I couldn’t even think of anything else to put for the title because I am so fucking speechless. Royce put out this track, “D.O.A. (Redemption)”, as an answer to the people that were upset about him spitting a written they had already heard on Green Lantern’s show. This song is incredible and it just proves that Royce is a total beast on the bars. Listen to Royce spit molten lava flow for six minutes!
Download: Royce Da 5’9″, “D.O.A. (Redemption)”
Spotted @ 14KT on Twitter
In light of one of the world’s craziest ideas for a half-real concept album comes one of the more fun and plain enjoyable albums of the year… that is, if you enjoy techno infused reggae dancehall and auto-tuned babies (more on that later). I discussed the nostalgic video for the lead track “Hold The Line” a while back, but after hearing the entire album all the way through today I feel like Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do needs a full discourse.
So we all know by now the full story of Major Lazer, right? Well maybe not all of us. (You could just read the bold and get the point, such convenience):
Major Lazer is a Jamaican commando who lost his arm in the secret Zombie War of 1984. The US military rescued him and repurposed experimental lazers as prosthetic limbs. Since then Major Lazer has been a hired renegade soldier for a rogue government operating in secrecy underneath the watch of M5 and the CIA. His cover is that of a dancehall night club owner from Trinidad and he enlisted the help of long-time allies and uber-producers, Diplo and Switch, to produce his first LP. His true mission is to protect the world from the dark forces of evil that live just under the surface of a civilized society. He fights vampires and various monsters, parties hard, and has a rocket powered skateboard.
All jokes aside, what the hell is Major Lazer? Well it’s awesome. The team at Mad Decent always have great marketing and art production, and Major Lazer is no exception, it’s actually probably the best example. The album has action figures coming out soon of each member of the story from the above paragraph. It’s like a more danceable and more crazy Gorillaz, as Diplo and Switch lurk in the shadows of musty Jamaican dancehalls much like Alborn did for years in crowded opera halls. But musically Major Lazer is much more than one distinct sound. Due in part to the all-star cast of guests, Guns Don’t Kill People highlights many of the talents that Diplo and Switch enlist on their own. Diplo’s ability to take your breathe away and Switch’s ability to precisely fine tune any remix. Continue reading
The release for The Mars Volta’s new album is only one week away (Tuesday, June 23rd), but all the diehards who aren’t complete audiophiles can get their fix early by streaming the album the album online here! Treat yourself today: tune in and turn up!
LISTEN: The Mars Volta, Octahedron (available 6/23)
Brooklyn emcee and Carboard City native Yak Ballz will be releasing a new EP entitled Gas Galaxy EP later this year. Gas Galaxy EP will be Yak’s first offering on the Def Jux record label. He is also going on a 25 city tour with fellow Def Jux native Cage who also has a new album, Depart From Me, coming out on July 7th. They will be hitting up 25 cities on the tour starting in Brooklyn & ending in Providence, Rhode Island. You can listen to the title track from Gas Galaxy EP here, and follow me after the jump for the tour dates coming to a city near you. Continue reading
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Here is a dope interview with Black Milk, as I’ve re-iterated many times before, I think he’s one of the best artists in the game period right now. In the first video you see he speaks on how he got his name, how he met Bishop Lamont and the super group Random Axe. You can follow me after the jump to watch the second and third part of the interview. Continue reading
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Here is the video for Buff1der’s new single “Real Appeal” off of last year’s album There’s Only One. This joint was produced by fellow Michigan native (and incredible producer) 14KT. Buff has a flow that can’t be fucked with, and the backdrop that 14KT throws down is impeccable. Make sure you check out this video, and if you haven’t make sure you pick up Buff’s album There’s Only One. Be looking for Buff1 to be doing some big things in the near future, the guy is an amazing emcee.
Spotted @ Hip Hop Official
MTV2‘s coverage of the area in Twin Cities Week continues today. A massive video diary of the station’s visit to the Soundset 2009 hip-hop festival and a backyard BBQ with Tapes ‘N Tapes is featured in this round of video offerings..
