In a long conversation I had w/ Onra last yr in Barcelona, I mentioned to him how much I loved My Comet, his contribution to the stellar 7x7 from All City. Onra added that he was working on something along those lines for his next record. Nice. Well, FFWD to 2010 and we're ready. After releasing an online video teaser/trailer yesterday (snipped form old VHS tapes, say wrd), we are pleased to announce a new 12" coming from the All City family.
Long Distance, this double A-side of bodacious boogie featuring OliverDaySoul and Reggie B., the French born Onra takes it back to the roots w/ uptempo for uprocking bboys, and dames who want to disco til dawn.
I'm looking fwd to this night. Flying down that morning for this. And, whilst reading the Double Door twitter timeline, just found it the show is sold out. Nice. Shouts to Carter for this one.
And I hear the weather is gonna be bananas. Sick. See you Friday Chitown.
I still recall the day. I met Take on my way to Dublab, to meet he and the Lucky Me family, and he was txt'ing me directions. LOL. By that time, through my diggin, I had discovered Take's music through the vast network that was (is?) myspace (RIP). Wow.
2010 marks 10 yrs of releases by Take, certainly OG by today's standards and w/ no real sign of slowing down. After years of EU releases and a stunning one earlier this year, Take goes back to LA, and puts forward a chef-d'œuvre through Alpha Pup Records: Only Mountains.
He took a voluntary leave to work on his opus, and is now ready to act as our guide. Shifting tempos, tonal tapestries, we're taken on a hike on our way to the top of Take'sOnly Mountains. Listeners conversant with Take's catalog will certainly embrace this 13 track sierra. With tracks like Don't Look Now, Crystallia, Incedibright and Neon Beams, this veteran of LA's brand of electronic will add to California's quasi choke hold of fresh and new, and bolster Alpha Pup's blitzkrieg in 2010. At times this new electronic, future beats space may seem a touch crowded. But when you've grown weary of overly non quantized riddims over looping synths, it would be a ripe time to graduate to/grab yourself a copy of Only Mountain. It's only right.
LA is coming to TO again. The movement is in full momentum. I'll post more deets as we draw closer to the gig, but this will be a great one. edIT, Boreta and Ooah aka The Glitch Mob, Free The Robots and Deru all come to Toronto promoting some new records. Here's some music to tie us down until further notice.
The Glitch Mob w/ Free The Robotos & Deru music by mymanhenri Tuesday May 4, 2010 Wrongbar (1279 Queen St. W.) Tickets are $21.50 (plus any additional fees) in advance and available at Ticketmaster, Rotate This, Soundscapes & Play De Record 19+, Doors at 8:00pm, show at 9:00pm
Montréal based Vlooper, and self confessed veggie enthusiast has been buzzing heavy. I had been meaning to holla @ dude, and glad I finally did. His last freebie Neon - Water Planet has been getting some good rotation. A producer since the tender age of 12, his piano and jazz background let him to eventually producing hip hop and more recently, future beats. You can hear the ravishing refrains, thumping beats and smooth synths, with the od respite and interludes... Neon - Water Planet was produced entirely on the road during a 6 month trip to Kenya. Sick.
I couldn't be happier. Been a follower for a min. And as much as he's had some little drops and appearances here and there, we are glad to see a full fledge release from Computer Jay.
London based Ramp Recordings has released the Maintain 12" which features the title track as well as a triplicate of rmxs, including a Mike Slott ReWork as well as a Funky DL re-edit. It also features an Ikonika rmx. But more importantly, we hope this is the beginning of may more releases from Computer Jay. Band member with a few more outfits (MASTER BLAZTER, and a band w/ P.U.D.G.E. I believe as well), ppl may not realize that he's a band on his own. Ever since 2007 when I heard the HVW8 podcast v18, and saw the pics of him playing live, surrounded by keys, tickling the ivory and creating pretty melodies, all anchored by the MPC. Sick. That was an incredible podcast indeed. I had heard Maintain then, and kept humming that riddim for years after.
