The Class A Afternoons with Amy B

Oh yes! It's a Class A Afteroons podcast!

2010-03-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

Download last week's show(March 10th) HERE (right click, save as)

Tracklisting is in post below.

HUGE thanks to the Futurebeats crew for sorting my podcast shit out, much love!

March 10th Tracklisting

2010-03-09T17:14:00.000-08:00

PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS - Flex off
FOREIGN BEGGARS - Contact
ELLIE GOULDING - Under the sheets
EMIKA - Double edge
RUBIX - Baiser sur le disco
MICKEY AVALON - My dick
DIZZEE RASCAL - Brand new day
THE STREETS - Has it come this?
FLYING LOTUS - Quakes
SHINICHI OSAWA - Star guitar (Brookes Brothers rmx)
HOT CHIP - One life stand (Drums of Death rmx)
GRANDMASTER FLASH - The message
TRUTH - The fatman
DORIAN CONCEPT - The fucking formula
THE AVALANCHES - Since I left you (Cornelius rmx)
ICE CUBE - Today was a good day
JOY ORBISON - Hyph mngo
DUB FX - Free my soul (live in Italy)
GIL SCOTT HERON - Your soul and mine
SILKIE - Purple love
JAHDAN BLAKKAMOORE - The general
WHITE LIES - Death (Crystal Castles rmx)
JOKER - How you like me now (rmx of The Heavy)

March 2nd 2010 - 1 hour

2010-03-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

DOSE - The place in between
CLUEKID - Shifty
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - Bonita Applebum
CASPA AND RUSKO - One of the same
FEVER RAY - Concrete walls
THE STREETS (Nero rmx) - Lights are blinding my eyes
PROXY - 8000
MUTT - Kush talk
BLOC PARTY - Where is home (Burial rmx)
RUSKO - Woo Boost (Douster rmx)

Tracklisting for 16.02,10

2010-02-15T18:10:00.001-08:00

PODCAST OF TODAY's SHOW DOWLOADABLE here.

MOS DEF - Ghetto
LUSHLIFE - In Soft Focus ft. Aerial P and Elzhi
MUTT - Kush Talk
SUB FOCUS - Move Higher
DDAY and the Q4 - Look Again (Dday One rmx)
JOINT FORCES - Here comes the morning
DATSIK & FLUX PAVILLION - Game Over
SHAPESHIFTER - One
CYPRESS HILL - Superstar
DIZZ1 - Frazzled
HUDSON MOHAWKE - Spotted
OPIUO - The Freaky Bean
LAIDBACK LUKE & DIPLO - Hey! (FOAMO rmx)
LUKE VIBERT - Belief file
FLORENCE & THE MACHINE - Rabbit Heart (P.E.S.T rmx)
WHITE LIES - Death (CHASE & STATUS rmx)
JAYLIB - The Red
MAJOR LAZER - Hold the line (DJ edit)
DAPPLED CITIES - The Price
LA ROUX - In for the kill (The Twelves rmx)
BAD COMPANY - Dr. Shevago
FORIEGN BEGGARS - No More (Ghost rmx)
ISAAC CHAMBERS - Skim

What's been floating my boat....

2010-02-09T18:25:00.000-08:00

Woah! A whole month has passed me by! Now I share with you the treasures I have encountered so far in this lazy lazy month...

Essential Mix with ANNIE MAC and HOSTAGE

Because I have a two hour gym routine that I have a hate/love relationship with, I need music that is going to distract me and if it can't distract me, keep me pumped and running up a #4 incline at 10.7kmph on a treadmill. The latest BBC Radio One Essential Mix with ANNIE MAC and HOSTAGE is just the ticket!

It's been recorded live at Sugabeat in Edinburgh, so includes lots of drunken cheering and shouting, giving that delightful party atmosphere... reminding me that I better keep running otherwise I won't be fitting into any tight party dresses come Friday eve. The first hour of Annie Mac is electro/house/funky, while hostage brings the bass. Download here.

DIZZ1!

