5 Albums I Can’t Live Without: Rob Birch of Stereo MC’s
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Name Rob (Stereo MC’s)
Best known for Musician and performer
Current city London (Yo Sushi in Heathrow airport) on route to Dallas.
Really want to be in Where I am now is cool.
Excited about Breakfast. We start touring in a day or two, but I tend to keep my thoughts away from it.
My current music collection has a lot of Afro/electronic.
And a little bit of Funk, dub, atmospheric.
Preferred format To be honest I use all of them and make recordings of things I like on my phone. Streaming is a great way to access music easily. When I find new music I like, I buy it rather than keep streaming. I prefer to listen to my own playlists of new music I have downloaded. CDs are still cool for me, I often buy them and burn my own.
We have a monthly radio show on Margate Radio. I love to play some vinyl, have a physical piece of time I can feel and touch, see the grooves and where the track breaks down by the pattern in them, and I love the artwork. So…. If it’s down to pleasure of playing, vinyl is sweetest, but for speed and convenience, streaming (but I always purchase tunes I like).
5 Albums I Can’t Live Without:
1
Cymande, Cymande
This album is like a musical sanctuary for me. Cymande are a group that fuse multiple musical influences with a beautiful spirit. Afro, dub, funk, R&B, disco independent. Earthy, raw timeless.
2
Sorrow Tears and Blood, Fela Kuti and the Africa 70
The vibration and groove of Fela Kuti and the Africa 70 lead by Tony Allen’s rhythmic innovational style is pure energy. The tunes often lasted for 20 minutes when they played live and the hypnotic quality of the groove is a big part of modern dance music. I also love the rebel spirit and vocal of Fela.
3
Ege Bamyasi, Can
Experimental, creative and free. Defies categorization and does nothing generic. The vocals are vapors.
4
Music Can Hear Us, DJ Koze
I just bought this record and was surprised by almost every cut. Defies expectations, and for a musician who exists largely in the club arena he seriously bends the creative tangent.
5
Iboga (Unofficial edits and overdubs), Joaquin Joe Claussell
Again, I just got this and I love the fusion of West African music and rough club atmospheres.
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