San Francisco’s Patric Fallon and drum & bass DJ UFO! have created the ultimate meta-hipster-dance album of the ’00s (not that there’s much competition, but still…). More self-aware and snarky than Chromeo, All Teeth and Knuckles seemingly have set the contents of their blogs and text messages to concise, catchy electro-pop tracks that’ll have you nonchalantly shaking your bedhead. If ATAK’s sneering, mock-braggadocious lyrics aren’t spoofing the whole designer-ball cap/all-over-print-hoodie-centric club scene, I’ll eat Spank Rock’s hijab collection. They claim to rep “the real San Francisco,” and their attention to detail suggests ATAK ain’t bluffin’. Club Hits essentially is a documentary of metro nightlife circa now. Pop-cult historians, take note.
DatA “Aerius Light”
Is it laser house? Electro house? As long as DatA keeps making this kind of music, it doesn’t really matter where the adoring public chooses to pigeonhole him. The white shirt-wearing, Sébastian Tellier-loving upstart from Paris is one of the new guns on Ekler’o’shock, and, in keeping with the majority of artists on that label, he is here to ensure the party rages until the wee hours and beyond.
Various FabricLive 35: Marcus Intalex
In interviews, Marcus Intalex is prone to apologies. Long ago he dashed into someone’s DJ booth, switched off the music because “he didn’t like it,” and began spinning his own, apologizing all the way. Blame it on New Order, who propelled Intalex into dance music, whereupon he established his Soul:r label and Soul:ution nights and became known for, um, soulful drum & bass. Fast-forward to FabricLive 35, where Intalex gets emotional with melodious mix opener Calibre ft. Lariman’s “Over Reaction.” It’s not unusual for saxophones or xylophones to skitter amid the rhythms, or a dubwise vocalist to warble during the breakdowns. In fact, Amaning vs. Dubwise place strings and piano in a nearly New Age run prior to banging the beats. Lynx and Kemo go low with sub-bass and chilled keyboards, while Alix Perez and Sabre’s frisky vocal soul round out the set. Nineteen heartfelt tracks-no apologies.
Sorcerer White Magic
Founding Call & Response member Daniel Judd leaves his indie roots as he embarks on a mystical new solo journey as Sorcerer. Riding on a flying carpet of psychedelic guitars over deep synths and muted drums, Sorcerer’s debut channels the sun-bleached and sand-speckled warmth of the Balearic sound into 11 tracks of prog surf rock and atmospheric midtempo disco. Beginning with the wave-crashing minimal thump of “Divers Do It Deeper,” listeners sail along past the vocodered electro boogie of “Hawaiian Island” and the dreamy synths on “Surfing at Midnight.” As a whole, White Magic‘s mellowed-out soundscapes depart from many of today’s more stale downtempo releases to create a much-needed new chapter in the chill-out genre, while augmenting the spacey explorations of fellow disconauts Lindstrøm, Prins Thomas, and Metro Area.
Pon Di Wire: Computer Paul Henton, Macka Diamond, Junior Kelly
Producer and musician “Computer Paul” Henton–who has worked with everyone from Sizzla and Mr. Vegas to Jimmy Cliff and Eek-A-Mouse–has been honored with a double-platinum record for his work on Akon’s “Mama Africa.” The track is featured on Akon’s double-platinum-selling album Konvicted. Henton played the keyboards on the Bobby “Digital” Dixon–produced tune.
The LA Times recently published an excellent profile of youthful producer Stephen McGreggor (son of reggae legend Freddy McGreggor). The younger McGreggor’s Tremor riddim backs Sean Paul’s latest single, “Watch Dem Roll,” and Mavado’s “Amazing Grace.”
A new art exhibit, titled Materializing Slavery: Art, Artefact and Identity, opened at the National Gallery of Jamaica in Kingston, and the ceremonies featured music from Mystic Revelation of Rastafari. The group led an audience in traditional Rasta anthems “By The Rivers of Babylon” and “Never Get Weary Yet.”
