Twenty-odd years of beats

A teenage band and a Fostex four-track

A teenage band came first, then a Fostex four-track in the bedroom: lo-fi loops and beats built from sounds, samples and his dad’s CD collection.

Birth of Infinite Potential

At university in Brighton he met the producers, MCs and DJs who got him DJing at house parties, student nights and clubs. That scene produced Infinite Potential: Soulful Spider on production and technical work, Kojak on co-production and turntables, supported by Amber MC and Dizraeli on the mic.

The duo moved back to London and began sending demos to labels across the UK and playing out across London venues.

The IP wall

Early days. The wall behind them carries the names: Kojak, Soulful Spider and Amber.

As The Record Revolves

The debut release from Infinite Potential. Six tracks, written, produced and arranged by Kojak and The Soulful Spider, with lyrics from Amber MC on three of them and all cuts by Kojak.

• A1Let The Music Take Control
• A2Buh-Zeen (feat. Amber MC)
• A3Can You Dig That?
• B1Lyrical Highgrade (feat. Amber MC)
• B2I Excel (feat. Amber MC)
• B3Quiet Nights

A tight EP heavily recalling the old school vibe of Black Sheep but with progressing contemporary technique. About half the tracks here are instrumentals where Kojak is unleashed on a variety of these samples over Spider’s memorable beats.

Spotify · albumAs The Record Revolves, Infinite Potential

▶ Play hereOpen in Spotify ↗

Label notes and more →

Aldo Vanucci Remix

Infinite Potential were invited to remix Aldo Vanucci’s Dear Diary for his Catskills Projects EP release. The remix features Amber MC on vocals. Have a listen below on Spotify.

Spotify · trackDear Diary (IP remix)

▶ Play hereOpen in Spotify ↗

Open Up Your Mind

The second EP, with Amber MC and Dizraeli out front. Latin beats on “La Entrada”, driving rhymes on “Vocal Chords”, a slick ode to pleasure on “Close Your Eyes” and a cinematic title track. Plays on 1Xtra were already coming in at release.

• A1La Entrada
• A2Vocal Chords (feat. Amber MC and Dizraeli)
• B1Close Your Eyes (feat. Dizraeli)
• B2Open Up Your Mind

Kojak & The Soulful Spider’s portfolio lets Amber MC and Dizraeli explain how not to limit the larynx on the Common-chorused basics of ‘Vocal Chords’, and Dizraeli expose himself as the cat who’s got the cream over the tiptoeing ‘Close Your Eyes’.

Spotify · albumOpen Up Your Mind, Infinite Potential

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Label notes and more →

Stay Tuned and Pick And Mixtape Vol. 1

Two mixtapes while the EPs were being made. Stay Tuned features Amber MC. Pick And Mixtape Volume 1 features Amber MC and Dizraeli.

Control Freeks, 93 Feet East

Infinite Potential debuted their full live band at Control Freeks, the monthly Friday night at 93 Feet East on Brick Lane, London. They played Room 1 alongside Steady Diggin Workshop (Carbon Imprints), who had already played T in the Park and V Festival. Room 2 was Younglee and Leroy, the night’s residents.

The listing billed Infinite Potential as a regular at the Freeks that “always rocks the place”.

The original Infinite Potential band

Live band recordings from the original 2005/6 line-up, with Amber MC on the mic. Separate from the later LeaLea Jones band.

Oh My!

On their own label, Chip and Spin Records, Infinite Potential released a limited edition promo version of previously unreleased tracks. Featuring Dizraeli, Amber MC, El Eye, LeaLea Jones and Ti1.

• 1Intro
• 2Get Down
• 3Damn Feb Mix
• 4Blues Ain’t Nuthin
• 5Nature Boy
• 6A M B E R
• 7Fantasist
• 8Oh My
• 9Funky Finger
• 10You Don’t Know
• 11Rollover
• 12Quit Bumpin’
• 13Schwap Schwap
• 14The Riverside
• 15I Am The

2006 · YouTubeOh My! Infinite Potential featuring LeaLea JonesListen on YouTube ↗

Optical Illusion

Infinite Potential with Amber MC.

2006 · YouTubeInfinite Potential with Amber MC, Optical IllusionWatch on YouTube ↗

Baba Brinkman, Lit-Hop

The first Baba Brinkman credit: Infinite Potential are on four tracks of Lit-Hop. Mad Style Disease, The Vortex, Seduction and Oh No!

IP Oddcasts

Early mini musical podcasts from the IP camp: sixteen episodes of freestyles, mashups and scratching, January 2006 to May 2007. Every episode plays on the site.

