Fatlace Tee’s and cap.

Been a fan of the excellent Fatlace store over in San Francisco for a while now.. always through up some nice looking apparel, so thought it was high time i featured a few of my picks from their current range.

Now without intentionally sounding horrible, the fatlace lines are generally quite plain, but that is in no way a bad thing, some people like big garish looking prints on their tees and hoodies and some people go for the more refined appearance of a tee.. I kinda have one foot in both camps.. being a fan of a nice big design, but also very appreciative of the ‘less is more’ theory.. maybe im just indecisive! who knows.. anyway, enjoy some of the current trends from the Fatlace crew.

check out the fatlace webstore by clicking here.

Rise Audio – Interview

Lifted this from the excellent knowledge magazine website, it features an interview with Drum & Bass DJ Kulak, aka Nick Sheffield. Nick and i used to work at the same company, albeit at different times, but we share the same circle of friends and the same love and passion for good underground music. Strictlykings feel everyone with a fondness for good music, and in particular Drum & Bass, should definitely jump on the ‘Rise Audio’ band wagon. Buy the records, buy the MP3’s and support a very good fledgling UK label. peace out to Nick.

Please introduce yourself…
Hi, I’m Nick Sheffield. Since spending time living in Nottingham, Bristol and Brighton I have settled for the last few years in London. I have been DJing across the UK and internationally for the last ten years under the name Kulak. For now I’m focusing on running the label and events full time.

Why have you set the label up?
The label is something that I have thought about doing many times at various stages through my life, finally I felt the time was right due to a number of things. I have had experience of working with some widely respected drum & bass labels and decided I wanted to do things my way, with no compromises. I aim to try and do things a bit differently… so expect the unexpected!

Who is involved with running it?
The only people involved in running the label and events are myself as well as my good friend Rich Green, also known as Ironman. We also work very closely with our key artists and take onboard their ideas, thoughts and opinions on most of our major decisions regarding the label.

What’s the ethos behind the label?
There is no set ethos, as we wouldn’t want to prevent the label from progressing into new territory. Currently we are just trying to establish Rise Audio simply as a quality drum & bass label. Releasing only tracks we believe in 100% we aim to build a solid and collectable catalogue that will still sound fresh in years to come. We value our artists highly and are very committed to them, we do everything we can to treat them as well as possible. We want the label to continue taking its influences through a variety of different artistic perspectives.

Is it a digital label or will you release vinyl too?
We love vinyl and want to keep it alive for as long as possible. The label will be both limited edition vinyl and digital releases too. We have just received the artwork for our first release RA001 and it looks great. Throughout this year we will have several digital and limited edition vinyl releases, distributed worldwide via our distributors ST Holdings.

Can you tell us more about your key artists?
The key artists of Rise Audio so far are Allied, Audio, Billain, Cause4Concern, Future Signal, Nocturnal and The Sect. These artists are already well established within the scene, so really need no introduction. Allied are a really exciting duo from Brighton making some great music at the moment, as is Billain our man from Sarajevo.

Are you looking for more artists and if so where should producers send demos?
We are always interested in receiving new demos. So far we have releases scheduled up to the summer, however there is always room for something genuinely exciting, fresh and new. We are already receiving a high volume of demos, and we try our best to listen to all of them. If you would like to send a demo to us please only send your best track and make sure you label the file with your contact details! Demos can be submitted to us via our SoundCloud account or send to our AIM address ‘RISE AUDIO’.

Tell us more about your first release…
We are really excited about this one… our first release will be a track from the mighty Audio entitled Fire In The Sky, a track we loved as soon as we heard it. It’s something a bit different from Audio with a really nice timeless and vintage feel to it, razor sharp drums and huge bass – simply great drum & bass. On the flip we have a big track from Allied entitled N-Sphere, this is a classic piece of the Allied sound which has been smashing dance floors worldwide recently with its high energy running techno influenced vibes.

Audio – Fire In The Sky by Rise Audio

Allied – N-Sphere by Rise Audio

Read the article in full on the knowledge magazine website by clicking here.

