This is the archive of gabba.cc, one of the first mp3 blogs.
Bhangra 2-step. Driving West London's empty streets, it's hot and sunny, this is THE music. Forget the MC's dry toast, it's the syrupy groove I'm hearing.

Industrial strength short attention span ragga drill and bass mashup.

Anthemic Rave. A synthed up version of Hip Hop standard 'The Mexican'. Bringing a mix of triumph and nostalgia, this processed cheese has me dreaming of high sierras, and the hedonistic nights of 1990.

Garage Bounce. Playful and perfectly predictable, with the oldest samples in the book. Busta+FlipMode and DMC champs aren't normally welcome on AMP, but exceptions can be made.

A disco classic, concious lyrics, hand claps, broadway musicall style chorus, it sounds very very GAY, no bad thing..

Urgent Hip-Pop. Dangermouse spins gold, shamelessly catchy, wearing it's bling with pride - his ghetto glitter and loose riffs turn Jemini's calamity into something as comfortable with it's club potency as it's underground cred.

Dread skat. They couldn't get hold of the hardware, so Pompidoo bares his teeth and does a decent approximation.

Dirty South Pop. Mike's perky ride swerves all over with Outkast's dreamy falsettos and nursery rhyming chorus. Smooth, sweet and... shockingly, Pharell's not on it.

An audio bath..

Epic jungle/ardcore crossover. Without a doubt one of the 90s greatest tracks. It distills the excitement of the early 90s: hedonistic abandon, technology's potential, playfully pushing the boundaries and crucially, surpassing the original with a giddy disregard. Again all credit goes to Gareth (1471) for singling out this uber-obscure gem many years ago, and so far as I'm concerned he might as well have made it himself.

Lo-fi collage. Performance duo Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong turn art into music with an instable compound of raw acoustics, homemade percussion and sample mayhem. Elegant and erratic, with spontaneous edge.



Steady disco. This is what punk was reacting against. This is what irritates people about disco, but I'm just a fool for anything that sets a mechanical snare against strings and harmony.

Psychedelic whismy from the kings of tight sweater emo..

Crunch and Bleep. Jackson's murky electronic debut intrigues: oppressive organs droning against a flickery chorus that slips by every time. It's lost, chewing itself up and collapsing till the choirs steer it out.

This is good because.. 1) Its the first song I've heard with a chorus of "f**k off now", 2) elephant man says Shizzle at least 3 times, 3) the riddim (sign) soundslike it was hijacked from a bollywood film, 4) its not got anything to do with OUTKAST (ahem) ..

Trance Blueprint. Yes, you heard me right, Trance! Thomas Heckmann's stirring 303 odyssey didn't carry so many unwelcome associations when it first emerged in the early 90s, but its slow burning malevolence and dark intrusive force still resonate.

Sickly funk with a nocturnal gleam. Maverick Harco shines through the dank electronics in a studio séance that evokes the glistening damp of Jabbawocky. [thanks to Philip]

Luxurious love epic that just about chokes on it's own gorgeousness: deep throat wah-wahs, naive euro-vocals and gold plated guitar. Their exquisite craft doesn't detract, it's excessive but I suspect this track's really about them and their studio equipment.

A heavystepper from the Pay As You Go mainstays, whiplash 2 step in need of an MC..

Hype-worthy pioneers. I hardly need bring this to your attention, but it's taken me weeks to hear beyond the initial thrill and let it settle. It stomps, it shrieks... it delivers.

Hypnotic Bling, with a scorching (SICK!!!) groove - snatched, cut short, slamming on the one, driving all the way to the jackhammer break. Hyped and tight, the heavyweight emcees tag each other in and keep the pressure of that in-sane repetition. (Jess on point, as ever)

The antithesis of hiphop, and a special dedication to my rice dream girl…

Playful Synth Pop. An international call to the dancefloor, made at the end of the 70s by a trio of Belgian electronic artists. Their camp electro disco must have been ahead of its time - they entered Eurovision (null points!!!)

Space Funk. This disco amazement is nothing new, so if we have to hear the past played back, he's the man to do it.

Fantastic Voyage, a mesmeric journey through an undefined space far from home. I imagine the retro futures of classic sci-fi, entering new lands but nothing is clear [thx Andy.K]

Charthall. Simple as the two finger melody, steady as the bass, Sean stays calm when all around is hustle, oblivious to the hyperventilating riddim over his shoulder.

