Artful Dodger right on top of things right about now...

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So did anyone do as I said and check out that Artful Dodger track - "Ruff Neck Sound (Basement Mix)" - which starts off this Femme Fatale set?

And did anyone subsequently realise that it's, like, the grebtest piece of music absolutely evah to appear within the entire universe?

Talk please.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 13:55 (twenty-three years ago)

i can't believe this is artful dodger --- wow i love this --- is that 'kiss kiss' in the backround?

i like the way it recognises garage's inherent back-foot in dancehall so explicitly. can you tell us more about this tim?

― slit magnet, Tuesday, 19 November 2002 14:31 (twenty-three years ago)

This being an Artful Dodger track should be viewed in the context of the duo breaking up over their differing interests - Mark Hill (always the duo's MOR half) wanted to continue with his R&B production while Pete Deveraux wanted to return to making real up-to-date garage. So Pete's probably making some very deliberate attempts to regain credibility here.

The original "Ruff Neck Sound" is sort of an attempt to make a pop version of breakbeat garage, with a lumbering breakbeat loop and Richie Dan (always the most poptastic of the ragga garage toasters) getting almost self-parodic. So the remix's switch to half-speed dancehall beats and all the crazy Indian stuff in the background is really unexpected. It's pretty much the ultimate/definitive attempt to make explicit the three-way Jamaica-London-India sonic link though, isn't it? Plus it's just so energetic and poptastic.

"Basement" is apparently Pete's term for a broader (imaginary) style. As far as I can tell it's probably not that far from "bouncement", except that as Femme Fatale says this is supposed to be explicitly aimed at the ladies rather than the hip hop listeners Big Dada court.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 14:40 (twenty-three years ago)

i remember reading an interview with 'em in the nme a while back in which they were played a Vvm remix of their dane bowers track; pete (i guess...) was fully impressed and wanted their number (!) where as the fat one (is mark hill the fat one?) took a bastardized popist-dragged-through-a-rockist plastecine machine attitude towards it (confirming the MOR sensibilities you talk of) ie. he thought it wasn't 'rrrreal'.

i can't imagine anything artful dodger do NOT being for da laydeeez. do big dada heads even like laydeez?

― slit magnet, Tuesday, 19 November 2002 14:48 (twenty-three years ago)

i thought it was jonny l (truesteppaz) that got played the vvm track?

― gareth (gareth), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 15:01 (twenty-three years ago)

yep, you're right. my bad.

― slit magnet, Tuesday, 19 November 2002 15:10 (twenty-three years ago)

This track is spectacular, tim. The tablas seem to be taking up most of the rhythmic work. It almost feels like jungle with a heavier dub element.

The three-way-link is super-evident though, and I wish that more u.s. hip-hop would pull the same link together. Also the zapping bass is used sparingly and well here and it feels like it transplants all the pop elements back onto the new-hard pirates sound of last year.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 18:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Thanks for another great tip Tim... best song I've heard in 6 mos. The mix is fantastic too.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 18:22 (twenty-three years ago)

Bother, not working on my work computer. Have to wait until tonight...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 18:30 (twenty-three years ago)

Tim, I thought the MOR half (which I like too btw) retained use of the name (bought out the other guy).

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 18:39 (twenty-three years ago)

nothing could be WORSE than breakbeat garage (i downloaded this set tonight where a tune literally dropped THINK at 130 bpm: USE OTHER BEATS PLEASE), so by transitive property this has to be the best record ever.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 18:39 (twenty-three years ago)

sounds great - that MC's the Emperor Richie Dan!
pretty good deal this, turning Tim onto Radio 1 for Garage and him pointing out other mixes to me

this will help them see support for these sounds - all music fans rush Radio 1 for UK Garage now!!!

― Paul (scifisoul), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 22:40 (twenty-three years ago)

Paul, the real revelation was Xtra1 - the Dreem Teem mixes always frustated me with having to sit through the endless talking and all the R&B I already knew, so it's a bit of a coup to discover that there's also Femme Fatale! And J Da Flex! And Ras Kwame! And Heartless Crew! etc. to choose from.

P.S. I love Richie Dan so much. eg. in "Temptation" when he sings "it's a natural thing" but it sounds like "it's a natural yard ting!"

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 20 November 2002 06:41 (twenty-three years ago)

great ritchie dan moment - heartless crew are rinsing some kind of massive every-mc-on-the-scene on "superglue" dubplate right now.

ritchie dan pulls out lyrics from "over here" and "ru ready" then twists the chorus from "temptation" into "this is murderation, muuurdeeerraaaation!"

think it's on the heartless crew 1xtra set - like i was telling paul the other week, i find heartless great tastemakers.

― cooper, Wednesday, 20 November 2002 17:39 (twenty-three years ago)

I feel invisible around here sometimes:( I repeat:

I thought the MOR half (which I like too btw) retained use of the name (bought out the other guy). anybody know one way or the other?

