ROBERT LUIS (TRU THOUGHTS)

Sonic Switch

2012-01-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

Really looking forward to the next Sonic Switch.

www.sonicswitch.co.uk

TRU THOUGHTS presents SONIC SWITCH

SATURDAY 4TH FEBRUARY

ROBERT LUIS

11PM-4AM FREE ENTRY

At the GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON

Tru Thoughts at Koko

2011-11-28T12:58:00.001-08:00

I really enjoyed our night at Koko, Camden, London. It was partly to celebrate our 12th Birthday and also just a plain celebration of the music we are releasing on the label. Even though tickets were pretty much sold out on the night I was still a bit nervous. We have never done a Tru Thoughts night at such a big venue.

Beta Hector started the proceedings playing some tunes before Anchorsong took the stage with his string quartet. Anchorsong works the sampler / MPC live whilst the strings add some great musical texture. Tonight was the first time I have seen Anchorsong live, and I loved it. It is better than watching them on YouTube.

Next up was Nostalgia 77 who started proceeding by dropping some abstract sounds on an old school Atari....now that is Jazz.

I now took over turntable duties between all the performances, with Rodney P on the mic. I am a proper Rodney P fan and it was a real honour to DJ with him. One of the best things about Rodney is he really knows how to host...original Sound System style. He adds to the tunes but does not constantly MC and lets the music flow....and he can do this over all styles. When I dropped Hudson Mohawke's "Cbat" Rodney really got the crowd hyped.

Hidden Orchestra were up next. I love watching them live. The two drummers look and sound amazing and Joe and Poppy hold it down with the musical aspect. A very unique style.

Belleruche played some new tracks from their new album, which has a more electronic style to it and is a bit deeper too, as well as dropping a few classics.

Quantic was doing his DJ / Live Ableton set and this was the first time I had seen it. It was great to hear him re-working some of his classic tracks live and also playing and looping some live accordion. I love Quantic's DJ style too, as he drops some mad records that really work the floor.

Omar did a live PA dropping a snippet of "There's Nothing Like This" before singing the Maddslinky collab "Special" and finishing of with his anthemic track with Zed Bias "Dancing". I am a huge Omar fan, so personally it was a huge honour to have him perform.

Check the 60 second Video Clip from Koko below:

Rodney P then took over the Mic and rocked it as only Rodney can. I cannot wait to release the Sleepin Giantz and next Rodney P album on Tru Thoughts they are both classics in the making.

Finally Hint rounded off proceedings. He was debuting his Ableton Live set and dropped some classic tracks alongside tunes from his forthcoming album "Daily Intake". They sounded great. You will definitely need his album when it is released!

For me I had a great night. It really made me appreciate the artists we have on the label as well as all the people who connect with the music we are releasing and make events like this so good. I was buzzing for days after.

Thank you to everyone who was in attendance and made the night very special.

www.robertluis.com

Robert Luis DJ Set (as far as I can remember) atKoko:

Jill Scott / LovelyDay (Nirobi Edit)

Rodney P / Live Up feat The People’s Army & Might Moe (Tru Thoughts)

Dirtsman / Hot ThisYear

Mungos Hi Fi / Bogle ft I Bogle (Scotch Bonnet)

Discodeine /Falkenberg (Pilooski Edit)

Exist / Lookin At Blue(At Jazz Astro Dub) (R2)

Gilles Peterson’sHavana Cultura Band / Check La Rima (Brownswood)

Kick Al Anchum /Farther Up the Road (Square 12”)

Mosca / Bunching

Hudson Mohawke / Cbat (Warp)

Mr Scruff / Feel It(Ninja Tune)

Nu Shooz / I Can’tWait (Atlantic)

Azealia Banks / 212(Impulse Perm Edit)

Sleepin Giantz /Badungdeng (Tru Thoughts) (played twice as I had to cut it off first time to get Hidden Orchestra on stage in time)

Soho / Hot Music(Nirobi Edit) (Square 12”)

Tipper / Covered InLobsters

Zed Bias / Music DeepInside (Swamp 81)

Sonic Switch

2011-11-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

I am really looking forward to me final session of 2012 at Sonic Switch. There is so much good music around at the moment and the last few nights have been really enjoyable with a good friendly and dancing crowd. A 5 hour set is always fun. Hopefully see you there.

Check the latest Sonic Switch DJ Mix below. Stream or Download via Soundcloud:

Sonic Switch (Tru Door Store 4): Robert Luis DJ Mix by robertluis

TRU THOUGHTS presents SONIC SWITCH

SATURDAY 3rd DECEMBER

ROBERT LUIS

(Tru Thoughts A&R, Nirobi, Unfold)

Five Hour Set

11pm-4am Free Entry

Bass, Hip Hop, Soul, Drum & Bass, Reggae, Dubstep, Funk, Tropical, Beats

at the GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON

www.thegreendoorstore.co.uk

www.sonicswitch.co.uk

www.robertluis.com

BRIGHTON REQUEST LINE

2011-10-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

I DJ'ed at my residency at the Green Door Store in Brighton on Saturday night. The night finally now has a name too: Sonic Switch. I had a really great time with a great crowd in dancing to all styles of music.

As a DJ I am very used to getting requests and as long as people are polite I have no issues with this....as a DJ this is part of your job. A good feeling as a DJ is when people ask for good requests. On Saturday it seemed to be like a heavenly DJ moment....all the requests I was getting were good and everyone was friendly and polite.

It started off with a young lady asking for Mulatu Asatake which took me by surprise...what a great request! I got asked for more Hip Hop by a group of ladies (rather than "screw face" gentlemen). I got a request to play some Quantic and Zed Bias. And after playing a few reggae tunes someone wrote on their hand "please play more dub" and politely waved their hand in front of me. I also got the request below:

In my book that's a very good request list. Especially as it does not include the words Lady Gaga or R&B (which often means Black Eyed Peas) or "play something we can dance to"!

The great thing about a residency is being able to test out new music, whether it is forthcoming music from Tru Thoughts or new releases. I played a track from the forthcoming Quantic & Alice Russell album which sounded amazing (especially the sweeping strings).

