Koast
'The Koast Is Clear'
(Self-Released 2008)

Hot on the heels of our review of Rogue's new mixtape, here's a blast from the past courtesy of Koast. Originally released last year, The Koast Is Clear was the culmination of a labour of love for the MC which saw him pull together beats from local luminaries like Forsaken, Gudio, Joker and more alongside cuts from Snafu, Rogue and Awkward. Lyrical support came from the Central Spillz family as well as Hollie G, Se Fire’s Mistafire, K.Ners, Bubbz, and B’Tol. With a guest-list like that you know this is the real deal. Here's what we wrote up last year on it's release:

"This one has been a long time coming, but well worth the wait...Bristol's Hip Hop heritage is strong and is enjoying a bit of a renaissance at the moment; one of the main MCs pushing things forward is Koast. Simply put this is one of the best Hip Hop releases for a while, forget about local pride or bias...every single track on here in terms of beats and lyrics is pitch perfect - an incredible effort from an artist who has been paying his dues for a long time, surely his time is now."

A year on and Central Spillz are truly dominating the local scene, and Koast himself is so in demand it borders on a monopoly. It's been a genuine pleasure to see them ride out the apathy toward Hip Hop in Bristol over the last few years into a time when the genre has seen a true renaissance, and the community that has stood by the sound through thick and thin are reaping the benefits. Again like Rogue's mixtape, this is a document of the amalgamation of a variety of sounds and styles into something that is uniquely Bristol.

Stand-out tracks Broken and People with B'Tol still astound, but the whole album is a joy - and after many repeated listens across the year one that stands the test of time.

Full Tracklisting:

01. Intro feat Johnston, Rogue & Awkward
02. Put Your Hands Up (beats by Dexter Sosay, cuts by Johnston)
03. Verbally Murderous feat Fusion (beats by JD, cuts by Johnston & Snafu)
04. Closer To Closing
05. Broken feat Mistafire, Mackie Skillz, Fusion & Hollie G (beats by The Mysteries)
06. Do It Right Vip remix feat Con, Fusion, Shadz, C-Strike-Z & Mackie Skillz (beats by Guido)
07. Never Leave Me Alone feat C-Strike-Z & Mackie Skillz (beats by Rockit Productions)
08. People B'tol feat Koast (beats by Jagos)
09. Cold As Me feat Con & Just Jay (beats by Amo)
10. Samuel The Skit (skit)
11. F**k The Industry feat Redskin, Mistafire & Mackie Skillz (beats by Interface)
12. Rum & Ginger (beats & cuts by Lopez)
13. Man or Monster feat Conshus, Bubbz aka Chief, Mackie Skillz, D.Scriptive, Stealth MC, K.Ners, Mistafire, B'Tol & Pike (beats by Pike)
14. So Much More feat Redskin (beats by Amo & Marcovitz)
15. The Koast Is Clear (beats by Forsaken & Joker, cuts by Snafu)
***BONUS TRACKS***
16. Do It Right (beats by Guido)
17. In My Hands feat Balance (beats by The Beat Godz)



Koast - Broken (ft. Mistafire, Mackie Skillz, Fusion & Hollie G)



B'Tol feat. Koast - People

Download : Koast - The Koast Is Clear

FFI: Koast Website
FFI: Central Spillz Website

DJ Rogue
'Self Harmony Volume One'
(Self-Released 2009)

Hip Hop has had a welcome resurgence in Bristol over the last two years, thanks in part to the rise in popularity of Dubstep in the city which has brought the sound back out of the doldrums and into the clubs again. A key factor in this reversal of fortune is the propensity of the city's artists to approximate the best elements of both genres and mould it into something new and distinctly adhered to Bristol. It's this willingness to extrapolate the elements in each sound that is forging new ground here away from the vagaries of fashion or trends in other cities - and will undoubtedly provide longevity for the community as a whole.

A case in point is the latest mixtape from Veterbrae's DJ Rogue. A key player in the local scene for some time now, Rogue is as comfortable perfecting hip hop beats as he is crafting heavy bassweight and dubstep low-end. All beats and cuts here are his own, and it seems fitting that a versatile producer and DJ like Rogue has selected a raft of MC talent that mirrors his own sonic dexterity to guest on the mix. A good chunk of the MCs involved in the project regularly spit over a variety of styles - the Central Spillz full crew who represent here are at the forefront of merging styles into something unique to the Bristol environment - and the confidence of this flexibility shines through on what is an intriguing document of this current state of musical evolution.

