Adidas Originals Denim by Diesel

The two respected brands Adidas and Diesel have collaborated to produce the Adidas Originals Denim by Diesel collection. This collection was in fact released about a year ago, but the collection is still going strong, with a couple of new designs created since the first line's release at the beginning of 2009.

I'm a sucker for collaborations between my favourite brands and designers, so when I first came across this collection I instantly fell in love with it. It is without doubt one of my favourite collaborations between brands in recent memory, and in terms of denim products it can only be challenged by the fantastic Puma Loves Evisu collection which is still going strong after a couple of years.

The jeans are essentially made by Diesel, with the recognisable marker of the Adidas brand left on the jeans after teaming-up. The influence of Adidas can be seen in additional details to the outline of the Diesel jeans, with the metallic Adidas trefoil on the patch of the pocket, the silver/black (varies in jean style) Adidas trefoil on the back of the jeans, and also the trademark 'three stripes' on the outside leg, which are visible when you roll up the bottom of the jeans. The collection creates jeans for both men and women, and the styles available to both can be seen in the two collection outline posters below.

These jeans have been released in extremely limited numbers, and are strangely enough not available online. They can only be found in selected Adidas Originals stores, and the only two Adidas Originals stores that I have seen the jeans available in are in its Covent Garden store (Earlham Street) and in its Soho based store in New York (136 Wooster Street). Also the right sizes are difficult to come across as I experienced not so long ago, the store always seems flooded with W30 L32, of no use to us W32 L34 which are extremely difficult to find. For more information on the collection details take a look at the Adidas Originals website which is http://www.adidas.com/ORIGINALS/uk/.

adi-thanaz - Unwashed (Dark)

adi-thanaz - Dirty Medium Treated (Light)

adi-viker - Dirty Medium Treated (Dark)

adi-thanaz - Unwashed (Black)

Young Montana?

Whilst passenger of a car driving through Oxford at 3am after a great set from DJ Synamatix, my friend Dave made the excellent point that the goddess Mary Anne Hobbs was currently on air, something which had shamefully slipped my mind. During the show there were brilliant tracks from established artists such as Flying Lotus and Alex B, but the highlight came surprisingly in the form of a mix produced by the unknown Young Montana?.

The mix was incredible, I wasn't sure if it was a substantial amount of Red Bull which had given me a kick into instantly liking the stuff, but the repeat in the morning assured me this was top quality music. Montana is an unsigned artist currently (surely not for too much longer after this mix), and Hobbs couldn't praise him enough, labelling Montana as her "favourite unsigned artist of 2010". You can listen to this mix at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wqb7, and if you're a fan of dubstep and electronica Mary Anne Hobbs experimental electronic show is a must, even if you have to stay up until 4am on a Thursday morning (2-4 am), she is bloody fantastic.

You can find 19 year old Jon Pritchard's tracks at both his myspace and soundcloud pages (http://www.myspace.com/youngmontanamusic, and http://soundcloud.com/young-montana). Look out in particular for the tracks, 'Sacre Cool', 'Bad.day' and 'Hot Heathrr, which are my favourites from the tracks he has produced as of yet. His sound is a mash-up of electronica and hip-hop, drawing slight comparisons with artists such as Hudson Mohawke and Bullion who are doing similar things in their work at present. Influences on his work include Madlib and the seemingly ever-present shadow of J Dilla, with the signature repetitive mashed beats and looped vocals a feature present throughout much of Montana's work to date.

Fantastic Mr Fox

I don't have to much information on this guy who is a relative newcomer to the dubstep/electronic scene. From his few records though it is evident this man is one of many promising experimental artists, with a mix of 2-step/dub and hip-hop clearly resonating throughout his work.

Fantastic Mr Fox is a Manchester-based producer who hails from Wolverhampton, and he is currently a student at the University of Manchester. He has made a few releases, the earlier being remixes for the Hemlock record label (a remix of 'Yukon' by Untold) and 2nd Drop Records (a remix of LV's 'Don't Judge'). This was followed in March 2009 by a collaboration with fellow producer Rich Reason, which resulted in the 'Plimsoul' EP (this included the track 'Plimsoul' backed with 'Bleep Show').

