White Tea (with Chicken Milk)

 

Receiver is a project of A(lan). Burnham Richards (Ratman) & Rich Beale. I've shared Ratman earlier on this month. Rich Beale (as Clevedon Pier) was a long-time member of NSS fave Gareth Sager's Head & he's been Pregnant with Sager as well. Ratman & Beale teamed up because it seemed like a cool thing to do. Lately Beale has been busy as Don Mandarin & Rastu / Om Shanti.

Ratman sez:
         "I started out in about 1985 messing about with drum machines from lack of ability to play the drums. Sequencers, midi, & eventually computers landed & I’ve been at it ever since. I have had the pleasure of working with the likes of Smith & Mighty, Alpha, Mr. Scruff among many others.My different monikers & projects over the years have been Ratman & B: Alanrat; Rat; Ratman; & Receiver."

 

Receiver - Chicken Milk, Cup of Tea Records COTCD013, 1998.
decryption code in comments

Intro    
Mood Master
Mysterious
I'm Affraid
Santa Maria
What Da Fuk    
Receiverz FM  (CD only interlude - 8 seconds)
Phobia
Freeze Over    
O'Driscolls Curse
Hundred Years    
Untitled (hidden Track)

 

 

See you On the Tee,
NØ

Tea Slicks on the Cup

 

Slick Sixty is a trio of ex-pizza delivery men made up of Nathan Church, M.J. (Marcus Salisbury), & Richie Hopson who signed to Bristol's venerated downbeat label Cup of Tea Records. Slick Sixty infuse bass-driven melodies with big beats, tasty samples, scratch wizardy, & live horns to create their own unique take on Trip-hop.

Robert Christgau sez:
     "Lounge r&b for the age of techno constructivism & Moog retro."

 

Slick Sixty - Nibs & Nabs, Cup of Tea Records COTCD 025, 1998.
decryption code in comments

Hilary, Last of the Pool Sharks
Recliner Classic
Someone Else's Square    
The Wrestler    
God's Own Dustmen
Dun Deal (Wrestler's Rematch)    
Margo's B&B    
Mungo, Return of the Master Blaster    
Bridgette's Dustman (reprise)

 

See you On the Tee,
NØ 

Scott Free Tea

In 1995 Martyn Thompson joined Scott Free to form Pendulum. Martyn had recently discovered Trip-hop & the spawning digital recording scene. He was now looking for a way to fuse it all with world music. He & Free got together with Justin Russell & Simon Brown & created Creature Feature, their first & only release on Cup of Tea records in 1997. It sold quite well in Eastern Europe & Japan yet for some reason it was never released in the UK.

After headlining the Kilbi Festival in Switzerland in 1998, Pendulum disbanded... 

 

Pendulum - Creature Feature, Cup of Tea Records COTCD016, 1997.
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Duck on a Bike    
Ghostrain
Ghettoblaster
Mutant Road Creature    
Redemption
Skagtrap    
Shape Shifter
Precious
The Problem    
The Dream    
Hell Smells

 

 

See you On the Tee,
NØ

Praise Space Electric Tea

 

Bristol based downtempo, jazz, experimental, Trip-hop band formed in 1997 to do a few remixes by Portishead live-show bassist Jim Barr, featuring: Barr; singer / guitarist Jesse 'Morningstar' Vernon (of Moonflowers & Praise Space Electric); John Baggott; & Toby Pascoe. The band signed to Bristol's Cup of Tea Records label. Their sound, based on hip-hop rhythms, subtle funky guitars, & jazz attitudes sprinkled with a hint of psychedelia, possesses a unique pop dimension that pushes the boundaries of the Trip-hop genre.. 

 

Invisible Pair of Hands - Disparation, Cup of Tea Records COTCD011, 1997.
decryption code in comments

Inbetween Times    
Me Me Me    
Disparu II    
Strange & Lovely (Pink Flood)    
La Balancoire    
Ship of Death    
Oil Oil Oil    
Sloppy    
Once Upon a Time    
Feu D'Joi

  

See you On the Tee,
NØ

Tea & All That Jaz

 

Jaz Klash is a collaboration between Brooklyn native, LA based female producer, The Angel & Bristol's More Rockers (Rob Smith / Peter D. Rose of Smith & Mighty). The Angel brought her hip hop / jazzy elements to fuse with More Rocker's jungle programming.

Jaz Klash - Thru the Haze, Cup of Tea Records COTCD008, 1996.
decryption code in comments

Off the Edge
Intrigue (Down for Whatever) (The Angel - vocals)
BQE (Cokni O'Dire - vocals)
Intoxicated    
’67
Traffic
Thru the Haze (The Angel - vocals)
The Finale
The Gift
The Party Next Door    
One Fine Day

 

 

See you On the Tee,
NØ

The Monk Brought Tea...Yeah, He Brought a Little...

