2010 is getting crazy now. Midrange in dubstep drove it out of from its dark origins and we’re seeing Garage make a come back. Early oo’s instrumental hip-hop which was largely bass-driven and menacing is heavily influenced by electro and dubstep. The IDM of our time should be a label for the likes of Mount Kimbie and Mike Slott. shit is intelligent. I can’t categorise bass driven music anymore without there being ambiguity.

Listen to Mike Slott – Sun Tan:

Mike Slott – Sun Tan

Buy Mike slott’s  music or visit his Myspace

The Five One are a group like no other. Their sound is blessed with freedom, inventiveness, and true imagination. The quartet is rooted in Hip Hop but is never bound by conventional ideologies of hip hop or any other genre for that matter. They are like a cross between a pleasing Indie Pop/Rock band and the most innovative Hip Hop group you’ve ever heard.
Here are a few of tracks from their album The Five One – “5109: The Remix Album”. It’s worth checking out!

The Five One – Need You More (feat. Daft Punk)

The Five One Remix Lucifer – Jay Z

The Five One – Time Is Cheap (feat. Clipse & Nike Nando)

Here is a track from the recently released Tech N9ne album Sickology 101. The track is called ‘Midwest Choppers 2′ and sees N9ne collaborating with K-Dean & Krayzie Bone.  Both  N9ne and Krayzie Bone really deliver on this track, and it will definitely please fans of break-neck rap with dark crazy beats.

Tech N9ne feat. K-Dean & Krayzie Bone – Midwest Choppers 2

Her music is strong, playful, warm, tough and different. But her tracks always reflect a strong intuition of atmospheres and moods.

Recently, Frau Aike added even more spice to her life of producing, partying and pimping and took up electronic deejaying. In both her life and music, anything goes – as long as it’s sexy.

Get ready for some hot minimal techno, elektroclash and techno

Check her at her Myspace: www.myspace.com/frauaike
Here is a track that I think is amazing, check it out:

Frau Aike – Winter Breakit

This is the track that samples “My Guitar Gently Weeps” by The Beatles. Dhani Harrison, son of George Harrison, played the guitar for this, while Erykah Badu sang the chorus. I think it’s a shame that the clan don’t feature in the though, I”m not sure what that spells for them, but I am still hearing rumours of another clan album minus RZA potentially being in the works…but for now, here is the new single from 8 Diagrams – The Heart Gently Weeps:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbhwQ1acnY0[/youtube]

Wu-Tang Clan – 8 Diagrams

Wu’s latest record drops amidst minor controversy.Raekwon was reportedly not happy with the state of the production on the album, as RZA has taken somewhat of a different direction to his ‘normal’ approach.

“I don’t make a record for no quick McDonald burger… you take a quick bite and then its over.. nah man this is nutritious right here…” – RZA

It is true he has taken a different direction with this album, this appears to be his most musically diverse clan production. As for the MCing, there are some elements that just lack the soul that you get from Forever. The lyrics and beats can sometimes be incoherent and feel artificially placed. I wonder if the recent Rae/RZA beef is the cause of this. Overall though, this is a very solid album and I personally like where RZA is going with it.. but it’s just not a classic like 36 Chambers and this is what is skewing many reviews (as always with a post ~1997 wu-tang production). Go buy it and support them, it’s better than most of the Hip-Hop released this year!

Wu-tang clan – Wolves
“Wolves”

Blue Scholars’ Political Hip-Hop

Blue Scholars is the Hip-Hop duo right now and they hail from Seattle. These guys have to be a likeable pair. They are making genuine music that represents Hip-Hop in its truest form lyrically and musically. There’s one DJ and his MC. It doesn’t get more obvious than that. The album they released this year Bayani is one I have had on loop, and has to be one of the best.
My favourite tracks have been ‘Second Chapter’, ‘Ordinary Guys’, ‘Loyalty’ and ‘Back Home’.

Blue Scholars – Back Home (YouTube)

Serengeti and Polyphonic

Serengeti is a Chicago rapper on the Audio8 record label, teaming up with hip-hop/electronica producer Polyphonic to produce a great example of where Hip-Hop is heading. Don’t Give Up has melodic hip-hop and electronica influenced production combined with the unique and abstract raps and (sometimes sad) vocals of Serengeti. This might really be your thing, or you might just not be feeling it. Check it out and see.

Serengeti & Polyphonic – Lately I haven’t been Feeling Well (Youtube)

Devin the Dude

Don’t be downloading music illegally. If you must hear something before it comes out, at least download a few songs and if you like what you hear then purchase the album. Support the people. This is what Devin, Snoop Dogg and especially Andre 3000 are preaching in What a Job from Devin the Dude’s 2007 album, Waitin’ to Inhale. These gems largely go missed in the mainstream, which is sad because instead everyone just seems to get fed that artificial wack s**t. Andre is great on this one and this album is in my top three of 2007.

