Primary 1 Hold Me Down (The Shoes Remix)

If you like FrankMuzik you may be into Primary 1 too. He hasn't let off much stuff yet but 'Hold Me Down' sold out it's limited vinyl run. Collins and I caught up with him at Dan Stacey's surprise birthday dinner, organised by the delectable Clare Maguire (the next big thing, trust) but he's been putting in a lot of work so looking forward to hearing more later this year. As for Clare, if you check out www.myspace.com/claremaguire you'll be blown away by a vocal that's a rare find. Admittedly, it may not be for everyone, but the few demo tracks that are currently available can't come close to describing what this brummie lass is like live and acoustic. The new studio material is killer too. Here's begging Dan Stacey to come back from America and play a girl the goods. Don't even let me get started on the new Plan B material. F it. I'm giving up on Dan and ringing Ben Drew myself.

Frankmusik - Better Off As Two

I'm looking forward to hearing more from the man like Frank. Tinchy Stryder also told me their collaboration may end up been Tinchy's next single, after 'Number 1'. If you haven't heard that yet it features Dappy from N Dubz. Not the best thing ever out of Tinchy's bag, but as we all know, some of the finest tunes ever made are the ones which will never appeal to a mass market. Examples of this include his own 'Breakaway', which I love, and Ruff Sqwads 'Xtra'. I wasn't a massssssive fan of the Taio Cruz collabo either but am really really pleased it's going well for him and the camp. They've all been grinding away and showing how much difference professionalism can make... But I have to interrupt this rambling to inform you my eyebrow is twitching and it's really freaky. Maybe Tinchy has put a voodoo curse on me. Gone.

Ctrl.Alt.Shift + VICE

If you haven't heard about the Ctrl.Alt.Shift + VICE collaboration, we basically ran a photography competition based on gender, poverty and power. Over 1,000 entries were submitted and the mentors - Andy Capper, Alex Sturrock, Valerie Philips, Alexa Chung and Ben Rayner chose their favourites. These 16 entries where then submitted to legendary photographer Nan Goldin to chose the grand finalist. These entries are now on display, along with a fantastic collection of work completed by winner Jonathan, who packed his bags and headed to document life at SANLAAP, a project in India which works for the rights of women and children who have been tricked, exploited and abused by society and its systems.









The exhibition is now running at The Association of Photographers, 81 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4QS from 19th February to 1st March.

You can also see some of our favourite shots in issue 3 of Ctrl.Alt.Shift, which is out now.

Keep checking ctrlaltshift.co.uk/vice for updates and see the winning entries
HERE

Just to give you something nice to look at, here are some hi-tech screen shots of my faves.

Stand Up Tall - New SuperSuper Lands!

Issue 15 of SuperSuper is out now. I've got a couple of contributions to be found. First up, some random ramblings on what your hair says about you... I'll upload it when the issue's done and dusted. And, if we're gonna keep it real, my scanner is over the other side of the room and my bed is comfy (although I've slept in better)...



Also, I really enjoyed penning the feature on protesting as the new raving. I've upped the unedited version below the swag mobile phone picture. Standard. If you get the magazine you'll even clock that Tinchy Strudel aka Stryder is an activist. Don't get it twisted, MC's care too.



Stand Up Tall!

From the club to the streets, people want to be heard. Protesting is the new rave, so if your names not down, make your own way in…

In Britain, politicians like David Cameron and Gordon Brown can but dream of having Jay-Z, Ludacris and co penning tracks in their favour. Obama just had to brush the dirt off his shoulder, bust a skank on Ellen’s show and show the nation that it ain’t no thing. Not only was such backing a big look for the now president, but no one can deny the influence such lyrical outbursts have on the unsuspecting consumer.

Fed up of guns, gangs, ho’s and champagne, it’s a throwback to the 80s, a time when hip-hop stood for way more than batty boy bashing and girls in bikinis. For the majority of generation 18 and 20 something, this is a new experience.

