The Quiet Life Releases Extremely Limited Shoes

Nothing makes folks head to shops (or web browsers) faster than words like “exclusive” and “limited run,” and both skaters and fans of Andy Mueller’s Quiet Life brand should be sprinting to grab a pair of the company’s latest line of footwear. Working with California-based skatewear company Lakai, the Quiet Life has created the Lakai Limited Footwear Series, which features five shoes only available in a few sizes, whose designs are hot as asphalt on a July afternoon.

Special features abound here, from insoles crafted from photo collages, to army themes and vulcanized soles. Note that the One particular model in the series is so exclusive you’ll only find it at the Quiet Life’s online store. The rest are available there, as well as at select retailers. Get shopping.

False 2007

After a four-year hiatus, Matthew Dear re-establishes his False brand as a pinnacle of minimal-techno artistry. 2007 is sequenced as a continuous live set, but it gets off to an unpredictable start with “Indy 3000”’s chilly, Thomas Köner-esque ambience. With “Meat Me In the Markt” and “Warm Co.,” though, Dear starts the lofty party by shifting into some mantra-like minimalist techno that recalls label boss Richie Hawtin. From there, Dear burrows deeper into cerebral textures while also paying proper attention to dancers’ pelvises. On “Disease/George Washington,” things get disturbingly weird, as if Throbbing Gristle temporarily commandeered Dear’s laptop, foreshadowing the disc’s final four tracks: an ominous suite of peak-time lysergic disorientation. Domes will definitely be cracked.

Aaron Spectre Lost Tracks

Aaron Spectre returns to his roots here, offering up unreleased tunes that people might’ve heard when he was playing ambient rooms and running the Share night at NYC’s OpenAir (ie. his dreamy side where he manages to pull on everything from Eno to AFX to Slowdive). Lost Tracks is nine nearly perfect pieces that interlock whirring, clicking, granulated beats with a drawn-out, distorted combination of instruments that could either be analog synths, guitar, or the dulcimer. The end result is that rarest of creations, an ambient album that has a pulse, a life, and a dark narrative without being cheesy. It’s the sweet side of one of the world’s greatest and most versatile producers.

Turf Talk: The Bay Game

Twenty-eight-year-old Demar Bernstein (a.k.a. Turf Talk) is the most distinctive and original-sounding new lyricist to come out of the upstart, thizz-faced hip-hop subgenre known as hyphy. His is a powerful moniker–one that transcends the notion of a rapper speaking in the idiom of the streets, suggesting the entire lexicon of inner-city language itself.

To listen to a Turf Talk tune–heavily encoded with ghetto slang, and not without a sense of humor–is to be taken into a highly visceral, stream-of-consciousness world. Super-slapping, migraine-strength beats–by Rick Rock, Traxxamillion, Droop-E, and EA-Ski–don’t hurt, either.

Representing not only the Bay, but the entire West Coast, the rapper stands next in line in a legacy begun by legendary microphone characters like Too $hort, Snoop Dogg, Eazy E, and Turf’s older cousin E-40. Since debuting on 40’s Breaking News album in 2003, the self-described “street novelist” has become a much sought-after figure for collaborations and remixes while dropping two solo albums and one compilation under his own name. Among his notable appearances are Federation’s “Hyphy” remix, Mistah F.A.B.’s “Super Sic Wid It,” and Dem Hoodstarz’ “Grown Man” remix. Perhaps none of Turf’s cameos have been more eye-opening, though, than 2005’s all-Bay, all-day hook-up “Three Freaks,” with DJ Shadow and Keak Da Sneak, a club favorite on both sides of the Atlantic.

“I got a good reputation,” Turf says over the phone from Vallejo, an oft-overlooked, yet talent-laden North Bay suburb that’s given the world not only Yay Area icons E-40 and Mac Dre, but funk legends Sly Stone and Con Funk Shun. Yet he also has plenty of ambition. After serving his apprenticeship under 40-Water, he’s prepared to take his game to the next level. “I’m ready to spread my wings,” he confides.

According to Turf, what’s missing from West Coast rap these days are new faces. Of those, he says, “I feel like I’m one of the best,” adding that his “advantage” is having lived in both Northern and Southern California. “That makes me well-rounded,” he explains.

Another advantage: Turf is well versed in hip-hop history. Like many West Coasters, he grew up listening to The Click, Too $hort, NWA, and Tupac (his favorite rapper of all time), but says it was Big Daddy Kane, The Fat Boys, and Rob Base who first made him fall in love with rap.

Before devoting his efforts to the microphone full-time, however, Turf experienced the grittier side of West Coast life, gangbanging in Pomona and selling dope in Vallejo. “I think that makes me a different type of (hyphy) rapper,” he speculates. “I lived a whole ‘nother life.” Nowadays, his life mainly revolves around his wife and the studio. “I’m a family man,” he says. “That keeps me out of trouble.”

