TRACKLIST:

Side A

A1. Test The Sound (Extended Version)
A2. Music Takes Me Up (with Alice Russell)
A3. Donkey Ride (with Quantic)

Side B

B1. Hairy Bumpercress
B2. Whiplash
B3. Nice Up The Function (with Roots Manuva)

Side C

C1. Bang The Floor (with Danny Breaks)
C2. Get On Down
C3. Hold On (with Andreya Triana)

Side D

D1. Give Up To Get
D2. Kalimba
D3. Zen (with Skuff & Inja)

Side E

E1. This Way (with Pete Simpson)
E2. Stockport Carnival
E3. Fix That Speaker

Side F

F1. Bunch of Keys (LP Edit)
F2. Rocking Chair
F3. Nice Up The Function (Remix Instrumental) More

Deluxe 20th anniversary edition of the classic Mr. Scruff album. 2LP (blue / red vinyl) with iconic artwork by Mr. Scruff & Airside plus infinity peelable trouser sticker on the cover to reveal silver and gold foiled 20th anniversary trousers. Includes MP3 download code.

Originally released in 2002, “Trouser Jazz” was the hotly anticipated follow-up to the Manchester-based DJ, producer, record collector and cartoonist’s barnstorming Ninja Tune debut “Keep it Unreal” (1999). As a DJ, Andy Carthy aka Mr. Scruff plays across the board, moving between soul, funk, hip hop, jazz, reggae, latin, african, ska, disco, house, funk, electro, breaks, soundtracks and loads more. As a producer he makes music that draws on these influences, with a large dose of cheek and good humour. His cartoon drawings illustrate gig flyers, posters, record sleeves, t-shirts and occasionally accompany him at gigs as live animated visuals.

“Trouser Jazz” – recorded largely at Carthy’s home studio with engineer Danny Evans – neatly encapsulated Scruff’s ethos, his joie de vivre and his inimitable combination of tight knit funk, expansive sonics and dancefloor dynamite.

“The album is a real mixture of moods and tempos, just like my DJ sets, twisting my influences and inspirations into different shapes,” explains Andy. “It was also the time when I started to develop my low-end addiction, as tracks such as ‘Ug’ and ‘Shelf Wobbler’ testify. The collaborations were enjoyable too, from Bernard Moss’ one-take flute that Seaming & Sneaky built a track around on ‘Valley of the Sausages’, Braintax’s medieval working-class themed rap on 'Vibrate', Sneaky’s bass and Andy Kingslow’s abrasive synth solo on ’Shrimp’ (which was the first of many tracks we did together), Andy K again on ‘Champion Nibble’, Niko’s glorious & touching vocals on ‘Come Alive’ and Seaming's otherworldly vocals on ‘Beyond’. When I listen back to Trouser Jazz, I can feel the fun and energy from those studio sessions.”

Everyone including Pitchfork delighted in the record’s joyful eclecticism: “Trouser Jazz is quite possibly the answer to all of your sugar-fueled Saturday morning disco prayers, churning out one chocolate-frosted cereal box prize after another and bringing down the house with an inspired mix of rubbery funk, hipster soul and gleefully contorted, krush groovin’ hip-hop.”

It’s tough to pick out highlights in a set of consistently top drawer productions but ‘Shrimp’ is an inspired fusion of Mizell Brothers cool and Roger Troutman’s squelchy funk; ‘Come Alive’ is a triumphant soulful jaunt blessed with Niko’s vocal and rooted by the most hypnotic bassline on the album. Meanwhile the outright dumb ‘Ug’ is “a giant teddy bear of a track… the subcutaneous bellow of the bassline, the Flat Eric keyboard squawks and slithering hi-hat snaps propel it to the top of the heap” (Pitchfork). Undoubtedly it was the aforementioned characteristics that made ‘Ug’ a stone cold backroom classic. More

DJ-Kicks starts off its 25th year with a selector who’s been doing just that for even longer than we’ve been going. A true giant of the underground dance world, we proudly present the original ‘Jazz Potato’ himself: Mr. Scruff!
Tracklist LP
A1 Andreya Triana - Gold (Max Graef Remix)
A2 Sudan Archives - Wake Up
A3 Tiger - When
A4 Ding Dong - Badman Forward Badman Pull
Up
B1 Mr. Scruff vs CyberPunkJazz - 3001: A Space
Disco Remix
B2 Max Graef - No 5C1 Andy Ash - Ease Yourself
C2 Zongamin - Nonstop
C3 Alexander Robotnick feat. Stefano Cocco
Cantini - Love Supreme (Extended)
D1 Drymbago - Chupacabra
D2 Paddy Steer - Loufoque
D3 Emilio Santiago - BananeiraD4 Rosa Maria -
Samba Minerio More

Mr Scruff, aka the multi-talented Andy Carthy, is something of a Manchester institution, having entertained people with his music, marathon DJ sets, tea shops and illustrations for (whisper it) nearly 20 years. His forthcoming fifth album, Friendly Bacteria, shows that he has lost none of his brilliance, and we're delighted to be able to premiere the video of the lead track from it. Render Me features an insistent beat, distinctive piano stabs and delicate touches of electronica, together with a great guest vocal from fellow Mancunian Denis Jones, while the video features an infestation of what we presume to be Mr Scruff's 'friendly bacteria'. Well, they look like they're happy at least. Meanwhile, for the album, in Scruff's own words expect it to be “tougher, sparser, less samples, more bass. More vocals and collaborations and shorter tunes.” All of which sounds excellent. More