Reflections on a PhD

For the vast majority of the public, 2016 was a year to largely be forgotten about. In my case however, it was one of the most exciting years of recent times, as this was the year that I began my PhD at the University of South Wales. I first discovered the genre of electro swing in 2012, and over the next few years I gradually and semi-unintentionally decided to go down the path of extensively and comprehensively researching this genre – and by 2016 I had completed both my undergrad BA, and Master’s degree in Musicology, both of which including an extended dissertation into electro swing (which can be read here). At the start of 2016, I was living in Sheffield, and upon receiving a scholarship to begin the PhD, I moved down to Cardiff, and started the project that would occupy the next three and a half years of my life.

December the 17^th marked the final stage of this journey, graduating and finally getting the title of Dr Inglis. I’m very glad that I managed to complete everything by the end of 2019, as it was a fantastic way to round off the year. And now, whilst I have a bit of time over the Christmas holidays, I figured it might be appropriate to compose a reflection on the whole experience, and simultaneously offer advice to anyone else that might be pursuing a PhD in the future.

Research a topic that you love

One of the best advantages to any PhD is that you’re effectively going to become the leading expert in whatever the subject area it is that you’re researching. On top of this, you’re going to be putting a hell of a lot of time and energy into this work, so you’d better make sure that it’s not something that’s going to drive you crazy when spending the vast majority of your hours dealing with the topic. By researching something that you’re truly passionate about, you’re less likely to get bored of it, and you’ll be especially proud of the final result. I was lucky enough that there’s yet to be any serious literature into the electro swing style, so the niche was mine to fill. On top of this, it’s a genre that I genuinely really enjoy, thus the joy of making new discoveries about it was fulfilling in both an academic and personal sense.

Seek funding

It’s a sad reality that higher education is an expensive business. It’s particularly difficult for postgraduate students, who don’t even have the opportunity to get a student loan. Thus, the only way to realistically pursue a PhD without spending a fortune is to acquire funding. There are several ways to do this: one is to get a sponsorship; this is more common in the sciences, however the disadvantage is that you’re not as free with your research, as you essentially have to do the bidding of your sponsor. Another way is to get funding from external doctoral training partnerships; there are several of these around, and it’s definitely worth pursuing. I was lucky enough to receive an internal scholarship from the University itself. This was probably the most advantageous course of action; by demonstrating that my research was worthy of extended research, I was free to guide my own research in precisely the ways I wanted from start to finish.

Find the right supervision team

Whilst there are real benefits to guiding your own research, it’s also vitally important to recognise the expertise of those with much more experience than you. Yes, you’re the one with the most knowledge in this particular area, but in terms of how to apply that knowledge, and create the actual thesis – it’s important to recognise that the real talent lies with those who’ll be guiding you through the writing process. I would say that when first deciding where to conduct your research, the most important question should be “who will be doing the supervision?”. I personally was advised by one supervisor who already had a prior interest in electro swing, and another who was heavily involved in the acid jazz scene of the ’90s – and resultingly, the final work would be of considerably less worth were it not for the continued advice of this team.

Don’t isolate yourself

Despite having this team, the overwhelming majority of work you’ll do will be completely on your own. Personally, I think I had a meeting approximately once every three or so weeks, so there’ll be a lot of time spent working by yourself. I know that some people prefer to work like this, but personally, I know that I’d go insane to not have regular company for so long. Over my time doing this work then, I made sure to surround myself with others conducting research into various other areas; not only did this help me with avoiding isolation, but I also learnt a great amount about things that I otherwise never would. One should never pass up on the opportunity to discuss their work, and I can point to multiple occasions when a simple conversation with a peer helped me solve a problem, or develop new ideas.

Treat it like a job

This one mainly applies for those undertaking a PhD full-time, although I suppose that it might be relevant even for those doing their research alongside additional work. Writing a doctoral thesis is an enormous task, and it’s hard to appreciate just how much work it really is until you’ve done one. To ensure that the task actually gets completed requires a great deal of self-discipline, and it will be necessary for you to maintain a regular routine, working just as many hours as you would in any other profession. Of course, on the other hand, you need to know when to stop: overworking yourself can be just as much of a problem, and I for example was sure to never work weekends, or past 5PM unless necessary.

Take advantage of every opportunity to share your research

One of the things I enjoyed most about my entire PhD experience was getting to travel around and present my research as it progressed, across several different symposiums and conferences. Not only does this give you an opportunity to develop your work in terms of its presentation, but it’s also a fantastic confidence boost to know that other authors that may well have inspired your own research are finding your work genuinely fascinating. I personally had the chance to present in Amsterdam, Lisbon, as well as at the University of Cambridge – amongst others – and was also fortunate enough to share panels with some of the researchers who I’ve looked up to for quite some time now. Undoubtedly this felt brilliant, and through this you will also begin to feel like you’re part of a distinctive community. I know that I still intend to keep attending conferences and presenting for as long as I’m involved in this particular area.

Teach if you can

Another opportunity that a lot of doctoral researchers will get is to teach some of the undergraduates in whatever institution you’re working in. In my third year in particular I was given the chance to teach the university’s second-year Musicology module, and I absolutely loved it. Not only does the transfer of knowledge feel fantastic, but it will give you the opportunity to flesh out your own ideas as well. Depending on what particular subject was being taught that day, I would often weave examples from my own work into the lectures, and there were numerous moments when a student’s thoughts or suggestions made me rethink or reconsider my opinions in ways that ended up benefitting the final work.