Turf Talk’s debut album, 2004’s The Street Novelist, proved he had street cred and flows for days. For his second effort, he challenged himself to elevate his game with different cadences, pitch-tones, and tempos. “I’ve grown a lot,” he says of the time between the two records. “I’m not saying I know everything, but I wanted to show I could switch it up.”

Already hailed as a classic, this year’s West Coast Vaccine offers major-label quality on an indie-label budget; Turf jokingly refers to it as a “showcase for A&Rs.” He explains that there was considerable major-label interest in the album, but that ultimately he decided to put it out independently (on 40’s Sick Wid It label) to maintain control over release dates. (Contrary to rumors and media reports, crunkmeister Lil’ Jon was never on board with the project.) While song titles like “Stop Snitching,” “I’m Ghetto,” and “I Got Chips” might seem like basic thug-rap fare, it’s the way he says lines like “I don’t look for hoes/Hoes look for me” (from “Bring the Base Back”) that make him sound extra-compelling. “A lot of rappers rap like they’re reading off a paper,” he says. “I’m not a dude that is gonna sound the same on every song.”

“Get your own style/Stop bitin‘,” he exclaims on “Superstar,” yet he needn’t have bothered. Nobody else sounds like him; amidst an ocean of generic ghetto cats who spit trife raps about pumping cracks and ripping hoodrats, he’s an island of uniqueness. “Some say I’m lyrical, I just rep the hood/Face frowned up then it ain’t all good,” he declares on “That’s That Turf Talk.” Best known for delivering his rhymes in a high-pitched drawl, on “Broke Niggas” he unleashes a wicked whisper-style, breaking off a stamina-testing, slaloming flow on “Popo’s” (where he outshines 40, not an easy thing to do). That gets followed by a clipped, staccato cadence on “Back in the Day,” which finds Turf casually flipping dope punchlines.

The secret to Turf’s appeal might just be that, for all his ghetto stripes, he’s really a hip-hop head at heart. Not only does West Coast Vaccine prominently feature scratching and skits, but it updates one of the all-time b-boy classics, Mantronix’s “Fresh Is the Word” (on “Sick Wid It Is the Crew”)–a reference point that’s impossible to front on. “I really love hip-hop,” Turf proclaims. Still, he says, “People get misconceptions” about hyphy’s place in the hip-hop canon.

For one thing, rumors that the movement was over were simply unfounded, he says. “We just getting started. Hyphy was never dead. My album just dropped, [Mistah] F.A.B. just dropped. Nobody looked at it like that.” He admits there was a momentary lull among the stunna-shades set after 40’s 2006 hit “Tell Me When to Go,” but believes “It was just a timing thing.”

“Hyphy is hip-hop culture” in the Bay Area, Turf insists. “It’s the way we talk, the way we wear our clothes… There’s no such thing as a hyphy song. All the music in the Bay is hyphy. This is our culture.”

Tours: Pinback, The Field, !!!, and More

Bonde Do Role
Brazil’s outrageous trio brings the Baile-punk to North America.

09/20 Detroit, MI: Magic Stick
09/21 Chicago, IL: Empty Bottle
09/22 Minneapolis, MN: Triple Rock Club
09/25 Vancouver, BC:Richards On Richards
09/26 Seattle, WA: Neumos
09/27 Portland, OR: Holocene
09/28 San Francisco, CA: The Independent
09/29 Los Angeles, CA: Echoplex
10/01 San Diego, CA: Casbah
10/02 Tucson, AZ: Plush
10/04 Austin, TX: Emos Jr.
10/05 Dallas, TX: Palladium Loft
10/06 Baton Rouge, LA: Spanish Moon
10/08 Tallahassee, FL: The Beta Bar
10/09 Gainesville, FL: Common Grounds
10/10 Jacksonville, FL: TSI
10/11 Orlando, FL: The Club at Firestone
10/12 Atlanta, GA: Drunken Unicorn
10/13 Chapel Hill, NC: Local 506

David Gilmour Girls
Stepping away from its nu-disco past, this Dutch duo debuts its newfound love for classic rock with a few European dates.

09/21 Amsterdam, NL: Robodock
09/22 Amsterdam, NL: Flex Bar
10/04 Lyon, FR: Sonic
10/12 Bruxelles, BE: Relish party
10/19 Amsterdam, NL: Studio K

Diplo
The Mad Decent founder, who is having a very good year, just wrapped production on a dancehall album with Switch, and gears up to take those tracks and more to the stage.

