POSTS TAGGED : Fold

BarryGruff’s April 2015 Playlist

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A regular monthly feature to the blog; a nice, neat and handy playlist of tracks featured during the month.

It was another excellent month for new music, one which saw the return of CZARFACE, Miaoux Miaoux, Girlpool and Jinx Lennon, with new tracks from their respective forthcoming albums. There were new singles from The Urges, Wilding, Fold, Tuff Love, Hippies Vs Ghosts, Lazy Day, Freedom Fry & Imploded View, and tracks from forthcoming EPs from Tomorrows, Graham Cooney & JUNK.

Also featuring on the playlist are: The School, Fueds, Mowbird & Cotton Wolf. Yeah, so, April was pretty damn good.

Listen to BarryGruff’s April 2015 playlist below.

Fold – ‘Two Past Midnight’

Fold - Two Past Midnight - ARTWORK

Leeds based Trip Hop / Breakbeat / Hip-Hop outfit Fold have the propensity for the magnificent, producing incredible music blending their enviable creativity with a social consciousness.

Following on from last year’s sensationally good ‘Oil-Powered Machine / Detroit Red’, Fold have announced the release of a new single, ‘Two Past Midnight’, penned in for a May 4th release. Fold’s interest in social justice is no secret and we’ve become accustomed to the band using vocal samples from speeches to convey messages, and ‘Two Past Midnight’ is in keeping with this trend. The new single pays tribute to Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activist who advocated for the right to vote for black Americans and was instrumental in passing the 1965 US Voting Rights Act.

‘Two Past Midnight’ is a powerful fusion of beats and politics, as they sample Fannie Lou Hamer’s famous 1969 speech in Berkeley California to deliver a funky, cool and groovy tune that feels mightily dangerous (it reminds me of how a younger me felt, hearing Public Enemy or Immortal Technique for the first time – that’s a good feeling). The single spreads the message, if we needed to be reminded, that the scourge of racism still exists and is still an issue throughout the world. This is the sound of a band with a message, one that needs to be spread and with the music to match, while providing a timely reminder of their musical prowess and the power of music. It also raises that question again; why have musicians and artists so little to say nowadays? ‘Two Past Midnight’ comes backed with B-side ‘Don’t Kid Yourself Baby’, which is pure, unadulterated funk and will be released on May 4th. You can pre-order it now from Bandcamp.

You can listen to both it, & the B-side below, along with Fold’s GruffWuff inclusion, ‘That’s It’ – of which you can download here for FREE.

Celebrating 5 Years of BarryGruff with ‘GruffWuff’: A 19 Track Compilation Album [Out Now]

So, the day has finally arrived; ‘GruffWuff‘ is out now!

I’ve been itching to share this with everyone and I very, happy this day has finally arrived. The past five years have been very interesting and for the most part, ever so much fun. I think this is a pretty special way to mark the occasion and I really hope you all enjoy the compilation as much as I do. Initially I thought an idea such as this was just a pipe dream and one that would remain just that. However, the enthusiasm that met my initial inquiries bowled me over, I couldn’t believe how eager everyone was. It is something that’ll stay with me forever and it means an awful lot. Hopefully it will shine a light, brief as it maybe on some of the acts that have brought me the most joy over the past few years.

Thanks to Stevie for all his assistance, Caroline for all her support and putting up with me, Peter Lee for mastering & all the artists who provided tracks for the compilation. A huge amount of credit must go to the artists involved for their eagerness and the ever so brilliant music.

So, to mark 5 years of BarryGruff, here is ‘GruffWuff’; a 19 track compilation of new, previously unreleased and exclusive recordings from some of my very favourite acts over the past 5 years of blogging. There is an act by act guide after the jump, I really hope everyone enjoys this as much as we did putting it together.

It’s yours now, just ‘name your price’ – which includes zero, so technically it’s free.

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Celebrating 5 Years of BarryGruff with ‘GruffWuff’: A 19 Track Compilation Album

GRUFFWUFF Final

BarryGruff is 5 years old today!

Those five years have been interesting and fun. The blog has ebbed and flowed in parallel with my own life which has moved on somewhat from where it was back in March 2010. Since my early teens spouting about music has always been part and parcel of my life but I’m very grateful to have been in a position to share those musings and whatnot with a wider audience than my mates (or whoever is willing to listen).

