It is the final diary entry of 2011 and it is full of good news for 2012.
As before with the November Diary, the script is imaginative, absorbing and interesting.
The narrator is clear and direct, just as I like, whilst Mike Skinner, Robert Harvey and Ted Mayhem assist their roles with perfection.
"Since this was your favourite track on the CD (apart from Cradle Of
Civilisation). It is only right that you are part of the video. You
are loved and missed by us all. Sleep well Adooni."
Lowkey, real name Kareem Dennis, the London born Rapper, musician and political activist of English and Iraqi decent to an Iraqi mother and an English father, from the age of twelve he began to rap, graduating to the open mic sessions which took place at the Deal Real record shop on Carnaby Street, Central London.
The rest is why Lowkey is as relevent in music as he is today.
The latest video from the hit album Soundtrack to the Struggle by Lowkey is for the Beatnick and K-Salaam produced title track. The video was filmed in Venezuela, produced by Global Faction and dedicated to Lowkey's supporter and friend who recently passed away, Adnan Al-Radhi who also features on this video version of the track.
Lowkey's latest album 'Soundtrack To The Struggle' is out now
Ever the innovator, the master of fresh idea's, Mike Skinner makes music history with a live interactive video featuring Ghostpoet and The D.O.T on Rizlab's The Project.
Mike Skinner - 'Trouble'
I'm proud to say I took part in the real time multiple choice options, deciding what would happen next in each exciting scene to the three unsuspecting artists in this exclusive to Rizlab The Project 3 video conducted on 30th November, when Mike Skinner and Robert Harvey's new band The D.O.T combined creative forces with highly credible London talent Ghostpoet - whose debut album ‘Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam’ has earned him an enormous amount of respect as well as a Mercury Prize nomination, - to record the worlds first live interactive music video.
20,122 viewers, 32 possibilities, one live performance and one live take. The end result is delightfully amusing, check out Mike's expressions when a tattooed disco dancer flexes his ample bicep muscles in his face! joined with fast-pace scenes of Cheerleaders, Stonehenge attire, 'Boyband' boys flexing their bare toned torso's and plenty more fun and frolics fired at the threesome as they battle through the creative elements, whilst performing the bodacious new track 'Trouble' which is already proving a favourite around the clubs, well-received by DJ's and fans of both Ghostpoet and The D.O.T. are continously leaving positive feedback to boot.
Ghostpoet + The D.O.T Rizlab for 'Trouble'
Video courtesy of Rizlab Project 3. Watch this video on www.rizlab.co.uk
Mr ShaoDow, the independent UK Rapper has just released his latest track Ignant.
At the age of 18, he travelled to China to learn Shaolin Kung Fu, an art that has influenced both his name and his lyrics. He is seen showing off his skill with Nunchaku - the weapons made famous by Martial Arts legend Bruce Lee - in ShaoDow's video for Ignant.
Mr ShaoDow's debut single in 2007 titled 'Look out there's a black man coming' gained him a lot of respect, from here, his supporters have continued to grow. He has already supported Akala, Chipmunk, Lethal Bizzle, Klashnekoff and he also featured on the track Get Stronger with Ghetts.
Before the release of his next official single ShaoDow will be putting out a number of tracks and videos for people to enjoy. 'Ignant' is a high energy, fast paced song with an infectiously unique instrumental produced by UK beat maker Kid Kong. Mr ShaoDow is a good looking lad with a lot to say and he's not affraid to get out there himself and spread the words in which he is passionate about.
Mr ShaoDow is currently travelling the UK selling his CDs and meeting his fans directly. He has now sold over 7,000 copies single handedly. LikeTheSound is proud to support the man who believes in what he stands for and claimed his influences include God, Life, Nature and People.
Follow Mr ShaoDow on Twitter @MrShaoDow
LikeTheSound - Supporting all good music - greatness prevails -
Mike Skinner's Book, titled 'The Story of The Streets' is due for release in March 2012
Last month Mike Skinner closed his reign on the music industry as The Streets with a series of emotional and memorable gigs, in which I might add The Streets have never sounded so supreme, most would argue it is a crime to end The Streets at such a peak, but Skinner would tell you otherwise.
