Thought I would throw this track up today, The Clean Hand produced by Pete Rock. Blu is an infamous west coast underground rapper and producer who has been getting a lot of attention for, most notably, Below The heavens with Exile. The rapper has released a vast amount of other material and all of it is good, warning he is lazy and releases unmastered material. It’s a treat to hear Blu over a Pete Rock beat. Happy saturday!
Check out this cypher with Blu, and Oddisee killing it along with Das Racist, Homeboy Sandman, and Final Outlaw.
For The Astal Plane’s second live review, we’re stepping our game up a little bit. Unlike our last review, we managed to bring a camera (fully charged!) and got some nice shots. Last time it was Tokimonsta’s b-day set at Low End Theory. This time, we caught Jonwayne and Main Attrakionz at Pomona College. Like last time, we hit a few bumps in the road though. We planned on doing a video interview with Mondre and Squadda B of Main Attrakionz, and in fact, we did interview the Oakland “cloud rap” duo. We also forgot to turn on the mic. As a result, instead of a five minute interview with Mondre and Squadda, we have five silent minutes of me looking awkward and them looking inebriated. In fact, it was actually a pretty decent interview covering topics ranging from how they met Clams Casino (through Keyboard Kid), coining the term “cloud rap,” and wanting to create their own legacy among Bay Area legends. Mondre and Squadda were more than willing to do the interview and were amiable throughout it. Read the rest of the review after the jump and check out photos from the show here.
We have been on a Bonobo kick lately here at the Astral Plane with the new Remix album set to come out on the 13th. I thought it would be good to show off the bands pure musical talent in this live video. If you haven’t noticed I am a big fan of bands that can perform equally as well or better out of the studio. IE BadBadNotGood, Robert Glasper, Bonobo, and the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are all bands I have posted on who, I believe, can perform even better in a live setting. With the help of a live band, Bonobo (Simon Green) plays live versions of his studio tracks with the help of a keyboardist, guitarist, saxophonist, a singer, and a drummer. To start us off, I thought it would be cool to show you guys the live version of the remix that we posted on yesterday. Here is a live version of their song Eyesdown Feat. Andreya Triana in Bracknell 2010.
Next up is one of my favorites, this is their song called Nothing Owed off of their Dial M for Monkey album released in 2003. The live version is on their Live Sessions EP released in 2005. I highly recommend getting this album as it showcases the talent of Simon Green and the band that plays with him.
Now this may not be ‘new music’ per say. The EP was released in 2010…but it needs to be up on this blog. It ties in perfectly with my previous posts on BadBadNotGood and Robert Glasper. If you liked either of those phenomenal bands be sure to check out this EP! The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is a 8-piece Chicago based group. With Gabriel Hubert (trumpet), Saiph Graves (trombone), Tycho Cohran (sousaphone), Amal Baji Hubert (trumpet), Seba Graves (trombone), Tarik Graves (trumpet), Uttama Hubert (baritone, and Gabriel Wallace on the drums. With the exception of Gabriel Wallace, the members of Hypnotic are all brothers. The band has performed with Mos Def, Aquilla Sadalla, Phil Cohran (their dad), The Recipe, Nomadic Massive, and Tony Allen.
On the Heritage EP, the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble recorded 5 solid reworks of some classic cuts. They reworked tracks by Fela Kuti, Madlib, Jay-Z, Art Of Noise, Outkast and MF Doom. Mos Def scored the set for these amazing reinterpretations as well. I’m almost positive you wont be able to recognize what the original is for some of these tracks because of the way these guys build off of the original beat. Check out their rework of Outkasts Spottieottiedopaliscious below and this AMAZING live show at the Red Bull Music Academy.
Funky interpretation of Spottieottiedopaliscious. Along with this EP, they have released a slew of other material. Whats really cool about this band is that they started off playing around different subway stations in New York and worked up from there. All of their music can be bought on itunes or found on mediafire. Their first two albums, which they sold in 2004 and 2005, Flipside and Jupiter started off their musical conquest to, from one interaction with a bandmember, “Support live music, people,” he called out, stepping in line with his bandmates. “Bring back real music before it’s too late.” Their Self titled album Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is also quality.
Shabazz Palaces have made quite the impression over the last year or so since the unheralded release of their first EP in select Seattle record stores. 2011’s Black Up was a resounding success, and the duo is now one of the most critically acclaimed groups in both the hip hop and Pitchfork crowds. Part of the Shabazz appeal is their unique visual aesthetic and today, we are graced with visuals for Black Up standout “are you… can you… were you? (felt).” The video features some beautiful Seattle imagery, a beautiful protagonist, and more. As if the video isn’t enough to satiate our need for savant, the duo announced a few dozen new tour dates across the US, Canada and Europe. Check out the full list of tour dates after the jump and expect some more words on the current state of music videos in the near future.
