Is this a Neptunes beat from 1986? No, it’s from modern-day genius Timbaland, who links with underground vet and fellow Virginian Skillz and his endless one-liners to create a cut that’s as at home on dubs as it is in clubs. Maybe Skillz will get some long overdue mainstream shine with this one.
Phife Dawg U Know U Want It
On “U Know U Want It,” Phife proves that he can still kick it. DJ/producer Rasta Root creates a beat that would make any Tribe head nod, while songstresses Slick and Rose croon the chorus. On the flip’s “Diggy Dialect,” Kingston’s Hawkeye joins Mutty Ranks for the perfect balance of dancehall and hip-hop. Ya dunn know.
Various !k7150
In honor of their 150th release, !K7 have released a two CD/one DVD set compiling classic and upcoming releases, including tracks by Tosca, Herbert, Rae & Christian, Swayzak, Spacek, K&D, Terranova, Ursula Rucker and more. Reading the !K7 roster is like checking through a who’s who of the best in electronic music, as the compilation quickly evinces; since 1996, few labels can match the extraordinary job !K7 has done collecting experimental, danceable and groundbreaking artists. The DVD, particularly the videos for Tosca’s “Honey” and Peace Orchestra’s “Shining,” are great softcore-porn background fodder for your next orgy.
Various Stones Throw Records-2003 Sampler
Madlib is the new Prince, and Stones Throw is his vehicle. He’s so prolific it’s sometimes overwhelming, and while some tracks here are occasionally underwhelming, for the most part Madlib and his cohorts (Wildchild, label founder PB Wolf, Jay Dee, Dudley Perkins, MF Doom, and more) deliver strictly genius material. There are times on this compilation when the beats feel like they should have been left on the cutting room floor, the MCing should have been left to MCs rather than beatmakers, and the singing left to singers, not rappers. But those moments are balanced by some wow-that-shit-is-hot kind of beats. At the very least, this sampler lets you know things you must buy: Jaylib, Yesterday’s New Quintet and Madvillain (MF Doom), to start with.
Various Jazzanova Remixes
After years of delivering hot remixes, Jazzanova calls in the favors and treats their track collection to a makeover, with pretty damn good results. There’s something here for everyone: hip-hop/soul heads will enjoy Jazzy Jeff, Madlib and King Britt; Stereolab and Ian O’Brian dissect Jazza’s catalogue; Domu comes with a broken-beat feel; and DJ GHE delivers on of the best downtempo cuts on the comp. While some of the tracks are exclusive to this collection, most have been floating around on twelve-inch format-it’s nice to hear them all side-by-side on two CDs. The variety and skill-level of the people Jazzanova has gathered to remix their tracks is pretty unbelievable. I wish I had friends like these.
Swamburger The Roots of Kin
From the beat quality all the way up to the lyrics and delivery, this is a top-notch album. You could tell Swamburger was up for good things after his guest spot with BMF and Beef Wellington of Orlando’s Eighth Dimension crew. The Roots of Kin seals the deal. Conscious rhymes and a quick delivery bring to mind groups like Binary Star, Zion-I, Digable Planets and early De La Soul, while Swam occasionally picks up the speed to rolling Outkast flavor. Funky guitars dominate the beats, which hint at an experimental electronic style. When’s the last time a hip-hop album turned that frown upside-down?
Erkki Kurenniemi Aanityksia Recordings 1963-1973
Aanityksia offers wildly untamed electronic experiments from the ’60s and ’70s by this extraordinary Finnish inventor/composer. During his career, Kurenniemi invented a series of incredible electronic synthesizers that used camera images, brain impulses and sexual touching to trigger unique sounds. The tracks range from the horrible robotic torture chamber of On-Off” to shimmering electronic overtones, Hendrix-esque feedback, tape-collage and subtle Nintendo beats. The music evokes Stockhausen and more experimental Kraftwerk, adding an occasional taste of Switched On Bach. This stuff is amazing if you’re into weird, experimental groundbreaking synthesis.
Various Brazilian Live Affair Volume 4
For sexy, you can’t really go wrong with swirling Fender Rhodes, sultry Portuguese vocals, a light bossa beat and strings. That’s good news for this compilation, which, thanks to Patricia Marx’s “E O Meu Amor Vi Passar,” starts off on exactly the right note. It’s also got a great mix of classic masters (e.g. Marcos Valle, Joyce) and up-and-comers. For all its progressive electronic sounds, BLA has a legit base in tradition, as a few of the tracks are dug up from secret Brazilian vaults. It’s a mostly solid compilation that’s more uptempo than down, and that relies on percussion, violins and breezy vocals to sort out the melancholy in your life.
Skatalites From Paris With Love
Bounce, bounce! Groovin’ to the Skatalites’s latest release is like taking a water break from our war-torn world in the warm surf. And even if the band’s cast of characters feels like it’s in never-ending rotation (Lester Sterling, Lloyd Brevett, Lloyd Knibb, Doreen Shaffer and Dizzy Moore are the original members returning for this go around), its singular ska-jazz sound seems to be working just fine here. Standout tracks include the mellow-but-potent “Glory to the Sound”-a tune Dizzy claims was once an apartheid protest song named “Letter to Botha”-and “When I Fall in Love,” which showcases Shaffer’s smooth-as-cocoa-butter vocals. The Skatalities’s skin-tight horn interplay has lost none of its swing; the disc is just one extended riddim that doesn’t end until around the 60-minute mark. If your ass is sitting still while this joint is in the drive, then there is something seriously wrong with you.
Karsten Pflum Tracks
Karsten Pflum, a.k.a. Jacob Madsen, hails from Copenhagen. For the release of his debut full-length, however, he teamed with Worm Interface, a downbeat label from London. The significance of this pairing becomes clear upon hearing Tracks, a collection of na?ve-meets-nostalgic melodies and percussive skitter that brings to mind an assemblage of the most appealing elements of the Warp/Gescom/Rephlex/Planet Mu scene. Karsten Pflum’s music isn’t any more dancefloor-oriented than Squarepusher’s,
