GANG COLOURS MAN UP GIRL! OPEN FOR BUSINESS MIX

Everyone loves a good mix, don't they? I know I do. There's sometimes nothing better than getting yourself set up - whether it be sunbathing in the garden with blanket, book, suncream (stay safe), drink; eating breakfast on a Sunday morning with TV (for the news), best-breakfast-ever, some kind of juice; or working inside with coffee, inbox open, stressball to hand - and once you're in position and raring to go, blasting a good mix. Ahh, the pleasures of the mix know no bounds. No choosing the songs yourself. No getting up to change CD. Just a set amount of time, decided by said mix, to enjoy a daily task. For in daily tasks there is immense glory.

So anyway, there's a lot to be said for mixes. From 20 minutes to a few hours, they come in all shapes and sizes. Very versatile things. And on that note, you can also use them for a soundtrack to a not-so-daily task, something like - oh I dunno - the Grand Opening of a shop. That's the case in this instance, anyway. Gang Colours, whose lovely The Keychain Collection came as a fanfare of absolute chill last year, has created this 'Open For Business' mix for the opening of Man Up Girl!, a street & skatewear shop for women in Southampton (he is close friends with the founder, it's not a random thing).

Some of the stuff in that shop looks incredible. The prints are bright and funky with more than a little leaning towards the retro - quite frankly I wish I were able to wear some of that stuff. Maybe I could get away with a T-shirt or two... Check it out: www.manupgirl.com

Anyway, Gang Colours has made this lovely mix. Listen to it.

With effortless flow, GC delivers a hip hop-hearted 35-minute mix that really is a mix, I mean like in the literal sense of the word yo. From the dripping ambience of Volcano Choir to Isabelle Antena's pioneering electro-samba, the sultry crooning of My Toys Like Me and the rich harmonies of The Beach Boys, it is a mixed mix. Yet never once does it feel clunky. Not at all. I feel bad even SAYING that word because nothing like that ever even comes near to approaching your ears. It's fluid and summery, the soundtrack to chilling out under the dappled shade of a tree, to the heat of busy streets, to summer-breeze-filled houses.

Toeing a line between retro and modern, attitudinal and nonchalant, it shows off not only the skill of GC but also his wide taste in music. He's got a second release coming up on Gilles Peterson's label Brownswood, and this mix only reminds me of how excited we should be about that.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS MIX TRACKLIST:
Pink Priest - Field of Orgasms
2morrows Victory - Lift Off
Co$$ - Searching
RZA - The Birth
Volcano Choir - Dote
DELS - Black Salad
Isabelle Antena - Naughty Naughty
Common - Testify
Infinite Body - Drive Dreams Away
James Pants - Green Rivers
My Toys Like Me - All Over My Face
Daru Jones - Oh pt. 2
B. Lewis - Dat Juice
The Beach Boys - Walk On By
Rammellzee Vs K-Rob - Beat Pop
Shigeto - What U Really Needed Ft. Brandon Mitchell & Carlos Garcia

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