Dear All,

After 10 years I have decided to Kill off my ‘Shitmat’ moniker to work under a new name or ten.

It’s basically time for me to move on, progress, evolve and let the other music I make take the front seat. I’ve always enjoyed experimenting with humour and heavy music but for me, I’d like to launch and explore some of my other projects and ideas.

Over the years I have made well over 1000 shitmat tracks, thoroughly enjoyed mashing the place up and getting away with copyright murder. I’ve made some great friends, had some amazing travels and a right fucking blast. It’s been awesome!

Wanted to say a big thank you to all the people who came to my shows, shown me love, booked me, bought my records/downloaded my music for free (cheeky but I do the same), supported me and wrong music and record label’s like planet mu, death$ucker and aural addiction who had enough belief in my music to release it in the first place. And hopefully I pissed off a lot of people to, that was the initial plan!

Mash Hits was my final release (Although officially it was made by Michael Presley) and this will be released in a limited edition boxset next year.

As I put an end to Shitmat and temporarily become Tafkas (The artist formerly known as Shitmat) I thought it was the right to open the proverbial animal cage and let some of my other works free for a singular release on the upcoming electronic music record label Love Love Records

Tafkas – Hidden Tracks

This is a assortment of music I have made over the last 9 years. The music you hear was made in many different locations and in many different states and states of mind. It was never meant to be collected and released in this way. In fact most of it was never meant for release at all. Just music I made for myself, I did have 100’s of other unreleased nondescript tracks but lost most of them when my seasgate 1tb hard drive passed away.

Unlike the sample based music I am known for, on these works I use other sound sources to build from. It features double bass, live drums, guitar, synthesisers, voice, hardware, lots of different NI Reaktor ensembles and field recordings amongst other things. Some pieces are melodic, others percussive, some down to earth and some out in space. This is many miles away from what you may know me for. There is no pre conceived sound or style on this album; it is truly between a cauliflower and a hard place

News on some of my new alais’s will filter through online over the coming month’s and I am stil available for dj bookings playing jungle, old school, ghetto tech, juke and disco as STEPTOE

Thanks!!! please comment bellow!! It’s been emashional!!!

All the best,

Henry Collins

I am happy to say Mash Hits is complete! Over the course of the 10 months doing this project i have gained a new appreciation for pop music and an equal hatred for it. Bouncing between warm heartfelt song’s of the golden era and the loud obnoxious songs of nowadays. Maybe i’m getting old or maybe i’m getting wise. Hope you have enjoyed the project and stay tuned for news on a possible physical release of it early next year.

I am human and i could have made a mistake but as far i know i have used every song (Double a sides too) that got to number one in the uk between 14th november 1952 & 14th of november 2012 to make 293 new tracks. The chart information i used up to 2004 is from the “Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums” & from 2004 onwards from BBC Radio 1

My plan now is to delete all pop music from my hard drives as to cleanse my data storage systems and create a clean palette for new projects. Never look back always look forward.

Here is the final song which uses a old 78rpm copy of the Eddie Calvert’s ”Oh mein papa” as the sound source

This is the end of Mash Hits. It has been a epic journey for me and now i need some days for it to sink in that it is actually over. As far as i know have used every single UK number one single since 1952, i have checked my list numerous times but please let me know if i missed any out!

This mash hit is a subtly altered version of the tender song “Oh Mein Papa” by Eddie Calvert. To make it i bought a 78rpm shellac copy of the record, recorded it from a gramophone. 78rpm records have such a warm dusty sound to them unlike the super crisp, compressed hits of nowadays. This Eddie Calvert track in particular i found very beautiful so that’s why i saved it until the end.

I’d quite like to press some stuff onto shellac. Would be fantastic to hear DJ RED ALERT & MIKE SLAMMER’s killer EP’s on a gramophone. … True Old School!!!

Over the course of the last 319 days i have reworked, re-imagined, remade and mashed up 1213 number one singles into 293 tracks. I have analyzed and dismembered the most popular music of six decades. I have made an aural illusion by turning Gary Barlow into Kurt Cobain, Stretched Brian Adam’s ‘Everything i do i do it for you’ to last 16 weeks, Turned chart trance into mood music, tuned elvis into freakout guitar music, tuned elvis into electronica, turned elvis into music concrete. Defragmented Peter Andre, Wrote a Requiem for Whitney Houston, got justice for Bobby Vinton, Killed Phil, Insulted David Guetta, found out that the proclaimers mix exceedingly well with rage against the machine and Invented a new plunderphonic sub called ‘faux rock’, but most of all ….. mashed hits.

Hope you have enjoyed it. Thanks for your support for the the year.

Over and out.

Henry

Made entirely from samples and/or parts of the following British No 1 singles… 
Eddie Calvert – Oh Mein Papa (8/1/1954)

The penultimate mash hits entry.

http://soundcloud.com/mashhits/the-concluding-bit

Made entirely from samples and/or parts of the following British No 1 singles… 

Chuck Berry – My Ding-A-Ling’ (25/11/1972)
Beats International – Dub Be Good To Me (3/3/1990)
Take That – Never Forget (5/8/1995)
Roy Orbison – It’s Over (25/6/1964)

For this one i reapropriated the songs bellow to make a cover version of the cheeky girls song ‘The Cheeky Song’ (touch my bum)’. I had this idea a long way back and pleased that i followed through with doing it. The original is such a meaningful song and it really says so much about life. it was a pleasure covering it, Thanks Gabriela and Monica!

