The busy folks in the Ninja Tune/Big Dada office are so hot with this one. It’s an absolute monster as The Qemists tap into the Foals and Vampire Weekend indie types for a bit of Afrobeat guitar with the added benefit of a a d’n’b bassline, the magic of Wiley and a smidgen of a Morgan Herritage sample.

So heavy is this, I suggest you start with the instrumental version and build you way up thorough the serious remixes as you won’t be able to get enough of it. There’s dark mash-up biz as we go all over the place with grime, dubstep, electro and drum ‘n’ bass biggness.

No idea who/what Subscape are but their instrumental dub is heavy on the bass and feels it way into the remix by Ninja Tune’s latest signing, King Cannibal (aka Dylan Richards) who gets deeper into the dubstep wobble. You may know King Cannibal as ZILLA who is mates with Buddy Peace (yeah, that one from Kingston - see HERE) so we are looking forward to more of this quality in ‘09.

Congrats to Roots Manuva for Slime & Reasonmaking No. 10 in Worldwides’ 2008 All-winners show and the track Gilles Peterson played from the album, ‘Let The Spirit’ was remixed by Ross Orton and bass bandit Toddla T. Toddla T is bound to be even bigger in 2009 than he was last year so Mr. Orton’s done well on his own here with his own thudding version.

And then there’s no let up with the b-line boom from A1 Bassline, you’ll recall his stunner from last year with Cadence Weapons ‘House Music’ and he’s gone and done it again here (and still as mysterious).

Even though Wiley’s flow is as intimadating as you’d expect on a track called ‘Dem Na Like Me’ with stuff about troups in Saudi and “I’ll take a hammer to your Audi”, I’m still drawn to the instrumental as it’s a tiny piece of beauty.

So I must admit, I was thinking that The Qemist were just heavyweight d’n’b but this release has forced me to think again as this one is so much more promising to the previous single, ‘Lost Weekend’ (featuring Mike ‘Faith No More’ Patton, the one that got the Hot Pink Delorean remix action like Cassette Jam). So the anticipation for the album is growing (Join The Q is due out on 2nd February) but until then we’ve got the brillant ‘Dem Na Like Me’ to keep us going.

I’ll be amazed if it doesn’t make Zane Lowe’s hottest record on the planet feature before it’s released and its a brillant companion to Friction & K-Tee Remix of ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill’.

These Qemists, being Dan Arnold, Liam Black and Leon Harris (he of the On My iPod feature in the Metro, 5th January), may not have any pharmaceutical qualifications but they know what you need to make a great musical concoction that gets people excited; 2009 is going to be a great year on the strength of this one alone!

P.S. Ninja Tune are always at the forefront of DJ inovation so in additon to the usual formats, there’s a Serato 12” for those serious laptop DJ types.

Reveiwed: The Qemists featuring Wiley - Dem Na Like Me (Ninja Tune) Cat. No. ZENCDS228 Release date: 19th January 2009 includes a sample by Morgan Herritage
Tracklisting:
1 Dem Na Like Me (Ross Orton Radio Mix) (3:13)
2 Dem Na Like Me (Original Edit) (3:15)
3 Dem Na Like Me (VIP Mix) (5:15)
4 Dem Na Like Me (Elektrons Remix) (3:34)
5 Dem Na Like Me (A1 Bassline Remix) (4:54)
6 Dem Na Like Me (King Cannibal Remix) (4:36)
7 Dem Na Like Me (Subscape Dub) (5:21)
8 Dem Na Like Me (Instrumental) (4:42)

Links:
www.myspace.com/qemists
www.eskiboy.com
www.myspace.com/eskiboywiley
www.myspace.com/kingcannibal
www.bigdada.com
www.ninjatune.net
On My iPod: Leon Harris by ZENA ALKAYAT - Metrolife Monday, January 5, 2009 www.metro.co.uk
1. ‘Chronic’ - Shock One (feat MC Spyda)
2. ‘Stigma’ - Noisia
3. ‘Archangel - Burial
4. ‘I Want You’ - Kings Of Leon
5. ‘Running’ - Chase & Status
6. ‘Soul Of A Man’ - Beck
The Qemists’ new album Join The Q (Ninja Tune) is out Feb 2.
Gilles Peterson :: 8 January 2009 :: All Winners - Albums of the Year 2008
20) James Pants - ‘Cosmic Rapp’ (Stones Throw) LP: Welcome
11) Menahan Street Band - Karina (Dunham) LP: Make The Road By Walking
10) Roots Manuva - ‘Let The Spirit’ (Big Dada) LP: Slime & Reason
7) Flying Lotus ft Dolly - ‘RobertaFlack’ (Warp) LP: Los Angeles
6) Quiet Village - ‘Pacific Rhythm’ (K7) LP: Silent Movie
5) Benga - ‘Pleasure’ (Tempa) LP: Diaries Of An Afro-Warrior
4) Jose James - ‘Winterwind’ (Brownswood) LP: The Dreamer
3) Seun Kuti + Egypt 80 - ‘Think Africa’ (tôt ou tard) LP: Think Africa