This guy was mega at SOUNDAY here in Christchurch on the 30th of January. I pretty much went just to see him and he exceeded my expectations. P-Money played directly after, and it was so clear to see the high level of integrity in Dizz1's music in comparison. I'm hoping to get his 3RD TIME LUCKY 12" for Valentines.... Here is the man live.... SKILL AHOY!

FUTUREBEAT CREW - Thanks, Float and Anon.

I love sharing my home city with other talented individuals with spot on music taste like these guys and love it even more when they chuck up free mixes. While Thanks has been hitting the decks over in Melbourne for a considerable period, Float and Anon have only been mixing for around a year. These guys are also fans of the above Dizz1 as well as Debruit, Flying Lotus, Fulgeance and Hudson Mohawk, giving their mixes undoubted class.

These Christchurch locals played at Double Happy last Friday and I hope we'll be seeing more of them out and about. Download the NAIS JUAN PROMO MIX here. Thanks and Float keep the mix offbeat/hip hoppy/glitchy for the first 40 mins, while Anon switches it into dubstep for the final 20 mins.

SLUGABED

See a theme here?

Yeah yeah, its a bit old (4 months) but HIGHER from FOREIGN BEGGARS has been delighting my ears lately....

Tomorrow's show...

2010-01-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

I've finally recovered from the New Year festivities - I've beaten all the post PHAT colds and sore throats, got the mud out from under my nails and clothes whilst the gumboot rub marks on my legs are beginning to fade - and so am eagerly anticipating dishing up some fresh beats tomorrow, as well as giving some previews of the artists playing at RDU's annual SOUNDAY, BIG DAY OUT and whatever other musical delightfulness is approaching us (I'll figure that out later).

ANNIE - DON'T STOP

Kicking it off I'm going to play some..... ANNIE! Okay, I'll be honest - I'm not entirely sure that I like the track wholeheartedly but the track has many quirks, opposing cliches and kitchy xylophone hits to make it worth playing. I can't decide if this is pop or on the underground tip - I think the mystery of its genre-bending is slightly uncomforting yet exhilarating at the same time. She is also a mega hottie. GIRL CRUSH. Download the track, 'DON'T STOP', here.

THE KNIFE, MT. SIMS and PLANNINGTOROCK -
COLOURING OF PIDGEONS

Whenever I hear the names 'The Knife' or 'Fever Ray' I swoon like I would if I ever found myself coming face to face with James Franco/Taylor Lautner/Zac Posen, and just want to listen to whatever that name is stamped on. This time The Knife duo have joined forces with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock to craft an album for a Danish performance group who are creating an opera based on Charles Darwin's book "On the Origin of the Species". The collaborators researched thoroughly the evolutionary theme, with Olof (one half of the knife) even attending a field recording workshop in the Amazon. I'll be playing the track 'COLOURING OF PIDGEONS' from the album, 'TOMORROW, IN A YEAR", which is due to be released on March 1st. Download here.

RJD2 FT. KENNA - GAMES YOU CAN WIN
RJD2 is a producer who has stood the test of time, bringing out many a musically enchanting album/ep. His latest work, album 'THE COLOSSUS', is being released on the 19th of January, so I thought it only polite to give you a taste of it. Its delicate and light feel may leave some unsatisfied, but I think it is an exciting view into what is still to come from Mr. RJD2.

Here's the first video to be made for THE COLOSSUS - I quite like it.

JOY ORBISON - HYPH MNGO

This genius, currently 22 years of age, starting DJing at 13 years old, thanks to the influence of his jungle loving uncle. The track HYPH MNGO (click to download) , which I really don't understand as a name (also is it really said 'mngo' or more like 'mango'?), makes complete and utter sense as it fills my body with pleasure of a musical sort. The track is still unreleased, but Joy Orbison is making waves in musictown and blogtown - I'm going to keep an eye on him this year as I am very excited to see what else he conjours up.

DIZZ1 - WE GO RIDING

I was very jubilant when I discovered this track on the CD issued by the Red Bull Music Academy, Spain, and found this track. Very. It's trippy, its hip-hoppy, its downright dirt. And I love it (along with more respected others such as BBC1's Mary Anne Hobbs and Benji B). I was also jubilant once more when I read through the SOUNDAY brochure and found he was making his way from Sydney, where he is based, to play at the festival!

