Archive for the 'Music Appreciation' Category

Just to state the obvious, I only heard a small fraction of the music that came out this year but I did manage to acquire, listen to and rate 3601 songs that were released in 2011. The percentage of music that is released as albums by record labels is definitely shrinking but they still have the lion’s share, for now. Here are my favorites. I’ll also be playing my favorite songs of 2011 on my January 3rd show.

Every album listed here is either released by an independent label or by the artists themselves. Please support if and when you can.

1. Vindahl – Serendipity (Tokyo Dawn)
Release Date: October 17, 2011
Copenhagen
More Info/Support

2. Jono McCleery – There Is (Counter/Ninja Tune)
Release Date: September 27, 2011
London
More Info/Support | @JonoMcCleery

3. SBTRKT – SBTRKT (Young Turks)
Release Date: June 24, 2011
London
More Info/Support | @SBTRKT

4. B.Lewis – Science Within Reason (Self-Released)
Release Date: March 11, 2011
San Jose/San Francisco
More Info/Support | @blewis17

5. James Blake – James Blake (R & S)
Release Date: February 7, 2011
London
More Info/Support | @jamesblake

6. New Look – New Look (!K7 – only available in the UK and Germany right now)
Release Date: September 26, 2011
Brooklyn/Ontario
More Info/Support | @new_look_

7. Oscar + Martin – For You (TwoBrightLakes)
Release Date: April 15, 2011
Melbourne
More Info/Support | @Oscarandmartin

8. Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine (Carpark)
Release Date: February 21, 2011
Columbia, South Carolina
More Info/Support | @ToroyMoi

9. Salva – Complex Housing (FoF)
Release Date: February 5, 2011
Los Angeles
More Info/Support | @THEPROBLEMSALVA

10. Scrimshire – The Hollow (Wah Wah 45s)
Release Date: November 11, 2011
London
More Info/Support | @scrimshire

Other Excellent Projects That Came Out This Year
Bon Iver – Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar) Release Date: June 21, 2011
Minnesota, WI | More Info/Support | @boniver

Brenk – Gumbo 2: Pretty Ugly (Melting Pot) Release Date: September 23, 2011
Vienna | More Info/Support | @BrenkSinatra

Dego – A Wha’ Him Deh Pon? (2000 Black) Release Date: June 20, 2011
Brooklyn/London | More Info/Support | @2000black_dego

Elzhi – Elmatic (Self-Released) Release Date: May 10, 2011
Detroit | More Info/Support | @ELZHI

Evil Needle – Cirrostratus (Self-Released) Release Date: April 18, 2011
Strasbourg, France | More Info/Support | @itsmeneedle

Full Crate – Golden Glasses (Wonderful Ear) Release Date: October 21, 2011
Amsterdam | More Info/Support | @fullcrate

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Bulletproof Brass (Choice Cuts) Release Date: July 20, 2011
Chicago/NYC | More Info/Support | @hypnoticbrass

I, Ced – All In My Mind (Record Breakin’) Release Date: July 12, 2011
Los Angeles | More Info/Support | @i_ced

iSHÉ & Hezekiah – iSHÉ & Hezekiah Project (Self-Released) Release Date: June 1, 2011
San Diego & Philadelphia | More Info/Support | @iSHETHAiSH & @hezekiah3rd

Illvibe Collective – All Together Now (Soulspazm) Release Date: March 29, 2011
Philadelphia | More Info/Support | @illvibecrew

Jesse Boykins III – Way Of A Wayfarer (Self-Released) Release Date: June 30, 2011
Brooklyn | More Info/Support | @JB3Music

King – The Story EP (Self-Released) Release Date: March 1, 2011
Los Angeles | More Info/Support | @wearekingmusic

Krts – Hold On EP (Project Mooncircle) Release Date: September 23, 2011
Brooklyn | More Info/Support | @KrtsBrooklyn

Miles Bonny – Lumberjack Soul (Melting Pot) Release Date: June 24, 2011
Kansas City | More Info/Support | @milesbonny

Oddisee – Rock Creek Park (Mello Music Group) Release Date: August 23, 2011
Brooklyn | More Info/Support | @oddisee

Sarah White – Space Madness (Cultura Love) Release Date: October 18, 2011
Brooklyn | More Info/Support | @sarahwhiteblack

