It just gets better… A while back we were lucky enough to have Jehst, Micall Parkunsun and DJ IQ playing live in store before the innaugural and highly experimental live hip-hop production showcase Louis Den Beat Cypher. Fortunately Kos, Cro et al are putting on another Beat Cypher this thursday night at Rooty Frooty, Custard Factory.

This means that the we now have Kashmere and Verb T coming to Jibbering on Thursday at 6pm to perform live!

Click click for more on Louis Den Beat Cypher 2 - and don’t miss it…

This Saturday 15th November, Funkbox are moving from their usual haunt of The Yardbird, to welcome DJ Format to the Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath. Tickets are available from Jibbering and The Ticket Sellers. Expect some funktastic beats and Hip Hop, with support from Funkbox’s DJ Cro, Roy Roastbeef, Richy Reissue & Revo.

We’ve got plenty for you to look forward to over the coming months but incase you’ve missed recent happenings heres some highlights

The Black Seeds Live @ The Hare & Hounds 01-11-08, thanks to rudiegonetojail
Make A Move

Turn It Round

Fire!

We recently had an instore from Jehst, Micall Parknsun, Sir Smurf Lil’, Jyager and DJ IQ to promote Sir Smurf’s excellent 2nd album “A New Bloodline” which is out now, infact you can buy it here! Thanks to Locky for the filming and uploading

One not to be missed … Jibbering’s very own mover and shaker, el Robin, is out and about on Friday night with his band and Jam Jah sound…

THE FRIENDLY FIRE BAND LIVE

FEATURING PABLO RIDER, LIONART & TOMLIN MYSTIC

DJ Support by Jam Jah Sound and Heala

Free entrance, and nuff vibes till 4am

A big big thanks to all those who made such an effort for the gig. It was easily one of the best ever.

Boy Com outstripped all expectations. This new and young band performed a fantastic support set, that was well composed, self assured and promises much for the future… their rendition of the Jungle Book theme to finish was genius - watch out for these guys! We will definitely be having them back, but if you can’t wait they are supporting Finlay Quaye and Horace Andy over the coming weeks!

The Black Seeds what can we say! 2hrs of pure bliss! We had a fantastic evening with these guys. They were as heavy and tight on stage as you would expect after 4 studio albums, but their energy and vibe live is something very special to have experienced - catch them wherever and whenever you can! We will definitely have them back in the future, I can see them at Shamabla now!

Last but not least Serocee and our very own DJ Cro did an excellent job of building up the crowd and previewing their full live show that is part of next months Jibbering Live at the Hare and Hounds (6/12/08). Apart from Cro’s technology upping the tempo of its own accord (watch the machiene’s!), their micro-set was a warning shot for next month and bounced the crowd. It also included a preview of the next 7″ single on Crate Escape Records, “You’ll Never Find”. OFFICIAL LAUNCH PARTY NEXT JIBBERING LIVE (06/12/08) H & H.

As ever we would love YOUR feedback on the night so please drop us a line…

Thursday night saw the launch of Ninety’s brand new collection, OneDrinPen, and gave JIbbering Art and Music fans a chance to meet the artist himself as well as soak up the sounds of G-Corp’s Jah Grizzly as he played out brand new mash ups and sounds straight from the Elephant House Studios.

Ninety’s work is unique and innovatve, using various techniques and illustrative styles that are instantly recognisable as his own. Ninety has built up a great fan base already as G-Corp’s resident artist as well as his work for various other ep and album covers, and taking a deeper look at some of his new pieces, it is obvious that album art is only the tip of the iceberg for this legendary talent. This collection was also a chance for him to showcase the Holga camera and an accompanying book which he was artistic director of, an intriguing look at ‘life through a plastic lens’. This is a great read for any photographers or fans of photography. On the market since 1982, the Holga camera’s simplicity has made it an underground legend of the camera world. Read more about this great instrument by going to www.lomography.com/holga/books. The camera became quite sought after at the launch party as it is a fantastic toy, so much so that the display camera at the exhibition was snapped up by Yesking’s Rhys Adams, who was in the area for a Leftfoot gig at The Bull’s Head, Moseley, the following night.

Ninety’s OneDrinPen exhibition is showcasing at Jibbering for the next month, so you have until the 26th of November to come and see some truly great art. There are various framed originals available to buy, as well as prints, records and CDs with his work on for those of you with a tighter budget. The feedback from the show was fantastic, so don’t miss this special chance to at least come and take a look.

Less than two weeks to go now until our regular first saturday of the month live session, and there is a real buzz building around this one. Tickets are selling quickly and space at the hare and hounds is limited so don’t miss out. Available either in Jibbering or via The Ticket Sellers .

STOP PRESS… SUPPORT ANNOUNCED… In support we have lined up BOY COM, who will over the coming weeks also be supporting Finley Quaye and Horace Andy (Shambala personal moment of 2008, but thats another story!). Hailing from the south-west these guys are well and truly in the tradition of Bristolian Dub-hop! Heavy beats, smooth basslines and roaring brass, you can’t help but like these guys.

Also look out for news on another special guest, alongside the usual Jibbering suspects..!!!