I have heaps more goods to dish out on air tomorrow, tracklisting will be updated throughout the show so you can see what's on the go. Au revoir (Simone ahahaha)!

PS. PHATties - REMEMBER THIS?!!

Tracklisting 05.01.10

2010-01-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

Caspa - Velvet Rooms
Crazy Penis - There's a Better Place (rmx)
Peaches - Tombstone, baby
Beastie Boys - Too Many Rappers
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (A Trak rmx)
Phoenix - Lisztomania
Tahuna Breaks - We Funk The Party (Crazy Penis rmx)
Jack Beats - Get Down (VIP Edit)
Truth - Lost at Sea
Pacific Heights - Peace (ft Joe Dukie)
Bombay Bicycle Club - Always Like This (James Rutledge rmx)
Proxy - 8000
Salmonella Dub - The Bromley East Roller (Digital rmx)
Mickey Avalon - My Dick
Echo and the Bunnymen - I Think I Need It To
Dead Prez - Selling DOPE
Busta Rhymes/The Neptunes - Light Yo Ass On Fire (ft. Pharrell)
Silkie - Purple Love
Matty G - For the Smokers
Optimus Gryme - Emotion ft Billy Fluid
Foreign Beggars - Shake it
Kinetix - White Water ft HLK
Starkey - Bang Bang the Witch is Dead
State of Mind - Universe
Brookes Brothers - Tear You Down

Tracklisting for 8.12.09

2009-12-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

Kid Sister - Right Hand Hi (Caspa rmx)
The Prodigy - Take me to the hospital (Josh Homme and Liam H mix)
Sophia Squire - What we gonna do
Slow Club - Christmas (Baby please come home)
The Hori Buzz - Glitter in the gutter
Florence and the machine - You've got the love (xx rmx)
Trei - Still remains (ft. Lisa Tomlins)
Ghost - Elevate
Joint Forces - Here comes the morning
A Trak - Step off (ft Little Brother)
Zero T and Mosus - Top Shelf
The Lion Constellation - Butterflies and flowers
White Lies - Death (Chase & Status rmx)
Juan Maclean - One say
The Mountain Goats - Brave
Calvin Harris - I'm not alone (Deadmau5 rmx)
1995 - Polar rapid
Parallel Dance Ensemble - Turtle Pizza Cadillacs ft Coco Solid + Bobbi Soxx
Bloc Party - Where is home? (Burial rmx)
Turbostill - Untamed Child
DJ Fresh - Hypercaine
Botox - Blue steel
Breakstra - I don't wanna wait

Tomorrow's show...

2009-12-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

Right Hand Hi -Kid Sister (Caspa rmx)

First up this week, I fancy playing a Caspa remix. I found this track on rcrdlbl.com . I wouldn't have thought this was Caspa's kinda thing, but hey, guess the man can work with anything and put his mark on it.

It's a bit poppy, a bit electro, quite dubsteppy as you would expect and overall an addictive tune! For those who of you who aren't partial to dubstep, you may still enjoy this tune as it is pretty light for a majority of the track. Can't wait to play it!

Second on the list it's.....
Slow Club - When I Go

This song, admittedly, isn't my style at all. Maybe it's the time of year or the fact that I'm not enjoying alot of the bass heavy music coming out lately, but this folky guitary song from Slow Club is super cute and romantic in a warped kinda way...

The duo come from the home of steel, silverware and cutlery in England - Sheffield- and whilst Charles plays guitar and sings, Rebecca "plays drums and all sorts of weird instruments, like water-filled glass bottles, spoons and the back of a wooden chair." Intriguing.

Hypercaine - DJ Fresh

The next track comes from DJ Fresh, part of Bad Company and part owner of Breakbeat Kaos. In 2009 Knowledge Magazine said ‘Perhaps DJ Fresh has been the biggest influence on drum and bass we’ve ever known’. That's a pretty big call. Although this track came out in September and I think I prefer the Nero remix, I think it has a pretty feel good thing going on which makes me want to dance (and run faster when I go for my morning runs).

