Laid Back @ Musique Non Stop

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1. Little Miss Sunshiine presents Jazzman
2. The Bronx Riviera
3. Focus on… Oli-B
4. Back from IRF
5. Ntale’s Groove Remix EP
6. Belgian Popcorn
7. 74 Miles Away… as live as it gets
8. What’s up with the LDBK compilation?

Little Miss Sunshiine presents Jazzman Posted: 13 Aug 2011 06:59 AM PDT Over the past 10 months I have had the pleasure to work with Gerald Short, also known as Jazzman Gerald, so it only seemed fit to introduce him and the label he runs, Jazzman Records, to you all. I am aware of the fact that some readers and listeners have raised the concern that my views about him are biased, after all, he is the reason that I am able to earn my daily bread. But I can assure you that my views are completely genuine, and contrary to what some might assume, one of the reasons why I got my job in the first place was because I don’t suck up to him and I tell him my honest view about everything, even if that means that we sometimes end up disagreeing on certain things. Jazzman Gerald has been collecting music and records for about 30 years and it is rumoured that he has one of the best record collections in the world. I guess, if you have people like Madlib, J Rocc and Cut Chemist coming around to check out and sample the records you got, and you have high profile DJ’s such as Gilles Peterson amongst your customers, it is only fair to say that you must be doing something right… Gerald started up Jazzman Records in a market stall in Camden in the early 90′s, selling rare and obscure vinyl, and has since then released over 200 releases on LP, CD, 12″ and 7″ – a number that excludes his subsidiary label releases on Soul 7, Funk 45, Jukebox Jam, Popcorn, Fryers and Soul Spectrum. To me, he is one of the hardest working people in the music industry and that goes beyond just looking at the number of releases he has been putting out for the past 10 odd years. He puts his heart and soul into every release that he does and he never releases anything that he doesn’t have the rights to – something I very much respect him for. I met him for the first time when I went for a casual job interview for my current job and one of the key things that struck me about him was that he is very honest and fair. He was telling me stories about how he had traveled to the US in order to find these old musicians who’s records and music he wanted to reissue, how he had spent months, sometimes years, trying to track them down, and how good it felt being able to not only share their amazing music with a broader audience, but also to finally make sure that they got the recognition they deserved and paid for the amazing music they had once made. We were sitting in the office the other day discussing the radio show we had made for Laid Back when Gerald said: “I’m in the happiness business Orsi. My job is to make people happy with the music I release” which I think pretty much sums it all up. A LOT of work goes into these reissues – blood, sweat and tears, and Gerald is always striving to outdo himself by trying to make the next release better than the previous. As you will hear on the radio show, it is not about scamming artists or customers and making big profits doing these releases and reissues. It is about finding excellent music, some that might be very rare and expensive, and making it available and accessible to a broad audience of people who might not otherwise be able to listen or buy those kind of records. Apart from obviously being able to share some of the gems Gerald has in his record collection, my main aim of the show was to be able to share his story with you and to shed some light on issues that certain people might have been criticising him for. I had a great time recording it with him (Thanks Gerald!!) and I love the music he pulled out exclusively for this show, so I can only hope that you will enjoy it just as much as I did. Orsii

