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Lee Bannon Breaks The Mold

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April 12, 2012
New Music
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It is a rare occurrence when a hip hop producer transforms over night. It is even rarer when a producer who specializes in the boom bap brand of hip hop escapes their comfort zone. Producers like Statik Selektah, 9th Wonder and The Alchemist have made a living producing for the likes of Styles P, Phonte and Skyzoo. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with this. Each of the aforementioned producers excel at what they do and consistently keep my head nodding. Regardless, it is an exciting time for music as producers like Clams Casino, Keyboard Kid and Ryan Hemsworth push the boundaries of what constitutes a hip hop beat. Before this morning, I would have lumped Lee Bannon in with the former group of producers. A more than adequate beatsmith who has supplied heat for Planet Asia, Strong Arm Steady, The Jacka and more. I thought of him as a sort of West Coast Statik Selektah. Both utilize brass to its fullest extent and are consistent as hell, but they never make my jaw drop.

That was before I listened to his brand new Caligula Theme Music EP. Abandoning the brass element for which he has become revered in certain certains, the Sacramento-based producer instead opts for lush synth pads, abstract vocal samples and rolling percussion. To be honest, it sounds a lot like Clams Casino. Even the photo at the top of this post feels like it’s straight out of the hype machine. You know what though? I don’t really care. Clams doesn’t own this sound (although he has pioneered it) and blurry pictures are mystifyingly striking. These are hip hop beats at their core, but viewed through a thick layer of pond muck and blunt haze. Clammy Clams better watch out. There’s a new kid in town. You can stream and buy the EP below off of Bannon’s Bandcamp (well worth 3.99) and download the title track over at XLR8R.

New Oddisee Track

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April 11, 2012
2012, New Music
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A new track from the ever impressive Oddisee is always a good thing. Oddisee is as equally talented as a rapper as he is a producer which puts him among my favorite artists.  This track was released to satiate his fans until the release of People Hear What They See, set to be released on June 5th by the always on point Mello Music Group. This will be his debut album and make it’s way onto your radar for  fresh new hip hop.  Here’s what Oddisee’s had to say about the album:

“This album is about influence, inspiration, perception & reality. Every song was written in an outside environment, so that I could observe the subjects that would become my subject matter. All too often in Hip Hop, reality is limited to that of the artists own, actual experiences. People Hear What They See is my attempt to liberate the MC from those constraints & allow reality to be penned other than my own. Listening to congressmen & lawyers converse on the steps of the supreme court inspired ‘American Greed’, Watching a couple argue over the phone in a bar inspired ‘Maybes’. By having a visual representation of my subject matter, my hopes are that the listener will see them through the worlds & melodies of my songs.”

You can stream and download the track below.

Stream a New Track from London’s Kwes

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April 11, 2012
2012, New Music
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24-year-old London-based producer/instrumentalist Kwes has been making music for many years; however, it seems only recently has he been noticed by the blogosphere. His story is intriguing. He began playing the keyboard at age five, experimenting with many instruments throughout his youth. Kwes has a fascinating condition known as color synesthesia, which means he associates different types or tones of music with particular colors. As he told The Fader back in 2010,

“…each note on the 12 tone scale equates to colour, any chord surrounded by whichever note I’m hearing will be a version of the colour. Generally it looks like this to me: G – orange. D which is always yellow/green, E which is yellow/gold, F which is violet/blue, C-Blue, A-light blue, B-yellow/gold/green. Also it’s something that is quite unobtrusive, it’s pleasantly normal. It’s what I’ve always seen so I’m not startled or surprised by it, every time I hear music it happens.” (Via.)

Kwes released an EP called No Need To Run in June of 2010 via Young Turks, and he has worked with the likes of The xx (producing an early version of “Insects”) and London experimental/grime musician Micachu. Additionally, he has a new four-track EP coming out on May 1st via Warp; this one will be called Meantime. Today, you can stream a brand new track off the upcoming EP. This 7-minute track, titled “lgoyh,” is melancholy yet hopeful, as though Kwes is singing of unrequited love. The song is quite different from “bashful,” the other single off Meantime that was released back in March, proving that Kwes employs multifaceted production techniques and musical influences. Stream “Igoyh” below.

