk
President Bush got voted in all good and fair and square
He's really just a regular kind of guy like Tony Blair
Yeah, I know I've lost my mind. I've lost the fucking plot
That's OK. You don't have to listen. You can be happy with your lot
I just saw some stuff on MTV. Hot girls and champs on tap
Now, who needs harsh reality when you can fill your mind with that?
lol

You never get the truth in all the lies the media hands to us
But connect the dots, and it's clear that's nothing's random or by accident
Speed cameras, chips in pets, unfettered immigration
Electromagnetic soups from phones and micro radiation
Doctors paid by Big Pharma to dish out all those pills
If swine flu doesn't get you, damn sure the vaccine will
The zeitgeist's changing rapidly and the elites are getting primed
To dish out everything they got, 'cos they're running out of time
To keep us in a five-sense state, and oblivious to truth
Of who we really are and what we're on our way back to
The awakening is happening, the process is underway
And a higher level of all of us chose to be living here today
To be a part of bringing in the process of mutation
The system can't go on if we change the frequency of vibration
It's time to face the facts that we're actually the last generation
That stands a chance of stopping the move towards a global nation
George Orwell's 1984 is what's waiting for our families
Unless we refuse to co-operate with this agenda of insanity
The few control the many only because we've let it happen
Remove the base from the pyramid and the whole damn structure's flattened

It's on

Saturday 19 February 2011

SAPPHIRE & STEEL: HEAVY NOSTALGIA

OK, who else remembers Sapphire & Steel from back in the day? (1979-1982.) This show was HEAVY and years ahead of its time. Pissed all over Doctor Who, and was far superior to anything on today, despite its limited budget. Intelligent, enigmatic, and pretty damn scary - especially the series set in the deserted railway station with the WW1 soldier. I can still vividly recall images 30 years on.

Friday 18 February 2011

THE MUSIC BUSINESS AGENDA: UNDERSTANDING THE GAME













To anyone else bemused at how mainstream 'hip hop' and 'R&B' has been hijacked and morphed into banal, vacuous fodder for the masses, please believe that none of it's random or by accident. It's clear that it's all part of a far-reaching agenda, and it's all detailed in this series of excellent articles from The Vigilant Citizen.

If your first instinct is to laugh all this off as 'conspiracy theory', then you're playing right into the control system's hands, because that's exactly the reaction they want towards any challenging viewpoint that differs from the 'norms', (that's 'norms' that they themselves have applied, by the way.) It's subject matter that has to be approached with an open and mature mind.

Seriously, it's time we all started waking up to what's really going on here. Who's ready?

Jessie J’s “Price Tag”: It’s Not About Money, It’s About Mind Control

Rihanna’s “Russian Roulette” or What’s Wrong with the Entertainment Industry

Lady Gaga, The Illuminati Puppet

Transhumanism, PsyWar and B.E.P.’s “Imma Be”

Beyonce’s Sweet Dreams – Occult Mind Control

The Transhumanist and Police State Agenda in Pop Music

Michael Jackson’s New Album Cover: Rife with Symbolism

The 2009 VMAs: The Occult Mega-Ritual

Mind Control Theories and Techniques used by Mass Media

Thursday 17 February 2011

JILL SCOTT: GETTING IN THE WAY


The album title asked 'Who Is Jill Scott?' Following the first single, the Mos Def-featuring 'Love Rain', that question was answered all round with this mellow corker. Musically, Jill asserted her Philadelphia credentials with a modern, neo-soul-style take on that city's long-standing soulful heritage. And the video was a classic in itself, with Jill throwing all manner of entertaining faces as she takes it to the street with her love rival. Ten years on, it's still as fresh as ever.

