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'Welcome to Detroit' is like a warm pot of gumbo, that includes abeautiful blend of raw emcee talent and dirty, minimal breakbeats,tweaked to perfection. Jay Dee successfully mixes R&B, Hip-Hop, andwhat can only be called Experimental, into a concoction that creates aninfectious vibe leaving you wanting another. The opening track is a 5/4masterpiece. Other highlights include 'The Clapper', a start-stop headnodder your rewind button had better be ready for, and 'Featuring PhatKat', which does for obvious reasons. The kid is nice. This isdefinitely one to play for your friends; but don't let this album outof your sight, for it might disappear. With 'Welcome to Detroit', BBEhas set a clear standard for quality product, and the second releasefrom the "Beat Generation", composed by the Chocolate Boy Wonder, PeteRock, is no exception.
Pete Rock can be credited for creating the smooth, jazzy, downtempofeel, that others like Jay Dee are perfecting today. 'Petestrumentals'is like an educational pamphlet, detailing the proper way to constructan emcee canvas. It refrains from becoming a cluttered, "over-the-top"production effort, and leaves room for vocal compliments. For instance,'The Boss' sultley shows his fine sample manipulation by initiallyusing a simple piano loop for the songs first few bars. It then beginsplaying backwards, all in timely fashion. 'Play Dis Only at Night'takes the very familiar bass line in 'Check the Rhime' and almost makesyou forget that someone else tried to use it previously.
'Petestrumentals' is a stark deviation from his prior solo release,"Soul Surviver", which included a guest artist on every track. Thisalbum only invites members from UN to grace three of its tracks, therest are perfectly designed to allow budding emcees a chance at rockinga groove from the legendary producer. This album is yet anotherseamless fusion of Reggae, Jazz, Pop, Soul, Rock, Folk and Other forPete Rock, making it an instant classic for your shelves. Those whopurchase this record on vinyl will have the added pleasure of listeningto it a 45rpms. My hopes are that this series will change the stagnantdirection in Hip-Hop production today, where it seems as if every trackis a remix of a previous Timbaland or Neptunes project. So far BBE is 2for 2 and batting 1000%. Stay tuned.
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- Jay Dee - Come Get It
- Jay Dee - It's Like That
- Pete Rock - Pete's Jazz
- Pete Rock - Something Funky
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Those who have followed Spring Heel Jack's evolution from day one through last year's collaboration with Low and the Disappeared LP think they might have been prepared for what was next, right? Perhaps. Last year the Blue Series from Thirsty Ear surfaced with The Matthew Shipp Quartet's album, 'Pastoral Composure', this year Shipp and an extended family have been paired up with the former early drum 'n bass champions, Spring Heel Jack for the continuum of the Blue Series.
While 'Masses' is a wonderful marriage of jazz instrumentalists with a tiny bit of electronic contributions, I somewhat question the SHJ label for the project. Perhaps it's political, perhaps it's there to try to introduce the SHJ fans to a more organic live sound than what the SHJ followers are used to. It's a blend of form and function: within the confines of ten tracks, there's a little bit of electronic noise, screechy horns, tinkling pianos, muted swing horns in sultry retro-art deco interludes, boppin jam sessions, and moods created for sadness, longingness and joy. Could this be the new direction of jazz? (Combining organic instrumental improvisationalists with established electronica tweakers?) Maybe not, but this all the while is an enjoyable listen and never drags on too long or becomes too obnoxious and must be turned off.
 
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- Matt Howell
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This debut Beneath Autumn Sky EP on Hefty is five tracks of phat beats, wondrous melodics, and fulfilling bass. While it's noted that B.A.S. have come from a lifestyle of B-boyin, squatting, and living outside the boundaries of normal society, they have created what seems to me like a beautifully crafted mixture of old school sounds and new-school technique. It "keeps it real" on every level I could think of, and while I listen, the world around me seems to shapeshft into a land of wild landscapes and infinite possibilities.
Hefty
"Spy Headings," the first track, is rich with sweet beats that aren't just loops which get stale over the course of five minutes. A stuttery breakdown and a beautiful piano sample transforms the atmosphere of the song into something brand new and its off into the sunset from there. Similarly, the following tracks have an evolving quality, appropriately transforming over time, all of which make for excellent active listening. My favorite track, "Zealots Awaken," which is seemingly fantastic at first, opens with some sort of medieval, middle-eastern sound mixture backed by a key hip hop break. It's a dimension of eternal balance where it is early evening in the summertime and the horizon is a contrast of the setting sun and the starry, moonlit night to come. The track doesn't stay that way, though, morphing into a Bond-era spy soundtrack, ending before the last escape scene.
Every track on this EP is unique and refreshing. 'Enki-Dus Mono' is a like a mini-soundtrack to an alternative fantastic world that only an imaginative and brave few ever get a glimpse of.
 
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- Diane Lewis
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- Jon Whitney with Matt Howell
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The late Michael O'Shea was a free spirited instrument inventor andmusician who eschewed the trappings of fame and fortune to live hislife day by day as he pleased. He found an old wooden box and made ithis friend... With a few hammerings Mo Cara (Gaelic: My Friend) wasborn, a new instrument based on a hybrid of hammered dulcimer, sitarand an Algerian instrument he'd played on his travels, the Zelochord.Mo Cara had seventeen main strings underpinned by six more stringswhich gave it a profound resonance. Michael's playing was as muchinfluenced by his interest in tabla rhythms and time spent learning thesitar whilst recovering from illness as his early infatuation withIrish folk stalwarts the Chieftans. His compositions are transcendentand evocative of magic and mystery. Gilbert and Lewis recorded thealbum on a day when Michael's horoscope was propitious and everyone inthe studio was moved to tears by the album opener 'No Journey's End'.This became the second non-Dome release on the Dome label, and now withsix additional tracks is the twelfth and (almost) final WMO release andis a wonderful ending for the Wire related reissue / rarity label.
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