Enjoy it

Finally, the most important thing is to enjoy yourself. As cliché as this advice sounds, the whole experience should be incredible, and it will be, provided you allow it to be. Yes, it will be stressful at times, and you will get frustrated, but that should be balanced out by the fun of the whole thing, and it certainly was in my case. As I’ve mentioned, I was researching an area that I was – and still am – incredibly passionate about, and conducting this research allowed me to experience a great deal of things that I would have jumped at the chance to do anyway. Interviewing many of my favourite musicians; becoming a part of what felt like electro swing’s ‘inner circle’; going to dozens of festivals, club nights, and concerts: these were all things that I’ve hugely enjoyed, and would have loved to experience, regardless of the status of my work. One of my favourites moments of the past year was travelling over to Chicago for Roaring City, America’s first ever electro swing festival – something I simply wouldn’t have done were it not for the benefit of my research. The opportunities I’ve had since starting this PhD have been wonderful, and I’m so glad that I managed to make this entire thing happen.

I hope that my words may help someone considering postgraduate education to make the right decisions. I love electro swing, and I fully intend to keep up this work; that’s the main reason why I started this blog. As we approach the end of the year, I’m looking forward to what’s coming for the genre in 2020, and even more so, I’m looking forward to the next stages of my own academic electro swing career.

Review: The Next Big Swing - Tuxedo Junction

Yesterday’s date will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the most miserable in recent British history, but as an eternal optimist I’m intent on seeing the positives from day to day, and it just so happened that the 12^th of December was also the release date of Tuxedo Junction’s latest EP, The Next Big Swing. This duo are showing real power in the scene right now, and presenting themselves as a force to be reckoned with, both live and on record. This EP represents their second release on Ragtime Records, after last year’s Swing, Shaken Not Stirred, and throughout, they continue to demonstrate their ability to impress.

The EP opens with ‘Mr. Business’, dropping you straight in with an upbeat rhythm over a brilliant walking bassline, which continues to build up to an archetypal Tuxedo Junction breakdown. I can already hear this being dropped at events like the Church of Love, and it’s sure to absolutely kill on the dancefloor. The track keeps on developing different ideas – including a nice gypsy jazz section – and despite the use of a relatively short sample throughout, manages to maintain interest through various different explorations. Next up is ‘Mr. Burgundy’ – which brings a bossa nova flavour, alongside some flute samples reminiscent of Captain Flatcap’s playing on ‘Past Last Orders’ on their last release. Whilst I did enjoy the track, it’s definitely the weakest of the release; the repetitiveness, along with some strange mixing choices, make it sound a little unfinished overall.

Luckily we’re brought back up to the high standards with ‘Mr. Dick Sluts’, a song with a name to remind you of the silliness of the act. This track’s real strength lies in its basslines: it features some utterly filthy wobbles from start to finish, alongside some really jazzy walking bass, and also featuring the funkiest basslines cutting through throughout. Unexpectedly, I found myself slightly reminded of Caravan Palace’s latest release when listening to this one; whilst the song is very different stylistically, some of the rapid edits do seem rather similar to those found on Chronologic. Finally, the EP ends with ‘Mr. Brosnan’, a collaborative effort produced with Waggles and Hiphoppapotamus, who provide the samba fused with drum ’n’ bass rhythms. This song has a strong Latin groove to it, and whilst quite repetitive, it’s done so in an almost minimalistic manner, which is exactly what I feel they were going for – and it works. The slow build-up over the course of the song results in a practically atmospheric feel, which is a nice way to finish – making the release feel like a full experience.

Tuxedo Junction are capable of creating some absolute bangers. One of their first tracks – ‘Cufflinks & Caviar’ – remains one of my favourite tracks of the whole genre, and the recent release of their Ricky Martin bootleg has been anticipated like hardly anything I’ve seen before. They also manage to create some of the most enjoyable live mixes on a routine bases – see their recent Shambala mix for evidence of this. This EP is a fine addition to their catalogue. It’s not the best thing they’ve ever put out, and it doesn’t showcase them to the best of their ability, but it still places them in a very high ranking amongst their peers. If one needs cheering up on a day like today, they could do no better than a listen to this.

Review: Speakin' Easy - The Swinghoppers

Just in time for Christmas, everyone’s favourite semi-comedic electro swing hip hop trio have given us their second EP in almost as many years: the Swinghopper’s Speakin’ Easy. Made up of Offbeat, Sharleena Ray, and Pye – all artists in their own right as well – the Swinghoppers are still a relatively new act in the electro swing world, but one would be forgiven for forgetting this – as they’ve very quickly risen to become one of the most recognisable acts on the UK circuit. Their first EP utilised a number of well-known songs from both the swing and hip hop world, which the band put their on unique spin on, and this release takes very much the same approach.

We begin with ‘Swing Swing Swing’. Now whilst those more invested in this genre may roll their eyes and yet another adaptation of this classic, it’s fair to say that the Swinghoppers have still managed to put commendable effort into their version. Pye’s rapping is noticeably improved since the first EP here, and we find many lyrics featuring the band’s signature tongue-in-cheek swagger. One lyric I was particularly intrigued by was Offbeat’s line: “old-school fans of jazz just can’t stand us”; I can’t tell is he is wishing that this weren’t the case, or proudly proclaiming his level of innovation. This type of self-referential material continues into ‘Swinguistics’, a slightly more downbeat track with more extended rapping from Pye – although I do note that we’re yet to hear any beatboxing.

‘Big Spender’ features some exceptionally strong vocals from Sharleena Ray, channeling her inner Shirley Bassey, and the rapping game is impressive here too, with some seriously driving flow coming from both Offbeat and Pye. This second half of the EP is easily the better half, and I’d be tempted to say that this might be the best of the four tracks – though it’s a very very close call between this and the EP’s finisher, ‘S Gon’ Give It To Ya’. This ending track is huge, and features great rapping from all three – with even Sharleena getting in on the action – really showcasing the talents of the group. The production is solid, and the band never fails to demonstrate their ability for humour within the lyrics – who else would ever write rhymes about the correct way to pronounce espresso?

