Four track instrumental EP from LA producer Devonwho. Sun-drenched synths and G-funk vibes are the order of the day here; 'Strangebrew' and 'Sleet' zip along with their low-slung bass and melodic purple keys while on the flip 'Cactus' takes the pace down a bit. Slow jamz with a fast feel, these three rolling 4/4 workouts are rounded off with a fresh rework of the title track from fellow West Coast funakateer B Bravo (Frite Nite, Brownswood). Comes in picture sleeve with free download code.
Up and away / To your journey to the sun / Drink your rocket juice / Fly away (Hey, Shooter).
High up in the skies, amongst the clouds, Rocket Juice & The Moon was born. Literally. It happened back in 2008, when Damon Albarn, Flea and Tony Allen convened on the same Lagos flight, to play and exchange musical ideas in that city as part of the Africa Express collective. Relishing a shared enthusiasm for one another's work, and bonding immediately, there and then the triumvirate laid down the blueprint for Rocket Juice.
Still, more than a year passed before conditions were set for three weeks together at Albarn's West London studio, recording and refining two-dozen startlingly out and deeply funky instrumental grooves. The next stage was to invite onboard some extremely talented friends, with further sessions in Dallas, New York, Chicago and Paris... Erykah Badu, no less, queen of contemporary soul. Three companions from Africa Express: Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara, whose debut album has topped World Music charts since its release last Autumn; her multi-talented compatriot Cheick Tidiane Seck, whose prodigious keyboardism has lit up releases by artists ranging from Youssou N'Dour to Hank Jones; the young, Ghanaian rapper M.anifest, quizzically existential, switching seamlessly between Twi and English. And the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, long-time stalwarts in the Honest Jon's set-up — since one of the team discovered them busking near the shop in Portobello Road, on his lunchbreak — with a second album for the label due in May... Finally, the tracks were dispatched for mixing to Berlin, to be meticulously honed, polished and envenomed by Mark Ernestus, one half of the legendary Basic Channel and Rhythm & Sound partnerships.
The result is Rocket Juice & The Moon — out March 26, 2012, on Honest Jon's Records — a triumphant exploration and proliferation of kinetic Afro-funk rhythms: organic, exuberant, communal music-making, evidenced by the project's live debut on stage as part of the Honest Jon's Chop Up in late 2011, which hit London, Marseille, Dublin, and Cork to such great acclaim (witness the flurry of smart-phone film-clips uploaded in the days thereafter).
From the inaugural bars — that absurdly funky slice of instructional timekeeping, 1-2-3-4-5-6 — the liquid pulse of Fela Kuti's classic recordings drives the action through a suite of 18 shape-shifting compositions. The greatest drummer in the world has never sounded so good as he does here. His intricate cross-patterns jostle and lock with Flea's nimble, rumbling bass riffs. Joined by Seck on There and Extinguished — 'when you dispose of something burning, be sure it's out' — Albarn's keyboards spray synth fusillades up top, over, and under... splicing into the mess of wires running between the freaked Afro-disco of William Onyeabor and the space-jazz-moog of Sun Ra. The HBE brings extra intensity and drama to Leave-Taking — likewise Flea's trumpet to Rotary Connection — teasing out the haunting melody coiled in the mix.
Where the best of vintage Afrobeat sides sustained their concentrated energies over the course of sprawling, marathon jams, RJ & TM manages something altogether different: the group bottles the idiom into capsules of funk... and real songs. Beautifully buoyed by Erykah Badu's unmistakable vocals, Hey, Shooter brilliantly traverses metaphysical spaceways sans any semblance of noodling. Lolo and Follow-Fashion — featuring the open-hearted sensuality of Diawara's singing, M.anifest's quick, brawny science, and more brass blasts — play like its musical cousins or codas. Indeed, the album's shrewd sequencing creates the composite effect of tracks working both individually or within the context of an extended song-cycle.
The lovely ballad, Poison, is bittersweet and ruminative: 'If you're looking for love, beware the signs / They will paralyze you one by one / Poison, it will only break your heart.' Down-tempo and dubby, Check Out and Worries amplify the range of styles and moods. And by the time of Fatherless — a chugging Afro blues that evokes John Lee Hooker lost in Lagos, one gets the sneaking suspicion there's very little outside the reach of this collective's inventive musical grasp.