Whatsgood! Every Friday from 7-8 I have my own live radio show streaming on http://kwcwradio.tumblr.com/ right now I’m bumping Madlib’s shades of blue album with some knxwledge, MF Doom, Gang Starr, and Blu to come.
Ok, so this is only a pseudo live review, because my camera ran out of batteries, but you’ll just have to take my word on how great the show is. Last night, Tokimonsta headlined Low End Theory at The Airliner along with Nutrik and Co.fee sub-headlining. To make the event even more exciting, it was Toki’s birthday at midnight. Headlining is a funny word for an event like Low End because it has connotations of a green room, pretentious guests, etc., but the artists at Low End are just fans when they’re not on stage, chilling at the bar, smoking stogy’s with friends outside, and mingling with the crowd. It still truly amazes me that musicians like Toki and FlyLo are so humble when they play in front of thousands at festivals on a weekly basis.
Anyway, after a few issues, we got into The Airliner around 11 just as Co.fee came on. I wasn’t too familiar with Co.fee prior to last night beyond his track onGems Drops 2, but his set was a great start to the night. Mixing hard hitting bass tracks with hazy hip hop, Co.fee set the stage perfectly for Toki, and got a ton of new fans in the process. Next, resident DJ Nobody took the stage alongside Nocando in sinister style. Riling up the crowd in anticipation of midnight, Nobody dropped “Beamer, Benz, Or Bentley” and a couple other tracks that got the crowd chanting along.
As the witching hour neared, Toki made her way through the crowd and took the stage to a massive outpouring of love. Again, I truly wish I had my camera to give you a taste of how much the crowd adores Toki, but alas I fucked up. Anyways, Toki took the stage to raucous applause, and proceeded to absolutely wreck the next 45 minutes. Toki started off slow with a few melodic originals and vocal tracks, taking a brief break at 12 for a rendition of “happy birthday,” before kicking the night into high gear. Toki is one of those DJ’s that is so skilled that she almost lulls you into a trance and then all of a sudden you realize you’re dancing your ass off. The peak of the set came when she dropped three of my absolute favorite tracks of 2011, A$AP Rocky’s “Bass,” The Weeknd’s “High For This,” and Hudson Mohawke’s “Thunder Bay” in succession. To say the least, I was enthralled. After a few cries of “Toki, will you marry me?” she hopped off stage and disappeared into the crowd.
We stayed for a little while after, catching some of the Gaslamp Killer’s set. As always, GLK gave no recognition that he was the “after the headliner” set and was playing in front of less people. Wyling out as always, Gaslamp dropped an esoteric “Niggas In Paris” mix before going into a number of funky bass tracks. Overall, easily one of the better nights at Low End in memory. From the start of Co.fee’s set to the time our legs gave out midway through GLK, there was not a dull moment, and the love shown for Toki showed just how much she means to the Low End crowd. Wish I could have documented the night, but thanks to the power of the interwebs, I’ve found a few videos. If you have any complaints/feedback on our first live review, hit us up in the comment box or shoot us an email.
Low End Theory has been mentioned numerous times on this blog in its first few weeks of existence. Most outside of Los Angeles know it as the classic tribe album, but many within the City of Angels know it as one of the premier club nights on the West Coast. Helmed by Gaslamp Killer, DJ Nobody, Daddy Kev, D-Styles and Nocando, Low End occurs every Wednesday night at Lincoln Heights’s The Airliner. In 2011, Thom Yorke, Flying Lotus, James Blake and more laid down sets in front of a small and intimate audience. Along with major stars, Low End works incredibly hard to work in new talents, many of which (Ras G, Odd Future, The Glitch Mob) have blossomed into stars themselves. I have attended the night numerous times and have not been disappointed once. Each resident brings a unique, forward thinking set to the table every week, as Nocando frantically freestyles over the beats.
Whether you’re into hazy psych rock, or crunchy bass music, you’ll have a great time. The diverse crowd shares only a love of cannabis and an open mind for disparate musical stylings. Tonight, Tokimonsta is celebrating her birthday with a special Low End appearance alongside Nutrik and Co.fee. The diminutive Toki is one of the most celebrated artists in the bass music world and has consistently released incredible music for several years. If you live in the LA-area, I definitely recommend you head to Lincoln Heights tonight. If you can’t make it, I’ll have some video/words up to give a little peak into the Low End world. Check out some of Toki’s best tunes below.
The Astral Plane 