Mike Skinner broke the mould over a decade ago when he unleashed his debut album Original Pirate Material, he took The Streets on the road and opened up a whole new live experience for his fans. With such legendary albums as A Grand Don't Come For Free, The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living, Everything Is Borrowed and Computers And Blues to his name, Mike Skinner has always remained true to himself and in-turn, true to his fans, I'm guesssing, this is exactly what his debut book The Story of The Streets is going to provide the reader with. There is nothing, that I know of, which I am more excited about than the release of the long awaited Story of The Streets The eighty thousand word memoir that Mike Skinner collaborates on with writer Ben Thompson will be available in 352 pages of book form.
Mike Skinner tweeted today
my book is out in march. going to be at all the literary events
~~~
the word 'road' used to refer to anywhere someone rode. 'street' was the name for a road that had been made more permanent"
~~~
this forms the basis of my comprehensive study entitled, 'the story of the streets'
Arrival N Departure is the brand new album by LikeTheSound's favourite North Carolina Hip Hop and Rap artist Nycest Emcee. And what's more, it is produced by K Slack, the producer whose work is so consistently finely tuned, it's hard not to feel excited before you have even opened your ears to what you are about to receive.
I'm long overdue in catching up with Nycest Emcee, so lets waste no more time and find out what's been happening with Arrival N Departure. Track by track ...
I asked Nycest Emcee about the title of the new album? He told me "Well the title of the album (Arrival N Departure) I came up with because it explained my thought process heading into it. This was to be the one album that I was going to do. It was really a thank you to all the people that have supported me in music over the years. I have to give thanks to Kathy Ceglowski (photography), Zahrah Designs, K Slack, and King James II.
Arrival N Departure opens with the excellent Spread My Wings : "This song kind of summed up the entire album to me. I was coming back to the mic having been disappointed with alot of the stuff I've been hearing lately. K Slack sent me this beat and I immediately called him with this idea. I wanted to blend Hip Hop and my faith together over a beat that was HARD."
Oh Baby : "I must admit, I love the ladies. My friends often tease me about being a "charmer". So I wanted to make a song for the ladies because they deserve it. Once this song was finished many people said this was going to the first single that would make it."
We Don't Care (ft Rah Digga) : "It's not everyday that you get a chance to work with a legend. This song began to write itself once the okay was given. I can't thank her enough for all the help she gave me to make this song what it is. Love Rah Digga!"
Damage Is Done (ft Alexis Jones) : "This song is so important to me. In society we often make decisions without giving thought to the long term consequences of those decisions. So I wanted to write a song that showed people that you can't always undo what you've done. Alexis Jones did a great job of capturing the emotion on the song with her incredible voice."
That Hip Hop : "You'll never find a more dangerous emcee, if Charles Manson was hosting your ceremony." No Hip Hop album is complete without a track that allows the artist to unleash a furry of punch lines. 2pac is my favourite emcee so the sample just help get me going on this track."
Green Light (ft Rutger Ruckus and Jey Davis) : "The beat was made by my homie Young Deniro. He used to send me beats every week. Once he sent this one I was instantly in love with it. My homie S. Black came up with the hook. For the song itself I wanted to get some emcees that I felt were hungry. So I met Rutger Ruckus at a competition we both were in (which he won). I knew I had to get him on this track. Jey Davis I met at her job. She referred me to her page on bandcamp.com. I could hear the hunger in her songs and knew she was the one that would complete this song."
I am Nycest : "Ahhhhh, me and my kids favourite song. This song I wrote to give people a better understanding of who I am as a person as well as an artist. The beat was actually made as an inside joke between me and Slack. I had so much fun making this song and I just hope people appreciate as such."
Danger (ft Royce da 5'9 and K Slack) : "Exactly what the title says. This is the hardest song on the entire album. So I linked up with the hardest emcees to make it. Royce Da 5'9" and K Slack got on this track and just killed it. I think the chemistry we have on that song says something about all three of us. Not the type of guys you want looking for you."
Leslie : "Once again Young Deniro on the beat. My wife heard this beat and loved it. So I wrote this as a thank you to her. She is my biggest supporter. None of this is possible with out her."
The Family (ft Alexis Jones) : "Just a fun track dedicated to my family. We may not always see eye to eye but the love is always there. I love them all and wanted them to know it. Once again Alexis Jones put the cherry on top of this good old fashioned apple pie."
