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BBNG2 is Here!

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April 3, 2012
2012, Live, New Music
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Happy Tuesday! BadBadNotGood dropped their second LP, BBNG2, today at 9am. If BadBadNotGood is an unfamiliar name check out our previous posts on this jazz trio here. Per usual, these guys go nuts on these tracks. Take a listen to “CHSTR” below to get a feel for the chaotic solos that are integral to BBNG’s music. What I am really excited for in this release is the addition of two feature artists, Leland Whitty (Saxophone) and Luan Phung (electric guitar).

When I first gave the album a spin, the two tracks I replayed immediately were “Earl” and “UWM” both featuring Leland Whitty on the sax. Maybe I am just a sucker for brass, but these tracks show exactly why I love BBNG. Check out the wacky music video for “UWM” (what up chocolate cheerios) below. Luan Phungs’ electric guitar on “You Made Me Realise” is stellar and I hope that BBNG continues to invole these artists in future releases, or even better, at live shows! I can’t wait to see the live renditions of these two tracks as well as the remainder of the album. Typical to BBNG’s style, the album is made of a majority of covers, but we also get to hear five original tracks that the group crafted organically. Covers are what got me so excited about BBNG in the first place, but it’s nice to see what they do to create an original. Another wild track is “DMZ” which showcases Matt’s ability behind the keys.

The entire album is amazing, and of course, it’s free! Which is mind boggling for the quality of the release. I can’t thank BBNG enough for releasing such amazing music and for putting new spins on some classic cuts (be sure to check out CMYK, Limit To Your Love, and Flashing Lights). The album can be streamed in its entirety below but you may as well download it for free here.

Big News From Brainfeeder

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March 30, 2012
2012
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Wow this is exciting! Brainfeeder reported on a new group formed by none other than Prefuse 73 and Astral Plane favorite, Teebs. Teebs anounced the collab album via twitter: “big day today. starting work with Prefuse 73 on a collab record.” Prefuse 73 (Guillermo Scott Herren) has been making ambient/hip hop beats for quite some time now. He started his producing career in 1997 and has multiple monikers that he releases music under; Prefuse 73, Delarosa & Asora, Amhmad Szabo, and Piano Overlord. Herren’s first release under Prefuse 73 was his successful Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives. On the hip hop side of things, he released Surrounded by Silence in 2005, which included features from Ghostface, Aesop Rock, GZA, and others. For an introduction into Herren’s production, check out “Perverted Undertone” off of One Word Extinguisher below.

I am very excited for this release because it will combine Prefuse 73’s electronic glitchy hip hop beats with Teebs’ ever improving skills in chopped sampling and acoustic instrumentation. We have previously posted on Teebs here and you can check out one of my favorites, Verbena Tea, with the beautiful harpist Rebekah Raff. Hopefully we will be hearing more from these two sooner rather than later. Happy Friday everybody. Enjoy the beats. Also, Teebs is a pretty damn good artist and you can check out an awesome little documentary that shows his creative process here

One Be Lo Releases Album Stream

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March 29, 2012
2012, New Music
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One Be Lo, one half of the now broken up Binary Star (check Evolution of Man with Senim Silla below), released his new album K.I.C.K. P.U.S.H. to stream on Bandcamp.

One Be Lo and Senim Silla were former cell mates at Hiawatha Correctional Facility and formed as Binary Star once they were released. They released their debut album, Waterworld on a minuscule  $500 budget. There is word of these two are collaborating on a new album called Light Years Apart after a ten year hiatus. We’ll have to wait it out until we get more concrete information on that release, but hope is in the air. Binary Star showcases the talent of these two MC’s and their production style and flow meld perfectly together. It’s a shame they have only released one album (Waterworld which was re-released as Masters of the Universe). But with that said, this album is still highly regarded by hip-hop heads the world over.

