Mcquaid's Bruk OUT selections

Music

Hyped Up! Wild Street Anthems For Space Age Dancehalls direct from the horses mouth. This week Ian McQuaid rounds bruk out‘s latest discoveries taking on Mashabela Galane, Cashtastic, Full Crate x Mar

Mashabela Galane Papago (DJ Whisky Mix 2013)
Listen to this remix on Bruk Out here. Amazing mutated kwaito from DJ Whiskey. I dont know if theres a lot of this kind of shuffling beat around but its really addictive, so if anyone can point me in the direction of more Im all ears. The original came out some time last year, and is apparently a kind of comedy song. Seeing as I can only understand round 3 words of the lyrics Ill just have to assume thats true a watch of the original video suggests that the comedy lies in a skinny white guy being loved up with a fat black chick so doubtless its hilarious. All I know is that its got this lovely euphoric old skool house vibe, all washes of uplifting synth pads and clicking beats. The fact that people are making and raving to this kind of warm, uncomplicated sunrise house- without it being a retro throwback- makes me want to head onto the first plane to SA quick bloody smart.

Cashtastic – In My Zone
Splurgeboys are back with a banger. AGAIN. I havent heard a wack beat yet from the South London production duo, and Im starting to think theyre the most under rated artists in the UK right now. In My Zone has got a lot going on, and all of its good – I love how it opens with a sample taken from Adam Fs Smash Sumthin – another track that proved UK producers can own hip hop on their own terms – and the nasty, grimey bass pulse that runs through is the vicious child of

Youngstars classic overdriven 808 kick. Plus, extra marks for having a video that delivers more than the usual balling on a budget embarrassment. The last track I heard from this lot was Fem Fels Frigid which kills the rave to this day, and Im hoping In My Zone gets them the recognition they deserve.

Full Crate x Mar LAfrique
This is deep in the proper sense of the word, with the the hard, minimal drums bubbling up from bottomless caverns of reverb and funk. Papa Ghana keeps the wonky, pitch bent vocals sparse and the result is a dope piece of leftfield afrohouse striving on to the future. The track develops in a pretty strange way- it kinda has movements, rather than a more traditional verse-chorus-verse structure, and whilst its interesting Id love to hear it drop back into the LAfrique vocal after the final bass pulse have dropped. I can feel an edit coming on RDX Kotch And currently racing up the Jamaican charts is this Soca masterpiece. Im playing this every set at the moment, and its a pretty/ much guaranteed rewind. Theres some magic in the housey minor chords that sets my soul blazing, and no thats not hyperbole, I fucking love it. On a side note, the current Jamaican dancehall top 20 is simply amazing, with so many different styles represented and flourishing. Whilst American hip hop seems hellbent on diving deep into a nihilistic hell of its own (or more sinister forces) making, dancehall artists are widening their spectrum away from the fixing spotlight of mass media attention, and a listen to the scene at the moment throws up characters as disparate as the gothic death bashment of Tommy Lee to the sweet voiced political commentary of Chronixx. If the hits continue at this rate Ill be highlighting plenty more in coming months. The Kotch video is probably the least airbrushed thing youre gonna see this year, and most likely will be reshot with some skinny wretches if they want to release it in England. Just sayin.