Made entirely from samples and/or parts of the following British No 1 singles… 
Engelbert Humperdink – The Last Waltz’ (6/9/1967)
Blur – Beetlebum (1/2/1997)
Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler – Back To Life (24/6/1989)
Petula Clark – This Is My Song (16/2/1967)
Ruby Murray: Softly, Softly (18/2/1955 )

A delightful folded piano work and my last one of this style in mash hits.

Made entirely from samples and/or parts of the following British No 1 singles… 
Michael Andrews feat. Gary Jules – Mad World (27/12/2003)

Doing this project has been like a gigantic sonic jigsaw. Trying to find the right thing to do to the right song and making the dessions at a very fast pace. Along the way i have found numbers one singles which sound great through a ring modulator effect. Others times sampling various number ones have provided me with sounds for a drum kit. Sometimes what the song sounds like or what it contains are irrelevant and they get used in the name of plain and simple experimental music making. There’s ones that are made to make a social statement like ‘Demon Guetta’ and ‘Music for Simon Cowell’s funeral’ and ‘Fuck the goverment’ .. But one of the most popular styles that i have done is infact the most obvious and simple. The pairing of two well known tracks togther. Belive me when i say that i have tried hundreds of combinations. Rage Against the machine & When the going gets tough, the tough get going, Vengaboys & Beetles, So solid crew & engelbert humperdinck, Captain sensible & doris day. These are ones did not work but many did work and they a lot of the time they bring out the best in each other, just like a good couple.

I was really worried that by the end of this project i would be left with the worst stuff to work with, the dregs (see mash hit #285 – The dregs) and i was. This was in fact the last true mashup track/megamix i did. It used up all the best track for mashup music i’d saved to use near the end. I felt like a greedy bastard who goes to the fridge and cupboards and gobbles all the nice food and leaves just the celery, oxo cubes and tinned sweetcorn. Some nice pairings on this one, my favourite being Bobby Darin’s ‘Mack the Knife’ with Sonique’s ‘It Feels So Go’ .. Ps. some tracks just go well with anything so if you wanna try your hand at doing some mash ups a good starting point is trying GHOSTBUSTERS THEME SONG, UPTOWN GIRL, SWEET DREAMS or GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN. Give it a go you could help a song find the perfect match and they’d live happily ever after as tiny Mp3 file!! i did and i feel great about myself

Made entirely from samples and/or parts of the following British No 1 singles… 
The Firm ‘Star Trekkin’ 20/6/1987
Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers – That’s What I Like 21/10/1989
Spacedust – Gym & Tonic 24/10/1998
M/A/R/R/S ”Pump Up The Volume /
Sam and The Womp – Bom Bom .. w/e Sept 01 (1) in@No.1
Lonnie Donegan.. Puttin’ On The Style / 28/6/1957
Kay Starr : Comes A-Long A-Love – 23/1/1953.
Bobby Darin ‘Mack The Knife’ 16/10/1959
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles ‘Tears Of A Clown’ 12/9/1970
Black Legend – You See The Trouble With Me 24/6/2000
Erasure – Take a Chance on Me” (B. Andersson / B. Ulvaeus) – 3:43
Pet Shop Boys – Heart.mp3
Shaggy featuring Rikrok.. It Wasn’t Me 10/3/2001
Mint Royale – Singin’ In The Rain .. 14/06/2008 (2) in@ No.1 ..
Desmond Dekker & The Aces ‘Israelites’ 16/4/1969
Destiny’s Child.. Survivor 28/4/2001
Creedence Clearwater Revival ‘Bad Moon Rising’ 20/9/1969
Sonique – It Feels So Go.mp3
Bob The Builder – Can We Fix It.mp3
Ne-Yo – Beautiful Monster.. w/e 14 Aug (1) in@ No.1 ..
S Club 7.. Don’t Stop Movin’ 5/5/2001
Katy Perry ft.Snoop Dogg – California Gurls.. w/e 03 July (2) in@ No.1 ..
Pet Shop Boys ‘Heart 9/4/1988
Dawn featuring Tony Orlando ‘Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree’ (21/4/1973)
Wizzard ‘See My Baby Jive’ 19/5/1973
Melanie C- I Turn To You 19/8/2000
Madonna ‘La Isla Bonita 25/4/1987

A insane hurricane of melted and reformed chart hit’s served on a bed of Kajagoogoo.

Made entirely from samples and/or parts of the following British No 1 singles… 
Olly Murs – Dance With Me Tonight .. w/e Dec 17 (1)
will.i.am ft. Eva Simons – This Is Love w/e July 7 (1) in@No.1
Suzi Quatro ‘Devil Gate Drive’ 23/2/1974
Five and Queen – We Will Rock You 29/7/2000
Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett -’Young Girl’ 22/5/1968
Kajagoogoo ‘Too Shy’ 19/2/1983
One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful.. w/e 24 Sept (1) in@ No.1.
Tony Di Bart – The Real Thing 7/5/1994
Shakira Ft Wyclef Jean – Hips Don’t Lie .. 8/7/06 (1)
Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love .. 03/11/2007 (7) in@ No.1 ..
Zager & Evans ‘In The Year 2525′ (Exorium & Terminus) 30/8/1969
Bucks Fizz ‘Making Your Mind Up’ 18/4/1981
Wanted – All Time Low.. w/e 07 Aug (1) in@ NIt Wasn’t Me
Cheryl – Call My Name .. w/e June 23 (1) in@No.1
Sweet ‘Blockbuster’ 27/1/1973