Indie Shuffle » sweeneykovar

Ras_G – Happy Arrival Day Mister Ra

sweeneykovar — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:34:33 +0000

Sounds like: Flying Lotus, Sun Ra, Madlib

Song: Ras_G - Happy Arrival Day Mister Ra [download here]

What's so good?

For the un-initiated, Ras_G & The Afrikan Space Program are direct descendants of Sun Ra’s lineage. Cosmic and aloof, timely and out-of-time, Le Sonny Ra blazed a trail unmatched by anyone before or after. He is still progressing and contributing years after leaving his physical shell.

L.A.’s astral beat-head pays tribute to his Uncle Ra by collaborating on a track celebrating his musical Master Teacher’s arrival day. Along with a other-worldly arrangement, he also shares some choice words from the man who was not a man, but a musical being:

“I’m not a minister, I’m not a philosopher, I’m not a politician, I’m in another category.

Music is a language, you see, a universal language.

The world is in such a bad condition that if they don’t find what you call a redeemer, every man, woman and child on this planet will be eliminated.

Now, this sickness and this death and all these things that happen here on earth are not necessary. It’s totally out of harmony, coordination precision and discipline.

They don’t know things and they’re not trying to find out things except for money and sex and dope and religion and politics and all those things.

I’m dealing with the potential of people. I’m dealing with what they should be and what I see in them that isn’t there but should be there.

It’s such a tragedy that man endures in killing his brother and his own kind, putting him in jail and insane asylums, letting him lay out in the street.

It’s totally wrong but people are self destruct. No one has to kill them.

In tomorrow’s world, men will not need artificial instruments such as jets and space ships. In the world of tomorrow, the new man will ‘think’ the place he wants to go, then his mind will take him there. (1956)

I always say it’s not my Arkestra, it belongs to some other force which wants certain things, to reach people.

I’m dealing with the potential of people. I’m dealing with what they should be and what I see in them that isn’t there but should be there.”

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Ras_G – Happy Arrival Day Mister Ra

2. Posted in: Electronic, experimental, Experimental electronic, Flying Lotus, madlib

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Love Apple – Guess I Always Knew

sweeneykovar — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:32:06 +0000

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Sounds like: Myron & E, Bilal, Solange

Song: Love Apple - Guess I Always Knew [download here]

What's so good?

Today little goes undocumented in the music realm. Songs and ideas that in decades past would at most be demos or disregarded and forgotten make their way to listeners ears as bonus cuts, mixtape material or Internet-only randoms, in part because of the reduction in labor to produce the music and in part because of the warped business model that has begotten. In private conversations, I used to speculate that to be the reason for the abundance of sub-par material today; we hear music that is part of the artists’ development process that maybe we shouldn’t. If we heard the demos or unreleased material of artists from the past, they may not appear as titanic.

Numero Group kind of blew a hole in that little theory with last year’s release of Love Apple’s self-titled shelved debut from 1978. Well, to be exact, it’s actually a rehearsal tape from 1978. The trio of Cleveland soul singers, under the auspice of Lou Ragland, cut this bare-bones tape as practice for their live shows. Life happened, things fell through, and nothing ever came of it, but now, more than 40 years later, we get to hear the tape, and goddamn is it great.

The songs sound especially somber with the sparse accompaniment; it’s just three voices, drums, piano and a guitar. I guess even yesteryear’s demos blow ours out of the water. The Numero Group sheds more light on the project:

“In the late ’70s, three do-right women from Cleveland forged a brief partnership with Ohio’s everything man, Lou Ragland. Unlike the prefabricated singing combos of the day, Lily Pearson, Annette Warren, and Avetta Henry swapped lead duties as situation demanded. When a Ragland-centric publicity stunt preempted a concert appearance, Love Apple disintegrated, abandoning this rehearsal tape at Thomas Boddie’s cherished Eastside studio. Devoid of bass, the sparse instrumentation accentuates each vocalist’s aptitude, showcasing some of Ragland’s finest songwriting in the process.”

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Love Apple – Guess I Always Knew

2. Posted in: soul, old school, bilal, solange, soulful

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Ivan Ave – Portals

sweeneykovar — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:00:41 +0000

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Sounds like: Joey Bada$$, Mdnsgn, Nickelus F

Song: Ivan Ave - Portals [download here]

What's so good?

When you think of chilled hip-hop with an electronic jazz tinge, you instantly think of Oslo, Norway right?

Ivan Avenue is a young man out of Scandinavia making some refreshing raps that go easy on the pretension. “Portals” is buttery electro goodness; Ivan raps very well over his own beat, and creates a track that’s the equivalent of a sunset joint on a cool, breezy beach. Plus he asks for a 10-foot hater-free radius, and I think we can all say that is a pretty universal life goal.

What serves as the cherry on this rap sundae for me is that Ivan doesn’t beat you over the head with the throwback stick. When cats like Joey Bada$$ and others make it a point to make you know they are “bringing back” the spirit of the old-school or whatever revivalist bullshit rhetoric they’re selling themselves with, it is cool to see someone influenced by that golden age mythology just do their thing and keep it moving. I’m very curious to see where Ivan Ave takes it from here.

Shouts to the homie Mndsgn for hipping me to this cat; word on the tweets is they have some stuff brewing which should certainly be some marvelous shit.

