Headcount TV - Episode 1 (Ollie Bates & Sloth in the studio)

Illustrate Bars in Oz (video)

Remember Illustrate whose EP and album I raved about last year? Illustrate who I interviewed? Illustrate who ended up at number 10 in my top 20 albums of last year? Well just after he did his interview with me he relocated to Australia and he's still there now, preparing his next album. He sent this back to the bods at Heacount Records (where his album is still available to buy) just to prove that he was still alive and spitting. Check it.

Headcount Records Podcast (free download)

Headcount Records, the folk who put out Illustrate's 'The Stuff' last year, have just put together their first podcast as a label. The label, also home to Sloth, Pneumatic, MCM, Mr. Brown and C-Lone have got Headnod to mix together 17 of their best tracks in order to give you peeps a present (and also maybe to convince you to buy their proper releases?). The tracklist is here:

1. MR BROWN - 'D.HAMMER' (produced by Mr Brown)
2. C-LONE - 'BE CAREFUL' (produced by MCM, cuts by Mr Brown)
3. PNEUMATIC ft. MR GRIEVES - 'OPERA' (produced by Rinse Dog)
4. ILLUSTRATE - 'THE STUFF' (produced/cuts by Illustrate)
5. ILLUSTRATE - 'WATCH THIS MAN' (produced/cuts by Illustrate)
6. NBA ft. PNEUMATIC & AZLAK - 'ROLLIN'' (produced by Rinse Dog)
7. PNEUMATIC & SLOTH - 'WHAT'S GOIN' ON' (produced by Sloth)
8. CHRONIKILL & PNEUMATIC & SLOTH - 'IT GETS A LITTLE LOUDER' (produced by Sloth/cuts by Mr Brown)
9. PNEUMATIC & SLOTH - 'THE THIRST' (produced by Sloth)
10. MR BROWN - 'SECONDARY IMPUT' (built from scratch by Mr Brown)
11. MR GRIEVES - 'THE GENERAL' (produced by Rinse Dog)
12. RINSE DOG - 'LORD IF YOU' (produced by Rinse Dog)
13. MCM & C-LONE - 'R.E.A.L (rhymes equal actual life)' (produced by Rinse Dog/cuts by Mr Brown)
14. ILLUSTRATE - 'YOU HAVEN’T GOT A CHANCE' (produced by Illustrate)
15. ILLUSTRATE - 'DO WHAT YOU LIKE' (produced by Sloth)
16. ILLUSTRATE - 'WORK' (produced by Illustrate)
17. SAM WEBSTER AKA SLOTH - 'SCREAM OUT RMX' (a Sloth remix of the Million Dan track Scream Out)

Unattended Baggage Blows!

Disorda has dropped another Suspect Packages radio show on us; the first of 2009.

Click here to download the show which features tracks and exclusives from Scorz, M9, Chester P, Mr. Loop, Kasha, Illustrate, Ramson Badbonez, Brotherman, Sir Smurf and a whole host of others who shouldn't be offended if I didn't type their name on the list. Anyways, you can go to Disorda's blog and read the whole tracklists hould you so desire.

There's also a nice old skool selection featuring Krispy 3, Black Radical Mk II and others.

Illustrate interview

"Sometimes trying to finish songs can be frustrating and in the past I’ve rushed them and not been 100% happy with the final result. This time I took my time with the album and I’m happy with all the tracks."

Illustrate has just released his debut album proper 'The Stuff' and it's full of intelligently produced beats and witty rhymes. Illustrate is a man of many talents and I caught up with him to find out about what he's up to and the ins and outs of making an album:

Certified Banger: What’s up Illustrate? How’s it going?

Illustrate: All good, thanks.

CB: Can you start this thing with telling us anything about yourself that the peeps out there might not know?

Illustrate: I’m left handed and dyslexic. I’m s**t at reading and spelling. I’m good at art. I manage a bar in Greenwich. My favourite colour’s purple. I drink and smoke too much. I went to private boarding school from a young age. My mum was a radio presenter on XFM. My dad flew tornadoes in the RAF. I’m moving to Australia for a year in two days. I’m claustrophobic. I repeat myself a lot. I repeat myself a lot.

CB: Let’s talk about your new album ‘The Stuff’: The mood of the album is like an emotional rollercoaster. Is this what you intended?

Illustrate: No I didn’t intend for that. I just produced a load of songs about different topics and I guess when they were put together on an album there was quite a contrast. I like that on an album. I get bored of an LP if all the tracks are about similar subjects.

Read on by clicking here!

New stuff at Suspect Packages

Run on over to Suspect Packages 'cause they've got a few of those releases you've read about here and have been waiting for:

Mudmowth - 'Circus in the Cemetery EP'
M9 - '144,000'
Illustrate - 'The Stuff'
Wretch 32 - 'Wretchrospective'
Evil Ed & Conspicuous - 'The Get Together'
Mystro - 'F.D.T. EP'

'The Stuff' - Illustrate (album review)

Having already reviewed Illustrate’s ‘Work’ EP means I’ve already assessed 4 out of 14 tracks on ‘The Stuff’, make sure you check out my review of that as well as reading this. Right, on with the review then.

