Last week our latest mashup was featured on a much-loved bi-weekly blog thanks to a DJ/blogger/all round great guy called Spinforth. The plays went through the roof, the downloads maxed out and radio shows in places as far away as Germany and New Zealand played the track on their shows. If you still haven’t heard it yet, here it is below. Alternative download link can also be found here… (last spam I swear)
So, in conclusion, nice one Spin. Big thanks from our end. If I ever meet you I’ll buy you a cold lager, or a vintage whiskey, or a J20, or whatever you fancy really (no bubbly, I’m not made of cash). Anyway, as a tribute to Spinforth, Ghetto Funk, the Hong Kong Ping Pong Club et al and their dedication to scouring the internet in finding the funkiest, bounciest, free-est beats around and compacting them into an easy-to-digest online party page we’ve decided to do our own one-off collection of our favourite party tracks available on Soundcloud. All free (legally), all good times.
Let’s kick it off then!
First up, Mr. Sam Redmore. Creator of some of the finest mixes on the web and occasional mash-up artiste supreme. The snoooooooooooooops are fairly regularly rinsed by DJs but this is certainly one of its better outings. Very nicely layered over the top of Premonitions by the Friendly Fire Band, it’s a guaranteed skank-a-starter.
A.Skillz is an absolute breaks don, someone I’ve always wanted to put on at a Cool Beans event but his busy schedule has yet to allow it (and of course not to mention our busy schedule that includes writing blogs, drinking melted lard and visiting A&E with Dom Kidson). Fingers crossed he can pop in for a party soon though. In the meanwhile here’s a tune you’ve probably all heard at some point, now you can hear it again!
You already know how much we love Slamboree. Mike Freear’s band of merry men and women always bring a smile to any nearby faces, even if said faces just received some distressing news, like their dog has slipped a disc or they’ve just been diagnosed with a severe bout of genital dandruff. Now, would Prokofiev himself have enjoyed this rendition of Dance of the Knights? We’d like to think that he would have…
Sticking with the theme of classical anthems (that’s right anthems, you’d go mad if you heard The Nutcracker in club) with a modern twist here’s Skeewiff‘s reggae-fied take on Johan Pachelbel’s Canon in D. Phenomenal work. Don’t know too much about Skeewiff apart from he seems to nail every single genre he takes on. Country, swing, funk, breaks, the lot.
Sheffield heads now. Written and sung by K.O.G., featuring an appearance from Carlito Blacks and produced by Squire of Gothos and Off Me Nut don Tich. The result is a storming reggae/jungle banger. Whack it on a large sound system and run around in a circle.
Time for some moombahton now. Big fans of the more subtle, less brostep orientated stuff. Even bigger fans of moombahton remixes of disco classics. Therefore please feel free to sink your teeth into Hungary head Kovary‘s take on You Sexy Thing. First heard it being played in Sheffield by Mr. Stu, gotta credit him otherwise he’ll break our legs.
Up next are Leeds lads the Jenova Collective, transforming Monroe’s version of Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend into an absolute electro-swing-bassline-wobbly banger. I played this out at Beaverfest in the autumn and it turned out Kieran from JC was in the crowd. What were the odds? we cried. Such a humorous coincidence! we andecdoted. How funny! we laughed.
Another Leeds resident, this time it’s mashup king Ocelus. He’s got a whole batch of good time tracks available on his Soundcloud, and we mean really good times. This one is a highlight though, pushing the mashup staple past an instrumental and acapella by utilising both musical scores from these Cure and Bob Marley tracks. Nice one Ocelus! Grrreeeeeaaatttt!
Ever wondered what a ukulele version of Celebrity Big Brother contestant Coolio’s ode to being a bad man gangster sounded like? No? Well I think you need to give that brain of yours a swift kick in the imagination department. Yes? Here you go, no need to kick yourself in the head.
An extremely calming XX track transformed into a mid tempo house track courtesy of the DJ’s DJ Oneman. From a man who time and time again proved himself as an amazing DJ he’s now proving himself as a producer. This track is very nice indeed.
Over the years DJ Twister has taken a whole bunch of tunes and transformed them into something I like to call swing ‘n’ bass. Whether he calls them that as well is another question. We have in fact never spoken to one another. Either way I haven’t come across a DJ Twister swing ‘n bass track that I haven’t liked, and this Jimmy Liggins effort is no different.
More breaks now. No synth though. Pure funk. And this track is very funky. Funkier than James Brown slapping a bass guitar and shouting FUNKY at the top of his voice. No one’s gonna be accusing Stickybuds of being not funky now are they? ARE THEY?!
The Heatwave are very good at taking an already certified banger and adding some vocals over the top. It may sound simple, but if anyone’s heard my attempt at adding vocals over Pray by Take That you’ll be aware that the task ain’t no walk in the park. Here’s the massive Higher Ground put through the Heatwave blender.
Hey it’s not just DJs releasing free tunes on the old world wide web, bands are at it as well! Here’s Cool Beans favourites Smiling Ivy with a track from the EP before their latest EP – Bombscare. Bass, guitar, drums, bongos, a man singing words. This track ticks all our boxes.
DJ and producer Gramtik a few weeks back on Facebook:
Life is all about compensation. For example, I’m great at making music but I went bald at 23
Wise words indeed, we can all learn a lot from Gramatik, and he’s certainly very good at making music. Follow his social media sites for more philosophical one liners and banging tunes. Here’s his incredible reworking of the Beatles classic Don’t Let Me Down.
Picking up when Sam Redmore left us (just in this blog we mean, Sam’s still DJing and producing), it’s now time for some more reggae/hip hop mashup fodder. This one is courtesy of the man they call Jstar. Jammy’s Sleng Teng riddim and Mims’ This Is Why I’m Hot never sounded so good!
What the hell hey, one more reggae/hip hop mashup. They are a good time after all. This one is from Tenoshi, who manages to take one of the more aggressive hip hop anthems and turn it into something pretty much well, beautiful. I’m welling up just listening to it. It’s still pretty aggressive, sure. Just less so.
Sped up Ludacris acapella, the guitar lick from Brown Eyed Girl and womp-enfused drum and a bass line running underneath. This is a very silly song indeed. Incredible, but silly.
If the last song was simply too silly for you, I’m not sure you should listen to this one.
Now time for something serious.
There you have it, a bunch of Cool Beans Bangers. All available for free download at the time of writing. Make sure you “like’, “share”, “comment” and “send underwear in the post” if you enjoyed the tunes. Artists get a buzz from compliments, there’s no hiding it. Someone complimented me on the drawing of the frog I drew on my thigh the other day. It made my week I tell thee. Now scram!
Love Chris. X
