Ross Allen - The Meltdown 28th April

Version Excursion

1. ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ Gene Rondo
2. ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ Timmy Thomas
3. ‘Nobody Loves You When You’re Down an Out’ BB Seaton
4. ‘Trying Times’ The Montreal Black Youth Choir
5. ‘Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child’ Jerry Butler
6. ‘Baltimore Oriole’ Lorez Alexandria
7. ‘Have A Talk With God’ East St Louis Gospelettes
8. ‘I Wish’ East St Louis Gospelettes
9. ‘Have A Talk With God’ Myrna Summers
10. ‘Think’ Bonnie Bramlett
11. ‘World’ 1619 B.A.B.
12. ‘It’s A Man’s Man’s World’ Buddy Causey
13. ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ Phil Flowers
14. ‘Blowing In The Wind’ Marion Williams
15. ‘Holly Holy’ The Blues Brothers
16. ‘Girl I Got A Date’ Alton Ellis
17. ‘The Dark End of The Street’ Prince Buster
18. ‘Rock Me Mr Pingwing’ Harlseden Monks
19. ‘Lord Have Mercy’ The Jordan Singers
20. ‘Love Uprising’ Jackie Wilson
21. ‘It’s Alright’ Jerry Butler and Betty Everett
22. ‘I’ve Been Trying’ The Four Gents
23. ‘Gypsy Woman’ Milton Henry
24. ‘Song For My Father’ Roland Alphanso
25. ‘Comin’ Home Baby’ Dee Dee Sharp
26. ‘Walkin’ Up a One Way Street’ The Clarendonians
27. ‘I’m Lost’ Cornell Campbell
28. ‘Can I Change My Mind’ Cornell Campbell
29. ‘Suspicious Minds’ Dee Dee Warwick
30. ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ Gladys Knight & the Pips
31. ‘Beware of the Stranger’ The Hypnotics
32. ‘Summertime’ Blue Velvets
33. ‘We Are Family’ Rev. L Weaver and the Combined Choirs
34. ‘Goin Up In Smoke’ Larry Hart

Stripy jumpers. Floppy barnet. Geezer cackle. For anyone who has ever come in contact with Ross Allen, these are the key elements that make up his personality. But it is not just these components that make Ross an intriguing face on the scene. He has more fingers in pies than Frank Butcher. From being the musical brains behind Cargo-backed Casual Records - which, to date, has discovered Lady Sovereign (now the first UK MC signed by Jay Z to Def Jam) and twisted house dons The Loose Cannons plus signing Sunship and Medasyn. The label also released the highly acclaimed compilation from Soul II Soul and the genre defining Country Got Soul series of compilations which led to the recording of the Country Soul Revue album and gig at the Barbican. 

Ross is A&R at Domino Records. He also finds the time to host radio shows for Ministry of Sound radio, 6 music, cover for Gilles Peterson on Radio One, has  written a column for dance music mags  Jockey Slut and Straight No Chaser and getting nifty behind the decks on a regular basis. He has residencies at London¹s Sunday Best,  The End and the 333, not forgetting his own monthly promotion Destination Out which is held at Cargo every second Saturday of the month. He also DJs at happening parties all over the globe from Venezuela to Dundee, where he drops his mixed soulful bag of reggae, house, techno, R&B, hip hop and drum n' bass. If it¹s good, he¹ll play it, attracting a broad spectrum of fans such as Laurent Garnier, Fabio, Daddy G and Matthew Herbert. He also hosted the London Jazz Festival last year. So how did he get here?

Ross Allen, now 34, grew up in south London and was a soul boy from the off - hanging out in clubs in the 80s like The Special Branch and The Wag as well as taking up DJing which saw him dropping acid house, hip hop, soul and rare groove. After university Ross ventured toward the more jazzier end of things and began writing for jazz and world music bible Straight No Chaser. Through their connections he started working with acid-jazz-funksters, Izit, and helped bandleader Tony Colman and Chris Goss (later to become London Elektricity) run their Tongue & Groove label. After two years playing at various clubs with the likes of Patrick Forge, Gilles Peterson and James Lavelle and running a record shop in Streatham, Ross landed a job at independent imprint Dorado. Originally employed to do club promotion, he soon started representing the label as a DJ and sorting remixes for the bands. He then convinced Dorado to give him his own sub-label, and in O95, Filter Records was born. From the futuristic drum On¹ bass of Kid Loops and the funky Detroit/Chicago blend of DJ Q to the 2-step of a resurrected Sunship and soulful ambience of The Amalgamation of Soundz, Filter quickly became a by-word for a label that straddled music of the highest quality. Feeling musically compromised by internal politics, Ross quit in O97. He was then offered a slot on London radio station GLR (now BBC London Live). His thrice weekly show ODestination In¹ quickly became the Capital¹s mecca for all things eclectic, and won a Sony radio award. At this time Ross started doing one off shows on Radio 1. Unfortunately the show met its demise in 2002 due to a programming reshuffle.  At the start of 2007 he joined ministryofsound.com radio starting a Monday night slot (8-10pm GMT) that has already featured guest such as Gilles Peterson, Goldie and Coldcut.

Ross¹s years of experience finally reaped its rewards when he was courted by various record companies from Hard Hands and Heavenly to major players Virgin and London. He eventually joined Island Records, where he set up Island Blue. He has also released self-compiled/mix albums, such as Abstract Funk Theory back in 2000 and Meltdown the following year. Bands to date Ross has signed and worked with include Peshay, Boxsaga, Tom Middleton, Mark Pritchard, Talvin Singh (who won the Mercury Music prize), The Stereo MCs, Lady Sovereign, Spacek and the Sugababes, whose single Freak Like Me made it to the number one slot. Now working freelance at Domino Records with boss Laurence Bell as A&R for their label and publishing companies. Ross is also consulting on many other  projects, he co produced the latest Coldcut album “Sound Mirrors” to great acclaim. In late 2005 he set up the management company Casual Management which looks after Tawiah, Menta Productions, Sunship, South Rakkas Crew, Blue Mays, Valentina and How I Became The Bomb.

The best is yet to come. Trust me!

Latest Track List:

Monday Feb 26th

Junior Boys - Speak Like a Child (Carl Craig Remix)
Klashnekoff - Refuse To Die
Sizzla - Take It Off
Mos Def - Sun Moon Stars
Robin Thicke - Got 2 Be Down feat Faith Evans
Tawiah - Whatch Out
Viex Farka Toure - Toure de Niafunke (feat Toumani Diabate)
Tinariwen - Cler Achel
K’naan - The African Way
Los Super Elegantes - Dance
Sinbad feat Lisa M - Brukaton
Black Starr - Superstar
Goldie presents Rufige Kru - Digital
Keith Jarrett - Mortgage of my Soul (Wah - Wah)
The Heavy - Girl
Fantasia - Hood Boy (feat Big Boi)
MIMS - This is why im Hot
Exile feat Ta’Raach - Move On ‘Em
Frank Hebly - Tuinslangboogie
Elektrons - Dirty Basement
Audion - I Gave You Away
Robag Wrhume - Papp Tonik
Marc Mac - Headspin
The knife - Marble House (davidandrewsitek(TV on the Radio)mix)
The Black Keys - A Blue Print of Something Never Finished