More rhymes from Lincoln! Yes! Onward MC’s of the Shire!

This collection of songs is the first from the stable of two 18 year old producer / MC’s from Louth in Lincolnshire. It’s a concept album in something like the style of Professor Elemental, loosely based around the Jack Frost persona of one of the MC’s, and you can find the two protaganists performing live around Lincolnshire as The Orchestra of Strangers.

I have to declare an interest in this one, since I’ve recorded both Jack Frost and his partner in rhyme Afterbyrne, and have future collaborations in the pipeline with them too. Lincoln hip hop is a small world, what can I say?

Entirely lacking in UK rap school’s grimey street pretensions, Rough Drafts draw influence from the US Rhymesayers / Strange Famous school of hip hop, and particularly the spoken word tradition that backs some of SFR’s artists.

It’s evident immediately that the ideas and production in and of the beats is the strongest thing about this project, with a very specific sound and vision that shines through…When the tracks are good they’re mighty, cheesy keyboards and 80′s bass, with sweet drums to drive it all along.

Rough Drafts – The Riddler by Needle In The Groove Recs

There’s a certain energy in the performances that’s infectious, and all the lyrics are ridiculously strong from chaps as young as this, whom I know haven’t been writing or rapping for long at all.

Despite this one or two of the performances are technically weak, and some tracks have a tendency to go on a bit.. It’s all well and good trying to fill a lot of dead time with samples, but that gets repetitive fast. A couple more musical ideas in the structure of the tracks wouldn’t go amiss either, as one or two of them are loopy and lacking in dynamics.

Having said that though, I’m very much looking forward to a better quality, more polished next release, maybe with a bit of emphasis on quality rather than quantity. An act with this much potential owe it to themselves, though this release highlights something about this generation of internet savvy musicians, as Jack Frost is the equivalent of those four track tapes us old-timers all have knocking about that are never going to see the light of day. Well, people routinely upload that material to the cloud now, and this heroic first attempt at an album is an example of that.

Rough Drafts – A Word About Me, Myself And Irony (ft. Afterbyrne) by Needle In The Groove Recs

Whilst it makes some errors these are forgivable in such a heart-on-sleeve record, and whatever happens I’m going to ask Twin Lizard Version 4 to remix and master a couple of my favourites from the record.

You can download Jack Frost by Rough Drafts here

Rough Draft’s Facebook group

Twin Lizard Version 4 recently featured on a 16 track compilation by Australian producer Coolpoindexter, and I wanted to say a few words here about the rest of the album. It’s an effort worthy of respect, and first off here’s Twin Lizard’s contribution:

COOL POINDEXTER + Twin Lizard (V4) – We Do This Everyday by TwinLizard

Though intended as a promotional tool for Cool P’s production skills, this record sounded much more like a labour of love than a strictly commercial venture from where I was sitting, and it brings together 18 artists all of whom were mixed and mastered by one man in a corner of the room home studio to a pretty tight schedule

Musically, this collection swings from classic 80′s guitar riff and driving, live sounding drum loops to proto nu-metal, all finished off with a diverse collection of (mostly Australian) voices. There are plenty of “That riff’s from…” moments, and though it strays into the formulaic once in a while, when the elements come together there are some great moments.

There’s a couple of rough edges… A track or two of filler, which is hard to avoid on a 16 tracker put together against a deadline, and a couple of the beats do miss the creative flair of the majority, but all in all this is a good collection.

Here’s a couple of my personal favourites, hosted exclusively by NITG:

Cool Poindexter – Mind’s Eye (feat. Blake Walsh) by Needle In The Groove Recs

Blake Walsh defines this one with some of the better lyricism on the record.

Cool Poindexter – Integrity Is Where It’s At (feat. Pyxidata and Siege-A) by Needle In The Groove Recs

Ignoring the UBER-CHEESY call and response moment, this is a top slice of 80′s hair rock with two diverse voices.

Coolpoindexter is at his best mixing powerful guitars with funky, rock sounding hip hop beats, and in terms of production the tunes that play to these strengths are head and shoulders above a lot of producers out there. It’s an odd niche to be filling too, but great if you want to infuse your hip hop with some Van Halen vibe.

If you like the sound of all this, go check out Cool P’s Soundcloud for what he has for sale.

I was interviewed by email recently about Twin Lizard Version 4 and Needle In The Groove netlabel by the excellent Johnny Markwell, who writes for the Lincolnshire Echo, and is involved with Lincoln Unsigned.

The piece that appeared in the paper was a heavily edited overview of this interview in 500 words, so I thought I’d post the original question and answer session here:

Tells us briefly about the history of the band?

I’ve been making rap music under this moniker on and off since 1996, when myself and an old friend decided we wanted to front a band but couldn’t sing.
Twin Lizard has been through proto-metal rap, laid back indie-rap, to straight UK hip hop rap, and up to the current version 4’s mish-mash of Black Grape style 90’s indie grooves and US weirdo-rap.