I played two tracks from the forthcoming Sleepin Giantz album (the new project from Zed Bias, Rodney P and Fallacy). When I played "Badungdeng" I had loads of people ask me about the track....it seriously rocks any club. I also played a track called "Raving Bully" which again sounds huge...I had someone come up to me and say that they had to control themselves from going too crazy to the track as it sounded so amazing! I am so excited about this Sleepin Giantz LP....it is a game changing album...a new definition of Hip Hop.

The Lossy track "Rain Came Down" is another track that I always get people asking about when I play it. This is fast becoming an end of the night anthem for me. The bass sounds great on a club system and the song is so catchy too.

Lossy - Rain Came Down by Tru Thoughts

I played two tracks from Hint's forthcoming album. One is a futuristic Hip Hop track called "Aliens" feat T Fly (a 21 year old female rapper from Texas) and the other a Ragga / Future Garage stomper called "Crash and Burn" feat Natalie Storm, that tore the roof off the place (with again people asking me what the track was).

Other tunes that sounded good, rocked the floor and people asked about where:

Mosca / Bax
Mugwump / Boutade (Miseridub)
Raphael Saadiq / Skyy (Yam Who Mix)
Rodney P / Live Up
Switch Groov Exp / Bon Tres Bien (Simbad Mix)
Soho / Hot Music (Nirobi Edit)
Bjorn Torske / Langt Fra Afrika (Todd Terje Mix)
Zed Bias : Loads of tracks!
Exist / Lookin At Blue (At Jazz Dub)
Azealia Banks / 212
A Tribe Called Quest / Buggin Out
Heretic / Hold The Line
Elephant Man / Log On (Horsepower Remix)
Jill Scott / Lovely Day

So, I am already looking forward to the next one on Saturday 3rd December. Check www.robertluis.com for further info.

2011-09-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

It has been really great having a residency in Brighton. I love playing long sets and the night at the Green Door Store allows me to play for 5 hours every two months. The last one was a great night with a good crowd partying to the different styles of music.

This DJ mix represents some of the tunes that have been going down well on the dancefloor. The Lossy track has been very big and sounds amazing on a good system....the bass really kicks in. My Edit of Soho has been getting support from DJ's like Gilles Peterson, Dimitri From Paris and Nickodemus and when I played it at the last night it really rocked the room. Marlow is the type of Deep House music I am really into. Hint's remix of Belleruche always goes down well and I finish the mix off with Horsepower's great remix of Elephant Man (which Skream has described as the start of Dub Step).

Tru Thoughts presents Robert Luis
Five Hour Set
Saturday 1st October
11pm-4am
Free Entry
Green Door Store, Brighton

http://www.thegreendoorstore.co.uk
http://www.robertluis.com

Robert Luis: Tru Door Store 3 by robertluis

Bumping Into Boris (Mayor Of London)

2011-08-16T03:38:00.000-07:00

It has been a strange time in England over the last week or so. The riots have directly effected a lot of people I know. The Sony warehouse fire destroyed the stock of a number of independent record labels and artists I know. More importantly five people have died directly due to the unrest taking place across the country.

I had made a DJ mix last week which I called "Bullingdon Boombox" DJ mix. It featured music which I felt reflected my mood and music I felt had something to say about the riots, alongside vocal snippets from people directly effected, as well as Boris's not so great interaction with some people from London in the immediate aftermath.

Robert Luis: "Bullingdon Boombox DJ Mix" by robertluis

I had taken the week of work this week and on Monday I went up to London with my wife (it was our wedding anniversary). We decided to go to West London to have a change of scenery from Brighton and look around. We saw a film crew hanging around and a fake market stall set on one of the main roads and I just presumed they must be filming Notting Hill 2. After walking around for a little while we found ourselves back on the road with the film crew, but this time there were quite a few people taking photos on their phones, as well as a few more professional looking photographers. We crossed the road to see who was causing the small bit of interest. After having watched the excellent Starsuckers documentary on Channel 4 at the week-end I just presumed it would be some C List so-called "Celeb". It turned out to be Boris.

I turned to my wife and said I have to go and speak to him and as I walked over to him I was not sure what I wanted to say...I had so much to say. Boris was already talking to a young woman and as I arrived next to him he put his hand out and shook my hand. I said to Boris that I felt it was important to help the young people in the areas affected by rioting and that most people there just needed a fair opportunity and direction. I had in mind the video footage Beasly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBgRd12vzv4 &; Daz I Cue http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=axeCXcMG4CM had forwarded to me on Twitter last week. The young man in the video clip had referenced Connexions, which was a great project to help young people. I told him that my sister in law had worked for Connexions in the past and how she was telling me last year that the cutting of organistaions like Connexions would leave a big gap that was supporting young people positively and potentially this would lead to some form of unrest when the cuts kicked in. Boris then told me there are other organistaions to fill in this gap.

The young woman who was speaking to Boris before I rudely interrupted her, said to Boris firmly "Where are these organisations? I have not seen them I cannot find them". This young woman was well spoken and very articulate. Boris told her they are online and then, what I presume was his PR assistant. took out a handful of what looked like "Mayor Of London Business Cards" and handed her one.

At this point it all started to feel a bit surreal in my head. The assistant looked like he was about 19 years old and had a worried look on his face. Suddenly this started to remind me of Armando Ianucci's "In The Thick Of It" and "In The Loop". I started to wonder if the Mayor's office felt that handing out business cards with a website address on would help curb peoples anger and I wondered how many business cards does this person have to give out a day at the moment.

I then went on to say to Boris that I came from a single parent family and how I had got an Assisted Place (a Scholarship for children from poor financial backgrounds) to go to a good school and now had a business that employed seven people and brought in a decent amount of revenue into this country from our sales abroad. I said I felt it was unfair that I had a friend, who was as clever as many of the people I went to school with, who was now a postman as he did not have the opportunity to go to a good school. Boris replied "There is nothing wrong with being a postman".

