Villain: ‘A dramatic or fictional character who is typically at odds with the hero’, and it was this lateral definition that caught our attention when thinking up a theme for the issue, not necessarily the ‘bad guy’ but a glorious anti-hero if you will.

Outsider status, nonconformist ideals, little respect for the status quo and maybe just a little bit crazy: these themes are at the very heart of the modern day anti-hero, and issue 06 is packed full of them.

We interviewed the super villain himself, and DOOM doesn’t disappoint, proving to be as abstract, candid and interesting in conversation as he is in his music. Complementing that is our feature on 10 years of Lex Records, the London based label has a roguish regard for ‘music biz’ convention releasing IDM to conceptual pop and straight out banging rap music with the greatest of authority. We have Lex x Ehquestionmark t-shirts to give away with the first 20 orders online, please include your size with the magazine order.

Other characters who make an appearance include electronic music pioneer Juan Atkins, Cali-weed enthusiast and dubstep rebel Rusko, and funk archivist Egon on the sounds of war as presented in the East of Underground: the Hell Below compilation.

On the visual side we get ill at the temple of Sickboy, skewer street art with Skewville and get schooled in 3D graffiti by writing legend Daim. Adult Swim represents our first foray into the world of television, we get a candid insight into the channel’s evolution from lo-fi stop start animations to a multi million-dollar business that shows little signs of compromising on it’s early ideals, however bizarre and non-commercial they may be.

Whatever image the word ‘villain’ conjures up for you, Bonafide issue 06 will turn your preconceptions on their head.

Ninja Tune’s Brazilian sound sensei Amon Tobin has been added to the already gargantuan line-up that is this years bloc 2012. Tobin brings ISAM, his revered audio-visual live show to London Pleasure Gardens this summer featuring ‘a stunning 25′ x 14′ x 8′ multi-dimensional / shape shifting 3-D art installation surrounding Tobin and enveloping him and the audience in a beyond 3-D experience. ‘

Full details on the line-up (so far) above and keep your eyes peeled for competition tickets coming soon.

Real soon…

DJ Yoda joins like minded visual leaning mash up specialists DJ Food and Jaguar Skills as brand ambassadors for Carling Zest ‘Summer Bottled’ campaign.
 
The trio make use of a selection of ‘summer sounds’ and visual accompaniments to capture the feeling of what makes for a Great British summer. Presumably if it’s anything like this summer promises to be that will include the sound of rain and the image of hoards upon hoards of confused tourists outside Stratford Shopping Centre.
 
Jingoistic grumbles aside each DJ takes it upon himself to deliver their own unique take on the concept, from Jaguar Skills dance orientated Summer SFX Riddim to the hazy nostalgia of DJ Food’s Sunspot and Yoda’s ‘Moombahton’ experiment above. Check youtube.com/carlingzest for more details and keep ‘em peeled for Bonafide’s own take on the app, no clues for what that may include…(SC)

Bullion returns for the Love Me Oh Please Love Me EP on Deek Records, the producer shows another side to his musical bow using drum machines, guitars and synths, along with his own voice and lyrics.

The EP is a long way fromPet Sounds: In The Key Of Dee and even last year’s criminally overlooked non-LP You Drive Me to Plastic with the sparse, the Twin Peaks-esc strings of Collision hinting at a post-rock influence.

The EP is out May 7th, stream it below.

Everything about this confounds expectations.

Quakers are a hip-hop group… made up of a mere 35 members. Even the Wu aint got that many associates in their various franchises.

The video for Smoke flys in the face of the ‘Directed by Kayne West generation’ of fast cars, glossy aesthetics and wasted budgets. And in all its dirty, DIY glory it rocks.

Smoke features Jonwayne, a man who before he opens his mouth looks like a cross between Harry Knowles and Sir Rapalot from the Bronxshire. But when he spits? He slews it.

Like his namesake, chewin on a Cheroot this is smoking.

Download Jonwayne’s This is False Mixtape from the Stones Throw website.

Bonafide interviewed boogie funk maestro Dam Funk back in issue 03. Jimmy Mould’s photo shoot for the feature has since been used by boutique menswear and lifestyle label Oki-Ni and Dam’s InnaFocused Daze EP, as he readies new music we thought it would be a good time to upload one of his first published interviews in the UK.

