Happy Halloween Pt2

This is what I'm bumping right now.



(Just kidding, I'm listening to the awesome reggae blow out I got from JKP).

dc

The Haunted Mansion

First off – did you guys catch the Mad Monster Party post on Iron Leg? So dope. The track he posted is killer. It definitely turned my crap day around. Check it out.

Here's another blast from the past. The build is slow and the "song" is a bit long (20 minutes), but, about halfway through, it slips into an ole-time vaudevillian freakshow party. It's definitely worth the descent. Muaahahahaha...

Happy Halloween.

Boomp3.com

African Scream Contest

I'm just beginning to learn about the musical phenomenon of 1970s Benin & Togo, where wide-ranging influences descended on the region from all over the burgeoning musical map.

That's where this comp is rooted and it's precisely where it jumps off – taking an afrobeat foundation and blending funk, soul, latin, rock and psych into a collection that's nicely varied, but deftly consistent from beginning to end. Somehow, it just makes perfect sense. From the first spin, it stood out as something really special.

Lokonon André & Les Volcans - Mi Kple Dogbekpo
Boomp3.com

Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou - Gbeti Madro
Boomp3.com

I've yet to dig any deeper into the upstart German label that put it out (Analog Africa), but I'm dying to. Stay tuned...

Gang Gang Dance

It's not often I flag a release date on my calendar and run to iTunes/record store the day something is released, but i did that with the new Gang Gang Dance joint, "Saint Dymphna".

Gang Gang is a Brooklyn freak out-type of band (once sharing jam space/apartment with Black Dice and Animal Collective). Some of their early stuff sounds like a bunch of stoned hipsters banging on pipes and playing Casios in somebody's basement (probably true). But they really broke through on "God's Money" a few years ago, top 10 of all time type CD in my opinion.

The new album build off of God's Money - weird ethnic percussion, 80's synths, yelping female vocals, but all served up in a surprisingly accessible package - as well as the more techno-y shit that they have put out since then. Crazy lazer beam sounds and shit fill up the space between the instruments and vocals.

This is the best use of the 80's throw back trend right now in that it uses pieces of that era to create something new and exciting, instead of being a parody of music from 2 decades ago (like that new M83 joint, which sucks, and sounds like it could be The Breakfast Club soundtrack).

Having said that, "House Jam" on the new GGD is beyond a homage to "Into The Groove" era Madonna, it could be a b-side from the "Like a Virgin" tour. I wanted to delete it, but it would break up the way the whole cd is cross-faded, with similar textures and sounds throughout, presenting one cohesive whole (I love that). Also, hate to say this is the jam that gets stuck in my head and I'm singing while i walk around the city.

Also, on one track a Wiley-type rapper ("grime"? is that what that was called? "Garage"?) raps on one track and it is actually pretty dope.

Anywho, long story short, this is dope. NY Times did an article on them this week (!) and Pitchfork gave it a 8.5 on teh richter scale. I used up the last of my iTunes gift certificates to get it... It's unprotected, so if you are up for a trade check me out and I'll throw this on a DVD with a ton of other shit.

Attention fans of Warp, Squarepusher and that ilk...

Insect Digestion Melancholy by Hrvatski.
Still the #1 Top Played track in my iTunes.
Available only on 7" vinyl...so enjoy.

Wildflowers

Bands are getting better and better at doing the retro-funk thing in a convincing way, and these guys are among the best. Malcolm Catto from the Heliocentrics crew sits in on drums for a few tracks, ensuring the CD's funkiness to the upmost. Compare to Heliocentrics, Sharon Jones and the Dapp Kings, The El Michaels Affair, Breakestra, The New Mastersounds, all those funky bands that owe their heart and soul to late '60s and '70s funk.

Mr. Rhythm

This record isn't that good, but check out the cover. This dude has so much rhythm, it builds up inside him like molten lava and then fucking explodes out of his head in a rhythmic explosion. That's why they call Willie Rosario "Mr. Rhythm".

dc

A Journey into Fresh Diggin'

If, like me, you think the first Quasimoto CD is absolute genious, 10 albums on a desert island material, then you need to check out the mix by DJ Trbl, "A Journey into Fresh Diggin'". It is all the Quasimoto jams from both CD's, mixed in with the tracks that he sampled, plus all kinds of rare B-Sides and 7"s and shit, all mixed together extreemly well. Plus, you can download it for free at http://www.rappcats.com/.