Spurred by these messages of hope, fired from various angles and juxtaposed positions, young people the country over are seeing the coolness to be had in believing in something with real meaning, and making your voice heard. If you haven’t formed your own opinions, whinge about your level of brassness when much of the world is living on under $1 a day, or buying new garms is your biggest problem when there’s wars going on and babies getting slaughtered just for being born female, you’re totally not down.

A few years ago, I too was turning a blind eye. But when you live a life of conformity, and the closest thing you get to crime is Police Interceptors or repeating old Dizzee Rascal lyrics, there’s a level of satisfaction to be gained from giving a shit and getting vocal about it. To legally be allowed to voice your opinion, albeit over a club getting threatened with closure or the atrocities in Gaza, it’s something we all too often take for granted. Let us not forget that we, unlike many people across the ocean, have this thing called freedom of speech. We fought for it, so let’s use it.

And it’s not like protesting doesn’t get you somewhere. In Thailand, the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who were fighting against electoral fraud, won the support of the army, got the three ruling parties dissolved and the prime minister banned from politics for five years, then cleaned up the airport before returning home with a sweet victory under their belts. Back on home soil, teens the country-over have made their stance on knife crime perfectly clear. Ben Kinsella’s murder last year saw teens amass overnight, utilising Facebook and MySpace to ensure there was volume in numbers at a march the following day. A quick scan around the recent Gaza protests and the cross-section of placard adorned young guns was vast.

Protesting isn’t the only pastime on a rise. Even getting your signature on a petition shows you’re not as stupid as you are cabbage looking. Athough it turned out to be a hoax, a recent threat, which implied the government were looking to put noise control devices in nightclubs, saw nearly 100,000 people signing up to something other than a guestlist.

Likewise the controversy caused by risk assessment form 696, which requests information about performers and audience members from licensees, and is due to be rolled out this year, has caused major concern among the clubbing fraternity. The four page document, approved by all 21 London councils, demands every performer's name, address, date of birth and phone number. Failure to submit this could result in six months in jail or a £20,000 fine. Unsurprisingly, concern mounted given that one question on form 696 suggested it was being used to racially profile audiences "Is there a particular ethnic group attending? If 'yes', please state group." As Feargal Sharkey, CEO of UK Music, the musician’s rights body, told the Guardian: "I've got a nagging suspicion that 'Irish' was not the answer they were looking for."

But musicians aren’t just fighting for their living and freedom to wax lyrical at a club near you. Grime prince Tinchy Stryder showed his support, joining a protest outside the Russian embassy, hosted by Ctrl.Alt.Shift, a movement aimed at mobilising 18-25 year olds around global issues, to speak out against the treatment of people with HIV. “When they first spoke to me about it, I was interested straightaway. You know, that people aren’t allowed to get into some countries if they have HIV? I was thinking about it, and I thought it was wrong, so I got involved...” said the Ruff Squad MC. “It was a good thing to be a part of, and anything I can do to make my people aware of what’s going on in the world is positive.”

So whatever you’re fighting for, put those fists in the air and wave them like you really do care.

La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Mix)

Haunting doesn't even come close. This is the kind of track that makes me not want to review music - words can't always do justice to the emotion music makes you feel.. too put it simply... and because my eyes are sore. Just enjoy it. And play at high volume.

Suck On This Bad Boy!

T-Magic presents Ctrl.Alt.Shift's Conflict Art Competition

Get inspired!

Richard Shyomi On Hattie Collins

That's my girls!

Art Attack!

All you have to do is create something around conflict (you may have something already in your collection/ archive), take a picture of it and upload over at www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk/baltic. It's that easy. The winner gets exhibited at the Baltic next month, as part of the Ctrl.Alt.Shift exhibition, featuring the workd of 15 students mentored by David Shrigley, Graham Hudson, Matthew Stone, T Magic and Benjamin Wachenje.

Lauryn Hill featuring Kali Ranks - Perfect Match

The best Lauryn Hill song ever - I only ever had this on DJ Poser's Sony mixtape years back but I'd be willing to campaign to get it released.