The Bronx Riviera Posted: 10 Jul 2011 07:58 AM PDT By the time I got to Orchard Beach, I was jet-lagged and needed a moment to adjust and cope with the environment. It took me almost two hours to get there from Brooklyn. I first got on the G train, then the blue line for a few stops, then hopped on the 4 uptown express train at Fulton Street to 125th street in Harlem, and then the 6 local train all the way up to Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. The ride was a bit lengthy, but got more entertaining once we reached the elevated tracks right after Hunts Point. From the window, public housing projects, tags, decade-old graffiti murals and highways defined the Bronx skyline. Once at the terminal station, I boarded a bus that picks up beach-goers at the intersection of Pelham Parkway and Bruckner Expressway. The crowded shuttle zigzagged an additional 10 minutes across New York City's biggest park to finally drop us off at the seashore. While New Yorkers have myriad beach options to choose from in Brooklyn, Queens, Long-Island and New Jersey, many Bronx inhabitants choose Orchard Beach due to its relatively convenient location. It's the quickest way for them to access the sea, sand and sun. Just a bus ride away from the boiling and humid blocks of the borough, Orchard Beach is the only public beach in the Bronx. And for many families, it is the highlight of the hot summer season. Back in the late 1930's, infamous urban planner Robert Moses created this mile long artificial beach, originally named the "Bronx Riviera." Although widely known as the latter, locals call it "Horse Shit Beach" or the "Puerto Rican Riviera." Latinos affectionately refer to it as "Playa Chocha", while New-Yorkers simply know it as "Ghetto Beach." Orchard Beach is like nothing I've experienced before. While the beach may certainly lack proper facilities and the glamour of a "traditional Riviera" (whatever that means), the atmosphere, energy and people clearly compensate… particularly on Sundays or during long holiday weekends. I arrived at Orchard Beach around 10:30AM on July 4th, and the place was already jam-packed. The best spots in the picnic area of the park were taken and grilled meat and sinsemilla filled the air with pleasing aromas. Families were playing dominos, while elderly visitors enjoyed the shade under massive trees where Puerto Ricans flags hung proudly: pa’que tu lo sepas. Adjacent to the overcrowded parking lot, ballers shouted and screamed during heated basketball and volleyball games. The main promenade that runs parallel to the beach was filled with unassuming yet jovial, and admittedly loud, characters. This is where the action takes place, and where the people are on display. On section 7, next to the Cuban fast-food restaurant, old-timers chanted the romantic lyrics of their favorite salsa tunes coming out of the homemade ‘maleta boomboxes’. Dancers’ steps were guided by the additional layers of rhythm provided by congas, cowbell and güiro players jamming on the makeshift dance-floor. Teenagers displayed their acrobatics skills while others chatted up any unaccompanied girls who passed by. A multitude of colorful parasols and extra-large coolers were scattered throughout the hot, crescent shaped white-sand strip, where loungers boasted bronzed, oily flesh adorned with tattoos, exuberant bikinis, flat-top sunglasses and other shiny accessories. Meanwhile, a horde of young lifeguards in bright orange swimsuits watched the kids playing in the water with nonchalance. There is no bollocks nor hipster-coolness at Orchard Beach. Only raw people, genuine flavor and unbridled attitude. People go to Orchard beach to have fun and they look genuinely happy. Orchard Beach is one remaining enclave of the real New York, and there’s nothing better than the real New York during summer. Make sure to listen to “Un Verano en Nueva York” for additional texture and immediate teleportation to the Bronx Riviera. Agradecimiento especial a toda la gente del Bronx y de playa Orchard por su trato y sencillez. Big-up to Randy Diaz y Kike for sharing their salsa expertise. More images on Flickr Words, images and playlist by Charles le Brigand All rights reserved. Une production de Brigand © 2011

Focus on… Oli-B Posted: 04 Jul 2011 10:31 AM PDT You know how we love to complement the best music with the most appealing visuals… and that’s why we’re glad to have Brussels based artists Oli-B as part of our team. After working on the covers for Strand’s DUB! 7inch and ClassicBeatz Ntale’s Groove album + remix EP, Oli clearly became our go-to-player when it comes to illustration. After his redesign of the Laid Back logo, we embarked him on another mission: taking care of all visual elements for the LDBK compilation album (stickers, CD’s and t-shirts) You’ll find more pictures of the LDBK compilation merchandising on Oli-B’s site (we already sold all t-shirts but have some CD’s left on bandcamp). Don’t think Oli’s production is limited to his collaboration with Laid Back, the man is also mad busy in the streets of Brussels (not even mentioning his activities as graphic designer). Three weeks ago, Oli painted this mural in Neerpede (Brussels) … but unfortunately this piece is already partially erased. Oli-B is also known for pasting posters as you can see in this video featuring the Farm Prod team: Make sure to follow Oli-B on Youtube and Flickr.