~*~
Nycest Emcee's Arrival N Departure is Hip Hop at it's greatest, exceeding all the hungry punchlines, honesty and charm you desire, complete with the luxurious production I have grown to trust upon from K Slack.
LikeTheSound will be chasing up Nycest Emcee for some more chat in an exclusive interview where we can get to know the man behind the name and the music.
Sway featuring Lupe Fiasco - Still Speedin' RELOADED
Sway moves up another top-notch gear on the remix to his smash Still Speedin' by recruiting Lupe Fiasco.
Derek Safo (aka Sway), the north London rapper has been in the game since the age of 16 and is credited by peers and critics a-like as a trailblazer in the UK urban scene, he also appeared on the classic Harvey Nicks - The Mitchell Brothers ft. The Streets and Sway
and was the main support act for The Streets 2006 tour.
Still Speedin’ samples Loleatta Holloway’s ‘Love Sensation’, which was made famous by Black Box who sampled it on their 1989 number 1 ‘Ride On Time’. Sway goes in on the track with his signature lyrical word-play, demonstrating his prowess with some serious punchlines.
Still Speedin' is released on December 4th and you can pre-order on iTunes here : http://bit.ly/stillspeedin
Follow Sway on Twitter @SwayUK
LikeTheSound - Supporting all good music - greatness prevails -
Ghostpoet and The D.O.T will film the video for their new single, ‘Trouble’ at London’s Village Underground tonight.
Mike Skinner - The D.O.T
They have undergone a health and safety interview to ensure they’re fit for the task and now
the live shoot will be streamed at factmag.com
from 7.30pm on Wednesday 30th November.
Throughout the performance, RizLab will invite the online audience to vote for the trouble you’d like to cause the artists. The winning votes will be implemented live and the artists will have to continue no matter what is, quite literally, thrown at them. There will be one take, one broadcast, one performance ... And a lot of directors.
You can suggest ways to cause trouble for the performers by sending suggestions to rizlab.events@exposure.net.
On the night those watching the stream will be able to collectively choose what happens on-stage through a real time voting
The D.O.T is the exciting new project born from the creative minds of Mike Skinner and Rob Harvey, and the Diary Nov 11 is the latest video posted on the exclusive http://the-dot.net/ website.
Video Introduction :
"Plan things, think things and then just guess" Those are the words written on the first page of the skinny purple moleskin notepad that Mike has decided to carry with him through these cold months that begin with Gingerbread Lattes and climax with hangovers. The time to be single and drink doubles." Narrates a well spoken man.
"I just couldn't believe Rob had never had grated cheese, it made me realize that I'd never had a boiled egg."
Some of the glorious snowboarding scenes from the video were filmed during the Relentless Freeze Festival at which The Streets recently headlined, much to the joy of his audience. Dressed in an admirably well fitting black siut, Mike Skinner delineates his plans with precision through words spoken in a way only Mike Skinner can. Delivering his story with an enticing method of simplicity and calm.
Skinner looks bright-eyed, fresh-faced, in fit-form and typically on top of his game.
When I listen to the The D.O.T's music, the vibe I'm getting is that Mike is doing something he has been wanting to do for a long time. I feel that Rob and Mike marry well together and it's beautiful to be on the receiving end.
Did Mike enjoy his boiled egg enough to have them a lot more in the future?
Why is Rob planning to rent a van?
Is Mike still working on his memoire's
Is Ted Mayhem going to re-start The Beats?
Find out on Diary Nov 11
"Didn't I tell you if you ever asked me that again ... I would kill you?"
I don't know yet who wrote the script for this video, whoever is responsible for it I would like to kiss your hand, commend you and ask you for some more of the same literary enjoyment.
(As narrated on the video) "The changing of the season's sees Rob changing his address from the small northern village he has lived in since birth, to the strange landscape of Northern London. Not far from the best view to be had on Renzo Piano's mighty new structure. The Shard is said to be almost a third the size of Arab Emirates equivalent architectural flagship. While Mike gradually circles towards a final manuscript of the eighty thousand word memoir that he collaborates on with writer Ben Thompson, Rob is packing away his life size kung fu dummy and boxing up his protools equipment. He plans to rent a van with his brother, to drive the one thousand miles from Leeds to his new London livelihood. He may not see his brother again until summer, when he will return North again with Mike to witness the stoning of the roses."The Boathouse studio will be operational around the clock, finding the noises that will justify Rob and Mike's time, elbow grease and reputations. Mike will be DJing along side Magic as he attempts to bend the very space-time of future garage. Rob will write a ballad every morning as the Valerian tea wears off and then run a mile.