Bounce With DJ Tim Dolla

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April 11, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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On Monday, I wrote about Jersey Club up-and-comer DJ Sliink. I’ve spent the 48 hours since exploring Club music and I think I might be a little smitten. I’m still very green when it comes to the genre, and having lived on the West Coast my whole life, really have no experiential knowledge, but I’ve quickly become a fan. One of the first places my research took me was super-collective Bring Bandits, of which Sliink is a member. The collective stretches from Jersey to Chicago to Philly and is known by many as “The Movement That Moves Everything.” The “President” of the collective, DJ Tim Dolla, is one of the most established names in Jersey Club and has been dominating the scene for years. He takes a more purist approach to Club than Sliink does, opting for full body remixes of the latest hip hop tracks. Dolla is revered in Jersey scene and has gained some national notoriety as well through releases on Mad Decent. There needs to be some sort of West Coast adaptation of this shit. Yes, that’s a callout.

Stream/Download:DJ Tim Dolla – Peso (A.S.A.P.)

New Track and Video from Simian Mobile Disco

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April 10, 2012
2012, New Music, Videos
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The wacky London analog-electro production duo Simian Mobile Disco has a new album, Unpatterns, coming out on May 14th. The group will be touring throughout Europe and the US through July; check out their tour dates after the jump. Today, you can stream the album’s sixth track, “Put Your Hands Together,” right here:

We also bring you the brand new video for “Seraphim,” which is a weird montage of people performing eerily mundane activities.

 

The tracklist for Unpatterns is as follows:

01. I Waited For You
02. Cerulean
03. Seraphim
04. A Species Out of Control
05. Interference
06. Put Your Hands Together
07. The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife
08. Your Love Ain’t Fair
09. Pareidolia

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Portugal. The Man Gets The RZA Remix Treatment

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April 10, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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Over this past weekend, I witnessed Wu-Tang Clan (minus Method and GZA) perform at Murs’ Paid Dues festival in sunny Southern California. Despite a quizzical set time (4 PM) for the headliners, the performance was easily one of the day’s best as RZA, Ghostface, Raekwon and company tore through hit after hit. RZA opened the festivities, bringing out each member of the Wu one by one before entering into a resoundingly fresh take on “Bring Da Ruckus.” It struck me as a little odd to see Robert Diggs on stage with the Wu (I haven’t seen them since back in ’07) as he has strayed from his Staten Island brethren in recent years, entering the film world and collaborating with several non-hip hop artists. Last year, he gave his take on Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros frontman Alexander’s “Truth,” which despite some poor mixing, was a decidedly cohesive performance. Since 2005, he has been a member of Achozen, a “space hip hop” group along with members of System of a Down and Killarmy. These creative forays away from the Killa Beez have been met with varied critical responses, but no one can blame the man for trying to break out of his comfort zone.

Today brings us another unforeseen collaboration, this time a remix with Portland psych rockers, Portugal. The Man. After a request from the band, RZA took on “All Your Light” from 2011’s In The Mountain In The Cloud, kicking some dirt on the original and infusing a little vintage broken beat. Unfortunately we don’t get a new verse from the Grandmaster, but what can you do? Stream and download the track below courtesy of The FADER.

Fade To Mind Releases “Official Bootleg” From Rizzla

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April 10, 2012
New Music
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Last July, Brooklyn-born bass producer Kingdom launched Fade To Mind, “a record label and a movement, a series of club nights and cooperative projects in music, visual art, video, and apparel.” Alongside Nguzunguzu, Total Freedom and DJ Prince William, Fade To Mind acts as a sister label to London-based Night Slugs, home of L-Vis 1990, Bok Bok, Girl Unit and more. So far, Fade To Mind has released music from Bellingham, WA artist Cedaa, vogue house purveyor MikeQ, Nguzunguzu and DJ Prince William. Last night, the label released a (free) “offical bootleg” from Somerville, MA (a suburb of Boston) artist Rizzla. The Rizzla EP draws from a number of influences, from Harlem-style vogue house to Dominican dembow. The four track EP relies heavily on quick, repetitive vocal samples (Lil’ Kim on “Dick”) and quick synth stabs to create a dancehall atmosphere. It appears that there is a quickly emerging “club” sound coming from numerous American producers that borrows from a number of sub-genres that had previously been heavily localized. I’m a big fan. Download the EP at the Fade to Mind website and find more Rizzla at his Soundcloud.

