Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Madlib's Medicine Show

Letting music creep out of his basement as he so wishes, Madlib releases another top notch beat CD. He probably has hours and hours of this shit.

The CD is a loosely strung together collection of beats he made mostly throughout the 90s. They sound great on their own, but picking out the bits and pieces that end up in later productions of his has added a whole new dimension to listening. Like at 2:25 of "Medicine Dub" where a slowed down piano sample seems familiar because it forms the intro to "Raid" off the classic Madvillain EP.

Speaking of which, we're still waiting on Madvillain II...

DVS1 releases Love Under Pressure EP

Theres a lot of hype surrounding DVS1 these days. According to FACT Magazine, he is Ben Klock's protege. Strange, considering he's spent the past two decades earning a name for himself behind the decks as one of the most prominent figures in Midwest, US dance music. But he's been picked up by Derrick May’s classic Detroit techno record label, Transmat and just recently released the Love Under Pressure EP.

The A side, "Pressure" sets things off rather confusingly. Two notes. Thats essentially the entire song. You'd think that an EP thats been given this much attention would have some groundbreaking qualities to it. But no, this track takes its time. It'd be easy to dismiss if DVS1 didn't claim to be the owner of a vinyl collection of more than 10,000 records.

This track is quiet and assured. It simmers and grows slowly. Detroit's heartbeat drums bump steadily in the background as the track floats along, happily going nowhere.

When the bassline finally hits at the third minute its devastating.

Its nice to know that people still appreciate subtly.

Addison Groove gets Juked



Addison Groove released this beast of a track a few weeks ago and it still gets me every time. Footcrab is composed of simple 808 drum patterns and an incessant sample. Considering its spare composure the track carries some pretty hefty weight. Taking cues from Chicago juke and booty bass sounds, this UK beatsmith (formerly dubstep stalwart Headhunter) keeps things real minimal. If the beat seems too simple, you try building a track out of next nothing and have it be this memorable. Repeated listens recommended.

Footcrab by kchekanov

Tobbaco gets loose with the Third Kind


Everyone knows that Tobacco is a little, lets say, fucking crazy. As head honcho at Black Moth Super Rainbow - the Philly based collective of hippie recluses - Tobacco lead the troop deep into Pennsylvania forests to hole up in log cabins and make 70s synthesizer music with vocoder vocals vehemently vying for visibility. (breathe)

The results were like polite LSD trips through a meadow. Their 2007 Dandelion Gum LP earned the group some much needed attention. Their years of pop experiments had finally paid off with a clip on MTV and some favorable critical review.

Prompted by their success, Tobacco released some solo work. The formula is roughly the same: vintage synths, vocoder filters and outsider motifs abound. But unlike the easygoing pop sensibilities of BMSR, Tobacco's music sounds like the same gooey concoction thrown into a blender with forks and knives thrown into the mix as well. The tracks clatter and crash in ways BMSR only hinted at. To balance out his manic tendencies, Tobacco's tracks have a bit of hip hop flair that makes them bump rather than clang.

This clip for his track "Super Gum" finds him and his cronies getting frisky with what looks like ET. Maybe theirs some deep meaning. Maybe theirs not. Either way I'm freaked out

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

DJ Mehdi and Riton are Carte Blanche


The two have been making noise on either side of the English Channel for quite some time. Riton has been pushing his brand of bass heavy house since the days of electroclash in the UK while DJ Mehdi has been pushing his EQ to strange new territories for the French based Ed Banger.

Their new EP, Black Billionaires, is a massive statement with beats to spare. Theres not a second wasted on this lean, mean release - each track was built for the peak-time floor hours.

Title track "Black Billionaires" is a hott mess barreling through a crowd at top speed. Opening with an aggressive four-to-the-floor beat the track skips along with b-boy swagger. Not that its begging for 80s nostalgia either - these guys build modern, efficient club music with attitude. A slap bass riff that sounds like cocaine personified drops before the 30 second mark and doesn't let up for the rest of the track. Turn it up, get crazy

Actress remixes Kode9


Kode9 the shape-shifting public face of the ever-evolving Hyperdub imprint gets the remix treatment here courtesy of Actress.

The original track was an exclusive cut featured on Kode9's recenetly released DJKiCKs mix gets re-assembled by none other than Werk Disc's triangularly inclined head honcho Actress.

Actress recently released Splazsh, via Werk Discs, his batshit subterranean house romp that sounds like it was recorded inside a cotton stuffed pill vile.

Big Boi streams new album


Sir Luscious Left Foot himself is streaming his new album now on his myspace as we speak. Well, er, as I type.

Anyways. Hip hop heads have been fawning over this album ever since the Outkast vet started dropping track after head-splitting track throughout the last few months. Head over here and treat your ears
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