let the spirits move you

A couple of year ago I decided that I’d not buy as many albums due to an ever increasing collection and only a limited time to listen to them. I had a great idea. I’d just buy seven inches instead. They don’t take up half as much room and they’re much quicker to listen to. What started out as a nice lunchtime shopping distraction has turned into a full-blown addiction. I’m now running out of shelf and box space for the little blighters. All my talk of getting some bespoke shelves made has amounted to nothing. It was all bluff and bluster. I’ve not bothered my arse doing anything about it. It’s now at the point where I’m buying seven inches that I’d forgotten I already owned. What will become of all this?

After lamenting the lack of seven inches out there I decided that maybe I should just try harder to find some. Like a junkie looking for a fix (but slightly better dressed and a little more handsome) I steeled myself late last week to venture forth into the various record stores of Dublin. And as it turns out I had a highly successful trip. I picked up nine little beauties and took them back home to take their place in the vinyl vault. Here they will gather dust until my kids reach their teenage years and thank me for the collection I amassed on their behalf. Or something like that!

The Smiths released ‘Hand in Glove’ as their first single and it failed to chart. Not to be outdone both Morrissey and Johnny Marr entreated the then retired Sandie Shaw to do a cover of it. Hey presto it’s a hit. Next thing you know she’s writhing on the floor during an appearance on Top of the Pops. Behind her are Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, all barefoot, in homage to the great woman herself. I don’t think it’s as good as the original but I’m glad to have a copy of it for posterity.

So too was there gladness when I picked up a copy of Joe Jackson’s ‘Is she really going out with him’. I’ll put it beside my recently acquired copy of ‘Stepping Out’ by the same artist. I don’t really know much of his other stuff and to be honest I’m afraid to listen to it in case I’m disappointed. I like those two tunes so much that I find it hard to believe he could have equalled or bettered them. I remember he appeared on 'Later' a few years back and I think he might have performed this tune. That only leads me to believe that he hasn't done anything better.

I got both of the aforementioned seven inches in Spindizzy Records in the Georges Street Arcade. They’d also got a couple of boxes of second-hand reggaes sevens in so I had to have a look through them too. There was loads of stuff there that I was kind of interested in but as I say, space is at a premium in Chez Vinyl these days. As such I settled for the following three tunes. ‘Fally Ranking’ by Johnny Osborne was released on the Greensleeves label in 1980. This seven-inch of the tune is a repressing from 2001 and delightfully features a b-side by Black Uhuru of a top reggae tune called ‘I love King Selassie’. The next couple of reggae sevens look like they’re represses on the Trojan subsidiary label, Jackpot. The first is the well-known Ken Boothe version of The Abyssinians classic ‘Satta Massa Gana’ and has the accompanying Satta Riddim on the flip side. Likewise with the next tune. It’s another Abyssinians tune ‘Declaration of Rights’, this time by Johnny Clarke and it too has the version on the flip. Animal tune!

A trip down to All City Records was equally, if not more, successful. I bagged the new seven-inch by Mike Slott on the All City label. It’s hard to describe but I’m going to attempt it anyway. I was listening to it over the shop speakers when some teenage kids came in to buy some spray paint. One of them asked if the shop sold dance music and proceeded to treat me to some happy hardcore that he had on his phone. I told him that he was in fact listening to some cutting edge leftfield hip-hop over the shop speakers but he couldn’t reconcile my description with what he was hearing. Therein lies the problem with describing ‘Flunky’ by Mike Slott. It really is going to have limited appeal to most people. Like Guinness you have to acquire a taste for this. I think it’s great.

There were a bunch of other seven inches behind the counter so I picked them up and starting listening to them. I picked out an eighties nu-soul/funk tune by, wait for it, Wynd Chymes. The track is pure cheese. Now don’t jump to conclusions. I’m not talking Galtee Easi Singles here. I’m talking good cheese. A finely aged Stilton. A nice Camembert even. It’s called ‘Baby you’re the one’ and it really is a cracker. All bass and hairspray. The other tune that I picked out was by German dubstepper Phokus and it’s called ‘Police in Helicopter’. The tune is called Inta and the flip side has a remix by Wadadda on it. The pressing is limited to 400 copies and that makes me feel pretty bad. It turns out that Olan had ordered the pile of records I’d picked up for himself. Nevertheless being the consummate professional he still sold me the two tunes I wanted. Now that’s service for you.