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Ivan Ave – Portals

2. Posted in: hip-hop, electronic hip-hop, underground hip hop, mellow hip hop, chill hip hop

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Coultrain – Gem Iza Jewel

sweeneykovar — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:00:38 +0000

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Sounds like: Bilal, Solange, Sa-Ra

Song: Coultrain - Gem Iza Jewel [download here]

What's so good?

We’ve shared some of Coultrain’s anachronistic appeal on the Shuffle before; the singer-songwriter’s sounds are from a time generations ago. His Plug Research debut LP dropped recently, and he’s not letting up any steam.

Teaming up with frequent collaborator Knny Frsh, Coultrain releases a video for the latest of his LP, “Gem Iza Jewel.” URB premiered the video for the album track off Jungle Mumbo Jumbo, and offer further insight:

“KNNY FRSH of Frsh Slcts collaborated with Coultrain on the piece and states, “A Gem Iza Jewel” is the first in a trio of interpretative videos from Jungle Mumbo Jumbo. For this initial installment, we focused on themes of mysticism, the enchantment of women & the illusion of ownership, through a performance piece done in just three shots using only two actors. See if you can unravel the magic….’

Magic indeed. The video is steeped in the history and texture of vintage ‘trick films’ that exist as the backbone of early film history. The video masterfully weaves an enchanting and thought provoking conversation using the historical vision of folks like Georges Méliès, the Lumière Brothers, and Harry Houdini with some of etherial air of the current soul movement. There is a strange feeling of self-discovery not only in the viewer’s interaction with the piece, but also within the performance contained within. Perfectly capturing the mood of Coultrain’s arrangements and haunting vocals, it is the perfect ‘pledge’ before he reveals the ‘turn’ in the second video of the series.”

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Coultrain – Gem Iza Jewel

2. Posted in: soul, neo-soul, bilal, plug research, solange

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Solange – Looks Good With Trouble Ft. Kendrick Lamar

sweeneykovar — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:58:45 +0000

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Sounds like: Sonnymoon, Knxwledge, Empress Of, Kendrick Lamar

Song: Solange - Looks Good With Trouble Ft. Kendrick Lamar [download here]

What's so good?

Though I’m definitely late to the Solange party, I would say she is my favorite Knowles. I’m no Bey hater, I recognize her importance in the pop culture continuum and all that jazz, but to be frank I can’t listen to her. Beyonce’s songs always make me extremely self-conscious, and by the time she’s telling me to “put a ring on it,” I’m painfully aware I probably can’t afford that ring. Solange, on the other hand, is a more enjoyable listening experience for me.

Her TRUE EP was awesome; pop with substance, sweet but weighty. From the fantastically dapper trans-continental video for “Losing You” to the bittersweet shuffle of “Some Things Never Seem To Fucking Work,” the project was teenage summer love encapsulated. I can almost swear I feel a warm breeze when some of those synths hit.

As an added treat to recently announcing the formation of her new label, SAINT Records, she also released a new version of “Looks Good With Trouble” from the TRUE EP, now featuring 100% more rhymes from Compton’s own Kendrick Lamar.

The West Coast MC sounds more like Andre than usual as he details a lovelorn trip to London, stuck on a tour bus watching old Hollywood classics, wishing a certain someone was along for the ride. While I’m obviously being a bit of a dick (though not without reason), the two certainly have a musical chemistry that makes me wonder what more collaboration would sound like.

Don’t sleep on Solange (like I did) — she’s ill.

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Solange – Looks Good With Trouble Ft. Kendrick Lamar

2. Posted in: Electronic, female vocalist, hip-hop, electro pop, soul

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Thundercat – Oh Sheit It’s X

sweeneykovar — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:25:06 +0000

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Sounds like: Flying Lotus, Knxwledge, Shafiq Husayn

Song: Thundercat - Oh Sheit It's X [download here]

What's so good?

Since learning that Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner was a reluctant solo artist on last years’ Golden Age of Apocalypse, I was expecting the next solo effort from the bass prodigy to come a few years down the line. I was wrong. Thundercat returns this June with Apocalypse, produced by Brainfeeder general Flying Lotus.

After a difficult year that included the loss of close friend and collaborator Austin Peralta, I would not have guessed a Thundercat album would sound like Apocalypse. The energy on Apocalypse makes its predecessor sound a bit meek. Thundercat is singing with more confidence, his voice has more of a presence in the mix and his personality shines through stronger than before in his lyrics and performance. Many of the songs are incredibly celebratory and the initial single, “Heartbreaks + Setbacks,” was downright poppy.

With musicians of Thundercat and Lotus’ pedigree, it would be inaccurate to call their first LP as a snoozer, but in the continuum they are creating the sound they presented on Golden Age was definitely in its infancy and is growing up on Apocalypse. The funk is fuller and the grooves are deeper. This is still music for music junkies, for the jazz heads and the beat aficionados, but you don’t need to be any of the previous to dig it.

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Thundercat – Oh Sheit It’s X

2. Posted in: funk, rnb, jazz, Los Angeles, electro funk

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Chance The Rapper – Paranoia (Prod. Nosaj Thing)

sweeneykovar — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:39:00 +0000

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Song: Chance The Rapper - Paranoia (Prod. Nosaj Thing) [download here]

What's so good?

