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Mixtape: RP3 Present J Dilla – “Midnight Snack”

Posted in Audio, Downloads, Music Reviews with tags Dilla, Donuts, download, exclusive, Hip-Hop, J Dilla, jazz, midnight snack, mixtape, mp3, rp3 on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 by Erik Burg

So there seems to be an endless amount of J Dilla material out there, and by “seems to be” I mean, there is. Whether it’s original material leaking out, Dilla mash-ups, Dilla collaborations, or what I’m about to discuss at length, Dilla Mixes.

Mmmmmmm....

The newest Mix to hit the Dilla enthusiast circuit, Midnight Snack, is a unique blend of jazz influence and smooth hip-hop from Dilla’s long and storied catalogue. Running just over an hour, this mix is the perfect treat for that “midnight snack” that we all crave. It’s mellow and calm, yet it doesn’t bore the listener at all. The entire mix flows so well, mixing in various vocal sample, my favorite being from the lady who adorns your glorious voicemail.

I might be over-matched trying to review this tape, seeing as I’m not the biggest Dilla fan in the world, or even on Mind Inversion. But I think it’s nice to have news about the guy coming from someone who doesn’t absolutely worship him. So yeah, with a level head and an honest conscious I can say without a doubt that any lover of music will enjoy this mix. You don’t have to appreciate Dilla, you don’t have to have a ph. d. in hip-hop, just sit back, turn the lights low, work on some homework maybe, and enjoy this awesome awesome stellar mix of beautiful music from a legend.

8.8 yummy tasty delicious scrumptious donuts out of 10

mp3: RP3 PRESENT J DILLA – “MIDNIGHT SNACK”

OFFICIAL SITE

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Audio Mix: Hybrid, Transitions Mix

Posted in Downloads, Music Reviews with tags Deep House, electronic, Hybrid, techno, Trance on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 by raeflect

Live
Hybrid, the electronic brainchild of UK’ers Mike Truman and Chris Healings, remains one of my favorite techno/ electronic groups to date. Their stylish mix of trance, progressive house, and their inventive drum breaks cement their reputation as a very solid DJ act. Their debut LP “Wide Angle” came out in 1999, and although I didn’t discover it until a few years after the release, their amazing mix of electronic beats and live string arrangements pulled me into the diverse world of techno, and broke ground for a future love of all things electronic.

Their distinctive style has evolved into something all their own, but comparisons can be drawn from such powerhouse electronic acts such as Massive Attack, Portishead, John Digweed, and Underworld. Many live trance acts mar their performance (in my opinion) with unnecessary vocal samples, often in the flavor of a female vocalist voicing shallow philosophy or heartbreak, but Hybrid uses a more opera style female vocals very tastefully, and not as a main aspect of their live mixes.

Their latest live mix, which debuted on Transitions (Kiss 100) in the UK (DJ’d by John Digweed) last October, draws from a great list of remixed tracks:

01) Rufus Wainwright – Tiergarten (Supermayer Remix) [Kompakt]
02) Layo & Bushwaka – Now Is The Time (Original Mix) [Olmeto]
03) James Talk & Ridney – Sunshyne (Original Mix) [CDR]
04) Tim Davison – Love You Bye (Original Mix) [CDR]
05) Shilo & Radiohead – Flywheel / Nude (Hybrid Re-Edit) [CDR]
06) Tim Davison & Stacey Kitson – Deliver Me (Less Vox Mix) [CDR]
07) Hybrid & Charlotte James – The Formula Of Fear (Hybrid Remix) [Disctinctive]
08) Leftfield – Song For Life (Tim Davison Mix) [CDR]
09) Dive & Jin Sonic – Play (Wolfgang Gartner Dub) [U-Boot]

These tracks flow effortlessly into each other, creating a great mix for a late night dance party or as a soundtrack to any other activity: Driving, gaming, or smoking. Starting with the more chill Wainwright, and transitioning into the next track, this mix gains steam, eventually building into the deep trance, low frequency beats I love Hybrid for.