This got me slightly angry and I said to Boris that I knew there is nothing wrong with being a postman but most of the people who went to my school have much better paid jobs than my friends who had to go to the quite bad Comprehensive School in my area. I said this boiled down to the difference in schooling. I told Boris I am not a Communist but it is important that there is a level playing field when it comes to education. Boris just looked at me and nodded in the way he has done in many of the clips I have seen of him on YouTube in the past week.

It is a look that makes me feel Boris is thinking either "I am out of my depth. I hope this person stops talking soon" or "I wonder what I am having for supper tonight". I still do not know which.

At this point two young children aged around 10 or 11 suddenly went and stood next to Boris and I turned round to see their Mum telling them to move in closer to Boris so she could take a picture of them. The two children seemed confused.

I felt that I wanted to leave. I knew I had more I wanted to say, but was not sure I would get a response that would be fulfilling. In hindsight, I think rather than talk to him about his and David Cameron's membership of the Bullingdon Club or Nick Clegg's arson conviction, I made my point of view on what I felt a solution might be. A solution that is achievable. I am sure plenty more people from all different classes, races and backgrounds will be making their suggestions to Boris over the next few weeks and months. I hope anyone who sees Boris in the street does approach him and let him know their opinion. Do get a "Mayor Of London Business Card" as I forgot to get one.

2011-08-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to Djing on Saturday 6th August at the Green Door Store in Brighton

http://www.thegreendoorstore.co.uk/

It’s free entry....wish I could do the “classic club line” of “Ladies Free” but it is free for everyone. 11pm-4am and I will be playing a 5 hour set. As well as some upfront Tru Thoughts tunes, I will be playing a lot of the good tracks I have bought recently, as well as some of my Nirobi Edits. Expect a mixture of all styles of good music

I tend to make a few Nirobi Edits each month to play in my DJ sets. Some of which I share on Soundcloud

http://soundcloud.com/robertluis

in limited numbers, some I pass on to a few DJ’s and some I selfishly keep all to myself. The latest one I have done is of Soho’s ‘Hot Music’. I just shared it to a few DJ’s and already have had Gilles Peterson tweet about it:

"thank you @ROBERTLUIS for all your 'made for me' DJ edits - latest one featuring Soho and Wynton Marsalis is a monster"

plus DJ's Dimitri From Paris, Drumagick, Dom Servini, Nickodemus, DJ Vadim, Daz I Cue, Monk One and Ashley Beedle getting in touch about it too. I am looking forward to dropping this on Saturday.

Tru Thoughts new club night

2011-04-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

MONDAY 4TH APRIL
I had a great time DJing at the Green Door Store in Brighton on Saturday. It has been a while since I did a 5 hour set in Brighton and I really enjoyed it. With longer sets, you get a chance to play across the board and also have a bit of room to "test" more unusual and new tunes out. Hint's remix of Wiley went down really well, as did a lot of the forthcoming Zed Bias stuff and Quantic's Cumbia cover of Lauryn Hill is going to be big judging by the reaction on the dancefloor. Ashely Beedle's remix of Gil Scot Heron and Opolopo's 1960 what? Remix were both big on the dancefloor.

The Green Door Store venue is really great and being away from other busy streets it seems to get a crowd of people who know what is going on. So looks like this will be Tru Thoughts new "club" home in Brighton and I really look forward to the next time.

The next dates will soon be updated on the DJ gigs section of http://www.robertluis.com

NEWS

2011-03-05T03:22:00.000-08:00

BANNED IN BELARUS
I was chatting to Hint on the phone and he told me about the following article:

http://bit.ly/gHcfDh

It seems I've been banned in Belarus alongside some well known people. I DJed at a gig out there a few years ago to support freedom of speech and creativity. This country is the last dictatorship left in Europe. It's the first time I've been banned from anything and it also feels good to be called an "undesireable artist".

HINT REMIXES MJ COLE & WILEY
I was chatting to Hint as he's just done a great remix. He was recently DJing with MJ Cole and MJ passed him the Wiley A Capella of the From The Drop to do a remix. It's a great version. Check Rob Da Bank's Radio 1 show to hear it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yqjst#segments

BELLERUCHE'S MERCEDES ADVERT
Check 'Northern Girls' being used in this advert celebrating 125 years of Mercedes Benz.

Brighton Treats With Bollywood Beats

2010-12-15T08:56:00.000-08:00

I did this mix before I did "Brighton Treats With Jamaican Beats" & "Brighton Treats With Popped Beats" Mix CD's.

For some reason I never got round to sorting it out as an actual CD mix so here it is to download. Part 2 to follow soon.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/786754432674bfdf/

This is the Head Nod mix and the dialogue samples are all from one of my favourite films: Quadrophenia

Student Protests / Ghost Town

2010-12-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

I keep checking these photos from the student protests. I get the feeling that 2011 will see a lot more unrest in the UK.

I was chatting to Wrong Tom at the Bonobo / Roots Manuva / Ninja Tune gig in Brighton on Friday and he was saying next year is the 30th anniversary of The Specials 'Ghost Town'....I wonder if someone is going to come up with another anthem like that in 2011 that can get to number 1 in the Pop charts....I hope so.

Check loads more excellent photos here:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/12/london_tuition_fee_protest.html

2010 videos

2010-12-15T07:23:00.000-08:00

I've recently finished sorting out my radio shows with "Best Of 2010" selections. It's been another good year for music and I thought I'd update some of my thoughts of 2010.

VIDEOS
From a slightly biased point of view the Belleruche video for Fuzz Face has been something I've really enjoyed. Just the fact that someone took the time to photocopy each indvidual still for the video to get the authentic grime'y feel deserves applause. Computers make life easy but they are also to clean sometimes and for me it just adds to the soul of the video.

I really loved the Shad video for Rose Garden. Obviously with a nod to The Pharcyde and Spike Jonze but it is done well.

I'm not sure why the video for MIA's Born Free was banned by YouTube. I suppose it's good publicity but with all the stuff going on with Wikileaks at the moment there seem to be many things going on about censorship that I don't think I'll ever fully understand.

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

Das Racist have a great name and I love their tunes and this video. I'm still old school Tron and don't think I'll ever watch Avatar.