Blogging has become quite a big part of my life and while listening to and discovering new music etc. is something that comes rather natural, a lot of my free time is devoted to the upkeep of the blog and how much longer I can continue to do so is anyone’s guess. It might be one year or another five, who knows? So with that in mind I really wanted to do something really special to mark the occasion and I’m pretty damn chuffed with this one.

Without further a do, to celebrate 5 years of BarryGruff is ‘GruffWuff’: A 19 track compilation of new, previously unreleased and exclusive recordings from some of my very favourite acts over the past 5 years of blogging. While I initially thought it was just a pipe dream and one that would remain just that, the enthusiasm that met my initial inquiries bowled me over, I couldn’t believe how eager everyone was. It is something that’ll stay with me forever and it means an awful lot. Hopefully it will shine a light, brief as it maybe on some of the acts that have brought me the most joy over the past few years. The enjoyment music brings me can’t be overstated, be it happy times or sad times, there’s one constant; music.

Thanks to Stevie for all his assistance, Caroline for putting up with me, Peter Lee for mastering & all the artists who provided tracks for the compilation. A huge amount of credit must go to the artists involved for their eagerness and the ever so brilliant music.

‘GruffWuff’ will be released through Bandcamp on Thursday, March 19th and the tracklisting is below for your perusal. I’m really, really excited for people to finally hear what everyone’s been working away on for the past 9 months.

Celebrating 5 Years of BarryGruff with ‘GruffWuff’:

01. Fold – ‘Where Are You’

02. Oh Boland – ‘White Boy’

03. Seazoo – ‘DIG (Demo Version)’

04. Mr Huw – ‘Bai Neb Ond Fy Hun’

05. Dan Amor – ‘Can’t Sleep’

06. Oisin McCole – ‘Far From The Sea’

07. Anderson – ‘The Way The Stream Flows’

08. Knoxville Morning – ‘Bridget’

09. Nathan Conway – ‘Babycheeno’

10. Disconcerting P – ‘Treated You Rough’

11. The Expert – ‘Swapsies’

12. SertOne – ‘Seventeen’

13. Imploded View – ‘Barry’s Game’

14. Channel Swimmer – ‘Racket’

15. Monto – ‘Yeuh’

16. Open Window – ‘003 (Africa)’

17. Captain Moonlight – ‘What is Property?’

18. GEM_DOS – ‘Mag D’Allen’

19. Hippies Vs Ghosts – ‘Three Shadows’

 

Fold – ‘Oil-Powered Machine / Detroit Red’

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Leeds based Trip Hop / Breakbeat / Hip-Hop outfit Fold, the brains behind the magnificent ‘Be Water, My Friend’ back in the summer, and Salvation EP last year, are signing off on 2014 with double A-side single ‘Oil-Powered Machine / Detroit Red’.

Fold’s latest release, out this week as a limited edition 7” and digital download, is inspired by Public Enemy as the group sample resounding speeches by Malcolm X and Mike Ruppert, to pay tribute to both. Priding themselves as they do on live production, the spoken word samples are set to real drums, bass, guitar and a blend of triggered samples. And in a typical Fold way, it enhances the natural rhythm of the speech and accentuates the message. ‘Oil-Powered Machine’ sees Ruppert put the proverbial boot into the petrochemical industry along an urgent guitar-led beat, in a similar way to Public Service Broadcasting, who they have both re-mixed and supported. ‘Detroit Red’ meanwhile, features Malcolm X taking equality (or lack of) in America to task, backed with a recognizable force, funk and urgency, we’ve become accustomed to from Fold. Another two superb tracks from Fold and outstanding additions to their unique and ever growing catalog.

You can stream ‘Oil-Powered Machine / Detroit Red’ below and you can buy the double A-side from here.

Ceiling Demons – ‘Every Step (Fold – Follow The Lights remix)’

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Following the release of their debut album Dual Sides, alternative hip-hop group Ceiling Demons are releasing ‘Every Step Is Moving Me Up’ as a digital single, along with a brand new remix from Leeds based trip hop extraordinaires Fold.

