Bringing his San Francisco Mission District’s roots with him to Brooklyn, multi-instrumentalist Luz Fleming (a.k.a Luz Mob) is taking the underground by storm with a danceable mix of Latin-jazz reggae. Fleming’s marriage of electronic beats, live instrumentation, and sensational rhythmic variations–which encompass everything from cumbia and bachata to dub, reggae, jazz, and soul–set the tone for Luz Interpretations (Crystal Top), an album of eclectic sounds that include Jackie Mittoo and two-tone artists The Selector, as well as Fillmore hip-hop producer J.T. Tha Bigga Figga.

Huh?

You heard right, Fleming is not shy about his broad music roots, and he’s talented enough to put his own non-traditionalist jazz spin on them. That fact led one blogger to gush recently, “I’m not usually one for instrumentals, but Luz Mob is fucking awesome. It’s hip-hop for the ballroom dancing set–reggae to dub, jazz to hip-hop, the album’s got it all, really.”

Studying under musical heavyweights such as Reggie Workman and Bill Dixon, Fleming was influenced not only by improvisation and performance, but also by the hip-hop that surrounded his younger days in the Mission. This all seeps out on Luz Interpretations, from his alto and baritone saxophone and bass clarinet constructions, to more dub- and hip-hop-rooted electronic production. For the adventurous, globe-trotting listener, or even us homeboys in the barrio, Luz Mob is some next ish!

Alongside acts like The Blow, YACHT, and White Rainbow (who are totally redefining electro-pop), Panther is currently luring souls into his fan base with his acclaimed live shows across the States. Known to his friends as Charlie Salas-Humara, he’s already been nominated for MTV2’s Video of the Year Award, in addition to having a tour with Ratatat and The Gossip under his belt.

Panther’s hybrid brand of electro has many faces. When he’s not hollering in spastic falsetto fashion (imagine a lemur and Prince in the sack), he’s probably grinding away on bass or epileptic-style dancing in circles.

On Secret Lawns, Panther explores what just one guy with a bunch of instruments and a computer can actually do. Complete with the artillery of synth-punk grooves and bootleg 808 kicks, this debut full-length is currently making indie-rock house parties from coast to coast that much more debauched.

Secret Lawns is out now on Fryk Beat.

Listen to the track “How Well Can You Swim” at XLR8R’s Downloads Section.

Colombian music circa 1960-1976 is a fiery mash-up of Afro rhythms, zooming horns, and orchestral technicality. More importantly, it’s the sound of partying–from neighborhood block parties to tropical beach bashes.

British label Soundway captures that spirit on its new compilation, Colombia! The Golden Years of Discos Fuentes. Taking music straight from the source label Discos Fuentes (the imprint responsible for the original issues), Soundway has remastered the tracks for a serious hi-fi listening experience.

Not unlike other reissues from their recent past, Soundway has also included an intensely illustrated 24-page booklet, complete with text and photos documenting the Discos Fuentes scene since its formation in 1934.

Colombia! The Golden Years of Discos Fuentes isn’t just another reissue for music nerds and collectors to keep in their secret vaults. Instead, it’s a venture through the evolution of Colombian music. The team behind the project took two years of research and several trips to the tropical birthplace to produce not just another comp, but an in-depth reference device–the kind that makes you want to rage.

Colombia! The Golden Years of Discos Fuentes is out April 3 on Soundway.

Tracklisting:

1. Fruko y Sus Tesos–Salsa Na Ma
2. Lito Barrientos–Columbia En Do Menor
3. Michi Sarmiento y Sus Bravos–Hong Kong
4. Sonora Cineguera–La Piojosa
5. Fruko y Sus Tesos–Improvisando
6. The Latin Brothers–Patrona De Los Reclusos
7. Wganda Kenya–Tifit Hayed
8. Pedro Laza–Fandango en Percussion
9. Orquesta Nunez–La Samaria
10. Los Corraleros De Majagual–El Mondongo
11. Fruko y Sus Tesos–A La Memoria Del Muerto
12. Michi Sarmiento y Sus Bravos–Primavero
13. Wganda Kenya–Elyoyo
14. Lucho Bermudez–Gaita de las Flores
15. El Sexteto Miramar–Cumbiamba
16. Michi Sarmiento–Mirame San Miguel
17. Pedro Laza y Sus Pelayeros–La Picua
18. Climaco Sarmiento–La Pata y El Pato
19. The Latin Brothers–Las Calenas Son Como Los Flores
20. Afrosound–Pacifico

Los Angeles-based photographer Ryan Prouty spends a Saturday morning with Tigerbeat 6’s noise-loving, spastic techno Eats Tapes. “We just decided to play around for a bit, and snap some photos in the meantime,” says Prouty. With that spirit in mind, a rousing game of hide-and-seek commenced.