You can find this mix, free and legal at:

http://www.hybridized.org/sets/562

If you dig this mix, I highly recommend the ‘DJ Set on Frisky Radio Pt. 1’ which you can find, along with tons of other sets at:

http://www.hybridized.org/sets/?artist=1

Official Site

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Album Review: Lamb of God, Wrath

Posted in Music Reviews with tags lamb of god, Metal, metalcore, Richmond, Virgina, Wrath on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Somewhere along their path during the last 7 years or so, the brutal metal-meets-hardcore Richmond, VA-based Lamb of God went from being just some metal band to the biggest fucking metal band on the planet. It’s unclear to me how they were really so successful in their climb to the top; their thick, riff-heavy style never really bowed to the passing trends of the Scandinavian-influenced metalcore movement to the absurd degree that many bands did, nor did they really ever create a new genre either, or even strive for much lateral thinking in general. And for that matter, Randy Blythe’s vicious roaring and screeching doesn’t exactly translate too well in “radio-friendly”, does it? Really, was it just the luck of the draw? I’d say ‘not quite’; their management has been extremely skilled at landing the band on headlining and supporting tours year-after-year-after-year that put these guys in front of exactly the right crowd. With this kind of support, Lamb of God has always been free to just do what they do; make some very badass boot-stompin’, face-splitting metal. It is now the eve of their fifth full length release, Wrath, and it appears Lamb of God are more aware of what people have come to expect from them than ever. While they clearly seek to shatter those expectations, Wrath is a well-produced release that sees them both expanding and stepping back to rely on their tried-and-true tricks, for better or worse.

Anyone who’s familiar with Lamb of God might be a bit taken back by the acoustic intro from this typically “ready, set, go” band. The first two songs taken together offer a much more progressive version of Lamb of God than we’ve heard before, with “In Your Words” segueing through a wider variety of vocal ranges and chord structures. In fact, the song vaguely sounds like Lamb of God have been melded with the progressive death of their brethren in Gojira, and it’s a welcome adaption in truth. However, after the shocking 1, 2, 3 punch of “Set To Fail”, “Contractor”, and “Fake Messiah”, it’s obvious that we’re back on Lamb of God’s home turf. While lyrics like “black liquid assets fuck the mujaheddin // paint their picket fences red with the American dream” might not rub some of you the right way, the riffage is just so blistering, crisp, and memorable that it’s impossible not to headbang along. The rest of the tracks on Wrath continue in the way that it was begun, with Lamb of God’s gritty bloodcurdling metal and anthemic vocals melding surprisingly nicely with some of the more varied textures that were introduced on Sacrament and embraced on “In Your Words”.

To me, Wrath is mostly successful. Despite the fact that it occasionally sounds like a band that’s slowly shedding it’s old skin and going through some slight growing pains, by-and-large this is some of the best ‘commercial’ metal the U.S. has to offer. The only important question at the end of the day is ‘will Wrath play well live?’ and the answer to that is a resounding fuck yes! It’s important to remember that Lamb of God probably doesn’t want you to intellectuallize their music; they make this shit to guarantee that the pit keeps spinning around.

DIG DEEPER: Preorder Wrath – Official Site – MySpace

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Album Review: Madlib, The Beat Konducta, Vol. 5&6

Posted in Music Reviews with tags Beat Konducta, Hip-Hop, J Dilla, Madlib on Tuesday, February 10, 2009 by Tim Althaus

beat-konducta When it comes to incredible duos a few come to mind: Batman & Robin, Abbot & Costello, Tom & Jerry & last but not least Jaylib. J Dilla was Madlib’s good friend and comrade and during his new Beat Konducta series it is completely evident. Madlib sculpts together 42 beautiful instrumentals that seamlessly and perfectly pay respects to one of the greatest minds of our time, J Dilla.