The single aims to raise awareness for CALM, short for Campaign Against Living Miserably, a charity dedicated to raising awareness and the prevention of suicide – an issue that has affected far too many of our lives for sure. Accompanying the Yorkshire trio’s own ‘Every Step Is Moving Me Up’, an assured, sincere and wholly positive track, is Fold’s re-imagined and re-titled ‘Follow The Lights’. Uplifting and warm, it underpinned by a soft driving beat, trip hop grooves and dubby layers, peppered with uplifting bouts of brass and chanting samples which extenuates Ceiling Demons’ deft lyrical dexterity, which ingrains a positive message within their music. A marvelous anthem of positivity, which is quite apt and all for a very good cause.

The single is available from all the usual haunts as well as a ‘name your price’ via bandcamp, with all proceeds going to CALM. You can also check out their debut LP, Dual Sides, here.

Fold – ‘Be Water My Friend’

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Leeds based Fold certainly have the propensity for producing the magnificent. ‘Mr. President, We’re In Trouble’ and last years Salvation EP suggested as much, so it’s no surprise really that Fold’s latest release, ‘Be Water My Friend’, is an utterly stunning piece of work.

Initially written as a demo constructed only from samples, priding themselves as they do, on the production of live trip hop they decided to hit the studio, re-orchestrating and recording the whole track using live instruments. And oh my are we glad they did.  ‘Be Water My Friend’ oozes with positivity as a mellow vibe is mixed with a whole host of snappy, energetic and driving breakbeats, bass, guitar, shakers, haunting vibraphone melody and three-piece horn section. There’s a nod to 70s funk as it slinks along a natural funky groove before exploding into life with flurries of uplifting effervescent brass from the horn section. All in all, the perfect backdrop for Bruce Lee’s inspirational & humanitarian musings to shine (yes, that Bruce Lee). A stunning and grandiose exhibition of musical prowess from Fold once again. An excellent addition to their unique and growing catalog.

‘Be Water My Friend’ will be released as a split 7” with label mates Invisible Hands on June 23rd through Leeds imprint All My Friends.

Phoenix 48 Radiothon: 2 Hours w/ BarryGruff + The Boozey Swine

VLUU L100, M100 / Samsung L100, M100

A few weeks back, myself and The Boozey Swine, sandwich maker to the stars, took to the airwaves as part of Phoenix FM‘s 48 hour Radiothon.

The Radiothon was to raise funds for the station and to support the continued work it does in the Dublin 15 community, and it was an absolute pleasure to be part of. It was pretty nerve racking but after Boozey said a few prayers to the patron saint of radio, Larry Gogan, we we’re on our way and it was loads of fun. Sure what’s more enjoyable than taking over a studio to play loads of your favourite music? You can listen to the full two hour show in all it’s glory below and the tracklist is after the jump. We’d quite like to do something similar in the future but we shall see, maybe those prayers Boozey was rattling off will come through for us.

Before that, a massive thanks to Boozey for being part of the show, and everyone who donated a few quid and all the sound people at Phoenix FM, we thank you. Enjoy!

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Fold ft. Mr Gee – ‘Salvation’

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Earlier this year Fold caught our attention with their stunning rework of Public Service Broadcasting’s ‘Theme From PSB’. A few weeks back, the Leeds based four piece released an EP of their very own, entitled Salvation.

Salvation sees a pairing of their unique musical stylings with the poetic lyricisms of Mr. Gee. This is a compelling collaboration of experimental downtempo, hip hop and trip hop grooves, smoothly and intricately incorporated around thought provoking politicized poetics; calling into question the behavior of politicians, the political system itself and the treatment and public perceptions of immigrants among other topics. Superlative in its entirety, Salvation is one of the most compelling and distinctive releases of the year, yet all records must have their standouts. In this case it is the title track, ‘Salvation’. A warm aural feast of soft drum rhythms, trip hop grooves and dubby layers, peppered with uplifting brass samples which are smoothly intertwined around Mr. Gee’s ponderous lyricisms. Marvelous stuff.

The EP is out on now on their own FoldFM label. Try the choice cuts out for size below, or pop over here and pick up a copy of the EP for yourself.