Ctrl.Alt.Shift

Ghetts - Sing 4 Me

Newham Generals - Head Get Mangled

It's On Tomorrow Night!

Ctrl.Alt.Shift The First 6 Months

Issue 3 will be out in two weeks. Watch this space or www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk

Bashy - I See People

Round The Corner

I'll be honest, when I knew there was a dance competition popping at www.ctrlaltshift, I thought we'd see some interesting entries - check the LIVE Magazine ones for proof - but I didn't expect to see this... The English National Ballet dancing to Goldielocks and Semothy Jones' megamix. Judging on previous entries, they should probably win for effort alone. And perform at Rumble in January. Visually amazing... Vote and enter at www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk/sadlerswells

Happy Monday

catwoman, originally uploaded by hansmannn.

Bitches

It's Friday...

HEAD,SHOULDERS KNEES N TOES (K.I.G/MILE RECORDS)

Ctrl.Alt.Shift @ Sadler's Wells

The Good Consumer

All My Ladies

Milan, originally uploaded by I Doll You.

Whether you're a baller, dancer, batter, whatever, here's an opportunity to win a £5,000 Nike Gamechangers prize.

Nike Gamechangers’ aim is to mobilise communities via a series of competitions that seek to elevate the story of the role that sport can play in women’s lives, inspire more women and girls to take part in sport and support the projects they get involved with. It’s also part of something bigger – one of the first global online communities working together to change the world, showcasing workable solutions to some of the world’s most entrenched social problems. All UK and Ireland entrants will automatically go forward into the global competition.

Some projects that have already been nominated include:

Active Angels, a community based youth project using sports and education to engage young women, Based at the Peter May Sports Centre in Walthamstow, it provides an innovative multi activity programme targeted at inactive girls from neighbouring secondary schools. All activities are provided in a non-threatening atmosphere where personal empowerment and raising self-esteem are paramount. The overarching aim is to help the girls develop more healthy lifestyles.

Brent Ladies Football Club provides football activities for young females, organise football tournaments for the whole community, like kick racism out of football festivals, BBC Sports your game festivals, Mayor of London summer of sports and winter of sports, training young people in media, marketing and enterprises - and provide coaching schemes for young people to become qualified sports coaches, referees.

Ebony Horse Club Ebony Horse Club provides riding for all children in Coldharbour Ward, Brixton, London, aged eight to nineteen years who would otherwise have no means of accessing the sport, but specialises in children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, especially those excluded from school.

To nominate an organisation that inspires women to be more active, log onto www.nikewomen.com/gamechangers.

Ctrl.Alt.Shift Russian Demo

Ctrl.Alt.Shift HIV demonstration with Tinchy Strider

SMASH GRAB PROMO

Obama won because of Hip Hop

DISCUSS

New Look LIVE

Ok, so here's a sneak preview of the new look LIVE Magazine. For those of you who don't know, this 48 page quarterly mag is put together entirely by 13 - 22 year olds at our Brixton HQ. With Corrine Burton and Mahta Hassanzadeh effectively graduating on to Saturday Magazine - a project our sister company Livity have put together for USC, the clothing retailers - we've had to pass the buck on at LIVE. Jelani Dascosta-Best has been heading up the re-design, assisted by a bunch of new talent that's come to the south London stable. Sian Anderson steps up as editor, with Diana Nortey as her right hand woman. I'd like to congratulate all the team (too many names to remember at this moment without it in front of me) on a fantastic job. The mag hits streets next week and content includes a look at domestic violence, living with two mums, an interview with the urban smuggler Andrew Pritchard, a debate for and against Black History Month, our new job section, Busy Signal, a MySpace detox, and much more. There's also a fantabulous photostory on why not to smoke with a Ctrl.Alt.Shift poster on the flip. Not bad for a free mag huh! Keep an eye out for the new website launching soon too.

See You Next Tuesday

THE FINAL PUSH!

