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Even though the three days of the Bank Holiday weekend are very different, they all manage to incorporate some of my favourite acts. So I personally am really looking forwards to it, even if the thought of three days of party fun is a touch daunting these days.
The last Traffic night with Jazzsteppa was amazing, such a great crowd and the group themselves absolutely rocked. This time they’re bringing down one of my favourite DJ / Producers, who I’ve been keeping an eye on since I first caught a few big and brutal dubz on AC Slater’s ‘Palms Out’ blog back in 2008. Since then High Rankin‘s tracks have far exceeded any of the typical exponents of the heavy Dubstep sound such as Rusko or Caspa and although a lot of the Dubstep scene have moved on to the future-step sounds of Untold, Mosca and Pangaea (who is playing at CAI on Friday May 21st), High Rankin remains respected by most in the business.
High Rankin is playing on Friday 30th April. Check out this brilliant (and rather poignant) video and download his new remix for the chart topping ‘Why Don’t You’.
Download: Gramaphonedzie – Why Dont You (High Rankin & Evolve or Die Remix)
The first time I caught a couple of Johnny Cage & The Voodoo Groove members play was in a living room during the early hours of the morning, it was quite a show then but add a few more fantastic musicians, a couple of burlesque girls and believe me you have quite a show. They remain to be one of my firm favourites in the city, plus the fact they double up as the band for rap legends Dead Residents just cements their position as some of the coolest mo fo’s around.
Check out their rather fine version of The Wire theme tune ‘Down In A Hole’.
Johnny Cage & The Voodoo Groove – Down in a Hole by cardiffartsinstitute
It took me a while to find out exactly who Minotaur Shock was. I saw him first at a Red Bull Music Accademy event in Bristol and despite him providing my favourite set of the evening, a few too many complimentary drinks made me forget to check his name. Luckily I caught him next supporting LA beatsmith Nosaj Thing and remembered to write his name down that time. Despite being a solo performer he builds up his tracks using various instruments and machines with such a love for the music it is fascinating and rather heart warming to watch. There’s no one particular style, just straight up good music that has seen him release albums on the incredible 4AD label, and remix the likes of Super Furry Animals, Bloc Party and Badly Drawn Boy.
Download: Minotaur Shock – My Burr
Both Johnny Cage & The Voodoo Groove + Minotaur Shock are playing on Saturday May 1st.
I couldn’t think of a better mix of music then early Jazz Swing with Hip-hop and Drum N Bass. Obviously a lot of people feel the same because The Correspondents are hot festival property at the moment. They’ve even been snapped up for Bestival head honcho Rob Da Bank’s ‘Sunday Best’ label. It definitely helps that front man Mr Bruce has boundless amounts of energy and seems to Charleston throughout the whole set. Last time I caught them was at a jam packed Koko in Camden and they rocked it so really looking forwards to this, plus with Callaghans now pretty much defunct I think Cardiff Arts Institute might be the perfect spiritual home for Secret Carnival this summer.
The Correspondents are playing on Sunday May 2nd with fellow 30s throwbacks Top Shelf Jazz, an Electro Swing set from Ibiza Legend Nicky Holloway and plenty more Secret Carnival (formerly Secret Garden) fun. Here’s a video of theirs and a track for you to download.
I thought the Saturday night of the May day festival was great fun for myself, and I had lot's of fun partying, thank's for the pleasure of being there…!