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Squatter’s ARC Blog Transcript
Peruse info about each of the artists (hit up their individual myspaces for more) and some general prattle from myself.
Day 1
Electric Soulside – ‘What I want’ – (Control Breaks 2008)
http://www.myspace.com/electricsoulside
http://www.controlbreaks.com/
‘Electric Soulside melds breaks, glitch, electro and house into their production, creating sounds that twist and turn whether they are loosely adhering to the structured sounds of house or keeping their own beat to UK breakbeat.’
Released June 2nd this year and still available (hint hint) Electric Soulside’s Track ‘What I Want’ did some damage with the accompanying Rektchordz remix. Control Breaks have kindly dug out the parts to let me have a play!
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I feel rude trying to do a track justice in a day, but that’s the timeframe i gave myself for some stupid reason!
lessons learnt - i know ears fatigue and you end up boosting treble to compensate, but even after half an hour’s rest and a mixdown i can tellmy hats are massssive! so who knows what they’ll be like tmrw. i’m all for hats, they’re great, but these are loud hats. bad loud. so i shall mixdown again… boooooo…
right, here she be:
electric soulside - ‘what i want’ (squatter arc remix)
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/electric_soulside-what_i_want_squatter_arc_remix.mp3
please download, enjoy, revel, wiggle your bum about if necessary, send it to your mates for christmas, whatever; but please consider donating! 
and thankyou again to electric soulside and the control breaks boys for letting me get my christmassy mits on the track! hope you like!
there’s something a little different on the cards for tomorrow……
(oh and finally incase anyone is confused by the timing, i have to do the tracks a day ahead so they’re ready for each day of advent, so i did the 1st’s track on the 30th)
Day 2
Bella - ‘Southbank’
some words from the lady herself…
ello!
ok here goes: my name is: bella!
http://www.myspace.com/anonbella (all info needed is on there for prospective stalkers)
about lil me: well i started playin guitar about 8 years ago whilst livin in Denmark so great influences of their blues, jazz and experimental scene - making friends with many a busker on the street and my year 10 english teacher, a savvy bassist, though he tried to get me to listen to Fiona Apple…I let that slide.
I took up experimenting with percussive elements of guitar in the summer of 2008 when I was commissioned to write a piece for Loop Dance company’s youth group, to perform at the YouthDanceEngland festival. After being mesmerised by Justin King, Newton Faulkner and Erik Mongrain - and in the need of bringing new texture to my music, thus began an even more tactile approach to composition. Its a tough love, having to hit your guitar, but stretching the percussive, melodic, harmonic and ultimatly resonant characteristics of my instrument beyond convention opens up endless new prospects and continues to challenge me everyday…even in my sleep…
To conclude: congratulations Thom on your challenge and dedication and downright peculiarity of the cranial functions. And good luck!
oh and regarding your question of the 3-legged monkey and soprano dolphin: it all depends on the variables and weather the aforementioned journey takes place on land….or at sea!
thank you bella it all becomes clear.
the original’s lovely, so i’ve stuck it up on my player as well.
Bella - ‘Southbank’ (Squatter ARC Demix)
or ‘The tale of how Bella’s guitar fell in love with a 3-legged space monkey’
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/bella-southbank(squatter_arc_demix).mp3
it’s called a demix because quite frankly i did horrible horrible things to her lovely little guitar. bella, please pass on my apologies, and never ever never let your baby listen to this.
every sound has been created by fiddling about with the original sample, especially the monkeys.
we’ll be back to something more beat driven tomorrow.. yes, there’s definitely going to be a kick drum in there somewhere i promise.
Day 3
Dougie Evans - ‘Statica’
http://www.last.fm/music/douglas+evans
http://www.myspace.com/dougieevans
Dougie’s work covers a variety of instrumental music, most of which is composed for contemporary dance. He is one of three founding members of Flux3 arts, an integrated arts company. He is also currently writing music for Lila Dance Company’s up-coming tour, which will be across the UK in 2009.
The original of statica is a magically chilled affair, scope it with your ears on the myspace or the fmfm webbysites.
emerging from the dark recesses of the soundhole of bella’s guitar, i’m returning to a more beat driven feeling… which is why i have a massive headache.
this track takes us to the office in a department where tyres is boss (think spaced).
dougie evans - ’statica’ (squatter ARC remix)
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/dougie_evans-statica(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
tomorrow we get funky. monkey.
Day 4
UK Funk Junkies – ‘Junkie’ (medley)
http://www.myspace.com/ukfunkjunkies
We like many have found ourselves fighting against the funk clot and have been following our paths down many different directions, but are now in a state of no denial and so we are stepping further into the unknown with a vision that surpasses anything previous. Put your funky foot forward and come to one of our parties!!!!!