PUBLIC ENEMY

2010-07-31T06:53:00.000-07:00

So I’ve just uploaded the more DJ friendly version of my Re Edit of Public Enemy’s ‘Fight The Power’ to Soundcloud. As usual this will be kept to a limited download amount of 100.

Public Enemy : Fight The Power (Nirobi Re Edit) by robertluis

The first Re Edit I did also included the Flava Flav Meets Spike Lee version of ‘Fight The Pwer’ but although it worked to listen to, I just felt that it was a bit too long for the dancefloor but it does makes a good listen. I thought I’d upload it here anyway.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/788378009f93fb4e/

I am a huge Public Enemy fan. I remember the first time I heard Rebel Without A Pause it blew my mind. I was already an obsessive Hip Hop fan but this track really was crazy….pure noise but very funky. The Bomb Squad production unit just had the “raw but funky” sound perfected.

One of the reasons I like Public Enemy so much, is the fact that they showed me directly how music can really change people’s attitudes. I was at school at the time Public Enemy first came to the UK and a few more people at my school started to get into Hip Hop. I was very used to a few people in my year making so-called jokes that were a bit racist but as they got more into Hip Hop their attitude really began to change and they stopped with these type of comments. The big change came from them getting into Hip Hop and going to see Public Enemy live. I think groups like Public Enemy, although they came with what some people might argue is quite an extreme political point, the way they marketed themselves did appeal to people of all races and backgrounds. Their music and image was so powerful you had to take notice.

It’s interesting watching the video to the track. At the start you see a big banner saying “Register To Vote” and nearly 20 years later Obama is the President of the USA.

New DJ Mix with some forthcoming Tru Thoughts music...

2010-07-01T04:38:00.000-07:00

Tru Thoughts On Mixcloud by Tru Thoughts on Mixcloud

World Cup DJ Mix

2010-06-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

I've done a couple of DJ mixes with an African theme. The first one is a more dancefloor orientated one and the second one is a more head nod one. You can download the DJ mixes here:

ROBERT LUIS 'AFRICAN WORLD CUP DJ MIX (PART1)'
http://www.zshare.net/audio/777876494b3920b0/

ROBERT LUIS 'AFRICAN WORLD CUP DJ MIX (PART2)'
http://www.zshare.net/audio/774804380d386302/

You can also stream and check tracklistings here:
http://www.mixcloud.com/robertluis/

Films

2010-05-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Saw Four Lions this weekend. Directed by Chris Morris and a satire about suicide bombers! The acting is great, it is funny but also quite surreal and there's a great message to it. Highly recommended.

The other film I've enjoyed this year is the Banksy documentary 'Exit Through The Gift Shop'. Some great footage of street art and the surreal story of Mr Brainwash...a man who filmed Banksy and then decided to become an artist himself. There's some great music on the soundtrack complied by Geoff Barrow (Portishead). The track used on the film trailer is an excellent tune by The Creators originally released on Bad Magic (an off shoot of Wall Of Sound).

I've done a little re-edit just extended some instrumental parts to break up the vocal a bit. Listen/Download here:

http://bit.ly/9eU62n

HUMAN LEAGUE (NIROBI RE-EDIT)

2010-04-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

I was always a big fan of The Human League when I was young and to me their music fitted alongside the Streetsound’s Electro albums I heard my older cousins playing. When I heard Hint drop the original version of Love Action at the Tru Thoughts New Years Eve Party in Brighton a couple of years ago I thought it sounded amazing. I always felt I would like to do a little re-edit (basically removing quite a bit of the vocals).

I sent out a promo to a few DJ’s last week and have had some great reactions....including getting played by James Mountain on Ministry Of Sound radio (btw also check out Ross Allen’s show on Ministry Of Sound radio too....always a great selection of tunes)

You can listen to the tune via Soundcloud here:

The Human League : Love Action (Nirobi Re-Edit) by robertluis

I’ll keep the download link active for a week or so...so if you like be quick and download here:

http://bit.ly/auibhh

SXSW in Texas, USA

2010-03-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

Bit of a jet lagged post. So excuse any ramblings.

First time for me at SXSW and it seems like a great conference. Very busy with both business seminars and some great music. Just got back from the Stones Throw party. Saw Amir (BBE), Rhematic and J Rocc , who were all good really enjoyed the way J Rocc worked the turntables. He even cut some specials on 45 to stick with the 45 theme of the night. Jet lag kicked in too much so had to get back to hotel so missed Madlib and Peanut Butter Wolf.

They also gave away a free 7" tonight. A much kinder gesture than a free download!

SoundCloud: Re-Edits and DJ Mixes

2010-02-05T14:48:00.000-08:00

I am going to be adding a few Re-Edits and DJ Mixes on my SoundCloud page over the next few weeks.

Latest tracks by robertluis

Edit

2010-01-18T05:15:00.000-08:00

Did a few re-edits this weekend and thought I’d put one up here for download. K’naan, Mos Def and Chali 2na into the original tune used on the break from Tiahoun Gessess. A Long Edit with head nod groove for the early DJ slot or useful to switch styles from Hip Hop to that Afro selection. If you like it definitely buy the Troubadour album from K’naan.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/7135953050506b55/

Best Of 2009 Radio Playlists (4 Shows)

2009-12-16T14:53:00.000-08:00

Below is a link for the radio show (podcast or stream). So much music this year, I put aside four shows to play the tunes....and still ended up missing quite a few out.