Vodpod videos no longer available.INTERVIEW VIDEO: Highlights of Sounset 2009 (Part 1 of 8)
The playlist continues after the jump, and area artists Atmosphere, Tapes ‘N Tapes, P.O.S, Brother Ali, and various parts of the city are exposed during interviews and live performances from around the city. It’s a great viewing experience for any local. Enjoy! Continue reading
The Alarmists new album The Overhead Left is the latest in a string of free/pay-as-you-please releases coming from the Twin Cities. However, unlike some of the other artists, The Alarmists are partnering with the non-profit organization Rock the Cause to make an larger impact with any sales they do achieve. Read
all about the band’s decision to put this hotly debated album out via this partnership and download it for FREE (with an email address) below:
Rock the Cause has partnered with The Alarmists to help create support. awareness and membership for new music and non-profit causes that shape our community. The long awaited new album The Overhead Left by The Alarmists is available to download for free through Rock the Cause.
The Alarmists would like to encourage you to make a donation of what ever you can afford to Rock the Cause or sign up to volunteer with one of the Rock the Cause charitable partners.
Over the past few years Rock the Cause has helped to support emerging musical artists with exposure, publicity, and new fans through concerts. Rock the Cause is a non-profit that works to develop a new generation of awareness, support and new volunteers for other non-profits, like Minnesota AIDS Project, Open Arms of Minnesota, Clare Housing, Free Arts Minnesota, and many more. You can learn about these great causes on the Rock the Cause web site!
Your donation will help Rock the Cause to continue its work of creating a new generation of music and volunteerism! The Greatest Generation is Now!
Cheers!
The Alarmists
FREE DOWNLOAD: The Alarmists, The Overhead Left
Part man, part machine, part cockatiel, Cage & Aviary take flights of fancy whenever they can.
Cage & Aviary, one part Jamie Paton and one part Nigel of Bermondsey, are busy people. They run a record label, they DJ, they produce, they jam. Their most recent release, the stellar Television Train/Suburban 12″ out now on DFA records (the euro version), has catapulted their success to a global scale. The two came stateside to play some of their first ever American DJ gigs in Los Angeles. So as their legend grows, and as their music continues to amaze, be sure to check them out. The two were nice enough to sit down and fill out a nice e-mail correspondence for Mind Inversion as well. Enjoy! (Nigel isn’t much for the talk)
Mind Inversion: So I’m barely 19 and have a limited knowledge, yet great appreciation and love of disco and house records from days gone by. I feel like all of your tracks draw upon very historic music, and music that most mainstream listeners don’t have an ear for. Elaborate on this idea, What from the past has influenced your music?
Jamie: I guess the short answer is lots of things, but that’s not much in the way of elaboration! We both bring lots of different influences to the mix, but our tastes also blend in some areas too – we both love the whole post-punk NY art-pop stuff like Talking Heads, and the Mancunian 80s new wave punk-funkers like A Certain Ratio and early New Order. We also have much love for the whole island records thing. A lot of this stuff when listened to now doesn’t sound mainstream but at the time, when the charts were made up of less formulaic production-line music, these oddball records made it into the upper reaches of the charts, I think it was an amazing time for popular music. Aside from all of that, I guess I bring more of a disco and house thing to the mix.
Nigel: I agree
MI: What is your model for creating music? I know you guys are involved in various other projects, so is the way you guys create started separately and then fused together at a different time, or is it more of the just sit down together with a plan and create tracks?
Jamie: We just sit down and jam really, see what comes out and take it from there. Recently we’ve been getting our live DJ set thing together, and the practice sessions for that have really produced some great new material, or at least starting points for them.
Nigel: I concur
I still haven’t posted up my review of Sonic Youth’s The Eternal yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop plugging this album like nobody’s business anytime soon.
As someone who also constantly picks through the vinyl bins at the local record stores (often admittedly running across various used releases by SY, Thurston, and such), I couldn’t help but laugh at the band find their new album The Eternal for sale in the used bin on the streets only a few days after it’s release. Staged or not, the suggestion it implies is equally fantastic either way.
After moving to Matador for The Eternal following a long string of major label releases, the band’s video also reflects a renewed kinship for the independent spirit of the band’s earlier days. It’s a low budget, yet punchy number that shows some glaring similarities to a certain scene from Pontecorvo’s stunning 1967 masterpiece La battaglia di Algeri; I’m wondering if it’s an homage, but in short, it’s some great imagery to complement the confident, bouncy swagger of Gordon on “Sacred Trickster” and adds even another layer of depth to a taut track that’s already exploding with sound.
MUSIC VIDEO: Sonic Youth, “Sacred Trickster” (from The Eternal, available now)
MIND INVERSION 