8th Birthday Weekender

That's right...we can hardly believe it ourselves, but next weekend marks our 8th year in the game! From the very first night at 93 Feet East, it's been a wicked ride and we're so grateful to our fans and followers for giving us the support to keep rolling. Obviously no birthday is complete without a bit of a party, so we've decided to celebrate the whole weekend!

First up, we take over the Jazz Cafe for whole night of righteous party vibes, with special guests Trojan Soundsystem, the super-talented Hollie Cook, the massive Jazzsteppa and a DJ set from UK Funky don Warrior One. Full details are here and you can still grab tickets HERE.

Then, the next day we head over to King's Cross to The Big Chill House for an afternoon of reggae, dub, sunshine and a massive BBQ - lets just hope the sun is shining! Special guests Moody Boyz, Richie Phoe, Capitol 1212, Shimmy Shimmy and Trol23 as well as our residents Shepdog, Mikee Lazy, Mo Fingaz & Boba Fatt. Entry for this is FREE - check more details HERE.

To get us in the mood I've knocked up a mix of roots, reggae, dub, soul and dancehall - all with sunshine on the mind!

NICE UP! 8th Birthday BBQ mix by Djshepdog on Mixcloud

Hope you can join us at both!!

Showtime

We've just peeped the flyer for this amazing night brought to you by The Heatwave. Not content with running London's biggest bashment night, they've upped the ante with this line-up. The premise is to get some of the UKs biggest and best MCs to spit on top of some classic dancehall and bashment riddims - an idea NICE UP! is instantly down with! Just check that line up once again and then imagine them all riding the classics...

We've got a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky person who can answer this simple question.

Q: Skibadee's "Tica Toc" featured a sample from which classic tune?

Just send your answer to competition@niceup.co.uk- we'll notify winners soon!

ItIsWhatItIs

It Is What It Is by Grizzly➫ Download Here

01. Cesaria Evora - Angola (Bradocks Get Down Dub)
02. Fink - Our Perfect Darkness (Peter A.'s DaM Edit)
03. André Obin - The Arsonist
04. Worst Friends - Neve's For None
05. Teeel - Dark Passenger
06. Worst Friends - Billiards With A Midget
07. The Sorry Entertainers - The End Of All Times
08. 2020 Soundsystem - Ocean
09. Krrrrzzzzzz*is nich
10. Till Von Sein & Aera - Dynamite (Aera Edit)
11. Slow Hands - Belle Of The Ball
12. Xixa - Sketch Ilusion
13. Dutch Rhythm Combo - Cartagenera (Ray Mang Rmx)
14. Kasper Bjørke - Symptoms (Mano Le Tough Rmx)
15. Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm You (Henson Edit)
16. Paul Kalkbrenner - Sky & Sand (Henson Edit)

LONG TIME RIDDIM for FREE

Inspired by the flood of mash ups and remixes that came back when our man Jstar put up his 'One Life' riddim for free download, Mr Benn has decided to follow suit and give away his 'Long Time' riddim of a few years back.

A smooth skanking hip hop reggae hybrid, this track is begging to be mashed up, remixed and fixed, so get on it and hit Mr Benn back with the results on his soundcloud page...

Mr Benn - Long time riddim FREE DOWNLOAD by Mr Benn

Bonkers Yonkers

So, I was more than a little bit disappointed with the Tyler The Creator album. After all the hype and pant-wetting from critics the world over I thought it was a pretty dull effort, although I'm pretty sure I'm not in the target demographic for such a release. I guess naughty words, predictable self-agrandising and "edgy" subject matter don't really do it for me anymore! The standout track "Yonkers" however, has been on constant rotation on my ipod, and this Lil Silva rework is definitely doing something for me.

DOWNLOAD - Yonkers (Lil Silva remix) - Tyler The Creator

Reggae Roast

Our buddies over at Reggae Roast have a pretty special event happening next month - Peckings Soundsystem & Demolition Man up in the place! Their events are always 100% vibes and this one is guaranteed to be no different, with don selector Chris Peckings at the controls. Get your hands on advance tickets here. The boys have also got a packed festival schedule ahead of them as well as more releases on their label, so be sure to check them in a field near you soon and support quality UK music!

[remixes] frankensteeno and georgy whistler pt.2

it's the return of frankensteeno and georgy whistler! i'm sure a lot of you guys remember their debut remix packages. in case you missed them– check the archives! this time they teamed up together and bless us with 16 tracks!

FRANKENSTEENO & GEORGY WHISTLER «COMBINED FORCES» '11

1. Intro (Georgy)

2. Funkmaster Flex - Wu-Tang Cream Team Line-Up (Georgy)

3. Kool G Rap feat. Nas - Fast Life (Franky)

4. Double L - Peeps In The Ground (Georgy)

5. Saukrates - Father Time (Georgy)

6. L-Swift - Daydreaming (Franky)

7. Derelect Camp - Love Or Fame (Georgy)

8. Big Twan - Hellgate Rebel (Franky)

9. Nas - The Setup (Franky)

10. Kool G Rap-Real_Life (Franky)

11. A-Plus - All I See (Franky)

12. X-Perado - Paradox (Georgy)

13. Corrupt Empire - Jersey Get Yours (Franky)

14. Biggie Smalls - Suicidal Thoughts (Franky)

15. T-Max - Relax Your Mind (Georgy)

16. Outro (Franky)

big up to georgy & franky. once again, this is heat! what's your joint? you'll find two of my favorites below.

l-swift - daydreaming [frankensteeno remix]




double l - peeps in the ground [georgy whistler remix]



pz,
akutt

Dub Boy meets Stryda

Fresh back off my hols and the usual slew of emails to get through, so glad to find this waiting in my inbox to get me through the morning. An hours worth of roots and steppers from Dubkasm's DJ Strydas record collection, mixed and blended by Bristol's very own Dub Boy.