Cargo and Wordplay

Two videos with Amber MC. Cargo from 2007, Wordplay from November 2007.

2007 · YouTubeCargo, IP and AmberWatch on YouTube ↗

Nov 2007 · YouTubeWordplayWatch on YouTube ↗

Brighton Hip-Hop Festival ’07

Artwork for the Brighton Hip-Hop Festival ’07 release of Dizraeli’s “Earth Sound”, presented by Slip Jam:B and BHHF. Part of the Brighton scene Infinite Potential grew out of.

Mudsun, Mine The Gap

Baba Brinkman and MC Dizraeli team up for uptempo intercontinental hip-hop.

The beginning of a strong voice in revolutionary rap music.

Mudsun, The Rebel Cell

Written and premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2008: a hip-hop exploration of civil disobedience, direct activism and political dissidence, set in a dystopian England in the year 2013. Produced by Tom Caruana, Soulful Spider and Mr. Simmonds.

Like listening to a cross between Shakespeare and Mike Skinner… a joyful experience.

Powerfully intelligent and awe-inspiringly eloquent, Baba Brinkman and Dizraeli are the saviours of hip-hop.

The hypnotic beats of [Mr. Simmonds] soundscapes provide so much more than a supporting role.

Mudsun and Infinite Potential at Glastonbury

On stage at Glastonbury.

The Rap Guide to Evolution and Apocalyptic Utopian Dreams

The start of the Rap Guide era. Rap Guide to Evolution was produced by Soulful Spider, Tom Caruana and Nokz, and engineered and mixed by Soulful Spider. Apocalyptic Utopian Dreams in the Western Wilderness has beats by Soulful Spider, Tom Caruana, Lucid Notion, Mr. Simmonds and DJ NST.

The IP Band

Infinite Potential became a live band, with lead vocals from LeaLea Jones. They played Ronnie Scott’s and recorded for BBC Introducing at Maida Vale Studios.

Jazz Cafe: Cake

LeaLea Jones plays “Cake” at the Jazz Cafe.

Oct 2009 · YouTubeJazz Cafe, Cake, LeaLea JonesWatch on YouTube ↗

Jimmy Screech, Bullseye

“Bullseye” is a track by UK hip-hop and dancehall/bashment artist Jimmy Screech, from the 2010 double A-side vinyl Dollyanna / Bullseye and his 2011 album The Remedy. Produced by Infinite Potential, it pairs traditional reggae and bashment-style skanks with glitchy, updated techno and dubstep beats.

Cake, in session at Maida Vale

Honey-voiced Brit LeaLea Jones in session at the world-famous Maida Vale Studios, recording her single “Cake” for the BBC.

Mar 2010 · YouTubeBBC Introducing, CakeWatch on YouTube ↗

2010 · YouTubeCake, the videoWatch on YouTube ↗

The Rap Guide to Wilderness

Soulful Spider produced the bulk of the EP.

• Go Wild
• Tranquility Bank (feat. Aaron Nazrul)
• Walden Pond
• Bottleneck (feat. Sean Ross)
• Never Cry Wolf (feat. Wyckham Porteous)

The Rap Guide to Religion

Six tracks.

• Religion Evolves
• God of the Gaps (feat. Gaiaisi)
• Bad Things Happen
• Theory of Mind
• Spread It
• Fertility Gods

The Rap Guide to Climate Chaos

Seven tracks.

• Options
• Lost in the Numbers
• Fossil Fuel Ballers (feat. Aaron Nazrul)
• Make It Hot
• Regulators
• Ride Electric (feat. Fand)
• Freedom Ain’t Free

Lit Fuse Instrumentals Vol. 1

An instrumentals compilation from Baba’s label. Four of its 19 tracks are Soulful Spider’s, with additional production by Lin G on two.

• Options (Instrumental)
• Darwin’s Acid (Instrumental)
• Bottleneck (Instrumental)
• God of the Gaps (Instrumental)

The Rap Guide to Consciousness

Four tracks on the album. The show played off-Broadway at New York’s Soho Playhouse.

• Heaven’s Gate
• Forget Me Not (feat. Aaron Nazrul)
• Ready for Implants
• Can’t Stop

See From Space

Two remixes built on original Soulful Spider tracks: Freedom Remix (feat. Matt Layzell) and Can’t Stop Remix (feat. Mariella).

Light Hairlines, Plays Through

The first album under his own name: warm, widescreen instrumental hip-hop pulled from a vast archive of beats and fragments.