Back from IRF Posted: 19 Jun 2011 10:38 AM PDT This is it… The International Radio Festival held between the 9th and 19th of June is now over. Mr. Critical and I had the chance to spend three days in Zurich and had a blast… A tight organisation, 3 studios (the hotel bar for Normski‘s morning show, the Burn studio on Kalanderplatz for the afternoon shows and the lounge bar at Papiersaal for the evening ones) and plenty of friendly participants representing the best radio stations from all over the world. “Over 40 of the most groundbreaking and progressive radio stations from the four points of the compass will present more than 50 specially commissioned radio shows live on air, plus a series of exciting party nights featuring some of the world's most renowned radio DJs.” On Sunday afternoon, it was our turn to go live on air (more than 6 month after our last FM radio show for FM Brussel) for 3 hours of a freestyle mix including tracks from the LDBK compilation and some Funk / Soul nuggets from the 70′s. Sun was shining and people chilling on the square seemed to enjoy Laid Back vibe. Looking forward to more shows like this one! Later on we had the chance to meet with those who where attending the first days of the festival: Scanner FM, Ibiza Sonica, Ibiza Global radio, Dublab, P6 Beat, Chris Coco… Too bad we couldn’t stay any longer to meet more of them! Thank you to Miguel, Darryl & crew for making us feel at home in Zurich. Let’s hope we’ll have the chance to see each other at the 2012 edition of the festival. Mr. Critical digging at Crazy Beat record shop. Thanks to Marion for opening the shop for us. George Evelyn aka EASE (Wax On Records – Ibiza) mixing by the Rimini pool Livingroom FM‘s radio studio in a box. Impressive! Presenting LDBK radio to Mari and Akira from Modaista (J-Wave – Tokyo) Laid Back and 74 Miles Away on Modaista (J-Wave 83.1 FM – Tokyo) by Laid Back radio

Ntale’s Groove Remix EP Posted: 26 May 2011 01:39 PM PDT As most of you may already know, earlier this year I released my album, Ntale's Groove. The purpose of this project was to trace my African roots through music. After the release of the project, I knew I wanted to take the Ntale's Groove concept one step further and involve other producers. Shorty after the initial release, I began reaching out to like minded producers to get their interpretation of Ntale's Groove. What originally started off as an experiment, ended up as a fully formed EP. I was lucky enough to be able to work with 4 amazing producers from various parts of the world to remix songs from the Ntale's Groove album. The diversity and style each producer brought to the table was an enlightening experience. Each producer added their own set of influences and cultures to the remixes while still maintaining the Ntale's Groove vibe. I don't consider these song remixes, I consider them fully fledged songs in their own right. So without any more hesitation I offer you this Ntale's Groove Remix EP. Enjoy this free download and don’t hesitate to share it around you. Find out more about the producers behind this EP: Barbera from Modo Solar (Brazil), Mister Critical (Belgium),  Strand (Spain), & Jay Hats (The Netherlands) Artwork by Oli-B Purchase the full Ntale's Groove album on Bandcamp or iTunes

Belgian Popcorn Posted: 24 May 2011 09:15 AM PDT Belgium, 1970. While most radio stations and discotheques are playing the pop and rock hits of the day, a new venue opens in the small village of Vrasene, near Sint-Niklaas. The place is called The Popcorn and the dj's play obscure soul records which they slow down in order to create their own sound. A few years later, music lovers and dancers come from all over Belgium, France and The Netherlands to enjoy this unique music. More and more venues start playing this style of music, which they refer to as 'the Popcorn sound' or 'Popcorn Oldies'. Somewhat the Belgian equivalent of England's better known Northern Soul movement, Popcorn was an underground, at first regional, phenomenon led by dj's who dug deep to find musical treasures that would please their specific crowd. Both scenes show a lot of similarities: the crowd (mostly working class youngsters), the dance temples (The Wigan's Casino and The Twisted Wheel in the UK, The Groove and The Popcorn in Belgium), the own dance style, the quest for obscure soul records, the covering up of labels so that competitors couldn't see what they were playing, the bootlegs and so on. And although both scenes are sometimes named in one breath, they yield a lot of differences too: where Northern Soul is mostly uptempo, the Popcorn dj's chose softer songs and slowed them down most of the time. Some artists who were popular in Northern Soul clubs, might've never been played in Popcorn venues and vice versa. Northern Soul is a name given to a specific group of soul songs, while Popcorn is a melting pot of styles, ranging from rhythm 'n' blues to latin and ska. Fast forward forty years, and Popcorn is known all over the world. American specialized record dealers advertise some of their soul records with the typical afterbeat rhythm as 'Belgian Popcorn', although it are songs by American artists. In their landmark book 'Last Night A Dj Saved My Life', authors Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton write that Popcorn made Belgians love slow music, and thus paved the way for New Beat, Belgium's most influential musical style yet and the foundations for a lot of today's contemporary dance music. And yet, in those forty years, mainstream media have hardly paid any attention to this phenomenon. Although the Popcorn scene is very vivid these days, the history of it is hardly documented. In an attempt to change this, I made the short documentary 'Belgian Popcorn'. The film tells the story of Popcorn through the eyes of dj's Gerry and Gibbe, two of the founding fathers of the genre. They speak about the early days of the scene, about record digging in basements in the UK, and they return for a last time to The Popcorn, which closed in 2003. As the building is currently in the process of being demolished, this is the last footage ever shot of one of the most legendary discotheques in Belgium. This documentary is far from a complete historical overview of Belgian Popcorn. Making such a film would be nearly impossible, as there are many people who have contributed to the movement at different times and in different places. This short documentary puts the focus on the early days of the scene, as seen by two of its key figures. For more info, visit www.popcornoldies.com and www.popcornoldies.be

