Mark Devlin: October 2011

Monday, 31 October 2011

BEYONCE FEAT. J COLE: PARTY

Wow. This is as rare as a dodo's egg - a new Beyonce tune that's actually cool and soulful! Kanye on production too. Damn. Andre 3000's original cameo appears to have been dropped from the release in favour of J Cole, however. Why would you do that??? Here's the official video.

JUST BUGGIN' ILLUMINATI SPECIAL PART 3

OK, folks. Time for instalment 3 of this. Heavy music for awakened, open-minded people who like to pay attention to what's REALLY going on and don't need the mainstream media or monolithic corporations to tell them what to think. Loving the irony of posting this on Halloween too, given some of the freaks being addressed in the lyrical content!

Just Buggin Illuminati Special Part 3 by Mark Devlin

Sunday, 30 October 2011

MD'S DIARY, OCTOBER '11

Versatility is the hallmark of an accomplished DJ, (in my book at least,) and Saturday 1st October gave a chance to put it to the test. I was spinning my monthly spot in Bath at The Second Bridge, (known by a whole array of names over the years including Roxbury's, Club Blu, The Asylum and Babylon!) I started the night playing in the upstairs feeder bar, The Earl, dropping soul, funk and disco. A short while into my set, however, the manager advised that the DJ lined up to play in the 'urban' room hadn't shown up, and I was asked to immediately head down and take over. Fortunately, I had all the appropriate tuneage. It had been quite a while since I'd had to spin all the Drakes, Rick Ross's and Skeptas, but it all went down very well, and it turned out to be one of the wildest nights I've experienced in The Vaults.

There was an outstanding weekend lined up a few days later, musically speaking. First off was the much-anticipated Swish Ball in Swindon. Stu Campbell and Kev Wilkinson of Cuz We Love It Productions had the idea of staging a ticket-only, soulfully-based music night to a well-dressed, mature crowd, and had lined up a PA from Omar, alongside DJ sets from Ronnie Herel, Rampage and myself.

I kicked the night off, dropping the kind of music that always seems to go down well in Swindon, a town that's far more amenable to real music than most, (in the right venues, at least!) Ronnie then ignited the crowd, ready for Omar's PA, and Rampage's set afterwards. Between acts, I got roped in to interview Omar and Ronnie backstage for a DVD of the event. It was an all-round great night, with a stunning set of pictures as a result. Hold tight for the interview vids on Youtube soon as well, but in the meantime, here's a quick snatch of Omar's performance:

There were more good vibes the following night. DJs Martin 'In Full Swing' Rafferty and John Mustoe run a bi-monthly at Sloanes in Gloucester called Back In The Day. As the title suggests, it's all about 90s R&B, hip-hop and New Jack Swing, (although they also do alternative 00s nights called Back To The Y2K,) and they have a great strategy of only using DJs that were out there doing their thing then, rather than any Johnny-Come-Latelys! The place was rammed with clued-up party people, and I went into a zone during my two-hour set. John and Martin followed with outstanding selections, keeping me jamming and highly impressed that it's still possible to rock peaktime on a Saturday night with all this good stuff. A stunningly good night which I hope to get back to at the earliest opportunity.

The Just Buggin' Quarter 3 2011 podcast went live during the month, consisting of the heaviest underground hip-hop tunes I unearthed during the July-September period all in one place. You can get it from the Soundcloud page here -

Just Buggin Q3 2011 by Mark Devlin

The other is slightly more 'specialist' in nature, shall we say, and seemingly not for everyone. I felt inspired to put together a third JB Illuminati Special, (for want of a better phrase.) This one brings together a bunch of tracks by hip-hop artists who are alert to what's really going on in this world, (about as far removed from the version of events you get in the mainstream media as it's possible to imagine.) You can catch that one right here, and if you're new to the whole subject, you may well find it intriguing to have a quick peek!

Fast forward to end of the month then, and on Friday 28th I found myself hauling my battered carcass out of bed at an ungodly hour to catch a 6am flight to Latvia. This marked what must be my 8th or 9th visit to the Baltic state, this time to spin at Club Tonuss in Jelgava, around 50km from the capital Riga. At the airport I was met by my contact, Alex, and we caught the bus. I say bus, it was more a mini-van of the type that transports labourers to building sites in the mornings. Another memorable travel experience. My in-room wi-fi was a big attraction, but I did the sensible thing and caught up on some sleep and food ahead of the night's gig.

Tonuss is a stark warehouse-style venue on the banks of the River Daugava, and had been decked out strikingly for Halloween. I played from up on a stage, and at the manager's request, took to the mic much more often than I normally would, constantly asserting my British credentials to get a crowd reaction, (his idea, not mine.) It was clear that only high-energy uptempo vibes would work, but I was glad that an extended session of UKG and UK Funky basslines got a great reaction.