09/20 Seattle, Neumos
09/21 Los Angeles, CA: Echnoplex
09/22 San Francisco, CA: Mezzanine
09/23 Vancouver, BC: Plush Nightclub
09/28 Baltimore, MD: Sonar
10/05 New York, NY: Hiro Ballroom
10/27 Rio de Janeiro: Marina da Gloria
11/04 Austin, TX: Fun Fun Fun Fest

Jahcoozi
This Berlin-based nu-dub trio has already earned a spot on Ewan Pearson’s Fabriclive mix, as well as a remix from Modeselektor.

09/20 Berlin, DE: Festsaal Kreuzberg
09/22 Hague, NL: Today?s Art Festival
10/05 Leuven, BE: Der Machine
10/19 Leipzip, DE: Distillery
10/26 Nantes, FR: Music Allemand Festival
10/27 Paris, FR: Music Allemand Festiavl
10/31 Vienna, AT: Ottakringer Breauerei
11/09 Copengahen, DK: Klub Dada
11/16 Dresden, DE: Pushkin Klub

Konrad Black
Canada’s minimal techno mastermind creeps out of North America for a several big name gigs in Europe.

09/20 Ibiza, ES: Priveledge
09/29 Berlin, DE: Panorama Bar
10/04 Dublin, UK: Wax Dublin
10/05 Leeds, UK: The Mission
11/03 Berlin, DE: Watergate
11/23 Frankfurt, DE: Monza
11/24 Berlin, DE: Panorama Bar

Modeselektor
Europe gets another helping of this German duo’s spastic dance music.

09/20 Berlin, DE: Watergate
09/21 Lille, FR: N.A.M.E. Festival
09/22 Den Haag, NL: Today?s Art Festival
09/27 Lyon, FR: Divine
09/28 Marseille, FR: Marstack
09/29 Thessaloniki, GR: Reworks Festival

Motor
No one does post-industrial electro quite like this London-based duo, so catch them in the live setting to find out.

09/20 Chicago, IL: Smart Bar
09/21 Seattle, WA: Decibel Festival
09/22 San Francisco, CA: Rx Gallery
10/25 Amsterdam, NL: Milk Weg
10/27 Madrid, ES: Beauty Case
11/22 Paris, FR: La Locamotive

Pinback
San Diego’s premier indie rock enterprise supports its long-awaited long-player Autumn of the Seraphs (Touch and Go).

09/20 Albuquerque, NM: Sunshine Theatre
09/21 Oklahoma City, OK: Bricktown Live
09/22 Fort Worth, TX: LaGrave Field
09/23 Austin, TX: Emo’s
09/25 Houston, TX: Numbers
09/26 New Orleans, LA: House of Blues
09/27 Tallahassee, FL: Club Downunder
09/28 Orlando, FL: The Social
09/29 Gainesville, FL: Common Grounds
10/01 Atlanta, GA: Roxy Theatre
10/02 Asheville, NC: The Orange Peel
10/03 Carrboro, NC: Cat’s Cradle
10/04 Charlottesville, VA: Satellite Ballroom
10/05 Philadelphia, PA: Theatre of Living Arts
10/06 Asbury Park, NJ: Stone Pony
10/07 Washington, DC: 930 Club
10/09 New York, NY: Nokia Theatre
10/10 Boston, MA: The Roxy
10/11 Buffalo, NY: Tralf
10/12 Toronto, ON: Opera House
10/13 Pontiac, MI: The Crofoot
10/14 Chicago, IL: The Metro
10/16 Milwaukee, WI: Pabst Theatre
10/17 Minneapolis, MN: Fineline Music Cafe
10/18 Omaha, NE: Slowdown
10/19 Englewood, CO: Gothic Theatre
10/20 Salt Lake City, UT: The Depot
10/22 Seattle, WA: Showbox Showroom
10/23 Bellingham, WA: Viking Union Multipurpose Room
10/24 Portland, OR: Roseland Theatre
10/25 San Francisco, CA: Bimbo?s 365 Club
10/26 San Francisco, CA: Bimbo?s 365 Club
10/27 Solana Beach, CA: Belly Up Tavern
10/28 Los Angeles, CA: The Wiltern
11/10 Berlin, DE: Lido
11/11 Koln, DE: Gebaeude 9
11/12 Hamburg, DE: Knust
11/13 Rotterdam, NL: Rotown
11/15 Geneva, CH: Usine PTR
11/16 Bourguoin Jallieu, FR: Les Abbatoirs
11/17 Evreux, FR: L?Abordage
11/19 Paris, FR: La Maroquinerie
11/20 Antwerp, BE: Trix
11/21 Leuven, BE: Stuk
11/22 London, UK: 229
11/24 Manchester, UK: Roundhouse
11/25 Dublin, UK: Wheelan?s

The Field w/ !!!
Komapkt’s pop-techno superhero The Field joins forces with the kings of punk-funk, !!!.