We’ve been through loads of members in all that time of course, some of whom have made such a significant contribution that I felt it was necessary to differentiate each ‘era’ of the band, hence the Version’s thing.

Where has the name come from?

It’s officially The Twin Tailed Lizard, because a guy I co-founded the band with 10 years ago found a lizard with two tails on holiday, took a photo of it, and that formed the basis of our first logo. There isn’t any such thing as a lizard with two tails, so we thought it represented something unique. That was a long time ago, and quite naieve of us, but I couldn’t change it now.

People get annoyed with me because it isn’t a David Icke conspiracy theory reference these days.

How is rap in Lincoln? Is it difficult to find a venue and a voice in Lincoln?

Not when you’re as used to making things happen here as me and my cohort’s are. We used to run a tiny indie label, and all the live music at The Falcon, and were the first people to bring the big names of UK hip hop to the city six or seven years ago, and now we run a netlabel and spend all our spare time either making or promoting music, so dealing with the problems people encounter in a small city like Lincoln is second nature to us now.

Lincoln has enough good voices of one form or another at any given time, and where there’s a will to make it happen, there’s a gig for those voices.

As for rap in Lincoln, Twin Lizard’s home studio has been the testing ground for three generations of Lincoln MC’s in the last ten years. There isn’t a ‘scene’ as such, but that’s because there isn’t a place where performers regularly get together and spar with each other, and scene’s grow out of that kind of thing. That’s because there aren’t enough performers here really though, fundamentally…For my part, I continue to help out anybody I can with recording, and Twin Lizard are always looking for collaborators.

Do you get a good reception?

In Lincoln? Yes, but mainly because I ruthlessly control our shows, making them small, invitation only, and free for those on our mailing list wherever I can. The music we make isn’t widely understood, and the easiest label for it – hip hop – is very misleading now, so it’s a hard-sell for those who aren’t already into it, especially in Lincoln.

How do you separate yourself from ‘ringtone rappers’?

We haven’t got anything to do with popular mainstream hip hop, ours is a totally different world to that. It’s a misleading marketing term now. Listen to Twin Lizard’s more caustic lyrics if you want my opinion on things like that.

How did the B Dolan gig come about?

We set it up, paid for it all, promoted it and made it happen firstly because I wanted to try and get an in-road with B and his label Strange Famous Records in a musical sense, and secondly because I wanted to be the first person to put the innovative US weirdo hip-hop underground I’ve been into for the last eight years on in our city. People should try and bring the music they love to the attention of local music lovers, and we are planning shows in a similar vein in the near future.

What do you make of current mainstream hip-hop?

I don’t and never have listened to it regularly, but last time I checked in it’s mostly absurd, irrelevant and devoid of anything interesting to say, which is weird for RAP MUSIC if you think about it. That’s a function of mainstream music fundamentally really though, not just hip hop. As I say, I have tunes about that kind of thing.

What made you want to set up the label?

A band is effectively it’s own record label, management and promotions team if it’s being run sensibly, so you could say I may as well have set one up. It legitimises what we get up to in a business sense and gives me a platform to try and spread the word about some of the awesome free music that’s everywhere online these days as a by-product. Great for promoing Twin Lizard’s many collaborators too.

What’s in the future for Needle in the Groove?

I want to make it less of a by-product of mine and my friends bands and more of a ‘regular’ netlabel by really developing and focussing it’s identity over the next six months, starting with a revamp to the basic website I’ve been using for years. Check out Black Lantern Music up in Edinburgh, they’re my blueprint for a quality netlabel. Great output, strong identity and loads of releases. Go and give them some money.

Big recommendation for you all tonight, and the first post in a few months I know. We’re still awaiting the outcome of a site redesign we’ve commissioned, but in the meantime I’ve finally gotten around to properly appreciating this free record from the Black Lantern Music Netlabel, having made it a bit of a priority after we played host to Tickle and Texture in Lincoln in May.

Priority is a bit of a nightmare when you’ve been as busy as we have lately though…Most people listen to and review things when they’re released, but not me, I have to have at least a 6 month lead time before posting anything about anything…

Red River comprises three ridiculously good tunes that are a genuine joy to listen to, laid back, flow shifting preacher-rapping dressed in proper choruses and mostly cheerful beats. This combination is a rare find in the musical line I usually tread with NITG, and Tickle ought to be seen as defining the cheery-but-serious end of the spectrum, judging by this release.

Production is consistently gorgeous, tasteful and understated and at times the tune’s have something of the Just Jack about them, though lyrically Tickle’s about a thousand miles ahead of that guy both technically and in terms of the depth of his content.

