Celebrating my 28th birthday wasn’t supposed to be all that. However it was a perfect weekend. A great birthday party at Barbeint on friday, out with my best mates on saturday and then a perfect sunday in the park and later with family and my girlfriend. Sunshine all weekend. And to top it all, one of the best presents I can remember getting – A state of the art gramophone player.

This phonograph was first spotted at an antique store at Sagene. Walking through the city on a lazy sunday with my girl, we spotted this through the window. The owner, although peak hours for an antique dealer, was out and the shop closed. Knowing I had been talking about this for a while, she went back for it, wrapped it, and made it the perfect gift.

As far as my research goes it is made after 1909 by The Gramophone Company, a Camden company that introduced the legendary “His Master’s Voice” label that year. The label was painted by Francis Barraud and pictures a dog (“Nipper”)  listening to an early phonograph. The U.S. rights to the label and name was licenced to Victor Talking Machine Company in 1929, and that company was later sold to Radio Corporation of America (RCA). The Gramophone Company later opened the HMV record store on 363 Oxford Street, London.

It is handcrafted from the finest dark pinewood for the eight cornered box casing, and the best quality brass for the horn. The piece looks like the original  - but I have not yet been able to verify if it is an original or a reproduction. It features “Nipper” in a stamped logo as he listens to “His Masters Voice” (printed) along with “The Gramophone Company Ltd”.

I am now in the market for a quality needle, and look forward to appreciate the vintage sound.

His engagement in society, politics and afro-american rights a key theme in his music. “The revolution will not be televised” is in that context  a great example, as it is an exquisite piece of soul music. A key piece of the album “Pieces of a man”, it was released on Flying Dutchman in 1971 and spans the early years of Gil’s career before he left the label for Arista. Working with Bob Thiele he got the mix of jazz, soul and poetry just right. His social awareness so apparent in his lyrics, dealing with the superficiality of television and mass consumerism, the hypocrisy of some would-be Black revolutionaries, white middle-class ignorance of the difficulties faced by inner-city residents, and homophobia.

My personal favorites from the album are “Lady Day and John Coltrane” (cheekily sampled by Kjell for the drum’n'bass heads), “Pieces of a man”, and not least the fantastic “Save the children”.

“I’m new here“, Gil’s first album in 16 years hit the shelves this february and was indeed impressive. Released on XL Recordings it has got that unmistakably soul of Scott-Heron all over it. Do not miss out on the opportunity to see a true legend live on stage in Oslo!

Tickets are still available here

The Sunburst Band is a collective born out of Dave Lee aka Joey Negro’s passion for boogie, funk, disco and jazz.The band are taking the live circuit by storm playing sell out venues across the UK and Europe with a highly polished and unique live sound that is missing from much of today’s dance music. In Dave’s words; “It’s not like I’m the guy who harps on that it was so much better back in ’78, but at the same time I’m a bit of a polar resistor who goes against the flow. So many dance acts are making electro I’ve gone the other way with this project. I’ve missed the performance thing, the intensity of a band playing together.”

Indeed, house music needs to rediscover the live performance. Seeing seven talented musicians play off each other, the vocalists, the saxophone, the bass, the drums, the guitar, the keys and the electronic elements all blended together with enthusiasm and joy – It certainly was a great experience.

As always, I highly recommend you to visit the Jazz Café if you are in London.

Today I thought I’d share some of the radio shows that I listen to regularly. Obviously, BBC is a great place to start.

• Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio One
• Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show on BBC 6 Music
• John Peel Sessions
• The Essential Mix with Pete Tong on BBC Radio One
• Dom Servini’s Unherd radio show (Wah Wah 45s) is broadcasted every monday between 9-12 (UK time), and you can also listen online.
• Wah Wah 45s are also one of many interesting djs/labels broadcasting on Zamurai FM.

There are also a great number of podcasts available through iTunes – “Gilles Peterson Worldwide”, “Jus like Music”, Roger Sanchez’s “Release yourself” podcast and “Defected in The House” being some of my favorites.

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I put together a blend of minimal techno, tech-house and tribal influences from the island. Not necessarily the tunes I heard, but just trying to recreate and relive the summer when the fall sets in and the closing parties are over. All the moments – the girls, the music, the djs, the scenery, the vibe, the clubs.

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You can download the mix here, and I would love to hear your feedback.

