Chapter 4 - 19/01/06

“Paranoia strikes deep, into your life it will creep!!!”

I've previously aired my misgivings of the higher echelons of the Music Industry and Media Stations that blight our musical lives but sometimes the artists themselves are their own worst enemy.

Sometimes its the Artist who is the asshole, the paranoid power crazy fuck-up, Its true, i've seen it with my own eyes. I've seen the disintegration first hand. All the gratitude and platitudes soon go out the window once they've seen their stupid ass names or worse still their stupid ass pictures in one of the publications i've previously dismissed..

No kidding, its amazing what 4 stars in Q magazine can do to an insecure musician's ego..Suddenly you're dealing with Lennon and Mc Cartney or some other crack pot genius pairing. The trappings and salacious promises of a celebrity studded lifestyle can seem very appealing when you aint got a pot to piss in but its all Bull...

And thats just the start, which is in the scheme of things ok, slightly nauseating behaviour but still kinda cute in a strange way. But then it grows legs and arms and a big ugly bulbous inflated head. And it never stops growing after that...
Then the paranoia kicks in. You're stealing money from them, of course you are!! Like there's no easier ways to make money than ripping off some asshole musicians...Never mind the large amounts of cash, studio bills, contracts etc that you pump into keeping these miserable freaks alive and working. But No, you must be ripping them off! And its all downhill from there on. Faster than shit off a shovel.

The only saving grace is that if you're doing this shit properly then you have a contract to keep you safe...cos Independent Record labels need protecting from unscrupulous artists.

Of course they'll ignore that, they'll pretend it doesn't exist and completely talk themselves into believing that you perpetrated some heinous act which renders the contract null and void. It'll all end in tears and only the lawyers will stand to make anything out of it...

Then the label goes bust, the lawyers go on a holiday together for the next six months and the artist......well by the time all this un-necesssary bullshit has happened the magazines and the radio stations and the hangers on have all forgotten who they ever were.

Verse 3 - 07/12/05

Being a good catholic boy i'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2006!

My plan for this chapter was to review the year and pick out some highlights, maybe do a festive top ten of my favourite albums or muse on what a good year its been. But the truth is i just couldn't think of anything to write. My top ten of the year didn't get past about 2 or 3 albums. One nagging phrase kept pulsing through my brain growing louder and louder and more annoying in tone as it grew in volume. It reminded me of chewing polystyrene or the crunching of gears or nails scratching a blackboard. It makes me sad just thinking about it and writing it down here but..... THIS YEAR HAS BEEN A TRULY SHIT YEAR FOR MUSIC.

It breaks my heart, but its the truth. So there you go....All you have to do is look at the end of year round ups that you'll find in every magazine and website to know what a calamitous 12 months we've just endured...Blandness is back in fashion...Rock Music has dragged its sorry ass out of the grave and is sitting upright at the top of the table. The White Supremacists at the NME are once again shifting the gears in the Juggernaut that we find ourselves gagged and bound up in the back of. Bloc Party, Hard Fi, The Killers, The Arctic Monkeys are the guests of honour....FOR FUCK SAKE!!! How many more bands are gonna get away with ripping off late 70's punk / new wave bands? The New York Dolls, Television, The Jam, The Ramones, Joy Division were all good bands of their time, but that was a long time ago, let it go! We don't need this middle class posturing in tight jeans and skinny ties with fake Ian Curtis style spazzy dance moves...Its bollocks. We are now witnessing one of the most depressing eras of Modern Music. The stylists are loving it, the nazis in the rock press are loving it, the fake hoxtonite middle classes are loving it, the government are even loving it COS its all so fucking safe and un-confrontational. Its a disaster of King Kong proportions.......

The GOOD news is that it's nearly over and we can all make like good catholic boys and get down on our knees and pray that the year to come sees a distinct improvement....There will be at least 4 albums in my End of Year chart Next Year as we are releasing some shit hot albums in 2006. Firstly there will be the immense Emmanuel "D'Illusions of Grandeur" album which is the finest Soul album to come out of the UK for 20 years. We then have the incredibly talented Jeymes Samuel with his "Urban Folk Music, The Prequel" which has got it all from Folk music to Rock to Soul. The wait has been excruciating but we will be finally releasing the Yam Who Revue which is the perfect Summer album. There's also the second Superimposers album "Lost" to look forward to which is even better than their debut.

Im personally looking forward to hearing more from Elmore Judd who were pencilled in as being number one in this year's festive top ten til i realised their first album actually came out last year. Nothing else this year has come close to the greatness of "Angel Sound".

If you dont have it then put it top of your Christmas list and hope that Santa has checked you off on his who's been nice list. Happy Christmas!!!! Dont have nightmares!!!!