http://www.tru-thoughts.co.uk/audio/unfold-radio">

Unfold with RobertLuis
Sunday 13thDecember

Best of 2009 Part 1 of 4

SamonKawmura/ Sugar Hill feat O Mas(BMG)
MarkPritchard/ Hologram (Ho Hum)
AriRoze/ Roll WithThe Planet (Mighty Highness)
Lucinda Slim& TheLone Stars / All This Time (Melting Pot Music)
Jay Z / EmpireStateOfMind (Roc Nation)
The P Brothers / In A Zone (Heavy Bronx)
BustaRhymes / Decision (Universal)
MosDef feat The Ruler / Auditorium (Downtown)
Natural Self / The Rising feat AndreyaTriana(The Broken Keys Mix) (Tru Thoughts)
MarkPritchardfeat OmasKeith / Wind ItUp (Hyperdub)
Fredo/ Squadron Face (Tru Thoughts)
DZ / TheThings We Do (DZ Dubwise)
Chase & Status / Saxon (Ram)
Aldo Vanucci presents AmieJ / Naïve (Tru Thoughts)
Platinum Piped Pipers / Pigeon Hole (Ubiquity)
Kylie Auldist/ In A Week InA Day (Ashley BeedleEdit) (Tru Thoughts)
PaulWhite / Alien Nature (One Handed)
Elemental & TomCaruana/ Pay Me A Visit feat Count Bass D (TeaSea)
Jaz/ TheEpispicalChurchWelcomes You (Sixty Five)
Marky& Drumagick/ Superbass(Beatmsters)
Channel 2 & Goldstar/ Must Come A Road(Rocksteady)
GunmasterG9 & Pyarelel/ Wrong Number (Nasha)
Kloke/ Aquarius (Entrada)
Zed Bias/ Neighbourhood (Promo)
DJ Zinc & DaveSpoon / Ghost Train (Televizion)
Karizma/ DrumzNightmare (R2)
Dusty / Salsa Step (Jazz N Milk)

Unfold with RobertLuis
Sunday 20thDecember

Best Of 2009 (Show 2 of 4)

Laroca/ Elevator Tester (Just Music)
Flashbaxx/ Jack Of All Trades (MaximillionLoopRemix) (Blackfish)
Q Tip / Canwomanboogie(DomuEdit) (Promo)
Palov & Mishkin / Rude EmAmba(Cast ABlast)
Moonstar/ LahamBaginefeat TonyEzzy(Public Transit)
Rainer Truby/ To Know You (Compost)
Zwicker/ Oddity (PilooskiRemix) (Compost)
RoyAyers / Red Black & Green (Onur EnginEdit)
Donaeo/ Party Hard (My Ish)
Martyn/ EldenSt(3024)
Hint / Tape Packs (Tru Thoughts)
Hard House Bantons/ Sirens (Spoilt Rotten)
MasoulV Son Da Batey/ Biomba(Promo)
Magic Drum Orchestra / Raggasamba(Lion Head)
The Heavy / How You Like Me Now (Ninja Tune)
The Bamboos / Turn It Up (Tru Thoughts)
Messengers / Paradise(Promo)
The Jacksons/ Show You TheWay To Go (Madnus& ScogilEdit)
The Jackson/ Show You TheWay To Go (PhiladelphiaInternational)
Funkineven1956 / Kleerfeat Fatima (Eglo)
Miguel Atwood Ferguson & Carlos Nino / Fall InLove (Mochilla)
Kinny/ Afro Love Forest(Stonephace Remix)
Silkie& Harry Craze / Favela(Break TheHabit)
Zomby/ TheLie (Ramp)
SukhKnight / GanjaDub (True Tiger)
Dorian Concept / Tropical Hands (Affine)

Unfold with RobertLuis
Sunday 27thDecember

Best of 2009 (Show 3 of 4)

Mayer Hawthorne / Maybe So Maybe No (Stones Throw)
Skeletons / Positive Force (Impossible Ark)
Bullion / Time ForUs All To Love (One Handed)
Lizzy Parks/ All That (Natural Self Mix) (Tru Thoughts)
Leisure All Stars / How We Roll (SubstaticRemix) (Leisure)
AC Lewis / Tickles (DomuMix) (Tru Thoughts)
Quantic & His Combo Barbaro/ UnCanto A Mi Tierra (Tru Thoughts)
William De Vaughn / Be Thankful ForWhat You’ve Got (Onur EnginEdit)
Michael Jackson / Billie Jean (EdSmith Remix) (Promo)
Floating Points / Vacuum Boogie (Eglo)
Jack Penate/ TonightsToday (XL)
Nacho Patrol / AfricaSpace Program (Kindred Spirits)
Major Lazer/ PonDe Floor (Downtown)
Mungos Hi Fi/ HaffiRock (Scrub A Dub)
16 Bit/ In TheDeath Car (Boka)
Joy Orbison/ HyphMngo(Hot Flush)
La Roux / In For TheKill (SkreamMix)
RobSparx/ So Good (Trooper)
Michael Jackson / Human Nature (Makoto Mix) (Promo)
Redeyes& Lenzman/ We Got TheMagic (Promo)
Makoto / Sentimental Moods (Creative Source)
Debruit/ Nigerian What? (Civil Music)
Lack OfAfro / Rhythm Come Forward (Freestyle)
Clarence “Frogman” Henry / I Ain’tGot No Home (RockinEdits)

Unfold with RobertLuis
Sunday 3rdJanuary

Best Of 2009 Show 4 of 4

Jay Z / Death OfAutotune(Roc Nation)
JankoNilovic/ In TheSpace (Dare Dare)
RZA / Whar(Wu Music)
MED / Soon Find Out (Stones Throw)
Mr Scruff / Nice Up TheFunction (Remix) (Ninja Tune)
Dobie/ Dumb Girl FromAllen Road(Brownswood)
1000 Names / It Started As ARemix (Eklektik)
Sound Species / Can We Call It Love feat Ahu(Burnt Progress)
Lizzy Parks/ Deluge (Tru Thoughts)
Crowhead/ ECM (Atic)
Nostalgia 77 Sessions presents Keith Tippetts/ Four Whispers ForArchiesChair (Tru Thoughts)
The RaahProject / WillYou Be There (Summer Dawn)
Bonobo/ TheKeeper feat AndreyaTriana(Ninja Tune)
Disrupt / SelassiI Continually (Werk)
Harmonic 313 / Falling Away (Warp)
Filewile/ Radiotower(Mouth Watering)
AcusmaticGroup / TheFixer (Solo ModernaMix) (Irma)
Azaxx / Autumn Dreamy (Tru Thoughts)
Kotchy/ Sing What You Want (MRK1 Remix) (Civil Music)
Sully / Cadillac (FrijsfoBeats)
Breakage / Run EmOut feat Roots Manuva(Digital Soundboy)
DizzeeRascal / Can’t TekNo More (DirteeStank)
JahdanBlakkamore/ Earth Shaking (Gold Dust)
Bibio/ Fire Ant (Warp)
ColinMunroe / Piano Lessons (Marked Music)
SaRa Creative Partners / Spacefruit(Ubiquity)
N’Dambi/ Can Hardly Wait (Stax)
Fulgeance/ Sour Soca(One Handed)
Domu/ We Can (Tru Thoughts)

Tru Thoughts in Switzerland

2009-12-15T04:08:00.000-08:00

Had a great Tru Thoughts 10th Birthday party in Switzerland. Everyone involved in this night works really hard and it's a great crowd. Liked the little touches like the inflatable birthday cake plus Tru Thoughts logo made in red balloons.