For a brief glimpse into One Be Lo’s previous efforts, check out “Rivers Run Wild” off of his first debut solo album, Waterworld Too. I would highly recommend copping this album and my favorite release of his, S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. (Sounds of Nahshid Originate Good Rhymes And Music)

S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M is an album that I have always been drawn back too. One Be Lo’s impressive lyrical wit and ability to touch on a broad spectrum of topics captures your attention from start to finish. Check out One Be Lo’s powerful lyrics in “Oggie” below. Moving on to K.I.C.K. P.U.S.H. (Keep It Cool Kid, People Usually Show Hate), the album consists of 12 solid head nodding tracks that show One Be Lo still has raw talent. He had to say this about the album. Stream the album in its entirety below.

    K.I.C.K. (Keep It Cool Kid) P.U.S.H. (People Usually Show Hate) represents the raw energy that inspired me to make music over 20 years ago. We were always self motivated because most people around us didn’t understand what we were doing, or had the crab in the bucket mentality. In some instances we had to KICK down doors and PUSH our way in. For everybody that understands, sounds of Nahshid originate good rhymes and music. Something to interest Lo listeners beyond original recorded networkings. Real emcee’s bring intelligent rhymes to HipHop. Language arts based on Reality. Keep it cool kid. People usually show hate. That’s the motto.

http://youtu.be/z-X7SHoohrE

MelloMusicGroup Drops Compilation Album

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March 27, 2012
2012, New Music
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Self Sacrifice Cover Art

MelloMusicGroup dropped a compilation album called Self Sacrifice today. The album showcases the label’s stable of talented artists and producers. MelloMusicGroup (MMG, but no Rick Ross) is an independent label that is becoming a force in the hip hop world with its consistently excellent releases. The label was formed in 2007 by Michael Tolle after he graduated from the University of Arizona. Since then, the label has recruited an ever impressive list of artists.

http://youtu.be/eYACXF-PjqY

Artists on MelloMusicGroup include; Oddisee (amazing producer, released highly acclaimed Rock Creek Park and part of Diamond District), Apollo Brown (released Gas Mask as part of The Left), yU (released The Earn, part of Diamond District), Has-Lo (dropped the great album, In Case I Don’t Make It), Genshu Dean, Finale, Trek Life, Boog Brown, Stik Figa, The Left, Nick Tha 1da, Tranqill, Declaime, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Sareem Poems, DTMD, Hassaan Mackey, Kenn Starr, Def Dee, Sean Born, OC, 14KT, Slimkat78, and J.Bizness. Woah…I started out trying to highlight the great releases of the artists but this post would have turned into an essay. One project that I mentioned was Diamond District. Diamond District is composed of Oddisee, yU, and X.O. they released their debut album In the Ruff with great success nationally and internationally. It’s the project that got the label the recognition they long deserved.

This compilation album encompasses all that is well with the label and the ability for all of these artists to work together in a cohesive nature. On the album we see MMG artists plus a couple other unexpected additions. There are features from illmind, Black Milk, and Roc Marciano who all add  a little extra flair. The album can be purchased off of the labels BandCamp page here  and can be streamed below.

DIBIA$E Drops Free Mix

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March 26, 2012
2012, New Music
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Back from spring break. I have been missing from the Astral Plane for quite some time due to spring break adventures and not having access to the internet, but now I’m back and bringin you DIBIA$E’s  brand new mix promoting his upcoming Australia/ New Zealand Tour. The mix features collaborations with artists MNDSGN and DEVONWHO. Stream the mix below and download it off his bandcamp page here.

New Ta-Ku

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March 12, 2012
2012, New Music
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Last week had a number of solid releases for beat junkies.  Knxwledge dropped his Hexual Sealings Vol. 2 and Ta-Ku released his SCRAPS Vol.2 Regan ‘Ta-Ku’ Mathews is an Australian beat maker who states his influences are from the pioneering artists J Dilla, 9th Wonder, and DJ Premier.  If you scrounge through our archives you can find an earlier post on his Dusty Instrumentals beat tape. This is one of my favorites off of the album called Kyotokyo. Reminds me of some of Teebs beats with the harp arrangement stressed as the prominent structure to the song. The entire album can be streamed off of his bandcamp page http://ta-ku.me/album/scraps-vol-2 and probably found on the internet with some good google searches.

