Brothers Past and Lotus NYE

Brothers Past- Live 10/24/03 MP3's

So this NYE should be a great one. I am flying to Philly to catch some shows on the 29th and the 30th and them I am DJ'ing on NYE at the TLA which is a nice sized venued. The two bands I am playing with are Lotus and Brothers Past. Both hail from Philly and both bands play their own version of live electronic music...in one shape or another. I am going to be playing a variety of styles of music ranging all the way from Downtempo to Tech House and I will be spinning before the show, between bands, and at setbreak.

The Lotus website says: "Lotus is a five-piece instrumental band based in Philadelphia. Their music is heavily tempered by electronic styles such as deep house and drum n' bass, but inside the sonic layers seep heavy doses of funk, jazz, and world music. Their high-energy live shows feature tightly composed material balanced with stretched out improvisation. The sounds shift from spiritual and meditative, to jubilant and energetic, from dark dance floor burners, to spaced-out waves of ambience." They also have a great new album out titled, "Nomad", that I highly recommend checking out. There also is a cool live video on their site.

Read more about Brothers Past HERE The band is a nice mix of indie rock vocals and nasty drum and bass, house, and other electronic style jamming. They have a wide array of toys including crazy synths, Laptops, and Kaoss pads that they use to warp the sounds and their drummer is an absolute machine. At times you you will not believe a human is dropping the beats you hear. Along with their own great originals you may even catch a Radiohead, Cure, or even a cover of The Clash but with their own twist. You can also grab the all instrumental "Dance Sampler" at this site HERE

A classic Ninja Tune

Bonobo- Dial M For Monkey

"Pick Up" MP3

I have been quite busy the last couple weeks hence the limited number of posts. I am looking forward to a NYE DJ gig in Philly playing before and between sets of the bands Lotus and Brothers Past at the TLA. More about that later. I had a Chrismukkah dinner tonight with Ninja Tune's finest, Bonobo, playing softly in the background. I never seem to get tired of his music and it is a staple in any downtempo set I play. I also have used his tracks on downtempo mixes which you can find on the OrchardLounge site.

NinjaTune says:
From the opener, "Noctuary," with it’s creepy stoned-Hammer feel, through the headnod sitar-funk of "Flutter," on into the Rhodes-meets-Gamelan of "D Song," the first third of the record sets out the tone for what is to follow – all beautfiully melodic and perfectly assembled but with enough of a creeping undertow to stop the music becoming empty or saccharine. "Change Down" is all double bass folk and cut-up drums, "Wayward Bob" is a devilish waltz, while single "Pick Up" is a straight funk ‘n’ flute throw down. "Something For Windy"sounds like a dub of a postman on his rounds, "Nothing Owed" is epic pastoralia, while "Light Pattern" rounds things off with what sounds like the theme to the best TV programme never made.

With all instruments played, sampled and sequenced by Green’s own fair hand, there is a consistency here, both within the tunes and across the record that crate diggers can only dream of. There is real development, the building of moods and feelings, a genuine attempt to make great music which is incidentally computer music. He may make a monkey of himself, but he’s no musical mug…

Kevin Yost

Kevin Yost- One Starry Night

"Outa Space" MP3

Kevin Yost is a rare breed- Jazz musician, house producer, and amazing DJ. There are many producers who also DJ but are not very good it, Yost is not one of them. Every time I have seen him play his mixing is beyond belief and that is because he has been DJ'ing since he was a little kid. Another reason I respect him is because when he plays out he can fill an entire set with original tracks and remixes he has done. Some of his tracks are borderline jazz with a house beat, others are on the techy side with nice keyboard riffs throughout. Don't be fooled by the jazz however, Yost can bang out the main room like the best of them.