See it now, only at Peepshow.

Back in 2005, All Tomorrows Parties ventured into a new type of live series. Instead of just having rad artists curating dream line-ups, ATP introduced the “Don’t Look Back” series where The Stooges perform the record Fun House from beginning to end. Since then, bands like the Dirty Three, Tindersticks, and Teenage Fanclub have worked full album magic, recreating their original albums for die-hards and kids who missed the boat. Now it’s time for the mighty Sonic Youth to unveil Daydream Nation for the legions–this time in the US, and on multiple dates. There’s clearly a reason to be psyched.

Without a doubt, Daydream Nation has been lauded as Sonic Youth’s most accessible release, despite being the band’s last indie offering on the Blast First label. As poppy as it was discordinant, the double release hit the streets in the fall of ’88, and the kids (now adults) went completely nuts.

Since then, the Youth has fired away an arsenal of hits with the same type of pop meets death meets Lou Reed zeal (See Goo, Rather Ripped, and Dirty). But there’s something about Daydream Nation as a live set that every Sonic Youth enthusiast must be salivating over, and for this reason, the United States just became a hell of a lot better place to live.

Sonic Youth perform Daydream Nation:

07/13 Chicago, IL: Pitchfork Music Festival
07/19 Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Community Theatre
07/20 Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Greek Theatre
08/30 London, England: London Roundhouse

For More Info Go To: Don’t Look Back

Queens-based Skeleton & the Kings of All Cities was previously known as Skeleton & the Girl-Faced Boys. Though the band’s new moniker is equally confusing, its oddly fashioned pop sound remains the same; perhaps just a bit more conceptual on the group’s latest project, Lucas.

The concept album revolves around a Moses-like tale of a cracked king and his crusade to homogenize his subjects. Thematically, the record and the band may seem a bit extravagant, yet it fits perfectly with Skeletons’ acid-inflected math- and freak-folk-inspired pop–somewhere in between Paw Tracks and P.W. Elverum & Sun. As their label, Ghostly International, puts it, they are known for their “everything-but-the-kitchen-sink instrumentation and uncommon arrangements.”

Lucas is out May 8, 2007 on Ghostly.

Tracklisting
1. What They Said

Drawing Voices is Craig Dongoski’s drone paradise. Founded in 1999, Dongoski has made it a point to expand upon the essence of “marking” (the act of sketching, writing, etc.) with clicked-out, noise that broods from subtle percussion to waves of harmonic feedback. But Dongoski isn’t just some guy with a sampler, shrooms, and an affinity for weird shit.

An Associate Professor at Georgia State University, Dongoski has worked with sound and marking for a number of years now. He’s undertaken looping the sound of writing his signature and turning it into visual chaos that, in fact, draws voices. That said, he’s also responsible for a series of painting and sound installations in addition to experimenting with sound as means of healing hospital patients.

Drawing Voices is yet another massive undertaking for Double H Noise (an extension of the LA-based Hydra Head label), expanding upon an established body of releases from titans like Sunn 0))), Agoraphobic Nosebleed, and Merzbow. Unlike Dongoski’s contemporaries, however, homeboy has brought alongside Isis frontman and Hydra Head labelhead Aaron Turner for some gnarly walls of noise that pierce more than just the eardrums. Leave it to the Hydra Head folks to bring cerebral, artistic sonic blasphemy to new heights.

Drawing Voices is out now on Double H Noise.

Tracklisting: 

1. Being Born Broken
2. Mask
3. Scattered Shavings
4. The Shrine of Wreckless Illumination
5. Being Born Broken II
6. A Choir Speaks

It’s been a solid seven years for Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. After At the Drive-In made post-punk history with the applauded Relationship of Command LP in 2000, the band’s vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez jumped directly into the progressive forefront as The Mars Volta. Now that the Volta has released two full-lengths embraced by art students, punks, and moms across the globe, Rodriguez-Lopez embarks on a solo mission with Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo.

The release should come as no surprise, considering this Puerto Rican-born songwriter’s healthy catalog has music enthusiasts from all walks of life salivating over new offerings. Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo, is bound to offer more Pink Floydian space and some crazy guitar whirling with the help of John Frusciante. In 2006, Rodriguez-Lopez released the Please Heat This Eventually EP with Can contributor Damu Suzuki and toured Europe under the guise of The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quintet.

Rodriguez-Lopez is also slated to release a follow-up to his debut solo release, A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 1, with (who would have guessed), A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 2, in addition to an untitled collaboration with Hella’s Zach Hill and a new Mars Volta record. Snap.

Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo is out in May on GSL

For a taste of the track “If Gravity Lulls” get to: myspace.com/goldstandardlaboratories