New 5kinandbone5 – “Do You Really Know Me?”

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July 26, 2012
New Music
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I wasn’t around to witness the heyday of UK Garage. Well I was, but I was far more interested in baseball cards than British dance music. That means I wasn’t around for its subsequent devolution into bland pop music. I maintain a veil of ignorance regarding the relative shortcomings of the genre. So when I hear that a song described as “gauzy UK garage revivalism”, I more or less take for granted that the statement is factual. That’s exactly how FACT just described California’s own 5kinandbone5’s newest effort. The internet savvy duo’s “Do You Really Know Me?” is a silky piece of 2-step highlighted by oh so silky vocals. Always impressive to see an artist advance into uncharted territory with the authority that 5kinandbone5 have taken on UKG. Stream and download below.

Cid Rim Readies LP For LuckyMe

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July 25, 2012
New Music
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Cid Rim is straight of Vienna. At least that’s what his Facebook states. According to his band profile on the Affine Records website:

The world of Cid Rim circles around the boundless magic and mythical formulas of funk. When speaking of his influences and musical socialisation, the 25 year old producer and drummer of JSBL inevitably ends in the 70ies of the past century. Think of the JBs, big band sounds á la Stan Kenton or the drum breaks, which widely opened his personal doors to funk.

I like funk and musical socialisation sounds vague and appealing. Cid Rim also has an upcoming release on LuckyMe. That was the sticking point for me. “A Fall For Two” was played out by Lunice on his recent stunt on Diplo’s BBC show and is a brilliant representation of the 25 year olds production prowess. Unrelenting synths swirl into a fever pitch that never comes as clomping percussion performs its own jig in the seams. The track, along with “Danger Ranger”, will be on Cid Rim’s self-titled full length, due out August 7th on LuckyMe. Stream “A Fall For Two” below.

SBTRKT Channels Gold Panda, Lone On “Gloss”

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July 25, 2012
New Music
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SBTRKT’s 2011 debut was more than just a special album, it let the world know that bass music and pop music could overlap and intercede in exciting new fashions. Just listen to the latest LOL Boys EP for example, full of emotive vocals and an overt pop sensibility. I can’t say for sure whether Markus and Jerome are influenced by the London producer, but it sure sounds like it. SBTRKT’s latest track, “Gloss” is a blur of skittish technicolor synths and rhythms, highly reminiscent of the mood of Lone’s latest project and the structure (or lack there of) of much of Gold Panda’s work. Little snacks like “Gloss” might just satiate us as we await a followup to 2011’s SBTRKT. Stream below.

DJ Sliink + Brenmar + Body High = Madness

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July 25, 2012
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Hate ’em or love ’em, MMG turn out some damn good hooks for club tunes. Wale’s “Bait” is the latest to be snagged, sampled by DJ Sliink and Brenmar for a track of the same name. This is booty music in every sense. Sliink and Brenmar predictably smash Jersey Club and Juke together with unpredictable results. Set to be released on LA’s Body High, future collaborations between the three parties are a must. Head over to Noisey to stream and download.

Black Moth Super Rainbow Prep New Album, Release Single

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July 25, 2012
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October 9th marks the return of Black Moth Super Rainbow, synth enthusiasts, vocoder abusers and general malcontents. That day marks the release date for Cobra Juicy, their first album 2009’s Eating Us. Incredibly, fans funded the album twice over via the band’s Kickstarter page. That’s a dedicated fanbase. Not satisfied with their unique spot in the history books, BMSR get real cantankerous on  “Windshield Smasher”. It’s classic BMSR and has Tobacco written all over it. If you’re not familiar, please, please listen to Dandelion Gum. Stream “Windshield Smasher” below.

From Free Gucci To TNGHT: A Retrospective

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July 24, 2012
2012, New Music, Remixes, Uncategorizable
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So the TNGHT (Hudson Mohawke + Lunice for those living under a rock) EP saw its American release today. Instead of an album review (words don’t do it justice), we’ve decided to compile a little retrospective on British producers lending their talents to American hip hop. In an interview with FACT last month, Lunice had this to say:

We’ve been doing this shit for years, and it’s not like we’re new or anything, it’s not like we’re new money shit, it’s not like we came out of the blue and we blew up like crazy. We’ve built a whole foundation of our work. So it’s about that time. I feel like that sort of movement is backed with all of our homies together, like: “This is us! You can’t do this shit! You can’t just take our ideas and come up with it all after all these years. We’re coming for you!