Saturn Never Sleeps – Yesterday’s Machine (Saturn Never Sleeps) Release Date: August 2, 2011
Philadelphia | More Info/Support | @satnevsleeps

Shigeto – Full Circle Remixes (Ghostly International) Release Date: February 1, 2011
Brooklyn | More Info/Support | @__SHIGETO

Space Invadas – Soul:Fi (BBE) Release Date: February 21, 2011
Sydney | More Info/Support | @spaceinvadas

Submotion Orchestra – Finest Hour (Exceptional) Release Date: August 23, 2011
Leeds | More Info/Support | @Submotion

Sunclef – The Tesser∆ct (Self-Released) Release Date: April 22, 2011
Toronto | More Info/Support | @snclf

Ta-ku – DAY & NIGHT EP. (highs & lows x new balance) Release Date: April 10, 2011
Perth | More Info/Support | @TakuBeats

Ta-ku – Scraps (Self-Released) Release Date: May 31, 2011
Perth | More Info/Support | @TakuBeats

The Stuyvesants – The Finer Things Vol. 1&2 (SD) Release Date: October 17, 2011
Brooklyn | More Info/Support | @TheStuyvesants

Teeko – Light Up The Darkness (4onefunk) Release Date: February 21, 2011
San Francisco | More Info/Support | @TeekoMusic

TiRon & Ayomari – A Sucker For Pumps (The Cafeteria Line) Release Date: September 13, 2011
Los Angeles | More Info/Support | @TiRon & @ayomari

Various – The Boogie (Tokyo Dawn) Release Date: January 21, 2011
Munich | More Info/Support | @TOKYODAWN

Various – The Heart Volume 2 (Tokyo Dawn) Release Date: July 29, 2011
Munich | More Info/Support | @TOKYODAWN

When Saints Go Machine – Fail Forever EP (!K7) Release Date: February 21, 2011
Copenhagen | More Info/Support | @whensaints

Wildcookie (Freddie Cruger & Anthony Mills) – Cookie Dough (Tru Thoughts) Release Date: March 8, 2011
Stockholm | More Info/Support | @ghettotrance

Zebrahim – In My Heart I Am (Self-Released) Release Date: May 17, 2011
Paris, Vancouver | More Info/Support | @eebsofresh + @hazeldizzy

I have by no means heard every album that came out this year (or even every album relevant to the music I like), but I have heard quite a few and here are my favorites:

1. Electric Wire Hustle – Electric Wire Hustle (BBE)
2. Oddisee – Odd Spring (Oddisee Music)
3. B.Lewis – La Semaine (Self-Released)
4. The Stuyvesants – Brooklyn’s Finest (SD)
5. The Roots – How I Got Over (Def Jam)
6. Bonobo – Black Sands (Ninja Tune)
7. Onra – Long Distance (All City)
8. Bilal – Airtight’s Revenge (Plug Research)
9. Benny Tones – Chrysalis (Every Waking Hour/Wonderful Noise)
10. Quadron – Quadron (Plug Research)
11. Hi-Hat Club Vol. 4 – Chopshop (Melting Pot)

How times change…I only have one of these albums on CD (four are digital-only releases). If any of the labels listed want to send me a CD as a thank you for supporting, please do!

- -

1. Electric Wire Hustle – Electric Wire Hustle (more info)
Label: BBE (London)
Release Date: July 19, 2010

2. Oddisee – Odd Spring (more info)
Label: Oddisee Music (Maryland/Brooklyn)
Release Date: May 11, 2010

3. B.Lewis – La Semaine (more info)
Label: Self-Released (Northern California)
Release Date: September 8, 2010

4. The Stuyvesants – Brooklyn’s Finest (more info)
Label: SD (Brooklyn)
Release Date: June 1, 2010

5. The Roots – How I Got Over (more info)
Label: Def Jam
Release Date: June 21, 2010

6. Bonobo – Black Sands (more info)
Label: Ninja Tune (London, Montreal)
Release Date: March 29, 2010

7. Onra – Long Distance (more info)
Label: All City Records (Dublin)
Release Date: May 17, 2010

8. Bilal – Airtight’s Revenge (more info)
Label: Plug Research (Los Angeles)
Release Date: September 14, 2010

9. Benny Tones – Chrysalis (more info)
Label: Every Waking Hour (New Zealand), Wonderful Noise (Japan), Not Available In The U.S.
Release Date: May 23, 2010