The third and final leg of Ctrl.Alt.Shift's HIV travel ban campaign - this is the big one - RUSSIA!

We'll be dressing up as secret policemen of the Russian HIV Intellegence Unit. Plus we've a couple of celebrity spokespeople and a scrum of press people to cover the event.

Book the morning off work or college - this is the big push!

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
There is no public health rationale for restricting liberty of movement on the grounds of HIV status. It only serves to drive the issue underground.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Sign up to our flashmob newsletter. Simply send a blank email to flash@ctrlaltshift.co.uk.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008
8:00am - 9:00am
Russian Embassy
13 Kensington Palace Gardens
London

Ctrl.Alt.Shift Saudi Arabia Demo

When It Rains It Pours

Get To Know Ctrl.Alt.Shift

Protest Tomorrow

When: 04 November, 10:00-11:00
Where: Saudi Arabian Embassy

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ctrl.Alt.Shift HIV Demo part 2
Saudi Embassy
30 Charles Street, W1J 5DZ.

Ctrl.Alt.Shift Issue 2

Issue 2 of Ctrl.Alt.Shift is now available in Size, Fopp and Don't Panic packs. Alternatively, you can download it at www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk. Easy. This issue focuses on the stigma surrounding HIV, in particular the travel ban which in real talk means there are about 70 countries that will give you shit or not let you in if you have HIV. Until last month, America was one of them. They are in the process of changing their policies but there are still problems for the moment. Among the other culprits are Australia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. If you're not down with stigma you can email the embassies from our website - all you need to do is add your name and press send. We're also hosting a series of protests in London. Last week we hit up the South Korean embassy, this Tuesday it's Saudi Arabia and next week Russia. For details log onto our Facebook group or email flash@ctrlaltshift.co.uk.




Also inside issue 2 there's columns from Sam Roddick, Noel Clarke, Lucy Fairbrother on being banged up in Beijing during the Olympics for voicing support for Tibet, Sex Before School in Sierra Leone, HIV myths from around the world, the Cambodians who've discovered condoms, Sway and photographer Hainsley Brown on Ghana and high-life, Man of the Cloth Richard Shoyemi (who turns curtains into a skirt), From Prison To Parliament, Oil Baron Top Trumps and more.

Ctrl.Alt.Shift Meets Sadlers Wells

Calling all dancing massssssive!

For one night only, Ctrl.Alt.Shift, a community of passionate and outspoken individuals joined in the fight against poverty and injustice, will collaborate with the UK’s leading dance house, Sadler’s Wells. Using dance and movement to explore issues and stigma relating to HIV in modern Africa and the UK, OYO from Namibia, Africa, will represent alongside leading British street dance groups Boy Blue Entertainment, East London Dance, Fuzzy Logic and Bennu.

Performing to music supplied by Boy Better Know, Goldielocks, The Streets and Mystery Jets, the show will also feature films alongside the performances to give the audience an insight into the journey each group took to create their work.
Experience the final performance, DJs and entertainment at the Peacock Theatre - Sadler’s Wells in the West End - on 22nd November. Tickets cost £5 from 
www.sadlerswells.com

Showcase your talent. Look out for the competition launching soon at
www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk/sadlerswells where you can download tracks from Boy Better Know and Goldielocks, then create your own dance routine to be featured on the site and judged by professionals. We’ve got 50 tickets to the Sadler’s Wells Ctrl.Alt.Shift show up for grabs for the first dance routines submitted - so get dancing.

RWD Column 4

RWD Column 3

Mixmag November 2008

Pick up the new issue to read my Goldielocks piece - great cover shot noted. Inside you'll also find JP's piece with Chipmunk and the boys, plus my Urban page.



Apologies to Sway for mixing up Father Noah and 2Face, not saying they look alike or anything. And thanks for the shout out in the album. Not just saying it but defo one of the, if not THE, album of the year for me.

