Song of the year (aka footage of when Bob Dylan played UPROCK)

So good. Repeat plays at the UPROCK Christmas party awaits.

UPROCK Christmas party

Christmas jumpers at the ready....

The Uprock Christmas party takes place at The Swan, Ipswich, on Tuesday 22 December 2009. Live guests THE CHEEK and THE CADS will be joined by the UPROCK DJs playing good.festive.music

Admission is free. Hope to see you there

A Bad Video of Something Good

Ian Brown in Ipswich 01/12/09. People seemed to know this one.

Millionaires By Morning Mount Up.

Last Friday night was a big night in Ipswich. So big I turned up at the Blueroom at McGintys at 7:45 to make sure I got into the 80 capacity venue. I was pleased that I did because not long after that people where being turned away. It was the first gig by Ipswich supergroup Millionaires by Morning - 7 piece live Hip Hop band.

They sounded great and looked like they were having too much fun on stage for a group that only all met together 3 weeks go. The majority of the set was their own material. They did one cover which was a real crowed pleaser. You can view part of it underneath.

Make sure you try and check these guys out..... Turn up early.

The Cheek - Hung Up

Our good friends The Cheek release their debut single today. It's called Hung Up and sounded very good turned up loud at Uprock on Saturday night. The B side is a cover of La Roux's In For The Kill.

The video for Hung Up is interesting. It's inspired by Andy Warhol and has the aim of being "a video that nobody else had made yet".

The Cheek - Hung Up from The Cheek on Vimeo.

Good work. The launch party is at Cargo in London tonight (Monday, 9 October).

They've also posted a well-worth-listening to mixtape/download on their well-worth-reading blog: http://thecheek.tumblr.com/

If you like music, speak french and have a spare 70 minutes then this is for you.

But as long as you like music you'll probably be ok

MUSICVISION PHOENIX from Guillaume Delaperriere on Vimeo.

Late X Late = Late Squared

I have been meaning to write this for over a week now. If you are reading this on the morning of the 1st November then there is still time for you to see the Square Route show put together by Lielow and Sketch (For info read a few posts down). Any later than that and you've missed your chance. You may think what's the point of continuing reading? Well at least you can take a look at some of the pictures that were there and secondly you should check out their website. Hopefully the increased traffic will help them realise that they need to continue putting on art shows in Ipswich.


Chris Nunn


Cab Weal


Asboluv


Sam Peet


Mister Millerchip

Monster mash up

A happy halloween to all Uprockers old and new.

Sit back and enjoy a spooky offering from Essay Like Nephew, as the normally lovely guys get creeped up and perform some of their songs with an added haunted feel.

And check out the acting at the start. Good work.

Spike takes Kanye out, films consequences

Apparently Spike Jonze got the idea for this after seeing Ric at the end of the last Uprock.

Toy Story

A week ago I went to my friend Ben's for the weekend. Ben works for a famous toy company which means that he always has new toys to play with when I go over. First up is story telling elmo. This guy is much better than tickle me elmo (so 1990's). He comes with his own stool that he sits down on to think about what story he is gonna tell you.

This one is about a giant:

The second toy is now actually sitting on our shelf at home (thanks Ben). It's a George Lucas storm trooper disguise figure. He must have felt he needed a disguise after Jar Jar Binks.

Beasts International

Last Friday (9th Oct) was the opening of the second Lielow and Sketch exhibition at the Graham and Oldham gallery Ipswich (opposite crown pools). It was a busy night of free drinks, music (from King St. Swap Meet), and animal related art work from mostly local artist but a few from further away.

Lielow and Sketch have been making a name for themselves since they curated their first exhibition (called 3) earlier in the summer and were present at Art on the prom in Felixstowe at the end of August.

The Animal House exhibition is open to see until the 18th Oct (12pm-6pm). If you are in Ipswich at lunch time then I'd advise you to pop in to take a look, and maybe even buy one of the reasonably priced pieces, T-shirts or badges.

Their next exhibition at the gallery is called square route and starts on the 24th Oct. The idea behind square route is for all the artists to create two pieces 50cmx50cm. That's the only rule. We'll put pictures up as soon as we can.

And between now and then they are also collaborating with the guys from Rapsploitaion. but Im not sure if I'm supposed to talk about that so I'm gonna stop writing

ARTrock

There's little need for us to add anything in way of background for these two videos. What could do them justice?

JR, Women are heroes:

JR - EXTRAIT "WOMEN ARE HEROES", Kibera, Kenya
by JR

And Blu messes around in a courtyard with David Ellis in his follow up to Mutu.

