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Three Years Of Innovative Leisure Culminates In Ouroboros

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November 29, 2012
Album Reviews, New Music
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Back in 2008, a video popped up on youtube featuring a then unknown Lunice popping, locking and dropping (it) to a then relatively unknown Lazer Sword‘s “Gucci Sweatshirt”. The video became moderately popular at the time, making its way around various social circles and then fading into black like every other video from 2008 (except for this one). The song offered a sort of glitchy pre-amble to Lazer Sword’s later work, but is almost indistinguishable from Memory, the duo’s latest album. “Gucci Sweatshirt” was officially released in October of 2009 as the first release on Stones Throw employee Nate Nelson’s new imprint Innovative Leisure. Influenced by his time at Stones Throw and hardcore labels like SST and Dischord, Nelson set off to institute Innovative Leisure as a driving force in North American electronic music.

“Gucci Sweatshirt”‘s idiosyncratic mash of hip hop and off-kilter electro was a fitting start, launching Lazer Sword as a force to reckoned with. By the end of 2010, Innovative Leisure was firmly entrenched and had hosted releases from Mexicans With Guns, Hanni El Khatib, Nguzunguzu, Machinedrum and, strangely enough, Freddie Gibbs. In November of the same year, Lazer Sword released their debut self-titled LP through Innovative Leisure, pushing Low Limit and  Lando Kal into international stardom. The release also solidified Innovative Leisure as a bastion of the most dynamic forms of North American electronic music.

2011 was a relatively quiet year for Nelson’s label, but saw it expanding into new territories and laying out an impressively variegated roster. That was the year Innovative Leisure trotted out bluesy as fuck whiteboy Nick Waterhouse‘s “I Can Only Give You Everything”, arguably the label’s biggest release to date. The Huntington Beach-native brought a brand new dimension to Innovative Leisure, one grounded in Motown and Van Morrison, far from the club-oriented music the label had peddled to that point. Not that club-oriented music is bad of course, but Waterhouse’s signing distanced Innovative Leisure from the hundreds of internet labels out there and gave it a distinct home in Southern California.

Without getting it too much, the first 11 months of 2012 have been absolutely massive for Innovative Leisure, seeing the label break the ultra-hyped Rhye and release Nosaj Thing’s first originals since 2009’s Drift. In just three years, Nelson’s label has gone from relatively unknown club outlet to one of the West Coast’s most divergent, groundbreaking labels. As a sort of celebration (culmination?), the label enlisted Low Limit to compile tracks from Innovative Leisure artists and associates. The result is Ouroboros, a 10-track opus that is as good of an indicator of North American electronic music as any release you’ll hear all year.

If names like Clicks & Whistles, Braille, Anenon and Obey City get you wet (not to mention the aforementioned Low Limit and Machinedrum) then this compilation is for you. If you have no idea who any of the involved artists are or what they sound like, but want delve deeper into North American electronic music, this compilation is for you. If you’re at a party and don’t know what to play, but want people to think that you’re hip to the newest trends (because, you know, that’s all that matters), this compilation is for you. So yeah, give it a spin below and grab that hard wax from the Innovative Leisure website.

Jaw Jam Remixes Pharrell’s “Frontin'”

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November 29, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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From the Wikipedia entry on Pharrell’s “Frontin'”: “The title refers to putting up a facade (or false ‘front’), typically to impress peers.” Just in case you were confused about your early 2000’s lingo and need some brownie points with the cool kids. The internet is a funny place. Over the next few months, Jaw Jam has tunes coming out on Tuff Wax and Symbols (which makes too much sense), but until then, he’s going to release bootleg after bootleg after bootleg. His latest target is the aforementioned “Frontin'”, one of The Neptunes’ biggest hits at the time and, for better or worse, a pretty damn good indicator of radio hip hop in 2003. Jaw Jam’s bootleg is built around stuttering percussion and those rich, smooth synths that have become his penchant over the past few months. Pharrell’s voice cuts in when the beat stutters, but never really reaches the surface. Jaw Jam is digging out a niche for himself as a sort of house tempo counterpoint to Kastle and Symbols’ R&B laced dubstep. Stream below and show Jaw Jam some love at his facebook page so that he’ll let the download loose.

D33J’s Love Story

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November 29, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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French Montana has a new Mike Will Made It produced single out called “Marble Floors” wherein a few famous rappers fanute about fucking your bitch over some garish snare rolls. In the midst of 2 Chainz’ song ending verse, he lays down this double (triple? quadruple?) take worthy bit of brilliance:

2 Chainz, that’s your best answer

Cup filled with pink, I’m supporting breast cancer

I might do that walk for the 5k

I get paid every time I leave my driveway

Now regardless of your opinion on Tity Boi, that is some high concept shit right there. It’s purp and lean music for the sensitive man/lady. Grippin’ grain and switchin’ lanes with a greater societal purpose.  Sort of like D33J and the whole night bus sound. Sort of. Lean music on a deeper level, replete with soppy, late night love stories and brief, hyper-sexual encounters. Now, D33J’s remix of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” is about as far away from “Marble Floors” vibe-wise as you can get. It’s that late-night underwater feel that D33J and his Wedidit compatriots are so good at evoking, bringing the wettest, darkest vibes out of flat pop songs. D33J said this stream is only going to be up for a little while so give us a shout in the comments if it suddenly disappears. Download here.