Don’t sleep on these boys. you’ll regret it!

MF DOOM: Operation doomsday

The history of MF DOOM’s debut album OPERATION: DOOMSDAY is a spotty one – it’s been released in at least two different versions on different labels, out of print, bootlegged, and even released once with a cheap scan of the original cover.

This Spring DOOM’s own label Metalface Records will be releasing the first complete & remastered version of OPERATION: DOOMSDAY, containing the original album, alternate versions, b-sides and instrumentals – 51 tracks total – with all new artwork and two deluxe, metal formats:

LUNCH BOX 2/CD and METAL 4/LP BOX each containing a 32-page lyric book, and set of 10 cards with images of the Operation Doomsday MCs.

Stones Throw will have an advance sale on these two formats. Complete photos and pre-sale will be announced soon. The artwork, which we previewed last year, was created by Jason Jagel and Jeff Jank, who also designed Doom’s 2005 album MM FOOD.

Carhartt radio – iphone app.

Today see’s the announcement from those lovely types over at Carhartt of the new ‘Carhartt radio’ app for the iphone. The brand new and free-of-charge Carhartt Radio iPhone App allows you to stream Carhartt Radio’s exclusive monthly show to your iPhone. Pretty good eh? But there’s much more to explore, as listeners can select the music by style or swipe and finger their way through the extensive Carhartt Radio archive to find the perfect sound for every conceivable moment in their lives.

Furthermore the player runs hidden in the background, while the listener surfs through the infinite space of the World Wide Web. And if you are totally overwhelmed by the listening experience: just push some buttons and share the thrill with your friends and lovers via Twitter or Facebook.

Read more and download the App HERE or search the App Store on your iPhone.

sounds pretty good to me, i’m in.

Adidas Originals Vintage Superstars

Some things are timeless… and will always look dope.

you can never have enough pairs of shell toes.

Official spiel: adidas Originals brings back its Superstar 80′s for another seasonal run, this time focusing on the classic white/black colorway. The kicks featuring vintage detailing, including pre-yellowed midsoles and toecap along with gold accenting on the tongue. These are now available through select adidas Originals accounts, including Shoelosophy online.

Nike Air Max 87 ACG White/Blue

Its not taht often these days that i see a colourway on a pair of 87’s that i really like.. Most tend to be catering for the kids who appear to have some sort of love for a complete multitude of colours on thier daps.. which aint me, clearly.. but thought id post about this latest release from Nike, a sure summer burner!.. i can already picture myself rocking these with a pair of shorts and a cold beer at the strictlykings fam BBQ!.. just don’t drip sauce on them!!..

available now from primitive

Nike Blazer Pecan and Black

Some real nice colourways on some new Nike Blazers. We’re real fans of the Blazer here at Strictlykings, and think you should be too!.. check out the associated pics below.

Both available to pre-order over at crookedtongues

Tweaker x Carhartt x Your Skate Shop collabo.

Found this over on the very good daily street blog, a nice little collabo from Carhartt and a number of English skate shops, plus some nice back illustrations courtesy of Rob Mathieson, which no doubt all you ornithologists out there will love!.. im naturally presuming a large number of ornithologists follow this blog!..

anyways.. check out the official spiel below, and take a peek as the associated pics. All look dope for mine.

Official Spiel:
Tweaker and Carhartt have joined up to collaborate with five of the best skate stores in the UK today. This special collaboration has SS20, Fifty Fifty, Switch, Bored and Slam City all involved and sees the release of a t-shirt from each store, with one simple and brillaint concept in mind, the “Birds Of Britain”.

Each design is printed on 100% cotton t-shirts and has been design by Rob Mathieson. The designs are based on the areas that the five skate stores are located in, which ties into the ‘Birds of Britain’ idea perfectly. The concept works so well with unique aesthetics and visual wit playing a huge part in the designs. It’s a great project and a nod of respect to the UK skate scene, which is a pleasure to see.

Available from SS20, Fifty Fifty, Switch, Bored and Slam City now.

Slam City.

Fifty-fifty.

SS20.

Bored.

Switch.