Northern Author: Welcome To The World Of Dusty Vinyl

Lewis Parker. Arguably Britain’s greatest ever beatmaker. He has consistently stuck to his guns throughout his career since the release of Jedi Antiks back in the mid 90s. Crackling feedback, organic beatloops, an ear for finding the perfect sample - Parker has, in my opinion, laid down the blueprint for the perfect song.

It came as no surprise to me that he was eventually picked up and contacted by some prominent US artists, most notably Ghostface Killah for the song ‘Shakey Dog’ from his LP Fishscale, to create some audible gold.

Parker has a career spanning over 15 years at the top of his game, with each album brilliant in its own right (even his mixtapes and beat CDs are a joy to listen to), and its great to see the man succeed on his own terms.

Its very rare in this current climate of hip hop (read: ringtones outselling albums, Soulja Boy outselling everyone (!) and musicianship out the window) that a producer from Parker’s mould would succeed without changing his sound. You won’t find any Swizz Beatz casio sounds here, no sir.

Anyway, posturing aside, and me declaring all out love for the fellow, this guy is basically incredible on the beats. Other british producers such as Jehst and Dirty Diggers have undoubtedly been heavily influenced by his style and he's got new material coming out in 2010 in the form of the full-length 'The Puzzle', which was initially earmarked for late 2009 but seems to have been pushed back somewhat. I've enclosed a vid from his new LP here also, but lets go back to union square.

The Mixtape Vol. 1 was released late 2006 as a collection of rare and unreleased tracks, remixes and just select songs spanning his career so far from 1996-2006. Its just chock-full of big songs and even though it doesnt even touch any of his full-length album material, still has a quality second to none.

Lewis Parker - The Mixtape Vol. 1

01. Intro
02. Rise
03. Fake Charades
04. Parker's Siesta
05. New York Skit
06. Don't Forget About Ya Boy
07. International Heat (feat. iTruth)
08. Gettin' Funky (Funky Trouble Pt.1) (feat. Trez)
09. Funky Trouble Pt.2 (feat. Tah Born)
10. Get Ya Hustle On (feat. Tah Born)
11. Love Is Blue(Johnny Johnson & His Bandwagon)
12. Dirt Off Your Shoulder (LP Remix) (feat. Jay-Z)
13. Shakey Dog (feat. Ghostface Killah)
14. Smith Bros. (LP Remix) (feat. Raekwon)
15. Never Gonna Stop(feat. Dynas)
16. Static (feat. Jacky Danz)
17. Incognito (Dirty Card Remix)
18. Sky High (feat. Dynas)
19. End Of The Day(feat. River Nelson & Vex Davortex of The B
20. Anybody (feat. Mr Pressure)
21. Soon 2 B (feat. Mr Pressure)
22. Beautiful Life (feat. River Nelson)
23. What The Ancients Say (Remix)
24. Intensity (feat. T.R.A.C. aka Terry Nickels)