so stoked to see stas and cat getting some national press/exposure (e.g. here, here, here, and here), especially on top of the fact that this jam is catchy as hell. their “debut” record, awE natualE comes out on sub pop on march 27. you can cop “QueenS” for the cost of your email address on the player above.

Zeta Barber a.k.a. Zachariah Tucker is a man of many talents; ranging from music production to clothing and digital design – and he can give you one of the cleanest fades around. However, Zeta stands out from the throngs of self-styled muli-entrepenuers of modern hip hop culture in some very important ways. For starters, Zach’s heart matches his artistic skill and hustle. Over the last 6+ years, he has initiated countless collaborations with artists stretching the Puget Sound - scouting diverse acts from the hood to the hills to feature on his “All-City Chop” mixtapes, all while promoting and supporting the hell out of damn near everybody in the 206 hip hop scene.

His newest project finds dj Zeta Barber & The Forces of Nature at new creative-collaborative high.  SoundBody represents a evolution grounded in the chop style - with a smooth osmosis of bounce, 90′s R&B nostalgia, and just the right amount of mystic blip-hop to keep it fresh. Tender Bounce is my jam! Laced with the airy vocals of True Brilliance (see indeed)- the result is another good musical look for Seattle, from a good dude.

Uh son. Shabazz Palaces doing what they do, live in the studio of Seattle’s beloved independent radio station KEXP. Coming through with style, substance, and unfuckwittable creative veracity – these 206 luminaries demonstrate they have been around the block and see into its future. In this intimate, in-studio session, they perform a few cuts from Black Up, the first album since their recent signing to the world-renowned, Seattle-based independent label Sub Pop. Do yourself a favor and cop Black Up here.

Huge thanks and big ups to everyone who came out to Moe Bar and helped us kick off the first ever installment of Soundsystem. Good times were had, and the dance floor was packed all night. The bartenders were working their asses off getting you everything you needed, and I’m hoping everyone tipped – they earned it.

But words only go so far, and a picture is worth a thousand of them. Check the photos below (with a bunch more after the jump) to see what all went down. And keep your ears peeled for more Soundsystem news and future get-downs coming up.

Thanks again – you all made it happen by making the place crack on Friday!

Tons more after the jump.

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This one goes out to all our good people in Seattle: the team here at Last Night’s Mixtape is excited to announce the first installment of Soundsystem, our new night at Moe Bar.

This Friday the 13th (auspicious, no?), we’re turning Moe Bar into a family affair. And by “family affair” I – naturally – mean “LNM massive,” with Tang and Toast on the decks, Praxis and Wordlush hosting and toasting, and Krieg kissing babies (elect the man already, eh?).

We’re looking forward to having a regular showcase of the very best of the music you get here on Last Night’s Mixtape, (along with a healthy dose of the stuff we love too much to let out into the wilds of the internet), as well as a platform to put on some of the homies from around the country and the world whose music and skills are giving today’s music its tick.

And because we love ya, the night is free – you just show up looking proper, ready to move yourself right, and we’ll provide the bass and inspiration. Not a bad deal.

Details below – as always feel free to hit us up with questions, comments, free music via Twitter (@lstnghtsmxtp) or via “electronic mail” – lastnightsmixtape(at)gmail(dot)com. WORD.

Last Night’s Mixtape presents: Soundsystem
Friday May 13th – 9 pm
Moe Bar – 1425 10th Ave, Seattle, USA
No cover

This video contains footage from the upcoming documentary by Village Beat titled Tough Bond — a film about kids sniffing glue to survive street life in Kenya’s disappearing villages and exploding urban slums.

Original documentary score was provided by Shabazz Palaces.

Learn more about the film and cause on the Village Beat Non-Profit Company page on Facebook

Shabazz Palaces is making the best music to come out of Seattle since Jimi. Do not sleep on the Black Up album when it drops on June 28th.

The Medulla Transmissions is the soundtrack for your long overdue inner-space road trip.  Your navigator is Renaissance man Jahon Mikal; a classically trained pianist, dancer, singer, producer, and reader of auras.

Throughout the decidedly future-funk, electro orchestra of Transmissions – Jahon Mikal’s other artistic confluences can be heard – from the fundamental hip hop mastery of his big bro/hip hop vet Vitamin D to his current work with the up-and-coming Seattle based Hip-Doo-Woppers The Heartfelts. The album also features vocal support from emcee/dance artist Maxie Jamal.

The complex beats and lyrical harmonies are so polished but maintain an organic vibe that is autonomic like the functions of the medulla, kinda like the art behind the simple act of breathing. Fresh.

Please show love and offer what you can, for this this pay- what-you can download album.

the stones throw twitter feed has been kind to me today, so i figured i’d share with the rest of you too. yesterday, they shared the super great madlib remix of j dilla’s “the $”. stream and download that below. then, just 20 minutes ago, they tweetered out about a new/unreleased dam-funk track, “beautiful creep”. i clicked over, and even better than the track, i saw that dam-funk will be playing here in seattle at nectar lounge in fremont on december 10th. this event is put on by the homies at reign city and members only, tickets are only $12, and i’ll see you there.

J Dilla – The $ (Madlib Remix) by stonesthrow
Dam-Funk – Beautiful Creep (Unreleased) by stonesthrow

so after i posted that awesome matthew africa mix, one of the guys from sweater funk, vinylrichie, got in touch and that was nice. he’s got a pretty great blog (and pretty great mixtapes too). today he brought the movie wheedle’s groove to my attention as well. wheedle’s groove is about the 1970s funk and soul scene in seattle, and i’d encourage everyone to check the extended trailer above. (as an aside, i love that the first dude we meet in the trailer is a record collector from detroit.) and thanks to chorizo funk in the comments of vinylrichie’s post for letting me know that i can stream the whole film right here. for those snowed in here in seattle, kill some time with wheedle’s groove.