Peanut Butter Wolf, master beat maker, vinyl aficionado and head man at US based funk, hip-hop, breaks label Stones Throw also has another not inconsiderable string to his bow. Not content with consistently delivering a fine menu of top-notch head nodding records in his own right, he also possesses an unnervingly fine talent spotting ability. Like a hip-hop Simon Cowell, but with taste, Peanut Butter Wolf has expanded his empire over the last year to include a string of releases from the best in leftfield underground beat music.

Latest member of the Stones Throw stable is veteran LA sophisticate and all together cool individual, Dam Funk. Responsible for the recently released concept album ‘Toeachizown’, Dam Funk is something of a California funk legend, having been involved in both crafting funk fuelled missiles of his own, and running legendary LA club Funkmophere for the best part of the last decade. The man himself recently touched down in the UK to brighten up the English winter with his funky flavours, and we were lucky enough to catch up to find out a little about what makes the man.

Dam Funk’s music has a smooth polished electronic edge that recalls the best of the early eighties boogie scene, tightened to perfection with a slick future-g-funk sheen. Lazily pigeonholing his style as retro however brings short shrift. “ My shit isn’t exactly what you call old fashioned you know? I like to think of my style as a continuation. Back to the times before hip-hop became what it is, where different ‘urban’ if you want to call it that, styles existed side by side. “

Pushed on the point Dam becomes animated as his smooth Californian drawl takes an almost urgent edge. “ The way I explain it is this, I want you to think about a different world, parallel universe if you like. A place where those cats that were listening to these funky joints didn’t hide those records and claim they was B Boys or something all of a sudden. Imagine if the record companies hadn’t just decided they wanted badass rappers on every record.

Imagine that the funk, and I mean the REAL funk, was allowed to grow and do what it waned to do? That’s where I come in.

Shit I love those old boogie joints and so forth as much as anybody, but what I’m doing is carrying on that tradition, so all those funky people don’t have to just listen to these records, in private, driving about in their cars or whatever. This is music for now and its music that means something in this day and age, you know what I mean?”
Listening to the Dam Funks productions and this idea of a parallel funkosphere starts to make sense. Tunes such as the title cut of his latest release (Toeachhizown) echo the electronic funk masterpieces of Roger Troutman’s Zapp, or George Clinton’s more contemporary work, but it’s the modern sensibility of production and innovation that stop them being mere pastiche pieces.

Never shy of experimenting himself, he recently remixed art rockers, and fellow Californians Animal Collective, in a move to some that may seem outside of the realms of the typical urban music scene. “ The thing is the scene round here is so fertile at the moment. There are a lot of good people doing a lot of good things and that’s something I really dig you know? I don’t care about labels or whatever, if I like it then I want to get involved. Simple as that. “ So, are there any more collaborations in the pipeline? “ Hell yes, I want to get n the position where say, Talking Heads were in the early eighties. They used a lot of funk and disco producers on what was essentially a rock band, and if you listen to that you know that it worked. In fact my next record is going to be a cover of a Human League track, but filtered through how I see things. And I tell you what, it’s going to be the business man.”

Name checking both Talking Heads and Human League may be surprising for a man who posses a Californian drawl so horizontal there are times it barely breaks out of a whisper. So making any assumptions about his style turns out to be particularly misguided. The man reputedly throws a legendary live show, but not quite as you might expect. “ I’ve been doing this live thing for a few years now, its party time for me when I’m up there doing my thing. I got a band I’ve been on the road with for a few years, and we want to make sure that everybody is enjoying themselves as much as we are.” A bit like Parliament then, that sort of vibe? “Shit no, that style is old you can’t be saying I am getting up on the stage with a load of cartoon characters dressed up in nappies and stuff. My band aren’t a load of clowns.”

Any possible tension, is quickly relieved however by a drawn out baritone chuckle, and you have to admire the man for not getting hung up on the past, especially a past with so much influence. So what is your show like then?

“We are tight man, I may have a lot of people up there but my style is more like Gary Numan you know. That kind of icey robot thing. “ Have you ever seen Kraftwerk I wonder? “ Yes, that’s the kind of shit I’m talking about, keeping it neat, no messing about, just the music.”