Top dancehall artist Macka Diamond’s first dancehall novel Bun Him! is out now.
Shabba Ranks
Shabba Ranks performed at Atlanta’s Club Legacy in early September, marking a return to the stage after a long hiatus. The Grammy winner explained to a YardFlex.com reporter that he took time off to spend time with his children, but also implied disappointment with past industry experiences. “Make sure yu get yu masters–mek sure yu get yu publishing–know the intricacies of the business and how to apply yourself,” were the pioneering deejay’s strong suggestions.
In U.K. news: British roots label Pressure Sounds released a new retrospective of Bim Sherman titled Tribulation: Down In Jamdown 1974-1979. The singer’s soft, plaintive voice shapes songs like “Ital West,” “Love Forever,” and “Weak Heart Men,” with dubwise versions also included. Beloved radio personality David Rodigan has re-launched his weekly Wednesday night, Rodigan’s Reggae dance event, at London’s Neighbourhood. Fans will hear Rodigan and Papa Face, plus guest DJs Sir Lloydie Coxsone and Fat Man Hi-Fi. Upcoming live acts include Bitty McLean, Bobby Kray, and Jamaican legend Alton Ellis.
Bobby Kray
Bobby Kray will drop his debut pop-dancehall album, Tales From A Skinny White Boy (Black Allianz/V2), on October 29. Discovered and produced by Linton Kwesi Johnson collaborator Dennis “Blackbeard” Bovell, Kray’s latest single, “Help Me,” is out now, with remixes from M.J. Cole and Mixmaster M.
Junior Kelly
More new album news: In the next month singer Fantan Mojah will drop the follow-up to his 2005 Greensleeves debut, Hail the King. Veteran singer Jimmy Riley (father of current chart-topper Tarrus Riley) will release a new album in October. According to Riley, the first single, a cover of “When She Was My Girl,” is already gaining momentum. Singer Maxi Priest is prepping the release of a new opus, slated for release in February of next year. Roots singjay Junior Kelly recently finished a new album called Prince of Roots. The album contains different musical flavors, including blue grass, punk rock, and hard rock.
Rita J: Bridging the Gap
Unlike many of her indie hip-hop peers, Rita J isn’t a huge fan of nostalgia. And that goes for her music and her life as a whole. “I don’t dwell on the past,” says this up-and-coming hip-hop MC. “I like the past–I think it gives you perspective for the future–but I just keep it movin’, man.”
A genuine free spirit, Rita left her native Chicago, and her hometown crew Family Tree, in 2005 without much of a game plan. Unsatisfied with her first pit stop in hurricane-prone Miami, Rita moved north to sunny Atlanta. What’s kept her in the ATL is not solely music–it’s the creative spirit running through the city.
“Atlanta is a place for me to focus and just be grounded,” says Rita, who, in addition to connecting with the local hip-hop underground, has fulfilled a passion for fashion and modeling since befriending several Atlanta-based designers and photographers. “I just wanna be expressive in any way possible, so if I can convey my energy through pictures, hair or whatever, I’m down with that,” she says.
As a forward-looking lyricist, it’s ironic that Rita has found solace in the epicenter of trap rap and instructional club bangers. “At first, the whole shiny-suit club scene really got on my nerves,” recalls Rita. “It seems like it’s almost gotten worse, but at the same time”m kinda over it. This is what they’re gonna give the people but I can’t let that hinder my growth.”
While penning her debut album, Artist Workshop (All Natural), in both Chicago and Atlanta, Rita reserved a few tracks to examine the shallowness of the rap game–particularly to put stereotypes of black women to rest. On the uplifting anthem “Asses Shakin’,” she bluntly calls out near-naked music-video models and female rappers by asserting on the chorus, “So many fake tits and tracks/Where’s your self esteem?/Wake up/Bring it back.” The album also reveals an enigmatic side to Rita J, especially on the progressive, synthy funk jam “Paranoid”–a bizarre, yet oddly catchy, song about her distrust of others.