COMBO a collaborative animation by Blu and David Ellis (2 times loop) from blu on Vimeo.

Amazing.

JR
Blu

Jim'll Fix It

If you bumped into me at any point in the last month I probably said to you - "have you heard Jimmy's - what if dilla poduced the blueprint" . Now if I didn't see you at any point last month or you don't know who Jimmy is this is what you need to know.

1) Jimmy is Jimmy Green. He's an Ipswich based High School Teacher, DJ, and Beatmaker (I know that he is amazing at atleast 2 of these things - I'm sure the kids at his school think he's cool too).

2) His "what if dilla produced the blueprint" (thats J Dilla)has been getting some serious heat on the blog scene including Kanye West blog (one of the original Blueprint producers) and the Rawkus Blog.

3) He's recently set up his own blog where you can get alot of his stuff. He writes on it alot so there's loads to see here.



I've been meaning to write this blog for a while as I've been listening to it alot. So sorry if this has come a little late.

As it has come late it means that I can also mention his latest Marvin Gaye mixtape which has just been put on his blog yesterday. I will be listening to it on the way to work tomorrow so can't give you a proper review, but to be honest I know that I will love it and i'm looking forward to going to work tomorrow.

We will (robot) rock you

In two minds whether this is a good thing or not. Looks like they held off on letting them use the pyramid stage though, maybe they're saving it for the sequel.

Uprock Social Club returns

Following an incredible night with Mumford and Sons earlier in the year, we're pleased to announce that the Uprock Social Club will return on Saturday 3 October.

Our special guests will be the hugely talented and critically acclaimed trio The Invisible.

The band's debut LP has been picked for the 2009 Mercury Music Prize and received widespread praise, and their live show takes things to another level.

For newcomers to the Uprock Social Club...here's how it works. We put on a night, you come along and decide how much to pay.

Further details including support to be announced closer to the time.

We're so excited.



The Invisible on MySpace

He's not Dead!? Let's Sing!

I can't remember when and where I got told it, but I thought Bobby McFerrin shot himself after recording Don't Worry Be Happy. I think I even heard it in a film after I had been told.

Apparently this isn't true and he is alive and well talking at international science festivals. I was seriously impressed with what I saw. Sing along with him it makes it more fun.



P.s. If anyone knows why I thought he was dead, or if I've confused it with something else please reply in the comment box

Wild thing, I think I love you

Latest Where The Wild Things Are trailer unveiled - Uprock excitement guage now reads 'Hysterical'.

Looking well worth the long wait.

Hey Uprock you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind, hey Uprock!

Or so says Ip1 Magazine...
Not that we care much for publicity.

T-Shirt news 3 - Whitey

Sometimes the only message you need to give out is I'm fresh and clean. A regular white is all you need to do this. You can get shirts like this most places but if you're looking for a good deal you should look up Bubbles down in Hamsterdam, he'll hook you up.

The Wire is a favorite for all at Uprock (that have watched it). I've just started season four where I was expecting more of the same good quality but instead it's gone from great to greater. 

Music response

It's always nice when people come up to us when we're DJing - whether it's for a chat, to say hi or to ask about a record we've played during the night. We like to consider ourselves approachable.

Anyway, this post was prompted by the above happening pretty much every time we've played Half Full Glass of Wine by Australian band Tame Impala.

The change of pace at the beginning...the authentic throwback sound...the bass...THAT riff...all make it a record that's impossible to ignore.

Anyway, in case you were wondering, that's what it's called, and here's how it sounds:


Another track people were asking about at UPROCK on Saturday was also by Tame Impala, who follow up Half Full Glass of Wine with a cover of Blueboy's Remember Me.

Remember that? It will no doubt divide opinion and may even get compared to Kula Shaka, but it sounded fresh turned up loud on Saturday.

Oh yeah! Daft Punk return

Daft Punk - true innovators, genuine UPROCK idols and providers of perhaps the best live show ever - are about to return with their score for Tron Legacy:


Who knows what the film will be like, but the involvement of Daft Punk will keep us high on excitement for the next few months.

The early signs are promising, with what's said to be the theme (or 2 minute clip) sounding menacing yet not too disimilar to Human After All.

The Cryda Luv cut up, meanwhile, takes things back with some Homework era beats, albeit slowed down a bit.


Anyway, if that's not enough Daft Punk for you take a look at the idaft site (also an app for iPhone), which lets you recreate Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger:
iDaft

Finally, all this reminded me that last year as part of Out of Time Records' annual post Christmas sale (where all vinyl is £1), I spotted a young guy with Homework and Discovery in his hands and a slightly confused look on his face.