The video above is the end of Kinny's live PA and the video below is the shout for "one more tune" after Azaxx, TM Juke and myself has been DJ'ing back to back at the end of the night. You can hear TM Juke saying to me we should play one more and me being a lightweight and saying "no".

DJ Mixes & the BNP

2009-12-09T16:27:00.000-08:00

I was asked to do a DJ Mix for Bobby Friction’s show on the BBC Asian Network last week.. When I did one a couple of years ago, amongst the music I put some snippets from the Quadraphenia soundtrack. This time I decided to put a snippet of the Cassette Boy “Question Time” cut up they posted on YouTube which featured Nick Griffin (the leader of the far right BNP political organisation, which is supposedly not racist, but does not want anyone who is not white to become a member).

When I sent the DJ mix I was phoned by the producer of the show and told that after everything that had happened with Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand, I had to remove the skit from the mix. I did say that it was unlikely that anyone from the BNP would be listening to the Asian Network but was told that the skit might be looked upon as defamation of character.

I didn’t really want to cause too much of a fuss, as I know the BBC is a big corporation and everyone has their job to do and policies come from on high.

I do wonder if Nick Griffin would think it’s “Political correctness gone mad”.

Anyway here’s the link to the DJ mix on BBC Asian Network:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p5zj7

Here’s the link to the “original” DJ Mix featuring the Question Time skit:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/6926294974109145

Here's the link to the original post from Cassette Boy:

USA: MUSIC AND CARBS (WASHINGTON)

2009-12-01T09:05:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON
First time in Washington for me. Played at 18th Street Lounge which is part-owned by the Thievery Corporation. It’s a great venue, which inside is just like a house with comfy sofas and a few different rooms. The DJ booth is in the hallway and there is a little window to look through to see the dancefloor. Quite unusual but it does work. I really enjoyed playing here.

Big tunes: Kenny Dope “Supa”, Jazzmin Sullivan “Backstabbers”, Messengers “Paradise (ReEdit), Natural Self “In The Morning”, AC Lewis “Tickles (Domu Remix)”, Karizma “Requiem For A DJ”, Kitanga “Keep Changing”.

Finally had a day off on Sunday so enjoyed the lie in. Went to see the White House which was smaller than I thought it would be and then watched the final series of “Curb Your Enthusisam” on HBO (which without doubt is the best comedy around) in the hotel room with some take out sushi….time to get the carb intake to normal levels after two weeks in USA.

USA: MUSIC AND CARBS (NEW YORK)

2009-12-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK
Second time in New York for me and I really love the energy of the place. We were playing at a night organised by Nickodemus (Turntables On The Hudson / Wonderwheel). Unfortunately Nico was away gigging but Jugo ran the show for him. Taking us for some great ribs at the Rub Barbeque (we all agreed the best ribs any of us had had). The venue got changed at the last minute so it was a new space to play at. Although a few people were dancing, we kept getting asked to turn the music up but the barman said it couldn’t be done. We lost out a bit to the main room that was louder but still enjoyed the night. Best moment seeing a priest (a real priest) busting some serious shapes on the dancefloor.

Big tunes on the night: Domu “Quarantine”, Soul II Soul “Back To Life”, Floating Points “Vacuum Boogie”, Kinny “Back Street Lust (Azaxx Mix)”

Only had one full day in NY so not much time to look around.

USA: MUSIC AND CARBS (LOS ANGELES)

2009-12-01T08:45:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES
On my first trip to LA in 2007 I have to say I didn’t really connect with the place at all, probably due to the fact that I was staying at a hotel in the middle of nowhere without a car. This time round I had a better experience. We met Jazmine, who works with us at Tru Thoughts in the USA , who had a car and was kind enough to drive us around. We met up with the people from EMI (shout to Matt, Joel and Ben) and one of the meetings was in the famous Capitol building. It was also great to meet up with real music fans, who are part of a major set up. The Sony’s and Universal’s need a few more people like this within positions of power. Whilst waiting in the Capitol reception there were the Diamond awards for sales of 10 million plus albums: MC Hammer, Pink Floyd, The Beatles and Garth Brooks!!!

We stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel and got an upgrade on our arrival overlooking the swimming pool (which is where Marilyn Monroe posed for her first ever advert)! The Roosevelt dates back to the 30’s was a hang out for gangsters and movie stars including Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable and Errol Flynn.

We met up with Jeremy Sole and had some drinks by the pool. He had some great stories including recently working with Lauren Hill. It was good to chat with him but when the bar bill came I realised we’re living an LA lifestyle on a Brighton budget! Made me think the bar prices might have been the reason Courtney Love passed out here in 1996.

When Jazmine and Jeremy left in the evening, they were waiting outside when suddenly a whole load of paparazzi appeared and then Lindsay Lohan came out of her car with her entourage who kept asking the Paparazzi if this was really necessary…celebs and their hangers on are nuts. Don’t go to a hotel in the centre of LA if you don’t want to be photographed.

Although it was an interesting experience staying there, it’s definitely not the environment I’m most comfortable in. When I entered the hotel to go to my room at night, I was told the bar is shut and had to explain to them that I’m staying there. Not sure jeans and an 80’s adidas wind cheater is the look of the majority of the cliental there.