Word to your moms yo I strcictly smoke the bomb.

THe Diizzzzz

RECORD LABELS

I'm pretty loyal to certain labels. There are some labels that all of their new releases are an automatic buy even if I've never heard of the artist before. In my youth it was labels like:






When I was heavy into house and electronic stuff it was labels like:



etc, etc, etc.

These days I don't have many. One recent label that seems to have fallen on hard times lately is:


A great root reggae re-issue label.

So...what about you? Any labels you go out of your way to collect? Blue Note? Trojan? Underground Construction?

The Junior Mance Touch

I took this picture when I was packing up my place a few weeks ago. This is a killer album. Funky piano jazz, like an early Ramsey Lewis record. Think this was like $5.00 at a used book store. Definitely got this even though I never heard of this dude:

-LP from 1973
-Polydor
-That cover?

Automatic.

It's really great, beginning to end. The Junior Mance Touch, ladies and gentlemen! I'll digitize this bitch and pass it on to y'alls.

dc

Interregnums

Interregnums was the “bonus disc” with Prefuse 73’s latest joint, Preparations. Preparations was kind of… meh, like anything after One Word Extinguisher. I mean, how much of that kind of shit do you need? But this bonus disc, a full 52 minutes long, is what really stood out.

Interregnums is all orchestral compositions: strings, clarinets, piano melodies and xylophones, and some ambient electronic elements, but mostly straight ahead orchestral pieces with free jazzy dissonance thrown in at times. No beats or drums anywhere on it. Anyone who has listened to Savath and Savalas (worthy of its own blog post, no doubt) know that Scott Herren is deeper than just “glitch hop” or whatever they call Prefuse 73.

This is excellent for rainy days, post-break ups, and late night introspection. It goes well with red wine, cappuccinos, and clove cigarettes. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

The DZA

Cherrystones

The recent post about DJ Shadow and the recent comments about the glory of the Nuggets compilations reminded me about a series of compilations put out by a fellow who calls himself Cherrystones.  Maybe he doesn't actually refer to himself as Cherrystones, but that is the name that he puts on the records.  This one, entitled Rocks, consists of artists from the U.S., Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Germany, and probably other places, too, and they are all "psych and progressive gems of the 60's and early 70's."  The reason that the DJ Shadow post reminds me about this is that the first track on the comp is one that DJ Shadow sampled on Endtroducing.  I will post this track for your listening pleasure.  It is called Love Love Love, and it is by a Swedish band named Pugh.  In case you are interested, the other Cherrystones comps are called Hidden Charms and Word.  
Boomp3.com

Cold War Kids

Been checking out the new Cold War Kids album, Loyalty to Loyalty and I like it a lot, though it's gotten mixed reviews. I was really excited when I heard the first two tracks off their first album, Robbers and Cowards, but then there was a steep fall-off after that. I still think these guys have a great album in them and this isn't quite it, but it's definitely worth checking out. A critic described the singer's voice as a cross between Tom Waits and Axl Rose, which I thought was really intriguing and one of the reasons I checked them out in the first place. I don't really think that he sounds like that (though not sure what that would sound like really) but he's got a great voice and the band sounds like a real rock band without sounding self-consciously retro.

TVOTR Pt.2

I just moved, and while unpacking I came across 2 unused iTunes gift certificates. Score! So I loaded them up to buy some legally downloaded tunes at iTunes, and got that new TV on the Radio joint.

Following up on my man Pete's post a few weeks ago. It's good... it's good. Not 9.7 good like Pitchfork gave it, but good. Really dense, lots of things going on, very interesting sonically. Not a lot of guitars on here. A lot of tracks are just like 3 Moogs and strings. Kind of has an 80's vibe underlying it. "Dancing Change" is going for a "It's The End of The World As We Know It" thing. One other song rips off Tom Petty "Running Down A Dream" melody.

All in all, this band is one of the most fresh, exciting bands to come out in like 10 years so this is automatic, so, yeah, buy it or hit me up for a trade.

DC LOOCHA