The funky bashment tip is running hard in Jamaica, with Sticky’s ‘Jumeirah’ even making it onto Assassin’s mad mixtape last month. Leftside’s ‘Dem Gyal Deh’ has been ripping the dancefloor for a few weeks, with its killer brass and straight-up funky bassline produced by the man himself.  Lock in around 1:24 for some crazy Leftside rhymes.

Leftside has been dropping the dancehall bombs left, right and center in the last few months. His latest release on KeepLeft Records, ‘Phat Punani’ (seems he has some obsession, having released a track with the exact same name about a year ago) leaves the funky aside for a bona fide minimalist dancehall bassline. Try not to wheel this one, I dare you.

Back in April, we gave you a heads up on the upcoming Kode9 DJ Kicks compilation and with the release fast approaching, we have a nice 15 minute preview mix which you can listen to here.

Hyberdub boss Kode9 has a new compilation for the DJ-Kicks series which he describes as “just a snapshot of my DJ sets from the first half of 2010.” He’s included two tracks from Mixpak, Sticky’s “Jumeirah Riddim Sequel” and Sticky and Natalie Storm’s “Look Pon Me.” Kode9 elaborates,

[The mix is] definitely not an exploration of my musical heritage, but it’s not all new stuff. It probably signifies something about my relationship to dubstep that the mix only has a few dubstep tunes in it… Unfortunately, I fear some listeners, because of my background, will think that all the tracks are just mutations of dubstep.

!K7 will release Kode9’s DJ-Kicks on June 22nd, 2010.

Tracklist
01. Lone – Once In A While
02. Aardvarck – Revo
03. Kode9 – Blood Orange
04. Kode9 – You Don’t Wash (Dub) (DJ-KiCKS exclusive)
05. Cooly G – Phat Si
06. Ill Blu – Bellion
07. Ikonika – Heston
08. Scratcha DVA – Jelly Roll
09. Mr Mageeka – Different Lekstrix
10. Grievous Angel – Move Down Low
11. Sticky feat. Natalie Storm – Look Pon Me
12. Sticky – Jumeirah Riddim Sequel
13. Mujava – Pleaze Mugwanti
14. DVA – Natty
15. Aardvarck – Re Spoken (Nubian Mindz Released Mix)
16. Morgan Zarate feat. Sarah Ann Webb – M.A.B.
17. Rozzi Daime – Dirty Illusions
18. Zomby – Spiralz
19. Kode9 – It
20. J*DaVeY – Mr. Mister
21. Digital Mystikz – 2 Much Chat
22. Terror Danjah – Stiff
23. Digital Mystikz – Mountain Dread March
24. Zomby – Godzilla
25. Digital Mystikz – Mountain Dread March (Reprise)
26. Addison Groove – Footcrab
27. Kode9 vs. LD – Bad
28. Maddslinky – Cargo
29. Ramadanman – Work Them
30. Terror Danjah – Bruzin (VIP)
31. The Bug feat. Flo Dan – Run

The big news these days at Mixpak headquarters is the growing success of Sticky and Natalie Storm’s single “Look Pon Me.” In the UK, the Look Pon Me video has been added to the official playlist on MTV receiving over 35 plays in the last few weeks. That gives Natalie the distinction of being only the second Caribbean artist currently playlisted by MTV UK (maybe you’ve heard of the other…Rhianna?). Not bad exposure for a small label like Mixpak and, if anything, it speaks to how good this track is.

Anyhow, with all the success, we’ve had a number of folks ask about the “Look Pon Me” acapella and after talking with the lawyers and getting the green light, we’ve decided give you the chance to remix this UK-Funky-meets-Jamaica hit.

Rules:

1. Download the acapella.

2. Remix the song.

3. Name your remix Natalie Storm – Look Pon Me (with your remixer name) and then upload your remix to the Mixpak Sound Cloud drop box, adding “Look Pon Me Remix Contest” in the tags.

4. The winners will be selected by Mixpak and streamed on our site.

Prizes:

1st Place: A custom Natalie Storm dubplate, where she works your production/DJ name into a track for use in your clubs sets, sound clashes and on your mixtapes. You will also win the complete Mixpak vinyl discography and a Mixpak Artist Series T-Shirt of your choice.

2nd + 3rd Place: A Mixpak vinyl of your choice and a Mixpak Artist Series T-Shirt of your choice.

Deadline To Submit Your Entry: May 2nd 2010

Support the original version on vinyl, iTunes, and Juno.

UPDATE: We’ve picked the winners. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Ludacris and Nicki Minaj over a beat that uses the string sample from Sticky’s Jumeirah Riddim. Big!!

This is the official video for the “Look Pon Me” single from Sticky’s recently released Jumeirah Riddim EP out now on Mixpak. Shot in Kingston, Jamaica and starring Natalie Storm, this video, like the single, represents one of the strongest funky bashment collaborations between London and Kingston to date.

Support this release on Vinyl, iTunes, Beatport or Juno!

L.A duo Nguzunguzu just dropped a big mix to celebrate the release of the upcoming Nguzunguzu EP coming out later this month on Shade Business.

