Cryptacize Splits 7″ with WHY?, Tours

The members of Bay Area-based trio Cryptacize have already shared the stage with WHY?, and now they’ll split a record with the Oakland-based band when Asthmatic Kitty releases the latest 7″ in its Unusual Animal series.

Already known for its bizarre incarnation of folk-pop, Cryptacize will cover Steely Dan’s “Peg” for the release, while WHY? will do a rendition Dylan’s “As I Went Out one Morning.” The 7″ drops July 22 and will feature a West Indian Mantee on the cover.

Meanwhile, rather than return to the Bay Area and relax amid the 30-mile an hour winds we’ve been having here, Cryptacize will hit the road today, for another set of tour dates.

Read a Q&A with Cryptacize.

Dates
05/01 Portland, OR: Rotture
05/02 Seattle, WA: The Vera Project
05/03 Vancouver, BC: Media Club
05/04 Eugene, OR: Sam Bond’s Garage
05/17 San Francisco, CA: The Hemlock Tavern
05/31 Salt Lake City, UT: Kilby Court
06/02 Denver, CO: Hi-Dive
06/03 Lincoln, NE: Box Awesome
06/04 Fargo, ND: Aquarium
06/05 St. Paul, MN: Turf Club
06/06 Chicago, IL: Schuba’s
06/07 Bloomington, IN: Art Hospital
06/08 Cleveland, OH: Beachland Ballroom
06/10 Providence, RI: As220
06/11 Cambridge, MA: Middle East
06/12 New York, NY: Knitting Factory
06/13 Philadelphia, PA: Johnny Brendas
06/14 Baltimore, MD: Floristree
06/15 Washington, DC: Black Cat
06/16 Knoxville, TN: Piolot Light
06/18 Hot Springs, AR: The Exchange
06/19 Houston, TX: The Mink
06/21 Austin, TX: Mohawk
06/23 Tucson, AZ: SOlar Cultural Gallery
06/25 Los Angeles, CA: The Echo

Boris Adds U.S. Tour Dates

The Japanese behemoth better known as Boris will not be slowing down anytime soon. They’ve released something like three collaborative albums, a live split, and their latest solo record, Smile, in the last year or so. You’d think that after the European tour they’re currently on with New York noise-makers Growing, the band would want to take a break. Maybe hang out in Japan, get a massage and drink some tea or something. But, no, they’re not relaxing anytime soon. This week, they announced a good five weeks of North American tour dates with the Floridian heavy-pop quartet Torche and Southern Lord label-mates Wolves in the Throne Room.

6/24 San Diego, CA: Casbah
6/25 Tempe, AZ: The Clubhouse
6/27 Denton, TX: Rubbergloves Rehearsal
6/28 Austin, TX: The Mohawk
6/29 San Antonio, TX: White Rabbit
7/1 Baton Rouge, LA: Spanish Moon
7/2 Gainesville, FL: Common Grounds
7/3 Orlando, FL: The Social
7/5 Atlanta, GA: The Earl
7/6 Carrboro, NC: Cat’s Cradle
7/8 Washington, DC: Black Cat
7/9 Philadelphia, PA: First Unitarian Church
7/10 New York, NY: Webster Hall
7/11 Cambridge, MA: The Middle East – Downstairs
7/12 Montreal, QC: La Sala Rossa
7/13 Ottawa, ON: Barrymore
7/14 Toronto, ON: Lees Palace
7/15 Buffalo, NY: Tralf
7/16 Cleveland, OH: Grog Shop
7/17 Pittsburgh, PA: Diesel
7/18 Detroit, MI: St Andrews Hall
7/19 Milwaukee, WI: Turner Hall
7/20 Chicago, IL: Empty Bottle
7/22 Omaha, NE: The Waiting Room
7/23 Lawrence, KS: Granada Theatre
7/25 Denver, CO: Marquis Theater
7/26 Salt Lake City, UT: Urban Lounge
7/29 Seattle, WA: Neumo’s
7/30 Vancouver, BC: Richards on Richards
7/31 Portland, OR: Hawthorne Theatre
8/2 San Francisco, CA: Great American Music Hall
8/3 Los Angeles, CA: Echoplex

Movement 2008 Lineup Announced

Though we’ve seen it bounce between the names DEMF and Movement like a ping-pong ball gone out of control, Detroit’s annual electronic music festival has remained consistent in one area–the music.

