Why The Amen Break is so popular by Lee (guitarist for The Dirty rich

Ever wondered why the Amen break is so popular? 

The Amen break is a drum solo performed in 1969 by Gregory Cylvester Coleman in the song "Amen Brother" performed in the late 1960's funk and soul outfit The Winstons.

In this post i asked a good friend of mine Lee from The Dirty Rich http://www.thedirtyrich.com/  to give us an explanation and in depth analysis into "why the Amen break is so popular" and its connection with the Golden ratio or otherwise known as "God's thumbprint".

The Golden Ratio is a beautiful mathematical relationship that frequently appears in nature on every level of creation; including atomic structures, spiral galaxies, seashells and the rings of Saturn.

It is closely linked to the Fibonacci Sequence 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34… where every number is the sum of the two before it; click the link below to watch a video showing some of it’s natural occurrences:

Nature by Numbers

Due to it’s perpetual prevalence, from the beginning of the universe to the very edge of it, this magical number has been nicknamed, ‘God’s Thumbprint’, and has been used for millennia by artists, architects and musicians trying to emulate natural harmony.

In music:

·       Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Schubert and Bach are a few that have applied the golden section to their masterpieces.

·       Gregorian Chants were based on 6 Solfeggio Frequencies, which have a magical healing resonance on the human mind, body and soul:

UT – 396 Hz – Liberating Guilt and Fear
RE – 417 Hz – Undoing Situations and Facilitating Change
MI – 528 Hz – Transformation and Miracles (DNA Repair)
FA – 639 Hz – Connecting/Relationships
SOL – 741 Hz – Awakening Intuition
LA – 852 Hz – Returning to Spiritual Order

Here is a link to a harmonic mediation video for MI:

Love Signal (528 Hz)

·      The ‘Amen Break’ is the most widely used and influential drum sample of all time, appearing in all types of popular music and spurring entire genres of dance music. Click the link below for a detailed breakdown of how it measures up:

The Amen Break & The Golden Ratio

Watch the links below to make the links yourself:

Golden Ratio

Sacred Geometry

Metatron’s Cube

Birth of the 4th Dimension

You can get all information on The Dirty Rich at  http://www.thedirtyrich.com/  or http://www.facebook.com/thedirtyrich 

June 2011 choons im feeling.

Each Month im gonna be doing some reviews on choons im feeling, If you want me to review or even play ya tunes then feel free to send me bits to mechamusic@btinternet.com

Pyramid. "Ready for blast off". Funkatech records

Inch and Ken mac aka Pyramid have been carving their sound for the last few years gaining support from both the breaks and dubstep scene.
By day ken mac is the flying scotsvan, west londons premo removal team and Inch sleeps alot making earbleeding bass and blowing up a regular 3 pairs of krk speakers every week.

when not blowing up speakers or moving problem familys out of crack houses the boys are reguarly bombarding crowds with killer beats and basslines. Ready for blast off is ferocious beast of a choon! The food blender bassline and ruffneck beats would make anyones hair stand up on end and your teeth grind down to pegs.
This is one for the end of the night lets go mental moments, reminds me of an early inch tune (ctrl z) "the darliks" but updated for 2011 and one for the jungle breaks massive.

Listen here
http://soundcloud.com/funkatech-records/pyramid-ready-for-blast-off

Shy Fx feat Donaeo,Kano & Rose Gabbor "Raver" Shy's Guiness punch mix Digital Soundbwoy

I first heard David Rodigan play this last year and its been out for a while now but stays in my bag as its a great reggae track to end any dance.

I nearly had a heart attack the first time i heard this as it captures U.K. reggae at its finest and to be honest pissed over alot of modern day dancehall. My problem with alot of new dancehall is that its lost its bass...too many riddims sound like some bloody happy hardcore producer got on the dancehall tip and gave Movado some ketamine. but then i heard this and the bassline is so warm that you just want to find the nearest female and "wind up pon the gal".

http://www.mistajam.com/2010/11/22/free-download-shy-fx-raver/

Emalkay "Crusader" Dubpolice.
If like me you grew up in the early 90's on a heavy dose of Jungle/Hardcore then this will bring those memory's of saturday nights at AWOL or Pecknam's Lazer drome flooding back minus the bullet proof vest.
Tech steppin beats and ed rush style reese basslines are order of the day! Seems the dubstep massive are tiring of the one drop half time beats and bringing back the steppers that you would once hear on labels like Ghost.

One time for the fog horn!!!

