Preview Popcaan – ‘Get Gyal Easy’ Remixes

February 22nd, 2012

After being playlisted on BBC 1Xtra on the day of its release in January, ‘Get Gyal Easy’ now keeps in the Mixpak tradition of the remix EP, getting the rework treatment from UK dancehall ambassador, Toddla T, alongside collaborator Cass Lowe, and Montreal’s forward-thinking soca producer, Poirier.

Toddla T & Cass Lowe take the ‘Raving King’ moniker to its limits, keeping the deep bass intact while chopping the vocals and even layering in some steel drums to produce an anthemic UK funky track whose synth-filled chorus will take you into festival euphoria. Across the pond, Poirier’s offering keeps the island vibe strong, pushing the bpm to 160 and transforming the original into a hyperactive soca track fit for any carnival, complete with synthlines reminiscent of 90s UKG.

The tracks will be out on February 28th via all the usual outlets, watch here for the update.

Popcaan – Get Gyal Easy (Remixes) Preview by Mixpak

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Anthony B – Dem Can’t Stop We From Talk (Bleepolar’s Bogota Cumbia remix)

February 22nd, 2012

In the spring of 2010, the Jamaican government ordered a military raid on Tivoli Gardens to extradite the gangster Dudus at the request of the US (a move that forced the prime minister to step down); Kingston broke out in riots; and the city faced droughts. Amidst all this, Anthony B recorded the lyrics for “Dem Can’t Stop We” for the New York based Subatomic Sound System. He fought back against government corruption and enlisted listeners in his cause decrying injustice. Yesterday the remix album dropped, with a dozen tracks spanning styles from all over the globe. Subatomic released the below remix for free download, and it’s arguably the tuffest effort on there. Taking the beat into cumbia territory, Bogata’s Bleepolar rocks a lazy swagger driven by a dynamic, acoustic drum arrangement buttressed by the deepest subs and Anthony’s solid lyrics. You can stream the whole album on Soundcloud and cop it exclusively at Beatport until March 7th. (Art by Michael Shapcott.)

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Gorgon City – The Crypt feat. Navigator & Rubi Dan

February 21st, 2012

Foamo & Rack N Ruin have linked up to form ‘Gorgon City’, and they’re dropping a new EP on Black Butter next week. This one is rightly just labelled ‘bass’, a big club track with Mixpak fam Rubi Dan and Navigator on the vocals. Murder!

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Mixpak February Chart: Bert On Beats

February 20th, 2012

This month’s Mixpak chart comes from Bert On Beats, the Estonian producer that joined the Mixpak team with his remix of Vybz Kartel’s Half on a Baby in the fall last year. He chooses 10 big tunes warming his February.

1. Sinden – Pull Up Wheel Up feat. Natalie Storm
A new upcoming banger from Sinden! Can’t wait to get my hands on this!

2. Schlachthofbronx ft. Warrior Queen – Dickie Riddim
No. 1 globalbass producers and their new EP

3. C4 – Off Track (Woz remix)
Heard this one few days ago and it totally took me. Woz is my fav UK bass producer from Bristol!

4. Star Eyes – The Night (Hostage remix)
Love this one! Hostage is combining 90s rave pianos and everybodys favorite, BASS! This will do some serious damage on dancefloor.

5. DubPhizix/Skeptical ft. Strategy – Marka
Rolling basses from Manchester , its a perfy combo with a bit of hiphop, dubstep, dnb, globalbass etc. It has been playing in my ipod ever since it came out.

6. Stereotyp feat. Ras B – One In The Chamber
Barefoot creator Stereotyp! One of my favorite producers out there. Always inspiring! You should definitely check out this new album “2021″ and his label’s Crunchtime bandcamp page. Full of gold!

7. Daniel Haaksman – Puerto Rico (Neki Stranac remix)
Ive been playing the original and Neki’s remix a lot! Tropicalicious! Check out also the Man Recordings boss Daniel Haaksman album “Rambazamba”.

8. Poirier feat EJ Von Lyrik – Bring It On
That’s my soca right there!

9. Savage Skulls – Lorimer
Upcoming material from Buraka Som Sistema’s label Enchufada and amazing Savage Skulls! Biiig and Hall sounds from Stockholm.

10. Major Lazer ft. Party Squad – Original Don (Bert On Beats don dada Bootleg)
I’ve been playing the original and my refix back to back almost every weekend. Works!

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I-Octane – Til Kingdom Come feat. Chan Dizzy

February 17th, 2012

Last week, I-Octane dropped this video for the hook-driven single featuring back to back lyric play with Chan Dizzy. The riddim, with its grimy synths, angelic humming, and tambourine clatter was produced by Russian. It came a week in advance of the former architecture student’s debut official LP, Crying To The Nation, which was released on Valentine’s Day.

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Mixpak Interview Series: Popcaan

February 16th, 2012

Popcaan joined the Mixpak family at the end of 2011, with his first Dre Skull produced single, ‘Get Gyal Easy’ dropping on January 3rd this year (and the remixes dropping on Feb 28th). Once Vybz Kartel’s protege, he is now Jamaica’s fastest rising star, landing in the international arena on the already classic ‘Clarks’. Following that, and a string of hits from the party anthem ‘Raving’ to the biggest cut on the Lost Angel riddim, ‘Only Man She Want’ and of course ‘Clean’, Popcaan is now riding high. We caught up with him quickly on the phone from his studio in Jamaica to ask him about how he got involved in the Gaza camp and how many pairs of Clarks he really owns.

Where did you grow up?

Well I was born in St Thomas and went to high school in St Thomas, and then I started to live in Portmore, and that’s when I started doing music.

Were your family musical?

Well not really, my family was more like church people. We used to go to church at a tender age, and I learnt to play keyboard there. I was really the one who was into music in my family.

So how did you make the move from performing in church to becoming a dancehall deejay?

I deejayed in church, I did some dancehall songs. People always liked to hear a new tune in church or on the street.

(more…)

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Checan – Hytz

February 15th, 2012

Here’s a radio rip of BBC 1Xtra’s DJ Q playing a brand new release from the UTTU camp, ‘Hytz’ from Checan. Sheffield represent.

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Slow Jam O’Clock

February 14th, 2012

If there’s one thing you can rely on Valentine’s day for, it’s being bombarded with Slow Jams mixtapes. Here are 3 of the best 14th Feb inspired offerings, first the usual loved-up mixtape from Hud Mo:

Next, Deadboy’s mix for Wifey, where Prince sits hand in hand with some romantic bassline:

And finally Brenmar dropped a brand new edit of Before Dark:

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