 

Monk & Canatella is an indie music/breakbeat group from Bristol, England, formed by Simon Russell & Jim Johnston, starting in the mid-nineties.

I've shared these boys twice before in the past, here & here.

Have another sip..

Monk & Canatella - Who's Who, Cup of Tea Records COT044CDS, 1997.
decryption code in comments

This Time is Different    
Picnics    
Grout    
Testerone

 

 

 

See you On the Tee, 
NØ

A Cup of Tea & a Large Pie

 

Mr. Scruff is a British DJ, producer, & artist born Andrew Carthy on February 10, 1972 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, UK. Carthy moved to Stockport, Greater Manchester where he studied fine art at the Psalter Lane campus of Sheffield Hallam University.

His DJ name was inspired by both his scruffy facial hair as well as his trademark loose-lined drawing style. He features his own quirky home-produced visuals & animations during his DJ sets. He has been DJ-ing since 1994, He is somewhat notorius for his marathon DJ-ing sets that often exceed six hours. His style is primarily breakbeat/future jazz. 

 

Mr. Scruff - Large Pies, Cup of Tea Records COT040CD, 1997.
decryption code in comments

Mexicanos    
Large Pies    
Naughty Mouse    
Mice at the Organ    
Large Pies (Ratman mix)

 

 

 

See you On the Tee,
NØ

Man, There's a Rat in the Tea

 

Not much to say here.

We've got perennial remixer Alan Richards doing his Ratman thing on some of his own tracks. 

 

Ratman - Hitting a Raw Nerve EP, Cup of Tea Records COT028, 1996.
decryption code in comments

Side 1 -        
Sole Sentiment
Flute Dreams

Side 2
Storm
Racous Grin

 

 

See you On the Tee,
NØ

Sit Down for a Cup of Tea with Henry & Louis

 

Henry & Louis was started by Jack Lundie & Andy Scholes to publish their own production work. Their approach has been to express a Roots & Culture philosophy much aligned with the UK Roots scene, but diversifying other tracks to pull in the wider influences from Dubstep to Trip-Hop.

All tracks written and recorded at Jack & Andy's 2 King Studio, Vision Factory, Bristol. 

 

Henry & Louis - Deliverance, Cup of Tea Records COT023CDS, 1995.
decryption code in comments

Deliverence    
Deliverence Dub    
Double Culture    
If I Could Only    
If I Could Only Dub    
If I Could Only, Drum & Bass    
Georges Best Dub

 

 

 

See you On the Tee,
NØ

A Winter Cuppa with SSS

Statik Sound System formed in the early part of 1994 after band members had been in a variety of noise, Dub & breakbeat acts. Statik Sound System signed to Bristol's own Cup of Tea Records. They produced 2 albums, a Remix album, 6 singles/EPs, & appeared on countless compilation albums. 

They have been remixed by the likes of Mr Scruff, Cut la Roc, Spring Heel Jack, More Rockers, The Egg, Tao, Ian Simmonds, The Bullitnuts, & Aim to name but a few. They have toured around the globe with a bizarre mixture of bands as diverse as Spiritualized, Black Francis, Receiver & Smith and Mighty.

After putting together their own studio in 1998 they released their last album, My Ooh-Zik in 2001 which I shared here. 

Some sweet Dubbed-out trip-hop on this, their debut...

Statik Sound System - The Winter Collection, Cup of Tea Records COT016CDS, 1995.
all decryption codes in comments

Vacuum    
The Sunlight in Your Eyes    
In Our Own Time (Horizontal mix)    
Revolutionary Pilot (More Rockers Dubmix)
Revolutionary Pilot (Rob Smith mix)
Revolutionary Pilot (Pete D mix)
Revolutionary Pilot (Spring Heel Jack mix)
Revolutionary Pilot (Spring Heel Jack Slow Dub) 

 

 

On Remix Selectiion, Statik Sound System's Tempesta (here) gets put through the wringer, by a bevy of trip-hop luminaries. Here's a mixture of trip-hop/breaks/downtempo/big bea.

Statik Sound System - Remix Selection, Cup of Tea Records COTCD009, 1997.

Living in Essential Times (Statik Sound System remix)
Sonar (Tao remix)
Essential Times (The Bullitnuts remix)
Dreams of Mine (Cut le Roc remix)
Amazed by You (Spacer remix)
Jack (Kushti remix)
Dr. Wheeler (Mr. Scruff remix)
Valentine (Kid Loops remix)
Amazed by You (Aim remix)
Free to Choose (Juryman remix)
Outside Now

 

 

 

 

Here's a final EP from SSS...

 

 

Statik Sound System - The Essential Times EP, Cup of Tea Records COT12“035, 1997.