Nguzunguzu – EP Promo Mix

01 Sticky “Jumeirah Riddim”
02 Sticky “Jumeirah Riddim Sequel”
03 Footsteps “Baby Kinta”
04 Rishi Romero “African Forest (Original Mix)”
05 Makency DJ “Wao”
06 DJ Eridson “Hino Batucada”
07 Nguzunguzu “El Bebe Ambiente”
08 Debo “Helter Skelter”
09 DJ Pesado and DJ Fofuxo “Sirene”
10 Puto X feat. Maskarado “Quen E Que Mana Ai MP”
11 Nguzunguzu “What Dance?”
12 Baobina and I.D. “Mandown”
13 DJ Boda “Tááá BááTÖÖÖrr R”
14 Bok Bok “Whole World Changing 4X4″
15 DJ Pesado and DJ Marfox “Gerentologia”
16 DJ Corlando “Passa Passa (Kingdom Remix)
17 DJ Du Marcel “Tribal Sound”
18 DJ MA1 “I’m Right Here feat. Sophia”
19 Nguzunguzu “Got You”
20 Mike V “Feelings”
21 Basement Jaxx “Flylif

Richard ‘Sticky’ Forbes built his reputation as one of the United Kingdom’s leading club music producers at the height of the UK Garage scene. His productions not only kept the clubs on lock, but they also launched the careers of a number of the UK talents, including the Mercury Award winning Ms. Dynamite. Sticky has re-emerged on the scene in 2009 with a recent embrace of UK Funky and the “Jumeirah Riddim” is his biggest statement yet.

Sticky’s sound is intended to “forge a blend between credible street sounds and the pop music industry” and his discography bears this out. He has collaborated with Kele Le Roc, Stush, Tubby T and Twista, and been called on to remix pop stars like Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Aaliyah, Sugababes, Hot Chip and Erykah Badu.

I caught up with Sticky to discuss music, his musical roots and where he’s headed in the future.

Tell me about some of your first DJ gigs. What was the atmosphere like when you started?

I started DJing in the late 80s when I was a teenager, and most of the places I would play in were house parties. They were very dark rooms, hardly any lights, and the atmosphere was electric because nobody saw each other!

Tell us about one of the first songs that had a big impact on you, and why.

One of the tracks that had a big impact on me when I was young was Soul2Soul’s “Keep On Moving”. The reason why I love this track is because of the fusion between a reggae singer, hip hop beats, reggae bassline and live strings. Wow!!!! That’s what made me want to start producing.

Explain a bit of the ideology about a term you coined, “dirtypop”.

Dirtypop was an idea I thought of in 2006. I wanted to create a music that didn’t traditionally have a similar sound all the time, some dirty beats that if you heard them by themselves wouldn’t be classed as pop music, but put the right song on top of it, then it would be. “Pop with an edge” continued the idea of having hybrid tunes that actually had a name for itself. “A pigeon hole with all the pigeon holes in it!” Most genres sound the same now and I wanted to attempt to break barriers and expand peoples minds past a particular genre they liked by having elements of other genres in one tune.

Do you think Mixpak fits under this ‘dirtypop’ description?

Yes, I do think it fits because the artist is from one market and the music is from another, but combining them together makes this new perfect match!

A lot of your remix credits are for popular artists: Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Aaliyah…when reworking those songs, what do you try to set out to do? What is it about pop music that you love?

Whatever remix I do, I always try and aim it for the clubs with the basslines but have enough music to play on radio. What I love about pop music is that anything can be pop music. There are no rules with pop, even though alot of people think there are!

Certain tracks like your Tubby T collaboration have really socially and politically charged messages. How’s it feel for you, as someone who produces a song, to have someone else come and give it a meaning in a political way?

I love making songs with positive messages. I think there should be more of them in the urban world personally. Tubby was a great singer, and he saw a lot of things in his life that were a reflection of a broken society. I know I’m not any politician but I feel as a father I should try and put out enough positive energy for people to be inspired to follow.

You’re working on this new Mixpak single with Natalie Storm, how do you feel about your collaboration?

I feel honoured to be chosen to produce a beat for her.

Your music is getting exposure on BBC program “Skins” … have you watched the show? British alt-drama galore.

Haven’t really got alot of time to watch TV. I’ve seen it once (when my tune was on there lol!). It’s a big look though!

Suggest a book, film, and album to us.

Book: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.
Film: 2012.
Album: Sticky Presents Volume 1.

What does everybody need to just shut the eff up about?

Credit crunch!

There’s a bit of a war between some folks about the division between music that’s produced, sold and listened to solely in digital format, and the traditional vinyl release. How do you like to listen to music? Do you have any worries about DJs entering an almost solely digital age?

I like hearing music on vinyl. In my opinion, it sounds a lot better. I do have worries with the new DJs because simply most of the music created in the 90s was based on a turntable having 2 speeds 33 and 45 rpm. Now it’s one.

What’s your worst vice?

No comment!

Where’s music going to be going in the next five years? Any predictions?

I think music is going to be exciting and imaginative.

Thanks to Sticky for the interview.

Sticky’s new release, the “Jumeriah Riddim EP” is out now on Mixpak Records, featuring vocals by Natalie Storm and remixes by Dexplicit. Cop the vinyl or grab it on iTunes, Juno or Beatport.

Big up Kissy Sellout for dropping four Mixpak tracks during his BBC Radio 1 show today! Likewise, big respect to Sinden for including the first Mixpak release—Dre Skull and Sizzla’s “Gone Too Far”—on his Mega Mega Mega 2009 Chart. Last but not least, our latest release, Sticky’s “Jumeirah Riddim EP,” is pushing for that number one spot on the Juno Bestselling Releases Chart. Thanks to all who are supporting our vision!

Nice way to end the week.

Sticky’s “Jumeirah Riddim EP” vinyl is now up for sale at the Mixpak Store.