Z's

 

ZZ Top

ZZZ's  (Sleepy Smurf)

 Zum Zum Zum - Capoeira Marazul

Snooze  - Wake Up"

Zulu Nation

Zero's

Zorro

Stormzy

Zumbi dos Palmares

PAY P

 I hadn't used my Pay Pal account for over 5 years. then out of the blue I got a dubious request to send someone some money via pay pay pal (which i declined). Shortly after I was buying some crystals for my Crystal wedding anniversary. The only way to pay was by PayPal. It  seems I was destined to use it.

PayPal

Pay Pig

Click the links for more pigs and P P s

Lord Sabre

 

Its a year since Andrew Weatherall passed away  I remember seeing The Happy Mondays and Primal Scream in the early days when they both played Bristol Uni. I also remember buying the Weatherall mixes of Hallelujah (Happy Mondays) and Loaded (Primal  Scream) on 12inch which were amazing , later I bought The Future Sound of London's Papua New Guinea with a killer Weatherall mix.  It was these records that introduced me to his production . It goes without saying that Screamadelica was a Weatherall masterpeice. It would be remiss of me not to mention St Etiennes "Only love can break you heart"

I was into the The Orb from the beginning too and saw them live a number of times but wasn't aware of the Weatherall/Orb connection back then.

I moved to London and remember being told about SabreSonic by Alex Shaolin the first time met him when he showed up with Lovely John to DJ in my ambient house hosted by "friends in high places"  at a Clays Lane courtyard party and I remember seeing the Sabrettes at the old school house.

After that I use  to and go down to Happy Jacks in Crucifix lane  all Cloak & Dagger  by myself in the dark of the night to hear him play . I recorded Lord Sabres techno mixes on tape from Kiss fm, bought the Sabres of Paradise LP's which resonated with me on many levels. 

At a time I was lost in the breakbeat hard-core  Jungle drum and bass , acid techno underground for a few years . I  really bought into the Lord Sabre ,Sabrettes and Bastard Bunny archetypes that resonated with the ideas of RAW's illuminati and subversive ideas of 23rd current Dead Dog Mountain , Topy, TG , Spiral Tribe, Shamen,

But Weatherall was always a leader not a follower equally  at home at Boys Own party or Chic West end  house party , as in the east underground with acid junkies,  techno punks , homeboys, hippies and funky dreads.

 A few years later Sherman told me about the Haywire Sessions were "rocking on" just down the road from my place in shoreditch. His music has always been just around the corner soundtracking my life. From time to time Sherman would tell tales about the Rotters Golf Club  and other stories about the man behind the myth. How he was such a nice guy. 

Then a few years later my wife and I  took my eldest son to his best friends birthday party (I think he was 4 or 5) it was fancy dress I'd never seen so many Spidermen in Victoria park.I chatted all afternoon with Jamie's best friends parents and  his  Godfather.... and afterwards we went for a pizza together I had finally met "The Guvner"  on my own terms and he was every bit the gentleman as my friends had told me he was. My thoughts are with his family and friends. RIP Andrew Weatherall

Brazillian Jungle/Drum and Bass - Movement (Part 2)

 

In the early naughties DJ Marky and XRS released this tune with Stamina MC on vocals.

The song as well as having a Brazillian connection is connected to the Ldn Jungle/Drum and Bass  club "Movement" where some kung fu guys I know used to do the security during that era.

To me  DJ Marky and this song  represents the Brazillian drum and bass scene. I was very into the scene that birthed  jungle/drum and bass from rave  but by the time  DJ Marky DJ Patife and  J Magic put their  Brazillian spin on it I had put  the jungle/drum and bass scene, on a back burner.

My  switch from electronic music back to live music (in my case afro/latin salsa and then samba) came for me as I stopped going to raves and transitioned from training  kung fu to capoeira. 

The other milestone is I lost my mum around the time I moved from training Kung Fu to Capoeira I don't think I had discovered Capoeira when my mum died. 

But I know I was training capoeira when I first became aware of  DJ Marky and the emergent (Brazillian drum and bass)  I had first heard of Jorge Ben through capoeira and he was sampled in the tune.  

I never would have connected these different things conciously at the time, but looking back  these musical changes paralleled my own life changes and musical journey.

I remember being fascinated by a young Capoeira/BJJ teacher visiting London at the time who played Hip Hop, Jungle/Drum and Bass and Garage rhythms on the pandeiro (tambourine).

I dont know if ever heard Marky DJ in a club and the scene kind of fizzled out (at least in the media) , but I have an active imagination of what the authentic Brazillian Jungle/Drum and Bass party would be like, at least if I chose the djs and programmed the journey .

 

Probably a Robbery (Part 3) - The Shadow

 

One of my favourite record labels was moving Shadow.The project of one "Rob Playford" to release his own and others material. The hits by the likes of  Earth Leakage Trip, Omni Trio (Rob Haigh), 2 Bad Mice, Deep Blue,Blame, Easy Rollers etc are well known while his name is less so.

Similarly understated  was his significant role in producing the Metal headz classic  "inner city life" and album Timeless from which it is taken.The album is credited to Goldie but Robs input was integral and there was a well documented dispute between the two which was probably resolved amicably as they worked together again on The Shadow.

Timeless is one of my favourite Jungle/Drum and Bass L.P's which I bought on vinyl at the time. It is also one of the records I had stolen which I never recovered as documented in Probably a Robbery - part 1

Probably a Robbery - Team Robbo  (Part 2) can be found here

Essence of Chi - (Junglist) Movement (Part 1)

 

JSteve Kane

Back in the early naughties I attended some of the early "Essence of Chi" club nights held at a small nightclub in London Chinatown where my Kung Fu/Tai Chi/Chi Gung instructor was working security.

Chinese  Tai chi /Kung Fu/Chi Gung

As well as some up coming young female DJ's , headlining the Essence of Chi  were the OG's Paradox  (Moving Shadow) ,  DJ Kane  (Kool Fm) and M.C. LowQui.

The strapline "Perfect Movement, Perfect Balance" on the "Essence of Chi  flyer"   had caught my attention,  and connected "Essence of Chi" with Movement another seminal Jungle/Drum and Bass club of that era to whom my Kung Fu Brethren provided security.