Side A -
Living in Essential Times    
Hear My Plea    

Side B -
Seven Shades    
Dreams of Mine (Cut la Roc Big Beat Boutique mix)

 

 

 

 

See you On the Tee,
NØ

A Cup of Tea & a Crust a Tion

Here's my next offering from Cup of Tea Records

I'm a big fan of the band Crustation. I've shared them twice before, here & here. Both times the band was fronted by the fantastic chanteuse Bronagh Slevin. Before hooking up with Ms. Slevin, the group was a Bristol  DJ trip-hop trio consisting of Ian Dark, Stig Manley, & Mark Tayler.

 

Before releasing Bloom w/ Bronagh Slevin (probably one of the best trip-hop albums ever made, containing gems such as "Purple" & "Flame"), the British trip-hop band Crustation have released two 12"-only EPs on the legendary Cup of Tea Records: Foot Damage & Now 'Til Never. With the promise of bringing Foot Damage EP to the site in the near future, I am now presenting you Now 'Til Never, a too-short, yet interesting EP with lots of danceable beats. These three songs are instrumental pieces with lots of vocal samples; track 3 is nearly entirely based on samples from the previous tracks.

 

 

Crustation - Now 'til Never EP, Cup of Tea Records COT007, 1995.
decryption code in comments

Side A -        
Now 'til Never

Side B -
Big Bong Theory
Molecular Thing

 

 

 

See you On the Tee,
NØ

Cup of Tea Makes P.P.

Third out of the gate from Cup of Tea Records 

In the past I've shared Purple Penguin here.

The duo was a mainstay in the Cup of Tea Records roster. Just a couple of Bristol boys, hip-hop / breaks producers who got together & make a Purple Penguin. Scott Hendy & Ben Dubuisson produced some of the finest Cup of Tea sounds out there.

Here's an early EP... 

 

Purple Penguin - Passion / Trihuwan, Cup of Tea Records COT003, 1995.
decryption code in comments 

a side -
Passion (vocal)
Passion (Moon & Sun Dub)
Tribhuwan (Taxi mix)

b side -
Tribhuwan (Atlas mix)
Tribhuwan (Himalayan Dub)
Tribhuwan (Crust mix)

 

 

See you On the Tee,
NØ

Tea is for Trad

The second offering from the great Cup of Tea Records. 

 

Spaceways was a seven-piece outfit complete with horn section, the group formed in 1989 at the height of the UK acid jazz craze. Their roots in acid jazz influenced Trip-hop are evident in their first full-length debut, Trad.

Spaceways played a groove-based, live-sounding integration of funky, sequenced beats, live percussion with lots of brass, guitars, stand-up bass, & other instrumental affects not normally associated with electronic dance music, Spaceways were part of  a new crop of artists re-exploring dance music's roots through live performance.

Spaceways - Trad, Cup of Tea Records COTCD002, 1996.
decryption code in comments

Time Changes Space    
At Home with the Snake    
City    
Charlie X    
Pink Panza    
Rice    
Requiem for Ra    
Kurosawa Meets Slow Charlie    
Crimes    
Riding on the Tip    
The Man Who Fell to Easton    
Death of a Silent Planet    
Pinhead Plutonium    
Better    
Tyner 

 

 

 

See you On the Tee,
NØ

Enjoying a Cuppa

Well, it's started to cool off. Passing the dogs off to you all quieted their barking around here, so I'm just gonna sit back, kick it for a while with a nice cup of tea. 

 

 

Last month when I shared Grantby - Timebooth, I had this to sez about Cup of Tea Records:
     "Cup of Tea Records released some of the highest quality tracks of slo-mo beat excursions & weirdelic sound collages in the time from 1994 to 1999. The label, founded by Pip Diaz in Bristol, started with the release of "The Mudskipper EP" by a band called Junkwaffel, remixed by Bristol royalty Portishead. Leading up to this, Cup of Tea had made a name for itself by providing Bristol with the most upfront in club DJ's & bands, putting on everything from jungle to hip hop, from jazz-funk to dub. Their catalogue included releases from Crustation, Purple Penguin, Spaceways, The Federation, Slick Sixty, Tammy Payne, Statik Sound System, Grantby, The Disciples, Mr. Scruff, Monk & Canatella, & many more."

I decided that I'd follow up with this, seemed only logical considering my last few shares. Junkwaffel - The Mudskipper EP was released in 1995 as Planet Dog Bark014T.

Well, it was also released as Cup of Tea Records initial offering, COT001 the previous year. No better place to begin than at the beginning. 

 

Junkwaffel - The Mud Skipper EP, Cup of Tea Records COT 001, 1994.
decryption code in comments

Side A -
Mud Skipper (original)
Mud Skipper (Henry & Louis Steppers mix)
Mud Skipper (Portishead So-so mix)

Side B - 
Sub Strata (Eat Static mix)
Sub Strata (original)

 

  

Enjoying a cuppa,
NØ