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Showing posts from November, 2014

Bastille vs. Other People's Heartache Pt. III: Bastille & HAIM - "Bite Down" (Virgin Records)

"tbt after a long day at the pub, we went to sing on an untitled bastille song - now it's out and called "bite down," @HAIMtheband Tweeted along with the above photo on Thanksgiving night; seemingly unaware that Bastille had planned to unleash their Electro -laden collaboration as a pre-release single to their forthcoming [Bastille] vs. Other People's Heartache Pt. III mixtape/album. "It's always been really important to me to constantly make new music and also to collaborate with people, something we don't really do on our proper albums," frontman Dan Smith said of the feature-heavy project in a recent statement. "It was really enjoyable to make and [was] a nice way to get together with people that we like and respect and have fun with it... I love having the side lane of our mixtapes as a place where we can make music people might not expect," Smith continued. From its initial bars, "Bite Down" comes off as a vague

"It's the story of a Native American going out like a champ..." Homeboy Sandman - "Happy Thanksgiving" (Stones Throw)

"There [aren't] too many Thanksgiving tracks in Hip-Hop . Here's one by Homeboy Sandman ," @stonesthrow Tweeted, along with a link to "Happy Thanksgiving," late Tuesday afternoon. Not entirely unlike Eugene McDaniels' own 1971 anti- Thanksgiving anthem, "The Parasite (for Buffy)," Homeboy Sandman 's latest tells the gritty truth behind Thanksgiving 's rather gruesome origins; "This cut is called "Happy Thanksgiving." It's the story of a Native American going out like a champ before being slaughtered by European settlers. It was produced by Psycho Les of The Beatnuts ," Sandman explains. "Happy Thanksgiving" sees a FREElease on the heels of Homeboy Sandman 's latest Stones Throw -backed project, HALLWAYS , produced by Jonwayne , Oh No, Knxwledge , DJ Spinna, Blu , and a multitude of inventive beat-makers. Homeboy Sandman 's latest festive-leaning release consists of roughly 57 bars-w

Reggae Revivalists, The Lions Breathe New Life Into The Clash's Dance-Punk Hit, "The Magnificent Seven" (Stones Throw)

It's no big secret that I've been laid up and out of work for about 2 weeks after having minor corrective hernia surgery; during my time off, I've sent out a handful of emails to my musical friends and acquaintances seeking out new music updates. The Lions founder and in-house producer Dan Ubick readily replied with, "Forthcoming music..... yes, the new LP "Soul Riot" is due out Feb. 10th on Stones Throw and I can confirm that we will be opening for The Abyssinians at Dub Club the following night (Feb. 11th) for the release party." Ubick additionally attached an audio stream of The Lions' early single, "The Magnificent Seven," a spirited cover of The Clash 's 1981 Hip-Hop -tinged Sandinista! hit single. Not entirely unlike their Doo-Wop -drenched rendition of "Jamie's Cryin'" from their second album, The Lions are successfully able to amplify and honorably re-create The Clash 's genre-blending, Reggae -

"You can just imagine how sexy, crazy & dangerous my daily life is;" a Conversation with Pissed Jeans Frontman & White Denim Founder, Matt Korvette (The Witzard Interview)

I recently had the opportunity to reach out to Philly-area punk rocker and frantic Pissed Jeans frontman, Matt Korvette ; following their brief West Coast tour, Korvette and I were able to catch up and conduct an all-inclusive 11-question interview — outlining his home-grown vinyl record label, White Denim , his "passion for fashion," new-found affinity for the self-proclaimed "Neon Icon," RiFF RAFF, monthly-updated record review site, Yellow Green Red , and everything else in-between. Indulge yourself below, if you're interested in finding out just "how sexy, crazy, and dangerous" Matt Korvette 's daily life is; Pissed Jeans' long out-of-print 2005 Parts Unknown debut full-length, Shallow has very recently been re-issued and re-mastered on CD and vinyl, via their current label, Sub Pop. (1) I know that you guys just recently re-issued your first album, Shallow... but do Pissed Jeans have any immediate plans to start recording the follow-up

Pusha T, "The Only Dopeboy Quotable," & Kanye Present: "Lunch Money" (King Push?)

