We’re happy to announce that No Ice Cream Sound issue 4 is now available in Opening Ceremony’s London shop, in Covent Garden. We’ve updated our stockist list this week, so if you don’t want to buy online, you can get a copy from:

Idle Hands // Bristol, UK Flashback, Islington // London, UK Sounds . . . → Read More: NICS x Opening Ceremony]]>

We’re happy to announce that No Ice Cream Sound issue 4 is now available in Opening Ceremony’s London shop, in Covent Garden. We’ve updated our stockist list this week, so if you don’t want to buy online, you can get a copy from:

Idle Hands // Bristol, UK
Flashback, Islington // London, UK
Sounds of the Universe // London, UK
Opening Ceremony // London, UK
Deadly Dragon // New York, USA
Miss Lily’s Variety // New York, USA
Dusty Groove // Chicago, USA
Patate Records // Paris, France
Dub Store // Tokyo

If you’d like to stock copies, please email us! info@shimmyshimmy.co.uk

I will be joining the Mudd Up family as a special guest for Midsummer Affair at Basing House next Thursday, followed by Eyes Down in Finsbury Park on Saturday night! Both powered by BIG soundsystems, hope to see you there.

In NICS 4 we spoke to NY poster designer Irie Myrie about his painstaking process of making Biltmore Ballroom dance flyers. Whether or not he invented the style, as he claims, it’s certainly true it was on trend in the 90s, as soundsystem clashes probably reached their peak and posters flew up on the . . . → Read More: King Addies // Top Flyers]]>

In NICS 4 we spoke to NY poster designer Irie Myrie about his painstaking process of making Biltmore Ballroom dance flyers. Whether or not he invented the style, as he claims, it’s certainly true it was on trend in the 90s, as soundsystem clashes probably reached their peak and posters flew up on the walls of BK. These designs are unmistakeable: photo collages, bright colours, striking fonts. Here are some of the best King Addies flyers we could dig up on the internet. Listen to this legendary clash with Earth Ruler (who also feature in NICS4) while you look:

While the clock is ticking for dancehall summer hits, ‘Kotch’ and ‘Differentology’ are still building nicely for the 120bpm-ers, Tarrus Riley’s ‘Gimme Likkle One Drop’ seems set to be the reggae smash, and ‘Soundbwoy’ will surely be setting speakers alight for a bit longer. As we commented on our round-up of new UK tunes, . . . → Read More: Shimmy Shimmy June Chart]]>

While the clock is ticking for dancehall summer hits, ‘Kotch’ and ‘Differentology’ are still building nicely for the 120bpm-ers, Tarrus Riley’s ‘Gimme Likkle One Drop’ seems set to be the reggae smash, and ‘Soundbwoy’ will surely be setting speakers alight for a bit longer. As we commented on our round-up of new UK tunes, the crossover tunes are coming in thick and hard – and now the news lands that Kanye’s upcoming album Yeezus apparently runs through its fair share of dancehall samples (Beenie, Popcaan, Capleton & Assassin). Here are some summer hit contenders along with some underground bubblers we’re into:

Million Stylez & Rebellious – Chatty Mouth

Frequent collaborators Million Stylez & Rebellious out of Sweden have just dropped this throwback early warm track:

Busy Signal – Beg You Little Piece

We love Busy on an uptempo riddim, and this soca-house track ‘Beg You Little Piece’ is a loose take on The Banana Boat Song. Inspired.

Busy Signal – Set Up

Speaking of Busy Signal covers, here he reaches into Marvin Gaye territory for ‘Set Up’, a take on ‘Sexual Healing’. File this next to ‘Night Shift’ and ‘One More Night’.

Popcaan – Unruly Rave

When summer rolls around, people look towards Popcaan for the hit, and this could be it. ‘Unruly Rave’ picks up where ‘Raving’, ‘Party Non Stop’ & ‘Summer Wave’ left off – it’s nothing new, strictly party vibes and Adde on the buttons. We think the video has already been made, so expect this one to stick around.

Aidonia – Bruki

Aidonia follows up ‘Fi Di Jockey’ with ‘Bruki’, produced by Di Genius. Vibes to rival RDX’s ‘Kotch’.