I want to make it blatantly clear that Madlib doesn’t however try to replicate J Dilla, he pays tribute to Jay in his own way and it makes for one of the best Madlib beat tapes I’ve heard in years. I also have to say, if there is anyone out there whose production style is very similar it’s definitely Madlib. I would absolutely love to tell you about every track on this album, but I have no where near the time required so I will highlight some of my favorite beats.

“Rolled Peach Optimos (Call Day)” is one of those tracks that are very mellow chill out track, and almost reminds me of something Jay would be smoking to while he’s chopping records in the studio. Another thing that I should point out is that the samples that Madlib uses in this instrumental series are impeccable and fit in perfectly. “King Chop (Top Line)” is the epitome of a nasty beat that just makes you nod your head. “All Love (The Movement)” is incredible because in the backdrop of the beat you can hear the strings from “Act Too (Love of my Life)” in the background (which is one of my all time favorites). I have to say that in my opinion “Dillalade Ride (Contact High)” is what I would consider to be the highlight of the album. The track is so beautiful it almost makes me tear up because the strings are so perfectly picked that I can imagine Dilla smoking a blunt in his Dillalade laughing and having a good time.

Just because I left out 39 beats that I didn’t talk about doesn’t mean that they aren’t worth listening to, because that’s nowhere near the case. Every beat on this album is top notch, and judging by the quality of Madlib’s work this might be the best instrumental album you will hear all year. I can’t imagine how big that signature smile is on Dilla’s face while he’s listening to this with the high exalted.

9/10

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Album Review: Ancient Crux, Interracial Coupling

Posted in Music Reviews with tags ancient crux, family time records, mp3, New Release, rapid youth, roy orbison, tape, travis von sydow on Sunday, February 8, 2009 by Erik Burg

interracial-coupling Ancient Crux is the new project of 19 year old California resident Travis Von Sydow (he’s also a member of Rapid Youth). His debut EP entitled Interracial Coupling, out now on Family Time records, is one of the most excited and refreshing pieces of new music I’ve heard in quite some time. From the second the record starts, the twang of the guitar and the stomp of the bass throw the listener into a musical time warp. While I’ve never listened to Roy Orbison myself, every other review or snippet I’ve read about Ancient Crux has compared this EP to him. And it’s kind of what I always imagined Orbison sounding like too. That’s not the point though, what’s important is that Ancient Crux seemingly transcends time, as though Sydow recorded this in 1954 and it was found last week. It’s that twang and stomp, and yet at the same time I don’t know what it is at all. Ancient Crux is just so mysterious, there, maybe that’s what my love affair is all about. The fact that it isn’t front page news on Paste or P4k. It simply feels nice to listen to an album that’s as intimate and warm as Interracial Coupling can be.

No song on the album runs over three minutes, my personal favorite “In Teen Dreams” runs a mere 2:35, making the album a quick play that can be over just when you’re starting to really love it. Here is where I get tripped up every listen. I turn Interracial Coupling on, listen through it, play it again, and again. You get it? I guess what I’m trying to get at is the greedy listener inside of me trying to come out and scream “take a risk, do something experimental!” The album is amazing though and I’m not knocking it in any sense, but I would have loved to heard what Sydow would have done on a five minute version of any of the tracks.

“Sha la la la, oo0, oo0. In dreams upon an endless beach, we’d dance where the sun bows and sleeps.”

That fucking twang and stomp. That simplicity, nostalgia, emptiness, or whatever feeling Interracial Couplings provokes in you. It’s apparently an album that wreaks of “something Roy Orbison shit out” (quote from their myspace). One thing is for sure, it’s a lovely album and a rare treat to the music community. At this point it’s limited to 150 copies and it’s going fast, so GET IT HERE NOW! sold out a few days back. Ancient Crux’s next release it due out this spring on Hi Shadow records… on tape release only (fuck).