09/25 San Francisco, CA: Mezzanine
09/26 Los Angeles, CA: Avalon Hollywood
09/27 San Diego, CA: Canes
09/28 Phoenix, AZ: Old Brickhouse
09/29 Tucson, AZ: Rialto Theater
10/01 Dallas, TX: Palladium Loft
10/02 Austin, TX: La Zona Rosa
10/03 Little Rock, AR:Revolution Music Room
10/04 Birmingham, AL: Bottletree
10/06 Athens, GA: 40 Watt Club
10/07 Mt. Pleasant, SC: The Village Tavern
10/08 Baltimore, MD: Ottobar
10/10 Philadelphia, PA: The Fillmore
10/11 New York, NY: Webster Hall
10/12 Boston, MA: Paradise

A-Trak Takes his Fool’s Gold Roster on Tour

Twenty-three-year-old DJ A-Trak has evolved from prepubescent turntablist to a respected artist (who has toured with everyone from Diplo to Kanye West) and head of the Fool’s Gold imprint with Nick Catchdubs. Fans will get to see what A-Trak is up to with the label when he and the other artists on the roster tour North America in just a few weeks.

Artists on the tour include A-Trak’s lady friend Kid Sister, Ed Banger’s hip-house resident DJ Mehdi, the Daft Punk-groomed Kavinsky, and A-Trak and Catchdubs themselves. In addition, Chicago retro-hoppers (and Fool’s Gold signees) Cool Kids will join the group for a few dates. Following the North American jaunt, Mehdi and A-Trak bring their tag-team set to Europe for “The DJ Mehdi & A-Trak Spectacular Review.” [sic] 

The recently formed label has already released Kid Sister’s hit “Control” and A-Trak’s Dirty South Dance Remixes, and has forthcoming releases from Kavinsky, Cool Kids, and newcomer Kid Cudi. Plus, there are some beats in the works from Australia’s Bag Raiders and Canada’s Jokers of the Scene. Dudes with New Era hats and throwback Nikes are stoked. 

For more exclusive A-Trak and Kid Sister action, check out their interview on XLR8R TV: Episode 3.

Fool’s Gold Tour Dates
10/04 Montreal, QC: Club Soda
10/17 New York, NY: Hiro Ballroom
10/18 Vancouver, BC: Celebrities
10/19 Los Angeles, CA: Roxy
10/20 San Francisco, CA: Mezzanine
10/21 Chicago, IL: Empty Bottle
10/22 Toronto, ON: Revival

DJ Mehdi & A-Trak Spectacular Review Tour Dates
10/25 Glasgow, UK: Sub Club
10-26 Edinburgh, UK: Cabaret Voltaire
10/27 Bristol, UK: Clockwork
10/31 Paris, FR: TBA
11/02 Liverpool, UK: Chibuku
11/03 Moscow, RU: TBA

Young Marble Giants Colossal Youth and Collected Works

On the heels of similarly minded reissues from Brit proto-indie luminaries Orange Juice and Josef K, Domino offers the entire recorded output of seminal minimalists Young Marble Giants, including their lone LP, 1980’s classic Colossal Youth. Hugely influential despite its brief lifespan, the Welsh trio stripped post-punk to its core-using only herky-jerky guitar and bass, a drum-machine loop, and singer Alison Statton’s dreamy vocals to create a haunting, original sound more avant-pop than punk. The crucial disc here is Youth, but the additional tracks-from the band’s Testcard EP, John Peel Sessions, “Final Day” single, and Salad Days, an early-recordings collection-paint a clearer picture of a group whose significance extends well beyond its back catalog.

The Politik “Moonlight feat. Blu”

Bémbé Ségué and Mark de Clive-Lowe have run all over the broken-beat/nu-jazz map, wowing fans and working with the likes of Platinum Pied Pipers, Dego, Spinna, and Kenny Dope. Making music as The Politik, the two continue exploring every jazzy hook and soulful chord it’s possible to squeeze out of an MPC, and if this, their self-titled debut, is any indication, these two should be around a long time yet.

The Politik – Moonlight feat. Blu

Gravy Train!!!! All the Sweet Stuff

Gravy Train!!!! is never going to top the raunch-rap glory of 2005’s Are You Wigglin? But could we ever expect the Bay Areans to match something like “Kottonmouth BJ,” with its classic “You can’t bone my mouth/When my mouth is bone dry” b-girl punch? On All the Sweet Stuff, they didn’t bother to try, instead dumping rap for campy teenybopper sing-alongs. With songs about frat parties, crushes, and jerking off, the album moves from the filth we know and love (“I wanna jack you off through your pants” on “Strip 4 Me”) to bubblegum smut (“We could masturbate/Or we could roller-skate“) that’s been lubed with the KY left over from “Kottonmouth BJ.”

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