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Well said!
Due to a string of events which were not at all bizarre, the individual track parts of the track from the studio for the track I was going to play with are dead. Consequently I was only given a completed mixdown to play with which slightly limits what’s possible with it. So to make up for this I’ve butchered bits of ‘bleeding heart’ together with bits of ‘tripping’ (which was already chopped up by the funkers themselves) and also a couple of snippets of their radio interview with Milly on Spirit FM (thank you Milly for letting us use them ).
It’s a veritable medley of mayhem! enjoy!
UK Funk Junkies - Junkie (Squatter ARC Medley)
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/uk_funk_junkies-junkie(squatter_arc_medley).mp3
Fancy hearing them live? You can find them on the 20th December at the Bull Inn in in in Chichester
I’m all funked up and out; tomorrow we’re into some grit with a bit of a surprise 
Day 5
Diarrhoea Victim – ‘Me Ow’
http://www.myspace.com/diarrhoeavictim
this link has all you need to know:
http://www.squattersound.com/Home/diarrhoea-victim-me-ow-squatter-arc-remix-the-untold-story/
check out the doodles page - me ow - the untold story.
enjoy
Day 6
Nicolette Corcoran – ‘Stronger’
http://www.citythefilm.co.uk/creativeteam.php
Nicolette Corcoran is a singer, composer and actress based in London and Brighton. Last year she graduated from Music College, majoring in composition and performance. A very versatile classically trained singer, she performs jazz, pop and folk music. Nicolette Corcoran has sung for the Bishop of London at the opening of a centre for reconciliation - Greencoat Place, Victoria and several times as a soloist in Caux – Switzerland. Presently she is working on a new and exciting project, an album of her own music which is a blend of folk, jazz and choral.
She is featured on several new albums of up and coming bands including, ‘The sons of Noel and Adrian,’ ‘Shoreline,’ ‘The Mummers’ and is currently working with Mark Horwood on their new project ‘FeatureFilm.
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Bit of an epic one this one; the lady of layers had boshed together 30 odd tracks recorded by a cunning process of cloning herself; this kind of behaviour is frowned upon by the industry but it certainly explains how she’s involved in so many projects.
The lovely free-flowing timing of the original had to be tamed so that i could hoon about with it, which sadly took up vast amounts of the time i had available. i started timing up the pieces yesterday because i knew it would take ages, and finished today with only about 5 hours to spare to make the actual track! eek. hopefully it hasn’t suffered too much from this; i’d love to have had a few more days on this one, quite simply because there are so many little cheeky musical ideas hidden away amongst the layers. if only i could get the delorian up to 88…
anyswayses, see what you think to it:
(this one has a big bottom end, find some speakers laptop dwellers!)
nicolette corcoran - stronger (squatter arc remix)
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/nicolette_corcoran-stronger(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
and for your listening pleasure, i have kindly been allowed to provide y’all with the original as well:
nicolette corcoran - stronger (orig)
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/nicolette_corcoran-stronger(orig).mp3
silent silent silent silent, silent silent simon signup, silent silent silent sign mup, silent silent sile assignment…… i’m never gonna get this out of my head, i’m never gonna get this out of my heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeead… pop.
Day 7
Iced Dougnut Collision Matrix – ‘Icarus Falling’
http://www.myspace.com/iceddoughnutcollisionmatrix
This guy suffers from OCD - obsessive composive disorder.
His favourite activites, in his own words include:
running down the batteries on Yoda’s SEGA game gear
interfacing with the diamond tiger
speaking to the Omega council on behalf of the silent cosmos
his tracks, like his hobbies, are deep and eccentric.
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I left this track in a very similar soundworld, quite simply because i loved the sound of the original too much, and was hypnotised by the echoey piano. i also had a hangover so decided to chill it down a notch, which is a first for me with a track! i could not have handled kick drums today…
i ripped it out of it’s funky 5/4 time signature as well, so you’re all getting one less beat per bar for your money. what a swindle.
here’s the track, i decided it was more of a part 2 than a remix hence the name. it’s possibly also the longest track name i’ve had to write out yet! landmark occasion or what?!:
Iced Dougnut Collision Matrix - ‘Icarus Falling’ (Squatter ARC Refrain):
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/iced_doughnut_collision_matrix-icarus_falling(squatter_arc_refrain).mp3
go listen to the original at:
http://www.myspace.com/iceddoughnutcollisionmatrix
it’s amazing.
both the original and my refrain have got bitching dark heavy bass underneath, it’s seriously not the same on a laptop, get some big speakers and wobble yourself a bit
we’re one week down!!! woop!