This year’s festival–whose full name is Movement: Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival ’08–sees another roundup of house, techno, and electronic music artists on the bill, with names as old and familiar as Stacey Pullen and Richie Hawtin and new faces like The Cool Kids (pictured above).

The fun goes down May 24 – 26 in its usual spot at Detroit’s Hart Plaza. A recent press release suggests the crew putting on the event is particularly excited about the stages, which, supposedly, “provide the audience with optimal listening and dancing experience.” Pre-sale tickets are available now, at 40 bones a piece for the weekend. Check here for more information

Confirmed Lineup
Alex Smoke
Alex Under
Alland Byallo
Alton Miller
Benny Benassi
Big Joe Hix
Brian Kage & Luke Hess as Reference
Carl Craig
Cassy
Cobblestone Jazz (Live)
Darkcube (Live)
Davide Squllace
DBX (Live)
Deadmaus (Live)
Deepchord Presents Echospace (Live)
Derek Plaslaiko
Derrick Thompson
Diesel Boy & MC Messinian
Drew Pompa
Dubfire
Egyptian Lover (Live)
Databass Ghetto Tech
Eric Johnston (Live)
Gabe Real
Girl Talk (Live)
Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts (Live)
Half Hawaii (Live)
Heartthrob (Live)
James Zabiela
Jerry Abstract
Joris Voorn (Live)
Josh Dahlberg (Live)
Josh Wink
Justin Kruse
Justin Long
Keith Worthy
Kenneth Thomas
Kevin Saunderson
Konrad Black
Lawnchair Generals
Lee Burridge
Magda
Marco Carola
Mark Farina
Mathias Kaden (Live)
Matthew Hawtin
Michael Geiger
Mike Grant
Miles Maeda
Minx
Moby
Mr. De’ (Live)
Newcleus (Live)
Nospectacle (Live)
Oscar Mulero
Par Grindvik (Live)
Paul Ritch (Live)
Peanut Butter Wolf
Pete Rock
Punisher
Reggie “Hotmix” Harrell
Rex Sepulveda (Live)
Richie Hawtin
Rich Korach
Shawn Michaels
Soundmurderer
Speedy J (Live)
Stacey Pullen
T Linder
Tech Itch
Terrence Parker
The Cool Kids (Live)
The Nick Speed Collection
Twonz
Tycho (Live)
Yos
Zip

Jal “Warchild”

Jal begins this track with the line “I believe I’ve survived for a reason/to tell my story, to touch lives.” Needless to say, the Sudan-born MC–who served a large chunk of his childhood in a rebel movement known as the Sudan People’s Liberation Army–has some heavy topics to impart on his debut album, Warchild. His lyrics touch on the devastating impact of conflict in his homeland, his need to share those experiences, and the lack of responsibility contemporary hip-hop superstars have with regards to being role models. The album’s story is, perhaps, not the most easygoing one to tell, but nonetheless an important one to share.

Jal – Warchild

Bisc1 When Electric Night Falls

New York’s Bisc1 may still spell out his name in his rhymes, but he’s not exactly old-school. His debut effort for Embedded boasts dystopian funk built of synthetic sonics, as well as some stellar scratches. But, from flanged bass to handclaps, you’ll be hard pressed to find a live instrument on the thing. Yet the host’s gifted lyricism makes up for what his impassionate delivery cannot bring to the proceedings, which is a sense of urgency. Atmospheric tracks like “Turbulence” and angular bouncers like “Parallels” take you to some gritty places, even if the ride feels too smooth. “Chill for a second/You’re now cruising with Bisc,” he says often in “Night Falls.” Dude, I’m chilled. Now, what was it you were trying to warn me about?