“I try to take it to that next step and not just do the ‘A-B-C, 1-2-3,'” she says. “Even some old-school rap is not dope to me because it’s just too simplistic. It’s just too easy. I like to catch something that you may not catch on the fly. Or you have to listen to it a couple times and then you’ll be like, ‘Oh, wow! I didn’t even realize he said that.'”
Magnum 38 “Pille Palle”
Weird, noir, hysterical, and gnarly are a few words that come to mind upon hearing Magnum 38‘s latest album, Old Europe Strikes Back, and the man behind the moniker–Oliver Greschke–wouldn’t have things any other way. Here he tweaks and twists his musical inspirations found around the globe into a jarring, lively mash-up of sounds as danceable as they are worthy of thoughtful analysis.
Waxploitation Turns Ten
Waxploitation is notoriously remembered for releasing and breaking L.A.-based hip-hop supergroup The Alkaholiks to the masses with the seminal Firewater album. Now 10 years into its existence, the label, publishing company, and management group has achieved iconic status, both politically and artistically. Not only did Jeff Antebi’s growing company help develop production careers for the likes of Ministry’s Al Jourgensen and Nine Inch Nails’ co-founder Chris Vrenna, it also paved the way for the Danger Mouse invasion, managing both the producer’s solo endeavors and his Gnarls Barkley collaboration with Goodie Mob’s Cee-Lo.
In 2003, the label released the Genocide in Sudan comp, which featured everyone from Yoko Ono to Thievery Corporation and strove to create awareness about the genocide crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. A series of auctions followed, with celebrities like Kanye West, Radiohead, and Dr. J donating items to the cause.
In mid-November, the label will release Causes 1, a collection of exclusive tracks from Bloc Party, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Death Cab for Cutie, and others, with all of the proceeds going to the Human Rights Watch and Doctors Without Borders.
Here’s to 10 more years of inspiring music and an uplifting agenda.
Causes 1 is out in November on Waxploitation.
Deepchord Presents Echospace The Coldest Season
Echospace-Chicago’s Steve Hitchell (Soultek) and Detroit’s Rod Modell (Deepchord)-will be dogged (or cheered) by Basic Channel/Chain Reaction comparisons, and one really has no choice but to add to the inevitable critical consensus. The Coldest Season is pure homage to the artists on those Berlin labels who set the standard for highbrow, dub-inflected techno. Which is cool, as there can never be too much of this type of music circulating, especially for DJs who dig the original’s deep, sublimely lonesome, and stoic techno. With acute attention to detail, The Coldest Season‘s nine tracks emulate BC/CR’s stringently streamlined 4/4 rhythms and vast aquatic/stratospheric textures. “First Point of Aries” is a brilliant amalgam of spindrift, reverberant bass pulsations and muted, skipping beats that hit like love taps. Elsewhere, evocative “Ocean of Emptiness” and “Celestialis” signify the stark majesty of these supremely dedicated disciples. Chicago + Detroit x Berlin = techno Nirvana.
Various Rekids One
If you’ve spent any time in record shops over the last year, you’re probably familiar with the Rekids label’s bright-colored 12″ sleeves. If you aren’t, you should be. Run by DJ/producer Matt Edwards, Rekids has been slowly earning a name for itself with one impeccable 12″ after another. Both their first compilation and first non-vinyl release, Rekids One showcases fantastic work by Toby Tobias, Luke Solomon, Spencer Parker, and Edwards himself as Radio Slave, not to mention a second disc of remixes from Quiet Village, Prins Thomas, and Claude VonStroke. From soulful Chicago house to wobbly, glitchy techno, Rekids’ love for all things dark, dirty, and rumbling is utterly infectious, and pretty damn impressive too.