Ted has decided to think about Mike's proposal to reform their Beats recording company to the task of administrating what will now be known as The D.O.T."
With Rob's hand on heart and heart on sleeve, we stretch our hands no farther than our sleeves will reach. As in the past, the future has not yet happened."
For more great video's spare yourself some time to view the immense two pages full of great music video's from The D.O.T
Engine-EarZ Experiment will be playing a FREE show for The Camden Crawl on 7th December. at The Star of Kings in Kings Cross, London. This gig is the second of their new fortnightly ‘VARIETY’ club nights. All the details are on the website http://www.thecamdencrawl.com.
The Dubstep and Electronic, Revolutionary Vedic Bass Scientists - Engine-EarZ Experiment, of whome's excellent, beautifully heavy and bassed out new single Reach You ft Lena Cullen can be heard via the link below.
With Sway and Kano's well deserved reputations in their game, it was hard not to take for granted that Still Speedin'Remix would be a banger. One of the most respected names in UK rap Sway, returns with the remix to his new single Still Speedin’, which is released on 4th December on 3beat Records. Bringing two of the UK’s finest rap talents together, British rapper Kano is on the track and stars in the decent remix video.
Still Speedin’ has already been named Zane Lowe’s Record Of The Week and made it onto the B-list at BBC 1Xtra. The single samples Loleatta Holloway’s ‘Love Sensation’, which was made famous by Black Box who sampled it on their 1989 number 1 ‘Ride On Time’. Sway goes in on the track with his signature lyrical word-play, demonstrating his prowess with some serious punchlines.
Derek Safo (aka Sway), the Mercury-nominated north London rapper has been a stalwart of the music game since the age of 16 and is credited by peers and critics a-like as a trailblazer in the UK urban scene. His ability to cross over saw Sway beat the cream of international hip hop talent such as 50 Cent and The Game to win MOBO Best Hip Hop in 2005 and he took the crown for Best UK Hip Hop at the 2006 BET Awards. In addition, Sway was the only featured rapper on Lupe Fiasco's Billboard No.1 Album "Lasers".
Still Speedin' is blasted with high-energy power-beats, no messin'! and as if this was not serious enough with Sway, Kano's contribution really completes this track for me.
Sway is also making a cameo appearance in upcoming Channel 4 drama, Top Boy – a four-part drama starring Ashley Walters [So Solid’s Asher D] and Kano.
Follow Sway on Twitter @SwayUK and Kano @TheRealKano
LikeTheSound - Supporting all good music - greatness prevails -
The Streets fans and all good music lovers have been watching and listening as The D.O.T has been unveiling itself in samples and experiments since June earlier this year when The D.O.T mysteriously crept in the back door of TheBeats YouTube channel with a beautiful blast of i make loving fun .
The vocals are powerful, the lyrics are meaningful and the beats are bursting with passion, I wholeheartedly love it and I'm very excited to hear we will be getting an album in the near future.
The D.O.T is the ultimate collaboration one could wish for, consisting of Mike Skinner (FKA The Streets) and Robert Harvey (The Music) with 15 demo's already uploaded on their website The-Dot.Net
Yesterday, Mike Skinner spoke to The Guardian's Caspar Llewellyn Smith, saying "his new collaboration with ex-Music frontman Rob Harvey is based on a shared love of tea". The D.O.T's Facebook page says "The D.O.T. is making a propa album. The D.O.T. is Rob and Mike. The videos are experiments and a work in progress. They are inspiring the songs that will eventually be on the record. This is happening. We are very excited"
Skinner's full statement to the Guardian read:
"It's hard to speak for both of us but we have a very similar work ethic and love for high quality tea. Teapigs make some of the best. We are not endorsed by Teapigs, however, but I am by Ocktatrack, which is the loop-based musical instrument I will be playing when we perform live next year. It's like one of those buddy movies from the 80s where the dream is impossible until they both make each other see things in themselves that they previously didn't know.
