Growling with dancefloor fury, drop this peak time monster at crucial club moments only! Opening with a solid 4/4 driving percussive movement, a filtered key riff melody dominates and reigns throughout the track’s entirety. Each parameter of the lead’s patch receives heavy automation from front to back, leaving little thought of monotony. An excellent remix from Devilfish rounds things out.
Femi Kuti Live at the Shrine
This CD/DVD should appease die-hard Afrobeat disciples until Femi’s next studio album of all-new material is released. The two-disc package contains Raphael Frydman’s 86-minute documentary on the junior Anikulapo-Kuti’s triumphant 2003 concert at the Africa Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria, accompanied by an audio disc. There’s a lot of crowd noise in the audio disc, which includes Femi favorites like “1997,” as well as his dad’s classic, “Water Na Get Enemy,” but that’s OK-it’s all about the DVD, which demystifies the endless-groove-upon-endless-grooves of Afrobeat by placing the music in a visual context. If you love Antibalas and Albino!, but missed your chance to see Fela, or have yet to see Femi in concert, then Live at the Shrine has your Afrobeat experience right here.
Neo/Kinetic R U Ready
Neo-not to be confused with the garage and hard trance artists of the same name-has previous releases on Sensor as well as the debut offering from Key Note. Neo’s sound reminds me of US producer DJ UFO; they share a similar bleak, futuristic view of music, pushing the boundaries of drum programming and outer space atmospherics. Both Neo’s “RU” and Kenetic’s “Hypnotech” do their damnedest to get the blood pumping.
Noisia vs. Drifter Brain Stitch
DJ Friction’s label presents two fresh talents. Noisia sews together a lumbering techstep track that crackles with sound of electric wires snapping and Formula One-speed drum loops. Drifter mellows out the mayhem with a disco string-soaked stepper that flows tunefully, but has a rhythm built for the peak hours.
Specifics Lonely City
This three-man crew from Montreal, Quebec (MC Golden Boy, Producer Think Twice and DJ Goser) takes hip-hop back to a time of creative samples, monotone vocals and fresh cuts. Think Twice comes with some heavy, boom-bap beats, along with jazz and soul samples and chopped up sounds reminiscent of early Dr. Dre, RZA and Premier productions. Credit due to DJ Goser’s smooth, understated scratches, cutting in familiar vocal snippets, horns and snares from classic hip-hop tracks. Check for the cuts “Lonely City,” “Put Ya Hands Up,” “Under The Hood” and “That is Why” to truly understand the musical diversity of this crew.
Pumpkinhead Rock On
Spittin’ heat for 10 years and haven’t been signed once, says Pumpkinhead of his secure independent status. “Rock On” is P’s dedication to all underground artists, from Jean Grae to Mobb Deep, as he explicitly describes in tight verses over Marco Polo’s gritty beats. Based on the b-side track, “Swordfish,” I get the impression that P’s a confident live performer in the vein of Chubb Rock and Chuck D: loud, proud, lyrical and thoroughly hip-hop.
Various Artists Gang of Four: Remixes
V2’s vision of having current musicians remix Gang of Four’s classic tracks was only good in theory. Surely ambitious and well intentioned, the results are lackluster re-interpretations of excellent post-punk tunes. Both Ladytron and The Dandy Warhols’ remixes lack the charm of their previous works-let alone Gang of Four’s endearing originals. The remainder of the project features Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Others, and Hot Hot Heat halfheartedly retouching recordings that are untouchable. With the exception of The Rakes’ slant on “Natural’s Not In It,” the UK Remix disc is a sloppy butchering of timeless songs. Yuck.
G.U.N. The Greedy Ultimate EP
This joint is off Soulman’s new label, World Of Beats. Record diggin’ cats will remember Soulman from his legendary “World of Beats” column in Rap Sheet circa ‘94-‘95, and his Ultimate Beat tape series. I would’ve liked to hear the emcees give themselves a bit more room on the delivery to take advantage of Soulman’s boardwork. Good to see ya puttin’ the collection to use, Phil!
Red Rock G’s Like Us
Produced by Evidence, this 12″ from these Jacksonville, FL-based emcees adds an interesting flava to the well-seasoned Dirty South mix. It’s hood, but hip-hop raw and in the street. “G’s” has been running on Sirius radio for the past three months.
The Wideboys Pirate Selectas
Hyped on the Wideboy’s website as “Part 1 & 2 of a new series of exclusive cuts that have been spun on the UK’s underground radio stations,” this doublepack showcases the Boys’ electrofunk and breaks influences in spades. From the old school vibe of “Tip Toe The Raver” to the marimba basslines of “Swing Yo Body” (complete with vocoded vocals), no UKG DJ should be without this. Absolutely essential.
