Ah, Oui... FDB Parisian Playlist

41 kids + 5 adults + thriving European city = hard work. I had a great time this week, but it's amazing how dependent on adult guidance 12/13 year olds are: I swear they would soil themselves if somebody didn't explicitly tell them that they should consider a toilet trip at some stage during the day. But I'm not bitchin', as mighty fun was had by all, and I left with a feeling of warm sentimentality that makes me proud to be a teacher.

One feature of the week was extended periods of time on a coach, so of course, it was a good opportunity to get into some music. I know Bobbito has expressed serious reservations about the iPod phenomenon (I'm killing hip hop apparently), but the best thing about my Shuffle is that it forces me to listen to things that otherwise may have passed me by as a result of the too much music/too little time issue. Having loaded it up with some trusty old faithfuls as well as some recent acquisitions, these were the songs that left an indelible mark on my listening habits from Monday to Friday.

Ak Skillz - One Life Ta Live (Instrumental)
taken from One Life Ta Live 12'' (Tru Criminal, 1996)

I first became aware of Ak Skillz when Sconeboy hipped me to the Lord Finesse produced 'Check Da Flava' which is dope, but it wasn't until I cruised passed Time 4 Sum Aksion (thanks ILLustrious) that I got a hold of this song which in my opinion is the strongest track that Ak ever put together. It's not that I don't like his mic skills, but it was the instrumental that really got me amped this week, particularly whilst sat at the front of a coach with seemingly infinite stretches of motorway laid out before me. Produced by a man called Eddie James (if Discogs is anything to go by then his output is extremely limited: additional information welcome), this beat perfectly captures that tail-end golden era sound, with warm, melodic samples paired up with big drums that will get your head nodding and that warm fuzzy feeling going in your belly.

I have no idea why Ak didn't make a greater impression on the scene with cuts like this, and particularly given the fact that he worked with both Lord Finesse and Buckwild during his irritatingly brief career. Like the Rawcotiks, this is another artist who I would love to have seen an album from, but who will now only be remembered by a hardcore minority of vinyl junkies and nerdy internet types (that's you and me). Still, he left us with a certified banger here, and this easily qualifies as my most listened to track of my time abroad.

Walkin' Large - Who Will Go Down (...Times Like These)
taken from Riverside Pictures (Groove Attack, 1995)

As with the Ak Skillz joint, I've got another blog to thank for coming across this, which goes down in my book as a seriously slept on gem. Head over to Magga's spot at Golden Age if you're interested in the album in its entirety (you should be: it's killer). Unfortunately there is very little information out there on these guys, but from what I can gather they're from Germany, which seems extraordinary, because the whole album executes that east coast, boom bap sound so perfectly that it seems almost impossible that DJ Ara and Ono didn't grow up in Brooklyn. 'Who Will Go Down (...Times Like These)' is definitely one of the strongest cuts on the album, and I'm confident that listening to it will immediately send you over to Magga's blog to cop the album. Delayed horns, booming drums and tight rhymes... you know the deal. Don't sleep on this one folks.

Double XX Posse - The Pure Thing
taken from Put Ya Boots On (Big Beat, 1992)

For whatever reason, I've never got that heavily into 'Put Ya Boots On' which is ridiculous, because it's right up my alley. I'm positive that the majority of you will be very familiar with their debut release, and 'The Pure Thing' is just one of many bangers from the album that captured my imagination this week. The rolling piano loop and rim hits of the opening four bars lead you smoothly into the often used Lou Donaldson 'Ode To Billy Joe' drums, and the track has a nice bouncy feeling that is complemented perfectly by Sugar Ray's gritty vocal delivery. With a shouty chorus refrain in tow, this is classic early '90s hip hop with enough complexities production-wise (check the breakdown at 2.15) to keep it interesting, and I'll be correcting the error of my ways and giving the whole album some serious play over the next few weeks. If you're guilty of the same fallacy as me, then take this as a jumping off point to enjoy a classic album from '92 that perfectly represents the sound of the era.

Jackson 5 - 2,4,6,8
taken from ABC (Motown, 1970)

With my current interest in sample sources, the Jackson 5's '2,4,6,8' rose to dominate some of my listening habits as well this week having been jacked by Pete Rock for one of the strongest tracks on 'Soul Survivor II', 'Appreciate'. It's astonishing to think that little Michael was only twelve years old at this stage given the power of his vocal performance, and the uplifting guitar track and momentum of the track make this a perfect choice for the summer. This song was so infectious, that at one stage on Wednesday I thought I might never get it out of my head, and I was only able to remedy this situation by repeated plays whilst ignoring colleagues and students alike at the Palace of Versailles: a man's got to have a little alone time every now and again.

I've got a few collaborative writing projects in the pipeline at the moment which I plan to devote some time to, so as stated at the end of last week, I suspect things will be a little slow here at FDB during the month of July. Apart from anything else, I realised the other day that I haven't done a full album review in a while, so I need to commit myself to a little digging time as well in an attempt to unearth something worthy of the treatment. Take it steady people.