VICE Meets Ctrl.Alt.Shift

Ctrl.Alt.Shift have teamed up with VICE Magazine to launch a photography competition where the winner will not only get a brand new digital SLR, but will also have their work displayed in a London gallery alongside that of the legendary photo artist Nan Goldin.

The competition calls for aspiring photographers to select one of the five mentors available: Nan Goldin herself, Alexa Chung and Vice staffers Alex Sturrock, Ben Rayner and Andy Capper. All you have to do is create a piece of photography on the issue of gender, power and poverty.

The mentors will select their favourite photographers to work with before Nan makes a final decision on the winner, who will have their work printed in forthcoming issues of both Vice and Ctrl.Alt.Shift magazines. Needless to say this is an amazing opportunity and is bound to be an unforgettable experience for the lucky winner. For more details and to submit examples of your work, LOOK HERE

London Paper 98

London Paper 97

London Paper 96

I ripped it. Sorry. All proceeds from this event went to the Livity trust - more companies should support grass roots charity projects, so nice one Diesel.

London Paper 95

London Paper 90

London Paper 89

I'm missing quite a few columns from the summer and as it's taken me so long to upload these, it's a bit like whatever, but I'm gonna do what I want because I can. It's my blog afterall.

London Paper 89

ON THE SCENE
Chantelle Fiddy

Not a week goes by without me receiving a complaint from young Londoners that there’s not enough nightlife action for them. Even with the aid of fake id, it’s not necessarily a viable option with tight-knit security across the capital. But with a shortfall of under 18s night, it’s only when the likes of Bigga Fish, a not-for-profit youth organisation dedicated to educating 13-21 year olds through music, secure a venue that teens can expect a look-in.

Since starting up nearly a decade ago, Bigga Fish have been pivotal in helping break acts like Wiley, Ms Dynamite in Dizzee Rascal to a younger audience. Also keen to engage the next generation of promoters, they provide workshops on event management, flyer design, stage design and much more.

This Saturday, Bigga Fish are looking to recapture carnival spirit as they take over the Astoria, off Tottenham Court Road. But this is an event with a difference on two levels. Firstly, anyone over the age of 14 (accompanied by an adult) can go (yes, that includes you granddad). Secondly, this event is more like a concert or mini-festival, running from 6 – 10pm celebrating what’s good in London. The highlight of the showcase promises to be Routes to Roots. An international collaboration with artists Bashy, Akala, Lady Lykez and Kele Le Roc teaming up with African acts and a band of traditional Mali musicians.

“Bigga Fish is about creativity, learning and being enterprising,” said company director, Nii. “This event really symbolises the biggest line-up of the summer through to very unique performances like Routes to Roots, which has three MOBO award winners performing alongside some of the best African musicians. Our goal is to create events that inspire, leave people with a positive message and wanting more.”

With Wanluv from Ghana flying in for the event, expect plenty of surprises. Hosted by Twin B (1Xtra) and Fusion, Tinchy Stryder, Nu Brand Flexx, Chipmunk, Donae’o and The Bigga Bloco Drumline (a 20 piece Brazilian drum outfit with grime) will also appear on the night. Finalists from the legendary Rinse FM MC open mic will battle it out on stage too. Tickets are only a fiver so it’s a perfectly good warm-up if you’re looking to head out after.

With the teens (hopefully) on their way home, get more post-carnival action at SE1 Club with La Bomba’s summer party which has moved from Ministry of Sound. On until 6am, tickets are £15 on the door, with Reggaeton in one room courtesy of a squad of Latin DJs including Loco who mixes, scratches and cuts up dancehall with hip hop. The Salsa next door will be for those really able to bump and grind. Some things in life really are intended for adults after all.

Neil Boorman... Again

If you haven't yet read Bonfire Of The Brands, and are interested in one mans journey in de-branding his life, then go and get the book. It's alot.

Bonfire Of The Brands Human Billboard

My main man Neil Boorman doing his thing. Gotta love him

KateModern

Late but hello Luke Hyams and the KateModern team...

London Paper 84

Check Out The Balls On That

Wiley Weather Report