Heatbeat was first introduced to me earlier this year. The Argentinean duo’s “Rocker Monster” came at me through my car speakers with an aggressive edge. Matias Faint, 26, and Agustin Servente, 25, are the masterminds behind this DJ/Producer combo from Buenos Aires. In hearing this first single they started to peak my interest.
Then they gave my life a little “Extra Bacon”. This EDM banger has been stuck in my head like the thought of bacon is every morning when I get up. Any track that is named “Extra Bacon” better live up to all the hype because everybody could use some more bacon in their life to make it complete. The very thought of bacon is making me hungry for bacon and I need more… Bacon.
So check out their track “Extra Bacon” and continue to watch this unbelievable duo rise to electronic greatness.
If web-hype were any indication of talent or potential, Brooklyn youngster Joey Bada$$ might well be one of rap’s hottest names right now. The typical talking points seem standard across the board: Despite being only 17 he has a “sophisticated” and “confident” flow, reps hard for his Progressive Era crew (“a collective of 18 rappers, producers, graphic designers and studio engineers“), exhibits a distinct and refreshing ’90s hip-hop vibe (reviews have been tireless with Nas references), and for having just released his first mixtape with 1999, he already has everyone from Mac Miller to MTV backing his cause. In the month that’s passed since 1999 dropped for free online, the mixtape has already racked up nearly 400k combined views between DatPiff and Live Mixtapes alone. Astounding results for a kid who has yet to enter his senior year of high school. But does web-hype really equate talent?
Of course not.
But it does accurately reflect Bada$$’s potential.
Part of 1999‘s immediate appeal comes with its obvious resemblance to what real “hip-hop heads” are either already familiar with, or are desperately seeking. Take for example one of the set’s most acclaimed cuts, “Survival Tactics,” which utilizes Styles of Beyond’s eponymous track from the group’s 1998 debut. Although it isn’t exactly a showstopper as far as musical references go, it shows that he’s actively looking back — digging, if you will — while moving forward. The same goes for when he leans on Dilla and Statik Selektah. “World Domination” goes a little deeper with sample of DOOM’s “Poo-Putt Platter,” which in turn sampled a tune from the Fat Albert Halloween episode: this is the kind of incestuous keeping-it-realness that back in tha day trumpeters kill for! “Funky Hos” and “Snakes” would each sound at home on Midnight Marauders tribute LP, but it’s “World Domination” that especially speaks to where the kid’s at musically: He’s most comfortable within the previous generation’s ideal of what an old-school flow was supposed to sound like. 1999 is the scrapbook of a kid whose parents listened to Biggie, attends the same high school as Adam Yauch once did, and who discovered Gangstarr through video games.
Most of the release finds him spitting about girls — what would you rap about if you were 17 again? — but even there he maintains a strange lyrical mixture, balancing macho posturing with emotions: “Word to my mother/Two things I never do is leave the crib without some rubbers or tell a funky ho I love her/These broads be trying to get a brother caught up in a sticky situation, missing menstruation” (from the Steve Miller Band-sampling “Funky Hos”) follows “So tell me what the fuck I’m supposed to do/You know it ain’t too easy getting over you/I sent the postcards so you know it’s true/I promise that I wouldn’t get emotional” (Bada$$ doing his best DOOM in “Pennyroyal”). But 1999 isn’t empty in terms of showing his dexterity as an MC either: peep 3:43 to about 4:30 of “Hardknocks” where his rapid fire delivery really takes off, “This is for my niggas, killas, hundred dolla billas/On the block in the rock spot glock cocked watchin’ out for cops/All about they cheddar young girls know nothin’ that’s better…”
Speaking with Pitchfork, Pro Era producer Chuck Strangers explained his process in developing the handful of tracks he contributed to the release, “Joey had a very specific vision for 1999. I was playing him all these other kinds of beats and he’d be like, ‘These are ill, but not what I’m going for.’ So I sat and I listened to Joey Bada$$ music. People ask me, ‘Did you listen to a lot of Wu-Tang and Illmatic when you made these beats?’ I know those shits because I’m from Brooklyn and I love ’em, but to make Joey Bada$$’ tape, I listened to Joey Bada$$.” Growing up on hip-hop is a great starting point, but the ability to be so selectively focused of what it is he’s trying to do at such a young age is what might actually separate Bada$$ from the crowd. 1999 is no Illmatic, but it is a skillfully constructed tape by a minor-leaguer who’s playing at a pro-ball level. Whether you’re boom-bap’d out halfway through the mixtape or not, what you should take away from 1999 is its what-ifs: the what-ifs that have inspired the web-hype and the what-ifs that suggest his future to be bulging at the seems with “potential.” The reason it’s important to keep his age in mind isn’t simply because it’s remarkable that Joey Bada$$ appears so “sophisticated” and “confident” at only 17, but because he seems to already be better at constructing a consistent album than many who’ve been doing it since back before he was even born. Oh, the potential…
[Guest contributor Chris DeLine is a freelance writer living in Nashville, TN. Follow him or Twitter or friend him on Facebook.]