Beyond our control… it is with regret we must also announce a change in line up for the Live Session on the 1st of December at the Hare and Hounds. Unfortunately Analogik can not make it over from Denmark. However, don’t be too disheartend, we have landed the excellent Edinburgh based outfit Big Hand! Big Hand have a cult underground status, sharing stages with the likes of Cat Empire and the Beat, they will take the place apart with their unique brand of Zorbic ska music.

The Jibbering Sessions are proud to present a very special gig featuring New Zealand based soul, funk and reggae outfit The Black Seeds at The Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath on Saturday 1st November. Hailing from Wellington and currently kicking out a world tour to celebrate their fourth studio album, Solid Ground, (available from Jibbering Records); The Black Seeds are well worth a listen and come highly recommended by all of us here at Jibbering; for those of you yet to discover their unique style, we urge you to check out their myspace or website. Their limited edition newalbum has bonus downloads, and is jam packed with great songs for your listening pleasure.

The Black Seeds are huge in their hometown of New Zealand and have been   tipped as the biggest Kiwi exponent to hit the UK since Fat Freddy’s Drop. With a full eight piece band, however, some of you may find it even funkier than Fat Freddy’s, but we will leave that for you to decide!

This gig will be hosted by a selection of Jibbering and Jam Jah DJs, setting the scene for a unique and unforgettably funky evening of music. Tickets are available from The Ticket Sellers and Jibbering Records. Tickets are £10 in advance/£9 students. We would recommend that you sort your tickets sooner rather than later for this gig to avoid disappointment, as we are expecting a full house in the intimate upstairs room of The Hare and Hounds.

It’s taken a week for Jibbering Art to fully get back into the swing of things since Shambala!

From the sounds and the lasers in the woods by the Modulate guys; to the release of 50 floating lanterns from the lakeside; to the random acoustic jazz band that we ran into, in the early hours of Monday morning somewhere on Lake Boulevard; every experience we had at Shambala seemed magical and inspirational.

Not to mention the laughter and fun that we have shared with the artists. Big thank you to Fluid, Faith 47, Gastro, Glenn Anderson, Junc, LL Brainwashed, Lucy McLauchlan, Mac1 (& Mac2, Mac’s son), Marq Tu, Matt Watkins, Motorboy, Newso, Rowdy, Semor & Co, Sweet Toof and Sickboy.

Jibbering Art arranged for 17 heavyweight and internationally recognised artists to be let loose on 4 giant triangular boards that were situated around the Dome arena. The work that they produced was creative, fresh, varied and cutting edge. For pictures and more information on how you can buy parts of these boards for charity, click here.

Wow!  What a party!

I’ve been back couple of days now and am recovering well.  At the moment,  Shambala is a complete blur- it feels as though i lived on that field for an entire month rather than 11 days!  it is definitely going to take a little while for me to process and remember everything that happened and everything that i saw or heard!  But, in the mean time, i think that i should at least mention just a couple of my personal highlights.  (These are not necessarily the best or the most special- just a couple that have popped into my head while writing this post.)

On saturday afternoon at 1.50, i received news that Hijak Oscar, scheduled to play on the Main Stage at 2.30pm, were actually in Gurnsey!  At the last minute, after trying several dead-ends, i finally struck gold when MC Xander and Jahman Sillah both agreed to fill in.   It could not have worked out better!!  Although i literally introduced them to each other on stage 2 mintues before their show, they perfomed as if they have been playing together for years.  The stunning beatboxing of MC Xander and the awesome drumming of Jahman quickly attracted a huge dancing crowd who were utterly rapt until the last note of Xander’s beautiful acapella of “Stand By Me.”

I love the cross pollination of talent from different musical crews that occurs more and more at Shambala and this theme was definitely one of my highlights of 2008.  It was heard throughout the weekend in the Roots Yard.  Jam Jah, Mungo’s Hifi, J Star, Smith and Mighty, Rankin Roger and many more all mucking in together, was really special and emphasised the musical family that Shambala is a part of.  This was also demonstrated throughout Smerin’s Antisocial Club’s stunning closing set on Sunday night.  Featuring guest vocalists like Nuala Honan, Xander once again, Dub FX and more Smerin’s surpassed themselves and put on the perfect closing set of Shambala.

I must , of course, mention Horace Andy on Sunday night!!

What a surprise and what a show!  Arranged at the absolute last minute, to have one of my all time musical heroes was a real honour.  The fact that their drummer was late even added another dimension to the show.  For the first few tracks, Horace sang his heart out and performed like i had never seen him perform before.  A consummate performer rising to the situation.  It was a special show that will stay with me for years! (Thanks Andrew for the photo- i didn’t ask but thought you wouldn’t mind!)

Well!!  I intended this to be a brief post, but it its now developing into a little essay!  So, time to wrap it up.  Please, please comment on this post with your musical highlights or even just random festival memories or thoughts.

I think that before i do wrap it up i must comment on how seriously impressed i was with all the Birmingham bands that performed so well all weekend.  Excellent sets from Misty’s, The Beat, Destroyers, Overproof, Freindly Fire, Pritham Singh, Bright Size Gypsies, Desert Groove and so many many more.  They all made me so happy and very proud to be part of the vibrant and exciting music scene of Moseley and Birmingham!!

So long,

Dan