When the producer is an accomplished musician it makes the sound so nice and rich. You can hear his musical talent oozing out of every drum beat and piano solo. In a time when anybody can make beats on their computer it is nice to hear someone like Kevin Yost who is a true musician recording the old fashioned way.
Check out his website, kevinyost.com for more info and make sure to pick up his albums. "One Starry Night" and "Road Less Traveled" are two of my all time favorite house albums.

Welcome Tourist

B Fleischmann- Welcome Tourist (Morr Music) 2003

"Grunt" MP3

Bernhard Fleischmann "wants to criticize a state of mind that subordinates human beings to a logic of economic utilization." An interesting statement to say the least and his music I guess could be deemed political....if it had words. B Fleischmann's music is primarily instrumental and is in the same class as Fourtet, Squarepusher, and Amon Tobin, which many people label as IDM. Fleischmann uses melodic piano riffs to balance out static sounds and drill-and-bass style drum programming on some of the tracks. The album has moments that make me feel like I am listening to Kid A without the vocals and remixed by Fourtet. My favorite tracks on the album start out slighlty dissonant with odd effects and end up as soothing, jazzy compositions.

Insanely good house mix

Only have a few minutes so I need to make this quick-

I featured DJ INC a couple weeks ago on this site and he just dropped a new mix on PROTONRADIO

He played one set of dub/downtempo and another which is an amazing tech house mix that was recorded live at his Tempo night in Atlanta. This house mix is so good! I was listening at work and my computer was about ready to blow up. I personally think this mix rivals any mix from the Fabric series.

Here is the download link:

DJ INC 11/24/04 Live at Tempo

His website is TempoAtl

Below The Bassline

Ernest Ranglin- Below The Bassline (Island Jamaica Jazz)

Surfin' MP3

I love jazz guitar and also good roots dub albums so when I first listened to Ernest Ranglin I knew I was in for a treat. Ranglin was born in Jamaica in 1932 and was influenced by the American Jazz guitar great, Charlie Christian as well as all of the Caribbean styles of music. He began to make his mark with Clu J's Blues Blasters. He was there when the very first Ska recordings were made. He would go on to play an important role with the Skatalites, help define the Treasure Isle Rock Steady sound, blaze a new trail for a style called Reggae with Studio One and influence the success of Jamaican music all around the world. And while all this was going on...Ernest Ranglin would also become known, on a world-wide basis, as one of the greatest Jazz guitarists of all time.

In 1996 he released "Below The Bassline" which is a collection of classic Jamaican songs played to perfection by his amazing lineup of musicians including Idris Muhammed on drums. Ranglin's amazing guitar playing perfectly compliments Ira Colman's dub basslines creating a Jamaican jazzy sound.

You can buy this album anywhere and you can read more about Ranglin HERE

Monokai

So I am still recovering from the Matthew Dear and Swayzak LIVE night in Chicago on Saturday. Too lazy to write anything today but I was turned on to this cool website:

Monokai

Very nice design and the site has some really nice and mellow tracks which are a bit on the drum and bass side.

Urban Cruising MP3

Nullseeker MP3

Hassevop MP3

Mier MP3

Numantic MP3

Restricted MP3

Secret Frequency Crew

Secret Frequency Crew- Forest Of The Echo Downs (Schematic)

"Neon Bridge" MP3

One of the best downtempo/IDM albums I have all year is the debut album by Secret Frequency Crew (thanks for the recomendation sk8s) They have just the right blend of organic, analog sounds and mechanical, glitchy madness. The album is very Shpongle-esque (I bet a few people know what that means) This track is featured on my new, new downtempo dj mix that I haven't uploaded yet.

Boomkat Says:
DJs Matthew Brown, Matt Friedman, and Adrian Michna have been operating under the Secret Frequency Crew banner for some time, taking in deep, atmospheric instrumental electronica with a love of 80's melodies and a crafted blend of guitars, trombones, bass and piano thrown in for widescreen listening. "Forest Of The Echo Downs" also at times delves into more complex, heavily percussive territory and reduced digital territory, sizzling into the twilight.

Available at most shops.