Side-Projekt "Lift Dub" Family tree + Fused forces remix

Family tree is a new label delving into all things sublow, dirty and futuristic and the first release is a killer.
Imagine if george clinton went to a night at Dmz or Forward and came home and wrote some beats and you might be close to what this sexy sublow slab of funk might just sound like.
Essex Dubstep don's Fused Forces bring a more darker deeper remix making this an essential must have.
big tings for Family tree!!!

http://soundcloud.com/familytreerecords/side-projekt-lift-dub-master

EL-B "Ghost chaser" L.P. Ghost

El sent us the album a while ago and every track is a killer, includes collabs with Caski,2nd2none,Wring and Dj Raggs but im gonna review Autobotz as El's not paying me enough to do a full review.
I love the way El keeps to his roots of production bringing that raw sound that dance music once had in the days of "midi"...dunno what it is with todays production? maybe to polished? i dunno and im not gonna get into it on this post. Autobotz is a jungle breakstep roller that brings that dark tech step vibe of the late 90's right up to date. Reminds of that no u-turn sound.

Ghost fam reppin!

TRACKLISTING
1.deep deep love-el-b & roxy
2.lyrical tempo 2011-el-b feat: rolla
3.romp-el-b
4.could it be real-the thirst (el-b remix)
5.dubwise-soveregin feat: jah mirikal (el-b remix)
6.lunatic dead-caski
7.hey boy-el-b feat: deesim
8.she's a ghost-el-b & dj raggs
9.undecided-jcs feat: patsy fuller (wr1ng remix) el-b edit
10.autobots-el-b
11.set da trend-roxy & el-b
12.pressure-2nd2none feat dj raggs (el-b edit)
13.money walk-el-b

download link here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/gh51lp 

Born and grown in Lewisham (Saxon studio sound)

During the 70/80's i grew up in Lewisham (South east london) on a council estate, my Uncle was a massive reggae fan and collected vinyl in a big way. He would take me to concerts such as the reggae sunsplash events held at Crystal palace bowl and i was lucky enough to see artists such as Dennis Brown, david Rodigan, Sly and Robbie, Sugar Minot.
In Lewisham a regular night held by a sound system called Saxon studio sounds would throw regular events showcasing artists such as Maxi Priest, Tippa Irie, Smiley Culture and Papi Levi.

heres some footage of Dennis Brown live at Sunsplash 1984... (you can catch me as a kid in the crowd at 31 secs in lol).

In 1992 Saxon took the Uk Sound Cup Clash beating Luv Injection, V- Rocket, Stereophonic but later in the year lost in a very controversial clash against J.A's Bodyguard Sound at the Roller express.
1994 Saxon beat King Addies, Kebra Negrus and 1993 cup holders Bodyguard in the 1994 World soundclash making Saxon the first U.K. Sound to win the worldcup.
Later Saxon had a re match with King Addies held in Bermuda which soon became one of the most remembered soundclash's ever.

King Addies main selector Babyface went in hard and beat Saxon, Trever sax made a mistake by playing the Bunny lie lie Dubplate with the classic "Give me a dubplate and let me mash dem down" vocal and claimed no sound in the world could play this dub..BAD MISTAKE, Babyface came back and played his version and the clash was won. DANCE LOCK OFF!!!

This soundclash was sampled to fuck by most of the Jungle producers during the 90's such as "when me a murda sound me play nuff girl choon" or "me gwaan murda unno again" both sampled by Remarc.
Also alot of intros from dubplates by Saxon and Addis have been sampled by artists such as Shy fx, Dj Hype, Shut up and Dance etc and without this clash then alot of Jungle anthems from back in the day would never of been dreamt off.

Most off the world clash is on Youchoob and you can download the bermuda clash audio here
p.1 http://www.megaupload.com/de/?d=PJPTTT9I
p.2 http://www.megaupload.com/de/?d=4TPSU0C5
p.3 http://www.megaupload.com/de/?d=8KMJTXAI
p.4 http://www.megaupload.com/de/?d=CXHH8XLL

Babylon (the movie)

BABYLON from psychomafia on Vimeo.


Babylon
a legendary reggae music film
1980 film by Franco Rosso


This is my all time favorite Reggae film and one that was sampled to fuck during the Jungle era, Yep this is the film that contains the sample "keep playing that jungle music allnight" that was used in Hitman + numerous other samples.
Also catch Jah shaka playing himself as the rival sound at the clash.


A MUST WATCH FOR ALL SOUND SYSTEM FANS!