Chicago’s Chance The Rapper has built a buzz for himself in the past 16 months with his deft lyricism and melodic inflections. His latest tape, Acid Rap, seems to have cemented him as an up-and-coming rapper with commercial promise. I’ve yet to do my due diligence on young Chance but even a surface skim shows substance. It’s nice to see a young cat making an attempt at being creative without rehashing the past completely.

“Paranoia,” a bonus track on Acid Rap, is a collaboration with beat-scene wonderkid Nosaj Thing — and it’s pretty amazing. I hope the rest of the tape is as good. Over a brooding, slumping beat Chance starts and stops, going from an exhausted sing-song to a feverish urgency and back. It’s also really interesting to listen to the track in the context of a young person from Chicago rapping about his hometown, a city that has been plagued with extreme levels of youth violence for years.

It’s come out in interviews and articles that Chance’s latest tape was pretty self explanatory: many of the raps where recorded on acid. He goes a bit further to explain that his process would sometimes include freestyling on acid as a way to establish the skeleton of his tracks before fine-tuning them. I love this but I hope it doesn’t lead shittier rappers to think they can snort heroin and make some dope tracks.

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Chance The Rapper – Paranoia (Prod. Nosaj Thing)

2. Posted in: hip-hop, electronic hip-hop, experimental hip hop, mellow hip hop, nosaj thing

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Kendrick Lamar – Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe (Sly 5thAve Cover)

sweeneykovar — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:26:53 +0000

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Sounds like: Sene, Knxwledge

Song: Kendrick Lamar - Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe (Sly 5thAve Cover) [download here]

What's so good?

Folks have been saying that hip-hop is not “musical” since fanny packs were popular, maybe even before that. I guess one could see that arguments’ root, however flawed, but in 2013 there can be just as much effort and musical ability put into a rap song as any other.

Saxophonist Sly 5thAve comes from the hip-hop cannon, but is able to do so much more. A frequent collaborator with Sene and the Brooklyn artist collective The Clubhouse, he’s lent his musical chops to Sene’s Brooklyknight LP as well as a gang of other projects. His ability and hustle has not gone without notice; the Purple One recently tapped the brass player to join his band on tour.

That hasn’t made Sly hit the brakes, though. As part of an ongoing cover series, Sly recently released an instrumental cover of Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe.” Along with a cast of characters labeled The ClubCasa Chamber Orchestra, he reinterprets Kendrick’s single into an instrumental, live-instrument interpretation.

The good folks at OkayPlayer explain a bit more:

“Well this is just all types of awesome. The homie Sly5thAve and The ClubCasa Chamber Orchestra are going to start putting out weekly releases of reinterpretations of popular songs, and they get things kicked off with this smoothed out cover of Kendrick Lamar‘s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe.” The reinterpretation was produced by Sly (also on Saxes, Flutes, and Clarinets) featuring Jay Jennings (Trumpet, Flugelhorn), Joey Rayfield(Trombone), and mixed and mastered by Nolan Thies. Listen below, and look for a new one next week.”

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Kendrick Lamar – Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe (Sly 5thAve Cover)

2. Posted in: hip-hop, covers, Instrumental Hip Hop, Knxwledge, kendrick lamar

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

King Krule – The Noose of Jah City

sweeneykovar — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:05:20 +0000

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Sounds like: James Blake, Knxwledge, Wu Lyf, Flying Lotus

Song: King Krule - The Noose of Jah City [download here]

What's so good?

I’m not exactly sure how to classify King Krule’s “The Noose of Jah City,” and I don’t care to. The British artist used to go by the name Zoo Kid before taking on a Donkey Kong-inspired alias. The 19-year-old (!) Brit has a cartoonishly thin frame that belies his deep baritone and introspective subject matter. That’s pretty much all I know of him, factually.

Musically, I know the kid is on some other shit. His self-titled EP from 2011 houses this monster track we’re streaming today. Somber and moody, the song pairs a faint guitar and a backbeat with Krule’s booming vocals. The song feels like Sade’s slow bullet; it builds gradually, but before you realize it, it’s hooked you in. It’s obviously got indie aesthetics, but I hear a veritable hip-hop influence — not only in the rhythm, but the way the sampled chord changes come in. I’m nearly illiterate in terms of formal music composition and knowledge, so I could be flat-out wrong, but something tells me I’m not.

It doesn’t particularly take talent to get a buzz. A well-connected and well-implemented plan and the right aesthetics can do the trick, but it is very encouraging to see someone so young produce something of such force and gain recognition. I’m obviously late to the party, but I’m definitely keeping my eye on this guy.

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: King Krule – The Noose of Jah City

2. Posted in: experimental, indie, shoegaze, James Blake, Experimental electronic

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Queens D.Light – Everything Special

sweeneykovar — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:22:29 +0000

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Sounds like: Ras_G, Invincible, Thee Satisfaction

Song: Queens D.Light - Everything Special [download here]

What's so good?

As a culture/genre/industry of its own, hip-hop houses a continuum within itself. You can have two songs that are based on syncopated rhythms with rhyming, metered vocals that are vastly different from each other in style, content, and audience.

Boom-bap hip-hop is perhaps least popular now than ever. A verse over a looped sample and staccato drums is now some 20+ years removed from the height of its esteem. The doesn’t mean it’s any less powerful of an iteration, or that it still can’t be tweaked to sound fresh in 2013.