Update: Forgot to mention that RIzzla will be making his West Coast debut in LA this Friday (April 13). He’ll be performing alongside Kingdom, Nguzunguzu, Total Freedom and Prince William at Los Globos.

Dirty Projectors Announce 2012 Tour

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April 9, 2012
Mixes, New Music
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As we mentioned last week, the Dirty Projectors have a new album, Swing Lo Magellan, coming out on July 10th. The Brooklyn band has now announced an extensive tour schedule in support of their new release. The tour will begin in Canada in the beginning of July, and will then span the US for the rest of the summer, ending in mid-August. The openers for the tour are Baltimore indie-folk duo Wye Oak, and our previous Sasquatch! artist of the week, Purity Ring. If you missed Dirty Projectors’ new single, “Gun Has No Trigger,” stream it here, and find the band’s summer tour dates after the jump.

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Interview: Move Over Trailer Park Boys, Ryan Hemsworth is Taking Over Halifax

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April 9, 2012
2012, Interviews, New Music
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The ability to network on the web is a key skill for any young artist to possess in today’s music landscape. I’m not going to get into the demise of the record industry here (the New York Times produced a great infographic on the subject), but the resonating effect of the drop in record sales has been palpable. Connecting with artists, labels and collectives from across the country and world should be a key goal for any artist on the come up. Recently, we spoke with an artist who has utilized the web to astounding effect. Ryan Hemsworth is a 21 year old producer from Halifax, Nova Scotia on Canada’s far east coast. Halifax resides in a quiet corner of Canada, known more for its harbor and the cult TV favorite, Trailer Park Boys, than any form of hip hop or electronic music scene. As nearby Toronto and Montreal have gained notoriety for their abundance of innovative, young producers (Jacques Greene, Lunice, Zodiac, etc.), Halifax has remained a sleepy coast city. Hemsworth has responded to the lack of a local scene by extending roots to New York, Oakland, and even Paris. He is a member of the Green Ova crew, and has done extensive production work for Main Attrakionz and Shady Blaze over the past several years. More recently, the Bromance Records crew (Brodinski, Gesaffelstein, etc.) has been showing Hemsworth love. As a result, Hemsworth’s brand of “cloud dance” as he jokingly terms his music has become wildly popular in blog world, via remixes of artists as disparate as Grimes and Three 6 Mafia. Hemsworth is one of the most talented artists making music right now and has his foot in the door of stardom. I would not be at all surprised if he has a Clams Casino-esque presence in blog world, or if he has his hands on this year’s LiveLoveA$AP. Hit the jump to read the whole interview. You won’t regret it. Find Ryan at:

Facebook

Twitter

Soundcloud

Bandcamp

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DJ Sliink Brings Jersey Club to the Mainstream

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April 9, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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If you don’t live somewhere between Newark and Baltimore, you’re probably not all that familiar with the heavily local style of Club music that dominates teenage parties in the region. Baltimore Club originated in the 90’s and takes cues from ghetto tech, booty house and Washington D.C. style go-go music. More recently, the Club phenomena has extended up the coast and a specific brand of New Jersey club has emerged, centered around dance halls in Newark. Jersey Club tracks are usually situated around 134 BPM, although they can be slightly faster or slower, and tend to include complex chopped vocals, often from pop/hip hop songs. In recent months, 21 year-old producer, DJ Sliink, has taken the scene by storm with a sound that takes Club and infuses trap beats, moombahton and vogue house into the mix. While the Jersey Club scene is quite internalized, Sliink has broken the mold and has brought the Club model to the rest of the country. Case in point, his remix of the Diplo produced Usher track “Climax.” Shuffling drum patterns, and deep sub bass give the original a dance floor feel, all while maintaining Usher’s sexy smooth vocals. You thought the original got stuck in your head? This is a whole different animal. Sliink collaborated with Sinjin Hawke on Lights EP standout “Gas Pump” a few months ago showing he has the versatility to make more than just Club cuts, but who would want him to stop when he’s making bangers like this?