Mavado – Weed & Hennessy / Bruk Out / At The Top

Mavado is killing it! After ‘March Out’ and ‘Can’t Happen’, he’s now got three big tunes, a slow jam, a dark dance tune and an epic singalong. Whatever he’s eating in the US, his productivity is through the roof.

Sean Paul – Do Di Ting

On the same riddim as Mavado’s ‘Bruk Out’, Sean Paul also delivers on ‘Do Di Ting’

Spooky – Coolie Joyride (Samename Remix)

Add the energy of the original Coolie Dance with Spooky’s remix, and then throw in about a million red bulls and a soca flag and you have Samename’s remix. Be sure to check for Murlo’s too!

Cee Gee – Wine

Produced by Douster and vocalled by Cee Gee of Beenie Man’s MD camp, ‘Wine’ is a 130bpm house-meets-dancehall track that’s just making its way onto Jamaican radio.

Navino feat. Supa Hype – Bend Over

If you’re a fan of QQ’s ‘Ghetto Gyal’, you’ll be into this one. All I need is an edit that blacks out the bit where he shouts out camel toe and then we’re ready to go! Shouts to HDD for putting me on to this one.

Bonus track:

Jus Now tore down our No Ice Cream Sound party last month with their crazy edits and blends. They’ve just put this re-edit of Machel Montano’s ‘Vibes Cyah Done’ up for free download:

It’s been a while since a UK dancehall artist made a mark in the charts, so it’s with pleasure that we see Stylo G’s ‘Soundbwoy’ hit number 18 in the UK last week. Admittedly, it’s not strictly a dancehall track in its musical content, but its lyrics are firmly rooted in soundsystem culture. It’s . . . → Read More: UK Dancehall Round-Up]]>

It’s been a while since a UK dancehall artist made a mark in the charts, so it’s with pleasure that we see Stylo G’s ‘Soundbwoy’ hit number 18 in the UK last week. Admittedly, it’s not strictly a dancehall track in its musical content, but its lyrics are firmly rooted in soundsystem culture. It’s been a strong few months for dancehall cross-contamination – with the help of Major Lazer, it looks like it’s a recipe for chart success. Sneakbo released ‘Ring A Ling’, his second single to directly reference dancehall heritage, Busta Rhymes & Nicki Minaj go back to their roots on ‘Twerk It’ and shout out Tony Matterhorn, Kartel, Beenie & Bounty, as well as Dutch producers Partysquad reaching for Jamaican vocals and a Mad Decent meets Rasta artwork (we call that Rastardized).

Aside from the festival tracks, there are more signs of healthy UK dancehall. It looks likely that Stylo’s next single will be produced by Dre Skull, so we’ll wait happily for that. By all accounts, it’s a hard bashment track.

Keeping the collab very UK, Toddla T has united Sheffield grime artist K-Dot (of ‘Calm Down’ fame) with Gappy Ranks for the hip hop heavy ‘Salute’:

Wundah (who also has a remix on the Soundbwoy record) is back on the boards for Lea-Anna, who’s been quite quiet of late. This one, ‘Find My Love’ is a nice, dubbed out laid back love song:

One of last year’s biggest Afrobeats bubblers, Atumpan’s ‘The Thing’ was a track that never really reached its full potential. Ministry of Sound picked up on that, and are set to re-release it with a set of club remixes that are starting to filter through right about now. Famous Eno & Serocee’s bashment remix just dropped on 1Xtra last week:

Famous Eno is also preparing a nice riddim release that just aired on Toddla T’s show this week, listen to it here.

Jamaican round-up to follow!

[Illustration by Smutlee for No Ice Cream Sound Issue 3]

If you hang out in Miss Lily’s in NY for long enough, you’re bound to bump into someone influential ordering a juice and a patty. While setting up for my radio show that they kindly gave me for my 3 month stint last year, I ran into film-maker Stephanie Black, director of the excellent . . . → Read More: Videos of Stephanie Black]]>

If you hang out in Miss Lily’s in NY for long enough, you’re bound to bump into someone influential ordering a juice and a patty. While setting up for my radio show that they kindly gave me for my 3 month stint last year, I ran into film-maker Stephanie Black, director of the excellent documentaries H2 Worker and Life & Debt. Both films probe deep into the impact of corporations, the IMF and World Bank policies on the Caribbean and its workers. While making Life & Debt, Stephanie stayed in Kingston and, surprise surprise, became involved in the reggae scene, racking up some impressive credentials. She filmed the EPK for Buju Banton’s Til Shiloh (and has since served as a character witness at his trial), has shot some of Sesame Street’s Jamaican episodes and videos for Sugar Minott, Ziggy & Stephen Marley, and even Snow. Her video for Anthony B’s ‘Heartless’ (below), is a striking example of a video that melds her politics with her love of reggae – taking the Riverton City Dump as its backdrop. As with most of her visuals, it’s far from the tourist’s rose-tinted version of Jamaica.

