Garage | 2Step | UK Funky | Bassline 450 Items

Although inspired by the legendary cartoon, Spyro the Dragon, this fantastic EP has nothing to do with dragons. Hailing from Birmingham, although now residing in East-London, Dr. Shemp provides three speed-garage future classics are accompanied by a weekend 2-step gem (What Must I Do) which will guarantee packed dancefloors and selectors pulling for these gems for months to come. My Selecta has been lauded for its re-imagination of the jungle classics Mutant Jazz and Demon’s Theme.

Founder of Ozadya collective, Pekodjinn has made himself one of the most influential producers in the Geneva subculture scene. Injecting his Tunisian heritage into the rap culture he grew in being a graffiti artist, he’s delivering a futuristic mix where darbukas meet trap influences, traditional chants melt in batida and percussions are distorted by dub effects.

Dharba, the first solo album of the beat maker, is built in two parts. First one is an ode to Tunisian youths who fight a revolution against oligarchic power in 2011 and are still struggling to achieve what they started. Chokri is for example dedicated to Chokri Bellaid a syndicalist assassinated in 2013. Second part is about imagining the future of Maghrebi, African, and Arab music. A unique sound where the youth of the continent and the youth of diaspora liberate themselves of colonialism, imperialism, and exoticism to build up a conscious sound to fight back the Western influences.

If you want to know how’s the guy sounds live, just check his latest DJ Set for Boiler Room, heavy tunes, heavy vibe... a newcomer to keep an eye on !

Highly anticipated would be an understatement - so influential are his releases to date, it's difficult to believe he's never released a full length project. The name of the mixtape may already be familiar - an evolution from 2019's acclaimed "Slipping" EP and also the name of a Joy Orbison curated radio station ("Still Slipping: Los Santos") within Grand Theft Auto's immersive world - but in terms of scope and ambition, "still slipping vol.1" is without doubt O'Grady's boldest and most expansive project yet.

First coming to prominence in 2009 with his debut single “Hyph Mngo” - a track that became a bonafide phenomenon and changed the dance music underground forever - the London musician, DJ and producer is undoubtedly one of the most renowned, respected and influential electronic artists of his generation. Whether through his own game-changing releases such as “Ellipsis”, “GR Etiquette”, “Big Room Tech House DJ Tool-TIP!” or the “Slipping” EP, collaborations with the likes of Mansur Brown, Overmono and cutting edge Japanese clothing label Cav Empt, a run of genre-defining releases on his Hinge Finger label, a BBC Radio 1 residency and live appearances that span the most credible underground nights to festival headline slots around the world, the name Joy Orbison has been a constant byword for understated, uncompromising quality. "still slipping vol.1" is the next evolution in his journey. Fans of Joy Orbison's DJ sets and radio shows will already be aware of his diverse tastes and inspirations, represented here through a roll call of delicately curated, mainly UK, collaborators that include Herron, James Massiah, Bathe, Lea Sen, Goya Gumbani and Tyson. Just as important are the voices Joy Orbison's family - mum, dad, sister Sarah, uncle Frankie, uncle Keith (recently departed), auntie Helen and cousins Lola, Mia and Leighann, who was the first person to introduce O’Grady to drum and bass and garage as a kid and stars on the mixtape’s cover art. They appear throughout the record via a series of voice notes, his only contact with his family during this year of worldwide lockdown and an intimate, vicarious glimpse into the personal world of an artist who has generally side-stepped the public gaze. The result is Joy Orbison's best music to date and a powerful distillation of his musical career so far. Recorded in his Walworth Window studio in south east London, this is serious, future-facing sound system music cut through with a sense of warmth and playfulness much needed for these times. In O'Grady's own words, "I made a point of making it feel really human. I wanted it to be quite light hearted and humorous so that the weirder bits of the record didn't seem too wanky or self-indulgent. In my head it’s a soul record but I'm not sure that's how people will hear it”

Schon seit seinen Teenager-Jahren gehört Peter O’Grady, alias Joy Orbison, zu den treibenden Kräften der elektronischen Musik-Szene, der er immer wieder mit seinen Veröffentlichungen neue Wege aufzeigen konnte. Nun erscheint endlich sein erstes Mixtape „still slipping vol. 1“, das beweist, dass er auch in 2021 nichts an Relevanz oder Aktualität verloren hat.

„Heiß erwartet“, trifft es hier wohl, wenn man sich vor Augen ruft, dass Orbison bisher noch kein Album oder mehr als eine EP in seiner Karriere veröffentlicht hat. Der Titel erinnert dabei an die gefeierte 2019er EP „Slipping“ sowie an seinen kuratierten Radio-Kanal „Still Slipping: Los Santos“ in der Grand Theft Auto-Gaming-Welt – gleichzeitig ist dieses 14-Songs umfassende Mixtape die wohl ambitionierteste Veröffentlichung Orbisons bisher und ein Meilenstein in seiner Karriere. 2009 begann diese mit der Debüt-Single „Hype Mngo“, mit der der Londoner Musiker, DJ und Produzent hohe Wellen im Dance Music Underground erzeugte. Es folgten weitere Singles, EPs, Kollaborationen mit Acts wie Mansur Brown oder Overmono, eine BBC One Residency, DJ-Sets und Live-Auftritte in Clubs und bei Festivals auf der ganzen Welt. „still slipping vol.1“ zeugt wie gewohnt von den mannigfaltigen Einflüssen und Strömungen, von denen sich Joy Orbison treiben lässt und rollt den Teppich aus für Kollaborationen mit Acts wie Herron, James Massiah, Bathe, Lea Sen, Goya Gumbani und Tyson. Daneben bietet es einen intimen Einblick auch in die persönliche Welt des Künstlers während den vergangenen Lockdown-Monaten, beinhaltet das Mixtape doch auch einige persönliche Voice Messages seiner Mutter, seines Vaters, der Schwester und Cousinen.