This Summer, 62 musicians gathered in New York City to make music, attend workshops, share secrets and perform live. Those 62 comprised the 2013 Red Bull Music Academy class, an impressive array of producers, vocalists and instrumentalists from every corner of the electronic music world. Today, we’re lucky enough to receive (part) of what they came up with this past Summer. Various Assets – Not For Sale features collaborative tracks from Astral Plane favorites Sinjin Hawke, Kid Smpl, DJ Slow, Throwing Snow, Distal, Thundercat (under his birth name), Benjamin Damage and more. A compilation can only go so far to document a Summer’s worth of collaborative work, but Various Assets does an admirable job at giving plebes like myself some insight into the wonderful process that is the annual RBMA gathering. Stream Kid Smpl, SHDBOX, Branko and AnnaLove’s “Forces In The Way” and hit the jump (or head to Bandcamp) to listen/download the entire compilation
It has been a long while since the last edition of Sounds From The Astral Plane, but with tunes piling up in the inbox, it feels like the right time to bring it back. Although we only started this whole blog deal in January, I feel it’s safe to say that 2012 has been one of the most exciting music years in recent memory. We attempt to cover all of the music we love, but sometimes things slip through the cracks. We’re human after all. Every week (or so), you’ll find the originals, remixes and DJ mixes that we missed. This will also be a space to see how y’all respond to new artists so don’t hesitate to send over your/your friend’s latest and greatest. At this point, the scope of Sounds From The Astral Plane is wide open so you’ll find anything and everything in this space. This week, we have everything from Formes’ incandescent take on psych rock to Dubbel Dutch’s dancehall stylings. As always, any and all feedback would be much appreciated! Hit the jump for the full list…
Do I really need to explain why he’s The Ambassador Of Boogie Funk? DāM-FunK brings the vintage synthesizer solos out and asks listeners to ignore the “buster azz haterz” and instead take it out on the groove. Doesn’t sound so hard. I could listen to tunes like this all day every day. Nothing smoother than a classic DāM-FunK jawn and is anything more classic than the sound the LAlien has been promoting for the past several years? I vote no. Stream and download below.
Last year, Dâm-Funk remixed Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti’s magisterial “Fight Night” with surprising success. As incredible as Dâm’s original work is, I’ve never been a huge fan of his remixes. Maintaining the innate beauty of Ariel’s original, Dâm infused a solid helping of his trademark scuzzy synthesizer funk, resulting in a final product I’m sure Ariel would be plenty proud of (conjecture of course). It appears that Ariel did take notice and has enlisted Dâm to assist on a new album cut. “Baby” is a cover of Donny and Joe Emerson’s ubiquitous 1979 hit. Staying relatively true to the original, Ariel adds several levels of haze to modernize the truly beautiful baby making anthem and Dâm assists with some strained vocals to up the sex appeal. The cover will be on Ariel Pink’s upcoming Mature Themes, due out August 21 on 4AD. Stream above.
Damn DāM, you crazy for this one. Dropped on his Soundcloud yesterday, “Just A ‘D-F’ thang” combines all of the aspects of D-F’s music we know and love. Warm synths, funky keys and perfectly placed percussion are all prevalent on this low-key banger. Furthermore, the song doesn’t involve any samples or sequencing and is a 100% Dâm-Funk production. Stream “Just A ‘D-F’ thang” below and let this joint ride out.
The first LA BoilerRoom show is going down tonight with a legendary lineup that I am very excited for. It is a show that consists of entirely Stones Throw label artists. Stones Throw was started in 1996 by Peanut Butter Wolf and has become a powerhouse of a label. At tonight’s show, Peanut Butter Wolf, J.Rocc, and Dam Funk will be performing. The show will start at 8-11pm and can be streamed here http://boilerroom.tv/live/. I probably wont be able to watch this live because its saturday night but have no fear. The BoilerRoom will release the audio and possibly the video of the event a couple days later.
We’re back with the second edition of Sounds From The Astral Plane. If you missed last weeks edition, check it out here. We will be highlighting some tunes from (mostly) unsigned/independent artists that we might have missed throughout the week. Enjoy.
Stream: R.Dot – “From The Ashes…Anew”
It’s always a treat to get new music from Huntsville, Alabama. Over the last several years, Huntsville has evolved from an afterthought of the hip hop media to its darling thanks in large part to groups like Paper Route Gangstaz and G-Side. Much of the success of PRGz and G-Side can be attributed to the production acumen of the Block Beattaz. One half of the Block Beattaz, R.Dot, is preparing for the release of instrumental project Euphoric and let a track that didn’t make the album go on Tuesday.
Stream: Jonwayne -“Electricity”
Jonwayne has been one of the hottest names in the LA hip hop/electronic landscape over the past several months. The producer/MC finished 2011 off with a month long Low End Theory residency, a spot on dozens of “Best Of” lists, and a spot on the Stones Throw roster. Now Mr. Wayne is starting 2012 off right with a beat tape titled Oodles Of Doodles set to be released on Stones Throw in February. “Electricity” is the first track off of the tape and features Wayne’s signature bleepy videogame sounds.
Stream/Download: Dam Funk – “Bionic Pussy”
There’s not much to say about Dam Funk that hasn’t already been said. The Pasadena native and keytar master just released an unreleased cut titled “Bionic Pussy” that didn’t make it onto 2009’s Toeachizown. Stay funky Dam.
Ski Beatz was one of the most accomplished producers of 90’s producing tracks for Camp Lo, Jay-Z and AZ. For the majority of the aughts though, Ski was quiet only occasionally releasing new music. That changed all changed in 2010 when Ski took over the game with Curren$y, Jay Electronica and Stalley in tow. 2010’s 24 Hour Karate School was a resounding success and while its follow up, 24 Hour Karate School 2, was a little disappointing, the two albums cemented Ski’s return as well as his place as one of the best producers in hip hop history. “Fly By” is the first track off of the third incantation of 24 Hour Karate School.
Low End Theory collaborations are almost always a smashing success. Here, Ras G takes Nocando’s ode to Tinseltown and flips it on its head. This is truly future music.
In 2009, Swedish trio Miike Snow took the indie/dance worlds by storm in 2009 with their self-titled debut The album featured catchy dance anthems like “Black and Blue” and “Animal,” both of which stayed in rotation years after the album was released. Three years after the first album, we are lucky enough to get the first official single from the groups upcoming album, titled Happy To You. “Paddling Up” is a piano driven dance banger that definitely sets an upbeat vibe for the album.
The Astral Plane 