"I love moombahton, which is why a few of the tunes ended up being 108bpm, and Rob loves ballads, which is why some of them are 85bpm. We both love the Weeknd mixtape but not so much the stuff he did since then.
"The lyrics I write tend to be bits of regurgitated Raymond Chandler and the lyrics Rob writes tend to be either uplifting or not but never in between.
"I love film lighting and Rob loves kung fu."
My favourite track from The D.O.T so far is way our there with Weapon Of Choice, it is a wonderful mixture full of haunting, eery and far eastern beats, blessed with those unmistakable vocals.
The D.O.T is receiving a lot of loving all over the Internet right now, so if you haven't already
It's 'A twisted and sometimes surreal tale, following rock band The Fuckin Lovelies through drugs, drinking, music and finally a mythical music festival'. It is going to be the film to kick the 2012 film season into gear and everyone will want to say they've seen it!
The production team includes one of LikeTheSound's favourite producer's and artistic talent Spencer Leven. Starring Pete Doherty, Mick Whitnall, Joel Fry, David Crellin, Michael Starke, Anton Saunders, Lee Whitlock, Leah Muller, Micky Christmas, Laura Freeman, Cary Crankson, Lewis Howell, Andy Edwards, David Peacock, John and Eddie Jenkins.
One band. One tour.
There's three simple rules ...
1. You can not drink on this shit
2. If you're gonna do it, don't take too much of it
3. and don't fucking cane it!
... but cross the line and,
it's like sitting in hell with the devil.
This is the brand new trailer by FlyFaction
Produced by Josh Bagnall, Spencer Leven, Bob Horwell, Yan Miles and Fish-Pot Productions.
Earlier this year, LikeTheSound was proud to interview Spencer Leven, read what he told us in this exclusive interview : Here ...
Complete devastation hit thousands of festival goers attending the Pukkelpop event in Belgium as a violent thunderstorm hit Hasselt with a vengeance.
Mayhem raged as Stages collapsed, screens destroyed, trees uprooted, tents ransacked - in a shocking matter of minutes after the storm struck. 60,000 people were evacuated after the main stage scaffolding collapsed. Skunk Anansie reported 90% of their production was destroyed, they have no lights and very little stage gear in operation.
Organizers have cancelled the festival and local officials say the death toll has risen to five and 70 people were left injured in varying degrees and hundreds in shock. Mike Skinner and The Streets were due to perform in the Pukkelpop Marquee later that evening at 10.05pm.
Mike Skinner posted on his facebook page, describing the event as a "very strange, scary and sad experience."
Mike Skinner gave his condolences on his Facebook page saying "Hope everyone is ok who was at Pukkelpop last night. It was a very strange, scary and sad experience. Our thoughts go out to everyone who has been affected by the tragic events."
The Streets will be playing Reading and Leeds Festival next weekend.
The D.O.T is the latest creation in weekly progression by Mike Skinner, Robert Harvey, Ted Mayhem and various artful friends. Very little has been revealed about the contents or the future of The D.O.T. This has caused some confusion, mixed comments and praise whilst delivering his The Beats Youtube channel viewers and The-dot Soundcloud listeners to weekly doses of excitement and intensity. Explore the anticipation of waiting, waiting... here, in Sometimes (it's hard to be a man)
The lack of explanation surrounding The D.O.T, draws us to look for clues in the video's and the music. Some of the video's could be mini trailers in the making of his debut film? Or perhaps a selection of what we have received are experimental video performances involving Mike Skinner and his favourite films as previously scheduled for the EIFF but had to be cancelled last minute because his wife went into hospital to give birth to their second baby. Or perhaps we are simply being injected with shots of diverse mind therapy and wholeheartedly agreeable music for our pleasure.
