SV have always recognized the hard Detroit blocks they hail from, a world they describe in Panorama-vision on “Ghetto Movie.” It‘s a close-to-the-edge world where the weak get fed to the sharks, criminals and cops play out drama in the streets. “EZ-Up” is Slum‘s other face-thug lovers that hang “shortie in the club” flirtations on hooky R&B chorus-addled instrumentals. One foot in the mainstream, one in the underground is how it‘s done nowadays.
Percee P Put It On The Line
Already known as an MC on par with Rakim, KRS-One, and other NYC greats, P has laid low and always been just about ta blow. ‘06 might be the year it happens with this leadoff single from a forthcoming album to whet our appetites. Produced by Madlib Invazion, the original soul-dunked mix comes off like a gritty RZA joint with Percee‘s hyperkinetic AK-47 lyric fire. He hits the bulls eye with ease.
Various Artists Lust: Jennifer Cardini
At first listen, Jennifer Cardini’s latest mix might come across as a bit dry, but beneath its cool exterior is a depth of hypnotic groovery that will bring you back again and again. Opening and closing with material from Claro Intelecto, the body of the mix is a calmly prowling electronic blend spanning from Disko B to Mood Music. The off-kilter vocals of Illektric’s “Paranoia” and the Wighnomy Brothers’ remix of Slam “This World” are tempered by the arid minimal enchantment of tracks by DJ Koze, Lopazz, and Berlin’s faceless Sleep Archive series. Two hits of Lust and you’re hooked.
Various Artist DJ Kentaro: Solid Steel
Who better to serve up a collection of fine Ninja Tune back-catalog items than the highest-scoring DMC champ ever? Japan‘s Kentaro goes to work on the classics with surgical precision, transplanting hyperactivated jazz ‘n‘ bass grooves into dirty trip-hop funk and back again. Threaded together with old-school party mixtape energy, Jaga Jazzist, Coldcut, and Funki Porcini interface with The Herbaliser, Animals on Wheels, and Wagon Christ in a smooth, inventive and lightning-wristed style that still puts the music ahead of the technique. And the visu-scratched crash-test dummies on the accompanying DVD are pretty damn entertaining as well.
Misc. Like Morning in Your Eyes
Sender reinforces its radioactive, packed-grit techno foundation with a proper LP from the Misc. duo. Contrary to the romantic implications of its title, Like Morning is a salvo of floor-crunching techno ranging from the superbly scathing robotics of “Rather Alive” to the fuse-burning funk of “Shadow Hunting.” There‘s not a dud in the bunch. The absolute anthem on this album is “Metroland,” which captures the spirit of the 5:00 a.m. Cologne dancefloor like very few tracks ever have. Driving, psychedelic and mechanical all at once, Like Morning is proof-positive that techno is born again hard.
Heartthrob Time for Ensor
Having gained our attention with his debut appearance on the recent Minimize to Maximize compilation, Brooklyn‘s Jesse Siminski drops his first single for the Minus label. He advances his polished black-chrome techno sound with a balance of eerie, cortex-resonating synth work and granular sub-textures; the tight, minimal 4/4 pumpery and nano-botic percussion snaps it all together. Solid stuff.
Various Artists I Like It Vol. 2
Like a variety snack-pack version of DMC’s Back To Mine series, I Like It returns for round two of its celebrity-hosted listening party, this time with Trevor Jackson, Pole, Richard Dorfmeister, and Trickski doing the selecting. While it’s nice to read track-by-track narratives by these accomplished artists, this “personal collection” intended intimacy competes with a rather disjointed sequence of unsung after-hours classics, with the beautiful (Colourbox’s rendition of Augustus Pablo’s “Baby I Love You So”) offset by the ridiculous (David Thomas’ “Monster Magee, King of the Seas”). Kudos, however, on the explosively excessive packaging.
Mungo’s HiFi Rasta Meditation
Glasgow’s Mungo’s HiFi kick off their new Scotch Bonnet imprint with two cuts aimed at heating up the dance. “Rasta Meditation” is all chattery vocals that ride an undulating, danced up, Sly & Robbie style riddim, while the b-side cut, “Belly Ska,” is an irresistibly shuffling, bassed up ska tune. Like their compatriots Groove Corporation, Mungo’s HiFi manages to infuse heavy dub vibes with catchy dancefloor licks.
Curumin Achados E Perdidos
Curumin‘s new album is a refreshing intake of eclectic fusion. Subtly combining Afro-beat and samba rhythms with funk and hints of hip-hop, Achados E Perdidos reflects this Brazilian beatmaker‘s genuine melodic sensibilities; tracks like “Guerreeiro,” “You Haven‘t Done Nothing” and “Samba Japa” are not only gruelingly rhythmic but completely sung, produced and composed by Curumin himself. But even though this debut is charming, it lacks cohesiveness and contains a handful of throwaway songs that reduce the overall charisma of the album.
Atmosphere You Can‘t Imagine How Much Fun We‘re Having
Rapper Slug and producer Ant of Atmosphere are veterans of making great rap records. With stellar releases Lucy Ford and Overcast under their belt, You Can‘t Imagine… marks the Minnesotan duo‘s eighth year of music collaboration. Although Ant‘s beats have greatly improved and Slug remains effortlessly thoughtful, tracks like “Bam,” “The Arrival” and “That Night” sound like uninspired b-sides-as does most the album. “Little Man” and “Hockey Hair” are definite highlights, but aren‘t enough to redeem a disappointing 11-tracker. Although You Can‘t Imagine… would be a solid release by most standards, it falls short of Atmosphere‘s past efforts.
