Computer Jay “Phantom”

LA gets a bad rap sometimes. Between Hollywood d-bags, wannabe starlets, and the ungodly traffic, it’s pretty easy to dump on on the City of Angels. But not everyone feels that way; all year long, Irish imprint All-City has been gradually releasing a 10-part series of 10-inches devoted to the funky sounds of the LA underground. The latest installment, L.A. #7, comes from neo-boogie champ Dam-Funk and his Master Blazter compatriot Computer Jay. “Phantom” comes from Computer Jay’s side of the vinyl, and the instrumental tune snakes along with a bit of a G-funk vibe. The drums pop, the synths reach for the cosmos, and the whole thing emits a strong “not in any kind of a fucking hurry” vibe, even though the track barely cracks the two-minute mark. Gangster indeed.

Phantom

Phantom

Public Wake and Celebration for Michael “Eyedea” Larsen Announced for October and November in Minnesota

Last week we brought you the unfortunate news that Michael Larsen (a.k.a. Eydea) of Eydea & Abilities fame died last Saturday at the too-soon age of 28. Next Thursday, October 28 in Larsen’s hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota, a public wake will take place to mourn Larsen’s untimely death in an open, all-welcoming space. A more comprehensive retrospective of Larsen’s life and work will be on display November 9 where a reasonable donation will be asked to help support his family. Please see more specific details about both events below.

Public Wake:

Michael “eyedea” Larsen Memorial
Date: Thursday, October 28, 2010
Public: 7:30 – 10:00PM
Location: Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront, Minnesota Grand Ballroom
Address: 11 East Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55101

Sending Flowers: If you are interested in sending flowers for the memorial, all deliveries must be made to arrive on Thursday, October 28, 2010. Please make deliveries to arrive prior to 12:00PM CST.

Send to: Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront, Minnesota Grand Ballroom, c/o Michael Larsen Memorial, 11 East Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55101.

A Celebration of the life of Michael “eyedea” Larsen:

Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Location: First Avenue Mainroom, 701 1st Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Doors: 5:00PM
Ages: All Ages
Donation: $20

Tickets will be on sale: Monday, October 25, 2010 at 5:00PM CST

Tickets will be available at Fifth Element, 2411 Hennepin Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55405. For those of you that are not in the Twin Cities area, a limited amount of tickets will be available online at Etix.com.

There is no guest list. All donations will go to the family of Michael “eyedea” Larsen.

jozif “Musak (jozif’s MOG version feat. Zeska) “

Quickly ascending established house music heights with releases on Wolf + Lamb, Vitalik, and Infine, London’s jozif has paired up with Fabric resident Craig Richards on a label entitled Fist or Finger— the idea being that jozif’s big room sound represents the “Fist” while Richards’ more experimental take is the “Finger.” The label’s first release, jozif’s own “Beats In Space,” came out earlier this month as a run of 300 limited-edition vinyl. The b-side features Richards’ sparse deconstruction of jozif’s funkified original, an intersection that is more fully realized on this free download of jozif’s re-working of “Musak,” which features timid, harrowing vocals from singer Zeska and an ominous synth line that seems antithetical to the track’s unassuming drums.

Musak (jozif’s MOG Version feat. Zeska)

Musak (jozif’s MOG Version feat. Zeska)

Musak (jozif’s MOG Version feat. Zeska)

4hero’s Dego Mixes It Up for SpineTV

Forging the way in the breakbeat and hardcore scenes of the ’90’s, 4hero‘s Mark “Marc Mac” Claire and Dennis “Dego” McFarlane haven’t been content to lay dormant in these years, continuing to release records that explore the sounds of nu jazz, soul, and hip-hop. Now a resident of New York City, Dego focuses much of his energy on his 2000Black label (appropriately named after the Roy Ayers song) where he shares Ayers’ auspicious hopes about the black community’s future with a roster of future-minded artists. Dego’s role in 4hero not only positions him to play curator to the next generation of influential artists, it obviously makes him an excellent, crate-digging DJ. Dego’s recent mix for SpineTV has these talents on display, adding particular insight into Dego’s awareness of what’s current in the UK electronic music scene. Young hopeful James Blake makes an appearance, alongside new tracks from Martyn and Wiley, fleshing out an eclectic mix that spans Dilla to McCartney. A tracklist and link to the mix are below.

Dego Guest Mix for SpineTV

Tracklist:

1. Benny Golson – Always Dancing to the Music
2. Paul White – My Guitar Whales
3. Just-Ice – Cold Getting Dumb
4. J-Dilla – For Gods Sake
5. Wiley – The Elusive Intro
6. Mono-Poly – Oil Fields
7. Oriol – Shay-Lo
8. Keno Duke – Some Other Time
9. Kurt Rosenwinkle – Interlude
10. The Invisible – Spiral
11. Gretchen Parlato – Weak
12. James Blake – CMYK
13. Martyn – The Only Choice
14. Kaidi Tatham – 2001Dem
15. Paul McCartney – Secret Friend
16. Andreya Triana – Lost Where I Belong'(Flying Lotus Remix)
17. Ravi Shankar – Temp
18. Stanley Clark – Concerto for Jazz-Rock Orchestra Part 2
19. Soul Litchfield – Floppy 9
20. Jean Grae & 9th Wonder – The Time Is Now Ft. Phonte
21. The Upsetters – Chim Cherie
22. Burning Spear – Civilize Reggae

Onra Tours North America

Earlier this summer we offered readers an exclusive listen to Paris beatmaker Onra‘s debut album Long Distance, released on All City Records. Onra is now starting the fall season with a tour of North America, bouncing from coast-to-coast as freely as his future-funk sounds. Check out the dates below.

