
The brand new Dre Skull riddim, Kling Klang, has just landed. To celebrate we’re giving away the cut from champion bubbler, Tifa. Download it from the soundcloud link below and grab the whole release here.

The brand new Dre Skull riddim, Kling Klang, has just landed. To celebrate we’re giving away the cut from champion bubbler, Tifa. Download it from the soundcloud link below and grab the whole release here.

The latest riddim from Dre Skull is out today on Mixpak. Kling Klang features voicings from Beenie Man, Tifa, Popcaan, Suku and Deva Bratt. Get it at iTunes / Juno now.
Though recorded in Kingston, Jamaica earlier this year, Kling Klang is named after Kraftwerk’s legendary German studio and takes some inspiration from their repertoire: Dre Skull’s riddim revs up to the sound of an engine, then breaks into a minimal soundscape powered by cymbals, resonating bass and lasers that waver on computer game aesthetics before accelerating into the chorus.
For his second voicing on a Mixpak riddim, Beenie Man takes a trip in his time machine and delivers “Super Model,” offering a 90s style delivery with throwback content to match: hailing the coca cola bottle shape. Portmore’s Deva Bratt brings it “Hot And Ready,” with his fast-flowing auto-tuned falsetto that impressively barely breaks for a breath. With “So We Do It,” Popcaan yet again picks another style from his wide array, going in for a relaxed storytelling verse that would make Slick Rick proud and a singjay chorus-line to remind you how he do it. Ward 21 deejay and producer Suku brings the deep vibrations of a bass voice on “Mad Sumaddy,” a sonic and lyrical warning against his powerful tunes that drop like bombs. On the same tip, Tifa brings her boasy style as a “Champion Bubbler,” laying claim to more winds than a country road and a repertoire of dances ranging from the 6.30 to Tick It Like A Clock.

Kingston Story: Deluxe Edition will be out on CD & gatefold vinyl on the 14th August, in collaboration with Vice Records. ‘Money’, a previously unreleased Kartel track dropped last month and now NY rapper Action Bronson has jumped on for a verse. Grab the free mp3 below.
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Vybz Kartel Money (Remix) [feat. Action Bronson] – Prod. by Dre Skull
Dre Skull’s second riddim for the summer, Kling Klang, featuring voicings from Popcaan, Beenie Man, Tifa, Suku and Deva Bratt drops next Tuesday, 24th July. Listen to a preview of all the tracks now, presented by Young Lion (BBC 1Xtra).
The official video for Beenie Man’s cut on the Loudspeaker Riddim landed today. ‘Hot Like Fire’ sees the King of the Dancehall go in for a fast-flowing ode to the female form. Shot in location in Jamaica, and directed by Dayo, this is the second in the official Loudspeaker videos; check out Popcaan’s ‘The System’ here.

Andy Petr’s second EP for Mixpak, Obsession, is out today. Get it from iTunes / Juno / Beatport now.
In the grand tradition of Mixpak Records’ unhinged eclecticism comes Obsession,the new EP from Milwaukee, Wisconsin producer Andy Petr. Petr is a musician with a scope and breadth that transcends easy classification. Connecting the dots between house music and J Dilla-esque beat construction with an HD scope, he unites the minute and the maximal without surrendering a certain melancholic emotional depth.
This EP sounds like an old-school NYC block party brought into the future, with the sounds of R&B, funk and electro-boogie refracted through the prism of garage, bass music and modern-day computer trickery. Title track “Obsession” is a widescreen, banging, dancefloor bomb sounding like classic French House captured with a slow-motion disco lens. “Ready” finds hard East Coast breaks colliding with cinematic sample chops reminiscent of DJ Premier or Pete Rock. At
less than two minutes, it’s an idiosyncratic inclusion to an EP that’s already hard- to-define. Yet other cuts blend tweaked-out acid techno with intricate production flips, full of left turns but with the DJ at heart. The final track, “Heaven’s Voyeur,” is a truly spellbinding piece of ambient piano music that’s wise beyond its years… Unexpected, yet it makes perfect sense.

Dre Skull’s second release of the summer, sandwiched between the Loudspeaker Riddim and the release of Kingston Story Deluxe Edition, will be out on July 24th. The Kling Klang Riddim features voicings from Beenie, Popcaan, Tifa, Suku and Deva Bratt. Watch out for previews and more coming soon.

Dazed & Confused featured an interview with Dre Skull last week, alongside a stream of Natalie Storm’s ‘Rock The Runway’:
Shaking up traditional dancehall collab-blueprints Dre Skull merges his trademark calypso house with some of Jamaica’s freshest hip hop and reggae vocalists, producing tracks which colour otherwise stale dancehall floor-fillers with a distinctly upbeat Caribbean vibe. We caught up with him to find out more about his life before music, his upcoming work with Snoop, and his freezer full of coffee.