Archive for June, 2009

Black Milk Talks With Pitchfork About Random Axe

Posted in Music News with tags , , , on Sunday, June 7, 2009 by Tim Althaus

randomaxe Black Milk is probably my favorite artist in the game right now (next to Evidence), he has been putting out incredible music with that signature Detroit sound. He linked up with Pitchfork Media (who dissed him in the first paragraph citing his “unspectacular rhyming” on Tronic) about the super group composed of Sean Price, Guilty Simpson & himself known as Random Axe. Personally I feel like Pitchfork is a giant epicenter of pretentious morons, but if it’s Black Milk related I will read it. The Random Axe album is one of my most anticipated albums this year, and I feel like this album is going to be nothing short of great.

Black Milk discusses a lot of issues about how the group came to be (contacting Sean Price for a verse on Guilty Simpson’s album), how he adapts production sounds for certain emcees, how it feels to be on Duck Down Records and how he reacts to people coining him as the “new Kanye” (he cites himself as being much different than Kanye, I personally think he’s better). This interview is great and it gives some good insight into the story of the great super group known as Random Axe. According to the interview, Black Milk won’t be rapping on every verse because he wanted to focus the spotlight on Sean P & Guilty Simpson.

I am going to be impatiently waiting for this album which will be dropping late this year. I can tell you that the beats and wordplay on this album are going to be top tier, and you surely aren’t going to want to miss it. Stay tuned to Mind Inversion for all the news on the Random Axe record. This is just another great example of Black Milk “putting the D on his back like a shirt that he bought”.

You can read the entire interview here.

Sunday Metal Video: Mayhem, “Freezing Moon (live at Wacken)”

Posted in Sunday Metalhead Minute with tags , , , , , , , on Sunday, June 7, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Blackened Fest is here! Weak-minded fools would do best to stay away from Station 4 on Tuesday, when the black metal lords and their legions come out to lay siege to Minneapolis for the first time in over a decade.

LIVE VIDEO: Mayhem, “Freezing Moon (live at Wacken 2004)”

Saturday Single: Equinox – “Vivid Dreams”

Posted in Audio, Saturday Single with tags , , , , , , , , on Saturday, June 6, 2009 by Erik Burg

Saturday Single’s first installment was a hit, so I’m back again to give you all the buzz on wax this week. This time around I’ll be listening to the new 12″ from the UK’s extremely talented Equinox. With a catalogue dating all the way back to 1993, and a sound that’s never devoted to one genre, Equinox is the perfect example of what it means to be a DJ, carefully and skillfully blending various genres.

vivd dreamsRelease: May 12th  Label: Planet Mu  Buy: iTunes / Vinyl 12″

Vivid Dreams; however, might not be the best place to start if you’ve never heard Equinox before. Both tracks on the single rely heavily on the Drum and Bass patterns better known for their appearances in Pi, The Matrix, or just about any bad ’80s prog-techno catalogue than for their stand alone musical enjoyment. To call this kind of music “intense” would be completely cliche, but probably more right than wrong. The title track “Vivid Dreams” is an erie and more mysterious track than what Drum and Bass are usually known for, but it makes for a nice transition from the usually omniscient  songs (Think Silent Hill opening cutscene remixed). As much as I might ridicule it, and with as many bad pop-culture references as I can make, Vivid Dreams is actually really good. What it boils down to is whether or not you like this style of music or not. If you do, perfect, if you don’t, well you’re probably going to make fun of me for listening to this. Oh well I suppose, as Equinox is one of the most consistent and talented underground DJs in the UK.

MP3: Equinox – “Vivid Dreams”

Narrows, the “Gypsy Kids” of post-hardcore

Posted in Video with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on Friday, June 5, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Narrows may be new kids on the block to the hardcore and metal scene, but the band’s individual members have been paying their dues for a long time. The band features members of Botch, These Arms Are Snakes, Some Girls and more among its ranks, and they have finally put together a music video for “Gypsy Kids” from their debut album New Distances with some handicams, iMovie, and a little bit of elbow grease. Obviously not for the faint of heart or weak-minded, I’d say the combination of sobering artistry, epic heaviness, super awesome guitar production, and extreme brutality showcased on this video verify that they’re a perfect fit for the Deathwish Inc. imprint that this Mind Inversion blogger already respects so much. Watch if you dare!