Devin the Dude ft. Andre 3000 and Snoop Dogg – What a Job

Instrumentalism: Blockhead and Oh No

Blockhead is one of modern day Hip-Hop’s production legends, comparable to Boom Bip or Sixtoo, he has done a lot of work for people like Aesop Rock. His albums Music by Cavelight and Downtown Science are classics in my opinion with memorable and enjoyable tracks throughout. They are however pretty dark sounding and it is as if he has taken the opposite route with his new release, Uncle Tony’s Coloring Book which was on limited release. This album is a lot more playful, with lighter sounding beats and fun Jazz sampling, but it is also very richly produced.

Blockhead – Cheer Up, You’re not Dead Yet

Brother of Madlib, Oh No released this crazy, psycadelic breakbeat record that looks to the east (specifically Greece, Turkey, Italy and Lebanon apparently) for the source of its inspiration.
Oh and did I mention there’s a massive 28 tracks?!

Oh No – Higher

This album sees Kano reflecting on his life in London Town and his colourful lyrics and story-telling take you through his world. From the start, hard-hitting tracks such as ‘Product of My Environment’ and ‘London Town’ bring a somber feel to the album. The mood is lightened by the intricately put together collabo with Gorillaz’ Damon Albarn on ‘Feel Free’ and his busy track with Kate Nash ‘Me & My Microphone’, which despite her sounding like another Miss Allen, succeeds in lifting the album. Of course a highlight of the record for myself is ‘Bad Boy’ which sees Kano joining forces with Vybz Kartel and making excellent use of Shy FX’s ‘Original Nuttah’ sample. One slight downfall is his first release off the album ‘This Is The Girl’ which features the soulful delights of Craig David. It somehow seems as though it might be better suited on a Craig David album rather than Kano’s, however it does help Kano establish himself firmly in the commercial scene.

The Verdict: London Town is a decent album, showing how Kano has grown as an artist in his own right and is able to produce decent sounds by crossing genres. His lyrics are still deep, his flow is still sweet the resulting sound is good enough to eat..and listen to!! Some very nice UK talent here.

(A fully review of the album can be found at the Digital Sounds In An Analogue World blog.)

~ ~

ODB…
Here is a track I came across a month back, and for me it was just amazing to get to hear Ol’ Dirty’s voice again….enjoy

“I hope you live 200 years, and that I live 200 years minus one day, so I never know beautiful people like you passed away”
-James Brown

Ever since the beginning of time, perhaps the truest mirror of society has always been the music that it both produces and consumes. And in today’s modern world no music has captured the imagination of the people quite like hip-hop. It’s source of popularity and staying power can be debated, but there is one thing that is undebatable, that never before has a genre of music been so engrained in the psyche of a generation of youths, and that never before has a style of music so completely captured the sights and experiences of the streets and street culture of it’s time.

Unlike almost every genre of modern music, it is a genre that is approachable by nearly anyone in the sense that truly anyone with something to say and a sense of rhythm can become part of it. The air-guitar of our parent’s generation has been put back in it’s case and replaced with battle rapping, mash-ups, and homegrown record labels. It is this sense of inclusiveness that is unique to hip-hop that is it’s greatest strength and the reason that it has been propelled to the forefront of today’s music world. But there is only one problem, this strength has also become it’s greatest weakness. And in those shining hours while we we’re all sitting in smoky clubs enjoying fat blunts and fatter beats, our beloved hip-hop crawled off into a dark corner and silently died.

