Orgone The Killion Floor

Sounding much like a cross between The Dap-Kings and Breakestra (with whom they share several members), L.A.’s Orgone keeps the hotness of the recent retro-soul revival coming; lead singer Fanny Franklin fits in very nicely between Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse. As befits the band’s name, Orgone’s sound is quite organic, rooted in soul, funk, boogaloo, and jazz, with a classic appeal that’s nevertheless contemporary. Covers of “Funky Nassau,” “Do Your Thing,” and “I Get Lifted” serve as touchstones for originals like “Sophisticated Honky” and “Dialed Up”; basically, the entire album is one non-stop groove. If smooth, soulful funk with jazzy arrangements makes you sweat, you just found your new favorite band.

Cocoa Tea Biological Warfare

These are some serious times and this reggae vet has plenty to say. Arguably, his most political record since his “Blood for Oil” and “Oil ‘Ting” singles were banned from Jamaica and the U.K. during the first Gulf War, Biological Warfare attacks with a vengeance on “New World Order.” Whether speaking out on World Bank policies on the record’s best track, “Blood and Fyah,” or environmental genocide on “Stop Tell Lie,” Cocoa Tea’s melodic vocals–produced by Brotherman and backed by musicians from the stellar Firehouse Crew–illustrate his bitter disdain for world leaders. For three decades, Tea’s brew of conscious roots and culture music has entertained audiences, and with Biological Warfare, he shows no signs of complacency.

The 12 Days of Christmas: Day 9

Kid Robot Smoker’s Delight Bundle

Smoking’s a filthy habit, and Kid Robot has enough items to fill the stockings of all your cigarette sucking friends (or, if you’re like me, fill up every inch of available space on your desk at work). The Smoker’s Delight Bundle ($34.95) features Frank Kozik’s limited-run vinyl toys–from grenades to strips of bacon and ice cream cones–puffing away. The entire pack comes with the Mongerforce Sarge, the Smorkin’ Menthos Series, and four Smorkin’ Mongers figures. Wave them around mid-day, when you go to light up and a passerby starts coughing emphatically and glaring like you’d just burnt down the local co-op. Cigarettes sold separately.

More Days of Christmas
Day 1: Rhino Box Sets
Day 2: Death In June Brown Book
Day 3: Selk’Bags
Day 4: Hangar One Raspberry Vodka
Day 5: Mishka Keep Watch Eyeball Hat
Day 6: GRN Apple Tree Hoodie and Nixon Watch
Day 7: Canon HG10
Day 8: Gee Vaucher Artwork
Day 10: Eco-Friendly Bags from Colette
Day 11: XLR8R Subscription
Day 12: Ableton Live

Imaginary Foundation Releases Holiday T-Shirt Line

Behold! Imaginary Foundation, a.k.a. makers of our favorite t-shirts around, have a new batch of designs for the holidays, stunningly designed and eco-friendly too. Says company designer Nick Philip, “your favorite swiss think tank theoreticians continue their absurdly conscious crusade with four new t-shirts, this time including sustainable designs on 100% organic cotton.”

And rather than bore you with descriptions of color and patterns, we’ll let you check the new designs for yourself. Purchase any of these at the Imaginary Foundation store.

Sustainable Future

Glow

One

Fabric of the Universe

Another XLR8R Holiday Gift Guide

We can’t stop doling out tips on what to buy your friends, family, and yourself for the holidays. Check out our latest advice on gift giving with XLR8R‘s MySpace Holiday Gift Guide, in which Managing Editor Ken Taylor acts as tour guide. Don’t expect anything too profound, but you’ll have a couple laughs and maybe even get some shopping ideas.

XLR8R‘s MySpace Holiday Gift Guide

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Best of 2007 by Dirt Crew

Germany’s two-man house team loves Efdemin and Apple computers, and won’t touch videogames.

Best Artist
Efdemin. He is really talented and made some of the deepest tunes this year.

Worst Artist
Too [many] to mention! Well, Richie Hawtin and Britney Spears, for example.

Best Album
Efdemin’s Untitled. A deep excursion into soulful tech-house.

Worst Album
That new Underworld one. Soo bad! I don’t know what they want to express with this bullshit.

Best Single/12″
Dubfire’s “Ribcage.” The party bomb of the year!

Best Record Label
Freerange. Quality all the way.

Best Live Event/Festival
Soundwave Festival on Vancouver Island in Canada. If you’ve ever been to this festival, you know why.

Best City/Scene
After-hours scene in Berlin City (Bar 25 Rocks!).

Best DJ
Andrew Weatherall (still the master).

Best Music Trend
Old school.

Worst Music Trend
Minimal.

What will be big in 2008?
The return of house!

Best Music Hardware
Still the Apple computers.

Best Music Software
Logic Studio.

Electronic Gadget You Can’t Live Without
Our Powerbooks.

Best visual artist
La Boca.

Best shoe
Nike.

Best clothing label
Stone Island.

Best style trend
Nu Rave??

Worst style trend
Nu Rave!!

Best Videogame
We don’t do that!

More Best of 2007
Switch: Artist of the Year
Sage Francis’ Top Five Albums of 2007
Best Artists of 2007
Best of 2007 by Cameron Bird
Best Albums of 2007
Best Singles of 2007
Best of 2007 by Busy P
Best Live Events of 2007
Best of 2007 by Dust La Rock
Best Visual Artists of 2007
Best Music Trends of 2007
Best Style of 2007
Best of 2007 by Mochipet
Best of 2007 by DJ Ulysses
Best Music Technology of 2007

Various Box of Dub 2: Dubstep and Future Dub

Soul Jazz hasn’t built its reputation by playing it safe, and Box of Dub 2 is a wonderfully challenging follow-up to Box of Dub. Ramadanman’s “Every Next Day” and Kode 9’s “Stung” develop the often-neglected paranoid techno influence on dubstep, while Cotti’s “Let Go Mi Shirt” (feat. Kingpin) jumps with manic dancehall energy. And though a few tried-and-true producers fall flat (both Digital Mystikz and Skream sound like they were phoning it in), Pinch absolutely kills it with two of his best cuts ever, the wub-ulous “Step 2 It,” which features the fabulous Rudie Lee, and the electric “Chamber.” Nice stuff for heads and newcomers alike.

Ben Benjamin “Selective Peripheral”

Former Midwest Product songwriter and erstwhile member of PostPrior Ben Mullins embarks on his latest musical effort as Ben Benjamin. Like its title suggests, The Many Moods of Ben Benjamin showcases Mullins’ proficiency with several different styles of music, though he maintains that wonderful sense of melancholy throughout each track on the album.

Ben Benjamin – Selective Periphera

Surgeon This Is For You Shits

The title is lifted from an onstage Suicide rant, so you know Surgeon’s limited-edition This Is For You Shits will pull no punches. The track selection is equally caustic–from the asthmatic wheeze of Aphex Twin’s “Ventolin” to Whitehouse’s sadistic “Dumping the Fucking Rubbish,” Surgeon does a masterful job of balancing elements of tension and release throughout the course of an hour-long set. Miss out on the limited 1000-copy run of this one? Seek out other sets he’s released online–“For Dog Faces Only” and “Neck Face” are equally worthy. While he may have cut his teeth as a minimal techno producer, “maximal” is now a more appropriate tag for Surgeon’s uncompromising approach to blending sound.

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