VIDEO: Narrows, “Gypsy Kids”

Mogwai in Minneapolis: Barry Burns’ Radio K in-studio, live First Ave. bootleg online

Posted in Audio, Downloads with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on Friday, June 5, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Minneapolis is showing some love for Mogwai. It’s been a month since the Scottish post-rockers came to play the mainroom in First Avenue, and in the meantime some great audio from their stay in the city is slowly leaking from the city.

Before Mogwai took the stage on May 10th, Barry Burns stopped by U of M’s Radio K for half an hour to take over the dials and give an exclusive interview to our fine University during the broadcast of nowlikephotographs. Check it:

LISTEN: Barry Burns (Mogwai), DJ Set/Interview

And the best find of all? Empty’s Tapes linked to an exclusive live audio bootleg at The Trader’s Den that captures the band’s First Avenue performance in glorious clarity. It’s worth the download for any fan of the band; all you have to do is register for free and you can start torrenting!

DOWNLOAD: Mogwai, Live at First Avenue, 5/10/09 (FLAC Audio Bootleg)

Finch makes self-titled EP available for free download

Posted in Downloads with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on Friday, June 5, 2009 by Ryan Buege

To the satisfaction of many and ire of few, Finch regrouped last year and released a self titled EP to followup on their 2005 opus Say Hello to the Sunshine. If you missed the release the Cali-based post-hardcore-rock-prog-punk-psychedelic-whatever quintet has now made the album available for free download via their newly relaunched official website. Those who are interested, head over here to download one of the four file formats for the enire 2008 EP for free (including a few “goodies”, as well).

DOWNLOAD: Finch, Finch EP

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, “I’m Broke”

Posted in Video with tags , , , on Friday, June 5, 2009 by Ryan Buege

This Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears‘ music video for “I’m Broke” just made me put their debut full-length album Tell Em What Your Name Is! on my shortlist for album’s to get. If you can’t relate, then too bad for you. Sing it Joe!

VIDEO: Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, “I’m Broke”

Terrorizer posts new 2009 demo track online

Posted in Audio with tags , , , , , , on Thursday, June 4, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Jesse Pintado may have passed on a few years ago (R.I.P.), but that doesn’t mean that the genre-defining grind lords of Terrorizer have been stopped in their tracks. The band just posted their first recording since Jesse died in 2006 from liver failure, and it’s obvious that they are not softening up due to age or sadness. This release may be a little bit too soon for those still mourning Jesse, but I for one think its fantastic return and an appropriate continuation of the legendary groundwork begun by Pintado. One word: KILLER!

LISTEN: Terrorizer, “Hordes of Zombies (demo)”

Album Review: Power of 2, Power of 2

Posted in Music Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , on Thursday, June 4, 2009 by Ryan Buege

From my point of view, there are only two reasons why any instrumental rock band would choose to remain vox-less these days: 1) they are Power of 2frightened that vocals would destroy the aesthetic they’ve developed, or 2) they don’t have time for a fucking vocalist! ¶ Power of 2, a Minneapolis based prog-rock band featuring Max Becker on drums and Joe Clark on guitar, clearly falls into the latter school, as evidenced by the new self-titled album of driving, explosive, ball-bustin’ rock ‘n’ roller coaster rides they’ve nailed down for release on Friday.  It’s a guitar centric album (vocals finally make an extremely brief appearance on the final track, “Eight Chupacabras”)  that simply has no room for a third wheel to disrupt the charging energy that pulses between the two, one jperson seemingly acting as a anode and the other as a cathode . Continue reading

Album Review: J Dilla, Jay Stay Paid

Posted in Music Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , on Thursday, June 4, 2009 by Tim Althaus

Jay Stay PAid J Dilla’s latest ethereally epic release may be one of my favorites that I’ve heard from his catalog. Jay Stay Paid is a hybrid if you will, the vast majority of it plays out like beat tape, but in between are tracks that feature blazingly blistering emcees. Ma Dukes & Pete Rock put a lot of tender love and care into this album, and it really shows through. They both did a great job of arranging the tracks on this album into a graceful and gorgeous mosaic. It sounds so authentic that you would think that Jay produced the album himself. Continue reading