Se Fire's Mistafire opens proceedings as host with some cursory bars across the string-led intro and showcase scratching, and it quickly becomes apparent that the invention in the beats and samples threatens to overshadow the MCs. Stand-out bars come from Awkward who connects with the beat and flow perfectly, and Koast who's abilities seem to grow and grow with every recorded performance. Rogue's awareness of utilising samples to flip a beat on it's head is invigorating; suddenly what was a rumbling dubbed-out monster becomes a melancholy refrain thanks to the lilt of strings here or the smattering of keys there.

Thirteen MCs on a thirty minute mixtape might seem unlucky for some, but the overall creativity in the beats and bars will keep you coming back for repeated listens to digest the density of ideas present here; there's a real sense of a scene collectively reaching a new level of skill here - and whilst that level is not quite there yet, the seeds of that future sound are being sown here and now. "Big on the road like bus drivers" indeed.



DJ Rogue - Self Harmony Volume 1

Download: DJ Rogue - Self Harmony Volume 1

OK so the New Year is well and truly underway and your NYE hangovers and comedowns should hopefully be settling nicely on a sea of remorse and shame. As you rue your dubious actions over the festive season, why not take some time to have a gander at BUG's Pick Of The Week?





Get your lookin' balls wrapped around these lovely designs, all courtesy of HIGHRISE CLOTHING the local garms merchant run by your friendly local records merchant Chris of ROOTED RECORDS fame. Not only does the website have lots of tasty Tees to purchase, it also has a fairly indispensable blog attached to it which has loads of exclusive content including mixes from some of the Bristol dubstep cognoscenti (some of which BUG shamelessly purloined for over here too). Thank you Highrise!


Any local graf heads out there will have already clocked this mighty tome's release, a celebration of Bristol graffiti from the last 25 years. CHILDREN OF THE CAN contains some eye-popping street candy as well as a fascinating journey through the changing attitudes and fortunes of what is still a much misunderstood art form. Head over to HERE to grab yourself a copy.



Whilst we're on that tip, you could do a lot worse than to head over to Awkward's new blog Mega Mega Mega which contains some intriguing global wreckage and B-Boy antics as you would expect from one of Bristol's leading hip hop soldiers. Top stuff.


If you're still up for some club action despite the winter chill, credit crunch and general post-Xmas malaise, then BUG's recommendation for this weekend start with the formidable Season Five offering you a veritable sonic smorgasbord of up and coming Bristol dubstep talent, many of who have been featured on this here blog. Phaeleh and Hyetal you know will destroy this; but the remainder of the bill are hardly slouches when it comes to rocking a bassbin or two.

SEASONFIVE
10.01.09
10pm - Late. Saturday 10th January, The Tube, Bristol
Phaeleh Cool and Deadly // Urban Scrumping - Live
Superisk Sureskank // O.M.G.
Hyetal Formant Recordings // Seasonfive
Snugfelix and Furesshu Seasonfive
FREE B4 12AM // £2 AFTER


As for Friday get yourself up to Dojos for an all-night techno session for cheap as chips entry. Triptic was one of the stand-out nights in 2008 and the residents played an important part in shaping their direction, all of whom are quality DJs. Well worth a fiver we think.

TRIPTIC
11-7am@DOJOs, Park Row, Bristol
09.01.09
LMB
Dan Reilly
Sam Wilson
Mike Swift
£5/£4 NUS


If the weekend really can't come soon enough for you, then hit the bricks on Thursday for PENGUIN DANCE'S deranged offspring Naughty Little Brother. They've got the DMC champ JFB down for some scratchtastic action as well as dubstep DJ TIME and the Penguin massive, all for £3! Bargain!

NAUGHTY LITTLE BROTHER
08.01.09@ The Tube, Unity St. 10pm-late.
JFB (07 DMC champion/Battlejam)
TIME (Scratch badman)
DIY (Not a plummer)
SPREE AND RAM (Booze and biscuits)
£3 b4 11/ more after. Free biscuits