His first solo work was released in the form of his 'Sketches' EP, which was released under the Black Acre label on the 25th February. This EP really establishes the mix of dubstep and funk which characterises much of Fantastic Mr Fox's work. The EP includes the tracks 'Sketches', 'BrickAbrac', 'If I' and 'Sketches (SBTRKT remix)'. The first two tracks give off a particular indication of his dubstep and electro infused sound, with Nintendo sound effects featuring alongside an atmospheric bass. The third track 'If I' is without doubt the most soulful on the EP, maybe an indication of what UK garage and funky may end up sounding like in the near future. The manipulated vocals on this track work brilliantly and complement the the deep bass, producing for me the best track on the EP.

'Sketches' EP

For more information on new releases and live dates on Fantastic Mr Fox visit his myspace page which is http://www.myspace.com/fmforigami.

MHI by Maharishi SS10

The MHI line by Maharishi have released their Spring/Summer 2010 collection. Maharishi, founded by designer Hardy Blechman in 1994, uses the latest technology to produce innovative and fresh designs, whilst yet trying to pay respect to the past and keeping a sense of the retro in their designs. This is something which is particularly present within the new SS10 collection, from which images from the collections' lookbook can be seen below.

The new collection takes a variety of influences, ranging from military wear to video games, culminating in the products below. I'm a big fan of this new season, especially of a few of the jumpers and t-shirts, with the graphic designs and retro contrasting cuffs of the jumpers my favourite features of the clothing. To find these items you will need to go to Covent Garden and visit either the Maharishi flagship store (Floral Street) or Size?, as well as browsing online at either http://www.mhistore.com/ or http://www.size.co.uk/.

Bullion

Bullion is without doubt one of my favourite producers at present. Bullion is a producer from Acton in Greater London, and his sound follows a style set by the likes of Flying Lotus and Hudson Mohawke in experimenting with the hip-hop and electronic genres, whilst he yet manages to create a unique and wonderful signature sound. The influence of J Dilla on his work is great as in so much of today's work, with the manipulation of his tracks beat and also his sampling technique drawing a resemblance to that of Jay Dee.

He has three releases to his name under the One-Handed Music record label. These releases include the single 'Get Familiar' backed with 'Rude Effort', the single 'Funny Bones' backed with 'Payroll', the 'Young Heartache' EP (which includes the tracks 'Young Heartache', 'Are You The One?', 'Time For Us All To Love' and 'Long Promised'), and most recently the 'Say Goodbye To What' EP which was released on the 25th January and includes the tracks 'Say Goodbye To What' and the amazing 'Crazy Over You'.

As well as making his own solo tracks, Bullion has been involved in the making of mash-up mixes. The most notable of these is in his homage to J Dilla and The Beach Boys, the album named 'Pet Sounds: In The Key Of Dee'. This mix basically entails Bullion fusing The Beach Boys' 'Pet Sounds' with J Dilla beats. The result is amazing, since I discovered the album I haven't been able to stop listening to it, the mashed-up vocals of The Beach Boys fits perfectly with the Dilla beats. The album produces a number of great tracks which blend together brilliantly, the highlights in my opinion being 'I Just Wasn't Made For These Times', 'Caroline, No' and 'You Still Believe In Dee'. If you like either The Beach Boys or Dilla, or if you're a fan of Bullion then this album is a must have!

Also Bullion has made a mixtape called 'Mixed Up In Love' which builds upon his previous work and is another good listen if you like his earlier solo material. This and also Bullion's new material which I'm sure will be uploaded in the coming months can all be found at his myspace page which is http://www.myspace.com/bullionness.

Adidas Originals (Originals By Originals) - Kazuki Collection

The 'Originals By Originals' collection from Adidas Originals has released its latest line of apparel, the Kazuki collection. This collection is a collaboration between Adidas Originals and Japanese high fashion designer Kazuki Kuraishi, following on from the collaborations made earlier in the lines featured in the 'Originals By Originals' collection.

In a slightly similar fashion to Adidas's Y-3 collection (Adidas's collaboration with fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto), the Kazuki collection features a number of simple but highly technical, modern and very stylised streetwear designs. The overall look of the line is very subtle and understated in some of the products design, something which I believe enhances the appeal of this particular collection, offering an alternative to the extravagant collection made by Jeremy Scott.