Alex B may not be your more widely recognized name, but that will change in a single Moment. Hailing from Boulder Colorado, a city once known for its miners who excavated for gold, silver and coal, is the afore mentioned and equally a digger of his own, Alex B. Well schooled in hip hop with the classic tools (MPC etc...), and an accomplished musician who also toured with a band, he soon moved naturally to penning and producing future beats, electronic space as many of us have. He now takes his mastery of Ableton Live on the road, whilst still working on music and his own label Elm and Oak. Spoke to him mins ago as I wrote this, and he was on a 30 dates, 5 week tour. Do the math. Grind*ING. His work caught the eye (and ear) of the good ppl over @ Alpha Pup Records, and that has resulted in them scheduling the release of his debut LP: Moments:
Many moments were had indeed. Sometime back, I he sent me a mix mostly made of his own material, which flaunted much of his affinity for arrangements. Moments brought those all back. From the diffusive Nothing is Always Something, to the power chords that electrify through Pad 5, to Standing On Me which suddenly hits w/ an entirely new melody mid way in, Moments will unquestionably have the aficionados of the sound wheeling it (as we love to say). April 6th, we will be blessed with the inaugural release of Elm and Oak, his 1st release entitled Moments. But to set the pace, we have a freebie courtesy of the good ppl @ XLR8. Show Love.
Indeed. LA's Nosaj Thing is back in Toronto for a exclusive night. For those who had seen him, come enjoy his incredible set on what might be the city's best room, The Drake Underground. For those who haven't, come and allow us to introduce you to Nosaj Thing, one who has undoubtedly in the last year, become one of the leaders of the LA electronic.
NOSAJ THING (LA) || LIVE w/ mymanhenri Sunday April 4th @ The Drake Underground 1150 Queen St West Early Show: doors @ 9p Show @ 10p $10
Here's a fresh video I found that should interest the new and the learned.
For those on Facebook, you can RSVP on the event page here.
And to set it off, enjoy this mix he created for XLR8.
BACK! From his 2 week stint just down the street in LDN @ the most prestigious RBMA 2010, Hoya Hoya front man Illum Sphere is back in money making Manchester w/ massive plans for his monumental night. Next @ Hoya Hoya will be none other than Red Stripe sipping Krystal Klear. And to preview the yet to be announced date, we have a Illum Sphere x Krystal Klear collab mix.
Koming from the kapital of brotherly love that is Philly, and the head kuarters of the Klipm0de - the bi-kostal kuartet of young producers - is the next in line from All City Records: Knxwledge After some leaks left and right, and a few releases including a 3P EP under the Klipm0de banderole, Knxwledge joins All City as they continue their show of strength w/ his 1st full length LP: Klouds
For those who have followed Knxwledge's work, this has been long awaited. Possibly the most esoteric of the Klipm0de, Knxwledge maintains his path of idiosyncrasy, oft presenting syncopated patterns that might sometimes question your own understanding of rhythms, but really pushes your listening to new thresholds. But predominantly, Klouds contains signature Klipm0de: pretty chords. kicks, oscillating basslines and that mighty swing.
Notable faves are Give, Advanced Fiber, Kollective, Remember Who You Are and Pattern Klear just to name a few. As I mentioned, if you've been listening to Knwledge all this time, Klouds will be a must in the library. Otherwise, certainly give Knxwledge a good listen as he's irrefutably carved his place in this nebulous, hazy and even kloudy genre and classification that is beats, future beats etc... Klouds should be in stores this week in your more learned boutiques.
And to set it all up, we have a mini mix that we get to sink or teeth into whist we wait for the full length.
From the good ppl @ All City comes a 4 track EP by Devonwho: KEEPTHEFUNKALIVE. For those that know him, the rep def grows bigger. For those who don't, you need to put that blunt down for a quick min. In Keepthefunkalive, we get to hear much more of that magic that made him a fave of many on both sides of the pond. Deep grooves, uncommon refrains and that distinct swing make this release another must have. No reinvention of the wheel, just straight classic goodness. It's alive indeed. Ok. Light that blunt up again.
One day after the announcement of the Pegasus Rising tour, we have an announcement for a Toronto date.