SCNTST, Nathan Fake And Twin Peaks

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November 28, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Combining Ludacris, Eminem, Nathan Fake and juke is probably a really bad idea. It’s actually a little astonishing that SCNTST even attempted this rework of Fake’s “Bumbechord”. The original is one of those songs that inhabits both dark and light space, evoking either the deepest and most depraved or the most mind splitting-ly euphoric memories from the listener. It’s the electronics version of Laura Palmer’s Theme in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks series without the cornball-ness. What SCNTST does though is  flip it into Evian Christ’s best song, the dense, atmospheric nature of the original the perfect backing for Slim Shady and Luda’s brief exhortations. This is a damn fine song. Stream below.

New James Welsh – “Novelty Island”

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November 28, 2012
New Music
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Recently, James Welsh released the This Way EP through London imprint Join The Dots. The EP is a low-slung collection of Chicago-indebted house tracks, largely driven by simple keyboard rhythms. “Novelty Island” is the EP’s standout jawn, an almost eight journey punctuated by slightly less raspy than Gil Scott-Heron vocals. Thanks to XLR8R it is also now available for free download so get up on that horse and grab “Novelty Island” below.

Cashmere Cat Remixes Feadz & Kito’s “Wettex”

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November 28, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Before analyzing this new Cashmere Cat fuego, I’m going to indulge in some self-promotion right quick (it tenuously applies to the song, don’t worry). I recently took my talents to South Beach, otherwise known as TRUANTS and will be shopping my pedantic thoughts in those parts from here on out. I will still be doin’ the damn thang in these waters, but now you’ll find me at TRUANTS at the same damn time.  If you’re looking to follow my cultural musings and/or posts from both sites, get at me on Tumblr. You’re probably asking yourself why your reading this and in what possible way it could relate to a Cashmere Cat’s remix of Feadz & Kito’s “Wettex”? Well not much actually, but it’s a triumphant, feel good song and I’m feeling triumphant so bare with me. The Pelican Fly rep’s take on “Wettex” isn’t as subtle as anything on Mirror Maru, but for unabated good times drenched in chintzy 80’s euphoria, it can’t be beat. So yeah follow me here/Truants/Slopped & Wetted and stream below.

New Juelz Santana – “Bodies”

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November 28, 2012
New Music
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How much do y’all miss Dipset? I can’t hear you. How much do y’all miss Dipset?! I’m aching for some Come Home With Me era Killa Cam right now and was even considering putting on that Jim Jones mixtape from earlier this year. “Bodies” is off of God Will’n, Rockstar Santana’s upcoming mixtape. It features Def Jam signed Chicago MC Lil’ Reese and honestly isn’t very good. The beat sounds something like a Zaytoven production which is a plus, but the subject matter is pretty much just “we’re on the tape and fake gangsters are coming at us”. And really, does any really believe Juelz is stll at the top? Regardless, I’m eagerly awaiting God Will’n and will probably play it out far more than I should. Nostalgia is a bitch sometimes. Stream below and download here.

Nadus Remixes Star Slinger’s “Ladies In The Back”

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November 28, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Put this one under strip club music along with most of Pluto3D and Blue Dream And Lean. For the uninitiated, Nadus is a key member of the notorious Brick Bandits crew, which is a loose collective of club-oriented producers stretching from Jersey to Chicago. DJ Sliink and DJ Kiff are also members and the crew is pretty much the go-to place to find up-to-date Jersey/Philly club shit. Taking a step back from his usual 130 BPM exhibitions of twerk-inducing madness, Nadus speeds up Star Slinger’s sexy-as-fuq Teki Latex assisted “Ladies In The Back” only slightly, sprucing up the percussion with some lighthearted snares. The calls to “shake that” are the real highlight here as Nadus makes sure you know exactly what his goal is. Why beat around the bush when serious business is involved? The remix is part of the “Ladies In The Back” single, out now on Slinger’s Jet Jam imprint.

New Ab-Soul – “Absolute Assassin”

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November 27, 2012
New Music
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Soul Assassins Radio have been kicking around the hip hop scene for a while now, bringing listeners the best of “underground” hip hop. I put parentheses around underground because in the age of the internet, the underground in a classical sense doesn’t really exist anymore. Until the past few years though, the underground had a particular sound, punctuated by the blunted backpacker crowd and East Coast street rappers. Recently, Ab-Soul stopped by the station to spit a “freestyle” over some buttery production from the questionably named Worldwardrew. The abstract asshole is at his most grounded on “Absolute Assassin”, rapping within himself although he still manages to reference new world order and throw in the double-take worthy “so clean me and Jesus could share a bath”. Stream below and download here.

Anenon Remixes Gold & Soil’s “Where Or When”

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November 27, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Keeping in the family, Non Projects boss Anenon recently remixed Gold And Soil’s “Where Or When” from their self-titled debut album. Anenon maintains Ana Caravelle’s angelic vocals and the beatific harp playing of the original, adding layers of rich percussion and adding to the earthy nature of the original. Like the original, Anenon’s remix is understated and rich with emotion, looping Anna Caravelle singing “I still remember” with further soaring vocals in the background. Stream and download below.