The routing home on Saturday was a long one - the rickety mini-van back to Riga, a flight to Torp airport in Norway, then a five-hour stopover before a second flight back to Stansted. From there, it was straight off to DJ at the Living Room in Milton Keynes. I realised only that day that the clocks were due to go back, and the extra hour's sleep came in very handy indeed.

... and that was October.

Thursday, 27 October 2011

THE CONCEPT: MR DJ (1985)

OK, all my old school peeps, who remembers this one?! I used to know all the patter on this off by heart. A much-forgotten gem.

Tuesday, 25 October 2011

MD AT CLUB TONUSS, JELGAVA, LATVIA, THIS FRIDAY

MD'S CLUB DATES, OCT/ NOV/ DEC '11

Friday 28th October
Club Tonuss, Jelgava, LATVIA

Saturday 29th October
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

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

Saturday 5th November
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Saturday 12th November
The Earl, The Second Bridge, Bath

Friday 18th November
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Saturday 19th November
Mirage, Aylesbury

Saturday 26th November
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Saturday 3rd December
Maraschino Bar, Zagreb, CROATIA

Saturday 10th December
The Earl, The Second Bridge, Bath

Friday 16th December
The Living Room, Milton Keynes

Saturday 17th December
Black Sheep Mag Christmas Party, Lounge 31, Manchester

Saturday, 22 October 2011

DEAD PREZ: GLOBALIZATION (SCENE OF THE CRIME)

More tell-it-like-its truths from a group that have never had a problem saying what's on their mind. Respect for that.

K-RINO: SOLITARY CONFINEMENT (2009)

The lyrical concept of this is INCREDIBLE! Well worth pausing for four minutes, avoiding all distractions and absorbing the science.

Thursday, 20 October 2011

TOM CLAY: WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW/ ABRAHAM, MARTIN & JOHN (1971)

Can anyone not be moved by the sentiments in this? A classic piece of work put together by Detroit radio DJ Tom Clay in 1971. As potent and relevant today as it was 40 years ago. An essential listen.

Saturday, 15 October 2011

SWISH BALL, SWINDON PICS - FULL SET

The complete set of pictures from last weekend's Swish Ball are now on-line. Video interviews with Omar and Ronnie Herel soon.

Catch 'em here.

JUST BUGGIN' Q3 2011 PODCAST

Just Buggin Q3 2011 by Mark Devlin

You'd never know it from listening to the radio or visiting the average High Street club, but there IS still incredible, classic-quality hip hop being made in 2011. The trouble is, you can never find all the good stuff in one convenient place.

Well, actually you can - the latest Just Buggin' quarterly podcast is here. Strictly essence. No fillers.

Let's go...

*

DICE RAW: 1995

LL COOL J: YEAR OF THE HIP HOP

DTMD Featuring YU: KEEP ON

SOULBROTHA Featuring BLAQ POET, NYGZ & KRUMBSNATCHA: REAL MCEES

KOOLADE Featuring STYLES P: NO MORE MUSIC

STREET BEAT OF THE QUARTER:
GAME: BORN IN THE TRAP

NAS: NASTY

JAY Z & KANYE WEST: NEW DAY

SHAUN BOOTHE Featuring CYHI DA PRINCE: LET ME GO

THE GAME: CALIFORNIA DREAM

EVIDENCE: YOU

40 GLOCC: TAKE ME AWAY

ROCHELE JORDAN: MARVIN'S ROOM

JILL SCOTT: I DON'T KNOW (GOTTA HAVE YOU)

ODDISEE Featuring OLIVIER DAYSOUL: MATTERED MUCH

DJ SOLO Featuring JIBBERISH: INTERVENTION

CONSEQUENCE Featuring GREG NICE: MY FOOT ON THEIR THROAT

ROYCE/ EMINEM: WRITER'S BLOCK (DJ PREMIER REMIX)

RAS BEATS Featuring MASTA ACE: LET IT BE

BIG SHUG: WE MISS YOU

Sunday, 9 October 2011

OMAR PERFORMS 'BE THANKFUL' AT THE SWISH BALL, SWINDON

UK soul legend Omar performs 'Be Thankful' at the classy Swish Ball, Bushwackers & Sin in Swindon, 7th October '11.

Friday, 7 October 2011

JUST BUGGIN Q3 2011 PODCAST

Wednesday, 5 October 2011

BACK IN THE DAY @ SLOANES, GLOUCESTER, THIS SATURDAY

Great event on the way in Gloucester this weekend - feel-good 90s throwbacks all night long with Martin Infullswing Rafferty and crew. Strong anticipation for this one.

OMAR, RONNIE HEREL, MD @ THE SWISH BALL, SWINDON, THIS FRIDAY

This one promises to be great, and not long to go now. Omar in PA, Ronnie Herel, Stu Campbell and myself bringing the soulful business, with Rampage leading the urban business in Room 2. All at the classy Swish Ball in Swindon on Friday 7th October. Check the flyer for ticket details, or holler at me.