I thank the bogan who text me during my last show whilst I playing the Nero rmx, saying, "fuk u plae da fukin originol, u fukin dubstep kidz hav no fukin idea" - strangely you compelled me to listen to the track, and yeah, it's pretty cool. But I still prefer the dubstep version. UP YOURS.

Where is Home - Bloc Party (Burial rmx)

My heart was all afflutter when I saw this download peering at me from my screen. Both Burial and Bloc Party (the old Bloc Party) being favourites of mine, the two of them in one track was an enchanting thought. It did not disappoint. Subtle in true Burial style yet completely wonderful, this is an awesome chill out tune or sleepy time playlist favourite fo sho.

And finally a track, that when I first played it, made me say out loud to myself, "fuck yeah that's good!"

Death from White Lies rmxd by Chase and Status.

White Lies were the first band in the UK charts to reach number one album in 2009, and being remixed by the brilliant Chase and Status, how could this track not be good? How incredibly epic.

See you all tomorrow through the airwaves !

Today's show....

2009-11-25T17:02:00.000-08:00

Peaches - Mommy Complex
Ellie Goulding - Under the sheets
The Heavy - oh no not you again
White Denim - radio milk how can you stand it
Commix - Talk to Frank
Philter - (gotta find the name!)
Major Lazer - When you hear the bassline
Jurassic 5 - Thin Line
Cool Kids and Hey champ - Champions
Yacht - it's boring/you can live anywhere you want
Passion Pit - The reeling (Bubblegum Sci Fi rmx)
Crocodile - Refuse Angels
Violens - Lighting lighting
Proxy - 8000
Pogo - Alice
Bag Raiders - Shooting stars (Shazam Dub rmx)
Skream - What did he say
Salmonella Dub - Tha Bromley east roller (Digital rmx)
Opiou mini mix - deliciousmusic.co.nz
Flex C - Kaidan (Grade E rmx)
Ellie Goulding - Starry eyed
Palace of Wisdom - True Man
Diplo - Baby (ft VYBZ Cartel)

If you love Rusko and wanna know why everyone is hating on him as of late, check this out -
Come Ere and Say That (Hide and Seek rmx) - Rusko

Under the sheets (Jakwob rmx)- Ellie Goulding
Under the sheets Pariah rmx

If you like crazily heavy music, like me, check this out :D
Chainsaw Calligraphy (original mix)
Guided relaxation

Tracklisting for show 24.11.09

2009-11-23T17:22:00.000-08:00

Proxy - 8000
Mike Snow - Animal
Klaxons - It's not over yet
Murs - Can it be
Glass Candy - Candy castle
Rusko ft Lutan Fyah - Soundguy is my target
Shapeshifter - One
Jurassic 5 - Gotta understand
Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange
Cotti ft. Doctor - Calm Down
Dj Fresh - Hypercaine (Nero Remix)
Pikachunes - Fire
Ghost - Everything rmx
Amanda Blank - Make it take it
William Fitzsimmons - I don't feel it anymore (George Raquet rmx)
Yo La Tenga - Avalon or someone very similar
Breaskstra - I don't wanna wait
Harbour City Electric - Play the game
Riton and Primary 1 - Who's there? (Doorly rmx)
The Horrors - Who can say
Fever Ray - Concrete Walls
Isaac Aesili - Stranjah
Kid Siter - Get Fresh (Alex Gopher rmx)
Uffie - Pop the glock
Truth - Lions Den remix (from Nextmen)

Keep a watch for some fresh linkages this week! I'm out!

Back to it!

2009-11-15T12:13:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that I haven't posted for over a month.... the blog still lives! Now exams are over and life has returned to better than normal thanks to the three month or so holiday, expect this place to be a hive of activity henceforth!

Here's what is milling around in my playlist for tomorrow's show....

I'm excited to be able to shoot into the airwaves one of the tracks on Ghost's latest album, Remixes from the Edge, released FOR FREE (crazy man!) - I've just downloaded it myself and am sinking my music listening fangs into it as we speak... hopefully by tomorrow I will have decided which one to play you, although they are undoubtably all class from this delightfully versatile producer. I doubted that anyone could make an overplayed P-Money track, that had been rammed down throats nationwide, sound worthwhile, -but alas, the talented Ghost has achieved it.