The excitement I felt on his behalf was both strange and immense.

Buy Daft Punk @ Amazon

Robot rock

When I was a kid I remember wanting an Omnibot more than anything else.

This was entirely due to Tomy's 30 second TV ad, which tapped directly into every aspiration a kid like me could have - if I had this little guy on my side, I thought, the rest of my life would be pretty damn sweet.

Sadly it never happened and I faced up to the brutal reality of a life where you have to carry orange juice and croissants around for yourself and find different ways to win friends (I'm still working on that bit).

Then, last week my Dad was clearing out a load of junk for his boss and there sat a still boxed, pretty much unplayed, Omnibot.
Turns out that someone else had the toy that I wanted and didn't even bother playing with him. And in the cold light of 2009 it was pretty underwhelming to finally pick Omnibot up, although the idea of having a robot servant that plays cassettes is still way up there as a concept.

If you've never seen the TV advert here it is - Tomy really pulled out all the stops on this one, you can see why I was hooked (and maybe why I ended up in marketing):

Obey the King

As seen in the woods at Latitude.

Latitude 09 review

Another year, another incredible three days' worth of entertainment right on our door-step.

Here are our highlights…

Fever Ray – Uncut Stage, Friday
In which Karin Dreijer-Andersson spends two thirds of the performance sheltered under her robe looking part tribal god, part costumed extra from Where The Wild Things Are.

Accompanied by a full laser show and a set of costumed accomplices (our favourite being the dog boy in a ruffled shirt), the aural experience somehow still succeeded in overtaking the visual, with a bewildering mix of beauty and nightmare.

The fact that it all happened before tea-time made it seem even more surreal.

Thom Yorke – Obelisk Arena, Sunday
If you could choose a way to start a day this would probably take some beating – waking up in the Latitude campsite to the sound of Thom Yorke’s sound-check drifting on the early morning breeze.

Come midday, Thom made his way back on stage and managed to make a headline performance to the biggest crowd of the weekend feel like the most intimate gig you’ve seen.

So beautiful it made you want to cry.



Local Natives – Sunrise Arena, Friday
Winning the best new band of the weekend accolade by a distance, Uprock’s heart was stolen by five charming guys from Los Angeles.

Wearing their hearts proudly on their sleeves and clearly touched by the response to their first ever festival performance, their tight harmonies and emotional edge made a massive impression on us. In return we bought them beer and begged them to come play for us.

Completing our stalking session, Ric also managed to record a couple of acoustic tracks backstage, which you can hear on BBC iPlayer.

Golden Silvers – Lake Stage, Friday
Following in the footsteps of fellow Uprock alumni, The Cheek, Golden Silvers were given the nod by Huw Stephens to headline the Lake Stage this year and have never looked more at home.

A criticism of Latitude could be the limited number of danceable acts in comparison to other festivals but this (admittedly made-up) argument was undone with a set that showcased their debut album in all its glory.

Jeffrey Lewis – Poetry Tent, Saturday
Scheduled to appear three times over the course of the weekend, things didn’t get off to a promising start when organisers explained that Jeffrey had broken down outside London and wouldn’t be delivering his thesis presentation on the artwork of Watchmen (the fact that this announcement was made to a packed film tent seconds before he was due to appear was a rare blip in the organisation of the festival).

But all was forgiven at 12:30am the next morning when Jeffrey shuffled on stage in the Poetry Tent and swung seamlessly between brand new and old material, a rap about mosquitoes, and the unveiling of his recently completed detective comic.

When he finished, Uprock and a handful of geeks (notice how we don’t put ourselves in that category) were treated to an ad hoc Watchmen Q&A with Jeffrey round the side of the Literature Tent. Most asked question – “What did you think of the movie?. Paraphrased answer – “It was okay, lacked emotion though”.

Phoenix – Obelisk Arena, Sunday
Ending our long wait to see them live, Uprock favourites Phoenix played the Sunday night and exceeded our already high expectations. Opening with ‘Lisztomania’ and ending with a beefed up ‘1901’, there couldn’t have been a more fitting way to end the weekend.

And kudos to Andy for winning delayed lol of the festival, claiming that the drummer looks like Carlton Banks in a text that arrived 14 hours after they finished their set.

Photos by Jen O Neil, Chris Gornell and BBC Suffolk

SwanFest - "shake what ya mama gave ya"

King Charles

Young talent

It's a sign of the times that writing a blog about two young boys and following it up with a video of two young girls makes us feel a bit odd, but there you go. We've got kids and one of us even had a recent successful CRB check, so deal with it.