Meanest Man Contest “We Wouldn’t Want It Any Other Way (De?bruit Remix)”

Former roomates Eriksolo and Quarterbar moved together to Oakland to form Meanest Man Contest some years ago, and from that act evolved a sound that encompasses everything from instrumental hip-hop laced with jazz samples to electro-flavored beats. The duo now splits time between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and will soon release a two-part remix project in which a slew of artists to rework tracks. Here, France-based Debruit adds some electro-synth-madness to the track “We Wouldn’t Want it Any Other Way.”

We Wouldn’t Want It Any Other Way (Debruit Remix)

Mochipet Microphonepet

David Wang covered his eyes and pulled the trigger on his 2003 mash-up mix, Combat, where he caught Aphex Twin in bed with The Thompson Twins. In this collaboration with nearly 30 MCs, he has matured into a facile hip-hop producer. His breakcore roots still shine, and he fits every noise into the lyrical flow. On “Girls and Boys and Toys,” Wang watches Sasha Perera from Jahcoozi’s voice digitally flop around before throwing it back into the water to finish her verses. But for the most part he’s too respectful to interfere with the sharp rhymes of Khem, Sindri, and various Hieroglyphics fellas. Here’s hoping that he’ll help move the Bay Area hip-hop underground to rougher wilderness.

Muhsinah: Defying R&B

If there’s one thing that Muhsinah Abdul-Karim knows well, it’s the death-defying balancing act of the aspiring musician. “Last year, I was working 12-hour days as an audio engineer at this audio-books studio,” she recalls. “While they’re reading, I’m supposed to be reading along. But I would just press record and doze off! I was the worst employee!” She can afford to laugh about it now, but the 24-year-old singer-songwriter/producer/engineer is no stranger to the task of forcing square pegs into round holes.

After attending high school at Washington, DC’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Muhsinah entered the prestigious halls of Howard University. Musical alumni such as Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway acted as default inspirations as Muhsinah struggled to find her own voice. Literally. “I didn’t really get good until I got to Howard,” she recalls. “But I was only playing piano; I wasn’t singing at all. No one had ever heard me sing.” With the FM dial brimming with the high-octave ranges of Mary J. Blige and Beyoncé, Muhsinah’s own deep register struck a dissonant chord with her self-confidence. “I would think to myself, ‘I’m not good at this. My voice is too low, so I’m not gonna sing in front of anybody.’”

The insecurities eventually fell away as she worked as a backup singer for R&B artist Raheem DeVaughn, and word of her angular creations spread throughout DC’s bohemian contingent. In 2005, she released the self-produced Oscillations EP, followed up this February by a self-produced full-length, Day.Break 2.0, that’s a beautiful smack in the face of mainstream hip-hop and R&B convention. Tracks like “Discovery,” with its reverse waveforms and hefty boom bap, and the bossa nova-infused “Only and Always” testify to an effervescent musical frontier being explored by Muhsinah and a growing cadre of progressive African-American artists.

Unique as her style may be, comparisons to fellow avant-soul artist Georgia Anne Muldrow are inevitable. “The first time I heard her, it was like a soul-shattering experience,” she concedes. “You know when someone comes up with an invention and you’re like, ‘I thought of that!’? I love Georgia so much as a person–meeting her was like meeting a long-lost relative–but we’re two totally different artists.”

And it shows, as Muhsinah is no longer afraid to embrace her individuality. “There are a lot of people who don’t know about me, and a lot of people who won’t know about me,” she says. “But my intention was never to seek approval. It was just to learn and try something new.”

Dizzee Rascal Maths + English

After the blah-est year in American rap history, the U.K.’s grime minister comes correctly ballistic with the first classic hip-hop album of ’08 (despite it being issued overseas last year). The universality of ghetto tribulations is a recurring theme, whether it’s Diz explaining why he’s left his corner (“World Outside”), separating the real from the fake with Bun B and Pimp C (“Where Da G’s”), or waxing poetic about being a “BlackfacedCockney/Ever so cocky” (“G.H.E.T.T.O.”). Microphone attacks come in jab-like flurries, riding roughshod over jarring beats that whine, growl, and shake with riot-inciting sub-bass frequencies. No longer a little Rascal, Dizzee makes the big-time MC grade while keeping his flow grimier than Bill Sykes.

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