Day 8
A Sweet Niche – ‘How You Like Them Apples’
http://www.myspace.com/asweetniche
An alternative rock/jazz trio who disappear into strange lands of electronic sound manipulation in their live and recorded work.
The track ‘How you like them apples’ is a piece that stems from the processing of the sound of an apple being bitten, and then goes… elsewhere.
The remix does much the same, but with less apples and more very.
bit of a schizo track this one, apologies for any bad dreams
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/a_sweet_niche-how_you_like_them_apples(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
incase anyone is confused as to what an apple should sound like, here is a picture:
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/apple.jpg
Day 9
Lightshapers - ‘Havana’
http://www.myspace.com/lightshapers
Norwich based producers & djs. Signed to Polar Red, Ape Music & Waveshape Recordings.
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Badass breaks. These guys are currently rocking Breaks FM on a fortnightly basis; catch their show 7-9 on mondays.
There’s a snippet of the original drums in the remix; i’d left them in the arrangement when i was previewing the samples, and forgot to take them out; when i played the track through later on they appeared smack bang in the middle of the breakdown, and i kinda liked it, so they stayed.
The track was also a bit epic at 8mins 30, so i had to mercilessly hack some sections out of it, and repatch them in a tender fashion. It turned out to be more sensibly arranged afterwards somehow. Magic.
Lightshapers - ‘Havana’ (Squatter ARC Remix)
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/lightshapers-havana(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
You’ll notice that a monkey unfortunately got digitised in the process; i caught the foolhardy creature snooping around my collection of lentils so i stuck him in my sequencer, head-first. made quite a mess actually.
Happy monday!!!
Day 10
Metachemical - ‘Orange’
http://www.myspace.com/metachemical
Metachemical, from the frozen north where breaks are about as rare as kangaroos, believes in broken beats and driven basslines. 2008 has proven to be a justification to keep making breaks despite his family and friends telling him he’s crazy…..
A remix of Dee Mond’s “If You Can’t See The Point” is available now, “Network Psychology” complete with remixes by Cereal Killaz and Discosynthetique hit no.13 on the Beatport breaks charts on Scrape Recordings, and “Death by Misadventure” is out now on Bass Reflections. “Ghosts and Rockets Redux” is due out on Pyrate Music in the near future. More distortion, LFO’s and big kick drums to come.
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mmmmmmmmmmmmm
i had a lot of fun playing about adjusting drum timing to get a nice bit of groove on this one (yes, i am a loser, i know). pretty mellow for me this one:
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/metachemical-orange(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
Day 11 (x2)
Venetia and the Voltage – ‘Is This the Best’
http://www.thevoltage.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/thevoltagemusic
Electronic pop rockers who play guitar and synth based craziness.
current single ‘warning song’ out in itunes etc and also limited
edition 7″
in all good independent record stores and available from
www.recordstore.co.uk
‘you give me something’ and ‘warning song’ also available (plus several remixes, a couple of which i may have had something to do with ) from http://www.thevoltage.co.uk
go buy them.
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SPECIAL OFFER! SPECIAL OFFER!
today only, download one squatter remix, and get another ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! (yes, they’re all free i know)
well, this track started out life as a mellowed out version of the original, gone slightly electronic rather than the more live feel.
but then i realised that it should probably be upbeat, so i turned trance on it; 10 points for spotting similarities between the two
(keep an eye on venetia and the voltage’s website for the release of these two remixes)
and did i mention their single warning song has just come out?
http://www.thevoltage.co.uk
Day 12
Gary Page – ‘Fake Lunar Landing’
Born Gary Edward Page in a front room in Whitbread Avenue, Bedford in the mid 70s, the Page family relocated in the mid 80’s to Eastbourne for a life by the sea. It was at Secondary School that G decided he quite fancied the idea of ….
find out what at http://www.myspace.com/garyepage
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Conspiracy theory is go!!!
Bit of a fun one this one, some lovely lyrics. Making the track was a complete and utter challenge; i had no idea how to fill in around the vocals, which i wanted to keep in their entirety. i cunningly enlisted the help of rufus and arrived back just in time to write and upload the track, having learnt much on my travels and met some gnarly dudes.
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/gary_page-fake_lunar_landing(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
Day 13
Jason Porter – ‘Four in a Box’
http://www.myspace.com/jasonmusicporter
Jason Porter is a BA (Hons) music graduate from Chichester University. He composes music of any genre, for anyone, but is primarily a film music composer. If you have a film/event/other which you would like him to compose for, please don’t hesitate to contact him through this myspace page.