@ The helm will be Glasgow's gansgter, Hudson Mohawke himself. After a 2 year hiatus, we welcome him back to the megacity for an exclusive night. Hudmo will guide the ship, Ultragamma and mymanhenri will man the deck. So pumped I was, I made a 2nd flyer.
But here are the little deets.
Live from Glasgow...
Hudson Mohawke w/ guests Ultragamma & mymanhenri Thursday, March 25, 2010 – Wrongbar 1279 Queen Street West, Toronto
California might be broke under the Governator, but the bounty of tuneful tender that these beats are creating, have produced an musical windfall, making Cali resemble @ times a Dubai circa early 2000. Say wrd. Next up to run for office (but not in Sacramento), are Low Limit and Lando Kal bka Lazer Sword. Whilst I heard of all three separately, I eventually made the connection a short time after. Even better, I was finally able to identify some riddims I had been humming. But bestest, is the new Lazer Sword EP: The Golden Handshake.
From Glasgow's Numbers crew, comes this 6-pack of tracks from Low Limit and Lando Kal. Electronic, but not so much electro, and bordering on gitch @ times, this is an EP I was soooo pumped to get my hands on. And if you respect the Golden State, you will too. Tempos and melodies will vary much like the Cali landscape, with an array of sounds and melodies that all meld into one great creation: The Golden Handshake EP. They get a pound for that.
Fresh from engineering Term 2 @ The Red Bull Music Academy, Hudson Mohawke blasts off a North American tour, which starts tonight @ South By South West and criss crosses through the US as well as Canada. You can find the dates on the Warp site. As well, the good ppl @ Lucky Me also release the new video for Joy Fantastic feat. Olivier Daysoul of the criticially acclaimed Butter.
Coming from a new Donut Shop project, J Dilla's take on a classic 80s joint from Men Without Hats. Ha. This is a funny one. But you remember how he killed that Cars joint by Gary Numan right?? Nonetheless, Safety Dance available as a freebie courtesy of Stones Throw and your man J-Rocc.
it's been almost a month since i've had Busy'sm0ths EP in rotation in the Pod. Impressive. I had 1st come across dude a whist back but hadn't kept up w/ his work (bad Hza). But, I kept him on my radar, and recently decided to holla @ the Maryland, USA resident to do a piece. Though I will get that one up in the next week or so, I did want to chat about this new EP.
Coming from the good ppl @ Circulations in JPN, this m0ths EP's inspiration came through one night whilst watching The Discovery channel as Busy puts it. "I was watching Discovery channel one night, and just decided to make a project based on the life and thoughts of a moth. It’s half beat and half atmospheric, representative of the moth’s properties -solid yet ethereal." Indeed. When listening to this EP, we are definitely taken on a bit of mysterious progression, making your way through a melodic mist of electronic, occasionally evacuated by that classic 4/4 beat and cadence. Tight.
This is one EP you need to get your hands on. No question. I'm working this into my sets as we speak.
A Camphoraceous Elixir || m0ths || Download (right click)
Qaqoon || m0ths
Witch Hunt || m0ths
You can check the rest of the works as it's now out on iTunes and should be out on wax as well. Check your local boutiques for the goods. Love the artwork btw. Say wrd.
So one morning I get an email from DJ House Shoes, and he's like "Dude, I 'm in town w/ Mayer Hawthorne, let's rawk an after party". Make the phone calls and voilà. All done.
Been a min since we had the chance to have DJ House Shoes in town. For those who know, look fwd to seeing you there. For those who don't, DJ House Shoes is certainly in part responsible for much of that early Slum Village you heard, and other early bangers from Jay Dee and cohorts. A proponent of Detroit always, he comes back to the city of Toronto, one he's got deep admiration for, as part of the Mayer Hawthorne Tour. As such, consider this the Mayer Hawthorne After Party.
mymanhenri presents:
The Mayer Hawthorne After Party featuring: DJ House Shoes (Detroit Worldwide/Humble Arrogance) w/ guests+ hosting mymanhenri, DJ Big Jacks. Saturday March 27th @ The Drake Underground - 1150 Queen St West 10pm_$5.