9.5 who the fuck releases something on tape only?! out of 10

mp3: Ancient Crux – “In Teen Dreams”

Dig Deeper: Myspace Family Time records

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FREE Album Download: Iron Thrones, Visions of Light

Posted in Downloads, Music Reviews with tags death metal, free, iron thrones, minneapolis, minnesota, progressive metal, visions of light on Friday, February 6, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Iron Thrones is a band that truly embodies their name in several aspects. Not to be too corny, but the band hails from our own iron-rich state of Minnesota, and (despite their relatively short time playing together) you can easily consider them to be one of several crown jewels that the currently burgeoning and heavily varied Minneapolis metal scene has to offer. This is an epic progressive death metal quartet (though, on the lookout for another guitarist) that could easily find resonance with fans of Opeth, Death, Between the Buried and Me, Converge or even maybe post-rock like Mogwai. That’s not to say that Iron Thrones really follows in any of these bands footsteps though, as they have begun to perfect their own unique focused sound. Even on this debut, Visions of Light, the band achieve a rare and organic balance of naturalistic melodies and brutal shred. The album is the embodiment of yin-and-yang, a dense atmospheric album to one man and a nuanced progressive headbanger to another. Right now, it’s doing wonders for my ears.

Clearly the band knows how to treat its fans, as well. As such, these guys have posted their entire new album, Visions of Light, online for download. The cool thing is that they’ve gone the Radiohead way of things and made it available for free, “donation” through Amazon, Itunes, etc., or as a hard copy purchase. I’ve never heard how this model has worked out for a local underground metal band (as opposed to juggernauts like RH and Rez), and there’s no word when their $500 quadruple gatefold limited pressing with an optional commentary becomes available, but I really don’t see how it could hurt. There’ll still be many opportunities to support them and purchase hard copies when you’re seeing Iron Thrones in the live setting. They’ve got these area shows lined up, including a performance in Burnsville tomorrow:

Feb 6 @ The Garage w/ Rawhyde in Burnsville, Minnesota
Feb 11 @ The Rafters @ UMD w/ Empires in Duluth, Minnesota
Feb 27 @ Electric Earth in Madison, Wisconsin
Feb 28 @ The Uptown Bar w/ Zebulon Pike in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Apr 3 @ Station 4 w/ The Body Beneath, in St. Paul, Minnesota
May 15 @ TBA w/ The Body Beneath & Rhynoceraptor in Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 16 @ TBA w/ The Body Beneath & Rhynoceraptor in St. Cloud, Minnesota

DIG DEEPER: Download Visions of Light! – Official Site – Myspace

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New Releases From Asthmatic Kitty

Posted in Audio, Downloads, Music News, Music Reviews with tags asthmatic kitty, banjo, DM stith, download, just once, mp3, New Release, sold to the nice rich man, Sufjan Stevens, the welcome wagon on Thursday, February 5, 2009 by Erik Burg

asthmatickittylogo Ashtmatic Kitty has been on a role lately. The record label, run by indie-glorified Sufjan Stevens, has been busy with releases in early ’09 and late ’08, and has managed to curate tons of attention with the release of two rising artists. The Welcome Wagon and DM Stith are those two acts, gaining attention at rapidly increasing rates. And for good reason, whether it’s the almost quirky nature of their music, the comfortability that each offer, or the familiarity that oozes from each track.

Let’s dive into The Welcome Wagon first. The Husband (Thomas) and Wife (Monique) duo deliver multi-instrumental music that is heavenly in more than one sense. Many of the lyrics and ideas expressed in the tracks draw upon biblical references and experiences, while not pushing any values upon the listener. The actual musical production draws upon many of the aspects of arrangement and production that has made Sufjan so popular. From the occasional banjo to the simple piano and back again with the well recognizable horn section. The first single, entitled “Sold! To The Nice Rich Man,” from their debut album Welcome to The Welcome Wagon is their most polished and well rounded cut. It offers the widest variety of the couple’s skills. Encompassing all of the aspects that I just mentioned, the horns drive the chorus, the keys lead into the track, and the vocals fill up the track much a choir in a church. The feel of the entire album is expansive, but like I said, it feels incredibly comfortable at the same time. Deserving of a huge 2009, The Welcome Wagon is one of my favorite new artists and I’d highly encourage any fan of Sufjan’s catalogue or label to check these two out.