Apparently he's not having it, but the bass is…

Originally written by Prince for a womans voice - this is one of the most beautiful songs ever and could only be sung by the man himself. I dare you to not learn all the words !

Skip House. This remix from the owner of Shitkatapult neatly knits acid and emo together, giving their fragile vocals space without stretching it out of shape.

Scintillating Synth Funk. Classically trained YMO may not have intended to write a computer game track, but ernest strings, micro bass and neat electro give it away. Don't take the daft tourist board melodies seriously, it just wants to play.

Uncertain Pop. Someone was upset when they wrote this. It's not the nagging hammond or the mean chorus that make me feel it, more that the singer doesn't know what he wants, he's bewildered. And that makes sense.

Raw Eski, an update on the state-of-bass. Wiley Kat's 'eski' - a term coined to describe his sound - like looping booty tracks sound best in-the-mix. On the offensive, it's frighteningly focussed, frenzied but cool, it's only the tabla that isn't on the attack.

krg's mom smokes crack..

Kayne West chops up the MOR hits ( Chaka Khan and Elton John)

So, the hip-hop embargo has been lifted then. Here's a giddy slop of P-funk and 80 retro, lurching and chomping with melted plastic production and an emcee that sounds suspiciously like Will Smith. And a skit that survives more than one listen. WOW!

Primal electro from Finland, this generates a visceral feel from punishing bass and unexpected samples, using breaths, gasps and a hyper-compressed scream instead of the smooth electro presets. Effective, yes. Shocking, not really.

Wonky Pop, the soundtrack to my wilderness years. John Cale's mere production 'presence' transforms a shoddy demo jam into an off-kilter gem. How great is that bass. It's so.... dysfunctional

Hazy HipHop. The multifarious talent that is Madlib teams up with Jay Dee to produce a blurry take on 'Still D.R.E.'s classic bling - a surreal flipside of lumpy riffs, scribbles and burbled non-sequiturs.

Nickelback go Scooter courtesy of V/VM, so bad its er.... bad..

Understated dub haus. Perfectly measured, Tobias Schmidt and Niko Tzoukmanis' sleeper ebbs with pulses and echoes, urged forward by an even click. The acid creeps up inevitably, like the tide. I swear I heard it in the first bar.

Ethno Electro with a wistful air. A former ABC member teamed up to produce a minor classic - like Indian confectionary it takes a sweet tooth, but the bizarre c0cktail of gamelan twee, 80s bass and rippling percussion has such character it comes off [thx D.T.]

Pneumatic, pitch shifted UK Garage.

Soundtrack moment, from Godard's Le Mepris. Not sure it works without the context - He loves her, but she doesn't love him anymore. But that melody still inches it's way 'like a corkscrew to ma hearttt'. [Apolz for Dylan reference]


Neptunes bring tha eastern bling. Looking up into space, Nas and Pharell try to charm down their slinky co-star sample. She not having any of it and carries on dancing.

Soft Finnish Electro with a chewy rubber bass. This is warm sunset techno, evoking Detroit's second wave romance of the skyline. I can almost see the dim city lights on the horizon. Almost...


Abba's last recorded track. Regret, longing, boredom but ultimately optimism, all twisted with the irony that Agnetha's heartfelt weariness is carried so perfectly by the music of her her real-life partner Bjorn. So tragic, so beautiful.

Sleazy Pop. Mixing new wave with a sharp 80s bounce, it manages to have fun without dropping its cool. [thx Piers]


Just over 2 minutes of ecstatic soul music.

No copywrite issues with this one, Komathrohn says "Put it up", if only Jay-z would reply to our emails.. Anyway, the tracks a perfect b-side to Mirrors And Chrome, a cute synth pop moment..

Kenny Dope's (the name!) bomb really catches the mood of the city, its hot summer hussle, the tight streets and sharp corners. I can only imagine what New York's like right now.

Make-out music. Dangermouse's syrupy production lets Jemini kick back and share his knowledge, laying down the laws of luurve. "Yoo-Hoo, they be hollarin'"

Twilight House. Mayer builds a dreamlike setting then switches on the buzzsaw. (it's pretty old now, but it was prompted by disappointment with recent material)

Not 'that' Plasticman, Brutal 303 driven sub bass 2/tech step..

Locked Groove Techno. Uncharacteristically expressive, a vocal babble fights through the stomp here. Seemingly inspired by UR, Berlin's Pom Pom supply only catalogue numbers with their blank sleeved vinyl, leaving the music to speak for itself, and it says 'POM POM POM'.