Archive for July, 2011
We here at LxNxM have a lot of love for the music coming out of Southern Florida. We started as a bi-coastal blog and remain so at heart. So it’s good to see that DJ Guilletine has recently dropped a podcast dedicated to rising hip-hop talent coming from the 305. And by “rising talent” we mean please don’t expect any Rick Ross, Pitbull, Flo Rida, Trick Daddy, or Trina. Seriously.
Instead, expect a slew of Miami-Dade and Broward County freshness from LMS, ArtOfficial, Lex One, Soarse Spoken, and plenty of others. Any podcast that starts out saying, “We live out here in Hialeah” is cool with me. Check out the freshness right here. Peep the full tracklist after the jump.
Let’s be real. It’s Friday. It’s hot out. You’ve just left work. Or you’re about to get home. And either way, you’re staring a gorgeous weekend square in the face. You need a soundtrack.
Look no further, Safari Sound – Malmo’s champion soundsystem – has you covered. DJ Shirkan, one half of the Safari system – just dropped Volume Two of their Kingsize Ballads series, an ongoing collaboration with Swedish magazine Kingsize.
Hosted by Stylo G, the mix stitches together an hour and a quarter of big dancehall and dub tunes. You’re going to be hard-pressed to find better musical accompaniment to all the good, bad and ugly that you’re about to get up to this weekend.
Download. Roll your windows down. Great success.
KiNGSiZE BALLADS VOL.2 HOSTED BY STYLO G by safarisound
Full 60-strong song tracklist after the jump.
So…. here’s the thing. I love hip hop. I do. Or rap. Or whatever we’re calling it these days. But over the last few months, very little hip hop has reached and grabbed me. I’ve been missing that certain something, namely that visceral soul-stretching oomph that firmly implants a song beyond your ears and deep into your body.
The Physics are a rising Seattle trio. Abrupt definition? Well, there’s a reason: while the musical foundation of the Physics (Thig Nat, Monk Wordsmith and producer Justo) is firmly settled on hip hop, as a group and a concept (yes, a concept, dammit), they have grown, vine-like, outside the strict definitions that label implies (and no, we don’t have to get into a “what is hip hop” discussion here, just go with it).
In advance of their upcoming release Love is a Business, the Physics team recently posted five of their new songs for your streaming pleasure. The songs show a group in transition – moving from classically hip hop towards a vibe and sound at whose extreme you find artists like the Hawthorne Headhunters’ Black Spade.
It’s a brave step, and one that – thus far – appears to be taken confidently. Fearlessness plus talent equals musical evolution, and that’s exactly what hip hop is in need of now.
krystal klear put together one of the better boogie-ish mixtapes i’ve heard in a while for FACT mag. a lot of choice selections from samson & deliliah and giorgio moroder to daft punk to newer-comers like krystal klear himself, LxNxM fave sebastiAn, tensnake, and tiger & woods. stream/download below and check the tracklist after the jump.
Following Tang’s lead, here is a sweet little downloadable ditty from that guy Theophilus London. I really dig this RAC (remix artist collective) version over the album version – the bright, poppy keys, and the airy vocals of Sara Q (of Tegan and Sara fame) make this jam remind me of some of that early Paula Abdul – you know like those video-duets with the totally slept on MC Skat Kat.
Enjoy!
Theophilus London – Why Even Try (RAC Remix) by TheophilusLondon
It seems the formula that Hudson Mohawake used to come up with the tracks on his latest EP, Satin Panthers, isn’t very different from the one he used when making his debut LP, Butter: heavy, dark synths + high pitched squeals/bells/vocal samples + syncopated drums = glitchy, hip hop-tinged electro bangers. Really, the only difference is that everything seems a little bit more polished and well thought out on this project. And that’s fine with me. Krieg might disagree, but I think this EP might be his best work so far.
Shouts to Hudson Mohawke for streaming his new EP for free via YouTube in it’s entirety. Preorder it on itunes, or wait til August 1st when it is officially released and buy it everywhere else.
Big Freedia’s back with another equal opportunity azz-shaking extravaganza of a music video. Taken from a collaborative project she did with Scion A/V about four months ago, the track “Excuse” is about as high energy and bouncy is it gets, and the visuals do not disappoint. After watching this, I wouldn’t be surprised if real bounce classes started popping up at community centers and gyms all over the U.S. I mean, seriously, bouncing like that is about as aerobic as excercise gets. Just don’t forget the #1 rule of bounce class: Stretch First!
I don’t know how this free Big Freedia EP managed to stay off our radar here at LNM, but I hope that you can forgive us and accept this late gift for what it is: awesome. Download “Excuse,” or the entire Scion A/V Presents EP below. (My personal fave is the cut “Almost Famous,” where Freedia shouts out all her haters and even gets a little lyrical on em.)
There’s a bloody heatwave taking over most of the U.S. right now and staying outside for long periods of time without a cooling mechanism is rather difficult. Frankly, it’s too flippin’ hot. If you don’t want to crank the AC but still need something to hit you in the face like a cool ocean breeze, check out my man DJ 100Proof’s latest mix, Backyard BBQ Part 5. It’s an annual summertime mix that seems to show up right on time each year and consistently get better.
Of course, I’m always in the Bahamas (which is where I’m currently stationed) when he releases Backyard BBQ and 100Proof’s soothing gift for mixing new school jams with rare, old school classics is just the relief I need from the scorching temperature outside. On his latest version, he’s got everything from the Stylistics, Roy Ayers, and De La Soul blended with more contemporary joints from Madlib, Elzhi, Ta’raach, and the Physics. Considering that 100Proof is also a Frenchman by blood, it’s not surprising that he’s mixed some Onra in here as well which all helps to make Backyard BBQ 5 such a fun listen.
Download it now. You’ll be happy that you did. Check out the full tracklist after the jump.
Like a lucky penny, Soundsystem just keeps coming around.
This Thursday (that’s the 21st, to all our calendar-conscious types out there), the LxNxm fam bam is back and in full effect for July.
Your resident selectors Tang and Toast will be holding it down on the decks, so prepare to treat your ears to the best sounds from around this world of ours.
Special bonus: This Thursday is an extra special edition of Soundsystem, as we send off our homegirl Saara Ahmed. Saara’s leaving us for the concrete shores of NYC, and we gotta make sure she gets a sendoff in style.
Don’t know Saara? Doesn’t matter. Put on your dancing shoes, come down to Moe Bar, show a couple of drinks who’s boss, and light up that dance floor yet again.
Soundsystem
Thursday, July 21st
9 pm till infinity
No cover/good music