Anyway....White Tea. An 11-year-old and a 14-year-old who say 'were half of what a ganster is'. They might not know how to use apostrophes, but they make a good tune.



And playing it on Saturday reminded us of how good Smoosh were.

Playing and dancing to Rad as part of the post Good Shoes/Pigeon Detectives UPROCK lives on as a special memory.



White Tea on MySpace

Boy of today swaps iPod for Walkman

What will he think?

Look here

_

Hmmmm bop

People don't appreciate how tough it can be being a musical snob.

Most of the time it's easy - tell tale signs such as major label bandwagon jumping or Radio One daytime playlist support mean we can turn our noses up without fearing any damaging repercussions.

But sometimes a band comes along and, although you get the feeling that you'll hate them in six months' time, the strength of a single track leaves you confused.

It temporarily knocks out the inbuilt gauge of what innovating trendsetters such as ourselves should dig.

'Can't stop, can't stop, can't stop my feet', these Junior Senior guys are amazing! 'Doopity, doop, doop, do-wo-doop', this shit is amazing!

And so on....to Young Fathers, a Scottish hip hop act who already have a couple of nauseating tracks on their MySpace alongside their forthcoming single, Straight Back On It.

I just can't decide....

Farewell MJ

Everybody loves the sunshine

It's the longest day of the year on Sunday. There's not much better than long, warm nights in England - it's just a pity it will start to go downhill from next week.

Anyway, this isn't a weather blog. It's (mostly) about music. And genuinely good house music goes hand in hand with the sunshine.



More on Jamie Jones

*Postcard image stolen from Lettie, whose words and hoarded remnants paint a romanticised picture of times gone by: Lettie

Essay Like Nephew

Lovely artwork, charming videos and songs perfect for a summer's day.

Essay Like Nephew provide proof, if neeeded, that it's often best if bands have the time to find their feet without the burden of hype and expectation.

But saying that, even if China Pop had of arrived on a wave of hysteria it would still satisfy the harshest of critics.





Download the full album via their website

T-Shirt News 2 -answers on a t-shirt

Silly John, he should have seen this.

UPROCK @ Swanfest 2009

UPROCK is proud to be hosting the Saturday night at this year's Swanfest. There are some really good bands playing over the three days - Thursday 3 to Sunday 5 July.

Here's who we've got:

HOT CLUB DE PARIS



KING CHARLES



ANGRY VS THE BEAR



JAMES SEVERY and band



Tickets are going fast

A night with friends

Saturday (6th June) was the first Uprock and Friends. Here's what we got up to and some of the songs that we played:

When I first heard that Pixelh8 was going to be DJing I was expecting to assalted with beeps and buzzes that I had not heard since playing my Sega Master System.

So I was surprised to hear a set made up of soul and funk. I was also pleased to find out where the sample in Mama Said Knock you out comes from.

Here is James at the start of the night putting his tunes together.

As you can see he’s working hard. The work paid off with tracks from - Daniel Johnston, TV On The Radio and Crystal Fighters.

The Cheek boys had signed a record deal with Universal on Thursday so as you can imagine they were in high spirits.

Highlights included Eric B and Rakim, Phoenix and Paris Hilton - which was cut short because they had to leave to catch a plane to Ibiza to write some new songs.

Thanks to all the guys for turning up and sharing some of their favourite songs. It was an eventful evening to say the least.

p.s. If anyone is interested I enjoyed playing MSTRKRFT feat John Legend

Andy

Polling Day

Friends Together, Friends Forever....

When Andy discovered he was the only one of the three Uprockers available for June's UPROCK we thought (not that) long and (not that) hard about how we could make it an excellent night and ease the pressure on Coke's number one fan.

So we got out our Rolodex, which sits on top of the previously mentioned alphabetically-sorted filing cabinet, and called up some friends for their help.

Being the nice guys they are they were all happy to help so this Saturday UPROCK will host special guest DJ slots from Pixelh8, James Severy and The Cheek.

We'll be going from 8pm until 1am @ The Swan, and admission is free.

Here's a taste of The Cheek in action:

And our thoughts on friendship put into words and pictures:

Insecticide

One day a man decides to call time on his career in TV advertising, choosing instead to don a ringmasters outfit, round up a bunch of acrobats, dress them as beetles and ants and then take the show on the road as an insect circus.

