Wednesday 31 March 2010

Mayor Haugh-thorne


Location-based-social-networking might not sound fun but we’ve got into it in a pretty big way.

Uprock has been hard at work on Foursquare, adding places of note in Suffolk and competing to become their mayor.

And it looks like Foursquare is set for bigger and better things – its user base is growing at a crazy rate (22 million check-ins so far), companies like Starbucks have rushed to sign up and offer discounts, and Vodafone is stealing ground as the first UK network to promote it heavily.

As a pointer towards the next stage of its development, check out how search engine bing has added Foursquare data to their maps so that you can easily view check-ins, badges and tips left by other users.

We’re playing our part in this brave new world by adding locations worth finding in Ipswich, like The Swan, which Andy was mayor of until landlord Damian got in on the action.

Ric is clinging on as mayor of WHSmith though, so it’s not all bad news.

Tuesday 30 March 2010

Oizo x Flat Eric x Pharrell

Mr Oizo directed this short film for his furry buddy and Pharrell Williams. I wonder what would happen if he adapted it to a full feature?

Monday 29 March 2010

T-Shirt News "seduce me seduce me, dress me up in stussy"



Stussy (a favorite of ours since school) has teamed up with Stones Throw to bring out this J-Dilla T-shirt. Looks pretty fresh and will be at size soon.

And linking back to the previous post - Here is an originally J-Dilla produced Pharcyde track remixed by Hot Chip. It's pretty haunting but I quite like it.

Wednesday 24 March 2010

Tales of the unexpected

Songs I can't wait to play at Uprock's Easter Party, part 2 (if 'Eggs' was part 1).

Dope video too.

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Eggs!



Got any plans for Easter Weekend?

Well we're celebrating at The Swan on Saturday night. It's going to be very special.

Lots of good.new.music and Steve will no doubt already have his box packed with his favourite ever record popping out of the top:



We go from 8.30pm to 1am. Admission is free.

Monday 22 March 2010

"you are correct"



Obama has been in the news today for doing the right thing. As I was walking in to town the song bellow came on my shuffle. Coincidence?

Sunday 21 March 2010

He can do it faster


Last Thursday 18th March - The Swan, Ipswich. Gift of Gab of Blackalicious & Quantum. Doing Alphabet Aerobics at Rapsploitation Sessions. With Chrome & Ill Inspired warming up the crowed. Another great night.



P.S. Gift of Gab looks like Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince

Saturday 20 March 2010

Fancy Footwork

Sometimes I browse youtube watching a load of rubbish and suddenly an evening has disappeared. The other night I remembered to look to see if they had some clips of the 1997 DMC championships that I thought I would never see again. Like most things they were on youtube.

They are quite contrasting. First up is a 15 year old DJ A-Trak of Fools Gold Records, Kanyes tour DJ, some great remixes and brother of the tall one in Chromeo. He won the world Championship with this routine - Youngest ever.



The second clip is from the same year at DMC. When I first watched DJ Nike from Italy I couldn't believe this guy made the final. From his Ali G look (this was 1997) you may think that it's a joke. You need to go to 1:45 to get the full effect and also the irony that Dj Nike is wearing Adidas.



The track below is a little old, but a great remix by A-Track for Sebastian Tellier. I tried to find a DJ Nike track but no luck.

Thursday 11 March 2010

James Murphy, hero


Saturday's Uprock was awesome.

It was one of those nights where things were as we hoped they would be when we started over five years ago - eclectic music in a pub full of people enjoying themselves, wearing what they want, and adding to the overall atmosphere.

All of which should be a given for a night.

Anyway, I was going to start a regular blog entry about songs which went down well (working title), but then stumbled across LCD Soundsystem's website.

James Murphy and LCD are genuine Uprock heroes. His mix of MIA's Paper Planes and LCD's Watch The Tapes sounded as fresh as ever on Saturday, and it's exciting to hear that a new album is only a month or so away.

James Murphy is a modern day Brian Wilson - a visionary with an amazing talent for bringing the sounds within his head to record.

Seeing LCD live you can't help but feel for his band, as despite being accomplished musicians themselves they're continually given instructions by their leader - who sometimes even takes over playing their instruments.

His determination not to compromise and steer away from his vision is admirable.

Anyway, for the new album he seems to have rented out a mansion and turned it into a studio. Nice videos.



And going back on topic of songs that went down well at Uprock, the Rock mix of Audio Bullys' Only Man sounded great. I think it could be one of the year's biggest tracks.

The Cads are also continuing to impress - new single This Place is Havoc sounded good, and is available to download soon.

We've been playing The XX v Florence and the Machine for a while and still love it - not sure if the Very Best's reworking will stay with us for long, but happy it came along.

But for me, Jimi Hendrix's Bleeding Heart, all 6 minutes of it, was track of the night.

Finally, props to Andy for playing General Levy as the penultimate track. Class.



Richard

Sunday 7 March 2010

"And thats How for Now"

If any of you have been to Uprock you'll probably agree that we concentrate more on the tunes that we play than the way we play them (Oh well you can't have everything). Anyway some of people stare at the laptop next to us and wonder what we using that for. Some have figured out that we are playing MP3's but not sure how this works with the turntables.

Below is a video tutorial from Serato that makes the software that we, and many other swan DJ's use. As you know we don't use it for the scratch possibilities. It does enable us however to find new MP3's that would not be coming out on to vinyl and play them through the decks. I think there are about 4 or 5 tutorials in total. look for them on YouTube if you want to learn more.

Thursday 4 March 2010

Crafty

Last Weekend I was in Norwich Arts Centre with my friend Mister Millerchip (check out his blog) we were there for Clutter City craft market. We set up our joint Millerchip and Kluck stall and then checked out what else was on offer. It was one of the best alternative craft markets I've been to (and I've been to a few).



Anyway you may be thinking I'm about to say why don't we have this sort of thing in Ipswich? Well we do. This month I make Fun Stuff is back. The first one at the end of last Novemebr showcased the best of local craft and the next one on the 27th March is looking to be a bigger event. It is well worth a visit.