Queens D.Light is a self-described griot coming out of Oakland, and when I first heard “Everything Special,” I was hooked by its brevity and earnestness. In less than two minutes, Queens freaks a lazy horn loop into self-assured and unapologetically positive music. There are no magnanimous boasts or shock statements and she weaves Yoruba and Kemetic influences without being self-congratulatory about it.

A film worker as well as musician, you can catch more of Queens D.Light on her Tumblr. “Everything Special” is the single from upcoming her debut project, California Wildflower.

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Queens D.Light – Everything Special

2. Posted in: hip-hop, underground hip hop, ras_g, female rapper, bay area

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Quasimoto – Planned Attack

sweeneykovar — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:01:33 +0000

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Sounds like: Madlib, J Dilla, Knxwledge

Song: Quasimoto - Planned Attack [download here]

What's so good?

From the smokey, idiosyncratic mind of Madlib emerges Quasimoto. Crudely drawn, yellow (or blue) and constantly armed with either a blunt or a brick, this miscreant has run amok in various soundscapes over the last decade plus.

First emerging on white-label vinyl he made his full debut with The Unseen followed by The Further Adventures of Lord Quas, the ass-grabbing, 40 oz-drinking bully has been bugged out since birth. With a voice that sounds like Alvin and a perspective that’s more in line with NWA, it’s easy to see that Quas’ music is anything but ordinary. A psychedelic re-imagining of classic break beats and old school hip-hop, Quas is informed by the past but in no means a torch bearer, moreso an iconoclast. The Quas projects were always dense, heady experiences. Many folks, myself included, found an initial aversion to the helium-voiced character soon gave way to an odd fondness for him.

After years of die-hard fans salivating for new Lord Quas material, Stones Throw has just announced the upcoming release of Yessir…Whatever, a retrospective of sorts that will feature 12 tracks composed over 12 years. It should be made clear this is not a proper Quasimoto album, it seems to be more of a compilation. Some are cleaned up versions of hard to find vinyl cuts, others have leaked onto cyberspace in different (sometimes better) form but some of the material is unreleased. The LP will be satisfying to any Quas collector but at this time it doesn’t feel like it packs the punch of the first two weird classics. It’s not as meaty, it’s actually very accessible considering the parties involved.

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Quasimoto – Planned Attack

2. Posted in: hip-hop, underground hip hop, j dilla, Los Angeles, madlib

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Empress Of – Tristeza

sweeneykovar — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:26:14 +0000

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Sounds like: Sonnymoon, Lykke Li, Beach House

Song: Empress Of - Tristeza [download here]

What's so good?

My homegirl Isa initially put me onto Empress Of through her radio show, The Parked Car. In between Ciara tunes and hyphy jams (she’s in the Bay Area), my last visit to the show yielded this pleasant gem. Electronic but not quite uptempo, yet not a slow jam by any means, “Tristeza” is cerebral and spacey, and Lorely Rodriguez (Empress Of’s alter ego) keeps things wistful with her smoky voice.

A quick search on this site shows me Christina and Anibal are already up on the Empress train, and I guess I’m riding in the caboose. Well, no one has singled out this track yet, which hits a soft spot for me because it’s in Spanish.

If you’re still sleeping on Empress Of, head on over to her website, which honestly is part of what won me over. A complete Craigslist mimic may be trendy/hipster or what have you, but it is also completely hilarious, and in this case, very well done.

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Empress Of – Tristeza

2. Posted in: indie pop, female vocalist, electro pop, beach house, lykke li

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

IO – I Wasted My Time

sweeneykovar — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:51:24 +0000

Visit Indie Shuffle to download.

Sounds like: The Weeknd, Shlohmo, Ryan Hemsworth

Song: I/O - I Wasted My Time [download here]

What's so good?

A little while back, I got a heads up about IO through Dan Solomito. I was previously unaware of this Nigerian R&B artist, but the first track I was exposed to, “I Wasted My Time,” showed promise. For those of us who are not vehemently opposed to music in the vein of Maxwell but think someone like The Weeknd takes things a bit too overboard, IO seems to strike a good balance.

Also, he’s the grandson of the late great Nigerian percussionist Babatunde Olatunji, and that’s pretty rad. Stereogum premiered “I Wasted My Time” and have a bit more to say:

“I/O is the music project of Ayo Olatunji, a solo artist whose R&B-informed sound sticks its toes into the static of Weeknd-like musical textures, but a sound free of that artist’s narcissism and nihilism. “I Wasted My Time,” a single from I/O’s imminent Isolated mixtape, shows off an attractive warmth, and for all of its subtlety and laid-back atmosphere, “I Wasted My Time” signals a bright arrival for Olatunji.”

Check out the video as well!

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: IO – I Wasted My Time

2. Posted in: R&B, electronic hip-hop, the weeknd, shlohmo, new-wave

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

De La Soul – Get Away (Ft. The Spirit of The Wu)

sweeneykovar — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:48:01 +0000

Visit Indie Shuffle to download.

Sounds like: J Dilla, Wu Tang Clan, Madlib

Song: De La Soul - Get Away (Ft. The Spirit of The Wu) [download here]

What's so good?

