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Saturday, 04 July 2009
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CD reviews from 2008 are now online.

I will put up older CD reviews over the next few weeks.

Portishead
Written by Funky J   
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Portishead were one of those amazing 90s bands that managed the strange feat of crossing over into the mainstream, although technically they are the antithesis of everything that is mainstream pop music. Geoff Barrow is a triphop producer who’s not shy of using samples and beats from weird and wonderful sources. Adrian Utley is a jazz guitarist who has performed with Art Blakey, a performer held in the same regard as Miles Davis. And Beth Gibbons, whose distinctive voice is recognised the instant she sings her first note on any recording is notoriously media shy in a world full of media whores. Their unlikely union created music that was esoteric, moody, dark and deep, yet strangely compelling. Ten years after their last album, Portishead return with a third album, somewhat unimaginatively called Third, but nonetheless a striking musical masterpiece that is anything but unimaginative.
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Mr Scruff
Written by Funky J   
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Andy Carthy is one of those people who puts the art back into the word artist. As Mr Scruff, he’s constantly innovating and improving his own sound, drawing inspiration from everything he sees and hears. His music is cheeky and fun, but he himself takes music rather seriously, and thinks deeply about his work and the processes surrounding it.
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Ten Years of Finger Lickin'
Written by Funky J   
Monday, 01 December 2008

Ten years is a long time in any job, but Justin Rushmore of Soul Of Man is proud of his illustrious career as head honcho of Finger Lickin’ Records. Along with Jem Panufnik they’ve grown from being the only people on the label to a tour-de-force in the music world. Their first record was Love and Hate, and Justin explains how they went from recording a single to running a record label. “We took it to a few promotions companies and they said ‘look, if you’re really going to set up a label, you’re going to need 3 or 4 records to release,’” he explains. “So we went back to the studio for another few months and made 3 or 4 more tracks, some of which we put under different names – 2 Inda Bush, Osmosis and Soul Of Man.”

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Andy C - NightLife 4
Written by Funky J   
Sunday, 13 July 2008

Andy C is known and the nice guy of drum and bass. With a perky “Good morning to you sir, how are you?” start to the interview, Andy chuckles through his answers, full of good humour and passion about his job. And why shouldn’t he? He’s the world’s best dnb DJ, the owner of one of the longest running dnb record labels RAM records, and nearly 20 years after he first stared producing and mixing, he is still loving playing music to hundreds and thousands of people around the world.

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DJ Food
Written by Funky J   
Friday, 11 May 2007
Considering DJ Food isn’t one individual but rather an amorphous beast created to get around record label restrictions but now spawned a life of its own, it’s no surprise that they only have one full studio album to their credit. Sure, they have mix albums, remix albums, and 12 inches everywhere, but Strictly Kev, the main man behind the moniker says the monster’s tentacles are in everything at the moment and it’s hard to find time to concentrate on one thing, but that’s the way he seems to like it.
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Steinski
Written by Funky J   
Thursday, 28 October 2004
Winning the Tommy Boy remix competition with their “Payoff Mix” of G.L.O.B.E & Whizkid’s Play That Beat Mr DJ in 1983, little did Steven Stein and Doug DiFranco realise they would become two of the most important names in hiphop, whose production techniques would span all genres of popular music. “I was fairly old… early 30s I guess maybe,” Stein begins. “We didn’t know if everybody made mixes like that, and we didn’t know if it was anything special. We just did it in a weekend, we liked it and said ‘OK, lets send it in’. It was a contest, and we hoped we would win, obviously,” he says humbly, “but we didn’t know. As it turns out they knew heard once they heard it!” In fact, the organisers left it for the judges to hear last, and they broke out in spontaneous applause once it was played. Steinski and Double Dee became an instant hit on urban radio.
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Jamie Messenger
Written by Funky J   
Sunday, 19 August 2007

When your knowledge of classical music comes from Disney and Warner Brother Cartoons, it’s hard to conceive questions for one of Adelaide’s foremost classical composers. However, Jamie Messenger doesn’t fit the mould usually conjured up by the words “classical composer.” He plays keyboards, guitars and sings in bands, has produced and arranged numerous pieces for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO), including shows ‘All You Need Is Beatles’, ‘Zeppelin Flies Again’ and ‘Orchestral Pink Floyd’, and of course is the composer behind the incredibly successful 'Hard Road Restrung' album with the Hilltop Hoods.

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Coldcut - Matt Black
Written by Funky J   
Saturday, 11 February 2006
Talking to Matt Black was a dream come true. It was he, along with partner Jonathan Moore who got me into writing about music backstage at a gig in Sydney. Fearing I’d never get to talk to them again, I picked their brains until they asked if I was a music journalist, planting the seed in my mind. I must have been asking the right questions this time, because we talked for quite a while, with Black giving me some very verbose answers and some incredible insight into the world of Coldcut.
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