Stellar Live Performance From Miguel Atwood Fetguson and Others

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March 10, 2012
Live
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And by others I mean artists including; Flying Lotus, Bilal, Rebekah Raff, Aloe Blacc, Thundercat and my favorite drummer, Chris Dave. This album was recorded live in Los Angeles on July 23rd and released in August. I’m very jealous of anyone who attended this concert because it was a free with all of these amazing artists collaborating for an entire night. The album only consists of 3 songs from the night, but more tracks (“Tea Leaf Dancers” being one of them) can be found on YouTube. The album can be streamed here off of the bandcamp page. Drips/take notice is basically a 14 minute jam sesh where we see solos from Ferguson, Thundercat and some more great drum work from Chris Dave.

New Knxwledge

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March 9, 2012
2012, New Music
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Hexual.Sealings.Vol.2 Cover Art

Knxwledge dropped his Hexual Sealings vol 2 for us last night. The album has some great vocal samples from Erykah Badu, Biggie, and others. I have already expressed my love for Knxwledge on some previous posts so check those out if this is a new artist for you. The album is all good but a couple of standout tracks arew ThnAbtYew, the biggie sample on WunMoarChance, and Trost.

Jay Electronica Announces Act II is complete!

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March 8, 2012
2012, New Music
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The wait may be over…Jay Electronica announced via his tweeter today “Dear Believers and Patient Supporters. Thank you for your patience and support. The Album will be turned in Tomorrow evening. The wait ends.” Jay Elec goes on to say that he will write an open letter via his tumblr (http://eyeofelectronica.com/) in the next couple of days. Now…this is huge! Fans and the like can rejoice that the album is now finished and physically being turned in tomorrow. While this is all well and good, just how long will we have to wait to hear it? This is the guy that has only released a mixtape, Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (the pledge) in 2007, Style Wars EP (2007), and then compilations of his music, What the Fuck Is A Jay Electronica, and the Victory mixtape. Basically the dude has kept fans waiting 5 years now to actually release a full fledged album so there is a lot of hype surrounding this release. Needless to say, I cant help but be very very excited that the album is finally finished. I just hope that the album gets put out in the near future.

This is supposedly a track off Act II that Jay deemed not good enough to be on the album…enjoi

Album Review: Union – Analogtronics

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March 6, 2012
2012, Album Reviews, New Music
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Back from a long hiatus as a result of midterms, I present you with Unions album, Analogtronics. Union is a production duo of artists named OJ and Gold based in Paris. Throughout this album we see their tendency to use synths and keyboards to create very calming electro soul. For a sampler of the dynamic beats to come, check out “Blue Wave.”

http://youtu.be/R0_su5y6FC8

The beats throughout this album reminds me of some of Dam Funk’s work  with his stress on the keyboard and heavy synths. The laid back productio pairs perfectly with the dope list of featured MC’s and vocalists. Union enlisted the help of Talib Kweli, Sly Johnson, MF Doom, Moka Only, Rachel Claudio, Elzhi, Big Pooh, Janic, Roc Marciano, Guilty Simpson, and Mani Hoffman. It’s a stellar lineup to say the least. The single off the album is “Time Leak” with Talib Kweli and Sly Johnson. Kweli’s raw talent is showcased and Sly Johnson provides soulful background vocals.

It’s a new experience to hear Kweli on this type of beat and on he goes off on the track. Along with Kweli’s single, we get a new track from the legendary MF Doom as well.  This is one of the better songs that Doom has released recently and deserves to be checked out by his fans. Like with Kweli on “Time Leak,” the production on “Coco Mango” matches Dooms flow and lyricism perfectly.

Another standout track is “Fallin” with Big Pooh and Janic providing vocals. It’s been awhile since I have listened to Big Pooh since the end of Little Brother in 2010.  It certainly is comforting to see that the talented MC is still making music.

All in all I highly recommend this album to any hip-hop head, beat junkie, and/or Dam Funk fan.  I find that this album reaches out to a broad demographic of listeners because of the solid production. Besides the solid features on the album, the eight instrumentals showcase their production talent. It’s definitely an album to discover and enjoy during the hectic frenzy of midterms.