The Facebook even page is here for those who want to RSVP. Shouts to Skam and Los (Livestock Toronto) for the love.
And, you should also know that DJ House Shoes has a podcast that ranks as one of the most listened to worldwide. And to set this off, here's a link to one that really got things cracking, and one of my faves.
LIVE @ THE BBQ || HVW8 podcast by DJ House Shoes || DOWNLOAD. (right click)
[UPDATE March 22nd]
LIVE On Beat Junkies Radio || Episode 12 featuring DJ House Shoes || DOWNLOAD
[UPDATE March 27th]
Shoes' House - Another Episode. || DJ House Shoes || DOWNLOAD
Ahhh.... A breath of fresh air. I saw this pop up on iTunes, and also saw the tweet. Anyhow, Juha and Cinnaman, the good ppl @ Viral Radio, have another show up - since last week in fact.
Cinnaman Mosca - Square One
Monky - Babubblin
Roska - i need love feat. Anesha
Sully - In Some Pattern
Kuedo - Starfox
James Blake - The Bell Sketches
Sduk - Clunge
Jogger - Biss
Danny Breaks - Titaniktake
Gonjasufi - Kowboyz & Indians
Juha
Blue Daisy - Scars
King Midas Sound - Ting dub
Kryptic Minds - Secure lost
Cyrus - Justice rmx
Magenta - Planet
Stagga - Glass Bong (Don Leisure remix)
Monky - Domino Scally
Gonjasufi - Sheep
Certainly, I can't be the only one buggin out to this new Flying Lotus track, ya?? Still recall listening to this @ his house in LA last Nov. I was bugging out then, and am still bugging out now. Sign me up.
Some may have attended some of the regional elimination across the country countries across the world. The Canadian finals are taking place this weekend during CMW. If you've not been, this is the DMC for Club DJs. If you're nice and know how to work a crowd, this is for you.
Should be a blast.
The art has been deftly weaved into this endeavor as well. On Friday March 12th, and if you're in Toronto, Red Bull will be hosting a week long photo exhibit by three prominent photographers, each w/ their personal music tastes and works transfered to photographic paper for all to enjoy.
And the best part?? it's for free w/ Starting From Scratch supplying the sound. Wow.
Once again, we are witness to the genius that is emerging from the vastly talented state of California. The new Midi Mecca is consistently showing and proving to the world that THEY have a new sound that's ummm... unf*ckwittable, but far from confrontational. They embrace all listeners and fans, and are thankful for the attention paid (and cover hopefully). Next up from the Golden State is Free The Robots, a nom de plume for one Chris Alfaro. After spending time producing for MCs and DJing, Free The Robots emerged as an experimental side project. Years passed it had grown to become a staple in the local experimental beat community.
Having performed all over including the famed Low End Theory, Alpha Pup took notice and quickly inked him to a deal. The years of programming, chopping, cut n pasting are coming to a head with the release of CTRL ALT DELETE.
Once again, the 'anything goes' mantra resonates heavily. With California as current, come the crate full of inspiration, and they all manifest in this composition. Think jambalaya. From chopped samples riding a big booming beat in Wandering Gypsy, to the slow electronic flow of Turbulence, CTRL ALT DELETE is 13 track deep, scripted with influences coming from even more sources. Jazz, Punk, Hip Hop, each song sheds light on Free The Robots' programming mind, each needing to be [APPLE] D'ed. In fact, I just [APPLE] S'ed all of them.
CTRL ALT DELETE should be in all reputable shops March 30th 2010, and tour dates w/ the Golden State warriors Glitch Mob have been announced as of yesterday including Toronto.