For an artist wit such an undeniable talent, located in the midst of a town so rich in musical heritage, Dam Funk’s attitude is not only surprising but also extremely refreshing. To have the vision to create your own version of a musical story that has been retold so many times it is ingrained in the very psyche of a generation, is brave to say the least. But it’s this vision that makes not only the man, but also his music so special.

Sit back and listen to debut long player, Toeachhizown and the beauty is the sound of California Soul mixed with the best of European pop. Sound familiar? Well that’s because it’s the blueprint to the best popular music of the last century, a transatlantic fusion delivered by mavericks like Dam Funk who deserves the last word. “People tell me that the funk is a feeling, but its more than that. My music is a lifestyle, and if you choose to live that life then you aren’t ever going to be disappointed. Trust me, and come along for the ride.”

You know what? I think I will.

Words:Toby Hemming
Photography: Jimmy Mould

The third and final post for our Record Store Day special is another competition, this time we have a copy of J Dilla’s Think Twice/E=MC² 7″ vinyl, one of just 300 copies released, as well as a limited picture disc from The Shining LP found in ‘the deepest darkest pockets of the BBE vaults‘ and a five pack of 7″ from the imminent Visioneers album.

We could wax lyrical all day about these two amazing artists (and do, here) and their importance to and influence on modern music but we’d rather you sit back and enjoy Marc Mac’s Dilla Record Store Day mix for Bonafide and hear what makes them so special.

Due to the hyper-collectible nature of this competition package we’re going to make it a little bit harder than usual and request that you name all the tracks featured in the mix, the person with all or the most correct answers wins and there will be a draw in case of a tie. Send your answers through to the usual address at mailbox@bonafidezine.com including your full name, address and Dilla x Visioneers in the subject heading. Competition closes May 21st.

Since the late 80s Londoner Marc Mac has been converting audiences with his sophisticated take on urban soul. A hybrid concoction of house, broken beat, nu-jazz, neo soul, drum and bass, and breakbeat, its a polished sound plugged directly into the emotional highway of 21st century city living. Working under a variety of guises, his prodigious output includes his work as one half of 4hero (alongside Dennis “Dego” McFarlane) – their Creating Patterns LP is a rare piece of beauty - Visioneers, Natures Plan and Nu Era.

While recording a new Visioneers record, Mac began thinking how hip-hop had been a (sometimes invisible) guiding hand in his life. “The music, the fashion and culture. Although producing all kinds of music from jungle to jazz, hip-hop (or at least what is was) has always been a part of what I do in some strange and sometimes very subtle ways.” Documenting this influence on Hipology, his very own digital scrapbook (that has also spawned a record of the same title), it’s easy to see the depth of Mac’s appreciation of hip-hop.

So, with the kind support of the folk over at BBE, Mac has crafted a J Dilla mix for Bonafide Beats as a contribution to World Record Store Day 2012.

Marc Mac x Bonafide Beats is a journey into the soundscapes of J Dilla, a musician who shifted the boundaries of what hip-hop is and whose reach and influence seems to get stronger every year since his passing. I’m not even going to try and pick out the tracks for this mix, I’m just going to say like a fresh slice of Yorkshire Tea Cake it’s a dense, filling affair that  hits the spot.

Marc Mac x J Dilla x Bonafide Beats goes out to the beat aficionados, crate diggers, hip-hop fans and indeed anyone who believes that Record Store Day is about celebrating and sharing good music.

What happens when you get Dizzee Rascal, Labrinth, Mr Motivator, an all female team of mixologists dressed as wolves and lots of ERISTOFF vodka in the same place at the same time? P-a-r-t-e-e, and that’s exactly what happened at last months ‘Party in the ERISTOFF forest’, part of this years Snowbombing festival.

The ‘greatest show on snow’ line up included DJ Shadow, Jungle Brothers, Skream and the Bow boy done good Dizzee Rascal headlining.
The Bonkers MC got into the spirit of the party by make his own cocktail, the pun-tasticly titled Fizzy Rascal, more details here, let’s hope it doesn’t take after his Dirtee Stank label. (SC)