For how long Dosh has been entangled in the Midwest’s music scene, it is hard to call this a discovery but it was my discovery. The one-man band, who is Dosh, has been flying under my radar for far too long. I had no idea who he was until I attended a Black Moth Super Rainbow show last year in Madison, WI at the Majestic Theater. Like so many other musicians, I discovered Dosh by chance at a live show. This is why for true music fans true discovery happens at the level of attending live shows.
We all know how much I enjoy music from the Murder Mitten, so it’s no surprise that I dig the musical offerings from Of Mice and Musicians. The seven man band from Detroit has been on their grind for a few years now, and their latest album (Bottles & Bones) is an impressive collection of rock infused Hip-Hop. If I could compare the sound of the guys to anything, it would probably be a mix between the instrumentals of Sublime and Citizen Cope mixed with the vocals of Weerd Science and Cage.
One of my favorite lines from Benjamin Miles is on “Sorry My Mom Called”, and it defines what making music should be about: “…Didn’t start it, probably won’t save it/but I appreciate it/I am proud of what we makin’/even if we don’t make it/if I can rock a show on the weekend with my friends, I’ll take it”. Another track that jumped right out at me was “Don’t Hate”; the guitar work and instrumentation is unbelievable, and Miles spits stanzas filled with passion and pain.
It’s always refreshing to hear music that you can relax to, and these guys are definitely the ticket. I know for a fact that Eric would enjoy these guys quite a bit. Detroit has always been what I consider the epicenter of Hip-Hop, and Of Mice and Musicians are carving their own lane with their style of music; that’s something that I can truly appreciate. You can jump over to Of Mice and Musicians’ Bandcamp page and grab Bottles & Bones for free; how can you argue with a free album full of great music? I know I can’t…
So lately, I have been on a little bit of a funk bender. I think it may have started because of a couple of weekends ago while at Whiskey Junction, in Minneapolis, before the SOJA show, at the Cabooze, we were in for a “Sunday Funkday.” A small group of patrons were playing old school funk on the jukebox while dancing, singing and of course, drinking. This bar had a good vibe for a Sunday afternoon and that vibe was powered by the sound of funk.
So it was no surprise that I found myself grooving in my car to Father Funk’s “Clap Your Hands.” This song has that fun, funked out sound that just puts a smile on the faceplate. This song by Father Funk was released in January of this year so it is a fresh sounding track with an old school feel. If you are a fan of “the funk” and are in need of something new look no further than Father Funk and give his song “Clap Your Hands” a listen.
Father Funk “Clap Your Hands”
And remember friends, you can not spell funk without F-U-N.