This EP is very much what a fan would expect from the Swinghoppers. Yes, the lyrics may be a little on the nose and even cheesy at times, but the band are very self-aware, and it’s all done in quite the humourous way. Offbeat remains his usual likable self, and there is no doubt whatsoever that Pye’s rapping has greatly improved on this release. One downside is that I would have liked to have heard some more beatboxing – for a performer as incredibly talented as he is, it’s a shame for him to not showcase this to its greatest potential. Overall, Speakin’ Easy is simply a very enjoyable record. The Swinghoppers are never going to be one of the most phenomenal acts in terms of musicality, but they are definitely one of the most fun.

The Roots of Electro Swing

As with any genre, it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment electro swing could be said to have first begun. Genres are constantly evolving and adapting to their respective environments, and it’s often only with hindsight that one may realise the importance certain songs or events may have had on a subsequent genre’s emergence. The roots of electro swing stretch far far back, and determining the genre’s development is not an objective matter. However, we may look at the music that preceded it retrospectively, and begin to develop some sort of timeline that can be said to have foreshadowed the genre’s arrival.

I’ve chosen to put the most recent end of the timeline at 2004, for this year saw the release of both Parov Stelar’s Rough Cuts, and Nicolas Repac’s Swing-Swing. By this year, electro swing had well and truly surfaced. Determining the other end of this timeline is a bit more tricky however. We could obviously look at the lineage of jazz, going back to the late 18^th-century, but I’m more interested in looking at the first merging of jazz and dance music; of vintage and remix; of swing and electro.

1917

One might say then, that the first example of this was the very first time a jazz track was put to recording. In this instance then, we have a very clear answer to the question, for the first jazz recording is very well documented, that being the Original Dixieland Jass Band’s ‘Livery Stable Blues’.

1926

Another early development that one must take note of is the type of vocal stylings that would later provide a basis for hip hop, and most notably, jazz rap. It’s long been argued that this type of vocal delivery emerged out of scat singing, and whilst it’s difficult to determine the very first instance of this, what’s often cited as the first example is Louis Armstrong’s ‘Heebie Jeebies’.

1937

Scat singing was used extensively through jazz and its related styles, and if one digs hard enough, it’s possible to find examples of early tunes sounding considerably similar to what would later develop into rap. The finest example I’ve come across is in the gospel music of the Golden Gate Quartet.

Now, whilst the use of the studio can certainly be described as electronic innovation in jazz, all of the examples featured so far have only featured acoustic instruments. This would change in this same year however, whereupon we can find the first example of true electronic instrumentation on a jazz record: George Barnes’ electric guitarwork on Big Bill Broonzy’s ‘Sweetheart Land’.

1939

Whilst Barnes’ work was certainly revolutionary, he never managed to achieve the popularity that he perhaps deserved. That acclaim would largely be directed towards Charlie Christian, who – joining the Benny Goodman Orchestra in this year – would become one of the most notable and influential guitarists of all time.

1969

To an extent, these types of developments opened the floodgates to all sorts of electrical innovation in jazz, and as the style would progress, many more artists began incorporating electronic instrumentation into their music. The most notable of these was arguably Miles Davis, who between 1968 and 1975 was even referred to as having an ‘electric period’, marked by albums such as In a Silent Way, and Bitches Brew.

1970

Similarly, the proto-hip hop sounds would continue to develop, often directly alongside the music of jazz. The most notable of these artists around this period was Gil Scott Heron, who has at times been considered the world’s first rapper.

1975

Jazz also started to become intertwined with the early development of electronic dance music around this time, and one of the first records to showcase this was Lonnie Liston Smith’s ‘Expansions’.

1983

Inspired by music such as this, one of the earliest musicians to extensively fuse jazz with the emerging electro sound was Herbie Hancock. This year, Hancock released Future Shock, an album unlike anything he’d produced before. Most notably for the single ‘Rockit’, from this album onwards, Hancock would begin to focus just as much energy onto the electro sound as he had previously done with jazz.

1985

By this time, the world had fully embraced the hip hop style, and musicians would begin to see how they might be able to fuse this music with various others. Although something of a gimmick, the first track to do this with jazz was the appropriately named ‘Jazz Rap’ by Cargo, the group centred around British musician Mike Carr.

1986

This year would see the development of the new jack swing sound, pioneered by producer Teddy Riley, which fused the sounds of swing with the contemporary R&B sound. Developing the sound alongside his own act Blackstreet, what is generally considered the first new jack swing release was Janet Jackson’s Control.

1988

1988 would then see the release of what’s widely considered the first genuine jazz rap track, a track that would arguably set off the whole of the jazz rap scene that developed out of New York around this time, Stetsasonic’s ‘Talkin’ All That Jazz’.

The NY jazz rap scene culminated in the creation of Native Tongues, a crew of various artists creating this type of music, and all regularly collaborating with one another, including the Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Queen Latifah, and Monie Love.

This year also saw the emergence of acid jazz in Britain, combining the sounds of acid house with contemporary jazz. Developed by DJs such as Gilles Peterson and Chris Bangs, the Acid Jazz label put out its first compilation in 1988, entitled Totally Wired.

1989

The various movements around this time can all retrospectively be seen to signal the introduction of a style like electro swing, and what is occasionally cited as the first electro swing track would emerge this year, Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers ‘Swing the Mood’, based around Glenn Miller’s ‘In the Mood’, and sampling many early rock ’n’ roll tracks as well. Like Cargo’s ‘Jazz Rap’, this release was certainly something of a gimmick, but it’s essential to highlight when considering the development of the electro swing style.

