Remulak & Type Raw: Mad Skillz

A new venture here from Village Live, as they unveil the first single in their Live & Direct series. Mad Skillz is a co-produced joint featuring the unwavering talents of label co-founder, Remulak, and Norwegian production don, Type.Raw, resulting in a paradigm of that sample-flecked dusty boom bap sound. The track is available to stream now from all the usual spots and if you’re on Spotify, you can follow the Live & Direct playlist, which will feature the singles as and when they drop.

Funkonami: Star View + LP Snippets

Funkonami is back with the third and final chapter of his Deep Into trilogy. Deep Into Space takes the series into new areas (and galaxies), while maintaining the same levels set with his earlier works. Star View is the lead single from the album, which is due for release on 13 November via Village Live. Vinyl pre-orders went live on Friday, so head to the store to get yours. You can also hear some snippets from the rest of the album below, skilfully mixed as always by Evil Ed. The album is dedicated to the memory of Joey Deez.

AVER: Breakfast In Dystopia (Stream)

More new music emanating from the Village Live camp, as AVER returns with his latest project. The Natural Curriculum producer has delivered four brand new tracks, which serve as a pretty perfect accompaniment for the current shit-storm raging outside, thanks to the dystopian vein which runs through it. Unnerving sound effects and dub style reverb, punctuate big drums that sound like they just stumbled out of the Endtroducing era, and that’s just the first track. You can hear Breakfast In Dystopia in its full glory below, with downloads and physicals also available.

Voodoo Black: Sitting At The Table (Stream)

Fresh out today is the debut album from Manchester crew, Voodoo Black. I say crew, but the supergroup argument could also be valid, as they are made up of four already well established artists from the city. Consisting of MCs Sparkz, Ellis Meade and Dubbul O, as well as Cutterz on production, Voodoo Black have been making music together for years now, but this is their first full-length and it stands as the debut they deserve. Jazz is the dominant influence on the album and from the riffs of the titular opening track, to the punchy Jehst-assisted, Abracadamting, it’s the perfect backdrop for the lyrical styles on display, from four MCs who all possess a competency that puts them up there with the best the UK has to offer. As well as Jehst, there are some other choice features, including fellow Manny artist, LayFullStop, RLD favourite, Leaf Dog and street soul revivalist, EVABEE. You can hear the album for yourself below and there is also a new video for the title track, courtesy of Ellis Meade. Sitting At The Table is out now on Village Live.

Voodoo Black: Know Broke

Manchester collective, Voodoo Black, continue to build the anticipation of their debut album, with another superb single. Know Broke is another ideal vehicle for the three MCs respective flows, thanks to Cutterz’s production which opens up with some piano-laced jazzy strains, before venturing into more trappy territory when the drop comes. The album, Sitting At The Table, is due for release on 27 March on Village Live.

Voodoo Black: Fizzy

Voodoo Black are due to release their debut album this month and yesterday they unveiled the lead single. The Manchester quartet – comprised of MCs Ellis Meade, Dubbul O and Sparkz, as well as producer, Cutterz – have been around for a while now, both as a crew and as individual artists, but this is the first full-length project they have put out. Fizzy is a smooth, jazzy introduction to the album, on which I can hear echoes of Green Light by Jonwayne. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing the rest of the album and I can confirm it is the debut they deserve. Stay tuned for more on that nearer the release date, which is due on 27 March via Village Live. The video for Fizzy was made by Ellis Meade on location in Sofia and Manchester.

Ash the Author x FTHMLSS: Flowers

Not content with releasing one of the year’s best albums alongside Ded Tebiase, Ash The Author now sees in the final weeks of the decade with another excellent collaboration. Flowers is the name of his latest single and it features some very nice production from Manchester beat-maker, FTHMLSS. I think it’s also the first billy woods reference I’ve heard in UKHH. Shout out to Ash for that one. Flowers is out now on Village Live.

Liphe: A Portrait of Ourselves (Stream)

A Portrait of Ourselves is the latest release from Village Live, as they reconnect with Liphe for another stunning instrumental project. The Berlin-based multi-instrumentalist and producer has been steadily releasing lo-fi gold for the past few years and this latest album is a beautiful showcase of his talents. The album can be heard in full below and physicals can be found over on the Village Live store.

Remulak: Solway Spaceman

Good to see Remulak back in the lab again, as he drops off his latest single. Solway Spaceman is the first we’ve heard from the Village Live producer since his Scrambled Eggs beat tape, which was released back in February. Hopefully this new joint is a sign that a new full length is not too far behind. You can stream Solway Spaceman below and other streaming/download options are also available.

Ded Tebiase & Ash The Author: APEX (Stream)

It’s great to be able to share the full album from Ded Tebiase and Ash The Author with you, having had it in heavy rotation for the past couple of weeks since it found its way into my inbox. If you’re familiar with Tebiase’s 2017 Landspeed LP, then you will no doubt also be familiar with the strength of his creative partnership with Ash, thanks to their initial collab, Yeah.