Tracklist

1. Dubkasm ft Levi Roots - Sensimilia Addict

2. Dixie Peach - Jah Road

3. Errol Bellot - Glory Hallelujah

4. JTS – Version 


5. Jah Shaka - Don’t Give Up

6. Errol Dunkley - A Little Way Different

7. Black Roots - Bristol Rock

8. Dubkasm ft Tena Stelin - More Jah Songs

9. Dubkasm ft Solo Banton - Tell the World

10. Dubkasm’s Digistep - More Jah Melodies

11. Dubkasm ft Ras Addis - Strictly Ital

12. Henry & Louis ft Prince Green - Too Late 


13. Gov Lewis & Jimmy Ranks - School Dub

14. Manasseh ft Admiral Tibet - Permission

15. Michael Palmer - Juggling

16. Yami Bolo - The Glock War, Gun War

17. Garnett Silk - The Rod

18. Computer Paul & Noel Alphonzo - (Ghetto Youth) Version

19. Cornell Campbell - Nothing Don’t Come Easy

20. Leroy Gibbons - Hold it Down

21. The Key Massive - Sweet Sensi

22. Little Devon - Trash & Bruck

23. Home T4 - Rockers Don’t Move You

24. I am Vex – Garnett Silk 


25. Play me na Play – Sugar Minott

26. Prophecy – Fabian

DOWNLOAD

Rolling In The Heat

Premiered a few weeks back on their Rinse FM show, the Heatwave guys have just unleashed their Adele rework on the blog world. True, there's more than enough mash-ups of this tune doing the rounds already (including my own effort right here), but Gabriel and the crew have twisted this up nice, creating one of the biggest blends we've heard for a while. Using the sparse Jamie XX version as a base, the've peppered it with verses from Cecile, Mr Lexx & Timberlee (with a dash of the Dixie Cups in there too). Tried and tested at NICE UP! as well as Heatwave's massive Hot Wuk night (and apparently Jamie XX himself is playing it), get your mitts on it below.

DOWNLOAD

Rudest Dude

We're loving this new tune and video from Lotek, out today on First Word Records. Straight up hip hop reggae vibes that even King Jammy and Bunny Lee are feeling! Head over to the artists website to download (and grab yourself a free dub version) or Kudos to grab the 7". Be sure to check the flip "What's In a Name" for a slice of Mr Manuva dropping a guest verse. More of this please!!

Funky Jamaica mix

Nice bit of sunday listening from our friends over at Sofrito here, with a very nice mix from NYCT's Little Dynasty (aka E's E). Plenty of dusty old funky reggae to get your ears around, and while you're at it why not grab a handful of the labels free downloads too?

Tracklist

Soul Bros. – One Stop

Sound Dimension – Love Land

Sound DImension – Jamaica Bag

Tommy McCook – Caltone Special

Tommy McCook – Sweet Lorna

Ansil Collins Meets The Observer – In Bound Train

Desmond Dekker – Foo Man Chu

Noel & The Fire Bells – Reggae Rub

Karl Bryan – Red Ash

Roland Alphonso – Charade

Bumps Jackson – Funky In Jamaica

Tommy & The Upsetters – Lock Jaw

Jackie Mittoo – Melody Maker

Otis Gayle – I’ll Be Around

Blooblo – Loose Baby Love

Hopeton Lewis – Sounds & Pressure

Freedom Singers – Give Peace A Chance

Nairobi Sisters – Promised Land

Derrick & The Chariot Riders – Float On

DOWNLOAD

Ed Sheeran

We've been keeping our eyes on this chap for a while, since scoring a top selling "Collaborations EP" on itunes on his own label and generally being on the tip of everyone's tongue, but we were super excited when this landed in the inbox this morning. Hot from the "Raver" rework he did, ShyFX has dropped another dope reggae remix under his Guinness Punch moniker and it's another burner. Not as tough as the aforementioned remix, but this one still bumps. Hopefully there's a whole barrel full of Guinness stashed in the studio as we're really feeling this side of Shy's production.

DOWNLOAD: The A-Team (Shy FX Guinness Punch mix) - Ed Sheeran

Nah Shutterbug

This months NICE UP! newsletter contains an exclusive download of this new mash-up "Nah Shutterbug" by myself. All you need to do is sign up here and you'll receive the monthly newsletter containing the link as well as plenty of other treats!

Nah Shutterbug - DJ Shepdog by djshepdog

Sound Of Leisure mix

Sound Of Leisure Radio Mix by Djshepdog on Mixcloud

I was recently asked by Mr Benn & Jon Kennard of Leisure Recordings to record a 30 minute mix for their "Sound Of Leisure" radio show on the rather amazing Space Invader Radio. I thought I'd post it up here as a separate download as it's been getting a bit of attention. Basically a short mix of UK produced music from artists such as CRST, Mele & French Fries amongst others.

You can hear the full show here which is broadcast every month, as well as some seriously good other shows over at Space Invader Radio.

DOWNLOAD "Sound Of Leisure Radio Mix" - DJ Shepdog