From the Russian artisans of some damn fine experimentalicious electro (to give broad terms) comes an addictive track involving some mysterious sounding sitar, glitchy bits and awesome progression throughout the track... 8000 - Proxy is not to be missed. The Canadian Turbo Recordings has just released the track alongside a more thumpy sort of track, Who Are You, which is on their myspace page. I got gifted an electro clubby sorta mix (as I am slightly unfamiliar with the genre that will be all the description you are getting) from a couple of budding mixers I happen to know, which, although I wouldn't describe it as "banging" (perhaps because I'm more partial to more bass heavy stuff), it had some really tasty tunes involved, starting off with the Proxy track linked above. See what you think - Cotton Off Grey Mix.

So, Akil from the good old Jurassic 5 hit Double Happy on Friday night, giving the Christchurch hip hop kids a bit of a buzz. I wandered in by accident, waiting for Cotti and Tes La Rok to come on at Concrete, and found the show pretty fun and light hearted with a couple of tunes I knew and so forth. He brought out quite a fair amount of his own stuff and freestyles with no music for a while (reportedly due to a broken laptop), giving rise to a few complaints... However I found the show had a great upbeat, lighthearted and "interactive" atmosphere - a breath of fresh air from heavier music genres that usually go on at Double Happy/Drop (not saying heavy is bad though!). I'm going to give you a taster of Akil's newer stuff via his myspace page.

Next up for the night it was Cotti and Tes La Rok at Concrete Club. I was excited for a couple of months before these guys came, and I was not to be disappointed. Cotti was first up for an hour dropping some deliciously heavy chunes which got me dancing stupidly... felt the dubstep dance crunch in the back of my thighs the next day. Te La then got on the decks whilst Cotti MCed. Te La was great as expected, however Cotti's MCing left something to be desired... didn't seem like he was putting much effort into it.

However, an old but sturdy tune that started milling around inside my head at 8am the same morning (after 2 hours nap it was time for work) as I stumbled into the shower, I feel I must share with you...

Next up its some dubby dubstep, kinda old but a sweet track that I admittedly only downloaded last week - Soundguy is my target - Rusko ft. Lutan Fyah. On the same tip, I aquired a relaxing and summery dubby dubstep mix from Christchurch's LQue and JRed last week and the mix proved to be perfect to accompany a couple of drinks in the sun on my birthday! Here's the Christchurch Dubstep mix from the pair for you to enjoy.

My "delicate" and slightly pansy-ish track for the week has to be I Don't Feel It Anymore (George Raquet rmx) - William Fitzsimmons. Cute and kinda sad this song has an emotional tinge to it that is subtle, but still can be related to... William Fitzsimmons was raised by two blind parents and so from an early age music and sound was given an important place in his life, and it certainly shows through his work.

Thanks to Gomorrah who mixed on my birthday show last week - I have heard that lots of listeners enjoyed it... may have to get him in again when I've been drinking too much to choose reasonable music and press buttons!

More exciting tracks to come, plus tracklisting for the entire show tomorrow...

Tomorrow's show...

2009-10-05T03:09:00.000-07:00

To kick off the short two hours I have to fit in all the musical goodness I can conjour up, am I going to be giving a taster of the exquisite Florence and the Machine with a track remixed by Xx - Florence and the Machine - You've Got The Love (xx rmx) The 21 year old Florence was discovered by her now manager singing in the bathroom at a party - now her band is NME's top pick for summer.... This girl has come a mighty long way in 18 months!

Infact I love this chick, or most probably want to be her so much, I am going to play another remix of her track Rabbit Heart - P.E.S.T remix, which feels to me like classy drum and bass, strong and feminine thanks to Florence's delectable voice.

On the hip-hop tip, I'm going to be playing this track from Murs album Murs For President from last year. Are they bodyguards either side of him in the video?

Bombay Bicycle Club's Always Like this (James Rutledge rmx) shall be raising its gorgeously wimpy sounding and rather poppy head during the show at some stage.

