Sacramento’s Far has reunited! No one saw this coming, but we can expect some new music from them, so I’m excited. Right now they’ve even got a UK tour booked and have added a new song to their myspace. Maybe they can hook up a U.S. tour with the Deftones or something so that I can actually make it out to see them.
Who would’ve guessed that one of alt-country’s most beloved singer-songwriters held underground black metal in such high esteem? While Ryan Adams isn’t an artist that many metal fans would break out on regular occassion (unless you’re trying too hard to impress a girl), a recent New York Times interview has shown that he has much higher kvlt cred than your average country boy. A favorite excerpt of mine…
..on one-man California black metal band Xasthur
“My listening tastes are absolutely not in tune with the kind of music I make. The music that interests me is a bit weirder. “Defective Epitaph” has really far-out guitars; it’s not really lyrical. When I close my eyes and listen, I think of a heartbroken demon sitting beside these ashes in hell and really missing his girlfriend. It’s like romantic death metal. The aggressiveness of [Malefic’s] guitar riffs can be quite brutal. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s really clever.”
I’m willing to bet that that quote would surprise the fuck out of the majority of Adams fanbase; but personally, it’s just great to see that an artist appreciates strong influences from something so different from their own art. In my opinion, being open to this kind of extreme variety can only be healthy for artistic progression, so I say kudos and horns up to Adams. You can continue this interesting read at New York Times website, where Adams justifies his love for everything from stoner, black, and thrash metal to pop and hip hop.
For now, everyone should check out the contrast between Adams performing live and the dark chaos and aura of Xasthur (and for the record, I personally love them both – so Adams must be doing something right)… Continue reading
I am so glad to hear that Kray and Tone Tank (otherwise known as Iller Than Theirs) are back together making music. Iller Than Theirs was their self-titled debut that came out last year on Embedded Music, and ranked among my top 10 favorite albums of last year. Kray and Tone Tank totally compliment each others style and their flow is as smooth as tap water. Their self-titled release was only eleven tracks long but boy was that way more than enough for me to know that these guys were something special. My favorite track off the album was either a collaboration with one of my favorite emcees of all time Masta Ace called “The Same”, or a the lead track on the album “Razorbumps”. The beats that these guys have behind them totally fit the mood to. The thing I love about these guys rhyming is that we get a good sense of where they grew up as well as their views on life and the way things really are.
Go over to www.radiobelly.com and cop the Wash Rinse EP NOW! It’s FREE!
And check out the Video for Razorbumps while you’re at it!
Well it looks like the apple definitely doesn’t fall too far from the tree. J Dilla’s little brother John “Illa J” Yancey will be putting out an album entitled Yancey Boys on Delicious Vinyl. This album will be comprised completely of Dilla beats from Delicious Vinyl’s vault that were never released. Now keep in mind that these are beats that were from roughly ’95 to ’98 when Dilla was doing remixes for Delicious Vinyl, so they are going to have more of an Ummah Era feel to them. I first found out about Illa J a little over a year ago when his Illa J EP fell into my lap (given to me by one of my friends). I remember hearing the EP and thinking “holy shit” this is straight fire. The EP was just seven short tracks long and totally made me think of Dilla when I heard it, just because Illa’s flow sounds so similar (although it’s better than Dilla’s) and the beats were just ridiculous.
I have to be quite honest, Illa J has some big shoes to fill but I think he is fully capable of holding his own. If he can keep the consistency that he had on his EP he will be an underground heavyweight. The album features guest appearances by: Guilty Simpson, (Detroit Heavyweight and formerly a frequent Dilla collaborator) Affion Crocket (whom you may remember from Nick Cannon’s Wylin Out) and “Frank Nitty” (of Frank N Dank).
Here is the official art work & tracklisting:
1. Timeless (Produced By: J. Dilla)
2. We Here (Produced By: J. Dilla)
3. R U Listenin’? (feat. Guilty Simpson) (Produced By: J. Dilla)
4. Alien Family by Frank Nitty (Produced By: J. Dilla)
5. Strugglin (Produced By: J. Dilla)
6. Showtime (Produced By: J. Dilla)
7. Swagger (Produced By: J. Dilla)
8. Mr. Shakes (Skit) aka Affion Crockett (Produced By: J. Dilla)
9. DFTF (feat. Affion Crockett) (Produced By: J. Dilla)
10. All Good (Produced By: J. Dilla)
11. Sounds Like Love (feat. Debi Nova) (Produced By: J. Dilla)
12. Everytime (Produced By: J. Dilla)
13. Illasoul (Produced By: J. Dilla)
14. Air Signs (Produced By: J. Dilla)
It appears as though Common’s new album will (hopefully and finally) be titled Universal Mind Control. To be honest I am not feeling the cover to this album at all. I really hope that Com makes something that is better than Finding Forever, I mean yeah it was a grammy winner and critics spoke highly of it but I didn’t consider it to be anywhere near the best of Common’s work. It hasn’t been since the album Be that I thought Common was on top of his game, and before that it was Like Water For Chocolate which is easily my favorite Common album. I think a big part of me not really being a huge fan of Common’s recent stuff is because there isn’t a whole lot of Dilla production. J Dilla really was the only producer that I think brought out the best in Common, don’t get me wrong he meshes well with Kanye, but you can’t match the chemistry of say a song like “So Far To Go” or “The Light”.