"Jesus Christ, #LunchMoney make me wanna sucker-punch 14 Elk in the nose. Might be my fav @PUSHA_T backdrop since #Trill or #RideAroundShinin ," Tonight Show bandleader @questlove exuberantly Tweeted. Former Clipse emcee Pusha T is supposedly holed up in the studio with Pharrell/The Neptunes , Kanye, and rookie producer Hudson Mohawke , earnestly working on the follow-up to his impeccable solo debut, My Name Is My Name (2013), tentatively titled "King Push." Early Tuesday morning without any prior rhyme or reason, a new thumping Kanye -produced track appeared on Google Play all of a sudden, which quickly disappeared; it was later premiered on Funkmaster Flex 's radio show and soon thereafter, spread like wildfire across The Internet. " Kanye 's best for ["Lunch Money"] is a gurgling, lurching soup of confusing, disorienting sounds, but all those sounds are built around a very basic, very funky pulse," Stereogum's very o

Mayer Hawthorne & Jake-One "Do It" as Disco-Funk 2-piece, Tuxedo (Stones Throw?)

" Tuxedo [first] emerged last year with three tracks of smooth, synth-heavy Disco-Funk , and accompanied by no information whatsoever about the group except a greeting – " Tuxedo is here! Stay classy," Stones Throw wrote in an unannounced Tuxedo -centric post Wednesday afternoon (the former label home of New-Wop crooner Mayer Hawthorne ). The 2-pieces' former download-able Tuxedo Funk EP featured vocal effects that sound suspiciously similar to those of Hawthorne, atop rumored Funk -drenched production work crafted by veteran beatsmith, Jake-One . Mayer Hawthorne 's quick milli-second cameo as a valet within Tuxedo 's latest "Do It" video, would seemingly add a little "fuel to the fire." While it's far from solid full-proof confirmation, I recently discovered a Nissan Murano commercial within the depths of YouTube , which features usual suspects Mayer Hawthorne & Jake-One , billed as Tuxedo , performing "So Good"

Alexandre Moors & The Little Homies Present: Kendrick Lamar & Ron Isley - "i" (TDE)

"It's music that's gonna thrive in the club... it's not anything like what you've heard from Kendrick before. It's not like anything else that's out there right now," Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg ambiguously lamented about a fragmented chunk of Kendrick Lamar 's highly anticipated, as-yet-untitled forthcoming third album. Lamar recently told Rolling Stone that he's recorded "a bunch of tracks" with illusive super-producer Dr. Dre , Pharrell, Rahki , and in-house TDE production team Digi+Phonics . While he additionally referred to the album as "aggression and emotion"-filled, lead single "i" is a light-hearted, self-affirming affair. It seems as though Kendrick Lamar even recruited bass virtuosos Thundercat to add an appended Funked up bass intro onto "i" for its recent Alexandre Moors & The Little Homies directed video treatment. "Stop! Stop! We talkin' about peace... a piece of yours

Mikael Stornfelt Presents: oUzu BazooKa - "Southern Winds" (Tel Aviv, Israel)

"The music video is about people from different worlds connecting through music. And it's surprising how what eventually came out when everything was finished, was somehow so similar [to] the production process itself: Uri [Brauner Kinrot] and I connecting across the globe to get this project done and him flying from Israel to Peru to shoot it. It seems like a great parallel to the finished work, were Uri's almost arcane musical world gets connected to The Hermit 's darker underworld all for the sake of a good time!," director Mikael Stornfelt lamented about the making-of Mediterranean Psych-Rock band Ouzu Bazooka's latest single, "Southern Winds." While frontman Uri Brauner Kinrot (UBK) is largely based out of Tel Aviv, Israel , he's toured the world and recorded with his "drunken wedding, Balkan -surf, guitar-tuba-drums power trio Boom Pam ," as well as jet-setting acts such as Balkan Beat Box , Shantel, Firewater , and cou