There is, in fact, a palpable openness pervading Rocket Juice & The Moon — the sense of a limber willingness to follow creative impulse — right down to how the group acquired its name. When Ogunajo Ademola — the Lagotian commissioned to do the album's cover artwork — dubbed his submission 'Rocket Juice & The Moon', it quickly morphed into the formal name of the project, like trying to hold onto mercury.
Surely, the stars above also approved.
Edward O’Sullivan Lee “but my friends call me Bunny or Striker Lee” was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 23rd August 1941. He started in the music business plugging records for Duke Reid at Treasure Isle, Coxsone Dodd at Studio One and Leslie Kong at Beverley’s. “I used to do plugging… when I say plugging I used to get their records played on ‘Teenage Dance Party’ and we’d dance so if you had a record to plug you’d put it on and dance to it and show the latest moves”.
The latest jam from Thorsten Scheu aka GLANCE (stir 15) and JIMMIE WILSON ("pretender") follows the vibe of classic, timeless house music, three mixes that span a wide range.
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One can hardly imagine the genre-busting, culture-crossing musical magic of Outkast, Prince, Erykah Badu, Rick James, The Roots, or even the early Red Hot Chili Peppers without the influence of R&B pioneer Betty Davis. Her style of raw and revelatory punk-funk defies any notions that women can’t be visionaries in the worlds of rock and pop. In recent years, rappers from Ice Cube to Talib Kweli to Ludacris have rhymed over her intensely strong but sensual music.
There is one testimonial about Betty Davis that is universal: she was a woman ahead of her time. In our contemporary moment, this may not be as self-evident as it was thirty years ago – we live in an age that’s been profoundly changed by flamboyant flaunting of female sexuality: from Parlet to Madonna, Lil Kim to Kelis. Yet, back in 1973 when Betty Davis first showed up in her silver go-go boots, dazzling smile and towering Afro, who could you possibly have compared her to? Marva Whitney had the voice but not the independence. Labelle wouldn’t get sexy with their “Lady Marmalade” for another year while Millie Jackson wasn’t Feelin’ Bitchy until 1977. Even Tina Turner, the most obvious predecessor to Betty’s fierce style wasn’t completely out of Ike’s shadow until later in the decade.
Ms. Davis’s unique story, still sadly mostly unknown, is unlike any other in popular music. Betty wrote the song “Uptown” for the Chambers Brothers before marrying Miles Davis in the late ’60s, influencing him with psychedelic rock, and introducing him to Jimi Hendrix — personally inspiring the classic album Bitches Brew.
But her songwriting ability was way ahead of its time as well. Betty not only wrote every song she ever recorded and produced every album after her first, but the young woman penned the tunes that got The Commodores signed to Motown. The Detroit label soon came calling, pitching a Motown songwriting deal, which Betty turned down. Motown wanted to own everything. Heading to the UK, Marc Bolan of T. Rex urged the creative dynamo to start writing for herself. A common thread throughout Betty’s career would be her unbending Do-It-Yourself ethic, which made her quickly turn down anyone who didn’t fit with the vision. She would eventually say no to Eric Clapton as her album producer, seeing him as too banal.
Her 1974 sophomore album They Say I’m Different features a worthy-of-framing futuristic cover challenging David Bowie’s science fiction funk with real rocking soul-fire, kicked off with the savagely sexual “Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him” (later sampled by Ice Cube). Her follow up is full of classic cuts like “Don’t Call Her No Tramp” and the hilarious, hard, deep funk of “He Was A Big Freak.”
Das formidable Porträt der Reggae-Ikone ist in der 10-Track LP-Vinyl-Edition wieder neu aufgelegt! - Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott (25. Mai 1956 - 10. Juli 2010) war einer der ganz großen jamaikanischen Künstler, ein Sänger mit unnachahmlicher Stimme, Produzent und Soundsystembetreiber. Er begann als 13-jähriger Teenager im Trio The African Brothers, 1974 ging er zu Studio One, wo seine Solokarriere startete, er gründete sein eigenes Label Black Roots und feierte schließlich im Jahr 1981 den Top 5-Hit "Good Thing Going" in den englischen Charts.
Boot & Leg 7 hit the ground with an 100% Jamaican dubstep booties. Recent worldwide anthem Be Carefull and Bang Bang gets a wicked treatment that's ensure those tunes to ram most floor within the upcoming year. Enjoy!
