Mizell Brothers,Quincy Jones,Stevie Wonder, Donald Byrd, Steely Dan, Metallica, Led Zepplin, Carl Craig, Underground Resistance, Tribe Called Quest, Larry Levan,Grandmaster Flash,Jay Dilla, Twitch & Brainstorm, Beastie Boys, Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye, Keith Jarrett, Ol Dirty Bastard & Snoop Dogg, Ashford & Simpson, to name a few
Blackbeard are South London producers Gordon Smith (previous work with Francois Ks Wave Imprint) and Toni Rossano, a former hand at the retrospective Strut label. Both have worked with several British independent Record companies over the past ten years.
Fed up with current soulless musical trends the boys set out to inject a fresh approach. They took their love for traditional and new Afro American centric soul from luminaries such as DAngelo, Tribe Called Quest, Donald Byrd and used it to reinvent existing tracks.
It was only a matter of time before record companies were itching for a shot of the Blackbeard injection! Max Sedgleys Euro 2004 football theme Happy received the Blackbeard rework touch opening the door for other labels to get in on the action.
Recent major-label remixes include Jill Scotts Golden and Down Here in Hell with you by Van Hunt.
In 2005 with a bundle of remixes under their belts it was time to prove that Blackbeard were capable of more than enhancing anothers production. Their first original material was launched on Uptown Safari (a label set up by Blackbeard and Yam Who?)
The Holding On e.p took off where the reworks left off adding U.S rapper Bobby Boyds vocal exploits to the Blackbeard equation. Now with growing support from Groove Armadas Tom Findlay, Radio 1s Annie Mac and legendary French d.j/producer Laurent Garnier Blackbeard are ones to watch!
Remixes & Productions *
Mark Rae ‘Medicine’ Grand Central Recordings
Max Sedgley ‘Happy’ Sunday Best Recordings
Deeper, Wider, Higher ‘Darkside’ Counterpoint Recordings
Kevin Mark Trail ‘ Bread’ EMI
Jill Scott ‘Golden’ Epic/Hidden Beach
Exilados ‘Tabuada’ (Unsigned)
Van Hunt ‘Down Here In Hell With You’ EMI/Capitol
Verna Francis ‘Twilight’ Chilli Funk
Rob Scott ‘Fallin’ Sunshine Enterprises
Yukihiro Fukatomi ‘Equality’ Pantone
D.J First Rate Featuring Skinnyman ‘ Bar Fight’ Scenario Records
Jamiroquai ‘ Seven Days In June’ Sony
Goapele’ First Love’ SkyBlaze Enterprises
Holding On e.p Uptown Safari*
Funk Mode (Various) Scenario
Maxine Braham ‘If’ BKO Productions
Low Budget Soul ‘You Are The One Abstract Blue
Bittersweet ‘Overdue’ Quango
TY ‘Closer’ Bigdada/Ninjatune
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators No One's Gonna Love You - Above The Clouds
Compilations
R’N’B 3 Sessions – Union Square Music 2006
East Coast Hip Hop –The Soulside Unisex Records 2006
This Is How We Lounge 2 – The Sunshine Remix Collection – Sunshine Ent
A. Sweet Love – 4’25” B. Sweet Love (instrumental) - 4’25”
Yet again Spengler showcase some of the best songwriting talent around, this time in big band swing mode. A collaboration with Max Grunhard (Impossible Ark) and the 16-bit Horns, Sweet Love features explosive brass, stinging solos and deep dark melodies.
The vocal version is on the A side, with a superb instrumental reworking on side B, perfect for late night sessions.
Responses to Sweet Love:
“Love it...swinging!!” – Dom Servini (Wah Wah 45s) “…wonderful track!!!” – Simon Harrison (Basic Soul) “Goddamn this is tasty!....a dope blend of classic swingers jazz of the past with the nu-jazz feel…..It's clear that Spengler can pull anything off…” DJ Mike Biggz (Youth Radio California) “…like it…” Rob Luis (Tru Thoughts) “…wicked tracks!!!!!.... 10/10!” Kay Suzuki (Coopr8) “This tune is hard not to feel…” Mr Goju (Migrations Radio Show) “Very nice...jazzy, soulful vibes. ” DJ Obah (Giant Step)
hi wass good hope all is well you have to check out new tracks on my page "mr mc" and "9 to 5 life" your feedback is very much appreciated u.k hip hops finest peace n luv shiv .one.
Slim & Swift "For You EP" (TriCircle Deep Records Promo)
This slammin' EP by Slim & Swift lets you choose between four differently flavored deep house tracks. First up is "Beat the street", a deeply stompin' track featuring phat electronic snyths and jazzy piano riffs that together create a hypnotizing vibe. "Dirty disco" is on an old-school flavored disco-funk tip with some great breakdowns included, while "Pretty sucker" is a laidback deep house track with electronic synths perfect for late night / early morning play.
Lastly there is "Keep it coming" that is intensifying the vibe with deeply rumblin' groove and catchy keys.
THE BOOGOOS - 'Theme De YoYo' b/w 'The Journey (Ghana'74)'
(PT. 033)
afrobeat meets funk and soul, when this 13 piece combo let loose their unique blend of styles and grooves with a tribute to the Art Ensemble of Chicago and their original "The Journey"!
