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-- FEATURE: Slipper's guide to the world of Downtempo, Jazz, Lounge and Deep House (http://www.vcdhq.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=24229)

FEATURE: Slipper's guide to the world of Downtempo, Jazz, Lounge and Deep House

Slipper's guide to the world of Downtempo, Jazz, Lounge and Deep House

- by Mystic Slippers.


FOREWORD

Ok, i been thinking about this for a while, and finally decided to write one. Many of you may not give a shit about this, but for those who are interested, read on. It may explain a few things about the 'strange' (?) mp3 reviews i write or answer a few of the questions some of you have asked in the irc channel about my 'odd' musical tatses. So i thought i would write this guide to give you a brief idea of what the genre is about, what artists to look out for, online and offline radio stations you can check out, labels, record stores and much more. Ok, maybe i'm bored, but also i hope it proves useful to someone on here so maybe they gain a better understanding of the music at hand or maybe feel inspired to try some out. Whatever your thoughts, would be cool to know what you think. Hope you enjoy the guide.


WHAT IS DOWNTEMPO?

Well, downtempo music has been around for many years, i guess you could trace it's inital roots back to early jazz played in the late 1930's, maybe even to big wartime brass bands, the most famous of which being Glenn Miller. Although maybe thats pushing it too far back. Modern day downtempo (in my opinion) stems back to the early hip-hop days. Artists such as Afrika Bambataa and Grandmaster Flash, also The Sugarhill Gang who pioneered early hip-hop but also, on the more less-known tracks they produced also fused a slightly slower, funkier hip-hop sound fused with the then bustling disco scene of the late 1970's early 1980's. It then progressed through the years taking on more electro sound, whilst keeping the slow bpm of hip-hop and funky sampling, artists were also mixing beats with ambient sounds, jazz and Las Vegas lounge. Artists of this era featured most prominently people like Roy Ayers et al.

It wasn't really until the 1990's with the house scene in full swing that the early downtempo scene started to lose it's kitch and became something of an obscurity, loved by those who craved that particular sound without wanting to progress forward to new thinking. Downtempo was becoming stagnant. That is until around the mid-90's when two huge labels were set up, James Lavelle, who formed Mo Wax was up there at the forefront and also early 90's house pioneers Coldcut emerged on the scene with they're label Ninja Tune, making a whole new sound called Trip-Hop. These labels offered a whole new sound, a whole new way of musical expression though slow, smoked out, hip-hop beats fused with jazz and other assorted samples and sounds. These labels brought to the forefront artists such as DJ Food, DJ Shadow, DJ Krush, Funky Porcini and U.N.K.L.E.. Downtempo was split, one way was trip-hop and jazz and the beats from yesteryear. Also emerging from the now rapidly divided house scene came what is now known as Deep House; a unique sound that fused house beats with jazz and lounge sounds. Often instrumental tracks but eventually becoming more and more vocal led. This wasn't a sound that could be thrown in with every other house/rave genre, it could (and still can) sit quite happily alongside the much slower, yet still funk enfused trip-hop sounds. It is these events from the mid-90's that bring us to the sound which is so familiar to many today.


LABELS

Rather than give you more spiel to read through, i've compiled a small list of labels i recommend you to check out. This is more well-known labels so tracking down tracks shouldn't be so difficult. The following also prove as a good basis to getting you started and used to the sounds. Check out:

• Warp
  
• Grand Royale
  
• Grand Central
  
• Primate
  
• Peppermint Lounge
  
• !
  
• F Communications
  
• PIAS
  
• Hed Kandi
  
• Mushroom Jazz
  
• Mo Wax
  
• Ninja Tune
  
• Journeys By DJ
  
• JazzFM
  
• Instinct
  
• Shadow Records
  
• Certificate 18
  
• Moving Shadow
  
• Stereo Deluxe
  
• Roule
  
• Musicrama U.S.
  
• Soulfuric
  
• Naked NYC
  
• Nude
  
• ESL Music
  
• Wagram Records
  
• Groove Connection
  
• Solid
  
• Source Lab
  
• oM Records
  

• SomaFM (San Francisco) - www.somafm.com
  
• Flaresound/NetMusique (Canada) - www.flaresound.com
  
• Lounge (Switzerland) - www.lounge-radio.ch
  
• Chilled 100 (France) - www.chilledbeats.org
  
• Liquid Sound Lounge - www.liquidsoundlounge.com/radio
  
• Sound Lounge (New York City) - www.soundloungeradio.com
  
• Annie Nightingale, Radio 1 (London) - www.bbc.co.uk/radio1
  
• Giles Peterson, Radio 1 (London) - www.bbc.co.uk/radio1
  
• Mary Anne Hobbs, Radio 1 (London) - www.bbc.co.uk/radio1
  
• Kiss FM (London) - www.kiss100.com
  
• Le Mouv (France) - www.radiofrance.fr/chaines/lemouv/sommaire/
  
• Jazz FM (London) - www.jazzfm.com (also incorporates a weekly Hed Kandi show at the weekend)
  
• Epitonic - www.epitonic.com
  
  
  FINAL WORDS
  
  Well, there you have it, a rough guide to this extraordinary world, it's far from complete and i didn't have time to add more stuff that i would have liked to, such as cool artists and albums (although choose anything on the labels mentioned above and you'll be happy). Hopefully someone here will find this guide useful, and maybe it'll even introduce a few of you to a really cool, much underestimated sound that just pure rocks.
  
  Try it. You might just like it.
  
  Slippers 2003
  

Yes.

I've been obsessed with Epitonic for a while, but it was only for the indie and punk music. I noticed this thread had the word downtempo, and recognized downtempo.

So I decided to go and check the music out.

I'm very open-minded about music, I just don't have as much knowledge about other genres of music.