1991

Alongside the acid jazz scene, Britain would also see the development of trip hop, a more laidback style fusing the sounds of hip hop and jazz, featuring extensive sampling. Largely emerging out of Bristol, the pioneers of trip hop are generally considered to be Massive Attack, Tricky, and Portishead.

Back in America, the ’90s would also see the development of the neo-swing genre, pioneered by California’s Royal Crown Revue. Fusing swing with a more contemporary rock sound, this genre would have considerable influence upon the electro swing style.

1992

1992 brought with it the release of Miles Davis’s final album, Doo-Bop. Unsurprisingly, considering the innovation Davis involved himself with during his ‘electric period’ – and indeed, throughout his entire career – he would continue to create music in unexplored territory, this time working alongside hip hop producer Easy Mo Bee.

Another of the most significant artists of this era for electro swing was Courtney Pine, a jazz saxophonist who would undertake extensive collaboration with artists from genres including hip hop, and drum ’n’ bass. Pine’s sixth album is arguably his most influential in this regard, ‘To The Eyes of Creation’.

1993

One of the acts Pine would occasionally collaborate with was the hip hop duo Gang Starr, and in 1993, Gang Starr’s MC Guru would release Jazzmatazz, which many have argued is the absolute pinnacle of the entire jazz rap scene.

Returning to new jack swing, this year also saw the release of K7’s ‘Hi De Ho’, a track which resembles incredibly closely what we would now undoubtedly refer to as electro swing.

And a similar track in this manner is ‘U Got Me Up’, a house track by Dajaé featuring a significant swing influence, which was released the same year.

1994

So this year is important, as it saw the release of ‘Lucas With the Lid Off’ by Danish rapper Lucas, in which he raps over a sample of Benny Goodman’s ‘When Buddha Smiles’. Considering all of the tracks featured so far throughout this post, there is plenty of opportunity for debate as to what constitutes genuine electro swing and what doesn’t, but in this case there can be no doubt. ‘Lucas With the Lid Off’ is 100% electro swing, and makes a very convincing argument for the first ever electro swing release.

1999

Following on from ‘Lucas With the Lid Off’ we would see a number of similar tracks emerge, but this seemed to really take shape around the turn of the century, when we would find tracks such as Moby’s ‘Honey’…

…Mr Scruff’s ‘Get a Move On’…

2000

…and the following year, Jurassic 5’s ‘Swing Set’.

2001

The penultimate year I will discuss is 2001, during which ‘Shadow Kingdom’ was released, by the obscure Austrian artist Plasma. More in line with acid jazz than the new electro swing sound, this album was notable for being the first release by Marcus Füreder, who would later become Parov Stelar.

2004

And by this point, electro swing had undoubtedly emerged. I mentioned at the beginning that this year’s releases by Parov Stelar and Nicolas Repac signalled the first undeniable electro swing albums; interestingly enough a decade after the first undeniable electro swing single.

Since this, it’s quite easy to track the development of electro swing. The following years would see the beginnings of Caravan Palace, C2C, Caro Emerald, Chinese Man, the Correspondents and a whole host of other acts who any enthusiast will presumably be familiar with. These preceding developments did not occur with any kind of predetermined purpose of creating electro swing, but in many of their cases it’s easy to see how significant their impact upon the scene has been. I certainly hope that this little history lesson has been educational, and has demonstrated – if nothing else – how complex the roots of a music scene can be. Indeed, particularly for electro swing – which owes so much to its predecessors – an awareness of how the genre came to be will perhaps make the experience of listening to the music even more enjoyable.

Review: Chronologic - Caravan Palace

Caravan Palace. Quite possibly the most respected act in electro swing – in fact quite likely. You’d be hard-pressed to find any other artist in the genre who doesn’t cite them as an influence of some kind. These guys have been making music for over a decade now, and have consistently set the bar for others to try and reach. Chronologic represents their fourth album now, and it’s one which has been both highly-anticipated, and greatly-received. In fact, as the band announced on their Twitter last Saturday, the album was amongst the top ten bestselling albums worldwide. Quite a feat for an electro swing act, and one which may take us some time to see repeated.

The album is certainly something of a departure from what many of us were expecting from the band. It’s understandable that, having been in the game for such a time now, they would want to expand their sound, and actually something that I’d argue most acts should attempt more. Of course, making significant changes to one’s sound carries risks with it, and whether this has paid off or not for Caravan Palace is a different matter.

The album opens with ‘Miracle’. Now, this track has been available for some time now, and so I was already very familiar with it. I recall back in February, upon it’s release, saying how different it sounded, and that I probably wouldn’t recognise it as them had I not already known. This definitely set us up for what was to come, and gave us time to prepare ourselves. It’s a brilliant start though, very bluesy, very positive and energetic, and some great use of samples throughout. Following this is ‘About You’ – another which had already been released earlier in the year. This features a bit more of a familiar CP sound, particularly in the high-pitched group vocals that come in towards the end. The track features Charles X, who I’m only familiar with because of Smokey Joe and the Kid’s ‘Smokid All Stars’ (an absolute tour de force), however I was a little disappointed with his vocals, which aren’t all that interesting as a whole. The massive bass hook that follows his lines certainly makes up for it though. Next, the first track that I didn’t already know was ‘Moonshine’, which is very reminiscent of ‘Russian’ off their last album. Again, it’s a return for the familiar CP sound, and we have the trademark high vocals again. There’s a very interesting contrast here between the cheery, upbeat music, and the slow, wistful, solo voice.