10. Quadron – Quadron (more info)
Label: Plug Research (Los Angeles)
Release Date: March 23, 2010

11. Hi-Hat Club Vol. 4 – Chopshop (more info)
Label: Melting Pot Music (Cologne, Germany)
Release Date: May 14, 2010

Anticipation
The Riches Instrumental
I’m From PG
Oddisee (Blog, Twitter, Bandcamp)
Odd Spring, 2010
Oddisee Music

It’s been a minute since I’ve posted an mp3 but as soon as I heard this, I knew I had to post it up and help spread the word. Prince George’s country (Maryland) never sounded so good. This is the last in a seasonal series of releases Oddisee has given away over the past year. I mentioned the first one when I posted the excellent Diamond District album last year. Like that album, the vocalists are (sometimes) a nice addition but the real draw is Oddisee’s production. I’m a sucker for organ and anything cinematic but he really seems to be zeroing in on the organ/synths/strings trifecta on this one. It’s hard to know where the samples end and the instruments begin. I would be interested to know what instruments he played and if there are any guest instrumentalists. The intro to “Anticipation” is the perfect example. The “you got to learn the tricks of the street or-” sample has an organ line in the back that sounds like its part of the sample but then continues for 4 bars after the sample cuts out. It’s met immediately by a low and fuzzy synth bass line and then met by a second high “summer madness”-like synth line four bars later. It’s not a combination that I’ve heard a lot but it sounds like a perfect (yet unlikely) match.

The more I listened to the Diamond District album and learned the different MC’s flows, the more I realized that every verse that I liked was Oddisee’s. This album is no different. I would say the only downfall of this album is, in fact, the (MC) guest talent. I don’t want to disrespect, I’m guessing these are cats from his area and friends of his but they definitely don’t shine on his tracks like he does. Generally their verses just glide by except for Kingpin Slim’s first verse that kinda ruins “Anticipation,” one of my favorite tracks. Which is really too bad because his first line is so witty (if he means it the way I hear it). After the “you got to learn the tricks of the streets or” soul sample gets abruptly cut off by the beat, it never comes back, as if to say “learn the tricks or…(it’s a wrap for you).” After a bar K.P.S. says “sounds about right” and I would like to think he’s referring to the aforementioned interpretation. After that it all goes downhill [commentary in italics].

I think they waitin’ for two niggas to just go in on the beat, knam sayin?
[thanks for defining the track title but actually we're pretty accustomed to an 8 bar intro]
Darker than the introspective of an introvert [grammatically and conceptually problematic]
…
Mind over matter, that’s a mental quirk
chirp, jump, mentally you like a twerp
you spit like a drool, i am like a burp / earl [please tell me he regrets making that simile]
me and odd star power like we are the world
we don’t need ya’ll referral
i’m a signature, singing to a whore in singapore
got her open like a single ??? [if she doesn't seem open off your b.s., she's not good at her job]
mi amour, furthermore, if you see me singin’ on a track
it ain’t whack, it’s the single ladies that i’m singing for
if you don’t like it, you don’t like girls [file under (middle school) response to "death of autotune"?]

These are all free releases. I highly encourage you to go to Oddisee’s bandcamp and download them in the digital format of your choosing. He is also going to release them as a vinyl boxset sometime this summer so be on the lookout for that too.

In other news, these are (320kbps) AAC (.m4a) files. As I was ranting earlier, I’ve stopped using mp3s whenever possible, mainly due to their disastrous tagging implementation (don’t ask) and and that includes here.

Songs are available for two weeks.

Air (Astronote Remix) featuring MF Doom
Dabrye
The Remixes Volume: One, 2009
A-Side Worldwide

Air featuring MF Doom
Dabrye
Two/Three, 2006
Ghostly International

I found this remix on Moovmnt right around the same time I got the original. I actually heard the remix first so I guess I’m not in an impartial position when I say that the remix seems to transcend the original. Or maybe its just that incredibly crisp snap/snare drum combo. It sounds like there are 5 different sounds smashed together on each 2 and 4.

I like the way Astronote handles the spot where the “Woo-Hah” sample is in the original. The dramatic pause and echo make me feel like I missed something really important and I should back.