Tracklist:

1. Sebastian Leger – Discotechno

2. Lauhaus – Back to Ipanema

3. Solo – Afreaka

4. Dj Gregory  & Gregor Salto – Con Alegria (Solo more cowbell remix)

5. Saeed Younan – Backroom Honey (original mix)

6. Micha Klang – Baby I am for real (Nima Gorji remix)

7. Alex Niggaman – El Henchizo (original mix)

8. Io – Jeton

9. Martin Eyerer and Benno Blome – Pianoroll (Ramon Tapia remix)

10. Nima Gorji – Keep on getting down

11. Johnny D – Soleil (original)

12. Solo – Joga Bola

13. Funkagenda – Flauta Magica (original)

14. Edu Imbernon and Coyu – El Baile (original mix)

15. Muzzaik – Going Underground (original mix)

16. Eric Entrena and D-Unity – Drugs and stuff (D-Nox and Beckers remix)

17. WWW – Relaxx (Uner and Coyu remix)

18. Joris Voorn – Chase the mouse (original mix)

19. Arnaud Le Texier & V-Sexion – Funk some thoughts (remix by Lemons)

First out of my recommendations are Massive Attack, on tuesday 20th of october at Rockefeller. Tickets are sold out now, but I thought I’d give it a mention anyway. Check out their MySpace site to re-experience the incredible albums “Blue Lines”, “Protection”, “Mezzanine” and “100th window”. The new single “Splitting the atom” was just released in a limited edition of 1,000 copies with exclusive artwork by The Vinyl Factory – you can get it here. Revitalized for the digital world – this is the only physical product released. Last time I saw Massive Attack was back in 2003 at the Quart festival, where they delivered an impressive visual show to accompany the soundscape.

The 24th of october, swedish pop-comet Veronica Maggio enter the stage at John Dee. Her fantastic voice combined with Motown and Stax inspired productions made “Måndagsbarn” a huge hit here. There are very few tickets left for this show at the reasonably small venue.

The 5th of november, a true legend is bringing warmth and sunshine to chilly Oslo. Gilberto Gil had a prominent role in the Tropicalísta-movement that revolutionized Brazilian music in the 1960s. Rhythms from the northeast of Brazil like the baião, apart from samba and bossa-nova were fundamental in his formation. Using them as a starting point, Gil forged his own music to which he incorporated rock, reggae, funk and rhythms from Bahia such as afoxé. Gilberto will perform in Oslo together with his son Bem Gil and cellist, producer and composer Jaques Morelenbaum. The show is part of Oslo World Music Festival and is not to be missed. Tickets are 320.- and you can get them here. Why not revisit his music on Spotify or YouTube?

Kings of Convenience is playing at Sentrum Scene friday the 20th of november. Erlend Øye’s acoustic adventures with fellow band member Eirik Glambek just resulted in album number three – “Declaration of dependence”  - which you’ll find on Spotify. Tickets are 270.- and you can get them from billettservice.

Next up is french electronica maestros Air, who recently released their fifth album “Love 2″. Tickets are 350.- and I would recommend to sort yours out asap. Sentrum Scene will provide the right balance of scale and intimacy november 28th.

My last recommendation for the year is Norwegian folk singer Jens Carelius. His second album “The beat of the travel” has given him much deserved recognition and rave reviews. Last time I attended one of his shows (back in february at Gamla) he created an unique atmosphere I highly recommend experiencing. Jens Carelius is playing at John Dee the 11th of december. Tickets are 150.-.

Yesterday marked the launch the whole album campaign in Warsaw, because the first new track people will hear is called Warsaw. The event held a 70,000 crowd in Warsaw, basically just a massive, free party with an enormous soundsystem. Yesterday, the track also became available for free at Groovearmada.com

I got to hear a version of the song at Lovebox this year, and this album opener featuring on vocals Nick Littlemore from PNAU & the ever so popular Empire of the Sun is marking a really exciting musical direction for the band. It is a very Gary Numan-80s-electro inspired number for the big stage.

There is a lot of exciting collaborations to look forward to – numero uno being Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry! – but also the likes of Lovefoxx (CSS), Saint Saviour, Jess (She keeps bees), and Ben (Fenech-Soler).

Head over to groovearmada.com to get the free track!

The band just announced that they will be giving the UK its first taste of their all-new Black Light live show, with six dates across in October – with Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh, London, Birmingham and the wonderful Warehouse Project in Manchester the chosen destinations.

If your new to the Bubblers series, then this will give you a taste of what they are all about. If your a seasoned Bubbler then this mix is sure to push all the right buttons and set you up nicely for BB4.

The Tracklist is as follows:
1. Soundspecies – Can We Call It Love (with Ahu) [BB4]
2. Simbad feat. Steelo – Soul Fever [BB1]
3. Bullion – Get Familiar [BB3]
4. NSM – The Hype [BB2]
5. Katalyst feat. Steve Spacek – How Bout Us [BB3]
6. Cornish Waters feat. Duchess – Walking [BB2]
7. Ayak & First Man – Can We Go Back? [BB1]
8. DJ Day – A Place To Go [BB3]
9. Mayer Hawthorne – Maybe So, Maybe No [BB4]
10. Iman – Who Was I Trying To Fool [BB1]
11. Flying Lotus – Tea Leaf Dancers [BB2]
12. New Look – Everything [BB4]

For me, the label have provided quality from day one, including compilations, singles and albums. If you haven’t checked out the label yet, I suggest you do!

Download the mix HERE

Personally, I’m still at Lovebox Weekender in London, so I am a bit bummed about missing out. Especially as she did two shows in London only days before I arrived. Anyway, I would be happy if you attended – it will be a great show. Be sure to tell me all about it afterwards!

There are still tickets left (billettservice), so be quick!