Gulls is back with the latest installment of his transnational minimalist sound, not focused on dancefloor bangers but off on the sidelines going ever deeper into a world of analogue polyrythms.

The new EP Running Times is out on Boomarm Nation on July 1st and it’s shaping up to be pretty incredible, continuing Gulls adventure in buzzed up synth dubs, Warpesque melodies and global rhythms – alongside remixes from Teleseen, Alter Echo and the mysterious Swami Million, the alter ego of an unnamed UK hyperdub artist…

So the release may be over a month away but don’t worry, you know GB got your back: We’ve got a free download of SOID from the EP, as well as an exclusive DL of Teleseen’s remix. Grab them below & don’t forget to cop the whole EP in July!

And the exclusive reeeemix: GULLS – SOID (TELESEEN REMIX)

Luvley remix by Teleseen of a fabulous track off The Soul of Angola compilation. Glorious guitars playing minor-key licks, gorgeous!

Maga Bo’s new EP is an explosion of heavy hitting world bass music. The musicians on this release show how powerful traditional instruments riffs and rhymes can sound with the right electronic production. I’ve just received a video clip for Gondar that illustrate beautifully how this  production happened and how Maga Bo gets around to the sound!

Maga Bo – “Gondar feat. Eritbu ‘Solomon’ Agegnehu and Entenesh Wassié” from Maga Bo on Vimeo.

I got to choose a remix as a promo for ya’ll and picking one wasn’t easy because they are all wickedly good. I end up going with Filastine,as I am a big fan of his stuff and cuz it is hard to find new material from him (although he told me that a new album is in the works for summer/11).  Enjoy this quality release (out 4/25/11) that will be heavy ammunition in any dj’s crate.

GB Exlusive Promo Remix: Maga_Bo_Ransom_Filastine_RMX (320kbps)

ARTIST:Maga Bo / TITLE:Ransom EP

CAT NO:SENSELESS DD004 / DISTRIBUTION:Believe
LABEL:Senseless Records / RELEASE DATE:25.04.10
FORMATS:Digital Download / ONE LINE:Africa bass soundclash

buying links:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ransom/id427094015

http://www.amazon.com/Ransom-EP/dp/B004SRXZ6W

http://www.goldendiscs.ie/releases/1199172/Maga-Bo/Ransom-EP

http://www.7digital.com/artists/maga-bo/ransom-ep/

Maga Bo – Ransom EP by Senseless Records

From the label:

We’re welcoming in the 5th birthday year (see below) for Senseless with an incredible release that mixes cutting edge bass music with traditional Ethiopian instruments and folklore. Combined with the artwork, a ‘making of’ video and backed by a truly international set of remixes, it is a project that has been a year in the making. The man responsible is international bass nomad Maga Bo, a producer and DJ who literally embodies the global spirit of Senseless as a label. You might know him from an extensive discography including is work with the Dutty Artz collective in NYC (DJ Rupture/Matt Shadetek/Uproot Andy etc), or on labels like Shockout, Tru Thoughts, African Dope or Soot Records. For those unfamiliar with his work he lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a place where he draws plenty of inspiration from, musical and otherwise, as he explains,

“Brazil is a massive inspiration… I’m very interested in afro-brazilian rhythms, of which there are many. samba, coco, baião, sambareggae, jongo are all present in my new productions for example”.

There’s another level to his experience in Brazil too, one that informs his work on a deeper level:

“I’m a permanent resident in Brazil, but this has been a very difficult and stressful journey and has really opened my eyes to the experiences of immigrants around the world. I am a migrant musician, as most musicians are, historically, to some degree. Migration and immigration are powerful forces influencing and affecting culture and art. The music that I compose, produce, play and research is a product of migration – my own journeys and the journeys of others.”