Finally I also chanced upon the latest seven inch release from the latest Roots Manuva album Slime and Reason. It’s called ‘Let the Spirit’ and I hadn’t really given it much thought when listening to the album. Then I saw it performed on ‘Later’ and I was hooked. It’s sparse and simple and it’s beautiful. I have the kids singing the chorus all day. I think that they’re hooked too. Here he is on Later.

the black watch

Myself and the missus took ourselves off to the RDS last night. It wasn't for Kanye West or the Ideal Homes exhibition or anything like that. It was to check out one of the feted plays in this years Dublin Theatre Festival. The show in question is called Black Watch. I saw the festival director on the TV last week saying it was the best piece of theatre produced anywhere in the world in the last few years. As soon as I heard that I lowered my expectations. I hate it when fuckers tell you something is going to be brilliant only for it to turn out to be shite. I need not have been so cynical or disbelieving. The show was great. It's produced by the National Theatre of Scotland and directed by some bloke called John Tiffany. Its apparently based on interviews with former soldiers who served in Iraq and it examines what it means to be part of the legendary Black Watch Regiment, what it means to be part of the war on terror, and what it means to make the long journey home. It was a gripping hour and forty five minutes or so and for a large part of it there was definite sensory assault. I'll not bother reviewing it because that's not my thing but you can read the review in todays Irish Times. I'd recommend that you check it out if it comes around again. I've more freaky theatre lined up for tomorrow evening when I go and see Metamorphosis . Written by Kafka, with music by Nick Cave and half of it staged on the ceiling, you just know its going to be mental.

I made peace with a little part of myself the other day when I finally got my hands on a 12 inch copy of the Foul Play remix of 'Renegade Snares' by Omni Trio. I've been wanting a copy of this old drum and bass tune for years. It's in my top three favourite jungle tunes ever and now it stands on the shelf gathering dust alongside a couple of hundred other jungle classics. Big up to Gerry in Beatfinder Records for not selling it to anyone else (despite his best efforts).

A seven inch of note that's found a new home in Chez Vinyl is the second release in the Powerful Beacon series. It sees hip-hop producer Samon Kawamura remix a classic hip-hop tune by OC called Times Up. The Powerful Beacon project aims to reintroduce hip hop classics to the modern listener by having them remixed by contemporary producers. It's nowhere near as good as the original but its still pretty great. It was released on Takeshi Records some time earlier this year.

beats and pieces

Right so. I've picked up a few bits and pieces so its actually worth writing something. So let's get busy with this weeks round-up of vinyl gems.

First up is a seven inch from the Jack to Phono label. It's by Tombee, a DJ, producer and film-maker from Newcastle in the UK and its entitled 'Sticky Rhythm'. The b-side has a Phase 5 Stereo remix thats also the business. The samples used and the way that its stuck together make the a-side somewhat reminiscent of the early sampling techniques used by the likes of The Prodigy. There's an almost childlike feel to the creation of the tune. I think that's what I like about it.

The next tune I picked up was for €1 in Oxfam. It's by Dream Warriors and it's called 'Wash your face in my sink'. These guys hailed from Toronto in Canada. The group comprised of King Lou, Capital Q, Spek and a DJ, L.A. Luv. This tune was the follow up to their more famous "My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style" which featured the widely known sample from "Soul Bossa Nova" by Quincy Jones.


Another old piece of vinyl that I got is the Fall EP by Ride. It was released in 1990 on Creation records and comes with a nice piece of artwork on the cover. It was swiftly followed by their debut album 'Nowhere' which managed to achieve some acclaim. I saw them a couple of times back then and I always liked them. This EP features 'Dreams burn down' which was always a favorite of mine. Get busy gazing at your shoes for this.


