FUCK THE BRITS MIX

I've been trying to cram an awful lot of activity into my limited spare time recently. Not only have I been exploring Fruityloops and trying to maintain this blog, I also dug out my spare turntable and started trying to mix all these grime/dubstep platters I've been buying recently. So far, the results have been atrocious. It's been many years since I tried beatmixing tunes, and the sort of beats I used to work with were much easier to deal with than these! My eldest son walked into the room the other night whilst I was desperately trying to get two riddims to talk to each other and, looking at me in a strange way said, "What are you doing, dad?". Feeling slightly foolish I tried explaining a few basic principles of DJ mixing to him. He seemed quite interested, actually. It was one of those rare occasions where I felt like I was actually teaching him something. Maybe he'll get into all this stuff one day, although right now he thinks most of dad's music is crap. Anyway, it'll be a long time, if ever, before I'm in a position to post a Gutterbreakz turntable mix here.

But I'm still quite keen on the idea of doing MP3 mixes as an ethically 'approved' method of sharing music. I'm still feeling very conscious of my position at the moment. At the start of the year I realised that I didn't want this blog turning into a free jukebox and now, particularly with 'underground' music, I feel very wary about what I choose to share here. I've had loads of people telling me there's nothing wrong with what I do, but still I feel the weight of responsibility. But my worries on this issue are coupled with the fact that I've got so much music to talk about here that I have trouble deciding what to choose each week. It's almost like I'm becoming frozen by indecisiveness.

Just wading through Planet Mu material would keep me occupied for months - there's so much great music coming out of that label it's little short of staggering. I feel like I need get some of it out there, but don't want to get too Mu-centric either. As most of my Mu releases are in MP3 format, I thought I'd try doing a virtual mix, as a way of catching-up with all the tracks and artists I need to feature here. After a quick search on the net I came across a free 30-day trial of Virtual DJ, which I installed earlier today. Problem is, it hadn't occurred to me that my little laptop doesn't have a secondary soundcard, so there's no way I can preview/cue tracks! No chance of beatmixing there then. But I didn't let that put me off having a play around with it this evening, just doing primitive little segues between tracks, in a determined effort not to just sit in front of the telly and watch that disgraceful display of corporate backslapping that is The Brit Awards, although I did actually have it on whilst doing my virtual mix. Occasionally I would look across the room and observe such things as The Beddingfield Hellspawn dueting on stage, from which I drew defiant inspiration. The resulting MP3 mix, whilst lacking in technical proficiency, represents my own little stand against the mainstream/corporate whores. This is the music I believe in. This is the culture I side with.

This mix is dedicated to Kid Kameleon and anyone else around the globe who hears music the same way I do.

MP3: Fuck The Brits Mix 100205

Tracklist:

Venetian Snares - Felbomlasztott Mentökocsi (ZIQ111 - released Mid-March)
John B. & Exile - Broken Language (ZIQ 113)
Eight Frozen Modules - Elephantitus Of The Man (ZIQ 109)
Hellfish - Fuck Daddy (Deathchant LP003)
Shitmat- Pump The Kin (from future 12")
Bee Snares - Bee In Bunnyhead (Death$ucker Records D$R4.0)
Chevron - Running Out Of Time (ZIQ092 - out very soon)
Exile & Subfocus - Silicon Chop (from album due Summer '05)
Hawerchuk - Camel Toe (ZIQ 106)
Rockstar Games - Manhunt (The Bug Remix) (Rephlex MHUNT18)
Phthalocyanine - Death Frenzy (ZIQ096 - still not available at Bleep yet)
Datach'i - I'm Not Afraid To Watch You Die (ZIQ087)
The Gasman - Fridge (ZIQ093 - released end of Feb)
0=0 - In Your Eyes (from forthcoming release)
Bizzy B - Merda Style 2004 (ZIQ117 -released mid-March)