The next track is ‘Melancholia’, which unfortunately, does not hit the mark at all. It’s as if the worst parts of ‘About You’ have been extended into a whole song; for the most part, the baritone sax is the only saviour. Towards the end, I can appreciate the piano solo as well, but overall, this one I was not so keen on. Thankfully, the next song is ‘Plume’, which brings us back to the highs we know Caravan Palace are capable of achieving. The song is great, and represents everything I was hoping the album would be. It was definitely the right choice to release this as a single as well, and I’m glad they did. ‘Fargo’ follows, which is a nice little interlude with a New Orleans feel, before transitioning and ending on an almost cinematic note, before we find ‘Waterguns’, the second collaboration of the album. Again however, the vocals are not particularly impressive. Songs like this one really highlight the decision by the band to pursue a more pop-based sound, and it was a bad decision. Throughout the song, I couldn’t help thinking how much better it would sound with Zoé’s distinctive vocals. The instrumentation is good though, very much in line with the band’s sound.

‘Leena’ is probably the most interesting of all the songs on the release. Structurally, there’s definitely an escape from the standard pop formula, and we find that great use of samples like on ‘Miracle’ again. The sharp cutting throughout strongly reminds me of C2C, and I can’t help but wonder if Mighty Mezz’s work with DJ Greem in Alligatorz has played a strong role in influencing this album on the whole. Particularly on this track, each individual sample seems to smack you in the face. The next track is ‘Supersonics’, which might be my favourite – it’s definitely the best non-single. It’s really bluesy again, really upbeat, and just a great singalong. I love the group vocals in the chorus; this definitely has the potential to be stuck in one’s head for days. Another little interlude, like ‘Fargo’, follows with ‘Ghosts’. It’s interesting that they’ve included these almost mood-setting tracks, as if they’re setting us up for what’s to follow. Indeed, the transition is needed, as the final track ‘April’, is considerably different from ‘Supersonics’. A lot more downtempo, this is probably the most ‘vintage’ sounding track for the most part. You can tell it’s a finale song from the very beginning, with the bursting chords that start the piece. We have the C2C-esque sampling again, and the build-up towards the end is absolutely superb – I can tell this will be fantastic live – before we’re left with a minimal, lone vocal to close.

So overall I’m a little torn about this release. It’s certainly a departure from their established sound, and whilst I encourage this, I’m not sure it’s completely worked in their favour in this case. It’s a lot more downtempo, and significant sections of it don’t feel very dancey. The decision to move closer to the standard pop model in parts is one I wish they hadn’t taken, and there are certainly improvements that could be made. However, it is a good listen, and I really enjoyed the way in which they used sampling throughout. So it’s not their best album. But, from time to time, there are little scraps of genius.

Review: Light Up The Night - Jamie Berry

There aren’t many songs that could be identified as ‘hits’ within electro swing, but of the few that could be said to have achieved that description, Jamie Berry stands tall as one of the biggest producers in the country, if not the world. Anyone stumbling across this genre will likely discover his music within the first ten or so tracks they listen to, and he’s established himself as the producer with perhaps the most representative sound of electro swing itself. With his new album, Light Up The Night – out on the 16^th of September – Berry continues to prove himself as just as adept at producing this style as ever.

The album opens with the title track and lead single, ‘Light Up The Night’, which sets us up with some gypsy jazz guitar before plunging straight into the trademark Berry house style. Working with frequent collaborator Octavia Rose, we find the type of feel-good lyrics that have become so associated with Berry’s music (think ‘Delight’; ‘Lost in the Rhythm’), and I especially like the trumpet over the wobbly bass that enters after the chorus. The slightly slower ‘Dance Dance’ continues with the feel-good lyrics – in fact, these continue throughout most of the album: ‘Charlie Stone’, and ‘The Trumpets’ promote similar themes later on. ‘Dance Dance’ also features the bass wobbles which form just as much a part of the Berry sound as anything else. We then follow with ‘Dirty Swingers’, the first instrumental of the album, which despite a slightly bizarre breakdown in the middle, will certainly be capable of filling dancefloors; it is incredibly upbeat, and just straight fun.

The fun continues with ‘Charlie Stone’, before ‘Make Me Lose My Mind’ presents us with the first track to feature some slightly darker overtones. In a minor key, and beginning with almost threatening horn and piano sounds, the song progresses throughout its duration to the point where we’re back to quoting ‘Sing Sing Sing’ towards the end – this is Jamie Berry we’re talking about after all. ‘Chicken Feet’ follows – our next instrumental, similar to ‘Dirty Swingers’, and one of the bounciest tracks I’ve ever heard – before another trademark Berry instrumental, ‘Shipshape’, featuring a bass that genuinely seems like it could not physically get any lower.

The final three tracks seem to bring us down a little in tone; parts of ‘The Trumpets’ are somewhat chilled – at least by Berry’s standards – but the themes remain very much the same: very danceable, joyful music. ‘Mighty Punch’, again, is slightly downbeat, but Berry manages to achieve exactly the feeling he is going for with this one. Every sound that appears works seamlessly with one another, and has been positioned in the perfect place. If I were to pick a favourite from the whole album, this may well be it. Finally, the album ends with Boondoogle, which – again starting off quite downbeat – initially seems like quite a strange way to close the album. This would be a mistaken impression however, as this is only the setup for a huge finale; halfway through, the song explodes into a drum ’n’ bass anthem which I wasn’t expecting at all. Without doubt, this was the right choice to finish the album, providing a welcome change from house, and proving that Berry is just as proficient at this genre as well.

It would be easy to dismiss Berry’s sound as being sometimes derivative, and it’s true to say that for the most part, he definitely sticks to a formula. However, it’s a formula that works, and what Berry does, he does very well. Indeed, nearly every song on this release could have worked equally well as the lead single, and in full honesty, I think that singles are probably better suited to Berry’s style than an album such as this. But that’s not a negative comment on any of the actual music itself; the songs are produced fantastically well, and his fans will not be disappointed. High praise must be given to Octavia Rose as well; her voice is totally suited to Berry’s sound, and as a team, they’ve managed to produce an admirable release.