After releases and remixes out on Lovemonk Records and Nickodemus' Wonderwheel label Pablo Sanchéz is currently throwing out hot jams from his studio in Barcelona.
For GAMM he sorted us with a blazin' discoish dub of Pointer Sisters 'Yes We Can Can' that gives the original a more dj friendly push.
On the b-side 'Monkiez' delivers a classic meltdown of hip hop beats Thelonius Monk jazz samples.
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Two true heroes of underground electronic music, Alex Flatner & Lopazz step up the game with this brand new outing on Poker Flat. The original version of "Dinosaurs' is a pacy, energetic jam with a super-solid bass foundation.
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Joining the Klectik family are two of Argentina's finest young producers, Juan Franco Di Lorenzo and Gonzalo Urtizberea.
Dilo and Gurtz are respected around the world for pushing the distinct sound of South American techno-music, that is cerebral and experimental, sexy and organic - all at onceSupport from Elon, Jorge Savoreti, Mazi, Taimur, Andrew Grant, Bryan Zentz, Dan Berkson, James What, Stefny, Brothers Vibe, Bloody Mary, Mirco Violi, Kate Simko, Chris Fortier, Paco Osuna, Danny Teneglia, Kane Roth, and Lady D.
Early support by: JOSEPH CAPRIATI, LUKE SLATER, VIRGIL ENZINGER, BAS MOOY, SUBMERGE, ERIC SNEO, CARI LEKEBUSCH, ROBERT NATUS, LARS KLEIN, PFIRTER, TECHNASIA, RUYJI TAKEUSCHI, TOM HADES, A.MOCHI, ODESSA SOUNDFREAKS, ARCANE, FLOTEK, DJ BALTHAZAR, DJ MIKA, MP LEARY, BOBBY DOWELL, DR.HOFFMANN, MATT K and many more!!!
Finally repressed!
Chris Liberator the Acid techno legend and workaholic DJ teams up with the amazing Sterling Moss Racetrax records for another collaboration to go with their Bored Of Minimal recent release for Stay Up Forever.
Limited Repress!
Polarius Man dun' said it in 2002: ''No more tasteless designer music by and for mindless jocks and inbred consumers, but deep and RAW Jams to tear your brain back to where its at
we are so proud of introducing an old friend of ours'label in discograph roaster... Here comes REINCARNATION. It's the joint project of Luca Benini's SLAM JAM and Enrico Crivellaro's NEROLI to release quality records and more.
Three select cuts from the long-awaited Bass Junkie album 'Comply'! 'Sub-mission' is the first nu-school electro track to chart at no. 1 in the Street Sounds electro chart, and is soon to feature on the 'Street Sounds Nu Electro 1' album!
Mentalics debut EP on his own imprint after his great Desperado EP on Microtonal which was remixed by Gabriel Ananda & Dominik Eulberg. Trippy and freaky techno with neverending build-up´s and some great glitching beats. Early support by Gabriel Ananda, Konrad Black, Xpansul, Jennifer Cardini, Mark Henning, Alland Byallo, Oliver Ho, Frankie, Perc, Jeff Samuel, Jamie Stevens, Terje Bakke, stephan bodzin, ...!!
It turns out that Holmar and Greg met in Greenland where they had both been individually exploring the worlds largest glacier. After their chance meeting at the summit, they quickly found they shared a common interest -- creating electronic music under extreme conditions. Together they took "Extreme Music" to a new level. guy gerber rmx
Kenny Gino and Big Mike a.k.a. the Solid Gold Playaz both started playing records in the late 70's/early 80's. Having family from Chicago, who were DJ's and down with some of the big guys at the time, "heavily influenced our music and production styles" both say. "Living so close to the city, we could go down to all the legendary night spots. The Rainbow and the Warehouse, the Box, the Shelter... places where you could just feel the vibe. And you could hear guys like Farley Funkin' Keith, Ron Hardy, and Jammin' Gerald (the Chicago DJ/producer who is Kenny's cousin) play these incredible records". They both were hooked on the house sound, and would bring it back to their home, a small city named Racine, Wisconsin, located about an hour and half north of Chicago. They continued to develop their DJ and production skills into the 90's, but musically, weren't taking things very seriously until they met Chicago producer Louis Bell. He introduced them to many of the people who were building the mid-90's Chicago sound. "Louis gave us access... access to places we hadn't been before. He took us into the offices of Cajual/Relief Records and Underground Construction, and suddenly we were face to face with guys who were doing what we wanted to do... Cajmere, Paul Johnson, Glenn Underground... showing us that we could do this too. We did a few releases just to get our name out, and soon we had some pretty big named DJ's playing our music. We had DJ's actually looking for our records, and telling us how much they liked our sounds... that just blew us away, especially with very little promotion and in the limited numbers we were pressing... our music just started to build a name for itself."
