Archive for October, 2011
When last we saw Montreal’s Boogat, he had just released a mixtape with dancefloor chameleon Poirer. A mere handful of months later, Monsieur Boogat has returned with more music in hand, the four song ep Pura Vida.
The man himself (not The Man, to be clear) describes Pura Vida as a musical ode to that good good that is summer in Montreal, and it’s easy to imagine these songs providing the soundtrack to your next balmy bbq. The release comes via the good folks over at Masalacism, who have nigh on impeccable taste, and runs from cumbia to contemplative to straight up dancefloor shaker.
While we’re still mourning the loss of crucial degrees, both fairenheit and celsius, in our neck of the woods (to say nothing of our brethren along the East Coast, yikes surprise snowstorm!), there’s a 90% chance that Pura Vida at a loud volume will ratchet you back into your happy place.
If you’ve followed LxNxM for a while now (and we know you have – Google Analytics told us so), then you’ve come across the music, taste, and selections of Los Angeles’s Righteous Trash. Dude is a multitalented individual, whether it’s working with some of LxNxM’s favorite artists (whuddup Zuzuka) or dropping quality mixtape after quality mixtape.
Grand news – on November 12th, Righteous Trash is winging his way in to the great Northwest to catch just a tad of wreck at DJ Neight 1000′s bimonthly shindig Panther Down. It’s going to be a quality night, and Last Night’s Mixtape is psyched to be a part of it. RSVP on the Facebooks, should you so desire, but there is no cover, because Moe Bar is cool like that.
Giggity!
The Honor Roll Crew is one of the Bay Area’s most consistently creative crews. Led by Alameda’s own Trackademicks (one of the best nomes d’ mic ever, imho), and featuring a supporting cast made up of emcees, singers, producers, and DJs, they’ve got a deep bench (including heavily slept-on producer 1-O.A.K.).
More to the point, the music they make doesn’t fit into easy definitions – yes, it’s very West Coast, but the dashes of space and swing take it firmly into the 21st century.
There are two recent releases from the team to consider:
Firstly, Mike Baker the Bike Maker, Honor Roll’s newly-minted East Coast rep, who just released a new ep, Mike Plays it Cool. It’s produced 100% by members of the Honor Roll family, and features Mike himself rappity rapping. It’s a smooth farewell-to-the-West-Coast album (and hello NYC), worth some early morning and late night drives.
Mike Baker The Bike Maker – Mike Plays It Cool by The Honor Roll
The second is Fresh Coastin’ from Trackademicks himself, and even though it dropped a couple months back, it’s certified heatery that demands repeated listenings. The production and most of the mic duties are handled by Trackademicks, with notable guest spots from Freddie Gibbs, Phonte, and 1-O.A.K. After hearing many many Trackademicks remixes, Fresh Coastin’ is a happy step forward, packed with production that feels almost immediately classic. It’s the kind of album that could only come from West Coast, and I have a feeling it’ll age well until next summer rolls around and it’s back in its element.
Shoutouts to DJ Smutlee for putting out a dancehall mixtape that’s actually worthy of blogging. It’s a been a minute.
The London club DJ, mixtape maker, & blend specialist does what he does best on this 61-minute mix, which features a bunch of new jams, a couple tried a true classics and smattering of original mashups. Smutlee has made quite a name for himself in the moombahton scene lately, but it’s good to see that he’s still as keen on the dancehall as ever. Hope y’all enjoy this one as much as I do. It’s on steady bump. Hit the jump for the massive tracklist.
Spending the last couple days volunteering at the rapidly growing, 2nd annual Seattle City Arts Fest, I’ve witnessed some real gems. One of the standouts was this Seattle-based soul man Allen Stone, backed up by an airtight band. Yes, there are many would-be bohemian soulsters in the wake of the success of folks like Aloe Blacc, Jamie Lidell, and the laptop bluesman James Blake. Stone, first developing his vocal chops in the church community of Chelewah, Washington, stands out with a full soaring voice and a smooth earnestness to his spin on modern soul. Don’t sleep on the brother Stone now, get his recently released self titled album here, and don’t miss your boy as he graces Conan O’Brien’s stage on Oct. 26th!
i’ve been a fan of LV for awhile, and i’m glad to see them become more prolific. between their record with josh idehen, routes, and a recent mix of mostly new material for mary anne hobbs, they’ve put out a lot of material in the last six months or so. last night i came across a remix LV did for this still pretty-bassy track from mz bratt, who i’m assuming is english and that this track is a pop sensation over there. the single, along with LV’s remix (and two others), drops on october 30th.
The homies Old Money Massive just dropped a new video for their song “Dolla Van”, adding some cinematic punch to their regular musical milieu. Old Money is one of my favorite crews for marrying visual aesthetics with genre-pushing audio. If you’ve followed our coverage of them on this here blog, you’ve noticed that they deliver a complete product – and staying on point and on message is no easy task in this internet age.
Big ups to Scheme and Dre for another good one. Now you guys just have to come back out to the West Coast!
hey everyone, your favorite thursday of the month is coming up, well, this thursday. after what feels like forever (five whole weeks!), LxNxM resident DJs tang and toast will be holding things down once again at MOE BAR, starting around 10:00pm. it’s always a good time, and you can be sure to hear some BIG tunes. come on out now, this THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20. you deserve it.
SOUNDSYSTEM
MOE BAR
10:00PM
FREE
I’ve always been a fan of what Kenny Fresh and his Frsh Slcts website chooses to highlight in terms of being a tastemaking blog. I figured it was an entire crew of writers, designers, DJs and whoever else making Frsh Slcts happen until I met Kenny Fresh (aka Knny Frsh) in person here in Seattle and he dropped a nugget on me that I’ll always remember: “Naw man… it’s just me, that’s why I’m only able to post so often.” Well, nobody truly works alone, but still, there’s a whole heap of good taste in that man’s head and when he decides to post something folks should take the time to check it out.
Roughly a week ago, he dropped a mix of gems that were making him excited a couple of years ago. He enlisted the help of Portland DJ/producer Doc Adam to mix everything and what you get is a retrospective of timeless music that does not deserve to die due to people’s wack ass internet attention spans. Everybody is trying to either be current with the music they highlight or look toward future sounds/stuff that’s super retro. That’s fine. But what about the hot shit from 2008 that DJs act to cool to drop on the dancefloor now cause it’s “old.” Give me a break. Apparently Frsh Slcts agrees. Peep their highly eclectic mixer for free now. Full tracklist below the jump. Fans of Platinum Pied Pipers, Ta’raach, Little Dragon, and SA-RA should consider this mix an audible high five.