Boomtown write-up

The nature of Boomtown makes it so that it’s quite difficult to actually write a conventional review of the event. Unlike many other contemporary festivals, much of one’s time at Boomtown is spent exploring the immersive maze, as well as wandering into small, hidden-away venues where you won’t necessarily have any knowledge of the act that you’re seeing. So whilst I’m able to discuss the various names I specifically planned to see, whatever I write can only ever encompass a fraction of the full Boomtown experience. It really is a significant challenge to put this festival down into words, and I don’t think that one could ever fully grasp the experience without having experienced it first-hand.

This was to be my sixth year at the festival, having been every year since 2014, and it completely lived up to every expectation; indeed, this was quite possibly the best one yet. I think I’ll probably always judge my very first Boomtown as my favourite, but attempting to look at it from an objective point of view, it’s very tempting to say that this was the most outstanding. As I’ve said, there’s an inescapable challenge in describing one’s full experience, but in the following few paragraphs I’ll do my best to sum the festival up day by day.

The festival opened on the Wednesday this year, however Becca and I weren’t to get there until the Thursday. Upon arrival, I was immediately impressed with the speediness of the entrance queues. After the horrendous disaster of the 2017 gates, Boomtown really needed to step up their arrival game, and rather than just stick with the changes made last year, they’ve continued to improve, and we whizzed right through to have everything set up before it was even midday. Most of the afternoon was spent exploring, and the first act we properly saw was Jurassic 5’s Soup and the Fullee Love Collective. Immediately the festival was off to a great start; the soul, hip hop and funk vibes put everyone in a great mood, and had the entire room dancing. Following this we caught the end of Don Johnston’s new live project; whose music I’ve always enjoyed, so it was great to see it translate across to the live stage. Managed to catch some of Napalm Death, which was one of the heaviest things I’ve ever witnessed, and then attempted to see some of Phibes’ set, although unfortunately the venue was completely packed, and there was no way we were getting in. This was the one negative experience of this year; Boomtown continues to grow and grow, and – whilst I’m glad that more people are getting the opportunity to experience it – I question the point where there’s just too many people. The whole festival was considerably busier this year, and I would hate for anyone to miss out on any of their favourite acts as a result of this. Aside from this though, Thursday was super, and a great way to ease us into the weekend.

We started off the Friday at the drum ’n’ bass morning workout session, which was great fun, getting us sufficiently energised for the day ahead. After watching the opening ceremony at the Lion’s Den stage, the first act we properly saw was Leicester’s the Brandy Thieves, playing a fusion of gypsy folk and punk rhythms. Following this was Neville Staple. As I only managed to catch a small bit of the Specials when they played two years ago, this set more than made up for that lack of experience. Our first highlight of the festival was then Ms. Dynamite, who – despite only playing a half-hour set – packed so much in and had such high energy that she proved to be one of the best acts to grace the Lion’s Den over the whole festival. We then saw a little bit of Goldie Lookin Chain and cheered along with any and every reference to Newport, before going over to the Nucleus stage to watch Freear’s Keith Flint tribute set. I’m a huge fan of Slamboree, and was very glad that Freear was given the opportunity to perform this set, and he definitely proved himself worthy. Another highlight for this day then followed with Skinny Lister at the Forge Stage, who I always love, and who did not let down – before catching the end of High Contrast performing at Dubtendo. Later on, Friday evening proved to be one of the wildest nights of the festival, with standout performances coming from Gogol Bordello, Four Tet, Emily Dust, and AAA Badboy's set with Count Bassy. I’d love to be able to go into more depth regarding each of these acts, but there was so much exploration and adventure that night that the whole thing instead seems to serve as one fantastic memory. Boomtown 2019 was already proving to be exceptional, and we were only two days in.

Saturday began with the politically-charged lyrics and experimental sounds of Dizraeli, before sticking around the Town Centre stage to watch Cut Capers’ set. Anyone who reads this blog knows how much I love Cut Capers, so it’ll come as no surprise to hear that I found them fantastic. We then went to support my fellow Geordies that are Holy Moly and the Crackers; I’ve seen these guys a fair few times in the past, and was surprised to find that their style has actually changed quite a bit in the past few years, having moved on to a more rocky sound than their previous folk blues. Still amazing though; if anything, I think they’ve gotten better. Following this was Bare Jams, who brought the summer sound with their infectious ska, before going to see Dizraeli again, but this time at Speaker’s Corner. One of the best parts of Boomtown was the variety of things to experience, and it was certainly interesting to have a bit of a switch-up from the constant music. We followed with a little bit of Groove Armada’s show, but the highlight of the entire festival was then Michael Franti, playing at the Forge. Franti’s upbeat positivity and presentation of pure joy was the most entertaining performance we saw all weekend by a country mile, and every single person in that crowd felt like an essential part of the show. Easily the best performance of the festival, and up there with some of the best shows I’ve ever seen. We then caught the end of the Streets after this, and a bit of Pennywise’s set – both great – before heading to what was always going to be a highlight of the festival for me – the electro swing party held in the Paradise Ballroom, and lasting the remainder of the evening. Chris Tofu, Duke Skellington, Fizzy Gillespie, and C@ in the H@ all demonstrated why they’re valued representatives of this scene, and the stage was packed and jumping all evening. Finally, we ended the evening in a relaxed way, sat around the fire jamming to the acoustic music at Whistler’s Green.