Chapter2 - 10/11/05

If this starts to sound like the rantings of a bitter, angry man then don't panic or worry cos it's supposed to. More of that later though. I'd like to start with some good news. On the 22nd of November Emmanuel will be playing his first Live show at the Jazz Cafe in London. Something to celebrate, something to tell your friends about and something that will live long in the memory. On the night we'll be treated to the sights and sounds of Mr Emmanuel and friends as they showcase the greatest Soul album to come out of the UK probably ever, or a very long time at least. Mystro will co-host with Emmanuel himself and will be introducing a host of the talented guests who have stamped their own marks over "D 'Illusions of Grandeur". Low Life's head honcho Braintax will be making a rare appearance in public with Daniel DeBourg, Nate James, Michelle Escoffery, Belle Montenegro, Celetia and her Ladies In Question joining Mystro to tear the roof off the sucker. If you cant get there then check out the Ras Kwame session on Radio 1 the week before the gig to check out what you'll be missing. We'll try and get some footage up on the site as soon as we can work out how to actually do it.
I hate to advertise shows on the BBC but there you go....information can be used however you want to interpret it. Amazingly there are still a few decent people in attendance there which is a miracle as the place is otherwise run by an astonishing amount of cocksure, uptight, overpaid and completely fake assholes. If you've ever tried to get one of your records playlisted on any of their stations then you'll understand where i'm coming from. Take 1Xtra as an example. On paper a great concept, offering a celebration of great new music but in reality the same old music industry hogwash that the BBC has always excelled at. Claiming to champion new Black music and UK artists while having 4 x 50 Cent tracks on the playlist at the same time. If it smells like a stinking pile of Major label sponsored bullshit then believe it, it usually is. If it looks like someone gagging on a mouthful of Yankee dollar cock which it seems to then thats because that's exactly what it is. When the guy in charge of the playlist starts telling black artists that their music isn't black enough and he himself is some white dude then you have all the proof you need to wanna burn the place down to the ground?
There are rumours growing every day of an imminent uprising, a storming of the palaces, a dog day afternoon, a massacre of the minds, a night of long knives, the hijacking of the airwaves, a murderous bloody rebellion of Parisian proportions. Battalions of Independent labels, Artists, kids and music lovers with the smell of revolution in their flared nostrils tearing the concrete apart with their bare hands. The pungent stench of old money burning. The crackling static of electrical fires whiplashing across a starless London skyline. The rumours aren't true, i had too much to dream last night....
The point is, what is the point? Oh yeah....Fuck the BBC, Fuck Sky, Fuck ITV and all the other bullshit media stations who steal your money, your time and worst of all your true choice. Fuck the MCPS and all the other blood sucker societies who make money from doing nothing and share it out to all the cunts who really dont need the dough. Fuck Sony, Fuck EMI. Its time to make a stand and try and save Music from these storm troopers of the crass and the bland, try and remember how to listen to music again, like you did when you were a kid, without the nonsense and lies spun by PR companies, radio stations, magazines and cunts who know nothing about Music. These people are Killing Music. Get on the fucking Bus! Get down to Great Portland St and make yourselves heard.

Well here we go then! - 03/10/05

You join us 2 years into this thing. We started with just The Superimposers and the family has grown since, as families tend to. You know the story, you believe in something, you put all your money into it, you work your arse off and hope that it works. If you're into gambling go to the bookies, this music shit is a quagmire of rampant egos, bullshitters, backstabbers, leeches, wannabes, never will bes and as Hunter S Thompson said "there's also a downside". There's a million easier ways to make money including blindfolding yourself and pointing your finger randomly at a list of horses. You also get better odds than you do at the bank. Anyway the point is that after 2 years its a minor miracle we're here now. But we are and we got some great music coming your way.

October's gonna be a busy month with Emmanuel and Boston's albums both ready to roll and Emmanuel's cracking single "Damelo" and Boston's demented "Where's the Party?" in the clubs and on the radio as we speak. We're gonna follow that quickly with another single from the Emmanuel album, well an E.P actually. There's a heavy remix of the KRS1 collaboration "My Thing" by Mr Emmanuel himself as well as the original from the album and the Mystro and Braintax joints. Value for money or what? Talking of which...........Seems like festivals are taking over, there's one every weekend from April to October. In a country where the chance of prolonged periods of sunshine is as unpredictable as the shaking hands of an alcoholic, its pretty unbelievable how the popularity of these events has reached the levels it has. The rain, the mud, the wet clothes, the blocked toilets, the stilt walkers.....? Whats all that about? A return to the soil, horny handed? An opportunity to appreciate a mind boggling array of musical talent? or a chance to get high with your friends outside? It might be the first, im pretty sure its not the second and im more and more convinced its a lot to do with the third, which is what im hoping it is. I can say this now as i have just experienced my first and this season's last festival of the year and Music hasn't got much to do with it...If it does then we're going to Hell in a basket. I saw people running to the main stage to see Royksopp do their thing with my own eyes........ and i can safely say that if Royksopp were playing in my garden i would close the window, shut the blinds and phone a taxi to get me as far away as possible. What a nightmare, imagine the Pet Shop Boys performing the theme tune to Johnny Ball's "Think of a number". Does that sound like a good combination? If you think it does then im probably being too generous cos Royksopp aren't that good.

The point here is that you dont go to festivals to hear good music, if you do then you'll be disappointed cos there's very little there. The Truth rocked it despite their set being brought forward two hours to 2 in the afternoon and being stuck in a tent when they should have been on the main stage pimping. That wont happen again! And by night time it seemed like Radio 1 had issued playlists to everyone as the suffocating sound of corporate house hell dominated proceedings. If the music is uninspiring then getting high with your homies on the other hand is a welcome and widespread distraction. Laughing Gas topped the charts as Best newcomer, good old fashioned Mary Jane came a reliably close second with ecstasy and cocaine bringing up the rear. Or should i say being brought in up the rear. Sniffer dogs have no place at a music festival!

And neither does camping!Camping on its own im reliably informed is a great laugh and very relaxing. Camping in a field with a thousand other tents squashed on top of each other with the nearest toilets over a mile away is pure madness. Next year its Winniebagos all the way, no two ways about it!