1 May 2010 20:00 Double Door Chicago, Illinois 2 May 2010 20:00 Majestic Theatre Detroit, Michigan 3 May 2010 20:00 Grog Shop Cleveland, Ohio 4 May 2010 20:00 Wrong Bar Toronto, Ontario 5 May 2010 20:00 Middle East Boston, Massachusetts 7 May 2010 20:00 Highline Ballroom New York, New York 8 May 2010 20:00 Bourbon St. Ballroom Baltimore, Maryland 9 May 2010 20:00 The Hat Factory Richmond, Virginia 10 May 2010 20:00 Green Street Club Greensboro, North Carolina 12 May 2010 20:00 Club 828 Ashville, North Carolina 13 May 2010 20:00 Valarium Knoxville, Tennessee 14 May 2010 20:00 Limelight Nashville, Tennessee 15 May 2010 20:00 New Earth Music Hall Athens, Georgia 16 May 2010 20:00 Masquerade Atlanta, Georgia 18 May 2010 20:00 Alabama Music Box Mobile, Alabama 20 May 2010 20:00 House of Blues New Orleans, Louisiana 21 May 2010 20:00 Rich’s Houston, Texas 22 May 2010 20:00 La Zona Rosa Austin, Texas 23 May 2010 20:00 Trees Dallas, Texas 25 May 2010 20:00 City Walk Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 27 May 2010 20:00 2720 St. Louis, Missouri 28 May 2010 20:00 Conspiracy Room Kansas City, Missouri 2 Jun 2010 20:00 Sugar Victoria, British Columbia 3 Jun 2010 20:00 Venue Vancouver, British Columbia 4 Jun 2010 20:00 Roseland Theatre Portland, Oregon 5 Jun 2010 20:00 Showbox Market Seattle, Washington 6 Jun 2010 20:00 Arcata Theatre Arcata, California 9 Jun 2010 20:00 Catalyst Santa Cruz, California 12 Jun 2010 20:00 Fillmore Auditorium San Francisco, California
Looks as though this Doom show will go down in infamy. I was @ this bday party this weekend and this girl I know brought it up, mentioned how glad she was she never went. She added that some ppl from her work left that show FURIOUS, as for one - they didn't know Mos was off the date, and for 2, the show was one of the worst she had ever been to. Even more troubling, they tried to pull out the Hip Hop card [read, typical hip hop show]. Really?? Lastly, they were throwing the promoter under the bus, like he had anything to do w/ Doom's live act. But, i guess seeing that he's the front person, I get it. Oddly enough, minutes after getting into the venue that Feb 25th night, and seeing all the beer cans being thrown on stage and @ the DJs, I felt the promoter would be well served to address the hip hop community on the radio that weekend. So he did. Thus, in order to give ppl an insight on what happened that fateful night, and more importantly, the lead up to the show, here's the interview by the promoter @ Mixtape Massacre Sat Feb 27th, days following the Doom Debacle. If you're in Toronto and you know ppl who went to the show, spread the link so they get an idea of the challenge that was getting Doom here. Too bad as it could have been a classic night. You got pt1, now here's pt 2.
For those who might recall, Secondhand Sureshots is an a/v project that was authored by Dublab, and co signed by Stones Throw. It is essentially the adventure of 4 distinguished diggers from Los Angeles, Ras G, Daedelus, Nobody and J-Rocc as we follow them unearthing gems, chopping up samples, with the one goal in mind: a fresh track. They have $5 and a whole afternoon. I had been waiting for this to drop for sometime now, and March 9th it's all official. We were in fact trying to book some dates for this long ago. We should be revisiting that very soon (for the Toronto massive) Regardless, courtesy of the good ppl @ Pitchfork TV, we're able to stream it for 1 week only, and I was about 1 day late. Check the date of this post and do the math. ;)
Been a in since we discussed Lugano's lord of legato, AEED. Not since the smashing freebie from Error Broadcast, Synesthesia have we heard from dude. Well, he's got a nice little freebie for grabs called Sweet Boost.
Will be a hella fun night. Marking his return to Toronto and Brainfeeder's return since Gaslamp's night here. And to blast that off, here's another mix Samiyam did for Mary Anne Hobbs as part of a HyperDub special she did not so long ago.
The weekend I met PUDGE a few years back, he was like "You need to meet DIBIA$E". So we did. Had never had the chance to see him rock live though. But here's a taste. Part of a night in LA called BAS$ICK. Camera man is trying not to bop his head. LOL.
Warp is turning it up. Leading up to next week's release, of A Sufi And A Killer, you can listen to the Gonjasufi LP in full, and now they've leaked 2 tracks for all to take along.