Apparently Astronote is French. It’s funny, there’s not much to indicate it but the first time I heard the countdown at the beginning of the song (I assume it was sampled from a movie), I noticed that the number “seven” seemed to reveal a much stronger accent than the rest of the numbers; it’s almost “siven.” I couldn’t place the accent but French sounds right (I suppose I should also account for the possibility that if it were from a French movie, the counting would be in…French).

Is “Jabip” regional slang? (“Indeed he ripped scripts from here to Jabip”) I’ve managed to never hear that one before.

I suggest setting the start time of the Astronote Mix to “0:30.35″.

Songs are available for two weeks.

Feel Like featuring Mar
HomeMade
HomeMade EP, 2009? 2010?
Bacardi Visita (The site is in Dutch)

This is another example of the great blurring of lines that’s going on in “the music business” these days. These three Dutch producers (Full Crate, FS Green & Grand Jackson) teamed up to do an EP and a series of events for Bacardi Visita – what I guess is the Dutch Bacardi (?). I first read about this last August on Moovmnt, my favorite blog. The EP was to be released “during the upcoming three editions off the Visita event.” I’m not sure if that means that they were releasing it digitally, a couple songs at each event or whether they made CDs and were distributing them at all the events but either way, this goes against everything the entire music industry business model. There’s no solid release date, they got paid upfront for a short term mix of recording and performing and the money came directly from a non-music brand to the artists and not through a middle man. Even their name seemed to be a little somewhat in the air, on Moovmnt it was originally billed as “Visita Homemade” but by the time the cover art surfaced (I found this on Trees For Breakfast) the name was simply “HomeMade.”

I’m reminded of my rant about the RIAA president making a speech at the grammy’s in 2008 about “the music stopping” if we don’t keep buying music from the major labels. Well, here it is, one of my songs of the year last year, “pre-paid” by a non-music company from Amsterdam…and it’s better than 98% of what the major labels put out last year.

Photo by Aaron van Valen.

Songs are available for two weeks.
The full EP is available here. I’m not sure for how long.

Waiting On You
Pointer Sisters (Official Site, Wikipedia, Twitter)
Having A Party, 1977
Blue Thumb/ABC
(CD, iTunes, Amazon)

Shout to Maggie Stein for putting me onto this, probably the most consistent Pointer Sisters album, back in the day. This is proof positive (one of many many examples) that the Pointer Sisters should be remembered for more than “Jump (For My Love)”/”I’m So Excited”/”Neutron Dance” et al.

Stevie Wonder is credited with playing keyboards and synthesizers on the album (along with two other people) and has a partial songwriting credit on “Bring Your Sweet Stuff Home To Me.” I’m not sure if he had anything to do with this song. It doesn’t “sound like him” as much as ‘Sweet Stuff’ does, but you never know. I’ve heard that he’s involved in far more records than album credits would suggest.

I love the tone of this song, it almost fits into my “inappropriately happy” category but not quite; it’s more an a chosen optimism in a bad situation.

I was going to say something about it being funny to think of the television networks also being in the music industry (this album was distributed by ABC which was bought by MCA in 1979) but as I was checking to see if there ever was an “NBC Records” (i don’t think so) and when Sony bought CBS Records (1988), I read that CBS Records is actually back from the dead. Who knew?

Songs are available for two weeks.

Never Can Say Goodbye (Beatnick & K-Salaam Remix)
The Jackson 5
Beatnick & K-Salaam: Never Can Say Goodbye, 2009
K-Salaam & Beatnick Bandcamp Site

My friend Needles sent me this mp3 last year after it was floating around on some blogs. I was kinda blown away at how well it worked as a song; there’s almost always some kind of disconnect between the past and present when I hear “current-sounding” remixes of soul classics.

I’ve been playing the song at gigs fairly regularly ever since. I played it a month or two back at Madame X and someone who works with the them came up to me (excited to hear the song) and wrote down their bandcamp address as a place to get more of their music. It took me a minute but I went to the site this week and there are a lot of good (free) tracks. This song is part of an 8-song remix EP (although it might be the best song on it). There’s also a 10 song Common remix EP and two other albums. Not everything is good (as is always the case) but there are some gems.