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"Actoma" is the new full length record by New York–based musician James Emrick. Emrick may be best known for his work with Kinet Media, handling sound design and scoring for a number of their projects. He utilizes an array of granular and feedback processes within Max/MSP environments to arrive at an idiosyncratic form of computer music that feels willfully opposed to operating within the sediments of the genre. Techniques such as real-time granulation of samples, Shepard tones, grain diffusion, and complex windowing allow Emrick to dramatize his source material in fascinating ways, and each moment of "Actoma" teems with widescreen textural allure. Perhaps Emrick’s greatest accomplishment is creating a music that remains rigorously committed to severe levels of abstraction while avoiding sterility and coldness entirely. It is a strange and otherworldly landscape indeed, but there is a consciousness there to perceive and record it.
Following releases on West Mineral and Lillerne Tapes, Iggy Romeu’s inimitable Mister Water Wet project makes its Soda Gong debut. “Top Natural Drum” feels like a double entendre ode to digging culture, drawing equally from the plantlife in the dirt and the grooves in the stacks. Tracks like opener “Soak” concoct a haze of resonant ceramic/wooden percs, skittering drum programming, and addictive yet diffuse melodic and harmonic textures. Dusty-fingered nodders like “Caged at Last”, “Classicfit,” and “Gossamer Hits Softly Spun” harken back to the glory days of instrumental hiphop and downtempo, sounding a bit like transmissions from some lost Landspeed Records or Mo’ Wax comp, or like field recordings from the courtyard at Scribble Jam that have been infused with the slippery sonic signatures and sleights of hand that define MWW productions. What links these two distinctive tonal registers is a sort of lingering warmth – warmth like the saturation of natural dye or sunlight on a brisk, clear Midwestern autumn day.
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Amsterdam might be susceptible to grey skies and rain as any other, but cup your ear to the music flowing out of the Dutch capital, and another story emerges. The Mauskovic Dance Band are a prime example of an act who have been dialing up the sunshine over the river Amstel in recent years.On Shadance Hall, their first release of 2020, they concoct a tantalising brew of no-wave, psych rock, cumbia, power dub and numerous other colourful shades of global grooves.
No stranger to Dekmantel as one of half of electro-grouping Bruxas, Nicola Mauskovic leads his percussive troupe through a heavy, trippy, disco fiesta with this, their first debut on Dekmantel Records.
The Mauskovic Dance Band’s epic sonic journey on Shadance Hall began deep in the Welsh valleys. Partnering dusty drum machines alongside phat layers of congas, assorted bric-a-brac of percussive tools, and distortion-soaked guitars, Mauskovic’s ensemble suspend the tempo and turn up the grooves. on this soundsystem-inspired, post-punk odyssey. The resulting soundsystem-inspired concoctions are a mixture of 130bpmbeats (‘Ventura Phase’), Jah Wobble-influenced bass rhythms (‘Squeeze Dogs’) and Carnival-ready soca-jams (‘Theorie Amerikaan’).
Taken back to Amsterdam’s famed Electric Monkey Studio (a favourite for Ghanian great Ebo Taylor and Dutch youngbloods Jungle By Night alike, Mauskovic teamed up with engineer Kasper Frenkel to mix down the record. Here the two acted as Mad Professors, experimenting with the recordings and making multiple versions of each track by creating tape loops, bouncing the audio back and forth and layering the resulting recordings in waves of reverb and echo. In classic dub style, the band ended up with dub edits, rich in space echo, reverb, crush, and dub-goodness, completing the second half of Shadance Hall like a funky palindrome. It rounds off an expressive EP steeped in musical history, bursting with inventiveness, projected at the listener as a maze of influences to get lost within.
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