My Wee Tribe, the second track, particularly stands out for me since it reminds me of the mighty Tom Caruana’s work with Elemental over the years, and the earliest forms of that were part of the reason I took to writing rhymes. Inspiring stuff, to my mind.

Go download Red River if you want a cheery start to your day, and you’ll all be singing the choruses for at least a day, I guarantee. I only gave them a couple of spins enroute to holiday in the car a bit ago, and they’ve been stuck with me since…Annnd the clown cooks lovely food….

Here’s the download and info page at Black Lantern Music

There are also some great little oddities tucked away in the earlier tunes on Tickle’s Soundcloud page, I suggest you check those out too.

Strange Famous Records B Dolan, Dan Le Sac and Buddy Peace (+ support) at the Duke of Wellington in Lincoln, September 20th 2011.

Seetickets Link for the event

Full ticket information here

Facebook Group here

Needle In The Groove Records Mix July 2011 (needleinthegroove.net) by Needle In The Groove Recs

Here’s the tracklist:

Adder – Nothingtons – addermusic.com – Alt Hip Hop (US)

Woke With A Plan – Hands Up – wokewithaplan.blogspot.com – Alt Hip Hop (US)

Leddie and Smoggy – Darling – facebook.com/LeddieandSmoggy – UK Hip Hop (UK)

Humpasaur Jones – Funeral Groupies – humpjones.bandcamp.com – Alt Hip Hop (US)

Texture – Echoboomers – blacklanternmusic.com – Alt Hip Hop (Scotland)

Introvert – Where Does it come from, Where Does it go? – FEAT @ needleinthegroove.net – Alt Hip Hop (US)

Evolutionaire Rebels – Follow – FEAT @ needleinthegroove.net – Alt Hip Hop (Denmark)

Krowne – Man Behind The Curtain – blacklanternmusic.com – Electronica (Scotland)

Twin Lizard + Ben Steed – Weightless Guilt – twinlizard.net + pegasiamusic.com – Electro / Alt Hip Hop (UK)

Myka 9 – To the Sky – fakefourinc.com – Alt Hip Hop (US)

Rob Gilbank – Contact – pegasiamusic.com – Ambient (UK)

Tone Def Amigos – S-Bends – FEAT @ needleinthegroove.net – Indie (UK)

Hope you’re all feeling the tunes people, and if you fancy a real CD copy of this mix or anything else we’ve released, just let us know and we’ll send you one.

Twin Lizard Version 4 are releasing several tracks that have formerly only been available via their Facebook group in the next few days.

Check this blog for the first one

Download the rest of the bands free EP’s here

Stream at Soundcloud

Venue – Duke of Wellington’s Red Room, Broadgate, Lincoln (Map)

Tickets
Door – £7.50
Advance - £6.50 (Seetickets)
Special Concession – £5.50 – Open to everybody, in return for becoming a member of our mailing list and Facebook group – Full information on accessing this discount here.

This events Facebook group is here, please join for the latest updates, and you can also register your interest by email or by txting or calling 07932448933, and we’ll get in touch.

———————————————————————————————–

For the first time, Needle In The Groove Netlabel are bringing luminaries of underground US indie rap and spoken word label Strange Famous Records (home to Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, and releasing Buck 65 amongst others) along for a LIVE show in Lincoln.

SFR’s master storyteller B.Dolan headlines…Part MC, part performance poet, and all creative genius, Dolan kicks out a vast range of material, from odes to Evil Knievel to incisive assaults on capitalist culture over music that’s – “…raw, confrontational, honest, and futuristic — exactly what hip-hop should be.” – Vital Reverb

Dolan brings his own support in the form of Buddy Peace, remix master for labels like Warp and Anticon as well as SFR and vastly talented DJ. You may have come across him making beats for Buck 65, or on mixing this FREE B Dolan mixtape

Last but not least, Dan Le Sac, producer of the mental electro beats for double UK chart-and-groundbreaking Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip is also performing. You’ll have heard his work on tracks like ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill’ and ‘Get Better’ alongside MC Scroobius Pip.

Local support will come from our very own alt-rap crew the Twin Lizard Allstars, Tape Noise, and others to be confirmed…

The Duke of Wellington is a small venue for a show like this, so ticket numbers will be limited. It’s also strictly over 18′s only please.

Welcome a new breed of MC to our town with us people, it’s going to be a proper night to remember. Hip hop is officially undead.

strangefamousrecords.com
needleinthegroove.net
soundcloud.com/twinlizard

I haven’t been posting much at Needle In The Groove recently, mainly because we’ve been incredibly busy with Twin Lizard Version 4.

However, it’s also because this incarnation of the online presence was always a test phase, albeit one that was supposed to last three or four months, but has ended up lasting something more like a year.

Basically, I’m unhappy with the website I quickly pieced together a bit ago, and seeing as we’ve got some new releases on the horizon, I’ve decided to take the opportunity for a full redesign of our site, along with a personal undertaking to post much more regularly. I’m also hoping to see Dale taking a much more active role in the label, rather than just contributing the occasional post to the blog. It’d be nice to have somebody actively hunting down some guitar bands who’s work we can push, as all my time is generally taken up keeping up with the deluge of free indie / alternative / oddball rap and hip hop I receive.

The plan for Needle In The Groove was always to be an umbrella business structure for the projects of the collective of musicians I’ve known and worked with for years, and not to affiliate too closely with our local area, if only because myself and Dale don’t feel particularly connected to the music scene here these days. I’ve also spread the resources available to similar past endeavours too thinly in the past, and am determined not to make the same mistake again.

However, I do think it’s sensible to begin building a stable of artists who we believe it’s worth investing some work into in the near future, rather than just being a clearing house for free release after free release. However, I do still think it’s necessary to expand the ‘recommendations’ thing we’ve been doing over the last year or so, firstly because there’s a ton of great stuff getting sent my way every single day that needs as much promo as it can get, and because you can’t have enough regular content.

You could say the vision I’ve developed for NITG sees it falling somewhere between what has become the ‘usual’ netlabel, which I define as an (often quite passive) aggregator of free releases from a particular genre or area, and a management company which will seek to increase the profile of it’s acts by exploring more traditional avenues.

However, it all starts with a much better and more functional website, which I hope to provide within the next month.

In the meantime, I suggest you all keep up with the releases on the mighty Black Lantern Music, and the fledgling Pegasia labels, and remember to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to be kept up to date on the relaunch.

The Tone Def Amigos, and their earlier incarnation Sola and later offshoot G13, are collectively responsible for some of the best music to come out of Lincoln from about 1998 to 2004.

Tone Def Amigos – S-Bends by Needle In The Groove Recs

Whilst I think I was first exposed to Sola in my first ever rock/grunge band (which you won’t be hearing any time soon) in about 1997, I recall properly connecting with the frontman of all their incarnations Jim Green back in the days of Twin Lizard Version 2, circa 1999. We were all competing in a battle of the bands at Grafton House in Lincoln, and I remember Jim enthusing about the fact we were using an Amiga 500 on stage to trigger samples and loops. I remember he was convinced loops and samples were the future at the time, and remember that we were united in a healthy distrust for the Lincoln music scenesters too.

Over the next few years I gathered that Sola died a death under a difficult management deal, despite being Lincoln’s best chance at shining in the Brit-pop and Oasis era in the eyes of a lot of the people who paid attention back then…The band that followed, named the Tone Def Amigos, was essentially the same crew with a different bass player, and with the influences had shifted more to Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips side of guitar music. TDA were a lot more electronic, eccentric and considerably less pop. They were also one of the most musically mature bands that Lincoln had to offer at the time, with songwriting to match anything around and a burgeoning interest in much more sophisticated production than most garage bands were bothering with.

They also were the natural pairing for Owsley Sunshine, the band myself and Dale were in at the time and the flagship of our label, who’s progressive Beta-Band-meets-psychedelic-jams fitted well with them in the live context. Our label promoted both the bands on a split CD demo sent out for review to the blogosphere of the day, and we organised the basis of a tour for both acts in 2004. TDA had to pull out of this, and it’s one of my regrets to this day that we never got to tour the two bands together. Vinyl Collide, another great band from this period, stood in on a date or two of the tour.

However, the band did manage to play with us at both of our Mella Yella festivals, 3 day events near Bardney in Lincolnshire held in 2002 and 2003, and played a lot of great gigs at The Falcon in Lincoln which was the hub of our operation locally for a time. They never really split either I don’t think, just faded into splinter group G13 (who remixed a tune or two from Twin Lizard’s first ever EP – Listen here) and stopped functioning. When I realised that was the case, I also realised that the death knell was sounding for the spurt of creative energy that fuelled the scene in Lincoln for those years we worked together in it.

I always had the highest respect for these guys and their music in all its forms, who still rank amongst the few people I count as friends from that era. And I’m still waiting for some other remixes they’ve promised me over the years…

Finally, here’s what one particularly good review at the immortal Lazy-I magazine had to say back in 2004 about the tracks I’m posting here:

“S-Bends” is just plain gorgeous, the perfect song for your next mix CD, it blends keyboards, cello effects, guitars and floating, high-end vocals singing “She had hollow eyes / Fading out in the cold world.” Sampler closer “Evolution” highlights the vocalist’s Wayne Coyne-esque style on a rainy day acoustic number that’s downright pretty…”

You can listen to the track ‘Evolution’ from the old sampler at the NITG Soundcloud here

…And you can find a couple more tunes at the Myspace graveyard for the Tone Def Amigos