Gilles Peterson at the Worldwide Awards 2012

It was the first year I wasn’t working during the awards so I wasn’t sure what to expect…

The line-up looked very varied – from electronic music to jazz to folky soul to you name it. Despite knowing how brilliant all the individual acts/DJs are, the line-up looked like it had the potential of being a massive hit or a massive miss, all depending on how the entire show was executed, but also on how the crowd would be handle the mixture of upbeat, quirky, soulful, spaced out and so on music.

Wordwide Awards 2012 Line-up

However, despite my worries it has to be said that Gilles and the Brownswood / worldwide crew really pulled it off this year! They really went above and beyond, with extra gold stars sprinkled on top!

Before I go any further I have to give massive props to the amazing Peggy who I know works so hard on these events, and Saturday night was proof of her excellence, but also of how much she’s grown and developed and become super-duper good at her job! I can without a shadow of a doubt say that it was the best worldwide awards show I have been to so far!

So massive props to this insanely talented and driven lady, as well as the rest of the crew who made the night happen – Ems, Simon, Alex, Fawaz and the rest of the Brownswood crew plus all other people who I probably don’t know but who made the night a reality.

As for the music and the performances… I think I cried 3 times during the evening because it was so overwhelming. I don’t even know where to begin since all of it was so good, but I guess some of the many many many highlights were:

The absolutely amazing and mind-blowing Pyramids

Michael Kiwanuka and band - they stole my heart <3

The incredibly cool Thundercat who did an awesome performance

The very talented Matthew Halsall who won Best Jazz LP

Another memorable moment was the Gil Scott Heron tribute with the two young and amazingly talented artists, Joey and J’Danna, from south London. They took my breath away – it was an incredible feeling seeing two stars being born on stage like that.

Hmmmm… what else? I guess my favourite DJs of the night were Hudmo, Kutmah and Lefto. Not because the others were bad, but probably because I am biased, because I was too drunk when the others were on to appreciate them, and also because I look up to these three gentlemen – especially Lefto who is like a slightly cooler version of superman (trust!). He even made this video below… Does he ever rest!?

Apart from the music side of things it was fantastic to meet so many new people, as well as seeing a lot of old friends who I haven’t seen for ages – Emanative, Thristian, KATE (!!), Dayo, Alex P, the Wah Wah 45s crew and so so many more.

I know a lot of people diss Gilles from time to time – haters gonna hate and all that, but honestly speaking – I don’t think a lot of people would have been able to pull off what he and the crew did on Saturday.

It really was a magical night (and no I am not just saying that because I used to work for him, if the night was shit I probably wouldn’t bother sharing it with you). I have so much respect for that man, the fact that he is still going from strength to strength, that he is taking chances when so many people in music like to play it safe, that he has big visions and he tries to make them happen with the help of great people and so on – it is very inspirational and if I can ever achieve a tiny bit of what he has in my own career I will be very happy.

So much love and respect to you Gilles! You keep pushing those boundaries and even if I don’t personally like all the music you play, I still very much appreciate what you do for people like me who represent and love independent and niche music.

All School Flavor in London from Laid Back on Vimeo.

DON’T MISS THE LDBK x MIXCLOUD PARTY THIS FRIDAY IN BRUSSELS!

Come and join us @ Howl At The Moon (178 Hoxton St, London, N1 5LH) TOMORROW! It starts at 8pm and it’s free!

If you can’t make it down, you can stream the event live on the Off The Record Ustream channel or watch it on the embedded video below.

I am on at 8pm GMT (that’s 21:00 your time mum) and after me you will have Alex Chase from One Handed Music!

Streaming by Ustream

*sadface*

Good evening friends!

Sorry if you feel neglected! I have been so incredibly busy the past week that there simply hasn’t been enough time to blog. Started uni last week which was very exciting and if you are interested in the things we do and say, you can check out the MA Music Industries blog.

I had a great time doing a live show at the Mixcloud party, as soon as the show is up on their site I’ll let you know.

Went to the land of no mobile and internet reception this past weekend. Heads up if you’re ever heading to Aldeburgh, you’re in for a nasty surprise if you’re not prepared. Besides from those technical issues I had a fantastic time by the coast in the sunshine.

This week it’s back to mental, so if you’re about tomorrow night, come and say hello at Wax Jambu as I will be djing there alongside Alex Chase from about 8pm. If you can’t make that then you can catch me at Howl At The Moon in Hoxton on Friday. You can find all events under the Gigs tab!

Right, time for bed I think! But before I go… make sure you check out this LUSH mix by Eric Lau for PMOI:

It’s for Mixcloud’s second birthday and funnily enough, I’m also celebrating two years of my show :)

If you can’t make it down, then you can stream the whole night from http://mixlr.com/mixcloud/live

The line-up looks BIG (Dego from 4Hero/ 2000 Black, Tanya Auclair, Eric Lau) so if you’re a fan of quality music, you simply have to go! (There will even be cake…CAKE!)

And if excellent music isn’t a good enough reason to get your ass off the couch and out on the dancefloor on a Thursday night, the extremely talented artist Sri McKinnon will be launching her exhibition “Mindscapes” the same night, at the same venue!

So make sure you get yourself a ticket and head down to THE CAMP, 70-74 CITY ROAD, LONDON, EC1Y 2JB, (Old Street Tube) on 15th September!