Archive for July, 2010
Ah hell yeah. Sacramento’s DLRN (formerly Delorean – dang lawsuits) just dropped a free online EP for your listening pleasure. I had heard about DLRN for a minute, but only really got hip to them this year, and was lucky enough to rock a stage with them in Seattle during their inaugural stop in the Northwest. They cracked off on their records, and live was even a step up, which is far from the norm.
The duo – mic controller 5th Ave and producer/DJ Jon Reyes – put out their debut album “No More Heroes” just last year, and they’ve kept the same feeling going with the new offering. The EP (or album, or whatever – it’s hard to know what we’re calling things in this digital world) is called “The Bridge,” and it’s a six track (plus intro/interlude/etc) dollop of concentrated synth-fueled future talk. Reyes’ production utilizes synths rather than relies on them, and 5th drops in and out of a perfectly workable singing voice. A nice combo. Get it.
Download: DLRN – “The Bridge” (right click/save as/etc)
head on over to the one-armed, lazer-shooting, jamaican commando major lazer’s myspace page to stream the new lazers never die ep featuring everyone from M.I.A. to collie buddz and remixes from buraka som sistema and thom yorke. yes, the dude from radiohead remixed “jump up.” it’s been a minute since i listened to guns don’t kill people…LAZERS do, and this ep is reminding me why i should revisit it. before you go, check out this kenny meez remix of my still-favorite track on guns, “can’t stop now” with jovi rockwell and mr. lexx. download it over at the mad decent blog.
kano is IT. definitely one of my favorite bands from this era. part of the reason i’ve been so fascinated by late 70s/early 80s soul music (and its various designations) is how much it plays with the conventions we hold. for example, kano. when you hear this track, i doubt you’re thinking, ‘oh, this is obviously three italian dudes appropriating classic soul and disco and helping lay the groundwork for future dance genres like house music.’ bonus points if that is what you’re thinking. anyway, kano is IT. i fucking love the bass on this track. you may be familiar with kano based on their first hit, “i’m ready,” which found it’s way onto this awesome mixtape that tang posted a few weeks back. download “can’t hold back (your loving)” here.
One of my favorite beatsmiths going now is L.A. heavyweight Mr. Dibiase. I recently strolled over to his Soundcloud page, and found a clutch of new tracks he put up a few days ago for the streamings. Lots of good stuff, but here are my favorites. If only they were downloadable (cough cough, hint, cough).
Also, check the previous post I put about him to get the full sludge mix – and yes, that’s a good thing.
Honestly, it’s suprising to me that nobody has done this earlier: put together a mix of good Seattle music, flip the infamous coffee shop logo, and call it good to go. Luckily, my friends, that day has arrived.
Mario Sweet and Justo, of the Physics crew, recently put together a compilation of some of their favorite Seattle tracks, with the appropriate accompanying graphic design. It’s a solid mix (cuts by Justo himself), and runs through a good selection of tracks, both more familiar (Grynch’s My Volvo), and those less so (Eighty4 Fly’s So Cool).
Download it below, and check below the jump for tracklisting and the video for Eighty4 Fly’s So Cool – just because we can.
Download: Mario Sweet and Justo - Seattle’s Best Compilation
Over the last few months, I’ve been more than happy to spill some digital ink on/over/somewhat nearby the Los Angeles soul hop collective the Hawthorne Headhunters. And now I get to do it some more! Black Spade, one third of those Hawthorne gents, just dropped the Build and Destroy Mixtape – mixed by DJ Track Star – which is a heavy little addition to the ongoing HH-affiliated discography.
What’s most interesting about solo projects from members of a cohesive group is how individuals’ personal tastes show themselves. For one, you see immediately how the whole is affected by the parts – everyone brings something very different to the table, and you only know what it is after you have a control group to test against. Build and Destroy is no exception: after only a handful of songs you have a sense that Black Spade brings a hard space-edged shake to the Headhunters’ music, which complements the souled out groove of the other members.
Highlights: the heavy flip/reimagining of Dilla’s To Fall in Love, which definitely messes with your head in some good ways.
Blaow! Tracklist after the jump.
the internet is, essentially, a very large place. but do you know what else is a very large place? the world? which is why i’m glad one small part of the internet is getting the word out on one still pretty big part of the world.
voodoo funk is a blog exposing the sounds of west african music. and not just featuring random 45s the dude found in brooklyn, but actually getting knee deep and finding unheard (in the west) records. so, click on over to voodoo funk, bookmark it, and enjoy this bomb mix from january.
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Wow. If you thought that Flying Lotus dude was weird, just wait till you watch this video. It’s weird on drugs.
this week’s track was released in 2006, which means that it’s not officially a modern soul track. but the vibe is there, and this song will probably get stuck in your head. simbad (no, not him) is a london producer/dj doing what london producers/djs do (see his FACT mag mix for a sense of his tendencies). “soul fever” definitely owes a debt to early 80s soul music; one track i always think of when i hear “soul fever” is “on a journey” by elektrik funk, which has some early, early house music in it. i first heard “soul fever” on the LOVESPACE mixtape i linked to awhile back, which is still absolutely worth your time (and mastered by blog-homie dj phatrick). get it here. the link is dead fixed y’all, courtesy of shred one, so get get get it!