Check out some of her very filmic music videos below, and check out the zine for her piece on how things have changed for Jamaica 10 years after Life & Debt was made.

Stephen Marley – Made in Africa

Everton Blender – Lift Up Your Head

Anthony B – Damage

Bob Marley – What Goes Around Comes Around

Anthony B – Mr Heartless

Continuing their ever-faithful relationship with the music world, Supreme have teamed up with NY reggae legends Wackies for their new collection. Wackies has always had a strong visual presence, their recognizable logo and their Letraset / black & white photo combinations still stand up to this day (and check the cover for ‘Reggae Goodies’). . . . → Read More: Supreme x Wackies]]>

Continuing their ever-faithful relationship with the music world, Supreme have teamed up with NY reggae legends Wackies for their new collection. Wackies has always had a strong visual presence, their recognizable logo and their Letraset / black & white photo combinations still stand up to this day (and check the cover for ‘Reggae Goodies’). Though Wackies tees have been available for some time, Supreme take it to next level fresh – front & back prints, 5 panel hats and a vest for those of you lucky enough to live in a hot climate. View the full collection here and see you in the queue.

For NICS 4, it took us a while to chase down international superstar Shaggy, but we eventually made it. This year is a landmark for him: it’s the twentieth anniversary of the release of ‘Oh Carolina’ and also marks the release of his brand new reggae album, produced by legends Sly & Robbie (hear . . . → Read More: Interview // Shaggy]]>

For NICS 4, it took us a while to chase down international superstar Shaggy, but we eventually made it. This year is a landmark for him: it’s the twentieth anniversary of the release of ‘Oh Carolina’ and also marks the release of his brand new reggae album, produced by legends Sly & Robbie (hear the first single, ‘Fight This Feeling’ ). To read the full interview, where we talk about his rough beginnings in New York, serving in the gulf war and gaining respect in Jamaica, buy your copy here. Here I’ve put together an extract of his comments on his upcoming LP, what vibe to expect and who he’s collaborating with.

We [recorded] the original live versions in my studio in New York, a lot of it, then I went back to Jamaica, we did some of the collaborations down there, and we did a few more tracks down there, and some overdubs. Now sly & robbie are coming back here on to tweak final mixes and Sting Internaitonal is co-producing it with them all and mixing most of it.

If you listen to Black Uhuru style reggae, it’s [like] that, except I’m doing love songs and beautiful melodies over it. I’m having Ne-Yo singing on some Black Uhuru type track, just to give you an idea. It’s that kind of style, Beres Hammond and Cocoa Tea. And I put some of the new guys on it, Chronixx, Konshens, so it’s that kind of vibe, Tarrus Riley is on it. I didn’t want to make a crossover record, we wanna do a raw street reggae album.

I’m doing the thing I really like to do, the reason why I came into music, which is performing on stage. that’s the only reason why I did music. It wasn’t for the money, I came from a live music background of dancehall, deejaying, spontaneity, I love that. You see me on stage, every Sting you see me, I love performing, I don’t like bells and whistles performances, with theatricals, where people are blowing up things, with all this super choreographed madness, I like to see an artist with charisma, that’s my thing.

You see Ninjaman come on stage and just pose. He doesn’t even say a word, he just pose. And the place is going pandemonium. The way the guy looks, the way his movement is, the way his talk is. He could single-handedly at 7 in the morning transform a crowd from dead to frenzy. That’s what I look for, that’s what I like, that’s what I aim for. I’m always against having dancers on stage and I had a manager who always wanted me to do that and when I did Hot Shot we did, but I hated it and I want it to boil down to you, engaging an audience, talking to the crowd, entertaining the crowd. So me doing a live album with Sly and Robbie is basically to facilitate that.