Archive for Monday, May 11, 2009

William Elliot Whitmore debuts on UK tv with Jools Holland appearance

Posted in Video with tags , , , , , , , , , on Monday, May 11, 2009 by Ryan Buege

The Mississippi river basins modern folk vagabond William Elliot Whitmore recently made a trip over the pond to show his literary and musical vocal talents to the British population, and the results that were captured on film are stunning. Whitmore’s powerful, old-time oration skills are truly a wonder in this day-and-age, and in this video performance for his “Old Devils” he sounds spectacular.

The last time I had the fortune to see Whitmore play live, he was sandwiched between the chaotic grind of local metal band Ambassador Gun and the expansive post-rock of Red Sparowes. Though the bill was quite an unlikely one for Whitmore, he handily won over any doubters with the passion of his exceptional performance and some sensibilities that could easily appeal to any fan of socially aware Midwestern music. It’s great that his career seems to be picking up steam on a global scale, because music this authentic, emotional, and beautiful needs to be honored the world over. Check out “Old Devils” live on Jools Holland below:

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Album Review: Finale, A Pipedream And A Promise 

Posted in Music Reviews with tags , , , , , , on Monday, May 11, 2009 by Tim Althaus

Finale is an emcee from the city of Detroit, Michigan who magnificently marvels me when he flows over the microphone. He has afinalecover voice that’s like a cross between 50 Cent and Kanye West (if I had to say) except for he’s much mightier than the aforementioned names. If you don’t know who Finale is, you probably should get familiar. This is an outstanding opus and a great entrance into the world of Hip-Hop that should be heard by all.

People that know me well know that when it comes to albums, production (to me) is a big determining factor on how I feel. The production on this album is nothing short of incredible and sets the tone of the album. If this was an instrumental album of just beats, I can assure you that I would give it an 8 or 9 alone. I remember seeing the production list and being amazed (J Dilla, Black Milk, Nottz, Flying Lotus & Khrysis to name a few), but what really surprises me more is that the lesser known producers craft concoctions that are just as good as the rest. Continue reading →

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Album Review: Bassnectar, Art of Revolution EP

Posted in Music Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , , on Monday, May 11, 2009 by Nicholas Blexrud

aorcover-smMesmerizing, transcendental, and hypnotic pulses of low frequencies and magnetic melodies ghostily grab my legs and make me move to the new single “Art of Revolution”; Bassnectar has done it once again.

Seated, I promptly pushed play on the single, “Art of Revolution”.  My heart slowly morphs from a lazy, bradycardiac beat to a rapid, tachycardiac pounding, as I soon found myself no longer in a seated position, but as a terpsichorean of mythical multitudes.

“Art of Revolution”, introduced with stick-beaten African drums and de-tuned Indian sitars, combusts into a cacophony of wobbly, intoxicated, insect-like buzzing of breaks and “slippery when wet” bass lines. This, paired with the unmatched voice of Jamaican Tapper Zukie, makes for a single that will soon take over every stereo and club. In addition to ‘Necters version of “Art of Revolution” and an instrumental mix, we are blessed with 4 other marvelous mash-ups of monolithic proportions. Remixes from Diplo, Chislain Poirier, 6 Blocc, and Product 01 all comprise an assortment of ingenuity and individualistic interpretations of this single.

I have to say, the wait for ‘Nectar’s new single to drop has felt eternal; similar to waiting in the doctor’s office. There you sit (highly anxious fan) with symptoms of melancholy-melodies, no-dance-ititus, and the bassnectar-blues, waiting for the doctor’s prognosis. The doc (Dr. Bassnectar) shows up just in time to tell you that everything is going to be fine, and serves you up a dose of “Art of Revolution”.  Ahhhh, you are better.

The Art of Revolution EP will be falling into digital music players through Beatport and everywhere else on May 12th (and turntables later on as a limited 12″ vinyl via Groove Distribution). However, if you cannot wait for this anthem to hit your eardrums, check it out a free download of Groove Armada’s Superstylin’ set to Bassnectar’s instrumental version of “Art of Revolution” in Superstylin’ Smashup, here!

So by this point, you’re probably all asking yourself ‘what the hell does Bassnectar even mean?’ Well, according to bassnectar.net, it is: “A freeform project that merges music, art, new media, social involvement, and community values; dedicated to a constantly-evolving ethos of collaborative creation, self-reinvention, and boundary-pushing experimentation.”  This mission statement, however, does not do justice to the 150 + shows that Bassnectar perform on a yearly basis, and to truly understand this “project” you must be apart of it. You can catch Bassnectar at any one of these dates to experience and stitch yourself to the fabric of this majestic movement… Continue reading →

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Dilla Bot Vs. The Hybrid

Posted in Downloads, Media with tags , , , on Monday, May 11, 2009 by Tim Althaus

Jay Stay PAid I still can’t get over the artwork for the new Dilla album (which is featured to the left) because it’s incredible. This is the first track I have had the pleasure of hearing, and it features up and coming Detroit emcee Danny Brown. It was actually up a few days ago over at 2DopeBoyz, but I didn’t have a chance to get it up at the time.

This is a nice Dilla beat that I haven’t heard before (which is always nice), and Danny Brown spits some ridiculous verses over this great instrumental. I want you guys to realize that Danny Brown is an emcee that has some amazing talent. It makes me really happy to hear another great artist coming out of Detroit because it’s a city that just keeps pumping out great sound. I am going to make a conscious effort to get everything that this guy puts out.

Make sure you check out this track because it is incredible. You better also make sure you go out and cop Jay $tay Paid out on Nature Sounds June 2nd.

Download: Dilla Bot Vs. The Hybrid (Featuring Danny Brown)

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