Clearly, Lunice believes that American hip hop producers have been misappropriating hip hop-indebted UK bass for a minute now and are taking a stand. While I don’t think Toomp and Hit-Boy are listening to too much Mount Kimbie, I get it: Lunice has a persecution complex… just kidding. With the EP set to take the States by storm and the duo’s remix of Flocka’s “Rooster In My Rari” igniting the interwebz, it’s easy to see where Lunice’s frustration is coming from. As the UK sound constantly progresses into exciting new territories via labels like LuckyMe and Night Slugs, American producers are often too content to find a sound and stick with it. As a result, some of the best interpretations of American, especially Southern, hip hop have come from British producers. TNGHT might be the apex of the trend (yes we know Lunice is Candian), but many other (mostly) pasty perpetrators have attempted to freshen up Stateside hip hop tropes, both new and old. This is not meant to a comprehensive review, because that would be impossible. It’s just a list of a lot of really fucking good producers remixing a lot of really ignorant hip hop music.

Dubbed by some as the “British Diplo”, it made all too much sense for Sinden to host volume two of Mad Decent’s Free Gucci series. The Burrrtish Edition features 16 remixes of Mr. Radric Davis’s trap anthems, courtesy of a  coterie of revered Brits: HudMo, Rustie, Melé, Mosca and Toddla T just to name a few. Predictably weirder than the Diplo hosted Volume One (with the exception of the Flying Lotus contribution), the tape is an exhibition in low end sounds with varying levels of success. HudMo’s take on “Party Animal” essentially spawned TNGHT, is utterly playable to this day and should probably soundtrack your next night of drunken shenanigans. Melé also wins big with his wonky reinterpretation of “Missing” from The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted (a largely overlooked Gucci project). Stripped down and menacing, “Missing” is a precursor to some of Melé’s more recent Soundcloud uploads. Burrrtish isn’t much of a cohesive project drawing from every realm of bass music, but who cares when HudMo, Melé, Rustie and Sinden bring the collective heat?

Download: Sinden Presents Free Gucci 2:The Burrrtish Edition

Hit the jump for the rest of the retrospective…

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Jamie xx Lends Hand To Holly Miranda’s “Slow Burn Treason”

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July 24, 2012
New Music, Remixes
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We first heard it on his seminal Essential Mix last August and it is now available to the masses in its full, unadulterated brilliance. Just another edit from the driving force behind the best pop act in the world. A song that brings to mind a tropical beach as much as it does an obfuscated dream world, Jamie’s edit of Holly Miranda’s (who also owns a spot on XL’s roster) “Slow Burn Treason” is an exhibition in half-step percussion mastery. Imagine some young whomp-enthusiasts (no hate) finding out that Jamie used essentially the same format for “Slow Burn Treason” as their beloved Skrallex’s? High comedy. Anyways, Jamie strings Miranda and Kyp Malone’s (of TV On The Radio) ethereal vocals into a deeply orchestral territory, all the while avoiding the bombast that is usually associated with orchestra strings. it also sounds vaguely tropical, which is utterly perplexing to me. Whereas “Far Nearer” utilized steel drums to develop an overtly tropical sound, “Slow Burn Treason” reaches the surf without any (to my knowledge) instruments, samples or effects that could evoke sandy beaches or palm trees. This man’s ceiling has no limit. Look out for The xx’s Coexist on September 10 and cross your fingers for some sort of full length from the ever precocious Jamie.

Flying Lotus and Earl Sweatshirt Join Forces On “Between Friends”