It's been a week since the Doom debacle in Toronto. Now, many out there caught my tweets, me calling out Doom for what was pretty much a poor showing of faith, and a poor show, period.
Here we were thinking that after all the Doomposter shows, the biggest hurdle was getting him to show up. Well, show up he did. Kinda. More like, he mailed it in. You see for the record: I'm a Doom fan. Wrd. The bangers are undeniable. BUT... what he did that night was simply inexcusable.
And I say this knowing all that the promoter went through to insure that he would show up. The arguments, the lies, the ruses etc... And despite all that, the good ppl @ REMG were able to get him across the sometime capricious Canadian border. Mind you, it took 2 extra hours since he tried to slide in w/o the visa paper work he was sent far in advance.
By the time he arrived to the venue, some ppl had left but many stayed, as they should have: they paid $40 in adv to get to see this masked villain. He had not been back to Toronto in sometime. In fact, he was likely looking @ a new gen of fans. It had been THAT long. Agitated, the remaining crowd was pelting the opening DJs w/ cans....
So in a cruel joke, he sends out a doomposter to run the 1st verse of his opening track, only to come in right behind moments later. PHEW. So the 1st few moments were punctuated by a collective SIGH of relief as once again, Toronto was being spoiled with the real Doom, after all the very well documented no shows. But after the very quick honeymoon, this sort of marriage vow renewal took a turn for the worst.
Having skipped soundcheck (by design), and what likely was the fact that he doesn't plan or rehearse shows (his team was/is in NY, and he was in Atlanta), the wheels simply fell off. Not to bore you w/ detail, he kept turning his back to crowd, chatting w/ DJ - likely to figure out what to do next. Then, as I mentioned in a tweet, his DJ was messing up and eventually - no more music. Dead air. Doom and his hype man talking, stalling, for an excrutating 10-15 mins. So much so that @ one point, this dead show, seemed in fact done, and ppl started to file out, prob happy that this mercy killing was finally over. But in a last gasp of *Air* (w/o Dabrye), he found the sound to do 2-3 more songs, w/ a very confused audience in attendance, one that I had long forgotten he was still the headliner. And then, it was all over.
Out of what was around a 50 min show, maybe 30 mins were music, 20 of which were his own, and 15 mins were actually fun (all @ the start mind you). Ugh.
Well, i'll let you watch what might have been the best segments of the show. Word was that Doom never allowed digis @ his shows, but wanted some of this one to PROVE to the world that he did shows. Well, the bigger question now is, does he do good shows?
Yes rasta! I've been looking fwd to this for more than a min. I've been having these convos w/ some pals on how Gonja Sufi's voice is elegiac like it is enchanting. Having heard some scattered selections over the last year and change, I was sold. And with the A Gonja And A Sufi LP due next week from what Warp indicates, it's about to be sold too. Nice.
With production credits from The Gaslamp Killer and Mainframe (Johnson & Johnson fame), and added twist of Brainfeeder baron himself Flying Lotus, we're certain to be treated to something of a classic from Gonja Sufi. A Gonja And a Sufi has been posted for streaming (as well as a review) by the good ppl @ Clash Music.
And to take along with you, an exclusive mix that yours truly, The Gaslamp Killer created for Mary Anne Hobbs, which aired last week. Amazing.
For those in the know and accustomed to DIBIA$E's baked goods, we can expect the same sweets that have made him the renown LA beat pastry chef that he is. With his apron and his trusty 404, he handily creates his famous mélange of phrases, echoing samples, blending all of it smoothly in his MPC. Add on the icing sugars (like Ricky, Julian and Bubbles) and sprinkles of colorful lo-fi effects and you get this rich gateau, aka Cakeology EP. For those just getting their 1st taste, just make sure you brush after. Dem sh*ts is sweeter than Krispy Kremes!
Size med, thinn finns, 1nce constantly bespectacled but now more off than on. Now on 1st name basis with foreign immigration. Window seats if I have my say. Amaretto sour when I play the back, banana jacks when I spark the night, Jager bombs when I'm calling the shots - let's do it right. Family all day long.