A film of sheer sound and fury, the uncompromising subject matter (it all but anticipates the race riots that engulfed inner cities soon after release) and classic reggae soundtrack helped cement Babylon's reputation as one of the most powerful and historically significant documents about the black British experience ever made.
Babylon stands up today as a well crafted, convincingly acted, hard hitting piece of realistic drama. Babylon is a potent mix of music and social commentary. Franco Rosso's incendiary drama about black Britain circa 1980 stars Aswad lead singer Brinsley Forde as Blue, the Ital Lion sound system MC who finds his lifestyle and culture under siege. Here, for the first time in British cinema, is a portrayal of British reggae culture and Rastafarianism at odds with the 'multi-racist' society and state.

Yoof Interview in Knowledge mag (Free Mix + V.I.P remix)

Yoof, one half of breaks outfit Sonz Of Mecha, has a solo release coming called King Yoof's International Hi-Fi on Sub Slayers. The EP features five tracks on the increasingly popular future jungle breaks tip. Yoof tells us all about it...
Please introduce yourself...
I'm Yoof from Sonz Of Mecha and I've been writing bass driven music for over a decade and have had releases on labels like Mechanoise, Ghost, Funkatech and Sub slayers to just name a few.
How would you describe your approach to making music?
To me it's all about the vibe and capturing that particular moment.
Tell us more about your forthcoming EP on Sub Slayers... what did you have in mind when you made it?
I wanted to bring back that old skool reggae soundsystem vibe that the original jungle movement had back in the 90s and fuse it with dubstep and breaks. I wanted an EP that would showcase the many different styles that I love.
Talk us through the tracks on it...
Back 2 Hackney - I wanted to pay homage to the original jungle dons from back in the day like Shut Up And Dance, Remarc, DJ Hype, Micky Finn, etc. I wanted to bring back the old skool way of chopping the Amen loop up and then I dug deep into my Soundclash tapes and sampled the classic Saxon v Addie's Bermuda Clash.
Gangland Riddim - This tune makes me want to rob banks! I was watching some documentary on street gangs and I liked the narrator's voice. I get asked a lot on how I made the bass for this but that remains a secret.
I'm On Fire - I wrote this with Jimmy King, the keyboard player from the Dirty Rich. These guys rock and are a new dance act worth looking out for, especially for their live shows. This track takes you on a more deeper, darker, futuristic journey and the bass took a few days to get right.
Murderer - A futuristic jungle breakbeat roller that gets any party going, yet again a tune that pays homage to such a great era.
One Bag Of Fuckery: This tune makes me smile every time I play it; it's a cheeky breakstep number that borders the line of dubstep and breaks. I'm a big soundclash fan, which you can probably tell from hearing the soundsystem rants that I sampled for the tune.

What else have you been working on recently?
I had a release on Ghost Records' Nu Levels album and I'm currently working with DJ Raggs who I met through El-B. I just mixed the latest EP for Kid British, a band from Manchester tipped as the new Specials. I also work a lot with Dave Pemberton who engineered and mixed The Prodigy, Groove Armada, etc and have some cool projects in the pipeline and more collaborations on the go.
Got any other releases in the pipeline we should look out for?
I've just finished recording a couple of jungle breaks tunes featuring guest vocals from Kid British and also Rachel Wallace but I'm keeping that under wraps until the time is right. You will probably see a follow-up EP before the end of the year and I've just done a VIP remix of John Connor for Ghost Records.

Grab the full interview + Download the V.I.P remix of "Im on fire".
http://www.kmag.co.uk/editorial/news/yoof-releases-king-yoofs-international-hi-fi-ep.html 

"King Yoofs International Hi-Fi" out now on Subslayers

Yoof (Sonz Of Mecha)
‘King Yoofs International Hi-Fi’

1. Back 2 Hackney
2. Gangland Riddem
3. Murderer
4. One Bag Of F**kery
5. I'm On Fire (feat The Dirty Rich)

Cat: SLAYER008 / Release: June 2011

‘Money Shot Release’ + "Killer cut"– DJ Mag

Dj Yoof aka Alex Orton-Green, one half of the legendary breakbeat outfit Sonz of Mecha boasts some serious credentials spanning over 16 years.
Recently Yoof has been delving into the world of Dubstep, teaming back up with his old collaboration partner J Da Flex remixing the Wu-Tang Clan and reaching number 8 in the iTunes hip-hop chart and also making it onto the last Ghost record’s album “Nu levels” alongside some of the UKs finest underground pioneers such as El-B, J Da Flex, Burial, Zed Bias & Mrk1.
Keeping thing’s on the 140 bpm tip, Yoof brings to you his finest piece of work to date, fusing a mixture of dubstep, breaks, jungle, reggae, ambient. Totally re inventing his sound and showcasing his love for all things “Dub wise”.
This 5 track E.P. takes you on a journey of past present and future, Tracks like ‘Back 2 Hackney’ and ‘Murderer’ pays homage to the original Jungle sound of the 90’s, with chopped up amen drums and 2 step beat’s, rub a dub baseline’s and sample’s taken from the legendry Saxon V’s King addies sound clash. Both Tracks have that retro feel but fuse today’s production and synthesis.
While tracks like ‘Gangland Riddim’ and ‘One bag of Fuckery’ bring the fire to the dance with skanking warped basses, warp drive half time beats. Acid house style bleeps and reggae tinged horns. Both tracks have been doing the damage from the U.K to the U.S.A.
Finally you have ‘I’m On Fire’ which features collaboration between Yoof and new kids on the block “The Dirty Rich”. ‘I’m On Fire’ delves into more of a deeper ambient mood, with apocalyptic soundscapes, spacious but weighty drums and a twisting bassline that even the harder end drum and bass veteran would appreciate.