We also met up with Todd Simon who has worked with Quantic, Kanye West, The Lions (Ubiquity) and Macy Gray’s first album amongst many others. Like Jeremy Sole he was a real passionate music fan with lots of great stories. Always inspiring meeting people like that.

The gig was at Low End Theory. Home to Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer, Daedalus and promoter Daddy Kev. It was not an obvious choice for us to play there as the night has it’s own style but I really enjoyed playing a beatsier and bassier set. The few vocal tracks I played did not go down to well but the Dub Step sounded great and was appreciated by the crowd. Was good to meet Daedulus and Poirer too. I enjoyed the energy of the night and the uncompromising stance of the residents. These are the type of nights that create genres (as Hip Hop, Jungle and Dub Step have done in the recent past). Run by people who like music but want to push a unique style.

Big tunes on the night. 16 Bit “In The Death Car”, Sukh Knight “Knightlife”, Dobie “Dumb Girl From Allen Road”, Harmonic 313, Tweet “Oops (Hudson Mohawke Mix)

Ate some good food too whilst in LA. Mexican at Gardens of Taxco

USA: MUSIC AND CARBS (SAN FRANCISCO)

2009-12-01T08:26:00.000-08:00

USA BLOG

I went out to meet up with a few people now that Tru Thoughts has distribution in the USA with EMI / Caroline and also DJ’ed at a few places with Lance from The Bamboos. This was the second time I have ever been to the USA.

SAN FRANCISCO
First time for me in SF and have heard a lot of people say it is very similar to Brighton. It really is. There is a real independent spirit there. On the first day we went to Haight Street to visit Amoeba Records. This record store is huge…like the old Virgin Megastore or Tower but filled with mainly good music rather than corny Rock / Indie and R&B. Lance and myself did an instore DJ appearance there which was a good experience. They had Fat Freddys Drop playing there live the following week. When walking back down Haight street there was a busker on his guitar singing about how “the revolution will come”…at the moment I think the bankers have won the revolution though.

It was great to catch up with Andrew Jervis from Ubiquity records who took us for some “funky soul food” before we went to play some tunes and chat on his radio show. They obviously have a dedicated fan base with quite a few people calling up during the show.

We DJ’ed at a night called Afrolicious on Thursday. The crowd was a good dancing crowd and very open minded. Lance and myself had a great time. Big tunes on the night Quantic “Un Canto A Ma Tierra”, Bob Azzam “Batucada Por Favour”, Lizzy Parks “All That (Natural Self Mix)”, Bigga Bush “Raggasamba” Dusty “Revolver Theme”.

I liked San Francisco. Haight street pretty much had only independent shops on it (apart from American Apparel). In the UK you get used to Tesco, Starbucks, McDonalds being everywhere that it is a nice experience being in a busy shopping area where you have shops and cafes run by individuals rather than corporations.

Lance and myself went to visit the Golden Gate bridge and after sitting down having a drink we realised we were at the Bay Bridge, so quickly got a taxi to the Golden Gate. I have a very bad sense of direction and can’t pick out major land marks either.

The homeless issue is more visible in San Francisco than any other place I have visited. From speaking to people it seems to be that the homeless people go to San Fran and LA as the climate is easier to cope with and there is a policy by the police to leave them alone and not move them on. I know in Brighton the police tend to move the homeless people around so in effect the problem is “swept under the carpet” a little more in the UK. For me seeing the homeless was a constant and real reminder for me to be grateful for the life I lead. Although touring can be tiring, especially doing it on an “independent budget” there are harder jobs and hurdles in life than running a record label.

THE BAMBOOS 'ON THE SLY' VIDEO

2009-11-06T04:42:00.000-08:00

New video for the first single from the next Bamboos album. Kylie Auldist on vocals. Single out Feb 2010.

Croatia Garden Festival

2009-11-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

Interview I did with the excellent Fun & Floor crew from Switzerland. Has footage of Garden Festival and clips from Quantic, Bonobo, Flevans and Domu

TRU THOUGHTS TEN

2009-11-02T15:49:00.000-08:00

It’s been a really busy year so far. Celebrating 10 years of Tru Thoughts has meant a lot of gigs at clubs and festivals since the start of the year. For the first time since the 90’s I’m going to take a whole month of in December with no DJ gigs (well…still going to do the radio show and do New Years Eve!).

Having recently done quite a few interviews about Tru Thoughts (including Gilles Peterson and Nihal on Radio 1, Craig Charles on BBC6 and recent interviews for DJ Magazine and IDJ), it has made me look back at where the label is now and how we got here. It’s been an amazing journey (hard work but enjoyable).

One of the most interesting points that has come up in celebrating 10 years, is that a few people have mentioned other labels and nights that are celebrating 10 years in 2009. It seems 1999 was a year that quite a few people started something….it may be that all the Millenium Bug / End Of The World stuff subconsciously got to us and we decided we should do something before the world ends!

It was great at this years Big Chill to see Quantic, Alice Russell and Bonobo all on the big Castle Stage playing to a few thousand people and it really reminded me how far they’ve gone. I remember lending Bonobo my Atari computer when his broke so he could record some music in 2000 and being really surprised to see that Quantic recorded his first two albums on a knackered PC when he first moved to Brighton. I always think the best music always comes from being hungry.

I’m really excited about the music we have lined up for 2010 ….and feel there’s some very good ideas and music out there at the moment in general. Also, chatting to a couple of really interesting artists who I hope to sign too.

In a twisted way, the fact that the music industry is suffering a bit financially, is a good thing. It really means that a lot of the people making interesting and creative music are doing so mainly because they love music and not to make some fast money. I always think the best music always comes from being hungry…but please don’t use this it as an excuse too download our music for free…the amazing string section on Quantic’s latest album was funded by people buying his last album!

Check the latest radio show via Brooklyn Radio here:
http://brooklynradio.net/unfold/

Tru Thoughts 10th Birthday in London:

Brighton Treats With Michael Jackson Beats (Mix by Robert Luis)

2009-06-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.zshare.net/audio/620236198fc3fd6e/

Link above for the mix.