The more amusing than most intro kicks things off and consists of a jaunty self produced beat and a load of samples referring to ‘The Stuff’. ‘My Hat’ comes next and ‘Sick of It’ follows. ‘Sick of It’ is a Just Jack-ish (but with proper rapping) guitar led tune that’s just a little melancholic –after all it’s about all the stuff Illustrate’s sick off. Thankfully ‘Do What You Like’ rushes in, scoops up the mood and throws it sky high thanks to the light hearted subject matter and Sloth’s airy jazz.

And the album continues this way. Illustrate seems to have sequenced the album to constantly change the way you feel and as I’ve said before, his music and writing is emotive and that’s a powerful skill to possess. Lead track ‘The Stuff’ perfectly demonstrates the slightly eccentric place where Ollie Bates finds his ideas when he refers to Braintax liking his album then drops a sample of the Low Life head honcho – ‘A big sound system playing the stuff’.

The only real dud moment is ‘Killing Celebrities’ where Illustrate does his angry white violent-but-only-joking rapper impression by listing celebrities and how he’d kill them. Rather uninspiring.

‘The Stuff’ has high entertainment value and despite the variety of emotions portrayed, has a very happy-go-lucky vibe to it- which is a nice balance for an album to have. It’s a good album to debut with and is a highlight in this year’s more subterranean rap releases. It’s out on November 17th on Headcount Records and will be available for sure from Suspect Packages.

Reviews Coming Up @ Certified Banger

Yo! My postie has been a busy man over the last week or so (and so has my virtual postie) and I've got millions of CD's and tracks and things to review. Let me give you a list so you know what to look forward to:

Sway - 'The Signature LP'

Skreintax - 'Scene Stealers'

Illustrate - 'The Stuff'

Rhyme Asylum - 'State of Lunacy'

TB - 'The Beast From The East'

M9 - '144,000'

Chronic Redeye - 'Knowledge is King'

Geejay - 'I Came To Represent'

Dap-C - 'Street Karma'

Pyroradio.com Presents 'Top Selectors'

Occupy Your Mind Records Presents 'Grime'

Evil Ed & Conspicuous - 'The Get Together'

Jazz T - 'All City Kings'

Wordsmith - 'They Don't Seem To Care' EP

The Mantis Chapter - 'Graveyard Poets' EP

So check back regularly, add me to your reader feeder or whatever to find out what's going to be worth listening to out of this little lot!

'Do What You Like' - Illustrate (video)

If you liked what you heard when I reviewed Illustrate's latest 12" (his track 'Work' is still in the player over yonder), then check out this little video for the track he had on the HHC 'Rising Styles' compilation CD. This was the first time I heard the guy and he's refreshingly on form. This vid is getting serious love from the youtube users too.

Watch out for his album which will be coming soon. Check out Headcount Records for more info.

'Work' - Illustrate (12" review)

First off, big up to Headcount Records for being the first to send me vinyl to review - that's the realness right there.

Illustrate is a one man music machine; producing, rapping and scratching in varying combinations. Having already released his EP 'Bedroom Production' and the mix CD 'Get the Picture' he has dropped this quadruple A-side 12" as a taster of what's to come on his album 'The Stuff' to be released this October. He also featured on the Rising Styles compilation, free with HHC, with his excellent track 'Do What You Like'.

'Work is what this song is about' says Ollie Bates on the chorus to 'Work'...so he gave it an apt name then. Over a slightly melancholy guitar-picked but lively-drummed beat Illustrate spits verses that you can hear and understand. With natural delivery and seemingly effortless rhyme patterns Illustrate speaks to the masses. 'Work' sees a classic story rap interweaved with thoughts about the world of 9 to 5ing and being an aspiring musician.

'My Hat' follows the theme of giving tracks obvious names; it's about Illustrate's cap. You may think that's corny, you may think it's a refreshing serving of genius - either way, I've never heard another track like it. Over a classic Premo-ish beat Bates raps lyrics like 'It's been snatched and grabbed, packed in bags//Stamped and hanged you could say this hat's had it bad//Manufactured in a factory then wrapped and crammed in box then sent to a shop in the back of a van//Then I bought it and snapped off the tag...". Fresh.

'Sweet Dream', produced by DJ Tigerstyle, is a broken beat led track with a scratched K-Os vocal on the chorus. Illustrate outlines his ideal world, so highlighting all the evil that is actually present on this sphere. 'Winter Lady' is a slow paced obituary built upon Mike Hostile's snare rolls and phased piano chords and synth choirs. Illustrate tells the sad story of a down-and-out junkie, and with real emotion in his voice he demonstrates his ability to affect the listener.

Above all this 12" exhibits Illustrate's all round versatility. The beats differ, the topics differ vastly and as a result the mood differs from track to track. If Illustrate's (also an apt name; this guy paints the clearest pictures) forthcoming long player follows this pattern he'll have a highly lauded piece of work on his hands, I'm sure of that. The 'Work' 12" was a satisfying listening experience - Illustrate harbours the energy and ideas of someone willing to do what they like - this is the Hip Hop I love.

'Work' is out now on Headcount Records and is available at places like Suspect Packages.