My favourite of all The D.O.T creations so far, is Weapon of Choice. The beginning of the video is like sneaking a peak through a keyhole and catching boys at play as Mike Skinner tip-toes and hops mischievously through the flowers of a well maintained garden while Robert Harvey mimes the action of aiming a gun with both hands, the music lays heavy setting an eeriness to the scene as though something bad is soon to occur. "Things you happen to notice, in the background of a photo, you're just there, right on the edge of the frame staring ..." Mike skinner points out in his curious boyish voice filled with realization. The lyrics are a story of discovering someone in the background of a photograph sung over a beautiful catchy tune "You-ooo were my rock, but you-ooo rolled away." he repeats before a brief silence "It was like, at that very moment as the fake digital shutter sounded, she was thinking about what she was about to tell me, and in that slice of time you could see into her soul, and I'm just standing there at the end with a smile on my face." Skinner says remorsefully, placing a chill under my skin .... "Forget her! I always thought she wore too much make-up anyway" Robert Harvey replies with a shrug, abruptly, before the hard strike of piano keys pound down. Pause for breath and you're creeping into chimes of far eastern beats. I love Weapon Of Choice!
Sometimes, The D.O.T will leave you scratching your head, but please, don't spend too much time trying to figure out the concept and miss out on just how beautiful the songs are. listen to Right Side Of Madness and feel how haunting the music and vocals are as they bind together through your soul.
Take stock of Robert Harvey's heart-rending vocals and the slow motion video shots on Heart Won't Bruise.
Mike Skinner is without doubt a credible actor, just watch his music video's from The Streets back catalogue, such as The Irony Of It All where Skinner plays a dialogue of two very different characters, Terry the law abiding, beer drinker, and Tim, the weed smoking criminal. In Blinded By The Lights Mike is seen portraying the familiar situation of a good night out not going quite as planned after taking a bad mix, and in Prangin Out Skinner depicts how desperately awful you can feel when prangin-out from taking cocaine. Everything Is Borrowed as Mr May being evicted from his home, Heaven For The Weather - The Making of and of course the heartbreaking Dry Your Eyes as Mike resonates the pain of a young man trying so hard to persuade his girlfriend not to leave him at all costs.
Realism, with a touch of conjecture, humour and sensitivity has been Mike Skinner's greatest strength as an actor and performer.
More recently, Mike Skinner released the highly proficient Interactive film titled Computers and Blues Interactive Film. An outstanding selection of interactive video's which hauls you away from your cosy surroundings and plunges you into the dilemma you clicked him into or helped him out of. Mike Skinner is the type of actor who appears not to be acting at all, he is natural, philosophical and believable, as though he is reacting or responding rather than acting.
Mike Skinner : Taken from 'How Do You Do It'
How Do You Do It is a video and song I highly recommend you watch. The video is excellent, perfect sound, crystal clear for every word, every breath and movement to be heard flawlessly. Mike Skinner's face is a cameraman's dream. Just watch this!
Mike Skinner's strong fan following and I - have a lot of faith in Mr Skinner and his entourage, rightly so, the music hailing from The D.O.T is Excellent and the video samples are absorbingly reactive, modern and historical. Take this weeks release titled Been Searching depicting real scenes of civil unrest.
To my knowledge this is the first video song marking last weeks historic London riots which spilled out to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Kent and several towns across England following a march protesting the death of Mark Duggan, 29, who died from a single gun shot wound to his chest by a Metropolitan Police Service Officer in Tottenham, North London on Wednesday 4th August.
What happened commencing that date bandwagon'ed into repeated episodes of greed, so much anger mixed with callous attitudes towards others needs and it was like an explosion of hatred. Why? Survival? Maybe in a minority of cases but not from the widespread violence, there is no excuse.
Been Searching, shows footage of arson, teenagers rampaging the streets and looting as police attempt to gain control in a losing battle of vandalism. The voice of Pauline Pearce can be heard standing up to looter's in Hackney. Female reporters describing in detail what they saw mixed pleasingly over reggae style beats "I've been searching for the answer, tell me what questions to ask, yeah ". Robert Harvey sings these simple words that seem to resonate perfectly with how so many of us felt when we witnessed in different degrees the England 2011 August Riots. Been Searching has been mixed and produced with 3.26 minutes of noteworthy results.
Been Searchingby The D.O.T
keep watching as The D.O.T continues to proves itself, manipulating your realization and will soon become apparent, or has already became apparent, that every Thursday at 6pm, The D.O.T delivers us adroit sound and vision as we bring closure to our week in Skinner style.
If you would like to appear on Like The Sound, send your video's, photo's and press releases to Addolorata1977@yahoo.co.uk Greatness will prevail in all cases.