Next up is Rockers Hi-Fi with their 1996 album 'Mish Mash'. It comes on triple vinyl to fit all the goodness in. These guys came from Birmingham and by the mid 90's were becoming widely recognised for fusing dub, hip-hop, a bit of jungle and whatever you're having yourself. They released a clatter of albums and also mixed and compiled an album for the now infamous K7 DJ-Kicks series. One of the members, Glyn "Bigga" Bush, continues to produce music as BiggaBush and Lightning Head and he released a great album a few years back called Studio Don.

the dunny

I was having one of my luchtime chats with Olan and Cormac in All City Records today when I noticed a box on the counter. I asked what they were and was duly informed that they were Dunny's. Now folks, I'm not too well up on the graffiti scene and all its trappings so i had to explore the subject further. I've always noticed some of the bits and pieces in the shop and I had some notion that they were collectible toys but that's where my knowledge on the subject ends. There was me thinking that a dunny was what Australians called the jacks. It appears that these dunny fellas are limited edition vinyl toys that are designed by graff artists from around the globe. The latest series (Series 4) has been designed by a bunch of French graff artists. To quote from the KidRobot website: "DUNNY is an action figure made of soft, smooth vinyl. DUNNY was created to be customized in a broad variety of styles by diverse artists working in different mediums." "A variety of artists rocked Dunny in this exciting new series. 123 Klan, SKWAK, Tilt, SUPERDEUX and MIST are just a few of the artists chosen to collaborate on this lovely new series."

Anyway I thought my kids would like a look at one of these things so i bought one. The lads made me open it in the shop and when I did, lo and behold, it appears that I'd gotten a 'Chase'. When I was young a chase was something you got after you'd robbed an orchard or had done a knick-knack on someones door. In the Dunny world a chase is an even more limited edition dunny. I'd bought the Chase Dunny, in a pink pinstripe suit! Apparently it's designed by SupaKitch. It appears its one of the rarer ones. Beginners luck i suppose. Here's a picture of the little blighter, he's only three inches tall!

The Lost Irish Hip Hop podcast

I made a podcast in May of last year that I deleted from the PodOMatic thingy I was using. I thought it might free up more space but it didn't. As a result the podcast disappeared into the ether. Fear not, spurred on by reading about a recent radio interview with Captain Moonlight I searched for the podcast so that I could upload it again. I reckon Capt Moonlight won't mind too much that I've used his tune in the podcast, the lads in All City gave me the nod. Props to Cheebah for the old photos of Scary Eire.

Anyway here's the link to the podcast below. It features Captain Moonlight, Scary Eire, The Pointer Sisters and The Banana Splits.

The Forgotten Irish Hip Hop Mix

I'd rather jack's

Whilst reading a couple of recent posts I noticed some poor spelling in some of them. I'll have you no dat my spooling is reelly not that bad, it's just that I tend to write posts late at night, under the influence and never bother with the spellchecker. Anyways, apologies if I've offended any sticklers out there.

Further to an earlier post it appears that The House of Love are playing tomorrow night in The Village here in Dublin. I'm not sure if I'm going to bother going. It's €25 for a start and I think that might be too high a price to pay for a bit of nostalgia. I reckon I'll just listen to the album again instead. I'll even listen to 'Destroy the Heart' which arrived on 7" from Jack's Records in Sheffield last week. Thanks 'Jacks Records' for the prompt and efficient service.

I picked up the latest seven inch by Kid Acne yesterday and although I'm not pushed on the a-side, I'm liking the b-side after only two airings. The tune is called 'Sliding Doors' and it features on his new album 'Romance Ain't Dead' which was released on Lex Records last Monday. The b-side is a remix by Toddla T. Here's the excellent video for the song. However I should warn that model train enthusiasts might be offended by the contents.



I forgot last week to wish Dave, Julie and Dylan in Road Records a very happy 10th birthday. Happy Birthday.

I'm not satisfied

This Friday sees Crawdaddy host the acclaimed rapper and lyricist supreme, J-Live. I'm the one who is acclaiming him just in case there's any confusion. I only stumbled upon this guy after he had released the tune 'Satisfied' from his 2002 album 'All of the Above'. The tune takes Augustus Pablo's reggae classic 'East of the river Nile' and adds a beat and lyrics and turns this strange mix into a hip-hop gem. I was blown away the first time I heard it and I still like nothing more than to give it a spin on the turntable every now and then. The gig is being hosted by the ChoiceCuts crew and promises to be good. You can also catch my old mate and legendary Kilkenny B-Boy, Cool C in the POD and the Rootical Sound System will be entertaining in the bar.



I also picked up the latest 7" that was released by Arcade Fire today entitled 'Intervention'. You can watch them perform it live below.