"Listed" in Dusted Magazine

This is a little feature in Dusted Magazine, a rundown of 10 personal favourite records, thought you might enjoy reading it.. Thanks to Otis Hart for this.

"I recently moved to the U.S., and with my vinyl collection being far too big to ship over in its entirety, I’ve had to put myself to the daunting task of selecting some of my personal favorite records and ship them in 50 lb. boxes. Box No. 1, the first box with my ultimate selection, is all taped up and ready to be sent, so I decided to theme this Listed with 10 records that, I pray, will arrive in one piece on our apartment’s doorstep soon:

1. Talking Heads - Fear of Music (Sire Records)
One of my all-time favorite bands, and my favorite album, this was the first record I remembered being in Box No. 1. Fear of Music sees the Talking Heads in ultimate punk rock / new wave form, before they started to incorporate all sorts of other influences into their sound (world music). "Air," "Heaven,” "Mind” - it’s really just filled with great, great songs.

2. Pharoah Sanders - The Best of Pharoah Sanders (Impulse)
One of my top three biggest jazz artists. Pharoah Sanders is such an emotional player, his sax sounds like a rusty old whiskey drinking grandpa at times, but he switches it up just as easily to very light-hearted notes (sheets of sound) or just play plain texture. This album has some of his best tracks: "Thembi,” "Hum-Allah" and "Creator has a Master Plan.” Not for the faint hearted, but once you get into it, there’s no turning back!

3. V/A - Underground Anthems Vol. 1 (Sistrum)
Contains Patrice Scott – “Do You Feel Me,” one of my favorite house tracks of the last good few years – it’s slow, it’s pumping, it breathes, it’s got a rainy sadness to it, similar to some of Moodymann’s and Theo Parrish’s music. This track put Patrice Scott on the map for me, and he hasn’t disappointed since.

4. Deepchord - Electromagnetic Dowsing (the final step) (S Y N T H)
Proud owner of this powerful exercise in how dub techno should be done! Played this track out at clubs so many times and just never get tired of it. “The Final Step” version has that energy that I miss in a lot of dub techno nowadays, where it just gets a bit too ambient - I don’t think that’s what Maurizio (Moritz von Oswald & Mark Ernestus) meant it to be back in the day. Well, what do I know anyway, this is just a great record.

5. Slum Village - Trinity (Past, Present & Future) (Capitol)
I have the feeling this album gets overlooked a lot, but for me it’s one of Detroit hip hop’s greatest moments. Absolutely serious, innovative production by Waajeed on the beautiful "Star" with Dwele and T3, but it really all comes together with Jaydee on the super-deep "Hoes" and my favorite "One,” where Baatin takes the track to a whole different dimension at the end. I miss Baatin!

6. K. Alexi Shelby - All for Lee-Sah (Transmat)
Have looked for this 12" for years and eventually just shelled out a lot of money for it because I was sick of not owning it! In a dark acid sort of way, "All for Lee-Sah" is possibly among the most sexy club tunes I have ever heard.

7. Bobby Hutcherson - Happenings (Blue Note)
There are many classic jazz albums in my boxes, but this is one of my most coveted. Vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson was in with a lot of the cool "cats" in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s, but this solo album is mostly his own compositions, bar a version of "Maiden Voyage" by Herbie Hancock – who appears on all the tracks, as well as drummer Joe Chambers. While the album is quite a relaxed jazz album, it’s "The Omen" all the way at the end which leaves you with a real uneasy feeling – very dark, very sinister. Oh and the sleeve art on the album is worth whatever you need to pay for it.

8. Anthony Shake Shakir - Assimilated (Natural Electronics)
Shake is probably THE most underrated Detroit-based producer. He has done some genius music that was far ahead of his time, combining hip hop style sampling with techno compositions. With an honorable mention for "Fact of the Matter" on Seventh City, "Assimilated" is Shake at his best. The way the track builds from many tiny little samples into a great symphony of off-key techno has been a major source of inspiration for me.

9. Kode 9 & Daddi Gee - Sine of the Dub (Hyperdub)
Just wanted to include at least one defining moment in music that is somewhat recent. "Sine of the Dub" was not only a major introduction for me to "dubstep" (altho it’s nothing like anything else that has been named “dubstep”) but (I later found out) also a cleverly done ode/reference to Prince. "Stalker" on the other side is just a cold-hearted, bass-heavy killer of a track. An essential record, this one!

10. Johan Cruyff - En un momento dado (dvd)
Not a record, but packed in my box – a little football treasure. (Almost) every Dutchman has football (soccer) embedded in his consciousness, and this movie is a must-watch. It’s an interview with Holland’s greatest player/coach/TV-pundit/businessman/philosopher Johan Cruyff, with many highlights of his career on and off the pitch. I would not know how to describe how much of an icon Cruyff is in the Netherlands to an American, but think a ‘70s football version of Miles Davis? http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8kgoJTB6cds

By Dusted Magazine