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 20 November 2002 20:16 (twenty-three years ago)

by MOR you probably mean mark hill, who produced a chunk of craig david's first album. he was "the artful dodger" at some point last year. apparently he was bought out by pete devereaux (the other half), who now helms the project along with a couple of other guys - MC Buzzard and Dave Low from Public Demand. i have a faint suspicion public demand may have had something to do with the buyout, since they're now set to be the PD supergroup after a year of weaker releases on that label which i don't think have done so well.

― cooper, Wednesday, 20 November 2002 22:33 (twenty-three years ago)

but what about this story?

So which one was 'Artful Dodger' when "It's All About the Stragglers" was released. Isn't that Mark Hill on the cover of the American version? And isn't that also him on the single cover with Mel Blatt?

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 20 November 2002 22:49 (twenty-three years ago)

and as long as I'm airing out all my questions re: AD; when Mssr Skinner raps in "Let's Push Things Forward": "Leave that to the Artful Dodger, the broad-shouldered fifty-one percent share-holder", is he talking about Mark Hill, Pete Deveraux or himself?!!!

and where do I find this "Ruff Neck Sound (Basement Mix)" track - it is straight up rad!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 20 November 2002 22:53 (twenty-three years ago)

and I mean for sale on CD or vinyl; I've been streaming that mix all day long.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 20 November 2002 22:54 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah Spencer I remember reading that story too but I'm pretty sure that I've subsequently read that Pete is now the Artful Dodger guy.

As for Skinner, I thought he was making some jab at corporate garage pop?

I don't know where you can find an MP3. If you do, please tell me!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 20 November 2002 22:55 (twenty-three years ago)

theres a snippet of a track at the start with ms dynamite singin. wots its called or is it just mixed in wit sumthin else?

― naked as sin (naked as sin), Wednesday, 20 November 2002 23:02 (twenty-three years ago)

"start of the broadcast" that should be

― naked as sin (naked as sin), Wednesday, 20 November 2002 23:03 (twenty-three years ago)

I think that's Menta & Ms Dynamite's "Ramp", which is fabulous.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 20 November 2002 23:13 (twenty-three years ago)

As for Skinner, I thought he was making some jab at corporate garage pop?

huh, I guess I never assumed that he was necessarily dissing - but that makes sense too. I've always thought that he was describing himself in business terms there. (see also - "huge non-recuperable advance / majors be vigilant".

as for an .mp3... hmm

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 20 November 2002 23:16 (twenty-three years ago)

or that he was even positively describing Mark Hill!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 20 November 2002 23:16 (twenty-three years ago)

so it worked out like this:

mark & pete are the artful dodger
2001 - they split up; mark goes about paing and djing as the artful dodger. the rumor is that pete never did any work. see linkage above.
2002 - mark sells the name to pete & friends. the rumor is now that pete did all the work and mark did none. check it.

― cooper, Thursday, 21 November 2002 01:16 (twenty-three years ago)

v. interesting.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 21 November 2002 01:40 (twenty-three years ago)

I think that's Menta & Ms Dynamite's "Ramp", which is fabulous.

No, I know that. or it might hav been but it probbly wasnt.

― naked as sin (naked as sin), Thursday, 21 November 2002 19:51 (twenty-three years ago)

>>I think that's Menta & Ms Dynamite's "Ramp", which is fabulous.

>No, I know that. or it might hav been but it probbly wasnt.

listened to it yesterday - it's "ramp," a VIP mix with personalized vocals for f. f. lots of ukg djs have personalized mixes of different tunes shouting them out - reportedly jameson was so pissed off after doing about fifty for "this one" that he's sworn them off (except for EZ's, of course :) ).

― cooper (cooper), Saturday, 23 November 2002 22:18 (twenty-three years ago)

three weeks pass...

I play this track all the time (the other mixes aren't anywhere near this vers) just so I can hear those triple horn-stabs during the verses. *shivers*

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 19 December 2002 02:00 (twenty-three years ago)

seven months pass...

This remains my favorite track of the last 12 mos.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Monday, 4 August 2003 23:15 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

Hello Spencer!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 7 September 2005 02:11 (twenty years ago)

It's about time I go play this again (on MJ Cole's semi-crackpot Muzik mix). I must get a 12" copy.

― BARMS, Wednesday, 7 September 2005 16:00 (twenty years ago)

This is one of the great thread revivals.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 7 September 2005 16:38 (twenty years ago)

Funny, been revisiting 2-step and speed garage like mad this year. Who makes good, bouncy vocal house anymore???

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Wednesday, 7 September 2005 17:18 (twenty years ago)

The G-Swing gang? Rex The Dog? We do need more good ol' bouncing.

― BARMS, Wednesday, 7 September 2005 17:20 (twenty years ago)

I finally found this on a compilation CD. It's still AWESOME. Great driving music and I still have fantasies of dropping this to a large unsuspecting dancefloor, like in Las Vegas.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 7 September 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

Hi Tim!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 7 September 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

Can somebody YSI this, as my interest is piqued.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Wednesday, 7 September 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

Here.

― ruffneck, Thursday, 8 September 2005 16:56 (twenty years ago)

That song is quite good.

― James.Cobo (jamescobo), Friday, 9 September 2005 03:41 (twenty years ago)

I want Artful Dodger to work with MIA.

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Friday, 9 September 2005 12:36 (twenty years ago)

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