Josh Wink may not be club music’s most famous DJ, but he’s got some seriously high-profile remix cred (for folks like NIN and Radiohead)-in fact, it’s hard to believe that this is his first ever double-disc mix release. Here, Wink assembles a combination of turntables, computers, CDs, and patience. The two sets, “Subconscious” and “Conscious,” reflect the emotional and rhythmic continuity his fans have come to expect, as he presents artists that had a heavy impact on him, from John Tejada to The Orb to Radiohead (his unreleased take on “Everything In Its Right Place” is included here).
Various Artist Slam: Ekspozicija 04-Stardome
You don‘t get to stick around clubland’s slippery upper ranks for more than a decade unless you’re pretty darn good at conjuring a groove. Stuart MacMillan and Orde Meikle have successfully snaked their way around dancefloors both as Slam and as heads of their strikingly consistent Soma imprint. Their newest mix weaves together longtime faves like Layo & Bushwacka!, Oliver Ho, and Marco Carola in their signature Slam style-deep, lean beats oozing with tech-house phrasing and Detroit grit, with the teensiest hint of (non-cheesy) trance. Warning: may tempt certain folks to reconsider their current dearth of drug use.
Basic Vocab The General Dynamic
Though he cooked up some of the hottest Southern club joints of the late ’90s (Trick Daddy‘s “Shut Up” and Trina‘s “Da Baddest Bitch”), Tony Galvin’s head has always been in the underground. Unfortunately, his beats for his own group lack the bite that made his commercial tracks so hot. The General Dynamic toes the optimistic, straight-up hip-hop line, but we’ve heard it all before. There’s nothing to knock about the work Galvin and MCs Mental Growth and JL Sorrell put in on their debut LP, but there‘s nothing to differentiate tracks like “Ease Back” and “The Trap” from any other LP on Sandbox Automatic, either.
Dr. Octagon The Return of Dr. Octagon
While some might decry Dan the Automator’s lack of participation in the Octagonecologyst’s resurrection, it’s actually Berlin-based production unit One Watt Sun‘s eclectic beats that make this project worth paying attention to. Not that Kool Keith doesn’t rise to the occasion; he delivers some of his best rhymes and most interesting concepts yet on this record (On “Trees,” Keith, in his own aloof way, sounds genuinely concerned about deforestation and its effect on oxygen production). Much the same way The Automator‘s productions came out of left field in 1995, One Watt Sun’s Gorillaz-meet-Chemical Brothers-in-a-carnival-freakshow beats sound different than anything you’ll hear on a rap album this year. Of the three new Kool Keith LPs this summer, this is the one to cop.”
Extra Golden Ok-Oyot System
It would be easy to dismiss this collaboration between Washington, DC indie rockers Golden and Kenyan musician Otieno Jagwosi as overly academic world music. It was, after all, brought about by Golden member Ian Egleston’s doctoral research into benga, a dance-y, electric guitar-driven Kenyan folk music. It’s worthwhile to resist such a dismissal, however: The collaboration produced some very lively and unique-sounding tracks. While a pair of songs that the Golden boys penned before the trip (“It‘s Not Easy,” “Tussin‘ and Fightin‘”) sound like standard boogie rock tunes, the points where the two groups meet each other half way (“Ok-Oyot System,” “Ilando Gima Onge”) are musically challenging and resonate with rich, emotional overtones.
Various Artist Dirty Diamonds 3
The D-I-R-T-Y.com collective is known for resurrecting and consolidating genre-spanning mixes. Yet with Dirty Diamonds 3, the crew doesn’t capture the charm-or cohesiveness-of its past releases. The disc contains ambient film scores, weird French records, and obscure b-sides, but the result is only interesting on paper. Filmic numbers like Francois de Roubaix’s “Plongee de Glace” create huge lulls in the comp, while slow songs like Nico’s “Afraid” are awkwardly paired with electronic pop songs, like Isolée’s “Enrico.” With such random sequencing, Dirty Diamonds 3 is a purposefully unconventional mix-but more so, it’s completely unmoving.
Mekalek Live and Learn
Mekalek’s vibrant debut, Live and Learn, is filled with hard drums and good vibes. After all, with appearances by Cool Calm Pete and the revered Percee P, it’s no wonder the project is such an easy listen. Yet one of the album’s high points (“Break #2”) finds Mekalek’s production prevailing without the aid of an MC. With heavy drums wrapped around colorful melodies, most of the tracks are sequenced with entertaining change-ups that keep the album lively. Besides a few beats that sound too similar to one another, Live and Learn is a triumphant debut.
Drop the Lime We Never Sleep
Luca Venezia’s last joint, This Means Forever, could provoke epileptic seizures with its noisecore breakbeats, ADD-addled edits, and excessive ideas. This time, he has mellowed…slightly. Venezia tempers his beats down to steady, 4/4 dubstep clomps (“Hotsauce Grillz,” “E Lock”) that romp well. Rhythms kept simple never compromise any power or guile here. Venezia’s menthol-coated hollering connects the NYC basement party circuit with hardcore punk, while his blue-eyed croons on the ballads will make many listeners proud to be single and dateless. Otherwise, this record’s money shots are worth the tinnitus.
Cex Actual Fucking
Rjyan “Cex” Kidwell fulfilled a recent erotic fantasy by recording himself racking up a videogame score while an escort pleasured herself in the background. The title of Actual Fucking, though, hints that we might need to wash our hands after listening-luckily that’s not the case. Kidwell assembled this most accomplished work with a backup post-rock band consisting of members from Joan of Arc, Dismemberment Plan, and others. He softens his white-soul vocals to let the band dabble in everything from David Byrne-styled Afro-funk (“Baltimore”) to midnight blues-dub (“Denton”) to !!!-mused disco-punk (“Los Angeles”). Kidwell has been pegged as an imitator and Actual won’t lift that curse, but he can still be as incorrigible as he damn well wants.
Psalm One The Death of Frequent Flyer
On her Rhymesayers debut, former chemist Psalm One lets it be known that as an MC, she’s more than just “good for a girl.” While her rhymes do transcend gender lines, on cuts like “Rapper Girls”-in which scantily clad female MCs get the boot-she addresses issues most male MCs won’t. With a steady supply of soulful, sample-driven productions from fellow Chicagoans Overflo, Thaione Davis, and others, Psalm delivers an up-close look into her complex personality and intriguing opinions. If she can only sharpen her hook writing (see the sloppy chorus on “Rap Star”) she‘ll be an even more versatile talent”
