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Author Archives: Gabe Meier

Keyboard Kid Preps Debut EP For Donkey Pitch, Releases First Track

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April 4, 2012
New Music
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Keyboard Kid has released seven beat tapes on his Bandcamp since last June, but today brings us first “official release.” “BasedExorcism” is off of the five song Transition EP set to be released on Brighton label Donkey Pitch, home of Slugabed and Arp101, in early May. The track doesn’t deviate from the standard Keyboard Kid line all that much. Lo-fi crackling synths. Barely decipherable wails. Some nice sub bass. The track speeds up and slows down at its own pace, giving off the sense that an MC would  only be an ancillary asset. Stream the track below and lookout for Transitions in early May.

Star Slinger Enlists Lil B and Stunnaman for Second Single

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April 4, 2012
New Music
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Star Slinger has been making some serious inroads into the American hip hop world. The Mancunian producers last single, “Chain Dumbin,” featured Juicy J, Project Pat and Kansas City-based singer Reggie B and he has remixed the likes of A$AP Rocky and Wiz Khalifa. He has quickly made a name for himself as the UK’s best hip hop producer (not grime, mind you) and is on a steep upward trajectory. For his second official single, Star Slinger has enlisted the help of half of legendary Berkeley crew The Pack. Lil B’s rise to fame has made the days of “In My Car,” “Booty Bounce Bopper” and “Touch Me Like A Phone” seem like a distant memory, but who doesn’t want more of this. So Star Slinger hit up the West Coast this time, enlisting Lil B and Stunnaman for “Bad Bitches.” Haven’t had a chance to listen to this one yet because of certain formal education obligations, but based on the artist’s pedigrees (at least two out of the three… or one), it’s sure to be a banger. Stream and download below.

New Vince Staples – “Matlock” (Prod. Michael Uzowuru)

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April 4, 2012
New Music
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Amid all the chaos provoked by the emergence of Odd Future, a number of young LA MC’s, affiliated, or at odds with the crew were brought into the spotlight, Casey Veggies being the most prominent. Vince Staples, although not affiliated with the crew, has appeared on numerous OF releases, including EARL, and despite a childish tiff with Tyler towards the end of last year, appears to be back in the graces of the collective. Staples’ Shyne Goldchain Vol. 1 was one of 2011’s best mixtapes and featured a youthful rage more focused than most OF releases. Producer Michael Uzowuru has also occasionally collaborated with OF and his beat tape Paisley Palm Trees was one of 2011’s seminal instrumental hip hop releases. Staples and Uzowuru have worked together before, but their newest track, “Matlock,” might be their best yet. The track clocks in at under two minutes, but featured Uzowuru at his stripped down best and Staples getting down and dirty with some complex wordplay. Don’t sleep on these dudes.

Stream/Download: Vince Staples – “Matlock” (Prod. Michael Uzowuru)

Find Baauer At The Intersection Where Glasgow and Atlanta Meet

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April 4, 2012
2012, Interviews, New Music, Uncategorizable
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You know that sensation you get deep inside your brain when you realize you’ve found something big. When a movie, meal, song or any other type of creative inspiration hits you in the dome with an unexpected force. That’s the feeling we got when we first came upon Brooklyn-based producer/DJ Baauer’s Soundcloud. It is no secret that we love our hip hop-influenced, maximalist bass music, nor that we have a soft spot for some ignant Southern shit. Baauer represents the perfect intersection between the two. So we reached out to him for an interview and couldn’t be more pleased with the result. For years, Baauer was a 4/4 house and electro DJ going by the name CapnHarry, “a joke name to match the music I was making.” Around six months ago, he switched up his style to hip hop and Baauer was born. He didn’t abandon the dance music ethos he had established as CapnHarry. Instead, he translated it into hip hop, making the biggest, most souped up beats imaginable. Taking cues from Southern hip hop and UK bass, as well as his brethren at Brooklyn-based collective Trouble & Bass, Baauer has gone from virtual unknown to having his tracks played out by Lunice and Hudson Mohawke. This interview has a few gems in it thanks to a quirky coincidence and will give you the inside scoop on an artist that has been making waves from small clubs outside of Los Angeles to the streets of London. Check the full interview after the jump.

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Two New Black Moth Super Rainbow Tracks Prove They’re As Weird As Ever

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April 3, 2012
2012, New Music
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Black Moth Super Rainbow is one of those bands that really don’t have any peers. They’re too weird. Too experimental. Too involved in the abstract. Through this, they have garnered an equally unique sort of cult following. Based in Pittsburgh and propelled by creative mastermind Tobacco, the group has attracted fans since their first official release (Falling Through A Field) in 2004, via their unique blend of synth-driven pop, folk structure and psychedelic aesthetic. Their music is colorful as hell and evokes emotions that few musical acts can. To put it succinctly, BMSR makes you feel like your some long-forgotten hallucinogen, like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. That’s not a declaration that their music is best accompanied by drugs (although partaking couldn’t help) though. Instead, BMSR have the ability to take you to a realm few others have ventured to.