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This was a bit of a battle; i’ve not had the… pleasure.. of programming drums that are properly swung before, but that was what the music dictated. it was worth it in the end! some epic orchestral stuff going on here, even moreso in the original.
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/jason_porter-fourinabox3(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
ah, lucky(?) number 13. which also incidentally marks the half-way point having been breached!!! it’s all downhill from here….. hmm, maybe that’s not so good.
i’m so tired!!!
Day 14
The Report to Sorsha – ‘Mr Taylor’
http://www.myspace.com/thereporttosorsha
‘The Report to Sorsha is a collective of one, little and many. ***************************** The Report to Sorsha are Influenced by anything and everything ***************************** The Report to Sorsha’s goal is to give and receive visual & musical love’
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The name The Report to Sorsha came in a dream, and this theme is continued in the tracks which slink down the line between soporific and engaging; should i be following the sounds in the tracks or should i be letting my mind wander into a cosmic state of trance.
Chill out to any of the original tracks on the myspace and have a wee think, it’ll work wonders.
I wanted to keep the hypnotically haunting character of the original, so i’ve only upped the groove a small notch or two on this one.
settle down comfortably, it’s a long one
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/the_report_to_sorsha-mr_taylor(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
Day 15
Dee Mond – ‘Pyrate’s Gold’
http://www.myspace.com/pyratemusic
http://www.pyratemusic.co.uk
Born and based in Edinburgh, Dee Mond plays in the local club scene; mixing his own original productions on timecoded records and his own white labels, bringing scratching and beat juggling to the electronic scene. Dee Mond also plays live using two computers, two midi controller keyboards and a two bank sampler.With a wide and varied repetiore he has been heard ripping it up at illustrious techno nights such as Camouflage, Substance, Club Dogma, React, Split, The Institute For Electronic Artists, Tronic, Fake, Oxjam Institute, Urban Niche, Foozle, and more. ..
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… and he’s the head honcho of the record label Pyrate Music
checkout their spanking new podcast of upcoming releases here:
http://www.pyratemusic.co.uk/?p=downloads
this is a track i’ve been badgering dee to let me play with for about a year now, so it’s been a long time coming! wicked stumbling hook on this one, love it:
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/dee_mond-pyrates_gold(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
(only ten tracks left to go! the end is in sight, through the use of a simple pair of bi-noc-u-lars)
Day 16
Chop, Chop: Bear Touch? – ‘The Dancefloor is a Scary Place’
http://www.myspace.com/chopchopbeartouch
The garish seedlings of ‘Chop, Chop: Bear Touch?’ were planted in a chance meeting on a train station platform and soon blossomed into a hothouse combination of spectacles, games of pool, the growl of Pantera and the gladioli waving of The Smiths.
They quickly translated and incorporated this bizarre mix into sharp, witty and observant songs about the drama of everyday man, set against a relentless barrage of crunching riffs. The reviews concluded it was a combination that worked, with highly respected journalist John Earls proclaiming their first ever demo track ‘The Dancefloor is a Scary Place ’ as having “one of the best solos you’ll ever hear on a demo” and ranking it with a fantastic four-out-of-five blocks rating.
Additionally, NME gave Chop Chop the title of ‘demo of the week’, affectionately labeling them as “grotty snotty rockers” and the ban
(etc etc etc… just accept they’re awesome ok? )
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filthy filthy get your junglist hats on!
Day 17
The Poopahs – ‘Lead Me Out’
http://www.myspace.com/thepoopahs
upbeat badass live band, with some severe talents on them thar instruments.
after the snippet in yesterday’s track of full on 4 to tha floor stompy stomp, i felt inspired to do it to a whole track. sorry!!!
it’s face chewing time!! :
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/the_poopahs-lead_me_out(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
Day 18
SpaceBaby – ‘Morning After’
SpaceBaby are mysterious…
the parts for this track were transmitted to me telepathically; luckily the big toe on my left foot fits snugly into a usb slot.
the original is amazing so i couldn’t bring myself to change much; i just took it slightly more chiiiiilled.
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/spacebaby-morning_after(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
unveiling a little of the mystery:
produced with car boot techology and rescued synths… 10 years in the making and the end no closer in sight, second album ‘headcleaner’ sounds like massive attack and underworld trapped in the 70s. ‘Morning After’ written by keith sutton, sarah saville and neil bryant.
it was originally titled ‘the morning after the long night of the long lost love monkeys’ - i vote they change it back!