When I first heard Stakes Is High, I was in my first year in college, and that album blew my head wide open. I had liked 3 Feet High and Rising, was a little confused by Bulhoone Mindstate and De La Soul Is Dead, but I didn’t consider myself an avid De La fan at the time. It was nearly ten years since De La had released Stakes, but in 2004 it hit me like it had just been released. The intricacy of Posdnous and Trugoy’s MCing was sublime, and the way they could effortlessly weave between lovingly lambasting what their culture had become to simply styling on you with words was and still is otherworldly to me.

To call De La Soul legendary is redundant. No other group has spanned as many years, as many styles, and maintained as much relevancy and respect while consistently making interesting music like the trio from Long Island. The teenager inside me is ecstatic to hear that their first LP since The Grind Date is coming in 2013. Rolling Stone just premiered the first cut, “Get Away,” that finds Plug 1 and Plug 2 taking their posts as elder statesmen of hip-hop and giving the culture a swift kick in the ass over a loop that Wu fans might find familiar. Pos explains:

“I’ve always loved the ‘Intro’ on Disc Two of Wu-Tang Forever – this erie sample with no beat, that they only talked over,” De La Soul’s Posdnuos tells Rolling Stone. “I stumbled on the original sample while crate digging one day, took it straight to the lab and added drums. The feel is definitely gritty, hard and sounds like a Wu record, so out of inspirational respect, we included featuring ‘The Spirit of the Wu’ in the song title.”

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: De La Soul – Get Away (Ft. The Spirit of The Wu)

2. Posted in: hip-hop, underground hip hop, j dilla, madlib, wu-tang clan

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Pusha T – Numbers On The Boards

sweeneykovar — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:14:54 +0000

Visit Indie Shuffle to download.

Sounds like: Madlib, Alchemist, Kanye West

Song: Pusha T - Numbers On The Boards [download here]

What's so good?

Since Lord Willin‘, The Clipse have been one of my favorite hip-hop duos. Even when I had trouble reconciling their subject matter with my own inclinations, their wordplay and beat choices always drew me in. When the two brothers took a hiatus after two amazing albums and an uneven third, I pretty much wrote them off. No offense to Malice, but I’ve never been into Christian rap, and Pusha seemed to somehow be duller without having the introspective contrast of his brother by his side.

Then Pusha joined Kanye and the crew over at GOOD music. He had a few verses that sounded hype, but I had yet to get the adrenaline rush of “Virginia” or “Keys Open Doors.” Then “Numbers On The Boards” came out. Goddamn… this is that shit.

It starts first and foremost with the beat. Produced by ‘Ye but sounding very much influenced by the lo-fi loops of Madlib, the low-end heavy beat is deceivingly simple. Pusha T talks the usual greasy talk, but rides the beat oh-so-confidently that he could be rapping the phone book and the track would still get spun back a few times.

If this is any indication of his GOOD music debut, I’m intrigued.

------------------------ With countless sub-genres

1. Original post: Pusha T – Numbers On The Boards

2. Posted in: hip-hop, madlib, kanye west, pusha t, the clipse

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Proof – Keep It On The Low (Ft. J Dilla)

sweeneykovar — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:27:30 +0000

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Sounds like: House Shoes, Waajeed, Slum Village

Song: Proof - Keep It On The Low (Ft. J Dilla) [download here]

What's so good?

April 11 is the anniversary of Proof’s passing. For anyone in the dark, Proof and his lineage are without equal in Detroit, from Eminem to J Dilla, Proof was a connecting thread between the hip-hop scene. Few other MCs cared and carried for the city with just devotion. Even as his star rose alongside Marshall Mathers, Proof always maintained a presence.

This year, in celebration of his life, Paul Rosenberg of Shady Records unearthed “Keep It On The Low,” a track J Dilla and Proof composed in the 90s during their Funky Cowboy phase. Soon afterwards Hex Murda shared the following story:

“I guess I’ll tell y’all this dumb-ass Proof story. That nigga was crazy. One day, a buncha niggas including @1stBornZ8neKing and Proof were on my porch (being porch monkeys) drinking and talking shit. Proof saw my brother @RaMegz on the other side of the street about to make the turn around the island to come to my crib and had a brilliant idea. He decided to climb my tree and leap on my brother’s head when he walked to the porch. So this grown-ass nigga Proof scampered up my tree and climbed out on a limb in like 6 seconds to wait on my brother. @RaMegz finally made the turn, parked in front of my crib and got out of his truck not suspecting shit.

All this time Proof is in my tree hanging onto a limb like a damn spider monkey. @RaMegz started up the walk, and Proof waited on him. Me and @1stBornZ8neKing keep looking back and forth from @RaMegz to Proof to see how this shit was gonna play out. Right before my brother walked under Proof, the limb snapped and P HumptyDumpty’d his way to the ground. Proof fell directly on his back HARD, barely avoiding the cement walkway. We were too stunned to laugh. @RaMegz kept looking up to see if anymore people were falling from the sky. Proof was just laying there, still clutching the limb. Finally somebody said, “U alright, dog?” Proof got up still holding onto the limb with one hand, brushed himself off, and without a word ran to his truck and threw the branch in back. @1stBornZ8neKing jumped in the passenger seat and these niggas peeled out of my driveway, went over the island and headed east on 96.