But I really like this downtempo stuff.

Epitonic is a great site. I was going to put a link, but double-checked and noticed it in your list of links.

Very informative, though. You definitely know your stuff.

I think that that is all.

Haha! That's awesome, someone found my guide useful.

Nice to see you took a chance on it too. I'm an indie/punk/metal guy at heart and i dunno, Downtempo just grabs you. I been loving it for years now, it's highly addictive.

Nice to see i made another convert lol.

Flaresound/NetMusique = Teh best.

I listen to Flaresound almost 15/4. The Jazz/Downtempo on there is incredible. Good chill music. Good guide though Slippers. You should make this a sticky.

__________________
Alex licks it.

i love the downtempo, also the mellow IDM.

if ya haven't heard 'em, check out fourtet, and manitoba, prolly my two faves these days.

__________________
Am I the only one missing the .rar file from the repack?

Always thought Giles Peterson was DA MAN!

Thx for the "guide"

__________________
/raw 752 dumbass

This is great stuff. I thought i was one of the 'cult few' in to this stuff. Nice to see some established fans and new converts.

Glad you guys found my lil guide useful. I had heaps more i wanted to add, but maybe another time.

::edit - and stupid me missed out an important record label, oM Records gah!

good stuff..mystic..

dont usully see 2 many fans of lounge and downtempo on forums..
so thght id give a prop.

well..been a fan of this genre for almost 4 years now..

soma fm..lounge radio ad liquid lounge hav been my favs in online listening..

hed kandi,,evn MOS -chilout GU -toronto..are quite chillax
though i dont know why u left out Stephane Pomp.....whatver

buddha bar and niravan lounge dont really calssify thoough i still love them

ah ..yes..PAris-under a groove--the new album in above genre..is real kickass..ul heard that?

cheers..

YES! Another lounge fan. OMG have you heard the new Supperclub album? Supperclub Volume.6?

It pre'd the other day and it's absolutely brilliant. The Roma side is the best mix. I got all 6 volumes now.

oM records and Hed Kandi have some great stuff lined up alongside Kandi's sister label JazzFM who have all got a brilliant lineup coming this fall.

Don't forget the new Winter Chill and Back To Love albums will be due soon along with a Fall sampler due in September i think.

It's so great to see so many of you discovering this music and enjoying it. YAYNESS THE GUIDE PAID OFF!

Also, i had a radio station up which had hosting kindly provided for me.

It's currently off air atm until i can afford a host. But you welcome to checkout my webpage for it here:

http://mystic.onestop.net/blue/

hy tks dude..
chking ur page right now..

hmm..supperclub..will chk it out
though i hav all series of nirvana longe,oM,buddha bar.ambient lounge..

and like i said ,,been into this since long..actauuly just bumped into this genre..when id gone to nepal..amidst al the hippies.

Btw..lemme know if u heard paris under a grove

Paris Under A Groove rings a bell. I probably have it someplace.

Got a great new compilation that pre'd today called:

VA-Slip_N_Slide_Blue-2003-JUST

Check out track 1.

01-star_you_star_me-disco_dancer_(mr._velcro_fastener_house_remix)-just


It's like, just a bit good.

Also a new Hed Kandi album came out the other day to add to your collection:

VA-Hed_Kandi_Base_Ibiza_2003-2CD-DIRFIX-Retail-2003-SWE

Along with an awesome new mix CD on the Ninja Tune label from The Herbalizer. One for all you smoker's, lounge freaks and hip-hop heads out there.

The_Herbaliser-Herbal_Blend-2003-CHR

Other good stuff out recently includes:

VA-Marie_Claire-Belle_De_Jour-CD-2003-SND
Toshiya_Tsunoda_-_O_Respirar_Da_Paisagem-2003-BCC
VA-Metalheadz_03-2CD-2003-RNS
VA-L_Espresso_Cafe_Vol.3_Night_Vibe-2003-DGN
VA-Sounds_Under_New_York-2003-SWE
VA-Grand_Central_Summer_Singles_Sampler-Promo_CD-2003-tronik
VA-Out_Patients_Three-2003-SnS (which features some awesome London Elektricity remixes!)
VA_-_Jazz_House-Limited_Edition_CD-2003-iDC

ok wtf is with these HOMO threads you always type novels and shit and of course i never read them stop taking up bandwidth. thanks - azz

__________________

wow, azzkicker using the word homo about someone else. the irony. hey asswipe, just cos you're too inbred to appreciate things that aren't played on your local radio station doesn't mean other people are.

and since when was it YOUR bandwidth? wanna moan about bandwidth, set up your own site k?

__________________
563-773-1880

<Dwaggy> i caught you a delicious Bass
<The404> This is because you are an idiot

I love lounge music. I listen to it consantly on my mp3 cd player...

__________________
"I love the Power Glove. Its so bad."

cool

i used to be strictly hiphop but more recently ive been branching out into jazz.. but that type of music wasnt funky enough yaknawmsayn so this downtempo type stuff is the perfect balance


thanks mr. mystic

hey mystic do you ever actually buy anything? alot of these labels need people like you to buy there wicked tracks, i for one love warp records, boards of canada is the best thing i heard for ages.

Board Of Canada are superb. I have a shitload of their stuff.

And yes i do buy CD's. A lot of CD's in fact. Two rooms of my house and the garage and the attic are loaded with CD's, Vinyl, Minidisc, Cassette, DAT. You name it, it's there.

cool, u have some good taste in music man, my favourite warp artists are Chris Clark, Prefuse 73, Squarepusher, Aphex, BoC and the 2 lone swordsmen, rephlex is also a cool label run by aphex, look out for the Amen Andrews series on rephlex, cool as fuck!!!!

this'd be nice to add in the music forum
plus it'd be one less sticky here