That very much sums up Bo’s existence and why we’re so excited to be working with him: a relentless thirst for travel, discovery and collaboration driven by music. This EP came about from a trip to Ethiopia where he met Indriss Hassanwho plays the distinctive single-stringed masinqo on title track Ransom. The track was inspired by the infamous hyenas which are fed raw meat outside the gates of Harar, birthplace of Ras Tafari. As Bo explains,

“The way they way move is unlike any animal I’ve ever seen: very powerful. It was their particular way of moving – with caution, but also with desire (to feed) and power – that inspired this track.”

Ransom evolves out of a haze of field recordings driven forward by handclaps with the distinctive masinqo loop rising up out of the atmosphere before a deep sub bass rolls in to underpin it. It’s at once hypnotic and psychedelic, evoking the intensity and energy of a vibrant city like Addis Ababa after dark. The other original track, Gondar, is a traditional Azmari song from Ethiopia, rewired with a dancehall-like riddim and elastic synth bass and more masinqo, this time played by Eritbu “Solomon” Agegnehu.

The remixes come from a truly international line-up all hand picked by Maga Bo himself. First up with a dancehall/dubstep hybrid is the legendary Timeblind of NYC via Berlin, whose varied career has seen everything from techno releases on Hawtin’s Plus-8 to digital dancehall on Kid606’s Shockout. Teleseen (Percepts Recordings), another NYC native atomises the parts and reassembles them in a gloriously schizophrenic electro/acoustic showdown. South Africa’s Fletcher (African Dope) takes the track in a dub direction adding space and FX to the mix. Filastine (Soot/Jarring Effect/Uberlingua/PWI), from Barcelona, comes through with a time-bending groove and ratty, resonant subbass. Last up, Senseless family Pacheko from Venezuela offers up a dub orientated bass-weight monster aimed at deeper dancefloors, something a little different from his recent 4×4 work.

Finally, a special mention for the artwork, a collaboration between local photographer Michael Tsegaye and Venezuelan designer Mad Kick, part of the Abstractor collective with Pacheko. A video clip shot by Maga Bo during the recording of “Gondar” completes the picture.

our regular GB guest Process Rebel has a new EP out; Step Specialist. It’s been just released on his own digital Subinfinity Recordings label and I can fully say that the Step Specialist track with Profisee is a post- dancehall crasher dub! Heavy dubs, flowing dancehall riddim and solid production. Listen below, you can download the Zero Dub track.

For who doesn’t yet know Process Rebel aka Chad Lee Jones;  he’s a DJ/producer working in a nextstep fusion of electronica, dub, rock, hip-hop and bass music, traversing the electronic music diaspora with a lean towards dub, dubstep, post-dancehall and global ghetto tech. Process Rebel currently lives in Amsterdam and is working on his debut full length album titled ‘Angels & Speaker Cones’ and the 101VOiD project with MC Zulu.

Step Specialist (How It Go Version ft. Profisee) by processrebel

Step Specialist (Instrumental Version) by processrebel

Zero Dub !!Free Download!! by processrebel

and just added, a new Process Rebel remix of Selande’s Faust. Digital dub, nextstep and throbbing bass in a soothing mash.

Selande – Faust (Process Rebel Remix) by processrebel

Going into neo-dancehall territory now, Brooklyn grown yet nomadic travelling Teleseen aka Gabriel Cyr has put up 2  new remixes, including a remix of Black Monday by Maga Bo. One of them you can download! His dubbed dancehall is brooding there with rigour and sweat. Salty quality stuff.

Hold A Meditation(Teleseen Remix) by Teleseen

Black Monday (Maga Bo Remix) by Teleseen

And finally, a smashing mashup remix by Maga Bo of Poirier’s Immigrant Visa smasher. Ragga riddims mashed with samba never sounded so carnivalesque. Truly one for the summer! And oh just so you know, Bo has cut off his dreads.

IMMIGRANT VISA feat MC ZULU (MAGA BO’S ANISTIA REMIX) – Poirier by magabo

http://soundcloud.com/processrebel
http://www.subinfinity.com
http://soundcloud.com/gabrielcyr
http://myspace.com/teleseen
http://soundcloud.com/magabo
http://magabo.com

Signing off for now, hasta la proxima post!
Rebel Up! SebCat