10 best dancehall songs according to Kahn

Of all the producers operating out of the fertile, bass-leaning, environs of Bristol, Kahn is the one producer it is hardest to second guess. His releases so far have spanned from the brash and ravey Helter Skelter to the dark voodoo pound of Tehran, to the subtly insistent garage swing and fluttering of his own vocals on new release ‘Margeaux’. His productions are always surprising, and without fail deftly do something that sets him apart from the rest.

He is also one of those that make up Bristol’s Young Echo collective, a group of young producers including Zhou, Vessel and El-Kid who run an excellent radio show you should definitely listen in on. Their show has an eclectic feel, and all of those involved clearly have a strong knowledge of many different areas of music. For this list, Kahn has chosen to highlight his love of dancehall, and has selected his personal favourites below.

1. Pampidou – Governor General http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtZ-_bhfCek
   Old school tune dis, absolute dancehall killer. Pampidou coming with his unmistakable ‘rockstone’ style, love it!
2. Baby Cham – Galang Ya Gal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZqgRu-gxl4&feature=relmfu
   Again, a really simple riddim but gets the people dancing trussst me! Taken from a real golden age of ragga dancehall, one for the gyal.
3. Lexxus – Redder Now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QOEbC8c4ps
   I love the Bad Weather riddim, that real simple style of dancehall is so lethal. Lexxus’ monotone delivery just gets me going, I dunno why!
4. Burro Banton – Boom Wah Dis (Street Sweeper riddim) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxKizfSCwjA
   I run this tune in the dance whenever I can, the legendary Burro Banton with that veteran deejay style. I guarantee if you play this tune out you’ll have a gang o’ gyal dancing at the front before the first chorus!
5. Red Rat – Bun Dem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIK0WnsySko
   Dancefloor killer. I love Red Rat’s delivery on this, you can really hear his anger at politicians, injustice and such. I’d definitely drop this if we had a system set up in a riot.
6. Capleton – Mash Up da Place Yah http://youtu.be/nWQXhUwQNJc
   A more modern cut from Capleton. I love the energy in this tune, that vocal is the definition of ‘more fire’.
7. Roll Deep – Poltergeist Relay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcGJoJncXjQ
   Roll Deep at their best in my opinion, coming across as a proper crew. Sick riddim from Terror Danjah, quick 8 bar style from the MCs and when Jamakabi, Killa P, Riko Dan and Flow Dan come in at the end.. jeez.. that’s my shit
8. Skepta, Wiley & Syer Barz – Scarz remix http://www.youtubecom/watch?v=-eO6aX37nJo
   Big tune from Wiley’s Tunnel Vision Vol. 5. Wicked 8 bar riddim, I love how all three MCs go in hard with their clash bars. I can just imagine them all jumping about on a hype in the studio when they were making this!
9. Razor X Productions – WWW feat. Mexican http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_W2HZKibfw&feature=related
   Hardcore cut dis, not to everyone’s taste! I remember when I bought this on vinyl when I was about 17 just thinking how fucked and distorted the vocals were but just not being able to resist the raw power of it. One to listen to if I’m really pissed off about something.
10. Wiley – Pulse Eskimo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAbkBLKisIg
    Are you mad?

Idle Hands released Kahn’s ‘Margeaux’ on 21st May 2012