Dj support so far.
Jay Cunning, Hellfire Machina, Mikey Anti-serum, El-B, J Da Flex, Mrk1, Dj Raggs, Pyramid, Jinx in dub, Lionfire, Afghan Headspin, Carl Loben. Kouncilhouse, Twista, Shut Up and Dance, Tamsin, Ben & Lex, Rapid, Warrior one, Carl Loben. 
Radio support.
Pointblank, Origin fm, Rinse, Kool fm, flex fm, Dubstep fm, Romp radio, Point blank, Kissfm.

http://soundcloud.com/subslayers/sets/sub-slayers-008/ 

You can buy it direct from beatport

http://m.beatport.com/release/378296#showForm=false 

More Of Us:
http://www.facebook.com/subslayers / Sub Slayers / http://subslayers.dizzyjam.com/ (T-Shirts & Hoodies)

More of Yoof (Sonz Of Mecha):
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sonz-of-Mecha/108016879159 

Yoof (Sonz of mecha) Biography.

Alex Orton-green aka Yoof one half of the legendry breakbeat outfit Sonz of mecha Boast’s some serious credential’s spanning over 16 years.

Yoof launched his uncompromising sound of killer baselines and razor sharp beats on his own imprint Mechanoise records back in 1999 when the first wave of Nuskoolbreaks had just emerged. Having unleashing the seminal 2000 nuskoolbreaks anthem “Rocweiler” which was used in the film score for the U.S. cult movie The Groove, changed the way Nuskoolbreaks was perceived and a more dance floor style of breakbeat was born.

As well as releasing on his own label, Yoof has had various releases on other labels such as Botchit and Scarper, Supercharged, Cyberfunk, Raveart, Bassrock, Southwest records, Funkatech, Ghost records and has also collaborated/remixed artists such as Rennie pilgrim, T-power, Fatman D, Ic3, Rza (Wu-tang clan), Demarco, Pyramid, Ctrl z, The Dirty Rich, Shut up and dance, J da flex, Dj Raggs, Kid british, Tayo, Dj Quest, Ed209, Lawgiverz.

You can hear many of Yoof’s tunes on various compilations from Freq nasty’s Fabric mix c.d. to Annie Nightingales Y4K album and recently on EL-B/J da flex’s “Nu levels”.

Having pioneered a more harder dance floor sound to break’s, both Yoof and his brother needed a platform for this new movement to be heard, Breaks fm was born from being a pirate to a 5 time breakspoll winning internet station giving birth to such artists as Ctrl z, Breakfastaz, Jay Cunning, Caspa, Hotflush records + many other ground breaking acts.

Yoof was able to tour the world showcasing his sound from opening up Glastonbury 2007 dance tent for Radio 1 and Glade festival, supporting Uberzone on his European tour and also became a firm favourite in countries such as Spain who crowned him “Godfather of summer festival” after been given a residence at Spain’s biggest breakbeat festival.

2009 saw Yoof take his sound into the live band arena and formed his live act “The Sonz of mecha experience” and packed out the Seville Olympic stadium.

Fast forward it to 2011 and Yoof is back with a new sound, fusing breakbeats, dubstep, Jungle and Reggae into his own party rocking sets.

Teaming back up with J da flex remixing the legendry Rza (Wu-tang clan) reaching number 8 in the Itunes Hip-Hop chart and also making it onto the last Ghost records album “Nu level’s” alongside some of the U.K’s finest underground pioneers such as EL-B, Burial, Zed Bias, Mrk one, dj Narrowz etc.

Yoof has just released his critically acclaimed 5 track E.P. on jay Cunning’s Subslayers imprint receiving major support across the board such as reaching the killer cuts and Dj Mag’s money slot tune of the week to reaching the record boxes of Dj’s such as Dreadzone, Warrior one and Coki.