The items pictured below have been given a limited release, and your best bet in trying to find the products featured in the collection will be at the Adidas Originals flagship store in London (Earlham Street, Covent Garden), Size? stores in and around London (Carnaby Street, Covent Garden), or you can browse online at http://shop.adidas.co.uk/products/Originals/Originals-by-Originals/detail.jsf?entrypoints=Originals or http://www.size.co.uk/.

Kazuki Campus 80's

Kazuki Gipfel Black

Kazuki Gipfel Grey

Kazuki Golf Jacket Beige

Kazuki Golf Jacket Black

Kazuki Manager Shirt

Kazuki Mintos Track Top Black

Kazuki Mintos Track Top Grey

Kazuki Mintos T-Shirt Black

Kazuki Mintos T-Shirt Grey

Kazuki Pocket T-Shirt Black

Kazuki Pocket T-Shirt White

Kazuki Zip Hoodie

Ramadanman

20 year old David "Ramadanman" Kennedy is a producer/dj who originates from North London and currently attends the University of Leeds. His sound is known especially throughout the dubstep scene for being extremely unique, not conforming to the all too mainstream wobbly basslines common in dubstep, and instead experimenting intelligently with dub, electro, funky and drum and bass.

Ramadanman started djing at the age of 14, where he was greatly influenced by hip-hop and deep house. Aged only 15, he began producing his own music by firstly recording songs on keyboard, and then a few months later by learning to use the Fruity Loops software which his brother had, and which he still uses as of today.

Over the past couple of years Ramadanman has increasingly come to the fore of the dubstep genre, and now has a number of releases to his name on a variety of labels, which includes Soul Jazz, Tempa, Aus, Critical Music, 2nd Drop Records and Hessle Audio. Incidentally, Ramdanman is also co-founder of Hessle Audio and runs it alongside the brilliant Pangaea and Ben UFO (one of this year's most talked about DJ's).

He has released the following tracks and EP's:

- 'The Woon' (single)
- 'Carla' EP (features tracks 'Carla', 'Offal' and 'Kablammo Eleven')
- 'Core' EP (features tracks 'Core' and 'Dayrider')
- 'Blimey' EP (features tracks 'Blimey', 'Drowning' and 'Tak')
- 'Humber' EP (features tracks 'Humber' and the 'Sven Weissman Remix')
- 'Revenue' (Single)

Today Ramadanman has also released his latest EP, titled 'Ramadanman'. This EP follows the line set by most of his previous EP's, providing a fresh mix of dubstep, funky and slower drum and bass beats. This EP also adds looped and distorted vocals to its tracks, adding a further dimension to Ramadanman's work which works well, most notably on the track 'Don't Change For Me'. The tracks that feature on the EP are 'I Beg You', 'No Swing', 'Tumble', 'Bleeper', 'Don't Change For Me', 'A Couple More Years'.

'Ramadanman EP'

Ramadanman's development on the scene and growing reputation was shown in the middle of 2009 when he was selected to create the Volume 7 Mix for the Dubstep Allstars series alongside London based producer/DJ Chef.

Earlier in the year I was also lucky enough to catch Ramadanman with a few friends djing at my local alternative club (don't really know how to describe it) Cavern. Although I knew of him at the time, I didn't really have any extensive knowledge of his output or the type of thing he was creating, and it was after his magnificent DJ set that I looked into his stuff and my obsession with this new merging of dubstep/house/2-step/funky/electro/drum and bass that is emerging in the works of numerous low key artists (Joy Orbison, Pangaea, 2562, Untold, Mount Kimbie etc...) began. At the point when he played Joy Orbison's 'So Derobe' (which was then unreleased) followed by Burial's 'Exit Wound' I literally thought I was in heaven (I'm sure Dave, Helena and Louise would all agree). If you get chance to see him DJ I would highly recommend it, and more specifically see him on the 10th April at the 'Chew The Fat' event in London where he will be playing alongside other big names such as Untold and Foamo. For more information of the event, or on new releases, check out Ramadanman's myspace page which is www.myspace.com/ramdanman.