Global warming ain’t all bad. The weathers been scorching for this time of year here at Blunt HQ. In fact, we’ve been able to have the first of our infamous barbecues already, and believe me, that’s no mean feat in April, in the UK.

(Big up to the Riot Control crew in Brooklyn for providing the soundtrack to this meat-eating fest!)

Anyway, once the sun comes out, so does the reggae! It’s natural cause and effect. Physics in action, my friends. DJ Hughes has made musical reference to this equation in his latest creation. The Sleng Teng mixtape. It’s a selection of tunes on the Sleng Teng riddim, and mixed and blended by Mr Hughes himself.

A tracklisitng for this mix is below:

Continue reading…

Oh yes. And bloody good it is too! In case you’ve missed our previous article on these guys, Riot Control are based in Brooklyn NY, and put together top quality podcasts. Simple as that. Their selection and blending of tunes is second to none, is very distinctive, and well executed. Each episode has a fantastic variety, mainly across the hip hop, funk, and soul genres, but with bits of jazz, dubstep, breakbeat, and other good stuff thrown in too.

This series of podcasts comes highly recommended by the crew here, and was in fact the soundtrack to the first barbecue of the year held here at Blunt HQ! - Good to hear the shout to the Blunt Beats crew across the pond, gentlemen. Nice one for that!

You can catch the latest Riot Control podcast, check the archives, and get all the contact details etc for the guys at www.riotcontrolnyc.com - go and do it now. You’ll be doing yourself a favour, trust me.

That’s right. It’s very nearly that time of the week again. Tomorrow (Wednesday) will see the Blunt Family back at HQ, for 4 hours of live radio, hijacking the airwaves from 8pm BST.

In tune (pardon the pun) with recent shows of late, we’ve made this weeks show a bit of a themed one. It’s going to be something of a Breakbeat and Drum and Bass excursion this time around, from 3 of the resident Blunt Beats Djs who are old enough to know better….

The running order for tomorrow night looks like this:

8:00-9:20 - Marcus G Hurley with a selection of classic old-skool drum and bass.

9:20-10:40 - Agent M with some more drum and bass, a bit of old-skool, and some breakbeat thrown in for good measure.

10:40-00:00 - DJ Hughes continues on the d n’ b tip up until midnight.

Continue reading…

It’s that time of the month again. We’re back for more beats, chinwags, and shandies, down at the Hat Factory in Central Luton. For those of you that aren’t aware, once a month, we take our Wednesday night live radio sessions, and put ‘em in a cosy bar…The whole thing is streamed live as per our usual radio shows, but you the public get the chance to come and see us doing our thing live, say hello, and have the odd tipple. Can’t be bad.

The night takes place at the Hat Factory, Bute St, Luton, Beds, tomorrow night (4th April), and runs from 8 until midnight. There’s no charge on the door (’cos we’re nice like that), and the venue has a fully licensed bar.

We’ve been doing this for a couple of months now, and to positive responses. We’re hoping to be able to move this project to an even more comfy bar in the same venue in the next couple of months, and we’ll keep you posted on that.

Sets this weeks from DJ Hughes, Agent M, and the Erbalist. As the flyer suggests, expect a mixture of hip hop and funk sounds through til the midnight hour. Nice. See you there

Of course, if you’re unable to make it down in person, the whole evenings music will be streamed live on Blunt Beats Radio courtesy of our good friends at Level 1, and, it’ll be available for download for the following 7 days. No excuses. In person, at the bar, in your front room, or on Tuesday mornings on the download tip. We’ve made this session as accessible as we can. Enjoy.

He’s been at it again….DJ Hughes has locked himself away, and recorded this little gem, just for us at Blunt Beats (and you guys in webland). This mix is specifically based on UK breakbeat/hardcore label Shut Up And Dance. For anyone over about the age of 25, this label is legendary, and responsible for more warehouse anthems than you can begin to imagine.

From acts like the unmistakable Ragga Twins, to the dreamy vocals of Nicolette, SUAD records really were the only crew you needed to know about back in the day! This mix will take you on a tour of East London warehouse parties, circa 1991. A tracklisting for this little excursion is below. Continue reading…