mp3: The Welcome Wagon – “Sold! To The Nice Rich Man”

DM Stith. With a name like that it’s kind of hard to know what to expect, but with a background filled with musical education and family lineage that bolsters the same thing the hopes were high for this former writer. Stith’s first single, “Just Once,” off of the Curtain Speech EP is a seven minute roller coaster ride through a dream-like landscape of repetitive and revealing lyrics and echoing guitars. “Just once, I could love you just once” Stith sings throughout. The music, is incredible. I know I hype pretty much everything I write about, but this is another one of those tracks that re-invigorates my love for music and makes me simply feeling happy at the end. Best described as a hi-fi version of The Microphones, Stith plays with various guitar chords layered together and eerie sounds running throughout the track, giving it the feel that The Glow pt. 2 gave me the first time I heard it.

mp3: DM Stith – “Just Once”

So if you’re looking around for some great new music look no further. Fans of past Asthmatic Kitty releases will love and probably already heard these tracks, but those new to the game need to get schooled on these new artists. And fast!

Dig Deeper: Asthmatic Kitty DM Stith The Welcome Wagon

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Album Review: Wolves in the Throne Room, Malevolent Grain

Posted in Music Reviews with tags ambient, black metal, ep, malevolent grain, post-rock, southern lord, vinyl, wolves in the throne room on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 by Ryan Buege

Besides hearing a song or two on a mix from a friend in the past, I’m really not familiar with much from Wolves in the Throne Room’s previous output and didn’t really know what to expect when I was introduced to this album this week. However, with that said, after hearing this two-song EP a couple of times, I think I’m going to have to go check out their earlier releases. Malevolent Grain is the Olympia, Washington-based “ambient black metal” band’s second EP, a prelude to their third long-player Black Cascade which is due later this year.

Right off the bat, I want to acknowledge how much I reallllly love the sound on this album. One reason I’ve never gotten into black metal so much in the past was because the production always (for better or worse) sounded so thin and gritty that the musical appeal was totally lost on me. In the last few years, many black metal bands have overcome this trait and have released albums that are much more heavily layered than the cheap recordings of the early years, and I think the current activity in the USBM scene is evidence of this. Wolves in the Throne Room this approach of density and orchestration to another level entirely, Malevolent Grain has a sound that is as thick as ever with ferocity that is unmatched to boot. In fact, in many ways this album reminded me as much as (or possibly even more than) my favorite orchestral post-rock innovators like GY!BE as it did of the scathing black metal of Mayhem, Gorgoroth, or Burzum. To be fair though, many of these bands are now dead or dying. Wolves in the Throne Room are now in a league of their own, following their own vision and innovating on the headbanging classics of these greats with some unparalleled epic blackened rockers of their own.

The album is divided in half, with the first song “A Looming Resonance” beginning the vinyl with a natural, folksy, brooding ambience. Eventually the orchestral buildup is aided by vocals from Jamie Meyers, and as her strong vocals resonate with a Celtic tinge, the song segues into a more viscious psychedelic black metal groove. The entire mix feels more removed from black metal than I could have imagined. By the end of the song, the increasingly intricate dynamics and dense layering have taken this epic a soul-stirring peak that could replicated by few bands in the world (honestly, only GY!BE comes to mind..). “Hate Crystal” begins in much more tradtional black metal fashion with a blasting rhythm section, sinster riff, and wraith-like vox. As majestic as it is brutal, “Hate Crystal” was the perfect cap to my introduction to this band and faded this sinister EP out brilliantly.

(thanks to Bryan for borrowing the album!)