Bandcamp is my new favorite site for getting music (I encourage everyone giving away music to set up an account – you can sell music too) because I can download songs at CD quality (with lossless compression). The actually give you 8 different format options (mp3, aac, FLAC, ALAC…) for your download. I’ve developed a disdain for mp3s over the years (don’t get me started) and have stopped using them whenever possible so I get excited whenever I see someone has their stuff on bandcamp.

I have to air one beef about this project (and many, many other remix projects). I realize you are trying to get your name out there…but you are not the artist. Does your name really need to be in the song, artist, album and comment fields? This song was originally titled:

04. Michael Jackson – Never Can Say Goodbye Remix (Prod. by Beatnick & K-Salaam)
K-Salaam & Beatnick
Beatnick & K-Salaam Present – Never Can Say Goodbye

Seriously? I do realize that I’m more detail-oriented than most (ok, almost all) but the artist is The Jackson 5 (not Michael Jackson and definitely not you!). And please save the tracks number for the…uh, “track number” field…there actually seem to be a “trend” of people putting the track numbers in the song title recently…god knows why.

Ok, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Oh yeah, last thing; they need to decide who’s name goes first.

Songs are available for two weeks.

Far Side of Town
Arthur Lewis
If We Were – EP, 2008
Rxlngr

on iTunes

I love this song. My friend OP over at Suite903 put me onto Arthur a few months ago and he seemed perfect to have on the radio show. After bullsh&*#%n for a couple months I finally dug up his site, emailed him and he came by last night. At my request he picked songs to play for the rest of the show (after we played his EP) and they were appropriately all over the map (you’ll hear many influences when you hear the song).

We had a great time talking music. This is quote that I love from another interview he did, it encapsulates one of the reasons I’m excited about new music right now in a way that’s more concise than it is in my head:

There’s a certain narrative of success that says you have to compromise in order to reach a big audience. That you have to “sell out” your “art” in order to reach your cookie-cutter goals of fame and fortune. But things have changed a lot in the past few years, to the point where, outside of the major label-360 deal-recoup or die model, it’s almost the opposite. To distinguish yourself from the throngs of people making records in their bedrooms, you have to be unrelentingly yourself.

This is a track that he made available for free on his site.

Songs are available for two weeks.

Put Everything Together
Plus
Funk Mode (Compilation), 2004
Scenario
(not available on iTunes, amazon says “This item has been discontinued by the manufacturer.”)

This is a track I heard Freddie play back in the summer of ’07 after a somewhat bizarre El Michels Affair show at Rose Live Music in Williamsburg. The band played a really short show and ended super abruptly; it was the kind of thing you really wouldn’t want to follow as a DJ. DJing after a band is bad enough as it is – people have an ingrained “the show is over – time to go” thing with bands, even if the band is part of a larger event with other artists. Freddie played his ass off for the people who stayed and was nice enough to let me take cell phone pictures of some of the stuff he played. This track blew me away. I love this guy’s voice – his really defined diction is reminiscent of Jon Lucien.

I can’t figure out much about this track. It shows up on two other compilations, one by Morcheeba and one possibly by Madlib. The subtitle for this compilation is “Undiscovered funk gems from the far corners of the globe” and the only credits inside say “Courtesy of Pink Elephant (Belgium) From the LP Plus. Catalogue Number PE8777.024-Y.” Anyone know anything about this artist/track?

Click for a larger view of the tray card.

Songs are available for two weeks.

Dawkins & Dawkins – Love pt2 inst.
Edge Of (Aischa & Coultrain)
Daru Jones
Spirit & Soul​-​Hop Sampler 09, 2009
Rusic

Daru Jones is back with another free album’s worth of material, this time with a very streamlined presentation, courtesy of Bandcamp – the site that seems to have become every producer’s favorite, overnight. This ‘sampler’ features “songs produced by Daru…and remixes of songs recorded by local and international artists such as Muhsinah, Rena, Kissey Asplund, Eagle Nebula…”

These tracks have his signature heavy percussion vibe.

My favorites so far are:

Kissey Asplund – Rat Race “Up & Down”
Chef of Funkilinium feat. Ray Burton – Chef Love
Aischa feat. Black Spade – I Want U pt2 “Spirit Dilla”
Daru & Reggie B. – So Happy pt2

And the two tracks above. You can download the sampler for free here.

Songs are available for two weeks.