Then, in an act of artistic/OCD genius, he sets about creating an insanely detailed back-story for the project, designs beautiful old bill posters, costumes and props, and showcases them all in a converted Bedford van as a travelling insect circus museum.

This weekend the circus came to Woodbridge.

(Buy Passion Pit 'Manners')

"An old record is a good record" - but free ones are best

A few months ago I was at the Swan for one of the action packed multi DJ nights that happen every so often. As I was waiting my turn DJ Paulo played a song by Roxanne Shante that I had never heard before.

I had not heard a lot of the songs that had been played that night but this one stuck out. It was an old acid house track but had a sound that I felt could sit comfortably next to a lot of new electro and hiphop.

I enjoy finding old tracks that are able to cross over into a newer sound. Paulo was busy but luckly Ben Marr (aka Skeema) was on hand to tell me that it was produced by Brandon Cooke Featuring Roxanne Shante. Ben (who puts together all the vinyl in Blacksheep) said that he could get me a copy.

I had almost forgotten about all of this until today, I popped into Blacksheep to find that Ben had left me a 1988 promo copy on 12” vinyl for free. What a nice man.

Anyway here’s the track. It reminds me of stuff Mr Oizo and Uffie do now. It even has So-Me-esq video.

p.s. If you walk through town holding a piece of vinyl old people smile at you

Nuthin' but a "T" Thang

After Good.New.Music one of our other collective passions here at Uprock are T-Shirts. Personally I like T-Shirts because they let people know what you like without having to talk about it. It's body size advertising space where you can share anything from favorite acts to personal ideologies.

Here are two shirts I would like to share with you.



Back in the the early 90's this shirt was available everywhere (my friend got his in Coco Pops). In 2009 it took me a while to track down, but finally found it online.

I hope you know who Dr Dre is. If not check out this video out from the album advertised on the shirt. Fingers crossed for the Detox this year.



Shirt number two was kindly given to me by Uprocker Ric. Ric knew that my favorite artist is Jean-Michel Basquiat. I was very grateful to receive a shirt with some of his work on.





Here's an interview with Basquiat with some of his joint work with Andy Warhol.



Watch out for more T-Shirt news soon.

Andy

A Good Ice Lolly in Disguise

Rubbish movie tie ins may not be a regular part of this blog, but just when it looked like Transformers couldn't get any lower along comes the Nestle Transformers Ice Cube.

Stumbled across this in Ibiza and had hopes that it would be like the Spiderman and Jurassic Park lollies, two good examples of how to base cooling treats on a film.

But disappointment set in almost instantly on unwrapping.

For a start, at the equivalent of £1 it was more than twice the price.

Secondly, look at it. Why's it square and so small?

The first Transformers film was probably one of the worst ever seen so I've no plans to see the sequel. But I do wonder what role the cola and lemon flavoured cube will play in the storyline.

Worst.film.tie.in.ice.cream ever.

Nestle's full range of Transformers merch

More like fidget house, yo!

If we filed records in order, this would go under F for floor filler (love or hate sub section).

AC Slater - Jack Got Jacked (Jack Beats mix)

Dream UPROCK

'I remember the time when the Organics smashed it up at Uprock. The kids went crazy.'

Mumford and Sons @ UPROCK

The first Uprock Social Club, where people got to pay as little or as much as they like, took place at the Swan on 21/02/09.

Sons of Noel and Adrian and Pete Rowe took the stage before a truly incredible performance from the headliners.

Here's But My Heart Told My Head:

UPROCK on Saturday

UPROCK returns to the Swan, Ipswich, on Saturday 2 May. Come celebrate the bank holiday with some good.new.music.

Free entry, from 8.30pm until 1am.

If I Ever Feel Better

Phoenix are back and 1901 has provided us with fresh enthusiasm for one of Uprock's favourite bands.

Their albums are great but the 2000 single, If I Ever Feels Better, has a special place in our hearts for being one of the few records that we've had in our boxes at pretty much every Uprock since we started in 2004.

It's rare that a record is released whereby all three mixes stand up as leading examples of their genre.

The original version remains one of the highlights of early 21st Century guitar music (albeit disco tinted) prior to The Strokes' arrival, Todd Edwards' spiritual reworking is enough to challenge many's preconceptions of garage music, whilst the Buffalo Bunch's mix is a genuine floor filler which holds its own against the best of both Roule and Crydamoure's output.

Perhaps the best £4 ever spent.

Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better
Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better (Todd Edwards' Dub Better Mix)
Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better I'll Go To The Disco (Said the Buffalo Bunch)

Buy Phoenix at Amazon

1901 video: