Ranging from Nick Cave to Tindersticks and The Velvet Underground, Uk based indie band Phantom will release its first single Great Pretender b/w Voodoo Romantic on September 28th 2009. Official leak via Fairtilizer playlist & bonus interview below:

What is Phantom about, can you introduce yourself to our community?
I started Phantom about 2 years ago. It’s a very personal project, an outlet for my compositions, my fears, dreams, anger and confessions to surface and come out. It’s about finding out who I am, what I’m capable of and it’s liberating.

What are you up to at the moment?
The first single is coming out on the 28th Sept, on Parallax Sounds Records. At the moment, I’m busy planning a single launch and video for the release. Am also looking at some gigging opportunities in Europe, Paris would be nice!!

What is your first single about, why should we listen to it?
This first single is called “Great Pretender”, it’s about hiding your true nature, playing the art of deception. It’s also about confessing something to the audience, letting them into a secret. I think it’s very apt as the first Phantom release.

How did you get into music, what’s your musical background?
I don’t have a musical background and certainly not a musicians’ one per say. I was working as a music journalist when I first came to London. I was always surrounded by musicians; going on tour with bands, making TV programs about them, following them in the studio etc… When I stopped working in music I realised that it wasn’t the work that I missed but it was being close to the music. It was only a matter of time, I suppose, until someone threw a guitar in my hands and pushed me to play. That’s when I realised how much I wanted to play but never had! I’m a self taught musician because, for me, the idea of going to study music didn’t feel right. Learning music for me was about rebellion and making your own rules isn’t something anyone could have ever thought me.

Phantom came together because I wanted to take this experience further and actually write songs of my own.

How’s the scene in London, who do you rate?
The London scene is always vibrant, exciting and changing. There’s a lot of good bands around, I played with Teeth of the Sea recently and they’re absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend a listen to their album, and if you can do go and see them live. I also really like Factory Floor, another amazing live band. They’re both fairly experimental but they also have a good sense of melody and creating cinematic, grand and impressionable moods. It’s music that’s right up my alley.

Places of interest in your city?
Museums are an ever lasting source of entertainment for me, and also a refuge, some of them, to the constant “buzz” of the city, so are libraries for that matter, the British Library, Highgate Cemetery and quiet corners of Hampstead Heath also fall in that category. London has so much history, it still amazes after being here for 10 years or so. Am originally from Canada where Cowboys and Indians rules our history books – it’s probably why this idea of Victorian London fuels my imagination so much. I love to picture “imaginary” historic scenes from every quirky pub, muse, alley, or just about anywhere that has that “olde” look and feel.

How is the Internet important for you today and how do you see it evolving in the coming years?
It’s very important to me. It’s how I stay in touch with long lots mates, how I keep in touch with what’s happening around me. I think the more we use the web, whether it’s blogs, on demand media, social networking, the more it’s becoming the tool to organise, connect, plan our lives. It’s impossible to ignore.
As artists how do you use & see the web today, what would be the ultimate one stop place for all your need as a band?
The web is a very powerful tool for artists purely because it’s something artists can get involved in, something they can tailor to suit their needs.
There’s no specific area on the web at the moment that’s ideal for me as an artist, I use a combination of a different website or perhaps I haven’t found it yet… Fairtilizer looks pretty good though!!

Best thing that happened to you last month?
I struck a deal with Art.War for the “Great Pretender” video. They’re fantastic and am so pleased to have then on board. They’re young, talented and already have a very impressive list of clients and previous work behind them. Although you’ll have to wait until the release date to see the final product, I can say that the video concept is tailored specifically to “Great Pretender” and it’s a great opportunity for both parties. I’m very flattered indeed, seems people are starting to take notice and want to get involved. Expect something special.

Are you a good cook and if yes what’s your speciality recipe, if not what is your number one junk food?
Am not a great cook, if you came over for dinner I would probably cook grilled fish (Haddock or Tuna) with some grilled asparagus and perhaps even a warm fig and goat’s cheese salad on the side. I love cheese so there would be plenty on the menu ( French and Italian cheeses in particular, and some English ones too). And a dark chocolate tarte for dessert. love natural food and fresh raw produce. My favourite meal would probably be sushi. I absolutely loathe junk food. It smells revolting and why anyone would eat it willingly is beyond my comprehension! I prefer to indulge with chocolate.

Where is, for you, THE place to play live, if one (sound, lights, crew, friendly promoter, unlimited drink tickets…)?
I’d love to play a gig in a church, never have done, and I think it would suit the sound very well. I’d like to plan a church gigs tour.

A movie you would like to watch now, right now?
Wings of Desire, the Win Wenders classic, I love it.

Best place to stay when abroad?
My parents house in the outskirts of Montreal, Canada.

What was the last (physical) book you read and when was that?
My flatmate lent me some Greek dramas to read and am delving into the bacchae at the moment. Fascinating, and so inspiring.

How do you know what time it is?
I don’t wear a watch and glance over at other people’s most of the time.

The last non-comestible you bought?
False eyelashes.

How do you like to dress?
I love classic styles, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s dresses. I prefer the way they fit compared to modern clothes, they seem to follow curves and shapes more naturally and more comfortably as well. They’re also unique and green (good for the environment).

Smoking or Non-Smoking clubs?
I like a cigarette at home, but definitely not a fan of smoking clubs.

A Badge of Friendship Fairtilizer profile
Parallax Records website
Phantom Myspace profile

Pianist, showman, Guiness world record-man and multifaceted artist Gonzales is back with SUPERPRODUCER, a hilarious video series directed by Jonathan Barré.

Gonzales plays the Superproducer, a megalomaniac musical genius who truly believes he can save a dying music industry and rules his studio with an iron hand. Every person who steps in his studio might become a star. The recession is over: the Superproducer has arrived!

Fairtilizer exclusive: watch episode 4 of Superproducer (click on the link) and download Fanny’s track “Mister Love” produced by…the Superproducer himself!

BONUS – Watch the previous episodes (below) and listen to the previous tracks (in the player on the upper left)!

Follow the Superproducer on Fairtilizer
Follow the Superproducer on Dailymotion
Superproducer Myspace
Gonzales Twitter
Jonathan Barré Myspace
Gonzales Myspace

Interview with DJ UMB / Generation Bass:

What are you up to at the moment?
Well I’m just preparing a trip to Morocco to DJ at some private beach for 2-3 nights at the Essaouira Jambash, which takes place alongside the main Festival. There is a whole group of us going from all over the world.
I will also then DJ with a famous Moroccan Artist called U-Cef at one of the world’s most beautiful venues, The Comptoir Darna, which has hosted parties for the likes of J-Lo, P Diddy, Roger Sanchez, Erik Morillo etc etc.. I have played there at least annually for the past 4 years.
I like to go and DJ there when I want to feel luxurious, extravagant & RICH…haaaaa….haaaaa

Can you introduce yourself to our community?
Well, I am DJ UMB. I have been dj’ing since November 2003 for fun mainly.
I started off as a specialist kind of Buddha Bar/Arabic House DJ but I have got into all sorts of different vibes since then. I just change my style to whatever I’m feeling most at the time and that is tickling my fancy.
I am part of a little but influential blog called GENERATION BASS (www.generationbass.com) founded by my partner, Vince The Prince aka Sonido Del Principe.
I have done lots in the past and have had some successful commercial releases as Shisha Sound System too. I am currently doing some dj’ing once in a while at a world famous Club/Bar/Restaurant in London (whose first home was in Paris) but that is more loungey/chill and house type of vibes.
We are hoping to start some Generation Bass parties because my love for music lies in the UNDERGROUND!

How did you get into music, what’s your musical magical background?
Man, I have been in love with music since about the age of 7 years. I dreamed about becoming a musician and was once in a rock band in London but nothing serious, just fun. Studies and University led to another path and career but I keep coming back to music again, again, again and again!
First loves, Elvis, Beatles then Led Zeppelin who led to me to everything from World (in particular Middle Eastern), to Jazz, Funk, Reggae, Classical, etc etc. I have a very open mind and will listen to almost anything provided it sounds great.
For just listening at home or in the car, I will listen to mainly global stuff, some traditional, rock and even Arabic pop some times.
For dj’ing, however, I am currently listening to all things Global Ghettotech!

Influences and family?
Led Zeppelin, Tom Waits, Claude Challe, Oum Kalthoum, Cowboy Junkies, Rush, Gustav Mahler, Neil Young, Jeff Buckley, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Radiohead, John Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Joao Gilberto, Fela Kuti…etc etc etc
Dj wise…Mad Decent, Zizek, Bersas Discos are hitting all the right notes at the moment & all those involved in the Global Ghettotech scene.
Married, 2 beautiful kids!

How would you define your blog sound?
I would define it as “Global Ghettotech”, to me that is Generation Bass which is a mix of Kuduro, Baile Funk, Nueva Cumbia, Dancehall, Elektro, Hip-Hop, Baltimore Club, Techno-Brega, Dubstep etc….anything with a bass heavy sound or funky traditional vibe.
However, Vince might define it differently…but that’s good because I really don’t like to pigeon-hole music.

Who you see coming on strong in the newcomers, why should we listen to them?
Well, I would like to think the whole Ghettotech scene is ready to explode thanks to artists like MIA, Santogold, Switch, Diplo, Toy Selectah etc etc. So just watch out for any releases on Mad Decent, ZIZEK and Bersas Discos.
Also watch our for Baandish Project, Villa Diamante, Barbarix, Schlachthofbronx, Sonido Del Principe, Sufi Dubstars, Basswreckers, Bassnectar, Celt Islam, Maluca, Modeselektor & Apparat, Ladybox, Blood Shake, Addiquit, Zuzuka Pederosa, Zakee Kuduro, Sticky K, L-Vis 1990, Jaime Fanatic, Peronists, Destroyers, Phil Retrospector, Simon Iddol, Turbo Tim, Major Rye Rye, Lazer, Frikstailers …man, there are so many …sorry if I’ve missed anybody etc.
For me the best DJ in the world at this time is a guy called Mayur from the Bandish Projekt. I’ve heard 1 mix of his and if he never does another mix again, the one I’ve heard is my all-time favourite DJ Mix of all times (as Muhammed Ali would say).

The future Bass Generation?
We don’t know, I suppose we’ll keep blogging until people tell us to stop it! We want to start some Generation Bass parties worldwide eventually I suppose. We have a big party in September in Tilburg, Holland.
http://www.zxzw.nl/2009/

And of the music industry?
It’s very difficult to say but what is quite apparent is that artists are not making money from album sales but mainly from live gigs. I’ve personally noticed a sharp decrease in album sales as I’ve done 10 compilations of various descriptions in the past 2 years covering a range of different genres within Global Music and the labels’ output is drying up because of poor sales.
Hence the massive increase in free promo’s and bloggers.
There has to be a new business industry model in the music world but what that is, I’m not sure. I’m not into music to make money, in fact I’ve done so much free just for the love of it. I can afford to do so as I have another fall-back career. For people trying to make a living on music though, man it’s tough and I don’t know how they survive!

How’s the scene in England (Where you are from exactly), who do you rate?
England has obviously been a beacon for great music throughout the years. There’s a strong indie/rock, R&B and Dubstep scene here. There’s a huge Bhangra scene in Birmingham where I live but that is because there are lots of Asians here, including me J. Reggae & Dub has always been big here.
The only thing recently to have interested me from England is of course Mia, Switch and Dubstep.

It’s less open to global music than other places like France and so it’s always a struggle in England but that might now be changing, I hope.
Obviously, MIA is probably the best thing to come out of England for a very long time.

Places of interests in your city?
The public toilets….haa.haaa.. No, I suppose the fact that we have great Asian food here of the Indian and Pakistani variety, the best in the country I would say. Apart from that it’s a pretty boring city.

As an artist (dj) how do you use & see the web today? Is it important for you?
Yeah very, very important, in fact it’s crucial. I am ultra dependant upon it. I use the web just for music, to find new things, to check up things, to do business music-wise.
I cannot remember the last time I walked into a record store, which is a great shame. When I was a kid I would save up all my school dinner money and starve so that I could head to the local record store on a Friday to buy some vinyl. In fact I use to prefer spending my money on music rather than taking a girl out…TRUE!

Do you live entirely for your music today?
Of course not, family comes first, so I always say but ask my family and they will tell you music comes first…haa.haa.
So yes, I could not imagine life without music, it is my best friend, my most trusted companion and my medication to keep me sane in this mad world.

shorties:

Best thing that happened to you recently?
Watching Global Ghettotech growing and growing…..and joining Vince @ GENERATION BASS!

Where is, for you, the best venue/place to play live, if one (panorama, sent, sound, lights, crew, friendly promoter, unlimited drink tickets…)?
I would love to play in a desert…that has not happened yet.

A movie you would like to watch now, right now?
City Of God or something dumb & funny…

Best place to live if you had unlimited budget?
Morocco

Last album you enjoyed listening?
Baandish Project, MGMT, Justice, Celt Islam ….I’m sure there are more but I just cannot remember just now.

Best TV shows (current and ever)?

Fawlty Towers.
Laurel & Hardy
Apprentice
Newsnight.

Last musical genre obsession you digged frenetically?
Global Ghetottech.

What was the last (physical) book you read and when was that?
I’m not much of a reader, I should read more.
I feel however that there are those that read books or write them and then there are those who live them. I feel my life is a book that I live, I might be the only one ever to read it but that’s how I feel.
But the last book I read from cover to cover was The Prophet by Khalil Gibran about 15 years ago!

How do you know what time it is?
Mainly, instinct. I have some great watches but I never wear them.

Fave night drink and morning beverage?
A cup of English Tea!

How do you like to dress, how do you define your look?
I’m a simple jeans & T-shirt and trainers kind of man.

Smoking or non-smoking clubs?
Smoking Shisha clubs

Your joke of the moment?
I am a DJ and I am funky!

Generationbass website
Dj Umb Myspace
Dj Umb Fairtilizer profile

Tracklisting:

GENERATION BASS – FAIRTILIZER EXCLUSIVE – GLOBAL GHETTOTECH VOL FREE III

1. Ruthless – DJ Cleo
2. Gone Too Far Feat. Sizzla (Buraka Som Sistema Remix) – Dre Skull
3. Yah! – Buraka Som Sistema
4. Zirkus – Schlachthofbronx
5. El Tigeraso – Maluca
6. Get With This (Get Busy) – Dj LoKey
7. Get Up (Diplo Remix) – Bingo Players
8. Solid G – Ruff N Funct
9. African Chant – Top Billin’
10. Soundbwoy Don’t Like It (Vince The Prince Remix) – Tupolev Sound Crash
11. Art of Revolution (Ghislian Poirier Remix) – Bassnectar
12. Sah Raoui _ Fnaire
13. Hold The Line (Ghislain Poirier Remix) – Major Lazer
14. Com Respeito – Buraka Som Sistema
15. Favela Bounce – Sabbo Feat. MC Thiaguinho
16. Eurovision – Zombie Disco Squad
17. Suckaz They Dont Know – Jaimie Fanatic
18. Bandari Funk – Sticky K
19. Warp 1.9 (G-Tronic BadAss Rmx) Feat. Steve Aoki – The Bloody Beetrots

MIXED BY DJ UMB
MASTERED BY timxavier@manmademastering.com

What’s the story behind allez-allez?
Myself (Sam) and Steve are two music lovers who came together over a shared love of deep music of all variety – disco, techno, krautrock, house… We try to use the knowledge we have to bind together the shared spirit and soul that links together the music of bands or individuals such as Can, Arthur Russell, Isolee, Carl Craig, Madlib, Four Tet et al. as well as the more obscure sounds that unfairly never reached a larger audience. We believe in talking up, not down to our audience!

5 tracks that define the allez-allez sound?

Ricardo Villalobos – Easy Lee (Smith N Hack Remix)
Ada- I Love Asphalt
Animal Collective – For Reverend Green
808 State – Flow Coma (Aphex Twin Remix)
Heiko Voss – I Think About You

How do you interact with artists and record labels?
we approach labels / artists that we’re into and explain the ethos behind what we’re about on the site. our posts / mixes are about supporting labels / artists and encouraging people to check out and maybe buy the release that’s being promoted, and also to check out some of the great music that’s featured on the podcasts..

How do you interact with the rest of the musical blogosphere?
We’re not featured on hype machine due to the technicality that we’re not an ‘mp3 blog’, so that has meant that people have kind of discovered us through word of mouth recommendation, and the kind words / links of other bloggers who we have stuff in common with. It’s nice to see that there’s a real range of people who’re into what we do – we’re not interested in being pigeon holed as a ‘minimal’ blog or a ‘disco’ blog or whatever… although this means that we’re never super trendy, we feel we’re in this for the right reasons, and for the long haul! I think also that some of the bigger name mixes we have such as Hot Chip, Four Tet, Nathan Fake, Lindstrom etc. draw people in who then explore the 100 + mixes on the site, which include some real gems, such as the (now sadly departed) One More Grain mix.

How do you see the blog game evolving? Are music blogger the new A&R’s? Tastemakers?
Definitely, bloggers are a really important way of finding out about music full stop, never mind new or old – stuff by harmonia, or silver apples or the like, if anything is even more relevant and fascinating in a modern context than it was at the time of its release. As someone who’s worked in the music industry for nearly a decade now, I think one of the revolutionary things about blogs is that they operate outside of the text book promotional model, which is that the likes of our good friends at 20 Jazz Funk Greats will write about a Throbbing Gristle record or Manuel Gottesching just because they feel like it on that particular day, rather than because some major label are re-issueing the back catalogue… for that reason there’s an increased sincerity, and thus a greater level of trust with the readership / audience.

In that way it means that people all over the world can get to hear about a forward thinking new band with great songs a hell of a lot quicker and easier, rather than waiting for the fuddy duddy accepted ‘gatekeepers’ in the form of the traditional music print media to get on board, who are left struggling in the wake, and having to appease their advertisers, i.e. the labels..

What initiative, in terms of music & internet, has lately drawn your attention?
Spotify is a huge leap forward for me / us in that it’s so much easier now to check out music you haven’t heard and get a good idea of whether it’s worth you buying or not, as opposed to itunes’ 30 second clips… I can fully explore Tangerine Dreams back cat now, and easily wade through the overblown stuff to get to the krauty goodness!

What’s your Fairtilizer’s mix about?
I tried to do something a bit different, and a bit slower, more song based… good for toasting marshmallows on a fire but on a sunny day…

Any new bands/labels/producers currently floating your boat that we should look out for?
As always, all of our good friends at Border Community (James Holden, Nathan Fake, Luke Abbott, Wesley Matsell, Avus and Ricardo Tobar) are consistently bringing the goodness, plus Appleblim and Shackleton, oh, and the new Gossip album sounds awesome – particularly a track called ‘Love Long Distance’ – one of the anthems of this year – trust me!

What is your favorite word?

Squelch!

Visit Allez-Allez website
Visit Blog Digger Fairtilizer profile
Visit Blog Digger Website

Tracklisting:

Heaps Of Sheeps Mix by Sam (Allez-Allez)

Arthur Russell – Maybe She
High Places – Jump In (For Gilkey Elementary School)
Nav Katze – Ziggy (Aphex Twin Mix)
Deer Hunter – Little Kids
Robert Wyatt – Heaps Of Sheeps
Vangelis – Keep Asking
Von Sudenfed – That Sound Wiped
Mikkel Metal – Kaluga

Watch Lazy Flow @ BadGoin’, Social Club Paris

Visit Lazy Flow Myspace
Visit Lazy Flow Fairtilizer profile

Sometimes life moves in mysterious ways. Take, for instance, Barclay Crenshaw, aka super-producer and dirtybird/mothership boss Claude VonStroke. How could he, as a rap-obsessed 16 year old dreaming of an engineering job at Metroplex (Juan Atkins’ studio) in Detroit, expect that someday he’d end up headlining gigs alongside Atkins? The same could be said about his days as a frustrated creative working in post-production houses, when he began creating an electronic music documentary by interviewing internationally-renowned DJs. He never could’ve predicted that one day, rather ironically, he’d be in the opposite chair: the world-famous DJ being interviewed.

“Around 2001, I moved in with a high school buddy of mine to Oakland, and we started going to crazy raves. I was working on my third career then, editing commercials for a post-production TV house. They had all this great equipment at the edit house, so I had this idea. [Up to that point] I had created all this original music but nothing ever happened with it, because I didn’t really know what to do after the music was done. I never really learned when I was a kid because no one was there to mentor me. So I thought to myself, ‘When I was 16 and getting into music, what would’ve been the ultimate instructional video that I could’ve watched?’ I came up with the idea for this DVD, to interview the most famous DJs in the world: asking them how they became famous, how they make music technically, how they run their label, all of that. I ended up interviewing 50 people, from Paul Van Dyk to Derrick May to Orbital, everyone. After two years, I didn’t have enough money to license the music, and I needed to have a piece of music playing under each interview. So Justin Martin, Nigel Richards (from 611 Records), this trance guy from Sweden and I made all of the music for the whole DVD by imitating the sound and style of each interviewee. That’s how I learned to make house music.”

Cleveland-born, Detroit-raised, San Francisco-based Barclay Crenshaw has been fuelled by happy accidents and a contagious, happy-go-lucky attitude in general. He’s living proof that everything happens for a reason, even if everything might seemingly happen at the wrong time. Ask him about his novelty rap tapes as a teenager, or his time in Hollywood that ended with his song being pulled from a blockbuster movie, or his short-lived drum & bass career that ended in a disheartening electrical disaster. There were many reasons for Barclay to think that his musical fate was doomed, but it took a “surprise” production (and the meeting of a likeminded spirit, Justin Martin) to convince him otherwise.

“Justin Martin and Sammy D made the first track released on dirtybird. So just as a surprise, I did a remix of it. The response was great so then I made another surprise track, which was basically my first original house track ever, ‘Deep Throat.’ I’d been dying for my entire life to not have a real job, and to do something interesting that I enjoyed. My wife’s a little more sensible, and I’m a little dreamier, so she said: ‘I’m going to give you one year and I’m going to pay for everything – and if in that year, you can make this certain amount of money doing music, then you can do it forever. And if you don’t make it, then you have to get a job for the rest of your life.’ This was extremely motivating and that first year, everything went totally crazy, and I doubled the money, which surprised me even more than my wife, I think. I put out ‘Deep Throat,’ and followed it with ‘The Whistler’ and ‘Who’s Afraid of Detroit’ on the same record. And then somehow, it all came together and took off…that record was bananas.”

The three records ended up being the sound of 2006, the most recognisable and demanded tracks throughout scenes far and wide – ‘The Whistler’ even made its way onto worldwide TV screens via a T-Mobile advert. His debut album, ‘Beware of The Bird,’ pushed both Claude VonStroke and dirtybird to become house-household names, tuning the world’s ear to the vibrant new movement that was bouncing out of San Fran. These days, as he remains one of the most sought-after remixers across every genre imaginable (from Bmore club to drum & bass to hipster rock to mainstream pop), works busily through a globe-trotting DJ schedule, and manages two wonderfully quirky, impressively consistent record labels that forever raise the bar, Barclay Crenshaw undoubtedly holds his own in the electronic music hall of fame.

Taking the characteristic bump of dirtybird/mothership, including the fresh sounds of Italoboyz and Voodeux, and merging it with the likes of Troy Pierce’s stripped-back precision and the melancholic grace of Stimming, fabric 46 is the eccentric, animated, wide-ranging sound of Claude VonStroke embodied. Always maintaining a sense of humour throughout, and projecting his playful personality into each transition and groove, it vividly captures the feel of his often imitated – but never replicated – bubbly bass-driven style. Tricked out and chopped up to perfection, the 22+ tracks hold on to a tangible underlying motif throughout: for lack of a better word, fun. Arranged with such artistic dexterity, fabric 46 swells and pulses with womps, stomps, climbing basslines and slippery beats; sounds collected from across the electronica map, all housed stylistically on one immaculate disc. At times the mix will make you laugh out loud; other times you’ll find yourself disarmingly spellbound; other times still, you may even close your eyes in a delicate daydream – but most of all, the point is to make you move. So, as DJ Deeon says: “Shake what your momma gave ya.”

“Everything is really tailored; the tracks aren’t really the tracks, it is all cut up, chopped and twisted. It’s challenging to do a project that has to say everything in such a small time frame because I play a lot of genres. So I worked hard on getting all the different sounds that I really dig into one mix. It wasn’t made as a dancefloor mix, but if you listen to it and you don’t tap your feet, or move in some way, then it’s just a complete failure. I wanted to create a greasy, dirty vibe but also get melancholy and funky – a little hard here, a little soft there. I picked the best music I could find and put it together in a creative way that fully represents my sound and personality.”

Visit Fabric profile on Fairtilizer
Visit Fabric website
Visit Claude Von Stroke website

Much anticipated new studio release by ultra creative hip-hop pioneer Moka Only, who brings a groundbreaking hip-hop album featuring Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde, Kissey Asplund and Psy. Blending genius production with his unique raps, Lowdown Suite is a truly refreshing hip-hop masterpiece.

Moka Only is a dynamic artist with a career that spans over 10 years, 26 LP’s and 400,000 records sold independently. He has won three Juno’s, seven Much Music video awards and so much more, Moka is easily one of the hardest working emcee / producers in music period. At an early age Moka Only discovered his love for hip hop culture entering the scene as a graffiti artist. He later began displaying his skills as a MC rhyming at house parties and then later moving to San Diego in the early 90s where began his illustrious career as a MC and Producer. Moka Only is also a founding member of Swollen Members. However, a group dynamic was not for Moka and he soon moved on to a solo career.

Although best known for his rapping, Moka was also building his resume as a quirky producer with a knack for mixing live and sampled instruments. While the majority of Moka’s musical output has been self-produced, his beats are also sought after by a wide range of underground artists. He has gained the admiration of his peers, industry professionals and fans alike. Moka Only has collaborated with the late great J Dilla, MF Doom, Aceyalone, Buck 65, K-Os, Sadat X and Oh No just to name a few.

Lowdown suite 2 – The Box is one of Moka Only’s best albums to date. Built with deconstructed beats, lo-fi sampling, moody ambiences, scratchy loops…. A rich variety of sounds and samples put together brilliantly for a very creative and smart result.

With this new album Moka proves once again to be a skillful emcee and groundbreaking producer in one. A driving force of the hip-hop community and one of hip-hop’s most respected talents.

Out on CD/Digital on 19th May 2009 on Feelin’ music

www.myspace.com/mokaonly
www.feelinmusic.ch
www.myspace.com/feelinstudio
http://fairtilizer.com/users/feelinmusic

Check Asphalt Duchess playlist & interview below:

Hi, how are you today?
AD: well, it’s springtime. We’re pretty busy and 2009 is aout to be a very interesting year for us. So, I guess we’re fine. Thanks for asking.

What’s going on in Asphalt Duchess’s world right now?
AD: we’ve just released SOCIETY’s first EP – a london duo that we’ve met on the internet and invited last September to play at one of our party. We’ll be releasing some cool remxies from them before summer too. The Embassy’s new single (‘State 08’) will be available soon. It comes in a limited vinyl edition with a remix by french composer François-Eudes Chanfrault. And Mondkopf’s album is coming in May and as this album is quite awaited we have some work on this. It’s a record we’re very proud of. An album of electronic music you can listen at home from the begining to the end. We were looking for this for quite a while.

Can you introduce your roster and philosophy?
AD: for a long time we were using these words we wrote to define Asphalt Duchess philosophy: “We had so many records. There were so many screens. So many effects. There was this crowd. And all these flashes, all these fake lights. There were so many things still unknown, so many things to be done. Many desires and passion. These guys deserved someone to take care of them. We dreamt of a better world while drinking some beer. We could pretend to bring something new after all, the smaller it could have been. Anyway it was better to try now than wait in vain until it was too late. There was music and we wanted to do something for it to stay here. A little more in our lives.”
It’s been four years now. Maybe we’ve changed a little bit in our way of doing things but not in our goal. At the beginning we started the label much more for fun and surprisingly it quickly became something serious. What we’re very happy of. As we speak our philosophy would be to try to continue to release the music we love and to build something that will last trough years and trends. Our roster is like that. It’s about artists we met composing music we love. We still listen to these records and they’re as fresh as the first time we heard them. People come and go but the music’s still here. That’s what matters.

What are you currently listening to? What is your all-time Top 10?
AD: Oh this is not the easiest question. These days we’re a lot listening to numéro#’s new album, Grizzly Bear, Adam Kesher’s new single, The Kinks, SOCIETY, SH** BROWNE’s demo, Mondkopf – every morning. Classical music on Sunday.

Our all-time Top 10 could be:
-Leonard Cohen
-Nick Drake
-Joy Division
-Depeche Mode
-Neil Young
-Frank Sinatra
-The Beach Boys
-Talk Talk
-Alton Ellis
-Tim Buckley
But we’re not really sure…

How is the scene in Paris at the moment?
AD: We’re not that much focused on Paris. It’s where we live and we love this city but we’re not a parisian label. We’re looking for music wherever it comes from and we’re not really trying to define a Parisian scene or trying to be part of it. We think Asphalt Duchess is bigger than that. There’s a big activity in France – not only in Paris – for electronic music of course. With guys creating their own sound breaking out from the ‘french touch’ as Don Rimini, BlackJoy or Mondkopf can do. Some bands are also bringing fresh air in french pop/rock. Like Adam Kesher, SH** BROWNE, We Are Enfant Terrible, Consume, I Love UFO…

You are releasing records in a difficult moment for the music industry: does it affect you? How do you see the future for the industry? Is it easier to run a label now with access to a cheaper and more efficient technology?
AD: It sures affect us. As we invest money on records and are less and less able to know if we’ll get it back. But it’s a bit pointless to look at the past and wish it could be like it was ten years ago. It’s gone so we have to deal with the present. The industry has a lot of responsability in this situation after all. It’s the industry that kills the music at the very end. We think it’s normal that art can be accessible to anyone. It’s not a product. Don’t misunderstood what we say it’s hard to run a label today but maybe we (producers and artists) have just to act with passion. If we can’t make a living of it we’ll continue Asphalt Duchess. We don’t care if we have to be mailmen to pay the rent. Maybe we just need to understand music is ceasing to be a job – except for a few and we’ll do our best to be part of them but our ready if it stops. That’s the best way to go on and have fun.

How important is the Internet for you as a label?
AD: It’s getting more and more important. Classical medias are so frightened these days that we need to reach people directly and bring them the music that nobody take the risk to talk about. We believe that despite the so-called crisis people still want to listen to music. They maybe just want to have a different relation to it. Internet is a way to touch people without buffer if I may say. Kids are spending more and more time on the internet and less in front of TV, radio or reading press. It’s because these medias mostly talk about acts and things that everybody already knows about. We might be wrong but this show there’s still some curiosity. There’s a hope in this. It’s also a great opportunity to sale our music all over the world. Especially vinyls and mp3s.

We are in a world with a lot of different models on the net (free streaming, digital stores, mobile, etc…): what kind of service should be brought to the table?
AD: Quality should be brought to the table. Quality and longevity. Whatever the media. We need to put the music back in first place in all these debates. The mean to sale it or the way you listen to it comes after. A large part of music is free now because people have been use to it and we can’t really go back. We don’t really know what model would be best. Who does? What we know is that we still prefer a nice vinyl to a hard drive full of mp3s…

Anything to add?
AD: Listen to music – whatever it’s on a CD, a vinyl, on free streaming, a legaly or not downloaded mp3 – but just do it well. Not because it’s cool but because it has some value.
Buy Asphalt Duchess records at least. You’ll save a dolphin.

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DJ Supermarkt (Le Hammond Inferno/Berlin Battery) does his first mix in a year…it’s brilliant, perfect for the weekend, and a Fairtilizer exclusive! Thanx to Dskonnect for making it possible. ENJOY! Full tracklisting below:

full tracklist:
1. “ich rocke” intro
2. michael gray – somewhere beyond
3. empire of the sun – we are the people (jimmy2sox rmx)
4. ladyhawke – paris is burning (cut copy rmx)
5. lindstrom & solale – baby i can’t stop (aeroplane rmx)
6. white lies – farewell to the underground (rory phillips white horse rmx)
7. royksopp – eple (boris dlugosch rmx)
8. pulp – common people (doggy disco rmx/dj supermarkt edit)
9. telespazio – telemetric (arto mwambe’s guitar down rmx)
10. pussy 2000 – it’s gonna be alright (hard pussy rmx)
11. the juan maclean – one day (surkin rmx)
12. don diablo – too cool for school
13. basement jaxx – twerk
14. css vs beni – my love needs css (dj supermarkt booty)
15. ze bug – fabulous
16. donovan – breakin’ (charlie fanclub rmx)
17. franz ferdinand – no you girls (zodiac cartel extended rmx)
18. christpher just – vienna 5 a.m. (just final mix)
19. sharooz – get off
20. no idea – forgot to give this mp3 a name
21. jak-z & scott cooper – move ya
22. morten breum – on it !
23. electric soulside – boccaccio
24. derbe grasland – we like to play (jesse rose rmx)
25. the yank – we can’t be stop’d
26. tjr – sonic chronic (lee mortimer’s planet rocking rmx)
27. n.a.s.a. – money (the count of monte cristal “dungeon” rmx)
28. calvin harris – i’m not alone (herve’s see you at the festivals rmx)
29. jokers of the scene – baggy bottom boys
30. dub frequency – whoop! whoop!
31. jack beats – get down
32. dizzee rascal – smells like dizzee in rage
33. shame 69 feat. lcd soundsystem – losing no business (special output 7 ” version)
34.”see you on top of the pops” outro

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2009 promises to be an exciting year for Amy, Astrud & Jessamine from The Rayographs. A debut 7″ getting raving reviews in the UK, a second one coming late Spring and a debut album in the writing stage. Check out their playlist + bonus interview below:

1. Who are The Rayographs and how did the project start?
Jess: I think we’d all agree The Rayographs really began about two years ago. That was when we began to focus more, play regularly and start working towards the music we’re playing now.

However Astrud (guitar/vocals), Amy (drums) and I (bass/vocals) have been playing music together for many years under different names and in different forms. We met when we were teenagers and started playing music together a few years later, in Amy’s bedroom during the long, hot summer of 2003. None of us really played our instruments then, so we were starting from scratch, learning how to play as we wrote songs.

2. Are you on other projects?
Jess: Astrud and I have an occasional side project where we set Blake poems to music. We started it because Astrud’s boyfriend Andrew puts on a night called Blakespeare where people are invited to use Blake and Shakespeare as a starting point for creating music, poetry and prose. It’s quite nice to have the discipline of setting someone else’s completed poetry to music, as it’s very different from how we usually work – doing everything as we go along! We have to get around to recording those songs soon.

Astrud:Yes we really do need to get those songs on tape! We actually want to incorporate one of them into our live set, The Rayographs vs. William Blake. We do a version of “The Garden of Love” where Jess plays a calypso beat with a maraca, it’s compelling! I do a side project called Paper Dollhouse (www.myspace.com/paperdollhouses) which is a cross between film soundtracks and some haunted folky stuff. I record on a four-track on keyboard and guitar in my bedroom. I love Angelo Badalamenti who does all the David Lynch films and Twin Peaks, Lubos Fiser who wrote the Valerie and her Week Of Wonders S/T, White Noise- Delia Derbyshire et al, Christine Harwood- lush 60s folky stuff, Danny Elfman etc. I need to turn my room into a the BBC Radiophonic Workshop!

3. You are just starting a band in a difficult time for the music industry: how do you see the future for it?
Jess: I’m not sure if you mean the future for our band or the music industry as a whole. I think with the band we’ve never really expected to make money from making music, though being able to sustain ourselves making music full time would be fantastic! People will continue to make and buy music forever of course, though there is obviously a huge shift in how money is being spent. It seems like the future is that record companies will be making a lot less out of selling records…more and more bands will probably self-release music on the internet and have booking agents and press agents but perhaps not a record company behind them, or if they do it’ll be for one or two releases rather than a five album deal. In a way I think that’s quite positive for musicians, but it’s obviously a massive blow to the music industry.

4. How’s the scene in London?
Amy: I think the general London music scene is brilliant at most times, at others I get really annoyed with it. Its like any city you live in in that sense. We just went to see the Arthur Russell documentary ‘Wild Combination’ at The London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and I’ve also been going through a book about the same era in New York in the art/underground scene. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment when seeing how thriving this scene appeared to be in comparing it to today in london, but as someone said maybe this is utopic thinking. My frustration with London is that it sometimes seems very fragmented in terms of musical ‘houses’.. even in the ‘guitar music’ world. What I mean is it has lots of little pockets of good stuff, under the basic gig surface and a genuine sense of scene/s can take a bit of time to find – which perhaps is inevitable because London’s music world can be pretty vast.

It does have them though and once you hunt around a bit or start to know some people there are some really decent ‘micro-scenes’ here in London that have been doing really cool stuff or have a nice approach. In terms of the more ‘band’ orientated stuff some of the gems are Stolen Records who often have a lovely lo-fi approach to their sounds and art work/packaging…Upset The Rythmm who’ve had a nice thing going on for a good few years now – they often put on the American bands on the experimental scene – and more recently a house in Dalston that just gets bands to come play for the evening. These are often the nights I end up really appreciating London. I also really value Resonance Fm 104.4fm (an arts/community station based in London) which has a very varied programme, some of which really do constanly cover new stuff at extreemly grass-roots level and support new bands, which we’ve really appreciated as The Rayographs. I think some of the shows on Resonance are the best place to really get to hear about new and exciting music in London.

At the risk of sounding like a total muso-journalist desperate to latch on to a trend, some the more prominent musical threads around London at the moment would be the following: Lo-fi indie/?post-punk? , ‘East-London-Doom’ , or high-agit-experimental/complex-pop. Sometimes I’m not quite sure where we fit in, in terms of ‘a scene’ but the way I’m beginning to see it is that as long as the people who like our music can get to hear it then it may not neccessarily be a negative thing that there’s not that many people around at the moment who sound like us. When its put that way I’d much rather feel a little out on a limb than sound like just another ‘……’ band!

5. We are in a world with a lot of different models on the net (free streaming, digital stores, mobile, collector vinyl etc.): what kind of service should be brought to the table?
Astrud: I think there are people paid to try to develop new ways of trying to do this stuff all the time; it’s a strange time for the industry but really good in a way because everything’s got really abstract and away from the music at the centre of it. Sometimes things need to implode a little for new ways of doing things to be worked out- I don’t know what the answers are to that in terms of making money from music. I take a while to wake up to technology so I’m probably not the best person to answer this…I don’t have an Ipod- until yesterday we just had a record player in the living room!

6. As artists how do you use the web today?
Astrud: We rely on myspace as a focal point for the band, as many bands or artists do to present their music and basic gig information. I like writing blogs about what we’re up to and whatever thoughts are in my head that may give more of a personal insight into what we’re doing. People are more likely to read my ridiculous tangents than anything useful but that’s the way my mind operates! I use myspace and lastfm to listen to new bands that someone has mentioned to me- lastfm can open an aladdin’s lamp of groups or a scene that you know a little about because you have the “similar artists” tool- great for musos but probably pretty annoying for anyone you live with if they’re not into Diamanda Galas for example.

7. And how is it important for you today?
Astrud: Myspace is very important because it’s the only web-based source of information that we can contribute to and update on a regular basis; and it’s usually the first place where someone will hear your music on the web.

8. How do you see it evolving in the coming years?
Astrud: I can see a lot more people self-releasing albums, releasing albums digitally- the music “industry” doesn’t mean the same as it did even five years ago. Maybe everyone got too comfortable and that needs shaking up. What is really noticeable I think is that everyone I know that makes music has full time jobs, so you have to do things creatively after work and if you’re self-releasing stuff, you need to work to pay for recording, rehearsal time etc. That is how it is in London, and from that you get a different type of community. There’s like a duality where everyone’s doing these pretty involved jobs during the day, then creating their art in the evening and weekends. This is mainly to do with the cost of living in London. In some ways it gives you freedom in that if you are not intending to make money from music you will be freer in the way you write, but on the other hand, if you have less time, you think “right, I’ve got to write something good now!”. I wonder if the artistic community in London will be like this if everyone loses their jobs in the recession! What I’ve noticed especially since reading about downtown New York in the late 70s and early 80s and watching this film about Arthur Russell is that artistic communities are more virtual now- I think you lose something from that. When you see photos or film footage from that period you think those guys were “there”, in the moment. They weren’t isolated or distracted or living in their own heads. Maybe this is just my rose-tinted projection. I guess with forums/ blogs/ online music sites, there are plenty of other benefits and ways to exchange ideas, but everyone becomes like cells drifting around with their own ideas. It’s good to try and work against this- it’s why DIY festivals like Ladyfest are good because you wake up from your own little world. I’ve been watching a few films at the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival at the BFI that have been really inspiring- DIY music documentaries that people have made about their band or music that’s important to them. It makes you think “wow, that’s what my peers are coming up with”- it’s very important to engage in what other people are doing.

9. What are you currently listening to?
Jess: I have somehow only just discovered Can, so have been listening to Tago Mago non-stop. It is indescribably good. Also Silver Apples ‘Contact’, which has a lot of similarities to Can in a way. And Ponytail who we played with recently, who are one of the best live bands I think I’ve ever seen. Molly, the singer, is the most amazingly primal performer. Their songs in no way resemble songs in the traditional sense, but somehow manage to worm their way into your head for days.

Astrud: Right now I’m listening to Arthur Russell- I just went to see an amazing documentary about him which had been recommended to me by several people. I’ve been listening a lot to the ‘Searching For The Wrong Eyed Jesus’ soundtrack, this week- “Jehovahkill” Julian Cope’s “heathen rock masterpiece”- ‘Upwards At 45 Degrees’ is great. I’ve also been listening to Can actually- ‘Future Days’ is one of the greatest tracks ever. As is ‘She Cracked’ By The Modern Lovers which was in the film I saw tonight. I’ve also been listening to a band called Ut and Scott Walker- The Drift but and ‘The Old Man’s Back Again’, the one about Stalin- amazing.

10. 10 albums that define Rayographs’s influences:
(sorry I know it’s not 10, we can count, we just couldn’t choose! They are in no particular order)

Pixies- Surferosa
PJ Harvey- Dry / Dancehall at Louse Point (with John Parish)
Patti Smith- Horses/ Easter
Thee Headcoatees- We Are Thee Headcoatees
Erase Errata – Nightlife
The Breeders – Pod/ Last Splash
Shellac – Action Park
Sons and Daughters – Love The Cup
The Stooges- Funhouse/ The Stooges
Can- Tago Mago/ Future Days

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