Blogariddims 50 / Terminus : Stars of the 90's

OK, all going to plan, you've come to this post from Wayne's summary of his mini-mix. If not, go there now, or if you're totally confused, go all the way back to the start and continue from there...

I had a lot of trouble pinning down exactly what to do for this slot. Myself and Slug originally planned to string together 6 minutes of hardcore jungle breakdowns, but as the project panned out and it became evident that we would each need to do a piece, we decided to split up - Slug to complete his epic 'theme from blogariddims', and myself to dip a toe into one of my favourite sub-genres - early 90's dancehall instrumentals. I've covered some of this ground before in Blogariddims 16, and there's a lot of reading to go with this episode, so I won't bore you with too many verbose ramblings and simply stick to a short introduction.

Needless to say, this is more of a 'proof of concept' set for one of my countless and perennial 'planned-but-not-yet-executed' mixes, and one that is very close to my heart, as I've been tracking down these riddims on 7" and LP ever since I was first exposed to them via various radio shows and cheap compilations. I'm now at the point where I feel that I can confidently execute a set charting the progress of this strain of dancehall via some of the most prominent riddims (and dances) of the period. Whether or not I'll ever get the time to do so is another story... Anyway, as any collector will tell you, often the hardest thing to get your hands on is a decent instrumental. I've lost count of the times I've bought 7's online or on sight in a shop hoping to get the version on the B side only to find the same track on both sides (Penthouse are the worst for this), 'ghosted out' vocals that make the version un-mixable (stand up Steely and Cleevie), or a totally different version (everyone, but especially Jammys). It's basically pot luck as to whether or not you'll ever find the version! Now maybe this is an insidious plot to ensnare nerdy DJ types like myself into buying every 7' on each label (its working guys!), but more likely its simply down to the haphazard production environment in which a lot of these records are pressed.

And before you ask I'm not interested in 'silencing black voices' ;). On the contrary, in a genre dominated by the deejay and singer I want to give the producer more of a voice and allow these works to shine as the wonderful slices of Jamaican electronic music that they surely are...

1. Butterfly Riddim - Jammys
2. Bogle Riddim - Madhouse
3. Bruk Wine Butterfly Riddim - Mad house
4. Bulldozer Riddim - Digital B
5. Leaping Frog Riddim - Stone Love
6. Yuh Dead Now Riddim - Shocking Vibes
7. Big it Up Riddim - Madhouse
8. Mudd Up Riddim - Pickout

Gutterbreaks takes the next installment of this episode with his 7 or so minutes: 'It's the end but the moment has been prepared for'.

See you later!