Tuesday 15 February 2011

TEEDRA MOSES: BE YOUR GIRL



Every time some pre-programmed moron approaches a DJ booth and asks for 'some R&B like Rihanna', it should be perfectly legal to beat them savagely with a cricket bat whilst screaming 'THIS is real R&B!' Teedra is a highly under-appreciated artist on the edge of the 'nu-soul' movement, and this cut has it all - mellow vocals, sublime instrumentation, and some great shots of Times Square in the video too.

It's so telling that robot stooges like Ga Ga and Kesha sell millions, while the likes of Teedra never make it beyond the underground. Still, just keeps the music that much more precious for us connoisseurs, I guess.

Monday 14 February 2011

80s/ 90s RADIO TAPE RIPS - WESTWOOD/ MIKE ALLEN/ ROBBIE VINCENT/ PETE TONG

































































For all back-in-the-day radio tape rip enthusiasts, here's a bunch of download links I recently collated - mainly Westwood and Mike Allen from Capital Radio, and Robbie Vincent on Radio 1 in the 1980s. Plus a few of my own Swing Shift show from Galaxy 101 in the late 90s for anyone who remembers it!

Many of these have been posted before, but here they all are in one place for anyone wanting to reminisce. Just can't see rips of 1Xtra having the same value in 25 years' time, somehow...?

Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1984 P1.mp3

Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1984 P2.mp3

Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1985 P1.mp3

Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1985 P2.mp3

Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1986 P1.mp3

Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1986 P2.mp3

Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1987 P1.mp3

Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1987 P2.mp3

Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1989 P1.mp3

Robbie Vincent Killer Cuts 1989 P2.mp3

Robbie Vincent's first Radio 1 show 1_1_84 1.mp3

Robbie Vincent R1 1987.mp3

Westwood CRS 5_2_88.mp3

Westwood Capital Rap Show Early 1989 P1.mp3

Mike Allen 3_4_87 P1.mp3

Mike Allen 3_4_87 P2.mp3

Mike Allen Best of 1985.mp3

Mike Allen Best of 1986.mp3

Pete Tong Capital 95.8 Early 1990.mp3

Pete Tong Radio 1 debut Jan 1991.mp3

Robbie Vincent R1 1987.mp3

Robbie Vincent Radio London Soul Show P1.mp3

WBLS Frankie Crocker_ Capital Pete Tong Early 1990.mp3

Westwood LWR 1985.mp3

Westwood CRS Nov 1987.mp3

Swing Shift 3_1_97 P1.mp3
 
Swing Shift 3_1_97 P2.mp3 
 
Swing Shift 3_1_97 P3.mp3
 
Swing Shift 3_1_97 P4.mp3
 
Swing Shift 26_12_97 P1.mp3
 
Swing Shift 26_12_97 P2.mp3
 
Swing Shift 2_1_98 P1.mp3
 
Swing Shift 2_1_98 P2.mp3
 
Swing Shift 2_1_98 P3.mp3
 
Swing Shift 27_2_98 P1.mp3 
 
Swing Shift 27_2_98 P2.mp3
 
Swing Shift 27_2_98 P3.mp3

MD'S CLUB DATES, FEBRUARY/ MARCH '11

















Friday 18th February
Tramps, Worcester, (with Soul City Ibiza's DJ Mister I)

Saturday 19th February
The Living Room, Oxford

Thursday 24th February
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Friday 25th February
Mirage, Aylesbury

Saturday 26th February
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Saturday 5th March
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Thursday 10th March
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Friday 11th March
G2/ The Garage, Glasgow, SCOTLAND

Saturday 12th March
The Living Room, Edinburgh, SCOTLAND

Sunday 13th March
SUNDAY SHAKEDOWN @
Espionage, Aberdeen, SCOTLAND

Thursday 17th March
ST. PATRICK'S NIGHT @
Cafe Ceol, Bangor, NORTHERN IRELAND

Saturday 19th March
Mirage, Aylesbury

Thursday 24th March
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Saturday 26th March
THE VAULTS @
The Second Bridge, Bath

Thursday 31st March
Pulkvedis, Riga, LATVIA

JONELL & METHOD MAN: ROUND & ROUND

Domestic beefing has never been portrayed more lucidly than on this absolute gem from the 'How High' soundtrack in 2002. Meth plays the put-upon male to Jonell's assertive, dissatisfied female as the pair trade trivial swipes over a difficult relationship. Jonell really should have gone further based on her funky vocal performance here, and the funky guitar-laden beat is to die for. A killer tune that still works in clubs to this day.

