After a solid run of singles and guest appearances, Stones Throw affiliate and Oxnard representative Kazi finally comes through with his debut full-length, joining forces with European label B9000. Produced primarily by Oh No (Kankick contributes one joint), The Plague overflows with swiftly paced wordplay and thumping, weed-friendly beats. “Check It Out Remix” is a highlight, with its backwards loops, clapping drums, ample tambourine shakes, and strong Wildchild cameo, as is “Sick With The Art,” a collabo featuring hometown homies Medaphoar and Declaime. While far from classic, this will definitely appeal to fans of the Cali indie-rap scene.
Various Artists Phila Flava Presents a League of Our Own Volume 2
Assembled by Phila Flava honcho Jason Gloss, A League of Our Own Vol. 2 sports 20 tracks and features over 30 different artists, some of whom are familiar names, others not so much. Like most compilations, it‘s pretty hit or miss, though there are some serious bangers on here. Planet Asia delivers a true gem with “Ball Till You Fall,” QN5 succeeds at the difficult task of hip-hop comedy/parody on “Commercial Rap,” and “Veteran‘s Day” featuring Dave Ghetto, Breez Evahflowin, Pumpkinhead, and Rok One is outstanding. There‘s definitely some skippable material in the mix, but the good stuff is top-notch.
Earatik Statik Evil is Timeless
Chicago‘s Earatik Statik has been grinding for a while, dropping singles and rocking shows throughout the Midwest. Here they deliver a three-song single, headed by “Evil Is Timeless,” which sports a spooky plucked string loop and big drums. “ILLstate MASSive” is a cool collabo with Edo G, while PaceWon shows up for the Diamond-produced “People Like US.” Serviceable but unremarkable.
David Last The Push Pull
My bodiless head floated gently through refreshing, unfamiliar air. I saw Jamaica, China, Java, Tokyo, Venice, Paris…it all meshed into one uncharted terrain, and I didn‘t know where I was. But I loved it! Brooklyn‘s David Last blessed me with this multicolored dream on his debut album–psychedelically cartoonish instrumentals awash with blip-hoppin‘ broken beats and slippery funkydunkyness. Last lures you in with slow-paced dancehall and illbient chaos powered by echoing reverbs, rich basslines, scrunched sounds and quirky melodies. Push Pull is playfully dubby like Lee Perry, charmingly IDM like Plaid, and downright heady in the fashion of labelmates DJ Olive and Lloop.
Various Artists Hybrid Presents Y4K
This one‘s for the masses. UK‘s Mike Truman and Chris Healings (a.k.a. Hybrid) deliver their first DJ mix compilation ever. Y4K is a lush, cinematic joyride through club-storming progressive breakbeats that‘ll leave you tingling with a gushing heart-chock-full of sci-fi soundscapes, blanketing string arrangements, gut-wrenching basslines and ultra-melodic funky drum patterns. Hybrid gently interweaves a medley of hit club tracks, including FSOL‘s “My Kingdom,” Luke Chable‘s remix of GusGus‘ “David,” Chemical Brothers‘ “Chemical Beats,” Stereo 8‘s remix of Orbital‘s “One Perfect Sunrise,” and in closing, Hybrid‘s own soundtracky rework of “Blackout” by Chicago house legend Lil‘ Louis.
John Tejada Logic Memory Center
LA‘s multi-faceted John Tejada never merely goes forward. Expanding from 2003‘s Fairfax Sake (Playhouse), Tejada‘s 10th full-length Logic Memory Center, offers less synthesizers and focuses more on meticulously quirky sound construction. This is deep, well-polished minimal techno for the dancefloor. Ten shuffly throbbers evoke the low-end muddling of Ricardo Villalobos, the cartoony sound-splicing of Akufen, the lighthearted swing of Matthew HErbert, and the glossily digitized mini-funk of Steve Bug and Jeff Samuel. Three tracks are graced with gentle, heartfelt vocals from Kimi Recor (Invisibles), Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel, Postal Service) and Carl A. Finlow (Random Factor, Silicon Scally).
Various Artists Sophie Rimheden: H2-Fi
Stockholm‘s Sophie Rimheden garnered mad props for her 2003 debut album, Hi-Fi, where she provided happy glitch-pop and ‘80s-influenced bleepy electro-funk powered by her charming, Madonna-like voice. H2-Fi is a varied hodgepodge of Hi-Fi remixes staying true to Rimheden‘s peculiar lightheartedness. The revamping commences with spliced-up, videogame-ish funkadelia by Pavan, Håkan Lidbo and Tigerbeat6‘s Dwayne Sodahberk. Remixes by Static and Hundarna från Söder parallel the dark electro of Kraftwerk‘s “Trans-Europe Express.” Different and Son of Clay drone out crackles and beatless serenity, followed by minimal techno masterpieces from Johan Skugge and Shitkatapult‘s Fenin. The 14-tracker ends with driving, club-storming cheese by Sam Miller and Puss. ”
Flevans Make New Friends
How very thoughtful of the TruThoughts stable to release this delectable little gem: Make New Friends throws vibrant, punchy tunes from three previous Flevans EPs onto one handy disc, all the better for delivering a full, sustained dose of Flevans‘s uniquely cheeky, cut-and-paste sound. “Dinner with Boskins” drips with sassy funk and sharp brass fanfares, “Me & My Moody” oozes a smarmy, tongue-in-cheek charm, “Get Caribou” is all bright, sparkling, piano-licked cheer and “Sweep Definitive” is a sly, seductive, fractured-beat affair embellished with lush strings. Inventive, varied and consistently upbeat, Flevans takes happy-go-lucky genre-bending into new musical territory.
Wonder Face
The latest offering from the man that featured on Dizzee Rascal‘s album. This one is a darkside future anthem that has already been battered by the likes of Slimzee, Switch and myself. Wonder is one of the best producers out there, so watch out for him in 2005 with some big club bangers.
Dread D Time Command
The man that brought us “Invasion,” Dread, has gone from strength to strength-now he has come back with another definite smash. A massive intro combined with an even bigger drop will make this one the track for 2005. Watch out for more releases from Dread D in 2005.