Anyways, it has been three years since the quartet released an LP (Eating Us and two years since Tobacco’s last release. Luckily for all of us with sunburnt eyes and warped eardrums, two new songs have made it onto the interwebs. The first, “spraypaint” is a track from the full group with all of the characteristics we’ve come to expect from BMSR. The cascading synths, heavily vocodered vocals and indecipherable lyrics are all there. The second track, this one by Tobacco and Zackey Force Funk under the name Demon Queen trends towards Tobacco’s more abrasive hip hop oriented work. I’m not familiar with Zackey’s work, but this is a distinctly Tobacco driven song. I can’t even keep track of how times and in how many ways the vocals are altered on “el camino 2.” Less psych-y than most BMSR material, the lyrics are sung at times and rapped at others, creating a beat atmosphere whereas BMRS go for esoteric ambience. Both tracks highlight what makes BMSR and its individual artists so revered by their fanbase. Stream both tracks above and below.

Nosaj Thing Graces Mary Anne Hobbs’ Show With His Presence

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April 3, 2012
Mixes, New Music
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Living in greater Los Angeles, I have seen Nosaj Thing quite a few times over the past several years. He  occasionally plays at Low End Theory, and routinely shows up at venues across the city. I most recently saw him play a superb set at a free festival on USC’s campus. Tomorrow night, he’ll be playing at Funktion Wednesdays at Dim Mak Studios. It is for this reason that it comes as such a surprise that Nosaj hasn’t actually released any new music recently. Drift came out in 2009 and Nosaj has been fairly absent from the studio since, focusing instead on his live gigs. There have been murmurings of a new album in the works, but no concrete details have emerged. That’s why it was such a treat to listen to the mix Nosaj did for Mary Anne Hobbs’ XFM show last night. Made up mostly of original tracks, Jacques Greene, Lunice, Jamie XX, Machinedrum and Jonwayne also make appearances. The gem of the mix is the last five minutes or so where Nosaj drops a brand new collaboration with Teebs, then leads into a rework of Kendrick Lamar’s “Cloud 10” (which Nosaj produced). It isn’t new Nosaj, but what can you do. Stream the mix below.

Tomas Barfod Featured In XLR8R Podcast 241

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April 3, 2012
Mixes
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There aren’t many constants in life, but one thing we can consistently count on is a quality XLR8R podcast every month. Podcast #241 features Danish producer and recently inducted Angeleno Tomas Barfod. With the release of last month’s Broken Glass EP, Barfod joined the Friends of Friends roster, slotting him in between beat maestros Shlohmo, Salva and Groundislava. His XLR8R mix touches on several genres, but keeps the focus on the melody, resulting in an incredibly free flowing mixture of house, techno and even some R&B. I generally like to read a mix’s tracklist after I listen through so that it doesn’t inform my opinion. When Miguel’s standout track “Adorn” Art Dealer Chic Vol. 1 started seeping through my speakers, a wry little smile came across my face, transcending the entire experience of listening to the mix. Stream and download the mix here and look out for Barfod’s upcoming full length Salton Sea on May 21.

Mixmag Debuts New Daedelus – “Curtains Don’t Talk”

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April 3, 2012
New Music
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It’s been quite a morning for new tunes and it doesn’t look like the internet is going to slow down. Mixmag just released an exclusive Daedelus and well, damn… that New Jack Swing infused footwork is just downright mouthwatering. Daedelus has never been one to stick to any one genre and that ethos is prevalent as ever on “Curtains Don’t Talk.” Just imagining Daedelus mashing this on a Monome gets me a little giddy. The track is accompanied by an interview on Mixmag’s website in which he gives insight into his recent fascination with doo wop, the worst club he’s ever been to ( “populated by douches and their bags”), and the best piece of advice he’s ever received (“never succumb to bitterness, never give in to apathy”). Mr. Daedelus is refined as always. Stream and download below.

BBNG2 Dropping Tomorrow + Preview Of The Album

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April 2, 2012
Live, New Music
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Now this is what I’m talmbout. We posted the preview video for BadBadNotGood’s BBNG2 (tomorrow! tomorrow! tomorrow!) last week, but today we got a new track for you. That’s right. New BBNG. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough. The live hip hop/jazz trio out of Toronto has taken the music world by storm through their covers James Blake, Tyler, The Creator and more, but their original workings aren’t too shabby either. Check out “Vices” below and hold your breath until BBNG2 drops tomorrow.

Balam Acab Takes On Lushlife’s “Still I Hear The Word Progress”

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April 2, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Balam Acab is 20 year old Pennsylvania native Alex Koone. It’s strange that this is his first appearance on The Astral Plane, but hopefully you’ll let it slide. Koone makes haunting, downtempo tracks with enough reverb and distortion to make you feel sick to your stomach (in the best way possible). There’s plenty of dub influence in Koone’s music, as well as a good amount of almost indecipherable boom bap. Think of him as the baroque Shlohmo.

Lushlife is also from Pennsylvania. The MC/producer released on last years most underrated releases, the No More Golden Days tape. Lushlife’s upcoming album, Plateau Vision, will be released on April 17 and feaures Styles P, Heems (of Das Racist) and Cities Aviv. Several songs have been released from the album. You can find them at Lushlife’s Bandcamp.

Balam Acab’s remix of Lushlife’s “Still I Hear The Word Progress,” which features Styles P, combines the best aspects of both artists work. Lushlife and Styles’ vocals are heavily distorted into a screwed drawl here, infused with organic drips and drops and powerful hi-hats. Relieving the original of its overwrought chorus, Balam reduces it into a series of “hey, hey hey” chants, transforming the track into a dark, introspective mess that is only cleared up by the two MC’s disturbing vocals. Stream and download the track below and look out for Plateau Vision later this month.

Stream/Download: Lushlife – “Still I Hear The Word Progress” feat. Styles P (Balam Acab Remix)