In the word’s of the both universally loved and hated Nas, “If you askin’ why is hip-hop dead, then there’s a good chance you’re the reason it died.” Perhaps truer words were never spoken, but still, we have to ask ourselves, “Just why did hip-hop die?” Well, unfortunately, there are several inter-connected reasons, and to bring life back into our genre we need to look at each one in an attempt to start a dialogue on how we can change them and what direction we need to steer our own music to ensure that hip-hop is still being made by our grand-kids.
Problem one: The market is flooded with mediocre talent.
Here, we come back to the inclusiveness we spoke of earlier. Now inclusiveness is definitely a good thing overall, but as I said earlier, it’s ability to be a strength for hip-hop is watered-down by it’s somewhat lesser but still very real liability of becoming a great weakness. Today’s mainstream market has become so flooded with mediocre talent that listener’s, rather that seek us out in the underground are switching to the most rapidly growing markets such as country and so called indie-rock. We need to bring back some level of exclusiveness by raising the bar of talent needed to get in. Let’s continue to try and bring back live bands and creative wordplay. Let’s market ourselves to other genres by subverting their music with our own flavor. Let’s continue to try and push through the mainstream rap market to hook the listeners who are otherwise leaving. And finally, let’s talk about what it’s going to take to keep our music fresh and forward thinking to keep our own listeners. Because as much as I hate to say it, being myself a person who thinks my art shouldn’t be diluted with business, we need to beat the system of commercialization and major-label control by subverting it from the inside.
Problem Two: Hip-Hop continues to send the wrong messages, and glorify self-destructive behaviors.
The roots of hip-hop are engrained with violence and drugs. And we need to be true to that, being tied to those things ourselves for the most part. But we also need to be aware of the other themes deep-set in our roots, such as the struggles against poverty, oppression of all types, and the problems that litter all of our lives. And then there’s the more positive things such as love, family, and self-realization. We need to be more careful to capture the struggles and mistakes of our own lives without glorifying them to the impressionable kids who will inevitably be influenced by our music. And furthermore we need to challenge ourselves and our listeners to continue to improve as human-beings and members of our communities. Because finally, despite the rebellious spirit that drives all of us and our music, hip-hop will never live again without it becoming something more than most people think of it today.
Problem Three: The continued commercialization of hip-hop and music in general.
This is a problem that inflicts not only hip-hop but all forms of creative medium and media, but in hip-hop’s case it has truly proven to be the death nail. Art and business must always co-exist, after all none of us could make music seriously for too long without some sort of money coming in. But in today’s world business has unfortunately eaten art alive and sales have become the sole principle that guides the music that the mainstream music listener will hear. Now, I know, for a long time I myself blamed the listeners for this, and that the labels were merely filling a need for soulless, bland music. But slowly I have begun to see the listeners, and mind you I’m speaking only of mainstream music only listeners, are in fact sheep, and that the labels are the wolves that shape what they like and think is cool, especially in the younger, more impressionable demographics. Now, there is no easy answer for this. The labels are the Goliaths, and us the Davids. But if we continue to look deep and debate how it can be done, I have true hope that we can find the stone that will bring the giant down.

Problem Four: We have forgotten our roots.
Ok, I know this is probably a sensitive issue. No one wants to admit they’ve forgotten where they come from, but most likely, if you look deep enough you’ll find out you have. I spoke before about the roots of hip-hop, but now I’m speaking more specifically about ourselves and our own roots. It’s so easy to get up the game, or in ideals, or in anything for that matter. So, just for one second, take a look at yourself again, and ask if you are staying true to what your heart tells you and what you know deep down inside to be right. Because if we all do that, and transfer that into out music, then at the end of the day, no one will be able to stop is from transforming hip-hop back into a vibrant, growing genre that again can capture the imaginations and minds of the people and just perhaps be a catalyst to make a better world.
Finally, we are all responsible for where hip-hop and all music goes from here. With the power of the internet and social networking (more things we need to work to protect) we have the tools we need to bring hip-hop back to life. We need to continue to challenge ourselves to make better and better music everyday, and to continue to network and connect as artist so that eventually we will have the fan base and support to finally take the labels on head to head and maybe just come out on top with a new model of how music is heard and distributed to the people. And until that day let’s just continue to rock out and live life to its fullest, because, after all, hip-hop wouldn’t exist at all if it wasn’t just plain fun.

Peace

Jazz Fusion is a genre that a man can easily lose his mind in. There are only so many absurd break downs, odd time signatures and improvisational sections that anyone can take before breaking down and having to listen to Nickelback for three solid days, just to cleanse your palette in preparation for the next listening. It’s a trait that goes right the way through the experimental genre in any category of music; you spend a lot of time thinking “This is really clever”, to the extent that you can forget what a brilliant but entirely conventional can do. You find yourself listening to Nirvana, the epitome of intentionally simple rock, and longing for a 5/4 break down or some fancy effects, and you lose track of the fact that something can still be awesome music without necessarily being obscenely complex. Because the real trouble is that, beyond being obscenely clever, many highly experimental artists aren’t that great to just sit and listen to in a ‘normal’ state of mind.

That’s what really marks the Mahavishnu Orchestra out as very different. Yes, the emphasis on experimental sounds and time signatures is there, and yes, there are a vast amount of influences taken from all over (hence the Jazz Fusion label), but it is first and foremost absolutely incredible music. It’s easy to accuse any band which experiments with time and structure of simply being pretentious for pretentions’ sake, but when the results are this startling then all you can do is sit back and enjoy the layer upon layer of gentle funk they bring to the table. The Indian influence is tangible throughout the whole record, and the varied instrumentation really brings out every part of the music. Violins are obscenely underused in rock music, and their use here adds massively to the recording

I would almost go as far as to say that this is the kind of band that led later to groups like Godspeed You Black Emperor and A Silver Mt. Zion, but that’s a comparison that’s easy to make. Epic, instrumental tracks and clever use of unorthodox instruments, plus a predelictation for improvisation means the comparisons are there to make, although it’s a bit of a cop-out because post-rock has roots nigh on everywhere. Instead, take this record in its own right. From the alternating guitar to moog synth solos on One Word to the careful funk of Miles Beyond, it’s an incredible coherent record, and one which everyone should hear at some point.

The team so far includes

bionicsheep
clark m
hipgnosis
lena b
pete m

Profiles of these people will be written soon. There are potentially three more writers and I am waiting for responses from them!

Ulrich Schnauss – Never Be the Same