I have no idea why I followed them but I did, leaving all those niggas at my house and getting into a 100mph race on the freeway. At one point @1stBornZ8neKing threw the limb out into my path. I had to swerve and shit. I followed these niggas all the way from Ewald and Davison to @Dogmatic313′s on Gratiot and Kilbourne. Detroit niggas kno how far that is. We laughed at our own stupidity and drank some more. I forgot all about that shit.

At about 4am that night I heard gun shots real close. I think someone is shooting up the downstairs. I grab my heat and look out the window. I see Proof’s truck and an outline of a nigga that looks like Proof. I go outside it is Proof. Standing five feet from my tree. Reloading. I ask him what the fuck he’s doing. He said that my tree tried to kill him and now he has beef with it. The nigga had been shooting my tree. Emptied a clip in it and in the coming months he wld shoot it periodically. It got to the point I wldnt even grab my gun and look outside. I knew it was him. Dog was crazy and that really isn’t the end of the story, I just cut the story short. This shit went on for years. It got to the point he was attacking other niggas foliage because of me. Proof jumped in @Marvwon’s mama’s bushes and said it was because Marv was down with me, he fucked those bushes up. Proof would go on world tours and send me post-cards threatening my tree. “Yeah nigga, I’m in Switzerland. Tell yo tree I’ll holla.”

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1. Original post: Proof – Keep It On The Low (Ft. J Dilla)

2. Posted in: hip-hop, underground hip hop, j dilla, detroit, house shoes

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Coultrain – Streams & Rivers

sweeneykovar — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:16:13 +0000

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Sounds like: Bilal, Hawthorne Headhunters, Sa-Ra

Song: Coultrain - Streams & Rivers [download here]

What's so good?

Soulful nomad Coultrain returns to his Seymour Liberty narrative with his full length album Jungle Mumbo Jumbo on Plug Research. The homie Kenny Fresh of Fresh Selects gives us the context around the first single, “Streams & Rivers”:

“Streams & Rivers” - a song which embodies 1 of the 7 different female characters that Seymour encounters throughout the course of the album. Following up on the found material, mixtape style of the story’s previous chapter, GodMustBeABoogieMan, and the vintage loops of his debut, The Adventures Of…, Jungle Mumbo Jumbo takes Seymour’s journey in new sonic directions, with strictly original production and live instrumentation found throughout, mostly leaning in a Latin-inspired, psych-jazz direction.”

Below, Coultrain himself explains the deliberate purpose behind the timing of “Streams and Rivers” as well as Jungle Mumbo Jumbo:

“This year, the spring equinox falls on March 20th. The March equinox happens when the sun crosses the celestial equator – an imaginary line around the sky above Earth’s equator moving south to north. The equinox is a time of fertility and creation. It’s a time to clarify desires, to set intentions, and also a time to plant seeds for the future. This is a time to celebrate. A time of rebirth and renewal. To celebrate it, the first single from Coultrain’s latest offering, Jungle Mumbo Jumbo, will be released. It is entitled “Streams & Rivers.” It was composed by Jason “The Dirty Lynt” Moore, with additional instrumentation by I, Ced and Erik Rico. It is the story of a poetess who is entrapped in the ever elusive arms of her heart’s desire, Seymour Liberty, this is the story on the surface anyway. It also draws many other underlying themes, those of which you must allow your imagination to decide.

The album’s release date is April 23rd. The number 23 has held a mystique that has lasted for centuries: the number “2” being division, male and female, day and night and wisdom in Hebrew esoteric philosophy. The number “3” being the Holy Trinity, the essence of all things, for time consist of past, present and future, male and female are made of spirit, soul and body, space is defines by height width and depth. The number ”5” being the key to the entire system, is intimately related to the Pyramid, the perfect 5th in music, the five senses in man being taste, smell, touch, sight and hearing. and 2 + 3 = 5, they are one in the same. So from the number of vertebrae in a human spine, to the number of chromosomes each parent contributes to create life, to the number of grandmasters of the knights templars, to the law of fives, the number of the latin alphabet has 23 letters. its significance can go on and on, it is an enigma. the magic of this date is boundless.”

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1. Original post: Coultrain – Streams & Rivers

2. Posted in: soul, R&B, funk, rnb, jazz

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Black Milk – Computer Ugly Ugly/Why Worry

sweeneykovar — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:34:57 +0000

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Sounds like: J Dilla, Karriem Riggins, Madlib

Song: Black Milk - Computer Ugly Ugly/Why Worry [download here]

What's so good?

Though he just hit us with a double single for an upcoming solo album, Black Milk is not slowing down. On the heels of Sunday’s Best/Monday’s Worst comes the first leak from Synth or Soul.

Black’s upcoming instrumental project pits man against machine. The A side is composed of tracks that lean heavy on synthesizers and other cold, machine-like sounds. The B side, as you might expect, is the soul side; drawing from Black’s vast catalogue of rare soul records, he chops them in familiar ways to create the soulful Detroit knock we’ve come to expect.

More than just an awesome instrumental album, Synth or Soul marks the inception of Computer Ugly, Black Milk’s creative house. The project is part of a Fuzz, Freq’s, Colors series that combines Black’s unique take on programmed sounds with equally special visual artists. This first collaboration partners him with Upendo Taylor. As the eponymous site explains:

“Black Milk collaborates with illustrator Upendo “Pen” Taylor (Nike, Leroy Jenkins, Gatorade) for the music-meets-visual instrumental/art series Fuzz, Freqs & Colors(FFC). Synth or Soul is the first volume in the FFC series. The process for each volume starts with Black and Pen trading beats and sketches and refining their works along the way. Throughout that exchange, the music is shaped by the visual art and the visual art is shaped by the music.”