DIG DEEPER: Buy Malevolent Grain online! – Official Website – MySpace

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Review: P.O.S., Never Better

Posted in Music Reviews with tags Audition, Doomtree, Hip-Hop, I'll Sleep When You're Dead, Lazer Beak, Never Better, P.O.S., Paper Tiger, Rhymesayers Entertainment on Monday, February 2, 2009 by Tim Althaus

pos-never-better-cd-cover-album-art I really don’t want to sell this album short because, this album is one more nail in the coffin as a testament to Rhymesayers Entertainment‘s complete solidity in independent Hip-Hop. I first heard about P.O.S. when Audition dropped in 2006, and I listened to the album and immediately fell in love with it. It was the perfect blend of Hip-Hop and punk attitude. I knew that this album was going to be special but I had no idea what to think.

I read an interview over at Culture Bully and the guy said that this album almost had the same fitting comparison as El-P’s masterpiece, I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead. I honestly had the exact same thought in my mind because this album has different soundscapes all over the album but it shows major cohesiveness even while being so diverse with sound.

The opening track is called “Let It Rattle” and it starts off with Stef saying “Sorry I took so long”. I didn’t know the whole story about his album getting stolen at a show until I watched the interview with Kiwibox. P.O.S. rolls right in with an acapella first verse with no real beat in the background and political jabs and uppercuts. When the beat kicks in it’s a barrage of hard hitting drums and anger. This might be one of the most politically driven albums you will hear the whole year, and it is pouring with Stef’s heart and soul. “Savion Glover” is one of those tracks that I could easily see playing at a party with a bunch of kids dancing infectiously to. It has some great cuts that had me smiling within the first five seconds of hearing the track. The track “Goodbye” could very well be the highlight of the album next to “Low Light Low Life”. “Goodbye” (produced by Lazer Beak) has an incredible beat with a great vocal sample, loud ear assaulting horns and Stef’s usual blood, sweat and tears pouring out onto the track like his life depended on it. Like I said before “Low Light Low Life” in opinion is probably the highlight of Never Better which features Sims & Dessa (of the Doomtree crew) on a great beat by Paper Tiger.

This is a fantastic album that is a great benchmark in the quality of music that P.O.S. and Rhymesayers are putting out. I hate to say things so early in the year, but this album will probably be one of my favorites this year. It’s great to see such great quality music coming out early in the year. It makes me proud to be from Minnesnota. It also lets me know that we can look forward to great things from P.O.S. and RSE this year.

9/10

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Review: Evidence, The Purple Tape Instrumentals

Posted in Music Reviews with tags Evidence, Hip-Hop, Purple Tape Instrumentals, Red Tape Instrumentals, Yellow Tape Instrumentals on Monday, February 2, 2009 by Tim Althaus

purple-tape You have all been hearing me talk about Evidence non-stop for what seems like the last 6 months. Everything that I have been discussing however has been about his emcee game, not his producing skills. I have to tell you that Evidence is one hell of a producer. I also have to let you know that I absolutely love beat tapes, so this one hits really close to home. I haven’t really listened to the Red or Yellow Tape Instrumentals for awhile, so I didn’t really know what to expect.

The album starts out with a track called “Take U Back”. The beat has a nice little sample flip and some hard hitting drums with your occasional guitar loop. It’s a great way to kick off the beat tape (not to mention the track has an intro almost as if a movie were beginning) and it hooked me right away. “Lost Cause” is one of those totally infectious beats, and it reminds me of a track that s0meone by the likes of Dr. Dre would spit over. This is another track that I could easily see being in a movie score. To be honest to me I kind of felt like I was listening to a movie score from beginning to end. This album is great quality and a great testament to EV’s production skills. I would love to hear emcees spitting over every single one of these beats. The song “Hour Glass” is truly a beautiful beat at the very least, and in my opinion might be the highlight of the beat tape.

The Purple Tape Instrumentals is a great supplement to follow up it’s predecessors (Red Tape & Yellow Tape Instrumentals) with 20 straight bangin’ beats, and I highly suggest that you go out and grab this if you are an Evidence fan because these are some great beats. Some of them are actually very simple beats, but the way they are arranged makes them very enjoyable.

8/10

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