Onra Tour Dates:

Oct 21th – Atlanta – Soundtable w/ Karl Injex & Daz-I-Kue
Oct 22nd – Detroit – Oslo
Oct 25th – Los Angeles – Funkmosphere @ Carbon (DJ Set)
Oct 26th – Los Angeles – Dim-Mak Tuesday’s @ CineSpace (DJ Set)
Oct 27th – Los Angeles – Low End Theory
Oct 28th – San Diego – El Dorado
Oct 29th – San Francisco – SOM
Nov 2nd – Seattle – “Stop Biting” @ Lo-Fi Performance Gallery
Nov 3rd – Portland – Holocene
Nov 4th – Vancouver – The Shine
Nov 5th – Quebec City – Le Cercle
Nov 6th – Montreal – Club Hohm w/ Alaclair Ensemble + Lexis
Nov 9th – Brooklyn – The Knitting Factory w/ Saturn Never Sleeps (King Britt & Rucyl), DJ Spinna, Mike Slott, Snack n Cmish, and Moustachio

Twin Sister “All Around And Away We Go (D/R/U/G/S Remix)”

Long Island band Twin Sister is set to release a 7″ re-issue of “All Around And Away We Go,” a slinking, airy pop number that showcases the group’s Chan Marshall-esque lead singer, Andrea Estrella. On board to promote the record is London’s D/R/U/G/S, a UK duo that has previously made a name for itself with a minimal, vocal-edit style of house music. This remix takes Estrella’s sinewy vocals and chops them into ethereal glimpses over a stuttering club beat, before eventually dissolving into a re-imagination of the original more in line with Twin Sister’s usual ambience.

TwinSisterAllAroundDRUGSRemix

Video: !!! “Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass”

NYC dance-party ensemble !!!‘s new video is part gardening adventure, part love story, part dream sequence, part adventure in the illusion of a continuous shot, and part X-rated claymation. There’s also a lot of people busting through giant pieces of paper with the band’s ubiquitous exclamation-point logo on them. The clip for “Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass” is a precursor to the EP of the same name, which the band will be releasing via Warp on November 2. Apart from the title track, the EP will also include remixes of several tracks from the group’s most recent album, Strange Weather, Isn’t It?.

matthewdavid “Outmind”

It’s completely apparent, both from the wealth of sonic textures in his beat work and the loads of experimental sounds he recently gave away for free download on his Disk Collection, that LA sound artist matthewdavid is a lover of fuzzy, organic, shapeshifting, inexplicable soundscapes. With nothing more than a brief, nonsensical quote to accompany it (“Who has not felt Outmind falling from the sky, half-speed?”), the Leaving Records honcho offered up “Outmind” for download on his label’s website. The track is categorized under “ambient/collage,” and really, not much more else can be said about it. The sonic scientist made an aural landscape that feels like being underground and underwater, and all you can do is lay still, listening to the muffled rumblings pass by.

Outmind

Video: Clive Tanaka y su Orquesta “Neu Chicago”

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There’s not a lot of information out there about Clive Tanaka. He’s from Hokkaido, Japan. He makes music both alone and with the help of his “orquesta.” (That’s Spanish for orchestra.) He’s just unveiled Jet Set Siempre 1º, a cassette-only release with two parts, “For Dance” and “For Romance.” As for the music, it doesn’t really fit in with any particular scene, but it sure is delightful. “Neu Chicago” is a breezy slice of pop with just enough disco bounce to get your toe tapping, and the video is even better. Although it might be mistaken at first for just another found-footage collage, the whole thing is brand new and features some amusing stop-motion work with vintage toys and action figures. Both the music and video are marked by a real sense of childlike innocence, which only ups the enjoyment level.

Jet Set Siempre 1º is available now on cassette and will be available in vinyl and digital formats on January 11, 2011 via Tall Corn Music.

Listen to a Couple Songs from the New Space Dimension Controller EP

Earlier this year, Space Dimension Controller (a.k.a. Jack Hamill) caught our attention and wound up in our Bubblin’ section, but now the youthful Irish weirdo is getting ready to release a new EP, Temporary Thrillz, via the ridiculously on-fire R&S imprint. While his spacey instincts have remained intact, Temporary Thrillz finds the 20-year-old producer delving into funkier territory and employing a potent batch of ’80s funk and boogie synths. Our official response: not mad. The EP comes out on Monday, October 25, but in the meantime, you can peep the artwork and listen to a couple of selections below.

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