74 Miles Away… as live as it gets Posted: 23 May 2011 12:00 PM PDT It’s been a while I didn’t post anything about the 74 Miles Away project but that doesn’t mean that Pierre Anckaert and the MonkeyRobot brothers were not active… quite the contrary. After celebrating the release of their first album on MPM with a series of concerts in Ghent, Hombeek, Mechelen and Brussels, they got invited by Lefto for a live session at Studio Brussel. Out of the four tracks that they recorded that day, we picked one (Seven Four) for the Laid Back compilation album and offered one for free (Brusseleiro). 74 Miles Away – Brusseleiro (free download – click on the arrow on the right side) Upcoming shows: July 11th: Feest in Brussel at Bonnefooi (3pm) July 16th: Dour Festival (2pm) July 19th: Gentse Feesten (10pm) July 30th: Bruksellive (10pm) Pictures by Kmeron. Thank you Sylvain & Maty for the video. You can buy “Seven Four” by 74 Miles Away on iTunes or Bandcamp.

What’s up with the LDBK compilation? Posted: 01 May 2011 07:11 AM PDT Seems like everybody is asking me the same question these days: Are you really gonna release that compilation? Of course we will! But I admit that we’ve been a bit too quiet on the communication front. (Trust me, behind the scene it is hectic). On the 15th of April, we received the 15 tracks… and were like “WOW all artists really reached the next level!” Next step was to send those beauties to Vincent at Sonar Studio for mastering. And now we are ready for pressing… To make a long story short, we are on track to release this compilation (CD / digital) on the 10th of June as promised earlier on. Tracklist 74 Miles Away – Four Seven (Live at StuBru) ClassicBeatz – In The Currency of Love feat. Lisa Preston Incksalonius – People Say (prod by Silent Someone) Strand – Hip Hop mar3 72 Soul – Supposed to Feel (prod. by Flow State) Amede Soundsmith – In Love with a Queen Bongholio Iglesias – Here I come JoBee & Dr. Kwest – Don’t You K'bonus – Second Shake The Compositive Two – Tuesday Afternoon Lefto – PaPaPa Cris Prolific – You=Life feat. Soul-T Turtle Master – Cumulet feat. David Martin Melissa Czarnik – I Remember feat. Eric Mire 40 Winks – Flight of Ideas But you might want a little teaser, don’t you? We started streaming tracks one after the other on our Soundcloud account. By May 15th all tracks will be available. T-Shirts Last year, we collaborated with Limited Addiction to manufacture the 2010 LDBK tees. Rik did such a brilliant job that we begged him to take care of the new ones… and he agreed ;) So expect hangtags, sleevetags, buttons and the unbeatable Limited Addiction quality. As for the rest of this compilation project, Oli-B took care of the design and here is a rough sketch of what the 2011 LDBK tees will look like. Make sure to pre-order yours (we’ll contact you to ask for your size/model on the 16th of May) because we know from experience that we will not be able to meet all demands and will print only 150 tees. In partnership with … Mixcloud Another good news is that our streaming partners at Mixcloud are joining us on this adventure. Not only will they push our crowdfunding campaign in the next two weeks by displaying banner on their site but they also offered to organize the release party for the compilation on May the 28th at the Big Chill House in London! On the line up that night: LeFtO (BE – Brownswood), Kutmah (UK – Brainfeeder), Paul Pre (DE – Mixtape King), Simbad (FR – Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Family), Mister Critical (BE), and more. (10/05/2011 update – check the full line up on the mixcloud website) Last note:  I know some of you are scared that we might not reach our goal on the Indiegogo crowdfunding. No worries. We won’t indeed. This system is just an opportunity for your to book your CD and/or T-Shirt… If you consider doing it, be fast, this campaign ends on the 15th of May. If you don’t, let’s hope we’ll have some spare copies for you later on ;) Stay tuned… in the coming days we will unveil the packaging of the CD!