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1. Original post: Black Milk – Computer Ugly Ugly/Why Worry

2. Posted in: Instrumental Hip Hop, j dilla, experimental hip hop, madlib, detroit

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Chicano Batman – Soniatl

sweeneykovar — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:51:09 +0000

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Sounds like: Manu Chao, Ozomatli, Quantic

Song: Chicano Batman - Soniatl [download here]

What's so good?

In most of North America, it’s officially spring. The frost has thawed, flowers are blooming, and all kinds of romantic crap. It’s been right around this time that I finally got a chance to crack open this Chicano Batman 10″ record I bought a few months back. Man, am I glad I did.

This hybrid rock outfit of young Angelinos create a particularly stony kind of Latin rock. It’s music infused with psychedelia and soul, that draws heavily on their Spanish-speaking roots but ultimately is a very American product, an amalgam. It also just sounds so good, like something you didn’t know you loved. It’s very appropriate to the season as well, the warm and fuzzy guitars and robust bass lines go very much with growth of spring and the hope of summer. If you’re in the beginnings of a spring thing, this could also very well be the soundtrack for that, too.

The song I chose today is not from Joven Navegante, the 10″ I bought at The Echoplex last November. It’s from their self-titled debut. I dig their stuff so much I thought I’d space it out; you’ll definitely be hearing and seeing more of them on here as spring turns to summer. Enjoy.

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1. Original post: Chicano Batman – Soniatl

2. Posted in: surf rock, psychedelic rock, world music, latin, latin rock

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Yasiin Bey & Mannie Fresh – Black Jesus

sweeneykovar — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:36:03 +0000

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Sounds like: Mos Def, Jay Electronica, Will

Song: Yasiin Bey & Mannie Fresh - Black Jesus [download here]

What's so good?

In 1999, Mannie Fresh had just produced “Back That Azz Up” for Juvenile, a song that would introduce to a great cross section of America the beginning of Lil Wayne. That same year, Mos Def, a young strong-willed MC from Brooklyn, New York made his debut as a solo artist with the scathing and ambitiously artistic Black On Both Sides. The popular narrative of rap and hip-hop culture would most likely pin these two artists on opposing ends of the spectrum.

Fourteen years later, out of their own volition and without the involvement of a record company, those two artists recorded a 10-track LP together. Reportedly entitled OMFGOD, news of the project managed to pique the interest of even the most jaded rap fans. After performing two cuts from the record at a concert in Arizona, “Black Jesus” has sprung onto the Internets.

What sounds like the opening cut of the project features Yasiin (that’s what Mos prefers you call him now) playing an evangelical angle over drums by Fresh that sound like they could be marching up your street behind a horn section. Here’s the thing though, there’s hardly any raps on it. While I’m sure that’ll inspire ire from a few heads (something Mos has been known for), I personally ultimately judge music on the feeling it elicits… and in this case, I think it works. It makes me feel like him and Fresh have chemistry, and I’m curious to see what the other nine tracks sound like.

I’ll definitely stay posted for what comes next from this collaboration.

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1. Original post: Yasiin Bey & Mannie Fresh – Black Jesus

2. Posted in: hip-hop, underground hip hop, jay electronica, mos def, yasiin bey

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Blu – Rap Dope

sweeneykovar — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:42:14 +0000

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Sounds like: Scoop Deville, Kendrick Lamar, Zeroh

Song: Blu - Rap Dope [download here]

What's so good?

It seems Blu is reinventing himself yet again. After channeling the sound of the L.A. beat scene with NoYork, taking us to church with Jesus, and producing a pair of LPs for up-and-comers Anthm and Ræl J Wallace, Azulito’s next project looks like it’ll bring him full circle.

The Angelino MC grew up in the 90s with a variety of musical influences, but Cali’s G-Funk was hometown music. Like so many of us, he spent much of his early years searching past what was immediately available to him and drawing influence from other regions, but Blu’s West Coast through and through. That’s why it’s exciting to see him connect to his rap roots with his upcoming LP, Good To B Home, produced entirely by Inland Empire beatsmith Bombay Da Realest. Judging from the first leak, “Rap Dope,” this is Blu and Bombay re-imagining that hardcore sound of California hip-hop from the 1990s.

Though he’s not always an easy pill to swallow, Blu has proven that no matter what direction he takes, he’ll always keep the music intriguing. This looks to be no exception.

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1. Original post: Blu – Rap Dope

2. Posted in: hip-hop, underground hip hop, kendrick lamar, Blu, scoop deville

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Paul White – Street Lights Ft. Danny Brown

sweeneykovar — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 15:16:06 +0000

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Sounds like: Danny Brown, Shigeto, Chanes

Song: Paul White - Street Lights Ft. Danny Brown [download here]

What's so good?

I was debating which new Danny Brown song to post, his Old preview, “Kush Coma,” or “Street Lights,” a collaboration with Paul White. Ultimately I decided towards the latter, if only because “Kush Coma” already has more than 150K plays on SoundCloud.

