The Witzard

"So, my background is rooted in touring Hardcore/Punk and guitar music: Bastions , [Portrait of A Lifetime,] and My Project Ghost . Grew up listening to everything I could get my hands on at Our Price & Woolworths. Did you guys have those stores? I discovered independent record stores in my teens and just absorbed EVERYTHING I could get my hands on. Loved the immediacy of Punk & Hardcore; saw that style of music sharing the same fire that Hip-Hop & Electronica have, [ie:] Doormouse, Wu-Tang Clan, Venetian Snares, etc." - Jamie Burne (@sleepbeggar) I. Big Daddy Kane - Long Live The Kane (1988) "Just floored by the flawless delivery and syncopation of the rhyming couplets in this. I learnt you could create that same energy that a full band has with a lot less instrumentation." II. Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy EP (1997) "Less is more, textures, nerding out on a production level, imagining how that was created, and subtle synth tones (3:03 i...

Not as They Do by Manikineter It's a little tough to pinpoint all these years later, but I honestly think my first exposure to Hip-Hop was House of Pain 's "Jump Around" playing in one of the opening "party scenes" in Robin Williams' 1993 blockbuster hit, Mrs. Doubtfire , which would have made me about six. Although, a number of years later, my older cousin Josh gifted me a stack of CD's and a shoe box-full of cassettes containing Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science (1999) 2-CD set, as well as the Beasties' 1986 debut, Licensed to Ill and its follow-up, Paul's Boutique (1989.) Around the same time, I was just starting to get into Punk/Hardcore and cut my teeth listening to Henry Rollins -era Black Flag , Minor Threat, Fugazi , The Misfits, Samhain , and a slew of additional staple 1980-90's Punk albums—soon, discovering two Punk -minded Beastie Boys releases: Some Old Bullsh*t and Aglio e Olio EP . Ever since, I...

JE DOUBLE F (Jeff Richie) is a self-described "Punk-Rap" emcee and producer hailing from Atlantic City, New Jersey . Richie has previously crafted demonic-sounding beats for fellow East Coaster Stillborn Identity AKA Cody Cody Jones , released a split 7-inch with Sleep Beggar , and runs his own music, film, and book imprint called AMERICAN SCREAM RECORDS . Last year, Jeff put together one of the earliest Beat-maker Bedrock columns for The Witzard , which showcased Gravediggaz 's RZArector -produced 6 Feet Deep , Glenn Danzig -fronted Samhain 's Final Descent , and Nine Inch Nails' critically-acclaimed 1989 debut, Pretty Hate Machine . JE DOUBLE F 's latest solo release, HUMAN RITES , was issued on AMERICAN SCREAM in June 2017 and was fittingly, first described to me as something along the lines of " Danzig [meets] MF DOOM ." When Jeff Richie 's not composing his own unique brand of Punk-Rap head-bangers, he's busy fronting a ...

TBA by Manikineter Carl Kavorkian makes some of the most ferocious, experimental Noise-Rap music I've ever heard and (not) surprisingly, he's one of the nicest, most hospitable people I've ever met working in "the music industry." Case in point: my buddy Omarey and I went into South Philly one Friday night back in June for The Sh*thawks , Felipe Pupo, MANIK|NETER , Planet 88, and King Ani Mal 's show at The Pharmacy . We grabbed a pizza back in Jersey and were pretty much on time for the show, although, Felipe Pupo frontman and show organizer Erik "E." Grizzly was messaging me on the way in; Erik mentioned he thought the set times were running a bit earlier than expected and Carl Kavorkian 's MANIK|NETER was likely going on early. Now, while I was excited for all five bands on the bill, I was most excited to see MANIK|NETER and was looking forward to seeing his infamous executioner's mask-covered set! Once Omarey and I got into Sou...

BODY HEAT by TUFF TURF JE DOUBLE F is a self-proclaimed "Nihilist Punk-Rap" emcee and producer based out of Atlantic City, NJ . If you read his recent Beat-maker Bedrock #2 column published right here at The Witzard , JE DOUBLE F (AKA Jeff Richie ) you'll remember he's equally influenced by Gravediggaz 's 6 Feet Deep as he is by Glenn Danzig -fronted Samhaim 's Final Descent and Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine . "Fast, chaotic songs with no frills. Heavy touring schedule and DIY ethics; if Danzig met DOOM , you'd have JE DOUBLE F ," reads Jeff 's press release accompanying his latest album, HUMAN RITES . JE DOUBLE F has been making his own unique brand of Nihilist Punk-Rap since 2011, most of which has been released on his own Atlantic City -based music/film/book imprint, American Scream Records ; his discography includes, but is not limited to PAGANOMICS (demo sessions #1,) LOSE​/​LOSE split cassette, HALF-MAN , SONGS FO...

Mannequin Eater by MANIK|NETER "Loud. Abrasive. Mental. Music; a four word preface into the sound of MANIK|NETER , the side-project of Carl Kavorkian . Bringing together the essence of various adrenaline-inducing genres, this Noise-Rap project is described as an evolving experiment in crushing drums, heavy sounds, manipulated vocals, and translucent streams of consciousness. Lyrically, putting less emphasis on "bars" and more concentration on stirring emotions and simply rocking the f*ck out. Live cats to the front, wall flowers to the back when MANIK|NETER hits the stage," reads a fragmented chunk of Philly -based emcee, producer, engineer, and DJ Carl Kavorkian 's recent email blast. MANIK|NETER (pronounced: "Mannequin-Eater" ) is the new Noise-Rap -leaning side-project from Kavorkian, who described his latest Mannequin Eater EP as sonically reminiscent of Sleep Beggar or Noise Lock ; "the intensity of all those artists and all the new m...