The mix features some interview snippets of MJ alongside some great MJ musical moments and a variety of musical styles that have sampled or covered MJ tunes. So covers Reggae, Hip Hop, Drum and Bass, Bollywood and Soul. Enjoy.

TRACKLISTINGS:

MICHAEL JACKSON INTERVIEW AGE 14
PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH / APPRECIATE
THE JACKSON 5 / 2-4-6-8
NAS / IT AIN’T HARD TO TELL
SWV / RIGHT HERE (EXTENDED HUMAN NATURE MIX)
MICHAEL JACKSON / HUMAN NATURE (ME&YOU DRUMS EDIT)
MICHAEL JACKSON TALKING ABOUT DUSK, DAWN AND CREATIVITY
DE LA SOUL / BREAKADAWN
TALIB KWELI & JEAN GRAE / THE ONES
THE JACKSON 5 / IT’S GREAT TO BE HERE
MICHAEL JACKSON / ROCK WITH YOU
MICHAEL JACKSON / BILLE JEAN (INSTRUMENTAL)
LEXXUS / MEDLEY (BILLIE JEAN EDIT)
UNKNOWN BOLLYWOOD ARTIST / BILLIE JEAN
USHA UTHUP / CHHUPKE KAUN AYA
SHY FX / PLASTIC SOUL
MICHAEL JACKSON & JAMES BROWN SPEAKING TOGETHER
MICHAEL JACKSON / HUMAN NATURE (MAKOTO REMIX)
MICHAEL JACKSON / DON’T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH (ORIGINAL DEMO)
MICHAEL JACKSON / DON’T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH
MICHAEL JACKSON / WANNA BE STARTIN SOMETHIN (INSTRUMENTAL)
JACKSON 5 / ABC (TOKYO SKA PARADISE REMIX)
UNKNOWN / SHAKE YOUR BODY DOWN (DUB VERSION)
MICHAEL JACKSON / WE GOT A GOOD THING GOING
THE JACKSON 5 / WHO’S LOVING YOU
MICHAEL JACKSON INTERVIEWED BY JESSE JACKSON

New Music On Tru Thoughts for 2009

2009-01-17T04:27:00.000-08:00

On the audio link there's a Podcast I've recorded with some tasters of the new music being released on Tru Thoughts in 2009 from Quantic, Kinny, Lizzy Parks, Stonephace (featuring Adrian Utley from Portishead), The Bamboos and Flevans amongst others. Or link direct:

http://www.tru-thoughts.co.uk/inc/files/01%20Track%2001.mp3

Tunes Of 2008

2009-01-05T02:38:00.000-08:00

DANCEFLOOR

Various / Black Gold (Tru Thoughts 12”)

Various / Gypsy Beats and Balkan Bangers 2 (Atlantic Jaxx LP)

Saravah Soul / Saravah Soul (Tru Thoughts LP)

Andy H / Kick Kick (First Word)

Gerardo Frisina / Donke De (Schema)̀

Madnus & Scogil / Carpet Volé (Fluid Ounce)

Mujava / Township Funk (This Is Music)

Hercules And Love Affair / Blind [Frankie Knuckles Vocal] (DFA)

Karizma / Requiem For A DJ (Unique Uncut)

Donaeo / I (Promo)

Mr Scruff & Danny Breaks / Bang The Floor (Ninja Tune)

The Bamboos / King Of The Rodeo (Tru Thoughts)

Daz-I-Kue ft Andrea Clarke / Solid As Concrete (Soundboy)

Landslide / Yemp Booty

Dusty / Loco Para La Pista (Solo Moderna Remix) (Jazz & Milk)

MRK1 / Counteraction

TC / Where’s My Money (Caspa Remix) (D Style)

12th Planet & EMU / Control (Skream Remix) (Bass Heads)

Brookes Brothers / Tear You Down (Breakbeat Kaos)

Simon V & Telmo / The Rhythm Track

Redeyes / Conart (Poetry In Motion)

HIP HOP

Roots Manuva / Slime & Reason (Big Dada LP)

Esoteric / Deathless Fascination (Pterodactyl Tubeway)

Q Tip / Gettin Up (Motown)

Roddy Rod / The Bluntpark Sessions (Jazzy Sport LP)

Common / Universal Mind Control (Geffen)

SOUL

Erykah Badu / The Healer (Motown)

Mayer Hawthorne / Just Ain't Gonna Work Out (Stones Throw)

Zo! And Tigallo / Africa (Love The 80's!)

Eric Lau / New Territories (Ubiquity LP)

Jazzanova / Let Me Show Ya (Verve)

Hint / One Woman Army (Tru Thoughts)

Robin Thicke / Magic (Star Trak)

Wallis Bird / Moodsets (Part Time Heroes Remix) (EMI)

Lee Mcdonald / I'll Do Anything For You (Freddie Cruger Remix)

Lizzy Parks / Raise The Roof (Tru Thoughts)

Mala / Alicia

Belleruche / Anything You Want (Not That) (Tru Thoughts)

JAZZED UP / HEAD NOD

Tettory Bad / Eternal Freedom (Jazzy Sport)

The Natural Yogurt Band /Away With Meloncholy (Jazzman LP)

IG Culture / Zen Badizm (Jazzy Sport LP)

Chase & Status / Eastern Jam

Soft Rocks /Black Magic (Power Play III)

Mr Beatnik / I Know All The Bitches (Altered Vibes)

RE-EDITS / BOOTLEGS

Me&You / Music For Birthdays (Rebtuz CD)

Jay-Z V Fela Kuti / Nigerian Gangster (Mile Love Edits)

Elvis Presley / Crawfish (Pilooski Edit)

Marvin Gaye / Heard It Through The Grapevine (Marc Rapson Edit)

COMPILATION OF THE YEAR

Various / Spiritual Jazz: Esoteric, Modal And Deep Jazz From The Underground 1968-77 (Jazzman LP)

Various / Calypsoul 70: Caribbean Soul & Calypso Crossover 1969-1979 (Strut)

REGGAE

Mungo's Hi Fi / Rooster

Flowering Inferno / Cuidad Del Swing (Tru Thoughts)

Cocoa Tea / Barack Obama