The Hybrid reunites with UK producer Paul White for a semi-apocalyptic depiction of a decaying metropolis. Danny teeters between social commentary and traditional MC braggadocio; in one line he’s sharing how even the police are shook in his neighborhood, and a few bars down he’s roasting jealous rappers whose BBM’s he ignores in preference of doing drugs. Paul White’s music creates a dark, tense but moving sound bed for Danny to paint his vividly macabre and curiously witty imagery.

This track serves as the latest exhibit in the case for Danny Brown as one of the most interesting rappers rapping today, and Paul White continues to do his part in pushing hip-hop forward through his own lens. The 12″ vinyl version of this single, shipping out in a few weeks, will feature a remix by Detroit’s own Dabrye, an even colder and more industrial take on White’s version.

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1. Original post: Paul White – Street Lights Ft. Danny Brown

2. Posted in: hip-hop, danny brown, Shigeto, progressive hip-hop, UK hip hop

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Scoop Deville – Poetic Justice (Instrumental)

sweeneykovar — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:29:00 +0000

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Sounds like: Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Knxwledge

Song: Scoop Deville - Poetic Justice (Instrumental) [download here]

What's so good?

Last October, when Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city was released, I remember thinking that if only the album came out in February or March, it’s most commercially-viable track would likely go from an obvious hit to a smash spring or summer anthem. I was obviously seriously underestimating the impact K.dot’s opus would have.

It’s now almost exactly five months after the LP’s release, and “Poetic Justice” is just hitting #1 on National Urban Radio. Thanks in no small part to Scoop Deville’s beat, it seems the song is going to become the spring/summer smash I predicted.

And it’s in celebration of the track achieving the aforementioned commercial success that Scoopaloop takes to his SoundCloud (you should visit sometime, he’s got heat!) to release the long-coveted instrumental version of the track. I mean, this just sounds like the blooming of spring. Scoop finesses Janet Jackson’s “Anytime Anyplace” and doesn’t chop it into obscurity, but instead merely re-arranges and bolsters it, taking it from 1993 to 2012. Janet’s voice sounds smooth as silk over Scoop’s kicks and claps, it’s almost a song to itself MC-less.

Perfect for a lazy Sunday, preferably played in a slow-moving large-bodied American-made vehicle with a decent sound system, enjoy one of the best hip-hop songs to hit radio in a minute.

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1. Original post: Scoop Deville – Poetic Justice (Instrumental)

2. Posted in: hip-hop, Instrumental Hip Hop, drake, Knxwledge, kendrick lamar

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish – Flowers

sweeneykovar — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:30:53 +0000

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Sounds like: Four Tet, Moodymann, Amp Fiddler

Song: Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish - Flowers [download here]

What's so good?

Even if you are a pathetic house newbie like myself, you have no doubt heard of the quiet master from Detroit, Theo Parrish. Armed with a long history in the genre and his own label (that doesn’t have a website), Parrish has been at the forefront of soulful club music — dance tunes with substance. If you ever get a chance to see the man live, you’ll witness an unassuming looking gentleman turn a DJ booth into a magician’s stage.

“Flowers,” the lead track from Ghanian Londoner Andrew Ashong’s eponymous EP on Theo Parrish’ Sound Signature label, is a small epic. It’s complex in form but masterfully simple in its impact. Spanning nearly nine minutes, the song grows from wonderfully sloppy drums to a warbling baseline and sunshine keys. Sounding like a sweeter Gonjasufi, Ashong’s vocals complement the music just so, without clashing with it for attention. What I love most about the track is how it evolves with new elements emerging constantly but it still keeps a dusty and intimate feeling.

In one composition, Ashong and Parrish create a world to get lost in layered with muted emotions and a deep musicality. This is the shit!

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1. Original post: Andrew Ashong & Theo Parrish – Flowers

2. Posted in: house, soul, four tet, detroit, deep soul

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Kendrick Lamar – Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe (Remix Ft. Jay-Z)

sweeneykovar — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:45:20 +0000

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Sounds like: Jay Electronica, Jay-Z, Andre 3000

Song: Kendrick Lamar - Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe (Remix Ft. Jay-Z) [download here]

What's so good?

Even the most hating hater can’t knock Kendrick. From the most curmudgeon backpack-rockin’ ‘real hip-hop’ purist to the most jaded industry head, no one can deny that Compton’s Kendrick Lamar has at least somewhat infused some excitement into a music that, on a mainstream level, has been running on fumes for a bit.

Now, with a gold plaque, K.dot takes a victory lap with a Jay-Z guest appearance on the remix for one of his LP’s standouts, “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe.” Though Jigga stunts like only he can, boasting about hanging out in the White House like it’s a mall and sitting next to the former Secretary of State “smelling like dank,” the hallowed MC actually comes through sounding like a support for Kendrick’s energetic performance.

Kendrick closes his second verse telling cats “you never be Jay, never be Nas, never be Snoop nor Dre.” Kendrick has been so successful in large part because he has stuck to his own story, carving away at the legacy of Kendrick Lamar, carefully balancing respect for his roots and honest self-discovery through mainstream rap music. Like I said earlier, you can’t even hate.

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1. Original post: Kendrick Lamar – Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe (Remix Ft. Jay-Z)

2. Posted in: hip-hop, kendrick lamar, jay z, jay electronica, hip-hop remix

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.