The final day of the weekend was kicked off with a set from Sheffield’s Renegade Brass Band – who are always a joy – before heading back over to Whistler’s Green for a few more talks at Speaker’s Corner. First up was Bradley Gunn talking about his raving experiences, and then Zack Polanski from Extinction Rebellion. In amongst all the chaos of the weekend, it was great to have a relaxing sit down and hear from some inspirational speakers such as these. We then caught Beans on Toast doing his traditional Sunday afternoon set, before heading downtown (for the final time) to catch Featurecast at Dubtendo. An incredible selection of tunes, confirming that Featurecast is up there amongst my favourite DJs. Returning to the Paradise Ballroom, I had to see the whole of Afro Cluster and support some fellow Cardiff locals, and I was not disappointed. Afro Cluster consistently put on a brilliant show, and I’d recommend seeing them whenever one gets a chance. From this point onwards, Sunday evening proved to be the time of the trickiest clashes. We managed to see the first half of Kate Tempest before whizzing over for the end of Salt N Pepa. Showcasing completely and utterly different ways of approaching hip hop, both acts provided a really entertaining watch, and I wished I could have stayed for the whole of them both. Up next however was the hardest clash of them all: I had to watch the whole of Prophets of Rage – there was no question about that at all – but was gutted to realise that I’d therefore miss the entirety of Lauryn Hill. (Later on I discovered that Hill had turned up an hour late for her set, and thus I could have caught the second half! Never mind – I’ll catch her one day). Prophets of Rage were certainly worth it though; the whole show was packed full of classic tunes, and the crowd were phenomenal – being up at the front there were times where I could feel my internal organs being completely crushed. This was effectively the grand finale for my Boomtown, but afterwards I managed to catch some of Sacha Dieu, before heading down to Nucleus for Amelie Lens and the closing show. Over these four days, Boomtown had been everything I wanted it to be, and I can’t imagine having had a better time.

This write-up contains much less than everything I experienced at Boomtown, and much much less than everything that one could have experienced there. It has certainly earned its reputation as one of the UK’s best festivals, if not one of the world’s. With such a variety of music on offer, as well as everything else demonstrating that it’s so much more than just the music, Boomtown is easily one of the best weekends one can hope to have. There’s easily something there for everyone, and personally, I hope I can continue going for as long as is viable.

Review: Hot Jazz Rollers - Extra Medium

Swing & Bass have been running club nights in London and Nottingham for several years now – unfortunately I’ve yet to actually to make it to any of their events, I was especially gutted to miss the Summer party held at Hootananny Brixton last month, which looked exceptional (though I do note that they’re hosting the Saturday night Paradise Heights Takeover at Boomtown next week, alongside Bristol’s Swing N Tingz) – and they’ve just ventured into running a label. At the start of the year, they announced their first album, a compilation in support of the charity Mind, and they’ve just put out their first artist release, Hot Jazz Rollers, from one of the nicest guys in electro swing, Extra Medium.

Like C@ in the H@’s Ragz, Riddimz & Rollerz that I reviewed back in May, this EP is made up purely of tracks that fall under the swing ’n’ bass subcategory. Whilst this is not an entirely new direction for Extra Medium, it’s a little bit different from his standard releases, and the EP begins with ‘The Beat Goes On’, co-produced with WBBL, who’s arguably more familiar with this style. The decision pays off, as WBBL’s distinctive sound meshes with the garage-influenced vibes that Extra Medium does so well to create a great opener. The original sample slides seamlessly in with this updated style, without any sense of incongruence or disconnect whatsoever.

‘My House’ sets us off with an upbeat, party sound from the very start, and the horns really highlight the danceability of the sample. It’s tracks like this one that remind me of why when electro swing works – it works so well. This song is a great demonstrator of how jazz was always dance music, and that what we’re all doing is simply updating it for a contemporary audience. I’ve also got to give special mention to the flawless build-up, which is so natural as to sound almost unrecognisable beyond the standard drum ’n’ bass conventions.

The final track – and certainly the best on the EP – is ‘I Fall In Love’. Completely unique, and sounding unlike much else you’ll find in the genre, ‘I Fall In Love’ disregards the conventional big band sound common to most electro swing, and instead chooses to utilise a more smooth jazz, mellow basis upon which to build the track. Extra Medium does this type of thing very well, successfully showcasing the range of electro swing’s potential – and a track as unique and innovative as this one is a perfect example of ways in which a producer may use a jazz approach to create music that would fit into the parameters of jazz itself.

It’s no mistake that this EP features the word “jazz” in its title, and Extra Medium continually demonstrates himself to be working within the original and explorative framework that jazz music encourages. I’m a strong proponent of the argument that certain examples of electro swing should be considered the jazz of the 21st-century, and I think a release such as this one – particularly with tracks like ‘I Fall In Love’ – present a good case for that argument to be made. Swing & Bass have been wise to get him on their label, and if this is the standard of what we can expect to come, then we can indeed expect great things.

Review: 'Snake Charmer' - Parov Stelar

I’m not particularly used to reviewing singles, preferring to stick with albums or EPs in which I can assess how the whole release works together, creating a collective feel across the entire record, but Etage Noir have made such a big deal about the new Parov Stelar single that I thought it would be worth devoting a few words to it. Besides, Parov is regularly recognised as the pioneer of electro swing (whether one agrees with that judgment or not), and I’ve yet to talk about him at length on this blog, so I figured I’d take the opportunity.

Now I’m a huge fan of Parov’s mid-career stuff – albums like Coco, The Princess, and The Art of Sampling are still firm favourites of mine – but it would be a lie to say that he hasn’t received his fair share of criticism from the community over the last few years. Regarding his most recent releases, I was rather unimpressed with ‘Mambo Rap’, and whilst ‘Gringo’ was alright, it was nothing special (although the video was pretty cool).

In contrast however, this latest release, ‘Snake Charmer’ is certainly an improvement on those two. I really enjoy the gypsy jazz guitar during the verses, and the piano underscoring the chorus is very classic Stelar. His collaborator, vocalist Sharon Kovacs certainly possesses a unique voice, and it’s clear to see why he’s chosen to work with her, as her vocals perfectly complement the music.