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July 23, 2012
2012, New Music
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Back in April, a menagerie of characters joined Flying Lotus on stage for the finale of his Weekend One Coachella set, punctuated by a live rendition of “Hard In Paint”. The on-stage crowd was made up largely of the Brainfeeder cohort, but one prepubescent face stuck out. None other than Earl Sweatshirt was standing front and center flapping his stick like arms and wylin’ like… well like he was on stage for a Thundercat assisted rendition of “Hard In The Paint”. Up until that point, a collaboration between the two Angelenos seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream and their public relationship boiled down to Twitter banter. From there though… whew anything was possible. “Between Friends” is that possibility. Part of Adult Swim’s Singles Series (faultless as of late), the collaboration is another example of the Odd Future stalwart taking his talents in a new direction. Last week, he was featured on The Alchemist’s dusty “Elimination Chamber” and “Between Friends” sees him attempting another distinctly non-Odd Future sound. Both fans and haters of the collective will be hard-pressed not to sink their teeth into “Between Friends”, also featuring the mysteriously named Captain Murphy that sounds a little like Tyler. The fractured beginning of the track is congruent with the off-kilter sound FlyLo has carefully cultivated, a sound as akin to Dilla as it is to Aphex Twin, that is to say somewhere in the realm between sample hip hop and jungle. Earl’s sometime frustrating monotone effortlessly slips into the grooves of the beat and that’s about all you need to know. Lucky for all of us, the good folks at Adult Swim are giving away “Between Friends” for free (get it below). The track will not appear on FlyLo’s upcoming Until The Quiet Comes, hitting us on October 1st.

Download: Flying Lotus – “Between Friends” Feat. Earl Sweatshirt and Captain Murphy)

Update: Flying Lotus was kind enough to upload the instrumental to his Soundcloud. Much love Mr. Ellison. Much love.

Indigo Jam Unit

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July 19, 2012
2012, New Music
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It’s been awhile since I have posted on any new jazz albums or groups…until now! I would like to introduce you to Indigo Jam Unit. Formed in Osaka, Japan, in 2005, these guys have been dropping great releases for awhile.  The unit consists of Yoshichika Tarue (piano), Katsuhiko Sasai (double bass), Isao Wasano (percussion & drums), and Takehiro Shimizu (drums). The unit initially started out as a trio and then added Shimizu to the drum line up before their first album, DEMONSTRATION (February 2006). Since this first album, the quartet has released five LP’s, an album remixing some of Common’s songs with his original verses over their jams, and a cover album, Rose. 

This track is from the album, Re:Common , and reworks his song ‘Come Close’. Indigo Jam Units unique sound comes from the combination of all four members. Tarue’s melodic piano and Sasai’s driven bassline are integral to each track with the two artists pairing their instruments perfectly. What sets Indigo Jam Unit’s apart, is the use of two drummers. With Shimizu and Wasano working together to create an explosive rhythm that is prominent throughout each track.

The unit’s most recent release was the album, Independent, and should be checked out by anyone who enjoys complex drumlines and if you want to check out a band that can meld their unique sounds flawlessly. Even more impressive, is the bands devotion to uphold their ideal of being ‘live musicians’. The unit performs only single takes for every song that they put onto a record. I strongly urge you to explore their music and with some easy google searching you can find album downloads. Lastly, check out their awesome cover of ‘Funkier Than a Mosquito’s Tweeter’ by Nina Simone

 

Boeboe Guest Mix For The Astral Plane

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July 19, 2012
2012, Mixes, New Music
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Since the inception of this blog, our foremost goal has been to display the music we love (and hope you love) in a tasteful, uninhibited fashion. To that point, I believe we’ve been fairly successful. Our secondary goal has been to bring you original content in the form of interviews, album reviews and most recently, our Mixes From The Astral Plane series. Today, we bring you a new form of original content: Guest Mixes. Whereas Mixes From The Astral Plane is meant to be a sort of overview of what we’re loving on at the moment, Guest Mixes will highlight the work of our favorite artists, one at a time.

For our first ever Guest Mix, we’ve enlisted the man we called the “Dutch trap luminary” last month, Boeboe. As the wheat separates from the chaff in the trap game, Boeboe has emerged with an impressive grasp of hip hop, as well as the strand of bass heavy British house music championed by the likes of Julio Bashmore, XXXY and Eats Everything. Last month’s Act Stupid EP on Sabacan Records exhibited Boeboe’s mastery of the low end and it doesn’t look like he’ll stop anytime soon. Without further ado, we present to you Boeboe’s Guest Mix.

Tracklist

1. Subp Yao – Law of The Jungle
2. A Chal – Paid in Full
3. Boeboe – Breakdown
4. SirOJ – Untitled (Exclusive) (forthcoming on 22Tracks)
5. LOL Boys – Flaunt It (Remix)
6. LZRKMMNDR – Big Ass Titties (Subp Yao Remix)
7. UZ x CRNKN – Booty 2 The Ground
8. Boeboe – Low Key
9. Boeboe – Green Component
10. +Verb – RTS
11. Boeboe – King (WIP)
12. Myrryrs – Fantom Doze
13. Baauer – My Nose