A band I haven't come across before - Free Energy - suprised me as I was previewing one of their tracks, Something in Common on rcrdlbl.com just a moment ago. Lightly funky and quietly catchy, the song made it to #10 on rcrdlbl's chart for this week. These guys are from Philadelphia in the U.S and are about to head over to London to play a few shows... hopefully we will be hearing them grow!

The Dutch musician Junkie XL was nominated for a grammy, along with the likes of Deadmau5 and Justice, for his remix of Madonna's '4 minutes' - but don't let that scare you away from listening to some of his tunes. I'm going to be playing Cosmic Rave - I'm not sure if I'm scared of it or I like it... but I shall be sharing it with you regardless.

Decknology and Roundup overview!

2009-10-05T02:58:00.000-07:00

Nice work to the winners of RounDUp - The Sleepy Age and Decknology - Marty J!

NERO and THE UPBEATS

2009-10-04T01:43:00.000-07:00

As of late Christchurch has been very fortunate to witness the talent of Nero (last Thursday at DHappy) and The Upbeats (Saturday at Ministry), with their newly released work from 'Big Skeleton'. If you missed The Upbeats due to lack of organisation or funds, don't panic cos they're coming to Southern Amp and Phat10! WOOOOOP!

Here's the photos I managed to get... (was having too much of a great time to take really good ones).

NERO at Double Happy

THE UPBEATS at The Ministry

Glitch Hop!

2009-09-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

Glitch hop has recently been making its way around the world as a new phase of bass/electronic music, and after hearing a very pleasing selection of glitch-hop tunes last night at Double Drop, during Joint Forces release party, I decided it was time to investigate further. Here's what I managed to find....

The Glitch Mob - There's three guys in the mob; edIT, Ooah and Boreta. edIT's stuff is pretty sweet as he is Japanese, meaning heaps of exciting samples of cute Jap girls! The Mob's TV on the Radio - Red Dress' remix is going to be used by Tim Burton for his latest movie trailer.. ooo.
These guys don't yet have a wikipedia page, but do have their own website which has everything you need... even MERCHANDISE! For a very aurally pleasing mix get this -Crush Code by The GM (40 min mix) - it's got some Dabrye in there, which keeps me a happy lady and even manages to get some T-Pain in there and make it very, very enjoyable. Also download this awesome mash up of some iconic hip-hop tracks plus the glitch - West Coast Rocks (The Glitch Mob Remix).

More coming soon...

Preview of next weeks show...

2009-09-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

With Nero hitting Double Happy in Christchurch next Thursday night, I thought a bit wouldn't go astray... A dubstep love chune... sweeeeeet - Nero - This Way. Also, if you haven't got it already here is Nero's Act Like You Know - it is a must have tune. Nero has support from DJs including Andy C, Grooverider and Friction, as well as radio airplay from Zane Lowe, Jo Whiley, Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Rob Da Bank, Steve Lamacq, Fabio & Grooverider... and now me, WOOP!

Ghost's recently released album Freedom of Thought blew me away! Luckily he is going to be releasing an album with Kashmere and Verb T in the near future - and has left a taster of things to come on the Invisible Inc Myspace. I'm currently very keen on Poison and will be sending it out via airwaves on Tuesday!

I'm pretty picky when it comes to drum and bass, but I am currently very into the upbeat vibe of a track you have most probably come across or have sitting in your iTunes - but, just incase you don't, here's Shinichi Osawa's Star Guitar (Brookes Brothers remix). The original track comes from the Chemical Brothers, which still sounds pretty good after hearing the remix...

Organikismness, along with having a sweet name, has some freaking good tunes and has played alongside the likes of Klute, Bad comany, Fierce, Ewun, C4C, Asides, Optimus gryme, The Upbeats, State of mind, Concequence and Caspa...woah. Check him out on the Delicious Music site. I'm feeling I might play Drowsy come Tuesday...

Welcome....

2009-09-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

I've been involved with RDU for just over a year now and finally decided it was time to create a blog!

This is the place where I will be chucking links to some of the tracks I've played on my show, my favourite chunes, pictures of mean gigs and sweet stuff I think everyone should know of!

Enjoy!