Nick Thayer an Australian born DJ and Producer from Melbourne just dropped his Like Boom EP, less than a month ago, on February 7th, 2012. Sometimes it takes a little while for the sound to reach our ears all the way here in the United States from Australia but this is one DJ that you should not ignore. If you like original sounding electronica with many different levels and fun elements look no further. Nick Thayer best describes his music “as putting 7 glowsticks in a blender.”
Skrillex signed him to his record label OWSLA and his Like Boom EP is his first release since this signing. Skrillex was quoted saying, “Nick is one of the most versatile producers I know… taking everything from house to drum and bass to moombahton and putting his own forward-thinking spin on it. Not genre bound, just music bound.” Head over to Nick’s website and it will direct you to one of the many places you can take a listen.
The fun and funky track “Facepalm” will definitely get you dancing as he almost talks to you with his electronic hooks. This track is my favorite and within a minute you will know if you are down with Nick Thayer and what he has to offer your ears. In his track “Like Boom” featuring Wizard Sleeve and N’Fa he brings hip-hip into the electronic music world and for a change it actually works really well. Nick Thayer is someone that Skrillex discovered at a party while in Australia. Now, let MindInversion allow you to discover; Nick Thayer.
The Chicago-based group Kids These Days is one of the reasons I always show up to a concert on time. While attending the SOJA show at the Cabooze this past Sunday night those God damn Kids These Days started off the night right. They only got to play a 4-track, 30-minute set and in that time you could tell that they made one hell of an impression on the crowd.
They had a total of 7 members on stage with so many different working elements. They combine the sound of jazz, blues, classic rock and hip-hop. The energy that they brought to the stage and their abilities to perform in such a way made it seem that they already have the difficult part down. These damn Kids These Days consist of; Macie Stewart on the keys and vocals, Nico Segal on the trumpet, J.P. Floyd on the trombone, Vic Mensa on the mic, Lane Beckstrom on the bass, Greg Landfair Jr. on the drums and Liam Cunningham on the guitar and vocals.
Before leaving the Cabooze on that night I had to stop by their merchandise table and pick up Hard Times. I suggest you check out Hard Times and if you happen to get a chance to see Kids These Days live, do yourself the favor. You will be drawn in by Macie’s voice in “Be (A Night in Tunisia),” Vic’s smooth flows in “Hard Times” will put a smile on your face, and you can never get bored watching the trumpet player Nico Segal. In his trumpet solo in “Summerscent”, Nico got down so hard I thought his face was literally, going to explode.
Here is their video for “Summerscent” and in this track you will get every element that this talented band brings to the table.
As I first put on Brett Orr I absolutely had no idea what to expect. Sometimes when people get a hold of you to review their music it can take you a little while to actually take the gander over for that first listen. His first song on his Facebook had me turning the volume up to 50 on the old Bose. Once his funky soulful voice hit at the 47-second mark in “Becoming a Man” you know he has what it takes to make it in the music industry.
Reading on about the Australia native you learn that he does it all from playing the drums and piano down to the actual production on his debut album Foundations. This independent Australian artist has a very unique sound for being so full of soul. One way to describe his music would be to call it simply beautiful or you could say it is some funked-out soul with R&B and Electronica elements. You can call it whatever you want to after you take that first listen.
Of Monsters and Men is an Icelandic indie/folk band who have been riding the elevator of success with “Little Talks” to the top. This is a stripped down version of that song which was recorded live by KEXP 90.3 out of Seattle in the bands living room from Iceland back in late 2010. The band is still gaining momentum from this song and now seems destin to join the likes of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros as a band with a cult following. “Little Talks” blends horns with a playful chanting in the chorus and is worth a listen before your friends find out about another gem from Iceland.
Knife Party is the side project from Pendulum’s duo Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen. Their song “Internet Friends” has been catching fire since its initial release in the Summer of 2011. It was remixed and re-released on their EP 100% No Modern Talking in December of ’11. The 4-track EP is available for a free download on their Facebook page. Again, it is free and if you have ever heard of Pendulum you might as well join the Knife Party.
MIND INVERSION 