Posts Tagged ‘Hip Hop’

Phat Phil Cooper – NuNorthern Soul

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Phlying

Our endearing Welsh friend, Phat Phil Cooper rode the mid-nineties wave of rave with superclub residencies at Cream, Liverpool and Ministry of Sound, London. Over this time he was one of the few DJs to maintain worldwide guest spots – from Brazil to Brighton and Sydney to Singapore, bringing a unique blend of deep, jackin’ and intelligent house music to a global audience. All the time Phil was travelling, he was both collecting and exposing music at all corners of the international dance floor. By picking up Northern Soul collections in Ibiza and obscure afro-rock 7″s in South Africa allowed him to expand his already over flowing appetite for music. This freestyle genre-bending outlook needed a release. No DJ is content with playing weird and wonderful finds in their bedroom or laying down an occasional mixtape.

To this end, Phil came up with the NuNorthern Soul concept, a Sunday session of music presented in comfortable surroundings with – importantly – great food and wine. City Bar in Chester was the landing pad for the Sunday slouchdown and Jim Baron from Crazy P was one of the first of many NuNorthern Soul All-Stars. The pair would spin for eight-hour sessions, playing records from front to back, full length, blended and melded together to create an audio soundscape for lazy, hazy Sunday afternoons.

As Phil moved from the UK to Ibiza setting up a record promo pool, NuNorthern Soul went with him, transferring it from an English style bar to the legendary Base Bar on the old port of Ibiza town. It was an easier transition as Balearic ears are always after different beats and NuNorthern Soul provided them exactly that. Quickly the idea was moved to Base Bar’s partner the Es Vivé hotel in Playa Den Bossa where Phil would host the Sunday session as a pre-Space sizzle with a cool, music loving crowd rocking up for Sunday sustenance before heading down to We Love… Space. Quickly spotting the synergy that NuNorthern Soul had, in stepped promoter Darren Hughes and musical director Mark Broadbent, taking the NuNorthern Soul vibe to the Premier Etage roof terrace at Space every Sunday, kicking up a fuss with African and Latin beats, funk, disco, soul, hip hop and broken beats.

Listen Nu


NuNorthern Soul lives on now in the form of semi-regular podcasts and Sunday sessions in various back rooms, barns and boozers across the UK… Stream the podcast here. Or subscribe via iTunes here. Also check out Phil’s blog for his general musings on trainers and stuff.

Phat Phil Cooper – DJ Profile

NuNorthern Soul – Myspace

NuNorthern Soul – Facebook

Hotel Es Vivé

Jack Flash

Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Jack The Rapper

Jack The Rapper

This one’s for all of the Hip Hop lovers out there, particularly those into the UK scene. In the build up to the release of his forthcoming Sound of Colours EP Jack Flash, AKA Rob Bradley, is releasing 8 bars over different tracks for the 24 weeks up until it’s launch. Flash first came to our attention way back in 2002 with tracks like My Destiny and a collaboration with KHZ setting the bar for things to come. His debut album The Union Jack Album was released to much acclaim with personal highlights Four Minute Warning and Living Legend becoming crucial parts of my hip hop playlists.

Recently crowned EOW world champion you can also catch Flash performing as part of the 9 piece jazz hip hop group Extra Curricular . Great musicians and a fantastic live show they are well worth a look.

Vanilla Ice On Wallaroos, Madonna and What’s Next

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Personally we hated the track, and him, but this is a great article and he seems oddly influential in the world of rap…

Nice Ice Baby

Nice Ice Baby

It’s just before 8 a.m. on a recent Friday at Mom’s Kitchen, a country-style breakfast joint in Wellington. In walks a six-foot-tall, 42-year-old man in cargo shorts, a navy-blue hoodie, and a black ball cap with the flat brim nudged ever so carefully to the side. Tattoos cover his body and hands, and his hair — once a tall, creamy-blond pompadour — is now dark, cropped short. He takes a seat next to a bearded man at the counter, his back to most of the restaurant. Regulars barely notice him. Strangers stare for a moment before recognizing him, their eyes tracing the familiar broad shoulders, the staunch jaw, the glowing white teeth. To the staff here, he’s “Rob.” But to most of the world, he will forever be known by one moniker: Vanilla Ice.

“Morning, Rob,” a smiling waitress says. “Know what you want today?”

Check out the rest of the article here.

He also has recently apologised to everyone, for everything it seems – we forgive you Rob VanWinkel…