Whilst this is not the Parov Stelar of 2009, it’s still a thoroughly fun and entertaining track, and I definitely enjoyed listening to it. The all-new Parov Stelar band have a tour coming up towards the end of the year, and if I decide to go to the UK show in December, I can certainly see myself dancing along and having a great time to this one. It’s certainly a step in the right direction, slightly away from some of his more recent work, and I’d hope to see him continue along this trajectory.

A Note on Bad Reviewing: Responding to Anthony Fantano

Like clockwork, this conversation seems to come up on the internet every year or so: some online personality with the ability to reach a large audience announces how much they detest electro swing, and the ES community finds themselves frustrated with rushed responses to clichéd representations of the genre. The latest individual to do so is American YouTube reviewer, Anthony Fantano.

Now Fantano is an interesting character. I was already somewhat aware of his work, having watched a few of his reviews, and some of his ‘Let’s Argue’ series. I believe the first time I came across Fantano was through his review of Aesop Rock’s The Impossible Kid (link), and to be honest, I thought the review was quite decent. Fantano is clearly familiar with the work of this artist, and gave what I thought was a very satisfactory review. The problem however, is that Fantano seems to jump into every review that he does with the same level of false confidence, regardless of how familiar he actually is with the artist being discussed. This is no more obvious than in the aforementioned ‘Let’s Argue’ series – an interesting concept in which Fantano speeds through various opinions on a wide variety of music and musicians – which can at times be almost painful to watch, due to Fantano’s clear lack of understanding around certain topics.

(As a side note – if you’re not already familiar with Aesop Rock, you should definitely get yourself acquainted – his music is fantastic (link)).

As an example of Fantano’s eagerness to act as an authority on things he has little to no awareness of, on June 26th he would post the following tweet:

i just found out about electro swing, too. 😫 https://t.co/0cLCgZMsDn

— Thee Anthony Fantano (@theneedledrop) June 26, 2019

Following on from this, he would go on a bit of a Twitter frenzy, sending out a large number of – what I can only imagine he thought were – hilariously original tweets, elaborating on how much he hated this genre:

📂Documents
└📁Music
└📁Electro Swing
└📁 Good Songs
└⚠️ This folder is empty

— Thee Anthony Fantano (@theneedledrop) June 26, 2019

Here's an image of a room with every good electro swing album in it: pic.twitter.com/ahLIVO8Ni4

— Thee Anthony Fantano (@theneedledrop) June 26, 2019

How many fingers I need to count every good electro swing album?

0.

— Thee Anthony Fantano (@theneedledrop) June 26, 2019

Now I want to make clear here: I genuinely couldn’t care less about how someone feels about electro swing. I’ve never really understood those who get offended when someone possesses a different music taste to their own, and if Fantano doesn’t like the music that I appreciate, he’s entirely entitled to that opinion. A similar instance to this happened in 2015, when journalist Angus Harrison would infamously write an article entitled ‘Electro Swing is the Worst Genre of Music in the World, Ever’ (link); however this article was largely intended to be comedic, and later on when I got the chance to interview Harrison, I found him to be a lovely, charming guy, and got on with him. My problem with Fantano lies with his approach to reviewing, and – as somewhat of a spokesperson for the electro swing community – this seemed like the perfect opportunity to air my complaints.

His attitude can be summed up perfectly by his first tweet: “I just found out about electro swing”. By his own admittance, Fantano is speaking on a topic that he has literally only just discovered, and yet proceeds to immediately pretend that he knows everything there is to know about the style. This is a type of pretentiousness that I find incredibly off-putting, and one which I’ve encountered several times before with people who seem totally unaware that there is nothing shameful about admitting your ignorance on a certain topic. But people like Fantano can’t seem to see past their own arrogance, seeing ignorance as a kind of defeat, and refusing to admit that there could ever be anything that they’re not able to immediately understand.

When Fantano reviews someone like Aesop Rock, whom he clearly does understand, he does so quite well. But I don’t believe one can make accurate judgements on what makes a style good or bad when they don’t have the understanding necessary to appreciate how that style works in the first place. There are many genres which it would be inappropriate for me to attempt to have an authoritative discussion on, and I wouldn’t insult that genre’s audience by attempting to do so. Unfortunately, Fantano does not appear to share this mindset.

Fantano is very good at what he does, however what he does – in this sense – is create online media that appeals to a large number of people. Through his use of bright colours, garish editing, and meme-heavy content, he’s been very successful in attracting a large audience to his YouTube channel. However, with few exceptions, this success hasn’t translated over to the quality of his reviews. In this specific instance, I strongly suspect that Fantano has listened to a few Parov Stelar tracks, and maybe the Great Gatsby soundtrack, and has determined that he is therefore now completely qualified to judge an entire genre. I can guarantee he’s never listened to Smokey Joe and the Kid. I can guarantee he’s never listened to Boogie Belgique, or Dutty Moonshine, or Tuxedo Junction. And most importantly, he seems to have forgotten one of the golden rules of music criticism: never dismiss an entire genre. Otherwise, you’ll just come off as ridiculously narrow-minded. Dismiss certain artists and songs to your heart’s content – provided you’ve sufficiently familiarised yourself with them – but you can never say that an entire musical genre is to be viewed in any one particular way, full stop.

I’m disappointed with Fantano’s judgment, but having already seen some of his content, I can’t say that I’m surprised. I just find it disheartening to think that an impressionable audience will think that this is the way to approach music discourse. Through a lack of nuance, a lack of intricacy, and a lack of self-reflexive humility, Fantano has provided a perfect example of how not to do criticism. But – this is what’s getting him the big views, so is he going to change? I sincerely doubt it.