Saturday 12 February 2011

ALLEN ANTHONY: ALRIGHT

Although it's the version featuring Freeway from his 'Philadelphia Freeway' album that made the song familiar, this original rap-free version by Allen Anthony remains a largely undiscovered gem of the 2000s. It cropped up on the soundtrack of the 'Paid In Full' movie, with production from an on-point Just Blaze. Soulful vocals meet an 80s-influenced jamming beat, with reflective and empowering lyrics. This cut is truly a cruelly overlooked classic.

JAY-Z FEATURING BEANIE SIGEL & SCARFACE: THIS CAN'T BE LIFE

One of the greatest things about (real) hip-hop is the genre's ability to address every kind of life situation and human emotion. While party joints have their place, it's the reflective kind of joint that hip-hop does so well, and there are few finer moments than this Kanye West-produced soul searcher from the Roc A Fella camp in 2003. It finds Jay-Z, stripped of ego and swagger, recalling his humble roots, with Beanie Sigel in similarly sober mood. The last verse, from Scarface, is drenched with emotion, his voice quavering as he recounts the tale of one of his homies losing his kid. This is music that makes sense of life, and a listen to it has more value than any counselling session ever could.

YO YO FEATURING GERALD LEVERT: IS IT ALL STILL GOOD?

This joint sadly bombed on its release in '98, but I always loved it and blazed it on my radio show. A lyrical variation on Biggie's 'Juicy', it was very much of its time, reflecting on the changing nature of the hip-hop game in the wake of the Big and 'Pac incidents. A wonderfully soulful sample from Gerald Levert, steeped in 80s groove nostalgia, completes its appeal, and it serves as a reminder that, though eclipsed by more 'glamorous' rivals like Foxy and Kim, Yo Yo remains on of the truly hot female MCs of the 90s.

Friday 11 February 2011

SOUNDSATIONAL AT CHERRYWOOD LOUNGE, FARNBOROUGH TONIGHT



Looking forward to throwing down with my big homie DJ Mr Jay tonight for Soundsational, Cherrywood Lounge on the grounds of Farnborough F.C. Music for grown-ups!

Thursday 3 February 2011

MD'S CLUB DATES, FEBRUARY/ MARCH 2011





























Friday 4th February
Connections, Club Illusion, Tartu, ESTONIA

Saturday 5th February
The Living Room, Oxford

Thursday 10th February
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Friday 11th February
SOUNDSATIONAL @
The Cherrywood Lounge, Farnborough

Saturday 12th February
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Friday 18th February
Tramps, Worcester, (with Soul City Ibiza's DJ Mister I)

Saturday 19th February
The Living Room, Oxford

Thursday 24th February
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Friday 25th February
Mirage, Aylesbury

Saturday 26th February
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Friday 11th March
G2/ The Garage, Glasgow, SCOTLAND

Saturday 12th March
The Living Room, Edinburgh, SCOTLAND

Sunday 13th March
SUNDAY SHAKEDOWN @
Espionage, Aberdeen, SCOTLAND

Thursday 17th March
ST. PATRICK'S NIGHT @
Cafe Ceol, Bangor, NORTHERN IRELAND

Saturday 19th March
Mirage, Aylesbury

Saturday 26th March
THE VAULTS @
The Second Bridge, Bath

Thursday 31st March
Live & Loud Hip Hop Showcase, Port Mahon, Oxford

MD AT CLUB ILLUSION, TARTU, ESTONIA, THIS FRIDAY