Day 19
Jonny Loves House – ‘Care About Your Love’
http://www.myspace.com/jonnyloveshouse
Jonny Loves House Records is based in Brighton UK, specialising in creating
groove based underground house music. As well as producing music and DJing, Jonny also plays his house music completely live!
The track ‘Care About Your Love’ features as part of the new long-player ‘Open Windows’, which is released Friday 19th December 2008.
A collection of groove based dance-floor friendly tracks, it will be taking you on a journey of house music which brings in elements of disco, funk, jazz,
acid, latin and techno all fused together in Jonny’s own unique style. It also features ‘Not Just In My Head’, which peaked at number 2 in the Brighton latest 7 music chart.
Have a listen and find out where to get your copy from the myspace link above.
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As another bonus Jonny is kindly offering you 4 tracks which have been unreleased until now. Go to http://www.musicglue.com/jonnyloveshouse to get your free downloads.
Stompity stompity stomp stomp, care about your kick drum
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/jonny_loves_house-care_about_your_love(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
jonny’s album’s available now:
http://www.djdownload.com/mp3-detail/Jonny+Loves+House/Open+Windows/JLH+Records/547349
fill your pods.
Day 20
LemDom – ‘Freestylin’
This is the fusion of two musical bunnies jamming away, a twisted combination of bleats beats and opera.
They’re so fresh they haven’t even got a finished track yet! or a name! i made that one up, awesome huh? i had to sneak into their HQ and steal a random collection of loops straight out of their pedal. stealthy powers were on full charge thankfully.
this led to some interesting mix difficulties not being able to separate lem from dom as they were recorded over each other on their freestyle jams.
This is my first adventures in beatboxing, so it turned into an overexcited hotch-potch sketchpad of ideas:
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/lemdom-freestylin(squatter_arc_mix).mp3
Day 21
Rhys Miles Thomas’ Short Film – ‘I Just Don’t Know’
For a wee change from remixing music, i decided to spend today remixing a short film.
I wasn’t quite sure what the outcome would be when i started, and listening to the finished thing i’m still not sure what it is; it’s not a rescoring, because i’ve chopped the video about a little; it’s not a music video, because the music was made to the film; it’s not an octopus, because it doesn’t have enough legs. quite frankly i’m baffled. have a watch and see if you can make sense of it:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UtbODeHTw8s
Day 22
TWISTOR – ‘PARIS je t’aime’
http://www.myspace.com/twistor
The name ‘TWISTOR’ is based on Sir Roger Penrose’s 8-D twistor theory.
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I still exist in 2-D so most of the other D’s are beyond my comprehension
Seriously, have a read of the myspace profile, i can’t begin to do it justice on here!
Tripped out trippety-hippety hop, avec le french samplage:
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/TWISTOR-PARIS_je_taime(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
Day 23
Azer Mantessa – ‘Sunsets’
http://www.diary.cadenza.org/azer-mantessa/
Azer is the creator of much much tranquil yet darkly beautiful largely piano based music.
This track is a bit like superman 3; something decent and pure gets warped by machine:
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/azer_mantessa-sunsets(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
Day 24
The Specialist – ‘Sister Medusa’
http://www.myspace.com/thespecialistuk
Look out from the top deck of the number 60 bus and Croydon looks like a huge sprawling mass of people, every conceivable age and colour, everyone anxious to get wherever they’re going. It’s not just the people that are fluid, shops and businesses come and go within months. The old hospital burns down and no-one blinks. A pub burns down and another one takes its place as if nothing had happened. The Specialist write songs of love and late nights in the city. The frustration, the sheer confusion and the kind of violence you read about and see firsthand that is so commonplace it raises no surprise in people. They write about the characters you’ll meet in the streets; the guy who’s stoned out of his mind and latches onto you after having been robbed by his mates; the girl who pours her thoughts and dreams out onto the backs of envelopes and scraps of paper she keeps in her bag. Songs of love, loss and late nights in the city.
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and they write about sister medusa:
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/the_specialist-sister_medusa(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
Day 25
DJ Somsay – ‘Keep it Up’
(vocals by Gen of Montreal)
http://www.myspace.com/djsomsay
DJ on ibreaks.co.uk and breakbeat.ca (which he founded), Somsay’s perfectionist nature has only recently allowed him to unleash his tracks on the breaks community.
He’s done an awesome productional job on the vocals of this track, and having only a day i largely left them alone and concentrated on the rest of the track, so all kudos on the vocals to be directed to him and Gen of Montreal.
As it’s the last day i kept it pretty happy and dropped some vaguely euphoric trance:
http://www.squattershouse.co.uk/arc/dj_somsay-keep_it_up(squatter_arc_remix).mp3