The album is tentatively dropping on December 9th on Kanye West’s “G.O.O.D.” (Getting Out Our Dreams) Music as well as Geffen Records.
Here is the Official Tracklisting:
01. Universal Mind Control
02. Punch Drunk Love (Feat. Kanye West)
03. Make My Day (Feat. Cee-Lo Green)
04. Sex 4 Sugar
05. Announcement (Feat. Pharrell Williams)
06. Gladiator
07. Changes
08. Inhale
09. What a World
10. Everywhere
I’m truly sorry that I haven’t put anything up yet on the Illadelph crew of Vinnie Paz, Stoupe & Jus Allah formerly known as Jedi Mind Tricks. Violent By Design came out back in 2000 and I didn’t hear the album until I was in 11th grade (which would be 2003) when one of my buddies put the album in his car cd player. I remember hearing the song “Retaliation” and being like this is what hip-hop is all about. Violent by Design changed my whole perspective on Hip-Hop music. I can honestly tell you that I wouldn’t listen to the music that I do if it wasn’t for this album. Hearing Vinnie and Jus destroy the beats that Stoupe put down was like karma being returned to me for listening to Juvenile all those years. JMT has released three albums since then and none of them have featured Jus Allah, for awhile there was rumors that Vinnie and Jus had creative differences. They announced in June (on their blog on MySpace) that Jus Allah, Vinnie and Stoupe were back in the studios “conjuring the viciousness of the Violent By Design days”, that thought alone gives me chills.
Jedi Mind tricks has been a very consistent group, but for the last three albums it just felt like something was missing. I can tell you that I am very excited to hear what JMT has in store for us on the next album. A History of Violence drops November 11th. Jedi Mind Tricks also has a DVD dropping called Divine Fire dropping soon that you need to check out to.
Vinnie & Jus on A History of Violence
Divine Fire Trailer
The Wu-Tang Clan has a truly massive tour in the works. Finally we have some dates for a coast-to-coast U.S. run-through. Continuing to support their newest studio album ‘8 Diagrams’, the Wu will finally be sweeping through the midwest come December. Here are the confirmed dates thus far:
November 2008
29 – Portland, OR – Roseland Ballroom
30 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
December 2008
1 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
3 – San Francisco, CA – The Grand Ballroom at the Regency Center
4 – West Hollywood, CA – House of Blues
5 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
6 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
7 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee
8 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre
10 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
14 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
15 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
17 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
18 – Rochester, NY – Main Street Armory
19 – Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
20 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
21 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
23 – New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
January 2009
1 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
2 – Providence, RI – Lupo’s
4 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
7 – Norfolk, VA – The Norva
8 – Richmond, VA – Toad’s Place
9 – Greensboro, NC – N Club
10 – Charleston, SC – Music Farm
11 – Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend
12 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
13 – Columbia, SC – LEVEL
14 – Atlanta, GA – venue to be announced
make your plans NOW! This tour is gonna be ridiculous!
Critically acclaimed Above and Beyond, have risen to the top of the charts with songs like Miracle and other euphoric remixes. With their long-awaited Oceanlab album, they will continue to make waves in the global dance community. The masterminds behind the sound, Jono, Paavo, and Tony, reinvent what trance DJ’s should inspire to be: Above and Beyond. The trio is torpedo with its sights set on making a tsunami of transient sound. I raise my hands and applaud them for their ability to create distinctive and dreamy trance, while keeping my feet in sync with beat. Above and Beyond are currently on their Anjunabeats world tour visiting the eastern countries like Twain, Korea, China, and Australia.
30-Oct-08 Halloween Party @ Manilla, Philipines
31-Oct-08 Halloween Massive, Taipei, Taiwan
01-Nov-08 GK @ Wakerhill, Seoul, Korea
06-Nov-08 G+ or SOS, Hangzhou, China
07-Nov-08 GT Banana, Beijing, China
08-Nov-08 G+, Shanghai, China
22-Nov-08 Global Gathering, Melbourne
23-Nov-08 Global Gathering, Perth
28-Nov-08 Global Gathering, Aukland NZ
29-Nov-08 Global Gathering, Canberra
29-Nov-08 Global Gathering, Brisbane Turf Club
30-Nov-08 Global Gathering, Sydney
06-Dec-08 International Exhibition Center, Ukraine
13-Dec-08 ZoukOUT Festival, Malaysia
But for those of you who don’t live in or near those countries, you can still listen to Trance Around the World with Above and Beyond broadcasts at http://www.aboveandbeyond.nu/v2/welcome.php. Cheers Guys!
It’s here, and it’s trippy as fuck.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
This is the first single off of the new Foreign Exchange album Leave It All Behind. I have been listening to this album on and off for a little while now, and the only conclusion that I can come to is that it’s definitely different. The last album Connected was a good mixture of Hip-Hop/R&B/Soul. Leave It All Behind is very Soul & R&B influenced with very little Hip-Hop. This album for the most part has Phonte singing, which is something that is definitely different for me but I really enjoy it. It’s nice to hear an artists almost out of his element (not doing what he usually does) and trying something that is a little different. From what I have heard this album is very good. I will have a review up soon enough for you guys to get to.
You can jump over to the Foreign Exchange site and get the Leave It All Behind Sampler to get a taste of what I am talking about.
Leave It All Behind Sampler
MIND INVERSION 